Snow Clothes

Just in case readers of my previous post were worried, Joel is now quite well prepared for snow and cold.

Movies I watched in 2009

We got a three month Netflix subscription from Brandon's family for Christmas. It has been fun to go on the site and choose movies we want to see, then have them show up in the mail. So far this year we've watched:

Miss Potter - Well made, very fun to watch.
Better Off Dead - I'd never seen it. WEIRD but amusing. It was one of Brandon's faves as a teen.
Rocky - Brandon had never seen it. We both enjoyed it, although the 70's music made us laugh.
27 Dresses - It was okay. I watched this by myself...not that Brandon won't watch chick flicks with me, but he wasn't home when I used it as motivation to fold the laundry.
The Golden Compass - We found it boring and turned it off.
Hoosiers-okay. We're not that into sports flicks
Juno-Thought provoking and well done.
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum-Comedy tonight!
Spanglish-Interesting, but more objectionable content than I remembered
Cold Comfort Farm-Hilarious and delightful
Supersize Me-Gross in a fascinating kind of way
Up!-Sweet and very fun. (theater)
Star Trek-Awesome! (theater)

Books I Read In 2009

Once I figure out how to do it, I plan to put a link to Goodreads on the front page of my blog so I can keep track of what I've read. Until then, this will have to do. It's always interesting to me to know what kinds of books people choose to read. You can tell a lot about someone by their reading habits, I think. I wonder what my reading list of the year will say about me?

Small Gods by Terry Pratchet
The 13th Reality by James Dashner
Wintersmith by Terry Pratchet
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen
Full of Holes by Daniel A Wells (unpublished)
It's A Mall World After All by Janette Rallison
The Glass Castle by Janette Wall
The Housewife and the Moviestar by Sannon Hale (Advanced Reading Copy)
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Extras by Scott Westerfield
Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Pomegranates

I've bought several pomegranates recently.


I was researching online to find the best way to open them, (because I'm nerdy like that-I always look for information about everything) and I learned loads of interesting facts. First, I learned that the best way to get the fruit from a pomegranate is to score the peel with a knife, then open it under water. The red parts, called arils, sink to the bottom, and the white membrane floats. I filled the sink with water, then put a colander in it, and peeled the pomegranate there. It worked out quite well.

Did you know that the word grenade came from the French word for pomegranate? Relics of this fruit have been found in Jericho and dated Early Bronze Age, which is about 3300-2000 BC. Pomegranates show up quite frequently in multiple religions and the mythology of various cultures. (I was only familiar with the Persephone story.) Eating the fruit gives many health benefits. (BTW, I didn't get ALL of that from Wikipedia. I used multiple sources, like a good little researcher.)


I think pomegranates are beautiful-a multifaceted orb made of tiny jewel-like bits that burst tartly sweet juice into my mouth. They're worth the trouble it takes to prepare them in my opinion. Too bad their season is so short.

2008 in Review

Joel in January

Joel in December

What we accomplished...

Joel:
crawling
standing
cruising
walking
4 haircuts
5 sizes of clothing
8 teeth

Brandon:
5 conventions
18 presentations
24 school visits
37 book signings
60 days of business travel
500,000 words written

Me:
3 professional pedicures enjoyed
17 batches of cookies made (and eaten)
37 books read
152 loads of laundry washed, dried and put away
400 hours spent breastfeeding
1095 diapers changed

Numbers are interesting, but experiences make memories. A few events from 2008 stand out in my mind. Attending the wedding of my friend Rachel was a highlight in June. My trip to the emergency room in July was something I'll never forget. I have some great memories from the reunions and family gatherings that we attended over the year. Going to the Shakespearean Festival in July was very fun. Leaving Joel with Brandon's mom for 10 days while the two of us went to Denver for WorldCon was a little traumatic at first, but also memorable. I really appreciated going to my book group each month. In 2008 Brandon made the New York Times Bestseller list. There are also myriads of experiences that happen too many times to count over the course of a year, but that make my life good-things like chatting on the phone with my sisters, sharing jokes with my husband, playing with my baby boy, having "deep philosophical discussions" with friends, getting a good workout, quiet contemplation, talking to God, and feeling that He listens.

Flingshots

One of the coolest presents I have ever received was given to me this Christmas by my friend Nik. It is a set of not one, not two, but SIX of these. I now have not just the monkey, but the frog, pig, cow, duck, and rooster.

I have a long history with these crazy toys. I first saw the monkeys when they were one of the rewards for participation in a CMS fundraiser. I kept threatening to confiscate them from my students...because I wanted one for myself. When I saw similar screaming monkeys for sale, I had to get several. One became the most coveted item at the 2004 family Christmas white elephant gift exchange. One monkey became my apartment's unofficial mascot. For some reason, which I can't remember now, my roommates and I named the monkey after an insufferable guy in our ward. We would fling him-the monkey, not the guy-across the room at the slightest provocation. Liz still holds the record for both distance and accuracy in monkey flingshot.

I'll never forget the night B met the flingshot monkey. It was New Year's Eve 2005. My roommates and I had decided to throw an impromptu party, and even though we'd only been on a couple of dates by then, I got brave and invited B. I was feeling silly and coquettish, and decided to get B's attention by flinging the monkey past his nose. Unfortunately, I have terrible aim with the things, and the screaming monkey smacked B right in the forehead! Boy did I feel stupid! B must not have been terribly offended, as he did ask me out again. (Not to mention the fact that he eventually married me. ;)

Unfortunately, Dave the monkey did not have as happy an end to his story. He made one flight too many, lost his voice and his stitching, and now sits quietly upon a shelf-a momento of a very fun time of my life.

Several years later I saw different kinds of animal flingshots for sale. I bought a rooster for Nik, who was leaving on a mission. She took the crazy crowing rooster with her, where it provided her with hours of entertainment-and her companions with hours of annoyance. *smirk*

I offer this lengthy history only to explain the elation I felt on opening the present from Nik, and finding a whole collection of flingshot animals! Someone else, however, was not elated. When I took out the monkey from Nik, I put it on my fingers, stretched it back and shot it screeching across the kitchen. J did this:
I was surprised. He usually doesn't react this way to noises of this type. Of course I scooped J up and comforted him, even though Nik and I couldn't help laughing a little bit. After a couple of days, J decided that the flingshot monkey was his favorite toy. He now carries it around with him and doesn't bat an eyelash when the monkey screeches. Here is J with his new friend:

Birthday Candles

December 19th was the birthday of my marvelous hubsand. (No, that isn't a typo. I wrote it that way on purpose.) I put a lighted birthday candle in his buttermilk pancakes in the morning...and in his macaroni and cheese at dinner...and in his hot fudge brownie sunday for dessert. (He rolled his eyes at me, but he knows that all this is not just an indication that his wife is a pyro, but that she loves him. ; )


Where did the idea of birthday candles come from anyway? (ancient Greeks, according to a quick Internet search) It is fascinating to me how often our celebrations involve things for which we have forgotten the original purpose, but we continue to do them because it is customary. Why do some practices catch on and become tradition, while others fade into oblivion? I may never know the answer to these questions, but I like lighting things on fire, so I'll keep the tradition of birthday candles. (Yes, we do own a fire extinguisher.)

First Snow

B thought we should take J outside to walk in the snow for the first time. I've looked for snow gear for the little guy, but haven't yet found anything in his size that is affordable. So, we had to improvise. I put plastic bags over the socks and shoes he was already wearing , and then covered everything with a pair of my socks so that he wouldn't slip. With a pair of his own socks on his hands for mittens, he was ready to take on the outdoors. We only stayed out for about five minutes because it was cold, but J loved it! After we came back indoors and got out of our snow clothes, he toddled up and patted the front door, glancing back at me beseechingly. We'll go out again another day, Jbaby.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

We decorated our house for Christmas a while ago, but I finally downloaded some pictures to post. Though it isn't very extensive, We're enjoying the change in decor. J shows this by trying to rip the ornaments off the tree any time he gets close to it. ;) We opted to use our little artificial tree this year so that we could barricade it in the corner. I bought this tree at Walmart in Evanston, Wyoming in December of 2000 when I was teaching school in Lyman. Most of the decorations I had were cheap, old, and shabby, so I bought some cheap, new and shiny ones to replace them. It was fun to look for tiny ornaments to fit our tiny tree. B used his artistic eye to make sure everything was pleasingly arranged.










We now have a Little Town of Bethlehem and a Snow Village, courtesy of Department 56, and B's mom.











We don't have a fireplace, so our "stockings are hung near the heat vent with care, although we know Saint Nick just can't fit through there."









I have been listening to all kinds of Christmas music. I plugged my computer into some speakers so I could go online and use Pandora. (Anyone who doesn't know about this site should check it out. It is way cool.)

I didn't realize what a rough time with post partem depression I was having last Christmas season until this year came around. I find I want to celebrate doubly because I feel so much better than I did this time last year. Hooray for Christmas! Hooray for healing! Hooray for Christ who makes both possible.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pumpkin Pancakes

are delicious. I've made them three times in the last two weeks. The first time was just because I had a craving for something pumpkiny and spicey and warm. That kind of thing happens to me in the Fall. B was still out of town, so J and I ate the entire batch ourselves. The second time I tripled the batch and made them for my book group. The pancakes were a hit. The third time I made them to celebrate B coming home from Book Tour. He is not a pumpkin fan, but he tried my pancake creation and liked it. Three for three. That doesn't usually happen to me with cooking. I can't take credit for the recipe, however. I found it here via a Google search. Of course, like all good recipe robbers, I ended up tweaking this one a bit to suite my tastes and situation. I think my pancakes were especially successful because I served them with Buttermilk Syrup. (This stuff is so good that you could probably drizzle it on cardboard and folks would gobble it up!) There are several recipes floating around, I know, but mine was acquired from my friend Rachel who learned to make it when she worked at Magleby's. And now, without further ado...

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pumpkin Pancakes

• 1 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t. ground ginger
• 1/2 t. ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 1 C. buttermilk
• 1 C. canned pumpkin puree
• 2 T. oil
• 1 t. vanilla

Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Beat eggs lightly. Add other wet ingredients and mix. Add wet ingredients to dry and blend just until all the flour is moistened. This batter will be thick, and makes dense pancakes. You can thin it with water if you prefer.

Buttermilk Syrup
1 cube butter
1 C sugar
1/2 C buttermilk
1 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
1 T Karo syrup

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Add other ingredients and mix well. Cook, stirring constantly, until it boils, then take it off the heat. It will appear frothy, but will cool and distill into a light golden syrup.

Note to Self

Next time I think I am hungry enough to resort to fast food, I must remember how REVOLTING I find it. Ads make it look so appetizing...


but I am always disappointed when I actually get my meal.


Unlike asparagus. . .which is also revolting. . .



fast food doesn't even have the advantage of being good for you!

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Update

Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday to J!

One year ago today our Jbaby was born.

We knew his daddy would have to be out of town this year, so we celebrated J's first birthday early. My family came over to open presents and watch J destroy-I mean-enjoy

this beautiful cake created by the talented Lisa.



Then, a week later we celebrated again when B's family came into town.

This time I made the cake, and it was not so beautiful, but J seemed to enjoy it just as much.

I figured two cakes were enough for any kid, so we are not eating any cake today, even though it is his actual birthday...unless you count pumpkin pancakes. (More about them later.)

It has been so fun to get to know this little boy and watch his personality develop. B and I are glad to be his parents.

Green Pumpkin

Green Update: I put my reusable bags in the trunk of my car so I'd be sure to have them any time I stopped to buy groceries. Still, on my last shopping trip I forgot to bring the blasted things into the store! Luckily, my sister was with me and volunteered to run and grab them. I have since transferred the bags to the front passenger seat in my car. Their bright green color makes these bags a little hard to miss, so hopefully I'll use them enough to make it a habit.


Last week I bought three pumpkins: a daddy pumpkin, a mommy pumpkin, and a baby pumpkin. For the past few days they've sat on the porch looking cheerful and autumnal. The plan was to turn them into jack-o-lanterns tomorrow. This evening, however, I noticed that the baby pumpkin is gone! I know such thefts are a common occurrence this time of year, but I still felt sad. I guess instead of a pumpkin, J will be represented by a carved potato. *grin*

Being Green

I bought some reusable shopping bags at the store the other day. I'm ashamed to say, though, that this act was motivated more by selfishness than concern for the environment. I've always just disliked having having wads and mounds of plastic shopping bags around. My reusable bags are sturdy, hold plenty of groceries, and have long handles. Now I just have to develop the habit of taking them into the store with me...

I am not at all opposed to "living green." I like to feel like I'm doing my part to help the environment. We pay a monthly fee to recycle aluminum and plastic. (Which reminds me-tomorrow is garbage day. I'll have to remember to put the cans out by the street, as B is not here to do it.) However, I find that if something is better for the environment, but takes too much trouble or money, I am unwilling to do it. I would say that on the scale of green I am just a pale mint shade. However, there are people who are a bright glaring neon green, which I find both impractical and obnoxious. I would like to work towards becoming a deep, healthy forest color.

Forgotten Laundry

If I had a rock band I would name it "Forgotten Laundry." Those two words together just sound cool to me for some reason. Try saying them aloud. See? don't you think they sound cool? Okay, maybe no one else gets the same kick out of it that I do. I am a word nerd! Band names always interest me. They are usually catchy, fun to say, and make me wonder about their history. Take Death Cab For Cutie, for example. Did you know that the band is named after a 1967 song, which was most likely taken from the title of an old pulp fiction crime magazine? (I'm not as smart as I seem; I looked it up on Wikipedia.) So hey, if an indie rock band can call themselves something wacky like Death Cab For Cutie, why couldn't I name my imaginary band Forgotten Laundry? I'm sure my band would be a big hit among homemakers all over the world. We could come up with all kinds of ridiculous laundry-like puns to use as slogans on swag and such. *smirky grin* My own forgotten laundry story, however, is not nearly so funny. Here's what happened:

A couple of days ago I put a load of clothes in the washing machine. I started it, then forgot all about my laundry until the next morning. By that time the clothes smelled damp, musty and mildewish. There was nothing for it but to add more soap and start the wash cycle again-with HOT water this time. I remembered to transfer the clothes to the dryer, and even folded and put them away. Yesterday I put a load of towels in the washing machine and started it. You guessed it! I forgot all about them until this morning. Once again I had to re-wash the load. I almost forgot about them AGAIN, but remembered at 8 PM tonight and threw them into the dryer. This is not a confession of slovenly housekeeping habits-I am usually fairly good at keeping up with laundry-but an indication of how busy we've been lately!

Flying (Grudgingly)

I've been feeling frustrated with clutter for quite some time now. I finally broke down and tried out Fly Lady, which several friends had recommended to me. The fact that so many people were telling me that I "just had to try this" made me reluctant to check it out. I know-I'm stubborn like that. Still, I signed up. I must say that sometimes the purple and pink theme and cheesy names for things (super fling boogie? rubba scrubba?) make me roll my eyes, but the concepts of doing projects a little at a time, and creating habits to help you stay organized are exactly what I need. The daily flood of email can be overwhelming, but the messages are so positive that I have to smile. The other day I gave in and shined my sink.

The big challenge now is to get rid of all the stuff we have around that we don't use and don't need.

My Future(istic) Baby-Friendly house

will also have baby generated power. Put the child in a hamster wheel-like structure, put something he wants in front of him, and let him go. Then, enjoy the energy.

I've also decided that babies need to be protected from not just walls, but all sharp corners. (J has yet another bump on his head after smacking into the corner of a chair ; ) So, for my futur(istic) baby-friendly house I will commission a special kind of paint which can be brushed on the edges of walls, tables, chairs, or anything potentially baby unfriendly. Of course, it will be virtually undetectable in order not to spoil the decor. Said undetectable paint will be able to sense impact of a certain magnitude. (Of course, you'll be able to buy the paint in different strengths according to your baby's age and bruise-ability.) Upon said impact, said paint will momentarily change the structure of said sharp corner. A wicked table edge, when bumped, will become soft and giving for just a few seconds-then fade slowly back to it's original solid state.

It is fun to come up with crazy gadgets-especially when they are completely imaginary and I don't have to make them plausible. This whole baby friendly house idea has caused me many musings about mothers' desires to protect their children, and how at some point protection becomes overprotection, which can hinder the child's growth. My musings have been very deep, philosophical and insightful. However, I'm not feeling deep, philosophical or insightful right now. So rather than recording my musings here, I will add this. Very clever, eh?

Mondegreens

I find it interesting when I mishear song lyrics. It seems like once I interpret what the words must be, I can’t figure out what they really are-even when my interpretation makes no sense. Then for some reason I hear the words clearly and say “Oh! That’s what it really says!” I did that today with a John Mayer song.

Only recently I figured out that in the Lonely Goatherd from The Sound of Music it says “What a DUET for a girl and goatherd.” I loved Sound of Music as a child and watched the Julie Andrews version until I had every song memorized. For some reason, though, I never realized what that word was. I think that’s because she says deeyoo-et in a British accent instead of doo-et the way we Yankees would.

The funniest misheard lyric story I know is told by my dad. He is a semi-pro singer and songwriter. One day my sister, who was probably six or seven at the time, came up to him as he was practicing for a gig. “Daddy, what’s a dorfling?” She wanted to know. He had no idea what she meant and no idea why she was asking him at that particular moment. Later he realized that he’d just sung a song that had the phrase “the door flings open wide.” My adorable sister thought he was singing about the "dorflings of the wild."

Apparently, misheard lyrics like this are called mondegreens. There are a couple of collections of them on the web. The best known archive is at kissthisguy.com It was pretty informative as well as entertaining. The funniest thing to me, though, was that the banner ad on the site was for a hearing aid!