sometimes Sundays are boring

Our Sundays can be s-l-o-w. Church is from 8 to 11 am, come home, eat lunch, then 8.5 hours until bedtime. And we don't shop, go to work, or play sports either (we observe it as the Sabbath). We limit TV and movie time. So sometimes we get bored. dh is content to literally sleep all day if given the opportunity, so lots of times it's me and the boys trying to find activities that fall within our family parameters and aren't a total snooze.

Today we made Bad Guy Soup. Super Q tells me we are meant to leave it outside. When bad guys see it, they think, "Oh! Free soup!" They drink it, then die. And don't ever make it into the house to steal the XBox.

Our soup had water, soul seasoning, old lemon pepper, some nasty salad dressing that none of use like, dirt, bark, grass, weeds, etc. It reeks. Not a bad way to clean out the pantry.

testing, testing

So I haven't really mentioned it, but Super Q is a closet psychopath. Maybe not a psychopath, but dude. Such a temper, so fickle, so adept at pushing my buttons. And so well-behaved at school!

I was listening to our local access radio station today and heard this woman, Patty Wipfler, (her website is http://www.handinhandparenting.org/) talking about the kinds of reactions Super has all day long to anything that doesn't go his way. I thought she had some very interesting ideas. Maybe a little NewAgey, I don't know.

Her take is that when kids are in the middle of a power struggle, whining, or a big meltdown, their brains are not engaged. They are really, truly "out of their minds." They need a mental and physical connection with a parent, a little reassurance, some hugs, a hand hold, something like that. They may push you away. They may not immediately snap out of it; in fact, they may cry more for awhile to "dump" their emotions. But then they will snap out of it and be much more agreeable afterward. Super Q has shown some symptoms of feeling disconnected and alone when he's melting down, so I'm going to try this system. Any other ideas?

chop it... and chop it good

So one time we had a gift card to a place called Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. (Why is it called that? I always think of two siblings fighting over who gets to use her name for the restaurant. Or Chris belongs to Ruth. Is Chris an indentured servant? Is she bussing tables to work off her passage to Texas? But I digress.) I'm not a huge fan of steak but I am also a firm believer in ordering the speciality of the house/region (and for that reason I 'm not inclined to eat sushi in the middle of Michigan) so I ordered a small steak. It was OK. But the salad... I dug that salad. I've been wanting to duplicate it ever since I tried it. A few nights ago I sort of did. It's been a long time since I gorged myself on salad. Maybe too long.

I don't really have quantities. I mean, it's salad. Adjust the amounts of extra stuff based on how much green stuff you are using.

Ruth's Chris Chop Salad

The chopped salad is a mix of julienned iceberg lettuce (I used romaine), spinach (I substituted kale), radicchio, tossed with red onion (I skipped the onion), mushrooms, green olives, bacon, hard-cooked eggs, hearts of palm, croutons, blue cheese and lemon basil dressing ... topped off with cherry tomatoes and crispy fried onions (these are key). Oh, and everything is chopped to a somewhat uniform size.

Below is the lemon basil dressing. It was really tart; probably should have added some sugar. I substituted Marie's Blue Cheese Vinaigrette (a favorite at our house).

Lemon Basil Dressing

2 tablespoons Pommery or Dijon mustard
freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 basil leaves, very thinly sliced
coarse salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Gaza

Do you have an hour to sit down and think hard about what's going on in Israel? I have complicated feelings about this issue (for all of the standard reasons: Israel was a sovereign nation under attack, what would any country do in a similar situation, it's all about the larger issue of terror, etc.), but have no doubt about Israel's disproportionate reaction to Hamas's attacks. The interview that appears at the links below further cemented this view. It is a heartwrenching account of a civilian family which was attacked by Israeli soldiers and then held at gunpoint and prevented from seeking medical help. It's heartbreaking.

I'm not endorsing every view that you will find on democracynow.org. I watch/listen to programs on both ends of the spectrum and everywhere in between.


http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/21/palestinian_us_college_grad_loses_2

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/22/part_ii_palestinian_us_college_grad

Shout!

Sometimes I feel incredibly silly trolling for images of food/products/evil dolls on the internet. I just spent about 8 minutes finding this picture of Shout! and cropping it, etc. In that amount of time I could have done any number of more productive things; soothed a child's worried brow, made toast, read 8 Emily Dickinson poems. Anyway, it was worth it because I am a such a fan of Shout Advanced. I'm sure it's chock full of petroleum horribleness. Nonetheless, it has its uses like removing blue crayon from an entire load of clothes and THEN removing gum from yet another load of clothes (this one went through the dryer). Why check pockets when you can just spray something that smells like paint thinner on everything and wash it again?

Geez, this post is getting depressing. I'm now on facebook, sort of feeling like the ancient maiden aunt at a wedding. I'm almost 37--facebook? Really? So now I check the status of friends and family and they're always doing something cool like hanging out at coffeehouses. My statuses have thus far been about cooking, cleaning, PTO stuff. I think I'm going to start fibbing on the ol' status bar. "Status: strolling through the Louvre." Do you think anyone will catch on?

kale-idoscope of flavor!

Wow, that title is atrocious. Please forget it ever happened. Focus instead on this: kale. Not an immediately appealing vegetable, right? Won't ever compete with eggplant or even cucumber. It looks like it might get stuck in your cheek like a fish hook. I'm here to ask you to give kale a chance. My fancy beautiful attorney sister made a kale salad that changed my life. In the spirit of hope and change I share it with you.

1/2 a head/large bunch of kale
1/2 - 3/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
olive oil
fresh lemon (about half of a lemon's worth)
freshly ground pepper
salt

Toss. Eat. Enjoy the antioxidants.

a vacation, with scooting

We headed west this past weekend for my niece's baptism. It was fantastic. The kids had an absolute blast playing outside in the perfect weather, we ate many delicious meals c/o my sister, a cheesecake surfaced, and we watched old movies of my Dad's childhood. Perfect.

The hotel, however, was a bizarre throwback to our Asian Vacation of 2007. It was a Travelodge, you know, with the sleepwalking bear? The bear was always a HUGE selling point for us as kids. "Oh, please, let's stay in the one with the bear!" The Travelodge was a little pricey for our family then. But now, well, let's just say we have arrived and we stayed at the one with the bear. And the super-hard beds, one-ply TP, scanty breakfast, and non-working TV remote.

The undisputed highlight of the trip for me and dh was seeing my sister's baby, Carmelita, who is a sweet little ball of cuteness. She has decided against crawling on principle and scoots instead. She does this sitting up, using a sort of one-cheek-at-a-time approach. It is very adorable, and my sister's floors get a good swiffering in the process.

Another sister, the beautiful and fancy attorney from Phoenix, also came and stayed some extra time with us. My boys LOVE her... maybe because she spoils them rotten. We drove away from the airport quite solemn, already missing her and the rest of our family.

not perfect, but at least it's done

This was a take-along project for our Trek to the North. I "tied" the quilt in the car with french knots rather than little square knots with those annoying little tails that tickle you in the night. Kinda glad the photos are blurry because the quilt is far from perfect. It is for my nephew, Riley, who will not notice that some seams are not straight. His mom, it turns out, is a closet quilter. A real quilter, who like pieces her quilts and then sends them out to be professionally oversewn. Kind of like baking a cake for Martha Stewart. Oh, well. I like the binding.

who am I kidding?

I thought I'd better take down the wintry banner I had up. It's like 67 degrees outside, and this is my footwear choice for the day. There are no lonely, snowy country lanes anywhere near me... and I'm very OK with that.

we heart fiber

We had our weekly cookin' and chattin' fest yesterday with some good friends in the neighborhood. I made red beans and rice, and I wasn't sure if the kids would eat it... but they did! Lots of it! And tons of crusty bread and then like 3 pieces of pound cake EACH. They were all starving, apparently. Here's the recipe I used. It's from Scouting Magazine, not a place I normally find recipes. I think it's a keeper. Low fat, high fiber, tasty herbs.

Crock Pot Red Beans and Rice

1 lb dried red or kidney beans (don't use canned)
2 T oil (I omitted this and used a nonstick pan)
1 lb spicy smoked sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 stalked celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
6 cups water or low-salt chicken broth
4 cups cooked rice

To soak beans, rinse well. Place in a bowl, and add enough water to cover by at least 2 inches. Let sit 8 hours or overnight. Drain before using.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Saute sausage until slightly browned, about 3 min. Remove and set aside.
Add onion, bell pepper, and celery to the skillet and cook until softened and fragrant, about 3 min. Add garlic and cook for 1 min.
Season with salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, and cayenne; stir and cook 1 min. Add reserved sausage and beans and stir to combine.
Pour sausage/bean mixture into a 5-6 quart slow cooker (water should cover beans by at least 1/2 inch; more if you like a soupier meal).
Cover and cook on high for 2 hours; then on low for 6 hours. Remove bay leaves before serving over cooked rice.
Serves 8.

the Thrift Store Theory of Relativity

Man, I am so prolific today! I'm sure I'll hit a nice long dry spell soon and not post for 2 months or something. Patty O's comment about the $900 skirt in O Magazine reminded me of my very successful trip to a certain thrift store in the Great White North. I always stop in when we travel up there because it's a gold mine. dh's family lives in a sort of snooty town ("most PhDs per capita" is one of their claims... REALLY? I would have thought Cambridge...) and there are many good deals to be found. This time it was Adidas running pants for Flash ($2), a couple of books, and a Talbots skirt for me ($2) and one from the Gap as well ($2). I actually am not a brand-conscious person--I mean, one skirt in heavy rotation right now I sewed myself from curtains. I know, very Maria von Trapp of me. So I'm not really interested in the brand itself, it's the fantastic bargain and the knowledge that these skirts will hold up better than brand new ones from Old Navy or Target. The hilarious part is that I stood there and spent 15 minutes thinking hard about buying a $2 green wool sweater. "Will I wear it? Will it smell weird forever? Will it be too itchy?" I chalk it up to the Thrift Store Theory of Relativity, wherein an item that cost $40 new seems prohibitively expensive if it's more than $2.50. Of course I would buy that sweater if I was in Banana Republic and it was marked down to even $10. But at that moment I really had to think about it. (I decided against it: itchy).

North Dakota

While we're on the subject of the Dakotas (I know, I know they have some redeeming qualities), I have to recommend this gallery of photos on the National Geographic website. It's called "The Emptied Prairie," and it features photos of abandoned homes, roads, churches. There is an obligatory creepy doll in there, and a schoolroom still full of desks and yellowing books. The photos are fascinating and eerie, and worth looking at.

the motherland

Last night I stepped in as den leader for Flash's Cub Scout meeting. With about 2 hours to plan something, I quickly ruled out campfire cooking, visiting a national or state monument, and anything involving pocket knives. This left the civic education portion of the manual, so I chose the bit about U.S. states. I went to the library and checked out 10 books about different states, threw some markers and printer paper in a bag, and flew to the church. The point of the activity was to learn/teach something new about a state of your choosing* (as long as you chose one from my stack of books) and draw the state's flag. I think the boys were a little bored (one of them kept climbing on top of the table). The nutty bars at the end appeared to make up for it.

I remember LOVING this kind of activity when I was young. Trivia! Brand-new markers! Showing off what I've learned! The result is a life-long affinity for the places that I've studied for school reports over the years. No, I have not visited Ireland but after studying it in 5th grade it's like the sacred motherland to me. (My sister has this same relationship with Switzerland. My whole family knows that Switzerdeutsch is one language spoken there. Sadly, I had no opportunity to use this knowledge when I visited in 2000.)

Because I've lived in Hong Kong and visited China I am the official China representative whenever we have an International Night at church. I try not to abuse my power and fill everyone's minds with bogus information or confuse everyone by serving sushi. I could talk about China for hours, especially my theories about craaaazy government policies and what Mao did to permanently screw up the country. But I'm content to explain a little about the language, demonstrate how to use chopsticks, and pass around shadow puppets. I'm still waiting for my chance to showcase my knowledge of merry old Ireland.

*By the way, we play a fantastic game on road trips where we decide which states should be forced out of the Union. One of us proposes a state that (to us) doesn't add much to the country and we debate its merits. Inevitably the Dakotas are voted out. (Sorry Dakotas! Two people who have never even visited you have decided that you don't contribute enough resources or scenery to stay on.) Hours of fun.

stop the presses! Oprah gained weight!

At the risk of sounding snarky, mean, and un-American, I just have to say I loathe Oprah. Always have. She comes across as so phony! Some poor woman who just lost her children in a horrible fire could be on her stage sobbing and Oprah's sort of looking over her shoulder or checking her hair in the monitor. Ew! I just can't stand her! I caught about 15 minutes of her show yesterday (I'm sick, we don't have cable, my standards have officially slid) and WOW. The economy's in shambles, no one trusts the government anymore, millions of Americans are losing their homes, everything's bleak and grey and Oprah devotes an entire hour to why she has gained 40 pounds. COME ON, OPRAH! You've got such a scary and loyal following! Your word is gospel for so many women! You could make a serious difference in the way people deal with this recession. Get a financial expert on there like Elizabeth Warren from Harvard who is smart and real and telegenic. Share some information about how to market one's skills when it becomes necessary to work two jobs. Book a chef who can talk about stretching your food dollar. Invite a psychologist to talk about the emotional impact of recession. Don't sit on your shiny pink couch and talk about how you are "a little depressed" and "the light has gone out of your eyes." And put someone else on the cover of your magazine. Just once.

is it really over?

We are home from our Trek to the North. I am so so so glad to be home. Even though it's kind of a messy home, with piles of laundry and half-full suitcases and weird groceries in the fridge, I am loving being home. Why? Because our trip was a nightmare. For me, at least. Christmas morning I woke up with a fever, which lasted for 4 days. I ended up with acute bronchitis and the last 10 days have been almost unbearable for me. Not sleeping, not breathing well, not keeping food or medicine in my stomach. Not enjoying my extended family. Not even really seeing my kids. Not helping with driving home. Not even talking (I lost my voice for about 3 days in there).
We made it home and I went to the doctor Friday. She gave me some shots (steriod and antibiotic) and a cough medicine with codeine. Hooray! Codeine! It suppresses even the tiniest thought of coughing. However, loving codeine too much (1/2 tsp too much) resulted in the WORST headache known to man. And vomiting. This pain/vomiting/crying cycle lasted for 10 hours. I wanted to die.
This is where the silver lining peeks out, finally. In my agony (and I am not overstating the pain I was feeling), I begged dh for what we (in our church) call a "priesthood blessing." He laid his hand on my head and blessed me that the pain would subside. And it did. I felt it sort of drain away, until there was about 15% of it left and I could relax enough to sleep.
I don't often blog about religion, but I can't set this experience aside. God's power is real. I know it is increasingly uncool to think so, but I can't deny it. Life is so sweet--even the difficult parts--when we seek Him out.

I often think of this song by the innocence mission. It's called "Look For Me as You Go By"

Hang my head low, so low.
Don't see me only as I am but
see me how I long to be.
Shining like a flowering tree
under a gray Pennsylvania sky.
Look for me as you go by.
Hang my head low, so low.
Every burden shall be lifted.
Every stone upon your back slide into the sea.
It's me for you and you for me.

That's what Jesus means to me. "Every burden shall be lifted. Every stone upon your back slide into the sea." All of us help each other in this effort, this relieving and lifting. "It's me for you and you for me." A hopeful thought at the end of what was for many a very difficult year. We can all lift, relieve, and help to heal in 2009. That's my hope.

the great white north

We made it; we pulled in at 2 am on Sunday, car and sanity intact! No major problems, either.(There was a period of time where we were FREEZING in the car and couldn't figure out why. Turns out you really need to use that little "recirc" button when you have the heater on and it's 10 degrees outside. Houston has made us cold weather novices all over again.) No one threw up, no one had a meltdown, no one even got irritable and snippy in the last 2 hours.
Super Q was very anxious to see snow. We had mentioned Illinois and Indiana as possible places to see it. When those states didn't deliver, Q was furious! ("But you SAID!") Anyway, by the time we got to Michigan, there was plenty of the stuff. And it's been snowing every day since we arrived. The boys are in heaven. They bundle up and go out there and swim around in it. And then come in a cry a little because their faces are frozen.
So it' Christmas Eve and we're so glad to have made it safely. We're having the best time with uncles aunts and cousins. Loving the beautiful snow. Trying to finish a little lap quilt and embroider names on stockings. Sneaking lots of sugar cookies. Looking into our boys' eyes and envying their excitement. Soaking up the Christmas feeling.

that's right!

Still waiting on the status of the car... hum dee dum... guess I'll pass on a link to this very funny article in the NYT about the link between Happy Mommies and Diet Coke. The author has a baby, I do not, yet I am fully ready to attribute the (mostly) calm march from breakfast table to teeth brushing to bus each morning to caffeine. I know! It's a vice! And one day I will get serious about switching to "Pep-up" and getting off the saccharine hooch.

hurry up! and wait!

Just a little update on our trek to the snowy North...
After shopping and cleaning and doing laundry and making hotel reservations and checking off lists and saying our goodbyes we are officially marooned, at least temporarily.

Last night we changed the fuse for the cigarette lighter outlet that powers the all-important DVD player; we went to move the car and it won't come out of park. We researched it and tried everything short of calling a witch doctor, then finally called a tow truck. The person who answered at VW Roadside Assistance was very cordial but didn't seem to be actually listening to much of what I said ("OK, ma'am, is there anything else I can help you with? ...Wait, what kind of car did you say you had?" "A Passat Wagon." "Oh, heh-heh, guess I should've written that down before, huh?" "Yeah.") Anyway, the tow truck comes and because the car can't shift into neutral to drag it up the ramp, we can't get it towed. It requires a special truck or something. So I'm waiting again for a different tow truck right now. (Hopefully the driver will be wearing a belt buckle like the one pictured above.)

But it gets better. dh goes out to start his car to run an errand and it won't start. AND broken car #1 is parked all crazy in the driveway, blocking any access to broken car #2 so we can't jumpstart it. I'm beginning to think that we're not meant to travel today, unless it's by Razor scooter.

the Christmas trek

So we're gearing up for our usual drawn-out Christmas festivities. Drawn-out because we're heading up north (WAY up north) for Christmas which means we'll open most of our presents here, before we go. We don't drive an Expedition so we can't possibly fit all of the gifts in the car AND bring home other stuff. And we usually have another round of gifts to open when we get back (mailed to us while we were gone). dh always wants a live tree also so we'll have to do something about that as well.I guess it's our unofficial advent celebration. A little here, a little there, not really in a logical sequence. Makes it hard to have solid traditions. No, I take that back. The last 2 hours of the road trip nearly always consist of 2 tired and possibly whiny boys, one stressed-out dh with a 2-liter of Pepsi between his knees, sipping at it with 3 straws connected together, and me, doling out goldfish, switching out the DVDs, and dreaming of a visit from the plane-ticket fairy for the trip home. That's our tradition!

sticky bun recipe for the dough dunce

Just saw this recipe on Good Morning America. I like to watch it and try to figure out Diane Sawyer's eyelashes (are they fake? what's going on there? they look cool).

This is from the Barefoot Contessa, and it's for sticky buns made without a yeast dough. Instead you use puff pastry. It's such a great idea, especially for me because I am not very good with dough.


http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Recipes/story?id=6425883

today I...

* made a tiny pair of PJ pants for my nephew with an inseam of 12 inches. I kept on giggling as I sewed. 12 inches! The tiniest PJ pants.

* watched movies with Flash as I sewed. He has "fever barfolitis," as it has come to be known. It features horrible chills and fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. dh got it first and threw up for the first time in 20 years. And he can't stop talking about it. I'm jaded from a lifetime of throwing up (weak stomach) so it's pretty funny to hear a relative noobie talk about it. Anyway, the movies we watched were National Treasure (3 stars) and some hilarious movie about teenaged computer genius spies called Spy High (.5 stars). It's not that old, only 8 years or so but it was so dated. Any movie about computers should be taken out of circulation after about 2 years.

* baked Mexican Wedding Cakes, aka Russian Teacakes, aka Snowball Cookies. My Nana used to make them every year. I looooooove them. Way too much. I add crushed candy canes to the powdered sugar for the last step.

* 2 cups flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup shortening
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1/2 cup icing sugar
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon almond extract
* 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Mix together flour and salt in bowl. Cream shortening, butter, and icing sugar in separate bowl.
Blend in vanilla, almond extract, and nuts with the creamed mixture. Gradually stir creamed mixture into dry ingredients to form smooth dough. Shape into balls with 1 Tbsp dough.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten slightly on the bottoms. (shaped like a flat-bottomed snowball).
Bake 20-25 minutes.
Roll cookies in icing sugar and cool on rack.

* finished a super top-secret gift for Linz. More later on that one if I remember.

* basically tried to keep my mind busy as we waited for news about layoffs at dh's company. We dodged a bullet this time, but it was a sobering experience nonetheless. Not much warning, either.

I'm not worthy!

My friend Meredith made me a QUILT for Christmas. A gorgeous quilt.

Some of the fabric reminds me of origami paper (which I love). Super Q has been putting it to good use as a sort of wooden-block-bocce-ball course.


And as a tortilla with himself as the filling.
Did I mention this quilt is amazingly beautiful? I wish I could find the cord to my camera so I could post a decent picture of it. (Although I did manage to get the cell phone camera out of yellowing 70s photo mode (aka "cloudy" mode)).

black Friday... on the rocks

It felt so good to not be at a store on this day. The tranquil little pond helped, too.

dare to compare

On the left, a gingerbread house from marthastewart.com. And up top, the fruits of our labors from Family Night (last night). Good thing dh is a structural engineer, or the house in the forefront would be rubble now.

the real painter of light

I just watched a fascinating documentary-- called "Stolen"--about the theft of 13 paintings and sculptures from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. (The whole film appears to be available on YouTube.) It details the search for these works of art but also offers some very nice commentary on some of the paintings, including several by Vermeer. I had forgotten how much I loved Vermeer in college. He was a huge favorite of mine until I went to Hong Kong and turned into a Chinese and Japanese art fanatic for a while. One of the paintings taken by the thieves in 1990 was "The Concert", which appears above. I am always drawn in by the way his paintings glow, even after 350 years. Contrast this with Thomas Kinkade, the purported "painter of light," known for his renderings of magical cottages backed by purply sunsets, etc. He is also known for sexual harrassment, public urination, and questionable business practices. Oh, and his newest line of NASCAR-themed paintings!

hooray for the D+!

I was reading about this Civic Literacy Quiz and the miserable scores of most Americans who took it, not to mention ELECTED OFFICIALS who also scored very poorly. I have to say I was feeling pretty confident. As you might guess, it's been a long time since I took a history or government class, but I read the newspaper and plenty of political blogs and books, etc, so I was ready to score high... and I got a 67%. Sheesh! I really need to read up on The New Deal and international trade, I guess.

It's only 33 questions long so it doesn't take long. If you take it, post your score so I can gauge just how ignorant I really am.

cooking with paperclips

Got 6 hours to kill? Want to spend it marinating pork? Interested in incorporating paper clips somehow? GREAT, here's the recipe for Chinese BBQ Pork (aka Char Siu).

2 lbs pork loin or butt
metal paperclips

marinade
1/2 tsp salt
2 T hoisin sauce
4 T soy sauce
1 T apple juice or grape juice

Cut pork into 1" x 2" x 6" strips, or use ribs if you like. Place in marinade in a Ziploc bag or sealed container and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

Now move your oven racks, placing one on the very bottom rung and one on the very top. Place a cookie sheet (with a rim) or 13 x 9 x 2 pan on the bottom rack and pour 1 cup of water into it. . Now unbend the paper clips to make them into hooks. Stick one end of a paperclip through the top of each pork strip and hook it to the top rack. Here's a photo of what this looks like.

Bake at 400 for 45 minutes or until cooked through. Don't overcook. Slice across each pork strip. Eat over rice with this sauce (called "gerng" in Cantonese):

* 1 bunch green onions (or scallions)
* 1 pinky finger-sized piece of ginger, peeled
* 1 Tbs (15 ml) sea salt (yes, that much)
* 125 ml (1/2 cup) light vegetable oil (not olive oil)

Method

Green onions are usually bought in a whole bunch, but you won't need that much for this recipe, just 6 stalks, so keep the rest for another dish. Cut the roots off the onions and discard, trim away any loose of floppy tips. Slice the onions quite thinly (about the width of a house key) and place into a mixing bowl.

Grate the ginger on the finest holes of your grater and add to the green onions. Add the salt and vegetable oil, and using the back of a fork, lightly crush the onions, mixing well.

Place the sauce aside for at least half an hour, of if you want to keep it (for up to 3 days), cover and place in the refrigerator. Before serving, Bring to room temperature, crush again with a fork and stir well.

(The sauce recipe is from everything2.com)

My kids tore into this meal like wild dogs. There was actual teeth-gnashing going on.

rockin' the pipe cleaners

One day I will sit down and figure out the features on my cell phone camera and turn the "weird '70s polaroid" option OFF. Anyway, just wanted to pass on this little game we made in Cub Scouts today. It's basically Barrel of Monkeys but with pipe cleaner candy canes. The boys twisted the pipe cleaners together and made them into an S-shape. Threw some instructions in there, and they were ready to get back to being spazzy 8 year olds. The take-out box is from Hobby Lobby. It cost too much.

happy birthday!

It's Flash's birthday this weekend. We're heading out on a road trip in honor of it. It will involve some horseback riding, confetti cake, and a special mix CD that I just spent 2 hours making (it's hard to know what 9 year-old boys like). Here he is with his friends visiting our friend Hannah's grave on her birthday in September. He didn't know that I caught this moment. He was comforting Hannah's older brother. What an amazing kid.

brush!

OK, this is pretty funny as it is, but take a look at that friendly tooth in the background reminding you to brush.

I think I need a freezer paper shirt with this guy on it.

ruined... almost

I just realized that youtube has many, many period piece movies up. I sat down to watch "Rebecca," based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier, a book I have read about 15 times. I first picked it up because of the title and looooved it. I've since grown out of it a bit, but I was still interested in watching a recentish film version of it. I got to part 3 and had to abandon it because it was ruining the sets and characters I've conceived over the years. I didn't want to replace those mental pictures with someone else's interpretation. Do you know what I mean?

Totally unrelated, you have to check out the website for this documentary called "Awake My Soul." You can watch a trailer to see what it's about. I'm not sure where to find it; I'd love to watch the whole thing, but for now I just visit the website from time to time to listen to the very cool, old-timey and sort of spooky hymns that stream on it.

check. this. out.

I went to Chinatown today and bought some amazing fruit. It ended up costing much more than I thought (I'm sure it came from far, far away). The pink and green fruit is called dragonfruit and it tastes kind of like jicama, but with soft flesh and tons of black seeds. The other one is some kind of tropical melon. It has a beautiful rind flecked with green. Tastes like honeydew, but so much cuter!

The rice there in the background is jasmine rice, which is so fragrant and wonderful. Can't wait to have it with spicy tofu tonight.

jealous?

I know what you're thinking... you just wish your kitchen looked like this right now. Word to the wise: don't paint your kitchen avocado green unless you are 100% certain that you will always love avocado green. Or just break down and buy the freaking Martha Stewart brand so you can be sure about the color... and not have to prime and repaint 2 years later.

arghhhhhhh!

I have a long, sad, history of stupid sewing mistakes. This little diaper case took about an hour longer than it should have to make. I won't bore you with the details of its construction ; suffice it to say that I ripped out 3 different seams and completely destroyed the only piece of bias tape in the house that matched the fabric. In this case, though, insanity is the mother of invention and I substituted a wider piece of brown fabric for the bias tape, thus making the case slightly bigger and able to hold more diapers. So I guess it ended well. My plan to make 2 of these tonight, however, has been scrapped in favor of a little Jane Austen and a heating pad for my achin' back.

Wow, that picture is really orange, like an old Polaroid picture from the 70s or something. I guess it's the camera phone + sewing machine light combo. Weird.

all-American election night meal

I'm on pins and needles tonight. I just love election night, even though I rarely stay up late enough to find out who won. I'm holding out my last hope for McCain (mostly because of my views on abortion) but I'll just be glad to see Bush vacate the White House.* Please forgive me if you are still happy with Bush. No offense intended.

And what could be more American than Chicken Tikka Masala? The recipe is from my gourmet sister, Camilla. I make it at least once a month. It's time-intensive, what with the marinating and the separate sauce and the mincing of garlic and jalapeno. But, MAN. It's incredibly delicious, so delicious that if you cannot find garam masala where you live and would like to try this recipe, I will buy some for you in Chinatown and mail it to you. Just let me know if you want some. (Was that weird? Hope not; just trying to spread the gospel of tasty Indian food far and wide.)

Chicken Tikka Masala
*note: I usually add some frozen cauliflower and peas to the sauce with the half and half, and I also grill or broil the chicken before cutting it up rather than after.

Marinade

1 cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground red pepper

2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 piece gingerroot, minced (1/2-inch long)

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

Sauce

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno chile, minced

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 cup whipping cream OR fat-free half and half OR fat-free evaporated milk

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

For marinade, combine yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, red pepper, black pepper, cinnamon, salt and ginger in a medium bowl or food-safe plastic bag; stir in chicken, marinate in refrigerator 1 hour.

Meanwhile, soak six 6-inch bamboo skewers in water to cover 30 minutes and set aside.

For sauce, melt butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat, add garlic and jalapeno; cook 1 minute.

Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala and salt.

Stir in tomato sauce, simmer 15 minutes, stir in cream; simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat grill to medium-high (or heat broiler).

Remove chicken from refrigerator.

Thread chicken onto skewers; discard marinade.

Grill or broil chicken, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Remove chicken from skewers; add to sauce.

Simmer 5 minutes.

Serve with basmati rice, naan or pita bread.

*Funny bumper sticker I saw: "2008: End of an Error"

mini pundits

Our elementary school is having mock elections this week, which led to a very earnest political conversation in the back of the station wagon on the way to cub scouts. Here are some snippets:

" A. says John McCain is an old ugly guy."

"Yeah, well Obama is a big fat liar."

"McCain's vice president told everyone to murder Obama. They said so on the news" (I had to set that one straight right away).

"That other lady, not McCain's vice president. She was a big fat liar. But she's out of the race, so who cares?"

"I am totally voting for McCain because he's the nicest."

"Obama is going to make us go to school on Saturday!"

"McCain wants us all to be smarter so he's going to make us go to school for like one extra hour a day."

"In Newsweek magazine they had a picture of Obama and he was red and McCain and he was blue and it said 'Mr. Hot and Mr. Cool.'"

(and from the 6 year old) "Yeah, McCain is going to make us stay at school for like lots of extra minutes and then we will be there all day and never even go home."

So watch out, America. Sounds like either candidate has a nefarious plan in place to keep kids in school for like, waaaay more time than they spend there now. That's why I'm voting for Bob Barr.

lazy sugar cookies

I'm a huge fan of sugar cookies but I absolutely hate the mess of cutting them out with cookie cutters. (My kitchen is a mess as it is because of an ongoing priming and painting project.)
Anyway, hooray for holidays that involve oblong or circular shaped items (Easter eggs, pumpkins, ornaments, etc.) because I'm all about slice and bake these days. Don't substitute for the orange juice; it adds an amazing taste.


Slice and Bake Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour

Mix first six ingredients with electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually stir flour in by hand until well mixed. Put about 1 cup of dough onto a largeish piece of plastic wrap; form a log and wrap plastic wrap around it. Flatten slightly so when you cut slices later, the slices will be oval. Chill 2-3 hours until firm.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 400, slice 1/4 - 1/2" slices of dough and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Pinch off bits of dough from your log to make the stems at the top of the pumpkins. Bake 6-10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to brown. Cool on wire racks.

Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
4 tsp light corn syrup
4 tsp milk
food coloring (opt)

Mix thoroughly and spread over cookies as a base for decorating. It will dry shiny and firm.

Buttercream Icing
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter
1-2 tablespoons milk
1 tsp vanilla
food coloring

Combine completely.

we're RICH!

We switched banks recently, having fully given in to the emotional panic that we are supposed to not give in to. In retrospect, we could have stayed on and not switched banks and thus avoided lots of hassle, but we did it anyway. I had just ordered 2 boxes of checks from the old place, though, so we sat down and played bank. I showed the boys how to fill out a check and gave them some credit card offers to fill out and pretend like they were paying bills or something. So here's the adorable part: the boys started writing checks for enormous sums to each other and to me. Billions of dollars. Then Super Q wrote me a check with two hearts in the "amount" box. That's why I'm happy to be a mom.


(And yes, dh, if you are reading this, everything was shredded in the end.)

eking every last cent out of that monthly DSL bill

The following links are purely FYI. When it comes to mp3s, we've adopted a "don't ask, don't tell" policy around here. (End of disclaimer).

But if you're interested...

Free Sound Recorder lets you record anything that is coming through your computer speakers (streaming media, for example) and save it as a sound file type of your choosing. The free download has 75% of the functionality of the one that costs money. You can find it here:

http://www.download.com/Free-Sound-Recorder/3000-2168_4-10698910.html

Replay Media Catcher does the same thing but for video. You can also separate out the audio and save it as an mp3. You can find it here:

http://www.applian.com/download-videos/

So if there's a YouTube video of someone singing, say, "Come Thou Fount of Ev'ry Blessing" and you know you can't buy it anywhere, why, you can make a backup copy.

Somewhat related...
Our local library systems have a digital catalog where you can find audio books and music files (and even some kind of weird videos). Yours probably does, too, and it should be remotely accessible. Go crazy!

open letter

I got this idea from mom to the screaming masses. I thought it was clever.

Dear ambiguity about fertility,
Can you please leave me alone for a couple of days? I would really appreciate a break from the cyclic catherine wheel argument of should I work full-time->wait, what if I get pregnant and want to quit?->but it's so boring staying home all day->but sometimes I like it->but I'm getting old and kind of worried about getting pregnant past 35... Thanks. Much appreciated.

Dear Flash and Super Q,
You are the best, most handsome and most intelligent children in the world. I would jump off tall buildings for you. I love being your mom. Please stop leaving wet towels on the bathroom floor. Thank you , my dears!

Dear Triscuits,
It's me, again. Thank you for being full of fibery goodness and so tasty with sharp cheddar and suitable for breakfast if I feel like it. And thanks for not having any sugar. You're the best!

Dear McCain and Obama,
Can we just get this thing over with?

Dear The Shins,
You are geniuses. I love that your lyrics require some analysis (and even the use of those dusty literary criticism skills) to comprehend and don't involve any swear words so I can listen to you with my kids.

Dear Coke Zero,
You're probably a little freaked out by how into you I am. I'm trying to put a little distance between us. I know you need your space.

Dear Sam's Club jeans,
Thanks for making me look skinny. Ignore all those people wondering if I just wore you yesterday. They are petty and small-minded, and they don't understand the power of the perfect jeans.

Dear Oliver Sacks,
Can you please write an amazing article every day and email it to me? I've read everything you've published about a dozen times and I think a daily infusion of incredible musings about obscure neurological problems would really start the day off right! Hope it's not too much to ask.

Dear BYU and UNT,
Just because I have donated in the past does not mean I intend to fund each and every new building, capital campaign, and definitely not any business school scholarships. Never met a business school student that came across as genuinely nice (sorry, I know, that isn't fair, but still). So lay off, already.

Dear Hong Kong,
I miss you, too. Like I'm dreaming about you 3 times a week. I'm going to come back, I promise. Keep the dim sum warm for me.

Friday I'm sassy

Ok, sometimes I think it's weird that people blog about their purchases. Yet I read a lot of blogs that document purchases at length, so I guess it's interesting even though it's weird. Anyway, I'm writing about these awesome transfers for embroidery, fabric paint, whatever. I can't believe Joann had them. They are so much like these dish towels my mom had when I was growing up. Or like those days of the week underwear we all had in the 70s. I can't wait to tweak them and make something weird out of them. Although "Friday I'm Sassy" is funny enough as it is. I also got some super old-timey transfers that I am saving for somebody's wedding present. Can't say who.

I also got sucked in to buying those cinnamon-scented pinecones they have every year. And every year I think, "geez, what chemicals do they use on those things?" And every year I buy them because they look so cool in this steel bowl I have and, man, they smell like fake cinnamon heaven. I am such a sucker for cozy fall-type stuff.

healthy+cheap

As part of artistree's contest, I'm posting this recipe. I love it (and so does dh) and I especially love thinking about all of those lovely antioxidants and vitamins and fiber that even one serving imparts. It's also very cheap, especially if you use just a little bit of chicken. I usually buy chicken breasts on the bone with the skin still attached rather than boneless, skinless. I debone the breasts and save the bones (with a little bit of meat still attached) and freeze them. When I make tortilla soup or chicken noodle, I just throw in those meaty bones and pick off the meat at the very end, adding it back to the pot. I know, it's a lot of work to save money. But I was raised by Carolyn, who does things like buy a whole chicken, boil it, and pick off every last bit of meat to be used in various casseroles and soups. So it's genetic.

(Oh, yeah, and this soup doesn't photograph well. I tried to take a picture of it before dinner today but couldn't deal with the sheen on the top from the small amount of oil in it. Hence the old timey cookbook title instead. It is taken from a book on this site, Feeding America, which houses digital copies (full text!) of awesome old cookbooks. )

Tortilla Soup

Large recipe:

30 corn tortillas or tortilla chips
2 large cans stewed tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 can chopped green chiles or 1 jalapeno, minced
3 cloves garlic
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
8 cups chicken broth
4 sprigs cilantro
grated Monterey Jack and/or Cheddar cheese
2 avocados, cubed

To cook the tortilla chips:
Stack tortillas about 6 high and cut in ½” strips. Cook a handful at a time in hot oil until crisp. Drain on paper towels; set aside. Or just use tortilla chips.

For soup: Blend tomatoes and garlic in blender. Heat a little oil in your soup pot and cook onion until wilted. Add tomato mixture, the rest of the vegetables and chicken stock; heat until boiling. Add sliced chicken and cook on low about 45 minutes or until chicken is tender.

To serve: Crush a small handful of chips in the bottom of a soup bowl. Add a bit of grated cheese and a few cubes of avocado. Ladle soup in the bowl. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Medium-sized recipe quantities:

2 small (14 oz.) cans tomatoes
½ onion, chopped
1 green or red pepper, chopped
½ can green chiles or 1/2 jalapeno, minced
2 cloves garlic
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
4 cups chicken broth
2 sprigs cilantro
grated Monterey Jack and/or Cheddar cheese
1 avocado, cubed

SPD

This post is meant to honor Patty, a dear friend and dedicated mother of Danny, a sweet ball of energy who has been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. This disorder is something I knew nothing about until learning about it from Patty. I think that everyone who interacts with kids should be aware of it. It is very easy to become frustrated with "hyper" or "spazzy" kids; it is more challenging and productive to find the root of their behavior and address it. I will quote from the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation's website:

SPD can affect people in only one sense–for example, just touch or just sight or just movement–or in multiple senses. One person with SPD may over-respond to sensation and find clothing, physical contact, light, sound, food, or other sensory input to be unbearable. Another might under-respond and show little or no reaction to stimulation, even pain or extreme hot and cold. In children whose sensory processing of messages from the muscles and joints is impaired, posture and motor skills can be affected. These are the "floppy babies" who worry new parents and the kids who get called "klutz" and "spaz" on the playground. Still other children exhibit an appetite for sensation that is in perpetual overdrive. These kids often are misdiagnosed - and inappropriately medicated - for ADHD.

SPD is most commonly diagnosed in children, but people who reach adulthood without treatment also experience symptoms and continue to be affected by their inability to accurately and appropriately interpret sensory messages.

These "sensational adults" may have difficulty performing routines and activities involved in work, close relationships, and recreation. Because adults with SPD have struggled for most of their lives, they may also experience depression, underachievement, social isolation, and/or other secondary effects.

Sadly, misdiagnosis is common because many health care professionals are not trained to recognize sensory issues. The SPD Foundation is dedicated to researching these issues, educating the public and professionals about their symptoms and treatment, and advocating for those who live with Sensory Processing Disorder and sensory challenges associated with other conditions.


If you know someone who has been diagnosed with ADHD, consider passing this information on to them. It's worth investigating.

Love you Patty!

whoooo-hooooooooo!

I just have to post this super happy news! My sister Linz is engaged to the love of her life! I'm so excited for her. We are so happy for her and her fantastic fiance, Tony. (He's the artist who draws the F-minus comic strip that I link to over there-------------------------->
And, Linz, it goes without saying that you will be receiving the first of many Precious Moments figurines on The Big Day! Here's hoping you won't look as forlorn as the two whiny babies pictured here.

happy candyfest!

Tomorrow is our annual non-threatening innocuously-titled "Fall Festival" at church. Guess who's in charge of 80% of it? The Queen of Halloween Ambivalence: me.

I must admit I loved Halloween when I was little. But that was when the foci of my life included rollerskating in the driveway, sewing makeshifty crop-pants with my mom, and CANDY. Even then I was partial to quality chocolate products (although the criteria there has changed somewhat) and not a fan of black licorice.

I do love autumn (all 3 days of it here in Houston). I'm all about Dinner-in-a-pumpkin. I love sweaters and wooly tights and apple cider. And don't get me started on leaves. The main colors in my house are dark red, orange, gold, and green.

I'm just not really on board with Halloween. We do the obligatory 10 houses of trick or treating and then come home for our sort-of default Halloween tradition: watching Nova videos. Right, I know. Nerdtacular. Side note, here: Flash told me his teacher asked everyone what the smallest unit of matter in the universe was. The class says, "Atoms!" Flash says, "The strings in string theory!" Watch out, Brian Greene. Anyway, so we come home and eat junky stuff and watch PBS. That's how we mark this holiday. I also have some decorations that were given to me a few years ago. The kids have fun putting them up. So back to the point...I'm in charge of making sure about 100 kids have a great time celebrating Fall tomorrow without reference to monsters, evil, etc. There will be nachos, leaf-rubbing, and lots and lots of candy. I think that meets all requirements.

the slow drain

Like you, I've been following this economic meltdown. I'll admit sometimes I only vaguely understand the meaning of what I'm reading and hearing. For me, two podcasts have sort of crystallized what this situation means. The first is here, it's called The Giant Pool of Money, and it explains, in plain language, how The Sub-prime Mortgage Crisis (it requires capital letters now) came to be. The second explains the slow drain in this giant pool, the resulting credit freeze, and the resulting $700 billion bailout package. It's called Another Frightening Show About the Economy and you can find it here. I have to say that--although very enjoyable and informative--neither of these shows have made me feel better about the trajectory of our economy, nor have they actually awakened me from surreal slumber, the feeling that none of this will affect me anyway. I hope it doesn't. Now that I've written that, I'm thinking of ways it has affected me. Mostly my spending habits. Let's just say the trips to Sonic for the 32-oz Diet Cokes with chocolate have tapered off. What about you?

creepy fake baby: the sequel

Oh, man. Remember these creepy life-like dolls? Well, they are still haunting me, this time in documentary form. Who is being documented? Women who buy these dolls (they start at $1,000) and play with them as if they were real. You can watch a clip here.

super Q tableau

Super Q is (in his words) "all the way 6 now!" He was so tired of that 5 1/2 gig. As I was washing dishes, I realized a little Super Q tableau had formed on the windowsill including a pot decorated for mother's day at preschool, a jarful of those spongy monsters that come in little capsules and grow in warm water, and a mad scientist test tube with a dried up worm in it. Isn' t that one of the best things about kids? They leave the most random items around. A bag half-full of Cheetos has taken up residence next to the toothbrush holder in my bathroom. I keep forgetting to throw it away. I think Q was eating them in the bath and then forgot about them.

And here is his cake. You can just barely see his tiny smile up top there. While I'm at it, I'll share my no-fail birthday cake recipe that feeds 25 people or so. The yogurt makes it more dense than the typical box cake so it's easier to frost and tastes moist and delicious.



2 boxes Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® cake mix
1 1/2 cups water
2/3 cup vegetable oil
6 egg whites
2 containers (6 oz each) yogurt, any flavor


1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Generously grease and lightly flour bottoms and sides of two 13 x 9 x 2" pans, or spray with baking spray with flour. Or better yet, line with parchment paper or waxed paper and spray with pam.

2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, egg whites and yogurt with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds; beat on medium speed 2 minutes (batter will be lumpy). Pour into two 13 x 9 x 2" pans.

3. Bake both pans at the same time for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pans to loosen cakes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

4. If you have time, put the cakes in the freezer for 1-2 hours before icing them.

5. Assemble the cake as you would a regular layer cake, one cake on top of the other with about 1 cup of icing in between. You will need about 8 cups of icing total to ice the cake and add colorful decorations or words.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Increase water to 2 cup and decrease oil to 4 tablespoons when making batter.

an answer

So while reading this post by the blogger mentioned below, Stephanie Nielson*, I came upon a wonderful quote from Julie Beck:

Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all. Their goal is to prepare a rising generation of children who will take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the entire world. Their goal is to prepare future fathers and mothers who will be builders of the Lord’s kingdom for the next 50 years. That is influence; that is power.

After making 3 trips to Target in as many days (not out of greed but disorganization), I am ready to do less shopping. Super Q's birthday is today and I'm ready for less drama and fewer meltdowns (please let 6 be the magic age for evening-out emotions). I'm ready for less stress, now that everyone's recovering from the hurricane, and I'm ready for less time inside and more time outside as fall makes its feeble-at-first entry into Houston.

*BTW, Stephanie Nielson is a blogger/mom who was severely injured in a plane crash last month. You can follow her story at: http://blog.cjanerun.com/.
There is also an etsy shop hosting a benefit sale for the Nielsons' recovery here.

enjoy the journey, live in the moment, carpe diem, etc.

Our friend Hannah's birthday is tomorrow; she would be turning 6. Thursday marks 1 year that she's been gone. The boys painted some rocks with very bright and sparkly paint; we plan to take them to Hannah's gravesite tomorrow. She was a big fan of colorful, sparkly makeup and "click-clack shoes" with gems and feathers on them. I think she'll like these rocks.

Hannah's been on my mind lately, along with Stephanie Nielson a person I have not met but who is included in my prayers. The delicate, inevitable mutability of life weighs heavy on my mind. I've been thinking about how to connect with my kids more meaningfully and more often. It sounds like a no-brainer, but sometimes it's difficult to choose between finishing the dishes and sitting down to play Legos. Not that I love doing dishes (quite the opposite), it's just that I know that playing Legos will only mean more dirty dishes later and a more tired Mommy to do them. So many religious and philosophical traditions emphasize living in the moment, soaking up everything happening right now. How do you do it and still keep your house clean? How do you do it when your kids are literally punching the wind out of each other instead of helping you make a homemade apple pie? How do you appreciate the magic of the 5-year-old mind when that same 5-year-old routinely melts down in the angriest, most irritatingly dramatic way possible? These are not rhetorical questions.

youtube epiphany

I'm not a huge YouTube person (lots of garbage to be found there) but it has its uses, such as my favorite hymn of all time sung by Sufjan Stevens. I need to just go ahead and buy or download every religious song this man sings because I could use more beautiful epiphanies in my life. I'm nervous about embedding the video (I'm pretty sure it will end up in my profile or somewhere) so here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqKwSffyr2k

Oh, and the hymn is "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." The words are lovely and wonderful so I will share them here.

1. Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
 tune my heart to sing thy grace;
 streams of mercy, never ceasing,
 call for songs of loudest praise.
 Teach me some melodious sonnet,
 sung by flaming tongues above.
 Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
 mount of thy redeeming love.

2. Here I raise mine *Ebenezer;
 hither by thy help I'm come;
 and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
 safely to arrive at home.
 Jesus sought me when a stranger,
 wandering from the fold of God;
 he, to rescue me from danger,
 interposed his precious blood.

3. O to grace how great a debtor
 daily I'm constrained to be!
 Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
 bind my wandering heart to thee.
 Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
 prone to leave the God I love;
 here's my heart, O take and seal it,
 seal it for thy courts above.

* For an eloquent explanation of what Ebenezer means, click here.  My church's hymnal omits
verse 2, which is a shame because the phrase about Jesus's blood rescuing us from danger
(of all sorts) is striking and true.

emptiest Target ever

This is what a hurricane can do to your neighborhood Target. Empty the refrigerator shelves of everything but the VELVEETA (shown on the bottom shelf of the middle cabinet). You'd better pray such a fate never befalls you.

hurricane vacation

Today Super Q was asking if summer is over, a question that is always tricky to answer in Houston, because although summer vacation is over, the weather stays summery until after Halloween. And now we have a whole week off of school and unseasonably cool weather. I told him, "Well, summer vacation is over but it's still kind of hot. So we had school for awhile, and now we have hurricane vacation." That seemed to satisfy him. The weather has been amazing; truly a blessing for those still without power. 60 degrees at night! Unheard of in September, but literally a lifesaver for many people here.

We've been spending lots of time at the park and riding bikes "out front." I know we'll have to make up this time in the summer, but it has been so nice to be outside, burning some energy and chatting with friends. I'm also enjoying some at-home time to clean out closets and do some deep cleaning. (I don't want to drive anywhere and use gas. dh has a 20 mile commute and neither of us want to wait in line for 2 hours to fill up the tank.) I wish I could drive in and help in a meaningful way at a shelter or a distribution station, but I've got 2 kids (and 3 of the neighbor's) to take care of, so that will have to be my contribution for now.

we made it through

Hi, I'm writing this from my sister's house north of Austin. We did stay in Houston for the storm and lost power at about 3 am as the hurricane force winds hit us. By some amazing stroke of luck, we did get some sleep that night. The wind was howling but I didn't hear or see any large pieces of debris flying around. We got up, deboarded the house, and after hearing that power would be restored between 3 days and 4 weeks, we packed up and went to my sister's house. At that point the freeways were pretty clear, although we drove for more than 2 hours before getting to an area where everyone had power. 30 minutes from my sister's house I got a text message that our power was back on. dh's office doesn't have power, however, and the boys don't have school until Thursday, so we're staying another night here. It sounds like there are gas stations and grocery stores open near our house so we should be ok. I have to say that many people are going through terrible trauma right now. Please remember them in your thoughts and/or prayers. I feel like it was a near-miss for us and I hope to head back and help in whatever way I can. Thanks for your supportive comments and emails. This whole thing is surreal to me. Places I know and love are not there anymore. I don't know the status of the library where I work. It is just unreal to think that such a large city is practically at a standstill. My heart aches for those who chose not to follow the mandatory evacuation order. We've had so many storms almost hit us that they must have assumed this one would change course or not inflict very much damage. This is a sad time for a city I have grown to love.