Thursday, April 30, 2009

Pray for Your Chum

I love this idea of Lynnette's - it's such a great opportunity to pray for our friends and also to reflect on our own prayers. Would you pray for me? And if you have prayer requests, I would be honored to pray for you - just post your prayer requests on your blog and link back on Lynnette's Mr. Linky.

***Added: if you are one of my friends who does not have a blog or does not want to put this on your blog, I would still love to pray for you... send me an email or Tweet or comment on this post, and let me know what to pray, and I will be on my knees for you!

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From that picture, it appears I should pray for some Windex, or perhaps a brow wax... but I've been thinking, and I would be so grateful if you could pray for the following things:

1. That I find contentedness with my life right now. That I cherish the children I have, rather than wanting more. That I find fulfillment with "just" the ministries of serving my family and friends, which are of course the most important.

2. However, I would ask that you would also pray, if it is God's will, for me to glorify and serve Him through foster parenting, the charities I am involved with, my church, or any other way.

3. For my marriage. I don't want this to sound alarming - we are okay, I'm rather private when it comes to my relationship with my husband, and I know God knows what our challenges are, so if you would just pray for us, I know He will understand!

4. For wisdom in raising my precious children.

5. That my blog brings joy and encouragement, and maybe something useful, to my friends and family (and by friends I DO mean my "imaginary friends" as Davis calls my internet friends!) and that I not lose sight of what's important or become prideful.

Thank you! I will keep checking back on Lynnette's blog so that I can pray for any of you, my chums :)

Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.
Jeremiah 33:3

Feefull

I've had to go clothes shopping for Amelia, because I discovered the 2T clothes Sophia wore at this age don't fit Miss Amelia! Like this sweet shirt I made for Sophia - ha!


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So, Amelia picked out her first dress, and I have to say, I think she's going to be good at picking out her own clothes... I had the dress page open on the Gymboree website and thinking that I didn't love any of them, and she pointed to this dress and smiled really big saying "feefull" (which means "beautiful" in Ameliaspeak) and "have it!" I decided to go ahead and get it, since it's the first time she's actually asked for a piece of clothing. I was skeptical about it, until I put it on her...then I decided it really is feeful :)

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By the way, she really wasn't sad - in fact, when she saw that I got it for her, she started dancing! - she just looks sad in the picture. Usually when she sees the camera, she makes this face

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And while I'm sharing pictures...we took Sophia and her little best friend to see Disney on Ice Sunday afternoon, and it was so much fun. My friend and I just spent the whole time watching the girls' faces, because look how cute they were


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Aren't they sweet?


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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Tokens and Melty Butter

Life has, once again, gone into warp speed, and I haven't had much time to blog... but I wanted to share a couple of things that changed my life in the past 24 hours.

These are not in order of importance, but the first one has pictures ;) This is what the inside of my oven looked like at 11:45 pm yesterday


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And when I got it out and immediately sliced a piece, it was soft and warm and the butter melted all over it... just divine. I made two loaves to last the rest of the week, but I'm going to be shocked if they make it until Thursday (especially since I ate three slices last night)!


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Divine Wheat Bread

1 envelope or 2-1/4 teaspoons yeast
2 cups warm water (about 100 degrees)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/8 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
2-1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

Place yeast in a small bowl and pour warm water over it, allow it to dissolve until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine butter, molasses, honey and salt and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add yeast and water, and then stir in the flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth (this dough is stickier than a lot of bread dough, but it's okay). Taste a little of the raw dough and think oh yeah, this is gonna be goooood. Place in large greased bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1.5 hours. Punch down and let rest for a few minutes, then divide into two loaves. Place loaves in greased pans (I only had one loaf pan, so I made the other in a bowl) and let rise about an hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. The outside of the loaf looks rather dark, so don't take it out too soon - mine had about 15 minutes left to bake after that picture above. Oh, and you can brush the tops of the loaves with melted butter... I couldn't find my pastry brush (I have some guesses, and they don't bode well for my ever using it in the kitchen again) so I just waited until the loaves were hot and a crust had formed (right after that picture was taken) and ran the stick of butter across the top of the loaf, and the butter melted across it.

Now that we've got that yumminess out of the way... I was feeling a little down last week, it was one of those weeks where it just seemed like there was lots of bad news and nothing went the way it was "supposed to." Although I'm in such a better place infertility wise than I was a few months ago, I think it's still easier for me to slip into feeling depressed and sorry for myself than it was before all of this...happened. So a few set-backs last week left me feeling down.

I'm usually the type of person whose spirits can be lifted pretty easily - a phone call from a friend, a smile from a stranger, a comment on my blog, a kind word from my husband are all enough to make my day. But last week it seemed like those small mood-lifters were hard to come by.

Saturday night I got to chat with my amazing new friend, Lynnette. I was telling her that lately it's been easy for me to slip into a place where my faith seems a little shaky - where I tell myself God has it all figured out, but then hear that little voice asking me whether I'm really sure. When I get to really feeling down and sorry for myself, I start wanting some BIG answers... I'm asking God why things have to turn out the way they do, what the purpose of it all is, where I'm supposed to be headed. And of course, although I know He has the answers, I also know He is under no obligation to send me a memo outlining them for me. What Lynnette suggested, was that I pray for a token - just a small sign from God that He's really listening.

It was so brilliant, and I'm not sure why it's never occurred to me before, but of course that's all it took to get me out of my slump, to re-affix my eyes where they belong. I didn't really need God to answer those big questions, I didn't need to see a miracle performed before my eyes, I just needed a small token (I got several!!) and I was once again lifted on the wings of my faith.

When you're feeling depressed, does a small kind gesture do amazing things to restore your happiness? Well, if you're feeling a low on faith, just ask God for a small token... watch Him respond and restore you!

So today, in honor of small tokens...
-I am taking some time to reflect on in gratitude those friends who make my day with a phone call or an email, those blog readers who comment or Tweet, those kind strangers who hold the door or smile, those little things that make such a big, big difference
-I am remembering that my smile can lift someone else's spirit, that my reaching out to a friend can make their day, and that I have an unlimited store of small tokens to dole out myself
-I am thanking God for His constant faithfulness, his patience with me and willingness to over and over and over again show Himself to me

Thursday, April 23, 2009

A Perfect Body

From the day she was born, we have struggled with how to help Sophia learn to love her body and be okay with it. It's been hard the past year to both make her birthmark something that is completely okay and also something that she's okay with being removed. Does that make sense? Like we don't want to say "your birthmark is so special and we love it" and then cut it off. Luckily, God has led us and somehow we've found the right words to say, I think.

The other day Sophia was talking about how all of her spots make her special... then she said "Daddy has a few spots, so I guess he's a little bit special." Ha!

A few nights ago, Sophia looked in the mirror and remarked on how her scars have started to get smaller and fade, and she asked me why her owies were going away. I told her "your body is SO amazing, it is healing those owies." Since then, she has come running to me every morning exclaiming "my body healed those owies EVEN MORE!" and I can just tell she is bursting with pride.

I've struggled so this past year with not loving my body... actually, I've hated my body at times. I've hated that it just doesn't work, that my hormones are some crazy unique brand of not normal, that no matter what I can't manage to ovulate or even if I do I inexplicably can't stay pregnant, that it's all just so dysfunctional.

And yet I know, our bodies are perfect. God created them - the same God who created the universe made them!!!!!


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God made Sophia just the way she is, and she is perfect. Although I wish I could take away the pain she has endured, I wish I could spare her from the stares and comments, and I pray that we never face melanoma or other complications, I wouldn't wish away all the amazing things God has done with our family through this journey... we have met some friends in Texas whose son had the same thing, who ultimately led us to our amazing plastic surgeon there and who have become some of our very best friends. We have met another plastic surgeon here in town who has given us the security to do Sophia's tissue expansion from home, knowing he is here and seeing us when needed, even though he is now a cosmetic surgeon and doesn't even see children anymore (more later, but check out that Operation New Life button on my left sidebar and check out the other amazing things he is doing and how you can help!) We have learned above all to lean on God in ways we never have before. I really can't even name all the blessings of the past three years. And I know He isn't done with us yet.

And God made my body just the way it is too. He allowed it to conceive and carry my two perfect children. And for some reason known only to Him, he has also made it incapable of carrying another child since then. My body is not "dysfunctional," because it is functioning in exactly the way He intended it to.

Some road blocks have come up these past few days, and the end result is that we will not be able to become foster parents until probably the end of this year at the earliest. We were scheduled for the training next weekend, but now won't be able to attend until September. That means probably November or so would be the earliest we could be licensed. And although I am sad and disappointed that a baby will, once again, not be in our near future, I know that this too is perfect. I said when we started this journey that I know one of the ways in which we will be blessed through this process (whatever the outcome!) is that God will work in my heart to change me. I am not a patient person (this is a huge understatement), and so here the changing begins ;)

From Psalm 139...

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Happy Snails to You

There are some things that are better and cheaper homemade, and some things that are not. Like clothing, generally, is cheaper for me just to buy, because me + fabric store = dangerous. Crib bedding, way cheaper and better to make than buy.

Play doh is cheaper, and way better, homemade.

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Play Doh

1 cups flour
1/4 cup salt
1/2 tablespoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon cooking oil
1 cup water
food coloring (preferably paste)
a few drops extract (almond, lemon, peppermint, optional)

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, while stirring. Remove from heat and let cool a little, then knead by hand until totally smooth and cool. The dough will be pretty sticky at first, but when you knead it for a while, it gets unsticky. Store in zip loc bag in the refrigerator.

Tonight's variety...almond scented purple play doh, which was perfect for Sophia's mommy and baby snails.

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To which she sang "happy snails to you, until we meet again!" (she really did - she's funny like that)

I've had friends ask me how I manage to cook dinner every night and work. My answer is that I have a husband who doesn't like to go out and doesn't like most take out or delivery food, I have lots of recipes that take 30 minutes or less to cook, and I find a way to entertain my kids in the kitchen while I cook. Often they pull up a chair and help me cook, but when I make something like Caesar salad for dinner, they make play doh :)

Texas Caesar Salad

I'm making this for dinner tonight along with some grilled chicken - in honor of the fact that it's GORGEOUS outside!

This is one of my favorite recipes to bring to a pot luck - I double it, and it's usually one of the first things to go. People always rave about it and ask for the recipe, and when I give it to them they are shocked about the anchovies.

Texas Caesar Salad

2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped shallots
2 anchovy fillets
2 garlic cloves
1 jalapeño chili, seeded, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup olive oil

8 cups bite-size pieces romaine lettuce (from 2 heads)
3 cups purchased salad croutons
1 large red bell pepper, diced
2 ears sweet white corn, kernels removed (or I've used canned white corn)
1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, patted dry, thinly sliced
Additional freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Purée first 9 ingredients in processor until smooth. Gradually add olive oil and process until blended. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Combine romaine lettuce and next 4 ingredients in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Garnish with additional grated Parmesan.

I guess I should have posted this AFTER dinner, with pictures ;)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Pictures *Updated*

My scanner, my neck issue (which was cured Friday but has come back, probably due to six hours of sitting hunched over sewing/stuffing a science fair model of the small intestines out of cloth - it was totally worth it, though, that thing was COOL!), and a very cranky Mommy-attached sick two year old are all conspiring against my plan of posting some old pictures in my 100 Things post - but I will! Just not tonight.

In the meantime, here are some random pictures of my cute kids from this evening, pre- and post-bath. Yes, things are very pink in our house. I resisted the pink for a while, but it's useless with two girls, so we've embraced it :)

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Crabby sick two year old girl and I are going to go to bed now - good night!

**Update**

Okay, poor Amelia... she just couldn't be more than a few feet from me this evening. I put her to bed by lying in our bed with her. When she was asleep, I got up and was checking my email - she staggered in here and laid down on the floor next to my chair and fell back asleep! Of course I picked her up and she's been sleeping on my chest in my bed while I watched I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant (insanity!) Anyway, she's been good and asleep the last hour, so I got a chance to scan in some old pictures... Check out my 100 Things Post for pictures of me. I figure 90% of the pictures on this blog are of my kids (because they are WAY better subjects!!) so here's your one chance to see lots and lots of me. Exciting, I know.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Lots of Randomness

This post is going to be all over the place... but that's because it's been a really busy week, and I haven't had much time to post.

I feel like I spent half the week at the hospital - my friend's mother had a stroke on Monday (she's okay but will need at least two weeks of inpatient rehab) and my other friend who I posted about here had her twins (a perfect white-haired baby boy and a perfect black haired baby girl!) They're little bitty, but totally healthy and will go home with mama probably tomorrow. Amelia had to go back to the pediatrician for her wheezing, and I got an insane muscle spasm in my neck Friday and couldn't move my neck at all. I'm better, but poor Amelia is still sick (you can see the circles under her little eyes).



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It took some convincing to get my friend and her mother to agree to go to the ER immediately on Monday. Time is crucial when someone is having a stroke, so please familiarize yourself with the signs and if you or your loved one experiences these symptoms - even if they seem to be improving - get to the hospital as soon as possible! The last few years of my grandfather's life would have been a lot different if he had gotten medical attention sooner after he suffered a stroke.


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Sophia and I spent this afternoon cleaning the house while Davis took Amelia to his brother's house. I wanted to post some tips on getting toddlers/preschoolers to help with cleaning. With Sophia it's like pulling teeth - this is a kid who at age two spent TWENTY MINUTES in time out rather than picking up seven markers and putting them back in the box. She just sat there the whole time, knowing that all she had to do to get up is put the markers in the box.

But here are some things that work, even with her:

  • I ask her to "surprise me" - like walk out of the room and let her surprise me with how well she cleaned it up while I wasn't looking. This afternoon we decided to surprise Daddy with a totally clean house before he got back - the anticipation of his reaction, and the time crunch to get it done before he returned really got her moving.
  • I fill a spray bottle with vinegar water, then give her a wash cloth and let her clean the appliances and cabinets in the kitchen and the front of the tub and tile walls in the bathroom. Even Amelia can do this - they love it, and the vinegar water really works well.
  • Sophia and I hand-washed the floors today. I just filled a bucket with warm water, a little dish soap, and a little white vinegar, then we each got a wash cloth and washed the kitchen tile. For the hardwoods, I used warm water and Murphy's soap, but I didn't want her to do too much of it, so I just wrung out the wash cloth for her and asked her to clean spots that I couldn't reach - like the little area between the couch and the wall. She loved that she was doing something I couldn't do!
  • For the kids' room, I set a timer and say "let's see if we can pick up all the dress up clothes before it goes off!" and then I set it again and say "okay let's pick up all the blocks before it goes off!" I keep going until everything is picked up.
  • I give the girls Target brand Wet Ones and have them wipe down doors, baseboards, light switches, the base of the pedestal sink, etc.
  • Both the girls love to help with laundry. Some things they're actually good at are putting all the towels in the washer, folding towels and blankets, and sorting their own clothes into lights and darks.
  • I think their favorite is cleaning out the drains... we go around the house and pour some baking soda into all the sink/tub/shower drains, then I let them pour white vinegar down them - they bubble up fabulously! It actually works to clean them out and freshen them up.
  • The Dust Buster is the best invention ever. Both the girls can vacuum under the couch cushions, Goldfish spills, and they will actually vacuum our whole office (the only carpeted room in our house).

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We also gave Porter a bath today. Sophia sat on the edge of the tub and helped me lather him up and massage him. He doesn't love bath time, but he LOVES being clean!



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I made chili tonight, so I thought I'd post my chili recipe. It's simple and mild and my family loves it. It takes only 30 minutes to make, so along with Jiffy cornbread muffins, it's a frequent weeknight meal at our house.

Chili

1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chili powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cornmeal
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes, with their juices
1 (14 oz) can kidney beans, drained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

In a medium pan over medium heat, brown ground beef or turkey with onion and garlic. In a small bowl, stir together the chili powder, salt, cornmeal, and cumin, then stir into meat mixture. Add tomatoes and their juices, beans, and tomato sauce. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes.


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I think there should be a you know you're a blogger when, and the first item should be...when you start taking pictures of your dinner!

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And as promised, a discussion of this week's vegetable - the brussel sprout. My love of brussel sprouts began when I was a little girl. I would take one to my play kitchen and pretend it was a little head of lettuce for my dolls :) This is a super nutrient-rich vegetable, containing lots of vitamins K and C, folate, and fiber.

There's only one way I prepare them, and I've converted some brussel sprout haters with it.

Peel off the top layer, and wash, then cut fresh brussel sprouts in half. Steam in steamer baskets until they turn a deep green color, but be sure not to over cook - maybe three minutes or so. Melt butter in large skillet and transfer brussel sprouts to skillet. Saute until edges start to get a little brown. Salt and serve immediately.

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If someone knows why Blogger puts a billion ransom extra spaces between lines, and how to stop this insanity, PLEASE PLEASE let me know!!!

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Finally, I'm sorting through some old pictures, so check back later... I've decided to scan some in and supplement my 100 Things post with photographic evidence :)

Saturday, April 18, 2009

To Do

Sophia's to do list:

Learn to whistle
Learn to make fish face
Learn to jump rope
Learn to do cartwheels

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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

100 Totally Random Things I Bet You Didn't Know

Lynnette started it ;) I'd love to know 100 things about you, so let me know if you join in the fun!

I didn't think I could come up with 100 things about me, but here goes...

1. I did not speak a word of English when my family moved here from Austria - I was ten years old, we moved on a Thursday, and on Monday they dropped me off at public school (turns out that's a really good way to learn a language).

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2. Law school made me less of a reader.

3. I love Happy Cola candy.

4. I have always loved going to church and as a kid went with my neighbor, because my family didn't go every Sunday.

5. I have driven Interstate 40 all the way across the country - from where it starts in North Carolina to where it ends in California - by myself.

6. I am severely scared of the dentist and very, very rarely go.

7. I didn't like living in Denver.

8. I decided to go to law school after watching Legally Blonde (really).

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9. I love to cook.

10. I wanted a pet chimp when I was a kid, and really resented that my parents wouldn't let me have one.

11. I have a degree in microbiology and a minor in Russian History (doesn't get much more random than that, huh?).

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12. I love being pregnant.

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13. I feel guilty for not teaching my kids German.

14. I hate crunchy bugs.

15. I have asthma.

16. I moved from home at age 16 and became an emancipated minor.

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17. I have very vivid dreams and sometimes have to think about whether something really happened or whether I dreamed it.

18. I miss my gall bladder.

19. I remember the day I memorized the Lord's Prayer (in German) and it was one my proudest moments. I also remember the day I memorized it again in English.

20. I would love to live out in the country and be almost completely self-sufficient, but live a life far, far from that.

21. When I was three and my brother was born, I threatened to throw him out of the window.

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22. I really, really love my brother now.

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23. I still believe that my cat Annabelle ran away and is living happily somewhere in the woods.

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24. I have sewn dura surrounding a person's brain and helped stitch up a carotid artery.

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25. I just sew superhero capes and pillows now.

26. I love riding horses.

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19. I don't regret my traumatic teen years or the things I did, because I learned so much and I have been forgiven.

20. I was terrified of fire as a child and had nightmares of our house burning down almost every night.

21. I hate my hair.

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22. Licorce is just about the only food I don't like.

23. I once backpacked in a wilderness area and didn't see or hear another human being for three days, and it was nice.

24. I love everything about my husband, even the things I complain about.

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25. I made my alegebra teacher cry in seventh grade, because I just didn't get it.

26. I really miss breastfeeding and it makes me sad that I probably will never get the chance to do it again.

27. I am the world's worst liar.

28. If I had been a man, I would have been a neurosurgeon.

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29. I like to sleep in a really cold room with heavy covers.

30. I hate Clomid and would rather dig my eyeballs out with a spoon than ever take it again.

31. I skipped the 5th grade and sometimes feel like I missed some important stuff.

32. Thirty-two is my favorite number.

33. I'm a hotel snob.

34. I saw an angel when I was seven.

35. I miss snow every winter.

36. I pick up the speech patterns, sayings, and accents of people around me without meaning to.

37. I often stare at, kiss, stroke, and hold my children after they go to bed.

38. I don't understand why our laundry situation got so out of control after we had the second baby.

39. I have a hard time remembering numbers.

40. I'm conflicted about being a working mom, but mostly wish I didn't have to be.

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41. I clean when I'm stressed out or upset.

42. I have awesome memories of wandering around the countryside with my best friend when I was a little girl.

43. I sat on stage with the Grateful Dead while they performed in Oakland, CA.

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44. Flowers make me happy, especially the wild daisies that grow in northern Arkansas - they were my wedding flowers and remind me of my wedding every year when they bloom around mid-May.

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45. I prefer small, old houses (in case you hadn't figured that out).

46. I was the only one in my family brave enough to kayak with my dad.

47. I didn't like living in Big Sur, California, but I love visiting my mom there now.

48. I am not into any of the TV shows on these days, and I feel left out sometimes when I hear people talking about them.

49. I once missed the school bus in second grade and hitch-hiked home. And I actually thought it was a good idea, because I was saving my dad from having to pick me up.

50. I love brussel sprouts (do you feel a featured veggie coming up?)

51. I don't miss Facebook.

52. I didn't start drinking coffee until I was studying for the bar exam, and now I'm hooked.

53. I love riding my bike and wish I had some flat land nearby so I could just GO and not struggle up these horrid hills.

54. I wrote a country report on Czechoslovakia for school, and the day before I had to give my report, Czechoslovakia ceased to exist.

55. My husband was an archeologist for ten years.

56. I am conflicted about blogging.

57. I can't imagine ever letting my girls spend the night at a friend's house.

58. The day we learned about political parties at school, I came home and told my (very liberal) father that I was a Republican.

59. I hate seeing all the "keeping up with the Joneses" amongst my friends.

60. I cry a lot every Christmas Eve during Silent Night in church.

61. I always stay up later than I mean to.

62. I still remember my phone number from when I was six years old: 33965 (in Germany).

63. I need to work harder on putting my family before others.

64. When I was ten, my best friend and I designed an enclosed glass structure for our families to move into when the killer bees came to California.

65. I kind of want to live in the 1940's.

67. I'm a decent shot with a handgun.

68. I cry when I don't eat for a long time.

69. Other than in church or when my blood sugar drops, I don't really cry easily.

70. I was in love with John Corbett's character, Chris, on Northern Exposure.

71. My first car was a 1974 VW Beetle that I bought with $500 I saved from working while in high school.

72. I'm a very forgiving person, and once I forgive something I literally forget it.

73. I love how my children smell.

74. I can sit and watch a river for hours.

75. My mother almost died right after she gave birth to me.

76. I love the farmer's market.

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77. I make lists.

78. I regret not getting my pilot's license before having kids.

79. I wish women felt more at ease discussing certain topics with each other, like sexual abuse, infertility and miscarriage. I am always amazed at what so many of us have in common, and how much healing comes from knowing we're not alone, yet still we don't talk about it.

80. There's not much I won't talk about. I always got in trouble for talking in class when I was a kid.

81. I think if we had more balanced seasons, Arkansas would be perfect.

82. I was completely ambidextrous as a kid.

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83. I am named after Vladimir Nabokov's wife.

84. I became totally addicted to the Stephanie Plum novels last fall and read all 14 in two months. I used to read Faulkner.

85. I have never gotten tired walking on flat ground.

86. I'm a dog person.

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87. I took fencing lessons in high school.

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88. Sitting under a Christmas tree makes me completely happy.

89. I don't like sharing my car with my family...I want a clean car that's all my own.

90. My grandfather taught me to scuba dive in a hotel swimming pool in Hungary.

91. I find polishing silver very rewarding. My mother hates it, so whenever I go visit her, I polish her silver.

92. I want to pause my life sometimes, because right now is good.

93. My favorite class in college was biochemistry, even though it was at 7 am.

94. I worry that my grandmother will die this year, while my father is in Europe, and I will have to take care of her arrangements and I have no idea what to do.

95. I love fabric stores.

96. I really want to visit Alaska.

97. I am picky about grammar. I was the research editor of my law review (the one who made sure punctuation marks in citations were correct) and I loved it.

98. I wish people focused more on finding common ground than on finding differences.

99. I worry about becoming prideful blogging (I say this while starting 100 sentences with the word "I").

100. I dread the day my children realize I can't sing.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

This Week's Vegetable...the Egg

Seriously, I get to change the rules because it's my blog, right? In honor of Easter, I'm talking about eggs instead of veggies this week. They are so very nutritious (protein, vitamin A, riboflavin, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, choline, iron, calcium, phosphorus and potassium) and yum.

My family is crazy about eggs - Sophia ate seven hard-boiled eggs on Sunday. And there are several so-easy-they-don't-really-qualify-for-recipes recipes involving eggs that we make regularly.

First, the boiled egg. Believe it or not, I didn't really master the perfect hard boiled egg until recently - my husband was the egg boiler in the house. But here's now it's done: put eggs in bottom of pot, cover + 1 inch with cold water, put on stove on high heat until the water comes to a good boil, then turn off the water and let them sit for 15 minutes. Also, if you hit them with a spoon to just barely crack them when you turn off the heat, they're easier to peel.

Here's a weird one...when my kids were infants, I made baby food out of a hard boiled egg yolk mixed with breast milk. Yuck, huh? They loved it.

We often have breakfast for dinner on nights that I feel uninspired to cook - the kids always think it's brilliant! And eggs are always the main attraction - fried, sunny side up, scrambled, poached, they're made to order on my griddle.

When I was pregnant, my power breakfast several times a week was spinach scrambled eggs, served with whole wheat bagels. Whisk together 4 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon fresh tarragon (or 1/8 t. dried) and salt and pepper. Melt butter in skillet and over medium heat and cook a couple of handfuls of coarsely chopped spinach until just wilted (yes, I just said "a couple of handfuls" - welcome to my version of a recipe). Then add the egg mixture along with an ounce of cream cheese and cook, stirring slowly, until the eggs are cooked through.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

And my project for tonight... a superhero girl cape. Sophia's best friend, Zoe, has a superhero birthday party to attend on Saturday, so I made this for her. This girl LOVES pink. I am going to make one for Sophia, but not tonight (it's bedtime!) Sophia loves playing Rescue Girl! Sometimes she's Rescue Something Else... like the other day she was crawling around the floor with her sister and her daddy, and when I asked her what they were doing, she said "we're rescue spiders!" Of course.

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Monday, April 13, 2009

Future Blogger?

Like her mother, she loves to...

talk

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and write

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do you see blogging in her future? I wonder what social media will look like twenty years from now...

Sunday, April 12, 2009

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