September 30, 2004

Another New Blog Baby

William Isaac Woodlief has finally arrived and shares a birthday with The Girl. I hope he doesn't share her predilection for climbing, bopping big brothers, or loudness, but that remains to be seen.

September 29, 2004

Two Year Olds

The Girl turned two yesterday. We celebrated with cupcakes and presents, which is really all one needs, right? I hope so anyway, because my plans to actually have a little party with the other two year old from church just aren't going to pan out.

Now I present, four generations of two year old girls in my family -- from 1916, 1944, 1977 and 2004.

Juanita1916.jpg
Linda1944.jpg
Jordana1977.jpg
Pippa2004.jpg

September 28, 2004

Still Alive

and no baby yet. I'm just busy and tired and have no time to blog. I'll be back soon, I promise.

September 23, 2004

Autumn in the South

It's all about autumn today in the Thursday Three. A time that I used to dislike as the herald of winter, but I have come around and I love it when the days get crisper and there is that certain smell in the air. But I get ahead of myself.

1) What are three things you love about the South in the autumn? To make this extra-special hard (in order to promote deep thought and insight) your answers CANNOT be a) football, b) hog-killing time, or c) perky, rosy-cheeked cheerleaders in clingy white sweaters. Sorry.

Oddly enough none of those would ever be included in my thoughts of fall. I'm not a big sports fan, but everyone knows that football is really secondary and that the true beauty of fall sports lies in the pennant races and World Series -- well, not in the South where we are much underrepresented in baseball and I don't even like the team we have. So it is a good thing sports aren't really on my list, huh?

Anyway, my real favorite things about fall in the South are the colors on the trees, which even in a bad year are spectacular. I like getting out warm clothes and I especially like that all the half-naked people out there finally decide to cover up a bit. And finally, I love the foods of fall. I love Thanksgiving foods, anything involving cranberries, and all the soups and other warm, hearty things that the weather makes me feel like making. I do love summer foods too, but by the time fall rolls in, I am ready for a change.

2) What are three of your favorite places in the South in the autumn?

I don't know if I have three favorites really, but my top, all-time favorite is defnitely Sewanee. The leaves and the crisp air on top of the Mountain are incredible and there are more stars visible on a clear night than almost anywhere else I've ever been. The fog that rolls in from time to time and all the rain feel perfect for Fall and fires in the fireplace.

3) And finally, what is one thing you dislike about Fall in the South?

It is hot and summery for too much of the season. I wouldn't really want to go back to Fairbanks where winter will be starting about next week if it hasn't rolled in already, but when autumn arrives on the calendar I also wouldn't mind a place where the coolth came before November.

September 22, 2004

It's a Boy!

Paul and Lenise have a new little boy, John Sebastian Baxter. Go to Paul's blog for a few more details. I can't wait to see photos.

So Much for "No Politics"

I signed up for the parent listserv for The Boy's school the other day. When I signed up, it was specifically stated that there will be no political or religious discussion on the list whatsoever. Here's the text of the second message I got from the group:

THE DRAFT IS BACK

Get this everybody. This is for real.

Right now, there is a bill in congress, in June of 2005, every boy and girl 18-26 will be drafted for a mandatory 2 years of service in the armed forces.

If you don't believe me, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/

Type in HR 163. And read it for yourself.

Bush is trying to sneak this through while everybody is distracted with the election.

If you have children, or know of any, now is the time to wake up.

I'm tempted to complain. I wonder if anything would be done or if this is classified as merely informational rather than political.

I'd love to know, as well, how Bush got Charles Rangel and some of the other far leftists to push through his evil plan to draft all of our children. Last time I checked Mssrs. Rangel, McDermott, Conyers, Lewis, Stark, and Abercrombie could hardly be described as sitting in the President's pocket.

Also, would someone decide and write a memo -- is Bush a bumbling idiot who can't string two words together on his own or an evil genius bent on world domination and the destruction of all things liberal? It gets almost as confusing trying to keep track of what people are claiming for him today as it does keeping track of where Kerry stands on any particular issue.

Zero, Nada, Zilch

That's my energy level this morning. I want to go out and run a few errands, but after making breakfast, watering the plants, throwing a couple of loads of laundry in and dusting, the best I could do was to take a shower and get out of my pjs. I want to crawl back into bed, but I have to wait until The Girl naps this afternoon -- plus I have to put sheets on the bed. Ugh.

September 21, 2004

Tiger Fairies and Pumpkins

pippa and pumpkin

The Girl picked out her own outfit this morning, accessories and all. She's my little tiger fairy today and has worn both wings and ears out and about all morning.

She's sitting next to a pumpkin that grew in our backyard. We hadn't intended to grow pumpkins in the garden, but several gourd-like vines started volunteering last Spring and I let one live to see what it was. The pumpkin was really a few days away from being ready for picking, but our dog decided it was a ball this morning and "picked" it all by himself. I removed it to the front of the house for safe keeping, before he started gnawing on it.

Busy Days

We had a great weekend all told, but I'm tired. We decided to go up to Kentucky to visit Justin's grandparents and his parents, who are evacuated from Pensacola for a while. We left Friday night and came back Saturday night. The kids had fun picking muscadines that Justin's granddad grows -- even though neither one likes them. The Girl kept sticking them in her mouth, chewing for a second and then spitting it out with a loud "Yuck" and handing the nearest grownup the remains. We brought some home and made juice though and that's a hit though. Some lemon juice and sugar improved the flavor immensely.

Sunday morning I was really dragging and a mom, who teaches The Girl's Sunday School class, offered to take both kids for the whole afternoon. I fell guilty taking such offers, but Justin had no such qualms. So we sent them off, came home, ate lunch, went to Supercuts and got haircuts -- Justin hates the actual getting of a haircut, so he has to be strongarmed into doing it -- and then I took a nap and he vacuumed out the car.

By the time that and a few loads of laundry were done, it was time for evening church. The Girl was glad to see us for a few minutes and then wanted Ms. 'nise again. The Boy asked to sit with them for worship, but showed up and cuddled with me halfway through.

The Boy had school yesterday and again today. So The Girl and I did grocery shopping yesterday -- a task that isn't nearly as bad as the meal planning and grocery list making -- and then came home and folded laundry, put away laundry, sorted through the clothes in The Boy's dresser. He's shooting up now, unlike his sister who can still wear almost everything she was wearing a year ago.

Yesterday when The Boy came home from school, he was being so whiny about one thing and another at lunch that I finally (after warning him) told him he couldn't watch a video today (a normal weekday after lunch tradition) which produced stormy tears, promises to try again and pronouncements that he didn't love me any more. After The Girl finally fell asleep for her nap -- she keeps pushing it later and later -- I read him a book, which put him in a better mood.

The Boy's school had a parent alliance meeting tonight, I went and Justin stayed home with the kids. It was interesting. They were describing what the various grades were doing and it sounds so cool -- in various classes they are knitting, carving wood, learning to write, botany, mythology, studying Roman law and a number of other things. When I hear what the kids are doing, in general, I always think that this is exactly where I want my children to go to school. But I do wonder if a place where I don't feel like I have much in common with other parents is so great.

Anyway -- then I came home, it was time to put the kids to bed -- Justin and I normally alternate nights reading, but he was worn out, so I said I'd read. The Boy wants his dad to read all the time and so he told me if I didn't "let" Justin read, he wouldn't love me any more (it seemed to have been the theme for the day) and so we took away the priviledge of bedtime stories at all. More weeping and crying ensued and he told us that we'd made him say those mean things, because he just doesn't like it when I read. So really it was our fault. He can be so sweet, but he sure has a mean tongue at times -- as we all do.

After the kids went to bed, we finally finished sorting through outgrown and out-of-season clothes, something we'd started doing about two months ago. I think that was the last big thing I needed to do before the baby arrives. Now I should be able to just pull out baby clothes, unfold the bassinet sidecar thingie and be done with it, when the time comes. It seems like there should be more to this, but I guess there really isn't. I'll pack a hospital bag in a couple of weeks and a bag for the kids, but things seem less stressful this time around than in the past, which is nice.

Today, The Girl and I dropped some stuff off at Goodwill and I decided to go in and look around for a few minutes. As it turned out, they had a double jogging stroller in almost perfect condition (though a bit sun faded) for less than half the price of a new one -- plus I had a $20 off coupon. So I snapped that up and am very pleased. Not that I jog, but I have wanted one for some of the longer walks we take and this one fits the bill and the price was right.

It will be time to get The Boy in a bit and I'm hoping he will have a less grouchy day today. I'm not trying to win any popularity contests with him, but I'd like a little less whining and "I don't love you" talk.

September 20, 2004

Lenise's Baby

will be arriving tomorrow via c-section. Go wish her well and remind her that we, her public, demand an update with photographs as soon as possible.

September 17, 2004

Might As Well Do a Few Quizzes Today





Talk Like a Pirate Day is September 19!
What Pirate do YOU Talk Like?

from The Sandbox


discover what candy you are @ quiz me

from Amy Loves Books

Kiddie Language Funnies

(1) I told my son this afternoon that stool was another word for poop. Shortly thereafter he yelled from the bathroom, "I'm stooling right now, Mom!"

(2) My two year old hasn't got these manners things down yet. She says "Thank you" and "No thanks" very sweetly and usually without prompting. Unfortunately, she also screams, "I WANT ____ (fill in the blank) RIGHT NOW!" I've starting teaching her, "May I have ____ please?" but it hasn't taken well yet.

(3) The other night when we were driving home from Bible class The Girl said something while Justin and I were chatting. The next thing we heard from the backseat was, "Be quiet, Mom!" Need to work on that one too.

Why did I want her to learn to talk?

Yo! Rocky!

I mentioned a while back that I'd never seen any of the Rocky movies and Captain Frank Myers questioned my patriotism. Not wanting to be considered un-American, I surfed on over to my library's website and put a hold on Rocky, so that I could check it out when it came in next.

Other than the fact that since we watched it last night, my husband thinks "Yo Jordana!" is a good way to get my attention and saying, "Eh" should be a perfectly good way to get me to come over and give him a kiss, I actually enjoyed the movie. I can't say that I was really expecting too and so it was a nice surprise.

I was surprised as well by how much Rocky seemed to be not just another sports film, but actually more of an art film. Not a Euro art film about some failed painter with TB trying to complete his masterpiece, but being dragged down by his lover, his alcoholism and finally when he finishes the painting committing suicide -- not that kind -- but still there were the harsh portraits of difficult lives filmed in gorgeous colors with really superb cinematography, more character development than one might expect, lots of foreshadowing, and, of course, instead of the underdog without a chance winning inspite of all odds like most sports films, Rocky doesn't exactly win in the end. He "goes the distance," but he doesn't win the match, although what he wins is worth more than the heavy weight title.

I can't say that I'm going to watch the movie again and again -- nor even that I have a burning desire to see the next four Rocky flicks -- and it sure made me glad I didn't live in the 70s and especially that I didn't live in Philadelphia in the 70s, but I am glad I finally saw Rocky. It was well done and interesting. So thanks to Captain Myers for forcing me to see it.

For the Children

We all know that Democrats love children more than Republicans. They know it takes a village and the Children's Defense Fund to raise one properly, unlike conservatives who somehow think parents can do the job. Some liberals even realize that is it their duty to educate children about politics, when they don't think the child is getting the correct information at home. I think they got in a message about how not to treat your fellow man too.

Recipe Time

Prochein Amy has the fifth Carnival of the Recipes up. There are several things that look delicious.

And now for my Friday recipe, which will be a good summery one. Summer isn't over yet down here in the South and I have plenty of tomatoes around and if our zucchini plants had grown instead of deciding to look perfectly healthy but never get more than five inches tall, I imagine I'd have a lot of zucchini to use up too. The sausage and noodles make this a dish my kids would eat any time, and it cooks fast. What's not to like? This recipe originally came from Better Homes and Gardens One Dish Dinners. I thought the original needed more salt and a few slight changes, but I haven't altered it all that much.

Rotini-Kielbasa Skillet
serves 6

2 cups dried tri-color rotini pasta (about 6 ounces)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound cooked turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and sliced diagonally
1 small zucchini, cut into matchstick-size strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into small strips
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground red pepper
8 Roma tomatoes, cored and chopped (about 1 pound) -- because we have cherry tomatoes from our garden, I often use those instead, quartered but not cored.

Cook pasta according to package directions with salt added to the water; drain. Meanwhile, in a very large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add kielbasa; cook until onion is tender, stirring frequently.
Add zucchini, sweet pepper, Italian seasoning, salt, and ground red pepper; cook and stir for 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cooked pasta. Heat through, stirring occasionally.

September 16, 2004

Tired and Cranky

The title pretty much sums up my current mood. Nothing much is happening here weather-wise, except a light drizzle which they tell us will become real rain tonight. All these hurricanes remind me again why I am so happy living far in-land. Living at the beach may be just the thing for many, many people, but I'll be happy to let them keep it.

I finally wasn't a total insomniac last night, but since I was a weepy hormonal mess until midnight -- not for any particular reasons I wish to discuss, but needless to say mostly just because I'm sleepy and uncomfortable --I'm still exhausted. I did manage to get the cars registration taken care of for another year and with that I am considering myself officially done with errand running for the day.

Cross your fingers that The Girl takes a real nap today. I really need one.

September 14, 2004

Babies

I mentioned I had a doctor's appointment today -- thirty-two weeks and counting. Other than seeing one of my doctor's partners who has all the personality of an artichoke, it went fine. If I gain more than another 10 pounds though, which is almost certainly going to happen, this will be my heaviest pregnancy yet. Bah humbug. But I'm fine.

Lenise, however, is almost done, but on bedrest for the duration. Go over to her site and wish her well.

Sometimes the Fates are Cruel

Why is it that the one night I don't go to bed until after 11, I wake up at 3 and can't fall back to sleep until 6, but I have to get up by 7 to make sure The Boy gets to preschool and I get to my doctor's appointment? And why is it that, when all morning I think longingly of the nap I'll get when The Girl falls asleep, she falls asleep in the car and wakes up when I try to transfer her to her bed -- not to nap any more for that day.

Unfair! Unfair!

The Lover

My son has a thing for pretty women, especially pretty blondes. He went off the deep-end over his pediatrician's partner, who is a pretty blonde. When we take the kids out, he gravitates towards the prettiest woman in the room -- particularly if she's blonde. We certainly didn't teach this to him and I'm not blonde -- he comes by his preference on his own -- though it isn't absolute. First, he just seems to look for a pretty face.

Before preschool started we took the kids with us and helped get the school ready. Since bending, lifting and painting aren't exactly things I can do easily these days, I stayed on the playground and helped watch all the children. The Boy played some with the other boys making traps in the sand and waving sticks at each other, but the best friend he made was Mia -- a cute little five year old, she's not blonde, but her mom is a gorgeous blonde. Since then the quality of the school day seems to rest on whether The Boy got to sit by Mia at snack time. The other day at breakfast, he announced that seeing Mia "made [his] heart sing." Unfortunately, she goes to school five days per week though and The Boy only three, so I fear she might be making other friends without him -- the shameless hussy.

But The Boy has other loves besides Mia and the pediatrician. Last week we had a visiting mom and her little two year old daughter at Bible class on Wednesday. The little girl was about the same age as The Girl, but needless to say a sister does not inspire longing gazes and the proclamation, "Isn't she beautiful, Mom? I think I love her." He then went up and introduced himself and had a little chat with them.

If he keeps this attitude along with his huge coffee colored eyes and the worldest longest lashes, it might not be my daughter that needs locking up when the teenage years approach.

boy school day.jpg

Democrats

Yesterday I got a Google hit for the search list of things Democrats tend to be. I took me a long time to get past the extremely partisan and not so nice thoughts, but I want to provide a useful service, so here's my list of this democrats tend to be, in no particular order.


  • pro-abortion

  • pro-tax increase

  • pro-union

  • pro-welfare

  • pro-UN

  • pro-Castro

  • pro-Palestinian

  • anti-gun

  • anti-military

I think that about covers it, but let me know if I've forgotten anything.

September 13, 2004

Comfort Songs

Pinnochio scared me when I was liitle. The scene where Monstro chases Pinnochio really freaked me out, but my parents covered my eyes, cuddled me close and sang "The Bear Went Over The
Mountain"
and I was ok. That was my comfort song. It always helped.

The Boy never had a comfort song as a baby, but being the patriotic baby that he was, he always calmed down the instant we popped in the Wee Sing America tape. The Wee Sing series makes the mistake of thinking that parents want to hear other people's kids singing, but their musical selections aren't bad. We listened to that tape approximately a million times when The Boy was a baby. Later on his favorite song was "Jingle Bells" which he would request at all times of the year and in all weathers, I can't remember though whether he merely liked it or if he needed it for comfort as well. Currently he requests bluegrass or Johnny Cash when we're in the car. I've been trying to teach him to like Frank Sinatra.

The Girl, of course, did not happen to think that a rousing rendition of The Star Spangled Banner was soothing nor did she care much for any of the other things her brother liked. Grumble, grumble...own person...hmph. Recently though, she's been finding her own music that she wants us to sing. I think the thing she finds the most comfort in is "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" which she requested over and over again the other day until she fell into a cuddly nap on my lap. She does have some patriotism in her though -- in the car this morning she wanted "Yankee Doodle" all the way home. I need to learn more than the first three verses if I am going to have to sing it for very long, but nothing like a chorus of Yankee Doodle to get the blood flowing in the morning -- or something.

I don't know why I liked "The Bear Went Over the Mountain" any more than I know why I like the music I like now, but something within certain songs soothes us, comforts us and all of us seem to seek that out.

Did I Want A Dog?

Our puppy -- almost a year old now and still definitely a puppy -- is adorably cute, cuddly and incredibly gentle with children. Because he's almost 60 pounds, I'm sure he is at least a small deterrent to thieves, even if he isn't all that intimidating to look at. However, it is because of the dog that we had to replace our back door in a relative hurry (holes being less ignorable than a little rot and a cracked pane -- yes we are that pathetic that we could ignore those). Going away from home adds more complications than ever. We have to chase The Girl away from the dog food daily and he likes to use the area near our raspberries as his private poo-poo zone.

This morning when I got home from taking the boy to school, he'd peed in the kennel. All over the walls, floor, and himself. I have a very clean dog now -- he got his second bath in two days, which is a lot considering we normally only get around to bathing him every month and a half or so and I have a very clean floor in the dining room. I would have been happy not to have either though.

Now, I'm just trying to remind myself why I thought a dog was such a good idea. Oh right -- cute.

Hobbes.jpg

September 10, 2004

The Carnival of the Recipes

By the way, The Carnival of the Recipes is at The Glittering Eye this week. There are some yummy sounding things entered.

Meat in a Loaf

When I held down a "real", outside of the house, job as a reference librarian, I had a wonderful office mate, even if he did think Bob Dylan was life's musical end-all and be-all. However, he also had a hang up about meatloaf. Many people do, I know. In fact, I don't think I ever ate meatloaf as a child. My parents certainly never cooked it anyway. I do like to try new things though and when I got this cookbook as a wedding present it had an interesting recipe in it for Confetti Meatloaf. Over time, I've made a few changes and I make the meatloaf entirely with beef, because I don't like ground turkey and I don't eat pork, but it is still a family favorite and a guaranteed way to get my kids to eat their vegetables, because vegetables baked in meat taste really good. I've never had this recipe turn out dry, by the way.

Confetti Meat Loaf
serves 8

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large carrots, diced
1 large onion, diced
1¾ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 large egg
1½ pounds ground beef
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
¾ cup oatmeal or plain dried bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350°. in 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, salt, fennel seeds, and pepper; cook, stirring often, about 15 minutes, until tender.

Transfer to large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and ½ cup water; mix well. In 13x9-inch roasting pan, shape meat mixture into 9x6-inch loaf, pressing firmly (this will allow extra fat to drain out and not remain in the loaf). Bake meat loaf 1 hour and 15 minutes. To serve, with 2 pancake turners, place meat on warm platter.

Quiz Time

We'll get to a Friday recipe later, but first here's a quiz to keep you all entertained.

September 09, 2004

Pamela Anderson Lends Image to Help Chickens

Because they both have large breasts?

Sorry, I couldn't help it.

I'm a Utah Mormon!

Um, no. Not really. But the name Jordana does make the list, along with such gems as Dwendle, Dwodger, Hummingbird, CheriLuv, Confederate America, Placentia, and many, many others. I don't think my parents spent much time in Utah before I was born -- and of course my name is actually a real name, even if it isn't very common.

From Out of the Frying Pan

Rankings

I found this at Thinklings. Their list was originally in alphabetical order -- I have ranked the choices in order from my favorites to least favorites.

1. Reagan, Bush II, Bush I, Clinton,
2. Elaine, Jerry, George, Kramer
3. Coke, Pepsi, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi (I don't really care much for cola. I much prefer a Dr. Pepper or Root Beer.)
4. Paul, George, Ringo, John,
5. Davy Jones, Peter Tork, Mickey Dolenz, Mike Nesmith
6. Fonzie, Richie, Potsy, Ralph
7. NASB, NKJV, NRSV, NIV (and I'll note that my favorite is really the NEB)
8. Sophia, Dorothy, Blanche, Rose
9. Superman, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (no opinion -- I've only seen the first one)
10. Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky V (no opinion -- I've seen none of them)
11. Luke, John, Mark, Matthew
12. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes
13. Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, Numbers
14. Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Aquaman
15. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Ariel
16. Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, Monica, Rachel, Ross
17. Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Peppermint Patty
18. Baseball, Soccer, Football, Basketball
19. Burger King, McDonald’s, Hardees, Jack in the Box
20. Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Pluto

Toyful, Toyful, We Adore Thursday

Toys. We have a lot of them around the house, but not too many of them were once mine. The Axis of Weevil Commander and Chief desires the following information about those childhood playthings of yesteryear.

1. Do YOU still have any of the toys you had from when you were a child?
My mother's habit of never getting rid of anything means that there are many of my toys still around the parental compound, but down here with me I have but two. And those are two teddy bears that went to college with me and have been everywhere since. I got Murphy and Pooh probably about the same time in my life at around three or four. A family friend bought me Murphy after I became enchanted with him in a store window and Pooh came from a family trip to Disneyland when we lived out in Pasadena. And here they are:

bears.JPG

2. What was your very single most favorite toy of all time?
Oddly enough, I doubt it was either of those two bears. I love them, but I don't remember playing with them all the time or anything. In fact, I don't remember any toys being head and shoulders above the rest. I went through phases with assorted dolls, Star Wars figures, and many other things. My husband loved his Legos and GI Joes more than anything, but I don't remember having one toy or kind of toy that was the best thing ever. I probably spent more time reading and drawing than with any on toy.

3. What was the one toy you always craved but never received?
Only one? I always wanted an EZ Bake Oven and a toy sewing machine. I also wanted dolls for my dollhouse and went through a phase where I would have really liked to get a My Little Pony. But all those wishes went unfullfilled and hence I'm depraved on account of how deprived I was as a child. Or not.

September 08, 2004

Doing My Part

I'm pregnant with baby #3 and apparently that is doing my part to oppress the liberals.

Link via Tightly Wound.

I Had A Dream Last Night

Which had absolutely no relevance or anything, but did involve Terry, LittleA and I starting an auto repair and paper products business -- and I was the auto specialist. As far as I know, business was going well, but Terry began to want to branch out into soup and home improvement. LittleA looked on this rather skeptically, since Terry's big product was anteater soup. I woke up about this time with the phrase lingering in my head, "Beware your inner monkey."

I don't know what it all means, but everyone be sure to, "Beware your inner monkey."

New Readers

Did any of you know that there is a website called Actuary.net? I started getting hits from them and discovered that someone had linked to my post about The Boy being an actuary-in-training. You really never know who is out there reading this blather.

September 07, 2004

Ouch!

Seems to have been a weekend of injuries out there. I hope Francesca, Martha and Terry don't share the pain -- and I hope you all get to feeling better soon.

Down To Single Digit Weeks

Lilypie Baby Days

Am I supposed to be getting ready or something?

September 03, 2004

The Carnival of Recipes

If one recipe isn't enough for you head on over to She Who Will Be Obeyed and view The Carnival of Recipes. Last week's recipe from Curmudgeonry -- the Black Bean Chili -- is on the list.

Favorites?

Every once in a while LittleA asks everyone what are their favorite blogs that aren't on his blogroll. Now I want to know what everyone's favorites are that aren't on mine. There are so many good ones out there and I'd love to find some good ones that I'm missing out on. So leave a comment and let me know what I need to look at more often.

Recipe Friday Again

It will soon be Fall. If I were still in Fairbanks, it might already be. And so it is time to start digging out the warm, spicy, cozy recipes perfect for the cooler months. This is a favorite Saturday morning recipe of our family. I'm not sure where I found it, but it makes a very tasty way to start off the morning. It lends itself well to slight variations too. I've made these with gluten-free flour and made them substituting one quarter of the regular flour with whole wheat. Both times, the changes tasted fine. I think I might just make these for breakfast tomorrow.

Gingerbread Pancakes
makes 10

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk (or soured milk – 1 tablespoon vinegar and milk to make the rest of a cup’s worth)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon molasses

Combine the first 9 ingredients (flour through cloves) in a large bowl; make a well in the center of the mixture.

Combine egg and next 3 ingredients; add to dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle. Repeat procedure with remaining pancake batter.

Cook until tops are cooked with bubbles and edges look cooked; turn and cook the other side. Serve with syrup.

September 02, 2004

I think this is one of the most interesting Google hits I've gotten in a long time. It leads to so many questions. Does the searcher want to put a Kerry sign in his yard for Halloween? Or do they think a Kerry sign would be effective at scaring off the neighborhood children? Or are they looking for a Kerry as Lurch sort of sign for decorating the yard? Or is there going to be a special black and orange Halloween sign made by the Kerry campain? Who knows?

Another Conventiony Thursday Three

These questions sound kind of familiar, don't they?

1. Name three good things about Republicans (if possible consider this from a Democrat's perspective).

I don't know that I've heard many nice things said about Republicans by my Democratic friends (though none of them have gone this far either), but I think my friends -- if not the feminists in the linked article -- would give conservatives these points.

(a) Republicans tend to be good neighbors. I think most people want someone next door who respects property rights and individual freedoms.

(b) And on individual freedoms, many liberals might think the rhetoric of Republicans is "evil and fascist" but an honest one should grant that most of us are pretty live and let live in the way we conduct ourselves. A Republican may not approve of homosexuality, but most of them are not out picketing their gay neighbors, and those who are, are generally as roundly condemned by the Right as the Left.

(c) Republicans may not be very smart or anything, but they might let you borrow their pickup to haul stuff, if you need it.

2. Name three bad things about Republicans (if possible consider this from a Republican's perspective).

This is perhaps the hardest question of the three for me to answer. I am not a registered Republican, but I do give them money and I think I've always voted for Republicans. I find many things about the party frustrating, but I also find my thoughts difficult to articulate. The party is often too quick, in my view, to embrace fairly liberal social causes, requiring lots of government spending, when they seem compassionate -- a word I am growing to dislike -- instead of making tough and seemingly unpopular choices that would be better in the long run. It is a party of politicians and politicians want to stay in office more than they want to do the right thing most of the time. Also, many conservatives, myself included, may do okay at being partisan when everyone around us believes the same things -- or when we're writing on a blog -- but in real life it is hard for many of us to actually speak up. I worry about putting little sign in my yard. Why am I and so many Republicans/conservatives so easily intimidated? I blame it on too much time with the liberal media and too many years in academia. I tend to forget that almost 50% of the population votes the way I do and that I am not alone out there. There are many other problems and complaints I could make, but they are hard for me to pin down. So I'll stop and revisit this if I ever get a chance.

3. In a fairly contested, bare-knuckle fight who would win, Bush or Kerry?

Bush. Kerry and Bush are both in good shape, but I think someone who can do a little manual labor clearing brush at a ranch and get out riding horses and such, is going to beat the skier and windsurfer. But really, if you want the ulitmate description of the fight -- see Terry's answer.

September 01, 2004

I'm in Love...

I've been wondering for the past few days why Zell Miller was speaking at the Republican Convention. I was wondering if we were just trying to be all touchy-feely and non-partisan, but no. What a powerful speech. There were so many great lines that it would be hard to even get them all down. The spitball comment rises to the top of my list though, and I liked the slightly Southern expression about G.W. being the same man on Saturday night and Sunday morning. I wonder how many of the Godless Left took a minute to figure that one out. I can't think when I've heard a better speech. How long can Miller remain a Democrat though? It boggles my mind that he could stick with them after making that speech, but then again, he's had plenty of opportunities to split and hasn't done it.

One way or another, although speeches probably don't ulitimately make that big a difference, this one sure made a difference for me. Sure, I'm a right-wing partisan, but some things push me on more than others and this was one of them.

A New Door

That sounds like I'm moving again or something, but no really -- we have a new back door. Some times the little things (or in this case six-foot long things) make a big difference.

Update: LittleA wants a photo, so here's a picture. As you can tell, it looks like a door -- with a very handsome boy in front of it.

The Convention

I actually don't care that much more about watching the RNC than I did about watching the DNC, but I can at least turn on the television and not start gagging -- well except that I turned it on the other night in the middle of McCain's speak and they happened to be showing Michael Moore, and that's enough to turn even the strongest stomach.

We watched a little bit more last night, but not too much. My fine Tennessee Senator is an absolutely horrible public speaker, and I don't care that much about health care. In fact, we didn't watch much of his speech or Rod Paige's because really they were devoted to highlighting the moderate to liberal initiatives the President has taken that increase spending and of which I cannot approve. Yes, I realize I'm not compassionate enough.

We did watch Arnold though, and what a performance! I've said many times that I wish actors would shut up and not go on and on about their political opinions, because I don't care. I make an exception to that rule though -- and despite what you may think -- I don't care any more about Republican actors blathering on that the liberal ones. My exception is that if the actor wants to use his or her fame to actually enter politics and move into that realm instead of believing we care about their opinions simply because they are famous for reading scripts and getting divorced a lot, I might consider listening to them. Then again, I don't want to listen to a lot of politicians either.

But back to Arnold. "Economic girlie-men!" I predict that will be heard around the Adams' household for years to come. His speech was excellent and I was impressed that he spoke kindly of Nixon, whom history has practically decided to lump in with the greatest evil leaders of our time. His speech should have been the last of the night.

Instead we saw the poor, pathetic performance of Barbara and Jenna. Why did we need to hear a "Sex in the City" joke with the innuendo that everyone is doing it and isn't funny that Gran'ma thinks that's only for married people? It pained me to watch the train wreck, and as my husband said, "That was the ultimate refutation of Karl Rove as evil genius."

We watched Laura for a few minutes, but didn't want to kill the Arnold high, although the twins had pretty much done their part already, so we turned off the tv and went to sleep. I'm sure she did fine, and she is a classy lady, whom I find most admirable, but that doesn't mean she gives good speeches.