Happy Valentines Day One and All

We had a mellow Valentines around here. It was really nice. I thought I would keep it short today and just show you a few of the things we made this year.
Jon did such fun and creative valentines for all of us this year. You are only so lucky as to see the kids. :) 
Esther always surprises me with those most amazing creations. I love her ability to think outside box. What a clever girl!
I realize the pics aren't great. They came straight from my phone. Deal with it. You get the idea. :)
We made these for the kids' friends here in Baltimore. I got the idea online and then tweaked it to make it a little better. I think they turned out nicely. 

Favorite Friday... Early Presidents and Living History

Spent the day in Washington. So much history and culture. What an amazing place to spend time. 

My head is a flood of thoughts today. I feel gratitude for the men who were part of organizing this great nation. I feel overwhelmed with the opportunities I have to learn about it and with the responsibility to teach my children. I feel strength when I read the words spoken by former Presidents and recognize their impact in my own life. Really, today I am grateful to be an American. I am grateful to God for His goodness. 

Happy Birthday 200th Mr. Lincoln! 
FREEDOM IS NOT FREE. Think about it.
The Gettysburg Address is the next thing Et and I will be memorizing for school.
I love this memorial. It is so majestic and so simple without it being a contradiction. I think I would like to have that said about me someday. :)
It was so windy! It was one of those days you'd rather have chapped lips because your hair would stick to your lips if you put anything on them. Windy and cold!
If you have never been to the Korean War Memorial it is hard to describe the power you feel looking at these statues. I feel such a reverence when I am there.

The WWII Memorial was dedicated in '05.  The fountains were not running, but I can only  imagine what it would be like.  There is so much symbolism in this monument.  
The windows at the top are not at all clear. Still, the views are amazing!

If you look west you can look down the Mall at the WWII Memorial, the Lincoln and past the Potomac to Virginia. The only thing that could make it more beautiful would be with everything alive and green.
To the south is the Jefferson Memorial which overlooks a tidal basin. We didn't get to see it today. In the spring perhaps when the cherry blossoms are in bloom we'll pack a picnic and make a visit. 
The view at 500' looking east down the Mall toward the Capitol Building. Look at all those museums needing to be explored. So much to see, so little time...
The White House to the North; Looking out this window you can see the DC Temple way out in the distance, so beautiful, white and majestic.  We're talking way out there. (I am motioning with my hands to show how far.) Pictures didn't catch it well, but from the top of the monument the Temple sits among a sea of trees with nothing else around, like a light or maybe a candle. Made me smile more than anything else up there. Can you hear the metaphor taking shape in my mind? I'll spare you today. :)

Sis' to-do List

Yesterday Sis went into her room and except for some singing was quiet for a good chunk of time. Occasionally, she would poke her head out to ask how various words are spelled. This is the result. She came up with this perfect little list. I never thought about whether or not she noticed my list making - guess so. Another OCD habit perpetuated, oh well! The thing I love about it... all fun things; a perfect day you might say.  For those of you who can't read 7-yr. old it says:

SIS

do valentines.

play dough.

play with the cat.

play Lego.

Read.

watch a movie.

PARcheesi

FRACTILES

You know what? I think that is exactly what we will  do today after our read-a-thon. A perfect day.

Facebook and Doors

So first, something I love... doors. I kind-of touched on this in a holiday post regarding the stoops in Bolton Hill. I think I even mentioned my new-found love affair with doors that began in Italy. I took more pictures of doors in Venice than any other single thing, including bridges or canals except maybe pilings.  I'll post those another day. Here are a few of my favorites:
This one reminds me of our Provo house. So clean, simple, beautiful...
We passed this doorway every day in Venice. I really fell in love with it.



They are like people. They each have a different personality. Someday I want to print a huge picture of the doors and pilings of Venice. 

Oh yeah, Facebook. I finally broke down last night and signed up. It's nice to see old friends and see what people are up to. Turns out, we're not so different. In that I mean, we're many of us married, with kids, plugging along at life, doing the best we can. It's so different from how I remember high school and how I thought things would be at this point in life. I like the way things are and how life has turned out.

Mmmmm... Dark Chocolate

For today's edition of things I love, I will be writing my regular post because they are one and the same: dark chocolate.

I told you I was going to make delicious desserts for Valentines' and last night was a winner: Vanilla Caramel Chocolate Tartlets from MSLiving Feb. '05. (I would have made a link but the website didn't have the recipe. If you must have it and don't have a back issue, let me know and I'll shoot you the recipe.)

We have started having the missionaries over for FHE every week. Most nights we don't eat dessert, but for the Elders and FHE, we absolutely do. Last night I tried something new.

I know the picture isn't that impressive but I can't take another because every last morsel is gone.  These little tartlets were simply amazing.  Imagine caramel from scratch infused with vanilla (instead of port), 60% dark choc. and heavy cream, poured over toasted walnuts into dark choc. tart shells and topped with vanilla ice cream and more nuts. Are you in heaven yet? Well we were. 

A New Member of the Family

I do not like mice. I might go so far as to say I HATE mice. Strong words I know, but true words. Anyone who lives in the city will tell you that mice, or worse rats, are a part of life. I know that is probably true, but that doesn't mean I have to accept it. So what's a girl to do when she sees a mouse run across her kitchen counter (besides scream)? My first response was conventional traps to which I found still baited traps sans peanut butter. Next we tried sticky traps which actually caught the nasty little bugger. Mind you, this was all pre-New Years'. All is well. Right? Wrong!! Last week, we saw another mouse(probably the afore mentioned rodents' cousin). Did I mention how much I dislike mice? Did I also mention I am not a cat-lover? I'm not sure why, but they are just not my thing. You must know I am at the end of my rope when I start talking about getting a cat. However, a second mouse is the final straw. I don't love cats, but I really HATE mice, so you guessed it... We got a cat! And what some of you might find even more surprising than the actually acquisition of said feline is that I really like him. I do! Weird huh? 

So our furry feline is male, without a name* and of unknown age, but still a kitten. He is quite skinny and a little skittish still, but is slowly warming to us. Jack is another story altogether. He and Jack do not get along. We have tried to keep them in separate ends of the apartment and slowly allow more face-time between them. I think Jack is most curious and kitty is just plain mad. Only time will tell. 

Okay, I will be the first to say that I encouraged Jack in the chasing of cats when we lived in Utah. I didn't like what they did to my garden, nor how one winter they took up residency in our garage. But the fact is, we are city dwellers and we live in an apartment which means no matter how fastidious I am about cleaning, storing food, etc. we will probably have mice - unless we have a cat. So I welcome him to the family with open arms. Now get to work! :)

*As far as names go, we have been calling him Claudio. Jack is named after Jackson Pollock. I picked Claudio after Claudio Bravo an artist I really fell in love with in Italy. Kind-of random, but Jon had just finished a piece that reminded me of Mr. Bravo's. I think it fits him, but the jury is still out. Et calls him Claude which works as well.

Phantom of the Opera

I listen to the Phantom of the Opera a lot. Sis loves to dance around while I fix dinner with Christine singing in the background. Today though we did something different - she started asking questions. She wanted to know who was singing and she couldn't hear enough about the Phantom. I told her the story and why some songs sounded sad while others were angry and still others tender. She disappeared for a little while and when she returned she was no longer Sis, she was the *Phantom. Truly she would not answer to her name, only Phantom. She wore this costume through dinner, even saying the prayer in character. 

We watched the movie together tonight. Sis kept turning to me and saying "Mom I love this movie". A million more questions were asked before the movie was through and when it finished, she wanted to listen to the score again. I can see this is a girl who loves music in all forms: singing, instrumental, opera, musicals, etc. 

I love this side to our own little Prima Donna. She's absolutely one of a kind!

*Funny thing, I had not shown her pictures yet, nor the movie and she nailed the costume perfectly. When I asked her, she said she just knew what he looked like.