I Love a Deal

Isn't it wonderful when you find a deal that almost seems too good to be true? At Target today, I found these lovely rainboots on clearance. They were the only ones there and they just happened to my size! I got them for $6, six measly dollars. Happy day!

FHE ala E & Sis

FHE has gone the way of the Dodo this summer. Jon has been working Monday nights and I have been lazy. Simple as that. So this morning I mentioned to the kids that I wanted them to put together a lesson for FHE. In fact, I told them to plan the whole thing. For hours they worked at the table. First, they needed an xcto knife and mat. Next, they wanted a shoebox. Then Et disappeared outside for a spot. They were busy for most of the afternoon. E cutting and writing. Sis coloring and gluing. They were so focused. It made for a quiet house.

This is the *project they worked on together. (The word bubbles were not taped across the top originally, just when that portion of the story was taking place.)

It was a great lesson and reminded me of how capable, clever and intelligent my kids truly are. They did a fabulous job!

*If you can't figure out what you are looking at, its Nephi, Laman and Lemuel arriving in the Promised Land.

When it Rains... It Pours

Baltimore is a great place to live. One of things I have liked the most this summer is the rain. It doesn't just rain here, it pours! Its like nothing I have ever seen, seen on a regular basis, that is. It goes something like this...

The clouds change. (Living downtown with buildings right next to each other makes it a little hard to see the great-big sky sometimes, but the light in our apartment changes and you know its coming.) It begins with a slight sprinkle which lasts about 15 seconds and then WHAM! Its like the clouds open right up and pour out everything they've got. It lasts a long time too. Its not like a normal cloudburst where it rains for 5 minutes and then slows to a sprinkle again. No, no. It unleashes copious amounts of rain for 30 minutes or more and then - done.

A few weeks back, we had the Elders over for dinner and as we were going down to the car for Jon to take them home, the cycle started. The clouds changed and within a very short time it was pouring. I really don't know what came over me, but I suddenly had the urge to get soaking wet.

Ingrid - I missed you so so much. I knew you would be out there with me, stomping in the puddles, dancing with arms wide open.

(I apologize for the wet t-shirt like pics that follow. If you are easily offended, do not continue reading.)
As it was, Sis was the only taker. Initially she couldn't believe what I was doing, but she came around and we spent a good 40 minutes in a torrential downpour. The alley behind our house was streaming with ankle deep rainwater. We were, quite literally, soaked to the skins. She kept turning to me saying, "Mom this is the best time of my life! I want to remember this forever."

When E arrived home with Jon he came out and played bringing Jack along. It just kept on raining and raining and raining. I have to say, it was one of the most carefree things I have done in ages. I felt like a kid again. And when all was said and done, after warm showers and clean jammies, my kids went to bed with smiles on their faces and loads of new memories in their precious brains.

A Little Favor

My sister in Cincy sent this to me. Pretty funny. I like to think that one day that could be me hosting a garden club meeting at my home in Italy or Greece. Bunch of crazy old ladies.

Thought I'd share it with all of you.

Hi MY BEST FRIEND!!! It's that time of the year again." I need a small favor... if it's not too much trouble. I wouldn't ask this if you were not such a good friend. I'm going away on vacation, and I need a friend to come over to water my plants while I'm gone. The plants are mostly geraniums and begonias. In the hot weather they'll probably only need water twice a day. I'll be gone only 21 days. I've attached a photo for your reference. I'll send you a post card OK? Thanks so much.

P.S. The ladder is in the garage.

Presto! Pesto

It's that time of year again. Basil is growing aplenty in my small garden and that means pesto in this house.
Last nights' dinner was simple and scrumptious. Multi-grain pasta with homemade pesto topped with parmesan. I wish I could afford real Parmigiano-Reggiano, but alas...

I made enough for dinner + more for the rest of the week.

Here's the pesto recipe:

2 cups fresh basil, rinsed

1/4 cup pinenuts

1/4 cup parm. cheese

couple tsp. of lemon juice

1 glove garlic

Throw above in a food processor and blend. While mixing, add oil until smooth, maybe a minute.

1/4 cup olive oil

kosher salt and ground pepper

Combine with cooked pasta, s&p to taste, top with more cheese. Enjoy! Couldn't be simpler.

(I like to add more cheese and nuts in the mix. Just a personal preference.)

I just love its beautiful bright green color. (This pic, courtesy of my phone, doesn't do it justice.)

Two More Elders

This post is dedicated to Elders Harrison (second from left) and Stutz (resting on E) who became part of our family while serving here in Baltimore. We love you guys!
I don't know how to compose this post. I am suddenly filled with deep emotion as I consider things. It's funny how you can plan things one way and they can turn out entirely different than you anticipated and be even better than you could imagined. I was referring to our evening with Elders last night, but as I write this, I realize it absolutely applies to life in general.

We said goodbye to two more Elders yesterday evening. It was a whirlwind day, with much planning to make it all come together.

A little explanation: In the past when any of the Elders are being transferred or going home, we try and have both companionships over for dinner and we play the game of LIFE. (They seem to look at this as a road map for what might lie ahead. It's pretty funny.)

A little hiccup: On Sunday, two of the Elders informed us they would not be able to come to dinner on Tuesday as planned. No other night would work as Jon works Sunday and Monday evenings this month and on Wednesday they would be at the mission home for their final evening before heading home. They had a very good reason for cancelling - a baptism!

A little tweaking: After rearranging times a little, we figured out a way to get all four here, have an early dinner, shuttle off to the baptism with the help of our friend Daniel acting as chauffeur to two, attend the baptism and come back for 16-layers of heaven (see photo). All of that was easily enough arranged and the baptism was wonderful. I am grateful we attended.

Another set of hiccups: When the baptism concluded, there were not enough spots in vehicles to get everyone back to our place. There are too many little details to explain and really they are unnecessary for this story, so in the end we had found rides for everyone who needed them and in the process invited most of the people at the baptism back to our place for cake and ice cream. Love it. (I'm so glad we had cleaned the house earlier.)

A spontaneous party!! This glorious cake, below, is incredibly rich and the piece size needs to be small if you are going to make it through it. In the end, we got 20 slices out of a 9" round. Turns out, that's about the right size after all. Not a piece was left and everyone who wanted one got one. The ice cream too was completely devoured. It felt a little like the loaves and the fishes. More than the food though, we got to have good friends over to visit, the kids played until they dropped and the Elders got to say goodbye to a lot of people. It was wonderful and I loved that it was entirely unplanned and there was no stress.
In the end, we played a quick game of LIFE with the Elders and E creamed us all. We said our goodbyes to Harrison and Stutz, who were amazing, hard-working Elders, snapped a few pics and went to bed with our bellies full of cake, minds filled with happy new memories and hearts overflowing with gratitude for such a perfect day.

Clothes Line

Do you ever wonder why it took you so long to do something? Something simple and easy? Especially when it was something you really wanted? Well, I have. Sadly, I wonder this too often about a myriad of things.

My thoughts wandered this direction today after I accomplished something painfully easy. What am I talking about you ask? A clothesline! I have wanted one forever and I finally went ahead and did it. I hung it myself. Took me all of two minutes. Nothing fancy, but it works. Plus, I found another use for my beloved clothespins. hehe

Two things made me finally decide to do it. The first: I was having a hard time falling asleep. This was not because of the outrageous electrical bill I got this month, although it should have been keeping me up nights. Rather it was due to my noisy dryer. You see, here in MD, we have no laundry room just a stack W/D - an older one I might add - in the hallway near my bedroom. I was only drying clothes at night for many reasons which would take too long to explain. I would put a load in before bed and if there was anything in the load that could make noise, it would - keeping me awake. Secondly, that darn electrical bill! Again, it would take far too long to fully explain why it was so big, but let me say, it made me do a double take and make a phone call it was so outrageous. Jon and I decided we needed to be more conscientious of our electricity usage further prompting me to consider the clothesline.

Why do I like the clothesline? So many reasons...

I love how the clothes smell hung out to dry on the line. I can't imagine how good they'll smell when the plumaria blooms.

It saves money.

It's environmentally responsible.

My house doesn't heat up because of the prehistoric dryer.

The clothes aren't going to wear out as quickly.

Sun is a natural bleach.

My kids "fight" over who gets to hang up the laundry with me.

It just makes me happy. Can't really explain it. I can imagine myself having a yard again with a great big clothesline, listening to the Weepies "Simple Life" while I hang things out to dry. That makes me happy.

What I don't like:

The dryer did a great job of hair-removal aka Jack's hair, which is currently attached to everything we own.

Towels aren't as soft on the first use. They're fine after that, but they are a little stiff the first go-round.

The most ironic thing... I finally have a clothesline and it's in the smallest outdoor space I have ever had. Go figure.

Plumaria

Three years ago, I think it was, a dear friend gave me a plumaria she purchased while vacationing in Hawaii. In the three years I have had it, it has grown bigger every year, but never bloomed. I have researched how to get it to bloom, but never done just what I it needed. It is absolutely my most cherished plant, such that when we moved to MD, it traveled in the car with us instead of the moving van.

After obediently following the regime I found, my plumaria is doing amazing well. Apparently, the healthier the plant, the more it branches. My sweet plant is sporting multiple branches at this point. Also, the more it branches, the more blooms you can expect. In a few weeks, I will post again to show-off the beautiful blooms that are just beginning to form. I can hardly wait.

New haircut for Sis

I don't know why but she won't wear barrettes, elastics, or headbands without a fight. She plays hard and by the end of the day was looking pretty scary, borderline homeless somedays. What's a mom to do? Chop it off! Problem being, I am not stylist. I cut Et's hair in the summer, which translates into clippers and buzzing it. Did that stop me? Not this time! I mustered my courage and chopped it all off, nearly five inches! Turned out pretty well if I do say so myself.

Who am I kidding, she looks adorable no matter what!

Scrapple

I came across this in the grocery store not long ago. My guess is many of you have never heard of it. Lucky you. Apparently it finds its roots here in the East ~ Pennsylvania Dutch I think. Its kind-of gray-ish in color. I'm all about not wasting, but some things just should not be. Scrapple is one of those things. (This food came about so certain parts of the pig after butchering wouldn't be wasted.) Yummy! The pic isn't great so I will list as many ingredients as I can before throwing up.

Pork stock

Pork

Pork livers

Pork skins

Yellow corn meal

Pork hearts

Whole wheat flour

Pork tongue

Salt

Buckwheat flour

Sodium Citrate

Sodium Diacelate?

White flour

Spices

Dextrose

Flavoring

If you really want to know more about it, read this. Enough said.

First Court of Honor

We had a fun time tonight at E's first Court of Honor. He was able to go to Scout camp this month and was excited to get his first merit badges, first aid and photography. There were only two boys in attendance as Youth Conference was this week as well. He is just one requirement short of his Tenderfoot, three from Second Class and halfway through his First Class.

I have to say how daunting this all seems to me. Its one more thing to do in an already busy life, but as I see how much he is learning and growing, I know its all worth it. A friend in the ward has been really terrific in helping me figure things out and giving me tips about making it more E's responsibility and less mine. We are figuring out how we can incorporate it in our daily schedule & school curriculum to make it more doable, less crazy.

I have to I am so proud of him. He is a really terrific kid and I feel lucky to be his mom. Oh, funny thing... When he was saying the closing prayer/blessing on the refreshments he said something to the effect of, "bless the refreshments even though they really aren't good for us". People thought it was pretty funny. Where does he get it?

Sweat baby!!

I have been doing a new workout as of late and it's tough. The idea is different from previous programs I have done in that you lift VERY heavy weights with fewer reps instead of more reps and less weight. The "off" days from lifting are spent doing intense cardio in 3-5 one minute bursts, with plyometrics and endurance lifting in-between. If I were in better shape it might not be so difficult, but as it is, I am dying through these workouts. On one particularly brutal day after finishing my routine, I looked down at my mat and this is what I saw. That is my sweat!

Can I tell you how strong and able I felt?! It was like I could do anything. I pushed myself so hard and I had the sweat to prove it. It isn't just physically challenging, but absolutely mental as well. So I'll ask, what are you doing that challenges you these days? Physically? Spiritually? Emotionally? Intellectually? (I know being a mother does this for me everyday.) If you can't think of anything, or if the answer is nothing, step up and find something that stretches you to your limit and then push yourself one step further. You'll be amazed at what you can accomplish.

Independence Day

This was a different sort of Fourth for us. When we lived in UT, the Fourth was an amazing test of endurance. It began with an awesome block party on the afternoon and evening of the 3rd, followed by movies projected on the neighbors' house. There was the task of saving space on the parade route, arguing with police and generally going until you dropped and that was just the 3rd. The 4th began early by checking the coveted "reserved" parade spot to confirm that it was indeed still saved. Crepe breakfast courtesy of Leslie was not to be missed. The parade and all is wonderful chaos was next in the lineup. After hours of cheering and celebrating, we would retreat inside for a bit before heading to Sorensen's for their watermelon bust and then if we had any energy left, we might venture over for some tasty eats at the County buildings. Naps in the afternoon and visiting with friends was customary. And to top it all off, we would haul our camp chairs out into the street to watch the Stadium of Fire pyrotechnics display after dark., finally rolling into bed around midnight. I am exhausted just thinking about it. We did it though, every year for the last seven years we did it.
This year was different. On the evening of the 3rd, Jon went out with the Elders on splits until late and I made a pie for the BBQ the next day. Isn't it pretty?

The morning of the 4th was mellow with nothing planned. That's right... NOTHING!! I really didn't know what to do with myself. No parade to hit, no running around, nothing. We just vegetated until it was time to go to a BBQ in the evening.

E and Sam, as Uncle Sam(s)

Thanks to Kristen and family for the fabulous BBQ! I especially appreciated the time we took to talk about the Founding Fathers and Our Nations' history.

The company was fabulous, the food delicious and the view for the fireworks, unbeatable.

Fireworks over the Bay ~ View from the rooftop deck

As much as we missed the festivities in UT, this was a pretty terrific day. I actually spent some time reflecting on the holiday and the freedoms I enjoy. The fireworks were great. They were all up and down the Bay. I'm not adequately describing it, but it was a lot of fun.

Happy with Me - A Turning Point in my Life

This is a very personal post but I feel strongly that I need to publish it here for some reason.

At the beginning of the summer, while visiting family in UT, I had a bit of a breakdown. It just snuck up on me and knocked me flat on my back. Although short in duration (two days), it was a really difficult time for me. I felt so sad! I have never felt like that. Most of the time I think of myself as a happy, cheerful sort of person and I was just in the depths. (I imagine it was similar to what someone with depression feels like; definitely an eye-opener to me.) Jon was only with us for 3+ days and sadly I spent the last one in this funk. But before he headed home, we had a great discussion that helped me as I worked through things over the next couple of days. I just wanted to share what I learned about myself during that time and how it has changed me.

As I said, I was just sad; no other way to say it, just completely sad. I sat and watched my family and the kids and I felt nothing. For some reason, I just didn't like myself. I am not sure what triggered it, but when the switch flipped, I just became numb to happiness and felt such a raw, aching sadness, a loss for what? I didn't know. I called a good friend and she gave me a great piece of advice: let yourself feel it. Don't try to stop the emotion, just let yourself feel everything. It wasn't convenient. It wasn't fun, but it was good advice. It allowed me to be open to things I didn't want to see or feel, but by being open I was able to work through it instead of burying it.

If I explained everything I figured out, this post would be eternally long, so I will sum up.

I compare myself. Specifically I compare myself to everyone in my family. While visiting family, without even realizing it, I found something everyone else did that I felt was "better" than I could do. I wasn't giving myself any credit, just finding where I felt I fell short and magnifying it in my mind. It was so warped. Both of my sisters-in-law are pregnant and I was coming down on myself for not being pregnant, as though I somehow have control over that. I was even comparing my kids with their cousins. It was so mixed-up! In finding fault with myself, I had divided myself into little pieces and scattered them about leaving myself unwhole, broken if you will. In talking, Jon helped me to see things as they really are and helped me to see goodness in myself where my vision was temporarily clouded.

Another big one I figured out was that I still wanted my parents' approval. Actually, wanted is not entirely accurate. I needed my parents' approval. I messed up a lot as a teenager and I felt like I disappointed my parents so much. I hadn't dealt with that either. I haven't been a teenager for 14 years and I had left a little part of myself in that time.

When I recognized all these things and a few others, it was surprisingly easy to go in the other direction. It was a conscious choice, but not a difficult one. It wasn't something I just fixed, but I did change course immediately and started looking for things that I liked about myself. I realized that my parents love me and whether or not they approve of the choices I make is irrelevant. They love me. So many of things I worried about just don't matter. I can't control so much of what happens in life but the things I can control I do a pretty good job with. In fact, I do a lot of things well. And what I don't do well, I am learning to live with or improve where possible. The rest is extra. Now more than ever I feel like a whole person again. And being happy with me makes me smile, another thing I am good at.