Snow!

It snowed here last weekend. But, just in case we would have missed that fact, a snowman rang the doorbell to tell us about it first hand.

(Snowman and doorbell ringing courtesy of Adam). =)

More shameless self promotion

Just Because has a new basket! It's the New Baby Basket, which can be checked out here!

I noticed the little WeatherBug icon in the system tray on our computer flashing at me this afternoon. When I clicked on it I was greeted with eight severe weather alerts for our zip code. It sounds like we're in for rain, rain, rain and a little bit of wind. But, I'm pretty sure that after last year, we're ready for anything. Hopefully I haven't jinxed us now... =)

An ideal evening

(in no particular order)

-West Wing
-Fire in the fireplace
-Cutie snuggled in only 15 feet away... making cute noises every so often
-Popcorn
-Sunday ads
-Clean house
-Snuggling with my honey
-Pajamas
-Hot chocolate

Tomato enchilada bake

This is another favorite. Hmmm... I bet that it would be pretty good with leftover turkey too.

Tomato Enchilada Bake
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Ready In: 45 Minutes
Yields: 4 large servings

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups cooked chicken meat
1 cup sour cream
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 green onions, chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 (6.5 ounce) can canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup salsa
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
6 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl combine the chicken, sour cream, canned diced tomatoes, 1 teaspoon chili powder, chopped onion, green onion, and fresh diced tomato. Mix well and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan combine tomato sauce, salsa, 2 teaspoons chili powder, oregano and parsley. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and fold together, laying snugly in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour simmered sauce over the top, then sprinkle with shredded cheese.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Ratings (out of 5):
Adam - **** (with jalapenos added)
Melanie - **** 1/2 (as written)

Little turkey

I know... it's out of focus, but I still thought that it was cute.

Elf yourself

I hope that Adam forgives me for posting this (click the picture for more fun!)! Ha! Try it yourself here!

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

I've been mulling over the idea of a Thanksgiving post for the past few days now, but to be honest I'm having a hard time putting all the things for which I'm thankful into words. This past year has been such an amazing journey through so many different feelings and emotions and to try to organize those in a way that makes sense to others seems impossible right now.

As the generations of parents before me understood - the love from a parent to a child and the resulting love that invades the surrounding family of that child is impossible to describe... which is probably alright because I don't know that it can be understood until you've been there. At least, I know I certainly didn't understand.

That love and the things that have come from that love encompass so many of the things for which I'm thankful. Such simple description with such complex meaning. It just seems that there should be more profound language to describe things so important and precious.

In light of the fact that I'm all caught up in my emotions this week, I'm going to let one of Addy's books do the heavy hitting. This is one of my favorites and I rarely get through it with two dry eyes.

On the Day You Were Born
By Debra Frasier

On the eve of your birth
word of your coming
passed from animal to animal.

The reindeer told the Artic terns,
who told the humpback whales,
who told the Pacific salmon,
who told the monarch butterflies,
who told the green turtles,
who told the European eel,
who told the busy garden warblers,
and the marvelous news migrated worldwide.

While you waited in darkness,
tiny knees curled to chin,
the Earth and her creatures
with the Sun and the Moon
all moved in their places,
each ready to greet you
the very first moment
of the very first day you arrived.

On the day you were born
the round planet Earth
turned toward your morning sky,
whirling past darkness,
spinning the night into light.

On the day you were born
gravity's strong pull
held you to the Earth
with a promise that you
would never float away…

…while deep in space
the burning Sun
sent up
towering flames,
lighting your sky,
from dawn until dusk.

On the day you were born
the quiet Moon glowed
and offered to bring
a full, bright face,
each month,
to your windowsill…

...while high above the North Pole,
Polaris, the glittering North Star,
stood still, shining silver light
into your night sky.

On the day you were born
the Moon pulled
on the ocean below, and,
wave by wave,
a rising tide washed the
beaches clean for
your footprints…

…while far out at sea
clouds swelled with water drops,
sailed to shore on a wind,
and rained you a welcome
across the Earth’s
green lands.

On the day you were born
a forest of tall tress
collected the Sun’s light
in their leaves,
where, in silent mystery,
they made oxygen
for you to breathe…

…while close to your skin
and as high as the sky,
air rushed in and blew about,
invisibly protecting you
and all living things on Earth.

On the day you were born
the Earth turned, the Moon pulled,
the Sun flared, and, then, with a push,
you slipped out of the dark quiet
where suddenly you could hear…

…a circle of people singing
with voices familiar and clear.

“Welcome to the spinning world,” the people sang,
as they washed your new, tiny hands.

“Welcome to the green Earth,” the people sang,
as they wrapped your wet, slippery body.

And as they held you close
they whispered into your open, curving ear,
“We are so glad you’ve come!”


I’m thankful for our little family and the love that holds it close. Adam and Addy – I’m so thankful for the two of you.

just because I'm ready!

Over the past week, I've been working on a children's apparel line for Just Because. I'm pretty excited about it and wanted to plug it here (because if I can't plug it here, where can I?) =) So, if you're interested, please check it out here. Thanks for looking! =)

Favorite Salad

So, we didn't do our weekly 'dinner and a movie' night this week, but I thought that I would post my favorite salad recipe. It's one that my Mom often would serve at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas and I would always look forward to eating it. Truly, I know that it sounds a little icky with the sour cream, but trust me, it's wonderful!!

Raspberry Marble Salad:

Makes 8 servings

2 packages raspberry gelatin
2 cups boiling water
1 package (10 oz) frozen raspberries
1 small can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
8 ounce box dairy sour cream

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add raspberries, stirring to thaw. Chill until partially set. Add pineapple and walnuts. Put half of mixture into 11 x 7-in pan or casserole dish. Spread sour cream over this and add second half of gelatin mixture over sour cream layer. Chill until set.

I've been tagged!

Deanna tagged me with this meme. Here goes nothing!

Two names you go by: 1. Mel and well, um, hmm... I don't think that I really go by anything else other than that. 2. Adam calls me babe. Does that count?

Two things you are thinking right now: 1. I need to make a list of grocery items for Thanksgiving. 2. I really need to get those thank you notes sent! (Can you tell I'm a little behind?) =)

Two of your favorite things to do: 1. Play with Addy. 2. Shop (isn't that bad?). I do love looking for deals though!

Two things you want very badly at that moment: 1. A cuddly, rainy, snuggle-up-under-the-covers-morning with Adam and Addy. 2. Thanksgiving grocery shopping to be done.

Two favorite pets you have had/have: 1. Nutmeg - the dog that we had when I was in high school. 2. Credit and Debit, of course!

Two people who will fill this out: 1. Anna. 2. Amanda.

Two (non-household) people you last talked to (email does not count): 1. The Wash U people asking for money. 2. Mom.

Two longest trips you have been on: 1. Our 'backpacking' trip through Europe. 2. Our trip to Israel.

Two favorite holidays: 1. Christmas. 2. Thanksgiving. It's the perfect time of year for me now! =)

Two beverages: 1. Wild Cherry Pepsi. 2. Raspberry Lemonade.

Kohl's!

I'm so excited that Kohl's has finally come to our neck of the woods! Though the store officially opened on Wednesday, Addy and I went to their 'sneak peek' on Tuesday. If you enlarge the picture, you'll see the Kohl's sign through the window. =) (Oh and for those of you that wonder, I hadn't finished adjusting Addy in the car seat - she was just in a really happy mood (I hope that wasn't because we were leaving Kohl's!), so I wanted to capture the moment. I adjusted the straps and her jacket before we left!) =)

Lions in Kenya

As I was surfing around trying to find a link to post, Adam started singing the Lions in Kenya song. I couldn't believe I had had never posted that link here. The video and song have become favorites of Addy's - she'll 'dance' (the equivalent of bobbing her head) whenever we play them. We're often changing the words to incorporate what Addy is doing - "Where is the Addy? She's in the high chair. She's in the high chair, yes she's Addy." Well maybe it will make more sense after you see the video. Click here to start the fun!

Good day

I have no idea of what to write about. But yet I promised myself that I would truly try to keep up with blogging. It’s now 10:45 and I’m headed to bed – or at least I would be, except that I haven’t yet blogged today. So here I am trying to spit out a post that at least makes some morsel of sense to those who read it. I’ve always been told to ‘write what you know’, so here goes. My day in 400 words or less! (Don’t hold your breath – it’s really not all that exciting!) =)

I don’t really know where the time went today. I think that little aliens must have landed and sucked all of the time out of the minutes. Seriously. Ok, maybe not… but that’s kind of the way that it feels.

Lots of errand running and lots of piddly stuff at home got done, but nothing of great consequence. I tried to think of a reason – any reason (well any good reason, at least) to get out of my dentist appointment tomorrow. No luck there. I guess I’m going. Ah well.

I started mentally matching Christmas gifts to names on the the ‘What are we going to give (insert name here)?’ list. And I grumbled under my breath (just a little) about the fact that the halls are completely decked in most stores a week and a half before Thanksgiving. But then I listened to the Christmas music playing over the sound systems and grumbled just a little less.

I probably put a huge hole in a tree today with all of the Kleenex that I used. And I also tried to convince myself that I’m not getting sick. Three cough drops and four Tylenol later, I realized that I was wrong. (And the bummer is that even with this knowledge, the dentist still told me to come in…).

I laughed as I went in to check on Addy during her afternoon nap. Flexible as all get out, she was folded in half – face touching toes – happily asleep and none the worse for wear when she woke up.

I made Addy laugh. I cleaned some. I caught up on some email. I did some 'webmistressing'. I played with Addy. And now – here it’s 11:00 and I’m here writing about nothing really, but putting words on the paper all the same.

I have to say though, all in all, it still was a pretty good day. After all - the sun rose, the house stayed warm, the roof stayed put in the icky wind, the car got me to and from everywhere I needed to go, the company was good, the food that we ate was healthy and yummy, and the three family members in our little nucleus felt and sent love back and forth all day long.

I guess measuring the tangible things done in and with time isn’t the only way to measure the worth of a day...

Dan in Real Life **** (out of 5)

Addy and I went to the Mom and Baby showing of Dan in Real Life last week. (As an aside, if I haven’t mentioned before – this Parent/Baby showing is just an awesome event for the theaters to put on. It only works until Addy is one, so I (and Adam sometimes too) am (are) going to take advantage of it while I (we) can!). (As an even further aside, there really should be a better way to use the singular and plural for situations like that!).

Alright – enough of that. So, Dan in Real Life. Though I had seen Steve Carell on The Daily Show and in Bruce Almighty, I have to say that I never really noticed him until I saw The Office. Well, of course I noticed him, I just didn’t take note of him – if that makes any sense.

So, anyway, we started watching The Office a couple years ago and I quickly became a Steve Carrell fan. I just can’t not watch him – in that way that people just can’t not watch things that they shouldn’t want to watch. But we’ve seen him other places too – and it’s in those places that I’ve become a fan. He seems like such a genuinely nice person. That personality shows throughout Dan as well. He seems like a nice guy struggling to keep it together for his daughters after the death of his wife.

The plot synopsis is pretty simple: meeting the rest of his family for an annual reunion, Dan becomes the center of the family’s pity, all the while secretly desiring his brother’s girlfriend – his brother’s ‘the one’.

The characters are flawed in areas but well meaning and they offer a ‘home’ in the middle of nowhere. Marie – the love interest (Juliette Binoche) is a fine actress, but her character does not seem to understand that she can’t be interested in both brothers at once – which is frustrating to viewers who can see what her actions do to Dan (Carell). However, I think that her actions are probably normal in the real world – it’s just that they are hard to watch when vested in more than just her point of view. It’s frustrating, but it’s not completely damaging to the movie.

Other than that, the movie provides humor and several touching moments. It is not a movie for the ages, but it is a good story. I think it’s worth the time, and both Addy and I left the theater with smiles on our faces.

French Dips and Weeds

This past Wednesday, for our weekly 'dinner and a movie' night, we tried a sandwich recipe - (the official recipe title is just a long way to say 'French Dip' if you ask me...) and finished the last couple episodes in the first season of Weeds. The sandwiches weren't spectacular, but they were pretty good, and Weeds (if you suspend reality a little) is a pretty good show - though it takes a little while to get into. 'Official' ratings follow below.

Beef and Roasted Red Pepper Sandwiches
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 30 Minutes
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 (1 ounce) packet dry au jus mix
1 pound thinly sliced roast beef
garlic powder to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 (12 ounce) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained and sliced
8 ounces sliced extra sharp provolone cheese
4 torpedo rolls, split

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat broiler. Prepare the au jus mix according to package directions. Add the sliced roast beef, and simmer until heated through.
2. Slice the rolls open, and place sliced side up on a baking sheet. Divide the beef between the rolls evenly, placing a portion on each slice of roll. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Top with a single layer of roasted red peppers, then cover with slices of provolone cheese.
3. Place under the broiler, about 6 inches from the heat source. Broil until the cheese melts, and the edges of the rolls are lightly toasted. Place roll halves together to make sandwiches.
4. Pour leftover au jus into small cups for each person. Serve with sandwiches for dipping.

Ratings (out of 5)
Adam: French Dip ***; Weeds ****
Melanie: French Dip***1/2; Weeds ****

Adam's new blog

Adam has been blogging again. His new blog is a book blog. You should read it. It's interesting and he's a great writer. You should read his blog. He will probably be posting quite a bit because he is always reading. You should read his blog - (have I mentioned that?). =) Click here to start!

Moldy toes?

Adam broke a bone in his foot a week ago. The doctor gave him a boot instead of a cast, which means we've been able to see the healing process taking place. The bone that he broke was beneath his ankle, but his toes are looking a little rough around the edges too.

Just your typical family... or not

I stumbled across this site on a friend's blog - and have enjoyed keeping up with the featured family for a while now. Currently the family is in Nalerigu, Ghana in Africa. With some amazing pictures and stories, the Haun family grants a first hand perspective of places that most will only see in the news... if even there.

Special dates

I admit it. For me, life is better when it’s organized. Once Adam and I announced that we were expecting a baby, people told me that I would never be organized again. And, yes, that made me sad. So, I decided to see if I could try to maintain my organiz-ed-ness once Addy was born. Some days are better than others, but so far, I think that I’ve been sucessful. (I guess this is a long intro to my actual blog, but my blog always has been ‘stream of consciousness’ to some extent in any case.)

Anyway, in my quest to be and stay organized, I have decided to rely on technology where I can. So, the other day, after Adam mentioning it several times over the past couple years, I decided that it would be much easier to enter all of the birthdays and anniversaries that we remember into Outlook as recurring events rather than keeping up with two different paper calendars (don’t ask me why they hadn’t been combined before!) which had to be redone year after year.

As I was entering everything into Outlook, I noticed that lots of important days clump together. For example in August, I have three friends with the same wedding anniversary date. There’s a week long stint in May that sees five anniversaries and three birthdays celebrated too. Adam has two friends that have wedding anniversaries on the same date in December. February 19th has not only Addy’s birthday but my Mom’s as well; also my aunt’s (though she and my Mom are twins, so that’s probably not all that unusual!), and also a friend from high school’s birthday too. More often than not, if there is one event on a specific day, there are two or more events. Of course there are several weeks throughout the year that are completely empty too. And that just doesn’t make sense to me.

If I remember correctly - if there are twelve people in a room, it’s more likely that two share a birthday than not. Out of 366 possibilities for birthdays, I just don’t understand how it’s likely to find a duplicate in twelve. This whole issue makes me think of the movie Identity, in which a group of strangers finds themselves stuck together in an old hotel. Soon after they start talking, they realize that they all have the same birthday. There is a dumb reason for it (which coincides with the dumb plot), but at least there’s a reason. And it makes sense, even though it’s dumb (can you tell that I’m not really a fan of the movie?) =)

Alas in real life, it just becomes a numbers game and people (like me) who are not numerically inclined are left to just have to accept that it happens. (I’ve written about probability and coincidences before and I’m still just as baffled by it all now). So, I’ll just stick to the idea that understanding things like this would just take the fun and mystery out of it and move on with life… though with an organized birthday and anniversary reminder system nonetheless.

Garlic Chicken and Caffeine

Not a high rating night. Ah well.

Easy Garlic Chicken

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Ready In: 20 Minutes
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons butter
4 skinless, boneless chicken
breast halves
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon onion powder

DIRECTIONS:
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and sprinkle with garlic powder, seasoning salt and onion powder. Saute about 10 to 15 minutes on each side, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

Ratings: (out of 5)
Adam - Garlic chicken **, Caffeine **1/2 (with Mena Suvari's rated a *)
Melanie - Garlic chicken *1/2, Caffeine **1/2

Attention dogs

We saw this sign on our way through a local park last weekend. Maybe the dog owners out there can translate? =)

Wildcams

My parents bought a subscription to the National Geographic Magazine for me when I was youger and all of those issues still adorn shelves in our house. But now I've found something even cooler - the National Geographic wildlife cams. Click here to see the Africa cam - streaming live out of Botswana and click here to see wildcams in other areas.

Oh, and Addy loved the bird sounds of Africa!

Eighteen minutes

Until last weekend, the clocks in Adam’s and my bedroom were eighteen minutes ahead. They had been that way for at least eight months.

The normal person might ask why they weren’t set to real time. I think that we always had them set a little fast because we wanted to trick ourselves into being early (or at least on time) to things.

However, last winter, we were without power for over three days because of a terrible windstorm. My clock, when it’s on battery back-up, has something like a 57 second minute which caused us to move forward in time. When the power came back on, having forgotten that my clock runs fast, we set Adam’s clock (which doesn't have a battery back-up mode) to mine and went about daily life.

The first couple days after the storm, I thought that I was taking shorter showers than usual. I’d get out of the shower in the bathroom just a couple minutes after I walked in the bathroom from the bedroom (and yes, if you’ve done the math, you realize that I take long showers (or at least, I did – before Addy)). But I soon got hip to the jive and realized something was amiss.

But for some reason we didn’t do anything about it. We simply adjusted our schedules. We would just subtract twenty from the time on the clocks. Of course, since the clocks were only eighteen minutes fast, this in fact set us behind in our dashes out the door (and sometimes two minutes can make a difference – yes, we sometimes run that closely…).

I think that our clocks bothered Adam a little more than he let on (though once he told me that he just never set his clock back one Fall – so it was off an hour for half a year until Spring sprung forward). Anyway, I say that maybe he was bothered more than I realized because last Sunday night when I asked “Could we set our clocks to real time?”, he was actually giddy as he agreed.

I don’t know why we didn’t change them earlier – I guess it became real time in a way. Once we got used to the time fast time, we would had to have re-adjusted the clocks by the difference exactly in order to know what time it was (and when I say 'we', I guess I now know that I mean 'I'). I don’t know if that makes any sense at all… probably not. It does in my head though.

But anyway, we’ve re-adjusted now. Or rather, we’re re-adjusting now. It’s still hard not to subtract twenty from the time… doing so, of course, could make us super late. Two minutes is nothing compared to twenty.

Ah well. I guess it just takes time. =)

Feast of Love **** (out of 5)

Addy and I went to see Feast of Love at the Thursday Moms’ showing this week. It has some old favorites (Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Selma Blair, Missi Pyle) and several newcomers too.

The movie follows several couples through 18 months in their lives – through beginnings of love, endings of love, and the good the bad and the ugly of love. The couples’ lives intertwine and are all held together by the fatherly advice handed down by Freeman’s character.

Freeman is, of course, good in this movie (when isn’t he good?) and Kinnear plays the loveable and affable doof that he also plays in so many of his roles. He, like most of the other characters, is simply trying to find a place in this crazy world.

Selma Blair was almost forgotten (though she still played an integral part in the movie – just more in spirit than in character). Missi Pyle didn’t get enough screen time which is sad because she’s funny just by being. But then again, it really wasn’t that type of a movie.

The movie didn't really end – I was left with the feeling that life just continued for the characters after the credits started to roll. But that was fitting. I wasn’t upset that I didn’t get my resolution tied up with a bow as I am with some movies that just fade to black.

The show was rather explicit (that R rating allows more than it used to), and I thought it was unnecessarily so. Maybe I’m just getting stodgy in my old age though.

All in all, it was a pretty good movie, but I think that it is probably going to be pretty forgettable. I don’t know that I left with more than “love like it’s the last day of your life”. It’s good advice, no doubt, but I think that the movie was going for more than that… or trying to say it more poignantly at least. Still, it was a pretty good chick flick and a fun way to spend a couple hours. (I should mention that Addy slept on me for about an hour of it – which would have made any movie good, but I don’t think that swayed my opinion here – too much at least). =)

Breakfast for dinner

We had breakfast for dinner on Wednesday. Didn't get to a movie, as Adam was fixing our intermittent internet issues. YAY!! Having a consistent signal is worth missing a movie.

The casserole is a Seattle Smith favorite and the breakfast lasagna was the new recipe. We had juice and bacon too because breakfast is always a great excuse for those things. All in all, I think that the meal was a success.

Cheesy Ham and Hash Brown Casserole
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Ready In: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
Yields: 12 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 (32 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes (I use southern style)
8 ounces cooked, diced ham
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of potato soup
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, mix hash browns, ham, cream of potato soup, sour cream, and Cheddar cheese. Spread evenly into prepared dish.
3. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly brown. Serve immediately.


Fresh Fruit Breakfast Lasagna
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
Yields: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 bananas, sliced
1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup whipped cream

DIRECTIONS:
1. To make the crepes, whisk together the milk, flour, eggs, oil, almond extract, and sugar in a bowl until you have a smooth batter. Lightly grease a small skillet and place over medium heat. Spoon in 2 tablespoons of batter and gently tilt the skillet to spread the batter to the edges of the pan. Cook until brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the crepe and cook the other side until brown. Remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter until it is all used.
2. To make the filling, whisk together the pudding mix, orange juice, and sour cream in a bowl. Gently fold the strawberries, bananas and blueberries into the sour cream mixture.
3. Lightly grease the bottom of a baking dish. Cover the bottom of the dish with 1/3 of the crepes. Spoon 1/2 of the fruit mixture over the crepes. Repeat with remaining fruit and crepes, finishing with the crepes as the top layer. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Allow to sit 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with whipped cream.

Adam - Casserole ****; Fruit lasagna ***1/2
Melanie - Casserole ****; Fruit lasagna ***

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Extreme Makeover Home Edition was in town this past week. Addy and I went to see the progress that was being made on the magic house yesterday. We also saw Micheal Moloney while we were there. The completed house was just revealed today, but the show won't air until January. We'll be watching then too!

Look-alike meter

So, I'm not positive that I buy it (come on - exactly in the middle?) =), but according to this, Addy looks equally like Dad and Mom. We'll have to post some baby pictures of the two of us and see what others think! (Thanks to Jamie for the link!)

I'm cheating...

... a little this week. Time is short, but I still wanted to post, so I thought that I would fill out one of these "getting to know you" memes. I won't 'tag' anyone, but it'd be cool to read others' answers! =)

1. Do you wish on stars? Yes
2. Do you like your handwriting? For the most part
3. What is your favorite lunchmeat? Turkey
4. What is your most embarrassing CD? New Kids on the Block
5. Are you a daredevil? I wish that I were, but I’m totally not
6. Do you have a journal? Sort of – I’m writing down my thoughts about Addy for Addy
7. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Nope
8. What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate
9. What color pants are you wearing? Grey
10. What are you listening to right now? Adam’s episode of Dr. Who
11. Last thing you ate? Pizza
12. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Magenta
13. What is the weather like right now? Cool and damp
14. Favorite Drink? Coke (through a straw)
15. Favorite Sport? Swimming
16. Hair Color? Not quite as blonde as it looks =)
17. Do you wear contacts? Yes
18. Scary Movies or Happy Endings? Happy endings
19. Summer or Winter? Summer
20. Hugs or Kisses? Hugs
21. What Is Your Favorite Dessert? Chocolate cake
22. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles
23. If you could build a second house anywhere, where would it be? In the Caribbean
24. What are your favorite articles of clothing? Do flip-flops count?
25. The last CD you bought? I guess I really don’t remember – the next one that I buy will probably be the new Rascall Flatts
26. What time do you wake up in the morning? We’re late risers at our house (even with Addy) – it’s usually between 7:00 and 8:00
27. What is your favorite kitchen appliance? Insta-hot
28. If you could play an instrument, what would it be? Steel drums
29. Favorite color? Purple
30. Which vehicle do you prefer – sports car, motorcycle or SUV? SUV
31. Do you believe in the afterlife? Yes
32. Favorite children’s book? Say Goodnight Gracie
33. What is your favorite season? Autumn
34. If you have a tattoo, what is it? Don’t have one
35. Can you juggle? Nope
36. What is under your bed? Cat hair, cat toys, and wrapping paper
37. What is your favorite day? Thursday nights – weird but true
38. Which do you prefer – sushi or hamburger? Hamburger
39. What is your favorite flower? Yellow rose
40. What is your favorite meal? Breakfast – waffles, bacon, hashbrowns – yum!
41. Describe your PJs – Adam’s old t-shirt and flannel pants
42. What is your favorite breakfast? See #40
43. Do you like your job? As Addy’s Mom – you bet!!!!
44. Where did you meet your spouse? In a community service fraternity in college
45. Something you would like to do that you have never done before? Ski the Swiss Alps

The Office - Season Premiere ** (out of 5)

The one premiere that I was really looking forward to watching this season was The Office (it premiered on Thursday). I often think that the writers lie awake at night thinking up material. However, I think they fell asleep this time instead.

The show was long and not very funny – it revolved around a Rabies ‘Run for the Cure’ and was often disjointed and drawn out.

The relationship between Michael (the odd and often inappropriate character) and his once supervisor has become strained and just plain weird. It was actually uncomfortable to watch.

The fact that Ryan was working at corporate and out of the action was disappointing, as he often adds humor to situations just by being around. I hope that his post at the headquarters is short-lived.

Oh and Andy's bloody and chafed nipples were just plain gross. And that was his entire contribution to this show.

The only good part about the episode was the fact that Jim and Pam admitted that they are dating at last. Here’s hoping that the writers decide that it’s ok to keep them together and forego the thought that tension makes for better television.

It wasn’t enough to keep me from watching the next show... but I'm hopeful that the funny from previous seasons returns soon.

Margaret's Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

Adam I have resumed our 'dinner and a movie' nights! We tried this recipe from Adam's aunt Margaret last night. (FWIW, she says that it's from allrecipes.com, but it will be under her name in my recipe box!) Ours turned out as more of a chili than a soup, which actually was perfect for us. Oh and yeah, it was really good!

1 onion, chopped
1 (16 oz) can chili beans
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fl oz) can or bottle beer (used a can of chicken broth)
2 (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (1.25 oz) packet taco seasonings

3 – whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:
Shredded Cheddar cheese, Sour cream & Crushed Tortilla chips

A) Place first 8 items in slow cooker, stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts
on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other
ingredients. Keep covered & cook at LOW heat, 5 hours.

B) Remove chicken, allow to cool slightly. Using a fork, pull chicken
apart, into small shreds. Return shredded chicken to slow cooker for
at least another 2 hours.

Serve, topped with a dollop of sour cream, cheddar choose and crushed
tortilla chips. Enjoy!

What makes this recipe even better is that the chicken can be frozen - no thawing needed. I don't know why, but I hate thawing meat... so this is just perfect!!

The movie last night was Knocked Up. We got a rather late start so we'll finish the movie tonight, but so far it's actually an ok movie.

Ratings:
Adam - Soup ****; Movie - ***
Melanie Soup ****1/2; Movie ***1/2

"Look at my teeth!"

You have to look closely, but they are definietly there. In the last two weeks, Addy has started teething, sitting up on her own and crawling (at least in a modified form). She's growing up!

Just Because...

...I love you. ...I wanted to say hi. ...I'm thinking about you. ...I miss you. ...you're my friend. ...I wish you well. ...you're super. ...just because. I'm official! Just Because is now up and running. If you're interested, stop by and take a look. I love feedback on the site - please let me know if you think that changes should be made in order to make the site more user friendly. And, if you ever have a need for a gift package, please keep me in mind! Thanks! =)

The power of the Goodwill box

Yesterday I did it. I finally went through and sorted all of my clothes… and this time I was brutal. All of those clothes that I should have gotten rid of previously but didn’t (“What if 1980s fashions come back into style and I need this shirt?”) got put in a box. They’re going away. Emotions be darned.

I always keep an open ‘for Goodwill’ box in our closet. I’ve heard that this is the way to keep clutter from accumulating. Always have a box open so that when you come across something that you don’t want or need anymore, there’s a place to put it – a box to put it in. Then, when the box is full, start a new one and take the full one to Goodwill.

I have to admit that it really does work pretty well. But, it doesn’t work on those things that are kept around because of an emotional attachment. (I’m not talking about true emotional meaning… I’ll always keep things like my wedding dress and graduation robes. I’m talking about that “Oh I really liked the way those pants fit… back in 1995 and even though they don’t fit that way anymore and even though they’re not in style, I still may have a need for them someday” emotion). To get rid of those pants (and several items like them) takes strength. I was strong yesterday.

No, the box is not yet at Goodwill, but it will be soon. And until then I’m not going to allow myself to go back through it again. My decisions don’t need to be second guessed by me when I’m in a weaker moment than I was when I first made the decision.

But now, I have a little secret to share too. After I left the closet and my rearranged dresser drawers (they actually close without me having to jam the clothes down in them now), I actually felt just a little bit freer. Isn’t that crazy? I’ve heard it said that getting rid of clutter can be freeing, but I have to say, I never really thought that was possible. I guess I was wrong.

It’s a pretty good feeling. I mean, I’m not going to go build a house on Walden Pond anytime soon or anything, but the realization was a welcome one. I guess I’ll have to start on cleaning out the garage again! =)

Because I Said So ***1/2 (out of 5)

I’m talking about the movie not the blog (though the blog is pretty funny – I highly recommend that you check it out). Anyway – on to the movie.

It’s about the dynamic between mothers and daughters. This movie shows what happens when a well-intentioned mom (Diane Keaton) meddles just a bit too much in her youngest daughter’s (Mandy Moore) love life. Mom places an online personal ad for daughter (without daughter’s knowledge) with hopes of finding Mr. Right for daughter (from mom’s perspective of course). Complications arise when daughter starts dating two men – the one that mom picked and one that mom most certainly would not have picked.

About one third of the way into the movie, I had rather high hopes, but the movie did start to slide downhill a bit as the end approached. It just seemed to end rather abruptly. The primary plot of the movie became secondary to a minor storyline and I was left wanting a little more resolution than was provided.

All-in-all though, it was a fun movie and a good chic flick. I loved the dynamic between Mom and daughter (and the other two daughters/sisters that I have neglected to mention here as well).

I watched this movie while Adam was out of town, and I’m positive that was the right time to watch it. I think that he would have lumped it into his “They Came to Talk” category of movies that he doesn’t particularly care for. =) I’d guess that most guys would feel the same way about the movie as well. But, if you’re looking for a movie night in with the girls, I’d say to give it a go.

Nachos

We're really falling behind! I'm posting an oldie but a goodie (and an easy!!). =)

This one is a family favorite for a fall dinner or for Sunday afternoon football!
1.5 lb ground beef, browned
1 C medium salsa
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag of tortilla chips OR 4 baked potatoes

1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain fat. Add salsa to meat, bring to a boil and then turn heat down to low and cover. Simmer for ten minutes.
2. Pour meat mixture over tortilla chips (for game day) or over baked potatoes (for dinner) and sprinkle cheese on top.
3. Enjoy!!

Adam: Nachos - "when served with a side of football **** 1/2"
Melanie: Nachos **** 1/2

Ready to roll

This picture is a little late, but I thought that I would post it anyway. Addy and I went for a tour of the Redmond Fire Department last week and I was struck by the fire jackets hanging in the garage - just waiting for a call.

The life of a dollar bill

For the past couple years, I've been trying to track the dollar bills that come in and go out of our house. Of course, this is true from a 'balancing-the-checkbook' standpoint, but I'm actually speaking more literally. I'm talking about tracking bills through the Where's George (cleverly named for George Washington) site. It's simple - when we receive a bill, I log it at the site and then stamp the bill with a Where's George stamp in hopes that the next person will see the stamp and log the bill in at the site after it leaves my hands. I've had a couple hits, though nothing all that exciting (all bills have stayed in the area, even though we've been sure to take stamped bills with us when we go on vacation), but I have to admit, the possibility of what could happen if the right bill ended up in all of the right hands keeps me stamping and entering!

Regularly scheduled blogging

Wow - where does the time go? I'm madly working on getting my little business venture up and running (more on that in a few days) and of course, spending lots of fun time with Addy (who, BTW, is cutting her first tooth today - yay!!!) and I truly haven't even really thought about writing lately. So, to think about the fact that I haven't written means that I'm now thinking about writing (even if it is that I'm thinking about not having done so) - and therefore, I can no longer use that as an excuse I suppose. So, this is my long winded way of saying that my break is over. Regular posts will return at the end of this sentence. =)

Lasagna and Ballykissangel

On Wednesday, we had lasagna and watched a couple episodes of an old favorite, Ballykissangel - which actually was the reason for our visit to Ireland a couple years back.

Maybe someday soon, we'll get back to actually watching movies on movie night.

Easy Lasagna
Yields: 12 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
32 ounces cottage cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons dried parsley
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
9 lasagna noodles
1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large skillet over medium heat brown the ground beef. Drain the grease. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, eggs, half of the grated Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, salt and ground black pepper.
3. To assemble, in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish evenly spread 3/4 cup of the sauce mixture. Cover with 3 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1 3/4 cup of the cheese mixture, and 1/4 cup sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with 3 noodles, remaining sauce, remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Add 1/2 water to the edges of the pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F(175 degrees C) oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Ratings (out of 5):
Adam - Lasagna ***; Ballykissangel *****
Melanie - Lasagna ** 1/2; Ballykissangel ****

Creepy crawly

The Northwest is full of cool spiders (well, cool from a distance anyway). While I was taking this spider's picture, I just knew that a spider was crawling down my neck. All was well though - turns out it was just my hair... each and every time.

Addy's family tree

We've started a family tree project for Addy. However, we've just started and there's a lot of information that we're missing. The above image is just the basic framework of it all. If you have any information (names, birth dates, marriage dates etc. etc. etc.), we'd love it if you could send it on to us (I guarantee you will not send too much information!)!

We're using a pretty cool genealogy program - and best of all it's written on top of Adam's group's product! Try to add your own family and see just how easy-squeezy it is to use!

Hotels

When I was little, the best part about being away from home was sleeping in a hotel. We weren’t away from home very often – which made the time away from my own bed even more exciting. Even now, though the novelty has worn off somewhat, I have to admit, I still like staying in hotels.

During the summer Adam and I went to a drive-in on Whidbey Island. Good drive-ins are hard to find here, and this one (our favorite) is a ways away – especially at 2:00am, so we decided to stay overnight at the Best Western on the Island.

Adam checked us in before the movie as Addy and I stayed in the car. As we sat there under the drive-through carport that so often marks entrances to hotels, I was reminded of the times that my Mom and I would wait in the car for my Dad to come back with a map – our room marked with an “X”. A generation later, Mom and daughter repeated history, as we waited for Dad to come back with a key to our pit-stop for the night.

After the movie, we went back to the hotel and settled in for the evening. As we opened the door from the hallway to our room, I smelled the excitement of staying in a hotel - the scent of freshly laundered linens, combined with that lingering whiff of stale cigarette smoke that just won’t ever quite go away. It was right there, just beyond the door.

So I soaked it in.

That night my younger self took over and forgot the fact that the television remote is the germy-est thing in a hotel room and that the bedspread is probably a close second. I changed into my pjs and left my clothes in a pile at the side of the bed (because it’s ok to do that in a hotel for some reason) and then I crawled between the cool white sheets under the heavy bedspread and flipped on the television to watch whatever was on, just because it was on. Free from guilt, I thoroughly enjoyed the soda and candy bar (from the vending machine of course) on the bedside table (I guess calories don’t count in hotels either).

As it did twenty years ago, our hotel room offered a small bubble-like oasis for our little family.

The next morning we woke up slowly and watched some more TV and indulged in the continental breakfast (we took full advantage of the calorie-not-counting deal) and then packed up to head back home.

As we pulled out of the parking lot, I have to confess, I looked back – with just a little longing at the fact that we had turned in our keys to our small little corner of paradise. But was cheered by the fact that I know that delight is waiting for us again – just beyond the next hotel room door.

Mythbusters **** (out of 5)

Adam and I love to watch Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel. I think that we’ve seen every episode ever aired. The basic premise: the Mythbusting team takes age old adages or myths and ‘puts them to the test’ to see if they really are true. We’ve seen the Mythbusters challenge quite a few myths – from questioning if it really is possible to teach old dogs new tricks to examining if rolling stones really gather no moss. They’ve tested quite a few conventional (and even some rather unconventional) myths.

According to their website, they have aired 82 shows (though I believe that that number may be a little outdated). The early shows feature only Jamie and Adam and are, I think, a little more interesting than the later shows, for they test some of the more common myths – ones that (my) Adam and I have actually heard of. Plus in the early shows, it was fun to watch conservative and careful Jamie and erratic and crazy Adam interact with each other. In later episodes, it appears that they have rubbed off on one another, making their personalities a little less distinct and taming down the interaction between the two.

The Mythbusters team has grown since the first shows and and now includes Grant, Kari and Tory. While they are all fun to watch, I don’t think that the show would have survived without super-smart Grant who always knows how to build the exact thing that is needed. (Grant is by far the best Mythbuster on the team!).

In general, I really enjoy the show, though lately, I think that they may be stretching for material. They plug their website a ton (asking for new myths to bust) and the number of commercials per episode has steadily increased. It also appears that the myths that are being busted are more and more dangerous (well beyond the schadenfreude of Adam vacuuming his face or burning his eyebrow off or Tory trying to clear a way-too-high jump on his bike) and more and more scary stunts are taking place inside the converted warehouse/shop that the show occupies. We recently saw a show that included rather careless actions (exploding cannons in the shop!) which made me happy that I wasn’t the Mother of any on the team!!

I have learned some things from the show and I like the fact that they revisit myths when the viewers think that the team didn’t fully address the myth at hand. I think that the show may have unavoidably become a little more commercialized than ideal, but I guess that is the way that these things go.

Overall, I’d say it’s worth Tivoing (that way the commercials don’t waste your time!) – and best of all, probably provides something for most viewers.

Cheddar Bacon Hamburgers

So, we didn't watch a movie and we didn't try a new recipe last night. I guess we're slacking. However, over the weekend, we tried these new hamburgers. They were wonderful!!

Cheddar Bacon Hamburgers
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 20 Minutes
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup real bacon bits
1 egg
splash of A-1 Steak Sauce

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat grill for high heat.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, Cheddar cheese, horseradish, salt, pepper, garlic powder, bacon bits, egg and A-1 using your hands. Shape the mixture into 4 hamburger patties.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place hamburger patties on the grill, and cook for 5 minutes per side, or until well done.

Adam - ****
Melanie - *****

Like little ducks in a row...

You'll probably have to enlarge the picture to see it... but I thought the image of these trucks was kind of comical. =)

A fun deviation

Click on the person below!

Animator vs. Animation by *alanbecker on deviantART

Thanks Margaret! =)

A picture is worth a thousand words

When Addy was five weeks old, I decided that it would be fun to have her pictures taken every month of her first year. I blame that idea on some crazy post-partem hormonal thing. JC Penney and Sears have programs to hook sleep deprived, emotional, 'my-baby's-never-going- to-be-this-young-again' thinking Moms. No sitting fees and entire packages as low as $8. So, for as little as $96, parents can have their baby captured in time by a professional photographer 12 times in that first year. So, we started. The first appointment (at 5 weeks) was pretty stressful. Not because of Addy, but because of the mayhem that is considered 'normal' in these photography studios.

I fed Addy just before we left. She was eating every three hours, so I figured that she'd be well fed (and thus happy) for her pictures which were scheduled to be taken 45 minutes after we left the house. I thought that I had it all under control - I had scheduled the first appointment of the day so that I knew that I could be in and out before the rush of the day. Of course, this is the where I have to say that the control that I had was only in my mind.

We arrived at the studio to find one person answering the phones, greeting the public, taking pictures, placing orders and digitally enhancing the pictures before the orders could be placed. You might wonder how, since I was the first appointment of the day, all of this was going on. It turns out that there had been two 'walk-ins' that the photographer had decided to try to squeeze in to the 15 minutes between the time that the studio opened and the first sitting of the day. The photographer was running around like a chicken with her head cut off - and while she was nice, it appeared that the stress was starting to mount.

If things weren't off to a rough start already, one of the photo shoots that had been squeezed in ahead of Addy was of a two month old who was screaming his head off. His Mom tried to calm him down by bringing him out into the waiting area - where Addy and I were. If you don't know, babies have this sympathy gene built into their brains... if one starts crying within earshot of another, the listening baby usually starts crying too. So, I pulled Addy's flap of her bunting closed again and tried rocking the baby carrier - hoping that she would stay asleep. And then I tried to remain calm.

About two hours after Addy's feeding (and an hour and fifteen minutes after our appointment time), we were led into the studio. The photographer was in and out and in and out - still wearing her 'Jill of all trades' hat. After a few shots, we realized that Addy was clearly spent and decided that the few pictures that we had were going to be good enough. I ordered some pictures as quickly as possible - holding Addy who was being a quite a trooper, though hungry, tired and manhandled. I carried out a screaming baby carrier - glad to be done and swearing that it would be different next time. I thought that I had learned some tricks that would make the next time a little better. (It turns out that I had, but I was greeted with a whole different set of problems at month two).

After the first two months, I changed photography studios - but have found a similarly chaotic one person run operation at the new one too. So, I'm thinking that this is just what it is. Things are getting easier now that Addy is getting a little older... but every time is still something of an adventure. (I've found that even picking up an order leaves me with stories to tell as well.)

I think that I've left every sitting sweaty and stressed. But truly and honestly glad that we did it. I have to say - we've gotten some great shots along the way. All in all, I guess that it's worth it - and we're almost halfway done now... just seven more sessions to go. Of course, I know that I've set a precedent if we decide to have more kids. Hmm... double the fun? =)

Scary movies

I don't really have a movie review for the week... we rented several and while they were alright, they weren't really anything to 'write home about'. Ha! =) I've posted my star ratings (out of 5) and brief synopses of some of them below. All of these movies are scary movies - though I must say they scared me in different ways.

Rosemary's Baby **
I had never seen this before, but I have quite an issue with the ending of this movie - it poses quite the conundrum I think. Unconditional love vs. evil. I don't like the ending at all. Who comes up with these ideas?

Keeping Mum **
This is a British 'comedy' (at least I guess that's probably how it would be categorized). It has big names - Rowan Atkinson, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze. It's definitely odd. It can only be said that this movie is 'light-hearted' because it's not real.

The Ice Storm *
So I'm not sure how it happened, but a friend and I rented this movie in high school. It has a star heavy cast (though I don't know how many of them were stars in the late 1990s) - Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, Toby Maguire, Elijah Wood, Christina Ricci, Katie Holmes... I remember that I just didn't get the movie back then. That coupled with the fact that didn't remember much of it made me want to watch it again now to see if I missed something the first time. Turns out that I didn't miss anything - this is a horrible movie. It's very dark - along the lines of American Beauty and depressing and awful. I don't know what we were thinking when we rented it 10 years ago... or two days ago.

Here's hoping for a better (and lighter) group of movies this week!

Citrus chicken

Last night for our 'dinner and a movie night' we had citrus chicken and watched The Ex. Both the movie and the dinner fell into the realm of 'ok'.

Citrus Chicken
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Ready In: 45 Minutes
Yields: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (6 ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 red onion, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. Coat chicken with flour, salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, and sautee garlic until tender. Add chicken and sautee until browned.
2. Pour orange juice concentrate over chicken and cover; cook for 3 to 5 minutes, then stir in vegetable stock, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, basting with skillet juices.
3. Add oregano, thyme and onion; mix well and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Chicken: Adam *** 1/2, Melanie *** 1/2
Movie: Adam ** 1/2; Melanie ** 1/2

Art or Jello?

This is a dessert that I made this weekend. It's just a simple Jello dessert (time and refrigeration are the only extra things required) - but really kind of pretty too! Thanks to Adam for taking the picture!

The sun is always shining...

...erm, setting somewhere (well almost always!). Click here to see!

Things gone awry

It started with our wireless connection. The garage door was next and the screensaver followed. Then the radio.

These are all electronic items that have gone haywire in our house in the last two weeks. And it’s starting to freak me out.

The issue is not that these things stop working. The issue is that they work on their own terms.

Our wireless connection, for some reason, is no longer ‘always on’. (For those of you who check rhinoworld, you’ve probably noticed this lately as the computer that has rhinoworld on it is connected to the web via our wireless connection.) When it goes off, we just have to wait for it to come back on – there’s no rhyme or reason to it. Adam has tried everything he knows to make it work. If it doesn’t want to work, it just doesn’t.

Then for three days last week, the garage door just didn’t work. Sometimes it would raise three inches and stop and other times it just wouldn’t do anything. We thought the motor was gone until Thursday night, it mysteriously just started working again. Like nothing ever happened.

Our computer screensaver is working on its own terms as well. We’ve actually had a case of burn-in because the screensaver never started. We’ve taken to turning the screen off now… though sometimes when we turn on the screen to use the computer, the screensaver is working. But not all the time.

We have a radio in the kitchen that has an alarm on it (though we never use the alarm and rarely use the radio). Just last week, the alarm started going off at 7:00am and again at 8:00am. It just happened.

Adam thinks that there may be sunspots (or something like that) wreaking havoc in our home. I’m beginning to think that our house is haunted. Ok, not really, but you have to admit, it is more than a little strange. I just hope that the dishwasher doesn’t decide to blow up mid-rinse!

So, with no explanation, we keep on searching for the mystery. It makes life a little more interesting I suppose – waiting for the next thing to turn off or on. Maybe someday we’ll have logical explanations for all of these things. For now, just consider us trapped in our garage with no wireless connection but with a burned in screen, being woken at 7:00 and then again at 8:00. It’s a crazy life.

Stardust ***1/2 (out of *****)

Adam was very excited about this movie (especially since it was made from one of his favorite books), so we went to see it opening day. I didn’t know much about the plot before going to see it but Adam told me to expect it to be a cross between The Princess Bride and The Neverending Story. That’s a good way to explain the feel of it. It’s a fantastic world – with magic and curses and clearly delineated good and evil.

Movies about the fantastic are really hit or miss with me. I go in hoping to be ‘wowed’, but often times I leave disappointed. Adam knows that, but I think that he knew that the storyline would get me on this one. After the movie, he actually said that he felt me go from ‘semi-interested’ to ‘actually-interested’ halfway through the movie. He was right – down to the very scene. It’s the scene where the storyline takes over the movie. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I think that you’ll understand if you see the movie.

Claire Danes was great – she reminded me a lot of Kate Winslet (one of my favorites!) and was not at all angsty (as Adam had feared). Charlie Cox was a good pick for shopboy/explorer, but was more believable as an explorer than a shopboy (which is alright since the movie is really about his exploration). And Robert DeNiro was amusing in a very unusual role for him. The cast was large and, overall, provided some good laughs along the way.

Adam felt the movie stayed as true to the book as possible without confusing the viewer, though he felt that the movie was a bit scattered at times. I have to say I didn’t feel that, but then that may be because I haven’t read the book.

So, I liked the movie. There were some heavier scenes and some unsavory bits, but overall, it didn’t take itself too seriously and it provided a fairytale like feeling for the most part. It was an enjoyable movie that provided several laughs and even some warm fuzzies.

Meatball subs and cookies

On Wednesday night, we had meatball subs and super super easy cookies. We watched Drive Me Crazy (or, more accurately had it on in the background) as we finished up some projects around the house.

Meatball Sandwiches
Yields: 4 sandwiches

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated
Parmesan cheese 1 egg, beaten
1 French baguette
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pinch salt, or to taste
1 (14 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
4 slices provolone cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, gently mix by hand the ground beef, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, and egg. Shape into 12 meatballs, and place in a baking dish.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cooked through. Meanwhile, cut the baguette in half lengthwise, and remove some of the bread from the inside to make a well for the meatballs. Brush with olive oil, and season with garlic powder and salt. Slip the baguette into the oven during the last 5 minutes of the meatball's time, or until lightly toasted.
4. While the bread toasts, warm the spaghetti sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. When the meatballs are done, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the sauce. Spoon onto the baguette and top with slices of provolone cheese. Return to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes to melt the cheese. Cool slightly, cut into servings, and enjoy!


White Cake Cookies
Yields: 24 cookies

INGREDIENTS:
2 eggs
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix together cake mix, eggs and oil in a large bowl.
2. Make little balls with the dough and set on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 4 - 10 minutes

Sandwiches: Adam ****, Melanie **** 1/2
Cookies: Adam ***; Melanie ****
Movie: Adam ** 1/2; Melanie ***

(Sorry Anna - we forgot to take pictures - next time we will though!)

Where's Addy?

Adam took this picture at one of the Summer Concerts in the Park recently. He thought that it would be fun to play the "Where's Waldo?" game with Addy. She's in there... can you spot her? =)

Geocaching

Adam, Addy and I found a fun new hobby recently - geocaching! Here's the deal - someone hides a treasure box (aka: geocache) with random things in it - ie: small toy figurines, cheap CDs, pens, candy etc. and then enters the latitude and longitude coordinates online at the geocaching website. Then someone else (usually completely unrelated to the geocache placer) finds the listing on the website, and armed with GPS, tries to find the geocache. Upon finding the box, the geocache hunter leaves a small token and takes one item in return. Most of the time, there is a log book at the treasure site as well, so the hunter notes that he/she was there. Then, the geocache box is replaced by the hunter just as it was - so that the fun can continue for others!

We went out on Saturday afternoon and found two geocaches and gave up on a third. We found the first one relatively easily (which has been there since 2002!) and left one of Adam's super cool origami pieces. There was a child's hat in the geocache - knitted to look like the Microsoft logo which was just perfect for Addy, so we took that in return.

Can you see the geocache?

The official game piece!

Addy and her new hat!

Then we went on to the second geocache - it was a little harder to find, but we found it under the branches of a large tree. It was a 'log only' geocache, so we left our name on the log and moved on to the next one.

Our second geocache - only 2 inches by 2 inches

The third one escaped us completely (see our map/route below). We were losing the light and the GPS satellite was having a hard time finding us through all of the trees, so we temporarily gave up on that one. But we'll be back - I'm sure of it!

The trusty navigator!!

Our route to find the third geocache. Luck just wasn't with us!!

The website rates the sites on difficulty and terrain, so it was easy to find hunts that were appropriate to do with Addy. It was a fun way to spend a few hours. I guess even scavenger hunts can go high tech!

Memories

Addy is almost six months old. Watching her grow and learn is so much fun and incredibly amazing. It seems like she is able to do something new every day now. It’s so hard for me to believe that she’ll never remember this important time in her life.

Adam and I were talking last night about our first memories and also the first time that we actually remember what daily life was like. If we’re any indication of when conscious memory sets in, Addy still has a way to go before she starts doing things that she’ll ever remember.

There are tidbits that I remember from early childhood. My first memory comes from the day before my second birthday – I remember climbing on the kitchen table to stick my fingers into my chocolate birthday cake (with the Big Bird candle). I accomplished my goal too – with one finger. My Mom, hearing the commotion from just up the stairs ran down, and upon seeing her almost two year old daughter with a chocolate finger, perched upon the table cried out “Oh fiddlesticks!”.

I don’t remember anything else that specifically until a few years later. But I do remember being extremely excited about the two pairs of pants that I received probably when I was probably about three. They had back pockets – and that was the height of cool. I’d walk around all day looking for things to put in those back pockets. I’d collect stray strings, small pebbles and who knows what else. It was exciting I tell you.

I think that the next detailed memory that I had took place a couple years later. We were in a hotel (which was incredibly exciting) and I remember as I got ready for bed I realized that I didn’t have my lovey to sleep with. It was a five inch high white kitty atop a small heart pillow – and it was at home. Before I even had a chance to say something about it, my Mom pulled it out of the suitcase. Even at that young age, I remember thinking that I must be pretty special for her to bring that all the way to the hotel for me!

I start to remember daily life around Kindergarten – it’s there that I remember more about how things were, rather than just seeing snapshots in time. But it’s funny to look back at those snapshots from early childhood – I wonder what it was about those specific situations that left such impressions. I’ve heard it said that the first memory influences who a person becomes. That sounds a lot like pop psychology to me… but maybe there’s more to it than I realize.

I wonder what Addy’s first memories will be. I hope that they’re filled with excitement, wonder and love. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. In the meantime though, she’s definitely filling our lives and memories-to-be with those incredible things.

The Bourne Ultimatum **** (out of *****)

I loved The Bourne Identity. It may be my favorite action flick (though The Italian Job is up there too). I was really disappointed by The Bourne Supremacy. The relationship that I loved so much between Jason and Marie was ended 15 minutes into the movie… and needlessly so. The movie left me wanting to keep Jason and Marie at the little seaside scooter rental shop (with the burn bag flower pot) that was the end of Identity.

Even with all that being said, I was very excited to see The Bourne Ultimatum. Watching Jason Bourne work within the system to fight the system is still fun – and Ultimatum provided a lot of that. The film’s first sequence – between Bourne and the reporter – provided the audience with a glimpse of the amazing training that Bourne had received and also again revealed Bourne’s incredible intelligence. He was always one step ahead and that was exciting to watch.

The movie continued without much of a plot and of course included much mayhem along the way. Julia Stiles gave her best performance of the trilogy (though I love Julia Stiles, that’s not saying a lot). But still, it’s nice to go out with the best. The action part of the movie was great – fantastic explosions and even some Crouching Tiger fight scenes. Of course Jason Bourne is invincible throughout all.

By the end of the movie, Jason has remembered everything – more than he wanted to, but the memories provided closure for him that he couldn’t have achieved otherwise. Treadstone is evil and Bourne finally escapes once and for all (well for now I guess. There’s still a little wiggle room left for another movie…). However I choose to believe that the series is over.

All in all, Ultimatum was a very good action movie and it was leaps and bounds above Supremacy. It was still nowhere close to Identity. But it’s definitely a fun ride – just don’t expect too much plot along the way!

Taco chili

We kind of wimped out on the dinner and a movie night last night. It was too chilly to go to the park for a movie, so we stayed home. The West Wing goes perfectly with any type of food!

Taco Chili
1 pound ground beef
1 1.2-ounce package taco seasoning mix
2 15-ounce cans chunky Mexican-style tomatoes
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans
1/2 cup hot water
shredded cheese, sour cream and fritos for toppings

1. In a large skillet, cook ground beef until brown. Drain fat.
2. In a 3.5 to 4 quart slow cooker combine the cooked ground beef, taco seasoning mix, undrained tomatoes, undrained beans and hot water. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 to 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 to 3 hours.
3. Top with cheese, sour cream and fritos.

Chili: Adam ****; Melanie ****1/2
West Wing : Adam *****; Melanie *****

(PS - does anyone out there have another show as good as The West Wing? This is our third time through the series (all seven seasons) in less than three years, so it's probably time to start something else.)

S'mores

We had s'mores out on our back deck recently. Here's Adam hamming it up for the camera! (Obviously he's a 'light the marshmallow on fire' person!) =)

Tearjerkers

I'm not sure why we like to watch movies that make us cry... What are your favorites?

Here are the top 50 tearjerkers (as rated by Entertainment Weekly)

#s 50-26 #s 25-1

Some major cry-fests missing from the list:
My Girl
Delovely
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Beaches

My favorites from the list:
Dead Poets Society
Titanic
The Notebook
Rudy
The Moulin Rouge
Glory

I bought it on ebay

I have been looking for a specific type of outfit for Addy’s 6 month pictures – and having no luck. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time looking in stores and I didn’t want to spend a lot of money either. Then someone suggested ebay. So, ‘what the heck?’, I thought.

That’s when it started. I typed in a search and got hundreds of results. Many outfits were new with tags still attached and most were priced very cheaply. So I bid on one and started looking through the other clothes that were offered. There were thousands of listings of baby clothes – new and cheap (much cheaper than in the stores, even with shipping). This clearly could become a dangerous place for the serious bargain shopper… I realize that I’m walking on thin ice.

As I’ve started watching auctions, I see that there’s definitely a method to the madness in order to actually pick up the bargains. I’ve seen a couple of auctions where the bids far surpassed the value of the item. It’s exciting to start bidding, and bidding wars raise adrenaline. That, combined with the time counting down to the end of the auction can create a bidding frenzy. I guess that is what all auctions are about – virtual and in person. Ebay is not for the weak willed. I wonder if it’s not for the super competitive either! =)

When I was five years old, my grandparents sold their farm and all of their equipment at a large auction. My parents and I went to Minnesota to be there for the sale. I was completely fascinated by the auctioneer. I remember asking my Dad if he was a human (in my five year old mind, I thought that he might be a robot). As my Dad answered, he told me to not point (as I had done when I asked my question) because I didn’t want to make a bid accidentally. Things were pretty crazy that day and in all of the commotion, I suppose that a blonde haired little girl could have made a bid – committing her Dad or Mom to purchase a tractor or a combine – something that neither parent needed or wanted. The crazy thing about it though, is that after watching ebay a little while, I would venture a guess that some people could have done that all by themselves as well – without a daughter in tow.

After my week watching auctions, I expect that buyers’ remorse runs rampant on ebay… But, I guess it could be worse – the buyer can become the seller pretty easily and start the ‘circle of ebay’ all over again. =)

Rhinoworld...

has been made over. Please head over there and then let me know what you think! Thanks! =)

The Simpsons Movie *** ½ (out of *****)

We went to see The Simpsons Movie yesterday at the parent/baby screening. Because I had seen a couple scenes (and laughed out loud at them!), I was looking forward to seeing the whole movie. I should probably insert the disclaimer here - I’m not a huge Simpsons fan. Don’t get me wrong, I like the show just fine… it’s just really not ‘have to see TV’ for me.

So anyway, off we went to see the movie. The basic plot: Homer, through his crazy shenanigans, dooms Springfield to quarantine and then annihilation. The family finds their way out of quarantine and moves to Alaska in order to ‘start over’, but soon after hearing that Springfield and all of its residents will be destroyed, go back (sans Homer) to save the town. Homer, with the help of a truth-seer, goes back to try and fix the problem he created, but ends up dooming the town just as it seems like the residents of Springfield are about to save themselves. However, with only seconds to spare, Homer manages another town-saving attempt and is successful. And they all live happily ever after... or at least as happily ever after as the Simpsons can live. Don’t worry – knowing the ending to the story doesn’t ruin anything. Truly, the plot is not the reason to see this movie. =)

There were good moments and I laughed out loud at more than the couple spots that I knew about. It was entertaining for its 86 minutes and I’m glad that we went to see it.

I was excited to see the movie. But yet I still had no real expectations for it. And I think that was good.

So, yay for Homer and the gang. I’m glad that they pulled it out and saved Springfield, Wherever (which is now, we know, obviously not in Alaska).