Expiration Date

The DH and I spent a couple of hours enjoying an indie film last night. Expiration Date is a wonderfully entertaining little movie filmed mostly in Seattle. We loved seeing places we recognized (like the troll, gassworks park, and Ballard) and loved the characters in the movie. It's especially good that all this entertainment didn't include anyting lewd or really even much in the way of inuendo. I think that's the mark of a great script. I'm not sure the young kids would be interested in the movie, but you wouldn't have to turn it off if they were around.

The story is about a man whose father and grandfather were both killed by milk trucks on their 25th birthdays. As a result, our main character believes he will expire at the hands of a milk truck on his 25th birthday as well. The movie basically chronicles the week leading up to his birthday and there is a lot of comedy and drama intertwined in those few days.

We both give it two thumbs up and recommend it for everyone.

Unfortunately...

I got the biggest kick out of this. You'll have to try it yourself as it's quite entertaining. Go to Google and type in "unfortunately, [your name]" and don't forget the quotes. Here's what I found:

• Unfortunately, Noelle is not a music librarian and could not understand all of the road maps found in sheet music.
• Unfortunately, Noelle's feelings about home -- or rather, her hometown of Rose, Oregon -- were changed forever the day Thomas Sutton broke her heart.
• Unfortunately Noelle fell victim to the ball last night. The field was a little damp and covered in goose poop last night, which may or may not have added to any body malfunction.
• ... unfortunately Noelle is likely to miss the game against St. Mochtas.
• Unfortunately, Noelle didn’t think to ask about the condition of the radio until they were half an hour into the flight.

I just can't tell you how unfortunate it really is that I'm not a music librarian. I'm still wondering who Thomas Sutton is. And I hate to think of the words "falling" and "goose poop" in the same context. I'm OK with missing that game against St. Mochtas, though. I'll worry about the condition of that radio later.

Monday Pick-Me-Up

This made me smile when the DH forwarded it in e-mail. Enjoy!

Mrs. Salty's Peanut Butter Pie

I volunteered some time ago to help our friend Tina make desserts for an auction at her son's school. I originally only signed up to make one, but as it got closer, it was clear that Tina didn't have enough help, so I ended up making three. I have tons of great chocolate recipes, but they already had too many chocolate desserts, so I had to come up with something new. Tina suggested something with peanut butter, so I searched on Food Network and found a peanut butter pie recipe. The funny thing is, I keep thinking it's "Mrs. Salty's" pie but it's really "Mrs. Salter's" pie. I like my name better, so that's what I'm calling it. I think it turned out pretty good (assuming you like peanut butter). I made it again for a get-together tonight, but this time, I added some chocolate. Chocolate just makes everything better, doesn't it? Here's the original recipe:

Mrs. Salter's Peanut Butter Pie
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 graham cracker crust, store-bought or premade (I bought oreo crust)

Directions
Whip cream with 1/4 cup sugar. Mix all other ingredients until smooth and fold in whipped cream until well blended. Pour mixture into a graham cracker crust and chill for several hours before serving

I Win! I Win!

I'm a little competitive, but only on things I think I can really do well at. I had no idea that I'd be winning contests at the doctor's office, though. Who would ever think of it? And who would ever want to? I mean, who wants to have the highest blood pressure they've ever seen in someone still standing, or the highest cholesterol of anyone without heart disease? It's just not the place to get competitive.

I had a doctor's appointment on Monday, where I mentioned a list of symptoms that generally boil down to the fact that I just don't feel that great. The doctor did a blood draw and the general stethescope listening and sent me on my merry way. Last night, I got a call from said doctor. I wasn't asking to participate in the contest, but apparently I won for the lowest Vitamin D levels they've ever recorded in a patient. Lucky me! I win!

The bad news is that I have dangerously low Vitamin D levels. The good news is that just about everything I complained about can be attributed to low levels of Vitamin D. I also found out that it's quite common to have low levels and that it can manifest itself in much the same way that thyroid and blood sugar problems show up. Vitamin D also contributes to an overall healthy immune system, so people with higher levels do better at warding off colds and flu and are less likely to develop many types of cancer, including colon cancer (and who'd want that?!?).

So, I'm starting on perscription strenght Vitamin D supplements and hope to feel better soon. It won't improve quickly -- the doctor said I should come get checked in 6-8 weeks to see if the levels have gone up noticably -- but it will improve over time. That means, I should be feeling more myself over time as well. And that makes me feel like I really did win.

Highlights for another week

It's been another whirlwind week. Work actually turned out to be extremely difficult, so I was very happy to have some nice things going on outside work. My DH was great the day after my company laid off a bunch of people. He gave me big hugs and took me out to Bick's for dinner. I had my favorite, seafood curry. No one on my team got laid off, but there was a lot of drama and plenty of questions for me to answer. I guess another highlight is that no one on my team got laid off last week.

This weekend, the DH and I hung out with the nephew here in town. We started out Friday evening with dinner at an Italian restaurant and then books and bed. Saturday, we hung out and ran errands and did grocery shopping and all the while, the nephew was a great sport and had a good time with us. We also played with the Wii and watched movies. The nephew shared one of his favorites with us -- Star Wars Clone Wars. It's a cartoon and we liked it. I was impressed with the nephew's knowledge of space and I was certainly glad that I like Star Wars. I think that he enjoyed going out to breakfast with us and getting McDonald's for lunch. After all that cruddy food, we ate dinner in.

Tonight, the DH and I got to help a couple in our Ward that we're friends with. They needed help with their satalite TV and called in a frenzy. This from a couple who wouldn't call for help if a meteor fell in their backyard. We had a great time joking around with them and I called the helpdesk after fiddling with the remote for 20 minutes didn't work. All in all, we had a great time with them and we figure we can help them out any old time.

Playing on my iPod This Week (Mar 6) -- Neko Case, Middle Cyclone

I saw that my friend Ed was listening to Neko Case and was reminded that she had a new album out. The new album is Middle Cyclone. I love Neko's style and sound. She has such a haunting voice that I really enjoy. I've listened to the album a couple of times now and I'm liking it quite a bit.

I couldn't really find a single from the new album, so this will have to do. It's still interesting.

To Sleep Perchance to Dream

I had the most disturbing dream last night. It actually kept me from going back to sleep.

In my dream, I noticed that there was a little bit of green in my belly button. I pulled on it and nothing happened. Then I got a really good grip on it and pulled the little green sprout, and the large seed it was sprouting from, and the 2-3 inch tiny thin root out of my belly button. I had to grip the sprout just right and tug for a while, but it finally came out. The seed looked about the size of a large grapefruit seed. I was both relieved to have gotten it out and completely repelled by the fact that it had been there. And how had it gotten that big?!?

Seriously, this dream was worse than any when I've been chased by bad guys in the dark, been a month late for a college final, or been in the middle of some other catastrophe.

Highlights...

It really has been a good, busy week. It started off with our weekly Family Home Eatin' with the usual suspects. We really enjoy the company of those folks. On Tuesday, I had a stake relief society presidency meeting where we got more plans in place for our women's conference in April. On Thursday, we were going to home teach, but instead we spent a few hours at the hospital ER where one of the women we home teach was admitted when she lost consciousness. She's fine now and out of the hospital, but that certainly added to the excitement of our lives for a couple of days.

On Saturday, we headed out to Monroe with Beep and Bop to see our friends, the Momma's Boys. We had a fantastic dinner! I'm very lucky to have friends who are such great cooks. Nicole made corn chowder and homemade rolls (divine). Dan made the most amazing dessert of grilled pineapple, mascarpone cheese, nutella, and toasted hazelnuts. I never knew these things could be so delightful together. You can read Giada de Laurentis' recipe here. After dinner, we had a great time talking and playing fussball, ping pong, and pool. I think I could really enjoy pool if I got a little more practice.

On Sunday, I got to go to my own ward for church. I like ward conferences, but they take me away to other wards and I prefer going to my own ward, so this was a good thing. We then had a very low key Sunday with no other plans. The DH got a long nap and I caught up on some of the ABC TV shows that I can't see on TV due to the Dish Network issues with Fisher Broadcasting (Booooo! as said by the witch in Princess Bride). And now we've started another week...

Did You Know...

This provided the teacher in me with plenty of food for thought. Specifically, I was thinking how important it is for all of us to learn to be good critical thinkers and problem solvers. We need to learn to be flexible and adaptable. It's important that we know facts (like learning about history and math), but the biggest impact that information will have on us is in helping us to create a framework on which we can build the problem solving and critical thinking.

Create

I've been thinking lately that I've not been putting time into some of the things that make me happy. I've just been working and going with the flow. This needs to stop. I need to be more deliberate in choosing what I do and making time for the things that matter most. I need to create more. I need to read more. I need to exercise more. All of these things make me feel good about myself and make me better at being good to others.

This is my thought for a Friday.

Let's Look at the Bright Side

I love this interview on Conan. It does put things in perspective to some extent. Unfortunately, embedding is disabled, so you'll have to watch this on Youtube.

Everything is so amazing and nobody is happy...

Highlights for the past couple of weeks

I've still been having trouble posting regularly, but I'm trying to get back in the habit. The last couple of weeks have been full of fun and friends and all kinds of good stuff.

• For President's Day weekend, we went to Seabrook (20 miles North of Ocean Shores on the Washington coast) for a bit of a getaway with friends. We loved the house and little community that they've built there. And the bed was amazing. Patrick and I are trying to figure out how we can get that same mattress at home now.
• Extra time with my husband because of the weekend away. I don't know why, but we both really like going on road trips together. It's great to be in the car and have good scenery along the way.
• Our friends Carolyn and John got married last Friday. It was great to go to their wedding and share the joy with them.
• Carolyn's friends Serge and Linda came up from Las Vegas and we had a great time visiting with them.
• I enjoyed seeing some old friends from working at Microsoft at the wedding parties. Carolyn is working in the group I used to work in at Microsoft, so we now have several mutual friends.
• I had lunch with Jan and Julie, former collegues at Microsoft, yesterday and had a great time catching up. I was so lucky to work with great people while I was at Microsoft and I still really miss them.

That's the short version. I'll try to get to posting some pictures of the beach trip when I'm home one evening.

You're It!

I got tagged. This is how it works: go to the pictures folder on your computer, go to the sixth file, go to the sixth picture, post it, then tag 6 people.

This is a picture of the Chaco pueblos in New Mexico. In 2004, Mom, Dad, Ann, and I went to Santa Fe for Christmas. On the drive home, we stopped here. It was really cool (and kind of cold, too).

I'm now tagging Daddy Shark, Bop and Beep, Lucy at An Ordinary Mom, Lizzy at My Ice Cream Diary, the Accident Prone Lefthander, and Becky.

My Mom the Blogger

It took a while, but my Mom is finally blogging at Grammy's Place! Go check it out and give her some encouragement.

Playing on my iPod This Week (Feb 3) -- Gomez

I really enjoy the band Gomez and have especially enjoyed the album How We Operate. The DH likes it too (and I think he'd even admit it in public). I think they have a really interesting sound and I love that they don't sound the same on every song. I can actually listen to the whole album without getting bored.

I love the song How We Operate... and hope you do too!


I also love the song girlshapedlovedrug because it has the best lyrics. But don't go looking online for the lyrics. When I did it gave me some crazy compter virus site. You can't trust that!

Highlights for the last month?

Even though I had a lot going on, there were still several highlights over the last month. Here's the good stuff:

• In mid-January, I got to hear Michael Pollan speak at the Seattle Arts & Lectures. In addition to being very entertaining, he also got me thinking. I'm now looking forward to reading some of his books. Thanks, Kathleen, for loaning me one!
• Later that same week, I made the trek over to the U district to hear Julie Beck, the General Relief Society President. I really enjoyed her message about how none of us really get to live the "dream" we thought about as young girls. It was a very nice reminder that although life doesn't often turn out as you thought it would, it can still turn out quite nicely. I left feeling pretty good about my life as it is now.
• Last weekend, the DH and I got to help celebrate a friend's birthday at Luau. The restaurant is really fun and the food is fantastic. We also got to see some folks we don't often run into, so that was fun too.
• On Saturday, also last weekend, was the Seattle Mathlete's baby shower. Beep did a fantastic job of planning, creating, and decorating. You can see more of what she did here. I loved the chartreuse theme, but the very best was her invitations and the onesies that she embroidered with the same bird she put on the invites. She's brilliant!
• Later that weekend, the BIL, Brent, came to town for some business. Since his business just happens to be my business, we got to hang out some. It was pretty cool going on a client call with him.
• Last week was super hard, but another hightlight was finishing two HUGE projects that had completely unreasonable deadlines. It feels fantastic to have them done and out of the way.
• This weekend, I finally got a pedicure that I've been wanting for weeks, but just couldn't find the time to do.
• My Sunday was actually very relaxing and I didn't work at all. That's the way it's supposed to be.

What have your highlights been? Enquiring minds want to know!

Coming Up For Air

Ah, it's been quite some time since I posted regularly. This month has been especially difficult and busy at work, I've worked well past 9:00 most nights and the last three weekends, and a couple of nights past midnight this month to get everything done that had to be done. Most of the really difficult things should be behind me now. Of course, you know how it is with work. Something's sure to come up, but I'm quite certain it won't be as difficult as the last few weeks.

The DH has been particularly supportive while I've been having to work so hard, so I thought I'd reward him with some cool t-shirts. I love Threadless, so I found a couple I knew he'd like. He's particularly fond of toast and bacon (not necessarily together, but that would be OK too), so there are the cool T's that I found for him.

And, because great minds think alike, the DH thought I might need a little pick-me-up so he bought me a really cool sweatshirt. If you're not familiar with the logo, it's for the fictional coffee-shop in the TV show Gilmore Girls. He tolerated a lot of episodes of that show before it went off the air. He's such a good guy!

And, earlier in the month, he found this really cool and unique vase at the consignment shop around the corner. It's wonderful.

"All About Us is Din"

This morning, I saw a new president sworn in. The world is in economic turmoil. There is war all around. Many in the world and the nation are suffering.

We live in a great nation. We have a peaceful transition of power. The process was followed from start to finish. I don't live in fear that my vote does not count or is not counted. Men prayed at the inauguration.

Many have died for this day. We are not always right, but the constitutional republic is a beautiful thing.

On My Bookshelf

Tinkerdoodle lent me the book Persepolis, a graphic novel by a woman who grew up in Iran until she was shipped out to boarding school in Austria. Marjane Satrapi was only 9 years old when the revolution took place in 1979. She depicts how the changes that took place happened through the eyes of a child, but with the depth of an adult seeing it all in retrospect.

I enjoyed the style of the graphics and thoroughly enjoyed the story. It gave me more insight into life in Iran. I also listened to Rick Steves talk about his recent trip to Iran and the filming of a documentatary about Iran. I must say, it's left me wanting to learn more. I feel like Iran is severely misunderstood by Americans and I'm ready to learn more.

I highly recommend Persepolis and look forward to reading the next installment, Persepolis 2. Once I've read the second one, then I'll watch the movie. It was a big hit at Cannes a year ago and got quite a bit of press when it was in theaters here, but I didn't get to it then. It may have been the French with English subtitles that made me think renting it might work out better for me. I'll let you know how I like the rest of the stories.

Sharing Some Crafts

These are two of my favorite Christmas crafts.

The first is the pair of lounge pants that I sort of made. I had some help from my mom and sis, but I started them and I finished them, so they were made by me. Right? Right! They were a gift for my SIL and she's worn them, so they must be OK.









The second is a craft made by my crafty friend, the Duchess. She's pretty darn good considering that her specialty is fiber arts. Aren't these the cutest magnets? They totally fit my design sensibility too. I just love them. Plus, they look fantastic on the message board that my sister crafted for me!

New Look Getting Better

The Blogger error went away, so I could upload the new template. YAY! I'll customize soon.

New Year, New Look

I was trying to upload a cool new template when Blogger pooped out and kept giving me errors. So, now it's totally messed up. I'll fix it when Blogger is playing more nicely.

Happy New Year -- and Playing Catch Up

There's been so much happening in the last week that I'll just have to give you the highlights.

Christmas Eve was spent making homemade pizzas with our friends as we helped them celebrate one of their traditions. We had a great time visiting, playing with kids, catching up on the goings-on, and just having a really nice time with fantastic people.

On Christmas day, the DH and I woke up to open presents. I think we both did wonderfully. Here are the spoils for me:

and here are the spoils for the DH:

My best thing was probably the Lodis red handbag, big enough for the laptop. It's beautiful, but the best part is that the DH had seen me coveting it and then went back later and picked it up. I think the DH likes his new iPod the best, though he should probably speak for himself.

On Christmas day, the brother, SIL, and nephew came over for Christmas dinner. We had smoked turkey from Jensen's smoke house and I think I'm never buying regular turkey again. It was SO yummy! I highly recommend it if you can get a smoked turkey. The SIL also made really tasty pumpkin cake that tasted super yummy, a little like gingerbread. I made pear cake with no refined sugar for the DH and we had whipped cream with cinnamon instead of sugar in it. My friend Kathy came up with that brilliant idea and it's really tasty (assuming you like cinnamon the way I do).

The cream pudding was too thick, so after we ate, I mixed the rest of the cinnamon whipped cream into it. Now that was a happy accident! It was even tastier than it had been, which is pretty tasty.

On Sunday, we enjoyed turkey and dumplings made with some of the leftover turkey. The smoked turkey made that taste great too! Bottom line -- smoked turkey rocks.

This week, the DH has been off most of the time, but I've still been working. It's been super busy at work with my right-hand gal going out on maternity leave any moment now. good times!

Last night, for New Year's Eve, the DH and I stayed home and I set up a new printer and did some cleaning and purging in the office. I like to save a lot of things, but I sure enjoy getting rid of stuff. I like order more than I like stuff. So far, I have four boxes of things to take to DI. That feels good. We stayed up until midnight and toasted in the New Year with blueberry sparkling cider and watched some of the space needle fireworks on TV. We'll need to go see those in person some time.

This morning, we slept late and then took down all the Christmas decorations. The DH still needs to take down the lights outside, but other than that, it's all cleaned up. The house seems a little emptier now, just like it does every year. It's also a little more orderly and looks like a home ready for a new start.

I hope you all have a very happy new year!

Tradition!

I have strong opinions about tradition. I come from a long line of folks who love Fiddler on the Roof. Plus, I know how tradition and memory help ground a person.

When the DH and I got together, he didn't have many Christmas traditions. I had several from my family, but we wanted something that was just ours for Christmas. The main things we have now are selecting at least one new Christmas tree ornament together and going on the Christmas Ships. We also share some of my old family traditions, including putting a chocolate ladybug in the toe of our Christmas stockings and reading the Christmas story on Christmas eve.

Well, this year seams to have turned out as the year the traditions didn't happen. There was a huge storm the day of our Christmas ships reservations, so we didn't make the treck out to the docks in Kirkland to go. Because of all the snow and storms, I couldn't make it downtown to Cost Plus to find chocolate ladybugs. The ornament we were looking at in Hawaii somehow didn't get purchased (but Mom sent an ornament, so maybe we can consider that our ornament for this year), and we didn't even read the Christmas story on Christmas eve.

It may sound like a very sorry Christmas, indeed, but really it was wonderful. Instead of our normal traditions, we had the 9 days of Christmas from my parents, went to our friends' house for Christmas eve homemade pizzas (their Christmas tradition) and had a wonderful visit with firends there, we both recieved lovely gifts from each other, and we had a wonderful time with the local family here for dinner on Christmas day and seeing some of the neat toys the nephew got for Christmas.

Out of this, we may have a couple of new traditions. I like the Christmas dinner on Christmas day and I think we'll keep doing that. We had smoked turkey (divine!!!) and I think that may become our Christmas staple. We may have to join the Christmas eve pizza eaters, too. We had a great time making our individual pizzas and sharing with friends.

In the end, I learned that the most important part of the holiday is who I spend it with. In spite of the snow and mixed up plans, we had a wonderful holiday. I'm so blessed with my wonderful family and happy that we got to spend time together without the interruptions of work. The most important tradition still happened. I spent Christmas with the DH.

The 12 -- Oops, Make That 9 -- Days of Christmas

This Christmas, my parents did something really wonderful for all of us. They put together a series of gifts for us to open each day on the nine days before Christmas. We opened books, puzzles, holiday pillow cases, a wonderful Christmas CD that my dad put together, and more fun things. '

Tonight, we opened the last gift, the ornament you see here. If you can't read it, it has Christ in large letters with the smaller lettering reading Wise Men Still Seek Him.















On this Christmas eve, I wish you all a very merry Christmas. Love to all of you!

Snow Days

We've had more snow in the last week than I've seen in one place in years. I don't even think I saw this much in Boise the last few years I was living there. I believe there were at least ten inches of snow on the ground by early this morning. In fact, I think there's a good five or six inches packed on the road.

As I was trying to get out of the neighborhood, it reminded me of growing up on Wyndham lane, another street with low volumes of traffic. We had a few winters with quite a lot of snow. One winter, we even had snow days – not because of the snow exactly, but because the boiler went out at the school and there was no heat. They never closed the schools for snow.

We've seen all the main roads here get plowed and sanded and the lovely side streets stay heavily laden. In those heavy snows back home, the families on the street got together and actually paid to have the street plowed. It meant that we could safely get in and out of the street when the rest of the roads were easy to traverse. It also meant that our street melted and was dry as quickly as any of the main roads.

Today, we're going to see some ugly streets as it's started to thaw and those ten inches of snow are blocking the storm drains. I think it will take a few days for everything to melt off, but the worst of it is over now. And I don't think we'll be having a white Christmas after all.

Playing on my iPod This Week (Dec 23) -- Kathy Mattea "Good News"

Kathy Mattea is a super talented Country singer. I don't have any of her Country albums, but her Christmas album Good News is one of my favorites. And, for once, this is a song even my dad will really like.

Like my sister Annzy, I really love the Christmas music, but I stear clear of The Carpenters and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I like things with a little extra something. That's what I get from Matea's Christmas album.

Enjoy!

Highlights and more...

I didn't post highlights last week, because it was just too crazy, so I'll have to cover the last two weeks. Here are the good things:

• A fun project with the Relief Society making stockings for under-priveledged children. We also had very yummy soup for dinner and I got to hang out with some fantastic women who I really enjoy.
• Going to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and then getting Annzy jealous about it. It was based on the movie, so it had all the fun things Annzy loves.
• A weekend with NO obligations at all and then church cancelled. It's been a long time since I could just take care of personal stuff and enjoy the weekend.
• A super fun Indian cooking class with Carolyn and Lori. The food was fantastic and I need to get some of the spices so I can try the recipes. We totally stunk after the class, but it was worth it.
• More Indian food the next night with my co-workers. The only down side of that was wishing Patrick could have joined me.
• Snow, snow, and then more snow! I guess this is good and bad, but I'm not stranded anywhere, not missing a trip to see loved-ones, and not worried about getting in a wreck on the roads. I'm blessed to be in a nice warm house and be able to work from home, so I don't have to stress out about things getting too far behind there.
• Making pecan brittle and having it turn out right on the first try (so I didn't have to waste all that butter and pecans).
• Giving a talk in church yesterday. I know it's hard to believe, but I actually volunteered and then got help from Dad and gave a talk that got pretty good reviews. There were only 28 of us at church and I must say that I enjoyed the much more intimate meeting.

Well, life is good and I'm looking forward to the rest of this week. We may see a thaw, but we may see more frozen stuff too.

Halls Officially Decked

It took us a little longer this year than usual this year to get the decorations up, but they really do look lovely. When we went to get the tree, we saw boughs of fresh greenery, so we picked up some of that too. I used it on the fireplace and was really pleased with how it turned out.

We also got the tree up and decorated. It only took a week to get it all done. The tree stood bare in the living room for a full week waiting for lights and decorations. Patrick had gone out of town for a few days and I just didn't want to decorate it without him.

I have many "favorite" decorations, so I couldn't point out the best one, but I sure like how the nativity scene looks this year.

Let It Snow

Time: 5:45 p.m.
Date: December 20th, 2008
Temperature: 23 degrees fahrenheit
Skies: Overcast and snowing
Location: Broadview neighborhood of Seattle, WA
Time to drive to work: silly, it's Saturday. No driving to work today. And church is already cancelled again for tomorrow.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Time: 10:20 a.m.
Date: December 19th, 2008
Temperature: 25 degrees fahrenheit
Skies: Clear and sunny
Location: Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle, WA
Time to drive to work: 27 minutes (half the time it took yesterday)

A First

It's a beautiful day in Seattle today. We have an inch of snow that fell overnight. It started after about 9:00 last night and kept on for a good part of the night. The snow cover makes everything look clean and pretty. It's especially nice with all the Christmas lights on the trees and houses peaking out of the snow.

It's the first snow of the season for us, but not the "first" that I'm really blogging about this morning. In over 40 years of living in the intermountain west, I have never seen church cancelled. Today, no church! We got a call about 6:30 this morning to tell the DH that his early meeting was cancelled and asking him to call a few other families to let thme know that church would be cancelled as well. So, the DH and I will enjoy the morning at home in our nice warm living room that's all decked for the holidays now.

The Secret -- I Guess It's Not an Inside Joke

18 months ago, or so, I learned about "The Secret" from a friend at work. It was discussed on Oprah and then Kevin lent me the DVD. It was astoundingly silly and the DH and I had a good laugh about "using the Secret" to get the things we want. You see, the concept behind "The Secret" is that you can get anything and everything you want in life by simple positive thinking. Well, there may be some truth to the positive thinking, but it's not going to get you a dream house or delightful vacation.

So, after watching the DVD, the DH and I started talking about "using the Secret" to get the red light to change to green or find the best cut of meat. Then when Annzy and Aimes came, Annzy "used the Secret" to get a trip out to Forks.

Now, everyone's using our joke! First it happened last week when Yang talked about "the Secret" on Gray's Anatomy (and did they jump the shark this season with the ghosts and operating on each other, or what?!?). Then this week, it happened again on Pushing Daisies. I watch four TV shows, and in the matter of a week, "the Secret" has been mentioned on two of them. Go figure.

7 Brides, or How to Make Annzy Jealous

Last night, I got to go see 7 Brides for 7 Brothers at the 5th Avenue Theater. It was great fun! I wanted to go, but of course the DH would rather have surgery than go see a musical, so that wasn't going to happen. He's at training out of town this week, so when friends asked at the last minute yesterday afternoon, I was thrilled that I didn't already have plans for the evening.

I met the group at a restaurant accross the street from the theater where they met for dinner before the show. We went over to the theater to find our seats somewhere near the very top of the back balcony. Well, the show was free for me, so the seats were fine. Just before the lights went down, it was obvious that many of the balcony seats were not going to be occupied so we moved quite a bit closer.

7 Brides is really just a fun show. There's a LOT of dancing and this particular show had quite a few scenes where the shirts fell off the men. Considering that these are very fit men with abs of steal, the shirts falling off was just fine. There are not really any tunes you'd be humming on your way out of the show, but it doesn't really matter. It's a bit of fun for the couple of hours your there and the cast really delivered on the fun. I love watching performers who clearly enjoy what they're doing and you could tell how much they all enjoyed it (or could really act like they enjoyed it).

If you're in Seattle and can get to the show, I highly recommend it -- unless of course you hate watching people sing and dance. There's a lot of that going around in 7 Brides.

Playing on my iPod This Week (Dec 10) -- Barenaked For the Holidays

My apologies to the young ones reading my blog, but I really like the band Barenaked Ladies in spite of (or even because of) the name and their Christmas album is really fun. I think the DH is already tired of it, but I love it. I have a lot more love for the Christmas music than he does anyway, so one time through was probably enough for him.

I really enjoy Christmas music that is a little less traditional. I grew up with Soulful Strings, a Christmas album with all instrumental jazz arrangements of Christmas tunes and loved the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack. Now, I enjoy the Manhattan Transfer and Cuba L.A. albums, but my favorite is Barenaked for the Holidays. Good stuff.

Take a listen (and be sure to stick with it, because it just gets better):

Highlights -- and We'll Forget the Lowlights

Life doesn't seem to be slowing down at all, but it's been a great week. The DH and I bought a Christmas tree this weekend in addition to going to two parties with lots of fun friends.

Friday night we went to the famous nacho party hosted by those crazy ice cream eaters. The nachos were great and the green tomatilla salsa was the highlight of my night. Wait -- maybe it was the peppermint bark. Both were very tasty!

On Saturday night, it was the annual Christmas gift exchange at Fred and Cathy's house. We all brought two gifts to exchange and that's just where the fun began. The gifts were funny, irreverant, practical, and everything in between. We left with a purse, a teepot, a spork, and a gnome. Now, that's fun times. I was a little sad when the DH lost the lottery tickets, but we'll live. I like to work anyway.

Sunday we had a wonderful time visiting with another set of friends who live in Lynnwood now. We went to church with them and then had a great pot roast dinner. We got to see their new baby and I even got to have spitup on my shirt. Good times! That evening, we went to a stake Christmas event around the broadcast from the first presidency and Mormon Tabenacle Choir. The presentation was a very nice way to be reminded of the reason for the season and associate with some really nice people. I was in charge of refreshments, so I ordered brownied from QFC and topped some with Andes mint sprinkle. I had a few friends (and tons of help from the DH) to get everything plated and out to the masses. It was an hour of pretty intense work, but everything went off without a hitch. We had exactly 20 brownies left over. How's that for planning? I was pretty happy about it.

Week in Review and Highlights

I've had one crazy week, but it's all behind me now. Here is some of the wackiness:

• I don't even know how many hours I worked last week. Even with the holiday, I know I topped 40. The DH and parents got to hear my conference calls, the BIL got to be part of my meetings, and the whole family saw me watching movies with my laptop always attached. It's ugly when there's a big deadline on December first.
• The DH and I traveled to Boise and go to spend time with my family. We also spent an evening with the Ips and an evening with the Godfreys. They are both great couples that I miss a lot being so far away.
• Thanksgiving dinner was GREAT! My family really can cook and there was too much of everything. It was also great to be in the same room with my entire family, parents, siblings, brothers and sisters in law, and all my nieces and nephews. They're all such wonderful people to be around. I think all the nieces and nephews just keep getting to be more fun too.
• A bunch of the women went to see Australia. I loved it. The cinematography was outstanding and the story moved along nicely. Even at one hour and fourty minutes, it didn't drag for a moment. And of course, I enjoy a good love story. I'd recommend it to anyone interested.
• The DH and I took two nieces to the World Center for Birds of Prey just south of Boise. It was really interesting seeing the different birds and hearing the volunteers there talk about the birds. The birds in the center now are all birds that couldn't make it in the wild.
• Had a great dinner at Flying Pie Pizzaria Gourmet Night with Whitney, Brent, and the girls. They have all you can eat gourmet pizzas in addition to all the regular stuff. YUM! And fun with such good company.
• The DH got to see three football games on Thanksgiving day and watched the BSU/Fresno State game on Friday. I can't say he got his fill of football (because he may never get his fill), but he sure got a good fix.

All in all, it was a great week with a lot of time spent with a great family and some good friends. I miss them already!

Bonding Over the Weekend

The DH and I decided to hit a movie last weekend. We were both excited that we had the same first choice -- Quantum of Solace. It's the next chapter in the ongoing James Bond series. I'll admit to being a Sean Connery fan as far as actors in the part go. Funny that he was the first. I guess he defined the stage presence. Daniel Craig is certainly different from other Bond's, but I've decided I like his ruggedness. I could go for a little more suave, but rugged is good too.

The movie is filled with chase scenes, things blowing up, and people running for their lives. There was a LOT of fire in this one. Overall, the action moved along and I enjoyed the movie. I'd even recommend it to anyone who enjoys an action flick. I've heard criticism that it's not "true" Bond like we've got to know and love, but I thought it worked.

Playing on my iPod This Week (Nov 24) -- Custom Playlists

This week, the DH and I have traveled to Boise. To help move the traveling along faster, the DH put together a custom playlist for me. He's got a real knack for building the playlists. I think it's one of his little known talents. Just so you know how clever he is, the newest playlist starts with the songs Your Song by Elton John and My Song by Brandi Carlile.

Enjoy this!

Highlights -- Better Late Than Later

I usually post highlights on Wednesdays, but that was a busy day and no posting on highlights got done. As you can imagine, Wednesday is included in the highlights though. Here's the good stuff:

• The DH's birthday. I was really excited to get him Photoshop, but now neither of us know what to do with it. I got a book with online tutorials, but that will take some time to learn. Maybe that will be a highlight in a few weeks -- figuring out Photoshop.


• We had fun with the Wright's and Leyland's at Snoose Junction Pizza in Ballard. It's such a great little place with very tasty food and no issues with hollering kids.


• A weekend with very few committments. We went to the ward play, but not much more.


• Hanging with the nephew while the brother and SIL went to her 10th anniversary at Microsoft party. We had dinner at IHOP and the nephew seemed to have a great time.


• Roasted free-range chicken from the DH's sister. She must have been an old bird -- the chicken that is. We had yummy carrots and potatos with it too and it was sure good.


• Hearing the DH talk in church, and our good friend Carolyn. They both did great!


• Home teaching the Neumann's. They're an older couple in our ward from Germany and were teenagers in WWII. They have more interesting stories than you can shake a stick at. We always have a great time visiting with them. They also sure put "trials" in perspective. I never had my friend die while we were working or throw a bomb back out the window after it fell in the kitchen. Seriously. Real stuff.


• Hitting the gym like it's going out of style. I ran a bunch yesterday. Ouch.

I'm sure I've missed some, but those are a few high points.

And here's one I forgot to add last week. The DH asked me to make a bowl cake for one of the guys at work for his birthday. The guy loves to play pool, so we gave him a 9-ball. Fun, huh? The DH said the guys at work thought it was fantastic.

Internet Woes Be Gone!

I'm posting this using my brand new, lightning-speed, cable internet. I haven't tried hooking up the wireless router yet, but at least we have internet again. I'm hopeful that this will be the answer I've been looking for. At least for now, it's a good thing.

Happy Birthday to the DH!

Today, the DH turns 52 -- and most will be surprised, because he really doesn't seem that old in body or spirit. In celebration of the man and his birthday, I was going to write 52 things about him, but decided that was just a bit much. So here is my top-10 list about the DH:

1. He is one handsome man. He doesn't think so, but he's just wrong.
2. He is a great friend. He would give you the shirt of his back if he thought you needed it (and probably has done just that at some point for someone).
3. He is very loyal.
4. He never turns down an opportunity to serve others. I love that he is so willing to give of himself and he's well known for it.
5. He loves me even though I can make it hard sometimes.
6. He makes awesome scrambled eggs and is a really good cook in general. Don't laugh at the good scrambled eggs -- he doctors them up until it's a culinary delight.
7. He supports me in the things that I do, even when some of them mean spending time away from him when he'd rather we were together. Sometimes he even pitches in to help me so he can hang out with me when I'm meeting my commitments.
8. He really cares about the underdog. I get frustrated about it sometimes (when the underdog calls at 7:30 on a Saturday morning), but I'm so impressed with the care he has shown to some of the people who just need someone to root for them.
9. He takes his commitments very seriously. If he says he'll do something, he'll do it.
10. He's strong in body and spirit. He has worked through some major obstacles and come out fighting.

I love the guy and I know I'm not alone. So, here's the shout out to the DH for 52 years!

I Love the Library

As a child, I loved to go to the library. I remember spending cool summer days in the basement of the old library. The children's section was downstairs and you had to go through a separate entrance to get to the lower level. I don't think I ever saw the main level. It was an old Carnegie library and I loved it.

I don't know when I first started to read, but I'm pretty sure my love affair with reading started very early on. I always wanted to take home a big stack of books and then we had rules about how many books we were allowed to check out. I think my limit was five books.

In elementary school, for a while, we went to the library once a week. I loved going and I can still remember the smell. Then we'd go once a month on Monday for family home evening. The books were all checked out for a month, so the whole family would gather up our library books and head to the library to get more. Oh, the trauma for everyone when one of us couldn't find all of our books! Even though the fees were small, they seeme huge to us as children.

I also remember being part of the summer reading program for several summers at the library. I think one summer, it was a Jr. Great Books reading club and I was introduced to many new and different genre and authors. I ate it up. I can still remember staying up reading until far into the wee hours to finish books before they were due or before I went back the next time.

I loved the Boise Public Library and still do. It's been a few years since I've been there since I relocated, but I still have so many great memories of my library there. I had a library card from before I could remember and finally got rid of it several years after moving to Seattle.

I've been in Seattle for eight years now, and just this weekend, I finally got a library card. The Seattle Public Library system is fantastic and I've been meaning to do it for years. Now I've finally got it!

Playing on my iPod This Week (Nov 17) -- Madeleine Peyroux

I was introduced to Madeleine Peyroux on a radio station I listen to and immediately fell in love with the retro styles. It's great music to listen to while I'm working as it's fairly calm and relaxing. I need help relaxing while I work!

This video is for Dance Me to the End of Love. It's a delightful little ditty.

Highlights (and Lowlights)

It's been one heck of a week! Last Thursday I had to drive up to Smoky Point in the rain and rush-hour traffic for a meeting and didn't have the good sense to try to carpool with anyone else who was going. That was just me being a bit loopy. For once, the DH and I didn't have much at all planned for the weekend. It was good not to have any obligations, but we were thrilled when Fred and Cathy called and invited us to play Settlers of Cattan with them on Saturday evening. We went out to Mexican and then went over and played -- and the DH won! There were a couple of very experienced players who thought they had the strategy down, but the DH beat them out anyway.

On Saturday, we also had our internet connection go out again. And, again, AT&T doesn't have customer support on the weekends, so I had to wait until Monday to call to get it fixed. I was on the phone from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and they finally got it up and running. While I was getting ready for work, I left the browser window open and when I went to close things down at 8:30, the internet connection was gone again. I had to get to work though, so I had to wait until evening to call again. I was on the phone for over an hour in the evening before the support agent told me that I can't get a signal because I'm too far from the signal. Funny... I wasn't too far from the signal last week, or for the last few years for that matter. At any rate, he said he was sorry, it wouldn't work. Period. Good luck getting internet.

Tuesday I did a little research and found out that Qwest and Verizon DSL are also not available at our house. That leaves HughesNet satalite (which apparently is only a bit faster than dial-up), ClearWire, or Comcast. I found out that Costco carries ClearWire, so I thought we might get a deal on that, but also thought I would at least call Comcast to see what it would cost. I was expecting that it would be more expensive than I wanted to pay, but found out that if I bundle internet, local, and long-distance calling, then it's actually $8 more than I was paying for AT&T DSL. It's also faster than DSL or ClearWire, so now I'm committed. We get Comcast internet next week (waiting 7 days to transfer the phone number to Comcast).

The rest of the week has been crazy work and Relief Society meetings, so I'm ready for another weekend.

Reading and Reviews

While in Hawaii, I finished Three Cups of Tea, but I also read Twilight. I've both lived through my own teen angst and read about it, and this is another story showcasing teen angst with the added excitement of vampires. I completely understand the hype with tweens around this book. I'm a little confused at the many adult women who seem to be completely enthralled with this book though.

The closest I can come to serious discussion of this book is to say that it is a great gateway into Harlequin romances. As far as a quick and easy read with a story that keeps you interested, it works. The funniest thing about this book is that the DH read about every third page over my shoulder and got the story without having to read the whole book.

I appreciate the interest and I plan to see the movie, but Twilight is mediocre writing at best. (Sorry Ann!)

So, now I'm moving on to other reading. I'm looking at the stack of books and trying to decide what's next. Let me know if you have any suggestions. I can go to the library if it's not already sitting on my shelf waiting for me to get to it.

Playing on my iPod This Week (Nov 10) -- The Jayhawks

I know the DH had his fill of The Jayhawks when we went to see them live, but I still love them! They're great. I have several of their albums and I enjoy just about everything they've released. They're Alt Country, so it isn't for everyone, but I think it's great stuff.

This video is one of my favorite songs, Tailspin. I like it better on the album than on the YouTube video, but you get the idea.

Highlights of the last seven days

I love this country! I love the democratic process (even if it does seem confusing). Today I listened to both speaches from Barack Obama and John McCain given last night after the election results were in. One of the highlights of this race was John McCain's consession speach. What a fantastic speach from someone surely disappointed in the results. He showed such diplomacy and true courtesy and respect for the office of the President. Another highlight was the speach given by Barack Obama. I loved this quote from his speach:

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.

I know not everyone who reads my blog shares my political opinions, but today I am thrilled for a new president-elect who I believe does bring new hope.

In addition to the amazing speaches those two men gave, other highlights include having my husband return from a weekend away for a Raider's game, an uneventful Halloween, getting all the goods for some Christmas gifts I'm working on, and fun with the nephew's Halloween party and a movie afterwards with the SIL.

It's been another great week and I feel blessed. It's a good feeling.

Oh, What a Relief It Is!

The DH and I watched some DVR tonight and saw how many political adds there were. They were SO annoying. Now, we don't have to see them anymore for quite some time. Hallelujah!

Have You Voted Yet?

This morning, I spent some time and filled in my ballot for the elections. It was great to vote for president, but that's only a small part of what I did.

There were many other leaders, judges, and initiatives to vote for where my vote counts and will make a difference. It fealt great to practice my right to vote, have my voice heard, and make a differenct.

Sometimes I wish I lived in a state like Ohio or Pennsylvania where it would be a rush to really know your vote for president might change the outcome of the election. In Idaho, the delagates will go to McCain and in Washington they will go to Obama. That's OK though. I may actually be deciding the outcome for the governor of Washington or how I-1000 will turn out. I have power. So do you! Make sure you make it happen by next Tuesday.

And for fun, you can watch this non-partisan video:

Jack o' Lanterns!

Last night, the DH and I found pumpkins at Central Market and brought them home to carve. I was inspired by one of the brother's family pumpkins and the DH used a stencil. I decided to go old school and design my own and cut it completely freehand. I think it's the best pumpkin I've every carved, but that's mostly because I'm carved some pretty sorry pumpkins in the past. Now mine just needs a word bubble above his head with the word "Argh!" in it.

Highlights for the last week

The past week has been pretty good, but I'll have to settle on a few highlights:

• Dinner at Hy's Steak House in Honolulu with the DH
• Sleeping in my own bed again after a long trip
• Autumn party at Bop and Beep's place
• Hearing about everything I missed while I was gone (specifically my Relief Society responsibilities)
• Going to the temple with the DH yesterday

Three Cups of Tea -- a Book Review

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin is a fantastic story about Greg Mortenson and how he tries to change the world. After reading the book, I have the utmost respect for this man. The way that he was able to put aside his own life, forge bonds with people far more unlike than like him, and find success in a country rife with war and corruption is astounding. I know this sounds like hyperbole, but I really am impressed with the man and what he has done.

David Relin worked very hard to get an unbiased look into the world and the work of Greg Mortenson and I feel like he did a good job of keeping the story even-keeled. The beauty in this book is not with the most refined writing, but with the story.

One of the parts I loved was when Mortenson found out that there was a fatwa against him. A fatwa is a legal pronouncement by a religious cleric. There were some in Pakistan who were very much against a Christian building schools in their country and believed that he was trying to indoctrinate their children. On the contrary, he was trying to educate them to fight against the indoctrination going on by the Taliban in the madrassas that they were building. At any rate, Mortenson had built a strong network of allies by showing great respect for the Muslim people and their religion. As a result of the way he lived and the example he set, the higher ruling bodies overturned the fatwas against his school building.

The lesson that I took from this is that he was successful because of his integrity. He loved the people and their war-torn country, respected their differences, and lived what he believed even at great personal sacrifice. I have great respect for such a man.

All in all, I highly recommend the book and think it's an important read for people who want to learn more about a part of the world that we generally have very little knowledge of.

Playing on my iPod This Week (Oct 27) -- This American Life

I had a great time traveling, but I must say that it was much easier getting there and back with my iPod in hand. The time went by very quickly while I was catching up on old episodes of This American Life. I've learned more about the housing market, economic crisis, federal judiciary system, and organ donation from this series than I thought possible. There's always something informative or entertaining. It's on TV too, but it's on Showtime and I draw the paying-for-TV line at premium stations.

I get my episodes from iTunes, but you can get them from the TAL site as well. Sometimes I actually listen on the radio, but it's usually while I'm running errands on Saturday and I'll miss a big section of the show, so I still have to catch up on the podcast.

Sleeping in My Own Bed

We ended the day Thursday with more relaxing, enjoying the ocean breezes, and a forgetable dinner at one of the hotel restaurants. We didn't care thought. We'd had so much fun that we were just enjoying more of the same.

Friday morning, we decided to enjoy breakfast and just laze around a bit and then head back to Honolulu. We bought a box of pineapple in the airport before boarding the plane and spending the next six hours thinking of the great memories we'd made and the lovely thought of sleeping in our own bed.

As always, one of the great things about a vacation is enjoying being home again.

Island Paradise

Tuesday was a pretty fun day. We started with a trip to the Hawai'i temple. It's much smaller than I expected, but it was very pretty inside. We got out of there around lunch time and then we spent the rest of the day touring the entire island. We had intended to go to Hanauma Bay, so we drove along the coast stopping to take pictures along the way. It was a nice slice of paradise. When we got to the bay, we saw the sign that they were closed. It turns out that Hanauma Bay is closed on Tuesdays. Oops! By that time, we were halfway around, so we just kept on going. We drove with the top down on the convertible and had a lovely time of it.

When we got back to the North Shore, we stopped in Hale'iwa to get dinner at what one of the guide books said was the restaurant with the best burger in town. We were NOT disappointed. We had a great dinner, then enjoyed some Hawaiian ice before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

On Wednesday, we got up early and headed to the big city of Honolulu. We started our tour there at the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. It's a beautiful memorial and we enjoyed the little boat ride out there and the whole tour for that matter. We then left Pearl Harbor and headed for the stadium. We went to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet where you can buy all the tacky tourist souvenirs for half the price of any other shops. We made our way all the way around the place with several purchases in hand.

It didn't take us as long as we expected to do those two things, so we went to see Iolani Palace and then went to the dollar movie (where it was air conditioned) and watched Journey to the Center of the Earth. It was a pretty stupid movie, but entertained us for a while. We went to Aloha tower and Waikiki Beach before heading for our dinner reservation at Hy's Steak House. Our dinner was fantastic (much better than our last steak house dinner at El Gaucho). We both enjoyed our dinners and then had a wonderful drive back to the North shore.

Today, we started with a swim in the ocean. It was so beautiful! The water is fairly warm and there is a bit of a cove here, so the waves aren't too strong. It stormed last night, so there were great waves today. It made our swimming more fun and the roads in the area very crowded. There was a huge difference in the amount of traffic and the boards in the water today over the other days we've been here. We spent a little time in Laie, getting additional souvenirs, and then went all the way out to the West. The towns are quaint and the people are super nice. We drove as far as you can until the road ends and took pictures along the way. On the way back, we stopped so I could get another shaved ice (which I love, but the DH couldn't get into). Down the road a little farther, we stopped for the DH to get a fresh coconut. We were both happy!

Highlights?

I'm in Hawai'i. 'Nuf said.

Enjoying the Aloha Spirit

We've spent a little time at the spa, where the DH got a massage and I got a pedicure. I'm now sporting opalescent blue nail polish on my toes -- very hip! We also went to the Dole plantations, which I think the DH and I both agree should not be on the list of things to do while on O'ahu. It was the most touristy thing I've seen here. We also drove along the North Shore and saw some of the surf towns along the way. If you're keepin track, the rain has been very little and today was sunny the entire day. I even got a tiny bit of sunburn on my face and neck.

We also spent a lot of time at the Polynesian Cultural Center today. Although it's also quite touristy, there is so much that's interesting and educational that I would recommend it to just about anyone. When I came to Hawai'i several years ago, I went to one of the big luau's. I enjoyed the PCC quite a bit more bacause we got to see demonstrations and learn all about several islands in addition to Hawai'i. I also thought this show was better than the Luau show, but I'm sure that's just a matter of taste. We had a very friendly guide named Loana from Tahiti. We also enjoyed chatting with several of the other folks in our little tour group. There were a few families and several couples and I think we all had a good time.

The highlight was the Samoa demonstration. The host was a great entertainer in addition to teaching us how to husk and open a coconut. We also got to see a young man climb a coconut tree. I was pretty impressed and how he just sprung up the tree.

At the final show, the best part was the fire dance. there were five guys all dancing with sticks on fire. Very cool! We're worn out from the walking and the sun, but so happy and relaxed too. Tomorrow, we're off to see more!

Vacating

The DH and I are on our first big vacation since our honeymoon. We've been planning it since early last Spring, so there's been a lot of anticipation for this. We're now very happy to be in Hawai'i, enjoying the surf and some sun. At the moment I'm writing this, it's raining outside, but even with the rain it's beautiful and relaxing.

When we arrived in Honolulu, we picked up our rental car and then took the long way to our hotel on the North Shore. We drove by Waikiki beach, Diamond Head, Haunama Bay, the Polynesian Culturale Center, Hawai'i temple, and a couple of golf course. The whole time it was just beautiful. We stopped a couple of times along the way to buy fresh coconut and bananas from a roadside stand and eat lunch from the Shrimp Shack.

When we got to the hotel, we put on our bathing suits and went out in the ocean. It's fantastic! We just relaxed the rest of the evening and ate dinner at the buffet in the hotel and watched a movie before falling asleep. Or, to be more accurate, I fell asleep while the DH watched a movie.

This morning, we found a ward pretty close by and went to church at the Kahuku 1st ward. The people were friendly and everything was pretty familiar -- one of the nice things about visiting churches wherever we go.

On the docket now... some relaxing, and then more relaxing, and after that a little more relaxing.

Mahalo, Tinkerdoodle!

Saturday, the DH and I left for our vacation in Hawai'i. Being in Hawai'i is great, but there is a six-hour flight between home and vacation. That's a long time to sit with not much to do, so I came prepared with the iPod, books, and magazines. The time goes especially fast when I'm listening to podcasts, so I was thrilled to have the iPod along.

Some of you may know that the iPod Nano has a defect. Apparently, it's pretty common, but I hadn't taken the time to research. The problem is that every once-in-a-while, when you go through the menu to get to a song or podcast, it freezes just as you're getting to the actual thing you want to listen to. It won't do anything, including turn off. The only way I could deal with it was to let the battery die and then it would reset itself.

Here's where Tinkerdoodle comes in. The DH was describing my problem to the iPod owners he works with and she said she had the same problem and there was a fix. You just hold down the middle button and the menu botton at the same time until you see the Apple icon and it resets. It takes about 15 seconds and then you're back to listening to whatever you want. Just like that!

Well, as soon as I got my iPod out to listen to it on the plane, it did the ol' feeze up. Had I not gotten the great tip from Tinkerdoodle, then I would have been iPod-less the entire trip, including 12 hours of boring flight.

Sharing the Love

Dan asked for the recipe from Sunday's dinner. We just had a big Ham's back end that we cooked for three hours and then made home-made Mac 'n' Cheese. The recipe is below, but this is from Martha Stewart and will take you two hours and $30 to make if you do it by the book.

Here's what I do differently. I don't make my own breadcrumbs. I buy the already made ones in a can at the store. Also, I use the already grated cheese from the grocery and try to get it when it's on sale. Safeway now has Asiago cheese already grated, so I use that and mild cheddar. The combination is really good. I also use about 10-20% more noodles because I think the recipe makes too much sauce. And finally, I leave out the nutmeg. I only like nutmeg in sweet treats. I think it's wierd in mac 'n' cheese and chicken and dumplings.

Also, this takes about 20 minutes of hand's on time to make, but totally worth it.

Macaroni and Cheese
6 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed, torn into ¼- to ½-inch pieces
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
5½ cups milk
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
4½ cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar
2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere or 1¼ cups (about 5 ounces) grated Pecorino Romano
1 pound elbow macaroni

You can easily divide this recipe in half; use a 1½-quart casserole dish if you do. Serves 12.

Heat the oven to 375°. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread pieces in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into the bowl with bread, and toss. Set the bread crumbs aside. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.

Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar, and 1½ cups Gruyere or 1 cup pecorino Romano. Set cheese sauce aside.

Fill a large saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 fewer minutes than manufacturer’s directions, until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1½ cups cheddar and ½ cup Gruyere or ¼ cup pecorino Romano; scatter bread crumbs over the top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes; serve.

Good Times

I feel like I've been too busy to breath lately. Work just doesn't seem to let up and the DH and I seem to overbook ourselves between work, church, music, and everything else we like to do. Don't get me wrong. This is not a complaint. Really, it's just more of an observation.

I thought this week was going to be a little less hectic, but several church responsibilities have proven that to be a bad assumption. I'm responsible for refreshments and the program for Education Night while I'm out of town this weekend, so it's been a scramble to get everything done. Still, I've had a pretty fun and entertaining week.

These are the highlights:

• Easy peasy Friday night with the DH and no plans. We went out to dinner and then came home and watched TV from the DVR.
• Making a Christmas present for the SIL at our Relief Society activity on Saturday morning. I can't say what it was (because that would spoil the surprise), but it was fun to learn.
• Ballard Art Walk and dinner with friends. We had a delightful time chatting and looking in shops and seeing art.
• Ham and mac 'n' cheese for Sunday dinner. I haven't made the soup yet, but it's on the list for Thursday.
• Completing the program for Education Night and deciding that it doesn't look too bad. I'm not a designer, but I could play one on TV.

Playing on my iPod This Week (Oct 13) -- Chicks

The DH has a knack for putting together play lists. He really is good at it and I appreciate this skill. Last week he made me a disc of all female artists and it's been playing a few times on my CD player in the car. It's great music. One of the things I like best about it is that he selected some of the songs that aren't played quite as much by those artists. Good stuff -- and so smart!

One of the songs I really like is Nancy Griffith's Don't Forget About Me. It's like honey, smooth and sweet. I also love Trisha Yearwood's Wrong Side of Memphis. Now that's some good stuff.

I don't know what the video is about (it's just wierd), but the song is great:

More Highlights

The DH and I have been SUPER busy the past week. I'm ready for things to slow down.. like really slow... like a trip to Hawaii! It's only 10 days away. But that's not really part of my highlights. Even though it's been busy, all the activities have been a lot of fun.

• Breakfast at Mae's with the brother, SIL, and their kids.
• Issaquah Salmon Days with La and Lo and getting our ceramic pot.
• Listening to General Conference -- there were some fantastic talks.
• Having the DH cook awesome dinners for me on Sunday AND again on Monday.
• Seeing Natalie MacMaster (even if she was pregnant).
• The first half hour of seeing Chris Thile (mandolin) and Edgar Meyer (bass). The best was the Bach they played together.
• Hearing Terry Tempest Williams at Seattle Arts and Lectures. She's an interesting character and shared moving stories.
• E-mail from the parents, telling us about their trip.
• Chatting with Ann on the phone (and reading about her trying to burn herself).

So much has been going on, but I looked at the calendar and after tomorrow, it calms down considerably.

Natalie MacMaster is Pregnant

You may not care that Natalie is pregnant, but I do. I was very disappointed to find out. Normally, I'm all about the baby love. Pregnancies are exciting and fun (for everyone but the mother in some cases). But Natalie is a performer in the Cape Breton style that includes step dancing while fiddling. It's just not the same when she's pregnant.

I saw Natalie MacMaster for the first time at Bumbershoot several years ago. It was one of the most spirited live performances in memory. She played a variety of folk tunes and danced the whole time. The entire audience was mesmerized and we had a fantastic time. So, about a year and a half ago, she was here again and playing with the symphony. I convinced the DH that he'd love hearing and seeing her and we went to the performance with high expectations. The music was wonderful, but Natalie was pregnant, so the dancing was not quite as lively. We had a great time, but I was a tad bit disappointed that she wasn't able to give that amazing performance that I remembered.

So, this year Natalie is on tour again and I really want to see the full show with the DH. We got tickets and as we were walking toward the Kirkland Performance Center, I told the DH, "she just better not be pregnant." We got there and she came out on stage -- visibly and obviously pregnant. OY! She had several outstanding performers with her and we got to see a bit of dancing with the playing, but Wow! That girl is all about making the babies. This is number three and they're each only 18 months apart. This may be the last time we see her live. If she comes back later, I need to figure out how to ensure that she's NOT pregnant when I buy tickets.

Playing on my iPod This Week (Oct 6) -- Bebel Gilberto

I found my CD case and discovered some old loves there. One of them was Bebel Gilberto. I'm sure you know her father. He's the musician who performs The Girl From Iponema. His daughter Bebel is very talented as well. The music is considered World Music and has a definite Bosso Nova beat to most of it. I find that I really enjoy Brazilian music. It's mellow, but still has a beat, which makes for some happy music.

I have the album Bebel Gilberto and like every song on it. Her album Momento seems to be just as good.

Just take a listen and I'm sure you'll be taken in. This one is Aganju.

Life's Biggest Time Wasters

This morning I was thinking about how much time I can wast on Soduko or solitaire. I've become particularly fond of the Mah Jong solitaire game on the new Windows Vista. It's certainly a vice. I can play for half an hour without even realizing that I've been at the computer that long. Fortunately, I just have the Soduko daily calendar, so I only do one puzzle a day. It's not quite so bad.

A couple of days ago, a former co-worker was seen at the coffe shop down the street. He was not particularly well-liked, so someone asked if another co-worker wanted to run over there and see him -- acting not a little snarky about it. I had not had more than five minutes' thought about the individual since he had left the organization and found it interesting that he would be the subject of conversation, much less that anyone would take the time to worry about where he is now and what's going on, unless it was because he was a friend. I realized that this is another way that we can end up wasting a lot of time and energy. We tend to keep coming back to things that may have offended us or bothered us in the past, even though they are really water under the bridge at this point.

It made me wonder how much time I've wasted on worrying about things I can't change or behavior I've witnessed that I didn't like. Have I held on to things that are totally unproductive (and unfortunately, the answer to that is too often yes)? Have I spent time thinking about how others act when I have no controll over them, but only how I act toward them?

I want to be more mindful of how I spend my time and energy. I always feel like I have too many things going on and I really do have too many good things in my life to spend any time on either things I can't control or things that ultimately bring unhappiness. Worrying is not easy to stop, but I'm sure I can make an effort.

More Highlights

Work has been a little hectic (though I think I may be caught up by the end of the day), and so has the church responsibility, but there have still been some really bright moments in the last few days.

• Mahler's 8th Symphony. Brilliant!
• Continueing to read Three Cups of Tee. Informative.
• Dieter Uchdorf's remarks at the women's broadcast. Moving and motivating.
• Chicken and dumplings for Sunday dinner. Tasty.

I hope the last week has been good for you!