Mmm... Halibut!

This week, the DH and I tried some of the halibut that our friend Fred caught and gave to us. We have several halibut steaks in the freezer, so I thought it was time to try out a new recipe. I found and then modified a recipe that turned out to be delicious and also very easy.

Pan Seared Halibut with Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons grape seed oil
4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 C dry white wine
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups halved heirloom tomatoes
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves

Directions:
In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, add the grape seed oil. Season the fish with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Sear the fish for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Add the hyme and juice of 1/2 a lemon and baste the fish with the sauce. Remove the halibut from the pan to a serving platter. Add the olive oil to the pan and stir in the dry white wine and then put in the tomatoes, the garlic and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Cook for 2 minutes and then add the parsley. Stir to combine and serve on top of the fish.

Julie & Julia -- My Emotional Response

After watching the movie Julie & Julia, I was intrigued and wanted to know more about both the women portrayed in the book. On the one hand, I was thoroughly disappointed, and on the other, I continue to be inspired.

When I got home, I looked up the Julie/Julia Project blog. I was dismayed. I don't care much about glitzy design on a blog, but I do care about good writing and interesting information. Julie was writing un-edited blog entires, so I wouldn't want to be too harsh, but her writing is no better than my average high-school students. I did see some more polished entries from after the project was completed (assuming she had more time to choose her words and edit herself). My biggest disappointment, however, was that I had absolutely no idea what the real experience of cooking and eating the food was after reading several entries. I love to read cooking blogs. I even have friends who blog about recipes they try and food they make that are far more inspiring that Julie's blog. I realize that her purpose was to document her "project" in her blog, but it just didn't resonate with me.

Julia Child's editor indicated that Julia had read the blog and considered it a stunt. After reading more of it, I completely understand Julia's reaction. Julia would have described the smell of the onions cooking, the texture of the sauce, and the flavor of the final dish in such a way that we would all be chonping at the bit to make it ourselves. When Julie describes her experience, it leaves me thinking about how hard the project is, how many tools it would take, and how expensive it must have been. I'm also thinking about how annoyed her husband must have been most of the time. And I know that Julie was keeping it real with her language, but the F-bombs o' plenty are even more distracting from the food and lower my opinion of her as a skilled writer.

I really wanted to like Julie, to be happy for her for getting a book deal, and even happier for getting a movie deal. In the end, I think Julie is just a pawn of a bigger machine looking for a money-maker. They found it and Julie will have her 15 minutes of fame. I say, good for her. I just wish I could be genuinely happy about the whole project.

Contrast that with my reaction to Julia Child. I did find her inspiring in many of the same ways that Julie found. She was someone who really wanted to find her passion in life. She tried a variety of things that left her lackluster. When she went to France, she was intrigued by the food and fell in love. Then she went to the Cordon Bleu cooking school and found a true passion for cooking. The best part is that she was having a great time doing it. She wanted to share her passion. That is amazing! I want to find something that I can be that passionate about.

I bought her biography and look forward to reading it. I love to bake, but I'm not sure I'm at the level that I'd call Passion. (Notice the capital letter and italics -- that's real passion.) Hopefully I'll find it somewhere along the way. And the good news is that Julia didn't find her passion at 16 or 22. She was in her late 30's when she went to cooking school and older than that when she got involved in her cook book project. Fantastic! I guess I've become a bit passionate about Julia Child and hope I find the inspiration from her to find some pastime that I can be truly Passionate about in my life.

Loving My Car Dealership

Yes, you read correctly. I LOVE my car dealership, Toyota of Lake City. There are a couple of reasons.

First, let me highly recommend the service package offered when you buy a car from the dealership. It costs about the same as JiffyLube if you count up how many times you'll get service and what that costs there, but there are added benefits that I had no idea I was signing up for when I got my service package. I've been in four times now since purchasing my car.

• The first time I went in, they found an issue with a part that needed to be replaced. It was under warranty, so it just cost me an extra 20 minutes in the waiting room (with wifi, so I could surf the net while I waited).
• The second time I went in, they added foam to my front dash to decrease road noise. It was fixing a known issue and would take extra time, so they drove me to work and spent the day on the car, so it cost me the inconvenience of riding in their carpool to work.
• The third trip in required some new belts and windshield wipers, but they are included in the service agreement, so I didn't have to pay for them. I just needed to approve the work. Those are just little things, so it didn't even take any extra time.
• The last time I went in (last Friday), they did my 25K maintenance, so it took a little longer than normal. The found that the water pump was leaking, so they also replaced that. It was under warranty, so I didn't have to pay for it. Because they found it before it was a real problem, I will also never have the inconvenience of the car quitting on me because the water pump failed. I also told them that my tire air pressure light was coming on, but that the pressure was fine. They checked it and found the nail lodged in my tire. I actually had to pay for the tire fix, but I avoided the inconvenience of walking out to my car to find a super low tire that would make me late for work and finding out about the nail that way.

The service folks are so nice and I always feel like they're doing just a little extra to make sure that I have a good driving experience.

The second reason that I love my car dealership is because they like to do the right thing. Last year, we heard about an elderly sister in our ward who had some issues with folks who were providing some care for her. They got access to her bank account and proceeded to buy three cars. They went to my car dealership, Toyota of LakeCity. Of course, the dealership was thrilled to sell them the first car. When they came back the next day to buy a second car, the dealership thought something smelled fishy. They refused to sell the second car and asked the people to return the first car they had purchased the day before. They gave up two (and what could have been three) sales to do the right thing. They also reported the people for abuse and helped nail the case against those folks who were taking advantage of someone who needed protection.

I know most people hate car dealerships and car salesmen, but I want everyone (all three of you) to know that there are some really good dealerships out there who do the right thing and make their customers have great experiences.

Help Someone -- Help Yourself

If you're in the Seattle area, the please think about visiting the North end for two simultaneous and excellent events:

Yard sale/Bake sale to raise money for their adoption. I'll be baking and I'm only making the really good stuff, so you won't want to miss that!

13716 Midvale Ave. N
Seattle, WA

Friday, Sept. 4th and Saturday, Sept. 5th (with a possible encore on Monday)
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.


Also, for the knitters I know...

A Serious Stash Event
The duchess' sister used to own a gift boutique and yarn store. When she shut down to focus on raising her baby, the yarn just stayed on the shelves. She is bringing all that yarn to Seattle and selling it well below cost- because it is just time for it to go.

Rowan, Jeager, Elsebeth Lavold, Debbie Bliss, Kraemer, Louisa Harding, Plymoth, lots of sock yarn. There are sweater quantities in most yarns, and project quantities in all yarns. There will also be needles, notions, patterns, bags- pretty much anything (other than books) that you might expect to find in a yarn store.

The Important InfoWhere: 13716 Midvale Ave. N. Unit B, Seattle, WA
When: Labor Day weekend Frinday Sept 4th, Sat, Sept 5th and Monday Sept 7th
(NOT SUNDAY)10:00 am- 5:00pm (or until we run out of yarn ;)

Julie & Julia -- the Movie Review

While Annzy was visiting, we went to the movie Julie & Julia. The movie goes between the lives of Julie Powell in 2002 and Julia Child in the 50's. I loved Meryl Streep as Julia Child. She did a great job of capturing the voice and mannerisms without being too over the top about it. I also loved the story of Julia Child. I completely understand why she was such an inspiration to Julie Powell. I loved that she found her passion in her late 30's and that she really lived life to the fullest. Julie Powell's story is interesting, but a little more self-absorbed. It's lovely to watch how she learns from Julia Child, but her story paled in comparison to Julia's.

Nora Ephron always does a nice job of creating the time and place and she does that well both in the Brooklyn setting for Julie's story and the wonderful city of Paris, and then Connecticut, for Julia's story. I left the theater wanting to know more about both Julie and Julia and what they have accomplished. I wasn't quite ready to run out and buy Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but I was inspired by Julia's love for cooking and teaching others to have that same love.

Sleep! Who Needs It?

The answer to that question is me, that's who.

The DH and I have both taken sleep studies in the past few months. My sleep study revealed that I wake up a lot and have too much brain activity when I wake up, but it's not from sleep apnea. It's from worrying too much. The DH, on the other hand, found out that he has sleep apnea and is awoken some 35 times an hour when he stops breathing. I guess that could be a problem.

To counteract the wear and tear of stopping breathing 35 times an hour, the DH was prescribed a CPAP machine. The idea is that it blows air up your nose to keep the air passages open, so you can't stop breathing. The only problem with that is it's constantly blowing air up your nose, which for the uninitiated, can be very distracting and keep that person wide awake. Last night was night three with the CPAP machine and it's gotten progressively better each night. The first night was pretty bad with the machine getting loud and being terribly uncomfortable for the DH. The second night was a little better, but still uncomfortable.

I'll admit that I like to share the bed with the non-snoring version of the DH, but I also appreciate the non-hooked-up version of the DH. We've agreed that he will absolutely wear it for the first five nights, but then all bets are off. If he doesn't feel like the benefits of feeling great during the day outweigh the discomfort during the night, then he's done.

Mostly, I just want the DH happy and healthy. I know many, many people who swear by the joys of CPAP, but the DH needs to feel it himself. If not, then we'll return to the snoring and I'll keep loving the white noise machine.

Music Monday -- Grizzly Bear!

I just picked up a new album from the band Grizzly Bear called Veckatimest. Curios what a veckatimest is, but not enough to actually find out. I listened to several of the tracks on iTunes and enjoyed what I heard and now I've listened to the whole album a couple of times. It's a lot more mellow than I expected, but I really like it. I think my favorite track right now is Two Weeks. Take a listen and let me know what you think.

Who I Want to Be

I'm still deciding what I want to be when I grow up, but I do know who I want to be when I grow up. I actually really like who I am. I'd just like to be a more fit, organized, intelligent, comfortable version of who I am today. To that end, I've been thinking about what I need to do to become who I want to be. I'm really not all that good at making and keeping goals, but I realize that it's an important part of becoming who I want to be. For this reason, I've set a goal to do the Danskin triathlon next summer. That should help with the "fitter" part of who I want to be.

I've also made a goal to blog more often. This may not seem like such an important goal to many, but it really is a great outlet for me. I love to write, but I waste way too much time when I sit at the computer. My goal is to only read or write at the computer moving forward. That means no more Mah Jong. Really. It's such a waste of time and it sucks me in for embarrassing amounts of time. There. I've said it. Now I can move on. I don't think that writing every day will get me a book deal or land me some sweet job, or become a job itself, but it will help me organize my thoughts and produce something that is of value at least to me.

My other goal is to de-junk my office. It's a shambles, but it will help me to be more organized to get everything in its place and to get rid of the things that are no longer useful. I also want to organize my time better, but I'm still working out how that will look in some measurable goal.

And finally, I'm going to figure out Photoshop and Lightroom. I need to embrace being a life-long learner. It's what keeps our brains agile and our spirits young. I want to be that person who is alway learning something new. The new thing that will be of value to both me and the DH will be learning to use Photoshop and Lightroom. It's a lot easier for me to learn than the DH, and I fear he will never get the knack if I'm not able to help troubleshoot along the way. They're complicated tools, and totally not in my comfort-zone, so it will be fun and challenging. And then, maybe I can make my own blog banners! Fun for me and you.

Putting out there into the bloggosphere is my way of writing it down. Go ahead and help keep me honest. I won't be offended. That's part of the fun, right?

Onion Tartlets

While the DH and I were in Portland, we picked up the Farm Chicks In the Kitchen for Annzy. She really wanted the book, and we found a better than average deal on it at the wonderful Powell's Books.

While I was in possession of the book, I read it cover-to-cover and enjoyed all the anecdotes and pictures, but I try any of the recipes. I waited until Annzy showed up in person, and then let her try the Onion Tartlet recipe while she was visiting. We all loved the recipe, so I had to try it out myself after she was gone.

I've made them now, and the recipe is super easy and the results every-so-tasty. The DH suggested adding bacon bits-the fairy dust of the food world-so we did and it was a pleasant addition.

Also, let me just tell you that you really should pick up this book if you are even remotely interested in this or any of the other Farm Chick's recipes. They are fabulous and looked fairly easy to make. It's a recipe book that I know I would use many of the recipes in, so it's well worth the cost.

The Farm Chicks' Onion Tartlets

3/4 cup butter, softened
3oz cream cheese ~room temperature
1 cup flour
4 cups thin sliced onions (about 3 large onions)
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg

Heat oven to 350'

Cook the onions: Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 1/4 cup butter, stirring till melted; then add the onions, stir in the sugar and salt, and saute over medium-low heat until golden brown and caramelized, ~20 minutes.

Make the crust: Combine 1/2 cup butter and the cream cheese in a medium-sized bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the flour and mix until well combined. Scoop the mixture into 24 heaping teaspoonfuls and roll each into a ball. Press each ball into the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased mini-tart (muffin) pan. Divide the onion mixture evenly between the 24 tartlet shells.

Bake the tartlets: Combine the cream and egg in a glass measuring cup and whisk until smooth. Pour into the tartlets, dividing evenly. Bake until the filling and crust are golden brown, ~22 to 24 minutes. Transfer the tartlets from the baking pan to a serving plate and serve warm.

~enjoy because the real secret ingredient is love!

Wishing I Had Taken Pictures

I really like food, so I like to talk about food. The DH and I had the most wonderful dinner last night that I just must share with you all. Our meal was at the Sumbling Goat Bistro in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood. We shared two appetizers and then each had our own main dish.

We started with a seasonal cheese plate. The cheeses were Bleu d’ Auvergne raw cow’ s milk from France, Isiguy Ste Mere Camembert pasteurized cow’s milk from France, Crottin Affine pasteurized goat milk from France, and Castelrosso pasteurized cow’s milk from Italy. It was served with Port glazed figs, pear, candied nuts, and house-made crackers with a sprinkling of sea salt. I know! It all sounds so complicated. A picture would have been so much nicer on all of you. The flavor of the Bleu was the favorite of both the DH and me. It was SO good! I really don't have the vocabulary to describe how the cheese tasted, but know that we both enjoyed it immensely.

The second appetizer was Wild Boar Rillettes with a chutney and two mustards. I'm sure you're asking yourself right now what Rillettes are. First off, it's singular. Second, according to dictionary.com, it's an appetizer made usually of pork or goose meat that is diced, seasoned, cooked, and then pounded or ground to the consistency of a spread. In other words, it's kind of like liverwurst, but it was made out of wild boar's meat instead of some goose liver. It sounds a little odd, but it was very good. The meat had been cooked with a variety of herbs, but had a distinct flavor of clove in the mix. It was served with bread to spread it on with the chutney and mustard. The flavor combinations were lovely.

The DH had pan-seered halibut and I had braised rabbit and papardelle with a tomato sauce. Both were prepared perfectly and we were so satisfied with the whole meal that we didn't even eat dessert at home.

Friday Food For Thought

The Best Years of My Life

Four years ago today, the DH and I were married in the Seattle temple, had a wonderful luncheon at Ivar's Salmon House, and then had a great party in our back yard to celebrate with all of our friends. It was a fantastic day! I couldn't imagine that I could be more in love or happier than I was on that day.

What a surprise. I really am more in love and happier today than I was four years ago. The DH has been a wonderful influence in my life and helped me to live a more full and enjoyable life. I love him and I'm in love with him. It's a great place to be.

In the last four years, we've traveled to Victoria, B.C., Hawaii, Idaho, California, church history sites, the Oregon coast, and all sorts of lovely places in Washington. We've totally changed how we manage our funds and save for a rainy day. We've gotten new callings in the church that have helped us grow in different ways. We've worked in the yard and shopped at Costco. We've learned to sleep with each other's snoring (I love you, white noise machine!). We've watched friends get married and divorced and felt the joy and pain that go with both of those. We've gone to more live music performances than I can count.

We stick up for each other and we rub each other's feet. We love more now than ever. All of these things have knit us together.

Happy Anniversary, DH!

Update -- The DH sent beautiful flowers to me at work. He knows how much I love fresh flowers and it was a very happy surprise.

Please Make It Stop!

This morning I had a dentist appointment and had my teeth cleaned. I was relaxed in the dentist's chair when the horrible noise started. There are three work stations and I was in the middle one. To the right, was the high-pitch sound of the dentist drilling a tooth. To the left was the lower hum of someone having the polisher on their teeth. In the middle was me, hearing the scraping of plaque from my teeth.

It was torture.

I'm sorry you had to read that, but I felt the need to share my pain.

Annzy's Visit

I had the rare pleasure of my sister Annzy visiting for the weekend. She showed up Thursday evening and we played until she left on Sunday afternoon. The highlight of the weekend for me was disecting Julie & Julia. I'll post more on that another day, but it was great to talk to Annzy about it and think about the movie and its message.

I also loved shopping with Annzy. She's a pro! We enjoyed U Village, the Phinney Ridge Farmer's Market, Pike Place Market, K-Mart, and the grocery store. Every trip was better with Annzy there. Of course, the best was the trip to K-Mart. It's always an adventure there. We discovered that the Martha Stewart line seems to be going out. That's a bummer. We also found silly gadgets that we discovered we couldn't live without. Who knew? I'm not sure how I survived until Saturday without that meat thermometer that I picked up.

It was super fun to hang with the family here and see how excited the nephew was to have Annzy there to show off his stuff to. He's such a great kid! I was fascinated by his interest in rocks (and the brother's ability to answer the tough questions). It was like a Geology test that I would have flunked. Good times! The Brother passed with flying colors, though.

The final highlight was making Onion Tartlets with Annzy. We got the Farm Chicks cookbook for her at Powell's when we were there a few weeks ago and the cookbook is loads of fun. We had brunch with the family, so Onion Tartlets seemed like a good choice for that. Even though they may sound wierd to some of you, they really taste wonderful and are a good savory addition to any menu. They were pretty easy and super yummy. We all agreed that bacon bits could be a welcome addition to the recipe, but they were great without too.

Annzy! Send me the recipe! I must post it here for my bloggy friends to try!

Listening On My iPod -- The Decemberists

For my many readers (all three of you!), I'm sure you'd like to know what I'm listening to lately. The DH and I saw The Decemberists live last month and it was even better than either of us expected. They played a lot of music from their new album and they did a great job of the live performance.

As soon as I got back from the concert, I went right out and logged onto iTunes to buy the album. I've really enjoyed it. The sound is something that I can listen to actively or just have in the background. Either way, they're great and I hope you like them too.

Whirleyball and Ouch!

Last night, we were invited with a group of friends to play Whirleyball. This game is a riot and we had a lot of fun. It's basically the rules of basketball, but using a whiffle ball while riding in a bumper car. The games are 15 minutes and move really quickly. See the short YouTube video below to get an idea of how the game looks.


We were invited by some friends to add to the team. You have to have 10 people to play for an hour and a half, which ends up being about four 15-minute games. We also had three extra people so we could sub in and out. The bumper cars make for a jarring game, so I was happy to sit out for one of the games.

I have to say, the best part of the game last night was the group we were with. The group was made up of a couple that we're friends with and their grown sons and daughters-in-law and a couple of random other friends. Most of them had played several times, were athletic to begin with, and were very good at the game. Me -- not so much! But these great folks made sure that I played as much as anyone. They didn't hog the ball or get too aggressive or so competetive that it took the fun out of it. They just added to the fun by really enjoying it and including everyone.

It's such a far cry from the one other time I played. I got bored because the two competetive guys on the team just hogged the ball and got really angry if anyone missed the ball or did something they thought was "wrong" along the way.

The only down side to playing Whirleyball is the painful after effects. I'm sore today and expect it to last until tomorrow. Between getting hit too many times to count and trying to reach in wierd ways for the ball, it uses muscles you didn't know existed.

Thanks, Lo, for the invitation!

Twilight Fun

While the nieces were here, we headed to the peninsula and went to the Hoh rain forest, Rialto Beach, and Forks.

Anyone who has read the Twilight series of books knows that the story takes place in Forks, WA. It's a little hole in the wall town, but still fun to go see.

I'm happy to go to Forks, but mostly because I really like the rain forest and beach and Forks is on the way.

Enjoy this lovely little spoof on Twilight if you have time for it:

Family Milestones

A few summers ago, the DH and I went to Idaho Falls to celebrate my Granny's 90th birthday. This weekend, we've spent a few days East of Sacramento celebrating the DH's father's 90th birthday.

We flew into Sacramento late Thursday and spent the night there, then drove to Oakland to attend a temple session with the DH's parent, sister and her husband, two step brothers, and a couple of aunts. We had a nice time there and I was happy to meet some new family members.

We then drove back to Sacramento and picked up the DH's younger son, Rory, from the airport and took him out to dinner before driving to Jackson, CA where we were spending the rest of the weekend. We had great food at Rudy's Hideaway in Folsom and then stayed up talking to more family members at the DH's parents house.

On Saturday, we spent a good part of the day celebrating the 90th birthday. The DH's step-mom put together a great party. There was plenty of food, a wonderful slide show of pictures from over the last 90 years, and live music from some of the more talented members of the family. We also spent a lot of time talking and reminiscing about old times. I got to meet all of the DH's step-brothers and many of his neices and nephews. With the merged family, there were a lot of brothers and sisters and plenty of people for me to meet and get to know. I'll admit that the DH may have more interesting characters in his immediate family. It made for a very entertaining couple of days.

Today, we looked around the town of Sutter Creek, then had lunch with the family and I go to see more pictures of the DH when he was younger. It was a lot of fun. Then we headed back to Sacramento to fly back home.

Fabulous Reading!

I just finished a delightful book. I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. The story takes place in post-WWII England starting in London and ending in the Channel Islans of Guernsey.

This was a very quick read and perfect summer reading. The story has some serious points, but is mostly light and fun. There's romance and a little intrigue (though mild at that). The whole story is written in letters, so you get to know each of the characters both by how they write and by how they are described by others. I especially liked that the main character is herself an author and discusses her own works and her love of other authors. It makes for a great literary adventure. She refers to Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy often and looks for love just as Elizabeth did. You'll have to read to find out if her story ends as happily as Elizabeth's.

Because You Asked So Nicely

Several folks have requested the Spitzbuebe cookie recipe, so here it is for anyone who'd like it. Note that I just use the mixer instead of blending in the flower by hand.

Spitzbuebe
1¼ cups sugar
6 cups flour
2 eggs
1 pound butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 pinch salt

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

In a mixer cream the shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, a pinch of salt and the vanilla. Beat until thoroughly mixed. Using your hands, mix in the flour but only until it is incorporated into the mixture. Just fold the flour into the batter. The result will be a very sticky batter. DO NOT OVER-MIX.

Spread flour on a large surface and scrape the batter onto this surface from the mixing bowl. Sprinkle with flour and being to spread the dough with your hands to flatten it out. Then use a rolling pin to push the dough flat to about ¼ to ⅜ inches thick.

Cut cookies into desired shape. Make sure there is an equal number. In half of the cut out cookies make a smaller middle hole. Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a pre-heated oven at 350° for 10-15 minutes. The cookies should be a beige color and not brown, if in doubt break one to see if it is done.

Let cookies sit overnight, then prepare by spreading jam on bottom cookie and covering with top cookie. Sprinkle powdered sugar over cookies.

My New Goal

OK. I'm putting it out there for everyone to see. I have 54 weeks to train. I've signed up three times and not done it, but next year, I'm signing up and DOING the Danskin triathlon.

• There's a new spinning class at my gym on Monday mornings.
• I started running intervals again last week.
• There's a pool at my gym (if only I could find a time when all the lanes didn't have three people in them).
• My friend Kathleen has decided to train too.

Aren't these all good reasons to do it? I also think it will be enough time to get me there with the 54 weeks to go.

Annzy, are you in? ALL in?!?

Catching Up -- Cookies!

A couple of weeks ago, we had an activity at church where we all came and talked about a country we love and know about (other than the US). I shared some fun and interesting info about Switzerland.

Everyone got a kick out of seeing the cows with flowers on their heads and the beautiful alps, but the best part of sharing my experience in Switzerland was sharing the food. I made cookies that my family calls Bullseye cookies, but are called Spitzbuebe in Switzerland. The name is the word for a precocious little boy, I'm sure named that because the three holes in the top look like a little face.

First I made the dough, which is a lot like a simple shortbread cookie. They have to be rolled out and cut into tops and bottoms. The bottoms are just a simple circle, but the tops have three holes cut out. At least, this is the traditional look of the Spitzbuebe cookies. I've made them at Christmas with stars cut out of the top, but I only ever saw them in Switzerland with the three holes. The DH decided to call them Bowling Ball cookies.

After they're baked, it's best to let them sit overnight to kind of mellow. I'm not sure why, but they're definitely better if they sit for a while.

Once they've sat overnight, they get the yummy jelly filling. It goes on the bottom cookie and then the top goes on and powdered sugar on top of that. In Switzerland, some bakeries put powdered sugar and some put a really thin glaze. I like both, but it's just too much work after everything else to add glazing to the process, so mine always get powdered sugar.

The end result is yumm-o! These are definitely my favorite cookie. I only make them about once a year because they're a bit more work than most cookies, but it's worth the effort every once in a while. And my Swiss friend at work was delighted to share this treat with me.

Weekend Away...

This weekend was the DH's company picnic. His generous company pays for everyone to travel to Portland and puts everyone up in a hotel for one night. So, Saturday morning, we headed South to Portland. It took us just over three hours to get there and traffic wasn't too bad. We went to the picnic where we enjoyed the heat, had very good food, played some games, and enjoyed a lot of good company. We had a really nice time, but finally gave up when we were just too hot. At that point, we went and checked into the hotel and had a rest in the air-conditioned room.

That evening, we went with the Stahl's to shop at Powell's Books and then out to dinner. We had a great time at Powell's and didn't quite break the bank. The DH and I both found a couple of books we wanted. Annzy called at the most opportune time and even she got a book in the process. it was actually kind of funny. She wanted a cookbook that she didn't know the name of. She gave me a brief description that I gave to one of the people there, who quickly handed me the exact book she wanted. I love a bookstore where the people working there actually know the books.

We then went to dinner at Clyde Common, recommended by one of our Mathlete friends. It was a really great choice and all four of us were very happy with all the food we had. My only regret was that we were too full for dessert. I guess that's not exactly a problem though.

We got up and had to get breakfast before heading out of town, so we went to get the best breakfast around at Mother's Bistro. Fortunately, we beat the rush and were able to enjoy fantastic food again.

Of course, it's good to be home again, but we had a great time on our mini-excursion.

The Anniversary of My First Memory

Today is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. The lunar landing was televised on our black and white TV, and watching that report is the earliest memory I have. I would have just turned 3. My older brother loved all things scientific, so it's no surprise that my memory is of sitting on the floor a foot rom the TV, next to him. We were in the L-shaped family room with linoleum tile on the floor, long before walls were built to add another room and wall-to-wall carpet was installed.

Beauty is Not Optional

Beauty is not optional, but it is often crowded out by the day-to-day activities that make up our lives. We are pressed by things that are important in the moment, but not of import. Getting to work on time is important in the moment. Noticing beauty in our lives is of import.

If we are not deliberate in our lives, we may miss out on much of the beauty that could come our way. Beauty comes to us in many ways if we are aware — a smile, an article, watching the evening sun go down and noticing the firey red clouds, the touch of a good friend — these moments of beauty are all around us if we are not distracted by other things.

The following poem expresses this thought beautifully...

If I had time to find a place
And sit me down full face to face
With my better self, that cannot show
In my daily life that rushes so:
It might be then I would see my soul
Was stumbling still toward the shining goal;
I might be nerved by the thought sublime —
If I had the time!
-Richard Burton

Muslih-uddin Sadi, a sheik who lived more than 720 years ago, wrote the following verse entitled Gulistan

If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft
And from thy slender store two
loaves alone to thee are left
Sell one and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed the soul.

That which is beautiful truly does feed our souls.

Terry Tempest Williams, a noted Utah author, was in New York City to see the editor of the New Yorker Magazine. To help break the ice, she had purchased some flowers for the editor. It was very cold as she walked down 43rd Street and caught sight of a woman who was sitting on the subway grate wrapped in a blanket with only her eyes showing and those eyes were focused on the flowers. Terry didn't give the flowers to the woman because that would be patronizing, but in the next block, she found a flower shop and went in and bought some big yellow mums and went back to the woman. As she handed the mums to her, the woman said: "I am eating, but nobody gives me food for my soul – beauty is not optional."

Given this, I was fascinated with the social experiment put on by the Washington Post in April 2007. You can read about it in the article Pearls Before Breakfast. It's a fairly long read, but well worth the time.

And watch the video from YouTube below:

Holiday Weekend

Last weekend, the DH and I took a much needed vacation. It was my birthday, so I told the DH that I really wanted to visit Granny (my paternal grandmother) for my birthday. She lives in Idaho Falls, ID, so it took some planning, but we got to have a great visit with her.

We started our vacation by flying to Boise. I got to visit with my old friend Rochelle (who I've known since 4th grade) and then we had dinner with my friend Andrea (who I've known since I was 2) and her husband. After dinner, we played games with Andrea, Ben, and my parents. It was a wonderful way to spend a day.

On Saturday, we celebrated my birthday by eating cake and ice cream for breakfast. I did some sewing and then we went to Five Guys for hamburgers (YUM-O!) for lunch and headed out to the freeway to go to Idaho Falls. We got there around 6:00 and went to cousin Aaron's house for a nice BBQ dinner with almost all the Turner clan. It was great to catch up with Aunt Beth and Uncle Bob and see what all the boys and their significant others are up to. After dinner, we went to Granny's place and visited for a couple hours before heading back to Aaron's for a few fireworks and a good night's sleep.

On Sunday, Aaron made Abelskivers for breakfast before we went back to visit with Granny again. It was such a delight to talk to Granny, hear her stories, and enjoy her great attitude. I don't know many people who just turned 93 who are so pleasant to be around. I'm very thankful for such a wonderful example in Granny. After that short visit, we headed back out of town, but on the highway instead of the freeway. Our next stop was Craters of the Moon National Monument. The DH had heard about it and really wanted to go. The nicest surprise about the trip was how green and lush everything was and we loved seeing all the wild flowers. It's been an unusually wet spring in Idaho, so the flowers are in bloom much later than usual. We explored the lava flows, cones, and tubes and met a lot of nice people along the way. If you're ever planning to drive to Yellowstone or Teton National Park, it's definitely worth the detour to see Craters of the Moon. From there, we headed to Sun Valley where we checked out the town and spent the night.

On Monday, we drove up through Galena Summit where we saw a spectacular view of the Sawtooth mountains. It really was an amazing view. From there, we went to Redfish Lake and took a turn about the lake and tried out the fishing. The fish weren't biting, but I didn't care. It was so lovely and peaceful that I enjoyed myself entirely without caring about the fish. From there, we headed through Stanley and Lowman and then over through Garden Valley to Hwy 55 and back to Boise. We had a great visit with my brother and sister and their kids and then went to bed tired. It had been a great drive around the southern part of the state.

On Tuesday, I finished up my sewing and we had lunch with the whole family before heading back to Seattle. I was reminded why I miss Idaho and the DH was introduced to new landscapes that he really enjoyed as well. On our last day in Boise, we started planning our next road trip. We think the next one might be in southern Utah. We'll see!

Feeling Independent

I love Independence Day! I'm sure you just assume it's because it's my birthday, but there's more to it than that. I'd actually be fine if my birthday were any other day, though it's kind of funny when people find out my birthday is on the 4th and wonder what my parents were thinking when they named me.

I love small town parades. We went to Malad, ID at least once when I was young and I had such a great time at their parade. They really went all out. It was cool to see what seemed to be ancient men in the bed of a truck proudly waving VFW flags. Those men were proud and you could see it. Provo, UT also has a great 4th of July parade. The kids end up with handfulls of candy by the end and there's a great sense of community along that parade route.

I love seeing the flag flown. When I lived in Boise, a scout troupe in my neighborhood put flags in the yards of anyone who signed up on all the flag-flying holidays. There were a lot of them and made me feel great to see them all. I miss that in the neighborhood I live in now. I don't see quite as many flags as I'd like, even on the 4th.

As a kid, I thought it was great that we lit fireworks almost all day (it seemed!), then ate rootbeer floats and stood out on the deck to watch the city fireworks. It was fun to walk over to the bench and chat with friends while watching them from there, too.

That sense of belonging to a community that loves this country we live in is pretty great. I'm looking forward to a(n extended) family BBQ and family and city fireworks this 4th of July. I think I'll feel great!


This is one of my favorite renditions of the National Anthem. Jennifer Hudson rocks it! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Loving My Country

Last weekend, the DH and I spent time in NE Oregon enjoying a lot of the landscape. This weekend, we'll be heading to Idaho to tour a portion of the Southern part of the state. It's my home and I have a certain longing for that landscape. I'm looking forward to sharing that land that I love with my DH.

I've also been thinking lately how much I love my country. We forget so often how very blessed we are and what a great land of opportunity we live in. Even the worst off among us are better off than many in war-torn or third-world countries.

I can't get through the national anthem without tearing up. I loved seeing the original Old Faithful being restored at the Smithsonian when I was there last. I may even be a bit of a sap when it comes to thinking about the ideal of America, even knowing it's only an ideal and that for many it is far from their reality. I truly love this land of mine.

Not the Surprise We Had Expected

The DH and I are heading to his sister's house just outside Hermiston, OR tonight to visit for the weekend. A couple of weeks ago, the DH's older half-sister (H-S) called to say that she and his dad (FIL) would drive up to surprise the DH's sister with a nice visit. It sounded great and we were looking forward to the family visit.

Fast forward to Wednesday night. H-S and the FIL left California to drive to sister's house, but went really far out of the way. Additionally, H-S and the FIL weren't getting along and H-S wanted to drive, but FIL said no, so she actually said she'd rather get out of the car. At a gas station in Wells, NV (yes, very far out of the way), she left FIL alone. She went to a hotel for the night and called the DH's sister to let her know that, SURPRISE!, they had been on the way to visit, but she had left the car and had no idea where FIL was now.

Needless to say, that left everyone in the family considerably worried about the wellfare of the FIL. He is diabetic and has issues with low blood-sugar that can leave him disoriented. We prayed and worried and hoped for the best.

Well, he ended up being just fine. He spent the night in Twin Falls and then drove to OR and landed at the DH's sisters house in the early afternoon on Thursday. The H-S, however, is sleeping in that bed she made in Wells, NV. I'm not sure how she's getting home, but she'll manage somehow.

As for the DH and me, we're headed Southeast this evening to go have a lovely visit with my in-laws. I'm sure we'll have a great time. We'll go the direct route though. We're not taking any detours.

Don't Tell My Mom!

Yesterday, I ate ice cream for lunch. It wasn't just any ice cream though. It was Molly Moon's in Wallingford. And, it was salted caramel flavor ice cream. I fealt like I was really breaking the rules (Hi, mom!) by eating dessert first and then forgetting about any other real lunch all together. It's typical for my dad to eat ice cream for breakfast, but we usually have real meals for lunch and dinner.

I can't even describe how wonderful the salted caramel ice cream was. I usually don't like to mix my sweet and savory, but this salty flavored confection was great. It left me feeling like I'd had a real treat with the buttery, salty, sweet flavor and wonderfully smooth texture. I highly recommend it!

Happy Father's Day!

I'm not sure why, but I always think of my dad when I read this poem. He's such a great example to me and has helped me become the person I am. I look to him as the voice in this poem and, though I'm not aspiring to be a man, I have watched him guide my three brothers to be the great men they are.

I love you dad!

If
-- by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinews
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

Fun With Food!

Last week, I got a bee in my bonnet about making something asian for our themed ward party. I saw a blog that showed the really great dessert sushi and I just had to make it! On Saturday, I bought all the ingredients, but then ran out of time before we had to go to the dinner, so I just took cashew chicken instead.

Since I had everything to make the sushi, I just had to do it. It was actually kind of fun to make and turned out pretty cute. The DH was even impressed (after thinking I was a bit crazy to want to do this).

The first bit of sushi in the middle of the picture was made by putting a slab of rice crispy treat about 10 inches by 2 inches on my silpat, then running gummy worms down the middle and rolling it lengthwise into a roll. I then wrapped that with fruit roll-up and then sliced it into pieces. After that, I put orange sugar on top to look like fish rowe.

The other sushi was made by making a little wad of rice crispy treat, putting a swedish fish on top and then slicing a bit of fruit roll up to make a little wrap.

To work with the rice crispy treat, I put on a surgical glove and sprayed the glove (especially the ends of the fingers and thumb) with PAM cooking spray. When I tried to work with the rice crispies without that, it was just a gooey mess that wouldn't stick together. I also appreciated the help of my able assistant Bop as it was a little tricky at times.

I really like the finished product! It turned out to be pretty cute and took about 20 minutes total in effort with one batch of rice crispy treats. That batch made about 30 pieces of the sushi roll and 20 of the fish pieces. I had to go to two stores to find green fruit roll-ups and that was probably the hardest part of getting it done. I highly recommend it for a time you want something a little different and creative for a treat.

Song of the Lark

I graduated with a degree in English Literature. I love to read and my favorite literature is Western American Literature. I think Willa Cather is one of my favorite authors, so I was really looking forward to reading Song of the Lark. I even read the really long foreward. The story is supposed to be semi-autobiographical, so that drew me in.

The writing is great, but I just could not get behind the main character. In the end, I found her quite unsympathetic. In this story, she is an opera singer instead of an author, and there is a heavy focus on what the woman sacrifices to be the artist she was born to be. The sad thing is that she really loses out on all the intimate relationships she could have had because she is so focused on her art. I guess I just question the either/or mentality. If someone is meant to be great, then I don't think that having real relationships with people would put that in jeapordy. I do realize that the lifestyle of an artist comes with some sacrifice, but there was just too much for my liking.

One thing I really liked about the book was the side story about how the girl goes to sing with the Mexican community in her small Nebraska town, much to the dismay of most of the Scandinavian town folk. Her mother doesn't mind it, so she's not having to sneak away. She really seems to connect with several of the Mexican characters, but they are still shown as very marginalized in the context of the story. I think that's just part of the period she lived in.

Willa Cather really is masterful at setting a scene and taking you there in every way. I could almost feel the rain when she described the stark Arizona landscape and the afternoon rain shower in the canyon. If you want to read Willa Cather, I would recommend My Antonia or Death Comes to the Archbishop before this book, though.

A Couple Days Late for Memorial Day

Please read this very beautiful blog post. Thank you Sean for what you do. Thank you Nathan. You're the only two people I know personally who are in the military right now. I think you're pretty great for doing what you do.

Need a Laugh?

Read the comments on this shirt on Amazon.

Huh-Larious!

The Promise of Warmth

We had a lovely weekend, but this morning, it sort of felt like Summer when the DH and left the house to go to the gym in the early hours. The sun was already up, and it smelled summery. It was still cool, with plenty of dew on the ground, but I loved the feeling I got walking out of the house.

The day started out overcast and a bit chilly, but I still left home without a jacket. The thought that crossed my mind was that it was well within the rules. As kids, we were allowed to put on shorts if the thermometer got above 65 degrees. The day promised 67, so surely I could go without a jacket. I remember begging to put on shorts as soon as it looked nice out in the Spring. It may have only been 53 degrees outside, but it was BEAUTIFUL! It looked like shorts weather, so I needed to be wearing shorts, already.

I'm a little more practical now (and wear shorts far less often), but I did ask myels, when would it be appropriate to start wearing capris to work? Is there a rule about that, like no white shoes before Memorial Day? At any rate, we quickly approaching that day, so you'll be seeing me with capris and no jacket for the next few months.

Thanks, Whitney!

I've finally put away the last of the Christmas presents. Are you proud of me?

The very last thing to do was to hang the very cool note board that Whitney made for me. The magnets are from the Duchess over at Yarnation. It's all very cute.

The first pic is the closeup view and the second is the view for context.

The note board is hanging in the laundry area of my kitchen. I love how it looks! Thanks for the cool Christmas present, Whitney.

Funny Spam (Redux)

I just went to delete the mail in my Spam folder and got a good laugh out of some of these, so I just had to share. I have not doctored any of these. They were real subject lines for mail sent to my e-mail address:

• You've recieved an answer to your question
  (funny, I don't remember asking)
• Putting Holy Fire in your Marriage!
  (I don't want to know how they plan to make that happen)
• Erase your man troubles xjum
  (still wondering what the xjum is and how it might help)
• Obama: I hear voices of dead people
  (Really? would that get you to open the message?)
• Don't Waste Your Time
  (Don't worry, I didn't)
• Pqraz Wubag
  (Who opens mail with that kind of subject anyway?)
• Buy our goods -- live 200 years!
  (No thanks. All my friends would be dead.)

All that and many very offensive messages and other crazy things. I do get a kick out of some of these though.

My Fun Weekend

I realize that it's been a few days since my return, but I still need to catch up on the fun weekend I had last week.

It started with a flight to Salt Lake on Wednesday evening and then a drive to Springville to visit Camille and her brood. It was great to see all her kids. They're growing up into such great people.

On Thursday morning, we left Springville for Provo and the BYU Women's Conference. I had some trouble sitting for long periods of time in the stadium seats, but other than that, it was really wonderful. We heard some great, uplifting presentations and went away from the day spiritually full. That evening, we went to Jason's Deli for dinner and then to the Scera Playhouse to watch Thoroughly Modern Millie. It was such a fun show! Diana's father-in-law did the sets, so we got comped tickets and it would have been worth it even if we'd paid full price. It was a little different from the movie and just as fun. It was also great that Ann joined us for the evening.

On Friday, we had more Women's Conference and I also spent the middle of the day with my old friend Browynn. We were best friends during our freshmen year at BYU while we were both totally engrossed in the music program there. When we were in school, we'd meet up in the main lobby of the HFAC and then wander over to the CougarEat for lunch and laughter. For this day, we just met at a local restaurant and then spent a couple of hours remembering those days and catching up on what we've been doing in the interim. Browynn has six (yes, six!) kids and lives outside Lehi now. We talked of struggles and joys and everything in between. I had such a nice time, I almost didn't want to leave. However, I knew more fun people were waiting for me back at BYU. We finished off the Women's Conference that afternoon and then drove up to Heber City in the canyon and checked into a condo there and then went out for dinner. We talked and laughed and had a great time staying up too late.

On Saturday, we stared with an early lunch at the Zermatt resort and then went into Park City. Ann, Camille, Karen, and I went for pedicures, then met up with the rest of the ladies at the outlet malls. We took a break for a movie (the forgettable Ghosts of Girlfriends Past) and then went back to the outlets until they closed. After that, we went to dinner and then back to the condo for more talking and laughing.

On Sunday, we ended our stay in Heber with a huge buffet brunch at the Zermatt resort. It was the best meal I've had in ages. We really enjoyed it, too.

Then we drove down to Salt Lake and walked around temple square. It was gorgeous! The flowers were beautiful and we got a bit of a break from the rain while we were there, so we could really enjoy it. Then Shannon, Gwen, and I were off to the airport and had to bid the Dixon women goodbye. It was sad to leave, but we had such a great time and I was really missing the DH by then.









While I was waiting for my plane in the airport, I was sitting by a window when a huge storm rolled through. The rainbow at the end was beautiful! The picture doesn't quite do it justice, but it was a wonderful end to a great weekend.

This American Life -- Live!

Thursday night, the DH and I went to see This American Life -- Live! at a movie theater. The show is on NPR, which makes it a radio show, and the premise is that they pick a theme each week and provide several stories on that theme. The radio program has been around for years and years and they started a TV series on Showtime two years ago. I haven't seen the TV show, but I love the radio broadcast. I get the podcast download and listen to it at the gym. It makes the time go by quickly and I have a hard time being in my car at just the right time on Saturdays to hear it when it's on.

They record in front of a live audience on accasion and started broadcasting the live feed to movie theaters last year. Basically, you get to watch them record the whole show, from the comfort of your movie theater seat. I'd heard about it and really looked forward to seeing it.

The fact that I can't sit comfortably yet for more than an hour put a damper on my enjoyment, but other than that, it was great. We really enjoyed the whole thing. The show we saw will be on the radio May 7th, so anyone out there can hear most of what we saw.

More than anything, this whetted my appetite to watch the This American Life TV series. I'm putting it in my Netflix queue now.

On Being Ill

I'm generally a very healthy person with very few issues. Getting really sick is very unusual for me and certainly not something I really know how to react to. The process has helped me learn a few things about myself.

• I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but that may be a bad thing. It kept me from going to the hospital the first time I had a problem with my gall bladder and delayed my inevitable trip to the ER.


• I have never been a fan of drugs (legal or illegal) and have really never taken anything more than Advil for most of my adult life. As a result, the pain killing drugs worked really well, but I didn't have any fringe benefits from the heavy doses of drugs. The feelings I got that were not just pain killing, were rather uncomfortable (like the room spinning), so I'm pretty sure there will never be at risk of abuse.


• I'm not very good at sitting around. I'm used to having a pretty full schedule and have had a really hard time taking it easy. I do OK on vacation, but that's with activities planned too.


• Anesthesea does a number on me. I was unable to focus on much of anything for three or four days, so I couldn't even read effectively for a while.

What a Week!

Last week at this time I was feeling quite overwhelmed by the thought of our Women's Conference coming up and getting all that done. The good news is that everything went very well. Our theme was "Rise Above it All" with hot air balloon decorations. We ended up having over 130 people show up and the classes were very well attended and people seemed to have a really nice time. We had worried because it was the day before Easter that many women would have other conflicts, but there were plenty of others who made up for those who couldn't come.

On Sunday, we had a really nice Easter dinner. I even made homemade rolls. Everything about it turned out nicely. Then later that evening, life took a bit of a left turn. My stomach started hurting and progressively got worse during the night. I called in sick to work, but tried to ignore the pain. It really was so bad I had to do something about it though. By Monday afternoon, I was scheduled for surgery to have my gall bladder romoved. Apparently, I had a gall stone the size of a boulder (the big marble in a marbles game) and I could choose to wait until it attacked again or just get it removed immediately. I chose the latter.

I had laproscopic surgery, with four small incisions. Then they super-glued me back together. It's all supposed to make for a "quick" recovery. I'm feeling a bit peeked still, but doing quite well. I decided not to take the Vicodin today and I'm managing with just a little discomfort. At this point, the most annoying part is that I can't seem to concentrate on much, so I'm not getting any good reading or video watching done. I have it on good authority that it's a common side effect of the anesthesia. I'm hoping that's worn off by tomorrow.

I'll check in later and let you know how it is on day 4.

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!