Concert-goers

How to have fun alone with 3 kids at an orchestra concert:

1)Go to an outdoor concert where the kids can get up and dance if the spirit moves them to. And, have no fear. The spirit WILL move them.

2)Bring food. Lots-o-food.

3)Bring water, both for drinking and extra... well, for dumping. Of course.

4)Remember what color shirt your son is wearing. This will be helpful when your son wanders off into a sea of people while you're talking to Joel, and as you're frantically searching, Joel asks you "What color shirt is he wearing?" and your first thought is "green?". There are like 167 small children in the sea of people around you. Knowing what you put on him not 2 hours earlier would be helpful. Unfortunately, I know not of such things. He was wearing red.

We did find him. Chatting it up with some fellow concert-goers 5 rows back.

5)When you're desperate to take a picture of the hot air balloon that just happened to float by in the middle of a beautiful piece of music, and you need a fast distraction for your son, give him a jumbo marshmallow.

And then another one.

6)And then when he starts coughing and gagging, and people around you start to twitch and look at you funny, discreetly dig it out of his mouth and act incredulous, like you don't know how in the world it got in his mouth. Humph.

7)Pack a balanced meal to eat. If the only "healthy" food you pack is raw unpeeled carrots (We were in a hurry!), and the rest is junk-o-la, your firstborn, rule-following child is likely to tell you "All we ate tonight was junk food, Mom. Please, please, please when we get home, can we eat something HEALTHY?"

"Sure, honey. I think we can arrange that."

(Big Sigh) "Ahhhhhh! Thank you, Mom."

Just call me the best mom evah.

Random Kitchen Tip #1 and #2

#1 If you put a lemon in the microwave and heat it for 30 seconds, and then roll it under your hand on the counter before you juice it, you will be able to get 25% more juice from it.

#2 If you accidentally put 3:00 on the microwave timer instead of :30, at approximately 1:00, the lemon will explode.

Lemon Juice all over your microwave makes it really easy to clean your microwave. All of the splattered stuff that was in there for 90 days previously wipes right off.

Who knew.

Foody Friday - Drinkables

Summer makes me thirsty. Just writing about beverages and looking out my bedroom window, feeling the breeze on my arms makes me thirsty.

What's the best drink to drink when you're thirsty? If you listen to the doctors or mothers of the world, the overwhelming answer would be... water. Of course.

Houston, we have a problem.

I detest water. Sipping is as much as I can do. I just can't drink the stuff.

I come by this disease honestly. My brother is a doctor, and I once heard this conversation between my dad and him:

Dr Jeff: You don't drink hardly any water at all, Dad! It's so important that you get enough water!

Dad: I drink water.

Dr Jeff: I've never seen you drink water. When do you drink water?

Dad: I get lots of water. In my coffee.

SEE??!! It's in my genes.

But, I do believe in good health, and drinking water is part of that, so I've come up with some cheaty ways to like water. I know most people like water. I'm weird.

But for the 3 of you reading this who share my pain, I have a few tips for you. And, please, oh please, raise your hand and be counted in the comments? Just so I feel better? Please?

1)My favorite way to drink water is 7:1 ratio of water to Welch's white grape juice (that brand is 400 times better than any other; and I've tried them all). I can actually get almost my daily allotment of water in if I do this.

2)Of course, there's lemon or lime. (Although lime in my water just makes me wish that it was Coke in my glass with lime wedges in it... mmmm)

*Note- This may seem like a no-brainer, but make sure you wash the outside of your lemons if you are putting them in your water...

3)One of the yummiest, weirdest tricks I've ever done to make water yummy (and beautiful!!) is to peel and slice a cucumber, and slice a lemon into rounds. Put one slice each of cucumber and lemon in a glass and fill with cold water. I could drink water like this all day! Yum!

This is a great way to serve water to guests when you have company. It's elegant and beautiful.

Since Mexican food is the best food there is, of course my drink recipe to share is from South America. It is best enjoyed while eating chips and guacamole. And carne asada in corn tortillas. With pico de gallo, onions, and cilantro. With just a bit of lime juice squeezed on top...

Aaaah, sorry. Where was I? Oh, my recipe. Excuse me while I wipe away my drool.

You can find it here, but I will also write it out since it's pretty simple.

It's called lemonade, but it uses limes. Go figure.

Brazilian Lemonade

INGREDIENTS
2 limes
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
3 cups water
ice

DIRECTIONS
Wash limes thoroughly. Cut off the ends and slice into eight wedges. Place limes in a blender with the sugar, sweetened condensed milk, water, and ice.
Blend in an electric blender, pulsing 5 times. Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove rinds. Serve over ice.

note: original recipe uses 1/2 cup sugar, I decrease that as it is soooooooo sweet.

**IMPORTANT NOTE** Please make sure that when you strain through a fine mesh strainer, that you put the strainer over your pitcher, not over the sink as if you were draining pasta, so that all of the lemonade goes down the drain, and you are left holding a strainer full of lime peels.

If you do this, you will be horrified, as well as humiliated, especially if Uncle Lee is watching over your shoulder and laughing at you without ceasing.

This is a hypothetical, scenario, of course. Nobody I know has EVER done that.

Enjoy!

In honor of Wednesday

It's a "days of the week"... hat?

"What?!"

"Heehee. Wait, why are we laughing?"

"OK, that's enough. I'm losin' this thing. This ain't a hat."

This poor, poor boy. In a family of girls. With a mama who loooooves to laugh.

Theme

Beverages. Drinks. Refreshment.

Aaaahhhh.

The lessons I learned one day.

It was a bad, awful, really lousy day.

There was absolutely nothing going wrong. That is, except inside my heart.

The kids were kinda bouncy. What's new.
The questions were aplenty. As always.
We were rushing to get out the door. As usual.

The kids were kinda bouncy. And I was saying, "SIT STILL!"
The questions were aplenty. And I was saying "NOT NOW!"
We were rushing to get out the door. And I was saying "COME ON!"

All was going fine. I had a vice-grip of control on my children. Until I realized the girls needed to put different shoes on (because it was MUD day at VBS, and mean ol' mom decided that the fancy shoes they had chosen for the day were not appropriate for getting caked in MUD - ahem).

Well, let's just say that my girls, at age 3 and 5, have a definite shoe fetish. The elder one because of comfort, the younger one because of style. Though different in root, they are equally intense.

Changing shoes was NOT in the plan. Some serious whining ensued.

I felt something snap in my head. Or maybe it was in my heart. I felt it throughout my body, though. I started yelling. "I DON'T CARE THAT THOSE ARE YOUR FAVORITE FANCY PINK SPARKLE SHOES, YOU NEED TO GO PUT CROCS OR FLIP FLOPS ON. RIGHT NOW, PLEASE!!" (Like how I added the please? That was just because I always set a good example for my kids in how I talk. Uh-huh.)

Then there was some sobbing, crying, gnashing of teeth. More whining, more frustration. It was ugly. U-G-L-Y.

Eventually, alternate mud shoes were found, and the whining ceased. But I was still in a funk. I was stomping around and barking orders.

Corene was trying valiantly to tie her shoes, but one was knotted. With fear in her voice, she squeaked out an "I can't".

I stomped over, ripped the shoe out of her hand (I'm sorry to say it did feel good), and started to "help".

At this point, Corene started bawling. I had crushed her.

A moment later, Ava started bawling.

I felt bad, knew it was all me. All my temper. All my anger. Nothing about them. But I didn't really care. It felt good. I didn't feel bad enough to change.

Proverbs 29:11 "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control."

At this point, I'm not falling into the category I'd like to. Anger is a funny thing. The verse doesn't say, "A wise man never feels anger", does it? It simply says he keeps himself under control. I was most definitely giving full vent to my anger. It feels GOOD, at that moment.

Then. Ava's voice. "Mommy. You make me SAD."

"YOU make ME sad!" I huffed.

Then. Whooooosh. Conviction.

I'm thankful it wasn't a lightning bolt.

So, let's see here. Corene is bawling. Ava is bawling. Oh yes, now... Mommy is bawling.

There were hugs, kisses, apologies, "I forgive you"'s, and even some giggles. Wow, kids forgive easily. If my husband treated me like that, I can tell you right now that I wouldn't get over it for days. Days.

Lesson #1 learned from my kids: Forgive. Right now.

We were late to VBS.

But I didn't care anymore. My attitude had done a complete 180. Why had it improved so suddenly? Let's see... I'd confessed, both to my kids and to God. I had been quiet with Him for 30 seconds before we walked out the door and begged him to change my heart (note: 30 seconds of said alone time occurred while going potty. Of course. Typical-mom-fashion). As I sat there to pray, I realized that was the first time I'd even said "hello" to God that day, let alone asked Him to mold me or make me reflect Him to my kids.

Lesson #2 learned: Say hello to God. Right when you wake up.

Remembering our sermon from the previous week, on the way out the door, I said to Corene, "I'm so thankful that Jesus died on the cross. He forgives my sins, like when I'm angry and mean. He takes them away and doesn't even remember them! Isn't that amazing?"

Corene said, "YOUR sins, Mommy?"

Yep. All of that yucky heart you saw in me this morning? That'd be sin. And, Praise be to God, He took it away!

Lesson #3: Praise the Lord for the forgiveness of your sins. Because maybe even when you are really awful to your children, they might not know that you SINNED and needed to be forgiven. Both by them AND by God.

And the punch line of the whole morning. (Every hard morning deserves a punch line!) In the car on the way to VBS:

Me: (to Ava) Who forgives your sin?

Ava: ...God...

Me: Who forgives Mommy's sin?

Ava: (without missing a beat) ...Daddy...

--pause, while I look at her quizzically--

Ava: I mean... God?

Lesson #4: Walk humbly before God. Who is looking at you and equating you with God?

4 little lessons. One bad, awful, really lousy humble, beautiful day.

Overheard, all in the same 2-hour period

Ava, looking at Grambie's skin:

"That looks like pepperoni!"

(We're guessing that she's talking about her freckles. I testify that Grambie's skin does NOT look like pepperoni.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Corene, showing me her new Kung-Fu Panda lots of junk fun toy from McDonald's:

"Look, Mom! It's from Dung-shoe Panda!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matt:

"You'll have to talk to Jenny about that. She's the brains of the family."

I promise I heard that come out of my husband's mouth. And I will never forget it.

And he will never forget it.

Preach it, Sistah!

My girls have been singing their Bible verses from church. We have 12 of the beginner foundation verses on a CD, set to music, and they're catchy. They get sung a LOT, at the top of their lungs, in our urban neighborhood where the houses stand 10 feet apart. The windows are open, and with the close proximity of the homes, I estimate that 5 houses in either direction plus a few across the alley/street can hear word for word the scripture my girls are singing.

There's "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" Genesis 1:1

In the world, a controversial subject, but hey, preach the truth, girls!

Or "A friend loves at all times" Proverbs 17:17a

This one is perfectly harmless. In fact, many of our extremely liberal neighbors would smile, thinking about how we're teaching our children about world peace.

How about "Do all things without grumbling or questioning".

I like this one. I like this one a lot. Mamas, of the songs on this CD, this is my favorite verse. It gets quoted a latte in my house.

The one that gets sung the most, and the loudest, remarkably, is "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish" Psalm 1:6.

I giggle and get a wee bit shy when the girls are outside belting this one out. I'll admit it. It makes me uncomfortable. They're the fire and brimstone preschool preachers. No fear. No shame.

I believe it, and they love to sing it, so I don't stop them. And who knows what people are hearing that may open up a door, a conversation, who knows.

So as we walk through Target, Corene is singing (and Ava is preaching):
"Every good gift (Ava: Like that BARBIE!)
and every perfect gift (Ava: Like that princess dress!)
is from above" (Pointing up in the sky with great dramatics). (Ava: And that's GOD up there!)
James 1:17 (Ava: That's in the Bible!)

And I clench my teeth and smile. And I try to pray: Lord, use it. And make me fearless, too.

Foody Friday - Berries, berries, everywhere...

"Summer bounty, you are my joy" - Jenny's stomach

Exhibit A - Strawberries, Blueberries, Peaches, Plums purchased today

So, summer is in full swing here in Minnesota. Fi-nally. Hot sunny days, warm nights that require the use of a ceiling fan.

And, yes. Veggies, fruits, berries, and the like are callllling my name when I enter the grocery store. And, apparently, they call my children's names too, because today at Rainbow, this scene unfolded:

Corene: Ohhhh! MOMMY! Mmmmm.... Asparagus! Oh, can we get some? (jumping up and down) Asparagus, Asparagus!!!!

Me: Sure.

Ava: Oh, no. Mommy. Mmmmm... Squash. Let's get some squash. Please??

Me: No, let's get asparagus this time, next time we'll get some zucchini.

Ava: O. K. (pouting)

Where did my children come from?

So.

I went a little overboard on produce at the grocery store. I decided I'd make this fabulous amazing recipe, so Exhibit B is all of these ingredients.

Exhibit B

Exhibit C - finished product. This could have fed my neighborhood. It was so delicious.

Now, don't laugh. My fridge is full of fresh produce. FULL. I don't think I've ever put so many fruits and veggies in my cart at the grocery store before.

Please don't laugh. I kinda forgot that today was my first pickup of my CSA share.

Exhibit D. Ahem.

Exhibit D

Anybody know, is this Bok Choy (Exhibit E)? By process of elimination I think it is but I'm not 100%.

Exhibit E

I love summer.

I just got the "real food" magazine from Lunds, and found a recipe for Strawberry-Apple Soup with Mint. I'm sorry that I haven't tried it yet, I have the ingredients (and the mint is growing in my yard), but haven't had a chance to make it. So I make no guarantees. But it sure sounds good.

It's a chilled soup. Sounds delectable!

Strawberry Apple Soup with Mint

1 lb strawberries, hulled

2 granny smith or other tart apples, quartered, peeled and cored

2 cups pure unsweetened apple juice

1/2 cup orange juice

2 green onions, trimmed, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (white and green parts)

2 Tbsp. packed torn mint leaves, plus more leaves for garnish

1/2 tsp. course salt

1 tsp. grated orange zest

Cut enough strawberries and apples into 1/4-inch dice to make 1 cup of each; set aside. Cut remaining stawberries and apples into 1/2-inch chunks and place in blender. Add apple juice, orange juice, green onions, mint, and salt to blender and blend until mixture is smooth. Pour into a large bowl and stir in reserved diced strawberries and apples, and the orange zest. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Cover bowl and refrigerate until well chilled, 2 to 3 hours.

To serve, ladel soup into shallow bowls. Stack about 6 large mint leaves and roll tightly into a tube. Slice crosswise into thin slivers and sprinkle mint over soup.

Enjoy!

Thank you, oh counselors.

For this post consists of the outpouring of my heart regarding The Great Pork Disaster of 2008.

It is time for me to put my lamenting to rest. Because the pork is at peace, therefore I must be at peace.

You see, it all began when Tiffany emailed that a friend had a pork farm and was doing their yearly sale of the "half-hog", and was I interested? The pork was a range of cuts, from roasts to bacon to pork patties to chops and more. We're not huge pork people, but here's the kicker. It would cost a mere $1.50 a pound. A deal too good for this deal-grabber to pass up.

So, the day came when we loaded up our freezer with a lot of pork(89 pounds to be exact) and began to feast on the hog. It is a beautiful feeling to have your freezer full of meat.

We're finishing part of our basement into a family room, so a lot of our junque is shoved into every nook and cranny of our laundry room. Our chest freezer also inhabits the laundry room. So, in order to have the freezer in a place that would open up the most space for our junque, an extension cord was used. An orange extension cord that was previously only used for a utility light, not an important fixture. An orange extension cord whose current important purpose was all too easy to forget.

This is turning out to be one of those stories with predictable endings, which is so good for my budding reader, I'm told by her school... I am supposed to check out stories from the library to read to her that have predictable endings. It is good for her cognition and her reasoning. So here you go. The adult version.

So.

This orange extention cord was inadvertantly unplugged by Mocha Man, in order to plug in the dehumidifier. Mocha Man did not realize that said orange extention cord was the life and blood of my freezer.

Fast forward.

Around, oh, say about... 7 days.

For somewheres around 7 days, nobody opened the freezer, or if they did, it was still cold enough in there to feel somewhat like a freezer. After 7 days of not being plugged in, I am here to testify, that your pork will no longer be frozen. In fact, not only will it no longer be frozen, it will no longer be cold.

Well, it was a little cool. ish.

But, honestly, I didn't feel like it was even as cold as a refrigerator, so in all good conscience, I couldn't even cook a bunch of it and then refreeze it. We had to... gulp.

throw.

it all.

away.

80 pounds of pork.

We had eaten a handfull of chops, a couple pounds of bacon, a roast, some sausage, a package of ribs, and some burgers.

Within the burgers lies a silver lining. We did have 8 pork burger patties in our upstairs freezer that did not suffer that untimely death.

We ate some a few weeks ago.

And. Tonight. We ate the last of the pork.

(cue in the bugle playing Taps)

The pork burger DID go out with a bang. Topped with swiss, guacamole, tomatoes, and bacon.

Mmmm...

And, you know, really? Now we get to eat chicken and beef and a little pork. And since meat is more expensive than vegetarian options, I'll be making more veggie, bean, and grain dishes. And that's much more healthy for my family anyway. Right? OK. I feel better.

Yes. I feel like I've spent an hour on a chaise lounge talking to a very expensive Psychologist. Thank you.

How much do I owe you?

Say What?

On a walk today:

Ava: (looking at fresh grass on the sidewalk) Oh look, those people blowed.

Me: You mean, mowed?

Ava: What?

Me: You mean that the people mowed their lawn.

Ava: Yeah. They blowed their lawn off, just like daddy does with our lawn blower.

Foody Friday Theme

Berries, berries, berries.

The month of the berry is coming... give us your recipes!

Foody Friday - Your Man's favorite food

My man is a meat and potatoes man. So when I asked him to tell me his favorite food for me to share on this here fine Foody Friday, he said first, "Carne Asada" which I've already posted. Then it was "Barbecue Ribs" which is not much of a recipe. Pork Ribs and Famous Dave's barbecue sauce.

And that was the end of that conversation.

Soooooo. I have to come up with a meal hubby loves, to share with you. He pretty much likes whatever I make him, but he's rarely gaga over food like I am (always).

So I was thinking about what makes Mocha Man's mouth salivate and what makes his eyes start to spin and his nose start to twitch. Ahhh, that would be the one and only...


Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

INGREDIENTS
20 Hershey's kisses, unwrapped
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 3/4 cups cold milk
1 (9 inch) graham cracker or chocolate cookie shell (I used the cookie shell)
Cool Whip and chopped peanut butter cups for garnish.

DIRECTIONS
Melt the chocolate with the whipping cream. Stir until smooth, and spread evenly over the bottom of the pie shell. Refrigerate until ready to fill; chocolate should be firm before filling.
Put the dry pudding mix, milk, and peanut butter in a large bowl. Blend with an electric mixer, until peanut butter is well blended and mixture thickens. Pour peanut butter filling into crust. Chill several hours.
Top with whipped topping and chopped Reese's Peanut Butter cups.

My only complaint about this recipe is that it doesn't slice very well... I've considered playing around with adding some cream cheese to the PB layer to make it thicker and more sliceable, but in the end, it really doesn't matter what it looks like... it tastes divine.

This is SO not a meal, I know... but to Mocha Man, dessert IS a food group. So, really, he's a meat and sweet kind of guy.

Happy Foody Friday! Isn't this a great topic for right before Father's Day? I hadn't even considered that when I set the theme. So maybe our men can get some new favorite dishes :)

OK, I'm off to scrub 12 layers of dirt off my kitchen floor. Then I'm going to take a bath to soak 12 layers of garden dirt off of my feet and hands... and to r-e-l-a-x.

I love me a good hot bath.

A reminder to you linkers to link to your actual post, not your general blog url. You can get the post url by clicking on your post title, and then copy/pasting from the address bar into the linky box.

Clear as mud?

Sorry... I've got dirt on the brain.

Not dirt in the brain. At least I don't think so.

Stop. Typing.

"Swimming is FUN!"

Tonight concluded a 7-session swimming class at the UofM. Corene did GREAT, and has oficially (and might I add, FINALLY) decided that, yes, swimming is FUN.

This is a huge answer to prayer, she has historically been fearful of floating/being unsteady, and the last class we had her in was, um, difficult. But you never would have known it, thanks to her excellent, very patient teacher (and lots of time in a swing at OT, I think). She even got the thumbs up to go on to the next class. Yippee.

And fun was had by all...

Scenes from her final lesson:

Hangin' out

Goin' under

Jumping off the side.

Just for kicks - this was the other little boy in her class. 4 year old stunt man. He was

HI-larious.

Wordless Wendesday

Can't... make... it...

wordless.

Must. Explain.

Last summer, we were at Sarah and Bernhard's cabin, we had played all day outside in the water and in the sun. Right before dinner, Ava fell headfirst into the edge of the metal sliding glass door (circa 1960. Heavy. Well made, hard, metal sliding glass door). She split her eyebrow right open, and being the handy-dandy folk that we are, we put a "butterfly" bandage on it, consisting of two criss-crossed bandaids (one of them circa 1960, dug out of the medicine cabinet). After the drama, we started eating dinner, spaghetti to be exact, and Ava was so wiped out from her day in the sun and her kiss with the sliding glass door, that, mid-bite, she laid her head right in her plate of spaghetti and went to sleep. I had to dig a piece of bread out of her mouth so she wouldn't choke.

Sarah snapped this picture. I actually like the full color version better but for some reason all I have on this computer is the b&w one.

Incidentally, it's Sarah's birthday today! Happy Birthday, sweet friend!!

More wordless wednesdays here.

Foody Friday Theme

Since yesterday was All about my Man, it's only fitting that the theme for this week is your husband's favorite meal/dish.

Do we dare let our hubbys decide what our FF blog post will be about?

All About My Man

A while back, Missy tagged me for this meme, and it's a really fun one. It's fun, cause, well... it's not about me!! So, brace yourself. It's an unauthorized biography...



1. Who is your man? Matt, aka Mocha Man.

2. How long have you been together? Dating since Aug. 1993. Married Aug. 1997. We were high school sweethearts turned college break-ups turned lifelong partners.

3. How long dated? I guess I'll let you do the math. Minus about 9 months there in the middle.

4. How old is your man? 31. He's 4 months my senior.

5. Who eats more? Ummm. We both eat a lot. But I think he eats more. If this question said "Who enjoys food more?" the answer would be a big fat, ME! But that wasn't the question.

6. Who said "I love you" first? I honestly don't remember the first "I love you", but I can not imagine that I would have been so bold. I am sure he did.

7. Who is taller? He is, by a couple inches.

8. Who sings better? He definitely sings better. No doubt.

9. Who is smarter? Oooh. I plead the fifth.

10. Whose temper is worse? Mine. All mine. He is no fun to fight with, actually. He rarely gets mad. Sometimes I wish he would so our fights would be even. It's no fun fighting with someone who's as calm as a cucumber. Try it sometime. It is NO FUN.

11. Who does the laundry? Depends. Lately since Operation Family Laundry, it's been all me. Before then, he did a lot.

Speaking of OFL, I am happy to report that I have NOT fallen off the wagon (yet)!!! Yay! I have no piles of laundry alternately on my bed and then floor... and then bed and then floor! They're all in the drawers or on hangers! AND, my children were all wearing underwear today! Hallelujah!

12. Who takes out the garbage? Usually him.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me. I've offered to switch places a couple of times for different reasons, and he'll have nothing of it. He says he'd never be able to sleep.

14. Who pays the bills? Me. Almost all of the time. The other part of the time, nobody does. :) Oops.

15. Who is better with the computer? We're pretty matched, but I might be a smidge ahead.

16. Who mows the lawn? He always does. I've never worked the thing.

17. Who cooks dinner? I always do. He can make a mean grilled cheese, though.

18. Who drives when you are together? Depends. If I need to put on my makeup, he does. If he needs to make some business calls, I do. If I feel like driving, I do. If he starts being a backseat (passenger seat) driver, I pull over and he does. :) Kidding, kidding.

19. Who pays when you go out? It doesn't matter. Mi dinero es his dinero.

20. Who is most stubborn? mmm. I think that award goes to Matt. But it's not over stupid stuff like the stuff that I'm stubborn over. It's over REALLY important stuff like how important it is to have a woodburning fireplace in our house. According to my hubby, it's more important than indoor plumbing. Yes indeedy.

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? I'd like to plead the fifth on this one, too. The short answer is that neither of us like to, but we're learning.

22. Whose parents do you see the most? My mom lives with us in our basement, so we see her the most. Next would be Matt's parents who we see a couple of times a year usually. And least often would probably be my Dad who we see once a year or so.

23. Who kissed who first? Our first kiss could have been in a chick-flick movie script. It went like this:

We were sitting in the car outside of my house after a date, talking, and it suddenly got quiet.

Me: What are you thinking about?

Him: (Leaning in) I'm trying to decide if I should kiss you.

Me: (matching the lean-in) What do you think you'll decide?

Him: I think I will.

Mwaaaaaaaah.

It was beautiful.

24. Who asked who out? Our first actual date was to Junior prom. His mom made him ask someone, and I was the lucky girl. Don't know if he was actually interested in me at that point or not (I think only mildly). Our first real date once he really was interested was to a Padres game.

25. Who proposed? I have proof:

This was back in the day when you could *gasp* go past security at the airport and meet your family/friends at the gate. I was returning home from visiting my family in California. I was... NOT expecting it.

It was New Year's Eve, 1996. The sign reads "Jenny, Will you Marry Me in 1997?"

Dazed and Confused.

"Wha?"

Two indisputable facts:

a)It's hard to kiss while smiling

b)Matt is kissing my teeth in this picture

"OK, I think I know what's going on now."

(check out the people in these pictures! They're hilarious. Especially the guy to the left, he's clapping and he doesn't even know why. He's not even looking at us.)

"Larry! Soon to be Father in Law! Taking my picture!"

Dazed and in Love. But still dazed.

Here's proof that I said yes:

26. Who is more sensitive? Me, of course.

27. Who has more friends? I guess me, again, of course.

28. Who has more siblings? We're even. He has one sister, I have one brother.

29. Who wears the pants in the family? I hate this saying. We both wear pants. Jeans to be exact. The question means "Who is the leader in your family"? Matt is most definitely the leader on all the big issues in our family, and issues that he feels strongly about. I will put in my .02 cents and defer to him to make the decision. It works best that way. Sometimes I have to sit on my tongue. Sometimes I argue my side. He always listens graciously. But our tradition is that he is the leader. We don't generally fight over the big things. It's biblical, and it works for us.

On the other hand, however, on issues of the daily grind, what-makes-the-home-go-round issues, Matt almost always defers to me. Which I appreciate.

I love ya, Mocha Man.

I tag Sarah and Jenna.

Foody Friday - Company Food

I almost always break the rules and make something new when we have company. It's an excuse to do something "different" and a little more extravagent, with more ingredients or specialty spices, etc..

Or I love doing a funky soup, salad, and bread for company.

In the summer, we often grill.

So, at the risk of being redundant, I'll share my favorite grilling recipe of all time. I don't make it often at all since it's an expensive cut of meat, but for fancy friends and special occassions, we do it.

London Broil

1/2 c. canola oil
1/4 c. worchestershire sauce
1/2 c. white wine
fresh garlic, minced - 2 cloves
salt and pepper, generous amount

Place a large flank steak or london broil (2 pounds or so) in a large glass dish. Mix marinade and pour over steak. Marinate, turning several times, for 8 hours.

Grill over med-high heat until desired doneness is reached. The rarer you can handle it, the more tender :)

*edited to add slicing instructions: london broil is served sliced in very thin slices, against the grain.

note: you can use this marinade on any cut of meat. We just made it last night and put it on tri-tip steaks. They had really good flavor, but they weren't as tender as the flank.

double note: I made this meal last night so that I could take a picture and show how impressive it would look to serve to company. I FORGOT to take the silly picture. So you'll have to imagine:

French rolls, sauteed pea pods with red and orange bell peppers, baked beans, and steak. Mmmmm....

triple note: IF you set out all of the parts to the meal in their correct pans before you leave the house to take your child to swimming lessons, so that when you return home, you will be able to cook the meal fast, and IF your husband gets home before you and sees that it is all out, and IF he is hungry, he just MIGHT make your entire dinner for you, so that when you walk in the door, he will say, "It's all ready. Come sit down and eat". And you may walk in and look, and see that all the food is cooked and ready and beautiful. And you may see the table set, all ready to sit. down. and. eat. And, IF this all happens, you MAY just be so dizzy with happiness that you MAY stand with your mouth gaping open, speechless. Because it has never happened like this before.

My husband never ceases to amaze me. More on him next week.

Bon Apetit.

What do YOU serve to guests?

Surgery update

Isaac had his surgery last week. He I survived! Actually, it was really not that bad. The going to sleep part, anyway. He just got heavy and cute. No twitching or eyes rolling back in the head or anything creepy like that. The bad part was the waking up, which the nurses said generally takes at the very least 15-20 minutes from when they turn the medicine off (it was inhaled only, no IV). Well, Taz, who does everything faster than he's supposed to, took 4 minutes to wake up. And since he still had all kinds of nasty medicine running through his veins, he went on to scream for 25 minutes. Scream and heave. Scream and heave. Poor sweetie. Once he settled down, the nurse said, "And now is when he should have woken up."

The big bummer is that his eye is still teary. I think his plumbing is still slow. We'll see. He'll have a check-up with the opthamologist in a few weeks.

"Yes, hi, I'd like to return this surgery please? It was defective. Please credit the money back to my insurance company."

I guess it doesn't work that way. How about this:

"Hi, I bought one of these surgeries last week and it doesn't work at all. It's completely broken. Yes, I'd like to buy another one exactly like it."

Tryin' on some chapstick glue stick

This is that chapstick stuff that my Sissys are so in to. I'm gonna put some on my lips juuuuuust like I see them do.

Only, this is making my lips really ... umm... sticky?

Let's try eating it.

Uh Oh. Busted.