I love Sophie's Daycare so very, very much

When I picked up Sophie from daycare today, all the kids were making a lot of noise - growling, yelling, etc. Happy, laughing, having fun. Our daycare provider's husband explained that they were working on their diabolical laughing. Muu-wah-ha-ha!!!

Sophie growled and yelled the whole way home. Hers is more of a diabolical roar. It warms me to the very tip of my toes.

Going the distance

Today is the last day of NaBloPoMo. I would not have been able to post every day during our Thanksgiving break were it not for Aaron's dad's help. He dutifully set up his laptop every day for me to use his dial-up connection to post. Even on the day we left before 5 a.m., there I was, rubbing sleep out of my eyes and trying to think of something to write. It was especially charming that Aaron's family thought I needed to post for work. Ha! No, it was all for the booty.

I could have given up once I was knocked flat by the sinus infection. But there's a turkey painting to win! And a whole slew of other awesome prizes to be given out randomly!

Hair today, gone tomorrow?

I'm so incredibly sick of the state of my hair at the moment. The texture is all screwed up from pregnancy hormones. It used to be curly and not it's just wirey and messy and it doesn't grow anywhere near as fast as it used to.

I'm thisclose to chopping it myself. I keep looking at it in the mirror and thinking: I can totally do this. I tried calling my new stylist but she's not working the next couple of Saturdays. And it's difficult to try and fit in an appointment otherwise.

I need to take a couple of inches off the bottom so that it is almost one length again. Maybe that will help with the straw-like texture.

Do you have any recommendations for fantastic conditioners? Healing, moisturizing, transforming?

Veronica Mars

Great episode last night! I love Mac and that she wore a "Ask me about my STD" t-shirt to the frat party. I love that Logan got himself thrown into jail because he knew Mercer and Moe were there. I had a feeling that Moe was involved in the rapes. Mercer? I wasn't sure about him. Who killed the Dean? Did it have anything to do with the cigar-smoking dude? Did the Dean do anything to his wife and the professor?

Piz and Mac looked really cute together looking for Veronica.

What else?

Stylesheet help

Is there anyone who can help me with my stylesheet? See how the content of my page cuts off at the height of my sidebar? It should show the whole month of November. Any suggestions? Neither the sidebar nor the main content blocks have height specifications - is that my problem?

Heroes

Another great episode. I might watch this one again online because the picture on our tv isn't the best.

Hiro and Charlie are adorable and it is beyond heartbreaking that she dies anyway. And that he jumps before he gets to kiss her. Which means he disappears immediately after she tells him she loves him and then she never sees him again. Awhghal;d - so sad. I hope he figures out a way to help her.

Sylar! We still don't know what he does with the brains to absorb people's powers. And crazy that Mohinder's father gave him access to all of the heroes.

Eden seems to be pretty powerful if she can take down Sylar. It's kind of creepy how her voice changes when she's persuading.

Niki seems to have absorbed the spirit of her twin sister. Or something to that effect.

Nathan is guilty about his wife's accident because his superhero instincts made him fly out of the car before it crashed. Does she remember the accident? Is he hoping she never remembers? Did his father really die of a heart attack?

I love the back story about Mohinder's dad and the way he boldly contacts people. But how does he know who have powers?

What else?

Photos, videos

Here are some photos and videos from the trip.

On the plane:

Awake at 3 a.m., finally released into the toy mecca at 5:

There were new cousins to meet:

A Grandpa to entertain:

A truck to drag around:

and some lounging on her cousin's little sofa:

[there are more photos if you click on any of those]

Videos:

While enduring the delay at the Chicago airport, we kept Sophie occupied by letting her push her stroller around:

and by letting her go back and forth on the walkway. This kept a lot of our fellow passengers amused as well:

Home again, home again, jiggity jog

Well, we made it home this morning about 1:30 a.m. Sophie slept for 2 hours on the first flight, ran around the Chicago airport for 3 hours because our flight was delayed due to a water leak for about an hour and then eventually slept for about an hour and a half on that flight. She handled it all like a champion. And she was in high spirits today while Aaron and I are still sick and exhausted.

I forgot to mention that on our flight from Chicago to San Francisco, Donyelle from "So You Think You Can Dance" was sitting in first class. I realized after I walked past her and was half-way down the aisle. I kept kicking myself that I didn't say something to her. She was putting up a "don't talk to me, I'm famous" vibe but, then again, no one seemed to recognize her. Maybe it would have made her happy.

We filled our memory card with photos and videos and I can't seem to get myself to work on getting them onto the computer even though I'm sitting here at the computer and could easily just plug it in and do it. Hmm, camera bag IS sitting right there. OK, FINE. I'll at least get myself half-way into the process.

Did I mention that Aunt K taught Sophie how to high-five? And she high-fived practically everyone sitting around us on both planes? A lot? Also, she blew kisses to lots of her admirers. Kisses are new. She can say "knee" and "Shhhhh!" (because of all the early mornings, she was bound to learn that one) and "shoe" and "choo choo" (Grandpa W has a huge collection of Thomas trains). She rode on the moving walkways over and over again while we were waiting for our flights to finally board and she got to see an enormous dinosaur skeleton in the Chicago airport. It was all quite an adventure.

Most importantly? She says "Momma" and "Mommy" now. Kind of like "Mum mum mum mum meee!"

And we're off, again

We're up and just about ready to drive down to SFO. It's early, but Sophie is WIDE AWAKE because, to her, this is actually sleeping in. We've been fed, showered, given coffee and Sophie's chased the kitties.

It's been a great week to relax and recover. Aaron's dad's house is absolutely perfect for kids - Sophie can do laps and laps and laps around the open living room/dining room/kitchen/family room.

Okay, Aaron's telling me to get off.

All sinuses all the time

I was actually feeling better this morning when we were debating whether to find the local walk-in health clinic. We decided to forego the wait and just get some decongestant at the drug store. Yesterday, my eyeballs felt like they were going to pop out of my head. This morning, I felt better. Clearer. With a bit more spring in my step, if you will. And then, as the day progressed, and after the trip to the drug store and while we were running around trying to get packed, etc., my teeth started hurting. They feel like they are going to fall out. All the teeth in the top part of my mouth. I lay (laid?) down for a nap with Sophie this afternoon and I could literally feel the infected mucus stickily slithering its way to the other side of my head.

In other news, we leave at the crack of dark tomorrow to drive 3 hours to get to San Francisco in time to drop off the rental car and get to our flight.

Sophie's feeling at the top of her game it seems. She's been completely energized by all the people and the big house in which to roam and the kitties to chase and all the exciting new toys and books. Aaron and I would just like to survive the flight without eyes popping and teeth falling out. Or maybe that's just me.

He just told me that his eyes never felt like they were going to pop out. He sucks.

I'll catch you on the down low.

Pirates and Brrrraiiinnnss

Well, things have devolved a bit around here and all the jokes are about pirates and zombies.

Gotta go showerrrrrr and blow my nose. And hopefully not blow out my brrrraaaiiinss.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're trying to keep Sophie on an amended East coast time schedule so the transition back home won't be too crazy. This is great at night because she's in bed by about 4 p.m. here. However, it also means she is wide awake (HI!!!) at 3:30 in the morning. It's a big house, but it's all one level and there all the rooms line up along the big living room area. So we try to keep her in the bedroom until at least 6. She just doesn't understand the "um, everyone else is asleep so we have to wait here for a while. And also, please be quiet." She is the picture of a morning person. I don't know how two night owls created a morning person, but it must be payback for something.

Anyhoo, it's Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful for my husband and my wonderful daughter. I'm also thankful for my family and my friends and my health (except this week) and that I have a roof over my head and health insurance and can afford yummy food and heat in my house. I'm thankful I can look out my window and see trees and birds and kitties and sunshine.

For what are you thankful?

Thirteen Months!

Wow, I must be out of it. I almost forgot to post Sophie's monthly update.

Sophie, my LuLu, please forgive me if this is short. It is not that you aren't amazing and wonderful and so, so, so smart. I love you and you have been fantastic so far on this trip. So much to take in and so many new people to meet. And instead of being shy and overwhelmed, you jumped right into the fray with both feet.

You are learning and doing new things almost every minute. Your favorite word right now is "Yeah?!" As in, "Sophie, do you want a pretzel?" "Yeah?!" Very cute and very specific. Speaking of pretzels, you are a bit obsessed with the long stick pretzels. It was almost all we could get you to eat while you were so sick.

I have photos to add to this, but I'm not only on AOL here but also on dial-up. By the time you read through these entries, dial-up will probably (hopefully) be the equivalent of chipping these entries into stone tablets. So, photos will come once we get home again.

You are signing so many things right now. You tell me you are hungry at night by pushing your fingers at my mouth, nodding your head and saying "Yeah? Yeah?". You also sign "more", "dog", "bath", possibly "drink" and occasionally "cat". I'm sure there are many more, but your daddy and I are a little behind in our learning. You certainly make a lot of hand gestures and I'm sure they mean something and I promise we'll make a more concerted effort to catch up to you.

You are walking everywhere now. All the time. You have become so confident that it is rare that you are tripped up by your toys or our feet or the uneven floor in the house. You also started dancing and a sort of bopping motion when we say: "Can you jump, Sophie?"

There is so much more and yet it would take me days to recount everything. Just know that we are constantly amazed by you. Your joy and your enthusiasm and your problem-solving and your determination are fantastic to experience.

We could not be more proud.

Heroes

My SIL K taped Heroes for me and I finally got to watch it last night before I passed out in a stuffed nose and sinus infection stupor. I'd really like to be able to breathe and actually taste food again. If anyone in charge is listening, will you work on that for me? Thanks so much.

Back to Heroes: wow! Peter dying and then absorbing Claire's powers to regenerate? How did Sylar survive that fall? The little dark-haired woman definitely has the power of persuasion. Very powerful, it seems, because she could actually control someone like Sylar. He's definitely telekinetic, but then he sliced that cheerleader's head by just pointing at her forehead. And he has super-strength. I can't wait to see what happens with him next week.

How did Simone and Nathan know each other? Or was it just a connection with the gallery?

It looks like next week will be more about Hiro. Woo hoo!

In other news, my nose is so completely stuffed right now that I can't even blow it. I try and try and just pop my ears painfully. So, send me healing vibes pretty, pretty please.

And we're here

We're now up in Mendocino county after a very long day yesterday. Sophie handled the flight really well. She sort of napped a couple of times. The bigger problem was that both Aaron and I have what are most likely sinus infections. So Sophie was having a good time and we were absolutely miserable. We finally got into San Francisco, got our rental car and headed to our friend Julie's house in the city. Just in time for Sophie to go to bed. We got to see a few great friends and then we collapsed in a snuffly, headachy, miserable fog of sickness.

Sophie woke up at 2:45 a.m. this morning and we groaned and decided, well, we might as well shower and just get on the road. So we started getting organized and ready and were all showered when Sophie decided it was time for a nap. And she thankfully slept for 2 hours and we snuggled up all together and tried to catch up on lost sleep.

On the road again, it took about 3 hours to get up to Aaron's dad's fabulous house. Sophie's having a blast, Aaron and I are tweaked up on cold medicine and it's all good.

Hopefully whatever we've got will be gone by the time we have to get on the airplane again to head home. Saturday. Cross your fingers.

Important: 5-point harness vs. booster seat

Such a tragic story. But very important for all parents to realize that seatbelts can and do fail in some car accidents. Don't assume that booster seats using just a seat belt will save your kids in a car accident.

Please watch this video and pass it on.

And we're off

Well, it's 3:00 and I'm up and about to take a shower.

The antibiotics, etc., seemed to work. She was in a much better mood last night and we're hoping that extends through the flights today.

We'll catch you on the flip-side.

Over and out.

(man, I'm tired)

Poor little thing

My posts have been all Sophie, all the time, huh? Well, the on-call doctor called this morning (before we had a chance to call) and told us to come in as soon as we could as it was going to be a busy day there. He listened to her breathing, looked in her ears, etc.

Prognosis? Ear infection in her left ear and a respitory infection. We stayed in his office for a while so she could inhale some albuterol. We also got 5 prescriptions ranging from an inhaler-type thingy (K, you know all about this), more albuterol, prednisone for her cough, tylenol with codeine for her cough and for pain, azithromycin and ear drops for the ear infection. Thank goodness for health insurance.

The crazy thing is, she actually seemed a little better this morning and we were debating even calling the doctor. Thank goodness we did. Tomorrow's flight will hopefully not be so miserable now that she's on antibiotics, etc. Plus we have the codeine if she really starts hurting.

Now what are we going to do about our colds?

Cross your fingers and send us luck and good wishes for our flight. We get up at the crack of dark to head down to the airport.

Fever! Fever when you hold me tight.

Yep, Sophie's fever went up last night. And she's been quite warm and not-very-active all day. We took a 2+ hour nap this afternoon and both woke up cooking. 102.7°. Do I need to tell you how sick Sophie is of having us stick thermometers up her ass?

She's drinking water and eating occasionally but we're both worried. Worried that she's still sick, worried that she won't be better for Monday and worried that she won't be able to fly. Which means that she and I stay home while Aaron visits his family. I called the doctor's on-call service around 5 p.m., so things are on hold until the triage nurse calls back.

Hopefully they have someone on call tomorrow who can see her. And then maybe they'll give her antibiotics and we can all fly out west together.

TGIF

This week felt like it lasted a month. With Sophie's sickness and being busy at work and trying to remember everything I need to get done before we head to California, I'm exhausted.

At least Sophie seems a little better. Still coughing up all the gunk from her nose but in much better spirits. The tickling has returned as have the laps around the house. She was even giggling in her sleep last night.

And now Aaron says he thinks he's got what Sophie had.

Luckily we're leaving Monday so we have the weekend to pack, straighten up around the house, organize things and, hopefully, recover from being sick.

And by "we", I mean "I" because Aaron has a big take-home exam due Monday (so, Sunday) and he informed me that he needs at least 8 hours to finish it. So the weekend is all about me getting shit done around the house.

In other news, Aaron made Pillsbury sugar cookies last night from one of those shrink-wrapped tube things. And I ate pretty much all of them. They are my downfall. We have one more tube in the fridge and it's been whispering my name all day. Stupid sugar cookie tube thingy.

O.C. and Veronica Mars

I'm going to admit something here. Please don't hold it against me. I'm finding myself liking The O.C. again. Now that Mischa is gone, it's actually pretty good. I like Taylor, I like Summer (although I hope she snaps out of her funk soon) and I even like Caitlin.

Did you see Tuesday's Veronica Mars? Where Logan rescued her just in time? Do you think she was going to be raped? or just have her head shaved? Crazy scary. I'm surprised she didn't call anyone to tell them that she'd been drugged. I get that she was upset with her dad and with Logan, but this is Veronica, she's usually on top of these things.

Also scary was the Fitzgerald dude man-handling her in the bar. WHY did she go in there again?

In other news, Sophie (*cross your fingers*) may be getting better. It seems like her cold is starting to wind down. It's awful when they cough, isn't it? And that they don't know how to blow their noses. She's really tired of us wiping her nose and all the pants I've worn over the last week have a snot line by the knees. It's like an informal growth chart.

86,400 second rule

Guess what? Sophie's still sick. Not sinuses as you wise people were quick to point out. Just a bad "productive" cough and rivers and streams and avalanches of snot. Basically, it might get worse before it gets better and we need to "tough it out". She should {cross your fingers} be better by the time we fly on Monday. I've been concerned about flying with a sick baby, but just watch (and here is the exact moment that I jinx things) it will be Aaron and I who are sick as dogs.

We've found some yummy crackers that she really, really likes. Luckily, they have a fair amount of vitamins and iron because they are almost all she's eating at the moment (besides the gallon of snot a day). The crackers are so yummy that Aaron and I don't mind so much if she throws them on the floor because that means we get to eat them. Like vultures! or dogs! (But, see, these are really yummy crackers) (And our floor is mostly clean)

We have two kinds of crackers we give her - one is more like a Ritz and one is more like a Cheese-it. I picked one of the Ritz-style ones off the floor in the morning and, without thinking because I'm a frickin' cavewoman, popped it in my mouth. It was only after both Sophie and Aaron gave me weird looks that I realized that that cracker may actually have been on the floor since yesterday.

Whatever, it was still yummy.

Heroes

I missed pieces of the show last night because Sophie is still sick. I'm thinking she has a sinus infection this time. I'm waiting for the doctor's office to call back so that we can make an appointment today. We're keeping her home from daycare because she's quite miserable. Cross your fingers that she feels better by Monday for our long trip west.

I had to run upstairs last night during the show and, when I got back, the cute waitress was dead! (don't worry, I watched the rest of it while I got ready for work this morning). I love that waitress and I sincerely hope that Hiro saves her. I read a theory that she's the one who helps him learn English. Not that Ando can't speak English, but the waitress (what was her name?) is cute and they make an adorable couple. Interesting that Hiro showed up in an old photo but the cops in Ando's time still seemed to be investigating her murder. When was her birthday? How far back did Hiro go? Also, some heavy foreshadowing with showing Sylar's hands holding his glass and then the glass still sitting on the table after she was killed. Does this mean he left fingerprints this time? How was she killed? There was a quick slicing sound and then blood dripping down. Can Sylar stop time, too? Did he take her brain? It doesn't look like she was frozen like some of the others.

I guess I'm not caring all that much about the Mohinder storyline at this point. Maybe it's because I don't like Mohinder's character. However, it was interesting that the sleep-studied kid appeared to him in dreams. Is that boy dead? And he saw the watch of the man who killed his father. I've got to remember to keep an eye out for that. Unless Sylar was wearing it in the restaurant. Did I miss that?

What did the little brunette whisper to Isaac? Did he actually take the heroin? Is Claire's dad good or bad? Where was the Haitian mind-eraser this time?

Radioactive dude and Matt both had the same markings. Very interesting. Do you think they already had their powers but then the markings are from Claire's dad enhancing them in some way?

I'm upset that I'm going to miss the big "Save the Cheerleader" episode next week. A coworker (I finally found one that actually watches the show) has offered to tape it for me. I don't think I'll be able to watch it online because I'm pretty sure there is only a dial-up connection at the house in CA and the episodes would take days to download. Ah well. At least I'll get to watch it at some point.

There is a lot that has to happen next week. Peter has to get to the cheerleader, as does Hiro. Who else is involved?

What else did I miss?

Shoes!

In case you don't visit my flickr photos very often, I'm also part of the November Shoe Blogging group on Flickr. Not that I have 30 pairs of shoes and, luckily, we don't actually have to post a pair of shoes a day. But I'm finding myself salivating over everyone's favorites!

This is my set of shoes so far.

Did you know I owned a pair like these?

Or that Sophie owns these?

Or that I wore these to my wedding?

I love shoes. LOVE them. However, I have long, supremely-skinny feet and I always have issues with shoes. I wear a size 9.5 or 10 shoe and when the shoes get that big, shoe makers automatically think I must have wide feet. So I can't wear mules or pumps or any shoes that don't have some sort of strap or tie holding them on. I guess the one good thing is that this has seriously hindered my shoe collecting.

Wal-Mart loves Nazis?

Wal-Mart is selling t-shirts with the SS logo - specifically, the "Death's Head" symbol.

When this was brought to their attention, they said they would be removing all the t-shirts and that they didn't realize that was a Nazi SS logo. Except they haven't. You'd think a company that big and with that much power could easily get the t-shirts removed from their store. It's now day 3 and the t-shirts are still there.

Weekend

Sophie's sick again. Yay! She's been coughing and we thought maybe she's just getting rid of the rest of the cold(s) she's had but now she has a low-grade fever.

The nurse on duty said to just keep an eye on the fever and help her drain the cold. Saline drops, Tylenol, etc.

I'm cranky. She's not taking very long naps because we've been driving around trying to get prepared for our trip westward and she's obviously tired.

Also, it's gray and rainy and feels much later than it actually is. Winter sucks.

Early Bird

I made some carrot oatmeal muffins this morning. They're not as good as the banana version and Sophie isn't eating them. But it seems like she's not eating bread in general, so I'm trying not to take it personally.

I have video evidence of our early bird walker/talker. This was 6 a.m. the other morning. She's dragging Big Cow towards the bathroom to show Aaron. She says her version of "daddy" at the end.

Enjoy!

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Ask Moxie recently wrote a post asking for reader suggestions for healthy muffins. I took one of the recipes and adapted it.

I might try them again, substituting the brown sugar for maple syrup.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Dry mix - To make, combine:
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups rolled oats (I used quick oats)
2/3 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp Tahitian vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup flax seed meal

This dry mix is great to make ahead and store. When you're ready to make muffins, mix together:

1 egg
2 cups mashed bananas
1/3 cups organic apple sauce

Then, combine wet and dry ingredients. Bake for 20 minutes at 375°F.

Yummy!

Recommendations, please

We're flying to CA for Thanksgiving week and I might actually have the time to read!

I'm looking for some suggestions - if you finally had a chance to read your three (probably a stretch, but who knows?) favorite books, what would they be?

My favorites, if this helps you get an idea of my taste:

Margaret Atwood, "Blind Assassin"

Tom Robbins, "Jitterbug Perfume"

David Mitchel, "Cloud Atlas"

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "One Hundred Years of Solitude"

John Irving, "Prayer for Owen Meany"

Khaled Hosseini, "Kite Runner"

Barbara Kingsolver, "Poisonwood Bible"

Wally Lamb, "She's Come Undone"

Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

There are others, but these should give you an idea.

Thank you!

Dark Beans and Sensuous Spices

This is for K.

I recently bought a new cookbook, Feeding the Whole Family, Whole Foods Recipes for Babies, Young Children and Their Parents (scroll down). And it is as crunchy as it sounds. I LOVE it. Lots of great recipes, not just vegetarian. The emphasis is using whole grains and natural sweeteners and all the good stuff you are supposed to eat but tend not to. I never realized I was such a hippy at heart.

It has suggestions for healthy breakfasts, lunch meals to give your kids to bring to school, yummy dinners, soups, desserts, and etc.

Any book that has tips on reducing flatulence has an instant place in my favorites-for-life list.

I made this recipe for Sophie's birthday party, along with a (too-small in hindsight) garlic roasted chicken. I also made Quinoa Garlic Herb Bread, from SCRATCH, a recipe also in this book.

The recipe below serves 4. I doubled it for the party.

Dark Beans with Sensuous Spices

2 tsp ghee or extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (I actually used 6 cloves)
1 carrot, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp coriander
(my additions: 1 tsp chipotle powder, 1 tsp hot curry powder, ground black pepper)
1.5 cups cooked red or black beans (or 2 cans if you don't want to cook your own)
1.5 cups water or vegetarian soup stock
0.25 cup chopped cilantro (I skipped the cilantro because: yuck)
1 TBSP tamari or shoyu (or substitute low-sodium soy sauce)
1 tsp brown rice vinegar (which I could not find, so I used regular seasoned rice vinegar)

Heat oil in a 4 quart soup pot. Add onion and garlic; saute until soft. Add dry spices and saute briefly. Add carrot and celery; saute a few more minutes. Add beans and water; stir together. You can puree all of the soup in a blender or processor for a smooth soup or puree part of it for a chunkier cream soup. (I used one of those wand blenders that I stuck right into the pot. I also let the soup simmer for a while). This is where you would stir in the cilantro, if you are CRAZY because yuck! Season with tamari and vinegar and reheat before serving.

I also had some shaved asiago cheese on the table. Next time, I'm going to add some plain low-fat yogurt (maybe the yummy greek-style kind at Trader Joe's) and some hot (or medium, for the wimps in the crowd) salsa for people to add to their soups when I serve it.

Yum!

Ding Dong!

What a day! Rumsfeld is resigning! We took back the House with an overwhelming majority! We won a record number of state governorships! Tester wins in Montana!

Do you think Allen is going to be a sore loser and hold on tooth and nail? Will the Republican party put all of their hope of retaining the Senate on a racist?

AND THEN, Britney filed for divorce from Cletus!

I'm giddy.

Blogroll

I removed my list of bookmark links on the right and exchanged it for my bloglines list. If your site was on the previous list and is now missing, let me know.

Heroes, again

Gah, I just realized the big Nov. 20th "Save the Cheerleader" episode is airing the night we are flying to California.

I might need to commandeer someone's tv at 9pm that night.

Voting Day!

Don't forget to vote and throw the bums out!

I'm not sure why I get so giddy when I go to vote. I got there at 7 this morning and this is a smallish town, so everyone votes in the same location. There were TONS of people there and there was an electricity in the air. Unfortunately, we live in Massachusetts, so we can't change much because we're mostly all Democrats. But we get to vote for Governor! and whether to sell wine in grocery stores! Aaron's taking Sophie with him on the way to dropping her off at daycare. Aw, her first voting experience!

Heroes, recap

I knew Micah had powers! So, what are those powers, exactly? He got the phone to work by thinking about it. Or something like that. I'm not well versed on the superhero powers so somebody help me out.

Niki isn't dead and Micah knows when she's Jennifer or Niki. Very interesting. He also got to meet Hiro which was very cool.

Blah, blah, blah on the whole Claire and her brother storyline. The teaser made it sound like she found out her father had been watching the video.

I wonder if the actress who plays Claire's mother actually likes dogs? Because she sure spends a lot of time kissing that one.

Why is the FBI chick so hell-bent on finding Shyler?

I thought Matt's wife was pregnant (maybe she still is) but she's having an affair instead.

What were the tattoos on the radioactive man and Matt? They are different than the "F" logo.

What else?

Heroes

Ooh! from tvguide.com:

Nathan receives some campaign help from his wife, Heidi (Rena Sofer); a crisis involving Micah prompts Niki to reveal her personal struggles to a friend; Matt finds himself immersed in the investigation of another bizarre murder possibly committed by Sylar; Hiro comes to doubt his own heroism; and Claire discovers the whereabouts of her missing tape.

Sleepy Sunday

After a restless Saturday night, we were all a bit worn out Sunday morning. We ate breakfast, hung out and read (or trampled all over) the Sunday paper. I was really looking forward to Sophie's morning nap so that maybe I could catch a couple of winks myself. It took some time for her to settle down with me (I even had to call in Daddy reinforcements because I was having trouble keeping my eyes open and I didn't want her to squirm her way off our bed.) but then she slept for 2 hours! She woke up at the 1 hour 30 minute mark, lifted her head, smiled at me and said: "Hi!"

I smiled and said "Hi!" back and then she lay her head down and slept for another 30 minutes.

It was wonderful.

Let's sing a song about P

Sophie received a fun Sesame Street DVD for her birthday: Do the Alphabet. It's pretty good - full of lots of old Sesame Street songs and dances that focus on the alphabet or specific letters. The premise is that Baby Bear (of Goldilocks fame) is sick of Goldilocks interrupting him when he tries to say the alphabet. So he seeks Big Bird's help to learn the whole thing.

Up until yesterday, Sophie merely glanced at it during her walk-abouts around the downstairs. Yesterday she actually sat entranced. And during the segment when Baby Bear is trying to remember the next letter in the alphabet, the kids and Big Bird are eating different foods like pizza and popcorn and poppy seeds and Sophie, who had been still and silent up until this point, yells out: "P!"

Crazy. It's amazing how much they absorb.

Roasted Garlic Chicken

Stop & Shop had a sale on whole chickens today so I bought two and roasted them at the same time in my enormous turkey-sized roasting pan. I need to get a more normal-sized roasting pan. On the plus side, the entire house smells like roasted chicken and I can freeze a whole bunch and still have chicken all week! This recipe assumes you are sane and only roasting one chicken at a time.

Yummy.

So, without further ado:

Roasted Garlic Chicken

(the ingredients are based entirely upon what I had in my cupboards and fridge at the time)

3-5 pound chicken
6 cloves minced garlic
olive oil
2 or 3 fresh rosemary sprigs; leaves minced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 lemon
1 tsp cumin
1 or 2 tsp ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425°.

Rinse and dry chicken, set on roasting rack in pan.

In a bowl, mix and mash together everything but the chicken and the lemon. Cut lemon into quarters and squeeze one quarter into oil/herb mix. I used a mortar and pestle but that is only because I found a cool set at Ikea. You can also mash it with a fork or something like that.

Grab a bunch of the oil/herb mix with your hands and rub it all over the chicken. Pull up the skin over the breasts and shove a bunch of the oil/herb mix under the skin. Get it all over yourself and the pan and the counter. Shove the cut lemon wedges up the chicken's hoo-hoo-dilly. Maybe throw in some more sprigs of rosemary if you found you had to buy a lot to get just the 2 or 3 sprigs in this recipe. Same goes with any other herbs you might have lying around. The more the merrier.

If you have time and have thought ahead, you could put this whole mess into a big ziplock bag and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Mmmm, marinade.

Add about a 1/2 inch of water to the bottom of the roasting pan. You don't want the chicken to touch this water - so the amount will depend on your roasting rack. The water is to keep the drippings from burning. You are putting this in a very hot oven and you want to try to avoid setting off all the smoke alarms in your neighborhood. There will be a lot of steam but no smoke.

Bake for 1 hour at 425°. You want the skin to carmelize and hold all the luscious juices in. No basting. No salt on the skin.

Check the temperature of the chicken after an hour. It needs to be 160° when you stick the thermometer into the thick thigh meat. If it hasn't reach optimal temperature, keep it in the oven for another 15 minutes or so. Check again. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Once it has reached optimal temperature, remove from oven, put a loose tent of tin foil over and let it rest for about 10 minutes.

Slice, serve, eat!

Huevos Rancheros

If no one cares what I had for lunch - does breakfast count?

I made quick and easy huevos rancheros. I'm completely sure that real Mexican cooks would shudder but it is yummy and everyone, Sophie included, loved it.

I normally add a lot more hot stuff to this dish, but I know how much Sophie loves her black beans. And not so much the hot spices.

If you add all the hot peppers, etc., (in parentheses), you get Huevos Rancheros El Diablo.

Huevos Rancheros (El Diablo)

Serves 2ish

5 cloves minced garlic. Sure, you could use less, but it's garlic! Why use one clove when you can use 5?

1 tsp or so of canola oil

1 can black beans. I tend to get the low sodium kind.

1/2 can diced organic tomatoes.

some cumin
some curry powder
ground pepper
pinch of salt

El Diablo additions:
(jalapeno pepper)
(or if you want fire-breathing: 1 habanero pepper + 1 jalapeno pepper)
(good hot sauce)
(maybe some cayenne pepper)
(also maybe some chipotle pepper - I have a chipotle pepper powder that I love.)

4 eggs

Some cheese. I've used parmesan or sharp cheddar in the past. I was out today. I didn't miss it that much.

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

Heat oil in a medium frying pan over low - medium heat. Add garlic and turn to low heat until soft and slightly transparent.

Add beans and spices. Let simmer for a bit.

Add tomatoes and stir. Let simmer for a bit more.

Crack eggs into pan - spaced evenly.

Cover pan (if you don't have a cover that fits, you can put a sheet of tin foil over the pan. You want to keep the steam in so that the eggs poach.)

When eggs get cloudy, sprinkle cheese over eggs and allow to melt slightly.

Scoop eggs out of bean/tomato mix into two plates and then spoon the sauce around the eggs.

Done! Some garlic toast would be very yummy with this.

And some dark coffee.

I spooned some of the beans into a smaller dish for Sophie to allow them to cool a bit and then kept giving her a couple of spoonfuls on her highchair tray. Yay! Beans for breakfast!

Memories of costumes past

I've officially adopted Erin as my sister. She is the funniest person ever, in the entire world. Period.

Her description of last year's ocean costume had me chortling. And I do not chortle for just anyone.

It got me thinking about my crazy costumes from year's past and, I think, the one that most definitely takes the cake for something that might just have been better left on paper was the tornado.

Here's the description I sent to Erin:

Well, clearly you need whirling wind to be an effective tornado. The tulle and netting I bought didn't whirl as violently and as fully as I'd have liked so I added structure with really stiff wire and electrical tape. Do you know how hard it is to attach stiff wire to your outfit? That required a sort of bracing system and straps and they didn't work very well, so I ended up taping the ends of the wire to myself. Which worked out really well for preventing me from going to the bathroom all night. The tulle and netting was attached to the wire with pins and some hot glue. In kind of a whirling fashion around me. And THEN my hair was really long and you couldn't be a tornado without hair that looks like it is part of the top of the tornado. Except I went to a stylist who didn't quite get what I was thinking* and ended up just sticking straight up and she didn't use any where near enough hair spray so it lasted all of, maybe, 2 hours before collapsing and sticking straight out to the side. Try getting through doorways and crowds of people. I also bought little cows and houses and fish and a tiny pair of Dorothy red shoes and a witch and bike and attached them all over me - like they were caught up in the whirlwind, right?

I couldn't sit down, I couldn't pee. It was the best costume ever.

*this is an understatement

Flu Shots

This is the entry back to which you can refer when saying: "You jinxed it."

My company is giving free flu shots to all employees today. After much debate, I decided not to get one. Mostly because the release form says the shots may contain thimerosal (a form of mercury) and that little sentence sat like a burning coal of worry in my stomach. I'm still nursing Sophie and, also, I don't want to willingly be injected with mercury.

Just watch, now there's going to be a flu epidemic.

Happy Anniversary!

5 years of blissful marriage. Who'd a thunk it? It seems a lifetime* ago when we met at Jessica's house. I think she's still in shock that we are together. She certainly didn't anticipate the immediate sparks between us.

And it is strange. You and me. We shouldn't fit together so well. I have an evil streak and you are sometimes incredibly gullible and trusting (okay, I guess that does fit). I'm all spikes and thorns and you're cuddly and warm and safe. You are a man of science and fact and a+b=c and I tend to lean more towards the great unknown and universal chaos. But maybe all of that is why it works. You are a constant source of surprise to me. Just when I'm sure I know how you are going to react or what you are going to say you throw me for a loop. I love loops. I love the surprise and laughter and silliness and the enveloping hugs into which I could sink for days.

Just when we were getting comfortable and mired in routine, we decided to throw our lives into the tornado that is parenthood. And it's fantastic. You are exactly the kind of father I didn't have. You sing and dance and make up goofy nicknames and Sophie eats it all up. Thank you.

I love you.

*and by lifetime, I mean 10 years.

I'm shrinking!

A little over a month ago, my mom was talking about this new diet she was following: the Fat Flush Diet. She had a book that listed power foods and drinks you could consume to help melt away your cellulite! and fat! and probably lose weight!

I skimmed through it and decided to add a few things to my usual routine. I don't want to diet, per se, because I'm still nursing and I don't want to limit what I eat. However, adding some healthier items seemed doable. For instance, instead of having a peanut butter sandwhich (on whole grain bread), I switched to almond butter with a sprinkling of flax seed meal. I was already taking two flax seed oil capsules a day but I added an additional omega 3 capsule (odorless ones from Trader Joe's). In addition, I drink one or two concoctions of apple cider vinegar (the unfiltered kind, also from TJ's) with unsweetened cranberry juice and a bunch of water. You only need about a teaspoon or two of the vinegar and a big splash of cranberry juice. It depends on your tolerance for the sour.

I'm also trying to be better about eating more whole grains - making healthy versions of carrot cake, banana muffins, etc., and being more conscious of adding flax seed meal to things.

Anyhoo, long story short, I'm eating more and yet I'm already down a pants size! My belly fat is melting away! I'm back in my pre-pregnancy jeans!

All that without even following the full diet, just taking a bit of advice and trying it out. I don't have the discipline to do a full-fledged nutritional plan, but I have to say that this one would probably work.

I will be posting some of the muffin, etc., recipes on which I've been working. Ooh, and a yummy recipe for healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!

Snow!

Holy crap! It was raining this morning and, as I as driving to work, I noticed that some of the raindrops were hitting the windshield in a more crystalline nature than usual.

Thank gawd it's not sticking to the ground or I might have a panic attack. Where the heck did the summer go? Or autumn, for that matter? I don't even know where my snowboots are hiding!

Caught in the act!

Last night we heard some rustling on our front porch and thought it might be squirrels or maybe the kittens from next door.

Scurrying and rustling.

Possibly munching.

And then some giggling. Giggling? Since when did squirrels giggle?

We snuck around the house and guess what we found?!

A little baby rhinoceros rifling through our Halloween candy!

Heroes redux

My sister just pointed me to a forum on NBC.com with lots of theories on the characters of Heroes. As she said: verrrrry interesting.

Reading through it, I realize how much I've missed.

Like the "f" logo is half of a double helix.