Moving on...
...from this blog to another. E-mail me or leave a comment if you'd like to know where it is!
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Upgrade last post's "mild cold" to "severe cold and tummy bug." Ugh. It seems to be improving and John somehow skipped the crankiness that normally accompanies illness. Once his slight fever subsided, he seemed perfectly happy to lose his milk then crawl away and play with a book while I cleaned up the mess. I've done a bunch of laundry today and he seems to be holding things down again, so the healthy baby is back besides, still, a mild cold.
We got John's band off for good on Friday. He looks great and has somehow managed to avoid banging his head despite the bad habits he gained while "banded." While in the baby swing (which he's too big for) during supper, he stuck his head between the side bars as he frequently does to stop, but he wasn't going fast enough to get hurt. Yesterday night he demonstrated grabbing the bars to stop, so there may be some hope for him even when he's going fast.
I've been practicing guitar this week and my hands *hurt*. However, I think I've gotten much better. A light went on and I realized that changing chords is much easier if I don't watch my hands. As I've developed that habit, my chord changing speed has increased greatly.
We're off to AAS tomorrow night. Maybe we'll meet up with some of you there!
We got John's band off for good on Friday. He looks great and has somehow managed to avoid banging his head despite the bad habits he gained while "banded." While in the baby swing (which he's too big for) during supper, he stuck his head between the side bars as he frequently does to stop, but he wasn't going fast enough to get hurt. Yesterday night he demonstrated grabbing the bars to stop, so there may be some hope for him even when he's going fast.
I've been practicing guitar this week and my hands *hurt*. However, I think I've gotten much better. A light went on and I realized that changing chords is much easier if I don't watch my hands. As I've developed that habit, my chord changing speed has increased greatly.
We're off to AAS tomorrow night. Maybe we'll meet up with some of you there!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Back in out of the rain
We go to California and get wet! How crazy is that???
We ended up skipping the Rose Parade due to the torrential rain. (Well, it seemed torrential.) Sandra Day O'Connor was the Grand Marshall. The last time a Supreme Court Justice was Grand Marshall was in 1955 when it was Earl Warren. That was also the last time it rained on the parade. Coincidence? You decide.
We drove from Pasadena to the Bay Area on the afternoon of the 2nd, driving through tumble-weed storms (Dan took a great picture of a car-sized tumble-weed crossing I-5. Don't they know to look both ways?), heavy rain, and very strong winds (we even saw a trailer that had blown over). John was pretty calm in the car; I was pretty distraught.
John cut his eighth tooth and looks so grown up! He's still a cruiser and I know it is time for bed when he falls over while pulling himself up. He loves nursing (and I'm glad of that!). John just got his first cold. How many parents can say that their child's first illness is a mild cold at 10.5 months? Does nursing boost the mother's immune system, too? Before John was born, I remember getting sick more frequently than I do now. Dan's had two colds since John was born, both of which I've also had, but they lasted about five days each for Dan and only one day each for me.
Beth and I taught ourselves to make Pearl Milk Tea while in CA, but Dan doesn't like the pearls. It's basically really sweet tea with a lot of milk. IMO, the pearls make drinking the tea a lot more fun.
My favorite present was a sourdough cutting board and bread knife from Beth. The knife's design makes it really easy to cut the bread straight and the cutting board has grooves so that the crumbs don't spill all over your kitchen table. Thanks, Beth!
Have you ever milled your own grains? What did you think? Have you sprouted grains? So many things to try...
We ended up skipping the Rose Parade due to the torrential rain. (Well, it seemed torrential.) Sandra Day O'Connor was the Grand Marshall. The last time a Supreme Court Justice was Grand Marshall was in 1955 when it was Earl Warren. That was also the last time it rained on the parade. Coincidence? You decide.
We drove from Pasadena to the Bay Area on the afternoon of the 2nd, driving through tumble-weed storms (Dan took a great picture of a car-sized tumble-weed crossing I-5. Don't they know to look both ways?), heavy rain, and very strong winds (we even saw a trailer that had blown over). John was pretty calm in the car; I was pretty distraught.
John cut his eighth tooth and looks so grown up! He's still a cruiser and I know it is time for bed when he falls over while pulling himself up. He loves nursing (and I'm glad of that!). John just got his first cold. How many parents can say that their child's first illness is a mild cold at 10.5 months? Does nursing boost the mother's immune system, too? Before John was born, I remember getting sick more frequently than I do now. Dan's had two colds since John was born, both of which I've also had, but they lasted about five days each for Dan and only one day each for me.
Beth and I taught ourselves to make Pearl Milk Tea while in CA, but Dan doesn't like the pearls. It's basically really sweet tea with a lot of milk. IMO, the pearls make drinking the tea a lot more fun.
My favorite present was a sourdough cutting board and bread knife from Beth. The knife's design makes it really easy to cut the bread straight and the cutting board has grooves so that the crumbs don't spill all over your kitchen table. Thanks, Beth!
Have you ever milled your own grains? What did you think? Have you sprouted grains? So many things to try...
Friday, December 23, 2005
Going to CA
We're off to CA for Christmas. If you're going to be in Pasadena around the 1st/2nd, we're planning to go to Trinity for church and then to lunch afterwards. You could also help stake out a seat on Colorado! We'd love to see anyone who is there!
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Fridge cleaning
We're going to CA on Sunday so the fridge needs to be cleaned out - and I need to control myself and not buy any pretty new fruits and vegetables this week.
This morning, I started working on the mango. (I bought it after getting a short lesson on fruit enzymes. I also bought a pineapple, but that was easy to finish.)
Tonight, I made the Hot and Sour Soup from Jan 2006's Cook's Illustrated magazine with two pieces of chicken (I left out the tofu) and kale-onion pot stickers to go with them on the side. I'd made pork dumplings in the past, which of course earned rave reviews from my "21 Reasons I'm not a Vegetarian" hubby, but these were received reasonably well considering that the main ingredient was kale. The Hot and Sour Soup was great, especially since I usually don't order that in Chinese restaurants because it is frequently packed with MSG. The only time I've gotten and MSG reaction (and quite a bad one at that - the people I was with called Poison Control) was from Hot and Sour Soup, so having a certifiably MSG-free soup at home was nice.
This morning, I started working on the mango. (I bought it after getting a short lesson on fruit enzymes. I also bought a pineapple, but that was easy to finish.)
Tonight, I made the Hot and Sour Soup from Jan 2006's Cook's Illustrated magazine with two pieces of chicken (I left out the tofu) and kale-onion pot stickers to go with them on the side. I'd made pork dumplings in the past, which of course earned rave reviews from my "21 Reasons I'm not a Vegetarian" hubby, but these were received reasonably well considering that the main ingredient was kale. The Hot and Sour Soup was great, especially since I usually don't order that in Chinese restaurants because it is frequently packed with MSG. The only time I've gotten and MSG reaction (and quite a bad one at that - the people I was with called Poison Control) was from Hot and Sour Soup, so having a certifiably MSG-free soup at home was nice.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Indoctrination
I read Laura's post about baby propoganda on Saturday before heading to Dan's Astrophysical Sciences Winter Solstice Party. (Yeah, it really is called that.)
One of the very senior researchers in Dan's department reminds me of someone from Caltech. He wears his hair to his waist and never wears shoes. Well, I did see him in shoes once - in flip flops during a snow storm. This is Princeton, home of the preppies, though, and quite cold at times, so its pretty strange.
He decided to try to indoctrinate John on Saturday night. At first, whenever he saw John, he said, "Bessel function" with the justification that it'd be pretty neat if a child's first words were that. Then he changed to "Half a tooth fairy." (A "tooth fairy" is an unjustified assumption made by a scientist.) By the end of the night, he was alternating between "Bessel function" and "J-zero."
He told us, "Neither of my daughters said 'Bessel Function' as their first words, but you two are *both* scientists, so there's some hope for you."
One of the very senior researchers in Dan's department reminds me of someone from Caltech. He wears his hair to his waist and never wears shoes. Well, I did see him in shoes once - in flip flops during a snow storm. This is Princeton, home of the preppies, though, and quite cold at times, so its pretty strange.
He decided to try to indoctrinate John on Saturday night. At first, whenever he saw John, he said, "Bessel function" with the justification that it'd be pretty neat if a child's first words were that. Then he changed to "Half a tooth fairy." (A "tooth fairy" is an unjustified assumption made by a scientist.) By the end of the night, he was alternating between "Bessel function" and "J-zero."
He told us, "Neither of my daughters said 'Bessel Function' as their first words, but you two are *both* scientists, so there's some hope for you."
Friday, December 16, 2005
Outdoors and marketing
The snow melted (for a few days, at least) and we went outside on a walk! Woo hoo! It feels so much better to be outside at some point during the day.
Christmas cards are starting to arrive and it is a lot of fun to hear about how friends are doing. One friend sent a photo-collage that was about 3x5 of her wedding and honeymoon - what a fun way to see a lot of photos when you can't be there. (She doesn't know about this blog, so it is alright to say that I'm glad she sent it because I'd lost her address and now I'll be able to sent that birthday card to her that the postman returned as undeliverable - *blush* - about two months ago.)
I picked up some exotic cheeses and four beautiful candles at the Amish Market yesterday. I like the Amish market - it is only open Thursday through Saturday but is setup like a mini-mall (indoors). There is the diary, a smoked-meat butcher, a pork/beef butcher, a poultry butcher, a bakery, a produce stand, some furniture, and a pickled-foods stand. The pickled foods stand is interesting but I haven't bought anything from it yet. Ever heard of pickled kielbasa?!? I tried it yesterday and it was delicious but then I thought about what all is in it... As long as I drive and don't farm, I don't think I can eat like the Amish, though I'm seriously thinking of buying a rabbit for a special Christmas supper.
Christmas cards are starting to arrive and it is a lot of fun to hear about how friends are doing. One friend sent a photo-collage that was about 3x5 of her wedding and honeymoon - what a fun way to see a lot of photos when you can't be there. (She doesn't know about this blog, so it is alright to say that I'm glad she sent it because I'd lost her address and now I'll be able to sent that birthday card to her that the postman returned as undeliverable - *blush* - about two months ago.)
I picked up some exotic cheeses and four beautiful candles at the Amish Market yesterday. I like the Amish market - it is only open Thursday through Saturday but is setup like a mini-mall (indoors). There is the diary, a smoked-meat butcher, a pork/beef butcher, a poultry butcher, a bakery, a produce stand, some furniture, and a pickled-foods stand. The pickled foods stand is interesting but I haven't bought anything from it yet. Ever heard of pickled kielbasa?!? I tried it yesterday and it was delicious but then I thought about what all is in it... As long as I drive and don't farm, I don't think I can eat like the Amish, though I'm seriously thinking of buying a rabbit for a special Christmas supper.
