To bad Pepper didn't live to see this

The Blonde wig is described thusly:

Blonde is a magical mix of bashful and brazen. Fern shows off the many moods of a natural blonde: sweet yet catty, smart yet batty -- where life is alluring and coy. Now all she needs is a bikini and a Swedish accent.

Blonde sets off your kitty’s eyes and makes your kitty look tan.

Click picture for more...

What to do in case of a tornado...

according to the guy on the news who survived one:

1. Put pants back on
2. Turn off Hillary Clinton
3. Take shot of Jim Beam
4. Grab mattress
5. Get in bathtub
6. Pull mattress over head
7. Repeatedly call upon favorite deity

You think I made this up. I did not.

Happy Capital Day

Today is Capital Day. Don't expect the day off.

More here.

The Smartest Grandchild

Read it and weep. Of course, this assumes the difference is cultural/genetic and not systematic.

The Fate of the Salamanders

As you are aware, we are remodeling. These things expand in scope, and unforeseen challenges appear. The latest involves the family of salamanders that live in the window well outside Ryan's old room.
It started when Sheldon Coburn said we had to replace the window in the wood room - it couldn't be opened. Since the room will be finished and it now matters to NARB what the view out the window looks like, she has mandated that gravel be placed in the window well for visual appeal.
This concept has been expanded to include ALL window wells. But what of the salamanders? We have discussed several options:

1. Kill the salamanders outright by any means necessary.

2. Just put down a weed barrier and bury them under many pounds of gravel, letting the salamanders figure it out.

3. Flush the little creatures out of their holes with a hose, attempt to catch them and release them at a location to be determined later.

4. Leave that window well as it is and leave the salamanders alone and happy, accepting the less-than-attractive environment.

We are posting a poll to help us make this momentous decision - please assist us by voting.

Local Mormon: My Pants Don't Fit!

It seems as though not all Mormons benefit from smaller temples.

"When I first heard the announcement regarding the construction of smaller temples to meet the needs of LDS folks, I was as thrilled as any." said Local Mormon Scott Bosworth. "Of course, that was before I moved to California where I'd be living near one."

What Bosworth--and certainly countless others--failed to recognize, was that smaller facilities with no clothing rental available would put an uncomfortable squeeze on their pocketbooks if their white pants began putting an uncomfortable squeeze on their waistlines. Now, Bosworth feels hopeless about his situation. "I'm priced right out of the market--I mean, I didn't anticipate ever growing out of my 10-year old white pants. I never made room in my budget for a new pair of pants." Mild exercise routines and a semi-motivated attempt to cut back on evening ice cream sandwiches have failed to produce any results.

Beatta, Scott's wife of nearly 6 years agrees: "Yup, he's kind of a fat lard of late. I suppose I'll just go to the temple by myself for a while," she said. She then took an sternly paternalistic tone of voice and rattled off a few verses of Section 89 to her husband who was laying on the sofa. "I ain't gonna just up and buy him new white pants," she added. "Not when the old ones could be salvaged with a little fat-trimming."

Bosworth's attempts to point out that his wife doesn't fit into her white dress anymore were less than productive: his wife simply launched into a Finnish-language tirade about being "pregnant and all that!"

So what does all this mean for the present? "I suppose for the next little while I'll have to just keep coming up with excuses for passing the temple-night sign-up sheet along quickly in Elders quorum meetings." Scott noted that he's had a string of success recently with both "I think Beatta is going that night, so I'm babysitting," and "If I remember, Beatta already signed us up in Relief Society" to avoid awkward stares from less chubby quorum members. "Maybe I'll get a raise at work, and I guarantee that new white pants will be at the top of my list."

remodeling

As you can see, the remodeling is well underway. Here's the basement right now. The first picture is taken about at the door to Scott's room looking toward the food room. You can see the edge of the freezer. The second picture is taken in the wood room, looking toward the door and into the walk-in closet. I'll send more pictures as more gets done. The bathroom upstairs has not yet been started.

Mom

Pocket Full of Tools

"I'm pretending my underwear is my pocket." Ian announced this afternoon.

Note that he's driving with his phone in his pocket.

And for good measure, here's Molly's new trick. Standing up. And playing with Ian's tools while he's asleep as he doesn't share them very well when he's awake.

Animal beds

Hallie makes beds for all of her animals...and she has alot (all of my old ones). She takes all the sheets and towels out of the closet and spreads them everywhere. I can't complain about the mess, because it usually keeps her busy for at least 1-2 hours. That is time I really enjoy.

Hallie and Friends

Here are some fun pictures of Hallie with her friends Seth and Luke. Seth is 5 and Luke is 2. Seth and Hallie play really well together. Hallie, as you can see, is always a princess. They had a pie that they made from a receipe in the Friend. She is always going to "school" too, with her bags and animals. Their school is at the bottom of our stairs. Enjoy the pictures

Who's your man-crush?

I am having lunch next month with this guy. My goal is to avoid acting like a blushing schoolgirl.

Other man-crushes I have or have had:

Stefan Edberg

Tyler Cowen

Greg Mankiw

Payne Stewart

Jeff Hornacek

Greg Maddux


Scott, Tobin, Dad: Time to fess up. Who's your man-crush?

(If you need a clarification of Man-crushes (or, as they call it in California, Guy-Love), check out this video on YouTube).

soup receipe

we tried this tonight and really liked it. Hallie liked it too.

Tomato-Basil-Red Pepper Soup
2Tbsp salted butter
4 scallions (I used 6)
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes with liquid
1 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup roasted red bell peppers, rinsed and seeded
3/4 teas. dried basil
salt and pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream
Melt butter over medium-low heat in large saucepan. Add scallions and cook, about 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, chicken broth, roasted peppers, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionaly. Remove from heat, stir in heavy cream. Season to taste.
We thought this would be great in a bread bowl.

birthdays

I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to all of the February birthday....Beatta, Ian, and Dad. I am terrible at remembering everyones birthdays, even if they are written on the calendar. I hope you all have/had wonderful days and all your wildest dreams came true.
Alison

New Look

I thought that our old color scheme was so last year.

Ian's birthday

Here are some great pictures from our friend Ryan Halverson of Ian's birthday party. We had a great time and only wish that you could have been here with us.

kids say the darndest things

Ian just snuck a tube of chips ahoy cookies to eat in front of the TV. When I told him that he had not eaten enough dinner to qualify for unlimited cookie consumption he very matter of factly informed me that he was just eating four, not six.

Well, clearly four is OK then. ;-D

Tell me it doesn't look like fun (3 items)

#1
So Ryan just asked me this and had me watch this video of a rally cross event. Um, my answer is no.

Note: The silver Sentra is driven by a couple in Ryan's Mazda club. If you watch the video all the way through you'll see it twice, once for the lady and once for the guy. We don't know who drives which time. Upon their encouragement, Ryan has invited me to attend the "chicks only" autocross novice school in May. (Tobin and Ryan are going the first of next month.)

#2
It was 70 degrees here today and our first camilia blossomed. The following picture isn't as cute as the moments before when Ian was bending over smelling it with his nose in the blossom.

#3

Jazz II

I decided not to respond to Scott's post about the Jazz until they played the Hornets and Nuggets this week. However, D-Will's smackdown of CP3 changed my mind. Even if they lose to the Nuggets this week, they look like real contenders. I am (cautiously) optimistic...

Jazz?

Ryan...since I'm confident you're sticking firm to your New Year's resolution, you certainly wouldn't have noticed that the Jazz are absolutely on fire. Scary good.

15-2 since picking up Kyle Korver. They've needed a shooter since
Horny retired way back when.

I think Kyle Korver and his armpit hair are
two big reasons the Jazz stopped sucking.
(AP photo/Douglas C. Pizac)

Belt Butt

This post has moved to a new location.

Tintin Movie 2009

Looks like Gollum is rumored to play Captain Haddock.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Tintin#Films

Tiger the Incentive Destroyer?

Really interesting article here about Tiger Woods and how he causes a breaking down of normal incentive structures in golf tournaments.

President Hinckley

I thought we should have a space to share thoughts about President Hinckley. After hearing of his passing this morning, I felt that peculiar feeling of sadness mixed with peace that we associate with the passing of loved ones. I am very grateful for President Hinckley's love, leadership, and teachings.

Also: News here and here.

I Disagree

More here

hair or no hair?

So, Hallie did what all kids do...except I never really thought she would. It took everything I had not to freak out because once she realize she had CUT HER HAIR, she was devastated. Anyone who has been around Hallie knows that she loves her "long wavy locks". There was too much damage for me to fix, so we took her to where I cut my hair last week and she had her first big girl haircut. She sat so still and loved it. Until we got in the car and asked if she could put her long hair back on. OH, BOY.
At least she didn't cut it to the scalp. The lady who fixed her up said that Hallie did one of the best hair cuts she has seen, most of the time they have to do some shaving or something drastic. Maybe Hallie will be a beautician.
Did anyone ever cut their own hair?
Here is a before and after, although you can't see her hair too well in the Christmas picture.

It's Official

Yesterday I finally got to go to see a doctor for being pregnant. It was so good to hear the heart beat of the baby, and to know that I haven't been vomiting for nothing. I wasn't sure of my last periods, so I had an ultrasound today... how exciting! The baby is 68mm (2.6 inches) and everything looked perfect. I am 13 weeks and the due date is July 29th. First trimester is done. Hooray!

Beatta

What does it take to cancel church?

Not much in North Carolina. When it started snowing about 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon I asked Ryan if he thought they'd cancel church. When it stopped snowing about 6 p.m. , we were sure they wouldn't. When the phone rang at 9 p.m., they did.So, what do you do with yourself on a Sunday with no church? (Other than feel guilty about how glad you are that you don't have to wake the kids up, force them to eat, wrestle the kids into church clothes, coax and cajole them into sitting still or at least being quiet during church, wrestle them out of church clothes, force them to eat, and herd them to bed.)

At our house we eat waffles, have a Sunbeam lesson, take a drive, and eat roast beef and roasted potatoes.

Is Ryan Hot?

I just learned that my education paper with Frank Caliendo is the #1 "hottest" article at EER.

http://top25.sciencedirect.com/?journal_id=02727757

Ryan

Chant Outlawed in Spectrum

Yet another hallowed Aggie tradition bites the dust: The WAC commisioner, Karl Benson, has ruled that the phrase "You Suck" is "outside the guidelines of sportsmanship". USU AD Randy Spetman was told by the head of WAC officials (refs) that the chant "borderline offensive", and decided to go the commish.

The game officials can now award technical fouls, have offenders ejected, or even empty the building.

Apparently the problem started at New Mexico State, where the students would chant after a made free throw, "Nice shot, A-hole!"

The Aggie students, not to be completely squelched, did come up with a couple of pretty good signs. One, referring to the criminal element that makes up a fair share of the NMS team, showed a flip-over calendar turned to Day 6, and the caption, "Days since last arrest." The other said "New Mexico - not much different than the old one."

No Dumping Allowed (Economist Humor?)

Is that an attorney or real estate investor in there?

Working a regular work day is a new thing to me. I was in school for so many years that it's difficult to remember the last time I had to keep regular hours. While I dislike certain aspects of the lifestyle, I try to find humor and happiness in small things. One bright spot is the box of fresh fruit delivered by The Fruit Guys every Tuesday morning that my coworkers and I munch on all week. Another is the public restroom we share with several other firms who coexist with us on the 8th floor of 1920 Main Street. It has very nice smelling soap in the dispensers and the stalls are slightly larger than most I've seen--comfort loos.

Eating lots of fruit and living the same routine every day have a great result: regularity. Folks, if you've never experienced this, I've gotta tell you--it's fantastic. Because 1920 Main Street is a fairly large building, each floor houses enough companies and thus enough employees to maintain a fairly steady stream of visitors to the restrooms (if the other firms would get The Fruit Guys to visit them, too, then we could perhaps work out some kind of floor-wide lavatory rotation!).

Recently, though, I've noticed something funny: Whenever I enter a stall, the occupants of the adjacent stalls (which are almost always in use) immediately freeze up--no sound (squeaks, rustles, grunties, flushies), no motion, nothing. Invariably, despite my later arrival, I leave first. Honestly, if I were to break open the next stall door, I'll bet I'd find a middle-aged businessman in an Armani suit quivering atop the john in an effort to pass (ha ha) undetected. My coworker confirmed that he has also noticed this uncomfortable silence on the pot. Are we the only people who are not embarrassed by our use of a toilet? Do we not all go there for the same reason? Or should the privy be just that?

Today, upon entering an empty stall, I could feel the tension mount as the fellow through the wall on my right went into lock down and ceased all operations (breathing included). I tried to lighten the mood a bit with some humming and whistling--standard bathroom fare--but the man would not be moved. As the moments passed and the silence grew heavy I was almost overcome with the urge to bang my hands on the wall and yell "BOO!". Probably would have scared the crap out of him.

Peaceful place in Norfolk????

We had the most pleasant afternoon today walking through the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. (thanks mom) They have a really fantastic kids area that doubles as a water park in the summer. We also went yesterday morning with some friends. I still haven't even seen 1/2 of the Gardens. The Camilla's will be blooming in a month or so and there are many things blooming now!!! I haven't had the peaceful outdoor feeling that you get hiking for a long time.....but now I know you can here in stinky ole Norfolk. Did I mention that we wore shorts and tee shirts to do this???? B-E-A-U-TIFUL!!!
I am so pleased that we are finding things to do and for people to do when they COME AND SEE US!!! HINT HINT.
Alison

How to recognize my car

PixelWhimsy

One of Ian's favorite new activities is playing a computer game called PixelWhimsy. It allows children to bang away on the computer keys and not mess up the computer. Basically, it reprograms each key to make a different shape or sound. Below is some "refrigerator art" Ian made using the program. It is great for kids that like to play on the computer, and it is free. Download it here if you are interested.

coast to coast game

A new way to pass the time -
Yesterday on the flight from Atlanta to SLC I played trivia vs others on the plane. It was fun - better than crossword puzzles. Each person had a screen in front of them with many options (movies, games, etc.). I chose to play the trivia. Rounds of 20 questions, with a winner each round and cumulative totals. Hard questions in history, geography, science, music, arts and literature. Speed, as well as the correct answer, counted. I won one round and was fourth overall on the plane at the end. Hooray for me!

Mom

In Case You Hadn't Heard...

winter fun

Hallie and her Uncle Chace made the snowman, with a little help from others and everyone thought it was quite funny to stick a prosthetic bum on it. We took a sleigh ride at Tobin's aunt Marilyns house outside of Park City. She loved the snow and ate all of it that she could. Everytime we saw Hallie her she was lying face down in the snow eating becuase her hands got too cold from holding it. We had fun out West, but were very glad to come back to our nice warm weather.

Memphis the Lab Rat Part II

Memphis the Lab Rat! Get it? HARHARHARHAR!











The NCSU Vet school decided that Memphis had enough seizures during the 4-week evaluation period to continue with the study. The rest of the study is divided into 2 8-week periods, with a 2 week "washout" period between them. In one (randomly selected) period she will get the drug, in another she will get a placebo. I guess the experiment is triple blind, since the researcher, pet owner, and pet do not know which period is which. Memphis never knows what is going on anyway...

Memphis is currently 2 weeks into the first 8 week period. Updates to follow.

The best part of the study so far was the comical survey I had to fill out. The questions were of the "strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree" variety. The questions were similar to: "I believe that my pet is aware of my moods." and " I am in touch with my pet's feelings."

New Year's Resolutions

I am not normally one for New Year's resolutions, but here is my list. Share your own if ya got 'em.

Ryan's Lame New Year's resolutions (in no particular order.)

1. Avoid allowing the Ducks or Jazz to get my hopes up.
2. Lose a few pounds. In the immortal words of Cameron Jensen: "I guess I'll have to exercise more, 'cause I don't see me eatin' less."
3. Read more, read better. (Suggestions anyone?)
4. A couple of academic articles in top field journals.
5. Blog more.
6. More frequent temple attendance.
7. Keep driving record clean. (That's right people! I have not had a ticket for (almost) three years. It's just my way of sticking it to The Man.)

Addendum: For the comments to make sense, see this.

New Years

The holiday season for us has been something of a lonely one. We just moved back to California from Utah, and it seems like just as we were getting here, many of the folks we were so excited to be reunited with took off for the holidays to visit their own families in far off places (ok, mostly just to Utah). In any case, it's made for a very quiet time around our apartment, and as New Year's Eve has come up and we realize that we still have no plans, I realized something today that I didn't think I'd ever feel: I miss living in the USU Trailer Court.

I must clarify--I don't miss actually living in a maroon, university-owned, 55 year old trailer (which, as evidenced by the picture, has since been destroyed). I don't miss our 3-foot wide hallway. I don't miss our 2-inch thick walls in January. I don't miss having to tell people I live in a trailer park when they ask for my address.

That said, I miss the neighborhood. When we lived in the trailer court, if we didn't have plans some evening and desired company beyond ourselves, we could simply go for a walk around the neighborhood. There was a kind of "drop on by" attitude that was central to living in the trailer court. The sense of community was at times overwhelming (the trailer court was like 90% LDS and made up our entire ward, so at times it was difficult to distinguish between a "ward activity" and a "neighborhood activity"), but in general it was a great place to live.

As Beatta and I were thinking about what to do this evening, I tried to think of years past and what we did then; more often than not the reality is that we started off with some great plan but ultimately just went over to John and Heidi James' trailer to play board games.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cornmeal Cake.

My culinary experience tends to stay close to the grill - I don't bake and never make desserts. However, I was intrigued by a recipe I saw on TV by the venerable Alton Brown for Pineapple Upside-Down Cornmeal Cake and made it for Christmas. Haven't tasted it yet, but there's nothing in it I don't like. It was easy and turned out exactly the way it was supposed to. You need the requisite 10" cast-iron pan, well-seasoned. Here goes:

3/4 C Whole milk.
1 C coarse-ground cornmeal
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter ( I used salted and didn't add the salt later)
1 C packed dark brown sugar
6 slices canned pineapple, in heavy syrup, reserve syrup
6 maraschino cherries
1/3 cup chopped, toasted pecans
3 T. reserved pineapple syrup
1 C all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3 whole eggs
1/2 C. canola oil (I used Crisco Oil)
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a microwave-safe dish, bring the milk to a boil. Stir in the cornmeal and let soak at room temperature for 30 minutes. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a 10" cast-iron skillet over medium. When melted, add the brown sugar and stir until it dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully place one slice of pineapple in the center of the of the pan. Place the other 5 slices around the center in a circle. Place a cherry in the center of each slice. Sprinkle the nuts evenly over the slices. Drizzle the reserved syrup over the top.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the sugar and whisk to combine. Add the canola oil and whisk. Add the cornmeal mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Add this to the flour and stir until just combined. Pour the batter over the fruit in the skillet and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a cake tester (Toothpick) comes out clean. Let cool for at least 30 minutes and set a platter on top of the skillet and carefully invert the cake.

Ours came right out of the well-seasoned pan and looks really pretty - we'll eat it on Christmas and pass judgment.

Merry Christmas to All!!!

Dad

Christmas Form Letter

I decided to do a Christmas form letter in the form of a photo blog this year. You can check it out here.

Air Filter & Yard Projects!

We received our heating bill for the month of November last week and we were shocked at how much it cost us to heat our home. Having never owned a home, and never having to do any maintenance on the places we have lived, we were, let's say "not in the know" about maintenance issues. We set out to figure out why the bill was double what we thought it should have been. On a good tip from The Boz we checked the air filter on the heater, it was a disaster to say the least. I don't know the last time the filter was changed, but it must have been a while ago because it was full of dust, dirt, and other stuff. We also figured out how to use the ceiling fans to push the warm air down from our high ceilings. We finished putting blinds up on the rest of the windows and are working on sealing up the doorways. The last few days the weather has been really nice here in Norfolk, I am talking high 70's. Alison, Hallie, and I took advantage of the weather and decided we would rake up and bag all the leaves in our yard, since the majority of them have now fallen. Alison did the majority of the raking while I went behind her and bagged them all up. I managed to salvaged a bucket of pecans that we later shelled. It turned into a bigger project than we had originally anticipated. We ended up with 22, 39 gallon bags full of leaves. We were pretty proud of ourselves...until we woke up this morning a little sore from all the work.

One down, Three to go

Tobin finished finals last night....and is still smiling. Now the real craziness begins with our trip to Utah. We will miss our 80 degree weather out here while we head to the land of snow!!!! Happy travels and we look forward to seeing everyone but Scott.....not that we wouldn't look forward to seeing him....we just won't see him. That was worded poorly.....heee heee heee.
Alison

Bookstore opening

ODU had a bookstore opening this past weekend and had some fun events we went to. Friday we went and got a book signed by David Baldacci. I have never been to a book signing and was shocked at the amount of security it entailed. Saturday they had a story time for the kids with Curious George. Hallie and I went with my friend Catherine and her little boy Luke. Saturday night we went to see the lights at the Botanical Gardens. They were amazing.

Alison

The View

All I can say is that ya'll should see the view from my 8th floor office in SoCal. Awesome view of Orange County all the way up to the San Bernardino mountains (or the Los Angeles smog, depending on the day). I'll get pictures when I figure out how to capture the grandeur.

Coloring Contest

What fun things is everyone doing for the holidays? Hallie has been coloring (I confess that I have colored my fair share) the Preston Citizen holiday coloring book. We made snowflake cookies and have been doing a Church Christmas countdown with a song and story. Hallie is very excited for Santa and colored him a picture of what she wants (a bike). I am more excited about the holidays this year than I have been for a long time. It may have something to do with the fact that neither Tobin or I work in retail.....
Merry Christmas....and in Scott's case....merry getting all your stuff to Irvine!
Alison

Back in Irvine

It's been kind of quiet on the family blog of late...Clearly you've all been holding your breath to see if we made it safely to Irvine. Well, feel free to exhale, because we're here. Church was really weird--several people looked at us kind of funny-like, as if they couldn't figure out why they were surprised to see us. Work is really boring so far--just reading case files to get acquainted with what we'll be working on.

Beatta will get some pics of our new apartment up sooner or later, but for now the truck with our stuff still isn't here, though it should be arriving tomorrow.

Carolina Thanksgiving

We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner today. We were very glad to have Alison, Tobin and Hallie join us. We ate in the late afternoon and took a nice hike (aka walk in the woods) in the morning. Here is an album of nice photos that Tobin took for us.

Nicknames

Beatta and I love Henkka's nickname "Papu" so much that we almost regret not just naming him that to begin with (it means "bean", like green bean, though I like to think of him as Bean from Ender's Game/Shadow). Do Hallie, Ian, and Molly have nicknames? Have they changed much over time?

We may have a winner

I have never been satisfied with the Navy Bean Soup recipe we have - always like the restaurant stuff better. Alison made some the other day and said it wasn't that wonderful either. I ran across a recipe on the net the other day that is much better. Here it is:

1 lb. small white beans - navy or great northern
1 lb. smoked ham hocks ( I used two, wanting more ham)
1/4 cup bacon drippings or olive oil
2 C chopped onion
1 C carrots, diced small
2 T minced garlic
1 14-1/2 oz. can whole tomatoes, chopped
4 fresh thyme sprigs
8 C chicken broth.

Soak the beans in cold water overnight, drain and rinse well.
Simmer the hocks in at least 6 cups water ( to cover) in a saucepan, partially covered for 1 hour, skimming foam as needed. Reserve 4 cups of the cooking liquid.

Heat drippings / oil until hot but not smoking in an 8-quart pot over moderate heat. Cook onions, carrot & garlic , stirring, until the onion softens. Add the tomatoes and thyme and cook 1 minute. Add the beans, broth, hocks and cooking liquid and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally until the beans are tender, about 1 hour.

Remove a cup or so of the beans and mash them or puree in a food processor, and return them to the soup - this thickens the soup. Remove the hocks, shred the meat and return to the soup. Put the soup in the fridge or freezer until he fat can be skimmed off. Season the soup with salt, pepper and a little Tabasco if desired.

Note: I found the soup too thin - next time I'll cut the liquid by at least 2 cups. The recipe also calls for 1 lb. arugula to to be added just before serving. Spinach could be used, too. I didn't use either.

I'd be interested in your reactions.

Happy cooking,
Dad

Fall Leaves

We have been enjoying a wonderful display of fall color. Here are some pictures from our street that Molly and I took yesterday.

Vote for Ryan's personalized plates

Please visit my blog for my students and vote.

Thanks!

Ryan

Historic Moment

Literally moments ago, Beatta announced that an historic event had taken place: She ate, of her own free will and choice, a serving of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. And she didn't hate it. To be honest, I never thought I would see this day--I had resigned myself to the sad reality that it was one of those foods, like peanut butter, root beer, and cherry soda that Beatta would never come to accept as part of a balanced diet.

The magnitude of this event can scarcely be overestated. I have tried for the past six years to get her to enjoy this delicacy of delicacies--indeed, I've slowly worked on her by introducing close substitutes (homemade mac n' cheese), tried different varieties and shapes (Three Cheese, White Cheddar, Spirals, etc...), and on occasion simply tried patience and persuasion.

This guy knows the feeling!

Personally, I feel a major thorn in the side of an otherwise successful marriage has been removed. The clouds have parted and the sun now shines upon our home. We can finally, as a whole family, enjoy a $0.97 yellow dinner together.

Henkka Medley

First some cute photos:

How do you get your kid NOT to smile that weird cheesy smile when you take their picture? He's so funny--smiling like that every time the camera is out, so I can't be annoyed at him. He makes me laugh every day and I'm thankful for such a good boy.

He loves tools and the other day Scott was the most awesome dad ever, and let Henkka play with his tools (Under strict supervision of course).

First trip to the ER:

A few nights ago, Henkka had a a hard time sleeping. He slept ok until we were ready to go to bed at 10:30pm, and he does that often -- wakes up right as we are ready to hit the sack. First I wanted to ignore him, but he was doing his whining noises and those mean that he is not going to fall back asleep unless we go comfort him a little. Scott took the first turn and gave him some painkillers, thinking he was teething.

I took the second shift an hour or two later, when he started whining again. This time he would not go back to sleep, but started having episodes of screaming like he was really hurting. None of our usual comforting tricks worked, so after an hour and a half of constant screaming we took him to the ER at 2:30am. We guessed he had an ear infection and right we were. They put some numbing drops in his ear, gave us some antibiotics and we all got to go back to bed at 4am.
Luckily he slept until 9:30am and after some breakfast made his Buzz Lightyear impression again, which usually means he is up for some fun.

Farewell Sweet Orem

In keeping with the results of the vote staged over the past few weeks, Beatta, Henkka and I are departing our short-lived but well-enjoyed home in Orem for Irvine. We will move around the end of November.

Following in his footsteps

Ian loves to do whatever Ryan does and last Saturday was his dream day. He followed Ryan around mowing the grass the whole time Ryan was mowing. It was adorable to see him yank the chain on his "mower" and adjust the wheel—in fact that was so much fun that every time he passed the tree where Ryan adjusted his wheel, Ian had to stop and adjust the wheel on his mower. A few more photos to enjoy.

Child Abuse

Logan, UT (AP) -A seven-year old boy was at the center of a
Cache County courtroom drama today when he challenged a
court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has
a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge
initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child
custody law and regulation requiring that family unity be
maintained to the highest degree possible. The boy surprised
the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than
his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her.

When the judge then suggested that he live with his
grandparents, the boy cried and said that they also beat him.
After considering the remainder of the immediate family and
learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life
among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing
the boy to propose who should have custody of him. After two
recesses to check legal references and confer with the child
welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the
Utah State Aggies, whom the boy firmly believes are not
capable of beating anyone.

Halloween

Here's hoping that you had as much fun for Halloween as we did. Since Ryan taught late, we invited ourselves up to trick-or-treat with our favorite friends from the Raleigh 1st ward. We only wish they lived closer. You can see some pictures that they took here.