We've been trying new recipes over here! Click the links below.
These buttermilk pancakes are winners.
(this post is a work in progress. more to come!)
With all the recipe websites, food blogs, and pinterest, I'm at a crossroads with my cookbooks - keep or toss? There are a few standards that I will always keep - the Betty Crocker classic that I got as a wedding gift, the Barefoot Contessa cookbook that inspires me, and one or two more. The rest? They are dusty. I think it's time. What do you think?
Friday, April 05, 2013
Saturday, February 02, 2013
Foods that make you feel good
It's been awhile since I posted here. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have been my main outlet for the past few months. However, the New Year has brought a new challenge for me: my husband wanted to do the Virgin Diet. I'm pretty skeptical about most diets - I'm not even a faithful vegetarian! - but after hearing him talk about this, I became interested. It's a diet to help you figure out what foods make you feel good and healthy, and what foods you may have an intolerance to and should eliminate from your diet. I decided to give it a try, and shortly after the New Year, we begain the 21-day elimination of these 7 intolerance foods:
That's a pretty big list! Soy, corn, and peanuts weren't so hard to do without, but gluten? dairy? EGGS? Those were a challenge for me! And that last sneaky category, sugar AND artificial sweeteners. Well, that eliminates almost everything to drink - no soda of any kind, no juice (too much sugar), no creamer for my coffee. I started drinking green tea more, and tried almond milk in my coffee. (By the way, no good.) I tried hot tea for breakfast - with almond milk and no sugar - and that didn't do it for me. By the end of week one, I caved in and said I was adding back my non-dairy creamer to start my morning with coffee! I couldn't deal with the alternatives!
The rest of it, though, we did without. We ate lots of fruit and vegetables. We tried lentil chips with hummus (which we like very much). We tried kale chips (no good) and black bean chips with guacamole (not bad). We ate chicken and salad and homemade soups (the best was this one) and sometimes lean beef (not me, but it's allowed on the diet) and more fruit and more veggies and lots of water. And by the end of the 21 days, I did not crave sweets like I used to! But I really missed dairy, so we deicded to add in dairy and see what happens. The diet has you add back one category, and notice how you feel after you eat it. I am sorry to report that cheese and eggs are not good for me. I feel bloated and bleh after eating them. However, gluten is good (oh, thank God for bread!) and small amounts of sugar don't seem to make much difference (except being unhealthy, but that's another issue). Corn - I learned that my body does not digest corn at all. (yuck - sorry.) So cheese and eggs and corn are off the list. After being soda-free for over a month, I am actually happy about that. I think the soda and artificial sweeteners are on the No List for me as well.
Although I really was skeptical about this diet, it was worth a try. It's main goal is not to lose weight (although all my clothes are looser now) or count calories or fat, but to find what foods are really good for YOUR body. Everyone is different, and everyone should learn what foods to avoid to feel your best, sleep your best, and LIVE your BEST.
gluten
soy
dairy
eggs
corn
peanuts
sugar and artificial sweeteners.
That's a pretty big list! Soy, corn, and peanuts weren't so hard to do without, but gluten? dairy? EGGS? Those were a challenge for me! And that last sneaky category, sugar AND artificial sweeteners. Well, that eliminates almost everything to drink - no soda of any kind, no juice (too much sugar), no creamer for my coffee. I started drinking green tea more, and tried almond milk in my coffee. (By the way, no good.) I tried hot tea for breakfast - with almond milk and no sugar - and that didn't do it for me. By the end of week one, I caved in and said I was adding back my non-dairy creamer to start my morning with coffee! I couldn't deal with the alternatives!
The rest of it, though, we did without. We ate lots of fruit and vegetables. We tried lentil chips with hummus (which we like very much). We tried kale chips (no good) and black bean chips with guacamole (not bad). We ate chicken and salad and homemade soups (the best was this one) and sometimes lean beef (not me, but it's allowed on the diet) and more fruit and more veggies and lots of water. And by the end of the 21 days, I did not crave sweets like I used to! But I really missed dairy, so we deicded to add in dairy and see what happens. The diet has you add back one category, and notice how you feel after you eat it. I am sorry to report that cheese and eggs are not good for me. I feel bloated and bleh after eating them. However, gluten is good (oh, thank God for bread!) and small amounts of sugar don't seem to make much difference (except being unhealthy, but that's another issue). Corn - I learned that my body does not digest corn at all. (yuck - sorry.) So cheese and eggs and corn are off the list. After being soda-free for over a month, I am actually happy about that. I think the soda and artificial sweeteners are on the No List for me as well.
Although I really was skeptical about this diet, it was worth a try. It's main goal is not to lose weight (although all my clothes are looser now) or count calories or fat, but to find what foods are really good for YOUR body. Everyone is different, and everyone should learn what foods to avoid to feel your best, sleep your best, and LIVE your BEST.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Quote
When the girls were small, I heard Poppy tell one of her friends, "I don't see how you could ever have a favorite when there are just two: one will always and forever be your first, the miracle baby, the one who paves the way, strikes out for adventure - the intrepid one, the one who teaches you how to do what nature intended all along - and the other, oh the other will always be your baby, your darling, the one you surprised yourself by loving just as desperately much as you loved the first."
~ from The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass
Yep, that 's it.
~ from The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass
Yep, that 's it.
Monday, October 08, 2012
The New Dog
Well, the kids and Stuart won. One morning in July, we were talking about the possibility of maybe looking for a rescue dog to adopt, and about three hours later, we brought home our new dog. He's a darling rescue dog, about a year old, and he's a Lhasa/Shihtzu mix. We've named him Snickers, because his coloring is exactly the color of a snickerdoodle cookie.In the past few months, he has quickly become one of the family. We learned that he was rescued from a home that neglected him, and we can't imagine what tradegdy would befall a family that would train a cute puppy like this guy and then neglect him. He's so very needy - he wants to be with us all the time and to be petted frequently. Which of course we have been trained to do! He loves to sleep at the foot of someone's bed, and he checks in on us throughout the night. We had some chewing issues, but I think the worst is over.
Like Stuart has said several times, we had specific criteria for any new dog, and Snickers fit all of them. It's like he was meant to be our new dog. Having him has helped us through the last stages of grieving for our old Simba, who we still miss, but not as sharply or painfully. All of us at one point or another have yelled "Simba!" to Snickers, only to be painfully smacked with reality once again. But those times are becoming fewer, and thankfully more nostalgic than painful. I do believe that owning pets helps children deal with grief in good and healthy ways, and that the joy that we see on their faces and on the dog's face when we come home at the end of the day are completely worth it.
(Please remind me that it's worth it in fourteen years when I start the "my old dog just won't die" nonsense. Thanks.)
PS - Yes, we do realize that the new dog looks shockingly like the old dog. We know that. We love that. We won't be sad or upset if you point it out to us. (I wish the nice lady at the dog hotel read my blog, because you can bet that she was kinda creeped out and very nervous about saying anything about the new dog looking like the old dog. The kids and I laughed about that in the car on the way home!)
New thing I learned while making this post: you can access your instagram photos on the internet using several different websites. I used http://www.gramfeed.com/. It worked great!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Enchilada Day!
It's a cooking day today at our house. That means I'm making a double batch of something good for dinner - usually lasagna or these enchiladas. I'm using yams and making one batch with meat (for the carnivoires in the house) and one batch without. It's acutally better as leftovers, and I freeze single portions for lunches. Enjoy!
Black Bean & Yam Enchilada
Casserole
Recipe by Sheila at musings of a mommy.blogspot.comAdapted from a recipe from Vegetarian Times (December 2011)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2-3 yams (or sweet potatoes), peeled & cubed
1 15oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 jar salsa
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 large (19 oz) or 2 small (10 oz) cans enchilada sauce (or more!)
Small corn tortillas (30 small ones)
Shredded cheese (I used 4 cups Monterey jack)
Sour cream, hot sauce, avocado, cilantro, and limes for serving
FILLING:
Heat olive oil in large saucepan/pot. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes. Add yams, tomatoes, salsa, garlic, and ½ cup water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes, until yams are soft. Mash mixture with potato masher. Add beans and corn and cook 5-10 minutes.
ASSEMBLE:
Spread sauce on the bottom of a baking pan. (I make two 8” or 9” square casseroles, adding ground beef to one of them.) Top with tortillas (overlapping to cover completely), sauce, 1/3 of filling, cheese, sauce, tortillas, sauce, filling, etc. End with tortillas, then sauce. Cover.
BAKE:
15-20
minutes at 350 F. Remove cover, sprinkle
with cheese, and bake 5 minutes more to melt.
Let rest 10 minutes or more before serving. Garnish with sour cream, hot sauce, avocado,
cilantro, and lime wedges.Great for potlucks and freezes well for leftovers.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
summertime
Yesterday, the kids and I picked a bowl full of tomatoes, and then peeled and crushed them to make soup. It was fun showing them how to put the tomoatoes into boiling water for a few minutes, then cooling them in a bowl of ice water, then peeling them. They were fascinated that the peels came off so easily. Then we mashed them and pushed them through a strainer to get out the seeds. Messy work. Kids love making a mess in the kitchen. Then I made the best homemade tomato soup. Guess what the secret is? Sugar. It tasted good, but very acidic, until Stuart suggested that I add a few teaspoons of sugar. It worked!
Today we are off to the mall. Sally wants to shop with a friend, and Sam needs new shoes. I don't normally shop for shoes at the mall, but we have two hours to kill, and I don't want to spend them all at GameStop. We may go to the pet store and look at the puppies. Maybe.
I'm planning on writing up a long post about our fantastic trip to Disney World, but I am still too busy. Busy in summer - loving it.
Today we are off to the mall. Sally wants to shop with a friend, and Sam needs new shoes. I don't normally shop for shoes at the mall, but we have two hours to kill, and I don't want to spend them all at GameStop. We may go to the pet store and look at the puppies. Maybe.
I'm planning on writing up a long post about our fantastic trip to Disney World, but I am still too busy. Busy in summer - loving it.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
in memoriam of our dog
Our dog died this week. It should not have been a surprise to us, because I have been trying to prepare the family for this dog's death for months now. "He's an old dog - fifteen years!" "That poor dog is deaf and mostly blind." "It might be time to ask the vet if he's suffering." Yes, I said all those things to my husband and the kids over the last few weeks. I was trying to prepare them for what was certain to happen.
I was trying to prepare myself.
Of course, as with most things in life that you think you are ready for, we were not ready at all. When I saw my old dog's lifeless body, I was not prepared for the depth of my grief. I instantly started sobbing. I sat in front of my dog's body and cried over it. I touched his head, his body, his head again. I'm pretty sure I scared the kids. I think I heard one of them say, "Dad, she's touching the dead dog!" But I could not stop myself from crying and sobbing and generally falling apart.
It was awful.
However, I'm not sorry. Simba was a great dog - a part of our family for fifteen years. He was our first baby. We got him when he was a puppy, before we had babies of our own. He was the first pet of both of our kids. We have dozens of Simba stories that make us smile, dozens of pictures of that dog. He deserved to be mourned, and mourned deeply. After I was done falling apart, Stuart called the county and found the address where we had to take the dog's body. (They don't want you to bury your dead pets in your yard, by the way.) It was the quietest car trip our family has ever taken. The people at O C Animal Care were kind and professional; each person expressed condolences before helping us. We drove home in silence.
It's been a sad time at our house. I found a pet brush that I hadn't thrown out, and it made me cry. I found a coupon for dog food in my wallet when I opened it to pay for groceries, and I almost cried. I opened the back screen door, and the sound made me remember how Simba would stick his nose in the screen and open the door and walk around the house. It made me laugh, then cry. Twice I have started to ask the kids if they remembered to feed the dog . . . then stopped myself. I'm sure these moments of sadness will continue over the next few weeks.
There have been hidden blessings. We remembered a few days before he died, we let Simba in the house and he wasn't on his leash. This was rare, because he was starting to lose control of himself, and I kept him in the two rooms without carpeting. He had accidents in the house almost every week in the last few months. Anyway, he walked over to Stuart and licked his leg. Now, Simba loved to lick people, and mostly Stuart. Back in the day, Simba would run at full speed through the house, jump on our bed, and jump on Stuart to wake him up. It was our favorite Saturday ritual, having the dog wake up Daddy. But about six months ago, he stopped being able to jump on the bed. He stopped licking us. He didn't even like us to pet him anymore. He was an old dog and just wanted to be left alone. But when he walked over to Stuart and licked him that night, it was his goodbye kiss. He knew it was time. Looking back, I did too, but I didn't want to see it.
The emails, facebook posts, and text messages from our family and friends have been another blessing. Everyone understands how hard it is to lose a pet. That helps. That heals.
As I write this, I'm crying again. And I'm laughing at myself, because I really have no idea why or how we become so attached to our pets. I also have no idea why we still want to have pets, knowing that their loss is certain, and that we will feel so much pain when they are gone. This is one of the mysteries of life - it is wonderful and awful, it is joyful and painful - it is sometimes both at the same time. You can't have one without the other. I've been thinking of the other pets I have lost in my life - of our dog Roxy, our dog Cocoa, my sister's cat Spook, my mom's bird Pico. I don't know if it's good theology to believe that animals go to heaven, but I believe it anyway. Don't tell me I'm wrong, because in this area, I don't care if I'm wrong. I believe that dogs go to heaven. I like to imagine them up there, running around and getting in trouble and waiting for us. I like to imagine my grandma, who was a great dog lover herself, in heaven taking care of my dogs for me until I get there.
Goodbye, Simba. We love you so much, and we miss you so much. I hope Grandma is giving you lots of treats, and I hope there are some of those flowers that you love to sniff up there. We'll see you when we get there.
I was trying to prepare myself.
Of course, as with most things in life that you think you are ready for, we were not ready at all. When I saw my old dog's lifeless body, I was not prepared for the depth of my grief. I instantly started sobbing. I sat in front of my dog's body and cried over it. I touched his head, his body, his head again. I'm pretty sure I scared the kids. I think I heard one of them say, "Dad, she's touching the dead dog!" But I could not stop myself from crying and sobbing and generally falling apart.
It was awful.
However, I'm not sorry. Simba was a great dog - a part of our family for fifteen years. He was our first baby. We got him when he was a puppy, before we had babies of our own. He was the first pet of both of our kids. We have dozens of Simba stories that make us smile, dozens of pictures of that dog. He deserved to be mourned, and mourned deeply. After I was done falling apart, Stuart called the county and found the address where we had to take the dog's body. (They don't want you to bury your dead pets in your yard, by the way.) It was the quietest car trip our family has ever taken. The people at O C Animal Care were kind and professional; each person expressed condolences before helping us. We drove home in silence.
It's been a sad time at our house. I found a pet brush that I hadn't thrown out, and it made me cry. I found a coupon for dog food in my wallet when I opened it to pay for groceries, and I almost cried. I opened the back screen door, and the sound made me remember how Simba would stick his nose in the screen and open the door and walk around the house. It made me laugh, then cry. Twice I have started to ask the kids if they remembered to feed the dog . . . then stopped myself. I'm sure these moments of sadness will continue over the next few weeks.
There have been hidden blessings. We remembered a few days before he died, we let Simba in the house and he wasn't on his leash. This was rare, because he was starting to lose control of himself, and I kept him in the two rooms without carpeting. He had accidents in the house almost every week in the last few months. Anyway, he walked over to Stuart and licked his leg. Now, Simba loved to lick people, and mostly Stuart. Back in the day, Simba would run at full speed through the house, jump on our bed, and jump on Stuart to wake him up. It was our favorite Saturday ritual, having the dog wake up Daddy. But about six months ago, he stopped being able to jump on the bed. He stopped licking us. He didn't even like us to pet him anymore. He was an old dog and just wanted to be left alone. But when he walked over to Stuart and licked him that night, it was his goodbye kiss. He knew it was time. Looking back, I did too, but I didn't want to see it.
The emails, facebook posts, and text messages from our family and friends have been another blessing. Everyone understands how hard it is to lose a pet. That helps. That heals.
As I write this, I'm crying again. And I'm laughing at myself, because I really have no idea why or how we become so attached to our pets. I also have no idea why we still want to have pets, knowing that their loss is certain, and that we will feel so much pain when they are gone. This is one of the mysteries of life - it is wonderful and awful, it is joyful and painful - it is sometimes both at the same time. You can't have one without the other. I've been thinking of the other pets I have lost in my life - of our dog Roxy, our dog Cocoa, my sister's cat Spook, my mom's bird Pico. I don't know if it's good theology to believe that animals go to heaven, but I believe it anyway. Don't tell me I'm wrong, because in this area, I don't care if I'm wrong. I believe that dogs go to heaven. I like to imagine them up there, running around and getting in trouble and waiting for us. I like to imagine my grandma, who was a great dog lover herself, in heaven taking care of my dogs for me until I get there.
Goodbye, Simba. We love you so much, and we miss you so much. I hope Grandma is giving you lots of treats, and I hope there are some of those flowers that you love to sniff up there. We'll see you when we get there.Wednesday, June 13, 2012
endings & beginnings
Tomorrow is the last day of school. I am ready and not ready, at the same time. In many ways this year has gone by fast - the speed of my life has been turned up and everything seems to fly by me. On the other hand, this year has been long and difficult, learning to be a working mom and remembering how to be a teacher again. I'm ready for summer, for some time to sit and think and process the last ten months.
This blog needs to have some changes too. I've thought about closing down here at musings-of-a-mommy, since I have a facebook and a twitter, and now an instagram and a pinterest and a good reads account . . . that's quite a lot of things. I think I'll change things up here at musings this summer to bring everything together. I still like sitting down and writing a long post, even if it is only once a month or every other month. Twitter just doesn't cut it for me.
One more thing on the To-Do-List for the summer!
----------------------------------------------------------------
End of summer update: everything on the list got done except clean the garage. Oh well! If I had to pick one thing that could not get done, that would be it! :)
This blog needs to have some changes too. I've thought about closing down here at musings-of-a-mommy, since I have a facebook and a twitter, and now an instagram and a pinterest and a good reads account . . . that's quite a lot of things. I think I'll change things up here at musings this summer to bring everything together. I still like sitting down and writing a long post, even if it is only once a month or every other month. Twitter just doesn't cut it for me.
One more thing on the To-Do-List for the summer!
- clean the garage
- re-type calculus reveiw worksheets and tests
- paint the kids' rooms
- teach the kids to cook a meal
- take a trip
- swim alot
- update the blog
----------------------------------------------------------------
End of summer update: everything on the list got done except clean the garage. Oh well! If I had to pick one thing that could not get done, that would be it! :)
Sunday, March 25, 2012
not mutally exclusive
Today is a wonderful Sunday - it's quiet in the house, but raining and windy and generally really nasty outside. I'm baking cookies and muffins, and feeling like a stay-at-home baking mom. I do miss the days where I would be the only one in the house, cleaning and planning dinner and feeling a little bored, a little restless. I love teaching and I'm so thankful for my job, but sometimes I feel like being a good teacher and being a good mother are mutually exclusive. Like last week, when Sally got sick and I needed to call for a sub - two days in a row. I felt guilty for the last minute call, then guilty that I was not putting my family first. A double-serving of guilt, which was all my own fault. The people I work with understand that family needs to come first, and using my sick days certainly doesn't negate my hard work with my students.
I know I'm not alone in doing this - feeling like I need to be everything to everyone and grading myself way too harshly because I don't measure up.
So today, as I bake oatmeal cookies and pumpkin muffins, I'm going to be thankful. I'm thankful that Sally is feeling better. I'm thankful that today is Sunday and we are all home. I'm thankful for my comfy, slightly messy, perfect-for-our-family house. I'm thankful for the pool and it's beautiful blue promise of summertime and slow hot days and long nights laughing with friends. I'm thankful that, in the wide lens of life, a handful of sick days is really no big deal. I'm thankful for my job, and my students. I'm thankful I got the chance to meet them, to teach them math and science and maybe a little bit about life. I'm thankful for my husband, for my daughter, for my son. I'm even feeling thankful for my old arthritic dog.
Here's the lesson: the next time you are being too hard on yourself, stop and start listing all the things you are thankful for in your life. Start seeing the glass half full. Life is hard and beautiful for everyone. Hard and beautiful at the same time. For every one. Sure, some people seem like their life is all beautiful, and some people seem like their life is all hard. But it's all hard and all beautiful for everyone every day. The hard parts build your character so that you can appreciate the beautiful parts even more.
Love living your life!
I know I'm not alone in doing this - feeling like I need to be everything to everyone and grading myself way too harshly because I don't measure up.
So today, as I bake oatmeal cookies and pumpkin muffins, I'm going to be thankful. I'm thankful that Sally is feeling better. I'm thankful that today is Sunday and we are all home. I'm thankful for my comfy, slightly messy, perfect-for-our-family house. I'm thankful for the pool and it's beautiful blue promise of summertime and slow hot days and long nights laughing with friends. I'm thankful that, in the wide lens of life, a handful of sick days is really no big deal. I'm thankful for my job, and my students. I'm thankful I got the chance to meet them, to teach them math and science and maybe a little bit about life. I'm thankful for my husband, for my daughter, for my son. I'm even feeling thankful for my old arthritic dog.
Here's the lesson: the next time you are being too hard on yourself, stop and start listing all the things you are thankful for in your life. Start seeing the glass half full. Life is hard and beautiful for everyone. Hard and beautiful at the same time. For every one. Sure, some people seem like their life is all beautiful, and some people seem like their life is all hard. But it's all hard and all beautiful for everyone every day. The hard parts build your character so that you can appreciate the beautiful parts even more.
Love living your life!
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
and we're back
at school.
I put up a countdown to summer.
It feels like we have a long long way to go.
I put up a countdown to summer.
It feels like we have a long long way to go.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Christmas Break: Day 9
I've got one kid sick (the girl) and the other working on a school project. Today is a day for grading papers and getting myself organized.
PS - Have you looked at the random ads at the top? Today I found this one: Pet Euthanasia at Home . I guess that's what I get for writing about my old dog!
PS - Have you looked at the random ads at the top? Today I found this one: Pet Euthanasia at Home . I guess that's what I get for writing about my old dog!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Christmas Break: Day 8
We are in the middle of break, in the middle of holidays. Christmas is over, and the gifts and decorations are still floating around the house. New Year's Eve approaches. We've baked lots of cookies, I've made the kids favorite foods, we've shopped and played and slept in. In short, we've made the most of the break and are probably going to be ready to return to the routines of school and work.
I did not send out Christmas cards this year, a late decision made to save my enjoyment of family and holiday. Thank you to all who sent us cards - we love getting them and reading them.
We had a really great Christmas, spending time with my parents and enjoying being together. The kids got a trampoline from Santa, and we spent the better part of Christmas afternoon putting the thing together. They also got some video games and other electronics, providing hours (days? weeks? months?) of entertainment. I am thrilled with my iphone - a gift from my husband. It is amazing the way technology has changed in the last decade.
I'm off. I'm almost finished with a knitted blanket and with reading a book - two things that I have less time for now that I'm working full-time, but I made a point to make time for them this week.
I did not send out Christmas cards this year, a late decision made to save my enjoyment of family and holiday. Thank you to all who sent us cards - we love getting them and reading them.
We had a really great Christmas, spending time with my parents and enjoying being together. The kids got a trampoline from Santa, and we spent the better part of Christmas afternoon putting the thing together. They also got some video games and other electronics, providing hours (days? weeks? months?) of entertainment. I am thrilled with my iphone - a gift from my husband. It is amazing the way technology has changed in the last decade.
I'm off. I'm almost finished with a knitted blanket and with reading a book - two things that I have less time for now that I'm working full-time, but I made a point to make time for them this week.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Christmas Break: Day 1
It's been a great day so far, and I'm so thankful for this break from school. Being at home all day with my kids feels like such a luxury! We did some Christmas shopping (I think we are thankfully DONE) and I have dinner in the crockpot so the whole house smells yummy. (Mexican Chicken Soup - a new recipe - I'll let you know how it turns out.) I've been wrapping presents and watching movies and then (brace yourselves) cleaning. I know. The mind reels. But ignoring housework for three months has consequences.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
our old dog
Our dog is very old. In January, he will be 15 years old. That's really old in dog years. I'm going to look up how old that is . . . . (the internet is a wealth of information, but not all of it is great.) A 15-year old dog is equivalent to 75-105 in human years. Our dog is acting like a 99-year old dog lately. He can't hear very well. I don't think he can see as well as he used to. He has had trouble going up and down our one step in the house, and he has had some accidents in the house in the last month. He's eating ok, but he's losing weight. He sleeps almost all day. Poor old dog.
I've been thinking about him a lot lately, as I've had to deal with his accidents (translate: clean up his accidents, or make the kids clean up his mess and suffer the emotional consequences (which is worth it for the lesson they are learning, but painful nonetheless)). I think that my response toward my old dog, who has been a faithful family pet for 14-almost-15 years, is very revealing about who I really am. I am not a nice person. I get so mad at this poor old dog, who can't help it that he's losing control of himself. I even found myself taking it personally, especially last Sunday when we let him stay in the house while we went to church. We tied him up in the room next to the kitchen - it has a vinyl-type floor that is easy to clean. He had water and a nice soft bed to sleep in, and he should have been grateful to be inside because it was raining that day. It was a cold, windy rain too. When we got home, he had peed and pooped on the floor, and turned over the kitchen trash and rummaged through it. It took Stuart and Sam and me a while to get everything cleaned up, and we were all grumpy about it the entire time. Who wants to come home from church and clean up a mess like that? But see, the real question is: why were we so angry at our old dog? He was just doing exactly what old dogs do.
So, I've been thinking about this (more than I knew) and I have decided to let the dog teach me to be a better person. I want my response to my old, half-deaf, partially blind, incontinent dog to reveal that I am a kind and gracious person (stop laughing!). I want to not get mad at the dog, but to be thankful that we have had him for so long, and to be thankful that he has had a good long life as our family pet. I'm going to give him water in our blue bowls, because he loves having water inside the house in the blue bowls, even though half the time he spills it. I'm going to let him sleep in the hall, the way he always has slept, even if that means the first thing I do in the morning is clean up dog pee. And I'm going to hope that one day when I wake up, I will find out that our dear old dog has died in his sleep, because I don't want to have to decide that his health has gotten to the point that he needs to be put down. I don't want to make that decision. (This reveals that I'm a coward, I know. I'm ok with that.)
I've been thinking about him a lot lately, as I've had to deal with his accidents (translate: clean up his accidents, or make the kids clean up his mess and suffer the emotional consequences (which is worth it for the lesson they are learning, but painful nonetheless)). I think that my response toward my old dog, who has been a faithful family pet for 14-almost-15 years, is very revealing about who I really am. I am not a nice person. I get so mad at this poor old dog, who can't help it that he's losing control of himself. I even found myself taking it personally, especially last Sunday when we let him stay in the house while we went to church. We tied him up in the room next to the kitchen - it has a vinyl-type floor that is easy to clean. He had water and a nice soft bed to sleep in, and he should have been grateful to be inside because it was raining that day. It was a cold, windy rain too. When we got home, he had peed and pooped on the floor, and turned over the kitchen trash and rummaged through it. It took Stuart and Sam and me a while to get everything cleaned up, and we were all grumpy about it the entire time. Who wants to come home from church and clean up a mess like that? But see, the real question is: why were we so angry at our old dog? He was just doing exactly what old dogs do.
So, I've been thinking about this (more than I knew) and I have decided to let the dog teach me to be a better person. I want my response to my old, half-deaf, partially blind, incontinent dog to reveal that I am a kind and gracious person (stop laughing!). I want to not get mad at the dog, but to be thankful that we have had him for so long, and to be thankful that he has had a good long life as our family pet. I'm going to give him water in our blue bowls, because he loves having water inside the house in the blue bowls, even though half the time he spills it. I'm going to let him sleep in the hall, the way he always has slept, even if that means the first thing I do in the morning is clean up dog pee. And I'm going to hope that one day when I wake up, I will find out that our dear old dog has died in his sleep, because I don't want to have to decide that his health has gotten to the point that he needs to be put down. I don't want to make that decision. (This reveals that I'm a coward, I know. I'm ok with that.)
Saturday, November 05, 2011
technology
Today I took Sally to a tennis lesson and waited in the car for her. I took my cell phone, my ipad, and a stack of papers to grade. And a book. And a knitting project.
And for eighty minutes straight, I did stuff on the ipad and didn't touch the other things.
I was putting together a slideshow on Digital Footprints for my senior students. It was super fun. I'm going to encourage them to find themselves - and each other - on the internet, and see what potential employers will find out about them. It should be an interesting day.
Now I'm making homemade pizzas with the kids. The dough is ready. Thinking of you, Uncle Jon!
And for eighty minutes straight, I did stuff on the ipad and didn't touch the other things.
I was putting together a slideshow on Digital Footprints for my senior students. It was super fun. I'm going to encourage them to find themselves - and each other - on the internet, and see what potential employers will find out about them. It should be an interesting day.
Now I'm making homemade pizzas with the kids. The dough is ready. Thinking of you, Uncle Jon!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
finding a new normal
I've been back at work for eight weeks now. It has been a big adjustment for everyone here. The first few weeks, I was just tired all the time. I had a few nights where I'd wake up and my brain would start buzzing away with ideas and worries about being a teacher. Then I'd sleep soundly for two or three nights, trying to catch the sleep that I had lost. I was super tired! But I feel like I'm adjusted to the physicalness of teaching again. It's a different kind of activity than being a stay-at-home mom (and part-time tutor, volunteer, etc etc).
My mom asked me this week if I was glad that I went back to work. I have had moments where I thought to myself, "What have you done? You had it so easy being a stay-at-home mom!" It was time for me to get back to a teaching job, though. I realized this when I was walking out the door last week and shouted to my family, "Bye! I love you! I'm going to work!" and then I left. It hit me that I get to leave and go somewhere else to work, instead of working where I live with three other people. At that moment, I realized that I had really missed having a job seperate from my family. It's validating in a way that motherhood is not. But I'm so thankful for the years that I stayed home with my kids!
I'm happy to report that I am still finding time to read. The knitting has suffered, but that will come back too, in time. Sam is in gymnastics three days a week, and the public library is a few blocks from his gym. Sally and I will go hang out at the library - she'll do homework, and I'll collect a stack of books to bring home. Sometimes we go to Starbucks (pumpkin latte for me, chocolate chip frapp for her) and make use of the free wi-fi. Sometimes we just go to Rite Aid and hang out together.
Monday is Halloween. I know after that it will be a blur of activity until Christmas. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to the Daylight Savings time change this year! Getting up early, while it's still dark, is Not Fun.
That's all for now. It's Saturday, which means I have some laundry to fold, some groceries to buy, and some family time to enjoy. And some tests to grade. But they can wait for tomorrow.
My mom asked me this week if I was glad that I went back to work. I have had moments where I thought to myself, "What have you done? You had it so easy being a stay-at-home mom!" It was time for me to get back to a teaching job, though. I realized this when I was walking out the door last week and shouted to my family, "Bye! I love you! I'm going to work!" and then I left. It hit me that I get to leave and go somewhere else to work, instead of working where I live with three other people. At that moment, I realized that I had really missed having a job seperate from my family. It's validating in a way that motherhood is not. But I'm so thankful for the years that I stayed home with my kids!
I'm happy to report that I am still finding time to read. The knitting has suffered, but that will come back too, in time. Sam is in gymnastics three days a week, and the public library is a few blocks from his gym. Sally and I will go hang out at the library - she'll do homework, and I'll collect a stack of books to bring home. Sometimes we go to Starbucks (pumpkin latte for me, chocolate chip frapp for her) and make use of the free wi-fi. Sometimes we just go to Rite Aid and hang out together.
Monday is Halloween. I know after that it will be a blur of activity until Christmas. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to the Daylight Savings time change this year! Getting up early, while it's still dark, is Not Fun.
That's all for now. It's Saturday, which means I have some laundry to fold, some groceries to buy, and some family time to enjoy. And some tests to grade. But they can wait for tomorrow.
Saturday, October 08, 2011
saturday
Today, I should have written a physics test.
I should have gone to Home Depot for supplies for the next phase of the living room project.
I should have done some laundry.
At the very least, I should have emptied the dishwasher. (Hey, at least it's clean!)
Instead, I turned this:
into this:
(I really enjoy winding yarn from a skein into a ball. I almost never have them do it for me at the yarn store.) And then I wrote a new pattern for a scarf.
I also did some reading and went out to dinner with friends and had a great time. It's been a really good day.
I should have gone to Home Depot for supplies for the next phase of the living room project.
I should have done some laundry.
At the very least, I should have emptied the dishwasher. (Hey, at least it's clean!)
Instead, I turned this:
(I really enjoy winding yarn from a skein into a ball. I almost never have them do it for me at the yarn store.) And then I wrote a new pattern for a scarf.
I also did some reading and went out to dinner with friends and had a great time. It's been a really good day.
Monday, August 22, 2011
baby hat
Saturday, August 13, 2011
security changes coming soon
Hi everyone who still stops by the blog! If you are friends with me in real life or on facebook, you probably know that I got a job teaching at a local high school for this school year. I'm probably going to turn up the security on this blog in a couple of weeks, and you'll need a password to stop by and read the ramblings. Leave me a comment if you are a regular and I'll make sure you are on the email list with password information. Thanks for understanding!
Friday, July 29, 2011
(overdue)
This picture was taken on the 4th of July at Veteran's Park.
It's now "our thing" to go there for the fireworks show.
The sky was beautiful.
The fireworks were fantastic this year.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
something to think about
If you know me at all, you know that I love to read, and that Life of Pi is one of my all-time favorite books. Tell me you've read it, and just try to stop me from talking to you about it, because you won't be able to stop me. It's one of those books that just stays with me. For this reason, I put off reading Yann Martel's next book. I was afraid that it wouldn't measure up, and that I'd be disappointed. A few months ago, I finally sat down and read it. It did not become one of my favorites, but I talked about it with my friend, and realized that I didn't hate it. It's strange and understated and totally brilliant.
After I finished the book, I wandered around the internet reading interviews with Martel. I came across this one from The Guardian and I love this part:
This idea of literature as a tool to shape a person has stayed with me. Not just literature, but all of the arts. I've been thinking about this for the past few weeks, especially since I heard that Borders is closing all of it's stores. It seems to me like another symptom of this unknown disease that is creeping up on us: the bankruptcy of a major bookstore, the use of texting abbreviations in conversations, the constant stream of apps that are designed to make life easier but seem to just eat up time, the increasing divide between "online" and "in real life" - or maybe it's the diminishing divide between the two. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, and I'll have to come back to it because I'm out of time now.
After I finished the book, I wandered around the internet reading interviews with Martel. I came across this one from The Guardian and I love this part:
For the last three years Martel has been sending fortnightly letters and books to the Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper – an attempt to educate him in the ways of great literature. Martel was prompted to act as a literary godfather when Harper cited The Guinness Book of Records as his favourite book, and by his failure to recognise the importance of the arts generally. "I'm doing it to point out that literature's not just entertainment," he explains. "It is an essential tool to look at the human condition. I don't care if fellow citizens read or not; it's not up to me to say how people should live their lives. But I believe people who lead should read."
He says that, in Harper, he sensed "a man who was a narrow ideologue, in part because he hasn't read. He lacks empathy because he hasn't read literature. If literature does one thing, it makes you more empathetic by making you live other lives and feel the pain of others. Ideologues don't feel the pain of others because they haven't imaginatively got under their skins."
This idea of literature as a tool to shape a person has stayed with me. Not just literature, but all of the arts. I've been thinking about this for the past few weeks, especially since I heard that Borders is closing all of it's stores. It seems to me like another symptom of this unknown disease that is creeping up on us: the bankruptcy of a major bookstore, the use of texting abbreviations in conversations, the constant stream of apps that are designed to make life easier but seem to just eat up time, the increasing divide between "online" and "in real life" - or maybe it's the diminishing divide between the two. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, and I'll have to come back to it because I'm out of time now.
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
My Scones
My Scones
Recipe by Sheila at musings of a mommy.blogspot.com2 cups flour
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar (I put less in the mix, and sprinkle sugar on the top)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (one stick) butter
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
add-ins, optional (dried cranberries, raisins, chocolate chips, nuts, etc.)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix egg and milk in a small bowl and set aside. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in cold butter and mix with a fork or fingers until crumbly. Add egg/milk all at once and mix. Add add-ins. Put into greased glass pie plate and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until edges start to turn brown.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
knitting
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
almost summer
It's almost summer. We are in the last week of
school and Sally's last week of elementary
school. I'm ready. And I'm not.
These pictures are from when we went on
the tour of the Winchester Mystery House
a few weekends ago.
You can't take any pictures inside,
so the front gardens will have to do.
It's a beautiful place.
And not at all creepy like I thought it would be.
We did lots of fun things that weekend,
like go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium
and walk around Monterey
and have dinner on the wharf
and go to the movies
and have sushi together
and go to our cousin's wedding.
Of course, I forgot to take my camera
to all of those fun places.
Now it's time for garden pictures!
I bought tomato plants on sale on Earth Day
at Lowe's and what a deal!
Check it out:
That's two tomato plants. Two!
On the right is a roma plant, and on
the left is a Better Boy. He's a big guy.
Check out some of the lovelies growing:
And Sam planted corn.
He's very excited about it.
It shows promise.
That's all for now. I have a final exam
to grade, an awards assembly to attend,
and dinner to make. And then two more
days of school. And then summer!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Concerts in the Park
Get out the picnic basket and beach blanket!
Here's the info on Orange County Concerts in the Park for summer, 2011!
Here's the info on Orange County Concerts in the Park for summer, 2011!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
update time
It's been crazy around here because of all this rain. We have a busy schedule due to soccer - both kids are playing this season - and we've had a series of cancellations over the last two weeks. You'd think that this frees up time, and it sorta does. I'm team mom, though, so that means I get to make sure everyone knows that things are cancelled. Thankfully, technology makes it easier than it used to be, so I send out a text and an email and wait to make sure everyone replies. Then I make a few phone calls. By then, it's usually too late to plan a new activity, so we end up staying home. I love staying home. I'm turning into a hermit. The kids and Stuart get a little stir-crazy. They are ready for clear skies and activities.
I've been knitting alot. I made my mom a hat, but I didn't take any pictures of it before I gave it to her. I am making progress on the sweater that I am knitting out of lace yarn. Everytime I work on it, I think that I am insane for making it. It better fit me, because if it doesn't, I'm going to be really mad. I'll have to give it to someone and tell them not to mention it to me ever again! I decided to make a blanket just to take the edge off of the lace yarn thing. Then, in a starting-new-projects binge, I dug through the frilly fun-fur and ribbon yarn and put together three pink/red yarns and three purple/lavender yarns to make scarves for the gift stash. I just can't face taking this lace yarn thing out of the house, and I certainly can't knit it at the soccer field because it's just too fiddly.
Sally and I went shopping yesterday. We are in the phase where "we went shopping" means that Sally shops for clothes and I pay for them. I walk past the sections with clothes for me, and if I find something fast, I might have time to grab it on the way to the fittting room, but usually I'm not that fast. Usually I just sit there and tell Sally she looks great. A small part of me is sad that I don't get more time shopping for me, but a bigger part of me is grateful that she still wants me to go with her. (And yes, there is a part that realizes that I was the same way with my mother, and this is shopping karma.)
Nine days after my family left my uncle in New Mexico, he died. It seems surreal to think that he had only nine days left in his life here. He was a kind and generous man who knew how to laugh at life and I have lots of fond memories of him. My mom has pictures of me and him coloring Easter eggs together, and I just know that when I sit down to color eggs with my kids in a few weeks, it will really hit me that my uncle is gone and I'm sure I'll have a big cry. We mourn, but we do not mourn without hope* - I'm sure I'll see my uncle again when it's my turn to go to heaven.
That's the news. I'm off to check the weather, because it's overcast and we are supposed to have soccer practice tonight. I'm also going to go shopping because there is a big yarn sale this week, and the kids are at school.
* "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." I Thessalonians 4:13-14
I've been knitting alot. I made my mom a hat, but I didn't take any pictures of it before I gave it to her. I am making progress on the sweater that I am knitting out of lace yarn. Everytime I work on it, I think that I am insane for making it. It better fit me, because if it doesn't, I'm going to be really mad. I'll have to give it to someone and tell them not to mention it to me ever again! I decided to make a blanket just to take the edge off of the lace yarn thing. Then, in a starting-new-projects binge, I dug through the frilly fun-fur and ribbon yarn and put together three pink/red yarns and three purple/lavender yarns to make scarves for the gift stash. I just can't face taking this lace yarn thing out of the house, and I certainly can't knit it at the soccer field because it's just too fiddly.
Sally and I went shopping yesterday. We are in the phase where "we went shopping" means that Sally shops for clothes and I pay for them. I walk past the sections with clothes for me, and if I find something fast, I might have time to grab it on the way to the fittting room, but usually I'm not that fast. Usually I just sit there and tell Sally she looks great. A small part of me is sad that I don't get more time shopping for me, but a bigger part of me is grateful that she still wants me to go with her. (And yes, there is a part that realizes that I was the same way with my mother, and this is shopping karma.)
Nine days after my family left my uncle in New Mexico, he died. It seems surreal to think that he had only nine days left in his life here. He was a kind and generous man who knew how to laugh at life and I have lots of fond memories of him. My mom has pictures of me and him coloring Easter eggs together, and I just know that when I sit down to color eggs with my kids in a few weeks, it will really hit me that my uncle is gone and I'm sure I'll have a big cry. We mourn, but we do not mourn without hope* - I'm sure I'll see my uncle again when it's my turn to go to heaven.
That's the news. I'm off to check the weather, because it's overcast and we are supposed to have soccer practice tonight. I'm also going to go shopping because there is a big yarn sale this week, and the kids are at school.
* "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." I Thessalonians 4:13-14
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)