LOTR vs HP

Just a warning this is an ultra nerdy (I mean speaking elvish nerdy) post.

I am a huge Harry Potter fan, I know shocking, right! Brian is a Lord of the Rings fan... I am not so much. I have seen all the movies (yes even the extended versions) more than once, read the Hobbit, and one more than one occasion attempted to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but I just cant get into it. We checked out the books on CD from the library for our recent trip to ABQ, and that has been going better. I am almost done with Two Towers (to be fair I"watched" the extended version of Fellowship of the Ring rather and started listening to Two Towers, so really I'm not that far), but even after what seems like and eternity of listening to the book I cannot get into it like Harry Potter. I know the Lord of the Rings universe is more sophisticated and involved than Rowling's Harry Potter world but still, it has been tough. As I have been listening to the CDs I have come up with several reasons why I am having a rough time with LOTR

1. Harry Potter takes place in "our" world, LOTR takes place in the mythical Middle Earth, the idea that magic can exist in our world, right under our noses, appeals more to me than a world where "magic" is common place.

2. Harry Potter includes few weapons, everything is done with wands, but in LOTR there is a lot of time spent describing battles and weapons (I know they arent magical like Harry Potter), Rowling spends time in the final book describing the battle between the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix, but there arent pages and pages describing the weapons used and why they are so awesome.

3. Good vs. Evil is more apparent, in Harry Potter, for the most part, people are either good or evil,  there are some exceptions, but it seems that people are either obviously good, or evil in a way that at least the reader is aware of. Things are different in LOTR, people can be corrupted, or at least partially corrupted, the failings of men are apparent and discussed frequently, and people can turn from good to evil.

4. Despite the growing influence of evil, good remains. In Harry Potter, especially the last few books, Voldemort is obviously gaining power, but despite the "shadow" on the world, good things are still happening, people are still falling in love, babies are being born, and yes even birthday parties are still being thrown. All the good things in the world seem to have stopped in LOTR, it might just be that the story is told from the perspective of those traveling to destroy the ring and so those slice of life details are unimportant, but still, I need more than just the description of Bilbo's party in Fellowship.

5. No research needed. To read LOTR I feel like I need to do extensive research into the characters and the world before even opening the book. There are so many things discussed that it seems the reader should know before getting started, I am often confused. Harry Potter on the other hand doesn't require research. It might be because the story takes place in our world, or because the books are intended for children, but whatever the case, I feel like I can curl up with the book and have everything I need to know within the pages of that book.

So my conclusion- if you are super smart like Brian, read LOTR, Harry Potter with bore you. If you want a magical world that will suck you in and keep you turning pages and wishing there were more long after Voldmort has been defeated, ready Harry Potter.

6 Years Baby, 6 Years!

That’s right, we’ve been married 6 years! Today promises to be a wee bit less exciting than May 25^th 6 years ago, but less excitement is good (most of the time). We aren’t big anniversary celebrators, just not our personalities, but as I was thinking about it, I decided I had to document how we celebrated the last 6 years anniversaries because in 20 years I might look back (with graying hair) and wonder what in the heck we did. We have a tradition (not really a planned one) to buy one thing for our anniversary that we can both use, so this is what we have done:

Year 1- brand NEW couch (thank goodness IKEA opened that same weekend)

Year 2- bed frame and dressers (again, thank you IKEA)

Year 3- trip to Newport, Rhode Island, in fairness we were already living in Queens so it was pretty close and inexpensive (we were poor), but we did get to go to Walmart which was totally the highlight of the experience, no really it was, Newport was great, but I missed the bright lights and cheap things.

Year 4- grown up couch and chair and a kitten

Year 5- awesome camera so that we could take thousands (literally) of photos of Michael

Year 6- BBQ grill (this one Brian picked out)

So that’s how we celebrate, cause we’re awesome, and a romantic getaway apparently just isn’t our thing- though I don’t know that we have ever thought of that.

So what to say about 6 years, well I will say that this year was the most challenging, becoming parents tends to change a few things. While there were some days when things were a bit more challenging, I think that this was our best year yet- cause remember that sweet little Mikey, totally worth the lack of sleep. So happy anniversary Bri, and if I don’t write it enough on here, I love you, yes more than my chapstick, chewy spree, and even sleeping through the night. 

So that's why...

Sometimes I think we meet people or find ourselves in situations that we dont understand at the time because someday down the road we are going to either be thankful for the person or the situation.

One situation I found myself in occurred during my first semester of graduate school. In my epidemiology class we were all assigned a topic and a partner and told to come back with a research paper (there were more directions but it has been a few years). When the paper was initially assigned I remember being ticked- a partner paper? You have got to be kidding me!, but it worked out. My partner was great, and although the topic is pretty fuzzy to me now, I think I needed to write that paper so my partner could become a dear friend.

One other situation/person I have to add in, is one of Brian's old mission companions (to be fair another old companion is the reason we met, but that is a story for another day). When I met Bri I heard all about his roommate and former mission companion and one day I met him for myself. To say that may have had a few differences of opinion would be putting it mildly, but he was Brian's good friend, and despite our differences he was a nice guy. Bri and I got married, and wouldnt you guess, this friend was at the wedding, and then a few months later he got married too. He married an awesome girl, really not enough good can be said about her, and after a few months I got to thinking, "maybe she is why we needed to stay in touch with him" (obviously there are more reasons too, you know like him being one of Brian's closest friends).  I have to say that despite what we are to them, they have been a huge blessing in our lives. I think they are the friends you wish you had, the ones where you can have an awful day and still hang out, the kind where your child can be screaming and still you know they are willing to put up with them and you because they have those days too, the kind where you and your husband can have a slight disagreement in front of and it isnt that awkward and they know that you still love each other. These are the types of friends people wish they had (although I still maintain that it is better to live in the same state as those type of friends). So I will continue to think to myself that Brian was sent to the coast in Argentina to be with Elder X so that someday his wife could be my best (yes best, even though we chat less often than we should, and see each other even less often) friend.

So today, think to yourself, "even though today I am having a bad hair day, I burned dinner, and the irritating NPR pledge drive is never going to end, something might happen that I look back on in 5 years and say, so that's why..."

Michael Photo Dump... and why there havent been photos lately

This post should really be two, so ignore my laziness. 

Michael has decided that he LOVES real food, I mean really loves it. He isnt a big fan of baby food at this point- although pureed pears and peaches are always a hit. 

Anyway, any food that can be picked up and put in his mouth is a favorite, everything including broccoli. We have been trying to give him whatever we are eating in an effort to limit his affinity for "kid" foods and expose him to real people foods (I hear that's what french parents do... no really). Anwyay there are some things he loves (broccoli is one of those things) and some things he is just ok with (lasagna is one of those things). 

He also loves to try and use utensils, since he rarely gets that opportunity (not too nimble with the grown up fork and no interest in the little people utensils) I thought I would capture a rare moment.

I dont know that he ended up swallowing any of the watermelon, but he did enjoy biting it and spitting it out.

See he finally got a bite.

Ok on to a new topic, please dont be offended by these photos, they are not meant to be obscene. So Michael likes to point and touch things (not a new thing), except he doesnt use his point finger. At first he would point and touch things with his pinkie, ring finger, and middle finger, but as time as gone on it is just the middle finger. We think it is because this finger is longer than all the rest and therefore easier to touch things. We have been trying to teach him to use the pointer finger, but he does have a good point, the middle finger is longer. Anyway not sure what to do about this, but for the moment wherever we go my son is going to be making obscene hand gestures. FYI this makes church just a tad bit more interesting for everyone sitting around us.

Anyway in addition to the middle finger photos, this is how our other photos have turned out lately- he is intrigued by the camera and strap and spends a lot of time trying to get them (see him touching the camera in this photo and attempting to in the one above).

This crazy guy is mobile now, before he was army crawling, but now he has given that up in favor of "normal" crawling. Someone asked me the other day when I think he will walk, and I have to say, no idea. I didnt think he could roll over or crawl and then one day he was doing it like he had always been doing it. My guess is that he practices in his crib when he is supposed to be napping. He can pull up to standing  and yesterday I saw his try to push himself into a freestanding position in the middle of the living room, so my guess is it will be a shock when he starts walking.

Oh and he thinks he is hilarious (I mean he is but still). Now he pulls himself into a sitting position (on your lap) and then goes stiff and falls back, he does this when holding on to things or siting up as well... seems dangerous to me, but he thinks it is SO funny.

See, all toppled over but so funny.

Crazy Michael Videos

For everyone out there who havent been getting their fill of Mikey videos here are just a few, so Auntie Em and Grammy these are for you, the rest of you, sorry, wait until the next post. 

Spaghetti Bolognese... a favorite around these parts...

Since we had this for dinner this week, and it is one of our favorite dishes (yes even Michael loves it), I thought I would share, or post it so when I am somewhere and forget to bring the recipe I have it. This recipe is based on one from America's Test Kitchen (the 10 years of TV or something like that book), but I have made a few changes (awful I know!) to fit our tastes a little bit. Anyway, even with the tweaks the sauce is meaty and delicious, so good the first day, and yes even delicious if you freeze it and thaw for a quick weeknight dinner. The sauce is easy to make, but you need some time... a lot of time to let things simmer, so I always make a huge batch (ok not huge) and freeze the excess. 

Oh and I have never had Bolognese sauce in Bologna or anywhere that might be relatively authentic, so this is probably just an americanized version of another dish so dont expect authentic Italian cuisine, still a fan though

Spaghetti Bolognese

(serves 8-12 servings (it just depends on how "saucy" you want things to be)

Ingredients

1 yellow onion (minced)

2-4 carrots (minced)

2-4 celery stalks (minced)

2 c. whole milk

2 c. chicken broth

5 T. butter (unsalted)

1 lb ground pork

1 lb ground beef

3 (28oz) cans diced tomatoes (not whole, not stewed, not crushed)

Directions

1. Mince vegetables, or if you are lazy (like me), put them all through the food processor. You want the veggies to be really really finely ground. I add them to the ground meat and they blend right it. If you want chunks then I guess just mince them with a knife. 

2. Melt butter in a large dutch oven (aka spaghetti pot) over medium heat, once butter is melted add veggies. Let cook 5-10 minutes or until veggies are softened (see if you ground your veggies up this process is pretty speedy). Add salt, you need a tiny bit more salt than you think you will. I usually just add until I think it's good, but I would guess 1/2 t. kosher salt would be good (taste it once the sauce is done, you can always add more salt).

"Ground Veggies" should look like this, kinda like is ground meat was orange and green. See all the liquid getting released, yum!

3. Add ground meat to vegetable mixture... do NOT  used just ground pork or just ground beef, it will turn out badly.

double meat is important!

Mix everything together.

4. Mix the veggies and two meats together. Cook until the meat is no longer pink on the outside but not entirely done on the inside (about 5 minutes), it will look like the photo below.

 5. Add whole milk to the pan, that's right, just pour it on in- it sounds weird but trust me it is delicious.

 6. Cook until only the fat remains (basically until the milk is clear and not white), it should take about 15 minutes over medium high heat and look like the photo below (I didnt say this was a healthy recipe).

 7. Add chicken broth and cook over medium-medium high heat until mostly evaporated.

 8. Add diced tomatoes AND their juices to the pot. Heat until boiling and then reduce heat to "simmer" or low (whatever your stove says). From this point on your job is pretty much done, simmer 1 hour uncovered, and then 2-3 hours covered or until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. Keep in mind this is a chunky sauce, it isnt going to coat the noodles like a marinara sauce would so dont expect it to thicken up like it has tomato paste in it (cause it doesnt).

 9. The finished sauce should look something like this. Generally, this is the point where I skim off the excess fat, doing it earlier makes for a less flavorful and potentially more healthy sauce, dont be tempted.

 10. Serve... so yummy.

*to freeze, let sauce cool and spoon into freezer bags. We usually freeze one ladleful per person per meal... this recipe usually makes 3 dinners for 2 (and a quarter), and 4-6 lunches for one adult each depending on how much sauce the person prefers.

10 months!

Yesterday Mr. Michael turned 10 months old- he is getting so old, so fast! Because 10 months seems like a milestone to me (you do get to introduce new foods at 10 months, so we'll go with it), I have to say just a few things about him.

-Michael continues to dislike naps, not hate at this point, but he doesnt like them. We have resorted to 1 hour of quiet alone time in the morning and one in the afternoon. If he naps, yay, if not, he has a break from his day.

- Michael still loves baths, although these days they are a bit tricky since he is crazy and tries to go everywhere, add in soap and water, and by the end of the experience he isnt the only one soaked.

-Michael is starting to (well I think he does), recognize the names of certain things "cup", "yogurt", "mommy", "michael", "daddy", and "kitty". I think his favorites are "kitty" and yogurt".

-No "real" words yet, but the kid "talks" all day, responds to questions, and definitely is starting to understand some of what we say, "no".

- His defiant/mischevious side is starting to really show, especially when it comes to plugs. He loves plugs, even with the plug protectors in them, they fascinate him... yeah.

- He loves the sandbox, but prefers that you get in there with him, rather than sitting outside and just observing. He likes to poke the sand, say "da", and look at you. For some reason, this is very funny to him.

- He loves to share, as long as you remember to share back. He is willing to share his favorite things with us, his sippy cup, my chapstick, his half eaten string cheese, a cracker, but he is not willing to share my cellphone, I think he knows that if he shares he is "all done".

- He can do the sign for "all done", considering this is the only sign we taught him I think he is doing well.

- He never stops moving, not during the day, and not at night!

- Michael has two tiny teeth on the bottom and none on the top, he loves textured food now so those little chompers are being put to good use. He also likes to come up to you when you are sitting peacefully and bite you on the arm... for no reason.

- He loves to read, books about animals are his favorites. He also loves to read alone in his bed when he is supposed to be napping, I have found him asleep on a book several times lately.


What a sweet little guy!

Wow, that is freakish...

The title to the post is the response often given when someone sees one of my bug bites. You know how some people are allergic to nuts and they have an immediate reaction... I am that way with mosquito bites. The instant I get bitten it starts to swell, my sister is the same way so maybe it's genetic. On saturday night I was outside around 9:30pm for maybe 15 minutes, I got 4 bites, and now my elbow forearm looks like someone strapped a flesh colored tennis ball to it. I think this allergy might actually be kinda serious, if I get enough bites (10 or so), I get light headed, really really tired, and if I am just lucky enough I throw up (I know just a little bit too much information). Last summer it wasnt humid in Texas, it was 10,000 degrees- too hot for any life form to survive without air conditioning (dramatic I know), but this year it isnt quite that hot yet, and it has been humid- perfect weather for the bird sized mosquitos that live in Texas. Yay for bugs!

Corn, Black Bean, and Avocado Salsa/Salad (whatever you want to call it)

So last night there was a baby shower at my house (I know, can you believe it). Anyway, there were three of us in charge, the other two did an awesome job with the food and the decorations, my one job was to clean up enough to have people over  (which I did do, I'm kinda obsessive about that), but I saw this as a great opportunity to try out a recipe I found on pinterest. Let's just say it was delicious... healthy, super easy, and delicious, oh and did I mention that it fit in super well with the fact that yesterday was Cinco de Mayo. Oh one more great thing, Michael (yes my 10 month old son), LOVED it, ok maybe all the tomatoes and limes werent the best thing for a little dude, but he did LOVE it, he is not going to be one of those kids that thinks chicken nuggets are their own food group.
I tweaked the recipe I found a bit  (dont worry I explain why)

Corn, Black Bean, and Avocado Salsa/Salad

Serves 6-8 as a salad

2 (15oz) cans black beans, rinsed (really really well)
3-4 ears fresh cooked corn, kernels removed
2 red bell peppers diced (I used green bell peppers since they were 50 cents each instead of $1.99 each)
3 cloves garlic, minced (I may have doubled... or tripled this one, but use 2 if you are normal)
1/2 red onion, minced (the original recipe called for shallots, I forgot to buy these, red onion is great)
1/2 bunch cilantro, minced (don't skimp)
2 t. salt
2 T. sugar (don't skip)
9 T. extra virgin olive oil (not canola, or yucky light olive oil, this is when you pull out the good stuff)
1/2 t, cayenne pepper
6 T. lime juice (fresh... not bottled... no really) zest limes before squeezing, add that to the salad too)

2 avocados, diced
2-3 tomatoes, diced (the original didnt call for this, but salsa has tomatoes and so does salad... so...)

Combine all ingredients, EXCEPT avocados and tomatoes in a large bowl. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight or for a few hours (you want all the flavors to meld). Add tomatoes and avocado right before serving.

Last night I served the "concoction" as a dip/salsa, but tonight we ate it with chicken and rice like a salad- so tasty! 

...who are you?....

Do you ever find yourself in a situation with someone where you know you are supposed to know the person, but you just... don't. They know you, they remember you, and they even seem to have some shared experience with you, but you can't place them, no it's beyond that, not only can't you place them, but you can't even remember who they are, and for the life of you cannot understand why they know you and how you have developed amnesia and blocked them out of your life. In these situations is it more polite to stop them and ask who they are, or just play along and keep praying that something is going to click. To me this is like when you forget someone's name and the moment has passed when it would be polite to ask, you just have to keep hoping that it is going to come up naturally (and it never does because stuff doesnt work that way).

Anyway, today we got a wedding announcement from someone I didnt know. I thought Brian must know them, I asked him about it and it turned out that he thought I knew them. We went to their website, looked at photos, and could not place them. Finally, we went to facebook and figured out who they were because we had some mutual friends... still dont know them, but kinda know who they are... kinda. This was like that moment when you cant place a person, except of course thanks to the wonders of the internet we did eventually place them, and because it was a piece of mail, we missed that awkward in person encounter when you are treading water and hoping for an epiphany.  Anyway congrats to the happy couple... I still dont really know who you are, but from your photos it looks like you will be happy together.

West Wing PSA

My good public health friend MaryAnne posted this CLICK ME on facebook. It combines two of my favorite things- public health and the West Wing! Thanks MaryAnne. FYI Em I totally think you need to work it into a public health presentation... it is PERFECT!