Thirty Before Thirty

Real Life

2010-12-18T09:50:00.000-06:00

Well, I tried. However, not only do I not have time to continue blogging at mamlovesteaching, I have very little interest. I'm loving the curriculum I created, and use it daily, but I just don't have the time to mess around with publishing it on the blog, or commenting on it.

So, today I deleted my third blog, and will just get on with my life: feed, change, cuddle, repeat.

I mailed Christmas letters with a baby pic to everyone I believe reads this blog except one friend, whose address I have to track down (initials LB). If anyone else knows me, is still reading this, didn't receive one, and wants one, send me an email and I'll put it in the mail.

Maybe someday I'll have time to write again.

Then End of This Blog: Birth Story, The Super Long Detailed Version (#4)

2010-11-17T23:03:00.002-06:00

If you want the basics, go to my previous post. If you want it all, read on, my friend.

I preface this by saying that several weeks before my labor, I was a nervous wreck. Then during our Tuesday night Bible study my friends prayed for me to have peace. The relief was instant. I never got nervous again, including during the experience. The point of pushing was very intense and scary, but I was in the moment, and not afraid of what was to come. So for anyone who is worried about labor, call upon God and he will deliver you from your fears.

It all started on Friday, November 5, three days before my due date.

I woke up suddenly on Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. feeling a tiny bit wet. Jumped out of bed in case my water had broken and soaked the sheets. Nothing. Went to the bathroom. A few drops of water came out after I was finished. Strange. I figured it was my water leaking, but I didn't know if it was actually broken or not since it was just a few drops.

I called my sister, who told me to wear a pad and wait for a gush of water. So I went about my day, but didn't go anywhere because I didn't know what to expect, and I figured I'd be in labor within a few hours and have the baby that day.

After some online searches to see what in the world was going on, I lay down on my left side a few times during the day. Each time, a trickle of water leaked out, but it was never enough to get my clothes wet through the pad. At 4:45 the pad was no longer colorless, but faintly pink. Not bloody, just pink water. From then on I filled several pads with this pink water that slowly, slowly leaked out. I knew I had to have the baby soon, because I was losing a lot of amniotic fluid, but I DID NOT want to be put on Pitocin because I feared the increased pain. So I still didn't call my doctor.

Keegan went on an errand, came home, and then went to spend time at a friend's house. I figured as long as I wasn't having contractions, there was nothing for him to do. Around 6:30 p.m. I was getting stir-crazy and anxious. I'd basically been home alone all day, and it was getting to be too much. I needed a distraction. I called a friend who is also my neighbor, and asked if she'd walk to Walgreen's with me. I needed to get a new cell phone card so the one we had didn't expire while I was in the hospital. The store is only a block or two away, but I didn't want to walk that far alone in the dark, not knowing what was about to happen to me. She came over around seven, and we hit the street. It felt good to walk briskly in the cold night air.

At the store, I realized it was my last night of not being a mother. With all the fluid I'd lost, no matter what my body did on its own, I knew I had to have the baby in the next 24 hours. My plan was to call the doctor in the morning if contractions still hadn't started.

I saw the movie "Elizabethtown" in the discount bin, bought it and some Fritos, and asked my friend to watch with me so I wouldn't be alone. She brought her crocheting and I hand-stitched on the baby's quilt. She left around 10 p.m. and I went to bed.

Around 10:30, contractions started. They were unmistakable. Not too painful, but like period cramps, something I hadn't felt in nine months. Nothing at all like the Braxton-Hicks contractions I'd been having for the past three months. I remembered my relaxation exercises and how to breathe, and also that I was supposed to try to get some rest. So I stayed in bed and just breathed through them. They were about nine minutes apart from the start of one to the start of another. They came in waves of pain like a bell curve that got stronger in the middle and then backed down. Each contraction was pretty short--probably less than a minute.

Keegan came home at 11:00 and I told him to get some sleep because when the contractions were close enough together he would have to drive me to the hospital. From 11 to 12, the contractions became more painful, and lying in bed was not a comfortable position. I knew that counter-pressure on the lower back was supposed to help, but I didn't ask Keegan to do that yet because I figured he should save his strength. By midnight I couldn't stay in bed any longer for the pain, so I got up and washed some dishes. There wasn't much to do in the middle of the night with my mind going crazy for what was ahead. With each contraction I stood behind the couch (it's not against a wall) and leaned my lower back into it. That helped a lot. Much better than lying in bed just breathing. During this time I also charged up my camera batteries and cell phone and put my hospital bag by the door. Looking back, I am a bit amazed at how calm I was during this initial phase.

At 1:00 I started recording the contractions. From 1 to 2 a.m., they were an average of 4 to 6 minutes apart and coming in varying degrees of pain. So I called my doctor at 1:45. I had no idea how that would work, since I was calling an office number after hours. As it turned out, the on-call physician asked me a few questions and then we hung up. A few minutes later he called me back and put me through to my doctor, who sounded very groggy and told me to go ahead and come on in to the hospital. I thought what a strange job she has, to be woken up in the middle of the night while at home with her husband and two children.

I woke Keegan, who was deeply asleep and needed to be roused many times over about twenty minutes before he was awake enough to realize what was going on. I was fully packed, and my stuff was already by the door, so we just got in the car and hit the empty city streets. I was happy the contractions weren't too painful in the car, but I was disappointed that they appeared to be slowing down. I wanted this baby out!

As we walked into the hospital, the guard at the security desk asked us where we were headed, and I remember thinking, "Will they even believe me that I'm in labor? I'm not demonstrating any signs of pain. Is this normally how women come to the hospital? This is not how I imagined it." But of course he let us in.

I got to registration, and they were expecting me, as my doctor had called them. The registration was about thirty seconds long, and they put me in an exam room.

I changed, got on the bed, and waited for the nurse. After many questions, a resident came in to check if I was dilated. That was actually much more painful than any of the previous four hours of contractions. It brought tears to my eyes and seemed to take forever. It was much more painful than the times my doctor had checked me at my last few appointments. They determined that my water had indeed broken, and that I was at four centimeters. Therefore, I could stay at the hospital and be assigned a labor and delivery room. Ah, relief!

Because my water had broken so long ago, they told me they wanted to put me on Pitocin right away. I told them I didn't want to do that, and that I'd like labor to progress naturally. I asked if I could just walk around. I explained that while I was at home walking around, doing dishes, the contractions were stronger, but that they had slowed down in the car ride. They called my doctor, and came to a compromise. By now it was 4:30 a.m. They would give me until 6:30 to walk the floor.

Unfortunately, back in April at my first doctor's appointment, it was determined that I am group B strep positive, which boils down to the fact that I would have to have a penicillin IV during labor to prevent harm to the baby during delivery. So instead of walking freely, I had to have the IV inserted first and walked around the floor pushing the IV pole. What a pain! I remember saying to Keegan, "I hate this, knowing that for EVERY single baby I have in the future, I have to have an IV." I knew I'd never have an all-natural childbirth. I'll always have to be hooked up to something. Already I was thinking that this was a wretched experience and I didn't want to go through it again. Oh, yes, I had not only the IV pole, but also a belly band with several monitors and the long cords hanging from them draped over my neck while I walked the halls. I felt like a ridiculous science experiment, and thought how different this must be from the millions of women who give birth in poverty without all these crazy modern medical devices.

The hospital hall walls were lined with hand rails at the perfect height for leaning my back into with each contraction. They were painful, but not unbearable. Every half hour I had to go back so they could check the baby's heart rate. Then I'd continue to walk the halls with Keegan.

Around 7 a.m. I was examined again on the machine that records contractions. They didn't give me a choice at this point. I had to be put on Pitocin because the contractions had slowed down, and it had been almost 24 hours since my water had broken.

From this point on I was confined to the bed. Also at this point the nurses changed shifts and I went from having Anne-Marie to Deb. Both were great. Deb had a lot to do with me getting through the entire ordeal. She was amazing.

As soon as the Pitocin drip started, I felt the increased pain. It was remarkably uncomfortable because I couldn't lean against anything. All I could do was lean forward over the birth ball (which we positioned on the bed) or stay in the bed. The cords didn't reach any farther. I had to press the nurse button every time I wanted to use the bathroom so she could unplug the electric cord on the IV. Usually the contractions were so close together that one would come while I was on the toilet. There was no relief then. The contractions quickly started coming one and a half minutes apart, which meant they often came one on top of another. The nurse turned down the drip, because that was too close together. From that point on they were about two minutes apart.

Keegan pressed on my lower back for the worst of them, and Deb also helped with that. Once she gave me a shoulder rub, which was nice, and at one point she brought me some red jello. I don't even normally like jello, but this was like the best food ever. I hadn't eaten since 1 a.m. at home, when I had a banana. Deb also let me drink as much water as I wanted, plus some juice. I didn't know if I'd be allowed to drink during labor, with the various things I'd heard, so I was happy about this.

When I think of the contractions, I barely think of the eight and a half hours before the Pitocin. They really weren't that bad. I could handle it on my own by leaning my back into something and breathing carefully. After the Pitocin, I needed help. Looking back, I am surprised that it was only three and a half hours of this painful time before I asked for pain relief. It felt like much longer than the previous 8 ½ hours.

During these 3 ½ hours, I mainly stood leaning over the birth ball or I sat up in bed so Keegan could push on my lower back. He was totally exhausted, so I didn't ask for help on every one, but just the worst ones. I'm not sure what percentage that was. I prayed a lot, and he read to me Psalm 121. Sometimes I cried out to God out loud when the contractions were two minutes apart. There was no relief in sight! I had no idea how long this would last, and that was the worst part. When someone checked me (was it my doctor or the resident or a nurse? I can't remember.) I was only at five centimeters.

At 10:30 a.m. I looked at the clock and saw that twelve hours had passed. TWELVE HOURS! The pain was at its worst right now. I could barely speak. When I'd have the worst pains, I'd look at Keegan and beckon to him with my hand. I felt really bad for him at this point and didn't think it was fair to keep putting him through this. He was in more emotional pain watching me, because he felt completely helpless seeing me go through this physical pain. I was also exhausted and wanted to sleep, but couldn't. I was tired of calling him over. He would rest in a chair until I called him, because he was so tired, and I was sick and tired of it all. I had prepared myself in my mind ahead of time to be willing to ask for drugs if I determined on my own that I needed them. I'd written in my birth plan that I absolutely didn't want an epidural and that I didn't want anyone to offer me drugs, but to wait for me to ask for them. The hospital staff honored those requests completely, and didn't even suggest anything. If I'd paid for a doula who would have stayed at my side the whole time, I might have been able to go on without drugs, but honestly, it was a lot of trouble to rely on Keegan and Deb to help me when I felt like it was my choice to go on experiencing this. I was sick of asking for their help.

So at 10:30, I was standing beside the bed, leaning over the birth ball in extreme pain, and weeping quietly. I cried to Deb, "I just can't take this anymore. Is it too late to get an epidural?" She told me it was not too late. But I still didn't really want that, so I asked if she had anything else to suggest. Deb was so encouraging. She told me I had done amazingly well, and should be very proud of what I'd accomplished. She suggested a drug I'd never heard of called Oxymorphone, which is a synthetic form of morphine. In her words, it would be just like morphine without causing me to throw up. It would just take the edge off and allow me to rest a little, but I would still feel everything. Only an epidural would take the pain away.

Now, an aside: my reasons for not wanting an epidural are not because I think it's heroic to go natural or anything like that. I figure if 80% of women have them, they're probably a pretty good thing. First of all, the idea of being numb bothers me. Second, not feeling the pushing and increasing the likelihood of tearing scares me. Third, not being able to get up after the labor unnerves me. Fourth, feeling more pain AFTER labor than DURING just seems backward. But the main reason is this: I have fused vertebrae and slight scoliosis, and met with an anesthesiologist in October to determine if it was even an option for me. The bottom line was that yes, I could have one, but the chances of it being botched were greatly increased. They might not insert it correctly, they might have to insert it multiple times, and even if it was inserted correctly, the pain relief might be uneven on the left and right sides, and I'd still feel pain. SO....that pretty much scared me more than the prospect of painful labor. I ruled it out.

Alright, back to the story. At 10:30 Deb got me hooked up with Oxymorphone in my IV. I was really pickled by now. Saline, Penicillin, Pitocin, and Oxymorphone. Not exactly my idea of how I would have liked things to go, but it really wasn't up to me. My body was in complete control. Keegan hated seeing me in such pain and told me how glad he was that I'd finally asked for drugs. That made me feel better about my decision.

The Oxymorphone started working immediately. I was able to get back in the bed and stay there while Keegan dozed in the chair. I still felt the contractions, and they were even more painful at this point. But the result of the drug was that I was too tired to care. I was relaxed enough to just try to endure on my own. Only occasionally did I call for Keegan's help. Every half hour or so Deb would help me get in a different position since I was too lethargic to move myself around anymore. This went on for two and a half more hours until 1:00.

At some point in the morning, my doctor came in to see me and she determined that my water had only partially broken. That's why I never experienced a gush of water. She said she would break the rest of it and that should speed things up. Apparently I'd had a "high break." Imagine a balloon filled with water. It gets a pinprick at the top and instead of exploding, the water starts slowly leaking out of that hole at the top. Eventually, the remaining water is below the hole and it can't leak out because it can't reach the hole. That's what happened to me. There was a pool of fluid remaining in the bottom of the sac, and my doctor broke that. I was surprised at how much warm liquid gushed out at that point, since I'd already lost so much the day before. That was uncomfortable, but by then I didn't really care.

At 12:35 p.m. I was checked again and found to be only at six centimeters.

The last position I was in before pushing was on my left side, just lying there enduring it. Keegan was asleep in the chair and Nurse Deb was out of the room. It was 1:00 p.m. Suddenly I felt a freight train barreling down inside me. I was shocked and terrified and knew the baby was about to come. I was in crazy pain and felt so out of control of what was happening. I was scared out of my mind, but "with it" enough to be excited in a wild way, because I knew it was almost over. I'm going to try my best to describe this feeling, but there is no way to really understand it without experiencing it. There is nothing else like it.

This feeling of needing to push was so strange. I felt an intense seizing like I had to throw up, but out the other end. I felt like it was going to happen, and it had to happen, but it wouldn't happen unless I pushed. And although I knew I needed to push, I had no idea how to do it. I could instinctively tell there must be a right way and a wrong way, and I was terrified of doing it the wrong way, for what damage might result. I also felt paralyzed in the side-lying position I was in.

So... I started screaming! I yelled, "Help! Help!" and my first cries were feeble. Then I started yelling it louder. When no one came instantly, I started screaming, "Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" as loudly as I could. My fear was the baby coming out while I was all alone there. Suddenly the doctor, nurse, and Keegan all rushed to my side. My doctor was great. She didn't waste any time. She checked me while the nurse got the delivery table set up, and said I was at 9 ½, but that I was probably ready. I'm not sure if I got to ten at that point or not. It all happened so fast.

Deb told me to get on my back, and I remember frantically saying, "I don't know how to do that. How do I do that?" because I honestly felt like I couldn't move. Deb said, "Just roll over." And I did. That part makes me laugh looking back. I can't believe how out of control it felt.

Here was the only real surprising part of the entire ordeal. In all my reading on labor and delivery, I never came across the information that the contractions are still going on during the pushing phase. I thought you had contractions until ten centimeters dilation, and then you pushed. But I had to push during the contractions. That was news to me. The good thing about it was that between contractions I got a break from pushing. First I was screaming and yelling as I pushed, because that is what I felt like doing, but Deb and the doctor told me to hold my breath and push while they counted to ten during each contraction. I didn't always make it to ten, but I tried. Also, I always figured you would push as hard as you could, but somehow I held back and didn't quite do that. As long as the doctor was satisfied with each push, I wasn't going to make it any more painful than it had to be. This went on for a total of sixteen minutes until my baby was born. Toward the end, my doctor told me she could see his head, and that with one more contraction I could have his head out if I wanted to. Keegan also looked at me and told me he could see his head. I never looked down. I was concentrating so hard I didn't want to be distracted. Finally the last push came for his head, and then his body came out in one more push.

What instant, sweet relief! Baby was purple and had to have a few puffs of oxygen, but it all happened so quickly I didn't even know it until Keegan told me later. They cleaned him up and gave him to Keegan right away while they cleaned me up. Despite all the pain and emotion, there were some funny moments. The doctor said to me as she peeled off my socks, "I don't think you're going to want these socks anymore." I looked down for the first time, and my white socks were so shockingly, disgustingly bloody I had to laugh. I told her no, I wouldn't want those anymore. I then started talking about how I couldn't imagine why anyone would want a home birth and have this mess to clean up. I was so grateful to Deb who just selflessly cleaned me all up. What a gross job, but I was so thankful to have her do it for me.

Then the best part happened (besides having the baby of course): Deb asked my doctor if I needed stitches, and my doctor said, "Let me just apply pressure and see what happens." I had three tiny tears, but my doctor stopped the bleeding right away and I didn't need stitches! I couldn't believe it! I still can't believe the baby came out without ripping me to shreds, but it's true. Praise God for that!!!

After they finished cleaning me and the bed, and I'd delivered the placenta, which I asked to look at out of sheer curiosity, I was finally given my baby boy. I guess you know what that's like if you have had a child, and if not, you can probably imagine it. I don't think I need to describe that emotion. Baby was born at 1:16 p.m. on Saturday, November 6.

So that's my first birth experience. I hope this is helpful for those of you women who will give birth in the future. For anyone else who stuck with it and read all 4,200 words, thanks for broadening your perspective on labor and delivery. Too often we only hear the worst parts because that's where the shock and awe come in. I hope you could see that the experience was not fifteen hours of torture, but that it had its ups and downs. Yes, it was the most physically painful thing I've ever experienced. No, it was not so bad that I wouldn't do it again for another child.

The Birth Story, Versions 1 and 2 (#4)

2010-11-12T21:58:00.000-06:00

I haven't had much computer time this week. The boy is one week old tomorrow! As I sit here, he is wide-eyed, lying on the floor on his side so his beautifully-shaped head doesn't go flat. Yes, I put him to sleep on his back.

I know it pains you to read this, just as it pains me to type this, but I'm not putting any photos of our son online, nor am I going to use his name. So...if you know me and didn't receive an email with pictures of the baby, send me an email or give me a call and I'll take care of that.

You can read as much or as little as you're interested in here. Coming soon: the long, detailed version (not for the faint of heart). For everyone else who just wants to know the general facts, here you go!

The Birth Story: The Basics

My water broke at home on Friday morning, November 5, at 8:00 a.m. Contractions started that night at 10:30 p.m. We went to the hospital between 2 and 3 a.m. I started pushing at 1 p.m. He was born at 1:16 p.m. on Saturday, November 6. We came home on Monday afternoon. My mom was here until Thursday night. Tomorrow (Saturday), Keegan's family comes into town. His mom will stay until next week Wednesday.

The Birth Story: Shorter Version (But Not Very Short)

My water broke at home on Friday morning, but I didn't start contractions until 10:30 p.m. that night. The water was just trickling or dripping out through the day, and I didn't call my doctor because I didn't want to be induced.

Between 1 and 2 a.m. Saturday morning the contractions were about five minutes apart. I called my doctor. We arrived at the hospital between 2 and 3 a.m. I was at four centimeters. The contractions slowed down, and they wanted to put me on pitocin right away. I resisted. They allowed me to walk around the floor until 7. The contractions had slowed down even more. Now it had been almost 24 hours since my water broke. They put me on pitocin, and from then on I was pretty much stuck in bed.

The pitocin drip started working immediately, making the contractions stronger and closer together. I was calmly breathing through them until 10:30 when I couldn't take it any more. I saw the clock, saw that I'd made it through twelve hours, was only at five centimeters, had no idea how long this would take, was totally exhausted, didn't have anything to prove, started crying, and asked for some pain relief. They gave me oxymorphone through the IV.

At 1:00 in the afternoon, when the contractions were less than two minutes apart, and often coming one on top of another, I was suddenly startled with the intense feeling of the baby ready to come out. Keegan was asleep in the chair, the nurse was out of the room, and I couldn't believe the pressure. I started screaming, "Help! Help! Aaaaaa!" and the nurse, doctor, and Keegan rushed to my side. They were great and talked me through it so well, I didn't need any stitches. Yay! Sixteen minutes of pushing, and he was born at 1:16 p.m.

Like I said, I'm working on the long, detailed version for those of you who like that kind of thing. Of everything I did to prepare for birth, the most helpful thing was reading birth stories in books and online. Reading what women experienced firsthand was the best way to prepare for all possible scenarios.

Great Entertaining Blog Discovered! (#s 6, 8, 9, and 12)

2010-11-02T01:14:00.001-05:00

This past month I stumbled across The Reluctant Entertainer. Wow. I LOVE her philosophy. I'm adding this to my sidebar. I actually read quite a few blogs regularly, but I only put a few of them on my sidebar.

Keegan and I love having people over for dinner because:

a) I'm an introvert and I'm more comfortable in my own home than anywhere else. He's an extrovert and loves showing off his office and sharing his tea collection.
b) We don't like driving at night, and if we host we don't have to worry about how tired we get or whose turn it is to not have a glass of wine (um, okay, lately that's been me by default, but soon we'll be switching again)
c) We love our friends and getting to know new friends.
d) We can't afford to go out to eat. Even if we could, you can't sit in a restaurant forever the way you can in someone's home.
e) We like trying new foods, perfecting our favorites, and sharing them with our friends.
f) We both get a thrill out of the planning phase...what to eat, drink, what music to have in the background, whom to invite, etc.

We had a Chinese dinner party early in October, and then two weeks later I had the book club. I always struggle with getting things just right, and trying to balance that with enjoying myself. But most of all, I want the guests to have a good time.

This blog by Sandy Coughlin offers tips and stories of how she accomplishes these goals. I think I'd like her book as well.

I have a deep desire to keep having people over even after the baby is born. It will be even more important to not try to have everything perfect, as I will be even LESS in control with an infant. Plus I may have to ask people for help, or accept their offers, which I usually turn down. I like to do things MY way. My way is going to have to change.

Last year I wrote about two friends who are examples to me when it comes to entertaining. I like that they always make their guests feel special. That is something I strive for, but it does not come naturally. What comes naturally is wondering if I got everything just right, and so on...the STUFF rather than the PEOPLE. It should be the other way around.

The Reluctant Entertainer website is a great place to get encouragement, inspiration, and concrete ideas if you need help in this area. My mom and I had an interesting conversation about this once. We were trying to figure out what specific things people do that make you comfortable in their homes. What are your thoughts? I remember a few things we noted that we've experienced:

When stopping in, being offered a drink within a few minutes is very nice.
As an overnight guest, it is nice to have a box of Kleenex in the room by the bed.

These are little things, but they make a big difference. They might not come naturally the first few times you entertain, and they won't come at all if your house isn't as clean as you'd like it to be--and that's what's on your mind. Whatever level of clean that is, is up to you. But your house should be as clean as it needs to be for you to be at ease when you have people over. I like FlyLady for this. For my tips on how to get started on FlyLady, read this post I wrote.

I love New Year's Resolutions. (Shocking, I know.) 2011 could be the year you get into FlyLady. It could be the year I have people over and focus on my guests instead of myself and the stuff I prepared. I'm praying for that.

Now We Know the Month (#4)

2010-11-01T23:15:00.000-05:00

Until today he could have been an October or a November baby. Now we know he'll have a November birthday.

Thirty-nine weeks today. I had a very quick appointment with my doctor. Nothing new. No telling when I'll get to see his little face.

Last month or so I had a dream that he was born on November 14. That would be six days late. I still hope he's early, but I can hold out until November 14 if I have to.

Meanwhile, my house is super clean, and yet I continue to clean every day. The freezer is full. The pantry is starting to fill up as well. I bought a small diaper bag a week ago. It was the last thing I still needed to pick up.

I started hand stitching the quilt a few days ago. It looks great, but the white thread on the light background doesn't photograph well. It's a very clean look. I love it. If I can figure out some better lighting I'll try to post sometime, but so far the pictures are no good. You really can't see the stitching at all. On the nine patch squares I am alternating stitching a cowboy hat, a boot, a horse's head (the most detailed), a star, and a horseshoe. So far, so good. The alternating squares with the cowboy print are all the same: simply outlined one quarter inch inside the octagons, so as not to cover the fabric. If Baby is late, I might have it done before he's born, since I've cleared my calendar this week. Otherwise, my goal is to finish it by February 1.

I've been spending a lot of time preparing my Chinese materials. I'll write about that on my newest blog. It won't be only about Chinese, of course, but that is the subject that takes the most preparation.

Thanks for all your well wishes and prayers. It's fun knowing there are so many people out there waiting to meet him and hear about him!

Back When It All Started

2010-10-24T01:07:00.001-05:00

Here I am in Beijing getting ready to sing karaoke and check something off the list for the first time. There is our hideous, tiny kitchen on the left. I'm so thankful for our apartment we have now! Even though Keegan and I want to go back to China, I hate the thought of having a horrible kitchen again!

Thirty-Seven Weeks, Five Days (#4)

2010-10-23T13:29:00.002-05:00

My hope was to go into labor last night after cleaning up after the book club. I wanted to check into the hospital at 1 a.m. in order to stay as long as possible. That didn't happen. Actually, I can't say it was what I truly wanted, but what I DID NOT want was to go into labor before the party.

BUT, just in case it did happen, I took these pictures yesterday.

I probably shouldn't be stretching out one of my favorite non-pregnancy tops, but I had to wear my "Cheers" shirt for the Aussie party, right?

Australia Party (#9)

2010-10-23T13:13:00.002-05:00

Last night I hosted a small group of friends for the first book club gathering. They loved my kangaroo crossing sign on the door and cucumber cut-out camels. Camels are NOT native to Australia, but have been brought in and many roam wild in the outback. Plus, they were the subject of my book, Tracks, by Robyn Davidson.

No, this bactrian is not the type of camel that lives in Australia. They have the one-humped dromedary from Arabia. However, when I went cookie-cutter shopping, the single-hump camel cookie cutter was gigantic and I knew I'd never be able to make it work for me.

I served "Australia's National Dish" according to many online sources: Meat Pie. Basically, it is a pie crust on the bottom, a filling of seasoned ground beef, and a top of puff pastry. No vegetables in it, so I made a big raw veggie tray. I found many recipes, and ended up using this one from ehow.com. I followed it very closely, except that I used my own favorite pie crust recipe for the bottom crusts (no suet!). I pre-baked the bottom crusts for 8-10 minutes before adding the filling. Also, I added onion powder, but otherwise the seasoning was according to the recipe.

Everyone LOVED it, including Keegan. I think I'll be making it again sometime. It's a pretty cheap dish--not a whole lot of ground beef for two pies. The puff pastry top was the most expensive part, because I had to buy that. I'm sure you could just use another pie crust on top, but every recipe I came across actually did have two different kinds of crusts. I thought I better go authentic the first time.

The other Australian food served, besides the wine, was Vegemite on toasts. I used my cookie cutters for those as well. Spread very thinly over butter, it wasn't bad! I wonder if that's because I'm pregnant. I know most Americans don't care for Vegemite, at least not at first. The best were the ones with avocado smeared on. That's a common way for Aussies to eat Vegemite. Fortunately the avocado I bought was a really good one. That's always a gamble.

I had leftover puff pastry and pie crust scraps, and not one to let any form of pastry go to waste, I made cinnamon-sugar kangaroo cutouts with the pie crust scraps. I also baked up the puff pastry corners. All were devoured by the ladies.

Oops, the one in the middle lost its foot.

I also served fresh fruit and a chocolate cheesecake. I really pigged out, but the funny thing is I felt really good afterward. Lately it seems like I'm hungry ALL THE TIME, and have to eat every two hours. After the book club, I actually felt satisfied, like I'd finally eaten enough. And when I woke up at 2:20 am to use the bathroom, I WASN'T hungry! At five I was starving, though.

Overall, it was a very nice evening. We each had read a different non-fiction book on Australia, and shared what we learned. My poor sister was sick with the flu and couldn't leave her house, but we did have her on speaker phone for about a half hour while we talked about our books. None of us previously knew much about the place, so we all learned something. Several of them said, "I never read non-fiction, so this was a good idea." Yay! I was happy to hear that. The next hostess has chosen the theme "Survival" and will contact us soon with the details. I'm not sure if I'll make it to that one. Time and Baby will tell! Anyway, my work here is done. The rest is just for fun.

So there you have it, folks. Everything on this list that I could control, is fully accomplished. Now I'll just sit back and wait for number four...stay tuned!

The End of the Journey

2010-10-14T15:42:00.002-05:00

Today Keegan and I went out to Panera Bread for my birthday lunch. Then we went to several shops for gourmet candy. I got a Reese's Pieces-coated caramel apple. Keegan got some sour cherry balls. I feel very indulgent today. How nice!

This is today: 36 1/2 weeks along. 3 1/2 weeks to go! (or more or less...)

I had a dream the baby was born on November 14 (6 days late). That's not a random number, though. It's my middle brother's birthday. Weird.

Last week I had a second ultrasound because they thought the baby was measuring small. He's fine and dandy, but way way WAY head down in my pelvis. They couldn't get an accurate measurement from top to bottom.

Here are his little toes! We couldn't see his face AT ALL. However, I saw him grab one arm with the opposite hand, and he has a fringe of hair. And yes, he's definitely a boy. No doubt about it.

Tracks (#9)

2010-10-01T18:51:00.000-05:00

For the first book club meeting, which I'll host a week after my birthday, I chose the book Tracks by Robyn Davidson. The summary begins:

In April 1977, a twenty-seven-year-old woman set off to cross the rugged bush of her native Australia, accompanied only by four camels and a dog.

I've been searching for sources of Vegemite in my area and looking up Aussie recipes. Did you know that meat pies are considered the Australian national dish? That sounds easy enough. Basically a beef pot pie. I think I can make those in muffin tins.

Also, since kangaroo meat is too expensive (yes, you can buy it online, but you'll pay more for shipping than for the meat), I plan on buying a kangaroo cookie cutter if they have them in stock when I go shopping. And yes, I seriously did look up kangaroo meat. After all, I ate horse and donkey in Asia. Kangaroo doesn't scare me.

Almost done with the list, and almost thirty. It's my birthday month!

At Least Seven Members (#9)

2010-09-27T00:27:00.001-05:00

Tonight (Sunday--it's late, I know) was a social event for the wives at my husband's Seminary. It was the introductory meeting of the year, and I took the opportunity to extend an invitation to the Bible studies. Several more women are planning to come this week!

I also created a sign-up sheet for anyone interested in joining my non-fiction book club. Six women signed up, which I must say, is pretty much the perfect number. We might have a few more because my closest friends in this group weren't at the meeting, and I wouldn't be surprised if they want to participate as well.

After I got home, I sent out a comprehensive email about my vision for the club and the first topic: Australia. The plan is that each of us will read a non-fiction book about Australia. We don't have to all read the same book. This will make it easier for each of us to get our hands on a library copy of whatever book we choose. Then in three or four weeks we'll have an Australia-themed party at my place and talk about what we've learned. After that, the others will each have a chance to choose topics and host on a rotation. By the end of the school year we should all have had one turn. I'm rushing the first meeting because I don't want it canceled if the baby is a few weeks early.

Tonight I requested a book from the library on Australia's history. Although it received excellent reviews, I'm not sure if it's the one I'll end up reading. It looks rather long. It just depends on if it grabs my interest or not. I could go for something lighter if I want. I'll let you know what I eventually settle on.

So...book club: formed. Of course, there is more to be done on this item for it to be successful, but now that other people are in on it, I have no doubts it will get off the ground running. Therefore, I'm checking it off! I hope to still update you on the first meeting/Australia party, but it will have to be after my 30th birthday by at least one day. I just don't have time before then.

In other news, I've made great progress on my curriculum planning. Check out my other blog for that update tonight.

It's Really Been a Year! (#18)

2010-09-24T20:31:00.001-05:00

Today I mailed off my Mom's birthday box. It's really fun, but she'll have to wait to open it, so I can't tell you what's in it. That marks the end of my year of observing birthdays.

I think I sent a card (or in some cases a postcard) to everyone ON TIME except my father-in-law. That's because I left it up to my husband to take the lead on that one, knowing he'd get around to it eventually. And he did, even though it was belated. So for once I didn't miss any of our grandparents, nieces, nephews, siblings, siblings-in-law, or parents. Throw in three good friends who live far away, and that's 29 birthdays. Gifts only went to a select few.

It didn't give me as much satisfaction as I thought it would. Basically, I don't know what to write in birthday cards for my brothers. I don't think what I write in my little nieces' and nephews' cards is very important, especially since most of them never remember my name when I see them. I hope they all liked the stickers I sent.

I did it as an experiment, mainly because I have a wonderful aunt who never forgets anyone's birthday, and her list must have over 100 people on it. I was trying to be more like her, I guess. I'm not going to make it my goal to continue for the next year. If I do it again, great. If not, well, most of the people on my list don't send me cards (nor do I expect them to), so I doubt anyone will hold it against me.

Bible Study Update & Reflection

2010-09-22T20:48:00.001-05:00

No new items to check off the list yet. This weekend I should get closer to finishing a few more.

One of the first items I accomplished was forming a women's Bible study at the start of last school year. Here's an update: we continued it until early August when several members moved away. Then the two of us remaining decided to take a break so I could rethink the structure for this year. Now we have moved from an afternoon time slot to Thursday mornings at 8am. This allows us to Skype with one of the gals who moved, plus we have two new members including my sister! She and another friend bring their babies, and our friend over Skype has a little one, too. The three babies are so entertaining to watch as they interact with one another. It's been wonderful. Tomorrow is our third meeting of the year. We're studying First Corinthians.

I have a good friend who wanted to join our group, but couldn't come during the day. So after some serious thinking, last night was the first of an all-new evening study in my apartment. The three women who came were all new. This one is cross-generational. I invited some wives of my husband's professors, and they came! Next week I expect a few more. We began in John. We had so much discussion, we didn't even get through the first chapter. When we got stuck on something we called my dad (a pastor) and put him on the spot--on speaker phone--and he did great. We did the same thing last Thursday morning. It's nice to have the "phone a friend" option!

Our church happens to be quite a drive away. There are many closer congregations where we could worship, but the Seminary likes to spread out the students, giving each of them more chances to help out with ministry while they live here. So...being involved in church activities during the week is really out of the question. As a result, I have come to see ministry as more of a home-centered and neighborhood-centered thing rather than church-centered. Of course, this follows what we did during the 08-09 school year quite well. It's a real shift in my thinking, made possible by my experience overseas, where there was no church, and by now living in an area with many churches of the same faith. I know many people who share my faith but are part of a different congregation. If we want to have Bible study and intentional "Christian fellowship" it's outside of church-run activities and programs. And you know what? It's working just fine.

Because of our situation--my husband being a Seminary student, and me substitute teaching in Lutheran schools--most of my contact with adults is with people who are Christian already. So I'm not stressing myself out over doing outreach right now. I just don't get to know that many people who don't believe, even though they are certainly the majority of the people I see when I run errands. Instead, I'm looking for ways to build up the body of Christ. So many women need support, and we get that through the Word. I'm grateful for the time God has given me to reach out and invite others to study that Word together. It's been a great way to get to know my sisters in Christ. One year ago I didn't know any of these women I study with except my sister. Most of them did not know each other, either.

Have you tried this? Forming your own group outside of the church structure? I know my mom did. She leads an email Bible study which I take part in as my life allows. I took a break during the summer because I was trying to spend less time online, and it's tough if you have an email date every day. But now I'm back in, and hopefully it will be a good thing for the fall once again. You can't put a price on the support we get from one another. I wish I'd had this at certain tough times in my life, but I just didn't see the opportunities for what they were, and it never occurred to me to start something on my own. Now I know, and for that I'm grateful.

New Blog

2010-09-05T21:48:00.000-05:00

Well, this blog is nearly complete. After I send my mom something for her birthday in a few weeks, I'll have my year of birthdays accomplished.

In two weeks I intend to begin my book club. I won't have the first meeting before my birthday, but that's okay. The timing of my invitation must coordinate with back-to-school activities, and I can't help that. If I find interested participants and announce the first topic and meeting date, I will consider it accomplished. I'll let you know how that goes. Hopefully I can host the first meeting before Baby is born. After that it can continue with or without me...and I really hope with me, but I'm not going to try to do too much after having the baby.

As for blogging, I still enjoy the writing process. I value this means of documenting accomplishments. I appreciate the comments left by my friends and family. I'm interesting in continuing.

After months of careful consideration of topic and title, today I started my third blog. I don't know how much I'll publish before the baby is born, or even for the first three months. But I do intend to share my new goals eventually, and that is forum for it. Check out my first post.

My Week (#4)

2010-08-30T14:07:00.001-05:00

I spent the past week piecing the top of this quilt for the little boy. I'm immensely pleased.

Now I hope to liesurely hand quilt the layers together over the next month or two. Generally I tie my quilts, and occasionally machine quilt them. Only once have I hand stitched. That's definitely the most time consuming, but also the most personal method. I'm thinking of what designs to stitch in. I suppose whatever I want, right? Stars, cowboy hats, wagon wheels, and horseshoes all come to mind. I'll keep you posted.

I've made baby quilts for my eight nieces and nephews, plus for a few friends. It's nice to finally make one I can keep!

The other baby quilts I've made have all been smaller than this. I made this one big enough that he can drag it around when he's a toddler and beyond, if he wants to. Big enough to watch TV under until he's about 6 or 7, maybe.

It All Depends on the Angle (#4)

2010-08-30T13:59:00.000-05:00

I took all these pictures of myself yesterday at 30 weeks minus one day. My head is chopped off because I kept experimenting with the camera precariously balanced on some books on the edge of the bed.

Depending on the perspective, I think I look at different stages of pregnancy. In reality, I took them all within a few minutes. I also think my different maternity clothes make a big difference in how pregnant I look. What do you think? Am I imagining things?

Fruit Dumplings, Five Ways (#2)

2010-08-22T21:24:00.001-05:00

As I've written before, one can find a million different ideas of what makes a fruit dumpling. Since I've never had them before, I decided to try some variations.

Apple dumplings are pretty similar across the board: add some sugar, spices, and butter to the apples, wrap in pastry, top with a sugary sauce (made on the stove), and bake. So that's what I did. I don't really have a recipe for you. After reading many different recipes, I just did what felt right. DELICIOUS!!

I like my fruit desserts fruity rather than overly sweet, so I used MUCH less sugar than any of the recipes called for. My husband added sugar to his. I just know what I like, but I'm sure many people would have found them to be not sweet enough.

Just in case these would be too sweet for me, I baked one without the sauce.

So we're up to two different kinds of dumplings now.

For these, I washed and pitted the cherries by hand. Just dug my thumb in, one at a time. No wonder half the recipes for cherry dumplings call for canned cherries. I don't blame them.

I wrapped some of the cherries with sugar in pie crust. Basically, mini cherry pies. These resemble the Schwan's version in that they're crispy. But I didn't deep fry mine, as they recommend preparing theirs.

Then I had to make a stove-top version of cherries and dumplings (below) because there were many, many recipes like this out there.

I had no expectations that this would taste good. I really thought soggy biscuit dough would be gross. In reality, there was nothing soggy about it. The dough was fully cooked, just steamed rather than crisped.

I should have known better, because that's how they make bread in China, the land of no ovens. I did like the bread over there once I accepted that it's a whole different experience.

The stove-top cherries with dumplings were FABULOUS! I can definitely see myself making those again. Really quite easy: boil cherries in a little water, sugar, and corn starch, then drop biscuit dough on top. Cover and cook 12-15 minutes. I turned off the burner after five minutes because I was afraid of scorching the bottom and I knew it would keep cooking. Turned out perfectly.

So that's four ways. The final thing I did was to wrap some cherries inside biscuit dough and bake them. Those weren't very good. I wouldn't make them again. I did that because I thought the stove-top version would be gross, and I wanted to do something different with the biscuit dough.

Below: cherries with dumplings, cooked on the stove. YUM!

Dumplings to Drool Over

2010-08-22T21:00:00.001-05:00

Okay, so these are NOT great photos. I have no natural light in my dark woodsy apartment. Just trust me, they were delicious.

Above photo: Cherry Dumplings, three ways.
Top: made on the stove, cooked cherries with drop-biscuit dumplings.
Bottom left: baked biscuit-wrapped cherries.
Bottom right: baked cherries wrapped in pie crust. (think mini cherry pies)

Below: the largest one is an apple dumpling that I didn't sauce. I just wanted to make sure I had one plain in case the sauce wasn't good. It was good. So that's a mini apple pie there. The others are all cherry. Most are wrapped in pie crust. The one center bottom is wrapped in biscuit dough.

FYI

2010-08-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

The maternity skirt in the previous post would certainly work for anyone who is not pregnant and wants a comfy skirt. I suppose you wouldn't need to go with the 3-inch elastic; you could use something narrower with less belly support.

I like checking the tutorial's comments because you can see other people's results on their blogs. Isn't blogging great? I've learned so much from other people this way.

Soooo Comfy! (#3)

2010-08-20T21:08:00.002-05:00

Basic Black Skirt

Have you shopped for maternity clothes lately? Tons of tops. A good selection of pants. Few shorts. Fewer dresses. No skirts. Really??? Isn't this the time that skirts are most comfortable? As much as I've been complaining lately about number three, it really came at a good time after all. All these new, cute tops (thanks mom, mom-in-law, and 75% off sale at Target), and none of my skirts fit anymore.

This was a three day project:
Day 1: shopping for supplies
Day 2: washing the material and letting it line dry
Day 3 (today): Made the entire thing in one afternoon. Yippee!

Oh, yes, add in hours and hours of online research to find a maternity skirt "pattern" that I could make by myself without having my mom in the next room to come help with each step.

Yeah, this is not really a good photo to show off the baby belly. It's bigger than it looks in this pic. Believe me, I feel huge right now. I was just showing the 3-inch elastic waistband on the skirt, which is the part that makes it maternity.

I printed off all the directions from this tutorial, and also purchased the book she recommended: Sew What! Skirts. The tutorial was excellent. The book's introduction gave me the courage to go ahead and get started. The most difficult part was getting the main part of the skirt the right size. I followed the book's directions for measurements, but they were way too big with the added inches for ease and seam allowance. I guess they want to make sure they don't give directions and have anyone cut too small. No danger of that! I wasted fabric because I had to cut it down after I started sewing. But, eventually it turned out. I suppose I'd have wasted a lot more fabric if it had been too small. The waistband was very easy, and I only had to measure once for that.

If you follow the tutorial: one thing she suggested that didn't work for me was making the front longer than the back. She thinks the skirt will ride up. As you can see from the picture, the skirt rides below my baby belly. So the front already hangs lower than the back. I should have made the back longer (as I suspected), but instead I made both the same, which is what you would do if it was not maternity. It's front-back-reversible, which obviously means it's not the most flattering style out there, but I think it's okay. The main idea is that it is very comfy around the middle, and I'll take that these days!

This was the first time in over a decade that I sewed anything for myself to wear. I'd really been putting it off. What a relief to know it can be done! And yes, I plan to actually wear it, if only for the next 3-4 months. I'm planning to wear it this weekend, so I'm going to cross it off. It's as good as worn.

Plain Jane was High Maintenance (#7)

2010-08-10T15:00:00.004-05:00

Here is the result of over a month of labor.

Unless I get a teacher someday, I am never knitting again.

On the positive side, I am very happy with the result and look forward to using it...as much as a person can look forward to washing dishes.

I told myself over a month ago: No more crocheting until you knit something!

Now I can use up the rest of this buttery yarn and crochet something for fun. :)

Have Pie, Will Travel (#8)

2010-08-02T23:14:00.001-05:00

I realized that the odds of having my sister and her husband over for a game night with three kids ages 3 and under were pretty slim. So we spontaneously packed it up and took it over there after the kids were in bed.

I'm counting it as number eight, since I brought all the dishes and food, and they didn't have to do anything except let us use their air popper. We even played outside with a lantern in their screen tent, so they didn't have to do any housecleaning before or after. I'm thinking that's good enough to count myself as the host. Sort of.

Okay, I still love Longaberger. Haven't bought any of their stuff since the first year I was married, and I don't have any desire to acquire more, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE this "cake basket." It has a wooden riser, and a pie fits perfectly underneath. A second pie fits perfectly on top of the riser. Or you can put your plastic dishes there.

No, I didn't bake this awesome blackberry pie. I was going to make my dear husband an apple pie for his birthday, but while visiting his family this past weekend he had an ice cream cake. Then his grandma came over with this pie. Which I quadruple-wrapped in plastic and foil, then double wrapped in cardboard. Then my husband strapped it VERTICALLY in his suitcase and we came home on Amtrak.

It survived with only minor seepage! No damage to the crust!

And I got out of baking a pie this week. *Thanks, Grandma!*

A few weeks ago we played this game with some friends. Enjoyed it so much, Keegan kept saying we had to get it some time. I ordered it for his birthday. It was waiting at our door when we arrived home from my in-laws' today, and since we were already planning to share the pie with my sis & brother-in-law, everything came together to become an impromptu game night.

Popcorn and Pie, Knights, Monks, Thieves, and Farmers.

Entertaining people? Yes. We were regaled with many tales of the three-year-old and almost-two-year-old and their antics over the weekend. My favorite was the boy finding the barbie nightgown in the "new" handed down clothes and wanting it for himself. Since his mother loves him, she didn't put it on him, but that didn't stop him from trying his best to put it on himself.

Actually, the three-year-old's version of speaking Spanish was pretty funny, too: she speaks extremely slowly or different from normal speech in some way, and she thinks she's speaking a foreign language.

Carcassonne (#8)

2010-08-02T22:50:00.001-05:00

*These photos are not from an actual game. I just set up some pieces to take pictures for you.

Look, no plastic! How can you resist these little guys?

I Didn't Quit, Even though I Wanted To (#7)

2010-08-02T22:46:00.000-05:00

I really don't know what I'm doing, but after many hours I'm over halfway through this knitted dishcloth.

I don't even want to ~~talk~~ write about it.

Speaking of Adoption

2010-07-26T22:58:00.000-05:00

I mentioned my friend who adopted a boy and is now blessing me with his clothes. Yesterday at church I heard some good news from a couple who is exactly my age. They've been in the system to adopt for over a year and a half, I believe. Last month they were expecting to bring home a baby girl, but the birth mother changed her mind just before the baby was born. I found out yesterday they are expecting a different baby girl, who was born on July 8 and will officially be theirs on August 10. All papers have been signed, but they just have to wait out the month. The baby is in foster care until that date. They have visited her several times and shown me photos and videos. Yes, I know it is possible that this won't work out, but it seems much more promising than the last situation.

Here is the interesting thing: They had two girl names picked out: Aubrey and Katelyn. They planned to name the baby they didn't receive, Aubrey. When that didn't work out, they said if they got another girl they would name her Katelyn. Well, around ten days ago they received word that there was a baby girl available. She was already a week old and already had a name: Katelyn. Spelled the same way.

Coincidence? I don't think so.

He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD. Psalm 113:9

Granny Panties!

2010-07-26T22:32:00.000-05:00

No, it's fitted crib sheets. Which I wasn't going to post a picture of, until I thought of the perfect title.

God is good! Can you believe I got all this great stuff for free? Some of it still had the tags on. Wow.

Sigh...More Cuteness

2010-07-26T22:28:00.000-05:00

Can You Die of Cute?

2010-07-26T22:25:00.001-05:00

My oldest friend, who shared kindergarten and my neighborhood with me, adopted a baby boy one year ago with her husband. She knows she won't ever get pregnant, and they only plan to adopt a girl yet. So...today I received a huge box in the mail with her baby boy clothes!!!

I cannot believe my kid is going to be this adorably snuggly.

Oh, my word. Can you just see his little foot kicking around in these blue footies?

And one of the greatest things is that those items on the right (below) are the only unisex outfits in the bunch. Everything is boy, boy, BOY!

That ultrasound better not have been wrong.

Just in Case You Were Wondering...

2010-07-26T22:14:00.001-05:00

Taken on July 18: 24 weeks minus one day.

I think I've gained two or three pounds in the week since this was taken. Seriously. Tonight I ate a foot-long meatball sub and two bags of chips from Subway. And I'm not sorry.

Anniversary Excursion (#29)

2010-07-26T22:04:00.000-05:00

On Friday we celebrated our fifth anniversary by driving into the city and visiting The Domes: arid, tropical, and floral show. Since we couldn't take a vacation, it was the best way to escape the Midwest. There's something magical about seeing bananas hanging on a tree. And cocoa pods. And pomelos.

The verdict: worth seeing to escape for an hour, but not a place to spend the day. Not a place to revisit often, either.

The floral show dome, currently displaying a Mark Twain theme, was a total bust. Not that it was unpleasant, but I was just expecting something way more spectacular. I guess after seeing the floral displays at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, I'm ruined for life.

The others were great, just much smaller than I'd expected. The Beijing Botanical Gardens, which we first visited in January of 2009 in order to escape the cold, had an enormous domed conservatory with plenty of winding paths. You could get lost in that place. Not these domes. They are small and wonderful, and cozy. You can easily see all the way across.

No, I wasn't disappointed in the tropical or arid rooms. Just surprised at the lack of imagination in the Mark Twain exhibit, and the small size of everything overall.

One easy one, checked off the list. Thanks to my husband for battling the road construction in order to get us there.

Knitting Is Hard

2010-07-14T20:55:00.000-05:00

I've been at it for a week. I've pulled out the stitches time after time.

Every time I start over, it's a little better.

But I'm sick of starting over.

The end of the yarn is getting worn out. Should I cut off a few yards the next time I pick it up?

Wish I had someone here to tell me how to fix my mistakes without going back to the beginning every day.

However, the blue scarf I crocheted is AWESOME! Sort of makes me look forward to cooler weather. I'll post a picture some other time. It needs to be worn with a coat, but it's too hot to put that on for a picture.

Updates

2010-07-06T20:07:00.000-05:00

Wow! 22 Down, 8 to go. Though my husband assures me it's only 7 to go, because I do already "have a baby." I just haven't "had" the baby. Hmm.

I took photos of the few gifts he's received already. I'm doing his baby book on my computer the same way I did my China blog book. This way I don't have to keep track of stacks of photos and other miscellany. These items are from a friend. They're extras from her baby girl who was born in February.

She doesn't know who made the yellow blanket. It's one of the things she got from someone who donated to married students at our husbands' school. It's very small and perfect for the car, I think.

These strawberries went on the flag cake. Mmmm...it's all gone now. Looking forward to next year!

My mom bought these impatiens for us when she visited in May. They were teeny-tiny then, but have overtaken the pot, just as hoped.

Our lovely porch, which we are insanely happy to be blessed with, stays cool. And gets almost no sun. So this is all we are attempting to keep alive.

Today this book arrived from Amazon. I hope to use it to accomplish number 3, in conjunction with a website that explains how to convert a skirt from this book into a maternity skirt. I'll let you know how that goes. My goal is to get it done by August. I really wasn't thinking when I put numbers three and four on the same list.

I haven't started knitting yet. Not too keen on trying to learn from books and videos, but I'm going to try.

The crocheting (which is off the list now, of course) is going well. I restarted the blue scarf with the second skein of yarn. Once it reached the length of the first, I ripped out the first one. The second looks much, much better. Thanks, Mom, for your encouragement. I'm glad I started over.

If the scarf goes well, my third project just might be an afghan for the baby. We'll see.

I've been working on the scarf while watching Season 1 of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." In 7th and 8th grade, I used to watch that show on Nick at Night every Tuesday when I babysat the neighbor kid. We'd usually play with legos for an hour or so, he'd go to bed, and then I'd watch "Taxi," "Bewitched," "Mary Tyler Moore," and "I Dream of Jeannie" until his parents came home from their Amway cult meetings.

In Beijing, we visited 798 Art District (a huge collection of military factory buildings that have been turned into modern art galleries), and I really didn't care for most of the art. Keegan hated it, too. I don't think I even blogged about it. But one thing I loved was the video gallery. Went into a giant room with giant video screens playing on loops. One was an artist's interpretation of an Amway meeting. All the people were upside down, chanting, and the leader was suggesting what expensive things they were going to buy with their earnings. I guess this kind of thing fascinates me in a twisted way. Plus I didn't even know Amway had a presence in China, but apparently it does.

So back to the list...cherries are still not on sale, and I just know they'll get cheaper before summer's end. So as soon as the price drops, I'll be making cherry dumplings.

I have decided what kind of book club to create: non-fiction. I loved the social aspect of my CA club, but some of the books were so trashy I was embarrassed to be reading them. I think there is a huge difference between reading about terrible events that really happened (hey, the Bible is full of it) and reading about fictional characters indulging in morally base behavior while I'm supposed to like them. So I'll be recreating, on a local and larger scale, the long-distance Anna-Kate book club, which my sister and I had back when I lived in CA and she in AZ. We were the only two members. Each month we read a different non-fiction book on the same general topic, and then we discussed our findings over the phone. This new group will be more fun because we'll get together in person. I'll certainly let you know if I get it going at the start of the school year, or if all my friends look at me like I'm crazy.

Our five-year anniversary is coming up this month. We're not in the financial state to take a trip like we have every other anniversary, even if only for one night. But I'm pretty sure we can afford to visit The Domes that day. I'll let you know.

That's about it. Just felt like writing tonight, even though I have nothing to report.

Why Did I Wait 29 Years to Do This? (#26)

2010-07-02T22:00:00.000-05:00

This was so delicious. We need some of our own holiday traditions, especially now that we're starting our own family. I think this will be one of them, along with peppermint bark at Christmas time.

Not caring much about what's underneath, I simply made a yellow cake mix from a box, using my pan with the most surface area.

Then I trimmed off the top to create a flat work space.

A very accurate, but not very even final product:

Keegan really laid on the pressure to get the stars right. I started out by carefully placing 50 blueberries on a field of creamy whiteness, exactly the way the 50 stars appear on the flag.

Despite the fact that all "recipes" for this cake say you won't have room for 50 blueberries, and just to put a smaller number on.

Of course the colors were reversed, but who cares?

I thought I had gone above and beyond.

My husband came to look and suggested that I fill in more blueberries so that the white spaces would be the stars, rather than the berries.

Easier said than done! I laid them out, but by then most of the berries were smeared with cream, and they were too far apart to have clearly demarcated white zones representing stars.

Took them all off, rinsed them off, and repainted the cream.

Started over. Fitted the berries on more tightly this time.

Count 'em. Fifty little white spaces. A few along the edges actually have five points! (see top right corner)

I married the geography police.

Yes, the whipped topping was as thick as the cake.

Crochet Progress, Just for Fun

2010-06-28T22:24:00.001-05:00

Here is a scarf I'm working on. (Second crochet project after the dishcloth).

You can see that where I began (the bottom) it is very stretched out. But I don't want to rip it all apart! It's just for me, and it'll have a fringe on the bottom that I hope distracts from the vast difference in gauge. If I finish it and find out it looks really terrible, then I will rip it out and consider it all practice.

Here's a closeup. Here's a link to the free pattern.
Note: the pattern has a typo in row one (an extra sc before "sc in next ch"). It took my friend and me a good hour to figure out where the typo was. We knew something was wrong, but we were looking in the wrong place for a while.
I used the same brand of yarn in a different color (321 Williamsburg).

Two Long-Term Projects Finished (#20 & #24 )

2010-06-28T22:08:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow I will have so much extra time in my day!

Not really. I'm picking up my first knitting book from the library. Never found a (free) local teacher. Sorry, Casey, North Dakota is too far for me right now :) but it sure was tempting.

I will NOT be spending my time memorizing hymns or writing Chinese.

Hymns (#24): What began as a 2009 New Year's Resolution in Beijing, at ten minutes a day for six months, turned into 15 minutes a day once I came back to the U.S. Then it became part of "The List." And you know what? I'm sick of it. I am taking a break starting tomorrow. Now that it's over, let me tell you that eighteen months of a daily brain task is a little much. Seventy-five hymns. All the verses. It will all be worth it when I can leisurely sing to my baby boy.

Chinese Writing (#20): This also began in Beijing. Keegan found this book for RMB 28 (that's about $4.00) at a bookstore there. It sells for $17.95 on Amazon. The funny thing is that he's hardly used it, but I've devoured it.

Over the past year and a half I've gone in spurts of studying and ignoring it. My brain can only take so much of this. Definitely not a daily activity; four times a week is very good for me.

I've gone through several of these little practice notebooks that I picked up in a stationery store on our street in Beijing. It's what the kids use in school to practice their characters.

I can now write all 369 characters in this book. They combine to form many words (which I have not memorized), but I'm well on my way to thousands of words if I ever get that far.

I needed to be done with this, because I'd like to resume an audio course, and my brain can only handle so much at a time.

Two days ago our little village had a pre-July 4 festival. During the water ski show (very cool--my first one) a Chinese family sat on the grass right next to me. I do NOT live in a very diverse community. I think God was at work there.

I recognized that they were only speaking Mandarin, and since several days before I'd sat next to a Chinese woman at the library and only had the guts to speak to her in English (about China), I struck up a conversation in Mandarin with the mother. Success!! Unfortunately, after a few minutes of introductory stuff, I didn't know what else to say. I didn't know how to say "water ski" so I couldn't talk about what we were doing. She didn't press me, either. Amazingly, I understood everything she said! That really shocked me. My fear about starting a conversation in Mandarin is that the other person will say something too fast or way beyond my understanding. I didn't catch what they were saying to each other; my listening ability is very poor.

Here is an example of an easy character from the book. The picture and description make it very simple to commit to memory.

Here is an example of one that is more difficult.

What sweet relief to be finished with these tasks!

A Dishcloth (#11)

2010-06-18T20:44:00.001-05:00

This was not very difficult! Crocheting is fun. Of course, it helps when you're hanging out with two of your good friends while you do it.

Here is the free pattern.

An Easy Summer Project for You or Your Kids (#30)

2010-06-16T18:30:00.000-05:00

No, you do not have to memorize songs on the recorder, like I did:

Jingle Bells
Morning Has Broken (also in our hymnal as BUNESSAN, hymn 505)
Scarborough Fair
Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore
Bydand (an original song by my husband)

The first four are from The Usborne Book of Easy Recorder Tunes.

I did not record myself playing all these. My recorder is a very very very cheap instrument, and it really doesn't sound that great on a recording. Plus, since my husband's melody is unpublished, I won't share it online.

However, very nice recorders do exist. Someday, perhaps I'll invest in one.

Meanwhile, have you wanted to learn a new instrument? Even if you can't read music? This is the one!!! I was a music teacher, so I'd like to think I know what I'm talking about. I really think any adult or older child who really wants to try, can learn to play this simple instrument with only the book, Recorder Fun! It comes with a CD so you can listen to hear if you're playing correctly.

Unlike other instruments you blow into, the recorder requires very little change in how you hold your mouth. If you played a brass instrument, you know that you can use your mouth to change pitch. This can be very difficult. The sounds on a recorder are almost all determined by which holes you cover with your fingers. That makes it EASY!

Unlike piano, which uses two hands and generally four notes at a time, the recorder is limited to playing one note at a time. That makes it EASY!

Unlike many instruments with large ranges, the recorder has a very small range. That means you only have a small number of fingerings to learn. That makes it EASY!

The main problem with the recorder is that if you play it poorly, it has a high, squeaky sound that nobody likes. But, come, on, it's worth it for a few days or weeks because it's really fun in the end. And any instrument sounds bad at the beginning.

If you're looking for that special something to make this an interesting summer, go buy a cheap recorder, buy the book, and see what happens. Even as a musically trained person, I found deep satisfaction in learning this simple instrument.

It's a boy!

2010-06-16T17:17:00.000-05:00

He's so cute! He wouldn't hold still for the pictures, so this is the best you get. We brought our camera and my husband videotaped the monitor, so we have several great videos.

Focaccia, Part 2 (#6)

2010-06-15T11:50:00.000-05:00

Success!

The second recipe, with the overnight rise, was a huge hit. If you make it, you should follow the directions exactly, but adjust for your own oven. I have a hot oven and I always take a few minutes off baking times.

My guests were scheduled to arrive at 4:00. At 3:30, the first pan of focaccia came out of the oven. I'd baked it in a glass 9x13. It completely stuck to the pan. It took me ten minutes to scrape it out. The focaccia was not ruined; it just was a pain to mess with. So while I was scraping, at about 3:37, I called my sister.

"I'm having a cooking emergency! Do you have any parchment paper?"

Luckily for me, she did, and she was just about to go for a walk with the baby. So she stopped by my place and saved the day. The second half of the dough I scraped onto a baking sheet (technically a jelly roll pan; but that's such a quaint term and I've never had or made jelly rolls...does anyone even do that anymore?) on top of the parchment paper. Totally worth it! I should have bought some and saved myself the trouble, but how could I have known? When it came out of the oven, it just lifted right off the paper with no problem. And when Keegan asked me, "Can you reuse it?" I suddenly remembered that when I worked at a bakery at age 16, yes, indeed, we did reuse the parchment paper a number of times. I have some leftover veggies that I plan to broil this week, so I will make another batch of this recipe and use the same paper.

Now to the important part: how did it taste? Amazing! To quote my friend, "I can't believe you made this yourself." My response? "Me, neither."

The recipe above is plain. I added fresh, chopped rosemary at two points: some mixed into the dough from the beginning, and some sprinkled on top just before baking. The flavoring possibilities are endless.

We ate the bread by itself as well as sliced horizontally, stuffed with grilled veggies and pesto. I grilled eggplant, zucchini, tomato, red onion, and sweet peppers. YUM!

You know, I would not have made this if not for the list. I would have thought that putting something in the fridge overnight would open it up to too many variables, too much time for something to go wrong. But that is not the case! The recipe is SO EASY to follow and turns out exactly as expected.

Go make some focaccia and wow your friends!

More Yeast Bread (#6)...Part 1

2010-06-12T22:36:00.003-05:00

Yesterday (Friday) I made a fast focaccia recipe in about four hours. Here is the link. Although I usually think I know more than the person who writes a recipe, and liberally make adjustments, I've had very little experience with yeast doughs. Therefore I followed this one just about exactly. As a result, it turned out precisely as he described:

The structure is cakier but the crust has a satisfying chewiness that almost makes up for that, and the flavor is very good.

I'm glad he only wrote "almost" makes up for it. Honestly, it was okay, but way too heavy. I wouldn't want to eat much of it. It would be good for a starving person. Not good as an appetizer. The proof of this is that we still have a lot left over, 29 hours later.

Now, I know you're not supposed to try a new recipe out on guests, but I'm breaking that rule this weekend. Tomorrow we have some friends and one of Keegan's professors and his wife over for a grill-out. The friends are bringing the grill since we don't have one, but we have the gorgeous porch on the woods and the privacy. They are living in his parents' house this year, his parents recently returned from their year in Europe, and they can't move into their new place yet.

Our plan is to grill burgers and vegetables. Instead of repeating the focaccia recipe I tried yesterday, I am making a new recipe. It rises overnight, which is supposed to give it a lighter texture (Is "crumb" the word I want?).

So far, so good. I mixed up the ingredients, and it is in the fridge in a large bowl, ready to rise very slowly. I'm a little nervous about the baking part, since the first recipe specified a baking stone and this one wants parchment paper on a baking sheet. I borrowed my sister's baking stone in order to follow the first recipe. I don't have any parchment paper. I think I will take my chances and use the stone again tomorrow. The disconcerting part is that the oil is not mixed in yet, and I'm afraid it will run off the stone...but I don't think my baking pans are heavy enough for the job.

Overall, I'm hopeful and willing to risk it. If it fails completely, I'll take yesterday's bread and pop it in the oven to warm up. It won't be the greatest quality, but it should still taste good. In any case, there should be plenty of other food to eat.

I'll let you know how it all works out!

June Goals

2010-06-04T01:53:00.002-05:00

Since I'll barely be working--all my schools are closed except the early childhood center--I have extra time to devote to this list.

#24. Memorize two hymns a week (rather than one) and finish early. I'm up to 65 memorized. Ten to go. Still enjoyable.

#2. Make cherry dumplings. Maybe make apple dumplings at the same time as long as I'm going to the trouble of making pie crust.

#6. Make focaccia bread and grilled vegetable sandwiches. Oh, I can't wait for this one. It's going to be so good! Unless I fail, of course. But failure is not an option!

Believe it or not, this one is inspired by a sandwich I had many times in Beijing, at a restaurant called Lush. As the website says,

Featuring great cafe fare to take the edge off the rice blues...

The food was truly incredible. They actually made the best hamburgers I've ever had anywhere in the entire world, restaurant or homemade. Part of it is that they use incredible, amazing focaccia bread for the buns. And part of the joy was because I lived in a place in the world where baked bread is not part of the cuisine. Lush was a truly wonderful experience. It's what we ate on Christmas Day, 2008. Ah, Lush burgers...Mmm... But when I wanted something lighter, I had their grilled vegetable sandwiches, which had fresh basil leaves and real mozzarella cheese melted into the vegetables. Ooh-la-la! How can one place make both amazing hamburgers and perfect vegetable sandwiches? 'Twas a mystery, this divine restaurant surrounded by terrible western-style fast food.

Oh, you should know, in case you ever go there: the service is atrociously slow. However, the food is worth the wait. There is no other place to get this food for thousands of miles.

#11. I found a crochet buddy and a crochet teacher! The three of us should have some fun times ahead.

#30. Recorder songs. Working steadily. This should be accomplished within a week, unless I stop practicing.

#20. Chinese writing. I had two 25-minute sessions today. At that rate I'll finish the book within the month. Today I relearned the characters for cat, dog, monkey, horse, wolf, and camel. Plus others. But those are fun.

I hope you're accomplishing your goals and getting inspired to do something different this summer. Any interesting summer plans?

Anyone Ever Eaten Cherry Dumplings? (#2)

2010-05-27T18:19:00.000-05:00

Summer is almost upon us, and I can finally think about the second item on the list.

Here is the inspiring passage from The Boxcar Children:

"I can smell something good!" cried Benny. "Is it cherries?"
"Yes, my little dear," said Mary. "Cherry dumplings. The cherries are cooked in the dumplings."

Despite the small fact that I've never eaten or even seen cherry dumplings, this did me in. I have to try them!

I've been searching the web for cherry dumpling recipes.

I came across a quote from a cooking site called "Cook Sister" and I agree completely:

If you say the word "dumpling" to a room full of people, I can bet you that no two will think of the same dish. It's just one of those dishes that can manifest itself in so many ways that no two people's old favourite family dumplings or local specialities will ever be the same. Except for one small problem: my family was never big on dumplings!

In my Beijing experience, dumplings in Northern China fall into one of two categories: filled steamed bread (thick breading) or boiled filled dough (thin pasta-dough-like lining). The first is baozi, and the second is jiaozi. They were always savory, usually filled with pork and cabbage, but plenty of vegetable variety does exist.

When I think apple dumplings, which I've never eaten, I think of apples wrapped up in pie crust with some syrupy sauce pooling on the plate.

When I think of chicken and dumplings (a dish I did not grow up on, and have only had in school cafeterias or potlucks), I think of chicken soup with balls of soggy dough floating inside.

The vast majority of cherry dumpling recipes I've come across look like cherry cobbler to me: cherries cooking in sugar, with balls of dough dropped on top and cooked some more. That is not what I envision the boxcar children ate. I think of filled pastry. Since I already know how to make pie crust, I really could just whip up something that fits the picture in my imagination. Just like cherry tarts, but closed up all the way. However, is that authentic? What was Gertrude Chandler Warner really thinking? How can I recreate this amazing thing I've built up in my mind based on two lines from her book?

The site I quoted from above has a filled cherry dumpling recipe, but it's also not what I envision. It has bread crumbs sprinkled on it...and while it's probably as delicious as the writer claims, the appearance is important to me on this one.

Well, that's why I gave myself an out and listed apple dumplings as an alternative. But I'm not ready to give up yet.

Any thoughts?

Hospital Inspiration (#14)

2010-05-22T09:16:00.002-05:00

I was starting to sweat over number 14. I took a five-week drawing class in March. I wasn't sure how helpful it was. Then I ordered two very different books on portrait drawing. I actually didn't own any drawing books until this week. One was really old-school. The other was more helpful.

This item is on the list because in my high school drawing class I felt like I could draw anything they put in front of me except people. It has been a goal of mine to conquer this skill, because I figure it's the most useful. I'd like to draw my own children someday.

Of course, the main problem is finding a photo I really love that also happens to be very clear and close-up. For months I've wondered, "Whom will I sketch?"

Here it is: In case you're wondering, it took about three hours to do. I began last night, got a good start, and went to bed. Finished this morning.

My sister had her third child on Wednesday. I went to the hospital that afternoon (the youngest baby I've ever seen!) and we were all charmed by the three-year-old's reaction to her new baby brother. The 20-month-old brother was more terrified than anything else, to see his mama in a hospital bed.

Here is an earlier stage.

At this point I thought I was done, but after viewing the photos, I went back and softened the blanket a bit.

The verdict? Yes, the drawing class was helpful, and so were the books. The class aided me greatly with the proportions, and the books helped with the details. I couldn't have done this so easily without them. I can hardly believe I never got frustrated or thought of giving up. The whole experience was actually enjoyable!

Last time I drew a decent portrait (about 8 years ago), I enlarged a small photo, then drew over it as needed, to feel it out. This one I never even had a hard copy of. I just copied from what I saw on my computer screen. I think that's a good sign!

Halfway Done! (the final fourth of #22)

2010-05-20T12:33:00.000-05:00

Just finished rereading the restored edition of All the King's Men. It is an amazing work. If you've ever seriously wondered how honest people become corrupt, this is the book that explains it. Called "the definitive novel about American politics" by the New York Times, and winner of the 1947 Pulitzer Prize, this book tells the stories of several men:

Willie Talos, southern politician of the 1920s-1940s
Jack Burden (the narrator), reporter turned assistant-to-the-politician
Cass Mastern, civil war soldier

It's been made into several movies, but I've never seen any of them. For fifty years a different book version was published, but then in 2001 this restored edition came out. If you ever read it, get your hands on the restored edition, not the old one. Even the name of the main character was changed by the editors because they thought "Talos" wasn't American enough. This took away the talon-imagery which fits the character well. Fortunately his name was given back to him in this restored edition.

It's not the type of book I'd pick up for myself. I'm so glad it was required reading in college. It's one of the few books I didn't resell, because I knew I'd want to reread it someday. Now that day has come and gone, and I recommend this to anyone who cares about studying human nature. You must know that it is a very dark tale, but not amoral. Sure, many of the characters are immoral, but throughout the book the narrator is trying to understand morality and how and why people do the things they do. Fascinating stuff.

The Baby

2010-04-30T23:03:00.001-05:00

Last week Wednesday I had my first appointment. Love my doctor! She's awesome! When the doctor asked if I had any questions, I only said, "Not really. I just want to know the baby is still alive." I was 11 weeks, 3 days, and we heard the heartbeat. That was very exciting. Then I sat in the car in the parking structure and called my husband, my mom, my sister, and my mother-in-law. Amazingly, everyone was home. Then I went to Culvers.

So now I'm 12 1/2 weeks (which means I'm in the 13th week, right?) and I am sure I felt the baby move yesterday. I know it's early, but I went online today and searched to see if anyone else felt her baby this early. Many women have in week 13, and in several places I read that if you're thin it's definitely possible to feel it in week 13.

I was lying on the bed in the middle of the afternoon resting. I was lying on my stomach for a long time. After about 45 minutes I felt something that did not feel like it was part of my digestive system, and it seemed to be coming from the place where the baby lives. Well, I know I can't prove it, but it makes me feel good. I believe it.

Today is the five year anniversary of our engagement. Yippee!

Keepin' it Real

2010-04-24T22:14:00.000-05:00

I read about a dozen blogs, for various reasons. Every once in a while, I get annoyed by one of them. Their lives just seem too perfect, you know? Like everything they try to do succeeds. And since some of their accomplishments seem silly to me, that just makes it worse.

Now the truth is, their life can't possibly be perfect. Just not possible! So they just write about the things they're proud of and leave off the embarrassing moments and failures. At least that's what I tell myself.

Well, that's mostly what I do here, right? This blog is all about the things I have actually accomplished, and I don't want to waste time on the failures.

But what if one of you (very few, I know) readers gets that impression of me? That I don't make mistakes? Ha! That would be crazy. I'd hate for you to really think that, because then there would be a wall between us. And in reality, I'm just like you. I'm sure of it.

So I'll tell you what's up.

Last weekend I put many hours into a skirt. I don't feel like giving the details. Bottom line, I liked the skirt. My husband didn't. I'm not sure about you, but he's about the one person in my life whose opinion on my appearance actually matters. I'm not trying to impress anyone else with my looks. So I'll never wear it. Back to square one on that goal. And I will never post a picture, even though I think it's really cute, and so does my sister. I'll just quietly get rid of it someday. I know that's what will happen. Oh, well. It probably won't fit me in a month, anyway. And on the bright side, I'm not trying to complain about my husband. He compliments me on my appearance just about every day, which is why I am taking this critique seriously. Now was that last part bragging? I hope not. I just don't want this to be a husband-bashing rant.

I've been really unmotivated to study Chinese lately. And the more time away, the more I forget. I will have to spend a lot of time reviewing to catch up to where I was when I stopped about a month ago.

I've been wasting a lot of time lately. When I was a teacher (full time), I had no energy to do anything in the evening except watch TV. I hated myself for it, but usually I couldn't even read. I would just fall asleep at 7pm if I tried to read a book. Now I've been more tired (the baby, right?) and I've been spending lots of time watching movies in parts on Youtube. We don't have TV, or I'd probably be wasting my time with that.

I want to read All the King's Men, the last book on the list, but unfortunately, watching movies and TV shows on the Internet has been much more appealing lately.

So I'm kind of in a rut here. I want to go out for walks, but the weather just won't stay above 50 degrees, and that's still cold to me.

I'm over halfway through the year, but I'm less than halfway through the list. Just keepin' it real.

I've given in to my Culver's craving twice this week. I never eat fast food, really!

Now lest you worry about me, don't. I am very happy. I heard the baby's heartbeat this week! My first appointment went really well. I had several big things I had to prepare for this weekend at church and for another activity, and I'm ready for both tomorrow. My house is clean. My life doesn't stink. I'm not depressed (although I have been in the past, and it's nothing to be ashamed of; I'm just telling you I'm fine right now). I'm just not doing all the things I'd hoped to do, and I'm wasting a lot of time. That's my real life.

Totally Worth all the Hours (the final third of #5)

2010-04-14T22:11:00.001-05:00

Oh, my. Oh, my, oh, my. This book is wonderful. I didn't think so a few months ago, but I realized, picking it up again last week, that I'd only read a few pages and given up. Shame on me!

What can I say without spoiling the plot? I'd love to really talk about it, but it has mystery and suspense that I wouldn't dare take from you.

Instead, I'll compare Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, with her sisters' books: Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte, and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

I can hardly believe that a few months ago I'd read nothing by this family. What a great goal this was on the list!

If you're looking for ____________ then you should read _____________.

terror: Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights
romance: all three
stories of being a governess/teacher: Jane Eyre or Agnes Grey
a satisfying conclusion: Agnes Grey or Jane Eyre
reality: Agnes Grey
fantasy: Wuthering Heights
mystery: Jane Eyre
a winter read: Wuthering Heights
Christian literature: Agnes Grey
gothic: Jane Eyre (sort of) or Wuthering Heights (very much)

Overall, Jane Eyre and Agnes Grey have a lot in common. You can tell the authors grew up together and had similar experiences. Wuthering Heights is surprisingly different from the others; if you take it seriously (which is impossible, since it's about ghosts), it is ungodly and horrific. If you take if for entertainment, as I did, it's just a fun, spooky snowstorm thrill. I'm glad I read that one first. It made the others sweeter. All three were vastly entertaining and worth the time, if you have the time. I'd never tell you to read these books if you have more important things to do. They probably won't change your life. Lucky for me, I had the time!

In other events, here's a reason I haven't posted lately:

This quilt for my niece took up most of my free time for several weeks. Actually, I spent three months on it, but the last several weeks were the most intense. The alphabet letters are arranged to cover the top of a twin bed mattress. The sides hang down a good 15-18 inches on each side. It should be a pretty generous-sized bedspread for a little three-year-old. I think she'll be swallowed up in it! I'll be giving it to her on Saturday.

Helpful Hint

2010-03-21T22:48:00.001-05:00

After writing about my pizza experience, I thought of something to share with you. This information is just in case you don't already know the easiest and neatest way to cook bacon.

First of all, if you never buy, cook, or eat bacon, congratulations! You will probably live a long, healthy life. You can skip this post.

If, however, like me, you find bacon useful every so often, listen up. I buy a one-pound package about every three months. I separate the pieces and bake the whole package in a 9x13 rectangular cake pan, turning every ten minutes or so until done. Probably at 350 degrees. When in doubt, try 350.

The beauty is that nothing jumps out of the pan, and nothing spatters. Nothing burns or sticks, because the pan isn't touching a burner. PLUS, it's all cooked up at once and you can divide it up into portions.

Don't bother telling me about your bacon-microwave-success stories, because I don't have or want a microwave. I've done that, too, and this is neater. Who wants tiny bits of paper towel stuck to their bacon, anyway?

I like to put four pieces in a zip-top bag in the freezer, for that time I'll make waffles. Because, you know, if I didn't, my husband would probably eat the whole package. Sometimes I use my shears right away and make bacon bits. They can really add something to a vegetable you're otherwise sick of (yellow summer squash in September, anyone?).

And those two-slice portions for adding a little something to the barbecue chicken pizza.

Okay, now what about the bacon grease? You know it's like gold when it comes to flavor, right? I save mine in a little glass jar in the freezer, with the date Sharpied onto the lid.

Although there are many uses, I really only use mine in my homemade refried beans. I think it gives them that smoky flavor that I cannot otherwise reproduce. It's worth it to me.

My homemade refried beans? I took ideas from several online sources. Soak a pound of pinto beans in the crock pot overnight with a squirt of lemon juice. In the morning, turn the pot on. No, I don't drain them first. There's flavor in the water. Cook on low until done. Drain over a bowl. Add one teaspoon salt, one scant teaspoon pepper, 1/3 teaspoon cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, and two tablespoons bacon grease (optional for you, but essential for me). Puree in food processor a little at a time, adding back some of the reserved cooking water until it's the right consistency. This makes about five servings. By that I mean the amount I use for a meal of tacos for my husband and myself. That's five cans of refried beans for the price of a one-pound bag of dried beans. Major money saver! Fun to make, too. I divide them up into sandwich zip-top bags, flatten them so they stack, and freeze. Flattening is the fun part. The bags are so soft and squishy and smooth. Like playing with clay. Who doesn't like to play with clay, come on?

Now when it comes to using them, remember, I don't have a microwave. The easiest way to reheat them is to thaw them ahead of time, and put them in the oven as it's preheating for the taco shells. Turn the oven on a few minutes earlier than you would need to for the shells. Then everything is ready about the same time.

Does anyone else cook their bacon in the oven? I didn't know this trick for years into adulthood. Now you all know.

Not a Recipe. Just A Description. (#16)

2010-03-21T22:11:00.000-05:00

I finally conquered one of my fears and bought a jar of yeast. What I learned: Yeast is expensive! Maybe you don't think so. Maybe I wouldn't think so in a different stage of life. But I'm in the poorer-than-I've-been-since-college (by choice, so don't pity me) stage, and I was shocked at the price.

In any case, the rest of the pizza was free (in a sense) because I had everything on hand. And, oh, yeah, the recipe yielded four blobs of dough, three of which are in the freezer, so I guess in the long run the yeast was pretty cheap. Since I still have a mostly-full jar. But still. That initial cost. I could have bought a whole DiGiorno's for that price! Not on sale!

I had a really great suggestion from my friend Linda, which I'll share with you: put oregano in the crust. Yum! That would be so awesome!

I didn't do it.

I didn't do it because I already knew what kind of pizza I was going to make, and oregano wouldn't have worked.

Without naming names, there is someone in my house who cannot eat much tomato product because of heartburn. I cannot really work with tomato sauce. I know! That's HORRIBLE! My life is a nightmare! Think of all the stuff I can't make! Lasagna! Regular Pizza! Salsa! Chili! We both love this stuff, but in the end we both wake up in the middle of the night. Not worth it.

For the past few months, on and off, I've been making barbecue chicken pizza with a pizza crust mix. Once I finally was satisfied with the toppings, I decided to buy yeast and actually make it completely from scratch. It worked! And don't tell me I wasted money on the crust mix (which I would never buy--it's not particularly tasty or healthful), because I got it free.

No-rise pizza crust recipe: I got it from my sister. She got it straight from a freezer cookbook. It's copyright protected, so I'm not putting it here. Basically, you can find a zillion pizza crust recipes out there. This one had three cups of whole wheat flour to two cups white flour. Not bad. It was supposed to make two crusts. We like thin, crispy crust, so I divided it into four portions and put three in the freezer for the future. I spread the dough very thinly on the pan, and it worked.

For the toppings, I started by brushing a VERY thin layer of barbecue sauce on the pizza. VERY VERY thin. There was no texture to the sauce. It was just the tiniest hint of flavor, soaked into the dough, which I'd par-baked for a few minutes. You know how when you bite into a hot pizza right out of the oven, the part you burn your mouth on is the sauce? Well, this doesn't have enough sauce for that to happen.

Then I added, in no particular order, chopped onion, cooked chicken pieces, mozzarella cheese, and two pieces of cooked bacon, snipped into small pieces. You could definitely make this pizza without the bacon, but I'm married to a man, and I like to keep him happy.

Then, because The Pioneer Woman recently made a similar pizza (total coincidence, I promise) and added cilantro, I added that to half of it. We love cilantro, but I didn't want to overpower the rest of the toppings. It was a hit. I could have covered the whole pizza in it.

This was super easy, because:
The onion was already chopped (leftover from tacos, I think).
I used canned (already cooked) chicken breast.
The mozzarella cheese was already shredded.
The bacon was already cooked, in the freezer. I just pulled it out and snipped it with my kitchen shears.
The cilantro needed to be used up. It was leftover from Chinese Hot Pot.

The verdict? Easy. Delicious. Healthier than a pizza crust mix. Almost as fast. And next time, since the dough will just have to thaw, it will be even faster than a pizza crust mix.

Number 16, check.

Some Cuteness, Just for Fun

2010-03-15T22:21:00.000-05:00

My mom sent this box out immediately after she heard the news. If it's a boy, he'll really wonder about those hair bows! I guess even though he or she will be the ninth grandchild, Grandma and Grandpa are still pretty excited!

This will be the first grandchild on Keegan's side. Very cool!

His 80-year-old grandma said to me on the phone, "Oh, goodie! I was hoping I'd get to be a great-grandma before I died!"

I told her that I hadn't been to a doctor yet, and so some tiny part of me wondered if I might not actually be pregnant, but just have imagined it all. The test said to wait three minutes, but it came up pregnant IMMEDIATELY in about two seconds. So this grandma, who runs a pregnancy counseling center (at age 80!), said to me, "Oh, I just did one of those official tests for a girl the other day. If it came up pregnant right away, you're definitely pregnant!"

I was relieved to hear that.

No, this quilt is NOT for my child. I've been working on this twin bed quilt for my niece, who just moved out of her crib. She'll be three soon and this is for her birthday. I've made baby quilts for all my nieces and nephews, and this past winter I made some for a few friends who just had their firsts. Never had time to do that before. Boy, was that fun! It's nice to have free time!

The niece who gets this quilt is our goddaughter, which is why I'm taking the time to make something extra labor-intensive for her. I'm sorry I can't do this for all my nieces and nephews as they grow, but at least they each have one from me.

People keep asking if we're going to find out if it's a boy or a girl. Yes, and here is the reason: unisex quilts are not nearly as much fun. I love to make very girly and very boyish baby quilts, so I definitely want to find out what we're having. Happily, Keegan agrees. He's the type who wants to open gifts as soon as they come in the door, rather than wait for Christmas or birthdays. He definitely won't be able to wait for this news!

Inside the Book (#15)

2010-03-15T22:05:00.000-05:00

Some views of Mongolia, including our driver, Tushig:

Northern China, as seen from the train:

Mongolian souvenirs and sights from a moving train:

Spring in Beijing:

One Baby Born! Another Conceived!

2010-03-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

Here's my baby, which I labored over for much more than nine months:

Every person who has held it so far has remarked, "Wow! It's much thicker than I imagined!"

That's right. 264 pages. 919 photos. Lots of text. I'm completely happy and I'd recommend Blurb. I got the hardcover. My parents got the softcover (cheaper). I haven't seen their copy yet, but they love it. So either format is great. Considering how many photos I included, this was the most economical way to do it. I couldn't have developed this many photos for the price of this book. Plus there was NO MESS! No cutting! No buying photo albums! No writing by hand!

Including shipping, the hardcover cost me $83. My parents got the softcover for $65 including shipping.

I ordered it late Sunday night, February 28. They printed it and shipped it immediately, and I received it that same week on Saturday, March 6.

Front (above). Back (below)

The very day that East Asia Experience arrived by FedEx, I took this picture:

Yes, one baby finished. One begun.

:)

:)

The Scarlet Letter (Another 1/4 of #22)

2010-03-04T19:43:00.000-06:00

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

I didn't like it when I was a freshman in college a decade ago. I still didn't think it was worthwhile.

It's not the WORST book out there, but don't waste your time.

Reading about the Puritans in this book was depressing. If you want to read a good book about the Puritan lifestyle, you should read The Witch of Blackbird Pond, a children's book from 1958. It has an unfortunate title, as it's not about a real witch. There, I spoiled it for you--but not really. It's quite a good story, and as far as I can tell, historically realistic. I'm not into witch-books, and I never would have read that one except that it was one of my life goals. I had to read it.

I came upon it last year in Beijing at my Saturday school, and read it for the first time. During my childhood I'd seen it on numerous classroom library shelves and disregarded it. The title didn't even make me the least bit curious. I just thought it would be stupid. Not so! It starts out with a 16-year old girl, Kit, moving from her home in Barbados to a Puritan colony in New England. Because she can swim, some people think she's a witch. There is a lot more to the story, but I won't spoil it for you.

What goal was it that compelled me to read a book I had so many times shunned as a child? To read every single Newbery winner and honor book awarded since 1922. That is several hundred novels. Every year I read the current year's winners (usually 4 to 6 books) and continue to plug away at the old ones. It's very enjoyable. Much safer to read kids' books. Less poisonous content. In general, the Newbery books are excellent quality literature. Rarely am I disappointed.

Today I finished Savvy, one of 2009's honor books. Why didn't I read it in 2009? I couldn't get a hold of the books in Beijing. I'm working on two years' worth right now. It was excellent, and a very fun, easy read.

Well, so much for The Scarlet Letter. You can see how much I cared about that book. I hope you have better things to do with your time!

¡El Fin! (#1)

2010-03-01T21:13:00.002-06:00

It took less than five months to complete Visual Link Spanish.

I now feel totally confident to visit a Spanish-speaking country. Wonder if that'll ever happen.

I have a very low level of proficiency, but I know I could get by if left on my own in Costa Rica or Mexico.

This is a great course. They only have one language, but I wish they'd follow the same format for Chinese. I LOVE how they teach sentences patterns by chunks. It's the same way I taught my kindergartners to read and write complete sentences. My brain works that way.

This is by far the best self-study language course I've used, and I've tried quite a few.

After years of 'shoulda, coulda, woulda,' Beginner Spanish Course: complete!

Link to the Book (#15)

2010-02-28T23:03:00.001-06:00

I'm messing around with the "badge" on the previous post. It looks terrible, but I'm not very computer savvy, so I don't know if I can make it better. In any case, here is my book on blurb!

The China Book is Complete! (#15)

2010-02-28T22:58:00.012-06:00

East Asia Experience

based on the blog of our life in China

By Kathryn Dowling

Book Preview

I won't cross it off the list until it's in my hands next week.

I have been editing round the clock for the last week.

I've been working solidly on this final draft for two months.

I've been playing around, learning the software since last April.

I wrote the blog entries from August 2008 to September 2009.

It is finished! I can get on with my life now!

264 pages. 919 photos. Lots of text. Just in time for spring.

Praise the Lord!

A Very Thorough Update

2010-02-24T23:23:00.000-06:00

Just want you to know that I'm busy every day accomplishing this list.

In between I'm doing whatever my hand finds to do.

Last Tuesday I "taught" pre-calculus, algebra, trig, and statistics. It was my first ever pre-calc class! Keegan was horrified that I never went that far in math. Well, it seems it doesn't matter, since they still let me teach it! And if you are wondering how that went, it went just as you can imagine. Hilarious. They were a very supportive group of high school kids. I'm sure I had more fun than they did.

On Wednesday I practiced organ at my sister's church and Thursday I played for a funeral there. The woman was 90 years old. Her earthly shell was beautiful lying in her casket. Funny how we make death look so good. Not that I'm complaining. I'm happy for the family that their last view of her was so pleasant. Just musing at how we cover up the grim reality.

As I was leaving the church-school on Wednesday, I ran into a teacher out for recess. He had taught at my school in California for the first three years I was there. It was nice to catch up. Small world!

Right after the funeral, I ate my lunch in the car and drove to another school where I got paid to observe in second grade. They just wanted someone on-call, but I didn't have to actually teach.

On Friday I taught in the third grade room of the same school. Two boys got a two-day suspension for fighting after recess. I wasn't sure they'd call me back after that, but on Monday morning they asked me to come in. I taught eighth, kindergarten, fifth, and third while teachers were in meetings. I guess they still trust me!

Last night Keegan and I judged an elementary school forensics competition just down the road. Very entertaining! It was a fun thing to volunteer for.

And what about the list?

#1: Spanish Course: I expect to finish it NEXT WEEK!!!!!! I've already had some practice with native speakers, so as soon as I finish the course, I am checking it off!

#2: After months of searching online recipes, I found an apple dumpling recipe on youtube that looks AMAZING! I have no idea when I'll get around to it, but at least I have a start.

#3: Dress or skirt. Waiting for spring.

#4: Have a baby. Unless there's a preemie in my future, this one is not in God's plan for me by age 30. I'm completely okay with that. Plus, I've been pining for China lately...who knows?

#5 Bronte sisters: Couldn't get into Jane Eyre or Villette. What else did Charlotte Bronte write that's any good? If you know, give me a suggestion.

#6-9 Not in my immediate future.

#10: Complete

#11 Not in my immediate future.

#12-13 Complete

#14 Portrait Sketch: Tomorrow is my first of five drawing classes I signed up for through the recreation department. Should be fun! I already know how to draw, but I'm a little rusty. Portraits are the most difficult. I thought a class would get me back into the artist's viewpoint.

#15 East Asia Experience Blog Book: OH, MY! I'm in the EDITING STAGE!!!!!!!!!!! That's hundreds of hours of work, counting all the hours I put into writing the blog over the year in China. I hope to order it in early March and have it when Keegan and I go to Michigan mid-March. My in-laws would get to see it then. My parents are actually planning to order a copy for themselves, so they'll see it at the same time.

#16 Homemade pizza: I have a perfect combination of toppings that I've made a few times on a crust made from a mix. It will be homemade when I make yeast dough from scratch. I guess I can get around to that any time, but I just haven't done it yet. I'm afraid of yeast. Did I ever mention that?

#17 Complete

#18 Birthday calendar: Wow! I'm so impressed with myself that I haven't dropped the ball on this one yet. So far, so good.

#19 Complete

#20 Writing Chinese Characters: Been working like crazy on this. Can't guess when I'll be done.

#21 Complete

#22 I am reading The Scarlet Letter this week. I didn't like it in college. I'm giving it another chance.

#23 Complete

#24 Hymns: still spending 15 minutes a day memorizing. Steadily working through the schedule.

#25 Complete

#26 American Flag Cake: Not til July

#27-28 Complete

#29 The Domes: It's not going anywhere.

#30 Recorder practice: This has always been a "summer" project in my mind.

How are you coming on your goals?

The Ice (#27)

2010-02-15T19:44:00.002-06:00

Giant Crocodile Mouth? Or Baleen Whale?

On Valentine's Day we accomplished my goal of visiting a Great Lake in the middle of winter. I've always loved bodies of water in every season, but rarely have I actually taken the time to walk along an icy shore.

Then again, I haven't had very many opportunities to do so. This is the closest I've ever lived to a large body of water that can actually freeze in winter. I didn't want the entire season to pass before I experienced it. Glad we did!

Love the natural ice sculptures! The Creator gave us a feast for the eyes yesterday!

My valentine:)

The Birds

2010-02-15T19:42:00.000-06:00

Blue and White

2010-02-15T19:41:00.000-06:00

A Pleasant Surprise (Another 1/3 of #5)

2010-02-10T22:05:00.000-06:00

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

Anne Bronte is the least well-known of the three Bronte sisters who survived to adulthood and became writers. She only wrote a few books and some poems, and then died at the age of 29. Aaaa! 29! What is going on here?

Her novel Agnes Grey is semi-autobiographical. The main character leaves home to become a governess around the age of 18. Anne Bronte shares some of her experiences dealing with spoiled, unruly children and their indulgent parents. The book was first published in 1847. Human nature and the parent-child relationship have not changed a bit! As a teacher, I laughed, cringed, and gave thanks that I don't currently teach full-time.

There's much more to the plot, but I don't want to spoil it by telling you anything beyond the beginning.

I've read Austen, Emily Bronte, and other early British writers. Most are set in a Christian culture, but contain only vague references to God as provider or controller of destiny, and no mention of Christ as Savior. They may as well be non-Christian for the lack of Gospel truth they contain.

In definite contrast, Agnes Grey is a decidedly Christian book of realistic fiction! I had no idea! Here is an author we will meet in heaven one day. I say that based on her confessions of faith in this book, which are very clear and correct. I was amazed at the depth of doctrine. So refreshing!

Generally from Jane Austen (reading and watching the movies) I always got the impression that the Church of England in the early 1800s was a rather dull place to be. Sermons were more about a morally upright life than interpretation of Scripture, with a definite lack of Gospel motivation. Justification and sanctification were both shoved aside and in their place was the religion of the pharisees. Austen and Bronte knew firsthand, both being the daughters of pastors of the Church of England.

Well, Anne Bronte could see through it all! Here is a quote from Agnes Grey, without giving away the plot:

"I did hear him preach, and was decidedly pleased with the evangelical truth of his doctrine, as well as the earnest simplicity of his manner, and the clearness and force of his style. It was truly refreshing to hear such a sermon, after being so long accustomed to the dry, prosy discourses of the former curate, and the still less edifying harangues of the rector."

That quote doesn't make it very obvious what was taught, but later she quotes the new preacher as he counsels a shut-in:

"He [God] is your father, your best friend; every blessing, everything good, pleasant, or useful, comes from Him; and everything evil, to shun, or to fear, comes form Satan--His enemy as well as ours. And for this cause was God manifest in the flesh, that He might destroy the works of the devil: in a word, God is LOVE..."

There is much more, but it would spoil the plot, so I'll stop here.

This is my highest recommendation so far. Of all the books I've reviewed on this blog, this is the one you should read. Please. Order it from your library and let me know what you think. I've never talked with anyone who has read it, so I'd love to hear from you. Order the large print version if you can. Much easier to digest that archaic vocabulary!

The Joke's on Me (Unsuccessful #8)

2010-02-06T20:27:00.000-06:00

Great party! Really! My parents even drove in for a whirlwind two-day trip from 400 miles away. Saw a cousin's youngest I'd never met. Saw my cousin's husband who I hadn't seen since my wedding. Caught up with aunts and uncles.

The desserts were a hit. My cousin's kid was totally into the loose leaf Chinese tea and wanted to know everything about it. The 22-pound turkey, which went into the oven at 6 am, came out perfectly. Everyone had a seat. My relatives brought great food. The temperature was right for the kids to play in the snow. Thank you, Heavenly Father!

But...we...didn't...play...any...games!

So I can't cross it off the list!

We ate, talked, ate, sang, ate, the kids played in the snow, and we ate some more. And then it was time for everyone to leave.

I cleaned up. Made turkey stock with the carcass. The leftover desserts will be consumed at church tomorrow.

Total success for a family reunion, but total bust for a game night. I guess we don't see each other often enough. We just wanted to talk.

BUT, it gave me confidence, that, yes, I can host a party. Even a crowded one. Three people brought card tables, and everyone fit. The little kids even had a hallway to run through, and they played with toys in the bedroom. That was my main concern with the space issue. We adults can handle it, but how do you deal with a one and a two-year-old who need room to expand?

God blessed the party. Thank you, Lord! I praise you for creating and taking care of families!

40 Minutes to Bedtime (#8)

2010-02-05T21:25:00.000-06:00

Whew, I am tired! Today I subbed in high school. That was the easy part. Then I came home and made five dozen mini tarts. I was going to make the pie crust yesterday, but ran out of time and energy, so I made it all tonight.

Unfortunately, in my zeal to make things just a tiny bit healthier, I used a mix of white and whole wheat flour. That is just NOT the way to make delicious pie crust. If it is, I haven't figured it out yet. So although I still think they're good, they're not light and flaky enough to make me proud. Not my best pie crust. Fortunately, I am NOT a perfectionist, so I am not going to do anything about it except announce it on my blog. I am not perfect. There. I said it.

I have enough other desserts to keep people happy.

I wrote everyone's names on plastic cups with a Sharpie. As I did this, I started to become overwhelmed with the sheer number of cups sitting on the table. Am I really going to have this many people in our apartment tomorrow???

Breathe, Kate. Then go to bed.

Under 200! and other updates...

2010-02-04T18:03:00.000-06:00

Of 369 Chinese characters to write, I've mastered 175. That leaves 194, which means I've broken the 200 mark! Writing 30 minutes a day about four days a week has been the routine.

Speaking of Chinese, I got another chance to practice! Last week I subbed at a high school and conversed with a foreign exchange student from Shanghai. He was completely surprised that I knew any Chinese. That's always a good feeling!

Spanish--on track to finish the course in early March. Been studying five days a week. A few nights ago Keegan and I volunteered as ESL tutors at church. The head instructor gave directions in English and Spanish, and I was amazed at how much I understood. Then a devotion was given in Spanish, and frankly, I understood most of it. Of course, I knew the context, so that helped a lot. The course must be working!

In addition to discovering that I knew more Spanish, that evening I ran into a high school classmate who was also volunteer tutoring. We had our first meaningful conversation in about 14 years. We were friends at 15, then we weren't friends at 16. I sincerely hope we can be friends again. I never stopped missing her. My heart broke when we had our falling out, but for whatever reason (my pride?) I never tried hard enough to fix things. I'm thinking we stand a pretty good chance now since we're twice as old and hopefully more than twice as mature.

That would have been enough to make this an amazing week in the friendship department, but Keegan and I also hit it off with another couple last week. We really have a lot in common with them, with enough differences to keep things interesting. They had us over for a fantastic dinner, and we look forward to returning the favor.

Game night--this Saturday will be a local family reunion lunch and game afternoon, and that counts. This morning I baked three kinds of all-natural oatmeal cookies (pecan, pecan-raisin, and pecan-cherry), a pan of brownies (from a box), and some pumpkin spice muffins (from a spice cake mix and a can of pumpkin). Tonight I'm mixing and chilling the pie crust (My late Grandma L's recipe), and tomorrow I'll make two kinds of mini fruit tarts. I've never made so many desserts in my life!

Twenty-three people will be in our living room on Saturday. We got used to being crammed in Beijing, so Keegan and I will be fine. Just hope everyone else has enough personal space! It's nice to be near some relatives again. I invited all my aunts, uncles, and cousins who live within an hour, and all but one family is coming. Ah, so blessed.

Here's hoping your week is filled with blessings from above!

"Leave the Gun. Take the Cannoli." (#19)

2010-01-31T15:29:00.001-06:00

Over the past week my dear husband and I watched all three Godfather movies. That's over nine hours of film. This week I'm going to catch up on my sleep.

Instead of reviewing the movies, which I enjoyed but wouldn't recommend to everyone, I'll share the reasons this item is on the list, right up there with memorizing hymns and learning Chinese.

Reason 1: Keegan often quotes the movies, refers to a scene, or mentions an actor I should know from the trilogy. I was tired of feeling stupid.

Reason 2: When I lived in California, I toured Francis Ford Coppola's winery and stood inches away from his Oscars that he won for the first two movies. Vito Corleone's desk and some other props were also on display. That was cool, but the experience would have been richer had I remembered more of the movies. I'd seen the first one a few years before, but didn't remember it very well.

Reason 3: One of my favorite chick flicks, You've Got Mail, contains numerous references to The Godfather.

Reason 4: I'm a sucker for movies set in New York (yeah, I know, that's about half the movies ever made), and I love Italy.

Nothing to be especially proud of here. No great accomplishment. Just something I've been meaning to do for a long time! It's nice to check it off the list.

First Time Since 1997 (#13)

2010-01-18T13:53:00.010-06:00

Whew! October. November. December. January. And this, my friends, is why I hardly ever memorize songs on the piano. It really takes that long.

Sophomore year of high school was the last time a piano teacher forced me to memorize anything. I didn't even care for the song, but I had to do it for a competition. I didn't advance beyond the first round, and I hardly remember anything about that day. I just know there was nothing enjoyable about it, and I was excited to know that the next year I would have a new teacher who possibly might not force her students to participate in these ridiculous competitions.

Yet I want to have songs memorized. I just don't like to do all the work it requires.

I started reading Jane Eyre this week. It's by Emily's sister Charlotte. I'm happy to read it, and it will be an accomplishment. After all, it's about 500 pages. Then again, anyone can sit down and read a book. I won't be "proud" of myself for finishing it.

I am proud of myself for memorizing this song. Honestly, I didn't know if I could do it.

The composition I chose is a dance-like arrangement of the hymn "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" by Valerie A. Floeter, from her book, 12 Sacred Solos for Piano.

This morning I started practicing like any other day, but I got so close I though it might be THE day. I took about a dozen videos, pinpointing my mistakes, practicing, and taking more videos until I finally played the entire thing without any important mistakes. Notice, I didn't say, "without any mistakes." I'm not a perfectionist. It's close enough for me.

Some people put videos on their blogs. For some unknown reason, I can't post them here. Not that I expect anyone to actually view this (except maybe my Mom), but I have to upload this because it's part of my agreement with myself. It proves that I've accomplished this item.The Song. Memorized. Number 13, checking it off the list.

Getting Organized for the New Year (#10)

2010-01-01T22:46:00.006-06:00

One of my New Year's Goals is to resume meal planning. I used to do it when I worked fulltime in California, because it was essential. I had to fix supper as soon as I walked in the door, and I had to know what to fix.

Then we went to China and meal planning became, "What plans do you have tonight? Are we eating together? What restaurant do you want to go to? Or is it really cold tonight? Let's just order delivery." I was always the one to order delivery. Even though Keegan's conversational Chinese is as good or better than mine, he doesn't like talking to strangers on the phone. So I'd dial the number and practice my imperfect Chinese with no gestures. I know it wasn't the best way to say everything, but the guy on the phone always understood me.

Wei? Ni hao.

Ni hao. Zhe shi Zhong guan yuan, yao ling er. Women yao yi ge bashi. Yi ge san shi ba. Liang ge bashisi. Yi ge wushier. Hao ma?

Hao de.

Xiexie. Zaijian.

Zaijian.

In about forty minutes we'd hear the delivery guy on his motorcycle pulling up to our apartment. He always had exact change for whatever bill we'd give him.

Now we've reentered the real world of a student and we just about never eat out.

I get to become friends with these again!

Good friends that they are, they can be a bit overwhelming. For years I've dreamed of the perfect index. I toyed around with the idea of a cross-referenced ingredient spreadsheet. But that would just be too much work, and I'd never believe it was complete enough.

My sister and a friend both have retyped all their favorite recipes and put them in plastic sleeves. Despite throwing away a TON of cookbooks before we left the country, I still had too many cookbooks, I liked the pictures, I wanted to include recipes I've never tried, and I didn't want to do that much typing.

What I really needed was to be able to glance at several recipes in a category and choose the one for which we had the most ingredients on hand.

Twenty-three small-margined pages and several months later, we have success!

I ended up with 17 different categories. First I went through my recipe cards. The goal was to choose the ones I would actually make in real life, and jot down the ingredients. The ones that I knew I'd never make went into the trash.

Then I went through about half of my cookbooks and did the same. NOT ALL OF THEM! Some are just a bit too, ahem, intimidating. I'm looking at you, Larousse Gastronomique. Some are here for Keegan's entertainment, but I don't actually cook from them on a regular basis. Russian. Russian again. Kosher. Sushi. 400 Sauces. I married a man who loves new cookbooks as much as I do. Really!

The two Better Homes and Gardens collections received thorough study, all 700 pages of them.

"BH & G New" stands for the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.

The asterisks were for recipes we've already tried and loved. Unasterisked are those I'm interested in trying.

You know what recipe didn't make the cut? Zuppa Toscana. If I ever make it again it won't be exactly the same.

You know what recipe DID make the cut? PEPPERMINT BARK, of course, silly!

Recipes, ORGANIZED! Checking it off the list.

Wuther: To Blow with a Dull Roaring Sound (1/3 of #5)

2009-12-28T18:05:00.000-06:00

That's how the estate Wuthering Heights got its name.

I loved it! In fact, I couldn't put it down. If you like Early British, Gothic, or Romantic lit, you should definitely read it. If you haven't read any of those aside from, perhaps, Jane Austen, consider branching out. Wuthering Heights is a bit of a combination of Gothic and Romantic genres.

Such a shame for the world that Emily Brontë died at the age of thirty, and that all four of her sisters and her brother also died young. At age 38, Charlotte Brontë had outlived them all and was the only one to get married. She and her unborn child died less than a year later.

Since I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone who might read this book, I will focus on the setting. It begins in winter, and much of the rest of the book takes place during winter.

The story spans many years in the lives of two families who live as each others' nearest neighbors with the moors between them. That word always used to confuse me as a kid. From Sherlock Holmes, I thought "the moors" was some kind of mystical dangerous land in England, not realizing it is simply a geographical term. Then in fourth or fifth grade I watched "Robin Hood" (the Kevin Kostner one) and discovered that Moors were Muslims. Since the movie was set in England, that really confused me. In this book I'm referring to the land, not the people.

Hurry up and read it now, while it's winter! This is most definitely NOT a beach read.

Some quotes:

"Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold. I had half a mind to spend it by my study fire, instead of wading through heath and mud to Wuthering Heights."

"On that bleak hill top the earth was hard with a black frost, and the air made me shiver through every limb."

"...what with losing myself among the trees, and sinking up to the neck in snow, a predicament which only those who have experienced it can appreciate."

"...but you've caught cold, I saw you shivering, and you must have some gruel to drive it out."

Ahh, winter. I read much of this book while sitting in front of a crackling fire at my in-laws' place. I finished it on the snowy train ride back.

Hurry! Read it before winter is over! If you don't have time, then save it for next winter. Don't lose the enchantment by reading it during the summer.

Now I'm more excited to read something from Charlotte and something from Anne. Has anyone read anything by either of those women other than Jane Eyre?

This is our "backyard." Not ours, of course, but right behind our apartment. A few days ago we could hear the creek loudly rushing. Now it's mostly frozen again.

Isn't this a beautiful copy? I'm sure I was the first person to turn the crisp pages of this 2008 Penguin Classics edition that I got through the library. Don't you just love a sturdy new hardcover?

We saw this little acrobat out of our bay window yesterday. Had to share with you.

Computer-Free Christmas...Can I Do It?

2009-12-22T01:14:00.001-06:00

At noon on Tuesday we leave town for a few days. Back on Saturday.

I'm planning to NOT bring my laptop.

We're going to my in-laws' house, which hasn't had TV since Keegan broke their set in fifth grade. That's a funny story, but I'm too tired to relate it now.

They don't have Internet, either.

So, since I can't use wifi, and I don't have any major projects going on that I need the computer for, I'll try to pack a bit lighter and leave it home.

No typing.

No blogging.

No reading blogs.

No email.

No Internet news.

No checking the weather online.

Sounds peaceful, doesn't it?

Just a few family members, a roaring fire, a fresh batch of peppermint bark (just took it out of the freezer and broke it up a few minutes ago), and some Christmas hymns around the piano.

Holidays are always quiet at their place, except when we play Scattergories. No little kids running around. No giant meals to prepare. Not like my side of the family, which is just bigger and noisier, no matter who shows up. I like both kinds of gatherings. Variety is the spice of life, you know!

Merry Christmas! May you rejoice in the knowledge of our Savior's birth!

How FlyLady Works

2009-12-20T22:56:00.001-06:00

My friend Casey left a comment asking just "exactly" how Flylady.com works. The website has changed quite a bit since I started in 2006, but the home-keeping and general life-organization system has not changed.

First, sign up. Being a member simply means having access to the daily news, either by reading it online or through your email. Either way you choose, I promise it's very simple and completely free. If you don't do this, you will have to figure out the website on your own, and you'll miss out on the valuable testimonials and tips from members.

When you no longer need the daily updates, you can easily unsubscribe. I was a member for about a year, and then I realized I had everything I needed, and I no longer wanted the daily emails. My home is clutter free and all my routines are in my Control Journal (a simple three-ring binder). I hardly ever go back to the website.

When you're ready to do more than just read the news, do the "Beginner Babysteps," found on the sidebar of the home page. They really are baby steps. Since it takes repetition to form a habit, don't get impatient and try to combine any of the days. You really should use 31 days to get through the 31 steps.

FlyLady always starts in the kitchen. You shine your sink the first day. She has a detailed description of how to do this. Then every night for forever, you make sure your kitchen sink is empty and clean before you go to bed. It's a great thing to start each morning with a clean kitchen sink. This is part of your Before Bed Routine.

The babysteps will help you establish your daily routines. These are the things that you eventually do on auto-pilot, so that when you're rushed, you still do them. When you're feeling a little sick or down, you still do them. They're so ingrained you feel unsettled when they're not done. THIS IS A GOOD THING!

Examples: checking every single day to see if you need to do a load of laundry (it never piles up anymore!), swishing and swiping your bathroom every day (never gets all gross with hair on the counter any more, and my toilet is always clean!), planning your meals on the same day each week, mopping your floors on the same day, and on and on.

Once you've completed the babysteps, you'll likely see the areas you need to work on. Maybe you need to declutter. She has tips on that. Maybe you're done decluttering and you need to do some deep cleaning. Follow her info on Zones. Maybe your house is in order, but your finances are not. Look at F.A.C.E. (Financial Awareness Continually Empowers). Maybe your house and finances are in order, but you don't know what to make for dinner. She has tips on that, too.

The website is PACKED with info, and I do NOT use all of it. It has tips for people in different stages of life, tips for moving, tips for holiday planning, etc. Obviously if you got caught up in all of it at the beginning you'd do yourself more harm than good.

So, to recap:
1. Sign up so you can read the daily news.
2. For a week or as much time as you need, just read the daily news. Don't do what it says. Just read.
3. Spend 31 days doing the Beginner Babysteps. That's all you have to do during the 31 days. Keep reading the news, but don't do it all. You're not ready.
4. By now you have routines and a control journal. Try to keep the routines going for another month or so. Then reevaluate. Maybe you need to shift some things from your morning to your afternoon routine, and maybe you need to add or subtract some items. This is why she tells you to use pencil in your control journal.
5. You are FLYing!

If you already do Flylady, what do you find most helpful? I love her home blessing hour, which is part of Monday's routine. It frees me up from spending my Saturdays cleaning. I also love the swish and swipe, because now I'm not afraid to have people over at the last minute. I know my bathroom is always clean!

It's New Year's Resolution Time!

2009-12-19T21:34:00.001-06:00

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!!!

So how did you do on your 2009 Resolutions? Do you remember what they were? Did you make any? I know plenty of people who don't make them, but I LOVE them. I guess that's not surprising, right?

I thought I'd review some of my past resolutions and let you know how I did. I'd love to hear about yours.

1991, Fourth Grade: quit cracking my knuckles. Failed.

1992, Fifth Grade: quit cracking my knuckles. Failed.

1993, Sixth Grade: Gave up on that resolution, after realizing that my hands were shaped exactly like my dad's, and that cracking my knuckles wasn't changing them any.

1999: Get a six pack by graduation (high school). Sort of succeeded, if the light was right when I flexed my abs. I still laugh at that. Only 11 years ago, but my priorities have changed so much... :)

2007: After discovering FLYlady.com in 2006, which totally changed my way of thinking about housekeeping, I decided I would never again waste my weekends cleaning. So I made a resolve to do no housework on Saturdays (aside from picking up after myself and doing the dishes after a meal). That was one of the best resolutions I ever made, and I kept it!

2009: Learn Chinese...it was more specific than that, but whatever it was, I failed. Just never could stick with anything. Life kept changing, a new learning gimmick would come along, and I couldn't focus on one course. At New Year's we were pretty sure we were going to return to China after the summer, but by March we had changed our minds. I lost a lot of motivation then, knowing I was going back to the U.S.

2009: Spend 10 minutes a day memorizing hymns. Success! After I returned to the U.S., I increased it to 15 minutes a day, and I'm still doing it. I have learned over 40 hymns this year. Joy! I'll continue in 2010, but it's a habit now, so I don't have to make it a resolution.

There are many more, but it's more interesting to hear from others. So tell me, what have been some successes for you? What do you look back on and laugh at?

You have a few more days to get ready for 2010!

Empty Lives (another 1/4 of #22)

2009-12-16T21:38:00.000-06:00

Today I finished rereading F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. The last time I read it was ten years ago during my first semester of college.

I love how it begins. The narrator, Nick, explains that he tries very hard to be nonjudgmental when he meets new people. As a result, he often has to listen to very boring people who attach themselves to him. He also hears many secrets he didn't intend to be privy to.

Perhaps you have experienced something like this yourself. New to a job, one "abnormal" (Nick's word) person attached herself to you because you were someone who hadn't heard her stories before.

Set in 1922, the story is told by 29-year-old Nick (He turns thirty during the book; I didn't remember that. Coincidence?) who has just moved to New York's Long Island. His fabulously wealthy friends and neighbors eventually find that their carelessness has consequences. That's all I'm going to say about the plot, because I don't want to spoil it.

I am reminded of so many lost people I've known, and some whom I still know: people who chase after money, fame, or the ability to drown their sorrows in alcohol, drugs, or sex. This book is a mirror, but they may not recognize themselves. If you haven't read the book, it's worth it on so many levels. If you have, see if you feel differently a few years later.

The first time I read this, I thought it described an incredibly foreign lifestyle. I could hardly believe that kind of thing went on in the 1920s. Now I see it still goes on today.

I could write a deeper review of this book if I weren't posting online. It's simply way too personal. So instead, I will list some quotes.

"And so it happened that on a warm windy evening I drove over to East Egg to see two old friends whom I scarcely knew at all."

Brings back that uncomfortable feeling of reuniting with long-lost friends or relatives with whom you have nothing in common.

"I couldn't forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people...and let other people clean up the mess they had made..."

You know some lost people who fit this description? So jaw-droppingly lost you don't even know where to start?

"What was the use of doing great things if I could have a better time telling her what I was going to do?"

Ah, young love.

"Have you got a church you go to sometimes?...You ought to have a church, for times like this."

Oh, ouch. That hurts. But that's how many people view religion--something that's there to fall back on only in times of tragedy.

"I had talked with him perhaps six times in the past month and found, to my disappointment, that he had little to say."

Don't you hate it when you think you've met a particularly interesting person, and then you find out that everything interesting about him filled exactly one conversation?

"Then came the war, old sport. It was a great relief, and I tried very hard to die, but I seemed to bear an enchanted life."

That empty life isn't really so great after all.

Fitzgerald really was a great writer. What style! What vocabulary! And somehow, he managed to create a story of great weight from characters with very little substance. I'm pretty sure that's the main point.

What do you think of the book?

Not Quite Olive Garden, but Close Enough to Check It off the List (#28)

2009-12-15T19:16:00.000-06:00

Last night was delicious.

First I found five different recipes for Zuppa Toscana online, plus one from my friend Rachel. They were all pretty similar in that you make a potato-onion-Italian sausage-kale-chicken broth-cream soup.

The proportions and seasonings varied a bit. I tried to get as close to the real thing as possible.

I had never before bought kale or Italian sausage.

Major obstacle: my grocery store didn't carry hot Italian sausage. Or if they did, I couldn't find it. So I bought mild. The Olive Garden soup leaves the back of my throat tingling and clears my sinuses, and this mild sausage didn't stand a chance of doing that.

Fortunately I'm married to a man who likes his food on fire, so I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve: ground cayenne, freshly ground black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and Tabasco. I used all four until it tasted pretty awesome, and then put the bottle of Tabasco on the table for him to add more.

Gross picture alert!!

First I removed the casings, crumbled the sausage, and browned it. That was the first time I "removed the casings." And, actually, that phrase wasn't in any of the recipes I used, but I've seen it in other places. "Casings removed." It sounds quaint, doesn't it? Like we made our own homemade sausage on our farm. Ha ha.

The cooked sausage went in the fridge (not sure why, but one recipe recommended that), and lo and behold, there was no fat to drain. I couldn't believe it! So I guess it's leaner than the ground beef I usually buy. What does that say about me?

I then added everything else to the pot in this order: deglaze with chicken broth, cook onions and garlic in broth, add water and chicken bouillon (because I had no more cans of broth), add potatoes, one piece of bacon cut into small bits (kind of ridiculous; I don't think this was necessary, and I don't even remember Olive Garden's having bacon, but whatever...), four types of pepper, salt. Stir in cream. Add sausage back in. Check seasonings again. Stir in kale. Serve. The kale doesn't really get cooked. It's very fresh tasting.

The verdict: If I can get hot Italian sausage next time, it'll be more authentic. Regardless, it's a very delicious potato soup, and we love our potato soups!

For a dinner party, it would make an excellent first course with breadsticks, followed by lasagna and a green salad. You would feel like you were at Olive Garden. Of course, for us, it was a meal in itself with only some bread and pears on the side. Yum!

Ingredients:
1 pound mild Italian sausage (use spicy next time)
1 medium onion, chopped
5 medium red potatoes
1 bunch of green kale
1 cup heavy cream
1 piece of bacon (skip this next time)
1 can chicken broth, two chicken bouillon cubes, six cups water
To taste: salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, Tabasco

Or you can do an online search for the recipe and you'll find some other versions. Enjoy!

Miscellaneous Progress, Bit by Bit

2009-12-05T22:34:00.000-06:00

The "List" is keeping me very busy these days. Good thing I'm only working part time at a real job. I'd never get this all done if I worked full time.

I'm seeing good language study progress already, thanks to one of the purposes of this little experiment: accountability. Otherwise I probably would have given up on the Spanish and the Chinese, or gotten distracted and tried a different method of study.

Instead, thanks to the few of you who read this, and my desire to not disappoint, I have been faithfully studying my Spanish course most days of the week. In fact, I'm HALF WAY THROUGH!!! I expect to complete it by the time winter is over...and winter hasn't begun yet, even though it feels like it.

It's fun to make rapid progress. Are you surprised to learn that Spanish is MUCH easier than Chinese? That I know nearly as much Spanish after two months than I know Chinese after a year of immersion and study? Just reading that sentence makes me feel completely STUPID that I didn't learn more Chinese. But that's the way it is. That's the truth.

It's very humbling.

I hate being humbled.

Even though I know it's good for me.

It's no fun.

I've been very very very bad about studying Chinese, not knowing whether or not I'll ever use it again. But it's on the list. So this week I just forced myself to set the timer for 30 minutes and have a go. I have done that three days this week, and the week is over. Better than nothing.

In other news, I'm up to 40 hymns memorized (remember, I started that in January). (#24)

Wuthering Heights and The Great Gatsby are on their way from other libraries. Hopefully they come in this week. (#5 and #22)

I'm on a break from the piano song memorization. I don't want it to be drudgery. I'll pick it up when it's fun again. (#13)

I'm on a break from the book making process (#15). I'm trying to spend less time looking at a screen every day. I'll pick that up when I'm in the mood again.

For #9, we are meeting some friends in a few days. This is not something I initiated, but just got lucky. One of Keegan's classmates and his wife asked us to join them in a book club, which is great, because I still don't know many people outside my Bible study. I'd like to branch out and have more than one group of friends. This will be different from my CA book club, which was definitely NO BOYS ALLOWED.

So am I really going to learn to knit and crochet in less than one year? What was I thinking??? Oh, well. I only have to make one item in each category. That shoud be possible...

Oof. I'm looking at the list and seeing all the things I don't even know how to begin.

How are you coming on your goals?

Public Speaking with a Toddler Marching through the Aisle, Shouting, "Ball! Ball! Ball! Ball! Ball!"

2009-12-04T22:49:00.000-06:00

Today I gave a presentation to the local Moms Club, of which my sister is a member. They asked me to speak at their monthly chapter meeting on the topic of Kindergarten Readiness. Four of my six years as a teacher were in kindergarten.

It went quite well, the crowd was engaged, and they asked some important questions. I felt like a professional again.

The points covered: age, schedule, the bathroom, leaving Mom and Dad, classroom behavior, interactions with other children, reading, writing, math, and nutrition.

I am happy to answer questions on the subject.

Not at all Like a Sweaty, Dirty, Monkey Armpit...Peppermint Bark 1 (#21)

2009-12-02T19:50:00.003-06:00

First of all: why do I have three posts on one topic? I don't know how else to do it. I upload my pictures through Picasa because it's so much faster than doing it from my pictures folder. Picasa only uploads four pictures at a time. If anyone can tell me how people put more than four pictures on one post on blogspot, I'm all ears! I'm sick of arranging things backward so that when you look at the page you can read the story in order. Help!

This was super easy and it's so delicious!

This year, Wiliams-Sonoma is selling a one-pound box of their heavenly Peppermint Bark for $26.50. If you can afford it and you don't know how to make it, it's worth it. That's how good it is.

I can't afford it.

For two years in a row, Keegan bought me a box of this for Christmas. It was all I wanted from him. And yes, I shared. He's a student now. He can't afford it, either.

I'm not into Christmas cookies much. It's kind of sad, because I think they're so pretty. But for the most part, not many Christmas confections get me excited.

Except this one.

I still remember the first time I tried it. It was the Christmas before we were engaged and married, and I was visiting Keegan's relatives at his Grandma's house. His cousin Catherine brought a box of Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Bark, and I couldn't stop going back for more. I had never tasted anything like it. So perfectly minty. So perfectly chocolaty. So perfectly balanced. So perfectly crunchy and melt-in-your-mouth. And in such a perfectly cute red and white shiny metal tin!

I found this recipe on abouteating.com. I made a few changes, and it's absolutely fabulous. You should try it.

How To (Peppermint Bark 2)

2009-12-02T19:50:00.000-06:00

First, you put the chocolate chips on wax paper in the oven for five minutes. The recipe said to use aluminum foil, but I thought wax paper would work better (change #1). You spread it out evenly. Next time instead of a 9x13, I'll use a cookie sheet so I can make it thinner.

While that's chilling, use a rolling pin to crush the candy canes in a ziploc bag. That was fun! I then added a step: shake the pieces in a wire mesh strainer to let the candy dust float out into the sink. I never did like the cheerio dust at the bottom of the box!

Then you melt the white chocolate chips. I don't have a double boiler, or a metal bowl large enough to sit on a pot without falling in, or a microwave. So I created a triple boiler with a colander in the middle, and it worked beautifully. By the way, that colander was one of the first things I bought at Williams-Sonoma. I love it.

The recipe called for 12 oz. semi-sweet and 16 oz. white chips. I used 12 ounces of each (change #2). After adding the 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract, I tasted it and added more (change #3).

Then you spread the white chocolate on the semi-sweet layer. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes over the white chocolate while it's still soft. Chill. That's it. Super easy!

Ooh-la-la!

It helps if you have saved your adorable Williams-Sonoma tins. After all, you paid good money for them!

Not Like Decroded Sewage, Either...Peppermint Bark 3

2009-12-02T19:49:00.003-06:00

So after cutting them into strips with a pizza cutter, peeling off the wax paper, and breaking each strip into pieces, I offered Keegan a try.

His comments:

"Wow! I've had other people's peppermint bark. Compared to this recipe, every other one tastes like decroded, raw sewage!"

"How much does this cost? ...Williams-Sonoma must be making a killing!"

"Why doesn't everyone use this recipe? Why would anyone use a different recipe?"

"Like I said, compared to this recipe, all the other ones taste like a sweaty, dirty, monkey armpit."

These are the candy bits that didn't stick to the bark.

I think they'll still get eaten.

We've got our work cut out for us to make the lid fit tonight!

If you like peppermint bark, you've got to make this recipe.

Happy Advent!

Book Review: The Bean Trees (1/4 of #22)

2009-11-30T22:45:00.002-06:00

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, copyright 1988.

I liked this book when I first read it for class in college. At the time I connected with the main character, a single woman in her twenties. What about now? This time I focused more on the universal themes.

Taylor is a single woman in her twenties, looking for a future outside the confines of her small hometown. Now that I've been married a while, my concept of independence is not the same as it used to be.

Some things Taylor and I have both experienced: having an excellent relationship with our parents, yet needing to escape; moving to a new location all alone and knowing no one (did that at least three times before I was married); becoming good friends with illegal immigrants; falling in love with a child that is not our own; finding friends in unexpected places; not wanting to do the same thing that every other person we know is doing.

Ha Ha. That last one is funny. A few months ago I accompanied my husband to our current home so he could attend Seminary. I'm just a Sem wife, like many others. Someday, God willing, I'll be a pastor's wife, like many others. So I guess in spite of my years of trying to be an individual, I'm back to being one of many. My most obvious identity (what am I doing here?) is not as an individual, but in relation to my husband. Of course, I know it's not really that simple. Each person has unique abilities and gifts.

Romans 12:3-8 Don't you just love Romans? A great man once said we should study it every day.

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

The book is not written from a particularly Christian perspective. The main character doesn't have a well-defined relationship with God, and doesn't seem to have a problem with that. Of course, that is a problem, but it's not addressed in this book.

Yet the book does address universal themes, and I can't help connecting the themes to Christianity. Taylor makes friends with people very different from herself. Shouldn't we Christians do the same? She embarks on a risky journey all alone. Shouldn't we be willing to do the same, knowing God is protecting us? Taylor finds herself broke, alone, and relying on the kindness of strangers. We should not be so proud as to think we could never find ourselves in that situation. She discovers friends who are as close as family. Do not all Christians make up a family? Yes, we do. Not connected by our own blood, but by the blood of Christ.

My final word: this book is worth your time. It would allow for great discussion at a book club. Enjoy it. Read it. Let me know what you think if you've already read it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-29T21:19:00.002-06:00

We drove 18 and a half hours to my hometown to spend the holiday with two of my brothers, their wives, and one adorable 3-year-old nephew.

It was my first time back in Virginia Beach, Virginia, since 2003. Keegan had never been before.

I showed him around my old neighborhood, where the owner of our old house was outside putting up Christmas lights. I hollered from the street, "I grew up in this house! Do you mind taking us in the back yard?" I had to show Keegan the locations of our playhouse, tree house, and massive garden. All are things of the past. But the memories remain.

I drove down every street of my paper route, telling him about the neighbors, creepy and nice.

This house gave me my biggest Christmas tip.

This house was extra dark and had a weird smell.

My best friend up to sixth grade lived here until she moved.

No feelings of sadness. No feelings of longing. Just happiness at the chance to share!

Book Review: Fast Food Nation (#25)

2009-11-24T00:06:00.000-06:00

I finished re-reading the book last week, but until now I've been very busy with another project, which I can't yet share with you because it's a gift.

Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser, was published in 2001. I first read it in 2002, during my college years. At the time it blew me away with sordid tales of what really goes on in slaughterhouses, or more politely, meat packing plants, in this country. I was amazed at how much I didn't know, and I wanted everyone I met to read the book and be educated.

Not just the working conditions at the bottom of the chain, but also the unethical business practices of the executives are appalling. This book explains why the family farm is dying, why McDonald's loves to hire teenagers and pay them next to nothing, how fast food companies are subsidized by the federal government (YES! YOUR TAXES SUPPORT MCDONALDS IN A BIG WAY), why our grocery stores no longer have skilled butchers, and why life is so difficult for franchisees.

At the time I wasn't really eating much fast food anyway, but I decided then and there that I HATED specifically the McDonald's Corporation for their greedy business practices, and I would do a one year boyott. Now that doesn't really sound that difficult, right? Especially for someone like me who really doesn't eat much fast food?

And then this happened: I chaperoned a youth rally from Minnesota to St. Louis, and the coach bus stopped at McDonald's TWICE EACH DAY OF TRAVEL! Despite feeling sick at heart, I chose to support the evil company rather than starve myself. I remember (seven years ago!) they had the new fruit and yogurt parfaits, and I thought those might be healthier than burgers and fries. Unfortunately, they're loaded with sugar, just like the salad dressings. Sheesh. The only solution is to STAY AWAY! So my one-year boycott had to begin anew after the trip.

Oops, this was supposed to be a review of what I think of the book NOW, but I just told you what I thought the first time.

How I feel now: disappointed. Disappointed because not only did the book not shock me, it was actually boring at times. I guess I've read and learned WAY too much about nutrition over the past seven years.

In addition, having lived in a foreign country, experienced a language barrier (Barbie says: Chinese is HARD!) and having been taken advantage of for being a foreigner, I wasn't surprised at any of the tales of the harsh working conditions of the illegal immigrants who staff our nation's meat factories. People are evil by nature, and they exploit others for their own economic advantage. That's the story of the world. It just reminds me that what people need is a Savior from themselves. That Savior is Jesus. Only through new life in him will people change for the better, be it fast food, farming, or meatpacking.

A Better Way to Pray

2009-11-11T19:00:00.000-06:00

This afternoon I took a bike ride under a sunny blue sky streaked with high white clouds. Perhaps it was my last ride of the season.

I called my mom on my cell phone after starting out, and we ended up mostly talking of spiritual things. The bike path was nearly empty, so I wasn't worried about crashing into anyone. It was unlike my first time talking on the cell phone while biking the crowded streets of Beijing.

That entire time I berated myself, "This is stupid. You're going to kill yourself and you'll have deserved it. This is stupid, Kate. Hang up the phone before you crash. Just because Chinese people can do it, it doesn't mean you can."

Today it wasn't stupid.

Last night a giant rental truck arrived at my husband's Seminary, loaded with non-perishables for students and their families. Many churches in another state had donated, and the truck drove from place to place picking up donations until it arrived at the Seminary at 9:30pm.

An excited crowd was there, ready to unload, unpack, and "shop." It was like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Birthday, Pay Day, Grocery Day, and more. I cannot describe how much free food entered that pantry.

I described to my mom how last night and again this morning, I went through box after box "shopping" for us. I had an ongoing struggle within myself, with my natural greed. Should I take this? Should I leave this for someone else?

Even though there was a TON of food, and we were supposed to take it home, I was not taking the items with thanksgiving, but with guilt, because I knew myself and my own avarice.

I fervently began to repent and pray. I'm sorry I'm so greedy. Help me not to be greedy. Over and over, as I filled my shopping bags. I felt horrible. This was supposed to be fun! What's wrong with me?

Suddenly a spiritual light bulb dawned. I'm currently reading The Theology of the Cross, and the constant refrain of the book is to stop focusing on self and focus on Christ. I realized I was turning this whole wonderful experience into a temptation because I was focused on MYSELF. Shouldn't I rather focus on GOD who gave me these gifts? And doesn't he want to bless me? I KNOW he does!

So I changed my prayer. Dear Lord, thank you for these wonderful gifts. Please guide me to the items YOU want me to have.

Suddenly, like a small miracle, I began to find the exact items I was looking for! Pesto. Taco shells. Corn meal. Parmesan cheese. Believe me, those items were hard to find amid the hundreds of boxes of macaroni and cheese and hamburger helper. Dishwasher detergent. Real Old Fashioned Oats. Wow! All the things I had hoped would be there; the things that would actually save us real money in our groceries!

We're tied up in our sinful selves. We can't get away from them this side of eternity. When we let that part of us take over, we miss out on the gifts God has for us. Let's not focus on the self, but on the God who loved us so much he gave himself for us.

Since he made that great sacrifice, can't he also give us a few groceries to be received with joy?

Success without Stress! (#12)

2009-11-01T16:54:00.001-06:00

Last weekend Keegan and I invited his cousin over for dinner. She brought her roommate, who (small world) turned out to be the sister of one of my former roommates at a different college in a different state. We also invited a friend who was in China with us and now lives around here. She brought another friend who was in China with us, who does not live around here, but was up on business that weekend. Yeah! We quickly had a group of "fascinating people."

Keegan's cousin is thinking of going to China, so we decided to introduce her to the joy of hot pot. It's a favorite meal of just about everyone over there. Of course, the flavor of the broth was not nearly as complex as in Beijing, but we did what we could with what we had--a liquid seasoning packet from an Asian market, and all of our favorite hot pot foods: potatoes, sweet potatoes, tofu, lamb, several types of mushrooms, several types of cabbage, peanut-sesame sauce (not as good as in China), several types of chili oil, and cilantro. Keegan's favorite is daikon (Chinese radish), so I found a market in the city that carries it. The cousin brought dessert, the friend brought beverages, and we had ourselves a little party with lots of China stories and "share time" thrown in!

After hearing about my list, my dad asked me what "and enjoy myself" meant, and how I planned to accomplish it. Here's the deal: I can cook a good number of things that are fit for company. I can prepare hot pot (no cooking, just lots and lots of chopping), and I can clean the apartment to my satisfaction. Those things are not the challenges for me. The challenge is doing all those things far enough in advance that I'm not worn out when the guests arrive. The challenge is relaxing and focusing on the guests and the conversation instead of all the other things in the room. So I told my dad something like, "pray about it, prepare plenty of time in advance, try to relax when the people come over, and remember it doesn't have to be perfect."

I have another trick. I visualize a few people I know who do this type of thing and make it look easy. I know it can't be that easy, because they have bigger houses (therefore--more cleaning), they prepare much more elaborate meals (more cooking), they have children to keep track of (more distractions)...and yet they make it look so easy. Plus they're fun to be around! It's good to have role models for the different areas of life. I have a few "entertaining" role models, and they're real people, not celebrities. They are people who radiate not flashiness, not perfectionism, but peace, welcome, comfort, generosity, and joy. Strangely, they both have the same initials (LH), although one lives in Minnesota and one in California. Thanks, ladies!

What I Missed (Item #24)

2009-10-18T21:38:00.001-05:00

Well he knows what best to grant me;
All the longing hopes that haunt me,
Joy and sorrow, have their day.
I shall doubt his wisdom never--
As God wills, so be it ever--
I to him commit my way.

Christian Worship, Hymn 421, stanza 4

I prefer to teach in Lutheran Elementary Schools even though I never attended one. I still believe my public education was excellent. My teachers could not have done much to make it better. But something was missing. Something big.

My parents brought me up with Worship, Sunday School, Youth Group, Family Devotions, Catechism Class, Vacation Bible School, The Annual Christmas Program, and more. I memorized Bible verses. I learned the stories. Then I went to a Lutheran High School. Much to my relief, I wasn't far behind in Bible knowledge. Then I attended a Lutheran College, and I learned where I fell short. My friends wanted to break into songs of praise, and they knew the same songs: they knew their hymnals. When in my life had anyone ever forced me to memorize verse after verse of a hymn? Never! They learned it in Lutheran school, but I went to public school. Oh, well. I missed my chance.

I became a music teacher in Christian schools. In the process quite a few psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs got lodged into the poetical-musical portion of my brain, and quietly worked their way into my heart.

Then I went to China and had a lot more time on my hands. Why not make up for something I'd missed? Was it really too late? Here I was, picking up a fair amount of Chinese at the old age of 28; why couldn't I still memorize some poetry? So that brought me to one of my 2009 New Year's Resolutions: spend 15 minutes a day learning hymns. Guess what? To my amazement, IT'S WORKING! Adults are not too old to memorize!

I've included hymn-memorizing on my 30-before-30 list because if I stop at the end of 2009 I won't be satisfied. I want to know a massive number of hymns, at least a hundred. I want to sing my children to sleep without searching for a hymnal. I want to sing in the dark. I want to sing in the car. I want to sing the hymns I play on the organ, which is difficult for me unless I have the words memorized. I want the words to come to me when I'm scared, happy, or bored. I want the music to come to me when I come across the words in the Bible.

None of this happens by magic. It all happens the same way I learned to play the piano: with practice. Dear friends, if you also missed out on learning hymns as a child, it's not too late. Get into a routine, and pretty soon you'll look forward to it as the only way to start your day.

What's your favorite hymn?

Happy Birthday to Me and a Test for TB

2009-10-14T20:09:00.000-05:00

Yeah, that's what I did this morning, so I can continue to substitute teach at an early childhood center. Those places have a lot more rules for staff than an elementary school. If you've got to do something unpleasant on your birthday, you should do something that requires you to write your birthday on a form, so the nurses will wish you a happy one.

And the countdown really begins. I am happy to say, I have no regrets so far. Yeah, I know, I still have a whole year, but I was afraid I wouldn't even make it this far without quitting.

My big news: Yesterday I ordered the Complete Course from Visual Link Spanish. They don't have any other languages, so it's written specifically for Spanish. I LOVE the demo! I can create quite a few sentences already, and I did well on the quizzes. They say the course is equivalent to two years of high school Spanish, which is a reasonable claim. They don't promise fluency or university level proficiency. I didn't learn much in my two years of high school German, so I really hope this is BETTER than that. I'm older and wiser now (ha!). Maybe that will make a difference?

Day Five Update

2009-10-07T17:03:00.001-05:00

Four days after posting the list, here is my progress:

1. Ordered a free demo CD from Visual Link after doing a sample lesson on their website. Getting nervous. I have NEVER stuck with a self-study language course. Help!!! If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment.

10. Found a method I like that does not involve me typing up every recipe I own! Details later.

13. Got my piano tuned yesterday. Embarrassing! I hid in the bedroom. Last time was after I bought it four and a half years ago (shame on me). In the words of Dan the tuner, "It sounds like a piano again."

15. I'm using the free software from blurb.com make the book. So far, 38 pages out of 272. At this rate, it should only cost about $75 for hardcover. Pretty good, considering I have about 800 photos and lots of text. Bonus: no scrapbooking mess. Best case scenario: finish in time to show my brothers in VA at Thanksgiving.

17. Completed- We had our fourth study yesterday afternoon. All four of us being introverts, it took that long for us to start talking about life--you know, girl talk. We were all strangers to each other before we started, except one is my apartment manager, so I'd called her a few times (ok, about 8 times) to have my kitchen sink unclogged. Finished Ephesians. Beginning Colossians next week.

18. YIKES! I have seven days to get started, and I don't have my list yet. Today I bought cards.

20. Tested myself. Need lots of practice.

22. Last night grabbed The Bean Trees off the shelf. Read a few pages this morning with my snack.

23-Completed-details on other blog.

24-I've been working on this all 2009, fifteen minutes a day. Details later.

The List

2009-10-03T00:11:00.004-05:00

I began this list in the spring of 2009. Therefore, some items have been accomplished and others are in the works. After more than four months of revisions, the list is ready for publication. My goal is to complete each item on this list by my thirtieth birthday, October 14, 2010.

Many of these are things I've previously tried and failed (1, 3, 11, 13, 30).
Some I've done in the past and need to do again in a new setting (9, 14, 17, 25).
Some I've never attempted because it looked too difficult (7, 18, 26).
Some I never thought of doing before I created this list (5, 19, 21, 22).

Thirty Before Thirty

1. Complete a self-study beginner Spanish course. Practice with native speakers. (Help! I don't know which course to choose.)

2. Make scrumptious apple and/or cherry dumplings, a la Boxcar
Children.

3. Make and wear a dress or skirt I really like.

4. Have a baby.

5. Read something by each of the Brontë sisters.

6. Learn to bake focaccia bread. Make that focaccia into grilled vegetable sandwiches.

7. Learn to knit and knit a finished product.

8. Host a game night with great food and entertaining people (and enjoy myself).

9. Join or form a book club in my new community.

10. Organize all my recipes, tried and untried, in one place.

11. Learn to crochet and crochet a finished product.

12. Host a Chinese dinner party with great food and fascinating people (and enjoy myself).

13. Memorize a song on the piano.

14. Sketch a family member's portrait.

15. Obtain a hard copy of East Asia Experience blog. (in progress)

16. Make excellent homemade pizza.

17. Form a women's Bible study in my new town. (Completed September, 2009)

18. Create a birthday calendar and send birthday cards to everyone I want to send cards to for one year.

19. Watch the Godfather Trilogy and remember which movie is which.

20. Complete the Mandarin writing course: What's in A Chinese Character. Write each of the 369 characters from memory.

21. During the Christmas season, make peppermint bark that tastes like Williams-Sonoma's.

22. Reread the following books I read in college and discover what I think of them now: The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, All the King's Men, and The Bean Trees.

23. Sing Karaoke and enjoy myself. (Completed June 11, 2009; Beijing, China)

24. Learn by heart at least 75 hymns from Christian Worship. Learn all the stanzas. (in progress)

25. Reread Fast Food Nation.

26. Make an American Flag cake for July 4 or another American holiday. Photograph it.

27. Stroll along Lake Michigan's shore in winter and take stunning photos.

28. Recreate Olive Garden's delectable soup: Zuppa Toscana.

29. Visit Milwaukee's Mitchell Park Conservatory, "The Domes."

30. Commit to memory five songs on the recorder. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" doesn't count.

The Inspiration for The List

2009-10-02T20:52:00.006-05:00

One day last spring, I visited the Botanical Gardens with my friends Kim and Kristy. Then we went out to lunch. After hiking in the (sort of) fresh air and gazing at nature for hours, we couldn't help becoming dreamy.

As we sat there, they reminisced about their recent trip to India. Kim shared that she'd been to four continents, and had the goal of visiting the main six by age thirty. Kristy said she wanted to do the same. Kim is my age, within a few weeks. Kristy is a few years younger. Both are single. Feeling a bit left out, I thought to myself, "I'm married. I can't have goals like that anymore and expect them to actually happen."

And so, the idea came to me, that although I was not free to pinch every penny and visit three more continents in a year and a half, I COULD accomplish some things I'd been putting off. And if I gave myself the deadline of age thirty, then that birthday would no longer seemed so depressing, but triumphant. Instead of, "Wow, there's a lot I haven't done," I'll say, "Look at this huge list of accomplishments!" So I began to write a list.

Pretty soon I had far more than thirty things. I took off the ones that I'd likely do anyway. You know, the things I try to do every year because they're important to me and don't require much risk. I took off the things at which I would quickly fail (study Chinese every day). I took off the ones that required a significant amount of money (anything travel-related). I refrained from writing down goals that I can't measure (be a better wife, friend, etc.) even though I really want those things. I left out the ones whose failure would load me with guilt (spend a certain amount of time in Bible study or prayer each day). Some are a little out of my control. Some are more out of my control than others (number 4), but I included them anyway.

I asked my late-twenties friends what their goals were. Suddenly, our little group in Beijing was full of "lists." My friends often asked, "how's your list coming?" And I'd say, "it's not ready yet, but I think it's going to be my next blog." That narrowed things down again, because it had to be thirty things I'm not afraid to announce to the whole world.

Why blog it?
~Main reasons: motivation and accountability. I don't think I'll actually do any of this unless I have to report to someone.
~A record. So I can look back and remember that I did something other than teach other people's kids I'll never see again.
~A sense of accomplishment I can share with others.
~The enjoyment of writing and photography.
~To inspire others to quit procrastinating and just do it.
~To get feedback from people who, like me, read strangers' blogs for entertainment and ideas.
~To practice writing. To exercise restraint and patience to save drafts and edit before posting.
~It's therapeutic. I understand events better when I have to put them into words.
~I'd rather write about it once than talk about it twice.

Now, I'm taking a bit of a risk here--a risk of publicly failing at my goals--and I have butterflies in my stomach writing this first post. Although I am free to delete the entire blog at any time, I can't imagine doing that. Once I start this thing, I aim to finish, God willing.