While the Slice is away

I've written about single parenting a couple times before, tongue-in-cheek of course, because I know real single parents have it a billion times harder than I do.  In fact, I feel like I'm just getting a glimpse of what my med-school siblings have gone through.

Fortunately for me, Liam still sleeps about four hours a day between his two naps.  He also watches Word World (only one episode a day! I promise!) on Netflix, which gives me time to clean, fold laundry, cook, blog, read, and/or sleep if it's one of those days.

So far I've made deviled eggs, cream cheese brownies (but from scratch), and chocolate cake with this frosting.  I've also read a few of the Percy Jackson books, watched all the episodes of The Glee Project (Cameron!!!), fixed some of Slice's pants and slippers, and spent lots of time with family.

The day I was dreading the most was Sunday - namely, trying to keep my energetic class and my energetic toddler under control for two entire hours.  By the end of the block I had walked out of meetings 4 times, once because my baby was bleeding from the mouth after being hit in the face with a chair.

Ahhh.


This is some more of what we've been doing:

my new favorite snack

(or meal, as the case may be)

  +

I could make my own dip, but that would require some work.
Off to see what else I can put on my crackers....

What I know about you

... thanks to my trusty site tracker.
(Unless you are a URL feed reader, in which case I know almost nothing.)

• Approximately 35% of you are residents of the great Uintah Basin.  Sorry to say it folks, but I'm trying my darndest to get out of here.  

• A good majority of you are Utahns, even if you don't claim it.  70% -ish.

• One of you is undoubtedly Yasue, my most faithful blog follower.  Practically every day I have a visitor from Morioka, Japan and I'm pretty sure only one person there has the URL....

• Ratio of post-readers to comment-readers: 3 to 1.  Again, except for the unknown feed-readers.

• Ratio of readers to followers: 10 to 1.

• Ratio of post-readers to commenters: 50 to 1 (or something like that.  I'm totally making these numbers up).

• And, at least once a week someone types in "ponytail chopped off" or something similar in Google, and winds up at this post.  I'm glad, because donating hair is awesome and I would totally do it again.  If I had hair, that is.  But right now, am just jealous of those of you with long gorgeous hair.  DANI.

Just a conversation

Slice: "Babe, you're pregnant."

Me: "Huh?! What are you talking about?"

"Uh - fruit snacks?"*

"I bought them for the baby. He needs some snacks."

"He can't even eat them."

"Yes he can. I'll bite them in pieces for him."

"Whatever.  You'll eat them all."

"Whatever."

*This pretty much tells all about my last pregnancy.  Ha!  I lived off those things.

Announcements

3.  I lost a follower in the last week or so.  I'm kind of flattered.

2.  My parents own a condo in south Provo that is now vacated and (hence) available for rent.  If you know anyone that is looking for a nice place, send 'em our way!  

It has three bedrooms, two full baths - about 1800 square feet on one level.  

(I have lots more pics for anyone who is interested.)

And, most importantly . . . .

1. I am pleased to introduce our new family website, months (almost a year?) in the making.  We decided a while back to put something together that could serve as a springboard for our abundant, varied ideas.  We're still working out kinks, but - we are really excited about it!
Come check it out and please, leave a comment!

And now it's time for us to host a Luau. Or something.

Slice is really picky about his rice.

I mean, really picky.

I learned early on in our relationship that you ALWAYS wash rice before you cook it, and also, that not all rice is created equal.

(If you ever say "rice is rice" in his company, he may not correct you, but he will give you a Look.  Because in Japan, rice is not rice.  There are different varieties in different areas, and some are better than others, and sticky rice is the only edible kind.)

SO.  For two years now, we've been on the hunt for a good rice cooker.  I've learned how to cook it pretty well by myself, even on an electric stove, but it's tricky and messy and sometimes time-consuming.
The special rice cookers that Slice is partial to have all kinds of options - but are generally in the $100+ range.  Ahem.  Hence, the rice cooker purchase has been on the back burner (so to speak) for quite a while.

Last weekend Slice worked in Vernal for a few days.  He came home from Wal-Mart with "a housewarming gift," he called it; I got nervous.  But then he pulled out one of these and, turns out, it cost only $39.

Last night was the trial run.  Hawaiian haystacks were on the dinner menu (well that's a lie, we never ever have a dinner menu), and Slice returned from the grocery store all in a dither.  He opened the lid: WONDER OF WONDERS.
Beautiful rice!  Cooked to the perfect sticky-ness!
I am not joking, he did a big victory dance right here in the kitchen.

This rice cooker is changing our lives.

food storage

So it took us two years to go through a 25-lb bag of flour.

Ummmm....

(how long does it take you??)

What I thought

Siegfried's never disappoints.  Last week I got the Wienerschnitzel, Lu got the Goulash and Spätzle, and we shared.  You should really go sometime, if you haven't.  Best German food around.

Vienna Bistro, on the other hand, was a bit of a disappointment.  Maybe just because I was SO EXCITED to go, or because I forgot that I don't really like SemmelKnödel (my fault), or maybe because Liam woke up right when we got there and I had to hold him through the entire meal and he also grabbed a fork that splashed gravy all over me.

Who knows?
The Sacher Torte was really good though.

THERE'S A NEW RESTAURANT IN TOWN!!

OK, not really new, because the restaurants around here usually just change ownership.  But anyway, it used to be a Mexican place and now it's Italian, and not bad Italian at that.  Slice and I went Friday night and tried 3 of the dishes -- we'll go back.

Date Night, old news.  We just watched it for the first time.  There were some funny parts, but don't watch the unrated version unless you're a porn and/or profanity kind of person.
(I'm not.)

And... Mockingjay.  Totally not what I was expecting.  That was fine, I still liked it and I certainly never thought it was boring (like some people), but it was my least favorite of the three.  Pretty heavy for school-age readers, too.

Banana Tree

Bananas are awesome. You can put them in cereal, crepes, bread, and pie. You can make ice cream sundaes and fruit smoothies with them. They transport easily and go with almost anything.

But here's the thing. Bananas are best eaten before they are ripe. That day-before hint of green is the sign of perfect timing. So if you buy a big bunch, and they all ripen at the same rate, you end up eating seven bananas in one day! Then you get sick of them.

Anyway, the problem could be solved if you went to the grocery store three times a week and bought a few almost-ripe bananas each time. But who wants to go to the grocery store three times a week? Not me, that's who. I pretty much hate grocery shopping.

I need a banana tree.

Top of the Third

(trimester, that is)

Last Wednesday after work we headed out to AZ and drove through the night. We got to Heather's around 5:30 and crashed for a couple hours before getting up for the day.

Thursday and Saturday Slice golfed with his brother. Technically, that's why we went in the first place.

Friday we all went to a Baseball Spring Training game - Angels v. Indians - and it was H.O.T. Seriously, the 70s felt like 90s to me, I was sweating and sunburning and stuff. It was fabulous.

Right as he took this picture, our cameraman asked "Are you two newlyweds or something?"
Please note my BLACK shirt + totally awesome hair.

Saturday, Slice turned 23. We celebrated with "giant candy!" gifts and carrot cake (cream cheese frosting, rolled in sliced almonds). You should have been there.

Also Saturday, my brother Alex came home from his mission in Nebraska. I was sad to miss it.

Sunday we drove home and Laurel made us some fab lava cake. She didn't even KNOW I'd been wanting lava cake for at least six weeks. (You'd think I would just make it for myself. But no.)

We didn't get home until midnight.

Yesterday the Roosy golf course opened ... which means Slice is dead to me.

Still contracting. Frequently. They are starting to hurt.

For the Love

For Valentine's Day I made Slice a recipe box.

Remember how he wanted one for Christmas, but I didn't get him one because he MADE ME PROMISE not to buy him any gifts?
(And because I am such a 'good' wife that I actually kept that promise?)

But- I'm always thinking of ways to encourage his cooking habits. Because I LOVE that Slice cooks, I really do. Not that I can't cook or I refuse (although I do prefer the baking side of food preparation), but this he-cooks I-eat cycle is such a beautiful thing; I just don't see why I should interfere with it.

So, about a week ago I had the idea to make a recipe box out of old library catalog cards, cookbook indexes and cast-off cardboard. I figured it would turn out either cute or really ugly.
(You know I'm not the craftiest person alive.)

After two days of sneaky work -much longer than I'd anticiapted!- it turned out mostly cute. I think.

Now I just have to leave it alone ....

new year

I have it on good authority that

Christmas = fun
New Years = disappointing

and generally, boys are to blame for the disappointment.

After years of Tri-Stake dances where the boys didn't show up, or just didn't dance, and other years of "exclusive" parties, I thought I would actually have a fun evening with my husband. I didn't.

This year, at least, was not too bad. Slice and I spent the holiday with our favorite Springville residents - future neighbors, right? - we stayed up late and slept in later. Over the course of 3 days we ate some fabulous Japanese food (thanks to Slice), finally spent our gift card at Sears, enjoyed the Marketplace Buffet at Brick Oven, and discovered the goodness of IKEA (2 trips, 5 hours and $150 later...I am the HAPPY! owner of this and some other things).

A successful trip, I'd say.

Welcome 2010!

(Can I have my hearing back???)

My totally awesome Christmas break

1. Crepes Suzette, from the Food Network. Slice's contribution to

2. The annual family adult dinner. On the menu this year: king crab legs, shrimp, pork loin, sparkling cider, the Eddington classic grape ice. (And crepes suzette for dessert.)

Great food, greater company. Good times all around.

3. Family nativity + Christmas Eve pajamas, which I was totally not expecting. OK, so they aren't pajamas, but they sure are comfy.

4. No Christmas presents exchanged between Slice and myself. Our Christmas was Japan. Not a bad one, that. (Our new advice for newlyweds: HONEYMOONS ARE OVERRATED. Skip the honeymoon. Go on a real trip a year later.) (Just don't get pregnant right beforehand.)

5. Testing out the revolver that Santa brought "the family." Everyone knows it really was for Mom. We tried it out at the land and

6. I still can't hear out of my left ear, 3 days later. Hoping my hearing is not permanently damaged. How long should I wait before freaking out for real?

(Seriously. The left side of my head feels like it is sealed off. And there is chirping going on in there.)

7. The Family Flu went around, catching me last night. Spent 6 hours ridding my stomach of all contents. After the fourth trip to the bathroom, I brought my pillows with me so I could sleep on the floor. Does it serve me right for never having morning sickness?

(P.S. How do those women DO it? I would not get pregnant again if I had to do that every day.)

8. Slice is a saint. He stayed up all night with me, rubbing my back and feet and making me a bed on the bathroom floor, bringing me water, mouthwash, Sprite and Coke.

None of which really helped.

How Many Men

do you know that ask for recipe boxes for Christmas?

Just wondering.

a word about the food - video added

I'm not sure what I was expecting before I came to Japan.

Maybe something like what I experienced in Europe - food similar to what I am used to, prepared differently but at least recognizable; distant relatives of food I know and love. Plus a few totally weird things.

Oh how wrong I was.

As I said before, everything here is different. And not different in a "hmm, they eat rice for breakfast? and tofu in their soup?" way, either.

I don't recognize anything. When Slice tries to explain to me what it is or what's in it, I don't understand him. It is all strange roots and vegetables, overgrown fruits, spices I can't describe, weird fish cooked weird ways. Also octopus and eel.

And that is all.

I'm trying to be good and open-minded; to try things, not judge by their looks. And I have truly liked several of the things I have tried. But if you picked it up in my last post, you know that I have finished ONE Japanese meal so far. In a week. Not a great track record.

In Europe, whenever I saw McDonald's I would get a little pang in my heart. Do we have to be everywhere?! Homogenizing the world with our cheap fake burgers and fries?? Those blasted golden arches, I thought.

Now all I can say is - what's the problem with that anyway? People like it, obviously. And if I see those golden arches and I know there's a clean free bathroom with soap inside, and food that I can eat without first asking what it is, what is the problem with that?

God bless the U.S.A.

And McDonald's cinnamon melts.

Day 3

So we are staying with Dorian's favorite investigator - Yasue, who was baptized earlier this year - and her family.  She is SO sweet.  And she speaks English very well.  

But her husband doesn't want to see us, and half of the house belongs to her parents, who we are not supposed to bother.  So we spend our time in either the front room of the house (an old beauty salon) or the bedroom upstairs.  See:

We are sleeping on a wood pallet with two futons laid across.  Also, the pillows are buckwheat.

Doesn't that sound lovely?

(Thank heavens I brought one feather pillow with me.)

Also, if I don't make it home, I'll tell you right now it will be because of these staircases.  NOT JOKING.  Do you see how narrow those steps are?  No?

They are too narrow for your feet, sideways.  And there are no railings.  Try them in the middle of the night!

(I have.)

Yesterday there was a district fireside/Joseph Smith commemoration, which was lovely.

Mom, I even played the piano for it.  But Dorian didn't take pictures.

Afterward the Mission President and his wife taught everyone the Virginia Reel and we did some stick pulling.

It was SO FUNNY.

Oh!  And yesterday for lunch we ate at a little place near Yasue's house, and who walked in but the Elders ... Dorian's last companion, his Son.  They were a companionship in this area, and now Gorton is back for his last transfer.  Pretty cool.  They did the stick pull and Gorton won.

Today we were back at the church, for Branch Conference (good thing we weren't fasting...).  It was lovely.  Every congregation has a personality, right?  These members are all so kind, so open, I couldn't believe it.  After the meetings, we all ate a meal together, and they asked us to say a few words.  ha!

And then they wanted to take pictures of us before we left.  More and more and more pictures.  I was kind of embarrassed.

Morgan and Gorton again:

Other random things:

-The food is so VASTLY different.  All of it.  More on this later.

-Still trying to adjust sleeping schedule.  Last night we fell asleep at about 7 and woke up at 3.

-Major blunder #1: I didn't take my shoes off the right way when we first came to the house. Thanks for the heads up, husband.

-Bathrooms weird.  

-We ate our first breakfast in the beauty salon, and used instant oatmeal (that we brought) with warm water from the sink.  Not great.

-HUMID.  My hair weighs twice as much as it normally does.

-Major blunder #2: because I fell asleep so early last night, I had to use the bathroom around 12:30.  I crept down the death stairs, opened the door and YASUE'S DAD WAS IN THERE.  And I couldn't even say sorry in Japanese.

-Speaking of Japanese ... I'm a failure.  I'm perfecting my nodding/bowing skills, though.

semi-religious festivities

Tonight was the traditional Book of Mormon party.

The family finished it again this morning, so we celebrated!

Today's the first time we've invited another family (the Masons) to join.

We sat at a low table adorned with King Benjamin's tower and lit by "glowing stones,"

costumed in robes and togas and furs - and of course Nephite head bands.

For appetizers we had cheese, grain crackers, mangoes, pomegranates, black and green olives, and baby carrots.

Dinner was Curelom and Cumom Stew with homemade whole wheat bread,

cumom milk / secret combinations juice to drink,

and REAL honeycomb on the side.

(Sorry these pictures are so terrible ... Slice had the good camera.)

After the meal we played Who am I? and Book of Mormon charades,

(such excellent actors!)

and ended the night with Tree of Life fruit pie.

Delicious.

Not what you're looking for

I love how people visit my blog when I actually write stuff.

You're all probably hoping that I have something interesting to say.
Most of the time, I don't.
(Right now, for instance.)

Over the last 17 nights, I've slept in my own bed a total of 6 ...
Slice and I, the old favorite chaperones, are the new favorite baby-sitters. And I've been laying ground rules like never before. Getting ornery in my old age, probably.
The district tightened Internet Security; I can't see pictures on any blogs now. Not even my own.
And our internet stopped working at home so I couldn't upload from there either.

All of this combined has put me into a blog funk. (Or a life funk, I'm not sure which.)
At least there's always entertainment to be had in search terms that bring people to this little place.

A few of my favorites:

• "dress like girls" - from my Halloween post last year. But why?

• "the strangest things happen" - yes they do.

• "can you die from broken sternum" -YES YOU CAN, and I probably will. Even though it's unlikely (Thanks Tay!).

• "sticky notes ask boy to dance" - be prepared for disaster.

• "senior class most likely to" - live in a shoe with lots of kids? Oh, that wasn't in your yearbook?

• "vector marketing" - yeah I sold knives. And they are awesome knives, and I had the worst time EVER trying to cut cheese last night with my Aunt's non-Cutco junk. Cutco cheese knife forever.

• "why would a sore in my mouth taste irony" - this one is really funny to me. Combination of my Irony posts plus others. Random.

• "girls asking guys is always a surprise" - looking for lyrics? or genuinely surprised?

• "uchtdorf" 2 times - awesome

• "the years they pass like summer dew upon the grass" - more lyrics, but never have I ever written about Saturday's Warrior.

• "we shall lift the lamps of courage" - great song

• "rob and tressa" 2 x, and "dizzlefig" - love you all.

• "byu law" - I wish!

• "'my first place' hgtv" - someday it will pay off, and we'll buy a house. Someday.

• "swordle c" - I thought I made that word up!

• "I've been wanting to call you" - sweet, but, how in the world did that bring you here? I have been wondering about this for weeks.

And finally, my all-time favorite:

• "jean slicing games" - does anyone know about these? Because they sound totally AWESOME.

Excited Because

1. One month from today, I will be on my way to JAPAN.

2. I got a new passport last week. With my new name. (But now all the old stamps are gone.)

3. I set a new personal bowling record last week - 168! Yesssssss.
And now my name shows up on the "Lane Record" screen for Lane 3 at the Ute Lanes.

4. A friend's mom called me "domestic" on Saturday. Ha! Should I have told her that we had no cheese grater for 7 months?

5. We now have a cheese grater. Nothing else can really do what a cheese grater does, you know?

6. General Conference is this weekend. And I will be in Arizona for it. (I hope.)

7. Dann and Brian won!!!

Giveaway Winner

And Fig wins!

It's funny you should mention a pet chicken ...

but no, we were celebrating the blog-child's first birthday.
(I was actually hoping you would cheat.)

It's been a year of stealing Internet, uploading photos, and laboring over ridiculous blog posts.

According to my Dashboard, this is my 200th post!
Unfortunately, at least 15 of those posts are drafts, never to see the light of the public eye.

Thanks for reading, as always, and especially for all your comments. Fig, your prize has been decided but not made ... I will email you later for details.

Now I better get to work.