Three Generation Shopping Trip

We went on a three generation shopping trip. Halle will be one in a couple of weeks. She wasn't too impressed with trying clothes on, but once we let her walk around with one foot in a size three and the other foot in a size four, she was thrilled. Her favorite part was the little girl she kept finding in all the mirrors in the shoe department. She came home with some spring outfits, a pair of white sneakers (with sparkles), and a pair of jellies! Who even knew they still make jellies? I remember so well the first pair of jellies I bought for Kim and how thrilled she was with them.

The family was here for the weekend. The spouses stayed further South to be close to the NCAA playoffs, but all the kids and grandkids were here. It was fun to see them. We tried to have an Easter egg hunt outside, but wondered if they would distinguish between the candy and the cute little "chocolate balls" the deer left.

Last night I gave Brooke and Drew a bath. They were arguing over toys in the bathtub so I was looking for items I could give them. I found a pink plastic spiral brush/comb and told Drew it was a magic wand. He LOVED it, but it had the downside that he spent the rest of the bath dipping the brush in the water and flipping it on me (while chanting some magic spell). I had a hard time telling him that I didn't want the carpet or walls soaked, as it will all be gone within a month (as we are having our upstairs bathrooms redone). What fun!


When Drew saw the wall in our kitchen, he said, "They don't have any J's!"

Despite our frailties

Our home teacher just called to double check what time he is coming. That is typical. He first calls to set up an appointment. This morning it was, "This is Brother ___. I'm your 'come every month guy'." Then he forgets when the visit is and has to call back a few hours later. He has Alzheimer's. He comes alone as his partner is unavailable. He usually doesn't give a lesson as that is difficult for him. Carrying on a conversation is limited - as I tend to ask a lot of questions (which is not very effective with an Alzheimer's victim). Once or twice in every visit he tells us he has Alzheimer's. We tend to repeat a lot of the same conversations each month. I don't know him well - as he's only been in our ward a year (part of the new segment that was added to our ward), but I have a great love and respect for him. He comes every month. He is dressed in Sunday best when he comes. He doesn't let his forgetfulness stop him from serving. I feel honored to have him come each month.

Just showing up month after month may be the best message possible. Keep serving. The Lord can make use of your strengths and your short comings.

Spring "Break" and the March "Hare"

Greg had surgery today on his scaphoid bone of his wrist. He fell playing basketball and then went snowmobiling the following weekend. All that jarring did a lot of damage. He had a 2 mm crack in the bone - which they have screwed closed. He is to keep his arm above his heart for the next week - which means no ability to go to work.

Since he is 26, he is off our insurance - and (hopefully) on ICON insurance. But it is high deductible, so who knows if it will pay anything at all.

Greg seems to be doing well. He was nauseous after getting home, but that could have just been Steve's driving :-). He has been sleeping a fair amount and eating lots of toast. He is getting pretty bored - already. He says we really need a media computer for the TV.

If you look closely at his upper lip, you can see his "March hare".

Wonderful People

I got back from SIGCSE early this morning. It was a quick trip to a CS educator's conference. People whose focus is education are just wonderful people. They are giving, interested in everything, and fun to be with. There wasn't one without a story, an interesting point of view, and a friendly smile.

By the time I got to the airport yesterday, I had three hours to kill and both my books already read. I did jot down a few things on my to do list from the conference. I COULD have done real work, but I was not in the mental frame of mind to do so. I did play Freecell for a bit, and loved the fact that my computer is an effective heater. I would have been frozen in the airport without it. On the way to the conference, I had books to read, work to do, and sleep to catch up on (so I talked to hardly anyone) but on the way home - with a flight that didn't leave until 7 pm on a Saturday evening, most people were ready to visit. I must have talked to a dozen people between the shuttle from the hotel, two flights, and a shuttle from the airport. There were people going on Spring break - skiing or visiting friends, someone coming back from helping her mother with hip surgery, a fellow on military leave. They were fun loving, productive, good people. On the last leg of the trip, I rode with two students - one just starting a PhD in sociology and one just finishing a PhD in Family and Child Development. We visited the entire hour and a half back home - about their research, post docs, how to interview - anything and everything. One gal was from Virginia, here visiting her twin sister (who is also getting a PhD in sociology). She was trying to get back to classes at George Mason, but her flight was canceled and she couldn't get another one she could afford until Tuesday. She was retracing her steps to wait out the delay. The other gal was Taiwanese and just returning from a conference in Philadelphia. She had joined the church during her four years of grad school at USU, and was the PhD student of a good friend of Steve's.

In church today, they were talking about the rapid decline of society - and that church members follow the same trendline as society in general - just seven years behind. I wanted to say, "But people throughout society ARE wonderful. They really are."

These video clips are courtesy of an exercise science professor (I met on the Milwaukee flight) heading to Idaho:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-UoERHaSQg

Odds and Ends

In our personal history class, they challenged us to keep a journal. I was amazed at how much help the blog is in trying to piece together a journal. I thought there would be an easy way of downloading my blog's content (and putting everything in chronological order). I found ways of creating a book (but then I couldn't insert other things). I found a way of getting an electronic copy, but paying $8 seemed wrong. You shouldn't have to pay to download the content in a reasonable format. I finally just cut and pasted the entries one at a time into Word. There MUST be a better way.

I'm heading to Wisconsin this week for a SIGCSE panel. I could get pretty excited to be headed to Hawaii or Florida, but Wisconsin in March sounds about as depressing as Cache Valley. I really shouldn't complain, though. Today was BEAUTFUL. Steve and I even went on our regular summer walk (only slipping for a little bit of the time). Tomorrow is supposed to get to 41. SLC has been having nice weather, but we haven't. I can't wait for Spring. I'm already plotting where I can plant tomatoes. I have an awesome recipe needing sun dried tomatoes, and sadly, I'm all out of sun-dried tomatoes.

Since I lost last Saturday to work and will be gone next Saturday for work, I decided today should be purely for me. I started reading "The Diary of Mattie Spenser" and have just been transported. Thanks to all you who share what you are reading on Goodreads. What a marvelous creation.

I went to a baptism today (for Ashley, whose family I have been tending for for a few weeks on Tuesday evenings). It was so nice. I had forgotten how much I like baptisms. There were a few things that were different. For each baptism, they opened and closed the door in front of the baptismal font - being symbolic. They also have added folding curtains on either end of the hallway (where the baptismal font is located) and a glass panel in front of the font. It was fun to share the day with her family.

Drew had a scare and was back in the ER on Thursday night. In talking to Lori, she said he had been sick for a few days. After he woke up one night, particularly distressed, she asked, "What hurts?" He responded, "I do!" What a darling boy. He is such a joy. Hopefully, he is continuing to improve.

I can tell its fast Sunday tomorrow. I'm already craving food. I tried a really good and easy recipe for crock pot burritos (that I got from Kellie at our enrichment crock pot activity). This is a definite keeper. The meat was so tender, it took no effort to shred it. I lifted out some chunks of fat, but the sauce that remained was remarkably fat free and yummy.

Pork Roast Burritos

In a crockpot add:
1 pork roast, salt and peppered
1 large onion, chopped (I used dried plus a little water)
2 cans pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
1 bottle barbecue sauce (I used KC Masterpiece)
1 small jar apricot jam (about a cup)

Directions
Cook on low for 8-10 hours. After cooking, take the roast out and use two forks to shred into pieces. Make burritos as desired. I use tortillas (warmed in the microwave), pork, beans, and some sauce from the crock pot, sour cream, guacamole, olives, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, etc. (I think some cooked rice would also be good.) I have a ton of apricot jam, so if you live close enough to grab some, drop by.


Here's my recipe that has got me craving sun-dried tomatoes. They are the flash of flavor that makes this recipe great.

TUSCAN CHICKEN CAVATAPPI RECIPE

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, each breast cut into ¼ inch strips
1 cup balsamic vinaigrette (commercial, or use recipe below)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup chopped onion or shallots
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
2 Tablespoons minced garlic (I use canned garlic by Christopher Ranch)
2 cups fresh spinach (washed and trimmed)
handful of sun dried tomatoes
1 cup dry Marsala wine
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh (or frozen) Italian parsley leaves, plus whole sprigs, for garnish
1 box of cavatappi (aka cellentani or double elbows) (Walmart carries Barilla brand Cellentani)



About an hour (or longer) before you plan to start cooking, slice the chicken and place in a Ziploc bag with the vinaigrette. Let marinate in refrigerator.
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until cooked, about 6 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cool slightly.
While the chicken cools, melt butter to the same skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onion and sun dried tomatoes, then saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic, then saute until the mushrooms are tender and the juices evaporate, about 12 minutes.
Add the wine and simmer until it is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan and mustard.
Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the cavatappi and cook until al dente (11 minutes), stirring occasionally. Drain. Toss with sauce and serve over the fresh spinach leaves.

Heartbound

I just returned from a special Relief Society meeting for our stake. The musical trio, Heartbound, spoke and performed. What special ladies. Their music was great, and their talks were equally profound. I had heard them perform at education week, but they have never been better than they were tonight.

Here's a sketchy rendition of my favorite story that they shared (from education week). A fellow was helping feed the orphans in an under-developed country. His job was to bang the ladle against the metal pot to announce to everyone that the soup was ready. As he clanged the ladle against the pot, the orphans started running towards the food, eager to fill their hungry stomachs with food. As they ran towards the volunteers, one orphan tripped and fell. The volunteer left his post, and ran to the young boy. He picked him up, brushed off his skinned knee, and held him close to comfort him. As he put the boy down, he noticed the other orphans had left the food line - and formed a line in front of him - to join the "hug" line.

We forget how important a hug can be. Go out into the world - and hug!