Apartment Carpet

Before and After

2009-03-30T09:21:00.001-05:00

Garage Sale Find

2009-03-28T11:39:00.001-05:00

New summer clothes

2009-02-26T08:50:00.002-06:00

Peas

2009-02-12T20:01:00.002-06:00

Saul now requires enthusiastic appreciation for each bite of veggies that he puts in his mouth.

New Videos 2/12/09

2009-02-12T16:40:00.000-06:00

This is what happens when a cookie request is denied. We probably go through this at least three times a day.

Videos

2009-01-26T19:21:00.001-06:00

Finally!

2009-01-26T12:45:00.001-06:00

My camera cord is still missing, but I have a temporary workaround at least...

Christmas, part two

2009-01-05T15:53:00.000-06:00

Christmas

2009-01-05T15:50:00.000-06:00

A Pre-Christmas Post

2008-12-30T13:07:00.003-06:00

From a Christmas party we went to - Saul and Laney had a blast on the power wheels, even though he had to be coerced to finally let her drive. Such a little man already.

Christmas Preview

2008-12-29T11:58:00.004-06:00

I'll get Christmas pics up soon - in the meantime, here are a few teasers:

Saul and cousin Landon had a great time playing in an ice chest

Saul is obviously B's child - where else would he have inherited a tendency to drink salsa straight from the jar?

Dancing at Mozart's

2008-12-21T11:06:00.001-06:00

I kid you not, Saul picked up four college chicks at the next table.

Trail of Lights 2008

2008-12-18T09:41:00.002-06:00

Last year, Saul stayed awake while we walked the Trail of Lights, but just barely. This year, he was a little more into it, shrieking at Max from Where the Wild Things Are, growling at some spinning teddy bears, and totally having the best time of his life spinning under the Zilker tree.

Pics for Grandmas

2008-12-16T10:37:00.002-06:00

Happy birthday, Grandmas!

Saul

2008-12-12T12:52:00.002-06:00

I swear, the only time he slows down enough for me to take a picture is when he is asleep.

A spotty Thanksgiving pictorial

2008-12-02T17:00:00.006-06:00

I only occasionally remembered to get out my camera during our long Thanksgiving holiday.

Saul enjoys his first non-breastmilk Thanksgiving dinner

Saul lets me know that he has completed said dinner by signing "all done" and smearing cranberry sauce on everything he can reach

Saul plays with cousin Tara, aunt Becky and uncle Greg. Note the vacuum cleaner in the foreground. He managed to find at least one vacuum at every house we visited.

Playing in the front yard with cousin Tara

Viewing his first real live cow

Hanging out at Granny and Grandpa's

My boys

Saul made an abrupt dietary change last week and decided that he likes meat after all. He ate two ribs and two bowls of beans all by himself and was back to begging for cookies only an hour later.

Visiting my great-aunt Irene and great-uncle Wilson. I guess that would make them Saul's great great aunt and uncle?

Somehow I missed taking pictures of half the people we visited. Perhaps someone else should be in charge of documentation.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T09:59:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow, I will sit at a table with three other adults and one toddler and we will have enough food for a small army. At the same time, people in Zimbabwe are scrounging individual kernels of corn to keep themselves alive. By pure chance, I was lucky enough to be born into incredible wealth and comfort, and I am beyond grateful for that. It's the very least I can do to try and share some of my good fortune.

If you are as lucky as I am, please consider giving thanks by donating to Action Against Hunger (Charity Navigator).

As Obama likes to remind us, we are our brother's keeper.

Saul ,Saul, Sabrina, and Saul

2008-11-25T12:52:00.003-06:00

Be one with the cookie

He's all "look, Mom, there's a girl in my bathtub!"

I think blue monkey is taking

Happy pictures

2008-11-20T08:13:00.002-06:00

My flowers are blooming like crazy

And Saul adores his blue monkey

Many facets of Saul

2008-11-18T13:20:00.005-06:00

Ready to play face

Model face

Making out with blue monkey face

Anticipating a graham cracker to avoid a car trip meltdown face

Kissy face

Cat burgler bonus

Animal sounds

2008-11-12T11:58:00.001-06:00

November 12

2008-11-12T10:51:00.003-06:00

Thanks a lot, Grandma

2008-11-10T09:54:00.002-06:00

Saul's head almost exploded with joy when he saw this lawn mower at Terra Toys. Grandma Softie paid for it and it's been driving me crazy ever since.

Hope, I gots it

2008-11-05T09:20:00.003-06:00

Here is what Saul was doing while B and I and about 63 million other people helped to ensure that his future will be a bright one.

Now that this election is over, I truly hope that we can stop arguing about petty things and start working on the big problems. I was impressed with McCain's concession speech and I hope that he will start acting like himself again now that the Republican machine is going to let him go. I think he and Obama together could do wonderful things for this country.

I actually cried last night during Obama's speech. Not for myself, but for Saul. I HOPE this world will start CHANGING into a better place for him.

Saul this morning

2008-11-03T09:41:00.003-06:00

Saul has become quite fascinated by Sir Chutney of Yorkshire Pudding lately. He is now fondled every time we leave or enter the house.

2nd Halloween

2008-11-01T10:30:00.005-05:00

Saul was only a month old on his first Halloween, so we didn't do anything at all. He's still not old enough for trick or treating, but he is definitely old enough to dress up, go to some parties, catch swooning Tinkerbells, and chow down on some vegan cookies!

Excursion, part two

2008-10-30T10:12:00.003-05:00

In which Saul does not want to sit on the damn pumpkin

2008-10-28T08:43:00.002-05:00

Excursion, part one

2008-10-27T09:45:00.002-05:00

We took Saul to ride the Zilker Zephyr. Can you tell just how much he doesn't care?

Saul 10/23/08

2008-10-23T09:36:00.002-05:00

Bathtub

2008-10-20T13:03:00.000-05:00

Monday Morning Saul

2008-10-20T09:15:00.003-05:00

Saul was playing so hard that he fell asleep on the floor in his room.

Playing in the bathtub:

To a limited extent, he now dresses himself. I let the results speak for themselves.

Somehow, every time I leave the house, I come home to this:

Adios

2008-10-14T10:18:00.003-05:00

When I started this blog, it was just something to do. Later, especially after B and I lost our first baby, it became a place for me to express my feelings, a kind of therapy. Gradually, it evolved into a way to keep in touch with family and friends, and to allow far off relatives to watch Saul growing up.

Lately, the desire to write about my life has kind of disappeared. Posting has started to feel like more of a burden than a release. So I have decided to take an extended break. I will continue to post pictures of Saul for family, but I think that's going to be it for awhile.

I hope I can still keep in touch with everyone, whether through Facebook or email or actual, real live face to face interaction.

Thanks to everyone for listening to my rambling over the last few years.

This I Believe

2008-10-13T12:28:00.004-05:00

This particular essay touched me in a way I can't even find words for. I'm just glad I'm working from home today so that I can cry all I want like the big baby that I am.

Portrait link

2008-10-10T12:48:00.001-05:00

Saul's 1 year portraits. As always, Carrie made everything so fabulous that I get a little teary looking at my beautiful baby boy.

Because I said I would

2008-10-08T16:25:00.003-05:00

Saul's vacuum yodeling. Turn up the volume to get the full bizarreness of it.

blog blog blah

2008-10-07T12:51:00.002-05:00

I'm getting a little bit tired of the whole blog thing lately. I love staying in touch with friends and having a place for family to get all the Saul updates they want, but I'm just so busy lately that it's hard to carve out even a few minutes to post. I think I'm going to take the rest of this week off from blogging, but I will probably be back next Monday.

In the meantime, here is my step dad with one BIG ASS TREE that Ike kindly knocked down into their backyard.

Monday Morning Saul

2008-10-06T11:24:00.004-05:00

We had a busy weekend, as always!

On Saturday morning, we did Saul's one year pictures with Carrie. I timed it wrong so that Saul was just about all played out when it was time to start, but I have faith that the pictures will turn out good anyway because Carrie is all talented like that.

On Saturday evening, we had Nerdy Game Night and played Settlers of Catan, Set, and my new obsession, Carcassonne. I am so thankful that we have nerdy friends who will come play these games with us!

Sunday was all about chores and yard work and cooking, but we managed to get in a few more games of Carcassonne and Set anyway.

Saul is funny lately. He is obsessed with shoes and the vacuum cleaner. He signs shoes and brings me his shoes and always wants to wear his shoes. I actually put him to bed with shoes on last week because he threw a fit when I tried to take them off.

The vacuum cleaner is a more recent thing. He is both fascinated and scared of it. He wants me to turn it on so he can hear the noise, but he wants to be sitting in my lap while I do it. Every time he sees it, he makes a weird yodeling noise that I'm guessing is his imitation of the sound it makes. I'm working on getting a video of that. In the meantime, here are videos of him participating in one of his favorite past times, and walking like a drunk. Coordination is not something he is gifted with.

Poetry Thursday

2008-10-02T10:31:00.002-05:00

No poem, too busy. Bath time with Saul (can you tell he's teething?)

Cheating

2008-10-01T14:29:00.002-05:00

No more words this week. Just pics. (These by my favorite photographer Carrie, who will be doing Saul's 1 year portraits this weekend)

Monday Morning Saul

2008-09-30T09:50:00.004-05:00

So I'm a day late. So what?

I'm REALLY busy at work this week, so posting will probably be pretty light.

Here is Saul right after a spaghetti dinner (and right before a bath):

And here he is wearing the CUTEST! PANTS! EVER! That's corduroy, y'all. I love it.

That is the best picture I could get. Every time I tried to get him to stand up, he went all boneless on me and collapsed in a screaming heap on the floor. Really. I think he woke up too early.

My baby isn't a baby

2008-09-29T10:28:00.005-05:00

How is it even possible that Saul is a year old? How did that happen?

On Saturday night, I stood by his crib and watched him sleep. I imagined him as a newborn, remembering just how tiny he was, and how the little green alien doll that he now clutched in his hand was the same one that was half the size of his body when we first brought him home. I couldn't imagine how he had grown so much in just a year, how this little boy was the same person as the helpless infant that I brought home from the hospital.

Then I went upstairs and saw my eight year old niece, Tara, asleep on the couch. She had her arms thrown over her head the same way Saul does, and it stopped me in my tracks. Before I know it, Saul will be just as big as Tara.

Nothing makes you recognize the passage of time like having kids around.

One exception

2008-09-26T10:09:00.003-05:00

I just had to post this because it just made my day suck a little bit less. Thanks, Kathy.

Notification

2008-09-26T10:02:00.002-05:00

I am taking the day off from blogging due to IMMINENT STRESS RELATED BREAK DOWN.

If I survive Saul's birthday weekend, and next week's year-end close at work, it will be a miracle.

He walks!

2008-09-25T09:31:00.002-05:00

Poetry Thursday

2008-09-25T09:29:00.001-05:00

Variation On The Word Sleep

I would like to watch you sleeping,
which may not happen.
I would like to watch you,
sleeping. I would like to sleep
with you, to enter
your sleep as its smooth dark wave
slides over my head

and walk with you through that lucent
wavering forest of bluegreen leaves
with its watery sun & three moons
towards the cave where you must descend,
towards your worst fear

I would like to give you the silver
branch, the small white flower, the one
word that will protect you
from the grief at the center
of your dream, from the grief
at the center I would like to follow
you up the long stairway
again & become
the boat that would row you back
carefully, a flame
in two cupped hands
to where your body lies
beside me, and as you enter
it as easily as breathing in

I would like to be the air
that inhabits you for a moment
only. I would like to be that unnoticed
& that necessary.

-Margaret Atwood

And even more important than bling

2008-09-24T12:40:00.003-05:00

is Saul, of course.

Climbing into a drawer in the kitchen.

He was quite proud of himself.

Playing peekaboo.

Sitting in my exercise ball chair frame. It's one of his favorite places in my office. He wheels it around like a walker.

And finally, standing up all by himself, looking out the window, and watching birds. I think he might be trying to sign bird also, but I can't be sure.

Much more important than politics

2008-09-24T12:30:00.002-05:00

Is my new bling. I have a serious weakness for huge, 80's inspired earrings.

Here I go again

2008-09-24T10:48:00.003-05:00

I am quite disturbed by this plan to give one single man (a former head of an investment bank, btw) 700 billion dollars to distribute as he sees fit, with no oversight or review. It is true that I am a dirty liberal commie (according to most Texans, at least), but I am not comfortable with a centrally planned economy, nor am I comfortable with one branch of government having so much power. I believe that the constitution did a very good job of carefully balancing power between three branches of government, but that is now being destroyed. We are about to have an executive dictatorship, and I find that frightening, no matter who holds that power.

Avada Kedavra to you, Spencer

2008-09-23T21:10:00.002-05:00

I was mildly confused and somewhat apathetic when I saw this for the first time last week, but somehow it gets funnier every time I think about it. And I can't see the name Ben Bernanke now without giggling.

A giant 700 billion dollar peach cobbler

2008-09-23T10:41:00.002-05:00

The Unger Report

Lets make America the best France ever!

Slow down!

2008-09-23T09:10:00.002-05:00

A list of things that need doing but aren't being done because I'm sick and stressed:

Clean up all my recons and take care of last minute business at work before year end next week.
Actually complete the year end close next week (this will involve many 12 hour days).
Prepare for 7 house guests this weekend.
Clean up my filthy house.
Wrap all of Saul's birthday presents.
Find a recipe and prepare an egg-free cake.
Decorate. Um, balloons? I don't do parties. Ick. So help me god, we will NOT SING.
Figure out an agenda and menu to keep 10 people amused and fed for a weekend.
Prep B to take Saul for his one year check-up next Monday.
Get chicken wire fences rebuilt and plant fall garden before it's too late.
Reschedule a dentist appointment.
Finish my "professional development" project before year end (bonus depends on it).
One year portraits with Carrie next weekend.
Game night at my house next weekend.

Blechh. Perhaps the blogging with suffer. Or perhaps not. Perversely, the more I have to do, the more I tend to procrastinate and screw around on the internet. Oh, and do crossword puzzles. Whenever I'm really stressed, I either start skipping sleep to read lots of books, or I start obsessively doing crossword puzzles. This go round, it's the crosswords. I've even been keeping one in my car to look at during red lights. Thank god for B's lifetime subscription to Games Magazine.

Monday Morning Saul

2008-09-22T09:45:00.004-05:00

What a busy weekend! Saturday was Laney's 1st birthday. Saul was initially a little bit sullen after the long, hot car ride, and was not pleased when Laney kept trying to kiss his cheek. But after he calmed down a little, he had a great time playing with all of Laney's toys, splashing in the pool, chowing down on the fruit salad, and eating a ridiculous amount of ice cream. Laura was kind enough to have a piece of vegan cake for Saul, but he only took a few bites and then wanted the ice cream. After he and Laney got messy enough, we dumped them in the bath tub, where Saul's mood abruptly became much better, and they tussled over rubber ducks and splashed each other quite happily. The always fabulous Carrie was taking pictures the whole time, so I'm hoping to get a few copies later this week or next.

I hadn't realized the Laura lives on the same exit as Ikea, so of course I had to make a stop on the way home. We ended up being pretty late getting home, but I got a great new duvet cover, so it was worth it.

Last night, we visited some of B's friends who live a little ways out of the city and train horses. Saul was surprisingly well behaved, and only threw a few minor tantrums. He didn't break anything, and he didn't throw any food during dinner, although he still managed to create quite a mess. He got to meet a sweet old dog, who was incredibly patient at Saul yelled at him, banged on him, pulled his hair, and tried to stick a pacifier in his mouth. Initially, Saul wasn't sure about the horses, but eventually he got brave and poked them several times. One of the horses loved him, and nibbled on the back of his head very enthusiastically.

More and more, when Saul isn't paying attention, he will stand up by himself and even take a few steps. I think he's now fully capable of walking, but just lacking the courage to do it. I wish I had taken pictures of him last night, standing in front of a glass door, gazing raptly at horses, a dog, and an outside ceiling fan. Well, his birthday is next weekend, so we'll have plenty of family obsessively documenting everything he does. Perhaps we can catch him on film.

New word

2008-09-19T13:54:00.000-05:00

"boob" (bubbles)

You've got to be kidding me

2008-09-19T09:31:00.002-05:00

Wonderful. Just wonderful.

Paracetamol = Tylenol.

Review

2008-09-18T12:46:00.000-05:00

On a whim recently, I picked up two Tai Pei frozen

um um um

2008-09-18T09:25:00.001-05:00

Homemade bread. Every day. It's a miracle.

Poetry Thursday

2008-09-18T09:25:00.000-05:00

Ex-Basketball Player

Pearl Avenue runs past the high-school lot,
Bends with the trolley tracks, and stops, cut off
Before it has a chance to go two blocks,
At Colonel McComsky Plaza. Berth’s Garage
Is on the corner facing west, and there,
Most days, you'll find Flick Webb, who helps Berth out.

Flick stands tall among the idiot pumps—
Five on a side, the old bubble-head style,
Their rubber elbows hanging loose and low.
One’s nostrils are two S’s, and his eyes
An E and O. And one is squat, without
A head at all—more of a football type.

Once Flick played for the high-school team, the Wizards.
He was good: in fact, the best. In ’46
He bucketed three hundred ninety points,
A county record still. The ball loved Flick.
I saw him rack up thirty-eight or forty
In one home game. His hands were like wild birds.

He never learned a trade, he just sells gas,
Checks oil, and changes flats. Once in a while,
As a gag, he dribbles an inner tube,
But most of us remember anyway.
His hands are fine and nervous on the lug wrench.
It makes no difference to the lug wrench, though.

Off work, he hangs around Mae’s Luncheonette.
Grease-gray and kind of coiled, he plays pinball,
Smokes those thin cigars, nurses lemon phosphates.
Flick seldom says a word to Mae, just nods
Beyond her face toward bright applauding tiers
Of Necco Wafers, Nibs, and Juju Beads.

-John Updike

Quick plug

2008-09-17T14:56:00.003-05:00

I have been listening to a new NPR podcast called Planet Money. It explains macroeconomic policy in a way that is easily understood. I already have a basic understanding of the topics discussed, but I like the detail about the current situation that we have got ourselves in.

Ok, now two things about Saul:

1. About half an hour ago, he was sitting in the middle of my balance ball chair (in the place where the balance ball is supposed to go) holding a green rubber praying mantis in both hands and having a very serious conversation. I wonder what he thinks he is saying when he jabbers on in his little alien language.

2. Right now, he's asleep. I had to fight this morning to keep him awake until 11:30 (normal nap time is at noon), then he slept until 1:30, ate lunch, played for awhile, and then went back to sleep. And yesterday, when B brought him home from daycare, he went right back to sleep and took a rather long evening nap. And then still went to bed at a reasonable time and slept until almost 8:00 this morning. We transitioned to only one nap per day several weeks ago, so I think he must be having a massive growth spurt. I know B hopes that is what it is - he's still scared that Saul might be short like me.

Ok, back to work!

Revolutionary

2008-09-17T12:17:00.004-05:00

Ok, remember that kooky book I used to make bread out of? All of the recipes were really good (oh god, remember the blueberry orange sweet rolls?) but they took a long time. Like all day. Bread is hard, you know? You have to proof the yeast and mix it all up and get flour all over you, and then you have to knead it and let it rise and knead it again and shape it and let it rise again and then bake it. A Very. Long. Time.

So when I read about this book on another blog, I added it to my wishlist and got it for my birthday. (Thanks Mom!)

It's genius. You mix up a bunch of very wet dough, without proofing the yeast, without kneading, and then let it set for a couple of hours and then stick it in the fridge. Active time: about 10 minutes. Voila, you have bread dough for a couple of weeks. For the most basic recipe, you just pull out a hunk of dough, make it into a ball, let it sit for about a half hour, and then stick it in the oven. And out comes a perfect boule, with crunchy outside, soft yummy inside, and not a single egg to make Saul blow up like a puffer fish.

(btw, that's not mine, that's from google. But mine looked just like that. Well, maybe a little less round, but whatever)

There are recipes for several types of dough, and several types of bread products that can be made with each dough. Right now, I have a tupperware full of wheat bread dough, and another one full of olive oil dough. We will have fresh, homemade bread with dinner every single night. And over the weekend, I'm thinking about mixing up a batch of brioche dough, although that one is not appropriate for Saul.

Ok, so let me brag for a minute: I'm going to whip up some onion and rosemary focaccia tonight to go with dinner. Wanna know how much time it will take? About ten minutes, and most of that will be chopping onions and going outside to cut some rosemary.

The only problem is that now I will have homemade bread around all of the time, while I'm trying to start a new Fat Ass Reduction Plan. Ah, well, priorities.

Prepare to melt into a gooey puddle

2008-09-16T10:01:00.001-05:00

Hurricane pics

2008-09-15T11:08:00.003-05:00

Pics of my mom's back yard, sent this morning:

Update

2008-09-15T10:49:00.003-05:00

Wow, I just got an email at work with details about our Houston stores. Three of the five are open, but they are only letting in a few people at a time, and they are having to ration ice. Things are going to be crazy for awhile.

Monday Morning Saul

2008-09-15T09:34:00.004-05:00

Wow, we had a busy few days there. My mom is safely back home, with electricity, although no cable or internet or gas stations or anything. Saul is missing her very much - he made up a sign for Grandma over the weekend and he kept signing it this morning while crawling from room to room in search of her. It was heartbreaking.

However, he learned all kinds of new things while she was here. He now says dog, cat, balloon, car, and good. My mom thinks he is also saying book, but I'm not certain on that one yet. He's practicing standing much more often and has started getting brave and taking a few steps away from whatever he's holding on to. He's signing all kinds of things, and making up signs to get his needs across (he even has a sign for "take me to another room now"). He points at everything and expects me to name what it is. He watches my mouth carefully while I say it, and then sometimes tries to imitate me. His tantrums have calmed down, probably because he can communicate much better all of a sudden. He's quite funny to watch lately. He has learned how to use his feet to get around on his riding toy, and now you have to watch out while you're in the living room, or he might careen into you. He walks on his hands and feet and tries to watch his toes while he's moving. He pulls cushions down from the couch and tries to sit on them by backing up, with little success but much hilarity for me.

This morning, he started in the pre-toddler class at daycare. He will sleep on a nap mat now instead of a crib. He will eat at a table instead of a highchair. He's not a baby anymore.

Rare weekend post

2008-09-13T09:12:00.002-05:00

Remind you of anything?

Not much to say

2008-09-12T14:07:00.003-05:00

Apparently if you don't post to your blog when a hurricane is coming, everyone thinks you're dead. I have news for you, internet: I live 200 miles from the coast. All we're going to get is a very windy weekend.

Anyway, things are lively here. Evacuees are pouring in, shelters are full, and grocery stores are empty. My mom is safe, but we are still quite worried about my step-father, who is presumably holed up in the (concrete) Lake Jackson jail as of about an hour ago. The sky is cloudy, most school has been cancelled to keep the roads clear, and we have all been given permission to leave work early to do whatever needs doing.

(Here is a story about some idiots. Surfside Beach is a few minutes from my mom's house. It's a pretty little town with neat houses up on stilts, so I hope it's still there next week.)

My main plan for this weekend is to enjoy my mom's company, since I don't see her nearly as often as I wish, and to get her hooked on Project Runway. We watched an episode last night and I think I'm making progress.

Happy weekend, everyone! Think nice, dry, un-flooded thoughts for us!

Update

2008-09-11T10:20:00.002-05:00

Two important things. First, I have a lot of family right around Freeport, TX. You know, right in the middle of that REALLY BIG HURRICANE. So my mom came in last night, and I'm possibly expecting step-brothers and sisters and nephews later. I know my mom isn't happy about leaving, especially since my step-dad is a cop and has to stay where he is, but we are all pleased that she is getting some extra quality time with Saul. And I certainly can't complain about having a temporary live-in babysitter.

The second important thing is this: I found some Good Flow that hadn't been pulled. I don't think B is up for alcohol yet, but my mom and I are going to add a little bit of tequila to that limeade later and have us some unpasteurized white trash margaritas. Yum.

Comparison

2008-09-11T10:13:00.002-05:00

This year has gone by so unbelievably quickly. My baby is turning into a little boy.

Poetry Thursday

2008-09-11T08:39:00.000-05:00

Photograph from September 11

They jumped from the burning floors—
one, two, a few more,
higher, lower.

The photograph halted them in life,
and now keeps them
above the earth toward the earth.

Each is still complete,
with a particular face
and blood well hidden.

There’s enough time
for hair to come loose,
for keys and coins
to fall from pockets.

They’re still within the air’s reach,
within the compass of places
that have just now opened.

I can do only two things for them—
describe this flight
and not add a last line.

-Wislawa Szymborska

At home

2008-09-10T09:29:00.003-05:00

B is home and acting like a big, cranky baby. Of course if I'd had my nose and sinuses all cut up and messed with, I would probably be much crankier than he is. He tries hard to be a stoic. But seriously. It hurts me just to look at him.

Anyhow, at least he's coherent today. Yesterday, he was all doped up on anesthesia and percoset and was not making a whole lot of sense on the way home. And since he is a lot bigger than me, I was a little bit worried about handling him. I mean, if he fell on the way up the stairs, it's not like I could catch him, right? Ah well, everything turned out fine in the end and he was safely set up on the couch.

So I am working from home today so that I can keep an eye on B, and I took Saul to daycare because I can't handle both of them at the same time. I'm also keeping a wary eye on Ike and preparing for possible incoming refugee family members. The good news is that I have a house now. When Rita came through, we were still in an apartment and I had step-brothers and sisters sleeping on the floor and my mom sleeping on the couch. Now, we're all fancy with an actual guest room. With a real live bed. Although guests have to share a bathroom with Saul, so I guess there's still a little bit of hardship in having to step around all the rubber ducks and plastic boats in the tub.

Ok, I'm rambling again. It seems to be a chronic problem for me. So why don't I shut up now and show you some ridiculously adorable videos? In the first, Saul signs 'please' to get a cookie and in the second, he makes out with the balloon that the grocery store lady gave him.

Update with a funny

2008-09-09T13:17:00.002-05:00

Ok, I'm at Central Market now (JUST KIDDING!). I have neither margarita, nor Good Flow carrot juice, but I do have a cheeseburger, a cream soda, and a wonderfully shady porch, so I guess I'll survive.

Hey, remember like six months ago when I very rarely ventured into politics on this here blog thingamabob? Neither do I.

I don't remember who proclaimed that they would drink Jon Stewart's bathwater, but I whole heartedly agree.

Time troubles

2008-09-09T12:37:00.002-05:00

I am sitting a waiting room right now while B has surgery on his sinuses. I was hoping to spend the day reading and doing crossword puzzles, but there are three VERY obnoxious people sitting here talking about bugs and cigarettes and how to score free tummy tucks by having more children than is natural.

So I am going to head over to Central Market (JUST KIDDING! I WOULD NEVER EAT AT THE COMPETITION!) and get me some munchies. I'm off work today, but I suppose it would be frowned upon if I came back for B after a few margaritas, huh? Ah well, I'll have to stick to my beloved Good Flow.

Oh wait!

Good Flow got shut down by The Man.

*Update* The nurse just came to let the obnoxious people know that their family member was out of surgery. Apparently she was getting a boob job. BIG SURPRISE.

Maybe more updates later. Maybe not. I will be quite busy tonight, what with toddlers and woozy surgery patients to take care of.

Monday Morning Saul

2008-09-08T10:01:00.001-05:00

Busy day! Talk later! Quick pic: Saul shakes the bars of his prison.

Awesomeness

2008-09-05T14:16:00.002-05:00

Graphic view of the candidates speeches. Very cool.

Obama

Biden

McCain

Palin

via Wordle

First comment gets a prize!

2008-09-05T11:11:00.003-05:00

This is my 1,000th entry - can you believe that?! To celebrate, I will send a gift to the first person who comments. B, you're not eligible because you get the gift of my stunning wit and vivacity EVERY SINGLE DAY!

So this is going to be a pretty crappy 1,000th entry, because I am D-R-O-W-N-I-N-G in work right now. This is one of the things that sucks about being an accountant. You go along quite nicely with a reasonable workload and then BAM! it's time to close the books (we do it every fourth week here at WFM) and your workload triples or quadruples and it's awful. It sucks because there are so many things that have to be done all at once that can't be spread out. But oh well, that's part of the job I guess. Better than cleaning houses or car hopping at Sonic or being a secretary at a poorly run bureaucratic government hell-hole. Ahem.

So.

Things I Have To Say About John McCain's Speech

1. He was generally respectful towards Obama and Democrats in general. Points to him.

2. I have no problem with protesters holding up signs, but yelling out things during his speech was inappropriate. More points to McCain for not losing his cool.

3. Being respectful doesn't count for much if you can't reign in your VP.

4. Has anyone checked to see if Cindy McCain is an android?

5. Have you noticed how much Republicans like to chant things? Here is a list of things I can remember off the top of my head that were chanted during the last two nights:

A. USA! USA!
B. NBC! NBC! (don't get this one)
C. Drill, Baby, Drill! (creepy, yo)
D. John McCain! John McCain!
E. Plenty more incoherent chants.

People are cattle. I have a sampler that says that.

Reaction

2008-09-04T09:12:00.002-05:00

B and I watched Governor Palin's speech last night. I tried my hardest to go into it with an open mind. I came out of it with a much more negative view than when I started. Here are a couple things I noticed:

Governor Palin made nine (I counted) personal attacks on Barack Obama.
Barack Obama made zero personal attacks on McCain last week.

During Governor Palin's speech, the crowd booed at almost every mention of Barack Obama or the Democratic Party.
During Barack Obama's speech, the crowd didn't boo even once.

Governor Palin used her speech to belittle and attack the Democratic Party.
Barack Obama used his speech to paint a picture of a better America that we can all strive for.

I was honestly shocked and disappointed to see all the negativity last night. I will withhold final judgement until I watch McCain's speech last night, but right now I am completely disgusted.

Poetry Thursday

2008-09-04T09:11:00.000-05:00

The Age Demanded

The age demanded that we sing
And cut away our tongue.

The age demanded that we flow
And hammered in the bung.

The age demanded that we dance
And jammed us into iron pants.

And in the end the age was handed
The sort of shit that it demanded.

-Ernest Hemingway

Quote of the day

2008-09-03T13:13:00.003-05:00

In my mind, I keep returning to a part of Obama's acceptance speech last week. This, I think, is what I really, truly want to believe and work for:

America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can't just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose our sense of higher purpose. And that's what we have to restore.

We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This, too, is part of America's promise, the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.

I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.

You make a big election about small things.

I wonder what would happen if we got rid of all the Ann Coulters and Michael Moores of the world and focused on finding solutions to problems, rather than just making every issue into an Us vs. Them fight with no winners.

I know some die hard Republicans who are good, honest, intelligent people. And I also know some Democrats who are good, honest, intelligent people. And I even know some third party nuts who are good, honest, intelligent people. I think most everyone has some good in them, and I wish we could all try to remember that.

May I quote from Saul's namesake?

If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.

-Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird

So there. That's my happy-crappy idealism for the day. Now I will return to my normal cynical misanthropy.

Again with the rambling

2008-09-03T10:12:00.004-05:00

I am currently lacking the ability to form smooth, extended, coherent thoughts. Instead, I'm all hippity-hopping around. Perhaps because it's my busy week at work, perhaps because Saul is insisting on being precocious and trying to start his terrible twos a year early, perhaps because I had a cup of black tea this morning after several weeks of a strict caffeine-fast.

About the terrible twos (please God tell me it doesn't get much worse): Saul throws food. He throws tantrums. He throws himself on the ground. He bangs his head against the wall. He fights to get me to put him down at daycare, and then promptly stands up, hugs my leg, and won't let me go to work. He refuses to eat, and then cries because he's hungry. He refuses to drink from a cup. He refuses to eat from a spoon. He throws things out of the bath-tub and screams if I catch them before they make it over the side.

I talk as though he's terrible all the time. He's really not. Most of the time, he's happy and cheerful and playful. But it doesn't take much of Evil Twin Saul to overshadow the Sweet Angel Saul.

Remember the Mark Twain statue? Here's the only picture I took. See how Saul is as far away as he can get and keeping an eye on it? I guess Mark Twain does look a little shifty there.

So about Saul's first birthday. It's coming up very soon. I am not throwing him a party, and I'm feeling a little bit ambivalent about it. Family will come, of course, and he will get some really awesome presents, and the opportunity to smash an (eggless) chocolate cupcake all over his face. But there will be no friends, no other babies, no party hats and gift bags and coordinating napkins. Because I hate that stuff, and I do not have the bandwidth to organize that kind of big to-do. But I have been invited to many first birthday parties recently, including one for Laney, who was born the week before Saul. It makes me feel a little bit guilty. I think I've mentioned before how I'm trying really hard to avoid the culture of competitive mothering that seems to be so prevalent. But it's hard, because I am constantly questioning what my motives are for everything, and trying to draw the line between what is good for Saul and what is excessive, and what will truly benefit Saul and what will just make me feel better. It's a very hard thing to do, and sometimes I just want to give up because going against a current is a good way to exhaust yourself. Words of wisdom would be appreciated.

Ok, on to something happier: cooking! I received two cookbooks for my birthday. The one is all about bread, and the other is all about pie. Thanks, Mom, for helping with my diet.

Anyway, I'm getting all ambitious this weekend and I'm going to make pear and brie turnovers. With homemade pastry dough, yo. But no Crisco, cause we don't roll with the trans-fats.

Of course I will take pictures. Many, many pictures. And you will all want to come over to my house for dessert. And I will welcome you with open arms, because having dessert is no fun around Mr. Healthnut.

And that is all I have to say right now. I would like to go on about my new Audrey Hepburn capelet thingie and how I'm going to dress up like it's 1962 and wear a big hat and go somewhere and pretend to be glamorous, but then you would just think I'm a little bit weird. And I know you don't think that already. Right?

Taking after his parents

2008-09-02T10:41:00.002-05:00

Well I think we can say this much: Saul won't be going to college on an athletic scholarship. He seems to be just about as talented and coordinated as his parents.

Video

2008-09-02T09:13:00.000-05:00

Yes, I really do spend my free time seeking out things like this.

Monday Morning Saul

2008-09-01T11:13:00.003-05:00

My Mom came into town this weekend, ostensibly to celebrate my birthday, but really just to see Saul. "Why don't you guys go out on Saturday night? I'll stay here and baby-sit for you. In fact, why don't you just get a hotel somewhere? Stay out the whole weekend if you want. Maybe I can just take him home with me and get him off your hands all together."

Nice try, Mom.

But we did go out. We went to Alamo to see Vicky Cristina Barcelona. It's the first movie we've seen since Saul was born that didn't involve lots of pauses, diaper change breaks, and pulling a small child off of the sub woofer about 23 times. I really enjoyed myself, but it's hard to say whether that was because the movie was so great, or because I got to sit in peace for two hours and eat my dinner uninterrupted.

Saul had an explosion of new talents this weekend. He learned the command "gentle" so that if you say it, he will pat your face nicely instead of walloping your nose. He started pointing to things he wants and then furiously rubbing his hand on his chest, which is sign-language for please. He will also kind of play catch with us, but not really, because he keeps accidentally throwing the ball backwards over his head instead of forwards to us. But still. And his obsession with putting lids on things has not abated. One of his favorite activities is putting the caps back on his medicine bottles in the morning and evening. Once, he even managed to balance the medicine syringe on top of the lid.

One thing we have to work on, however: some friends stopped by on Saturday with a small dog. Saul saw it, got excited, and proclaimed "kih-kah!" (kitty cat). There was no convincing him that it was a dog. Because he knows that dogs are big slobbery things like Monster, and kitty cats are small.

I didn't have my camera around for most of the weekend, and it's at home with B and Saul today (some of us don't get holidays). But here are a few pics that my Mom took.

Yes we can!

2008-08-29T09:06:00.002-05:00

I'm such a sucker for good speeches.

B and I watched Obama's acceptance speech last night. He spoke for 45 minutes, and we listened, entranced, to the entire thing without getting bored, despite our limited tolerance for political speeches. I know there are lots of Obama's specific policy proposals that I disagree with. But the America he is working for - the one that he wants to make - is the one I want to live in. We might disagree some on the details, but we definitely agree on the desired outcome.

At the beginning of the speech, after his acceptance, the crowd was going wild clapping and waving tens of thousands of signs that simply read CHANGE. I was completely caught up in the emotion of it, but then B brought me down, as always, by remarking "it's like a giant crowd of panhandlers." For the rest of the speech, I had to giggle every time the camera panned across the crowd and I saw those CHANGE signs.

One of my favorite excerpts:

The record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change.

Oh, and this one, which almost made me cry again until I saw the CHANGE signs:

These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.

But what I will not do is suggest that the senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism.

The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America, they have served the United States of America.

Phenomenal. He is taking the offensive, which is what needs to happen, but being fair about it. I think he is another FDR or another JFK. What we need isn't specific policy proposals, but a renewing of spirit, a rebirth, a new beginning. We need ideals and inspiration again. That is what I will be voting for.

Poetry Thursday

2008-08-28T09:33:00.000-05:00

On Being Twenty-six

I feared these present years,
The middle twenties,
When deftness disappears,
And each event is
Freighted with a source-encrusting doubt,
And turned to drought.

I thought: this pristine drive
Is sure to flag
At twenty-four or -five;
And now the slag
Of burnt-out childhood proves that I was right.
What caught alight

Quickly consumed in me,
As I foresaw.
Talent, felicity—
These things withdraw,
And are succeeded by a dingier crop
That come to stop;

Or else, certainty gone,
Perhaps the rest,
Tarnishing, linger on
As second-best.
Fabric of fallen minarets is trash.
And in the ash

Of what has pleased and passed
Is now no more
Than struts of greed, a last
Charred smile, a clawed
Crustacean hatred, blackened pride—of such
I once made much.

And so, if I were sure
I have no chance
To catch again that pure
Unnoticed stance,
I would calcine the outworn properties,
Live on what is.

But it dies hard, that world;
Or, being dead,
Putrescently is pearled,
For I, misled,
Make on my mind the deepest wound of all:
Think to recall

At any moment, states
Long since dispersed;
That if chance dissipates
The best, the worst
May scatter equally upon a touch.
I kiss, I clutch,

Like a daft mother, putrid
Infancy,
That can and will forbid
All grist to me
Except devaluing dichotomies:
Nothing, and paradise.

-Philip Larkin

May I present

2008-08-27T08:04:00.002-05:00

The entire text of one of Saul's board books:

¡Hola! Jalapeño - I said Hello! my chile friend.
Señorita Quesadilla, cheese is melting out your end.
Here's la cocina en mi casa (that's the kitchen in my house),
where I eat a big burrito, almost wider than my mouth.
Corn tortillas make my tacos, my tostada, and my chips.
Tomato salsa, por favor, and guacamole dip!
Gracias, tamales, for your masa dough surprise
wrapped up tight in leaves of corn - a present in disguise.
Dance, frijoles negros, with rice we call arroz.
Roll on, enchiladas in your bed of cheese and sauce!
Chicken in a mole bath is my special dinner treat.
Then flan! A caramel custard that's silky smooth and sweet.
Stir a cup of cold horchata with a stick of cinnamon spice.
¡Adiós! my green amigo - I can't eat another bite.

Because in Texas, knowing your Tex-Mex is just as important as knowing your numbers and your alphabet.

Nothing much

2008-08-26T10:07:00.003-05:00

We took Saul to the library last night, where he behaved like a little beast and yelled and made noise and would not suck his pacifier quietly. There is a very nice story area, which Saul will of course not be enjoying, because story time is at 10:30 in the morning. Everyone knows that working mothers don't care enough about their kids to want to take them to story time. Am I sounding bitter? Good. I am bitter.

There is a great statue of Mark Twain in front of the library. I wanted to get Saul's picture with it, but for some reason he was terrified of the statue. The only way he would get near it is if I was holding him, and then he would only clutch my arm with one hand, and bang on Mr. Twain's head with the other. I have to admit, it did make a very satisfying bang.

I made a chicken hotchpotch last night, which was quite yummy and kind of neat looking. This has got to be the easiest, most satisfying recipe on earth. You simply layer sliced potatoes, chicken, bacon, onions, carrots, and more potatoes in a dutch oven with some thyme and rosemary and salt and pepper. Pour on some stout, brush the top with butter, and bake the crap out of it for a few hours. An extra bonus is that the stout makes it smell like you are baking bread. You gotta love British cookbooks.

I feel like I should have a picture, but I don't. So here is Saul again. As usual.

Monday Morning Saul

2008-08-25T10:02:00.004-05:00

New foods were introduced over the weekend.

String cheese? Big hit.

Kiwi? Not so much.

Better sleep on it.

Still like string cheese?

I think so.

Friend

2008-08-22T11:17:00.004-05:00

This guy has been hanging out under my stairs all summer. I'm pretty sure it's a he, since he's not very plump. He's moved his web several times, but never more than a few feet away. It's one of the prettiest argiope webs I've seen - very nice squiggles!

Question

2008-08-22T10:21:00.004-05:00

I am morally opposed to circuses. Does that mean Saul's childhood will suck? I am also resisting any zoos that aren't of the rescue variety (luckily, the Austin Zoo is). Am I just a stick in the mud?

I am thinking of this right now because Ringling Brothers are in town and my friend Sandra was telling me how much fun she had with her daughter there.

Poetry Thursday

2008-08-21T09:04:00.000-05:00

O my pa-pa

Our fathers have formed a poetry workshop.
They sit in a circle of disappointment over our fastballs
and wives. We thought they didn't read our stuff,
whole anthologies of poems that begin, My father never,
or those that end, and he was silent as a carp,
or those with middles which, if you think
of the right side as a sketch, look like a paunch
of beer and worry, but secretly, with flashlights
in the woods, they've read every word and noticed
that our nine happy poems have balloons and sex
and giraffes inside, but not one dad waving hello
from the top of a hill at dusk. Theirs
is the revenge school of poetry, with titles like
"My Yellow Sheet Lad" and "Given Your Mother's Taste
for Vodka, I'm Pretty Sure You're Not Mine."
They're not trying to make the poems better
so much as sharper or louder, more like a fishhook
or electrocution, as a group
they overcome their individual senilities,
their complete distaste for language, how cloying
it is, how like tears it can be, and remember
every mention of their long hours at the office
or how tired they were when they came home,
when they were dragged through the door
by their shadows. I don't know why it's so hard
to write a simple and kind poem to my father, who worked,
not like a dog, dogs sleep most of the day in a ball
of wanting to chase something, but like a man, a man
with seven kids and a house to feed, whose absence
was his presence, his present, the Cheerios,
the PF Flyers, who taught me things about trees,
that they're the most intricate version of standing up,
who built a grandfather clock with me so I would know
that time is a constructed thing, a passing, ticking fancy.
A bomb. A bomb that'll go off soon for him, for me,
and I notice in our fathers' poems a reciprocal dwelling
on absence, that they wonder why we disappeared
as soon as we got our licenses, why we wanted
the rocket cars, as if running away from them
to kiss girls who looked like mirrors of our mothers
wasn't fast enough, and it turns out they did
start to say something, to form the words hey
or stay, but we'd turned into a door full of sun,
into the burning leave, and were gone
before it came to them that it was all right
to shout, that they should have knocked us down
with a hand on our shoulders, that they too are mystified
by the distance men need in their love.

-Bob Hicok

Here I am!

2008-08-20T09:21:00.002-05:00

I'm still feeling crappy from my stomach flu, but I did indeed lose 5 pounds! I'm always looking on the bright side, you know.

A few days ago, I rediscovered the library. The downtown Austin library is huge and fantastic, but it's downtown and requires metered parking and navigating flashers and panhandlers to get inside. So it's been a very long time since I've been there. Plus, Amazon? I love Amazon with an intensity that is not entirely natural. So libraries have not been necessary for me for a long time.

But anyway, our house is right next to a little tiny incorporated area called Westlake Hills, so we are close enough to be considered in-district for their library. I finally went to get my library card on Monday. The library is a beautiful, two-story stone building that is about a half-mile from our house. They have story time for kids, and lots of book clubs and knitting clubs, and comfy chairs everywhere. The book selection isn't really comparable to the Austin public library, but it feels all small town and homey so I'm quite pleased. I can't wait until Saul is old enough to start all the summer reading programs and stuff like that. My only issue is that all of their clubs meet on weekdays during the day. HELLO? Can't career women take a break from their ball busting to read some chick-lit too? I'm especially annoyed because one of their book clubs is discussing The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox which I just happened to have finished, but I can't go because I HAVE A JOB.

While I'm on the subject, my neighborhood's Mom's Club and Gardening Club also meet only on weekdays.

Snobs.

In other news, I have a SPECTACULAR bruise on my leg. It's about the size of a silver dollar, and it's all purple and green and yellow. I haven't the slightest idea where it came from, although it seems like I ought to remember something like that. I've been trying to take a picture of it all morning, but nothing is coming out.

And finally, I've decided to scrap Recipe Friday because it's a pain in my buttocks, and I'm bored of it. So you will just have to miss out on the Coca-Cola glazed baby back ribs and homemade baked beans I made over the weekend out of one of my new cookbooks. I will probably still put up pictures of food, just because I like to.

Oh wait, one last very random thing. Here is something that happened to me also right after I gave birth. No one warned me about it and it FREAKED. ME. OUT.

Ok, back to work!

Monday Morning Saul

2008-08-18T09:36:00.005-05:00

I didn't really get any good pictures of Saul over the weekend. Had I been snapping away, you might get to see many types and colors of vomit, raging tantrums, and a sad, listless baby laying on the carpet playing with a block, instead of bouncing off the walls like normal.

So instead, here are a couple of pictures from our visit to the fountain at Butler Park last week. Saul had a wonderful time, and attracted lots of attention by scampering around like a monkey with his red-clad butt up in the air.

Recipe Friday

2008-08-14T14:10:00.003-05:00

Cold Soba Noodles with Vietnamese Pork

3 tablespoons chopped green onions, divided
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil, divided
4 teaspoons fish sauce, divided
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound boneless pork cutlets, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips
8 ounces uncooked organic soba noodles
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)
3 cups chopped napa (Chinese) cabbage
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
Cooking spray

1. Combine 1 tablespoon onions, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon fish sauce, and next 4 ingredients (through pork) in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 20 minutes.

2. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.

3. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce, vinegar, and chile paste in a large bowl, stirring well. Add noodles, cabbage, and bell pepper; toss to coat.

4. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove pork from marinade. Add pork to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until done. Arrange pork over noodle mixture. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons onions.

Verdict: Yum. This is perfect for summer. It's easy to prepare, and you can make almost all of it beforehand. I had the bowl of noodles and vegetables in the fridge and the pork marinating long before B got home from work. When he showed up, all I had to do was throw a salad together and saute the pork for a few minutes. The crunchy raw vegetables go well with the soft noodles, and the dressing is wonderful. Of course I doubled the amount of meat to keep B happy, so I doubled the marinade also. I thought it could have used perhaps a little more sambal oelek, but when I had leftovers for lunch the next day, I definitely tasted it. So maybe that's the right amount after all. WIN!

Poetry Thursday

2008-08-14T09:47:00.002-05:00

I Am Going to Start Living Like a Mystic

Today I am pulling on a green wool sweater
and walking across the park in a dusky snowfall.

The trees stand like twenty-seven prophets in a field,
each a station in a pilgrimage-silent, pondering.

Blue flakes of light falling across their bodies
are the ciphers of a secret, an occultation.

I will examine their leaves as pages in a text
and consider the bookish pigeons, students of winter.

I will kneel on the track of a vanquished squirrel
and stare into a blank pond for the figure of Sophia.

I shall begin scouring the sky for signs
as if my whole future were constellated upon it.

I will walk home alone with the deep alone,
a disciple of shadows, in praise of the mysteries.

-Edward Hirsch

A good sign

2008-08-14T07:30:00.004-05:00

Saul is developing into an extremely active child. He is rarely happy sitting still and seems to have an endless reserve of energy.

But in the last few weeks, he has discovered books. We have long had in place our ritual reading of Where the Wild Things Are every night before bed, but now, if I set him in my lap, he will sit quietly while we read a few board books. And when he is playing on the floor, he frequently goes over to where the books are and looks at some pictures.

I know that looking at picture books doesn't really translate into reading Tolstoy, but I hope he will discover the same magical ability I did as a kid - to fall completely and totally into another universe. There are so many books that I look forward to reading with him - I can't wait until he's old enough to read James and the Giant Peach and Little House on the Prairie and Huckleberry Finn and all the other wonderful kids books.

I remember visiting my Granny (an antique dealer) one summer and being vaguely bored. I was wandering around the house, poking around on shelves where there were always interesting old things to look at, when I came across a stash of books printed in the thirties and forties. Among them was Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, some original Nancy Drew books, and a book of unedited Grimm's fairy tales, which was so gruesome that I hid it under my mattress, convinced that if a grown-up saw it they would take it away from me.

I remember being stretched out on my stomach in my bedroom reading Anne of Green Gables. I remember the first time I read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and how I secretly checked out all the antique wardrobes at my Granny's house just to make sure. I remember sitting in the branches of a tree in our front yard, reading Encyclopedia Brown and feeling like a genius when I figured out the mystery before the end.

Some of my favorite memories of childhood are from the summers when my Mom worked part time as secretary for our church. My sister and I had to go with her and we would spend the morning running around the dusty sanctuary and goofing around on the piano. If we behaved ourselves, we would go afterward to the library. I was allowed to get as many books as I could carry in my two hands, and I remember stacking books up to my chin. We would go home and my Mom would make us a pot of Rice-A-Roni and grilled cheese sandwiches. Then all three of us would sprawl out in the den and read in the cool darkness - my Mom with an Agatha Christie novel, me with something by Madeleine L'Engle or Orson Scott Card, and my sister with a stack of Berenstain Bears.

To me, not being able to read seems like one of the most horrible handicaps imaginable. I hope Saul loves to read as much as I do. As soon as he's old enough, I am quite prepared to take a week off of work every summer and spend the day exploring the library and eating grilled cheeses.

Doing without

2008-08-13T09:02:00.002-05:00

Our microwave died yesterday morning. So I am living like a pioneer woman, making do with only my gas range and my electric oven and a toaster and an electric kettle. You know, just like in Little House on the Prairie.

I thought it wouldn't matter that much, since I cook quite a bit and we don't eat many frozen prepared foods, but I was wrong. I was going to make some mashed sweet potatoes to go with our supper last night, but then I realized that a sweet potato takes a VERY LONG TIME to cook in the oven. And this morning? I had to make oatmeal on the stove. And it took FOREVER. Like 20 minutes or something.

It's an intolerable situation.

In other news, Saul is driving. me. nuts. He has started having mini tantrums, where his body just crumples to the ground and he writhes and screams for approximately 15 seconds. It was kind of cute the first couple of times, but now he's doing it EVERY TEN MINUTES. He has also discovered that yanking my laptop cord out of the wall is a very quick way to get my attention.

I'm considering taking up gin.

Just how my mind works

2008-08-12T09:20:00.003-05:00

Honest to god, everything I think is usually numbered. I split everything into lists. Sometimes very intricate lists. I think B was astonished once when I was making our grocery list and I started telling him how it had to be done, with categories and sub-categories that must be considered in order.

Anyway.

1. Here is a website that you should go read. I found it through Dooce, who I read religiously, as all bloggers must.

2. I think I'm just about sick of Obama. I'll still vote for him because I think he's a little bit better than McCain, but I don't like him anymore. Too many of his policy platforms are making me angry. Why can't we just elect me as Dictator of the World? Huh?

3. The first thing I would do as Dictator of the World is to decree that if one more person cuts me off on Mopac, they lose all driving privileges for the rest of their lives.

4. I have lost 7 pounds in the last couple of weeks with absolutely no effort. I am pretty sure it has to do with weaning Saul. I still regret that I couldn't nurse him longer, but thank god this weight is finally coming off. Everyone tells you that nursing will help you lose baby weight, but that's a huge load of bull. For every extra calorie you burn, you stuff 5 calories in your face and are still hungry. (Stinky Dog, don't listen to me. Breast is best, blah, blah)

5. This is so creepy it's not even funny. I don't know about you, but if someone approached me wearing these, I would think that the Disney Industrial Complex has finally set loose it's master plan to take over the world by sending Disney themed zombies to eat my brains.

6. I so want to go to Maker Faire this fall. If someone would like to buy me tickets for my birthday, that would be excellent.

7. Saul now says Da (Daddy), Duh (Doggie) and kih-kah (kitty cat). He still won't say mama. He also finally waves, although it looks more like he's trying to punch you.

8. Time to work.

Bonus Video

2008-08-11T09:09:00.001-05:00

Saul L-O-V-E-S light switches.

Monday Morning Saul

2008-08-11T08:48:00.003-05:00

Saul was trying to pull up on his walker last night when it went out from under him and he whacked his head against a corner. It scared me to death because it was so loud, and he cried so hard. But he's fine, of course. Although he has such a big lump on his head this morning that he looks lopsided.

I was a clumsy, accident-prone kid, and I liked to climb on things. The combination meant that until I hit puberty, I usually looked like I had just been in a fight. I always had scrapes and bruises and lumps on my head, and I had at least two confirmed concussions. I am worried that Saul might have inherited those traits from me. I'm not sure I'm ready for the trips to the emergency room that I fear are in our future.

Anyway, earlier in the evening, we went to the park and had a great time. Saul has decided that he likes the slides after all, and the resulting static-head amuses me to no end.

Wow, doesn't he look just like B's mini-me?

Recipe Friday

2008-08-08T09:14:00.000-05:00

Onion-Smothered Italian Burgers

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced Vidalia or other sweet onion
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons preshredded fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1 pound ground beef, extra lean
Cooking spray
4 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, sugar, salt, and pepper to pan. Cook 6 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar to the pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

2. Combine cheese and next 5 ingredients (through beef) in a medium bowl; shape meat mixture into 4 (3-inch) patties. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties to pan. Cook 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each bun; top each patty with 1/4 cup onion mixture and top half of each bun.

Verdict: well, I thought they were good. When I asked B about them later in the evening, he got that deer in the headlights look and said "The burgers? They were, um, good. Like burgers." "What about the onions," I prompted. "Um, onions are good. Were those special onions? That was a good hamburger with special onions." So not as memorable as I had hoped (or maybe I just need a new taster). But still, it was yummy. It's hard to go wrong with a hamburger. The patties were a little bit of trouble - I usually just keep it simple with an egg and some Italian dressing. But the onions? Easy and yummy. Definitely a good topping for almost anything.