I'm doing something special on the blog this week.
Are you ready?
(Like the title of the post didn't give it away.)
We're going to have a Souffle Week!
So here's the deal: I've never made a souffle. I don't really think they could be that hard; it's just that souffles are one of those food items that rests slightly on the other side of the "intimidating" line, so I haven't yet tried them.
But I have decided that this is the week. I'm not going to just try out a recipe; I'm going to make several. Cheese, spinach, chocolate, blueberry. Get ready, peeps, because as long as my camera holds on (we've been having issues), I'll post about how the souffles turn out.
I wonder how well souffles will jive with my diet . . . ;)
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Italia
About a month ago, I called my friend, Sarah, and told her that one day Nathan and I want to go on vacation to Italy with her and her husband. Specifically, I want to do one of those vacations where you go to Italy and tour around and learn how to cook all the local food. Sarah was all over this. So we are all adding this Italian vacation to our wish lists.
The timing of that call was funny, because about a week later I picked up Under the Tuscan Sun at the library. And now I am swept up into this wonderful, foody Italy. The author talks about the Italian summer, where herbs grow so profusely that they can't be hemmed in and the fruits and vegetables taste more intense and delicious because they are grown locally and no unnatural measures are taken to preserve them. She talks about hulling pine nuts; pruning olives; visiting the local, colorful market; eating all meals on one of their several terraces (the one that spills out from the kitchen); and welcoming the hummingbird that visits her while she cooks.
I think I might have to put like fourteen asterisks next to "Italian vacation" on our wish list.
The timing of that call was funny, because about a week later I picked up Under the Tuscan Sun at the library. And now I am swept up into this wonderful, foody Italy. The author talks about the Italian summer, where herbs grow so profusely that they can't be hemmed in and the fruits and vegetables taste more intense and delicious because they are grown locally and no unnatural measures are taken to preserve them. She talks about hulling pine nuts; pruning olives; visiting the local, colorful market; eating all meals on one of their several terraces (the one that spills out from the kitchen); and welcoming the hummingbird that visits her while she cooks.
I think I might have to put like fourteen asterisks next to "Italian vacation" on our wish list.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Towheads and Toeheads
Noah's hair is really starting to come in--hooray!
Don't get me wrong; we have always loved his quasi-bald head. Since he was born, we've enjoyed snuggling with that warm, fuzzy head. But it is nice that he is finally getting more hair.
Several months ago, while having a conversation about how bald he was, someone called Noah a towhead. Now, I had never heard that term before, and to my ears, it sounded like "toehead." Y'all, even though I didn't show it, I was actually slightly affronted. I thought that was the grossest term ever. Seriously! Comparing someone's bald head to a toe?! Gross.
However, my in-laws recently set me straight: the term isn't toehead, it's towhead. According to dictionary.com, towhead is defined as "a head of very light blonde hair" or "a person with such hair." So Noah is a towhead. I can live with that. Although I still think it sounds like an insulting nickname that second graders would use.
Speaking of hair color, Nathan and I noticed lately that our hair is quite a bit darker than it was when we moved up to Boston. Mine used to be a dark blonde--it was sort of wheat-colored. Now it's undeniably brown. (It's a light brown, but still.) Nathan's hair has always been brown (except for when he was younger than about 5 years old, but that's before they switched him out), and now it is quite dark. In fact, he said that about a year ago, after visiting the church he grew up in on one of our trips home, an old friend's father asked him if he had dyed his hair. Seriously?!? Nathan said that he was so confused by the question and was trying to come up with an appropriate response when the man's wife stepped in and said, "No, honey, his hair is just darker now." When Nathan told me that story the other day, I totally cracked up. No, Nathan is not quite vain enough to dye his hair, thank you very much.
We've decided that the reason our hair is darker is that we have been living in an area of the country that enjoys (I use the term loosely) a six-month winter. Plus, the quality of the light here is gentler than the brash Texas sun. So we believe that the reason our hair has darkened over the years is the lack of natural bleaching. Even sitting in the Houston traffic bleaches your hair, as I discovered one summer when the left side of my head turned blonder than the right.
So I suppose you can add the lighter-colored hair of our youth to the growing list of reasons we will be glad to move back to Texas one of these days.
Don't get me wrong; we have always loved his quasi-bald head. Since he was born, we've enjoyed snuggling with that warm, fuzzy head. But it is nice that he is finally getting more hair.
Several months ago, while having a conversation about how bald he was, someone called Noah a towhead. Now, I had never heard that term before, and to my ears, it sounded like "toehead." Y'all, even though I didn't show it, I was actually slightly affronted. I thought that was the grossest term ever. Seriously! Comparing someone's bald head to a toe?! Gross.
However, my in-laws recently set me straight: the term isn't toehead, it's towhead. According to dictionary.com, towhead is defined as "a head of very light blonde hair" or "a person with such hair." So Noah is a towhead. I can live with that. Although I still think it sounds like an insulting nickname that second graders would use.
Speaking of hair color, Nathan and I noticed lately that our hair is quite a bit darker than it was when we moved up to Boston. Mine used to be a dark blonde--it was sort of wheat-colored. Now it's undeniably brown. (It's a light brown, but still.) Nathan's hair has always been brown (except for when he was younger than about 5 years old, but that's before they switched him out), and now it is quite dark. In fact, he said that about a year ago, after visiting the church he grew up in on one of our trips home, an old friend's father asked him if he had dyed his hair. Seriously?!? Nathan said that he was so confused by the question and was trying to come up with an appropriate response when the man's wife stepped in and said, "No, honey, his hair is just darker now." When Nathan told me that story the other day, I totally cracked up. No, Nathan is not quite vain enough to dye his hair, thank you very much.
We've decided that the reason our hair is darker is that we have been living in an area of the country that enjoys (I use the term loosely) a six-month winter. Plus, the quality of the light here is gentler than the brash Texas sun. So we believe that the reason our hair has darkened over the years is the lack of natural bleaching. Even sitting in the Houston traffic bleaches your hair, as I discovered one summer when the left side of my head turned blonder than the right.
So I suppose you can add the lighter-colored hair of our youth to the growing list of reasons we will be glad to move back to Texas one of these days.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
It's Back On
So I am back on my diet full force now. I had lost a good 15 or 20 lbs. on Weight Watchers up through about Thanksgiving, which was great. However, I was sabotaged by the holidays, and I never really got back on the wagon. But now I have. I just finally got to the point where something clicked inside me, and I'm ready again. I have just a few more pounds to go to get down to my pre-baby weight, but I want to go a good bit further than that. Wish me luck!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Watermelon Really is That Good
Today Noah was babbling away as we were eating lunch, and, as I sometimes do, I held a "conversation" with him. Most of the time, his babbling doesn't sound like words, but occasionally it does. Furthermore, sometimes there is a real word mixed in with the babble ("juice," "thanks," etc.) We were chatting while eating our first watermelon of the season and thoroughly enjoying it when he said a new word:
Me: Noah, isn't watermelon good? Watermelon is delicious.
Noah: Hallelujah.
That's right, baby. Hallelujah. Watermelon really is that good.
Me: Noah, isn't watermelon good? Watermelon is delicious.
Noah: Hallelujah.
That's right, baby. Hallelujah. Watermelon really is that good.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow [even watermelon].
Congrats to the Hugs!
My good friend, Kendra, had her baby boy last night! Yay!
Y'all, that girl's first birth truly embodied the word labor. She pushed for close to four hours with no drugs and finally gave birth to a nine-and-a-half pound baby. So when Hannah was born two years ago, we all lauded Kendra as a freaking hero.
But as of last night, her hero status got elevated, because not only did she end up with a C-section after pushing for more than three hours, but she had a freaking 10 lb., 11 oz. baby.
Yes, you can gasp again. A baby that size deserves it.
Baby Peter is a major cutie, though. He was 14 days late, which I'm sure contributed to his size. I was honored to be there with the family right after the birth, because I drove Kendra's parents and Hannah to the hospital. So I got to hold Peter shortly after he was born. However, I'm going to wait to post the pictures I took until Kendra and Caleb have the chance to post their own.
Congrats to the "new" parents!
Y'all, that girl's first birth truly embodied the word labor. She pushed for close to four hours with no drugs and finally gave birth to a nine-and-a-half pound baby. So when Hannah was born two years ago, we all lauded Kendra as a freaking hero.
But as of last night, her hero status got elevated, because not only did she end up with a C-section after pushing for more than three hours, but she had a freaking 10 lb., 11 oz. baby.
Yes, you can gasp again. A baby that size deserves it.
Baby Peter is a major cutie, though. He was 14 days late, which I'm sure contributed to his size. I was honored to be there with the family right after the birth, because I drove Kendra's parents and Hannah to the hospital. So I got to hold Peter shortly after he was born. However, I'm going to wait to post the pictures I took until Kendra and Caleb have the chance to post their own.
Congrats to the "new" parents!
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