Watch out Betty!

One day last week I made strawberry freezer jam (yum!!) with strawberries that Andrew and I had hand picked.  That very same day I made crock pot veggie lasagna that turned out excellent.  It included fresh basil that I trimmed off our own plant!  The next day I made a pound cake to eat more strawberries with.  All so good!

You: How very domestic of you!
Me: I KNOW!!

Adoption is Wonderful : )

Posted by a friend on facebook along with some old family pictures: "[so and so] found proof that I wasn't adopted!"

So tell me..... what's wrong with being adopted?

Absolutely nothing.  We could not love Andrew any more if he were a biological son.  He is definitely meant for our family and will be a fantastic big brother.  Heavenly Father has a perfect plan for all of us and in our case that meant adopting Andrew.

I'm fairly sure that most people, if asked, would say great things about adoption whether they were personally touched by it or not.  Somehow that doesn't stop people from making jokes like this, though.  Maybe you, as an adult?, can discern what's meant to be a playful joke (or not), but what about children, teenagers, or even young adults feeling confused or trying to figure out their own thoughts and feelings.  All children are blessings from heaven - whether they come to you biologically or not.  The implication that an adoption is second-rate can be harmful and is untrue.

This reminds me of the meme that I won't pass on here because it irritates me.  Two babies - one teasing the other about being adopted.  In several years when he can understand more what would my son think when he saw that?

There are enough questions and emotions that can come for an adopted child.  There are enough negative ideas, stereotypes, and comments made to and about those involved with adoption.  Please don't fuel it!

Instead, celebrate the beautiful people and relationships that we are all blessed by because of adoption!  If you aren't touched personally now, I'm sure you know someone who is or will be touched some day.

Adoption is wonderful : )

Book Club Love

For whatever reason our "new" ward doesn't really have relief society meetings, activities, or whatever you want to call them.  When we first moved here I either figured one would maybe come up soon, or it was just a busy time of year.  Really it didn't take long, though, to get a feel for many of the ways things are different here and while I remained hopeful, I became more and more sure that they just don't happen here.  When there finally was a stake RS activity in March I was thrilled.  There's also a regional women's broadcast next week that I'm looking forward to!

We do have, though, a small but decent group of moms with young kids that like to get together sometimes more sometimes less often.  It's nice to be able to do that during the day sometimes - get to know the other moms better, the kids get to know each other better, etc.  Sometimes that's announced in RS, but it's usually just organized among ourselves and nothing official about it.

The one thing that has been consistently announced and happened monthly is a book club meeting.  It sounds like the ward has had one off and on over time, and this time around it was started up again not long before we moved in (maybe?).  As soon as we were out of Jersey City and closer to everyone in the ward I started going.  I must have had a conflict in December, that or they didn't meet, but since January I've made sure to go every month.  This being the only "relief society activity" I can expect and count on, it's pretty important to me to take advantage.  I know you know why: once a month I can have an evening with other women and I get a break.

It's not a large group.  Sometimes as few as four (I don't think it's been down to three), and last night it seemed like a big group at six!  One friend there is seven or eight years older than me, and with her youngest being four, sometimes she's at play group, but not always. (Andrew adores her boys, though!)  Anyway, after her, I don't know how many more years, but we jump up to women around my mom's age and then one or two beyond that.  I like playgroup and relating with people in a similar situation to me, but I LOVE going to book club and spending time with these "older" women.  Sure, I like reading, and it's nice to discuss the books, but I really love going to talk with, listen to, and learn from these women.  And they're nice enough to talk with me too : )  They're definitely all different and each has unique things that I enjoy, but I really look forward to it and am sad if they aren't coming.

In January we talked about books we might read this year.  Then I read the books for February and March.  April's book was long and tedious, though I still liked what I did read (My Dearest Friend: Letters of John and Abigail Adams).  The book that we read for last night was even longer.  It was nearly 1,000 pages and I decided not to read it and instead work on other books (like more of the John and Abigail book).

Will knew that I wasn't reading it.  He also knew that book club was coming up for last night.  He knows how much I love going to be with those women and what it means to me to have a night each month to go.  Last night we cleaned up dinner and had some family time before I left (doesn't start until 7:30) then he happily distracted and calmed Andrew as I was leaving, cheerfully telling him that mom was going to book club.  He told me to have a good time and not to worry that I hadn't read the book.  What a guy : )  I love book club and I love Will!

Viva la cake!

You would have thought it was Thanksgiving week the way I've spent a good chunk of nap time today looking over recipes and Pinterest and making a shopping list.  I also made a small sample size recipe to test something out.  I super love just about all Thanksgiving foods and consider the group of them to be on my top 10 favorite foods list.  Not that I've ever really had a list... : )

But no.  Thanksgiving will have to wait a while until it's getting cold again and we go back to leafless trees.  And really, after living in a place of practically perpetual summer, this girl is already wrinkling her nose at the thought of next year's winter.  ("But this year it was so mild!" they've told me.  And, "Just wait until it really snows more next year," they say.)  Now that we're back to leaves on the trees my soul feels lighter.  Green is good!  At least winter brings Thanksgiving food : )

What a tangent!  Anyway, this week we're taking advantage of our American right to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with our southern neighbors!  I enjoy cultural things from other countries, but I especially love the excuse to eat the food.  Mexican, or American Mexican, is also on my top 10 favorite foods list.  Guacamole, salsa, chips, cheese, etc!  I like to take the opportunity to make a tres leches cake and I plan to make horchata.

How fun it would be to listen to a live mariachi band like we got lucky to hear in Balboa Park last summer or to see some dancers with those pretty dresses that I love... I suppose we could have a pinata, but since I'm also making food for the ward chili dinner/YW camp fundraiser the next night, likely not.  Perhaps we will watch one of those old south of the border specials - The Three Caballeros or Saludos Amigos!  I'm pretty sure I've blogged in years past about how I got Will to watch them with me years ago when we were dating, probably for Cinco de Mayo... what a good sport!  That's how I knew he was the one... ha : )  Actually, it couldn't have been then - must have been earlier.  I remember specifically that he was gone to New Mexico and I had made a tres leches to share with my roommates and begrudgingly shared some with one of Will's former roommates who had come by for some reason.  Cake?  (I had known this guy actually longer than Will and he'd just about used up all his extraneous-goodwill-from-Ashley cards for things like eating my precious tres leches.... he had probably used them up before I'd even met Will.... haha...)

Anyway.  We've been missing taquerias from California, so this will have to do for now.  And you can't go wrong with horchata and tres leches.... and chips and salsa and guacamole and cilantro!!  Unless you're Will.... then you give all your cilantro to meeee! :

"Salsa is now the number one condiment in America.  Do you know why?  Because people like to say 'salsa!'"

Sodiyum!

I admit it... I like salt....

There, I said it.  Ok, I've said it before : )  I had a good friend my freshman year of college who would shake salt onto just about everything she ate.  I didn't grow up with that habit, and thankfully didn't adopt it.  I just really like salty foods.  I think I more often am craving salty things than sweet things, and like the sweet/salty taste of things like kettle corn, too!

I've been sitting here for about an hour doing computer things that needed done - writing back to so and so about this or that, looking up my next library book, etc.  About 20 minutes ago I got a snack (because of the small salad dinner I had because of the large lunch I had with Will at his work today).  What did I grab for a not long before bed snack?  My generic brand triscuts!  My woven wheats : )  I don't often have these around, but they were impulsively purchased last week on a shopping trip on the afternoon that I had planned to nap while Andrew did, but due to him napping only about 15 minutes I did not get my nap. : (  I was very tired, and so was he.  After I tried to get him back down I did what I should have done a lot sooner: strapped him in and taken him for a drive.  Of course when we arrived at the store and I realized he was asleep I was somewhat annoyed (mostly that I didn't do it sooner or have something along to read - please note that at this moment I resisted the temptation to go one parking lot over to get myself a milkshake!), but glad, too, that he was getting more rest.  When I tried to loosen his coat after about 20 minutes in the parking lot (as the sun came in) he woke up.  Ok, fine, I thought, we'll go in and shop.  I was tired (and hormonal) and he was being "such a good boy" (but really), so there I am in Aldi trying not to cry........... This is real, people.  I went on to buy myself the woven wheats and him a 12 pack of pre-packaged cheese-filled mini-sandwich crackers (think ritz-bitz, but also generic brand).  He had never had them before, I don't think, but judging by the packaging was interested right away.  He's had them twice now since then.... and loves them.  So that's how and why I have my woven wheats.

Anyway, as I have been sitting here "working" and snacking I noticed something (that I'm pretty sure I already knew I did).  As I pick up a cracker I inspect both sides to see which side has the salt.  Then I make sure to put the cracker salt-side down on my tongue to fully enjoy the salty flavor with the oily wheat.  Delicious : )

Wants vs. Needs

A few years ago (or so?) there was a blog-based challenge of sorts to tell interesting/quirky things about yourself.  You were probably supposed to say a certain number of things - 10? 100?.  Was it on your blog, Jeanette?  Anyway, I've had in the back of my mind, for a few years now, the question on what sorts of things I'd say about myself.  At one point I had reached 3 weird things about myself, but only remember one really... and it drives Will (somewhat) crazy... hahaha

I have this weird need to scroll back to the top of a page before I leave it.

It can be via keypad, scroll bar, scroll wheel, etc, but I NEED to get back to the top before leaving the page.  Why?  I don't know.  I guess it just feels more complete that way.  It bugs me if not.  So if Will is watching me navigate, he knows it's coming so he can question my sanity, and he reminds me that I really don't have to go all the way back to the top, you know.  But it doesn't take that long and I just feel better!

I think one of the other things was that I need to have my hair pulled taut upward while lying on my pillow to fall asleep (while I'm conscious and can feel it).  To have your hair just swimming all around underneath you is just weird and not comfortable.

If I remember that third thing I'll definitely let you know.... : )

Where are your eyes?

Sometimes Andrew notices that his toy or a picture in a book has eyes and he'll point them out.  You can ask him where his eyes are, but he's not very likely to show you.  He does, however, point to mine (or Will's).  More accurately, he pokes me in the eye.

Sometimes he will also show me my hair, or maybe my nose or ear. These are less common, though. The eyes are much more interesting for now.  For the most part, the one he's most willing to show you of his own is his head.

Since Will and I both wear glasses, Andrew gets told a lot that we don't play with glasses or pull them off someone's face.  He's getting pretty good at reaching under my glasses to poke me in the eye when we're talking about eyes.

Yesterday he was showing me, again, the eyes on a toy.  I asked him where his eyes were.  He reaches toward my face, per usual, and I close my eyes, ready to squint to protect myself from the poke. Then what do I feel, but a little finger go straight up my nose!! Ha! Quite the sensation when unexpected.  We'll keep working on our body parts : )