I rarely get to see my extended family. We see Mike’s family quite often, and his extended family at least at Christmas, and usually at some other point or points during the year. But the last time I saw my extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins), LG was just starting to stand up by holding onto things, so it’s been awhile – mid 2005 if I’m not mistaken. (Read on …)

Tonight we had green beans. It’s not like we don’t eat green beans every so often. I love me some green bean casserole, but we usually don’t eat fresh green beans, so that’s what we had tonight along with some pork chops. I used a recipe that had a creamy sauce for the beans, and it wasn’t too bad, although it could have used a bit of salt.

Verdict: I thought it was pretty good, but Mike would have liked the green beans a little more tender, so next time I’ll definitely cook them longer. LG, my little carnivore, was much more interested in the pork chops, but she did eat a couple of bites.

Tonight we tried asparagus. At first, Mike was very anti-asparagus. In fact, when I mentioned it, he said, “NO!” Well, gee, Mike, tell me how you really feel. After a bit of discussion, I found out that he didn’t like how his mom had cooked it when he was a kid – something to do with the smell. So, once I promised I wouldn’t cook it like that (however “that” was), he relented.

I made a very simple recipe. First I microwaved it for a bit to soften it up, then I put it in a baking pan and dotted it with butter. Then I sprinkled it with salt and pepper and then doused with a good healthy amount of parmesan and baked it for about 10 minutes. Cheese can make anything taste good, right? I paired it with some tortilla-crusted tilapia from Costco which was recommended by Rochelle’s parents, and was quite yummy.

The verdict: I really liked it. Mike said it was “edible” and he actually willingly ate his whole serving, but he did say he probably couldn’t eat it without the spicy fish accompaniment just yet. But, hey, he’s trying and that’s all I can ask. LG was apparently on a green vegetable strike and wouldn’t try it, so we’ll try asparagus again another day.

The temps in March are supposed to be in the beautiful 70s, very springlike. But today? In some parts of the Valley, it hit TRIPLE DIGITS. Ugh. We have enough summer around here – we don’t need to skip Spring to have more. *sigh*

Poor Mike was up on a roof today. LG and I were out running errands. And poor Marlene was at Field Day with her daughter. Field Day in March is usually a good idea, because 70s! But no! 90s! BAD!

Come back, Spring! We hardly knew ye!

Appetizer
Name two things that made you smile this week.
As always, my daughter, but in particular this week was her undying love for “Mercan Lidol” and “Jordin!”
Also, finishing an outfit for my daughter and her quilt top made me quite pleased!

Soup
Fill in the blank: Don’t you hate it when ________?
Don’t you hate it when you feel like you are eating better and the scale says you have gained weight? Grr.

Salad
When you can’t go to sleep, what is your personal remedy to help yourself drift into Lullabyland?
Well, if I’m really wide awake, I surf on my laptop. But, if I’m somewhat tired, I have a little word game I play that works better than counting sheep. Basically I go through the alphabet making as many words as I can. For instance, I start with “ab” and think of as many words as I can that end in “ab” as in cab, dab, fab, gab, jab, lab, nab, tab. Then I go to “ac” and so on. You may think I’m crazy, but it works for me…lol!

Main Course
What is something about which you’ve always wondered but have not yet found a good answer?
Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?

Dessert
What is your favorite pasta dish?
I don’t know that it’s possible to choose just one favorite pasta dish, but I think I’ll go with a dish that they no longer make at Olive Garden – ravioli with a mixture of marinara and alfredo. That was an awesome dish. Now I eat the chicken scampi instead.

Come to the feast!

Warning: This post is about poopy diapers.

The last week or two, LG has been “choosing” to give me a poopy diaper about a half hour after her father leaves for work. No matter what time it is. If he leaves early, if he leaves late, she “waits” until he is gone. Or at least that’s what it feels like. And let me tell you, they have been exceptionally rank this week for some reason.

But today? Mike has been gone for awhile, and no poopy diaper so far (fingers crossed).

However! However. LG’s little friend is visiting this morning. And guess what? Of course! She just presented me with a poopy diaper. Because heaven knows I have to reach my poopy diaper quotient for the day! lol!

This better mean LG is saving hers for Papa today. That’s all I have to say about that!

Update: It figures. No sooner did I hit publish then I got a whiff of LG. SO not fair! ;-)

There’s not a lot going on around here right now. But that’s bound to change soon. Tomorrow I’m watching one of LG’s friends for a few hours in the morning. I’m planning to get some sewing done while she’s here. Yeah right.

Saturday is my aunt and uncle’s 60th wedding anniversary party, and since I maybe get to see my family once a year if I’m lucky, I’m looking forward to that. In fact, I haven’t seen my family since some time in 2005. And a great many of them live here, so go figure. Anyway, my father is driving down with us to the far southeast Valley. She who shall not be named opted not to go. Surprise surprise. Not.

Sunday we might have a get together at Mike’s parents’ house for his grandfather’s 90th birthday, but I’m not sure of that yet.

And the next week is sure to be jam-packed with all sorts of things that I do not even want to think about at the moment.

But, LG is still as charming as always. I’ve been posting about American Idol on the other blog, but I have to share what happened last night and this afternoon.

One of the contestants – Jordin Sparks – is from right here in the Valley and of course we have been rooting her on. American Idol is one of the few television shows that I actually let LG watch, and she apparently has her first case of hero worship when it comes to Jordin. Last night, when Ryan Seacrest announced that Jordin would be coming up after the break, LG yelled, “I see JORDIN???????” and came running to the sofa to watch. Then when Jordin was singing, she yelled “JORDIN! JORDIN! JORDIN! JORDIN!” and I could barely hear her performance.

This afternoon, I was rewatching her performance on the dvr to see if I could catch the part I missed and LG said “I love Jordin!” “Hug Jordin!” and cried because she couldn’t hug her. Yep. Definitely some hero worship going on. But it’s so cute, and Jordin seems to be a nice girl with a good head on her shoulders and a lot of talent, so I can’t blame her.

So LG now has two favorite tv shows: “Mercan Lidle” and “No Deal!” “Open da case!” “NO DEAL!” Gotta love it. ;)

Oh and did I mention that’s it’s been in the 90s this week? Yuck. But the extended forecast says it will be back to normal (70s) by the middle of next week. My fingers are crossed.

How’s the weather where you are?

I got nothing today, so I’m totally stealing this from Susie.

And now without further ado, a meme about condiments.

1. What do you like on a hot dog?
When I was a kid I liked mayo, and there are times when I still put mayo on my hot dogs. Yes, mayo. :P But most of the time, I’ll go with mustard and ketchup, easy on the mustard. Actually what I most like on a hot dog is corn dog breading.

2. What do you like on a hamburger?
Most of the time I like mayo and nothing else. But sometimes, I’ll take some cheese and ketchup and lettuce as well.

3. What do you like on a baked potato?
Sour cream and chives and butter.

4. What do you like on a slice of toast?
Butter and grape jelly or whatever other jelly there might be in the vicinity.

5. What do you like in a cup of coffee or tea?
I do not like coffee at all. If it’s iced tea, I like Sweet N Low. If it’s hot tea, I like to drink it the English way with milk or cream and also some Sweet N Low.

Happy birthday to my best friend, the father of my child, our tireless provider, and the man I love more than any other. Hope you have a great day honey*!

*Mike and I call each other honey quite often, and LG has taken to calling us honey as well. It’s very cute and it makes us laugh. :)

Dear Little Girl,

For future reference, putting all the dog food from the food bowl into Melody’s water dish is not the same as putting cereal in a bowl full of milk.

Love,
Mama

Mike and I were discussing where he wanted to go eat tomorrow night for his birthday dinner. He decided he wanted a nice juicy steak, so I suggested we go to Outback (Steakhouse).

LG heard us talking and we asked her if she wanted to go to “Outback”. She got really excited and ran to the back door and looked out into the backyard.

Get it?

Out back. teehee

Sorry this is late! I forgot to set it to post last night before I went to bed.

Another thing on the long list of stuff Karin wants. I totally need a blog fairy to wave her magic wand and get me all this stuff. Anyone know one of those I can borrow? ;)

It’s not all about stuff around here. How about some ways to volunteer? via Lifehacker

How to make your home safe from the bad guys. via Lifehacker

37 ways to defuse stress quickly via lifehack.org

A list of free software for kids for both Mac and PC. via Parent Hacks

A very cool way to display photos. via Craftzine

Is is wrong that this news made me incredibly happy?

If you love audiobooks, you need to check this site out. via Lifehacker

A really cute (and easy) little craft.

Learn about your neighborhood. via Trying to Catch Up

A great post on email safety.

Do you like free stuff? I like free stuff. Free stuff is good.

If you are a Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac or Lucy Lawless fan (I’m all three), this video clip should make you laugh. via TV Squad

A portable microwave? Why, yes!

Easter’s coming and now you can make your own peeps-esque treats.

If you’re like me and had to ask your seasoned mom friend how to wash a stuffed animal, then this link is for you!

This is one gadget I actually may buy.

This is strangely fascinating and kind of cool.

Some great tips for nature photography. via Lifehacker

Just when I think LG has actually learned that Mama and Papa know what they are talking about when they tell her not to do something because it will hurt her, as evidenced by the fact that every time she sees a light fixture with a light bulb in it, she now says “HOT light” instead of just “light”, she finds another way to take ten years off my life.

Today it was trying to get out of her not-a-high chair* by herself by leaning forward instead of climbing down or asking for help, thus making said chair tip over sideways. The sideways was good because backwards or forwards might have caused some sort of injury. I grabbed her hand as she fell and kind of pulled her out of the way of the chair, but she still hit the floor and burst into tears – probably more of fear than pain, but still…it’s not like we don’t take care of her and watch her like a hawk, but I’m starting to feel slightly paranoid. Please tell me this is a normal phase so I can stop panicking. I’m beginning to think I’m raising a female evil knievel.

*Mike took an old hand-me-down bar stool (with a back) and sawed off the legs just enough so that she can sit comfortably at the table with us, but it’s height obviously makes it not very safe for intrepid 2 year olds to lean over in.

For those of you who live in the weird parts of the country that observe Daylight Saving Time and all of that, don’t forget to set your clocks ahead tonight! It’s starting a few weeks early this year and will continue to do that every year from now on. You also might want to check your electronic devices as well, such as computers, dvrs, pdas, etc. etc.

Of course, all of us in Arizona? Don’t have to do that since we don’t observe DST. Because as my father always used to say, we do not need any extra daylight here. Amen.

Here are some interesting links about DST.

Appetizer
What is your usual bedtime? Do you like that, or would you rather it be different?

My usual bedtime is somewhere around 11 pm or 12 am depending on how tired I am. If I’m really tired, I fall asleep earlier, but since I usually don’t have to get up until 8ish, that time works for me. I’m definitely a night person and not a morning person, so I like staying up late better than getting up early. I missed that when I was working outside the home.

Soup
When it comes to advice, do you give more or receive more?

On the whole, I probably give more, but I do often ask for advice from my best friend about kid stuff since she’s got way more experience than I do…lol!

Salad
Describe a memorable meal you’ve had.

Oh goodness. I would have to say that all the meals I had in Paris were really memorable tastewise. Especially the desserts. My advice to all of you if you ever go to Paris, is to not skip dessert. There are no bad desserts in Paris! lol!

Main Course
Name a work of fiction that affected the way you think about something.

Wow. I’m not a huge fiction reader, so I’m just going to say Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. I had to read this book for a teaching class I was taking and it was really a fabulous book. And the great thing is that when I went to look for the link to put in this post, I found out there is a sequel coming out this year! Can’t wait!

Dessert
What is your favorite type of fruit juice?

Ah! An easy one. No hesitation, no competition. My favorite juice is cran-grape, hands down.

Join in the feast!