Fish Are Friends...And Food

Lunch is the hardest meal of the day at our house. I'm usually not in the mood to prepare anything extravagant and we're often out and about at that time, so I struggle with ideas for quick, portable, quasi-healthy food items. To complicate matters, Ben can't eat peanut butter and for some reason currently doesn't like any of the typical lunch foods such as sandwiches, mac and cheese, quesadillas, string cheese (are you seeing a pattern?), or most yogurts. So we end up eating a hodgepodge of oatmeal, cold cereal, reheated meatballs, random cold cuts, pretzels, fruits, or veggies.

But on Sunday we had some friends come over to dinner who brought their own chicken nuggets for their kids to eat and the lightbulb went on. Pure genius! Why had it never occurred to me to buy my kids heat and serve meals to throw in the mix every now and then?? Hot Pockets, Bagel Bites, frozen burritos, oh my! A whole world of options I'd overlooked at each prievious shopping trip, whether for health or price reasons. So at the grocery store on Monday I happily let Ben choose what pre-made processed frozen delicacy he wanted. We came home with a box of fish sticks (granted, we did get the "reduced fat" ones) and at lunch the kiddos were happy as clams, so to speak.

What are your go-to lunch items? What foods do your kids absolutely adore or won't touch with a ten foot pole?


While we're on the subject, if you haven't checked out this book, I highly recommend it.

The Tax Man Cometh...Hooray!

Does anyone else get excited about doing their taxes?

As our W-2s, 1099s, and charitable giving statements flow in, I get giddy with the prospect of the impending tax return. Who said there aren't benefits to having a mortgage, student loans, and children? My head fills with dreams of adventures we could take with the money we get back, but in reality our tax returns for four years running have gone to retire debt. But after this year we'll be student loan free!

Gotta love this to make tax preparation a snap!

What do you do/will you do with your tax return?

Is there something you'd rather use it for instead?

Almost Famous

Yesterday brought some exciting news about my interview with TAMN, the Mormon mommy blog satirist, for The Mormon Women Project (MWP).

According to an email from the editor of MWP, "Salon.com, the very well-regarded online magazine, featured an article that mentioned the MWP. Traffic to the site this weekend was huge and Nollie's interview with the author of Seriously So Blessed (the interview that is mentioned specifically in the article) has now been read over 11,000 times!"

It's fun to switch into what Andy refers to as "journalist mode" and come up with questions to spur thought-provoking conversations with fascinating people. The editing part where you take a long transcript and piece it into a coherent, concise final product is good brain exercise as well. How lucky that everyone I meet is interesting fodder for conversation, so thanks (or apologies) to everyone I've ever "interrogated."

Here's the salon.com article Why I Can't Stop Reading Mormon Housewife Blogs.

Are you a fan of any of the blogs mentioned in the article or any similar ones? Of if those aren't your cup of tea, what type of blogs do you frequent?

P.S. Shameless plug alert!!! Check the MWP website for a new interview tomorrow. Many thanks to a good friend for referring me to this inspiring woman who has dealt with the loss of a child in infancy and raising a profoundly autistic son with grace, humor, and wisdom. An amazing woman who sees herself as anything but.

Coincidence? You Decide.

I joined this...
Rented this...

And was sent this by a friend all within 24 hours.

Have you seen The Social Network yet? What did you think? Apart from a few shady college partying scenes, it's one of the best movies I've seen in ages. Great dialogue, compelling characters, and an intriguing storyline made me want to watch it all over again. I also want to watch some interviews with the actual Mark Zuckerberg since he's taking over the world.

I'll Just Slip Into Something a Little More Comfortable...

Kudos and many thanks to my father-in-law for being the genius behind my favorite gift this Christmas: Pjs in the unbeatable combination of cozy, classic, and purple. My ratty sweats are officially retired...for the most part. For that, Andy thanks you as well.

Out of the Stone Age

Luddite - (n.) One who opposes technological change or innovation.

Confession: On many counts, I am a Luddite.

I'm not opposed to new technology per se, but chafe against the encroachment I feel that some technologies could put on me living my real life versus being entrenched in a virtual one. The most obvious signs of this are that I don't have a Facebook account and don't text. Other glaring evidences: My sister recently had to show me how to use Google Reader, I just got a Gmail account (my Hotmail one has worked just fine for the past 12 years, thank you very much), we have a webcam we don't really use, I'm not familiar with Skype, it's beyond me why you would need a Twitter feed ("Just scooped up some soggy Cheerios off the floor...again"), I used Drop Box and "cloud computing" for the first time a week and a half ago, and I have no idea how to convert a file into PDF form.

You may wonder how I've functioned all these years, but I've been relatively happy in my technology-lacking existence because, in my mind, I have fewer things to worry about and updates to either make or check. I'm pretty hit and miss with blog posts as it is, but maybe I'm underestimating the excitement of friending people I haven't seen in years or getting sucked into the vortex of social networking, playing games, or downloading apps for hours on end. Granted, I can waste time with the best of them checking email and surfing blogs, but my status quo worked just fine.

Until today. After succmbing to "positive" peer pressure from my family, I took advantage of my mother's gift of a year's worth of text messaging and took the plunge. Andy and I are now in the world of virtually instant messaging and I'll admit, it's fun to hear the little bling when a new message arrives or getting instantaneous feedback regarding a question, picture, or random thought. What I don't want is to become the couple or family who are in the same room, heads bent, tapping on various devices and never actually engaging face to face.

I'm moving pretty slow because we don't have a data plan and I insisted on a QWERTY keyboard since I'm a novice compared to seasoned texters with their thumbs tapping at the speed of light. I might have to take the plunge all the way, though, since I found out today that I might only be able to contact my next potential interview for the Mormon Women Project via Facebook. Gasp! Can I really revolutionze my digital persona so quickly? I'm hoping there's another way and that I can dip my toes in slowly. But if not, wanna be friends?

What are your thoughts on technology for social connection? Are there any methods you don't use or can't live without? Have I been biased all this time? Let me know what I'm missing or if you're fine living under a figurative rock like me.

Christmas 2010

We spent 11 days in Eastern Washington with my family, two days more than we expected, courtesy of getting voluntarily bumped from our flight home on Christmas Eve. That meant we were with family on Christmas Day and Ben and Lucy got to spend more time doting on their new little cousin Harper.

Highlights of the trip:

• Long walks
• Good conversation
• Lots of laughter
• Movie nights, including Wall Street 2, Inception, Despicable Me (which I slept through TWICE!)
• Couples' dinner with two siblings and their spouses
• Andy getting to drive my bro-in-law's sporty Mazda RX-8
• Watching the finale of "The Sing-Off"
• Going bowling three times
• Lucy spending most of the vacation running around the house sans clothing
• A solo pedicure at my favorite ghetto nail salon - just me, massaging hands, and a stack of magazines
• Driving around seeing all the new construction in my hometown
• Lots of helping hands to play with Ben and Lucy
• The family gift exchange (hot items included an Elvis impersonator set and a Sham-Wow! car cleaning kit)
• Duets on the piano with my sisters
• Wrapping mountains of gifts (none for us as ours were home in Ohio since we were planning on being home for Christmas Day)
• Innumerable air hockey and ping pong matches
• Delicious treats and hot cocoa concoctions
• Waching Ben and Lucy have fun with Grandma, Grandpa, the aunties, and uncles
• Celebrating Kira's birthday on Dec. 22nd with a homemade pizza night (I heart BBQ chicken pizza)
• Lots of bubbly (sparkling cider) and other fizzy beverages (Cactus Cooler or Diet Dr. Thunder, anyone?) Ben got his soda fix for the year
• Family dinners around the big dining room table
• Myriad trips to the nearby Wal-Mart for necessary provisions and hoping I wouldn't run into anyone from my past. Mission almost succesfully accomplished except for seeing a girl I went to church with as a teenager who introduced me to her newborn daughter named Nollie. Very surreal to have a namesake, especially when you have such an uncommon name. Can I ask for royalties?
• Watching Harper, the budding fashionista, model her new winter wardrobe
• A hilarious and very loose re-enactment of the Nativity story
• Going out for Chinese food Christmas Eve
• "Reindeer Games" - a.k.a. reserving the church gym and spending the day playing blind volleyball, dodgeball, tag in the dark with glow necklaces, and other games with the winners getting cash prizes (we're talking single dollars here)
• Trips to visit the neighboring horses and feed them apples and carrots
• Rides on Grandpa Jeff's tractor
• Not having to check bags on the airplane in either direction

All in all, it was was a relaxing and joyful visit. I love my family; Blood relatives, in-laws, and out-laws alike.