The Hillams in Indiana

Button Sorting

2012-02-07T14:08:00.003-05:00

One of the best things about Minnie is her company. She loves to be with me and I try to enjoy every minute of it, because it won't be long before she doesn't want to be with me. I'm already sort of depressed about this--natural though it is--so I try to keep it in mind during activities (or days!) when her company is somewhat prohibitive to a task I am trying to accomplish.

One of the solutions we've found to this conflict of interests is button sorting. When I have dishes to wash/bread to bake/dinner to cook/a dirty kitchen to clean/etc., Minnie often joins me in her high chair. Sometimes she colors or plays with stacking cups or cans, but sometimes she plays with buttons, and has a fine time of it too.

This last time we pulled out the (very fancy former cottage cheese) container of buttons, I was pretty impressed at her increased abilities. She used to just dump buttons into the ice cube tray indiscriminately, but this time she proved very good at matching buttons from her stash to the same kind of button I had distributed into the cubes.

She also was excited to identify all the 'M'-shaped buttons--a discovery from last time which has fully launched her into learning the alphabet. We have a foam alphabet floor mat in her bedroom and once she realized that the 'M' shape was the same, and that the other letters had names too, she insisted on hearing them over and over. We are not the push-your-kids-into-learning-things-early kind of parents (and maybe this isn't even early for the alphabet...I don't even know), but Minnie absolutely loves it, so we identify letters and practice sounds everywhere we go now (it's adorable).

(Not that we have a problem with people teaching their kids stuff early. Rock on, if that's your thing. It's just not ours.)

Minnie will play with this for up to forty minutes at a time. She loves (me) talking about the colors and shapes of the buttons (ie, she likes for me to stop what I am doing and play with the buttons with her) and finding the matching ones. Dumping the buttons out of the ice cube tray is great fun too. It also usually means I can get dinner made without too much stress. Win-win.

Infant Diaper and Feeding Log

2012-02-01T12:35:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite newborn care items I had with Minnie was a chart the lactation consultant gave me at the hospital for logging all of Minnie's diapers and feedings. I was anxious about Minnie getting enough to eat and being healthy, and the chart was sort of my sanity for the first two weeks of her life. It showed me absolutely everything I needed to know to be sure she was doing just fine and bringing it with me to her doctor appointments ensured that I had immediate answers on hand for all their feeding/diaper questions...I never had to sit and wonder if she was really getting enough to eat or making enough dirty diapers. I only used it for two weeks, but it was the most wonderful thing I used in those two weeks.

With Ezra arriving in a few short weeks, I decided to get on the ball and get another chart. I looked online for something that was designed for nursing mothers that had all of the information and places to record information that I wanted...but I didn't find much online that fit what I needed. So, I decided to forge ahead on my own and make one that contained all the information I needed and wanted. Since I spent time looking online first for something that would work--and didn't find anything I was satisfied with--I have put my log up for download for anyone else who will be a nursing mom and would like to track the first two weeks.

Infant Diaper and Feeding Log

*The professional writer in me has to assure that the fonts may look all wonky and unattractive in google docs, but if you download the pdf, it looks much, much better.

A Family Fort

2012-01-29T20:04:00.002-05:00

A couple weekends ago, Jeff was supposed to go on a polar bear camp out with the Scouts. But it was apparently too polar bear-esque for some, and the camp out was canceled. We were delighted on Saturday morning to find this scheduled instead:

Family fort building!

We got right to work.

We set up a tent, which Minnie was delighted with and insisted on referring to it as a house.

And then we began turning the living room into a total fort.

Here, Minnie is showing her fingers.

We spent the whole morning crawling through the fort.

(Some of us more quickly than others.)

Our fort even had a skylight!

And a parapet to climb up on!

It may not be the same as polar bear camping, but we sure had fun!

Puff Stuff

2012-01-18T12:15:00.000-05:00

Sacrament meeting with a toddler is a challenge...I'm not sure anyone has ever doubted that! It's long, it's not interesting to that age group (and sometimes even for those of us much older!), and Jeff and I have pretty high expectations for Minnie: she is to sit quietly until after the sacrament has been passed, not play with people in front or behind us, and to generally remain reverent. She doesn't get snacks and I have tried to make her sacrament meeting bag be as gospel-focused as possible (since we're all there to learn, even if it's not straight from the speakers).

This has had varying degrees of success, in terms of the gospel-focused activities. At 22 months old, there are only so many skills that can be given a gospel spin. Most of The Friend magazine is still way over her head and you can only look at Church History's ABCs and Gospel Numbers so many weeks in a row before they lose all their appeal. Ditto to scripture mastery bookmarks (appealing because they are plastic and durable!), hymn books (less durable...), and crayons come with their own hazards.

This has resulted in some (desperate) new ventures, because 1) Minnie needs some new entertainment or she tends to scream through the meeting (not acceptable), and 2) after Ezra is born in February, we will really need to be prepared to survive sacrament meeting!

I tested out a new toy last Sunday, after scouring pinterest for ideas, and I have to say, it was wildly successful. I took a little grated Parmesan cheese plastic bowl and lid, cut three little holes into the lid, put the lid back on the bowl, and gave it to Minnie with 15 or 20 little sparkly puff balls. I stuffed one into one of the holes. And she was hooked.

I didn't take any pictures of our trial run with this toy at home, but if you are having trouble visualizing it, check out this link. Ours is a smaller bowl, with smaller and fewer puff balls (and our are sparkly!), but it's otherwise the same activity.

What you want to know, of course, is how it rated during sacrament meeting. It was a major win. We pulled it out after the sacrament was passed and, excepting a few distractions and pauses to flip through the hymn book during the song, Minnie played with this "Puff Stuff" for thirty minutes. Not even kidding. It did help that one of the 14-year-old Young Men was sitting with us (he was without his family) and I think he helped her stay interested. It helped him not fidget also, so it was a double-win.

At the same time as the Puff Stuff, I made another "in and out" toy out of an old spice bottle and twisted pipe cleaners. Our initial run with this was also very successful. Minnie was less enthusiastic about this one during church, but one can only take things in and out so many times before it isn't fun anymore. Additionally, there is something much more satisfying about stuffing the puff balls into the container.

This week I am finishing laminating some very basic gospel picture puzzles and some gospel picture nomenclature cards for sacrament meeting fun. I'd also like to put together some file folder games (but I am four weeks from being due with Ezra and am in the process of redecorating the nursery and refinishing some furniture, so we will see how that goes first...).

How do you keep your toddlers entertained during sacrament meeting? What teaching tools have been helpful in keeping them entertained, learning, and quiet? (Is it even possible?!)

maybe the most amazing Christmas present ever.

2011-12-29T12:49:00.000-05:00

I have had a lot of thoughts this year about Christmas and the Savior and celebrating and blessings and Santa and other things, and I could say a lot about what we have been up to this holiday season and the old favorite traditions and the new adventures and experiments. But for now, all I am going to share is the most entertaining gift I have received in quite some time.

In Jeff's family, everyone opens their gifts at the same time in sort of a chaotic rush. Since Jeff's family joined us for Christmas this year, that's what we did. But when I opened this present from my sister Amanda, I started laughing so hard that everyone stopped what they were doing to see what I received:

Yes. It is really a calendar with twelve months of pictures of goats in trees.

What makes this even better is that I did a little research and it turns out that goats in trees is REAL! It is not a photoshopped calendar! This is actually happening all the time in Morocco. Check out this youtube video:

All I'm saying is, I need to go to Morocco and see this myself.

But until then, I will be checking out these goats in trees from my new calendar.

Because I don't have enough to do before Christmas...

2011-12-15T20:22:00.001-05:00

Exhibit A: normal loaf of homemade bread

Exhibit B: braided loaf of homemade bread

It may not fit in the toaster, but I'm thinking I rocked the braided loaf.

Handiwork

2011-12-15T20:17:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of something we did over a month ago with something we bought over a year ago. But we are still proud of it, so here it finally is:

It took a very, very long time for us to figure out how to hang this airport sign.

It's from the old Indianapolis airport, and we like it especially because we both spent so much time in our childhoods flying through this airport.

Definitely our favorite decor addition from the last year.

(Second place goes to the abandoned red street sign we found in Switzerland this summer...we thought it listed a town's name, but upon further investigation at home, it turns out it says "important message". Love it.)

decomP magazinE

2011-12-07T20:18:00.001-05:00

If you go here, you will find one of my poems in the December 2011 edition of decomP magazinE. Or, if the table of contents doesn't tickle your fancy, you can see the poem itself here. You can even hear me read it, if you like!

In Print.

2011-11-10T12:52:00.001-05:00

I am a writer. It is in my blood. I decided in fourth grade that I was going to be a writer and I never changed my mind. I double-majored in creative and professional writing in college and honed my writing skills through a Master's degree in American history.

But then you graduate from college and have to actually do something to continue to qualify/consider yourself a writer. Like write. And publish (that's the hard one).

Two summers ago (2010) I heard about an opportunity through a friend (THANK YOU Kristine Nielsen!) to submit a proposal about an LDS woman who exhibited great faith to be included as a chapter in a collection of such women. I was in the middle of moving to Indiana (also known as God's own country) at the time but decided to jump on the opportunity while I had it. It helped a lot that one of the women I researched in grad school fit the requirements exactly.

Fast forward a year and a half:

Volume 1, in which my chapter, with my writing and my research and my name on it, is being released by Deseret Book just in time for the Christmas season.

I highly recommend the book (and I don't get any royalties from the sales). Working on my chapter--on Louisa Barnes Pratt--was a spiritual and uplifting (and exciting) experience. I am very excited to receive my copy and read about the other inspiring women of this first period of the Restoration. The research I have done and the primary sources I have read from faithful women in these early latter days has been incredible.

And I have to say, it has been a pretty darn good year for writer-Alisha. I had a poem appear in Inscape's Winter 2011 edition (you can read it here), a poem forthcoming in DecomP's December 2011 edition, a chapter accepted and submitted to Volume 2 of the Women of Faith series, and now Volume 1 is in print and will soon be sitting on my shelf. With my name in it.

(If you are interested in the Women of Faith project, check out the website here. Submission proposals for Volume 3 will be accepted until June 1, 2012.)

Another Garden Adventure

2011-10-26T12:32:00.001-04:00

Back to the garden. It has been happily ripening tomatoes for me through the fall. I was picking a good bagful every couple of days. It was pretty great.

But then it got cool and I got anxious. One day last week, the inevitable happened: the weather forecast predicted frost.

FROST. THE TOMATO KILLER.

So when I discovered this after dinner, I said, "Ok, we have to go outside and pick the green tomatoes."

And Jeff said, "I don't want to. Is it even worth the trouble?"

And I said, "YES!! They will ripen inside!! How can you think we are going to just throw away all that food?!"

And Jeff said, "Don't we have enough tomatoes already?"

And I said, "NO!! We have to save them ALL!!"

So he got up and came outside with Minnie and I (who was finishing dinner in her high chair and is not actually pictured whatsoever, but who was present).

Then I decided that we needed a Sad Picture to document how crushed I was that the frost was coming and that the garden was ending, so Jeff had me go stand by the garden while he took a picture.

THAT'S RIGHT. He threw a ball at my HEAD.

And this picture makes it looks like I just stood there and took it, but I totally moved before it got anywhere near me.

Clearly someone is lacking in the SENSITIVITY DEPARTMENT when it comes to consoling their sad wife at the end of her garden.

Although it WAS funny.

Appropriate sad face.

And here are the tomatoes we picked!! Can you believe how many there still were?!

Jeff said, "Wow, there are a ton of tomatoes out here."

And I said, "THAT'S why we couldn't just leave them!!"

He conceded my point.

It weighs almost more than I can carry.

Who knew we'd still have so many tomatoes off four plants at the end of October?

I guess I have to learn to can now.

If You Give Alisha a Fetus...

2011-09-29T10:54:00.002-04:00

We found out last week that baby #2 is a boy! This has sparked in me sort of an insane level of nesting. With Minnie, I was too busy finishing grad school to really thinking about baby stuff at all, to the chagrin, I think, of all family members and friends who were excited.

"Are you so excited about the baby? What are you going to do for the nursery? Have you been buying clothes? When is your baby shower? Baby baby baby!!"

"...um, yes, very excited about the baby. I need to finish writing/grading/reading this paper/essay/book now."

Not very nest-y.

And then we moved when I was eight months pregnant and all the fun decorating and preparatory things turned into just packing and unpacking my entire life to go live in a place I didn't really want to move to.

So basically, I think I am making up for lost time. I have a list detailing things to do in every room of the house. And the yard.

This week I decided to embark on kitchen organization.

My kitchen drawers generally look like this:

Nothing totally horrendous, but not particularly nice to look at either. Also, not very handy to find what you're looking for.

Clearly, something had to be done.

What to do about this? Well, with the help of Pintrest (my other new obsession), I took these:

And decided to doll them up a bit...

With these:

5-gallon paint sticks (free at Lowes, although I am not sure the guy was thrilled to give them to me when I asked for six of them and he asked how much paint I had to stir and I told him I was making something out of them instead...but they are real wood. and free. rock it.)

I cut them down to the size that fits on my cabinet doors (which are not all the same size). I primed and spray painted them back, and then screwed them into the cabinet doors (pre-drilling holes first). I had to make sure I allowed for the doors to be able to shut with holding their various items. Once I was good on that, I screwed 5/8-inch shoulder hooks into the slats, carefully spacing them according to what I was hanging.

I hung my measuring spoons and ladles and then--yes--it was love:

Did I mention I did all this drilling and screwing and climbing on the counters while watching a toddler and after I threw out my back and could barely move?

That's why you don't mess with pregnant women.

(Note: Some measuring spoons and ladles are missing. Why? Because I cook and bake too. Between doing this project and taking the pictures of it, I made apple fritters, pizza dough, and banana bread--what what.)

Well, once I had this finished, the fact remained that this:

....looks totally ugly.

And it's hard to find the spices that I need.

Also, some of them were sort of gross-old.

And I had a newly-emptied drawer.

So, (thank you Pintrest), I took these (which I have a million of these days):

And spray-painted them with chalkboard paint.

Last night, after Jeff went to YM and our baby bear went to bed, I filled the baby food jars with spices, labeled them with a chalk marker, and voila!

I can find all the spices I need, no problem.

It is beautiful.

It is easy.

It is alphabetized.

It is love.

In case you wondered, I now totally feel compelled to reorganize the entire kitchen.

(And it would be nice if I could move without pain...)

Learning at Home

2011-09-15T21:21:00.003-04:00

"A well-taught friend told me that he did not learn anything at church that he had not already learned at home." --Julie B. Beck, "Mothers Who Know", Oct. 2007 General Conference.

I ran across this quote again last night in my scripture study.

I love it.

I want my children to be that well-taught friend. I want to be such an effective mother and teacher that my children do not need to rely on Church programs to learn and live the gospel. Church programs are great. But they are supplemental to instruction in the home.

I have been redoubling my efforts at this lately. Somehow Minnie rapidly changed from a baby to a child who is absorbing everything. If I want her to know something in five years, I've got to teach it to her now (that's from another conference talk).

We do daily family scripture study and prayer. We eat dinner together (and sometimes breakfast!) and we memorize scriptures as a family. We have regular family home evening, complete with gospel-centered lessons. We are attempting to follow Elder Robbins' advice to discipline and praise with a focus on being instead of doing.

What's crazy/scary is that this isn't enough to teach her everything she needs to know. So, because part of my job as a stay-at-home mom is to teach her all this stuff (in addition to how to function as a human being in general!), I study the nursery lessons in my scripture study and Minnie and I (usually) have a daily nursery lesson together. I was doing this to some degree before, but when I was released as nursery leader, I got a bit derailed. Then I found out that the current leader's lessons last "a few minutes, at best" and I was swiftly reminded that if I want Minnie to know something, I need to teach it to her myself.

What do you do to teach your children the gospel? How do you make the most of the little teaching moments that arise? What formal things do you do?

Why yes, we DO have a garden...

2011-09-15T15:51:00.000-04:00

I originally intended on blogging all summer about our adventures as first-time vegetable growers. But then we had to plant three times, build a raised bed, and I lost the camera for a while. BUT, now that I have found the camera again and our plants are growing, I am happy to document our autumn harvest.

This is what the garden looks like today.

Those are four tomato plants you see, and one other plant.

Yes, the cages have tipped over and are leaning crazily.

No, we never bought poles to hang the cute lanterns on.

Yes, that is a (very) sad pepper plant on the right.

And YES, there are tomatoes growing in there!

This is what I picked today:

This is what I already had ripening (and there are Romas underneath the others):

And I have been using this:

To make this:

Which I will soon powder and mix with other powders to make dried, powdered spaghetti sauce.

(We also make salsa and use them in dishes like tomato fondue...mmmhmm.)

We had a rocky start.

But so far it has been a fabulous harvest.

The World's Best Meal-Planning System

2011-09-15T15:36:00.000-04:00

When Jeff and I got married, we were still in school and were very busy. Because we both had hectic schedules all day and homework all night, we didn't really cook dinner. Honestly, I'm not sure what we actually ate for the first three years of our marriage--I can only really remember eating tacos and spaghetti (sauce from a jar). Surely we ate more diverse foods than that...but I don't really remember anything else. The few times I did cook stand out in my memory...which just tells you that it wasn't often.

After I finished my Master's and Minnie was born, I became a full-time mother, with everything that includes...like cooking dinner. This was a bit overwhelming. I like cooking, but we were on a very tight budget and the challenge of eating well on it was a bit daunting. Fortunately I came across a fabulous idea and modified it to my own uses and desires. I now have what I submit to you is the world's best meal-planning system. I am not even kidding.

A friend of Jeff's gave me the idea: she and her sister-in-law sell meal planners that incorporate recipe cards with ingredient lists to take grocery shopping with you. They provide it all in a very cute "pocket" with laminated everything. It's very nice and if you are not the crafty type, or even if you are but you are totally daunted by dinner, I suggest you visit their website here. I shamelessly admit to generating my system from theirs, so they totally deserve the reward of a customer via me.

On to the pride of my kitchen:

This is the system in all it's glory. It is simple, attractive, and fits neatly on the side of the fridge. The magnets have nothing to do with it; they just live there.

Each of these magnetic pockets contains a type of recipe. They are labeled with numbers because my categories sometimes change depending on how many recipes I have in a category and I didn't want to have the slots mislabeled. I also didn't want to make new ones--this pocket project alone took me an entire day, let alone the recipe cards. (I'm organized, not crafty.) Basically the numbers are arbitrary but attractive. The categories right now are divided up roughly like this: 1 - extra shopping list, extra cards, coupons; 2 - misc. dinners; 3 - pastas; 4 - casseroles; 5 - salads and sandwiches; 6 - ethnic foods.

The cards themselves look like this:

Each one is titled with a dinner entree and has whatever other information is relevant in terms of planning. In the beginning I included how many leftover lunches and dinners it served, but now that I am more used to cooking and have a roomier budget to work with, I don't usually worry about this. I also used to color-code them and attempt to make them pretty, but again--I am not crafty and it was not really worth my time.

Whenever I am tired of our current repertoire, I pull out blank index cards and go hunting in cook books and online for something new that sounds tasty. Once the card is written up, I store it in its respective pocket.

On the backs of the cards I list all the ingredients for the meal in the quantities that I need them. This is absolutely key.

Here comes the magic:

Monday is grocery day. On Monday morning I pick out seven meal cards and put them in the slots, conveniently labeled for each day of the week. I like this spread because I can see all of the week's meals in one glance and I can rearrange everything as necessary, even during the week. (Example: we normally have leftovers on Wednesdays because Jeff has to rush off to YM. This week, however, Monday and Tuesday were new recipes that didn't yield a lot of leftovers and Jeff was going to be home a bit earlier than usual. I needed a real dinner, so I switched Wednesday and Thursday on Tuesday night--perfect, since he's not going to be home for long tonight.) I also have cards noting nights we plan to go out to eat, are invited to someone's house for dinner, or are eating leftovers.

Once my week is planned, I pull out my extra shopping list and note whatever else I need to buy for the week--breakfast items, fresh fruits, etc. (We don't eat fancy breakfasts and we eat dinner leftovers for lunches.) When Minnie and I are ready to go shopping, I grab my extra list and all of the relevant recipe cards (ie, not the leftover ones, because I don't need them) and hit the stores. All of the ingredients are listed on the backs of the recipe cards, you'll remember, so I don't need to make a new/additional shopping list.

This may not be the ideal process for everyone, but I personally have found it perfect for my method and our family's eating habits. Planning dinner has been a snap for me from day one, and it is because of this system.

Also, it is very cute on the side of my fridge. :)

Nursery Days Begin

2011-09-12T16:32:00.002-04:00

Minnie's first day of nursery was on Sunday.

This picture does not show Minnie's adorable, curly pigtails...or her enthusiasm about nursery (which she had), but it does show that I had enough enthusiasm for all of us.

While the photo might be a little lacking, the experience itself was not. We have all been waiting for this day for a while. We took Minnie in and she hit the ground running for the toys and never looked back. Jeff and I both have Sunday-intensive callings, so we left as soon as I put her down. She sat in her chair quietly during the lesson, volunteered for the prayer (on her first day!), wiggle/chair-danced during singing time, and joyfully ran to us when we picked her up. I asked one of her teachers what behaviors we could work on at home to help nursery go more smoothly and she said there was nothing to improve on.

After two collective years of watching child/parent experiences in nursery, and working on various skills and behaviors with Minnie for the last year in preparation for nursery (and future life situations), I'd like to say that this was a parental victory on my part.

But the truth is that Minnie is just magnificent.

I am so proud of my little girl!

The Kitchen Dilemma.

2011-09-08T10:02:00.000-04:00

There are a few specific projects in our house that I would like to have finished before Baby #2 comes. Unfortunately, one of these projects is pretty major: the kitchen. Not only do I hate the way the kitchen is now, but my options for changing it are pretty limited...to wall paint. Our cabinets are the ultra-cheap kind from Home Depot or Lowe's that look hideously country and outdated. Unfortunately, the housing market in our neighborhood has bottomed out (about 25% of the homes here are for sale or foreclosed), so expensive updates are out of the question--even if we had the money for them now, they would never pay for themselves when we sell. New cabinets are not an option, and after extensive research, I've decided that painting them is also out of the question (it is waaaaaay too much work to make it look decent...and also Jeff refuses to do it). No one else has tile in their kitchen in our neighborhood, so it wouldn't pay for itself either (sad).

My appliances are stainless steel and KitchenAid cobalt blue (but the blue looks sort of blue and sort of purple...it could go either way, depending on what is around it).

and

So the question is, what do I do with the walls?

Originally I dreamed of a bold purple or blue kitchen. It turns out almost no one paints their kitchen purple, however, and I do want to be able to sell this house down the road (without repainting!). Blue is also somewhat problematic because the library is a bright blue and mild gray--we don't need two rooms in the same colors. A different shade of blue could work nicely, but I am having trouble finding something that looks good with the hideous honey oak cabinets.

This is where YOU come in! I need help. I don't know what to do with the colors I like or how to incorporate them. I could, for example, go with something neutral and then kick up the accents in blue or purple. Or find a solid shade of blue or purple and just go for it. Or do both of those with an accent wall. I DON'T KNOW!! Picking something I like is easy; planning around hideous honey oak cabinets is NOT easy.

Other things I am looking into: hardware. The cabinets are crying for hardware. What would work here? Also, a black splash? How realistic is this in terms of cost and effort? What would be classy and not country? What could I do for window treatments? What about chic decor that doesn't overwhelm the kitchen? I already feel like there is way too much stuff out. (Ok--some stuff is out because I hadn't put everything away when I took the pictures. But really.)

Here are pictures of the current kitchen. The lighting is terrible, but today is gloomy and dark, so new pictures won't be much better.

(I love the white hutch and would love to put it against non-white walls for the first time ever.)

The table and chairs are hideous, but until someone gives us a new free set...here they are. Yes, they are duct-taped around the legs. Not cute, but they don't collapse anymore. Maybe we will take the tape off, paint them, and re-tape them. (Gluing, which we have tried multiple times, is totally ineffective.) Also, I have a stainless steel range hood, I just haven't installed it yet because we haven't painted yet.

The windows need something too.

Here we move into Kilim Beige territory.

The last ones just show the view into the living room, so you can see what we're opening into. Those walls are SW Kilim Beige--so whatever we use in the kitchen needs to not clash with that.

Obviously that hideous apple border has to go. And I hate the dried-blood red color on the back splash area.

Here are some kitchen ideas I found online. I am not sold on a particular one, but maybe they will give us all some inspiration.

Blue kitchens:

The cabinets are nicer than mine, but at least are similar-ish to the color I am working with.

Hideous cabinets like I have--but here the colors work.

Purple Kitchens:

I love this, but of course my cabinets don't look like that.

Ugly cabinets (in my opinion), but (aside from color) more like what mine will look like.

Painted purple. Totally not happening, but a girl can dream.

And finally, if you have stuck with me this far (oh how I hope!), this kitchen seems the most likely to work with my cabinets. Not exactly the same, but closer than the other purple ones:

The cab doors are more modern and the counter is black...but it's closer than anything else.

Thoughts?

autumn?! is that YOU?

2011-09-05T10:57:00.000-04:00

While Minnie napped this morning, I set about working on my long list of post-vacation things to do. I decided to get to work on "dry the abundance of tomatoes from the garden so I can later make powdered spaghetti sauce" and was just about to start slicing away on the lovely gems my neighbor harvested for me while I was out of town, when I decided that it didn't make sense to start this until I had checked for more ripe tomatoes--it had been a few days.

I did this with a bit of a heavy heart. After the mild temperatures in Seattle, I was not really thrilled about the hot hot humidity of the Midwest. I have visions of autumn decor and activities dancing in my head and I am pretty ready for a good airing-out of the house too. In fact, I had been avoiding the garden because I didn't want to deal with the heat. Today is a gray day and I was not very excited about muggy gray.

You can see why I was shocked to step outside then: it is 58 degrees right now!! It is positively GLORIOUS. Of course it will get warm again, and I am happy about that too (both for my sake and my tomatoes), but today this is a wonderful, wonderful gift!

Reason #47653 Why I Love Amy Rose

2011-09-04T21:58:00.000-04:00

She used to let me hang out while she cleaned her room. And she would come hang out and help me pack. People you can sit around and organize with = the best.

Waking Up With a Smile

2011-08-17T10:02:00.000-04:00

"The Wake 'n' Bacon alarm clock is the perfect way to wake up. Put a piece of frozen bacon in the alarm clock at night and set the clock. Ten minutes before your alarm goes off it will start cooking the bacon."

Although I don't know that I need this alarm clock, I'm not totally sure that I don't. I mean, it's even designed to look like pre-bacon. And waking up to the smell of cooking bacon has got to be one of the greatest things ever, which I never experience because I am such a light sleeper...no one in our house moves in their sleep without me hearing it. Not even kidding: when Jeff gets up before me, I hear his spoon clinking on his cereal bowl in the morning. I may not get out of bed first, but that does not mean I am sleeping through anything.

But I digress. Wake 'n' bacon alarm clock. This is magnificent. This is genius.

See the original article (and pictures!) here.

What do you think?

2011-08-16T07:58:00.001-04:00

"If soup or salad is what you're makin',

Jazz it up by addin' bacon."

-Gene Kofke, bacon bard

In Which I Am Alone on a Sunday Evening, the Baby in Bed and the Husband in Meetings

2011-08-14T18:54:00.001-04:00

Yesterday Minnie and I drove four hours to Chicago to retrieve our long-lost father and husband, who had been off gallivanting in Israel. We ate Chicago-style pizza for dinner and then drove four hours home in pouring rain.
And it was wonderful because we were finally together again. So. Happy.
(Except for the parts where Jeff was beyond jet-lagged from being up for 24+ hours, Minnie screamed her head off in the car because she was tired of the car, and I had to do the eight hours of driving, during which we sometimes hydroplaned and I thought death, or at least a crash, was imminent.)
It turns out that when you have a waterbed and are apart for a little while, you have terrible sleep when you are reunited with your loveable spouse because every movement jostles you awake. This is particularly problematic when your loveable spouse dreams all night that you are the pick-pocket who stole his wallet in Jerusalem and he gets mad and doesn't want to snuggle with a thieving pick-pocket.
Today Jeff got up for 7:30am meetings before Church, did three hours of Church, and went to stake priesthood meetings tonight in Muncie--a two hour meeting, with a two-hour round trip drive, that he didn't know about before last night. All with almost no sleep but plenty of jet-lag (it's a seven-hour time change for him). I admire him for that. That is putting your commitments before yourself.
Minnie brought a stuffed rabbit over to me tonight and I showed her how rabbits wiggle their noses. She thought that was great and tried to imitate me...but all she could manage was blinking her eyes. Adorable.
A stage collapsed last night at the Indiana State Fair. I watched the video of it on cnn.com and this is what really struck me: as soon as it happened, the crowd rushed...TO the fallen stage, to lift up scaffolding and help everyone who was trapped under the stage. THAT is how people should be to each other.
The difference between a rich county (like America) and a not-so-rich county (none to be named and made to feel bad): the parking lot next to Giordano's last night was separately owned and cost four dollars to park there (if you were a Giordano's customer...it was eight for other people). When we were done with dinner, we went out to pay, only to find that we didn't have any cash (who has cash?) and the attendant didn't take cards. Instead of directing us to an ATM, as expected, he just told us not to worry about it. I can think of seven or eight (poorer) countries that I have personally spent time in, off the top of my head, where that would never, ever, ever happen. It has nothing to do with the niceness level of people either, and we certainly didn't "deserve" or expect to get free parking. The fact just is, in a country like the United States, sometimes four bucks just doesn't matter. We have so much already. And in other countries, it just always does. I am grateful that I live in a country where, even in a big city like Chicago, sometimes four dollars just doesn't matter.
If you ever need to liven up your Internet browsing, check out Bacolicious.us ...it enables you to superimpose a rasher of bacon over any (every?) web page you choose.

He Preserves Love.

2011-07-22T10:40:00.000-04:00

Today, Grandma would have been 86 years old and married for 66 years.

I miss her every day.

"Family life is of the greatest importance to the Latter-day Saints. Families are regarded as having everlasting significance. Husbands and wives marry for eternity, not merely until death brings an end to their union.

When children are born to such couples, they form a part of a family circle that is to be projected on through death and the resurrection into life eternal...

It is the doctrine of the Latter-day Saints that marriage never was intended by the Lord to be some temporary arrangement for mortal life alone. Marriage was instituted before mortality. It will continue beyond mortality for worthy persons, if solemnized for that purpose by the power of God.

It should and it does. Husbands and wives may be bound together for time and all eternity by the power of this priesthood, and in the same manner children are bound eternally to their parents. Families thus may be held together forever. Loving husbands and wives need not end their happy relationship at death. Neither need children be forever orphaned.

Just as baptism may bring them into the presence of God, so may this sealing or binding ordinance of marriage preserve them there as a family unit.

Could heaven really be complete to any of us if we were deprived of our loved ones, if the most sacred and endearing ties in life were severed?

God is love. He preserves love. Our family relationships are built upon love. He who established such ties will preserve them in his kingdom."

-Elder Mark E. Peterson, Ensign Jan. 1972, "Why Mormons Build Temples".

A Year Later...

2011-07-22T10:24:00.000-04:00

One year and two days ago, we stood in front of this:

as new homeowners!

I have to say: it's been a great year. We weren't too sure at the end of the day pictured above, when we had to buy new locks and spent most of the night trying to get them back onto the doors...and the home improvement challenges didn't stop there...but it's been a great year.

We have painted the living room, office, guest room, (most of the) library, Minnie's room, and our bedroom (twice). We installed a dishwasher (with the help of a neighbor), rearranged all the furniture many, many times, planted a vegetable garden (three times), bought a lawn mower and used it (a first for me), and much more. We even installed a ceiling light in our bedroom, during which our home was invaded by a bird from the attic in the middle an ice storm. Thirty minutes after we were finished...the power went out and we had to evacuate our home for warmer quarters.

Closing day!

Thanks to a lot of work, sweat, and help from Jeff's mom, we have an awesome front flower bed now.

And look at this munchkin!! The biggest change at our house in the last year has been watching her grow!

We are so blessed to be living here. We love our house and we are grateful to live in a nice home that is more affordable than a dingy old apartment. We don't know all of the reasons we're living here right now, but it is so apparent to us that we are here because this is where the Lord wants us to be. He has given us far more than we need or could ever "deserve" this year and we are grateful for it. Here's to another great year in our great house!

Debt.

2011-06-29T13:46:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine posted this article on facebook today. I was curious as to what someone in the UK would have to say about American national debt, so I read it. I don't know that I would back every statement in the article, but I generally found it to be a pretty solid assessment of the debt issue.

I am not one to comment much on the political sphere, mostly because I don't think it accomplishes anything except potentially riling people up. Political discussions generally don't seem to do much in the way of convincing someone else that your perspective are right.But, though I don't expect anyone's opinion to change (and maybe my readers even agree with me!), I feel impelled to comment.

I really don't understand why more Americans don't see the national debt as a total crisis. Actually, that is a lie. I know exactly why: because most Americans are living under a staggering mound of debt themselves. I find this appalling.

I find the dangers of living with debt, on a personal or on a national level, to be terrifying. This is how you lose your home. Four percent of the homes in our neighborhood are for sale, and there are at least that many foreclosures in our neighborhood as well. It is very real. Once you are under a mountain of debt, it is so hard to get out. No car, or tv, or fancy house, or any amount of worldly possessions is worth that.

The author of the article cited something Jeff and I have discussed that I find very troubling: the US government has borrowed an astronomical amount of the national debt from the Chinese. At any moment, the Chinese could call in those loans and the entire American economy would tank. There is no possible way to pay all that money back. It doesn't exist.

Maybe that won't happen. But I see no way for the national debt to continue to pile up and for there not to be serious repercussions on Americans and the nation as a whole in the future. Creditors will always, always come knocking eventually. I am bewildered by the idiocy that this betrays in our politicians. This is not preserving or protecting our country. I understand that you can't just cut funding to all federal programs. You can't just end all military spending--there are repercussions to that too. I believe in cleaning up the mess you made at someone else's house. I believe in education. I believe in helping people. I believe in good roads and a mail system and many of the other good things the government does in our country.

But I also believe that tossing money around so that we can have a postal system and nice highways and welfare and play global watchdog at the cost of our future economic security is absolutely ridiculous. I know it's a big problem and that there are not easy answers. Cutting funding for anything can ruin a person politically (and let's not pretend that's not a factor here!) and we have programs in place to meet needs. What concerns me is that no one seems to even be trying. Fixing the national debt problem demands drastic solutions. The American quoted in the article said that there is no reason to stress about a fatal condition if you can take an aspirin and feel better--relieve the symptoms. But that doesn't change the fact that it is a FATAL condition. Even if you still feel good, eventually, you die. And that is the end of our nice, prosperous country.

I will end on a somewhat lighter note. Here is a sketch from Saturday Night Live. Perhaps these pamphlets should be ordered and sent to Congress and Americans everywhere.

Minnie's World View

2011-06-28T12:12:00.000-04:00

Via this website.

Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Back Again

2011-06-24T13:20:00.001-04:00

Jeff had a seminar to drive to in Bentonville in mid-June, and we decided to make a mini-vacation out of it by leaving on Friday instead of Monday and all of us going with him. It turned out to be sort of a bizarre vacation, but we had a lot of fun.

We started in Fishers with a sushi dinner. Here is Minnie chowing down on her first sushi. Overall, she seemed to like it...kind of. She had more fun poking the California rolls than actually eating them, but that's okay. Props to her for trying it out!

Then we drove to Collinsville, Illinois, where we spent the night.

In the morning, our adorable little girl was dressed and ready to go to our next adventure: Cahokia Mounds State Park! Minnie is walking now, but isn't too sold on wearing shoes yet.

But Minnie loves UNESCO World Heritage Sites! The mounds were very cool and, although it was ridiculously hot out, we had a great time. The craziest thing is that no one really knows much about the prehistoric people who built the mounds or why they did it.

Here we are on top of Monk's Mound, the largest one at Cahokia. You can't tell from the picture, or even when you are standing at the bottom of it, but this mound is huge, huge, huge. It is bewildering to think that people carried 60 lb baskets of dirt to build this mound...for three. hundred. years.

We love Cahokia!

This sort of gives you an idea of how high it was. The road at the bottom of the stairs? That's only terrace two. The street perpendicular to it is still much, much, much farther below.

Minnie seemed to have fun in her stroller. First she did this.

And then this.

And then, every parent's favorite.

Minnie is a very light sleeper, but she was so exhausted from Cahokia that when we took her out of the stroller and put her into the car seat, she never woke up. I wish I could hold her like this allllll the time. She is so precious.

Happy Mommy, happy baby.

Then we drove to St. Louis. My mom was still working, so we stopped off at the Science Center for a while. Minnie got a kick out of watching the cars zoom below us on the bridge.

More fun at the Science Center.

By the end of it...she was wiped.

The NEXT day, we took Minnie to the most magical place in the world--the Magic House! It is a Victorian home that has been converted into a children's museum. My parents took me here when I was a little girl, and we took Amanda here when she was a kid, and I was pretty much over-the-moon to take my little girl here too.

And Minnie--Minnie had a blast.

My favorite part of the Magic House is the "Little Bit of Magic" 1-6 years old area. It was so much fun to watch Minnie go crazy over all the things to see and do. Little spaces to crawl through, little doors to open, slides to go down, buttons to push, a water table to play with...I have never had so much fun watching someone else have fun.

(Also...having watching this video again, I realize that Minnie doesn't really look like she's freaking out, but she is. Minnie's normal is just really, really, really chill.)

This was my favorite thing about the Magic House as a kid. Inside this little door is a little mouse family and you can see what they are doing. I LOVED this as a kid. Minnie, of course, doesn't know what mice are and was way more interested in opening and closing the door than looking inside, but I didn't care. It was so much fun.

Minnie fell asleep on the way home from Church the next day.

On Monday morning we said goodbye to my mom and sister, crammed the lovesac they gave us into the van we rented, and drove down to Bentonville, Arkansas. The highlight of the day was having dinner with a high-school era friend of Jeff's and two friends from his mission. We had a great time but didn't take any pictures.

On Tuesday Jeff had his seminar. Minnie and I took him to the site and then hung out together all day (...which is pretty normal for us, even if the location wasn't).

Minnie loves to play with her dad.

After some nap time at the hotel and a late check out, we went downtown to the Walmart Visitor's Center (because Walmart, if you didn't know, began in Bentonville).

This was an interesting thing to go see. Regardless of what you think about Walmart, you have to admit that Sam Walton did a pretty amazing thing. Also, there was a display of things that have been returned to Walmart with the reasons given for the return, including a "possessed" hand mixer, a fishing rod that didn't catch fish, and a leaky thermos that was made in something like 1965, five years before Walmart ever sold them and was returned in 1983. Not even kidding.

Then, because Jeff still wasn't finished with his seminar, and I had some things I needed...we went to...Walmart. I know, right? But there you have it. Anyway, I wondered if the Bentonville Walmart would be especially...anything, but it wasn't. It looked like any other Walmart, and there was only one thing there that I had never seen before at Walmart:

Shaquille O'Neal.

No, I don't know why he was there. Very surreal.

Once Jeff was done with his seminar, we had some dinner and began drive home. We passed Joplin, Missouri on the way and decided to get off the highway and see how things were there.

It was pretty sobering. If you haven't followed the news much, the tornado cut a path of destruction that was a mile wide and six miles long. It killed around 150 people and was the worst single tornado to hit the US in the last 60 years. It destroyed approximately a third of the town (~pop. 60,000).

We didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't this. We visited 2-3 weeks after the tornado and you almost couldn't see any clean up efforts. I know there has been a ton of aid sent to Joplin and a lot of volunteers, but the destruction was so severe that you couldn't even tell anything had really been done. The farther we drove into it, the more shocking it was. The pictures do not do it justice. There was absolutely no end to the devastation. Entire homes were gone, trees were ripped out of the ground...we saw all these homes with half their walls gone and possessions lying on the ground, and I wondered, what do you even do? You must want to salvage everything you can...but where do you even take it? To a tent or a makeshift shelter or public building that has been turned into a place to stay? How do you get it there? Your car is destroyed or gone. How did these people even survive? Most of the homes we saw were missing the majority of their walls and didn't have basements. They were lucky to escape with their lives--lucky there were only 150 casualties.

We knew the stake center had been in the path of destruction, so we decided to check it out.

Apparently the Church had been putting a lot of work already into the chapel's clean-up effort. The rest of building was demolished and the only saw these remnants of the family history center and some classrooms as evidence that this really was the stake center.

Across from the Church was Joplin High School, with an inspiring, makeshift message.

The next day, as we continued the 10-hour drive back home, we stopped for lunch at Pizza Hut. While we were there, we asked one of the other patrons if he knew of any cool caves nearby. He said he wasn't from the area (he was only visiting for work), but he could recommend a few caves, including the ones at Meramac Stake Park, just down the road...because it turned out that he was a cave biologist. RANDOM.

So we went to the park. We explored two of the smaller caves on our own, including Sheep Cave, as pictured above.

And we went on a tour of Fisher Cave with a guide and some flashlights and it was very, very cool. (Minus the part where a bat flew in between the guide and me and I involuntary squealed and the guide asked me if I was ok...*sigh*)

We had dinner at a swanky bar and grill in Effingham and finally got home at 11pm, exhausted but happy.

2011-06-01T13:32:00.000-04:00

"Simply to wake up just in time to smell the coffee and bacon and eggs. And, again I cry, how rarely it happens! But when it does happen--what a moment, what a morning, what a delight!" --J.B. Priestley

2011-05-31T15:55:00.002-04:00

During World War II, Americans saved their bacon grease so they could turn it in for extra meat ration coupons. Munitions factories used the bacon fat to make explosives.

Mississippi Lock #19

2011-05-31T15:31:00.001-04:00

This Memorial Day, Jeff and I checked something off our bucket lists. (We don't actually have written-out bucket lists. But we do have a paper plate of destinations we'd like to visit. Anyway--the point is, we had wanted to do this for a very long time.)

We kayaked down the Mississippi River and went through Lock and Dam #19, at Keokuk, Iowa.

Of course no hardy adventurers go alone, so we enticed two of our favorite friends (Peter and Nichole) to dare death and dam with us. We were also aided on our sojourn by a willing all-day babysitter for five, kayaks for our friends from other friends (our rack isn't big enough to bring enough kayaks with us from Indiana), and hearty support from the (senior) Ivies.

Nichole looks so athletic in this picture. She's even pregnant in it. Can you even believe her?

We began by launching from Gray Point Rest Area and headed down stream. Unfortunately, we didn't anticipate the grueling wind that was whipping the surface of the river north...instead of south. So we had a fine time crossing two miles of the Mississippi (through very choppy canal water that proceeded to thoroughly soak us all) and then beating our way south against the wind for two miles.

Also, Jeff lost his paddle once--Peter is retrieving it above. And Peter lost his hat 5+ times on the trip, eventually giving it up as a causality.

But we finally made it to the dam!!

Jeff celebrates!

Alisha and Nichole with the Keokuk Plant in the background.

Nichole and Jeff put the chain that alerts the Army Corps of Engineers that someone has arrived for lockage.

We thought the getting-through-the-lock part of the trip would be harrowing, but it turned out to be fairly simple (AND THRILLING.)

Straight forward directions.

Waiting for the lock gate to go down and for the whistle to proceed into the lock.

Entering the lock!

The descent (about 30 ft) was quick and smooth. Nichole held onto the ladder and "walked" us down it as the water dropped and we both polished off a Subway six-inch. Kayaking is hard work.

The lock opened at the other end.

Looking back into the lock. If you look carefully, you can see Nichole and I (Alisha) making our way through.

A better look at the enormity of Lock #19. We were only a few feet from the top when we entered the lock. It was just enormous.

Fun Fact: At the time Lock 19 was completed (in the early 1900s) it was second in length only to the Aswan (low) dam on the Nile River.

Nichole and Alisha exiting the lock.

Jeff paddling to the walkway, where we were pleased to visit briefly with Bro. and Sis. Ivie, who came down from Nauvoo to cheer us on in the venture!

Once we were through the lock, we docked and had some/the rest of our lunch and attempted to dry out a little bit.

VICTORY!

Our trip continued down river about 5 more miles to Warsaw, Illinois. On the way, we ran across one of the many islands in the Mississippi and decided to take a look around.

This felt very Robinson Crusoe-like, although we noted that Huck Finn-like was much more appropriate. We explored around for a bit and decided that it was a kayak/camping trip in the making.

Hillams!

Ivies!

Peter thought Nichole needed a bath, but Nichole apparently felt otherwise.

Beaver.

From the island we launched again and continued on the adventure. We found lots of sunning turtles and an abandoned barge-pusher which looked like it had been a restaurant at one point. We paddled through mangrove-like flooded forestry, saw numerous houses on stilts, and were very tired and relieved to finally arrive at Warsaw at 4pm.

Yes, we were sunburned, hungry, wet, dirty, stinky, tired, and had an evening of cranky, napless children ahead of us. And yes, we had an amazing time.

Adventures: 1

Old Man River: 0

2011-05-20T21:01:00.000-04:00

"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon." -Doug Larson

"Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear." -Aesop

(What on earth did Aesop have against bacon??)

Kitchen Calamities

2011-04-20T12:01:00.002-04:00

I recently had a bubble-over disaster with my ceramic cook-top. I don't remember what I was making, but it was a milk-based sauce of some sort and it bubble right over the pot and onto the burner. Not good at all. But I had to finish dinner, so I didn't clean it up right away. Later I tried to scrub away at the burn stain, without much luck, so I have been avoiding it since then.

Today I took a good, disheartened look at the burner. It looked like there wasn't even anything to scrap off...just a huge, nasty discoloration on my beautiful, new, gloriously glossy black cook-top. It looked burned into the cook-top. Awesome. I ruined our brand-new expensive stove that I only talked Jeff into because it was on sale (in our price range) and was supposed to draw-in buyers when the time comes to sell the house. Big nasty stains do not draw in prospective buyers.

I decided to look up the warranty information on the stove and also some tips on cleaning it. I found quite a number of tips and one of them involved something I already owned! I went to work: I applied the magical cleaning substance and hoped for the best. After a quick phone call to Jeff and a surprisingly easy new car registration on myBMV.com (really, amazing), I went to scrub at the stain. This is what happened:

Do you see that? It is GONE.

Ok, so there are a few water stains I still need to work out of there. It turns out that a ceramic cook-top is fabulously cool to own and fabulously difficult to keep clean and streak-free.

But look at it again. The entire top half of the burner was covered in an ugly brown stain. I would have taken a picture of it but I didn't think it would come out like that and it is pretty embarrassing to take pictures of formerly-beautiful, expensive objects you have destroyed.

Take a closer look.

This didn't even take elbow grease. I just scrubbed it like a freshly dirtied dish.

It was amazing.

And who do I have to thank?

My trusty friend BAKING SODA, a warrior on stains and despair.

Being a new homeowner and thus invested in taking care of my home has opened my eyes to the amazingness of baking soda (and also often vinegar). I could have purchased Cerama Bryte or Bon Ami or Bar Keeper's Friend...

But my friend Baking Soda did the trick on it's own.

Then I wiped the cook-top down with this, to eliminate those nasty water streaks.

Once I was done with all of that, I had another unpleasant surprise: there was a worm on the kitchen floor. A worm. How did a worm get into my house? This is the second time this has happened. It wasn't even by the door--it was writhing over by the fridge. Both times.

So I have about worms, and I know it's sort of irrational, but worms really gross me out. I mean, they make my stomach turn. I think my worst day of Biology in high school was the day I had to make up the earthworm lab that I had missed due to absence and therefore had to conduct alone, without my trusty lab partner who always did the icky parts. I was especially upset to find out that my teacher had placed all the worms for everyone else himself, but he made me reach in the bucket and grab one, so I actually had to touch it because I couldn't say no and look like a total loser over a worm. And I did survive the experience...but it sort of makes me want to barf when I think about it. Anyway, there is not a picture of today's worm because I freaked out and got it out of the house as fast as possible (without actually touching it myself).

Then I bleached the floor.

Which sounds excessive, I know, but it really was only coincidental (though convenient) that I bleached the floor after the worm, because the real reason is that we have had an ant problem lately, which is also super gross (although not on the same level as the worm). Bleaching the floor and counters has made a huge difference in deterring the ants (who swarm this time of year). The other thing that has made a huge difference is buying Terro ant bait. I know I could probably make this myself, but the convenience of sticking the little traps outside the house, near the kitchen and back door, without having to deal with it again, totally sold me. And then sold me again, because the ant problem is all but gone. I find an occasional scout, but that's it. And that is a beautiful thing.

On a totally different note, I am looking into making my own taco seasoning. I found recipes here, here, and here. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any fabulous recipes I should know about?

Bacon and...sugar?

2011-04-19T14:04:00.000-04:00

A friend sent me this article recently. I read it last night while waiting for Jeff to be ready for bed, and I have to confess...it made me hungry. I'm not sold on the sundae though (just the bacon). I fall into the category of "people who are repulsed by salty and sweet in the same dish". What do you think about it? What other bacon-and-sweet concoctions have you tried (or repelled)? Should this even be allowed? Are we prostituting our bacon?

Some Shameless Self-Promotion

2011-04-18T08:11:00.000-04:00

Make sacrament meeting or any other reverent/quiet time easier.

Both Minnie and the kids we sit next to at church love these books, personally designed by yours truly.

Get yours today.

Church History's ABCs Quiet Book

Gospel Numbers Quiet Book

Gypsies and Pioneers

2011-04-13T07:07:00.001-04:00

For Hungary Lovers: "Hungarian gypsy bacon is bacon that is cured with spices and pig blood before it's smoked. It can be served uncooked or cooked and sprinkled with paprika."

The pig blood part is really gross, but I admit I'm intrigued by the idea of bacon seasoned with paprika. I don't think we had any bacon the whole time we were in Hungary (though I did have a fabulous bacon-wrapped chicken breast at Dva Jelena in Belgrade in Skadarilja), but even if we had, it wouldn't have been gypsy bacon since everyone in Hungary/Europe hates and shuns the gypsies. (You've made racial slurs about them too. Or haven't you ever been...gypped?) Also, the pig blood part is gross.

For Pioneer Descendants: "The pioneers who journeyed west in covered wagons brought bacon with them for sustenance."

Because Happy Valley wouldn't be Happy Valley without bacon.

We have obstinately turned the heat off at our house because spring is here and we are tired of throwing our cash at our furnace (we've elected to throw it at our car instead). We do this twice a year and it is lovely to throw the windows open and have the scent of flowering frees waft through the house. The down side is when we wake up, like this morning, and it is only 36 degrees outside and our house is cold, cold, cold. But the sun is coming up over the vinyl village and it promises to be a beautiful day (I'm hopeful). I am going to play with my baby, clean out the garage, and decide which plants I am going to rip out of the front yard. Delicious.

[Postscript: why do we have a "front yard" and a "backyard"? Also, you know how the latest trend is to make an outdoor room out of your backyard? Someone should do an HGTV show on people like our neighbors, who are determined to make an outdoor room out of their garage and driveway. They have a fully outfitted bar in their garage, complete with a flat screen tv. What the heck?]

2011-04-12T17:15:00.001-04:00

"Most night before I go to bed, I will lay six strips of bacon out on th George Foreman Grill. When I wake up, I plug in the grill. I go back to sleep again. Then I wake up to the smell of crackling bacon." --Michael Scott, The Office

What's in Your Fridge?

2011-03-30T10:09:00.001-04:00

"Fifty-three percent of American households always keep bacon in the refrigerator."

I wonder a little about what this means. Really, they always have bacon? That many people do? Do they mean the fridge part of the refrigerator or the freezer too? How did the apocopation "fridge" end up with a 'd' in it? Dictionary.com tells us that "fridge" comes from "refrigerator" or "Frigidaire" around 1925-1930...still suspicious, if you ask me. Do you know where the word "groggy" comes from? It's a hoot.

It's snowing today and I'm glad. I feel like it's good punishment for everyone who has been loudly whining since early February about the weather. I don't like cold weather and snow either, but we don't have to be babies about it.

We don't keep bacon around here, unless you count a couple of old half-eaten packages in the back of the freezer. I only buy it if we need it for dinner or we're planning a fancy breakfast. I only recall eating bacon twice this month--both times at a restaurant. Shocking, I know. It's sort of like Moderation Management. If I only have it in public, social settings...well, it's just better that way. (Sad but true.)

(For the curious: Jeff likes it chewy; I [only] like it crispy. [purist.] A cooking conundrum. I have not mastered Amy's talent of frying both.)

Is it in your fridge?

2011-03-28T10:35:00.001-04:00

"More than two billion pounds of bacon are produced in the United States each year."

A Louisville Adventure

2011-03-27T14:17:00.000-04:00

A week or two ago we went to Louisville. It was warm and we had a great time. The pictures (mostly) speak for themselves.

Yes, we did.

We gave her a faux-hawk.

First Birthday Extravaganza

2011-03-26T19:59:00.000-04:00

"Extravaganza" might be exaggerating a little bit...

...unless you're the excited birthday girl!!

....who likes to pinch Mommy's nose.

We kept things pretty low-key for Minnie's first birthday (on March 9). Minnie and I played together all day (when she wasn't napping). We had ricotta and spinach tacos for dinner and then we fed Minnie her birthday cupcake (because she refuses to feed herself). She loved it. If you're really into Minnie watch the (long) video here. (Mostly only Minnie's ancestors are really going to be interested.)

After cupcake time, we moved on to opening presents! Minnie got a new car seat and a Church History's ABCs book from Mommy and Daddy. She also received this shapes bucket from her Ur-Oma and Ur-Opa. And she loves it.

Her Oma sent her a Three Little Pigs play set. Here she is, chomping down on the third little pig (atta girl, Min! go for the bacon!).

Peeking into the first little pig's house.

This might be my favorite Minnie pose. She loves to cock her head and look at people. She thinks it's hilarious when I mimic her, which is kind of funny, since she picked up the (exaggerated) habit by mimicking me.

Fun books and clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Heavilon!

And a color magna doodle!

Grandma and Grandpa Hillam sent Minnie two presents, one of which is this big box.

A big box! The best birthday present ever!!

Clapping for the uber-cool car seat from Mommy and Daddy. (I know, we just rock.)

Inside the big box was a tree house playground. Minnie is a little small for it right now (ie, is not agile enough to do a lot on it), but she likes what she can do so far.

Climbing!

After the present festivities, we stripped Minnie down and gave her another cupcake. We didn't expect her to eat it (and she didn't really), but she had fun demolishing it.

Tasty cupcakes.

She played.

We fed her some more.

She had a great time.

So did we.

Happy first birthday, Minnie. We love you, little girl.

A Poll

2011-03-24T12:56:00.000-04:00

"A recent poll showed 51 percent of people liked crispy bacon, 19 percent liked chewy, 23 percent liked both, and 4 percent liked burnt, while 3 percent don't eat bacon."

What do you like?

The Most Important Question

2011-03-16T11:12:00.000-04:00

"There is really only one thing that's important to ask yourself when you're about to put something in your mouth: Does it taste like bacon? ...If not, then liberally douse it in bacon salt; only then should you put it in your mouth." --food.aol.com

The Used Car Scene

2011-03-14T11:14:00.000-04:00

I know that really what everyone wants to hear about is Minnie's birthday--and by that, I know that really everyone just wants to see the cake pictures. Well I hope to get that up here this week...but right now I am busy. However, I have something to share that you all really need to know about.

Jeff and I bought our first car this week. It's a Nissan Altima, and although it is silver (like every other car I have EVER owned), we love it. We also got it for KBB trade-in value and the dealership lost $1200 on their investment in it (yes, their investment--not the sticker price. they showed us their paperwork on it in an effort to get us to go higher). Part of that was accidental, part of that was luck, but the biggest part of that was the fact that we educated ourselves before we went to the dealership. We test drove a number of cars and looked up a lot of car information online, but the MOST helpful information was found on this website: Beat the Car Salesman. This is SUCH a great website. It tells you everything you ought to know in order to successfully buy a car at a good price--and it is completely free! I seriously recommend checking this out, even if you've purchased cars before. It made an enormous difference for us (and you know how Jeff is already an amazing salesman!).

And, so your conscience can rest easy, you'll be happy to know that our salesman is paid by his number of sales, not by commission. He makes $100 a sale, so he was more than happy for his GM to approve our price--it didn't hurt him one bit. And a further acknowledgement--he was an excellent salesman (we hadn't intended to buy that day) AND he was completely honest.

The Queen of Garbage, the Queen of Refuse...

2011-03-03T19:41:00.000-05:00

Is there a future occupation here?

Onion (and Garlic) Bagels

2011-02-22T15:35:00.000-05:00

Jeff and I painted the office this weekend. It is a lovely killim beige--just like the living room. It's weirdly dark in the office now, but otherwise delightful.

Because the painting/putting the room back together/etc. took a couple of days, today was the first day that I had a clean downstairs again, much to my relief. To celebrate, I decided to make bagels.

But since I apparently can't just make boring old normal bagels for the first go, I made onion and garlic bagels. This presented some challenges and the endeavor ended up taking most of the day, but it was generally fun. I think they turned out pretty well, all things considered.

I don't have any pictures of the bagels. Or the newly-painted office. Or even of my cute baby. But I do have this.

I ran across that while I was looking up recipes to figure out how to best incorporate the onion and garlic.

It is very random and makes me very happy.

Projects, Minnie, Running, and Other Things

2011-02-15T16:11:00.001-05:00

We have been busy bees in the Hillam house lately. Here's a brief recap of our fun adventures, in no particular order.

First of all, we suspended our home improvement activities for autumnal enjoyment outdoors and for the holidays, so we are finally getting back into the swing of things now. We started off by FINALLY installing a ceiling light in our bedroom--our dear previous owner took his with him when he left and we have been using a broken floor lamp in the interim. Three light switches and two sets of light bulbs later, we are good to go! (Note: CFL dimmables and dimmer switches just don't work. Oh well.)

The other big project we embarked on was painting our living room!

Here I am, taping the old buddy down. Note the awful, awful orangey wall.

More of the hideous orange wall and the boring white wall.

As it turned out, I basically painted the whole thing--two coats--by myself. We got behind on our day and the taping took a long time and then Jeff had a meeting at church, so he took Minnie with him and I stayed home and painted for five hours (albeit including dinner). Jeff did help at the very beginning and end, however.

Here is the beautiful finished product!

I realize it sort of doesn't look that different from the hideous orange, but in person it is really different. Also, the fireplace wall and the wall on the left of it were the only ones painted in that color--everything else was white. Now it is all killim beige and it really looks fabulous in person.

More of the great new paint (previously all white).

Of course, our couches look even worse now than they did before, but you can't win/buy everything.

We plan to paint the office (next to the living room) very soon also, but we're going to a concert and the temple this week, so probably not immediately.

The other biggest things going on around here all have to do with Minnie: she is exploding with new skills! Apparently the switch just went on, because in the last week she has started crawling, pulling herself up to standing, saying "Mama" (she doesn't know what it means yet, but it is her first "word" if you will), and is getting her third tooth. She is more curious and adventurous and a lot more vocal about what she likes and dislikes too. What fun!

We had a nice Valentine's Day together--Minnie's first! We had a family celebration: we had a yummy dinner together at home of chicken with lemon and garlic (and shallots and paprika), asparagus with parmiggiano reggiano, and roasted red potatoes with rosemary and garlic. Delicious. Then we baked heart-shaped cookies together, Jeff did an FHE lesson on what Valentine's Day is, and we made lists of things we all love about each other while we nibbled holiday-appropriate candy. Jeff also sent me a bouquet of GORGEOUS tulips. I LOVE them!

Also, not related to Valentine's Day, but coinciding with it, my mom sent me a Washington University in St. Louis sweatshirt!! (That is where she works--it's not totally random.) My youngest sister got one for Christmas and I was sort of jealous when I saw it while in St. Louis last week...and my request for a future birthday or Christmas present showed up early!! There's a cute hoodie for Minnie too, for next winter...thanks Mutti!! What a great surprise!

Finally, the ice melted off the roads yesterday, so today I ventured out for a run with Minnie bundled up in the stroller...I had intended on running around 3 miles--sort of a baseline three-times-a-week running goal for me--and because Minnie fell asleep and it was nice to be out and I found that running with one hand pushing the stroller and the other arm pumping gave me a close approximation to my stroller-less running rhythm, I decided to push on past what felt like about 3 miles. I intended to do something around 4 miles, but I guess I'm not too great at distance calculation because I ended up going 5.8 miles! Woo hoo! This is a REALLY big deal because, though it is not a very long distances, it is a major record for me. Before today, I had never run father than 3.5 miles in my entire life. As I ran, I was thinking about my goal of running a half-marathon this spring and I was feeling sort of uninspired and incapable of reaching that goal...in fact, I reasoned to myself, well, maybe I should just shoot for a 10k next instead. But I practically ran a 10k this morning...so half-marathon, here I come!

From the Bacon Calendar

2011-02-14T09:56:00.000-05:00

"In the twelfth century, an English church promised a side of bacon to any married man who could swear before God that he had not fought with his wife for a year and a day. This is where the term "bring home the bacon" originated."

In case you wanted to know.

some inspiring words

2011-01-31T21:20:00.000-05:00

Spencer W. Kimball, “President Kimball Speaks Out on Personal Journals,” New Era, Dec 1980, 26

His journal was 33 black binders on the shelves of his personal study when President Spencer W. Kimball was called to be President of the Church in 1973. Since then, he has frequently counseled and exhorted members of the Church to keep personal journals.

On a number of occasions I have encouraged the Saints to keep personal journals and family records. I renew that admonition. We may think there is little of interest or importance in what we personally say or do—but it is remarkable how many of our families, as we pass on down the line, are interested in all that we do and all that we say.

Any Latter-day Saint family that has searched genealogical and historical records has fervently wished its ancestors had kept better and more complete records. On the other hand, some families possess some spiritual treasures because ancestors have recorded the events surrounding their conversion to the gospel and other happenings of interest, including many miraculous blessings and spiritual experiences. People often use the excuse that their lives are uneventful and nobody would be interested in what they have done. But I promise you that if you will keep your journals and records, they will indeed be a source of great inspiration to your families, to your children, your grandchildren, and others, on through the generations. Each of us is important to those who are near and dear to us—and as our posterity read of our life’s experiences, they, too, will come to know and love us. And in that glorious day when our families are together in the eternities, we will already be acquainted.

Would every family, as they now hold their home evenings, train their children from young childhood to keep a journal of the important activities of their lives, certainly by the time they begin to leave home for schooling and missions?

From time immemorial the Lord has counseled us to be a record-keeping people. Abraham had a book of remembrance, and Adam had one. You may think of them as not being as highly educated as we are, but they were well-trained people. Adam spent much effort being the school teacher for his children. He and Eve taught their sons and daughters. He taught them the gospel in their home evenings, and he taught them reading and writing and arithmetic. And they kept their books of remembrance. How else do you think Moses, many hundreds of years later, got the information? These records had been kept, and he referred to them and got the history of the world, which wasn’t in any library other than that. Can you see your responsibility?

Early in the American life of the family of Lehi, his son Nephi said: “Having had a great knowledge of the goodness and mysteries of God, therefore, I make a record of my proceedings in my days. …

“And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge.” (1 Ne. 1:1, 3.) This great record included not only the movements of his people, but his own personal life.

When the Savior visited this continent following his resurrection, he commanded the Nephites and Lamanites to bring their records up to date. He said to them: “Behold, other scriptures I would that ye should write, that ye have not.

“And it came to pass that he said unto Nephi: Bring forth the record which ye have kept.

“And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before him, he cast his eyes upon them and said:

“Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them: Was it not so?

“And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord, …

“And Jesus said unto them: How be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minister unto them?

“And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written, … therefore it was written according as he commanded.” (3 Ne. 23:6–13.)

I am glad that it was not I who was reprimanded, even though mildly and kindly, for not having fulfilled the obligation to write the records and keep them up to date.

And again in our day the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph Smith, “And again, let all the records be had in order, that they may be put in the archives of my holy temple” (D&C 127:9).

You should continue on in this important work of recording the things you do, the things you say, the things you think, to be in accordance with the instructions of the Lord. Your story should be written now while it is fresh and while the true details are available.

Your private journal should record the way you face up to challenges that beset you. Do not suppose life changes so much that your experiences will not be interesting to your posterity. Experiences of work, relations with people, and an awareness of the rightness and wrongness of actions will always be relevant. Your journal, like most others, will tell of problems as old as the world and how you dealt with them.

Your journal should contain your true self rather than a picture of you when you are “made up” for a public performance. There is a temptation to paint one’s virtues in rich color and whitewash the vices, but there is also the opposite pitfall of accentuating the negative. Personally I have little respect for anyone who delves into the ugly phases of the life he is portraying, whether it be his own or another’s. The truth should be told, but we should not emphasize the negative. Even a long life full of inspiring experiences can be brought to the dust by one ugly story. Why dwell on that one ugly truth about someone whose life has been largely circumspect?

Your journal is your autobiography, so it should be kept carefully. You are unique, and there may be incidents in your experience that are more noble and praiseworthy in their way than those recorded in any other life.

What could you do better for your children and your children’s children than to record the story of your life, your triumphs over adversity, your recovery after a fall, your progress when all seemed black, your rejoicing when you had finally achieved? Some of what you write may be humdrum dates and places, but there will also be rich passages that will be quoted by your posterity.

We hope you will begin as of this date. If you have not already commenced this important duty in your lives, get a good notebook, a good book that will last through time and into eternity for the angels to look upon. Begin today and write in it your goings and your comings, your deeper thoughts, your achievements, and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies. We hope you will do this, our brothers and sisters, for this is what the Lord has commanded, and those who keep a personal journal are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives.

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=f5f3ba9ff599b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1

The Moms I'm Not

2011-01-24T16:05:00.000-05:00

Once you get behind on blogging fun family activities, it's hard to get back into it. Do I laboriously go back and document every funny thing our baby did, all the events we went to, things we have done...or do I just skip it all and start with the most recent? I have been opting for "delay that decision" for quite a while now (almost three months!), but after reading this post by my friend M.C., I decided that I wanted to proceed forward without worrying about the lapsed time (and events) and stop making everything a spectacle of pictures. My favorite blogs aren't about pictures at all.

But then I didn't have anything else to say, so I still didn't post.

Today, however, I read a post on a friend's blog (which is private so I can't link you to it) which got me thinking. Actually, I had also been thinking about this for a while, but had only discussed with Jeff.

My friend, Charity, wrote about the kind of mom that she is/wants to be and the kind of mom that she is not. I have been thinking about this a lot too. There are a lot of "mom"s that I am not. I am not a working mom, and as a 20-something American woman, that is sort of unusual (let alone that I am a mom at all in my 20s). That I stay-at-home is more typical in the LDS world, however, I am not your typical Mormon Mommy either.

I am not a crafty mom. I rarely make crafts and I neither own nor have ever made a wooden block and then attached a saying to it. I would rather travel somewhere and buy something in a bazaar or market with which to decorate my home.

I am not a sewing mom. I can sew (I took two semesters of it in high school), I just don't, outside of occasional mending. (It might be a little different if I owned a sewing machine, but I doubt it.)

I am not a green mom. I don't cloth diaper, I don't make all my own cleaning supplies. Props to the moms who do. I made powered laundry detergent once and had fun doing it, but ultimately, the brand I like is about the same in cost and doesn't involve the work.

I am not a Twilight mom. This is probably not a surprise to anyone who knows me, but what might be a surprise is how I feel about it: I think Twilight is ridiculous. A page-turner, yes, but the woman didn't even keep her tenses straight in the book. Furthermore, I think she sets poor expectations for young girls about what love is (and what the difference between love and lust is...) and I think it is shameful to see married women swooning over book characters instead of their own husbands--women who talk about how they would run off with Edward or the other guy if they could. If a woman is doing that, there is something wrong with her marriage.

Erm, but I usually keep that opinion to myself, because I probably have fewer friends now that I have actually said that.

I don't judge if you read it (unless you are one of those married women I mentioned before, since, obviously, I did just judge you), because I read Nancy Drews, which are also not exactly high-quality fiction (let alone literature). But I also don't confuse Nancy Drews with literature. (And not everyone confuses Twilight with literature either. Amy, I don't think there is anything wrong with you reading Twilight and I respect your opinion about books.)

(This is why no one would ever want me in their book club, and why I am not likely to ever join their book club anyway.)

Well, enough of the accidental rant. What kind of a mom am I?

I'm a teaching mom! Being the nursery leader gives me a wonderful opportunity to teach my pre-nursery baby. Like Elder Perry's mom, I practice all my lessons on her during/after lunch. She loves the songs, the finger plays, the activity verses, the pictures. I love that I am preparing her for nursery and that I am teaching her the Gospel. There is nothing about this that doesn't make me feel good.

I am a writing mom. I am lucky enough to have a husband who values my talents and wants me to develop them. He helps me de-clutter the house at night so that I can spend an hour (or more) of nap time working on my poetry, book chapters, etc. instead of cleaning up the house.

I am a running mom! (I'm not very good at it.) I just got my new Yaktrax in the mail and am about to take my stroller and my shoes to the ice and snow. I never thought this would be me, but it turns out it is. Running in races is a thrill and I love to train outside. No more dreadmills for me.

I am an organizing mom! I LOVE this. File cabinets, shelves, folders, boxes, bins--I'm sort of obsessed with it. One of my top favorite feelings in the world is the joy I get from filing papers in neat folders or sorting items into organized bins. I really really really love this. I'm sort of obsessed with keeping a clean house. Not because I care what you think about my house. Because it makes me so happy to see a tidy room. (If you stuck with me past the Twilight rant, you're probably done with me now...haha. Oh well. Amy, I know you're still with me.)

I am an experimental mom. I am new at all this, so I am still figuring out what works for me and for my family and what doesn't. Making my own baby food works for me. Making my own laundry detergent doesn't. Keeping my house (close to) spotless works for me. A weekly playgroup wouldn't (ours is monthly). I like planning our meals, cooking them, figuring out how to do food storage our way. I like trying all these new mom things and seeing what I like, what my family likes, and what is good for us. I love to read to my little girl, to (attempt to) teach her basic life skills (haha, like walking), to take her with my everywhere I go, to sing her songs, to be silly to make her laugh. I'm going to learn to garden this year, and if I like it, I'll do it again next year.

This is, ultimately, the bottom line. I believe that motherhood is what you make of it. I don't feel bad about any of the moms that I'm not and you (if you're a mom) shouldn't either. There is nothing wrong with being a crafty mom. Those things are all good things. But they're not me, so they aren't good for me. I really think you have to be true to yourself. As Jeff always says, your first priority is your children. Your second priority is yourself. I think you have to find what makes you happy and then pursue it--whether it is crafting, or cooking, or sewing, or exercising, or reading, or writing, or home renovation, or volunteering, or photography, or working, or whatever. If you try to make yourself be a mom that you aren't--especially if you don't want to be that mom--well, this is not good. If you aren't passionate about it and you don't feel passionately that it is in your family's best interests...then who cares? The mom down the street? Who cares what she thinks?

It's not about being what you think others want you to be. It's about being what you want to be and what the Lord knows you can be.

Which is why I will love any and all comments to this post, but I don't need them to feel good about what I'm doing with my life. :-)

That said, I am going to shovel the driveway, finish a poem, make dinner, and go for a run.

The Indianapolis Colts

2010-11-13T21:17:00.000-05:00

We went to the Colts vs. Texans game!

None of us had been to an NFL game before. To be honest, watching one Superbowl in St. Louis, back when the Rams were in it one year, and attending one Homecoming game in high school was all the exposure to football that I'd ever had. Oh, and playing flag football in gym class in high school, but you can imagine that I was not exactly the MVP there (although I did score two touch downs in one game because I just stood in the end-zone and the football team's quarterback threw me the ball since no one was guarding me because I "don't do sports"...I was pleased as punch, but then the other team started blocking me and that was the end of my football career). So I went into this event with a mild amount of skepticism. However, I did the same with my first ever MLB game and it turned out that I love baseball, so one never knows.

Minnie was enthralled with the entire Lucas Oil Stadium affair. Bright lights, huge fans, throngs of people...fascinating. Here she is staring at one of the Jumbotrons. Since we don't have a tv and strongly discourage Minnie watching tv or other screens (click here to find out why), she'd really never seen anything like that before. You basically can't avoid screens there, so we let her stare away.

But she was excited about the game too.

Waving the flag up and down for the "oh, say does the star-spangled banner yet wave?" part. Cool effect.

Cute husband.

Happy wife!

FAMILY!

In addition to the Jumbotrone, lights, sea of blue-clad people, fans, etc., Minnie also enjoyed staring at her dad and his sweater.

And sucking her thumb. Poor little girl--this game was broadcast on Monday Night Football, so it started later and ended later. The game didn't even start until after she is usually in bed.

But she still had fun!

So cute.

This was something important. I don't really know what--it took me most of the game to be able to follow where the ball was at any given time (I did say that football was not my thing). But Jeff spent the whole game explaining things to be and I think I got it by the end. Either way, we had a super time!

Anderson Speedway

2010-11-12T15:39:00.000-05:00

On October 30th, Jeff, Minnie, and I took part in a time-honored Indiana tradition: going to the racetrack. In this instance, it was the Anderson Speedway, home of the Little 500. We were invited up to a suite through a contact of Jeff's...who happens to be the speedway manager. We showed up for the last races of the year. Since none of us had been to a racetrack before, we were not entirely sure what to expect, but figured we'd go have the experience and see what happened.

Turns out, we had an awesome time! We watched the time trials, picked out favorite cars, and rooted for them all the way to the finish line!

Also fun: going down to the track...

AND RIDING IN THE PACE CAR.

Alisha. In the pace car.

Halloween

2010-11-02T20:51:00.000-04:00

Alisha = a tulip

Jeff = a lawn

Minnie = a rose

Pumpkin Carving

2010-11-02T20:35:00.000-04:00

We almost didn't get our pumpkin carving in this year...it's been a crazy month. But when we realized it was passing us by, we decided to make it an immediate priority!

I picked a pattern and carved it for the first time in my life.

Also, we (opened and) used the pumpkin carving kit that Jeff has owned I think since before we got married.

I guess it's obvious that we aren't big Halloween folks.

This is what Jeff carved.

Weird, I know.

Not nearly as good as my cool Scared Face! Aaah!

Except that, actually, Jeff's idea was the most brilliant and creative ever!

This was absolutely hilarious.

Mommy and Minnie-kin

Daddy and Minnie-kin

The Stare Down.

Haha...the poor kid hated it. She was tired and cold (terrible, I know), and was not very enthused about sitting in a squishy, cold pumpkin. She was definitely not into smiling cute for mom and dad, so we didn't even take any pictures of her in the pumpkin out on the front porch.

But it is so cute!!

Covered Bridge Festival

2010-11-02T20:11:00.000-04:00

In keeping with our goal of enjoying October and the fall season to their fullest, we went to the Covered Bridge Festival this month!

We spent most of our time driving around Parke County and seeing a lot of the different bridges. None of us had ever been before, so it was a lot of fun to go see them.

Heheh.

The fun occasion was augmented by the gorgeous weather and trees. They don't hold the festival in October for nothing!

Family at a bridge!

When she wasn't asleep in her car seat, Minnie loved the bridges too!

We bought some sassafras candy.

Turns out it's awesome.

After a morning of bridges, we spent the afternoon in Bridgeton, exploring the excessive number of booths, tents, and festival shops. We ate some of the best ice cream in the world, introduced Minnie to this creepy fellow (not scared), and bought a Baggage Claim sign from the old Indianapolis Airport. (Pictures to come. It is too, too cool.)

We had a fantastic time...can't wait to go again next year!

Laundry Helper

2010-11-02T19:19:00.001-04:00

Candid.

2010-11-02T18:50:00.000-04:00

One of the things we stayed occupied with before Frank's memorial service was looking through family photos to find a good picture of Frank for the service and to put together a slideshow of photos of him. This was a really therapeutic sort of activity (at least for me). It also impressed upon me the value of candid pictures. They sometimes seem unimportant at the time, but I think they gain a lot of value when the people/places/events/memories aren't accessible anymore. So, here are some of the candid pictures from the week I spent with my family in St. Louis.

No doubts about this one--my grandparents playing with their first (and so far, only) great-grandchild. Automatic important-photo-winner.

It is so cute.

Minnie loves my Uncle Pete. We don't really know why she loves him so much more than she does anyone else in the family, but she really does. (Not that Uncle Pete isn't 100% loveable, but where her preference is coming from is not really all that clear.)

My grandfather, my sister, and Frank's mother all doing...something.

Minnie and her Oma

Gosh this kid is cute.

And (my) Oma read to Minnie. And it was the cutest ever.

(And, if you knew my Oma, the most appropriate thing ever. No one loves books like this woman does.)

Lastly, here is the obituary that Washington University in St. Louis published about Frank. It is really a wonderful article. Frank was a remarkable person, personally and professionally.

my Franky-Hanky-Handerkerchief

2010-11-01T10:18:00.003-04:00

Well, I haven't updated in a while. Partly because I've been busy, but partly because I feel like I should be documenting important life events, and we have a life event this month that I really haven't known what to say about and I haven't really wanted to deal with it.

My stepfather, Frank, died on October 4th. He was 48 years old. He wasn't sick, he didn't have an accident, and we didn't see it coming. On the night of the 3rd he had a massive cerebral hemorrhage. Just hours later--probably less than hours, to be honest, he was brain dead. Less than 24-hours later, the doctors did their tests to certify he was brain dead and gave him a time of death, we gathered together as a family and said goodbye, and he was taken off life support and away for organ donation. And that was it.

Then we went home to try to pick up the pieces of our lives and put them back together.

When my Grandma died six months ago, we knew it was coming. The doctors predicted a massive stroke was coming and it did. She was mentally deteriorating too. It was clear that it was time, and though it has been difficult to deal with, none of us were surprised by it, or could say we were really, selfishly, upset about her leaving us, because--though we all would prefer to still have her with us--it was so obvious that this was better for her and that it was time.

But that's really just not the case with Frank. None of that is true for him. And he left a wife who's not 50 yet, and a 16-year-old daughter, so there are really no words about how this "is better" somehow. It isn't better and it doesn't make any sense. It just is. So this has been difficult, to say the least. Which is why I haven't know what to say about any of it. I had time to really evaluate my relationship with my Grandma and to outline in my mind what I would say about her, how I would describe my relationship with her to my children, or anyone else. But with Frank, every time I try to think about what to say, I can't get past the shock of it all. I can't find some eloquent words to describe what he meant to me and to our family. The best I can do is this, and I suppose it gets at the heart of how I feel.

Frank was my stepdad for almost twenty years (I don't even remember meeting him) and he loved me like a daughter. Everyone that I met at his memorial service thought he had three daughters, instead of one and two stepdaughters. When Minnie was born, one of the things that was terribly important to me was that Frank would not be "Frank" to my children. I wanted him to be Opa, to be a grandfather as equally as any of her other grandparents, and it meant a great deal to me that Frank stepped into the role of Opa with his whole heart. Frank loved Minnie like she was his biological granddaughter. He loved her just as much as any of her other grandparents do. And that's really the crux of the whole matter. A lot of really wonderful things can be said about Frank, and many were said at his memorial service, but what really matters--for me--is this: Frank loved me and my daughter. And he didn't have to.

Meeting Minnie, three days old

Indianapolis Indiana Temple

2010-10-02T21:51:00.004-04:00

I have consciously waited for today for thirteen years.

Today was the first day of the October 2010 LDS General Conference. Jeff and I were watching it at the chapel, as usual (since watching it at home is a recipe for wasting your time and getting nothing out of it...at least for us). One of the things I appreciate about President Monson is his habit of reporting on the temples at the very beginning of the first conference session. He informed us all of the recently dedicated temples and I was surprised to hear that they were completed already. Then he announced that there would be five more temples, and Jeff and I exchanged impressed glances. The Church has slowed in its temple-building, but five at a time still seems to be standard (five more every October since Pres. Monson became prophet)--and impressive. The first location he announced was Lisbon, Portugal--where our friends Alyse and Carlos are living--very cool! He continued with, "Indiana-"...and that's when I think my heart stopped beating. Because there is only one place in the world that starts off that way. Indianapolis, Indiana. We are getting a temple. We are finally getting a temple.

So then I cried.

I didn't even hear the other three locations. I just sat there, totally overwhelmed with gratitude.

I was not expecting this announcement. Though there has been some talk here and there around the state about getting a temple in Indiana, it wasn't much more than it always had been (which was a fair amount, but generally unsubstantial in realization). "Oh, there is some land that the Church owns that might be good for a temple down in Carmel." "Chicago is so far away. I wonder when we'll finally get a temple in Indianapolis." That sort of thing. I personally thought I had two good reasons for not expecting one soon, the first being a conviction that we Hoosiers needed to step-up our temple attendance in our current temples before we deserved anything closer, and second, President Monson has indicated that the Church is working to get most of the Church within 200 miles of a temple. With temples in Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, Louisville, St. Louis, and Nauvoo, Indiana has its share of "nearby" temples. Surely the good people of somewhere else needed a temple more than we did. Our friends in Budapest, for example, travel eight hours (one way) to the Freiburg, Germany temple. Three hours isn't much compared to that.

I won't reject the gift though! I don't know if we deserve a temple more than other people in the Church do, but I am beyond grateful that we are getting one. Everyone from Indiana that I know has longed for a temple for a very long time. We were one of only twelve states in the US without a temple. This is such a huge thing. My grandparents joined the Church in 1971, and shortly thereafter the Washington D.C. Temple was completed. The next closest temple built was Chicago, Illinois, in 1985. Chicago is still their district...for now! What an awesome and happy thing for my grandfather to see. My grandma would have been tickled to pieces at this news--and probably is, in the spirit world. They spent so much of their later lives building up the Church in Indiana. So many people I know have spent their lives doing that and this is such a magnificent blessing in return. It is really an incredible feeling. It is so overwhelming and wonderful. I, myself, have hoped and prayed and waited for this for a long time.

Here is the news article announcing it.

I have no idea what else President Monson said this morning, but the song immediately after he spoke was "We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet," and it felt very, very, very appropriate.

We thank thee, O God, for a prophet

To guide us in these latter days.

We thank thee for sending the gospel

To lighten our minds with its rays.

We thank thee for every blessing

Bestowed by thy bounteous hand.

We feel it a pleasure to serve thee

And love to obey thy command.

When dark clouds of trouble hang o’er us

And threaten our peace to destroy,

There is hope smiling brightly before us,

And we know that deliv’rance is nigh.

We doubt not the Lord nor his goodness.

We’ve proved him in days that are past.

The wicked who fight against Zion

Will surely be smitten at last.

We’ll sing of his goodness and mercy.

We’ll praise him by day and by night,

Rejoice in his glorious gospel,

And bask in its life-giving light.

Thus on to eternal perfection

The honest and faithful will go,

While they who reject this glad message

Shall never such happiness know.

Sleeping like a baby...

2010-09-29T16:41:00.003-04:00

Seriously?

6 months

2010-09-28T06:27:00.000-04:00

Minnie is six months old now. Actually, she is almost seven months old. But whatever.

At her six-month doctor's appointment, she weighed 12 lb. 13 oz. (5th percentile) and was 25 inches long (30th percentile).

We obviously gave her the right name.

She is now rolling and wiggling a lot more, has started to sit unsupported (when she feels like it), still loves staring at everything around her, and has started eating solid foods. We started with peas, which were not a big hit (she actually gagged), but she's gotten over it and is now very willing to eat peas, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash. She loves to eat.

Not that you would know by looking at her.

it's alimentary, my dear

2010-09-27T18:57:00.000-04:00

Eight years later, this still makes me happy:

The Alimentary Canal
by me

Into the mouth the yummy food golus,
And is formed by the tongue into a big bolus!
Down the esophaus, past the closed epiglottis,
Into the stomach with whole lot mucus!
Juices and pepsin join into the froth,
All mixed together, they make a great broth!
Churning and churning, and then the appearance
Of the pyloric sphincter, giving chyme clearance!
Now into the duodenum, it's time to absorb!
With help from the liver, that's shaped like a gourd!
The pancreas decreases the acid amount,
And chyme's tickled by villi - too many to count!
After the cecum, the colon sucks out some water,
And the appendix does nothing, it simply won't bother.
The feces are left; they're stored in the rectum,
Out through the anus, the toilet collects 'em!

Grandpa Hillam Visits

2010-09-18T21:33:00.011-04:00

September has graced us with another fun visit: Jeff's dad came for a weekend!

Our fun adventures with Brad included some baseball throwing, a trip to Chicago, a new high chair for Minnie, a yummy Japanese dinner, and lots of fun talking and Grandpa-granddaughter time.

Minnie + new highchair = adorable (and very useful)

Grandpa had a great time feeding Minnie (and Minnie loved the eating!)

Pendleton Fall Heritage Festival

2010-09-11T19:32:00.020-04:00

Today we went to the Pendleton Fall Heritage Festival! What exactly this festival had to do with heritage was not really clear, beyond the general heritage of American festival fun--elephant ears, deep fried foods, little booths selling crafty things that no one needs--that sort of thing. But since that is our American heritage, we went and had a good time. (Actually, we love local little cultural festivals like this no matter where we are...they are just as much fun in Hungary as in Indiana!)

One of the more amusing things about our day was how many people commented on Minnie's adorableness. We think it was the sunglasses that did it. People comment and talk to Minnie no matter where I go with her, but it was really excessive on this particular outing. Literally every other person we passed exclaimed over her cuteness. It was fun. :)

We had a great time, but she was (apparently) sort of unimpressed.

Then she fell asleep.

(Which everyone found even MORE adorable.)

Good times, elephant ears, cute couple in love, sleepy baby...

What's not to love?

Also, we showed Minnie ducks.

And showed her how to drive.

This kid is way too cute.

Conner Prairie

2010-09-05T15:51:00.000-04:00

If there is one thing I love...it is Conner Prairie.

Before this, I'd actually only been to Conner Prairie once before, in fourth grade. But it's the concept of Conner Prairie that I love. As well, as it turns out, actually going there.

So when my mom and my sister Amanda came to visit over Labor Day weekend and wanted to go to Conner Prairie...well...it was pretty much the best day ever.

I was not disappointed.

Minnie sees her first cow!

We also examine said cow.

Minnie tied to the horse hitch.

I pumped water!!

Herb house!!

Jeff + Alisha = true love

Daddy and baby!

Mommy and baby!

We played hoop rolling!

It took me a little longer than Jeff to get the hang of it.

We also played graces. If you have never been hoop rolling or played graces, you are missing out.

Admiring William Conner's amazing backyard.

See? Seriously amazing.

Jeff took Minnie all the way down it so she could have fun on the big hill.

This is what we found when they got back.

They had an animal name chart!!

I know--this seems sort of weird to be excited about, but Jeff and I both find the random and complicated forms of names for animals to be totally absorbing. So this was very exciting and would have been useful a few months ago, back in Ohio, when we had a long drawn-out discussion over what cows vs. oxen are.

Oh, Conner Prairie, where were you when we needed you?

Jeff threw a tomahawk! He loves that.

THEN we went to an Indianapolis Indians baseball game!

It was great. There is just nothing better than the atmosphere of a baseball game: warm, smells like hot dogs and popcorn, spending time with family, watching the great American sport...I love it.

best day ever.

this is called minimal effort.

2010-08-17T16:33:00.000-04:00

Well, time flies. It's been over a month since I posted. Minnie is 5+ months old now and is a regular charm. We finally put her in 3-6 month clothes and they are still too big for her...but the 0-3 month jammies were too short in the legs and feet, so we packed it all up.

We also closed on our house, bid a not-so-fond farewell to Ohio, and moved in. We have had a lot of plumbing repairs to do (which we anticipated) and are now in the process of painting, unpacking, and settling in. The house is a crazy mess and we are hemorrhaging money, but being a homeowner is a very good feeling. We painted Minnie's room first and I am very happy to finally have the opportunity to do Minnie's nursery the way I wanted to...and not the nasty, box-filled way I had to do it in Ohio. We also went to Utah and celebrated Lauren's wedding...good times!

Basically, life is good and we are busy and I am more interested in scanning old family photos than I am in doing any detailed blog post...so...sorry. :)

four months

2010-07-17T10:03:00.000-04:00

that was then.

this is now.

time flies.

minnie turned four months old on the 9th.

she weighs 12 lb, 9 oz (25-50th percentile)

24 inches long (50th percentile)

visiting the pod people

2010-07-14T18:00:00.000-04:00

One of the things we did in June was entertain my visiting mom and stepdad (Minnie's Oma and Opa) by visiting the pod people.

The pod people, as we affectionately nicknamed them, are two local art students, Jessica and Mike, who are living in an art exhibit: a floating pod, called Indianapolis Island, on a lake in the Indianapolis Art Museum. You can read more about the project, called Give and Take, here. Indianapolis Island is part of a new exhibit at the museum, called 100 Acres, which is (sort of obviously) 100 acres of grass, lake, trails, and outdoor art. (Not unlike Laumeier Sculpture Park, my stepdad gleefully pointed out.)

The pod from another artwork on the shore of the lake.

One of the fun things you can do with Indianapolis Island is write a message, put it in a bottle-like mini-pod, pictured above, and launch it into the lake. The pod people (heheh) collect the mini-pods and post the messages (along with other things) on their blog. The main link to the blog is here and the messages for the day we were there is here (it's not too hard to figure out which one was from us).

One of the other fun things to do at the Indianapolis Island is go visit the island. When the flag is up, the students give tours via rowboat to 100 Acres visitors. While we waited for our turn to visit the pod, Minnie played with her Oma and Opa.

Minnie and Opa

Minnie and Oma

The island from the little beach where we waited.

Going to the pod!

Only a few of us fit in the rowboat, so my mom, Jeff, and I went, and Frank and Minnie stayed on shore.

Arriving at the pod.

Jessica showing us the sleeping and trading areas of the pod.

Pod Kitchen.

After our pod adventures, we visited the rest of the IMA.

One of the coolest contemporary exhibits featured tons of tiny people, with arms upraised...

...to hold you up.

Very cool.

Visit to the pod people: 100% success.

little ladybug

2010-07-14T16:28:00.000-04:00

"I love my mommy!"

"I love my mommy a little less right now."

Hahaha

I love this kid.

our little sweetpea

2010-07-14T16:07:00.000-04:00

can you even believe how adorable this outfit is?

mommy and daddy's little princess

2010-07-08T21:24:00.000-04:00

Can you even believe how cute she is?

Also: we finally have a closing date. July 20. Homeownership, here we come.

June

2010-07-07T23:15:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I failed at the blog in June. I am not really all that bothered by this, so I won't make excuses. But I will tell you what we have been doing.

We left Ohio, for one thing. We left almost all our belongings behind, took a few days off for a visit to Nauvoo, and then settled down (temporarily) in Fishers, Indiana. We are staying with my oh-so hospitable uncle until we are able to close on our house. This effectively means we three are living in my 18-year-old cousin Molly's room. It's a nice room. We are grateful to have a place to stay. (We have not really displaced her--she spends most of her time at her mother's house.)

Our house closing is creeping along. It is not really clear why our bank won't give us, all at once, a list of documents and information they need in order for us to obtain our mortgage and close on our house. Instead, they play a cruel game in which every few days they demand obscure files and threaten to cancel the whole deal if the files are not produced within x-number of hours. Thank you, Fifth Third, for ensuring that our mortgage was all we had ever feared it would be.

On those days, when they have crushed closing-date dreams and demanded more paperwork, those days, it is sort of depressing to be living in Molly's room.

But all is otherwise well. Jeff is in love with his new job. Serious love. He has gone on his first business trip already and consistently looks forward to going to work. This is a fabulous change from his Sherwin-Williams experience. For my part, I am enjoying the fact that someone is paid to clean my uncle's house (and it is not me), giving me even more time to pursue my own interests. I have been avidly working on my various family history projects, spending time with my Grandpa, and planning all sorts of fun things to do with and in our new house. I also take care of all the desperately imperative demands of 5/3 Bank.

Minnie is doing well and growing like a (in Jeff's words) creepy weed. She turns 4 months old on Friday and is just starting to out-grow her 0-3 month clothing...she's a tiny little princess! She smiles up a storm, is starting to do the same with her giggles, and is the happiest, chillest baby I've ever met. She is starting to figure out rolling over, loves seeing and snuggling with her Mommy and Daddy, and is finally taking naps again (which is savior of my sanity). She's obsessed with sucking her thumb and it is so cute (she would never take a binkie).

We just finished up with a fun visit from Jeff's mom and brother, are about to head off to Seattle for my aunt's wedding (just Minnie and I), and at the end of July we'll be adventuring in Utah with Jeff's whole family for his sister's wedding. Somewhere in between all of that we are supposedly going to close on and move into our house, but you never can tell about those things.

The Hillams Leave Ohio

2010-06-02T17:19:00.000-04:00

As the title of this post suggests, we are moving. Again. This is our seventh move in our marriage. We've only been married for three years. So that's fun. But moving stresses aside,

WE ARE EXCITED!!

But since we only moved to Ohio five months ago, you are probably wondering why on earth we are leaving already. The (short) answer is this: Jeff got a new job. He was offered a position with HDP, which is part of a company called Keter. He is the product manager and the job is better in every single way. He will even get to do some traveling to Israel and he gets an iPhone. What else do you need, really?

Well, one thing that you need is somewhere to live. We mulled over this problem for a bit and decided to buy our first home. We spent several days looking around and finally found a house that we love and feel great about. It is a HUD home, so last night we put a bid on it, and today we found out that we got it!

AND WE ARE EXCITED!!

Of course, the last-but-not-least part of all this good news is that all this happiness and excitement will be going down in the humble paradise known as Indiana! We are VERY excited to be going back home. We will be living just outside Indianapolis, on the northeast side, and not too far from Jeff's job in Anderson. so, basically our lives rock.

A Great Culinary Myth

2010-05-13T18:38:00.002-04:00

I have recently been adding fondues to my repertoire of dinner meals. Fondue is easy, versatile, and marvelously tasty. Fondue is love.

But finding fondue recipes also incurs the usual question of what to do about the alcohol in most of the recipes. Some people choose to replace the alcohol with another liquid, or leave it out completely if it's a small quantity. Other people don't worry about it, because the alcohol cooks out, leaving only the flavor. And many other people are not LDS/Muslim/recovering alcoholics, so the alcohol question is totally moot (it's a moo point...you know, like a cow's opinion...it just doesn't matter).

I myself have usually taken the "the alcohol cooks out" route, but I have never felt entirely comfortable with it. It's a funny gray line. Even if there's no alcohol consumption involved, as a Latter-day Saint, is it really avoiding the appearance of evil? Or even more basic: do I really feel good about supporting the beer & wine industries when I think that drinking is wrong? But what difference does it make if I'm not actually consuming the alcohol? The Word of Wisdom does not address these questions and I never felt clear on the issue. Well, the other day, as I was copying down fondue recipes from Rebecca Brown's blog, I decided to do a little research and find out once and for all, what the story is when cooking with alcohol.

My research uncovered this: one of the greatest culinary myths today is that alcohol cooks out of food. It does not. The USDA, in conjunction with various universities and institutions, has researched this and found that, contrary to popular belief, it is not even just trace amounts of alcohol left. The most recent release by the USDA can be found here, and on page 12 (page 14, if you are looking at the total number at the top of the file; page 12 if you are looking at the numbers written on the document itself) it lists the various tests done. In flambe, a whopping 75% of the alcohol is retained. In foods in which alcohol is added and then baked or simmered (like fondue), after 15 minutes of cooking, 40% of the alcohol still remains. After two hours, 10% is still there. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't let my fondue simmer for two hours before I eat it. And if I did, I would still, unequivocally, be consuming alcohol.

I was rather shocked to find this out (who knew?!), but facts are facts, however poorly known. It also lands me firmly in the camp of teetotalers. This is a little sad, since the Melting Pot is one of my favorite restaurants, and this new information will seriously limit my choices there...but I can always make fondue at home. (And we do.)

Of course, if you aren't a Latter-day Saint/Muslim/recovering alcoholic/teetotaler, this is more or less irrelevant information, except for two points: 1) the calories from the alcohol are still there (if you care about such things), and 2) if you're drinking at the same time, you could unwittingly put yourself over the legal driving limit.

For anyone else interested (unless I was the only totally uninformed person out there), here are some links that may be of interest:

"Does Alcohol Really Cook Out of Foods" by the Bariatric Resource Center - This article includes the above information as well as a list of possible substitutes for recipes that call for alcoholic beverages.

"Dispelling the Greatest Culinary Urban Myth" by cdkitchen.com - This article details more about the experiments done.

"Alcohol does not 'cook out'" from the blog "My (earnest, irate) thoughts" - An interesting account of a Muslim convert who also dealt with this issue and successfully ate at the Melting Pot (a good reminder to all of us Mormons that we are not the only ones who abstain from drinking).

And, for anyone who missed it above, here is the USDA's latest (2007) release on this issue.

A last issue: cooking wines. Jeff and I are sort of ignorant about drinking, so this not-cooking-out thing sparked the question, "What about cooking wines?" I didn't know what the difference was, so I looked that up too. For anyone else who didn't know, cooking wine has just as much alcohol as regular wine does. The difference between the two is that cooking wine has salt it in. Upon opening a regular bottle of wine, the alcohol will oxidize and turn into acetic acid, which makes it into a vinegar and not at all nice to drink. This is why wine can't be stored after it is opened. Salt is added to cooking wine to prevent the conversion of alcohol to acetic acid, because cooking wine is generally used infrequently and needs to be store-able. So yes. Cooking wine is just as alcoholic. Happily, however, wine vinegar is in the clear (since the alcohol has all oxidized).

Sound Asleep.

2010-05-12T15:35:00.005-04:00

Minnie Wears a Pillow

2010-05-02T23:36:00.000-04:00

Jeff caught a fish...

2010-04-28T15:25:00.001-04:00

...and it was THIS big!

A Trip to Columbus

2010-04-25T14:59:00.022-04:00

Yesterday, for the first time since Minnie was born, we were able to go to the temple! We drove to Columbus and I went in to do some sealings in my effort to finish all the work for my six-generations of ancestors. When I was done, Jeff went in to do some initatory. It was wonderful to be able to be back at the temple and was a great experience for both of us (even if we couldn't do it together this time).

The Hillam Family at the temple.

After we were finished inside, we took a family stroll around the temple.

And Minnie barfed. Out her mouth and nose.

Because we're good parents, we took pictures before we cleaned her up. Poor kid.

Daddy and Minnie

"As we touch the temple, the temple will touch us." --Pres. Thomas S. Monson

Minnie and the temple flowers.

Mommy, Minnie, and temple flowers.

Then we went to visit Jeff's cousin, who lives in Columbus and whom we adore. We had a wonderful time hanging out and had a marvelous dinner at Red Lobster. While visiting, Jeff put Minnie in his shirt.

As I predicted, she barfed inside it.

And then Jeff shared his rendition of giving birth, which was rather unlike how I remember it.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

2010-04-23T14:35:00.029-04:00

Jeff got free tickets to a Dayton Dragons minor league baseball game, so we took Minnie out to her first ballpark experience and celebrated the commencement of spring and baseball season!

Being new to Dayton and all, we were surprised to find that we personally knew the lucky Daytonian who threw the opening pitch. The gray-haired man in the shirt that says "Dragons"? Say hello to Dale Drollinger, my ob-gyn.

Random.

We discovered that minor league games have much sillier and more amusing entertainment during the game, such as these Senior Village People. We also noticed that going to minor league games gives allows you to get far nicer seats than major league ones--we were seated directly behind the Dragons' dugout.

Minnie was, on the whole, somewhat less impressed with the whole thing. She did this for most of the game.

Sometimes she mixed it up and slept without a finger in her mouth.

One time she tried to catch a free t-shirt.

She didn't succeed.

The awesome closeness of our seats to the field.

Minnie and the Dragon mascot Gem.

Minnie may have been underwhelmed by the game, but Jeff and I had a great time! We'd never been to a baseball game before together, but both of us love the sport and the atmosphere that goes along with it, so we filled up on cotton candy and ballpark franks and loved the whole thing.

Definitely the way to start off the summer!

Pinkalicious

2010-04-18T23:45:00.000-04:00

Minnie.

Pink. Adorable.

A bow the size of her head.

Love it.

Wakin' Up is Hard to Do

2010-04-16T10:40:00.001-04:00

This is maybe the greatest face. Ever.

We so love this kid.

2010-04-13T23:08:00.000-04:00

in memory of Mary Frances

2010-04-11T17:38:00.001-04:00

When I was five years old, my parents divorced. When I was six years old, my dad, sister, and I moved to Indiana and lived with my grandparents. I grew up there, in the same house my grandmother grew up in. Living with my grandparents changed my life.

My grandmother, Mary Frances, was never in good health, and on March 29, 2010 she suffered a severe stroke. She never came out of it and died on April 6, 2010. Her funeral was on the tenth, and part of the service included a time when those in attendance could get up and share their memories of her. I did not have the composure to do so at the time, but if I had, this is what I would have said:

Grandma was a woman who made her weaknesses into strengths. She was sick for most of her life, and she took that trial and, instead of becoming embittered by it, became cheerful. She had a great deal of compassion for others’ suffering. She never complained about the physical sicknesses and limitations that she faced. She lived for years without the ability to drive, paint, sew, read, or even play cards. Occasionally she would comment that she wished she still could do those things, but she never complained.

Another weakness in her life was the loss of her mother when she was ten years old. Like her illnesses, she could have become bitter at the life she led without her mother (and subsequently her father) and with a foster mother who was good to her but also very difficult to live with. Instead, however, she had compassion on others who needed homes and someone to look after and love them. She and Grandpa had dozens of people come stay with them during their marriage and she acted as a mother figure to even more people. Not only did my grandparents bring me into their home, but my Grandma acted like a mother to me in every way possible, while still being careful to not usurp the role she felt rightly belonged to my mother. She was both compassionate and considerate.

My favorite memory of my Grandma is from October 2009. Jeff was in El Paso to perform a baptism and I went to Frankfort several nights in a row to spend time with my grandparents. While I was there, I spent hours reading to Grandma the WWII letters that Grandpa sent to her. Those were special moments for me. I loved reading these adorable, romantic letters to her and seeing her relish the sentiments as much as she must have when she first received them. The first letter I read was the one in which he enclosed her engagement ring and expressed the wish that he were there to put it on her finger himself. The second one we read was the first one he sent after they were married, once he had returned to active duty from furlough. She cried. I cried. She expressed her gratitude for being married to the wonderful man that Grandpa is, and for the nearly 65 years of happiness that they had together. She told me that she hoped I would be as happy with Jeff as she has been with Grandpa, and she felt that I would. It was special to me to see that side of her and her profound love for my grandfather—she was still giddy as a schoolgirl about him. It was special to be able to share mutual happiness in our marriages as two women. It was an experience than meant a lot to me and I hope that at the end of my life, I will have had such a happy and rewarding marriage and life as my Grandma did. I hope that at the end of my life, I will have made as much of a positive impact as she did on so many people’s lives, and that I will be as loved by my family, friends, and especially my spouse as she was. No one could ask for more.

So begins a new chapter in my life. I am a new mother to a baby girl, and have lost the woman who mothered me through my childhood and teenage years—and beyond. Grandma was the best person I have ever known. I don’t really know how I am going to go on without her. My grandmother was my biggest champion and greatest example. Whoever else makes it, I know she is going to the Celestial Kingdom, and that is reason enough to strive to achieve the same thing. Her death on April 6^th is a reminder to me of the Savior’s birth on the same date—without whom we would have no hope of atonement or resurrection. Because He lived and died and was resurrected, I will be able to see my Grandma again. I can hardly begin to envision what life will be like without her, and knowing that I will never be able to talk her again in this life is more sad and troubling than I can express…but I will see her again. It is only a matter of learning to live without until then.

This is the last picture of the two of us together. It was taken in May 2009, just before Jeff and I took her and my Aunt Helen on a nostalgia tour of Clinton County to see where Grandma grew up and used to live before she moved to the farm.

She had a great time. So did we.

I especially love these pictures because, though the hat and glasses may look a little silly, Grandpa insisted she wear them to keep protected from the sun. Always looking out for and loving her.