Sparkle - Aha. My college friend is a massage therapist who does reflexology and belly mapping. The Peace Corps friend, who knows? Funny when 3 of my not-connected friends are all connected to one person, though.
Real, I weaned both babies at 21 months. I don't think our household would be compatible. 
I agree, a medal, a statue, a Day in your Name when all this is done.
On the Mizunos, what the heck? That's too many complaints in a small sampling. How do you end up in a shoe that does this to you?
Plady, hope the back is working with you. Mine seems to have taken a short reprieve and it sure is nice. It could be the yoga and strength exercises kicking in, I suppose, and not just the will of my back.
Mel38, welcome home, and I covet your running ambition.
RM, I get it with the big decisions and stress. None would be wrong, any could come with could-have-should-haves, and ultimately I hope it works out for you, too.
JenLove, how close are we getting to kids? As in goat babies? I am SO going to cry over pictures. Speaking of, "our" farm's listing shows a sale is pending. *sniff*
Gaye, I know for you this has been a long time, but it still feels like such a whirlwind. You're a nurse! So awesome.
RR: Very short walk this AM. Hoping for a second walk this PM.
NRR: Made a huge pot of the Number One Very Best Soup In the World, Ever. And wrote 2000w today. Hoping to salvage some thousands from earlier drafts now, and might soon be back around 25000w on this thing. It will kill me or make me stronger, and I am not willing to die just now. An acquaintance here whose first novel is on shelves just got picked up by another publisher for a second book. His words are so kind and encouraging and self-depracating, it is hard not to hate him, but also hard not to use the encouragement as a prod.
Recipe, please!
Recipe: Moroccan Harira
Soak ½ lb dry chickpeas.
Cover 1 small chicken (or some thighs, or some lamb meat, or both) with 3qt water. Add salt, pepper, half a lemon and some smashed garlic. Cook until meat falls off bone, discard lemon, separate meat and stock.
Add the following in this order to simmering stock:
Chickpeas
1 large onion, minced
½ tsp black pepper
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
pinch saffron
* Pause and cook until chickpeas start to come around
½ pound green lentils, rinsed and picked over
* Cook until tender
Small can tomato paste (I use tetrapak box)
Meat, diced
Handful broken vermicelli
2 fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 small bunch each, cilantro and parsley, chopped
Thicken with flour or cornstarch and water
Can substitute rice for pasta if desired
Serve with a squeeze of lemon
Meryem had 4 bowls so far since she got home from school.
Jo - We really aren't sure. We were thinking late February, but DH is worried sooner. We've been researching pictures and I know it's not imminent. I'm predicting whenever we get a Feb. blizzard. :) Sorry about your farm. :(
Sparkle - Good luck getting those eggs gone! How maddening!
Yesterday I did 30 minutes of yoga booty ballet before going to town with Dh. We went to se Mission Impossible 4 (which is filmed in Dubai :)) and out to eat Thai food. <3 We followed it up by hanging out at his parent's house watching the GOP debate. There's proof we are getting old. :P
Today we're cleaning house and installing a washer and dryer - finally!
Made a huge pot of the Number One Very Best Soup In the World, Ever. And wrote 2000w today. Hoping to salvage some thousands from earlier drafts now, and might soon be back around 25000w on this thing
and 
The soup looks good.
Real ~ wow, that sounds like quite the organizing project. Must feel good to know exactly where you stand in the yarn department though. Nice run too 
.
JenLove ~ I can't wait to hear about your baby goats when they arrive. Congrats on the washer/dryer.
Jooj ~ Mmmmmm... that soup sounds delicious !
DH accidentally pushed the "hour" button on his clock last night when he set the alarm, so we unknowingly got up at 5:15 instead of 6:15. Doh! I am actually enjoying the extra quiet time for myself and he decided to hit the YMCA before work instead of after. It's a win!
Our stray kitty came in this morning smelling like hay and manure. He must be spending time in someone's barn. For some reason, this makes me smile 
.
DH and I are busy planning our future somewhere else, but can't decide where. Any Dingos live within 20 minutes of a military installation and think it's a great place to live and raise children. Preferably somewhere with low-ish property taxes 
. So far we're considering Colorado Springs, Denver, Cheyenne, WY, York, ME, Virginia coast, and moving back to Bloomington, IN. More ideas please!
Ugh I just posted a huge long post and it evaporated. 
Anyway. JayGee, I think there is at least one military installation near me (Westover and Hanscom?). Western Mass has tons of great stuff to offer: beautiful small towns, mountains, winter and summer outdoorsy stuff galore (skiing, hiking, running, trails, biking, etc.), much lower property taxes and housing prices than the eastern part of the state. Some of the areas have excellent public schools and there are also a ton of interesting private alternative options. Also a bunch of colleges and one large university (UMass) makes for a very vibrant intellectual and cultural vibe. Amherst and Northampton have a lot of organic farms, CSAs and the like and there is definitely a culture here of valuing environmental sustainability, etc. The Berkshires are an hour's drive -- Tanglewood (summer home of the Boston Pops Orchestra); Vermont and Maine are within a couple hours for skiing; Montreal is 5 hours away if you want to get your French Canadian culture thing going; Boston is under two hours away, NYC is a little over 2 hours away. The Cape and Islands are a bit over 2 hours away for summer vacations and the beaches on the north shore of Boston even closer.
We landed here more or less by accident and it's a very nice place. Also, I'm here. 
Quick but intense 6 on the mill this morning. I didn't get a long run in yesterday as we were in Boston putting on dh's Heartbreak Hill 5 Miler race (publicity race mainly for the opening of his triathlon's registration this week). It was fun -- not too many people did it, but they were very enthusiastic and it went over great. The finish was at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir which is just a block away from where we used to live (and I used to run around that reservoir every day!). And then we went to my friend's house in Wellesley for a couple hours -- she was one of my best friends in college. You know how some people just fill you up and make you feel like you're home? That's her and it was so awesome to spend time together again. 
GaYe, what do you do with ds when you are on night shift?
Visit with my dad yesterday after work went better than expected.
Off to work this morning and a P90X work out after. Loads to do today.
Bbl
What does this fishing line calculator cost? I'm not super organized, although all my scraps are balled up and in an under the bed shoe container, in rainbow order. It must mean you are still on semester break?
You know how some people just fill you up and make you feel like you're home? That's her and it was so awesome to spend time together again.
Yes. This. I have one friend who is like that locally and she isn't a super close friend at all. But every time I see her my heart is so lifted. I really should make more time for that. But our lives don't cross paths all that often -- she doesn't ever leave her kids. Ever. I think its a hold-over from a bad childhood. And my kids don't love the intensity that is her middle child (who happens to LOVE Leah Lu). So.....maybe calling her today.
A SUPER fun weekend here. We don't have lots of snow on the ground at home (as in -- snow here and there, but mostly brown grass). We picked up our kids a few hours early from school and drove north 2 hrs. There's usually 30-40 inches of snow on the ground there, but this weekend was ~6-8 inches (we'll take it!). Cold enough that the lake was frozen and the lodge owner got the plow out and plowed a skating rink (yes, that means there's >8 inches of ice on the lake so you can drive on it). We went xc skiing, ice skating, hot tubing and spent the weekend in a cabin. It was an all inclusive thing and they had live musicians on sat night. My kids were beat, especially leah lu, so we bailed early. But it was so fun! Then we came back and went to xc ski lessons locally. So that makes 4 days in a row of physical exercise. YAY!
Now. Back to writing classes and finishing up xmas decoration clean up and prepping for a very busy spring semester. 4 more days of vacation, then over a week of meetings and then the classes begin.
I complain about the low property taxes because of the schools (I would rather pay more and give it to schools), that said, the schools are very neighborhood dependent, so you can certainly find "good" schools. I was thinking of mentioning my town when you mentioned the Springs, as they are very similar, minus the intensity of religion and with more diversity here. We live at the base of a mountain range with loads of trails for running and biking, and skiing on the back side of the mountains about 30-40 minutes away. There are lots of kid-friendly things to do (same as everywhere, I imagine): great zoo, kids science museum, tons of sports, botanic gardens, etc etc. There are also a huge mix of peoples and neighborhoods; you can find a neighborhood that resonated with you, your values and interests, which might not be the case in a different neighborhood. The foothills (at the base of the mountains, where you can run out your back door onto trails) tends to be more white, less funky, a little more suburban, while the area around the university is more funky but also boutique-y (i.e. cute street with independently owned stores, a walkable neighborhood, etc, but a 15-20 minute drive to the foothills for trails). The "north valley" is lush, with lots of ranches and horses and animals of all kinds, lots of big trees, and of course the Rio Grande running right through the middle of it all (supplying all that water), and more of a mix of funky and conventional. I will say that the overall aesthetic of the town is gritty. It is the high desert, so looks dry compared to most places, and that takes some getting used to. Also, the architecture for me took some getting used to. If you can look past that, the people are awesome, sensibility is great, quality of life is high (not rat racy 
)
You have an excess of milk (2%) and fresh eggs.
Also a request for "rice but not the plain stuff dad makes" (white basmati).
In our pantry we have split peas, lentils, red quinoa, regular old brown quinoa, bulgur, brown rice, sticky rice, Dad's special white basmati rice, chickpeas, black beans, and probably almost every thing you'd need to make any kind of basic sauce (we do cook from scratch a lot).
What do you make? I'm looking for ideas to meet the "excess milk + eggs" OR rice. Kids don't eat rice pudding.
Limitations: no tomatoes of any kind (oldest doesn't like them and I wonder if she has an allergy). Spicy is not always better (but if it is something that can be made spicy / bland in two parallel pots I'll do it for the sake of the younger eaters).
What's in the veggie drawer?
What's in the veggie drawer?
carrots, beets, rutabega, onions, garlic, green chives, cucumber, potatoes, winter squash
Grate the potatoes, grease a pie pan, toss the grated potatoes with oil and salt, press into the bottom of the pan and bake @375F for the time it takes to prepare:
mix 6-8 eggs, a good amount of milk (1/2c-1c), and mix up. Chop those chives, onions (±sauted with garlic), and squash and mix into egg mixture. Add cubes of cheese (I like feta) if you've got it. Pour over the potato crust & bake until done (errr, 40 minutes?).
Cheap & easy "quiche"
mmm. sounds like a good way to use rutabaga. (insert evil laugh).
Grate the potatoes, grease a pie pan, toss the grated potatoes with oil and salt, press into the bottom of the pan and bake @375F for the time it takes to prepare:
mix 6-8 eggs, a good amount of milk (1/2c-1c), and mix up. Chop those chives, onions (±sauted with garlic), and squash and mix into egg mixture. Add cubes of cheese (I like feta) if you've got it. Pour over the potato crust & bake until done (errr, 40 minutes?).
Cheap & easy "quiche"
NRR: Made a huge pot of the Number One Very Best Soup In the World, Ever.
After I read the recipe, I added some chicken to my grocery list and it's now simmering away. We'll modify it for allergies (or just add the tomato after I take out a portion for my youngest). And maybe quinoa to replace the noodles. My house smells delicious already. And now I want quiche, too. We have been eating so many eggs while my husband is away because he's allergic to them.
sparkle and Nic, I love hearing about your communities. Good luck with the decisions, JayGee!
real, I covet your organizational binge. Want to come and tackle the year worth of paperwork sitting in a box (okay, boxes..) on my desk?
kerc, sounds like a wonderful weekend.
On the subject of snow sports, is it reasonable to take a 2 1/2 year old snowshoeing? Any experiences? The kids have been asking to go up to the local mountain (lots of our friends are skiiers), and we could just go play in the snow or do the snow tube thing. I know lots of people that start their two year olds skiing, but I don't like downhill so have very little motivation to spend time doing it with the kids. I tried to convince the girls to buy each other snowshoes as Christmas gifts, but couldn't get them excited about it.
RR- 8ish km in the forest. It's muddy, but not raining. I think a bit of my sanity may have been restored, since I've been in a mid-winter rainy day lazy slump for a few days now.
NRR- Grad school applications 50% done. Still need to get a couple of transcripts scanned and finish one research interest statement, but it's getting there. I'm feeling ambivalent about it all, but applying anyway. The run makes all of this less stressful.
Full moon last night, wasn't it? :)
Real ~ wow, that sounds like quite the organizing project. Must feel good to know exactly where you stand in the yarn department though. Nice run too .
JenLove ~ I can't wait to hear about your baby goats when they arrive. Congrats on the washer/dryer.
Jooj ~ Mmmmmm... that soup sounds delicious !
DH accidentally pushed the "hour" button on his clock last night when he set the alarm, so we unknowingly got up at 5:15 instead of 6:15. Doh! I am actually enjoying the extra quiet time for myself and he decided to hit the YMCA before work instead of after. It's a win!
Our stray kitty came in this morning smelling like hay and manure. He must be spending time in someone's barn. For some reason, this makes me smile .
DH and I are busy planning our future somewhere else, but can't decide where. Any Dingos live within 20 minutes of a military installation and think it's a great place to live and raise children. Preferably somewhere with low-ish property taxes . So far we're considering Colorado Springs, Denver, Cheyenne, WY, York, ME, Virginia coast, and moving back to Bloomington, IN. More ideas please!
I vote Colorado too! :)
I am fighting a head cold that I don't have time for. Sinus pressure, headache, tired.... insert lots of vitamins, tea, spicy snacks, and my lavender salve to rub on my sinuses. Yesterday I got a whole bunch of cleaning done while Aiden slept in the wrap. I still have TONS to do, but it'll have to wait because I have a 3 month old going through a growth spurt. Planning light yoga later.
Gah.
I am getting sick, dh is getting sick (and he is the worst. patient. ever.), dd1 is getting sick. I subbed today for 3 of the worst behaved middle school boys I have EVER taught and that is saying something -- and worse, they are at my kids' school and I was just incredibly disappointed in the chutzpah. Sigh. Then I accidentally let the van door close on ds' hand. 
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