Quincy's new passion

You probably won't believe this, because even to me this sounds ridiculous. But...

Quincy Loves Shoes.

It's true, he does. And we have evidence.

The only sad part is that we're missing a picture from the innumerable times he climbs into our Chacos. He loves those sandals. Can't pass up a moment of sticking his paws through the straps if they are sitting off the side somewhere. I might go as far to say that he's obsessed. He's taken to treating them as "Home Base". Before he took to the shoes, Home Base was the kitchen rug. Anytime he got scolded (which is often), or needed comfort (think vacuuming), he would take refuge at Home Base. Even when playing, after skittering around the kitchen after his beloved plastic ring, he would pick it up in his mouth and carry it back to Home Base.

Little did we know that Home Base was about to become mobile. Wherever there is a shoe is now a Home Base. It's hysterical.


The thong of this sandal is actually between his toes.
He loves it.



A visitor's shoes. He doesn't discriminate.



His favorite of my friends: Ashley's sandals.
Obviously, he's super excited.





The double-footed Home Base.

 Another of Quincy's recent obsessions is the sink. Well, any sink. I caught him here in the kitchen sink, going fishing for something in the disposal.

His favorite, however, is the bathroom sink. Whenever we're getting ready for bed, he'll climb in and curl up (he takes up the ENTIRE sink) and prevent us from using it for our own purposes. Like a kid, trying to convince the parents to stay up or something. Kyle got a video of that on his phone, so I'll try to post that soon.

Don't know why the pic is sideways. Sorry.

The final thing I want to show is his new favorite playhouse. Now, we really haven't bought him much: a few grooming brushes is all besides food and litter. Kyle is always wanting to get Quincy something, but really, what could he need? I found a little house at Meijer that sported two openings (one on the side, one on the end), a dangling feathery toy, and a hammock on top. I kept my eye on it, but never got around to buying it because it was $20. Seemed excessive. Plus, Kyle was never with me to see if it was a good idea, so I waited. Eventually, it dropped in price to $12, and Kyle was at the store with me and jumped on the chance to buy Quincy something fun.

Well, of course he loves it. Although not sure about the hammock at first, after just two days he figured out he could lay in it and it's been a staple in his every day circuit of finding places to sleep in the living room.

Alas, Blogger picture loader has been total crap for a week, so I'm posting this without the final picture. Can't...take...it...any...more!

Summer 2011: Really? When's the break?

As you may have guessed, this summer has felt like anything but summer break. Maybe I try too hard in my classes, or maybe they really are super, incredibly demanding. I feel like ever since July began I've been struggling to keep up. We've had busier weekends in July than we did in June, so I'm sure that has something to do with it. But seriously, I need a real break before I go back to work...oh wait, that's a week from Monday. Great....


I'm sure I mentioned my hesitancy toward this new course: Science Fiction Lit of the 20th century. This genre is a complete unknown to me, and all I know is that I don't care for aliens in films, and I've never met one in literature I liked either (though I have been sure to not cross paths with many). As it turns out, the beginning of the course has been somewhat of a lightbulb: SF is not all about aliens. And, on the other hand, other-worldly creatures can be done well and made to be very interesting and engaging. Who knew!


We have a bajillion pages of reading each week, which makes me nervous and tired all at once every single Monday when I get the "Here's What We're Doing This Week" email. But I will say that our text called Masterpieces: The Best SF short stories... has provided an excellent introduction. We began with a few short stories that first week in July, and it enabled me to see that not all SF is dumb or kooky or ridiculous. It can actually look very closely in new ways at what it means to be human, the issues that humanity faces, and even so far as causing some personal reflections. Yeah, I wasn't really ready for that, but that's what I found!
We read a few critical articles about what makes something SF--so categorizing and compartmentalizing. In the end, however, we learned that there are two key elements of SF lit: 1) it will address change in some way; 2) it covers the idea/concept of "the Other" through examining how someone or thing is estranged (this part usually caused the reflection element). 


As of this week, we've read 3 novels:

• Asimov's I, Robot, which is actually a collection of short stories he later connected with some inter-chapter material. Though it didn't flow very well and some of the characters were really flat and the dialogue lame, his robots were super endearing. I wanted to know them. And it was a great launching point for the rest of the semester. I would recommend it to those who have never read any SF because the chapters are short (remember: short stories) and therefore pretty self-contained. You can take it in small chunks and think about why you should care at all, maybe discover why you do.
• Robert M. Miller, Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz. I have a ton to say about this book. I just wrote a 12-page paper on it, but I'll try to limit my comments. Also written first as 3 very long short stories, it was just thrown together without any editing into a novel. And it works...very well. This novel taught me that SF doesn't have to be about robots or machines or technology at all in the way I was thinking about it. Here we have a post-apocalyptic world with the Catholic church still strong but cloistered away in monasteries and men in chaos, reverting back to the ways of our long-past ancestors: hunters-gatherers, warring tribes, barbarism. The book spans 1800 years and how men, after rediscovering knowledge, return to the same paths...nuclear war happens again. The characters are wonderful and most are deep. Many things about humanity, faith, doubt, religion, science, and responsibility are investigated from various angles. I want everyone I know to read this book. It made me think, made me reflect. 
• Ursula K. Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness. I probably shouldn't say a whole lot on it, as I'm only 1/2 way through this novel (must be done by tomorrow!). It's the first "Other-Planetary" journey I've taken that puts me down in a completely new culture. Yes, I experienced culture shock in the first few chapters. She explores themes of gender and government, society and power relationships. It's fascinating and strange, in a good way. The "aliens" here aren't scary or weird; they are simply different. Again, like Miller's novel, it's so well-written that it's worth a read by anyone, even those who don't care for Star Trek, Star Wars, etc. It's different than you'd imagine.

What we have left for the course is Watchmen, the graphic novel that inspired the very graphic film of a few years ago. I'm not super excited about it, but next week is the one during which I  have to read it, so I guess it'll be over soon enough. After that, it's Red Mars, which I think is part of a series. 

Just so you don't think I'm crazy for saying how much work every week requires, let me tell you a little secret. In addition to reading a novel a week, we have one critical article and one short story, over which we have multiple discussions in our online class environment. For one novel, for example, there are typically around 150 comments. For one essay or short story, anywhere from 50 to 100. Reading everybody else's posts and trying to find new things to say about all of this is tiring. Yikes. In addition, we have one week in which we're responsible, with a partner, for leading discussion for one of those short stories, and another week for one of the critical essays. We also have 2 papers to write in our "free" time. I just about crashed and burned these last two weeks. In an effort to front-load my class work, to avoid being swamped when I go back to the Library in August, I ended up with all that reading, plus a paper, plus leading 2 class discussions between last week and this. Terrifying. I kind of hermitted myself away, but I have managed to get it all done (or I will have, by tomorrow). 

So that's my summer in a nutshell. I'm tired. 

When's my break?

Today's accomplishments

I've taken to creating lists for every day, just like my mom used to do for us when we were at home. Especially in the summer when kids are wont to be lazy. Now, I find myself creating them so that I can know exactly what tasks I'm faced with each day, and I must admit, marking them off gives a tremendous amount of satisfaction.

It feels good to be able to say, that today I:

• finished my first half-week's readings and aced the quiz
• participated in online discussion for class
• submitted a critical article review assignment (and got it back with a good grade!)
• drafted another film review assignment (for the 4-hour Hamlet which I watched Mon-Tues)
• ordered new lenses for my reading glasses (yup, still have 'em)
• picked up a ton of delicious food at the grocery (a lot of fruit for a fruit salad on Friday)
• made dinner: pesto with multi-grain penne, red potatoes, and fresh green beans (delicious)
• baked brownies for our Bible study movie night tonight (BBC's Sense & Sensibility)
• got some pulled pork BBQ started in the crock (to be finished tomorrow)

I didn't get my work out in this morning, but I slept in as a trade off. It felt great. Plus, my hip has been a little sore and I figured one day of complete rest would do some good. It does feel better, and will more so when I do my stretches. 

I've been moving my *apple butter item on the list to every subsequent day for two weeks. I think I might try this weekend. It takes like 10 hours with prep and crock cook time, and sometimes I just don't have the energy to face that. Peeling, coring, and cutting that many apples...makes my hands hurt just thinking about it.

I'm working hard to get my assignments done before Friday so that I can enjoy a full day of watching the 5-hour Pride & Prejudice with a friend. We've been planning on doing this for at least a month, maybe longer. I'm so glad we finally can! Add that to the Jane Austen movie we're watching tonight with my Bible study girls, and this is a perfect week full of awesomely talented English authors. My favorite!

What's your favorite Shakespearean play OR sonnet OR Jane Austen novel? (Interactive blogging, see? You're supposed to answer!)

Cooking Adventures, Part Deuce

Wednesday was my first day off for the summer (6 weeks, baby!). In my typical style, I tried to pack too many things into that first day. I have a list of things to accomplish, things that have been thwarted by 8-hour work days. I set out very early Wednesday to make that day count!


After an early work out session, I headed to the store to buy ingredients to make my own pesto. A few years ago, my lovely sister helped me out by making Lana-friendly pesto with organic produce from the farm where she was working. It was divine! And, since I cannot eat store-bought or restaurant-served pesto, I really wanted some more. It's a great addition to so many things: pasta, sandwiches, and the new discovery: pizza. The real reason I needed pesto pronto was due to Kim's recently posted pizza recipe. I wanted it. And my first day off was the day to do it. Kyle was off that day, so I knew he could knead pizza dough for me (something I sadly cannot do on my own). 


The grocery was very disappointing. No bulk basil for pesto. But I bought some spinach (because I had a hunch that could substitute in a pinch) and the remaining ingredients for the pizza. This meant I had to make the pizza before the produce went bad. Where to find massive quantities of basil? Where else but the farm! I stopped by and found out they were in desperate need of someone to basically groom the basil so it could grow bigger and more full. I did just that and scored probably 3 cups of teeny tiny basil leaves. Plus, I scored some spinach. This entire process took me until 2pm from grocery (10a) to returning from the farm. I was hot and tired, but very excited for pesto. So I began washing and rewashing and drying the spinach and basil. I picked the tiny stems from the tiny leaves. I de-stemmed the spinach. I gathered all of my ingredients and began to process the pesto. Our food processor is tiny, so it took several batches to get all the leaves ground down. Then, I added the garlic, oil, salt and pepper, and Parmesan. Group #1 of the pesto included all of the farm spinach and some basil. Group #2 included a larger proportion of basil and store-bought spinach. 


Here was my set up for this whole mess: 

 Yes, it was very messy.

But here's the finished product! I had two little jars like this and one large jar. 

I froze the two smaller ones and used the large one to make dinner.


The whole process ended around 4pm, at which point I collapsed of exhaustion on the floor, vegged out in front of the computer, and then took a shower to get ready for the next phase, which began a short two-hours later. We had to make dinner, people. And it was homemade Pizza. Something I had never done before. Luckily, I'm married to former pizza maker extraordinaire, so we were in good hands. 


Although not the best picture, this was Kim's recipe for Kale, Tomato, Pesto Pizza. (See here for what to do with the leftover pesto, tomato, and gouda.)

It boasts a whole wheat crust (so yum), pesto for the sauce, then completely covered in gouda (oh, heavenly), then tomatoes and kale piled on top. We added some shredded Italian cheese to the top because we love cheese. 


It was unbelievable. We will be eating this again. We also used this time to see how our pizza stone works. Fairly well, if I do say so myself. I even ate two leftover pieces of pizza for lunch today and they were good reheated. What?! I doubted, but I was wrong. Mmm, mmm, good. 


Another cooking success, and with 3 jars of pesto to show for the day, I feel completely satisfied with my first day off. Oh, and by the way, I also made chicken and bean tacos in the crock pot that morning and tuna salad for lunch. It's like I love the kitchen or something (no, I don't). 

Cooking Adventures, Part 1

I really enjoy cooking. I wouldn't say that I'm always creative or that I even always feed Kyle and myself well. However, when I have time to try something new and it sounds divine or has gotten a good rating from friends, I actually get excited!


In the past few weeks, we've tried several new dishes. The best by far turned out to be the Prosciutto-wrapped pork chops, rosemary roasted potatoes (a new recipe), and broiled asparagus. The desert suggested with it was Red wine Pear Sorbet. We found this recipe while watching a show one random Saturday in the fall. It was intimidating. I had never heard of Prosciutto before and while the woman on the show made it look SO stinking easy, I knew that couldn't be true. But, we were pumped and embarked on this cooking adventure together (thankfully, as there was rubbing raw meat with spices involved; and we all know I don't do that). 


Little did we know what was in store for us. The meat and potatoes were stove-based, so we had three pans going at once. And the oil spatter started early. Hot, searing pings of sizzling oil...all over everything. Gross. Then, because we have a stupid, old coil stove, they didn't cook evenly and one was scorching while the other was just okay. Kyle would have thrown in the towel, well he kind of did emotionally when he checked the first pan of 2 pork chops. He tossed the tongs and said, "That's it. Ruined. Stupid stove!" I wasn't ready to give in to despair just yet. I had shelled out a lot of money for these chops and the wrapping Prosciutto. Plus, even if it's gross, I actually really liked charred food. 


So we continued in this atmosphere: 

 Scared and nervous, yet hopeful.

The whole house became engulfed in smoke from the stove. We opened 'er up and had fans going at both doors. I was bound and determined to win against this meal! In the midst of this fog, we heated up the oven to 450 for asparagus. What were we thinking?! It was HOT.


As it turned out, I hadn't read the directions very closely. The potatoes took 30 minutes (duh! Of course they would.) and everything else about 10. Plus, the dessert took over night. Epic fail by Lana! We ended up with pork chops and asparagus together, let it sit for a while and then had a few potato pieces. We were stuffed by this time. No room for the dessert that was waiting in the freezer for the next day when we had round 2 of this meal: 

Our assessment of the meal was: delicious! The char was perfect (I wouldn't have it any other way). The asparagus (olive oil and sea salt) gave a totally new texture and color to the plate, which was fun. The potatoes had just a hint of rosemary, which is different from how we normally make them. And the subtlety worked for this dish. Kyle did mention he'd prefer our other method for the potatoes next time, but all in all...yums!


Truth be told, it was just as good, if not better the next day. Even I was skeptical about that, and I will eat anything for leftovers. The dessert was phenomenal, too. Mmmm. I love pears (right, Grandpa?!)!


This cooking success made me even more eager to try out some other new dishes that I've gleaned from friends' and cousins' blogs. Yesterday was another cooking adventure, but more on that later.


Email me if you want these recipes. They are SO worth it.

Vacation: Early May

We really didn't capture pictures of much while we were on our Phoenix/Mexico vacation. However, I'll post the few cute ones we got, and also one that Maddie took of us that is less-than-flattering, but funny. You can tell how antsy she is to be in the ocean rather than being forced to take a picture of her aunt and uncle.

Also, we burned very badly. Not as bad as NC 2004, or whatever summer that was that I acquired those lobster legs that prevented me from sitting comfortably for a week. No, not that bad. We have been peeling ever since we returned, however. Not that anyone would notice here; we're all wearing sweaters and winter coats still, so no peely shoulders or arms are visible.

The Book Thief, review

I haven't done many book reviews here, yet even as I don't necessarily feel adequate in writing this one, I must. It compels me.

Steph gave me this book for my birthday, I believe. I was in the middle of a grueling semester which transitioned into an insanely busy spring (not from schoolwork, however, but doctor visits and stretching). My first chance to read something for my own pleasure came over my two week hiatus from classes at the beginning of May. I was looking for something light following a semester of depressing, dark, self-destructive narratives in Post Colonial literature. This intriguing title and picture on the book cover nabbed me from my bookshelf.

I began the book on our 4-hour plane ride to Phoenix. The Prologue was so unique and enticing that I made Kyle read it. What does it mean, he asked. I didn't know, but knew I had to find out. Thus, I delved into this mysterious, incredible story, and I never looked up. I didn't reach for my iPod. I didn't talk to Kyle. I read while snacking on pretzels and sipping ginger ale. I hardly rested my eyes for any length of time. I didn't want to stop. It was hard for me to focus on talking to my sister when she picked us up from the airport...the vivid characters were milling about in my mind, wanting to continue their story.

I really don't want to give any of the novel away; it is absolutely so unique in style and frame. I hardly want to tell you what point of view it is written from, in case it would ruin the wonder and the mastery of it. I want others to read it in order to find out if I am the lone human being so touched by this story. On the flight home, I wept and I wasn't even at the very end. A few days later as I finished it on a break at my work desk, I had to pause at discreet, short intervals in order to collect myself. But the tears came anyway. This story is unbelievable.

The New York Times said, "It's the kind of book that can be LIFE CHANGING," and USA Today stated that it "deserves a place on the same shelf with The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank." The Washington Post claims it is "absorbing and searing."

I cannot disagree. Though fictional, it is no less compelling and true to the heart of humankind as Anne Frank's diary.This book did change my life, although I'm not entirely sure how. I know that I shall never forget it, as long as I live (and that's an extremely bold statement, I know).

I found myself wondering in the middle of it, whether I could somehow finagle my master's thesis from this book, or at least incorporate it as one of the texts. I just want an excuse to read it again.

Here is my concise praise for this book:

It is, by far, the best modern fiction I have read (granted, I don't read much modern fiction). 

It moved me. 

I want you to read it so we can talk about it. Are you up for it? Have you read this? Will you?

What is the best fiction / nonfiction that you've read lately, something that you know you can never forget?