For all those minivan owners out there...

Just in case your ride is a little too pristine, these guys have the answer!

Do you have swagger, yo?

This was too good to not share with all my peeps! Happy Mother's Day to all the moms I know who rock their swagger wagons!

Why I love blogging...

Public posts about your life in all its grandeur seems a tad narcissistic at times but I have to say I really enjoy reading about all the little things happening in the lives of my friends and family. I especially enjoy the posts about FOOD by the people I know who are really good bakers. So, though it may be a tad self-absorbed at times, I continue to share my own life with you!

Recently, I found an intriguing recipe on a friend's blog that involved ricotta cheese. Now, I'd just made a lasagna so I had some ricotta left in the fridge. Tonight I finally ventured into the kitchen intent on baking and tried this delicious recipe.

Ricotta Cheese Sugar Cookies
Makes 3-4 dozen


1 cup butter, softened
2 cup sugar
1 16-oz. container whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 cups flour


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


2. Using a mixer, combine butter and sugar until well blended. Mix in ricotta, eggs, and vanilla. Add baking soda and salt. Then mix in flour.


3. Drop teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I recommend using parchment paper here)

 4. Bake 12-14 minutes, until cookies are golden on the bottom but still very light on top. Remove from pans and place on cooling racks. Ice any way you'd like!

The fantastic outcome:


They look a little like baked lumps of homemade play dough but I assure you they taste amazing!

Seriously, Lysol?!

I recently saw a commercial on TV for the ne Lysol "No-Touch Hand Soap System." This "system" is designed to protect you from the evil forces of bacteria and other deadly germs that could be lurking on your hand soap pump-- heaven forbid! Lysol loves their little statements of facts but did we really need this one:

Fact: Your soap pump can harbor a lot of bacteria.

Yes. You probably transfer germs to your hand soap pump but, I don't know about you, I actually wash my hands after getting soap out of said pump! I know. I'm a radical.

Of course, if you buy Lysol's product, you'll "Never have to touch a germy soap pump again" as long as the thing works. My guess is their "system" will start screwing up sometime between use number 153 and whenever your kids get done seeing how many times in a row the soap will come out on its own.

Seriously, Lysol?! Is this a product of which we are in desperate need?

Baby and Home Update

Just a quick update about life with us...

The housing situation: We are currently waiting on a response from a bank about a house in Randolph we made a successful bid on. The house is a "short sale" (which is primarily what is currently on the market) so the owner's have to get their bank to agree to the price. Hopefully we'll hear something by the end of the month. Once we have a closing date, we'll post more details.

The baby: The baby is looking healthy though we still don't know if it's a he or a she (see this link as to why). But my OB scheduled me for a second ultrasound on April 28th so we should have a definite blue or pink plan in two weeks! We are scheduled to have a c-section on May 22nd so if this little child hasn't shown up by then, that will be his/her birthday!

Waiting for the baby to arrive, planning a move without a move date, packing our house, and just keeping busy with work and life has made us a little crazy recently but we're managing fairly well considering! Keep your fingers crossed that we'll have more interesting updates soon!

Get ready to boogie, Moms!

My mother-in-law sent this to me and I had to share it with all you other moms out there! Go Fish is a Christian singing group that makes CDs for kids. Some of them aren't really my style but I thought this video and song were great! Take a few minutes out of you day and laugh a little!

Possibly the scariest product ever!

I was roaming the internet when I came across an article about these scary dismembered hands. Apparently they're meant to "mimic the size, weight, touch, and feel of [mommy's] hand and forearm to help her baby with comfort, support, protection, and development." Someone came up with this scary idea specifically for premature babies but is now touting this product as perfect for all babies! I just have to say it scares the crap out of me. Just think about coming in to pick up your baby in the middle of the night, groggy from lack of sleep, and a huge man-hand rests on yours. Yikes! Your scream is definitely not going to help baby sleep!

Definitely a "10" on the creepy scale!

Five Things Tag
I don’t get tagged often so I play along when I do!

Five favorite places I've lived

1. Washington state in general. Mountains, rivers, lakes, the ocean; it’s all there!
2. Wenatchee, WA (a little more specifically) which would be my “hometown”
3. Pullman, WA which is home to the fabulous WSU
4. Easton, MA which is where we had our first real apartment all to ourselves with a lovely loft that we loved but it was too far from the city.
5. The greater Boston area because of the history. Who can pass up Paul Rever’s house???

Five favorite snacks

Seeing as I’m pregnant, this is a difficult thing to narrow at the moment but I’ll give it a try…
1. I don’t know if it counts as a “snack” but Dunkin Donuts’s bacon and egg sandwich on a croissant. Mmmmm…
2. Mini rice cakes with chocolate drizzled on them ($3 for only SIX in a box, agh!)
3. Entenmann’s chocolate chip breakfast bars (again, I’m not sure if it qualifies as a “snack”)
4. Barbecue Lays potato chips (I don’t keep them at home but the kitchen at my school sells them for 30¢! Seriously unfair!)
5. Dr. Pepper (I splurge on sugar where I can!)

Five jobs I've had

There have been several since it took me a long time to realize my true calling but here are just a few.
1. First job ever… Newspaper delivery girl. Started out with my sister at the age of 8 and kept it until college and even then continued for a while. Good hours. Good money!
2. Florist. Bleck! Couldn’t stand just talking to flowers all day!
3. CNA. Hard work. Bad hours. Not great money.
4. Hostess at a restaurant. Fun! Ok money… Fairly mindless.
5. TEACHER! Still my number one job choice

Five things I would do if I had a million dollars

The obvious, boring answers are pay off debt, put college funds away for our children, and invest. Here is my “fun” list!
1. Go back to school. One class at a time. No pressure.
2. Get a nice car and a driver for that car. Can we say, “I hate traffic!”?
3. Buy houses… For my family and everyone I know (that might take more than a million, though)
4. Go back to Aruba for a month and see everything!
5. Travel first class to New Zealand, Australia, Israel, and venture through Central and South America

Five things I love

1. My son, husband, and family members (well, most of them)
2. Good friends who really “get” me and understand my strange ways.
3. Sleep (maybe that should be #1)
4. Hanging around the house in PJs for the whole day!
5. Eating!

Five places I have loved visiting

1. ARUBA! Our best vacation ever (even if it did clean out our savings account)!!!
2. California’s Redwood National Forest
3. Texas in the fall and winter (summer is too dang hot!)
4. Oregon (my family lives there but I’ve never actually stayed there longer than 2 weeks at a time)
5. Washington. Any chance I have to go back.

Five Tags
For fun... I'll tag Moshi, Kristin A., Sarah C., and Lanae. That's only 4 but I just couldn't bring myself to torture another person! : )

Quick Update

So I haven't been blogging half as much as usual but for some good reasons (I know... excuses, excuses!). I recently became the playgroup leader for our ward's playgroup and have rediscovered a love for planning things with a calendar (besides trips to the grocery store and pediatrician's office).

So I've been having fun with that but I've also been job hunting for something part-time in the teaching arena and managed to find and secure a job with the ODWIN Learning Center in Dorchester (South Boston area). I'll be teaching two sections of Accent Reduction, a class geared at helping non-native speakers of English learn to sound more like natives, and two sections of an English Learning Center "class" which is more like a study group for people needing the very basics of English grammar and writing skills. It's more than what I was hoping to teach but will be fun and interesting as well as a good way to keep my resume up to date.

I'll be teaching on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 to 1:00 and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 to 7:30. So for the Mon/Wed classes I'll be having a friend watch Aiden and Ian is modifying his schedule to work 7:00 to 3:00 so he can take Aiden during my Tues/Thurs classes. It will be a new adventure for us balancing TWO work schedules and a child but I'm sure we'll survive like every other two-income family.

We also just got back from spending some time on the Cape with Ian's parents who rented a house in Wellfleet for the week of Labor Day. Ian's brothers joined us through Tuesday and we came back up on Tuesday evening for some responsibilities on Wednesday and Thursday but left Aiden down with Wayne and Cindy for two days (hooray for toddler-free dates!). So Thursday night we drove back down to get the monster and got to spend another pretty day on the beach before coming home this evening.

I'll be posting with some nice Cape pictures soon... But first... a breath or two! :)

From Wellfleet Labor Day Week 2008

Stephenie Meyer rocks!

I just finished reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer and it was fabulous! I read her first series and loved it and picked up this book to take with me to Aruba. Well, it's another one of those books that need to have someone force you to put it down or you won't ever get any sleep (or clean the dishes, or do the laundry, or...). Even if you're not into "sci-fi" books, this book will touch you and bring an interesting perspective to the world. I recommend picking it up immediately!

Déjà vu???

So some of you might remember the marker incident from a few months ago. If you do, you might think I learned my lesson about markers... and I have (at least with permanent markers). Not withstanding my earlier education, we seem to be experiencing some déjà vu around here this morning. This time, however, it was a paint marker that Aiden got his hands on. I'm not sure how he managed his artwork since the cap must be screwed off and you must press down on the marker tip to get the paint out (a challenge when you're actually trying to get the thing to work) but he did!

You may also remember my dining table of which I am very proud.

Aiden was very proud of his accomplishments and surprised that I was not quite as excited. I wish this picture was in focus but I was snapping shots very quickly so my photography skills weren't quite at their best.

No, he's not dead but he is still in the tub where he isn't able to paint or write on anything (at least, I think). We'll see if he makes it out before people can read and comment.

And why do I have a paint marker, you may ask? Well, we wanted to make souvenirs for some coworkers and family members and decided to bring home sand and shells from the lovely beaches of Aruba. We then went to Michael's where we picked up some cute bottles and a paint marker with which we wrote "Aruba" on the side of said bottles. I finished this little craft yesterday and though I'd put the paint marker out of reach only to be proved, once again, that my child can climb higher than I can store things!

Can I go back to the Caribbean now???

New Favorites

I have some new favorite shoes and a new favorite nail polish color! The shoes are brown leather sandals and fill a "shoe need" I've had for a while. And the nail polish is called "Ragin' Cajun" by Loreal. Both are perfect for summer!

Semi Spastic

Ok... So I think I've changed my template about three times in the past six months. My next goal is to brush up on my HTML skills (though I may need XML skills these days) and see if I can put together my own template. Hope you like the new fish bowl!

Totally beach-ready toes!

Many of you saw my previous post about the not-so-excellent pedicure I received last week. Well, the owner of the salon I went to was really upset with my response to their service and offered to re-do the pedicure herself. I have to say, I was quite impressed

The Back to Basics salon does pedicures reclined or fully laying down on a massage table which is surprisingly relaxing. I think the owner spent about twice as much time on me as they usually do to make up for the bad prior experience but she was extremely nice about the whole thing and even gave me a little "goody bag" of nail supplies probably worth about $20. So while complaining isn't always comfortable to do, when it's justified it can be worth it. I'm glad I didn't just fume over my experience and complain to everyone else but gave this small business a chance to redeem themselves

So, what do you think? Are these toes ready for the beach?




Note: The owner has decided to remove the nail technician who did my first pedicure from their pedicure services. In the future, she will only be doing pedicures for male clients and facials which don't require as much precision as painting toenails. So no worries if you're considering making a visit to this salon for a pedicure.

Not much of a treat for the feet...

After spending a good deal of time on my feet both packing and unpacking boxes over the past several days, I decided to treat my tootsies to a professional pedicure. I typically take care of my own nail care but about twice a year I go for a "real" pedicure.

There's a "day spa" in Quincy not too far from my house where I've gotten two massages so I thought I would try their pedicure service as well. Over the phone, the girl told me the one hour pedicure included a reflexology treatment, a massage of the feet and legs, a skin masque, and a full standard pedicure. The sales price of $55 seemed high but I also thought I could use a treat. Boy was I disappointed! I don't think the woman spent even a full five minutes on any kind of massage (no less a reflexology treatment) and the paint job (see below) is probably the worst I have ever had on my feet including the job I had Ian do when I was about a week away from delivering Aiden!

I may be overreacting a little but for the price I paid, I was grossly disappointed. You can even see the little bits of exfoliant left on the nails in the second picture! The worst part is I couldn't even see the results until I got home because the spa's lighting is so dim. If I had, I wouldn't have paid for the service. As it stands now, I've emailed the spa with my request (ok, demand) for a refund and will call them in the morning. I haven't shared the name of the spa openly here but you can guarantee I'll be shouting it from the rooftops if I don't get a satisfactory response from the management.

Most annoying is the time I wasted sitting in a chair when I could have gotten my grocery shopping done or another few boxes of stuff organized. Ugh!

My current (grim) existence

There are few things I hate more than moving. Most seafood, Boston drivers, and wearing orange are all on the top of my "dislikes" list but moving is definitely much higher because of the sheer length of time it for which it tortures you. Not only do you start thinking about it long before you actually begin packing but even once your move is supposedly finished, you still have all the unpacking to do. Blech!

But, for the next 48-72 hours, moving boxes are an undeniable part of my current existence.


The story of the move:
For those wondering why we're moving 2/10ths of a mile to live in an identical apartment setup in the same apartment complex, here's the short version.

Lincoln Heights has been renovating their apartments for the past few years but needs to have them all completed by the end of 2008. We have been living in an un-renovated apartment since we moved in two years ago. Because our lease was up in May we were informed we would have to move out or renew our lease in another unit.

After searching for something similar with a washer/dryer in unit and within walking distance to the T, we decided just to stay where we are. The rental prices have gone nuts since we moved in here and we like the management company (and the pool!). I'm also partial to central air and the new granite counter tops, new tiling in the kitchen and bathrooms, and the new appliances will be nice, too.

If you want our new official address, email, call or comment!

Why is ripping paper so funny?

To a six-month-old almost anything is amazing or funny. One of Ian's coworkers sent along this video to him and I couldn't resist sharing it. It reminded both of us of Aiden's cute laugh when he was that age!



Just as an additional note... Though I don't know where the video came from, DO NOT go to the website shown on it. It's nothing you want to look at or would want your husband/teenager to look at either. 'Nuf said?

Tragic but touching...

WARNING: Tissues Necessary!



Yesterday I sat crying while watching a clip on the Today Show about an organization called Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTS) that I felt I needed to share. This organization offers very tender, caring support to families who have lost a baby. They organize photographers who volunteer their time to record beautiful and touching photos of families and infants during the difficult period before and after the loss of a newborn.

Years ago, parents anticipating the loss of their yet unborn baby were counseled to not bond with the child and never see or hold it. Today we know that healing can't truly begin without recognizing what we've lost and the NILMDTS organization tries to help parents with this. The NILMDTS website states: "The soft, gentle heirloom photographs of these beautiful babies are an important part of the healing process. They allow families to honor and cherish their babies, and share the spirits of their lives."

I feel that on a day-to-day basis I am not nearly as grateful for my healthy, happy toddler as I should be. I couldn't help but be moved by this organization and hope you will be, too.

An old joke that still makes me laugh!

So maybe my sense of humor is lacking some sophistication but I think it's often times a blessing to be easily amused. I stopped in the Austin airport gift store while waiting for my plane and smiled when I saw a Texas snowman for sale. Considering it had been 90 degrees in Austin the day before I left and was still snowing in Boston, I thought bringing home a Texas snowman was rather appropriate. What does a Texas snowman look like? Just see below!



It's a rather old joke but still makes me chuckle!

Congratulations!

My big sister and her family welcomed their SEVENTH child into the world today. Sarah Ranae Lindh joined the world at 2:20 PM this afternoon weighing in at 8lbs, 4ozs. Her two older sisters and four older brothers joined their parents not long after to welcome their newest little sister in person. I would include a picture of the entire clan but once Lanae is out of the hospital and "with it" enough to check my blog she might hunt me down for sharing pictures of her just barely an hour post-partum. But I'll try to get a Lindh family shot up sometime soon!