Thursday, February 25, 2010

woo hoo! ladies' figure skating tonight!

My favorite night of the Winter Olympics is tonight: the Ladies Figure Skating Long Program. I'm excited that there are so many amazing athletes skating tonight...I love knowing there isn't one presumed winner.

I don't have one favorite, either. I like all of the top contenders for different reasons. Just a few hours to go!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

two-wheelin' wonder girl

About three weeks ago, Ilsa voiced interest in learning how to ride her bike without training wheels. It was apparent after an afternoon of trying that she wasn't quite ready yet.

Then this past Saturday afternoon, she pulled out Ingrid's little bike without wheels and spent about 2 hours scooting around on it...not riding, just balancing. (This was all on her own.) On Sunday afternoon after church, out came the bikes again. This time, Chad took her out into our quiet street (no, there weren't any cars there!) and gave her the final nudges she needed. Within 10 minutes she was riding!


No, she didn't hit the neighbor's SUV. She swerved just in time.

Of course, she is perfectly coordinated with her bike: pink and purple.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

olympics gene update...

Perhaps the gene isn't recessive, but just needed to be prodded a bit. Update:

Ilsa ADORES snowboarding, especially Snowboard Cross. She has already decided "that's what SHE'S going to do in the Olympics when SHE goes...." but she's going to wear a ballet tutu for her uniform. HA!

Ingrid has decided that she likes figure skating, but she thinks that it is strange that the "boys wear sparkly costumes". However, Ingrid really likes the tiara that Julia Mancuso wears. I'm excited for her to watch the Ladies figure skating this coming week.

you know you aren't exercising enough when......

......you find ziplock full of baby carrots in your workout back....covered in white fuzz and almost liquid from decay. They were a snack last time I went to the gym, which must've been four weeks ago. Blech.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

a major annoucement

As of today, the Halloween candy is officially gone. Took us 109 days. That is all...

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

sourdough

I've been neglecting my sourdough starter so I decided to refresh it and try a couple of Peter Reinhart wild yeast recipes.

The first just came out of the oven: classic San Francisco sourdough from Bread Baker's Apprentice. I started to build the mother starter on Friday afternoon, refrigerated that overnight, pulled it out on Sunday to build the starter (biga), and then mixed the final dough yesterday morning, rose it for 8 hours, and finally formed the loaves last night, retarded their rise overnight in the fridge, pulled them out this morning for a 4 hour rise and baked. Wow...this bread is the best-looking I've made in months.

I've got a Pain au Levain (from Artisan Breads Everyday) starter on the counter now, which will rise for 8 hours; I'll mix and rise the dough tomorrow for a Thursday bake. One thing about sourdough: you have to plan ahead.

Monday, February 15, 2010

the olympics obsession gene must be recessive...

As long as I can remember, I have adored the Olympics, especially the Winter Games. I can name every host back to Squaw Valley (and then I have to look them up). I remember my Mom waking me up in the middle of the night so that I could watch figure skating live from Sapporo, Japan in 1972 (I was 4). I used to draw pictures of the Olympic rings. I proudly sported a 1980 Lake Placid Olympics patch on the arm of my winter ski parka. Even though I was in mortal pain after a horrendously bad torn ACL in 1994 (skiing of course), I was thankful for the timing; I had to take a month off of work to recover from extensive ACL replacement surgery and watched every single hour of the Lillehammer Olympics coverage.

Now that the 2010 Vancouver Games are here, I had hoped I would have a blissful shared experience with my two girls. I imagined us cuddled up on the couch during the day (after school was done) watching speed skating, downhill, cross country and slalom. I could picture letting them stay up late to watch the prime-time figure skating. Certainly my adoration would've been passed onto them, right? NOPE. Mild interest? NONE. Disdain? PERHAPS. Not even figure skating can capture their fancy. Go figure.

Monday, February 8, 2010

i admit it -- i'm a Fringe fan

We don't have cable TV -- simply a digital antenna on our roof that pulls digital-broadcast shows from the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, 5 PBS stations) and a few independents. We are so happy with the decision we made to dump the cable last summer. Our viewing habits have completely changed... we don't just plop down and surf anymore. If we know there's something on we want to watch, we turn on the TV. If not, it is off.

But I have a few shows that I don't like to miss: House (I like good medical mysteries), Chuck (funny and quite innocent, but it's on against House, so I have to choose), Lost (mysterious, smart, they even sometimes speak Latin for goodness sake!), American Idol (I'm blushing), Masterpiece Classic (I love a good costume drama) and Fringe.

For those of you who know me, does it surprise you that I like Fringe? I recently heard it described as the frightening child of The X-Files and House, if TV shows could procreate. Good description. But what drives me to this show is the writers' apparent assumption that people are smart. It's not an easy show to follow. You have to pay attention. The relationships are complex. The humor (hilarious -- especially Walter Bishop's character) is sometimes very subtle. The acting is superb. The writing is excellent. You can play games like "find The Observer" each week and "find the hidden pictures (aka "glyphs"). The story develops over over months and even years, not in 52 minutes. It is also scary, sometimes gross (I often have to look away) and mind-bending.

I can hardly wait until April 1st. I even put a countdown widget on the bottom of the blog. I'm such a geek.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Gao Zhisheng has now been missing 365 days

Chinese dissident, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee (2008), Christian and Human Rights Attorney Gao Zhisheng has now been missing in China for 365 days. Please sign the petition if you haven't already done so. Let the Chinese government know the World Is Watching them!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

strep throat, striped tummy

I have not been blogging because I have been homeschooling. A good reason for an absence, wouldn't you say? Well, I'm back blogging because Ingrid came down with strep throat. This morning, Ilsa woke me up and said, "Mommy, my tummy hurts. I think I have striped tummy."

The good news is Ingrid is on the mend so we'll be schooling today (only missed 1 day really) and Ilsa is going to survive her bout with striped tummy. Oh, and this is a picture Ilsa practicing how to sleep during the tooth fairy's visit the night that Ingrid lost her tooth.

most recent crochet project


Just finished this "Cozy Whisper" afghan from the Leisure Arts crochet book: Our Best Baby Afghans, my new favorite crochet book.

I adjusted it slightly by not adding the fringe, and instead, applying a hdc border all the way around, and a 3-chain picot edge on the short ends.

wordless wednesday: first lost tooth

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