ilsaism

I'm hostessing a baby shower tomorrow and have a TON to do today. I was bemoaning this fact not 2 minutes ago.

Me: "I have so much to do, I don't even know where to start."
Ilsa: "Starbucks?"

Waaaaaa???? Is she a genius? No, she thought "start" was "starbucks". Oh well...still fun to share.

wordless wednesday

apparently she is paying attention in sunday school

Ilsa and I went to the grocery store yesterday. Up near the ceiling, there is a rather large painted mural above the long wall of dairy cases: cows, green rolling hills, trees, puffy clouds in a blue sky...

Ilsa looked up and said, "Mommy, look at that beautiful picture of the Promised Land."

those laps at the pool are paying off

This morning, Chad participated in a 2000 meter open-water swim at Lake Saguaro located in the Tonto National Park system, 30 or so miles north of Phoenix. We dragged our family out the door at 5:30 this morning to get to the swim, which started at about 9:00. The last time he was able to do an open water race was a few months before we were married almost 14 years ago, and that one occurred in Lake Washington. I'm sure he liked this water a lot more...the water temp was 74 degrees today.

He did very well -- 3rd in his age bracket and 20th out of 76 overall (male and female) in the non-wetsuit bracket. There were quite a few serious athletes and triathletes there, as many use this outdoor swim circuit as training for triathlons.

Ilsa asked me how tall she would have to be to be in one of these races.

world's brightest birthday cake

Today is my birthday! I really love my birthday, and I am happy that I am of the age which I have attained. Some of you know that Chad and I are birthday neighbors. He is about 24 hours older than I. Per his request, I baked him chocolate chip cookies. But I MUST have birthday cake. It's my thing. Usually I bake my own with loving care. Last year I even made real buttercream - the real way - with sugar syrup streamed into slowly cooking eggs simmering in a double boiler, then whipping in tons and tons of butter. But this year I just wanted to go down to the store and buy a grocery store cake. Nothing fancy, just white cake, white frosting. Maybe a few tasteful sprinkles or simple grocery store-style flowers. Nope. The frosting choices were as follows: neon blue with yellow frosting trim, traffic cone orange with electric blue trim, or alien green with fuchsia accents. I went with the green and pink, plus got beeeeauuutiful Tinkerbell rings as a bonus -- two for each girl.

So, Happy Birthday To ME!!!

pain de campagne

Made Reinhart's pain de campagne yesterday utilizing the new Nutrimill on the finest setting, grinding Wheat Montana Bronze Chief for the whole grain flour component of the recipe. Soooooooo good, I can't tell you! The crust was crackly thin but a bit chewy. The crumb was soft, slightly chewy with mild tang.

It could've used another 5 to 7 minutes in the oven, but I had to pull it a bit early. It was definitely done, but not perfect. I was running out the door as it was...I had to meet my husband and deliver two of the loaves to some friends.

nutrimill just arrived!!!!!!

I am SO STINKIN' EXCITED! My long-awaited Nutrimill grain mill just arrived. I've already run my 2 cups of "cleaner grain" through the mill, cleaned it out and am ready to grind my first flour. I'm just so excited, I could bust.

The girls thought it was pretty neat, too. And this time, they didn't have to plug their ears while I attempted to grind wheat in a blender. It was not a deafening experience, although I wouldn't want to stand by it for 10 minutes.

Hmmm. First recipe. What to bake. I think I'll make Peter Reinhart's 100% whole wheat bread. Pictures forthcoming.

a few things we did this long labor day weekend

We...

...ate pears while standing next to a giant pear, wearing pear green.

...made lots and lots of cute baby shower invitations. Lots of them. And...

...watched a gusher of a thunderstorm dump inches of rain and even dime-sized hail.

crazy wild bike stroller combo thing...

If I had $1,400 lying around I probably wouldn't spend it on this, but isn't it an interesting idea? If you are so inclined, it's available over at Sparkability.

dare ya not to sing along

Regardless of your politics, dare you not to sing along with this song...I've been humming all day.