The gift that keeps on giving

No, not a fruitcake.

So, back when we lived in DC the first time (6-ish years ago) I was a struggling grad student. I worked full-time, went to school full-time, and was dating this hottie Coastie long distance. I found the "Magic Bus" shortly after I moved into Virginia. The bus stopped at several stops, then outside my apartment building. (Score!) I rode it into DC, and exited at the first stop. I then walked three blocks to work. All for $1.25 each way. It was the bargain of the century. Plus, I met my friend "Jen-from-the-bus" there. We are still friends on facebook (though I'm not sure exactly what that says).

Anyway, one day, I realized they were having a contest for people riding the bus and using public transit. All I needed to do was to write my name and contact information on the entry paper and I'd get a free busride. Yadda, yadda, yadda and they had prizes too... yadda, yadda, yadda. All I was excited about was the free busride! A fare for one way. Not a free month, not a free year. One free ride. I was very excited.

A few weeks later, for my birthday or Christmas, or something, my boyfriend (or possibly fiance by that time), bought me an iPod. I was happy - it would make the rides on the Magic Bus better when Jen-from-the-bus wasn't there. 

A few days after that, I received a call from WMATA. I was one of 6 people who had one a free iPod! Apparently they couldn't get the old model, so I got one of the first models of the iPod nano. I promptly returned whatever boyfriend had bought. He loved this. He got credit for giving me an iPod, but still didn't have to actually buy one for me! I got a new iPod. It was definitely a win-win.

Fast forward six years - my iPod is kind of old. I don't really use it any more. We have a new, snazzy iPod and an iHome to listen to it. I don't get to use my iPod like I used to... but I got an email from Apple. Apparently the battery in the first nano is defective. AND SO THEY'RE SENDING ME A NEW iPOD if I send in my old one.

So, as it turns out, this potentially new iPod has given me great happiness in many forms over several years. I got a free ride on a bus, a gift from my (now) husband, and a now new iPod. And to think, what I really was excited about was the bus fare!

Today, as I was changing Lu'au's diaper, she started chatting about various things. She said something about "the Lion in the jungle", probably in reference to her favorite song, The Lion Sleeps Tonight. She then said something about Jesus and the jungle. She said "Jesus live in jungle?" I then told her that Jesus lives all over - he lives in heaven, he lives in the jungle, he lives in our house. He also lives in our hearts if we love him.

Then she said something that I hope I remember forever. "Lu'au loves Jesus. Dadda loves Jesus. Mama loves Jesus." Yes, baby girl, you're right.

Almost two, going on... 12?

Yesterday I took Lu'au to a park and she was on the swings. Another child was being pushed in the swing next to us by her mother. The mother asked Lu'au how old she is now. I waited for Lu'au's typical response - "1, 1, 1, 1, 1!" that is accompanied by her gesturing "1" and shaking that 1 up and down.

This time was different - Lu'au paused and said confidently, "almost two."

Perfect Timing

There are some things that I would argue cannot be attributed to anything else than God's timing.

First, I had been trying to figure out what to do about the due date... I wanted to do something to deliberately remember the baby, but not something huge or depressing. I decided to do my own version of a Hawaiian custom. Instead of throwing my lei into the ocean, I'd sprinkle some flowers on the Potomac River (the closest thing we have to an ocean where we live now). Baby Lu'au picked a bunch of marigolds from our front yard one morning, and I thought it the perfect time to sprinkle some flowers. As we walked to the river, I prayed silently about the baby and asked God to help me hope. I thought about Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

It was right then that I got a text from my brother in law saying "Romans 5:5 - and hope does not disappoint". That really struck me. He could have chosen any time to send that, or not to send it at all. But he chose right then, and it was perfect. There's no way he could have known that it was the day I chose or even that I was going to do something...

Thanks, Rich, for listening to God's prompting.

Today

Today we woke up and I was thankful that I am alive. That we have electricity. That we have running water. That things weren't as bad with the hurricane as they could have been.

Today I found out we lost a dear friend, and I am extremely saddened by it.

Today would have been 40 weeks pregnant with our second child. Unfortunately, we lost the baby at nearly 12 weeks. I can't figure out how to mourn appropriately. It's been a lot harder overall, than I thought it would be. I'm starting to get back to my normal self. But still, I don't trust my body. It's kind of hard to explain, but that's the best way I can describe it.

There isn't a specific way how to mourn the loss of an unborn baby. I'm sad because I thought I'd be pregnant again by the time this date came around, but I'm not. Way to set an unrealistic expectation for myself, and then have no way to really make sure it would happen. Thankfully, with all of the hurricane craziness lately, I haven't thought much about the due date being today. I'm just holding onto Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. I'm full of hope.

Basil season!

This year, we actually decided to do something with the miniscule front "yard" that we have. I planted flowers, and, as an afterthought, some basil, a jalapeno plant (for the hubs), and some rosemary.

The jalapeno had cute little flowers, and now has 7-8 potential peppers already growing! The rosemary is growing well. The basil, however, has taken off. It is literally thigh-high on me. We have used it in spaghetti sauce, on pizza, and in caprese salads. I have also started to make pesto. Massive amounts of pesto (well, at least compared to the none I was making before).

I love this recipe from allrecipes.com. So easy - you just throw everything in a blender or food processor.

I made this recipe for dinner tonight and it was a hit!

In the words of Lu'au

We've been having a lot of fun as a little family. Lu'au is walking (running!) and learning to talk. It's exciting to be able to know what she thinks and to see her personality a little more clearly.

• She opens a basketball "egg" from Easter (it was for Daddy), and sees that it's empty, says sadly, "No chocolate. No chocolate."
• She says "cosas" and I can't figure out what she means until she says it again and adds "moo". Obviously, "Cow says moo"!
• She coughs and if I don't say anything to her afterwards, says to herself, "Bless you, Lu'au".
  

Marinade for Chicken Recipe

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. It's a simple marinade made with ingredients I usually have on hand. It's quick, delicious, and gets better the longer you marinade your meat. It's a winner!


Marinade for Chicken -from user jillypooh

Ingredients 

I halved the recipe to only make 2 cups marinade

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon finely minced fresh parsley *I use freeze-dried from a jar

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Stir in mustard powder, salt, pepper, and parsley. Use to marinate chicken before cooking as desired. The longer you marinate, the more flavor it will have.

Update on Goals

Goals for 2011 - revisited in March

1. Find a church we like.

We have visited a church in our neighborhood a few times and like it. It has a family service at a time that’s good for Lu’au’s naps. The people are friendly. It’s not perfect, but neither are we. Hopefully we can get plugged in soon.

2. Visit Europe (hopefully we can make this happen!).

Just bought tickets today to go to London! I’d like to work on an itinerary, and to figure out if we should take Lu’au or not (I've never been away from her for more than 4 hours!).

3. Make at least one new recipe per month and document it. (Make at least two recipes from the book Erinn gave me (Ready for Dessert).)

I’ve been making new things (potatoes, tilapia, cookies, chicken marinade…). I need to get better at documenting.

4. Continue taking one picture a day and posting it on a blog.

So far, so good! It’s been really fun.

5. Attend at least one photography workshop or class.

I have one workshop scheduled for May!

6. Finish Lu'au's quilt.

Done! I love how it turned out. Now to start two more – Isa’s and a new niece.

7. Visit Ashley and David in Atlanta.

We went in February and had a blast! We love hanging out with them!

8. Memorize the entire chant - Nā 'Ōiwi 'Ōlino

Well, I have most of the first verse down. Only four more to go.

9. Eat at Restaurant Eve (probably not the 9-course pre fixe, lunch or restaurant week is more like it)

I’m looking for an opportunity to go sometime soon. Preferably without Lu’au. We’ll see.

10. Craft more, internet/facebook less.  

I’m bad on this one. I’m on the internet WAY more than I need to be. How do I cut back on this? Any suggestions? I may be addicted. This is bad.

11.  Drink more liquids. Eat more fruit and vegetables, preferably raw.

           There’s definite room for improvement again here.

12. New- Exercise 4 times a week.

I really need to start exercising regularly again. Any ideas on how to motivate myself?

My daughter in 30 seconds

 

 

 

Sleep deprived

Lu'au has been a horrible sleeper lately. She doesn't want to sleep in her crib. We sometimes put her in her crib and let her cry it out. She then projectile vomits. She doesn't want to go down for naps, and takes about 45 minutes to go to sleep, if we're successful. She wakes up during the night, and again around 5 each morning. It's kind of rough, especially because she's been such a good sleeper before.

At least in the morning, she will often take a bottle and go back to sleep. I know it's probably a bad habit to get back into, but at this point, sleep is more valuable to me.

The other day she woke up. I was dazed and confused and had no idea what time it was. I asked CO what time it was, as the clock is on his side of the bed. He grumbled and managed to reply "four." I quickly (or what seemed like quickly) calculated that it probably could pass for bottle time, and, eager to get more sleep, I stumbled over to get her. I picked her up, carried her downstairs, and started to make her a bottle. It was then that I looked at the clock myself. I grumbled at my sleeping husband, stopped making the bottle, put the baby back in bed, and went to bed myself. Yes, dear, four was part of the number you read on the clock. The time? It was 12:43. Apparently I have to ask for all of the numbers next time.

Daddy!

We try to keep a bedtime routine for Lu'au. We eat dinner, we let her play a little, we give her a bath, Daddy reads her stories (while Mama makes the bottle), Mama feeds her a bottle, then she goes to sleep. Or at least that's the plan.

Last night was no different in our routine. We ate dinner. She played. I took her upstairs and started running the bath water. Daddy finished dishes downstairs. She noticed his absence by the bath, went to the door, opened it, and yelled "Dad-dy! Dad-dy!" It was adorable. She knew he was gone and how to get him to come upstairs. It worked.

New recipe - Gnocchi

When we lived in Australia, one of our favorite meals was fresh ricotta gnocchi. I traveled on the tram to the Prahran Market, to the fresh pasta shop. They had all sorts of delightful things there - noodles, filled pastas, and then this gnocchi. I think I bought some ravioli a few times, but my main love was their gnocchi. All you had to do after purchasing it was throw it in a skillet with some olive oil and panfry it til golden brown on the sides, dump on a little marinara sauce, and that's dinner!

Upon leaving Australia, I haven't had a gnocchi that could match the Prahran Market's. Until now. I had been wanting some for a while, and then finally this week I decided to try to make some on my own. I chose a recipe that looked fairly easy and didn't require any weird ingredients (a major deal-breaker for me because if it doesn't turn out well, who wants to be stuck with a million-dollar-per-ounce jar of urchin powder?). I skimmed the recipe, and the directions seemed fairly simple.


Sure, it did take about 45 minutes, but man, this stuff was good! CO begged me immediately to make more again soon, and did we have some left over so that he could take it to work? This recipe could easily be prepared a bit in advance, stored in an airtight container, and then sauteed hours (maybe days?) later.



Here's the recipe.

Ricotta Gnocchi - by Lillian Chou, as seen on Epicurious.com

 originally published in Gourmet  | April 2008 

Yield: Makes 4 servings
Active Time: 40 min
Total Time: 40 min

Ingredients:

2 cups whole-milk ricotta (1 pound)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 ounces), divided
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 (2-inch) rosemary sprig (optional)

Preparation:

Stir together ricotta, eggs, 1 cup cheese, nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add flour, stirring to form a soft, wet dough.

Shape dough on a well-floured surface with lightly floured hands into 2 (1-inch-thick) ropes (I would do 1/2 inch thick ropes next time). Cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces with a lightly floured knife. Put in 1 layer on a lightly floured parchment-lined baking sheet.

Cook gnocchi in 2 batches in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water), adding a few at a time to pot and stirring occasionally, until cooked through (cut one in half to check), 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain in colander.

Meanwhile, cook butter with rosemary in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-low heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Toss gnocchi with brown butter in skillet and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Season with salt.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Ricotta-Gnocchi-242001#ixzz1C4SdZC7G

Julie's notes: I skipped the butter with rosemary step, instead I just tossed the gnocchi with plain butter (olive oil would work too) until it was brown on both sides (think the color of grilled cheese).

I served with Newman's Own Organic Marinara Sauce and hubby couldn't say enough good things about it. Apparently it makes good leftovers, but he snatched them away before I could eat them!

Goals for 2011

I don't do resolutions. There's something about them that makes me horribly inconsistent and lose faith/motivation/resolve. So, in calling them goals, I hope that they will be more attainable and achievable.

1. Find a church we like.
2. Visit Europe (hopefully we can make this happen!).
3. Make at least one new recipe per month and document it. (Make at least two recipes from the book Erinn gave me (Ready for Dessert).)
4. Continue taking one picture a day and posting it on a blog.
5. Attend at least one photography workshop or class.
6. Finish Lu'au's quilt.
7. Visit Ashley and David in Atlanta.
8. Memorize the entire chant - Nā 'Ōiwi 'Ōlino
9. Eat at Restaurant Eve (probably not the 9-course pre fixe, lunch or restaurant week is more like it)
10. Craft more, internet/facebook less.  
11.  Drink more liquids. Eat more fruit and vegetables, preferably raw.

Thanks for nothing

I'm on email lists for several airlines. They send out "weekly" messages with their top "deals." Each email is divided into two parts - deals from our city and deals from other cities. Great. I'm glad I can fly to Akron for "cheap" (it doesn't look like a deal to me), but really, do you have to rub it in as to which cities have actual good deals on airline tickets? DC only has good deals to ONE city? Why is the "deals from other cities" section 10 times larger than my city?

Miami to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic probably is a bargain at $74 each way. I'd like to go there. But wait, I don't live in Miami. Why in the world do you have to rub it in that people in an already warm climate with good, cheap, food (ie Cuban sandwiches - so yummy) readily available can "get away" for so cheaply while I am stuck in not warm DC with only a deal to Ohio?

(I love you, Jen, and someday will go visit you - apparently there are lots of good deals to be had.)