Jokes?

I mean good jokes. Anyone have any? My brother has to tell one at their Christmas party...sounds like torture to me! I gave him a good story by storyteller Kevin Kling, which I think he is going to paraphrase, but I can't help thinking there's a perfect joke out there for him. Short with a sweet sting of a punchline. You get tears of laughter from me, I bake you cookies.

Menu for Fall

We had rain today, so it actually felt like Fall. Sadly, it was just in the morning, and it's gone now.

Here's the menu for this week:

*Spicy Pulled Pork Crispy Flour Tacos with iceberg lettuce and sauteéd red pepper, julienned zucchini and mushrooms.

*Fish Po-Boys with garlic aoli and iceberg lettuce on crusty rolls.

*Chicken wrapped in Prociuto with mashed potatoes and Bruxels Sprouts (Eric, I only bought enough for Steve and I, so no worries.)

*Baked Potatoes with Beef Stroganoff and sauteéd broccoli

*Giamelli pasta with shrimp and pesto

*Some kind of pork loin dish. Not sure just what yet.

The big finale... either Monday or Tuesday... CHP-timed Thanksgiving Chicken Dinner with stuffing, roasted on a bed of new potatoes, served with green beans. Apple cobbler for dessert. To celebrate Thanksgiving with Jennifer, and to celebrate a year for her in the CHP. I think we'll also celebrate the arrival of the little holiday burrito, AKA, Ava Marie Van Brasch, our new niece. Then we'll also celebrate the purchase of Jamie and Shannon's first home. So just celebrations all around!

Coming soon:
Chinese Pork Noodle Soup (Eric's fav, if I can pull it off)
Lentil Soup again, maybe with pork
Paella?

And KUDOS, by the way to my husband! He has been working on a gift for my birthday since August, and due to odd circumstances, it FINALLY arrived last week! He managed to completely surprise me by getting my birthday GIANT COOKIE snuck into the house at my parent's place, and gave me a (don't worry, completely legal) recording of the Aug. 26th Dave Matthews concert!! Let me tell you, my husband is probably the most thoughtful gift giver I know! I'm in charge of timliness in our family, but when he's on, he's ON!

Well, off to bed with me. Always a 1/2 hour to hour late these days.

The Eve of Orange and Brown

When I was a kid, I absolutely hated orange and brown, as they were the remnants of the 70's. We're talking plaid orange and brown suits, etc. So it is no surprise that it's taken me 20+ years to come back around to loving the orange and the brown. Thanksgiving is the Orange and Brown holiday. It has so much potential for class, but we throw in all the ugly fake pilgrims and such to make it chintzy. Same with Christmas. I mean, what's with the gigantic snow globe?

I had a busy, but enjoyable evening. I was decked out in my apron rolling out a pie crust, listening to Harry Connick, Jr., thinking that I love the new, adult side of the holidays. I like making the pumpkin pie. I can't say I love all the clean-up of the holidays. The dishes seem endless. But the smell of my own, triumphant pie is balmy.

Here's what we did with Steve's half day.

This week's menu

Yesterday - Spicy Country Ribs (thanks to Real Simple) with roasted squash and sweet potatoes
Today - Mac and Cheese, grown-up style
Tomorrow - Meatloaf (Dad, it's actually good, I promise. No brown sugary stuff. Even Bud likes it.)
Wednesday - Thai shrimp and Noodles
Thursday - Um, I don't know, we'll think of something.

Kidding. Mom's making the whole bit. Turkey, stuffing, green beans, Aunt Cindy's bringing rolls and pecan pie, Grandpa's wife, Evelyn, is bringing lemon pie, and I'm bringing Grandma Larson's Secret Recipe Pumpkin Pie. One of the two best compliments I ever got from Steve was that I made pumpkin pie as good as his mom. HIGH PRAISE!!

I know we often take this week to think of what we're thankful for, and I am glad that God has prompted me to do this a lot all through the year. There has been a lot of change in our lives this year, some of which has been a bit shocking to the system (like sleep deprivation), and God has been working on true thankfulness in my heart. I see it in the way that I don't miss the little things as much as I thought I would. I don't really miss my salon shampoo or the Bath and Body Works splurges. I don't mind being more of a homebody, or the fact that it takes me 10 times as long to do anything (like simply getting out of the car). I don't mind that my left shoulder invariably has something sticking to it (Lucy has developed a new habit of wiping her face on my shoulder when I hold her. Nice.) So while it seems so obvious to say this, the thing I'm most thankful for this year is my Lucy. My heart nearly bursts with it. The work is so daily, and often seems so drudging. But her soft, sweet smelling skin, her beautiful blue eyes, her two little bottom teeth, and her little personality that is starting to emerge are just more than I can say. I know you all know what I mean, regardless of whether you have a kid or not. You know what it's like to love someone so much it can't be explained.

I'm thankful, too, that God has given us plenty to live on, and a safety net, too. He's given us this wonderful house. He has built a strong, wonderful relationship in my marriage that just gets better every year. He has given us close relationships with our families. I'm so thankful that we are always glad to spend time with either of our families. I know that is not a given, and I count my blessings every time we spend time with family. He has given us amazing friends that most people wish all their lives to have.

I'm thankful for chocolate. I'm thankful for good knives. I'm thankful for fuzzy carpet. I'm thankful for new quilts. I'm thankful for new shoes to come. I'm thankful for running (no really!). I'm thankful for good tunes, both old and new, for cozy slippers, for Parisian Taupe, for Tivo.

Enough from me. I want to know what you all are thankful for!

Oh, and cheesy as it sounds, I'm actually really thankful for your comments. There are many of you that I miss and don't get to see nearly often enough, and I like knowing that you are reading!

Lily Mei Hua Clark

I have been following the progress of our youth pastor and his wife as they travel to China to pick up their new daughter. Betsy headed up the committee that I was on for the church event, and then left only 4 days later for China. They will actually see her for the first time tomorrow, or really tonight. I have been thinking a lot about what they are going through. I've been struck more by the similarities with my situation than the differences. They are told that the babies will likely not be in good moods whe they get them. Lucy wasnt exactly all that happy about her new situation, either. Other things I feel in common are the overwhelming feeling of the hugeness of taking care of this baby, the strangeness of getting to know and bonding with the baby, and the sheer delight of bringing that little one into your family. Here is the website for little Lilly Mei.

Oh, and...

Forgot to say my mom is re-framing the lilac painting (a Terrie Sorensen original), and I am painting the frame silver on the purple crocus painting (a Sari Wall original). One of these days we are going to also paint the walls some kind of moss or taupe.

Birthday presents keep coming

My birthday was over a month ago, but the presents seem to keep trickling in. My mom was here for a few days and bought my previously agreed upon gift, which was a quilt for my bed. We re-arranged my room, and I really wish you could see from these pictures how much nicer it looks.

The first 3 are before




These are after.

Christmas Cookies

Hard to talk about Christmas Cookies when it's 75 degrees out...

But I would love to know what kind people like the best. I was thinking about doing a baking day with a friend this year. I like sugar cookies the best, and Steve's mom's peanutbutter blossoms are super yum, too (peanut butter cookie with a Hershey's kiss in the middle). I hate anything with nuts, so I won't make them. But I'd love to know what else people like.

Food

Why is it that I normally get 1-2 comments, but when I write about food I get gobs of comments?

We had take-out Chinese food tonight. Discuss.

But seriously, folks, let's talk turkey. I'm coming to discover that there are tons of folks out there that hate turkey, and only eat it because it's traditional. The other thing I'm learning is that those people think that no one else likes turkey either, and that we all eat it out of obligation. I was shocked and dismayed, as turkey dinner is one of my favorites all year! I love the turkey, the stuffing, rolls, mashed potatoes, green beans... oh, yum, yum! I will admit, I don't care for the pecan pie, and pumpkin pie isn't my favorite. However, I like to make lemon meringue for my family, which is pretty yummy, and I"m thinking of attempting a berry pie. But of course, I need to make pumpkin pie for my husband--it's his favorite.

Speaking of pie, it's very strange that I should have become a pie maker. My mom never made pies, we always bought them. But one year it was the Earles' turn for Thanksgiving, and the Earle seniors were in New Zealand, so it fell to me to make Mom Earle's Pumpkin Pie. Talk about pressure! But guess what... Steve said it was just as good as his mom's! That's high praise!

Okay, now I'm hungry... bummer!

The big weekend

I've been working for several months on an event for my church. It's a huge dinner at Biola under a big tent. No, there won't be an alter call or any singing of "I Surrender All." Thanksgiving Turkey for about 400 people, as well as a big church-ish service to follow as a kick-off to our building campaign. During the planning stages I've had screw-ups from the Biola Conference Services Coordinator, misunderstandings with the caterer, communication fog with some of the church folks... plenty of challenges. But the really great thing, as I think I may have said before, is the way God has clearly been working on my character through this. It's been good to be guided and learn not to get indignant about things. So the weekend starts tomorrow with flower arranging in the morning, gluing leaves Friday night, set-up Saturday. Oh, and my parents are coming down to babysit! Sweet! Plus, Mom is staying until Wednesday so we can play!

This week's Menu

First, News and Notes:
* November the 6th, and it is 95 degrees outside. Um, yeah.

* Lucy went down awake last night, and as I left, she smiled at me and said, "Ba, ba, ba," which I'm pretty sure meant, "Goodnight, Mommy." She slept all night! Napping is going well, too! Praise God!

* I am 80% done with my Christmas shopping (including the 8 birthdays between Nov. 7 and Jan 2), and have wrapped a bunch of it already, too. I stink at wrapping. Ah well!

Okay, the Menu--
I've always told my husband, and now my brother, that it's important to me that you tell the truth about a meal. If we try something new and you tell me you like it, I'll make it again. If you were lying, you'll pay for your lie over and over again! The deal is, you tell the truth kindly, and I won't be offended if you don't like something. And I won't make it again.

Here's the ranking system given by my family:
5-In my top 10 favorite meals
4-Really good! Make it again!
3-Yeah, that wasn't bad
2-I'll eat it, but don't make it again
1-I'm getting a quesadilla.

Menu (last week into this week):
* Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage and Apples - 3.5
* Stuffed Zucchini and Baked Chicken - 4
* Linguini Marvini with chicken and broccoli - 4
* Spicy Country Ribs with biscuits and green beans - 4.5
* Chili w/ Fritos & corn bread - 3
* BBQ'd terriyaki chicken (made w/ pineapple juice and soy sauce) - 4
* Slow cooker chicken w/ bacon & Mushrooms, served w/ Asparagus (tonight's meal)
* Turkey quesadillas (made w/ all kinds of veggies) - 4
* Tuna and shells (sometime this week... new meal)
* Rigatoni Bolonaise (new recipe, probably tomorrow) w/ salad and garlic bread

Let's Vote Already!

Ugh. I will be so glad when the election is over. I am so tired of the political chatter, but more tired of all the junk that flows into my house. The mail, but especially the phone calls are just starting to feel invasive. I mean really. You think I'm going to make up my mind based on a recording of Arnold or Pete Wilson? At least they seem to know I am conservative. I swear, though, if one more call wakes me up from a much needed nap (you know it's needed because of the time this post is date-stamped), I think I'll lose it.

Second thought... I am buying Christmas presents already, and it is supposed to get close to 90 degrees this week. I ask you, is this right?? I can't bear to bring out my Christmas music until I need to get a little snuggly in my slippers.

Follow up

Well, my particular thanks to my dear friends for the encouragement. While we're not out of the woods, last night wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. We started at bedtime, and it was really, really horrible. It is heart-wrenching when your kid is screaming their lungs out and reaching up for you, and you just leave them there. But she only cried that hard at bedtime, and only for an hour. Then up at 12:00, and not nearly the intense crying, she stayed laying down, and it only took 30 min. I feel empowered now! Oh, and she still loves me, by the way. =) I figure this is good training for when I have to say no about even more important stuff, like running into the street or dating someone from the mid-west. (Just kidding.)

Follow up

Well, my particular thanks to my dear friends for the encouragement. While we're not out of the woods, last night wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. We started at bedtime, and it was really, really horrible. It is heart-wrenching when your kid is screaming their lungs out and reaching up for you, and you just leave them there. But she only cried that hard at bedtime, and only for an hour. Then up at 12:00, and not nearly the intense crying, she stayed laying down, and it only took 30 min. I feel empowered now! Oh, and she still loves me, by the way. =) I figure this is good training for when I have to say no about even more important stuff, like running into the street or dating someone from the mid-west. (Just kidding.)

Commitment moves

I don't often like making commitments. The ones that are really important are easy. Steve was a no-brainer... I never even had to think twice about that. But things like taking a job, quitting a job, that kind of stuff is hard. You wonder if you're making a mistake. Well, tonight we are making a commitment move for at least a week. Sounds like not such a big deal until I play you the sounds that I have committed to hearing for a week.

You've heard of the "cry it out" method of getting your kid to sleep through the night, but I've decided it needs to be renamed to "scream it out." It is one of the hardest things I've ever done, and I have no idea how long it will take, both in hours per night and in how many days. Or even IF it will work. So much research and so many people say that it will indeed work, and it just doesn't seem right that she should be used to nursing back to sleep. I've done a bunch of reading, and I thought I would side with the "softer" arguments... the people who say you should just nurse your kid for as long as they'll nurse. But as I read, I just couldn't agree with some of their fundamental arguments. I've talked to friends, family, read some books, talked to the doctor (who has kids), and I think this is the right way to go.

And as I wrote that, the crying stopped. Sniffling will continue for hours (she has an amazing ability to sniffle in her sleep for hours), but our first go only took just over an hour.

But I'll be up at midnight to try again.

Oh yeah

This is from the Drudge page... my favorite news in ages! Why is there no news that I like to read, by the way? I LOVE NPR, but the philosophies behind it are just too far off. I need a conservative viewpoint with the class, the thoroughness, the pace, the style of NPR. Bugs the heck out of me.

Random thoughts of the day:
* Man I love the voice of the lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket, Glen Phillip. Yummy voice. I like the lead from Cake, too. Why aren't those guys Christians? Them and Dave Matthews? Actually the Toad guy is a reformed Judaist.

* Chocolate is so yummy.

* Best meal lately: Stuffed zucchini. I'm super proud of it. People should eat things that are stuffed on Halloween.

* It was 75 degrees on Nov. 1. Love So Cal.

Bedtime.

'Ween

We had a fun little "holiday" this week. Steve was at the UCLA game, or should I say, the defeat, so I went to our friends' party on Saturday with Lucy and the Bud. We had a grand time, and Eric had a fantastic pumpkin. I will try to remember to grab a picture and post it. Here's one of Lucy. She's a Hershey's Kiss, and I'm supposed to be a candy corn.



Then tonight I fed candy to the neighborhood kids. We don't get all that many, so I don't really mind. The things I mind, of course, are the people that are way too old and don't even bother to dress up, as well as the moms who collect candy for their children who are too young for candy. But I like seeing the dozen princesses and assorted others. Like Bud, I don't like the gory costumes, but my fav's of the night were Wonder Woman, the Rock Star Girl, complete with head-mounted mic, and the Swat officer.

Other things on the mind lately are the church event I've been working on. Thankfully yesterday was a fantastic meeting that allayed much of my anxiety on the subject. I have some constructive criticism to pass on to both the church and Biola about how they handle events, but I think I'm finally at a place where I can do so without being snotty. This has really been an opportunity for me to allow God to work on my attitude. I have a really deep seeded need to be right, and to justify myself, and it's been very clear to me that I need to check my heart.

The other worrisome thing has been Lucy's sleeping. The doctor is really encouraging us to help her start sleeping through the night, which is going to mean some hellish nights for awhile. We won't start making her cry it out just yet, but we have to start with getting her back into a better bedtime routine. It sounds so simple, but it is totally exhausting. I don't think she's abnormal, but I do know she gives us a harder time than some.

Okay, off to bed with me.