Gary is "Plum Crazy"

My husband + his favorite COLOR + his love of usesless trivia =

.

Should be interesting.

An Overused Phrase and it's Literal Translation.

So, Gary has this thing he likes to say. He says it when there is an empty seat at the table, food not eaten, or an extra serving of something. He likes to say those things are "for Jesus". No, he's not actually setting a place at the table for Jesus. He's being very tongue-in-cheek. Yeah, I know, Gary being cheeky. Who could believe that?! Anyway, the other night, it caught up to him. He was being quite naughty with himself. Craving Crown Burger and wondering just how far he could push his dietary limits. Crown Burger seemed to be okay, so he branched out to Irish Cream, that was okay too. Cream in his coffee, um....maybe not so okay. But how to be sure? Definitely not by using the better part of a pint in a weekend. Yeah, that's how he rolls. He thinks big and he goes for the gusto. If a little bit is good, a lot is better. He's that way with EVERYTHING! And, it's one of the things I love about him, it really is. But he quickly realized the error in judgement on the cream and coffee issue. Next, he tried leftover Bierocks...I never realized how much he truly liked them. They probably would have been okay, if he hadn't followed them with half a bag of chocolate chips! While he and Neil were sharing the chocolate chips, Neil surprised him by taking one chip and setting it on the table...and declaring it was "for Jesus". Now that I look at it, he just might have been trying to keep it away from Gary. But, Gary thought it was pretty funny, so he called me at work to tell me what happened. It was funny. I had to laugh. When I got home that night, Neil met me at the bottom of the stairs. We were going over the homework and talking about his day, when he saw the chocolate chip still on the table. He said "Jesus didn't eat his chocolate chip." I had to say, "And, he probably won't" to which he replied "Why?" .....um yes, why? The first thing into my head was that He's dead. But, that's not exactly true. So, I did the parental thing and changed the subject. The next morning I saw the chip still there. Surprised? I am a bit, it was sitting at Gary's place on the table...he had eaten breakfast right in that very spot. But, I guess he was feeling crappy enough from the previous night of indulgence that it didn't even look good. So, since it was there, I ate it. And felt guilty. I didn't want Neil to think that Jesus had stopped by in the middle of the night to eat the chocolate chip. He's not Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy. He doesn't need to work under cover of darkness, while all are sleeping. I put another in it's place. When Neil came downstairs, he saw it. He gave it a look, then gave me a look. I said "Jesus still didn't eat the chocolate chip." So, Neil did. And he smiled big when he did it. I did have to point out to him that when some people set that extra place at the table, it is for Jesus. But, they know He won't actually be joining them. It's more of a reminder. A reminder to share what we have with those who have less. A reminder that there is always something we can share. Time, friendship, the warmth of our home, a meal, and maybe even a chocolate chip. He's a good kid, he got it.

2009 the year in Review

Okay, so I know this is a bit late. And may seem less important, since it isn't the first post of the new year. To be honest, I'm terrible at uploading photos. But, since I've realized that I don't have to post photos, or very many, since the first half of the year is already taken care of... here it is.

January
Walking with Dinosaurs and the first visit from Tooth Fairy. Since then, he's lost four more teeth.

February
The passing of my dad.

March
Spring violin recital.

April
Tour of the Depot bike race. A race for Gary, right in our very own neck of the woods. Not my favorite way to spend Easter. But, hey...it was some great outside time. And the weather on Sunday was sooo much nicer than the weather on Saturday...burr!!

May
A school field trip to the zoo, with Dad. Farewell to a small violin, and hello to a bigger one. Last day of Kindergarden.


June
State Road Race Championships in Clarkston. Intermountain Suzuki Strings Institute.

July
Swim Lessons!!!

August
Camping and First Grade.


September
Soldier Hollow Classic sheepdog trials and Splash dogs. The third year up for Neil and me, fun stuff!

October
That month long celebration of Halloween. School carnival, Benson Grist Mill Pumpkin Walk and party, Halloween HighJinks with the Utah Symphony, Halloween violin recital, Wheeler Farm cyclocross race, trick-or-treating, and the FLU...even swine flu, we think....we didn't actually go to the doctor for the diagnosis. What's up with folks that do that, anyway? You're sick, go to bed!





November.
Quiet Thanksgiving at home. SCD friendly for Gary, and ultra yummy for everybody. The find of a pie that Neil loved...German Apple. Once again saying farewell to a small violin and hello to a larger one. And a son that thinks my cooking should be 'interviewed'.

December.
Christmas violin performance at Tooelel City Hall, complete with visit with Santa. Birthday lunch at Joe's Crabshack with Mom and Grandma. Thinking that would suffice for birthday dinner, only to hear a muttered..."today's not my birthday." A freshly turned 7 year old. A new Red Ryder BB gun and salmon and shrimp dinner for his birthday. Winter vacation from school...I never knew somebody that young could be so Excited to not have to go to school!! Christmas!!! And as Neil put it when asked: "Did you get a lot of presents for Christmas?" shoulder shrug..."no, not really. But it was good." And a really fun New Year's Eve. Second viewing of Avatar...took my mom this time, visit to Gary's mom, Gary's first Crown Burger in 3 years...and ta da! This time it DID NOT make him sick!! YAY!! Lots of New Year's Eve fun that lasted until New Year's morning with Kim, Paul, and Bryce.







Looking back, I realize that I was able to do almost one small post monthly. I'm better than I thought I was.

Scones

I started a diet on Monday, but yesterday I had a crazy craving for scones. Anyway, it was more than a craving, it was a compulsion to bake something yummy. I was thinking raspberry, but opted for oatmeal with currants. One recipe makes eight scones. I took four to work to share with co-workers. Kept four at home, one for Neil, and freeze the other three. Not a bad way to indulge, right? The house smelled so good, I wish you had smelivision, as Gary is fond of saying.



And since Kim wants the recipe. Here it is.

Oatmeal Currant Scones

1 and 1/2 C flour
1 C old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 C firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 C unsalted butter, chilled
1 large egg
1/4 C milk
2 Tablespoons molasses
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 Cup currants

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a 10-inch-diameter circle in the center of a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg, milk, molasses and vanilla. Stir to combine. Add currants.
Spread dough into an 8-inch-diameter circle in the center of the baking sheet. With a serated knife, cut into 8 wedges. Bake at 22 to 27 minutes, or until knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place baking sheet on wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Recut wedges, if necessary.

Well?? How Good are You?

Gary sent me this poem yesterday, and I love it. If you know me very well, you can guess it brought tears to my eyes.


Almost as Good
As Your Dog

If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can get going without pep pills,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time.
If you can overlook it when those you love take it out on you,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him,
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than an poor friend,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
If you can say honestly that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion or politics, THEN, my friend, you are almost as good as your dog.

Author Unknown

Laughter

It's good to know what people see in us. Last night, as I listened to Gary and Kim talk about me, I was pleased with what they were saying. They were talking about the way I laugh. And the things that make me laugh. For somebody who has never been overly fond of my own laugh, it was good to hear. They never once mentioned that I cackle like a witch, they never brought up the Betty Rubble giggle. They talked about the near to tears laughter. That laugh that comes from somewhere deep inside and uses more energy that a good work-out. As Gary calls it, me sharing my joy with those around me. I love knowing that laughter is one of the memories I leave with people. So, that said, here's to more living, more laughter, and more love in 2010. Happy New Year.

The Bizarre World of the Sleeping

It's funny the things we do in our sleep. From time to time, Neil will walk into our room, in his sleep. I have been known to laugh to the point of hysteria in my sleep. Gary and I have woken ourselves up mid-conversation in our sleep. Punches have even been thrown in our sleep. Last night, Neil took a left turn out of his bedroom instead of a right. Making our room, not the bathroom, the destination point. Weren't we surprised awake by the sound of his mid-sleep whizzing. Gary was startled into full wakefulness, and turning on the light, witnessed the wee little event. This in turn brought on a bout of near-hysterical laughing from me. While I remember laughing myself into full wakefulness, I hope Neil does not remember his little mid-sleep piss-up....uh, I mean slip-up.

OH, and a big thank-you Gary, for being the one awake enough to clean it up. I knew I loved you for the right reasons.