Colour Preference

Overheard tonight while Jason was putting the boys to bed:

"What're you doin'?" came Jason's voice directed to Jude.

"Hidin'," came the reply, accompanied by lots of giggling.

"Are you hiding from me?"

"Mm-hmm. I was hiding from you while you were at work today."

"Really."

"Mommy was hiding, too."

"Wow, I was even talking to Mommy on the phone, and she didn't tell me she was hiding!"

This brought a slight pause.

"You have a phone at work?" asked Jude in an incredulous voice.

Jason replied through suppressed laughter, "Yes, I do."

"Is it a black one?"

"No, it's kind of a beige one."

"Oh. I like beige phones."

Guessing Game

Can you guess what I've been busy doing this weekend? And why?

Here's a hint:




And another:



And another:


Answers to come "later"!

Isn't It Great?

Isn't it great how, when you're a kid:

• all you need to be a super-hero is to tie on a cape made out of a receiving blanket?
• all you need for a deep sea adventure is a ball of playdough?
• all you need to play bumper cars is a couple of empty cardboard boxes?
• all you need to fly is a swing?
• all you need to be a pirate is a bandana around your head and a stick in your hand?
  
• all you need to make the ow-ees all better is a kiss and a hug from Mommy?
• all you need to know that all is right in the world is to see Mommy and Daddy kiss and hug each other?

Yeah. Isn't it great?

Let's Talk Turkey

First of all, I would like to promote the Hoagie Awards, being hosted over at Heather Anne's blog. You have a chance to vote and recommend blogs you like, (as long as they fit in the categories.) The prize is a faux-gold encrusted turkey, bag of jelly beans, and a $1 bill, I assume in U.S. currency.

Join the fun. Pop on over there and cast your votes! (More recent posts than the one linked to answer some frequently-asked-questions.)

Second, here is the recipe for the turkey soup I made last week, to use up the last bit of turkey we had on Thanksgiving. I don't normally make unblended soups, and I don't normally make broth soups, but the tomatoes blended in, along with the spices, give this hearty soup a fullness and robust-ness of flavour not usually found in this type of soup. (Noah got a little turned off by the kidney beans, but otherwise my whole family liked it. I did blend it up for Jabin, though.)

Italian Turkey Soup Makes approx. 8 cups
©2006 Talena Winters

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed, peeled, and chopped
6 cups turkey stock
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cups prepared kidney beans
14 oz. canned whole tomatoes
1 cup frozen or fresh peas
2-3 c. chopped cooked turkey
1 tbsp. Celtic sea salt
1 tsp. green peppercorns, crushed
¼ tsp. ground savory
½ tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. dried oregano

Fry onions and garlic in large pot until soft. Blend tomatoes in blender on pulse for 5 seconds. Add to pot along with stock, vegetables, beans, turkey and spices. Simmer until all vegetables are cooked. If desired, add freshly ground black pepper. Serve with warm whole-grain bread.

Can you spot me on my desk?

This is a picture of my desk that I took this afternoon.

I love that this picture encorporates so many facets of my life at once:

• Thanks to my businesses, composing, and crafts, all of which utilize the computer and/or internet, I spend many hours in my week sitting in this black chair. We originally purchased this from Ikea with gift certificates we got as wedding gifts from my extended family (thanks, everyone!) My back has been grateful every day since then. ("Captain's-on-the-bridge" me.)
  
• Notice how the desk is mostly organized, with little unorganized bits hanging about. This was in the middle of a project, but normally at night the area in front of my monitor is bare. However, stuffed behind the monitor are manuals to be organized, sticky notes of things to do, business cards and contact info to be entered, and a box of Kleenex Scotties facial tissues. ("Mostly organized" me.)
  
• Next to the scanner are bills to be paid or filed, and some hand-made cards to be scanned for posterity's sake. ("Scrapbooker" me.)
  
• A mini mixing board that I purchased several years ago when I sold my piano perches atop the scanner, hinting at the fact that I might actually do some recording someday. The books are all either reference books for music, notebooks for writing song ideas in, manuals for my mixer and composing program, or inspiration-books for song ideas, such as "Chicken Soup". ("Composer" me.)
• There is a haphazard pile of receipts waiting to be organized by the lamp. It has been sitting there for three months. ("Procrastinating" me.)
  
• The ball of yarn is for a knitting project I intend to get to "soon"--some slippers that I saw on the internet, and I think I got the pattern figured out for. They wanted to sell me a kit, just to get the pattern! Hah! I haven't even done a sock, but I think I've got this one nailed! (I guess we'll find out when I start making it!) - ("Knitter" me. And also "foolish" me.)
  
• The fax machine holds two invoices from my supplier, which need to be entered into the books and filed. The binder beside the scanner holds pricelists and product info for my eBay business. ("Business woman" me.)
  
• The open book is a songbook, out of which I was arranging a Christmas song for my beginner-level students to play, since the Christmas music I had ordered is still on back-order. (Apparently, the supplier sent most of it to me today. Finally.) - ("Teacher" me.)
  
• The pile at the far left is a bunch of paperwork for Winters Distributing that needs to be entered into the books, sitting atop the boxes for the accounting program that is supposed to make my books so much easier--if only I would ever take the time to figure it out! ("Too-busy-to-keep-up-with-everything" me.)
• On the bulletin board and here and there around the desk are notes and cards and photos of and from friends and family--reminders of the special people in my life. ("No-woman-is-an-island" me.)
  
• In front of the box is a toy. Also, my computer desktop wallpaper is usually a semi-recent photo of my kids. ("Mommy" me.)
• Out of sight of the camera (behind the ball of yarn) is a photo of Jason and me taken Christmas 2001, and mixed in with the bills is the letter he wrote to me on my birthday, so I can be reminded of him and his love for me throughout the day. ("To-love-and-be-loved" me.)
• Last, but not least, is the empty mug 0f newly-finished chai tea. ("Taking-time-out-for-me" me.)

This post was in response to a suggestion from Nairobi Paul.

Family Fugue

Last week is a blur of late nights and bleary-eyed days, punctuated by teaching piano lessons and babysitting other people's children, leading up to a grand finale on the weekend of sleeplessness and scrapbooking.

This past weekend was Scrap Away, the annual scrapbooking retreat hosted by First Baptist Church here in Peace River. This year, I was a teacher. I was only supposed to teach two classes, but one of them proved to be so popular that we ran it twice. The majority of last week was spent in a frenzy of making lesson plans, cutting pieces of patterned paper, and putting page kits together. Sleep was not something that happened with its usual regularity.

The actual event ran on Friday and Saturday nights until 1 a.m. The other teacher was my friend Amanda, who is a Stampin' Up! consultant. Not only did she prep her own classes with her own two small children running around, she is seven months pregnant! I can't imagine trying to do what she did, on as little sleep as she did, at that stage of pregnancy! Yikes! It was hard enough on me!

Her husband and kids stayed at our house on the weekend as well, and the guys (Darryl and Jason) handled the home front while us girls were out, earning money to scrapbook! Whee! (It might have been easier to convince Jason to do this since the money I earned went towards a new set of golf clubs for his birthday. I figured it was time for my habit to give something back to him, for a change, since he is usually the one funding it!)

In other news, Jabin has learned the art of teleporting. He hasn't figured out how to go farther than two or three feet at a time, but I figure that must be what he's doing. I set him on the floor in a sitting position, and when I look back a few moments later, he has teleported himself to a different spot, even though he is still sitting up! Or, he is laying on his back drinking a bottle, then rolls onto his belly. He has only figured out how to teleport backwards from this position, though--his arms are apparently the primary device running the technique.

Noah has become Mr. Independant over the last few weeks. He was always independant as far as being a self-entertainer, etc., but now there are even more areas where he actually gets quite offended if I try to help him, such as helping him put on his Pull-Up or pants, and he just had a conniption when I tried to assist him with his toque and mittens. In some ways, it is really nice to know I can tell him to do something and he knows how to do it, but on the other hand, he is so easily distracted that I often find myself having to repeat the command about 18 times before it is accomplished. Sigh. The joy and the sorrow of having your kids get older.

Jude has a few phrases he has been using a lot. For a while, he would start the answers to most questions with "Probably." e.g. "Did you do this, Jude?" "Probably Noah did." "Where is Noah?" "Probably in the T.V. room." "Is this yours?" "Probably it is."

Lately, he has been exploring phrases that define time. Often, he begins a sentence with "one second." e.g. "One second, Mom, I want to tell you something. One second." However, he has been using other time-related phrases like "last week," "one moment," "yesterday," "the other day," and none of them have any relation to when an even actually happened. It could have been this morning, or a month ago. The phrases are all interchangable for any period of time before now!

Also, when he goes to bed at night, he always refers to it as a "nap!"

With the length of some of the nights I have had lately, I guess I could be calling it a nap, too!

Oh, Beautiful Stock!

"Stock to a cook is voice to a singer."
-Anonymous

That's the quote I found on the internet today, and I couldn't agree more. Cook with stock, and even the most mediocre dishes are elevated to the status of "delicious." Soups become fantastic, rice sings in your mouth, and spaghetti sauce develops a fullness and richness of flavour you never thought possible.

Generally, meat dishes are prepared with a stock made from similar meat (e.g. beef with beef stock, lamb with lamb stock, chicken with chicken stock, fish with fish stock.) Vegetable soups can be prepared with the stock of your choice, but most cooks prefer poultry stock (including me.) I have used beef stock for my Cream of Potato Soup in a pinch, but if I have poultry stock, I use it.

What is the difference between stock and broth? Broth is usually thinner, less robust, and made from whatever is kicking around the fridge when you finish off the roast after supper. Stock is usually boiled much longer, includes bones, and follows more of a set formulaic recipe. Properly-prepared stock from bones also has a meat-sparing effect, meaning you don't need to have as much meat in your meal when stock is included. The gelatin in the stock (which comes from the bones) is extremely healthy for you, and is the factor that "stretches" the other protein in the meal.

Pregnant women and children should try to consume meals prepared with stock almost daily. Everyone else should use it as often as possible.

Not to mention--if you cook with stock, everyone will think you are the best cook in the neighbourhood!

This is my recipe for poultry stock. It is loosely based on the recipe I got from Jordan Rubin's The Maker's Diet book (which was, in turn, loosely based on Sally Fallon's recipe from Nourishing Traditions.) I make it in large batches, using a 20-quart stockpot, so that I only have to make it once every couple of months. Just split the recipe down if your pot is smaller. But really--a cheap but large stock pot is probably one of the better investments you can make for your kitchen. A nice one is even better.

Chicken Stock

2-4 Chicken carcasses from roast, not picked too clean, including the giblets, skin, and any pan drippings not used in gravy (Alternatively, you could use 2 whole, uncooked chickens cut into pieces)
4-6 pounds chicken backs and necks (available quite cheaply from the meat counter)
filtered water
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. extra-virgin coconut oil
2 large onions, peeled and cut into wedges
6-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
4-6 large carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
4-6 large celery stalks, coarsely chopped
4" piece ginger root, peeled and crushed
1/4 tsp. cardamom (whole)
1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
4 bay leaves
1 tsp. mustard seeds
2 tbsp. Celtic Sea Salt
1 bunch parsley

Place chicken in pot and cover with water, adding apple cider vinegar. Water should be at least 2" below top of pot. Put on burner on medium.

Add all remaining ingredients except parsley. When it comes to a boil, skim off any foam. Simmer for 12-24 hours--the longer you simmer it, the more gelatin will be released into the stock. 10 minutes before finishing, throw in the parsley (this will release more mineral ions into the broth.)

Let cool slightly, then strain and put into containers for freezing. The bones will be very soft--a great treat for your dog.

Turkey Stock: Substitute one large or two small turkey carcasses and giblets, etc. for the chicken.

And now, I leave you with that famous ode to soup, sung by the griffin in Alice Through The Looking Glass:

Soup Of The Evening
Lewis Carroll

Beautiful Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Beau - ootiful Soo - oop!
Beau - ootiful Soo - oop!
Soo - oop of the e - e - evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!

Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish,
Game, or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for
two pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?
Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?

Beau - ootiful Soo - oop!
Beau - ootiful Soo - oop!
Soo - oop of the e - e - evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!

Edit: Upon muddling this over for the day, and further investigation, this song was actually sung by the Mock Turtle, and it was in Alice In Wonderland. Thankfully, I caught myself before someone else did. As a side note, you can now read the entire complete volumes of Alice In Wonderland and Alice Through The Looking Glass, complete with original illustrations, on the internet.

I Once Was Lost, But Now Am Found

Oh, joy! Oh, bliss!

For Jason's birthday, his mom got him the second season of Lost. He got the first season for his birthday last year. As we are of the non-television-viewing persuasion, thanks to lack of reception (and lack of desire), we were somewhat surprised at how we (that would be the royal "we"--meaning me) quickly became addicted to this show.

SO!

Tonight we tore off the cellophane and watched the first episode, Season 2.

And I'm hooked already.

Dad, I thought of saying we'd watch one disc a week, on Sunday nights, in homage to you--but the chances are we won't have time to watch one disc at a time, so we'll just have to watch 'em whenever we can squeeze 'em in. But I'll be thinkin' of ya'. (As Jason pointed out, thanks to your satellite dish, you've probably seen the whole second season anyway. I'd call you a booger, but that's just not polite.)

To any other Lost-ophobes out there: feel free to share your enthusiasm in the comments, but no spoilers, please!

Count With Me

Our oldest child, Jude, can be classified as a picky eater. This is not something we have allowed to dominate our menu choices, however. While we won't force him to finish something he absolutely hates, he generally has to have enough of it to say he gave it an honest try.

However, at times, the menu item doesn't make him gag, he just doesn't like the texture or something, although the flavour is pretty good. In cases like this, we usually encourage him to eat it all, or a certain number of bites. One of his favourite games to make this fun is to have you count the bites with him, then laugh wildly like Count von Count after each number is proclaimed. (This started thanks to Jason, but Jude likes me to do it, too.)

Yesterday afternoon, Jude was sitting at the kitchen counter consuming a snack he very much enjoys--almonds, peanuts, and raisins. As I passed by in the living room, I could hear him orating after each bite:

"ONE! Hahahahaha... TWO! Hahahahaha... THREE! Hahahahaha...."

My own laughter, while I tried to keep it to myself, was almost as hysterical...

LOL!

I had three Laugh Out Loud moments yesterday. I'm not talking the polite- laugh-in-conversation type, but a tickle-my-funny-bone-belly-laugh.

The first was when I read this post, and the ensuing comments, on Peefer's blog.

The second was when I was talking to my friend Dawn on the phone, and she was regaling me with tales of the Wallpaper-That-Would-Not-Be-Removed.

The third was when Jason sent me this cartoon. (The strip is "Get Fuzzy.")

What was your most recent laugh-out-loud moment?

A Weekend To Remember

It was the kind of weekend you don't want to end: lots of long visits over steamy, creamy tea, sleeping in late, big breakfasts, two extra days off for my hubby, and--most importantly--lots of help in the kitchen! :-D

Jason's mom and sister came up and visited us last weekend for the Canadian Thanksgiving. Sadly, his dad had to work--we really missed him being here. (If you're reading this, Dad W, we thought of you all weekend long!)

It was so nice to just hang out with them all weekend.

I did think of one irony, though: when my dad comes to visit, he spends most of his time (golfing) with Jason. When Jason's family (read: mom and sister in this case) come to visit, they spend most of their time cooking (and shopping!) with me!

We are both so blessed to get along so well with our in-laws.

Here are some photos of the weekend. (I am not posting any photos of Mom W, since I didn't ask her permission to post pics of her on the Internet. However, since Ang has her own blog, I am going to make an executive decision and put pics of her on here! Ang, let me know if you would rather I didn't!) You can click on any image to see it larger. (I posted it in the "small" size in consideration of my dial-up readers!)



This is Jude's birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa--a Tyrannasaurus Rex that really roars! (Man, wouldn't want to be the guy in charge of getting that sound clip! Tee hee!) Noah got a green one. They both came with all kinds of smaller "action" figures of things like diplodocus', sabre-tooth tigers, and cavemen.

On Sunday morning, as I was waking up, I heard the strangest "whistling"-type sound.

"What's that?" I muttered groggily to Jason.

"Just the wind," he replied. I thought it was odd, but was too fuzzy-headed yet to contradict him. Fortunately, he got up and investigated.

Later, he told me, "It was actually those dinosaurs roaring!"

Needless to say, they were a big hit.

Jude, are you being coy?

Isn't she gorgeous?

The beautiful colours of Thanksgiving dinner.

Noah and his current favourite toy--an old Fisher-Price phone.

Lovebirds, still.

Besides all these great photos, I also got the second side of the front of the sweater-jacket I'm knitting for Jude completed. All I have left are the sleeves and collar, and putting the thing together. This project has been going very quickly, thanks to chunky yarn and big needles--despite the fact that Suri decided that one of the needles from my favourite luxury wooden pair should be her chew-toy. As upset as I was, I would have been more so if I didn't have back-up--albeit plastic--needles.

And, after this, I get to start on a sweater for Ang! I'm so excited! It will be nice to have a challenge--and to be working with some really nice, soft, extra-chunky yarn!

I'll post pictures of completed projects as they come along.

For now, I just want to say--No, I didn't quit blogging. After my mental holiday on the weekend, I just had to catch up with my life. Oh, and go to Grande Prairie to get the yarn for Ang's sweater. So, just too darn busy, I guess.

Is there anyone out there who would like to take this cold off my hands? (Or sinuses?)

Breast Cancer Month: Racing for a cure that already exists

For an explanation of this satirical cartoon from www.NewsTarget.com, click here.

There are already cures, and plenty of preventative methods, for cancer. But because Big Pharma does not profit from them, they are either ignored as if they don't exist, or discredited.

I am one of the people affected by breast cancer--my mother had it, and was told to get a double mastectomy by traditional medical doctors. Thank goodness she didn't listen! Instead of getting the operation, and going through months of poisonous chemotherapy treatments, she used natural means to strengthen her body's own immune system, which is why she is healthy today, enjoying life and a chance to see her grandchildren grow up, instead of convalescing and in her last months of life, or worse, already gone. She has been "cancer-free" for over five years. (Mom, what's the exact number?)

I fully intend to see my grandchildren grow up, too. Before tragedy hits you, what will you do to make sure that you live a long, and healthy, life?

Is AIDS a Myth?

This is the second article I have come across recently that seems to debunk AIDS as a myth, a "constructed disease", not the root cause of death by those infected with HIV. I found the information in this article to be surprising, and thorough. Please read the article and share your thoughts. (This is just an excerpt.)

Why I Quit HIV - Is AIDS Myth Falling Apart? - Health Supreme: "As I write this, in the late winter of 2006, we are more than twenty years into the AIDS era. Like many, a large part of my life has been irreversibly affected by AIDS. My entire adolescence and adult life – as well as the lives of many of my peers – has been overshadowed by the belief in a deadly, sexually transmittable pathogen and the attendant fear of intimacy and lack of trust that belief engenders.

To add to this impact, my chosen career has developed around the HIV model of AIDS. I received my Ph.D. in 2002 for my work constructing mathematical models of HIV infection, a field of study I entered in 1996. Just ten years later, it might seem early for me to be looking back on and seriously reconsidering my chosen field, yet here I am.

My work as a mathematical biologist has been built in large part on the paradigm that HIV causes AIDS, and I have since come to realize that there is good evidence that the entire basis for this theory is wrong. AIDS, it seems, is not a disease so much as a sociopolitical construct that few people understand and even fewer question. The issue of causation, in particular, has become beyond question – even to bring it up is deemed irresponsible."

Blistering Blue Barnacles!

I was one of those kids that got teased in school, because in our house, words like "darn," "gee whiz" and "golly" were worthy of a mouth-washing.

While I have since added these mild expletives to my vocabulary (no longer equating them to taking the Lord's name in vain), I still got some incredulous looks when a co-waiter at a past restaurant job I held asked me if I ever swore, and I said, "Nope."

"So, when you stub your toe, what do you say?"

Scrunching my face, favouring my big toe, and with a pained voice, I responded, "OOOOWWWWW!"

"That's it?"

"Yep."

If singing a song that contains a curse word, I skip it or change it to something milder. (This doesn't really work in Alanis Morrisette's You Oughta Know, by the way. There are just no other one-syllable words that mean "to have sex with." When this line comes along, I usually mumble something unintelligible, floundering around for something more appropriate to use, and coming up empty--again!)

BUT!

If I have to kill one more d--- fly inside my frigging house, I think that all my #%# previous oral chastity will be *&@ thrown out the ^&*%$$ window!!!!

(Please no one point out that I want to be a missionary in an equatorial country, where they have household pests much worse than flies. I see the irony, all by myself. Thank you.)

Because Thanksgiving is coming...

Here's my cranberry sauce recipe--I've been promising it to Colleen, since she went cranberry picking recently.

'Tis a bit early for Yankee holidayers, but our Thanksgiving is coming this weekend. I love this sauce so much, I take more turkey just to justify consuming more of this flavourful concoction. It's as good as dessert!

Talena's Own Cranberry Sauce

1 12-oz. bag of frozen cranberries
1/3-1/2 c. maple syrup
1 1/2 c. water
1 tsp. cinnamon, ground
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves

Place all ingredients into a medium saucepan. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, or until cranberries pop. Add more maple syrup if too tart. Cover and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature.

This can be made up to four days ahead. Will also keep in the freezer.

The Best Thing Today... (So Far)

This video is so awesome, I actually signed up for YouTube account so I could put it in here, but apparently YouTube and Blogger are fighting, or something, 'cause it won't find my blog. So, just go there and watch it. It's awesome. Oh, did I say that already?

Thanks, Heather Anne and Jen for sharing it around!

Also, yesterday I forgot to pass on the tag, so I tag Aakanksha and Beth.

Eight Things About Me

Well, I've been tagged. So here goes:

1. After my kids go to bed, I find it more refreshing to spend some time doing an activity I find fulfillment in, that relaxes me, or that I just simply enjoy, rather than sleep right away, even if I am dead tired.

2. My most embarassing moment (that I will actually admit to) was in grade 4, when I accidentally came out of the change room into gym class wearing my tights under my shorts still (I had worn a dress to school that day.) I went back and changed again, this time emerging with my legwarmers, shoes, no tights--and my undies! I had forgotten to put my shorts back on! I didn't even notice until I had joined the other students in the activity circle, and my friend leaned over and whispered in my ear that I had forgotten my shorts. It was like one of those moments when the whole world just rushes in at you--and all I could see was the face of the boy I had a huge crush on staring at me, agawk, with a huge smirking grin on his face. I felt like SUCH an idiot!

3. I didn't learn how to whistle until I was 10 or 12 or something. My dad is a fantastic whistler. Even now, I kind of suck at it. Apparently, I didn't inherit his whistling skills and muscles.

4. I love it when the sun is low in the sky, under the clouds, but there is a drizzle of rain falling down. It is just so amazing, so dazzlingly pretty.

5. My Grandma Hilman was my hero. She died in '98, but by then she had accomplished:

-54 years of being happily married to the same man
-Helping 8 boys and 1 girl to survive to adulthood, and be contributing members of society
-I never once heard her complain, despite the loads of work she had to do being a farm wife and busy mom, being actively involved in her community, and the various aches and pains that beset her in her later years. She was always cheerful and encouraging.

6. I won honourable mention in the Stephen G. Stephenson poetry contest for two years in a row (grades 3 and 4).

7. When I was in grade 12, my uncle and aunt flew me to Disneyland to look after my then-9-year-old cousin while they were at a business conference. I secretly really enjoyed going on all the "kiddie" rides like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Peter Pan--rides I would most likely have skipped had I not been with a young kid.

8. If I had unexpected company pop in, and got to choose between having a messy house and wearing no makeup, I would choose to not have makeup on. (In fact, although at one time in my life I wore makeup religiously, I seldom ever apply it anymore. I'm just happy to get my face washed in the morning.)

9. I am normally a very organized person. My CD's are organized by style and into alphabetical order. My clothes are organized by type and colour. My DVD's are also in alphabetical order. But when it comes to board games, that part of me says, "This falls under of the category of 'just doesn't matter,'" and I let my game pieces run willy-nilly all over the area of the table where my things are kept. I organize my cards and Monopoly money, but the boats, roads, hotels, houses, soldiers, elves, or whatever other pieces there be in the "jeu de jour" are in haphazard piles around me, like mini-representations of the carnage we are trying to produce ON the board.

Oops. I guess that's nine. Apparently, the tenth thing about me is that I have short-term memory loss!

Two more things before I sign off for today:

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband. I wish I could write a tribute half so touching as the one you gave me on mine, but it will have to wait--right now I am too distracted by kids and dog and paperwork and dishes to find the right words to describe how much you mean to me. I love you so much, though, and am looking forward to celebrating many, many more birthdays with you.

Also, I would like to introduce you all to my friend Candice. This is not the same Candace whose name keeps appearing in this blog. This Candice is the wife of an old e-mail pen-pal of mine from college, whose name is also Jason. They live in the States, but I was thrilled to meet them a couple of years ago when they came up to visit her family in Alberta. She is so sweet. They have just had a baby boy, and PLUS! she just started blogging. So pop on over there and welcome her to bloggy-land, if you have time. (And oogle over their super-cutie!)

Happy Monday, everyone!