Things I want to do with you (boy)

Learn to make sushi. Then eat it. Repeat.

Have game nights. Also, just play games. Cribbage, it's been a while. I also like trivial pursuit. 
Go on scavenger hunts, perhaps geocache.
Go on bike rides.
Learn to like surprises (you should like that part).
Take a cooking class. Any kind.
Go see live music sometimes (at little clubs).
Learn to dance. Any kind.
Play duets.
Make friends together.
More picnics. 
Tickle.
Film festivals (especially noir).
Find something (a hobby) neither of us has tried and try it.
Go to a drive in movie (or an outdoor movie).
Read the same book and talk about it.
Learn to make your favorite foods. Then you can learn to make my favorite foods.
Goof off.

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List for children

Today talking to C about perhaps trying few violin-guitar duets, I found out he'd never taken piano lessons. I sort of assumed he had, because I had heard his sister talk about playing the piano and her keyboard. And most families that I know where one kid took piano lessons, both did. Anyway, C said something about how he wished he could, but maybe it's a bit late at this time. And I suggested that he could take lessons when our future spawn take piano lessons. Because, piano lessons are just sort of something I think everyone should have, at least for a while. And music lessons of some sort, any sort. 


Anyway, here is a start of lessons/camps/experiences I think young children of either sex (under 10) should try at least for a while:

Musical Movers / movement class
Musical Trolley / intro to music
Tumbling, gymnastics or dance class
Scouts, 4-H, Campfire or some such group
Nature Center outings or classes
Museum trips (appropriate to age, interest, etc)
Montessori pre-school (by a certified, trained Montessori teacher)
Suzuki lessons (also by a certified, trained Suzuki teacher)
Exposure to another language - parents, classes, music, etc.
Swimming lessons
A team sport - I wish there had been team sports for young girls when I was under 10. And I wish my parents had made me try one at least once. 

My brother and I were ridiculously well rounded, however my mom was much better at making sure my brother got to do more "girl" type things than encouraging me to to more "boy" type things (like the sports). On the other hand, they let us decide if we liked something or not. Christopher was the only little boy in ballet class, and he didn't stick around for long (the teacher gave him a lot of attention and I think he wanted to just blend in). But then, I was the only girl in my fly fishing classes.



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List for children

Today talking to C about perhaps trying few violin-guitar duets, I found out he'd never taken piano lessons. I sort of assumed he had, because I had heard his sister talk about playing the piano and her keyboard. And most families that I know where one kid took piano lessons, both did. Anyway, C said something about how he wished he could, but maybe it's a bit late at this time. And I suggested that he could take lessons when our future spawn take piano lessons. Because, piano lessons are just sort of something I think everyone should have, at least for a while. And music lessons of some sort, any sort. 


Anyway, here is a start of lessons/camps/experiences I think young children of either sex (under 10) should try at least for a while:

Musical Movers / movement class
Musical Trolley / intro to music
Tumbling, gymnastics or dance class
Scouts, 4-H, Campfire or some such group
Nature Center outings or classes
Museum trips (appropriate to age, interest, etc)
Montessori pre-school (by a certified, trained Montessori teacher)
Suzuki lessons (also by a certified, trained Suzuki teacher)
Exposure to another language - parents, classes, music, etc.
Swimming lessons
A team sport - I wish there had been team sports for young girls when I was under 10. And I wish my parents had made me try one at least once. 

My brother and I were ridiculously well rounded, however my mom was much better at making sure my brother got to do more "girl" type things than encouraging me to to more "boy" type things (like the sports). On the other hand, they let us decide if we liked something or not. Christopher was the only little boy in ballet class, and he didn't stick around for long (the teacher gave him a lot of attention and I think he wanted to just blend in). But then, I was the only girl in my fly fishing classes.



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Eye don't see a difference

Okay, I'm not a beauty blogger, so bare with me here. But I've been anxiously awaiting a chance to try out a new mascara, Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes. It has a round, spike covered brush instead of the normal long brush. 


I've read a few reviews and people seem to think it does what it claims, curls and separates lashes and easily reaches all lashes with the unique brush. The pictures I've seen show either with the new mascara on both eyes or one eye with mascara and one without. I wanted to see how it works against my old standby, Maybelline Full N' Soft (Waterproof). I like Full N' Soft because it does everything I want from a mascara: makes my lashes dark, doesn't clump, and doesn't flake or feel tacky. I'm not really concerned with lash length or fullness (my natural lashes seem fine to me).


So first, I put Phenomen'Eyes on one eye and left the other bare, and took a picture (beware, nose may appear larger than it actually is...):

Obvious difference, right? Well, any mascara pitted against bare lashes is going to look good. Next I put two coats of Full N' Soft on the other eye (left eye):

And closed:

I don't notice a difference in length, fullness, curl.
The Phenomen'Eyes seems like a less thick formula, it needed two coats whereas with the Full N' Soft I usually only apply one coat. Also, the Givenchy seems slightly tacky and clumps a little more than I'd like. I haven't worn it for a full day (or with makeup) so I don't know how it holds up. But I did like the brush MUCH better than the normal brush shape. There's no danger of poking myself in the eye or catching the bridge of my nose with the tip of this brush, and it was almost fun to see where the brush easily reaches.

So, here are the positives and negatives for each mascara:

Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes
+ Good brush
+ Good coverage
+ Creates slight curl
+ No clumps
-- Expensive ($27)
-- Not waterproof
-- Slightly tacky
-- Not as full/thickening
-- Two coats

Maybelline Full N' Soft 
+ Good coverage
+ Creates slight curl
+ Full, thick coverage
+ Inexpensive (between $4 and $7)
+ Waterproof
+ No clumps
+ One coat
-- Old brush

So, I will use the Givenchy until it is finished and then I might try using that brush with Full N' Soft (though I don't know of an easy way to do this but it might be worth a try). I don't go through mascara very quickly so mascara isn't a frequent expense, but since the Givenchy formula isn't waterproof and is slightly tacky feeling, I might stick with Maybelline. I reserve the right to reconsider later, but I'm not blown away by the mascara itself, only by the brush.

Post a comment Tags: review, mascara, givenchy, maybelline, phenomen'eyes, full n' soft

Mmmmm yeah.

Stewart on "Phase Two"



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Happy Dancing

For the first time in a long time I found myself dancing around in my underwear singing aloud... I haven't felt this carefree or happy in months... over a year. It was pouring outside all day, not the normal Seattle light drizzle or sprinkling, and not quite the driving rain back in Minnesota, but a hard, steady, fast rain. And I got soaked waiting for the bus and walking home, but after I took off my wet jeans and jacket, I just had to crank up the music and dance around.


IMG_2100
IMG_2100

My boy will be in the country on Saturday. I don't know when I'll be able to see him, but he'll be HERE! A mere 30 miles away! Hopefully I can see him Sunday or sometime next week, but at least I can call him and hear his voice. And chances are he can come to graduation! 

I really should try to concentrate on other things, but it's very difficult to do so right now...


He say's he's gotten very skinny, and he was already quite thin when he was on leave in February. But the peaches are ripe right now, and I've been wanting to bake, so I'm thinking peach-blueberry cobbler or pie, and maybe some herb cheese muffins would be the perfect things to make and pass on to him after I've had just a little bite myself.

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Lefse?

Did I tell you the story of wandering through my grocery story picking up things for an easy picnic listening to my iPod and watching three college girls handling a package of lefse shooting each other puzzled looks?


I pulled an earbud out to hear what they were saying as I reached for the mini cheeses in the nearby refrigerated case. 

"Lefs, have you ever had it?"
"No.... what do you think it tastes like?"
"Um..."

Hm, I thought. Who doesn't know what lefs-AH is? So I spoke up.

"Have you ever had lefs-ah before?" (I watched them process the way I pronounced it, no-doubt my Minnesota-bred vowels showing through).
"Nooo... what is it like?"

What is it like I thought. Hm. How do you describe it?
"Um, it's like a tortilla, but more flaky. It's made out of potatoes... you can put lunchmeat on it, but people often spread on butter and sugar and cinnamon and roll it up."
"Oh... okay. Thanks."

I popped my earbud back in and walked away with my cheese, thinking an apple sounded pretty good.

I can't imagine a world where someone hasn't heard of lefse. When I was growing up I wanted to be Scandinavian. I lived near towns like Lindstrom, hearing Garrison Keillor joke about the Norwegians of Minnesota on the radio. My friend Emily and her husband make lefse every Christmas to give to their family, they have a special griddle and cloth and rolling pin to make it. Even Seattle has a strong Scandinavian past, the neighborhood of Ballard was settled by Swedish/Norwegians once upon a time.

I have no nice neat conclusion for this... and now I want rice pudding with lingonberries (Swedish).

Post a comment Tags: seattle, minnesota, scandinavian, norwegian, lingonberries, garrison keillor, lefse …

Places to Go

Inspired by Leila's feature post of places she'd like to go for her honeymoon, I pulled a few of my favorites from the 43 places list. Of course, I don't have money to go to any of these places (well, perhaps Montreal) anytime soon, but they're all places I'd like to go with my boy.

Greece/Santorini - Greece in general, Santorini in particular. All the pictures and films I've seen are gorgeous, such blue sky and blue water. We'd both have to wear big hats and lots of sunscreen, but it would be so fun to explore the island together, go swimming, maybe go to Athens and see all of the ruins. We'd probably half geek-out about history and ruins and half just sit around and drink wine.

Ireland - Here at least we'd both fit in with the natives with our pale skin and freckles. We'd drink beer and wander around looking for places mentioned in books or ruins. Chris would probably BS with the locals and get really drunk and learn songs and embarrass me, and I'd eat as much cheese and bread and potatoes as I could possibly stand.

Oxford - Another good place to go for us fair-skinned ones. Another place to geek out, I'd be excited to finally see the Ashmolean Museum (first! museum! evar!) and we'd both imagine characters from books walking past us on the street. Maybe we'd get a punt and beer and a picnic and get caught in the rain and laugh at each other. 

Montreal - I think here we'd eat good food and wander around and I'd try to speak Quebecois French. 

Florence/Italy - Florence specifically, but other places in Italy (Venice, Rome) would be lovely as well, I just chose Florence because I haven't been there. Again, lots of wine and food and wandering around looking at old buildings. I'll drag Chris to the Duomo and we'll eat gelatto and I'd finally have someone to ward off the overly amorous Italian men. 

Paris - For this one (I've already warned him) I'd like to actually live in Paris for a few months. Rent an apartment and just BE. Go shopping for ingredients for dinner, wander around through the parks, find a favorite bakery near the apartment, go to museums (maybe just me...), finally check out Shakespeare and Company, and just sit and watch the people go by in the Tuileries. 

Istanbul - Mmm, because it's TURKEY. And we can sing the TMBG song like obnoxious hipster Americans... and go find markets and explore buildings and get lost. Plus... Hagia Sophia, history, and... yes. Just being nerds. 

Sweden -  I've always wanted to go to Sweden, it's what happens when you grow up in Minnesota with all of the Scandanavians and you're just a boring Irish/French/German mutt. Plus I love lingonberries and rice pudding.

Denmark/Copenhagen - Because it's supposed to be gorgeous. And for similar reasons I'd like to go to Sweden. 

Tahiti - Mmmm because it's a tropical paradise? We'd have to wear lots of sunscreen though. But the water, the sand, the flowers and trees, it would be nice to just enjoy how beautiful and warm it is there.

My list of "places to go" is much longer than this, but these are the places I'd be less likely to catch a parasite or get robbed. 

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New Hair

Photo 129
Photo 129
I was trying to style it like this in the last few (hence the sunglasses (haha).
1 comment Tags: new hair

Thesis

I feel completely uninspired to read/write or think about my thesis. Though I did create a rough webpage on the topic. How on earth do I motivate myself and get it done?


I miss blogging the way I used to. Something would spark my interest during the day and I'd think about it and start to compose a post in my mind until I got to  my computer. Of course these days I don't have much of a life (sitting in my apartment reading or thinking about reading or going to the grocery store) so hopefully when I start working again and having a social life I'll think of more to write about.

Here are a few thoughts though. 

Today while running errands I was listening to NPR and there was a report from China. The reporter (Melissa Block of All Things Considered) was at a middle school that collapsed during the earthquake. Teenagers were buried beneath the rubble and had been for hours, and disorganization had caused devastating delays. Parents watched as bodies were recovered and rushed forward to see if it was theirs. At one point the reporter reminds the listeners that these would have been the only child in the family because of the law limiting families to one child (and I have to admit, that hadn't occurred to me). Here's a link to the report: (Middle School in China after earthquake)

I started thinking how sad it was that these parents had only one child, and now because of government disorganization, had lost that one. My mother used to say that the reason she had two children was because she and my father deciedd it was fair to have one to take the place of each parent. She and my father were very concerned with all types of world issues, from overpopulation to fuel crisis and environmental issues caused by humans. My mother's parents, as good Irish Catholics, had 6 children (and 3 others who died in infancy). One of her best friends has 12 siblings (only one set of twins). To my parents, religious beliefs didn't seem to reflect the very real issues of overpopulation and stress on the environment due to consumption.

There are still big families, however. It was announced last week that Michelle Duggar, mother of 17, is pregnant and expecting another child. Tonight I happened across an article on MSN. I'd heard of the family before, and with the story about China fresh in my mind I had to shake my head. It's not that I think people should be told not to have children. But that I wish people would consider the resources of the entire world when they think about procreating. Yes, this family does an amazing job providing for all their children. But imagine if each of these children grows up to have even a average sized family, with two cars and a house.

When I hear about extreme solutions, such as the 1 child law in China, or people who decide to live off the grid completely, or people who only use one square of toilet paper, I also think about how if every person put in just a fraction of the effort there would be a much greater impact on the world. And this is not a new idea at all. So I don't feel guilty if I drive to the grocery store because I take the bus or walk most of the week. And I don't feel guilty if I use more than one square of toilet paper, because I try to use less paper for other things.* And I often think IF I have biological children, I will only have one or two, and I seriously consider adopting (but I'll be honest, adopting has quite a bit to do with being scared to death of pregnancy and genetics). 

*And today I signed up for www.proquo.com and took my name off of most junk mailing lists, so that's a little less paper wasted, right?

Okay! Back to being shallow and dreaming of dropping out of grad school.

Post a comment Tags: earthquake, children, china, adoption, environment, michelle, overpopulation, duggar …

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