Saturday, February 25, 2006

Cleaning out the Car

So today, my beloved made a small request of me. He said, (with a longing look and trembling eyelashes) "Would you clean out the car today? It's getting pretty nasty." And since he was changing the oil in 2 cars, not to mention providing for our family single-handedly and being the incredible specimen of manhood he is, I decided to grant him this one small request.

So I went out to clean out Dora (the Explorer) and lo, what wondering wisdom did I find? First of all, apparently my kids take off their socks (but not their shoes) in the car...a lot! I found 4 free-floating socks (one caked with used granola, thank you!) and one pair of STILL-FOLDED SOCKS! Also an assortment of toys, wrappers and lollipop sticks (our bank knows their target demographic), two pairs of my gloves-I like to stuff them between the front seats and forget about them, directions to half a dozen places and one of my husband's ties. Makes me wonder if they all take off their clothes in the car when I'm not looking...

Now we need to vacuum and go through a carwash, but I'll save that for when I need the kids to do something...a carwash ride is big bucks in kid currency.

Posted by Sarah Jean :: 5:23 PM :: 3 Comments:

Post a Comment

---------------------------------------

What's a Meme?

meme (mm) n.
A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.

Now that we've cleared that up...

Four Jobs I’ve Had
Early Morning Custodian at BYU
Ice cream server at the student union building (also at BYU)
Copy editor and girl Friday (also at BYU, but better pay and hours)
Doula - My favorite so far, except for being on call 24/7

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over
I don't watch that many movies, honestly, but two I could watch just about any time:
What about Bob?
Heathers
*not a movie, but Sesame Street skits always make me laugh-some of their best stuff: http://www.progressiveboink.com/archive/sesamestreet.html
I guess that means I have a dark, quirky sense of humor...sounds about right.

Four Places I’ve Lived
Sacramento, California
Worthington, Ohio
Provo/Orem, Utah
Magna, Utah

Four TV Shows I Love
Again, I don't entertain myself enough to have 4 current shows I watch every week, but I did like:
Mash
The Cosby Show
The Muppet Show
and I am watching Lost pretty faithfully this season.

Four Places I’ve Vacationed
Cancun, Mexico
Manti, Utah
Washington D.C.
Lake Powell, Utah

Four of My Favorite Foods
Belgian chocolates (especially the hazelnut kind!)
Hazelnut chocolate gelato (noticing a theme to this meme?)
KFC biscuits
Yummy, ripe peaches

Four Blogs I Visit Daily
Sassylime
Muum's Musings
Daring Young Mom
Crib Ceiling (not every day, but often, and definitely every Wednesday)

Four Places I’d Rather Be Right Now
Right here, but with my house clean!
On the beach in Cancun >>>>
in Norrath (yes, I'm that kind of geek)
at a homebirth (as an assistant to the midwife--I'm on call and all jazzed up about it!)

Four Bloggers I Now Tag
Everyone I would tag has already been tagged! I guess that means I need to get more blog-friends, huh?
Here's one...I tag you, Heather!

Posted by Sarah Jean :: 2:26 PM :: 1 Comments:

Post a Comment

---------------------------------------

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Because there is no happier greater than this...

Potty training...before age 3. Priceless.

Posted by Sarah Jean :: 7:41 PM :: 0 Comments:

Post a Comment

---------------------------------------

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

What's for Dinner Wednesday!

Ah, two posts in one day. What IS for dinner?

Well, I'll tell you--my sister has been spreading rumors about the way I cook, so I better just set the record straight. The truth is, I NEVER know what's for dinner. My family has been known to eat day-old microwave popcorn on occasion. But when I feel like cooking, I cook a LOT--some kind of Mormon big-family gene, I think. And that leads to LEFTOVERS. Yuk. So I came up with a new system. Actually, my mom helped me stock my freezer like this once when I was expecting a baby. I cook once every month or two in a kind of manic way. I make 2-6 batches of 3-4 meals. All in one day. I invite my sister over and we chat it up and freeze everything.

So here's one recipe we made yesterday:
Shepherd's Pie
for each serving you need:
1 lb ground beef
1 c. of frozen mixed veggies
1 can of tomato sauce (the little cans)
1 T. worchestire sauce
salt and pepper, herbs and spices (I like garlic, and basil or thyme, but you can be creative!)
1/4 c. fresh chopped onion or 2 T. dried chopped onion or 1/2 t. onion powder
2 c. of mashed potatos (I use instant)
maybe some cheese for the top

So you do a little math, and it's not exact--for 3 family-sized servings, I used 4 lbs of ground beef, and 2 cups of veggies, and 1 large can of tomato sauce...

First, brown all the ground beef and split it between your containers. 1.5 qt. casserole dishes work best for this--you can use gladware type, like I do, or the foil disposable kind, like my sis. So you brown the ground beef, then put it in your containers. Add the veggies, tomato sauce, onions, worchestire sauce, salt, pepper, herbs, etc. Mix it all up. You should still have some room at the top for the potatoes. Slap the potatoes on top, sprinkle it with cheese if you like, and cover it. Then mark and freeze. When you don't feel like cooking, pull it out (hopefully in the next month or so) and pop it in the microwave or oven for an hour or so. Don't bake plastic containers.

There's a bunch of recipes out there especially for this--and tips and stuff. Google Once a Month Cooking or Freezer Cooking. It's fun!

PS Report on yesterday's cooking: I made 14 meals (3 shepherd's pies, 4 pork chop meals, 2 cheesy potato casseroles and 4 hamburger meals--I'll post the other recipes later). I have 2 pizzas and a pork loin from last night still in there. So the pork loin will probably be tonight. With wild rice, mmmm. And yes, the kitchen is a wreck:

Posted by Sarah Jean :: 10:41 AM :: 2 Comments:

Post a Comment

---------------------------------------

a couple laughs

So, there was a note next to my toothbrush addressed to Sara or Mom (me on both counts). It read:
MOMILove
YoUifMOM
sWrflou
rSI'dPiCe
YouLoVe
Hailey

For those of you who don't read first-grader, a translation:
Mom, I love you. If moms were flowers, I'd pick you. Love, Hailey

Ya, you don't get many paydays as a mom, but the benefits aren't bad.

If you need a laugh, a friend sent me this and I about split a gut.
We Are Sinking!
Ever feel like this guy is on the other end of your cries for help?

Posted by Sarah Jean :: 10:35 AM :: 1 Comments:

Post a Comment

---------------------------------------

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Laundry deviations

So...if you've ever rolled a D&D character, you know that you get a chance to make her (or him) especially skilled IF you're willing to take some significant drawbacks (like, she can be the most amazing swordswoman of her generation, but...she's deaf). I think somewhere I must have done that with my laundry skills. I'm not sure what my super-power is to make up for it, but I have a serious laundry disability. The machine unbalances all the time, and I've overflowed it more than once. About once a year I manage to turn a load pink, everything from the littlest 2-y-o sock to the brand new T-shirt from Cancun, and everything in between (read: the husband's underwear!). Sigh. So that was today. Whatchagonnado?

Posted by Sarah Jean :: 8:00 AM :: 0 Comments:

Post a Comment

---------------------------------------

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Rants Up!

And it's a new template, too. I added some old posts that didn't get up here or were preblog, so feel free to sift through the archives on your own. Enjoy!

Posted by Sarah Jean :: 7:10 PM :: 1 Comments:

Post a Comment

---------------------------------------

Saturday, February 11, 2006

My sister's blog

My sister has a blog, which is updated much more frequently than mine, and she did this. I want to be cool like her, so I'm doing it too.

10 Years Ago:
* I was single, a sophomore at BYU, and had just finished my term as hall president of my dorm.
* I had finally managed to break off the worst relationship of my life--toxic in every way.
* I was getting good grades and had two great jobs editing (the year before that I had a string of sucky jobs: early-morning janitor, ice cream server, dry cleaner, etc.).
* I was teaching Sunday School for the first time and had a crush on my co-teacher (I got over it).
* I had long, dark brown hair and a pierced navel.

5 years ago:
* I had been married 3 years and had one child, a toddler that talked a lot.
* I had just trained as a doula and was beginning to teach childbirth classes.
* I was two months away from having a stroke that would change the way I see everything.
* I was "Sister Friendly" in my church's primary for children--my responsibilities included greeting children every Sunday and giving stickers to those that were sitting quietly.
* I had shoulder-length light brown hair and stretch marks.

1 year ago:
* I had 3 children (2 under 3) and we were living in a house we owned!
* I was taking my first midwifery classes: herbology.
* I was recovering from one of the worst anxiety/depressive episodes of my life.
* I was just starting to teach Sunday School to 10- and 11-year-olds, still my calling.
* I had very short dark brown hair...and weighed about 15 lbs less than I do now (not a good thing).

Yesterday:
* My 6 year old read me a chapter of a Judy Blume book.
* I coughed until my husband made me take medicine.
* I decided I should set up a co-op preschool for my soon-to-be 3 and 4 year olds this fall.
* I noticed my hair is to my shoulders again. It needs a color and cut...maybe I'll grow it long.

----I got bored and changed some things--------

5 things I've said that I never expected to hear anyone, much less myself say:
* "Yogurt sex...what a good idea." (for yeast infections, people!)
* "Get your feet out of the popcorn."
* "You can wear the skirt over your pants, but take the tights off your head."
* "Maybe you'll meet someone to marry in second grade, honey."
* "No matter what you say, you are still a girl."

5 things I hope they have at my funeral:
* a handmade casket
* white roses and jasmine flowers (I hope to die in June sometime so this isn't too expensive)
* someone singing How Great Thou Art
* sunshine
* a space for my husband's name next to mine on the stone, but not already carved in before he's dead. That's just morbid.

5 things I'm afraid of:
* going insane and not knowing it
* going insane and being painfully aware of it
* deep water (by deep, I mean more than 100 gallons)
* having a child die
* writing something foolish in a blog and not being able to get it back

Posted by Sarah Jean :: 10:51 AM :: 0 Comments:

Post a Comment

---------------------------------------