This year I . . .

• rediscovered the magic of Harry Potter. Read books five through seven and went to the midnight showing - all in November.
• learned about lacto-fermentation. My favorite concoction so far is the shredded beets with apple. So good in a veggie wrap. The sauerkraut was okay, the pickles were awesome, and I've been enjoying a fermented peach slice or two in my morning smoothie. Yum.
• gave my dehydrator a workout. dried pears and mango = candy.
• fit in my skinny jeans (as of today. Happy New Year to me!). I'm now in the best shape I've been able to manage since the great thyroid disaster of 2008.
• read a lot of books. Wallace Stegner and Anne Tyler top the list of new favorite authors.
• made a new e-friend (Hi, Miri!).
• cooked eggplant Parmesan for the first time. Made up my own recipe. The secret's in the sauce . . . and the Japanese-style breadcrumbs.
• ate roughly a million pounds of Swiss Chard, the most prolific plant in my garden. Still eating it in smoothies.
• quit drinking cow's milk and gave up cheese and ice cream most of the time. My body has been throwing me a party ever since.
• worried a lot about the present and the future, felt despair, then did some hard things.
• danced in a studio for the first time in five years. My soul needs it.
• didn't blog very much. I just didn't feel up to it a lot of the time.
• celebrated my fifth anniversary. It's hard to believe. Harder still: believing that I first met Clark over ten years ago.
• found   lots.  of.  new-to-me.  music.  I.  love.
• learned to play a little ukulele. (lol!)
• ate a lot of tofu sausage. and a lot of healthy bread.
• freed my skin and hair from the tyranny of sulfates, parabens, and silicone. So what if my hair smells like a salad?
• watched all seven seasons of The West Wing, again . . . and two seasons of Lois and Clark (yes, the new adventures of Superman - from the 90s). 
• considered trying to find more recent sources of entertainment, then gave up and read more books.
• sold some junk on craigslist for the first time. I'm pretty sure all your home lacks is a black futon frame that my husband pulled out of a dumpster and refurbished. It can be yours; price negotiable.
• directed the yearly primary program - with some kick-butt dynamics.
• learned to really like those little boogers in primary. Loving them was easy; liking them took some work for me.
• handed my calling off to Clark. Every week I sneak a peak at him singing with the nursery kids; it's hands-down the cutest thing I have ever seen.
• grew my biggest garden ever, thanks to neighbors who let us use part of their open field.
• made some new friends. Really new. I'm excited to get to know them better. It's amazing what happens when I don't spend all my time hibernating, commuting, or studying.
• didn't take my grad school comps. I was near catatonic in October; it just didn't happen. The new goal is March.
• got a new, seemingly free heater. the old one was an oil furnace that gave out several times before we gave in. Last Christmas, Mom and I huddled under blankets for two days watching Cranford because no one was available to fix it. This year we watched Return to Cranford in relative comfort. The heater installation was done in September and we have yet to see a bill. I'm a little worried, but for the moment I'm 4k richer. and a lot warmer.
• was proud of Clark. He worked hard at building walls, installing insulation, and doing other hard things.
• felt support and love from people who came to help us build walls, install insulation, and do other hard things.
• was more settled-in at work.
• spent time alone and liked my own company.
• taught a short grammar class to a group of sassy legal-assistant students. I hope they now understand the concept of antecedents. ^sigh^t
  
• went to my ten year high school reunion. I was a little ambivalent about going, but I'm glad I went. It was a good time, and I was delighted to find all you girlfriends of mine who have grown into confident women are more beautiful now than ever. 
• kicked out the tenant from our basement apartment.
• learned how better to screen for tenants for our basement apartment.
• meditated by a lake at what was possibly the best professional conference of all time.
• finished my last class some classes for my master's degree.
• didn't write a thesis, mourned my failure to academicize, then reconsidered the future of my academic career. Yes; I am still paralyzed by indecision.
• took back Christmas. As opposed to the failed campaigns of 2005-2009, in 2010 we made about 90% of all of the gifts we gave.
• didn't mail off said gifts before Christmas. There may or may not be something life-changing coming to a mailbox near you. but probably not.

The best I can say for 2010 is that it's over and I did some things, felt some feelings, and learned some stuff. Sweet success?! I think it might be.

Here's to next year, my friends. A happy 2011 to you.

happy solstice

Enjoy my favorite winter solstice poem - by Robert Frost.

And my favorite Solstice-Christmas song.

You're welcome.

Here comes the sun.

stuff that makes me laugh

1. If you've never perused the Wait, Wait blog, you're missing out. My favorite series is sandwich Mondays. The Wait, Wait team eats some disgusting edible food-like substance and blogs about the experience as it unfolds. Here is a snippet from yesterday's entry:

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Not content to let other nationwide chains be the only ones to commit murder-by-sandwich, last week Denny's unveiled its Fried Cheese Melt. That's a grilled cheese with four deep-fried mozzarella sticks on it. Peter, Mike and I headed out to Oak Park, Ill., to give it a try.

Mike: This obviates the need for that awkward question, "Have you decided on an appetizer?"

Peter: Yeah, it's like, "Yes, I'll have the fried mozzarella sticks, and I'll have them encased in bread."

Read more about fried cheese

2. Sometimes Linda Holmes is a comic genius. And David Hasselhoff is "the poster boy for public ambivalence." You might enjoy this if you have any feelings about Dancing with the Stars, knowledge of 1980s stars and music, or a passing interest in politics.

a reason to smile

I ran across this today and thought I would share the love.

they've just stopped trying

I have a love of food photography. I love it almost as much as I love food - almost. I love the way good food photography captures my senses - the colors and textures help me imagine the smells and flavors. I also really love bad food photography for its disgusting irony (think Betos - the purpose of those photographs on the menu clearly is not to make you want to eat the "food"). A new trend is simply to photograph bad food - nothing particularly wrong with the quality of the photograph, there's just no attempt to hide the industrial quality of the food. (I have to wonder if these ads are creating or answering incredibly low expectations.) Here are a few of my favorites:

                                           

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The strategically placed onions and the sponge on bottom really make this a work of art. And speaking of American "cheese" . . .

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. . . would you like a square in your Jack in the Box taco? Oh, and please don't forget the drizzle of french dressing . . . and some well placed lettuce on the plate for authenticity.

                                                                     

And last but not least, and in a category all its own:

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Finally, some truth in advertising.

to Zen and back

School's out for summer two weeks, and we're already back from our vacation (okay, this post is now officially a month old). It was wonderfully diverse - maybe the best vacation ever. 

We drove 1400 miles, flew 1600 miles, biked and walked all of Denver, hiked 5 miles, read two books, reunited with three old friends, met one beautiful baby, and took innumerable naps. We also stayed with strangers (via airbnb) and visited a couple of farmers' markets, an amusement park, a zoo, an art museum, a college campus, and a national park. There were many great moments, but the best part was spending some QT with Paul and Jess and their baby girls doing everything and nothing . . . including cooking and eating, which were our two favorite shared activities when we were neighbors. I was finally able to unwind after a ridiculously difficult, busy month of finals and other projects. I hadn't realized how crazy I was getting; I'm relieved to be feeling so much more centered again.

The ten days we were gone, I was largely unplugged - no internet, dead phone. I didn't read the news. I didn't even remove my iPod from my luggage.  It was interesting to vacation sans camera. (My old, despised camera is now part of the greater Yellowstone ecosystem). The camera phones captured a few memorable moments, but even the phones died after a while and we were forced to live each delightful moment without the burden of documentation.  Living without a lens really helped me focus on the beauty of being, and what I thought would be an inconvenience became a learning experience. Here's to vacations and living in the moment.

may day - and another blog

In honor of May Day, I've launched a new blog in which to write about my more controversial opinions. Visit if you like.

small humans

Love babies? Take your mom to see this for Mother's Day. It looks like so much fun.

as promised

This is long overdue; but I still wanted to write about our farm experience.

Fun fact: the food you eat, regardless of where you get it, comes from a farm (yes, even the high-fructose corn-syrup, even though it doesn't resemble a plant anymore). Our CSA experience was a cool farm-to-table experience. I knew exactly where my food came from, how it had been grown, that the seeds weren't "roundup ready" so I wasn't eating plants genetically altered to repel or kill bugs (I know; I have problems.).

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So, what is a CSA? So glad you asked. This is how it works: you buy a "share" of the farm's spoils upfront - which is the appropriate word because there is some risk involved. In our case, we purchased our share in the winter; the farm has to plan ahead and buy seeds, equipment, etc. At our CSA, the earlier you buy, the cheaper the share is. Your share entitles you to a portion of the spoils, but if there aren't any spoils due to bad weather or pests, you lose. Once a week you pick up your share. In our case, we went directly to the farm in Victor, ID, which was fun . . . for the first 8 weeks or so (Our share lasted 17 weeks). (In other locales, with a greater infrastructure for local food, you can pick up a share at a farmers' market or other such convenient location.) We loved it. Okay, I loved it. I learned to cook new things and appreciate a diversity of vegetables and mushrooms. I acquired a love of fennel. I have to say, if you haven't ever had fresh garlic (before the skin gets papery and dry), you are missing out. The only downside is that it was so much food, and a lot of it was pretty labor-intensive to cook or preserve. I cook, and I don't mind the time in the kitchen. But harvest time is also back-to-school time, and I took a full-time course load while working full time. Clark cooks too, but his culinary vein runs along the familiar instead of the adventurous. So, some of our fresh produce went to waste, and that is my only regret.  I would do it again in a minute and recommend it to anyone who likes vegetables, cooking, and is interested in getting the most vitamin-rich, fresh food available.

There is likely a CSA near you. You can check it out here.

the genuine (definite) article

Remember when Clark was studying his maths? Well, it was because he was prepping for the GRE and applying to graduate school. Now it's official; Clark is IN. He actually got notice over two weeks ago, sent in the commitment letter one week ago, but didn't want to announce to the world how awesome he is until things were squared away at work. Now things are squared, and Clark is awesome squared.

Beginning in January, Clark will be a graduate student in the Educational Technology Leadership program at The George Washington University (the 'The' is part of the name. Funny.). The program can be completed online; considering the field of study, it should be a great way to learn. With any luck, we'll graduate at the same time.

fall fun

So, it's been a while since I've streamed my consciousness here. I just haven't really felt like writing. . . Well, maybe I have felt like writing, but I couldn't allow myself write recreationally when I have so much obligatory  writing to do (see Administrative Ethics. I never wrote this much in an English class). Anyway, here I am.

Fall has already melted . . . or, rather, frozen into winter around here, and I can't wait for Thanksgiving. Despite my loathing of all (most) things Halloween, I had fun taking the nieces and nephews trick-or-treating. This year Clark put together a great costume for the obligatory Halloween fun at work.

it was more effective in the dark - complete with flashing lights

I wasn't home most of the time he was constructing this amazing costume but every night after class I would come home and see the progress on his robot. One night while I was away, he got stuck in his costume - for an hour. Somehow, he got out of it without ruining it before I got home. I found a distressed-sounding text message much too late to be of any help.

In other news, Clark placed second at the poetry slam put on by the Eagle Rock Art Museum. It's a fun event that the museum puts on twice per year. The facilitator randomly assigns people in the audience to rate the poets and then she averages the scores. Before the finalists are announced,  she passes a hat to collect whatever the audience is willing to donate to the winner. Last spring Clark took first place. His winnings: $90 and some change, a half-empty pack of watermelon-flavored gum, and a cigarette. This time he made off with a gift card to Barnes and Noble.

by the numbers

Today is the first day of fall, which means 2009 is nearly three-fourths over.

For some reason, I often think about life and it's milestones in terms of ratios. I think it helps me to organize and conceptualize the past and make the future less chaotic and more manageable. Either that or it's some type of neurosis that I'm not quite ready to come to terms with. I'm not sure when I started doing this, but I think marking time this way stems from measuring life in context-specific intervals (terms/semesters in school, transfers on a mission, etc.).

So here it is, my life by the numbers:

• I am 27; I have lived about one-third of my expected life span.

• I have known Clark for one-third of my lifetime. We have been married for half of that time.

• We've lived in Idaho over half of our married life.

• Five years ago today, I came home from my mission . . . and that doesn't divide evenly into 27.

• In December, I'll be three-fourths done with my degree.

• I have finished one-fourth of this semester. Even though the work/school pace has been rigorous, I can definitely do this three more times. (This same logic works with exercise - one mile magically turns into two. Three, if you're lucky and optimistic. Try it; you'll like it).

• There is still one-eighth of my farm share still to enjoy this harvest season (upcoming post - analysis of our first year of CSA membership).
  

Sometimes it's hard to quiet these numbers in my head (1/4th of my work day left, the week is half over, etc!). In the last months of my mission, I got a letter from Haley, who had then been home from her mission for a several months. In it, she said she had been home for 3 transfers (6 weeks each) and that she felt basically back to normal. I knew then that 'normal' is a relative term and that I would never really be the same.

Reader, how do you mark time? Do you just let life happen and not worry about quantifying it or are you mildly neurotic, too?

false start

Last night I drove home from school with the window down . . . the whole hour of my commute. The feel of the cool evening air and the tricolor sunset just made me feel good. It made me feel like I was in college again . . . . because I am. I live for this time of year; I love the end of summer and the beginning of school. Something about living by the agrarian calendar just feels right to me.

Last fall semester I found myself a bit disappointed in my Master's program, underwhelmed by the expectations of my professors, and unimpressed by some of my classmates. At the time, I just expected more. I wanted to be intellectually intimidated -- as a form of motivation to be and do my best, and I just didn't feel it. I have looked forward to grad school for a long time; perhaps in my anticipation I let my expectations get a bit too lofty.

This semester, I thought I knew what to expect. I was so ready to get back to school that I purchased my books two months ago and started reading a bit. As I arrived at school on Monday, there were more people than I have ever seen on campus. There was a barbecue on the quad. The marching band was practicing. Cheerleaders were tumbling. But, as I approached my destination I could see on the door of the poly sci building a bright orange paper that read, "Classes begin on August 25th". Awesome. Two hours and two-hours' worth of gas wasted.

Yesterday, the day classes actually did start, I got my first dose of Public Policy Analysis, and it made me want to take back every bad thing I have said about ISU (except about its customer service; it's still terrible). The students I sat by had great ideas and varied perspectives. There are more women in the progam this year and more international students (which is to say, there are more than zero). There were thirty people in my class, none of them afraid to talk . . . and what they said was interesting and applicable. The textbooks and reading selections are interesting and full of theory. Needless to say, this will be a vastly different experience than the last. I may just have drive home with the window down every night this semester.

the couple we play on tv

Once when we were discussing the differences in how people sometimes perceive us and the reality of us, Clark said, "It's like the couple we play on TV." It just stuck with me and still makes me laugh. So here goes:

Season 4 of Clark and Lindsay in Love came to a close on July 28, 2009. The Landmark show has provided audiences with memorable moments, laughter, tears, learning, and lots of good food. And how could we forget how it all began?

The seeds of the popular prime-time show were planted late in 2000 when Clark and Linds met on the campus of Snow College and became fast friends. In summer of 2001, they started rehearsals for the dating sequence, which wouldn't be filmed until winter of 2005. Fans still talk about the pilot episode, titled 'Coming Forward' when Clark revealed to Linds over a late-night telephone conversation that he liked her "more than friends." And who could forget her stunned response . . . 'that's big'. And it was.

It still is. In fact, regulars from seasons 3 and 4 have now started a spin off and are leaving the show. "The show just won't be the same without those quirky, fun neighbors and their cute baby,"one fan complained. Frankly, co-stars Clark and Lindsay feel the same way. However, you can catch the paul, jess, and ella show here or you can watch it live, if you live in or visit College Station, Texas. Following are scenes from the season 4 finale.

Fans are waiting anxiously to see what develops in season 5.

(Okay, we really didn't spend our anniversary with Paul and Jess; they moved the weekend of our anniversary. Clark and I went out to dinner - twice, made some yummy dessert, and bought ourselves a nice piece of art - good times.)

fun times on the fourth

It was another sunny Fourth of July. A few days before the actual holiday, Mom H and long-time family friend JoAnne came for a visit and saw more of Idaho than they bargained for. We drove and drove and saw some amazingly beautiful country. On Friday, we visited the Tetons and then stopped over in Victor to pick up the veggie share (This week: baby greens mix, garlic curls, sage, spinach, bok choy, and . . . real tomatoes!).

Despite the load of food then in the car, the fact remained that the lucious vegetables were unwashed and we weren't prepared to fix the raw materials into a meal. So, we stopped in at the Knotty Pine for a spot of supper. For a tiny-town restaurant, the menu was impressively diverse and featured a mix of traditional (turkey & potatoes w/cranberry) and more interesting dishes. Mom and I each ordered "mushroom blue" (which is mushroom soup with melted blue cheese - de-lish), and shared the seared ahi tuna over bok choy and wasabi mashed potatoes. It was amazingly tasty with just one exception. If I ever get an itch to experiment with wasabi and potatoes, I now know I don't need to scratch that itch.

String Lake in Teton Nat'l Park
(Top - JoAnne, Mom H; Bottom - My uber-cold feet in String Lake)

cute Mom H relaxing by the lake

Then we had more guests. In fact, the visits overlapped. Unprecedented! Joel, Katie, and Carolyn-Kate migrated north for a summer visit. Thanks to the chill nature of our fams, we were able to sleep five people comfortably (i hope).

We had ever so much fun:

eating ice cream,

a bubble-gum 'kiddie' cone


carnivaling,

going to market,

playing music,

Joel on tamborine, CK as lead vocalist, jclark on guitar

napping,



and eating.


waiting for a table at Brownstone
while listening to live, jazzy blues

Oh, yeah. We watched some fireworks, too.

Families: thank you so much for coming to visit. We love to see you. We also love to be home. It's nice we can do both simultaneously once in a while. Thanks for the good times. Love you!

weekend in pictures

It all started with some vegetables.
We picked up our first week of CSA yummies: sorrel, chives, oregano, and baby greens mix.



The farm is in Victor, Idaho, which is near . . .

Teton National Park.

So, we camped

in Wyoming, and we hiked


to a lake


in the pouring rain.

Luckily, we each had a change of clothes in the car so we were able to enjoy the scenic ride home through Yellowstone. It was surely the best impromptu mini-vacation ever.