Flashback Friday

(Go here for an explanation of Flashback Friday.)

I'm not actually in this photo; I took it. And it's not that old--but it's one of the oldest photos I've got on my computer. It's from 2003, I think. A five-year-old photo still counts, right?

These are my friends Mike, Megan, and Carl during our freshman year at BYU. It cracks me up because Carl used to make this face in every picture. I never understood why.

Carl, are you reading this? Do you still make this face? Why?!

Faithfulness of Her Citizens

"Zion is Zion because of the character, attributes, and faithfulness of her citizens. Remember, 'The Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.'"

-D. Todd Christofferson

I Know ABCs

Little Boy frustrates me because he never sings. He likes it when I sing to him, and he moves his lips along with the words I'm singing, but that's it.  

But finally, finally, finally I got him to sing more than one word. And then I couldn't get him to stop singing the same two lines, over and over:

By the way, do you like Little Boy's farmer outfit? Isaac dressed him in a flannel shirt and overalls this morning. When they came in to wake me up, I asked Little Boy about his plans for the day: 

Andrea: "Hey, Farmer John! Are you gonna go milk the cows?" 

Little Boy: "No!" 

Andrea: "Are you gonna go feed the pigs?" 

Little Boy: "No!" 

Andrea: "Are you gonna feed the chickens?" 

Little Boy: "No! Feed the fish!" 

Isaac: "He's a fish farmer." 

 Ooookay.

Friday Fun

photo by MBK (Marjie)

I've been thinking about putting together another Toddler Dictionary post for a long time. I like to look back at how his language skills are improving. But I keep putting it off. 

So, to motivate myself--and because it's Friday--I thought I 'd switch things up a bit. Let's play "Match the Toddler Phrases!" Wahoo! Match the Little Boy phrases on top with the grown-up phrases below--scroll down for the answers. I think I made them pretty easy. Good luck! 

1. how bout 

2. pee-tay-oh 

3. tum-pee-tay-oh 

4. tum bat 

5. doff bah 

6. peese taw

7. uh did uht 

8. wuh-wuh 

9. pee-pah 

10. appah thaw-thawth 

a. come back 

b. paper 

c. I did it 

d. potato 

e. noodle 

f. apple sauce 

g. police car 

h. tomato 

i. golf ball 

j. how about... 

Answers: 1.j 2.d 3.h 4.a 5.i 6.g 7.c 8.e 9.b 10.f

Presidents and Goldfish

I don't have much to say about the inauguration that hasn't already been said (over and over and over...), but I do have two things:

1) I'm uncomfortable with how much people are focusing on Obama's African-American-ness. Isn't it just as racist, in a way, to make a huge positive deal about his race as it would be to make a huge negative deal about it? I thought the idea was looking past the color of people's skin.

2) Bush should get a little more respect. You may not have agreed with anything he did, and you may think his breath stinks, but he was still the President of the United States of America for eight years. That said, I support President Obama, and I am very happy for him and his family.

---

And now, back to the navel-gazing. That is why you're here, isn't it? You want to know all about me! ;) 

So Isaac called me from Wal-Mart the other day to say that he had spent the rest of his Christmas money, and it was going to be a big surprise. Ooookay. 

He came home with goldfish.  Not the kind that taste so delicious--nope, the kind that swim in a tank. 

Do you want to meet them?

(There are only two fish. One of the orange ones is a reflection.)

Isaac named the orange one Pudge, after this dialogue from Lilo & Stitch:

Hula Teacher: Lilo, why are you all wet?
Lilo: It's sandwich day. Every Thursday I take Pudge the fish a peanut butter sandwich.
Hula Teacher: "Pudge" is a fish?
Lilo: And today we were out of peanut butter. So I asked my sister what to give him, and she said "a tuna sandwich". I can't give Pudge tuna! [whispering] Do you know what tuna *is*?
Hula Teacher: Fish?
Lilo: [hysterical] It's fish! If I give Pudge tuna, I'd be an abomination! I'm late because I had to go to the store and get peanut butter 'cause all we have is... is... stinkin' tuna!
Hula Teacher: Lilo, Lilo, why is this so important to you?
Lilo: [calm] Pudge controls the weather.

I named this one Ron Weasley, because, well....you can see why. It's been five days, and the fish are both still alive. I'd say that's pretty good, wouldn't you?

Make Beautiful Everything Around You

“There is a great work for the Saints to do...Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.”

-Brigham Young

Happy Friday!

Here's something fun for Friday. Did you know that Valentine's Day is less than a month away?

 
image courtesy amy_b

This, That, and the Other

A few random photos from the last week.

Here's our laundry waiting patiently by our front door. We own a washer and dryer, but our subsidized housing complex doesn't have washer/dryer hookups. Thank goodness for my parents, who are kind enough to let us do laundry at their house instead of at the laundromat.


Maybe you've noticed that Little Boy likes hats. His favorite right now is "Daddy wasside hat". Extra points for you if you can translate that from toddler-ese.


I don't know what Little Boy thinks he's doing when he gets this close to the camera, but he does it alllllllll the time.


I made a "mailbox" for him to play with out of a shoe box and index cards (yes, he's wearing Daddy's wasside hat and a backpack shaped like a monkey). He liked it even better than I expected--he played with it for an hour after I put it together. Notice his trademark stuck-out tongue. Mailing stuff is hard.

You Need His Help

"You need His help, and you know that you need His help. You cannot do it alone. You will come to realize that and recognize that more and more as the years pass."

-Gordon B. Hinckley

Still Not Drowned, Plus a Recipe

I have a couple of things to blog about this evening. First, it's finally stopped raining. Our apartment didn't flood, but I know a couple of people who had to leave their homes. So what do you do in a small town when school's canceled and the river's flooded? Why, go look at the flood, of course.

A lot of people had the same idea, so I don't feel too weird. I know the pictures are bad; I took them all from inside the car. I'm only posting a couple pictures of the water. But maybe you can still get the idea.

Here's our local river. It was a good three times wider than usual.


This one's pretty hard to see, but the guy in the reddish jacket is standing at the edge of the water. The river shouldn't be visible from this road--it should be on the far side of those furthest trees.

 
I wore my big, red rubber boots--you know, just in case. Haha.


Little Boy was so excited. Or...not.

And second, I've been meaning to post this recipe--it's one of Isaac's favorites. It's adapted from Ricky Martin's Rice & Beans on Meatless Monday:

 2 T olive oil
1/2 c chopped onion (I only use onion powder, though)
1/2 c chopped green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, pressed
3/4 c water
1/4 c tomato sauce
1/4 t dried oregano
1/4 t salt
1/4 t chili powder
1 15.5-oz can of whatever beans you like
6 c cooked brown rice*

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in water, tomato sauce, oregano, salt, and chili powder. Bring to a boil and stir in beans. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve beans over rice. Serves 4.

*I like to cook the rice with chicken stock instead of water, but it's not necessary.

Veggies and Tiddly-Winks

30-Second Book Review: The China Study, by Dr. T. Colin Campbell

Now, this one's a little controversial. The main point of the book is that a plant-based diet is much healthier than an animal-based diet. In fact, according to the author's research (he's a well-known, award-winning nutritionist), a plant-based diet can possibly reverse some of our nation's deadliest diseases.

That part was interesting. The most interesting part, though, was the end. Dr. Campbell writes about why, if there's all this research about the benefits of a plant-based diet, the public doesn't hear more about it. It has to do with money vs. real science, and how Americans just don't want to give up their burgers. Hmm...anyway, it's worth a read.

---

Quotes of the Day

I have a backlog of quotes from the holidays. Here we go:

Thane: "We're not here to argue; we're here to trade Tiddly-Winks."
~
  Andrea: "This is the sound of my face exploding."
Thane: "And of all things, it's 'La Bamba.'"
~
  Andrea: "This snow is bouncy! It's bouncing off the windshield!"
Kaylyn: "It's frozen rain."
Andrea (in denial): "Shh. It's snow."
Kaylyn: "Wow, this snow is bouncy!"
~
  Andrea: "I wonder how many Rubik's Cubes have been returned because customers thought they were defective?"
~
  TV: "Critics say Leverage is better than the last two Ocean's Eleven movies..."
Thane: "But not the first one. That goes without saying."

New Year's Comes But Once A Year

What's that you say? Something about these pictures being really late? I can't quite hear you. Sorry!

So here's our New Year's Eve in photos. Like I said before, it was a low-key evening for us.

Little Boy went to bed at his usual time. No way was I going to let him stay up past midnight. It might've been entertaining, though. He gets pretty loopy when he's tired.

 On to the main events...


Fancy cookies were eaten. (This might become a tradition.)


Movies were watched. (Iron Man. Good show, but I missed the end. Don't ruin it for me!)


Games were played. (Enthusiastically.)

 
Minds were blown. (The picture speaks for itself.)

 
Good times were had by all. (Even my teenage sister.)

Forgiveness

"And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." 
-John 8:11 

"I wish today to speak of forgiveness. I think it may be the greatest virtue on earth, and certainly the most needed. There is so much of meanness and abuse, of intolerance and hatred. There is so great a need for repentance and forgiveness. It is the great principle emphasized in all of scripture, both ancient and modern." 
-Gordon B. Hinckley, 2005