Mix Tapes Masterpieces

Back in elementary, middle and high school while other girls were at dance class, I was in my bedroom making mix-tapes for myself and other people. From grades 5 until about 10, while doing my homework, I'd keep my stereo by my side and as I heard that first note of a song I liked, I'd push "record." It was the thrill of the hunt, the rush from the surge of song recognition and that I now could have this song and listen to it anytime I wanted. Elaborate tape covers were made a lot of the time, sometimes not. The mixes were usually named, sometimes not. Then CDs came out but it wasn't the same, wasn't as organic as radio. But now many years later, these things are obselete because of iTunes, which is one of my most favorite inventions ever. I can make playlists within minutes. Playlists for our iTunes at home, for our iPods and CDs for my spin classes. iTunes has taken the place of radio for me, opened me up to new music, a lot with small and independent labels, something that you will never find played on the radio or TV, which I'm happy about; I'm not being fed by "The Machine" and I like that. I'm lucky to have brothers and brothers-in-law that are like-minded that we can glean and exchange. I'm still true to my classic rock roots but there's a lot of good music out right now but you won't find it on MTV or the radio, which is fine by me.

Anyway, I made some playlists tonight, each for several of my different moods. I wish I could make mix tapes for all of you, with elaborate tape covers and catchy titles--the works.

MOODZY MIX
- Gamble Everything For Love – Ben Lee
- Hang Me Up to Dry – Cold War Kids
- Winter – Joshua Radin
- New Slang – The Shins
- Sea of Love – Cat Power
- Knocked Up – Kings of Leon
- You Are What You Love – Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
- Overkill – Colin Hay
- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right – Bob Dylan
- True Affection - The Blow
- Judy And the Dream of Horses – Belle & Sebastian
- Teeth in the Grass – Iron & Wine
- The Luckiest – Ben Folds
- Blue Skies For Everyone – Bob Schneider
- Creep – Radiohead
- First Day of My Life – Bright Eyes
- Petals – The Honorary Title
- Your Time is Gonna Come – Led Zeppelin
- By Heart – Sylvie Lewis

HAPPY GO LUCKY MIX
- Sailing Away (Bonus Track) – Travis
- I’d Rather Dance With You – Kings of Convenience
- All the Money or the Simple Life Honey – Dandy Warhols
- 1234 – Feist
- Feeling Alright – Joe Cocker
- LDN – Lily Allen
- Grace Kelly – MIKA
- Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games – Of Montreal
- You Only Live Once – The Strokes
- Lucky Moments – Bobby Baby
- After Hours – Bluetones
- At the Bottom of Everything – Bright Eyes
- If You Want to Sing Out Sing Out – Cat Stevens
- Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part 1 – The Flaming Lips
- Be Gentle With Me – The Boy Least Likely To
- Scenic World - Beirut

NOSTALGIA AIN'T OVER RATED MIX
- Cry Baby Cry – The Beatles
- Holiday in Spain – Counting Crows
- Out of My Head – Fastball
- Operator – Jim Croce
- Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) – Looking Glass
- Rooftop – The Envy Corps
- Sister Golden Hair - America
- The Great Divide – Neil Young
- Romeo & Juliet – Dire Straits
- Blackbird – The Beatles
- Mr. Tambourine – Bob Dylan
- California Stars – Billy Bragg & Wilco
- For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield
- Shiny – Decemberists
- Career Day – The Format
- Soul to Squeeze – Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Stupid Memory – Sondre Lerche

HYPER SNIPER MIX
- I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor – Arctic Monkeys
- The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
- I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ – Scissor Sisters
- Banquet – Bloc Party
- Do the Whirlwind – Architecture in Helsinki
- Poor Tom – Led Zeppelin
- Sukie in the Graveyard – Belle & Sebastian
- Sabotage – Beastie Boys
- Matthew & Son – Cat Stevens
- The Fallen – Franz Ferdinand
- OPP – Naughty by Nature
- Speak Slow – Tegan & Sara
- Friend of the Devil – The Grateful Dead
- Hotel Yorba – The White Stripes
- Struggle – Ringside
- 12:51 – The Strokes
- Que Onda Guero – Beck
- For the Actor - Mates of State
- Hey Now Now - The Cloud Room

(Fill in the blank) of Love

Behold, the "Egg of Love," which is a deflated balloon that Ruby found and named. After she showed this to me, I burst out laughing. Being very pleased with herself and wanting to please me again, she now has named everything, always with an "...of love" on the end. For instance, she no longer puts just her seatbelt on, she puts on her "Seatbelt of Love." It stopped being funny after she knighted my backside as "The Booty of Love." Go loved that one.

A sniff of my own medicine

Disclaimer: I have tried to teach Ruby to wipe her own bottom. We have yet to have a successful wiping, if you get what I mean. So until she is more coordinated (and thorough), I will continue to wipe her bottom. Now on with the post...

Ruby: Mom, will you wipe my bottom?
Me: There's absolutely nothing I'd rather do.
Ruby: Really?!!
Me: No, Ruby. I was being sarcastic.
Ruby: Well, so was I. I can be sar-tastic, too.

The Ultimate Ginger Cookie

This is for my dear sister-in-law, Erica. Here's the ginger cookie recipe; it's Barefoot Contessa. If I wind up dead in a couple of days, you can bet that I got wacked with a cannoli by none other than Ina Garten for posting her recipe on my blog. But you will be glad I did after you taste these babies. You have to REALLY like ginger though, to fully appreciate their magnificence.

The Ultimate Ginger Cookie

2 & 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 & 1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 c. dark brown sugar, lightly packed (gotta use dark brown - don't wimp out and use light brown)
1/4 c. vegetable oil (I use canola oil)
1/3 c. unsulfured molasses
1 extra large egg at room temperature
1 & 1/4 c. chopped crystallized ginger (6 oz.)
granulated sugar for rolling cookies

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 sheets pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the first 7 ingredients. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the dry
ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.

Scoop the dough with 2 spoons. With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 & 3/4-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place them on the sheet pans. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled on the top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for a minute or two, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

(Note: in my opinion, they are best eaten on the first day. They start to get hard after a couple of hours. Go likes them hard and crispy rather than soft and melty, but he's a freak like that.)

I like to cook because I like to eat.

Here are some really good recipes I've made lately:


This recipe took only 25 minutes to make. Gotta love that.
GNOCCHI WITH SAUSAGE AND SPINACH (from my fave, Real Simple magazine)
17.5 oz. gnocchi (potato pasta dumplings)
1 T. olive oil
1 medium yellow onon, finely chopped
1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed (I used turkey sausage and it worked like a champ)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
5 oz. fresh spinach
1/4 t. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3/4 c. grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish (I used shredded Parm, because that's all I had and it was good)

Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, crumbling it with a spoon until browned, 5 - 7 minutes. Add the garlic, spinach, salt, and pepper and cook, tossing requently, until the spinach wilts, about 3 minutes. Add the drained gnocchi, the reserved cooking liquid, and the Parmesan and toss. Divide among individual bowls and sprinkle with additional Parmesan.


Ok, this recipe came from Katie Brown. She included this recipe for rice and beans with chicken recipe but I especially loved the baked rice and black beans--and I am not a rice and beans type of person and neither is Go but we both couldn't get enough of it. Ruby and May scarfed it, too.

THE BEANS
16-19 oz can black beans rinsed and drained
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
2 Tb. olive oil
1/3 c. tomato juice or water
3/4 tsp. salt
2 Tb. chopped fresh cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in oil over medium heat, stirring until fragrant. Add black beans, juice and salt and cook until beans are heated through. Stir in cilantro.

THE RICE
1 onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1/3 c. olive oil
1 c. rice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 Tb. chili powder
1 4 oz. jar of button mushrooms
Stock (about 1 1/2 cups) (I used beef broth)
grated parmesan cheese (I used shredded)

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until just soft. Add the rice and seasonings and brown lightly. Add the mushrooms and enough boiling stock to come to one inch above the rice. Cover and bake at 350 until the liquid is completely absorbed, around 35 minutes. Sprinkle with parm cheese.


This recipe came from the cookbook that my stake in Iowa put together:
GARLIC CHICKEN PASTA DISH (submitted by Laurie A.)
16 oz. bow tie pasta
2 to 3 cloves garlick, crushed
1 c. whipping cream (do not substitute anything for this, it will turn out bad. Just bite the bullet and use the fatty stuff)
3 chicken breasts
1/2 Tb. pepper
1/2 c. butter
1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1 (12 oz.) bottle Lawry's Mesquite Marinade with Lime Juice

The night before, marinate chicken breasts in Mesquite sauce and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Grill chicken and cut. Boil pasta. Melt butter; add crushed garlic, whipping cream, pepper, Parm cheese, and bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 4 to 5 minutes. In large pot, add pasta and sauce and heat through.

Real men wear LOUPES

Insulin Pump Therapy Class

That's where I've been all day long. The good thing is that Ruby will be starting Insulin Pump Therapy in September. For her to be able to be on the pump (no more shots and food freedom), I have to go to five 6-hour long classes, which are basically math and science class all rolled into one.

His Mesquite Wife

Back when Go and I were newly married, once in awhile we'd drive from SLC to Vegas to visit his family. On one occasion on our way there, we were driving through the city (can you really call it that?) of Mesquite. He told me about how back in high school when he'd have away track meets at Mesquite High, he'd picture himself living there, married with a family. What would I think about moving to Mesquite someday?, he asked. I looked out the window at the icky desert town, saw the hot dusty hills, the boring plantless track home neighborhoods, the dingy gas stations, the cheesy hotels with their marquees advertising buffet meals and burst out laughing. "You'd have to get yourself another wife," I said. And thus, "The Mesquite Wife" was born. When he suggests something I really don't want to do, like watch a martial arts film or a Spagetti Western with him, I reply that perhaps his Mesquite Wife is in the mood for no character development, bad acting and a poor plot line. Neatly ironed dress shirts? Oh, just have the Mesquite Wife do it. (Thank goodness for Brooks Brothers Non-Iron shirts. Best invention EVER.) Get up at 4:30 in the morning with him and make him breakfast? Thanks, Mesquite Wife! His Mesquite Wife also sometimes forgets to put the cap back on the toothpaste. She looks a lot like this:

I'd like to bear my testimony that I know this book is true.

I've been teaching Ruby how to read using this book. I can't say enough about it. I've only been working with her for about a week and she can already read small words like "cat", "mat", "sad", etc. She loves it and is so proud of herself. We are proud of her, too. Go woke up post-call yesterday and I told him some of the words that Ruby had sounded out and read that day. He wanted to see her in action so he had her spell "I-CUP", which she did perfectly to her Daddy's delight, even though she didn't get the joke (if you can even call it that), she was so focused at the task at hand. Did I mention my husband is a 9 year old?

Per the book's instructions, you work on reading and writing everyday for about 10 minutes (the lessons get longer as you progress but never over 20 minutes - you don't want to overkill), it tells you (the parent/teacher) what to say, how to say it, how to correct them -- everything. It focuses on phonics, which I really like. The writing part is always at the end of the lesson, which is the most fun part for Ruby and sort of like her reward for getting through some of the tedious (yet imperative) stuff. I am very, very happy with the results. I highly recommend this here book. I do not, however, recommend teaching your four year old how to spell "I-CUP."

Dancing Machines

Here is a vid of my girls dancing. May has moves like I've never seen. Please excuse my lousy editing job.

Barn Painting: Check.

I finally finished my 24"x36" barn painting. I'm pretty happy with it. Now I need to make a frame for it - a simple, gallery type frame. We'll see how it turns out.

Next up, a painting for my friend who was Ruby's preschool teacher last year for free. To show our gratitude, I offered to paint her a picture of anything she wanted, whatever size she wanted. She chose a 24"x36" oil painting of her two daughters walking down a wooded, shady pathway. I've done the photography part, now comes the initial drawings, which I'll start on next week. The painting will be a challenge but I'm up for it. She was a great teacher and did it out of the kindness of her heart, so her wish is my command.

Items #3

A plastic baggie filled with comics.

Item #2

This card. Which is odd, because I thought I sent it to either our friend Ethan or one of my brothers for their birthday one year.

Here, smell this.

When I was in middle school, I found this in a National Geographic and ripped it out. I have a faint recollection of peeing my pants from laughing so hard. It was during Ms. Wiggins' 7th period art class, we were searching through magazines for collages. I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever seen. Well, in the top 5 at least.

I don't even like Star Wars

I found my letter. And it said "March of 2007" on it, so I was later than I thought I was. Let me just say, I don't think I took the assignment very seriously. The letter was signed off with a bold "Good luck. May the force be with you. Love, Self."

BUT. The box that I found it in contained all kinds of other treasures. Stay tuned.

Dear Self:

Somewhere floating around the universe, hopefully in one piece and hopefully inside my house, is a letter written by the 1997 me, addressed to the 2007 me. It is encased in a red envelope that reads "Do not open until May of 2007." Ten years ago, we were instructed to write these letters during a church activity, to include goals we hoped to have achieved by now and things we hoped that we were doing in 2007. The only part of this letter I remember writing was "Dear Self:", because I thought it was funny. I have a few ideas of what the contents hold. I hope I do myself proud. I'll let you know when I find it.

This is me at 17. My cousin snapped this picture of me sheepishly crawling out of the back of my car after I had locked myself out, broken in through the back (not very hard to do in a VW bus) to retrieve my keys that I had left in the ignition overnight, parked on a sidestreet in Newport Beach. Hmm...even without reading that letter, just by being reminded of the back story to this photo, I'm pretty sure I've come a long way since then. But then again maybe not, since apparently I still have a tendancy to temporarily lose things.

It could be worse.

My girls' new favorite song.
They sing it everywhere we go. Passer-byes not up with the current music scene give me dirty looks as they reach for their cells to call Social Services.
Ruby: "They tried to make me go to rehab!"
May: "No! No! No!"
Ruby: "They tried to make me go to rehab but Daddy thinks I'm fine!"
May: "No! No! No!"

My mystery plant overfloweth

Allright, I'm confused. I don't think this is a bush anymore. The stalks grow up individually and they do not all stem from the same little "stump" above ground, like bushes do. I see no signs of this thing flowering, like I thought it would. I'm starting to think that perhaps my mystery plant is indeed a weed. It sure has grown as fast as one. Though, at the library the other day, I was checking out a hydrangea bush and the leaves are very similiar and the stalks, too but there were some differences, so I think I can rule out hydrangea, which makes me sad because that was on the very top of my list of hopefuls. Seriously, what is this thing?

Mini Marine Biologist

Me: "So what did you dream about last night?"
Ruby: "A shark eating a dolphin eating a sting ray eating a fish."

R.I.P.

I saw a guy at Target wearing this shirt the other day.

I wonder how that's working out for him, here in central Pennsylvania.

Something worth celebrating

That fuzzy picture is a scan of a scan of a scan. But I still love it. It's our first married picture. Yesterday was our 6 year anniversary. Crazy.
One of our favorite memories from that day was after taking all of the pictures outside of the temple, we all had to high tail it to Corona del Mar for the reception. Everyone started heading for their cars and I turned to my new husband and said "I'm hungry." Even though were were having dinner at the reception, I knew we wouldn't be eating much. "Yah, everyone keeps telling me that we need to eat. Let's go to the cafeteria." So we turned around and went to the temple cafeteria. There were all the old temple worker couples down there eating lunch. We came in, Go in his tux, me in my wedding dress and veil, etc., we went through the cafeteria line with our trays, ordered our food while the old folks looked on, smiling and waving. We caused quite a stir. Several of these cute old couples approached us and told us how long they've been married, how many kids and grandchildren they had, and gave us little bits of advice. We loved it and it's a great memory for the both of us.

The night before we got married, Brandon's parents hosted a wedding dinner for our families, extended family members who came in town, etc and everyone was given a small sheet of paper. Later these papers would be made into a book. They were instructed to write down their best piece of advice for a happy marriage. My favorites are the ones written by the kids:
-"Eat off of each other's plates."
-"After a fight always make up."
- a picture of a spaceship
-"Always hold hands everywhere."
-"Three words: Pinch Bottom Monster."
-My brother Joe wrote: "Never have regrets and have fun you crazy kids. P.S. - I like men" (that last part was written by my bro-in-law Dan at the bottom of Joe's page)
-My bro-in-law Dan wrote: "Just remember if I can deal with Go, so can you. Love, Cool Man Dan Reynolds who gets all the women. Actually all the ugly ones." (the last part was written by my brother Joe at the bottom of Dan's page)
-"Kiss and hug a lot." (the page is covered with smears of chocolate)
-"If Annie asks if she looks overweight when she is pregnant say "no" without hesitation."
-"Always remember to start the day off with a good "I love you." Never start it off with a bad "I do not love you."
-"Watch good karate movies."
Another thing I have that I like from our wedding day is the guest book from our reception. My brothers and their friends got a hold of it and apparently Jim Morrison, Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, and Jimi Hendrix were there.

Happy Anniversary, you stupid disease.

Exactly a year ago today, Ruby was diagnosed with Diabetes. Yes, June 6, 2006. 6-6-06. Coincidence? I think not.

Time's Up

I knew I had spent too much time on the computer when I heard this come from the bathroom:

Ruby: Hey May, you want to wipe my bottom?

A big fat thank you

I rented two DVDs of the first season of Arrested Development yesterday. For the past 4 years, I have had numerous, numerous people tell me that I need to watch this show, especially lately. I can't thank those who recommended this show to me enough. I'm only 2 DVDs in but I'm already totally in love with it and its quirky characters. Why aren't there more shows/movies/books that are more character driven than plot driven? It seems like the masses prefer plot over characters, which is a shame and probably why the show (and others like it) didn't last long. It's too bad. It's pure genius.

A conversation about crap

Me: Crap!
Ruby: Mom, don't say "crap." It's not a nice word to say.
Me: I know, I'm sorry. I slipped.
Ruby: Daddy doesn't want you to say "crap" anymore.
Me: Yes, Ruby. I know. I'm trying.
Ruby: Trying not to say "crap?"
Me: Yes.
Ruby: Because "crap" is a naughty word?
Me: Yes.
Ruby: And I'm not allowed to say "crap", right?
Me: Right. So stop saying it.
Ruby: What?
Me: Ruby, you know exactly what word I'm talking about.
Ruby: You mean "crap?"
Me: Yes.
Ruby: Ok. I won't say the word "crap" anymore.
Me: Ruby. Stop.
Ruby: I'm not saying the word "crap", I'm just talking about "crap."
Me: I don't want you to even talk about it.
Ruby: Ok, I won't even talk about "crap" anymore.

I give up.

Super Silly Birthday Party

Three weeks ago:
Me: Ruby, what kind of birthday party do you want? (I'm saying this while I'm thinking "Please don't say a Purple Unicorn Party", like one of her little friends is having next week. I didn't want to deal with that specific of a theme.)
Ruby: How about a Super Silly birthday party?
Me: Ok, I think I can do that.

Today was Ruby's 4th birthday. Here are the highlights from her Super Silly birthday party:

The Super Silly Birthday invitations. I don't scrapbook but I make a pretty cute party invitation.


Super Silly straws.

Making Super Silly hats.

Super Silly string fight.


Happy Birthday Ruby Dubes!
Taking Super Silly pictures. Yes, this is underwear on my head.


Go was able to come home early from work. He brought Ruby home a plant - some kind of exotic begonia. What a cute thing to do. A super silly plant.

It was a super silly day.