We are back from a wonderful trip with Captain Obvious' family. How incredibly nice to be together with everyone, and how wonderful to no longer be the only wife/significant other in the mix. The only way the situation would be completely perfect is if there were another child the same/similar age as Captain Adorable. :)
Meanwhile, for the very first time ever, we've hired someone to work on our house. He's working on the dining room--sanding the ceiling and painting. It is not quite done yet, but it looks so much better. I am looking forward to serving dinner in there when my parents are here to visit.
Sinterklaas and Hanukkah are almost upon us! Celebration season is coming up! Presents and cookies everywhere!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Professional Development, Walks, Holiday Planning
I am kind of at a loss as to what to write. I guess this is why I stopped writing. I don't really have much to say about my daily life right now.
Lately I am trying to start a law practice. This is a complicated thing to undertake. I feel like I know a lot and at the same time, very little. I have more time than experience right now, so I am trying to invest that time wisely by going to the law library, talking to other lawyers about their practices, and keeping abreast of the profession online. A little scary but mostly interesting and fun, and a big job that I am slowly working on little by little.
As always, I love to spend time with Captain Adorable. I recently bought him a new card game and he enjoy playing it together--so nice to play games with him! I often played games with my brother when I was a child and I like playing games as an adult, but my dear Capt. Obvious does not like playing games so the only person I get to play with is my son. We're starting basketball in addition to ice hockey (for the social aspect) and I am so pleased to see him confident and happy and running with new friends. Last night on the way home he told me he does not like being an only child and he wishes there was another kid for him to play with. (I wish so too, my darling.)
I endeavor to stay healthy by eating carefully and well, and talking walks. I enjoy being outside--the sky and the trees and the hills are beautiful and being with them calms me. I've been getting headaches often and taking a walk makes them go away.
We are getting ready to go on a family trip (with more than just our little family) soon. The holidays are coming--it is a little sad to see the Thanksgiving food in the grocery stores and have no menu planned for our celebration. I love to cook almost all the time, and cooking special dishes for special occasions is especially wonderful. So, instead I am thinking about baking cookies in the weeks to come! Shall I make rugelach again or strike out in a new direction? I must make sugar cookies...but maybe something new and challenging will appear on the horizon. I am of course planning potato latkes and churros con chocolate. Anyone have a good chocolate recipe to share with me? I want chocolate dipping sauce, not chocolate milk. I sent the holiday cards today...or rather, most of them since I am missing some addresses and cannot send those till we get back from the trip.
Lately I am trying to start a law practice. This is a complicated thing to undertake. I feel like I know a lot and at the same time, very little. I have more time than experience right now, so I am trying to invest that time wisely by going to the law library, talking to other lawyers about their practices, and keeping abreast of the profession online. A little scary but mostly interesting and fun, and a big job that I am slowly working on little by little.
As always, I love to spend time with Captain Adorable. I recently bought him a new card game and he enjoy playing it together--so nice to play games with him! I often played games with my brother when I was a child and I like playing games as an adult, but my dear Capt. Obvious does not like playing games so the only person I get to play with is my son. We're starting basketball in addition to ice hockey (for the social aspect) and I am so pleased to see him confident and happy and running with new friends. Last night on the way home he told me he does not like being an only child and he wishes there was another kid for him to play with. (I wish so too, my darling.)
I endeavor to stay healthy by eating carefully and well, and talking walks. I enjoy being outside--the sky and the trees and the hills are beautiful and being with them calms me. I've been getting headaches often and taking a walk makes them go away.
We are getting ready to go on a family trip (with more than just our little family) soon. The holidays are coming--it is a little sad to see the Thanksgiving food in the grocery stores and have no menu planned for our celebration. I love to cook almost all the time, and cooking special dishes for special occasions is especially wonderful. So, instead I am thinking about baking cookies in the weeks to come! Shall I make rugelach again or strike out in a new direction? I must make sugar cookies...but maybe something new and challenging will appear on the horizon. I am of course planning potato latkes and churros con chocolate. Anyone have a good chocolate recipe to share with me? I want chocolate dipping sauce, not chocolate milk. I sent the holiday cards today...or rather, most of them since I am missing some addresses and cannot send those till we get back from the trip.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Backyard Bird Watching
I have a very popular bird feeder. It makes me happy to watch the birds who come to eat. I love seeing so many beautiful creatures up close. It is fun to look through the bird book to figure out what a bird is when I see a new species. I enjoy sharing this past-time with my dad; he and my mom also have a popular bird feeder at their house. It is interesting to compare the types of birds we see, as we are 500 miles apart.
On a daily basis I see:
On a daily basis I see:
- Chickadee (not sure if it is a black-capped or Carolina)
- Tufted Titmouse
- Cardinal (I even once saw a juvenile--they have black beaks, unlike adults, whose beaks are red/orange)
- Nuthatch
I often see:
- Blue Jay
- House Wren
- Downy Woodpecker
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-winged Blackbird
I have also seen:
- Mourning Dove
- Grackle
- Scarlet Tanager
- Pilliated Woodpecker
- American Golfinch
- Oriole
Today I also saw a neighbor's cat walking up the stairs on my deck to scope out the bird feeder. I have found solutions to keep squirrels and raccoons out of my feeder but I may have to stop feeding the birds to keep them out of danger from this cat. I myself am a cat owner, but I keep my cats indoors, in part to protect birds from them. Domestic cats are the cause of much devastation to songs birds in this country. Some places, including Montgomery County, Maryland do not allow cats outdoors unless they are leashed.
Election 2012
It was wonderful to vote for the first time yesterday. I was so pleased to be able to vote for President Obama and same sex marriage, both of which won. I joked with Captain Obvious that voting was really cool and I'm definitely doing it again (easy to be happy about the experience when your side wins, right?).
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Calm Weekend
This has been a calm weekend. I had a couple of nice walks: one yesterday, one today. The weather is beautiful. The captains raked all the leaves out of the yard. Together, we picked all the tomatoes and peppers and kind of put the plants to rest--it is going to start freezing at night, so they are goners anyhow. I am hoping to make a tomato tarte tatin with some of these tomatoes once they ripen. Not sure what to do with the peppers, but I will figure out something delicious. We also transplanted a sage plant to a spot where it will get more sun.
Captain Adorable's ankle seems to be healing up perfectly. He does not favor it and says that it does not hurt at all. I am still a bit suspicious because he said it didn't hurt and it was visibly swollen, but I think I will let him go to school on Monday (he's got Tuesday off anyway).
Speaking of Tuesday, did I neglect to mention that I became an American citizen over the summer? For the very first time in my life, I get to vote on Tuesday! I am pretty excited! Schools are closed because it is election day. I guess I will take Capt. Adorable with me to vote--he walked with me at the ceremony when I was granted my citizenship, so I may as well continue having him participate with me.
Just now we went for a short boat ride. Just to get the engine warmed up and the bottom cleaned off a little. We were only out for about an hour--the blue sky, the fall leaves, the dark water, the white boat, my two beloveds...would have been quite idyllic were it not for the cold wind! Hehe! It was nice anyhow and I am glad we went.
Perhaps I will dice up some peppers to go in the onion and potato frittata I am planing for dinner tonight. Not traditional Spanish, but I was planning to add garlic this time anyhow, which is also not usually in Spanish recipes (correct me if I am wrong).
Captain Adorable's ankle seems to be healing up perfectly. He does not favor it and says that it does not hurt at all. I am still a bit suspicious because he said it didn't hurt and it was visibly swollen, but I think I will let him go to school on Monday (he's got Tuesday off anyway).
Speaking of Tuesday, did I neglect to mention that I became an American citizen over the summer? For the very first time in my life, I get to vote on Tuesday! I am pretty excited! Schools are closed because it is election day. I guess I will take Capt. Adorable with me to vote--he walked with me at the ceremony when I was granted my citizenship, so I may as well continue having him participate with me.
Just now we went for a short boat ride. Just to get the engine warmed up and the bottom cleaned off a little. We were only out for about an hour--the blue sky, the fall leaves, the dark water, the white boat, my two beloveds...would have been quite idyllic were it not for the cold wind! Hehe! It was nice anyhow and I am glad we went.
Perhaps I will dice up some peppers to go in the onion and potato frittata I am planing for dinner tonight. Not traditional Spanish, but I was planning to add garlic this time anyhow, which is also not usually in Spanish recipes (correct me if I am wrong).
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Halloween Injury
Captain Adorable was Batman for Halloween this year. He loves Halloween--the costumes, the decorations, the small scares, and of course the trick-or-treating! He is difficult to keep up with when going door to door. He runs between houses! He is very polite, and knows to say "Trick or treat" when the door opens, "Thank you" when he gets the candy, and then "Happy Halloween" before he runs off.
Last night (and I think I may remember when) he sprained his ankle sometime during the trick or treating. He's quite stoic, and pretty tough, and was so excited for Halloween that he never told us or let on that he was in pain. But this morning he couldn't walk on his left foot; he crawled from his bed to the bathroom! He was really worried that he would have to miss school, and that clued me in that it was serious, because he knew that the pain was serious enough to threaten school attendance--otherwise he wouldn't have cared much. I took him to the doctor early in the hope that he could go to school after, but we spent all morning at the doctor's office and then we had to go get an X-ray.
I feel bad for him that his worst fear came true (well, no needles, but he was completely freaked out by the x-ray machine--there were many, many tears and the whole thing was quite hectic). He sobbed into my shoulder that today was "the baddest day of [his] life." There is no evidence of a break, so we're hoping it is only a sprain and nothing more serious. There could be a break in the growing plates, where we cannot see on an x-ray, and there is quite a good amount of inflammation--a definite sprain. The doctor wants him to stay off of it so he can't go to school tomorrow either. We have to watch him closely to see if he continues to favor it, as that will mean we have to go to the orthopedist for further evaluation.
Right now he's on the couch watching tv and eating candy, so I guess its not all bad. But I am not looking forward to tell him the bad news: he's not going to school tomorrow and he will miss hockey practice on Saturday and the first real hockey match on Sunday.
Last night (and I think I may remember when) he sprained his ankle sometime during the trick or treating. He's quite stoic, and pretty tough, and was so excited for Halloween that he never told us or let on that he was in pain. But this morning he couldn't walk on his left foot; he crawled from his bed to the bathroom! He was really worried that he would have to miss school, and that clued me in that it was serious, because he knew that the pain was serious enough to threaten school attendance--otherwise he wouldn't have cared much. I took him to the doctor early in the hope that he could go to school after, but we spent all morning at the doctor's office and then we had to go get an X-ray.
I feel bad for him that his worst fear came true (well, no needles, but he was completely freaked out by the x-ray machine--there were many, many tears and the whole thing was quite hectic). He sobbed into my shoulder that today was "the baddest day of [his] life." There is no evidence of a break, so we're hoping it is only a sprain and nothing more serious. There could be a break in the growing plates, where we cannot see on an x-ray, and there is quite a good amount of inflammation--a definite sprain. The doctor wants him to stay off of it so he can't go to school tomorrow either. We have to watch him closely to see if he continues to favor it, as that will mean we have to go to the orthopedist for further evaluation.
Right now he's on the couch watching tv and eating candy, so I guess its not all bad. But I am not looking forward to tell him the bad news: he's not going to school tomorrow and he will miss hockey practice on Saturday and the first real hockey match on Sunday.
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