Make a photobook - it's easy!

My first virtual Christmas Card. I never thought I'd see the day. Hopefully most of you will get this in your regular email but if I missed you, here it is! Merry Christmas to all of you!

If you would like to check out photos of my time here in New Zealand, I've posted quite a few here. A lot of them are of flowers and family; but there are some scenery shots, too. Merry Christmas, everybody!

I can't post about this on my own blog because I am making this for my sister and she reads my own blog, but I realized I can post about it HERE, so here it is, 8 blocks of the 25 blocks in my new quilt, the beautiful new quilt I am making!!!!!



Merry Christmas!!!!!!

I need more coffee now.

Love!
Neb

Yay, thank you everyone. Now I can post on our Blog. Well, I'm sorry I don't have any recipes right now, especially not Christmas recipes...Not because I don't want to give them to you, or because I don't like to cook. I just don't have specifically holiday recipes. But I do have some news, for those of you who don't know, my wife Sarah and I are going to have a baby this February! That at least is worth a post, I think. Hope you're all having a good day.

Jeff and Sarah Squire (and baby)

Jeff and Sarah would like to join the blog, but I don't have their email address to invite them! Could somebody (who does have their address) email an invite, please? Unless we collectively don't want them to join, in which case a ritual freeze-out is in order.

So Jeff, if you don't get an invite, consider yourself Snubbed.


Just kidding. So someone needs to go to the "Settings" tab, then the "permissions" subgroup (compsci people please stop flinching) and "Add Author."

Thank you.

Speaking of Christmas . . .

Some of you have moved recently (okay, in the last 2 years, but I am slow). Can we start a round robin/mass email of our current addresses just to make sure everyone is on the same page? I know I don't have up to date addresses for Carrie, Alysia, Dan, Zingrin, Michael T., NEB or Airika (maybe I do, but how would I know since we never hear from her). So! When this starts, if anybody knows their addresses (or has a good guess) feel free to reply for them. Also! Hannah? I feel sure you sent me your address and I DO pay attention (to you anyway ;) but I can't seem to find it.
That's all folks!

PS I don't have many Christmas recipes because we usually do super traditional things that have no recipe. Rub butter on turkey. Use baking bag. Yeah! Beg Granny to make the dressing and let you watch so that someday you will be able to make it. Follow the pumpkin pie recipe on the Libby's can. The only unique thing I can think of (with a recipe) is a Cranberry Upside Down Cake recipe I have. I typically make it for Easter but I think it is more traditionally a Christmas/Thanksgiving recipe. It is very easy and I will share if anyone is interested.

Oh, and some years my family has gone non-traditional for Christmas and had Mexican! or Steaks! or Italian! They know better than to do this when I will be around. Anyway, if you are wanting to break out of the box, do it with flair. The lasagna sounds like a prime candidate for such a venture. I will be trying that recipe one of these days.

*Neb's Top 5 Can't-Live-Without-Them Holiday "Recipes"*

1) Coffee: add grounds, add water, brew. Flavors are good. Addition of liquor is permissible in the presence of Disturbing Relatives.

2) Chocolate: Find stockings hung over the mantle with care. Access candy. The perfect Christmas morning breakfast.

3) Asparagus Casserole: [My mom's recipe- I've made it before, but can't remember the precise details. I don't think you can really go wrong, though.] Layer asparagus, extra sharp cheddar cheese, and finely ground Ritz cracker crumbs in a casserole dish with pats of butter on each layer and a tiny bit of milk poured over the whole thing at the end. Bake at some kind of temperature, like maybe 350 or so, for awhile, you know, until it's quite hot all the way through and the cheese is melted and so forth. I would guess 30 or 45 minutes. I really have absolutely no idea how long. You kitchen people could probably guess better than me. Anyway, my mom always used canned asparagus, but I'm sure fresh would improve the taste- don't know how that might change the baking time. This is my absolute favorite dish at Thanksgiving.

4) Sweet Potato Souffle: [Again, this is one of my mom's Thanksgiving recipes, and I have made it before, but since it's somewhat complicated mine really didn't turn out the same as hers..] Let's see, you start by baking some sweet potatoes. How many, you ask? Well, get the casserole dish you're going to use for this recipe and see how many sweet potatoes will fit, I guess. Once the sweet potatoes are baked soft, scoop out the insides, and mash them with a lot of butter and some nutmeg and brown sugar. Then separate some eggs and beat your egg whites with an electric mixer until That Thing Happens (you know, that cooking thing that you're always looking for when you beat egg whites... "stiff peaks"? Is that what they call it?) How many eggs, you ask? Well... how many sweet potatoes did you bake? You need enough egg white material to match the amount of sweet potato innards you've got! Fold in the egg whites to the sweet potatoes, VERY slowly and patiently, to make them fluffy.

Add some more butter and brown sugar. Use a LOT. Really. [When I asked my mom for this recipe over the phone, she was, of course, trying to be more specific with quantities and stuff until she got to the butter. Then our conversation went like this:

Mom: "And then, you add LOTS of butter..."
Neb [writing]: "Okay... how much butter?"
Mom: "Well. [Pause] I really can't tell you how much butter I put in."
Neb: (sigh) "Mom, I know you put in a lot of butter. Seriously, it's okay. Just tell me how much."
Mom: [audibly blushing] "No. Really. I can't tell you how much butter I put in. I can't say the amount out loud."

I can just see the scene at the Pearly Gates, where [perhaps?] all of our Secret Deeds are revealed, with Michael the Archangel saying "YOU, Elizabeth W. ****, put SEVENTEEN STICKS OF BUTTER into that one casserole you made every Thanksgiving..."]

So then I think you sprinkle some more brown sugar on the top (it couldn't hurt, right?) and top with giant (S'more-sized) marshmellows, then bake (at 350 maybe? For some amount of time?) Yeah. Good stuff.

PS Now that I think of it, I think maybe you're supposed to take at least one of your egg yolks from the separation and mix that in too, and maybe a little milk. But it probably doesn't matter much.

5) Apple salad: Cut up about 3 apples and 3 bananas into tiny pieces. Place in a large bowl with 1 can of pineapple chunks (again, I'm sure fresh is better, but we always used canned), some mini marshmellows, and Cool Whip. Top with Marastachio(?) Those Bright Red Cherries that Come in a Jar and Begin with an M. Serve chilled.

In closing, a gratuitous baby picture:


Love, Neb

Deanna's Sicilian Lasagna

I got this from a coworker of mine. It takes some time, but it's totally worth it.

Sauce:

Chuck roast (or similar inexpensive roast -- NOT ground -- and NOT flank steak), approx 2 LB
Olive oil (couple tablespoons)
6 cloves garlic
4T basil (dried or fresh)
Tomato sauce -- 2 large cans
Tomato paste -- 2 small cans
1/2 C sugar
6 bay leaves
salt & pepper

Cheese:
1 tub Ricotta
1/2 C Shredded Parmesan (shredded is better than the shelf-stable grated stuff)
1/2 C Shredded Mozzarella
various spices to taste (I usually use more garlic, basil, oregano, thyme and a little marjoram)

Lasagna noodles -- I like the no-boil kind.

Get your biggest soup pot. Heat the olive oil in the bottom (it's ready when it just starts to smoke), then brown the roast about 5 min. each side, add the garlic and basil when you turn the roast over. Once it's brown, add the tomato sauce and paste, bring to a simmer and cover. A half hour later, add the sugar, bay leaves and whatever other spices you'd like. Cover and simmer for a while ... the longer the better. Like 4-6 hours. The point is to simmer this stuff until the beef falls apart.

Combine the cheeses. Layer the lasagna as usual, except that the meat's already with the sauce. You may need to break up the larger pieces of meat. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 50 minutes; uncover for a final 10 minutes.

Notes:
1. The sauce can be done in a crock pot. It comes out a little darker -- just make sure your crock pot is big enough!! I still prefer the taste of stovetop-prepared, though, and do it that way when I can.
2. Finished sauce can also be frozen for up to six months.

From Hannah -- she put it in the comments section, but here's its own entry.

Scotch Shortbread

(Best made a day before you plan to serve it.)

1 cup butter
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
2 cups sifted flour (at room temp.)

Cream butter and beat in sugar gradually. Mix in flour well. Spread on a cookie sheet, or in a cake pan (about 9"x9") at least 1/2 in. thick. (If you're having trouble patting it out--too sticky--chill for 30 min. or so till the dough is stiffer.) Prick all over with a fork (we always do a pattern). Bake at 350 F. for 5 min. Reduce heat to 300 and bake about 45 min. longer. Cut while still hot! (We usually cut ours in 36 squares...but, of course, you can try any shape or size.)

Enjoy! I made shortbread just a couple weeks ago.

In an effort to jumpstart posting, I'm going to announce the

First Annual
Holiday Recipe Exchange!
(ta-da!)


The idea is that we post our favorite/traditional recipes we tend to use every year and/or everyone's asking us for (or we're asking someone to make). And then we've all got something different and tasty we can try for the holidays!

(Translation: I'm cooking this Christmas and I'm looking for ideas.)

First off, I need Hannah's shortbread recipe.

I'll also post my awesome lasagna recipe later, when I have more time.

A Plea for your Pennies

Hello, everyone! Time has gotten away from me again, and I forgot to post this earlier ...

Ahem ... OK, suffice it to say that I 1) Dislike fundraisers (too many years in band, selling chocolate/wrapping paper/more chocolate/popcorn/did I mention chocolate?); 2) Hate making pleas for money. However, I love my husband and he loves his job (which, I'll admit, is a good cause all by itself -- the Job, that is, although the loving of it is also a good thing) and here goes:

Michael (the husband) works for Deaf Video Communications of America, Inc. For those of you who don't like to follow links (Dan), it's in a nutshell a Christian nonprofit to assist the deaf. They provide video (DVD and VHS) sermons, Bible studies, closed-captioned Christian movies free of charge for the deaf community, which is an incredibly large relatively unreached people group in this country.

The Big Project lately is Dr. Wonder's Workshop, a weekly TV show for deaf kids (it's actually on air right now). It's pretty much the first of its kind (there have been other shows, but this is the first one that's actually managed more than two episodes. They're doing postproduction on season 2 right now.).

Anyhoodle, I've already mentioned that this is a nonprofit, right? And kids (the target demographic, obviously) don't have money. So an awful lot of the funds have to be raised, which leads me to

The Point

This Saturday (Oct. 20) is DVC's annual Bowlathon. I am participating. I am supposed to get pledges, either per-point or flat amount. I promise y'all, I am a Terrible Bowler (so a penny a point won't kill the piggy bank!). Any and all donations will be greatly appreciated. It should also be noted that a foundation (who wish to remain unnamed -- I don't even know who they are, Michael won't tell me) has promised a matching grant up to $25,000, which is awesome.

Just email me or leave a comment if you lost my email address ... and ... I guess that's all! Thanks, everyone! (And I promise that, when your kids are old enough, you can put me down for a case of the chocolate bars with almonds.)

Well, it seems that a lot of us are dealing with new babies, finding employment to justify our new doctoral statuses, trekking through New Zealand and having wonderful adventures or just otherwise tired ...

I can't give much input for a lot of the above (OK, or any of the above, except to say Congrats, you Lucky Ducks!), but I did stumble across a cool website for those with the Babies of Newness. Some of the stuff is ridiculously overpriced, overblown, overmodern, etc. but there are a couple cool pieces -- I would direct the reader's attention to the Kipiis and Bilibo as pretty cool concepts. And some Montessori-type toys.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day, mates!

Three of my cousins here in New Zealand have started up an internet business that some of you programmer-type/computer-y people might be interested in. Check out www.micropledge.com when you have a chance. Thanks!

8 obscure things about me...

*this is a cross post from my blog*

Yeah. Thanks, meesh for tagging me. i've been putting this off for a while because i'm quite unoriginal and am having a hard time coming up with anything.

in no particular order:

1) I support desktop computer environments (i'm pretty good at it, too) and have never taken a computer class. (unless you count touch-typing... but i don't think that should count because most techs don't know how to type correctly.) i guess that's a benefit of having a computer programmer for a father.

2) i've been to europe 4 times. 3 of those times i was still in high school.

3) i had a job as a telemarketer. it was for a painful 2 weeks. i hated it, but needed a job since i had just moved out of my dad's up to where i'm at now... (tip: have a job before relocating)

4) I name almost every inanimate object i own. My jeep was named Harold, my trumpet is Leonardo, my laptop is Meph (short for Mephibosheth), my phone is RoryG (after rory from the gilmore girls). i'm thinking about calling my new truck Harvey, he hasn't informed how he feels about that, yet.

5) While we're on the subject of names, i had 4, maybe 5 hamsters when i was younger (one at a time). All were named Michaelangelo (no, not after that Michaelangelo, but after the TMNT Mike).

6) I love pickles but hate them in burgers.

7) I'm an avid Apple and Mac fan, even worked in an Apple reseller store for a while, but have yet to call myself a mac owner. :'(

8) my guilty pleasure: chick flicks... but the funny ones, not the serious one.

Hey all,

You know, the trouble with this blog thing is that nobody reminds you to check it. I guess no one reminds me to check my email either, but somehow it really feels like email is delivered to you and to blog you have to go out and post something. I was really thinking that I had put an update on not too long ago so everyone should know what is happening in my life. Then I looked at the blog and realized I was at least 6 months behind. So it seems I have missed a lot of great stuff in 6 months. Glad to hear so many new houses, babies, and other major life changes are going well. Many congrats on all of them! Nate, way to go on the dissertation defense!

I guess I don't post much because my life hasn't changed a whole lot. Still in school, I have pushed my graduation target date back to next June rather than December. Maybe my big news here is that Lisa (younger sister) just left for China last weekend. She is going to spend the year there learning chinese and helping in a coffeeshop/bookstore.

Hannah, you must already be on your way to New Zealand. I am jealous! Looking forward to your updates.

That's it for now. Back to learning about what sort of aerosols are in the atmosphere and what they do to sunlight.

ps Alysia, I can't remember if the getting rid of odors post was in the last few months, but the question intrigued me. I am pretty sure that our sense of smell comes from molecules interacting with some kind of "sensor" in our nasal passages. I would guess that many of them are organic and not very polar molecules, so not ions. But it may be that those molecules are given off by the life habits of bacteria. In which case, if you get rid of the bacteria you get rid of the smell...

Just wanted to inform all of you that I leave Thursday for [potentially] a year of work and travel in New Zealand! I fly from Knoxville (1:40 pm) to Christchurch (Sat. 2:50 pm) via Chicago, San Francisco, and Sydney. I'll be with cousins the first week or so (another cousin is getting married a week after I arrive); then I'll be boarding with friends for the next few months. After that, who knows. The whole plan still seems pretty crazy to me...I don't think it's hit home at all. Maybe 'cause I just started packing today since the house has been jumbled with things Eva was taking/sorting through before moving out last Saturday.

I'll look forward to seeing the updates you all post here. NEB, "chicken" seemed pretty suitable. :)

Well, awhile back Jordana tagged me... and I never responded, so now, I will try to pull this off while the baby is nursing propped on the boppy...

*8 Obscure Facts About Me*

1) I had 5 wisdom teeth. They all got removed when I was 16. My mouth is actually really, really small, so I now only have 24 teeth (the normal adult mouth has 32, including wisdom teeth.)

2) I have lived in 6 states, and visited about 38 (there are a few I'm not sure about.) But the only time I've been out of the US was a trip to Mexico in high school to do volunteer work.

3) Barbara Bush is my aunt. (She's a retired school teacher in Kentucky.)

4) My grandfather was the director of the state department of mental health in Georgia. He died in 1976, before I was born. My grandparents would have turned 100 this year if they were still alive. They met in France in WW II, in the army.

5) I didn't read much just for fun in high school, so when the Wheaton application asked for a list of "leisure reading" from the past couple of years, I systematically picked about 14 books that would prove I was "well-rounded"and read them just so I could list them. (The thick biography of Marie Curie, to prove I was interested in issues related to women in science, was rather... hefty.)

6) I know 180 digits of pi. I can recite the first 100 in ten seconds.

7) I have been in at least 7 car accidents that I can remember. Once, the other driver was 14. Once I was on a school bus. Three times my dad was driving. Once a Wheaton professor was driving. Twice I was driving- once the accident was sort of my fault, but not legally so, and the other time it was legally my fault, but I wasn't really to blame (ice). The first time involved 5 cars on I-10 in Houston in rush hour, and fire trucks, and ambulances, and helicopters. I have never been injured.

8) (You didn't really think I would make it through this list without mentioning The Wee One, did you?) I call my newborn daughter many typical things, like "little love" and "sweet pea" and "precious angel" and "sugar pie," etc etc, but one morning this week I realized I had this urge to call her Chicken. Why "chicken," I thought? I fought the urge off a few times and then gave in, and started calling her Chicken. Then I realized what her favorite pose reminds me of:


So maybe I'm not as weird as I think. ;-)

Love, NEB

PS I tag... all of you!

Yeah! Thanks Valerie. So about 5 hours after I wrote that last post, my water broke (although I wasn't sure that's what it was at the time...). And about 7 hours after THAT, I totally pushed a baby out.

Yeah, so, there's that.

Also? Her cord stump just fell off. First tub bath tomorrow.

I must learn to type one-handed.

Will start Nebiverse update tomorrow morning at 5, God willing. Possibly typing one-handed.

Must go pump now, and to bed!

Love, Neb (&Madelaine)

PS Please see

http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/g/galois

for pictures and a guestbook!! :-)

Congratulations Nate and Neb on a new baby girl for Liam to choose from when he gets married. Can't wait to see more pictures. For those of you who missed it, Madelaine arrived, 3 1/2 weeks early and a day after Nate became Dr. Nate. Talk about a subtle post to announce it, Nate! Congrats!

Editing other people's posts:

If you are signed in, click on the little pencil icon to the bottom right of a blog entry. You should then be in edit mode.

It works for me, anyway. I'm going to go check that everyone is listed as an administrator for this blog.

Toodles.

P.S. Turns out that the more recent contributors to the blog (Neb and Nate, among others) were listed as guests, so now y'all are admin as well, which should now clear up the problem.

Wes, for goodness' sake, post already!

Question to the science-types (and please answer this one -- the air in our house depends on it!):

Are odors ions? Little bitty bacteria?

We're trying to figure out what kind of air filter to get, now that we have 3 felines. Odor is the major issue, as it's a longer-running problem. (We're already getting desensitized to our particular kitties' dander, so I'm not as worried about allergies. Plus, I could always vacuum. And dust. Keyword here being could.)

We've been borrowing an ionic filter from the MiL for a week, and that seems to have gotten rid of the majority of the odor, but I'm open to the possibility of placebo effects. Various consumer groups online say that ionic filters are crap and do very, very little of anything.

All I know is that the filter we're using has two pretty blue lights when it's running.

Hey guys, do we have any rules on this blog about Appropriate Picture Sharing? Is 6 okay? I shrank them down! Really! ;-)

My husband did his thing yesterday! He defended his dissertation against the cruel, harsh attacks of the outside world! He went into The Big Lecture Room with the Powerpoint and Made the Science Words for like an hour, all the words about the Proteins, um... doing their Protein Things! And there were graphs! and charts! and many, many equations! And I recognized a couple of the equations because I had helped with them! And then his family and I went into the room next door and set up all the tables of Snacks while the faculty people questioned him about his work and his affiliation with the Communist Party and why his shirt is never completely tucked in and why he's always drenched in sweat, and then they signed his papers, saying he's a Doctor! Woo hoo!

This is before the big talk. Doesn't he look incredibly Hott??? (...and hot...?)

Here's the snack room afterwards. The nice man in the blue shirt is his adviser, offering a toast. His siblings Adrienne and Elliot are here, too. (I'm pretty sure Elliot understood more of the talk than I did.) Do you see the cheese plate? With little flags in the cheeses? We had 10 kinds of cheese and I made little flags identifying each one because I hate eating cheese and not knowing what I'm eating. Not that I'm obsessive compulsive or anything.

Look at all those cookies I baked! Because I am totally a Proverbs 31 woman! (Just kidding, of course. Wegman's helped out a little bit. But if we read the part of Proverbs 31 that says something about "bringing food from afar," then I still qualify...?)

Here's Nate looking happy with his friend John.

Most of the good friends he's made while in grad school.

And as a special surprise, his family and my family and some friends chipped in and we got him the Big Person camera he's always wanted. So after he opened that, the rest of the evening was spent Talking Camera with his dad (they know all the things about lenses and filters and, you know... Camera Things.) So he was a happy boy. And then I fell into bed, exhausted and Great With Child.

So thanks to those of you who prayed for him. Yay! (Now we just need a job.)

Love, Neb

PS I'm posting this on my own blog, too, for the benefit of that audience...

(A day late, as usual...) ;-)

Happy Anniversary, Chris and Jordana.

(And we must say, two in four years isn't bad... you certainly have us beat!)

Love, Neb & Nate

PS (To everyone)- Nate is defending his dissertation on Tuesday. Prayers appreciated!

Hey guys,

As far as I can tell, there's no "Edit" option if you are not the original author of a post. (Can anyone else confirm this...?) Perhaps the settings for this blog can be changed so that we CAN edit Alysia's post, but for now I'll just put my ideas here...

3) Snuggle as much as possible. Especially the kind of snuggling that leads to sex. ;-)
4) Remember to put your spouse first- even in little, subtle ways. One thing Nate and I do instinctively, that I really appreciate, is that when we're in a group of friends, if one of us gets interrupted or doesn't get a chance to say what we were going to say, the other one of us will bring the conversation back to pick up the missed comment... (do you guys know what I'm talking about?) I find this very encouraging and affirming; it dissipates any leftover feelings of junior high awkwardness in social settings.
5) Don't throw away things without permission. This includes old underwear. ("If there is at least one molecule of Boxers left, it still counts as underwear!!") This applies even when your spouse has a Packrat Problem (as does mine.) Learn to negotiate gently. Praise when progress is made. (Last year Nate cleaned out his closet and organized the remaining items... I was on Cloud 9... I probably took him out to dinner afterwards or something.)
6) Try, TRY to listen when your spouse is making The Confusing, Boring Words. After 6+ years of marriage, my husband STILL tries to bravely tell me about his Science Things, like proteins, and graphs, and... yeah, I lack the vocabulary to even talk about it. And when I am reading or watching TV or something it is REALLY hard for me to stop what I'm doing and listen to a couple of minutes of Science-Talk that is 100% uninteresting/un-understandable to me (in its own right), but because it is Important to the one I love, I Try. (Last night I launched into a long thing about how Nate needs to be Emotionally Supportive during labor and help me stay relaxed and calm and everything, and at some point he kind of glazed over and I said "Are you listening to me?!?" And he said "There were keywords that made me zone out... something about Emotions and Feelings..." And I said "Now you know how I feel when you talk about science!" And he said "Now you know how I feel when you don't listen to me!" So there you have it.)
7) Smooch a lot.
8) I just asked Nate, what is your advice about marriage? And he said, "Big sheets." ;-) He also said, "People are always surprising. The surprises just get more subtle."

Here's a Group Post -- just Edit in your additions. I thought of this while changing the sheets and thought it would be fun for us old married folk and enlightening for those who Still Have A Social Life (i.e. "singles").

Tips for a Happy Marriage

1. Get a flat sheet one size larger than your mattress size, thus allowing plenty of leeway for sheet-stealing.
2. Don't share toothpaste.

Couple window ideas for Mary:

There's colored window tape

Or just decorating the window

Or the (more expensive -- but very, very pretty) window screen

But there's a cheaper version
but only sorta

I think there's something similar at Ace Hardware and the like as well.

That's what I've found so far ... I know I'm missing something, so more post later. I suppose.

The other day at work I caught a whiff of my old Strawberry Shortcake doll.

Does that every happen to anybody else -- completely apropos of nothing, you smell something from your past? Just through a strange combination of ambient smells that conspire to totally throw you off balance.

F'rexample, a couple years ago I regularly worked 4am-9am Sunday mornings, and when I got to work the parking lot always smelled of Smurf Berry Crunch. When I walked back to the car at 9, the smell was always gone.

the news from peter

Yes, I now own a house with my brother Ben. We have just finished painting the living room Delft Blue (so it will match the sky pieces in all the Dutch landscape puzzles we intend to work), and it looks much better. I, on the other hand, do not, as I have blobs of primer stuck in my hair, and it is 1am. The rest of the house still smells like old people, but feel free to drop in and see us when you're in K-Town. I'm probably getting a fairly new sleeper-sofa from a cousin of a buddy at work unless they've given it to someone else, and it will reside in the living room, which now smells like solvents.

In other news, Zingrin is back in the country, and (which will be of particular interest to Dan, Chris x2, and your spousal relations) he has the picture. Way to go Z!

correction.
The book is named The Higher Power of Lucky.
If I work with books all day, I should be able to at least get their titles right.
You'd think.

Hey everybody! Here's a long overdue post. Unfortunately, I'm blogging blindly, as my google account seems to think that I'm fluent in Chinese. So here's hoping that something goes right. As I have no children at this point, there will be no pictures of adorable creatures (I'll spare you the nieces and nephews--I have six now!).

I am currently recovering from a two week visit by my brother Nate, his wife, Faith, and their three little ones, Brennan (4), Ryan (2 1/2), and Kathryn (3 mo.). Wonderful and exhausting. I have a renewed respect for those of you out there with the courage to multiply. Parenting is a tough job! And boy do toddlers like to whine! They are packing up and/or selling all of their earthly belongings and moving to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, with hopes of starting a youth hostel.

It's a summer of saying good-bye as several friends and/or family are packing up and moving to various locations far, far away from me to do the work that God has called them to. I am very excited for the opportunities before them, but it's hard not to feel left behind sometimes. Especially when one is left in a place like St. Louis, where snorkels are needed to breathe in the summer air. Between all these partings and the death of a Honeyrock friend, I have begun to develop a new gratefulness for the hope that we have in heaven. How great is it that through Christ, we never really have to say good-bye! That alone is worth all the crap we have to go through down here sometimes.

Those of you who have had the joy of living with me will be astonished to know that as of two or three weeks ago, I have begun to wake up of my own volition (no alarm, no shaking, no shouting, no War of the Worlds:)) at 6:30 AM!!! And I am conversant! And I smile!! It is an absolute miracle and I don't exactly know how to take it all, quite frankly. But I'm thankful that I've stuck with my crazy doctor long enough to get to this point. Because it really does make life easier.

Last but not least, for those who care, I am reading Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis, amidst various and sundry kids books. If you're looking for a controversial kids book that is being banned in schools across the country for using the word scrotum (completely gratuitous, but mostly harmless and quite hilarious, really), read this year's Newberry award winner, The Power of Lucky. You might get a kick out of it.

Ok, here's the update from me...

Have a short haircut.

Am trying to sell cards and purses through Alysia's spot at the French Market (she can tell you whether that's working or not).

Did two murals and a calligraphy project in four days this week--maybe a new record.

Have a work holiday visa to New Zealand and will be leaving either early September or late December for a year of work and play in Christchurch (and thereabouts).

Hope to be visiting Mary, Christopher, and Suzan in the next month.

Gotta run.

When you asked for pictures, Neb, I'm sure this isn't what you had in mind. But! I would like to solicit advice for a project. These are Suzan's bedroom windows (note the classy foil "blinds" on those eyebrow windows!) and I don't know how to approach the window treatment. Does anyone in this group have stylistic taste? Opinions? Since I have none, I don't know that I could be trusted to recognize it in others. I have the vague idea of something "tied back" and I know what colors/fabric I want. I need help with . . . layout? Should I have two panels that are pulled back to either side? (Please note the one inch bit of wall to the right.) Four panels split over each window? Something entirely different? If you have a suggestion and a reason for it, I'd like the reason too. Male opinions will not be discounted.

Insanity for everyone!

At least that's how it feels in my house these days. First, we started fostering a litter of kittens. Then, my dad and stepmom dropped off my 14-year-old cat, Daffodil. Then one of the kittens died (still trying to come up with the words for that blog), and we decided to keep all the remaining 3 kittens.

Oh, and I started a new small business.

It's a teeny tiny eco-business operating out of the Wheaton and Geneva French Markets. I alternate between the two every week (Wheaton is on Saturdays and Geneva's on Sundays), so that I don't have to request every single weekend off at my day job, thus keeping said day job (and its yummy health insurance). I'm mostly selling biodegradable cleaning products in bulk; customers can bring in their own containers to be filled, instead of buying a new bottle every time and "recycling" the old one. I hope to eventually open an actual brick-and-mortar store that offers inexpensive, quality, cruelty-free fair-trade household goods with minimal packaging (and did I hear someone say "Community Compost," Laura? :) ).

Let it be known that right now, it's 1:45 pm and I'm STILL IN MY PAJAMAS. And I'm PROUD of it! My current schedule means I've got one day off a week, which usually means lots and lots of errands, but not today! HA!

I shall go now and eat chocolate pudding.

Hey, guess what guys:

*Peter and his brother bought a house! Pictures should be posted.
*Zingrin is returning (has returned?) to the US! Details should be given!
*Mary and Chris have moved into a beautiful new house! Again, with the pictures!
*Chris and Jordana are having an Ocean Creature (which might also be a baby) in a few weeks!
*Lots of you have highly photogenic children that do cute things! (Clarification: all of you who HAVE children have children who are highly photogenic....) Anecdotes should be shared!
*The rest of you probably have Cool stuff going on that you could write about!

See my point? We have LOTS of things to post about... really we do...

Love, Neb

Two things I heard today:

- Two animal cracker tigers roaring at me.

- Just as I turned on the shower, a three year old informing me “I just used all the Kleenexes.”

Guess which one I found more charming.

1) What is your favorite thing about your current job?
I'm gonna respond with several things, since I really do a lot of complaining about my job (people are stupid. OK! OK! Stopping with the complaining!)
a) Kids are fun to watch (when they're not screaming because their moms are too busy with their cell phones/blackberriesSORRY!).
b) I can get away with saying a lot of crazy stuff.
c) This one is actually the most important. I HAVE GOOD COFFEE AT MY WORK HAHAHAHAHA! AND IT'S FREE AND SOMETIMES I DON'T EVEN HAVE TO MAKE IT MYSELF HAHAHAHAHAHA!

2) What has everyone been reading recently?
Currently A Game of Thrones by George R.R. ("Tolkien is my Homeboy") Martin. Usually also a smattering of ChickLit. Because I like it. So there.

3) Traveling anywhere this summer?
Longville, Minnesota. By way of the Minneapolis area, where there is 1) my dad and stepmom (and cat) and 2) the Oakeshott Museum, one of the most important collections of historical arms and armor in the western hemisphere and 3) the Spam Museum. Try to guess which ones of those three were my idea. In Longville? Population 300? The 20th annual (yes, every year) week-long Williams Family Reunion: This year there's t-shirts. My husband loves me a LOT.

4) What's your favorite beverage when the weather is hot?
A homemade concoction I found a recipe for in Sundays at Moosewood: you steep fresh-grated ginger root in (water, obviously) sugar, cloves and cinnamon, strain it, add orange and lemon juice and chill. YUM. Or, for a quick fix, one part Trader Joe's Lemon Ginger Echinacea Drink and two parts Trader Joe's Green and White Tea. Also yum.

5) How do you feel about the use of the word "escribatological"?
Rock on.

Mary, I agree- there are plenty of "users" of this blog who are not updating. And I have been tempted to update recently, except that I have been responsible for 2 of the last 5 posts (with this one, 3 out of 6) [you will all be glad to know that I have restrained myself from creating Pie Charts of those last two pieces of data], which is a disproportionately high ratio.

To alleviate the escribatological constipation:
1) What is your favorite thing about your current job?
2) What has everyone been reading recently?
3) Traveling anywhere this summer?
4) What's your favorite beverage when the weather is hot?
5) How do you feel about the use of the word "escribatological"?

As for updating about myself- I graduated yesterday! With a master's degree and everything! Yeah! I got Very Sunburned. If you want pictures you'll have to undertake the incalculably difficult task of navigating from here over to the Nebiverse. (Pictures aren't up yet, but should be soon.) Also! Nate doesn't have a job yet!

Come on, people. Pretend you don't have a life, like me, and post something.

Neb

This is for all you coffee lovers. For an upcoming road trip I was thinking how nice it would be to have some bottles of Frappuccino to keep "the driver" awake. Any time I think about consuming (or providing) an expensive, commercially prepared comestible (and yes, that was the word that first came to mind), I immediately think: "Surely I could make that." So I googled a recipe over at Top Secret Recipes and came up with this. Doesn't that sound easy? The ninth comment, by "Pat," inspired me to use the unflavored gelatin in the back of my pantry instead of scrounging through the grocery store for the "right" kind of pectin (comment 8, Lori). So now we have . . . um, Frappuccino Pudding. Is anybody interested in the outcome of further culinary experiments on this particular comestible?
I don't like that I have two back-to-back posts. If this is the most exciting thing happening to any of us? How are the mighty fallen!

To save Dan Jordan's aching fingers:

Madelaine- internal view

Madelaine- external view:

Alright, now that I've posted pictures, Jordana has to, too.

Wes, stop lurking!!! I know you're there!

Anyone know where Dax is?

It's a beautiful day

To find out that we are having a

Girl :-)

Hmmm.... 4 days in the wilderness with Peter and family.... sounds like fun. Unfortunately now that I'm married there's not enough vacation time to spend with the Jordan and McCunn sides of my family let alone hang out with Peter. Sorry, I'm going to have to pass. Also I'm not in good enough shape to go 40 miles. Hiking up East Rock is about all I can manage these days (the rock alluded to in my last post, see the image above). It's about a 20 minute walk one way from our house to the top, but it gives a nice view of downtown New Haven and parts of Yale, so it's a nice "hike" when there's not enough time to do any real hike.

By the way, East Rock gets it's name from the fact that it is east of West Rock. The settlers of the New Haven area weren't very original with naming towns and places, which is why if you go north from New Haven you reach North Haven, if you go east you go to East Haven, and if you go west you end up in West Haven. Just below East Rock is the East Rock neighborhood (what else would it be called?) aka the "Grad Student Ghetto" because grad students (and the Jordans) live there in comfortable apartments. Just one more bad name choice in New Haven.

Open invitation to anyone who wants to go backpacking in June: my uncle & I and a couple couple of other people are planning to hike part of the AT in Southwestern VA--from Mount Rogers into Damascus. The distance is 41 miles plus or minus; we'll probably take 4 to 5 days. No, we haven't fixed on a firm date yet; probably we'd start on a Thursday or Friday of whatever week. Anyways, all of us who are going right now will be driving up from Knoxville (about 2 hours away) in some way, shape, or form, and we all carry enough trail mix to satisfy even the most desperate of chocolate cravings.

Mount Rogers is the most beautiful part of the Appalachians that I know of. The trail gentle slopes across open meadows and weaves through rock outcroppings. Though it's several thousand feet too low, the whole place has an alpine feel. There are also herds of wild horses (or ponies, since they're all shorter than me) which come skittishly begging for food. And since we're hiking down from there, it shouldn't be all that difficult of a walk.

Happy Birthday, Jordana!

(Sorry I don't wish everyone a happy birthday when appropriate. This is the only birthday I remember, as it is also the Death Day of my beloved appendix. And I'm just not intent on removing any other internal organs to aid my memory.)

Hi Everybody!!! Dan Jordan in the hizzouse. I haven't heard from most of you in a long, long time and no doubt many of you lie awake at night thinking "What are Dan and his lovely wife Laura doing these days?" Well, prepare to have a good night sleep because 1) your question will be answered and 2) the answer is pretty dull. Laura is a postdoc at Yale (or is a postdoc at Yale, I'm not sure if "postdoc" describes the position or the person). I am in the secondary-ticket market (or "scalping") business. I am a "marketing analyst" (I got to pick my own job title! I decided to keep a modest one instead of "Senior VP of Coolness" because that's the sort of guy I am--modest) at a company that sells concert, theatre, and sports tickets online (check out the website I manage BuyBetterTickets.com). We're living in an apartment which is actually the third floor of an old house--it's pretty sweet. We like the New Haven area; we live near a big rock (it's nicer than it sounds; I'll put up some pictures some time). If anyone is ever in the area and needs a place to stay we have a second bedroom and we'd love to see any of you (even Wes!) so please stop by. I'm looking forward to checking out everyone else's posts and maybe even responding to Laura's torture question

Does using a microwave (to cook food) leach food of its nutrients?

This is a question that has been batted around by my coworkers on and off for years. Some customers say yes. Then again, other customers say that we're supposed to eat to balance our pH, or according to our blood type, that eggs are evil and we shouldn't sell them, that High Fructose Corn Syrup can kill you (not "it's bad for you," no, it can kill you), that the laser scanners at our registers zap the "energy" out of food ... so we don't know what to think.

Some of you out there, however, might posess the kind of educational background to actually give an informed answer.

just so everyone knows...


here's my blog:
http://elykkyle.blogspot.com

So who needs a new invite? Let me know in the comment section, and maybe, just maybe, I'll reinvite you. If you're cool enough.

begin excerpt from Mary's journal:
Last night I mixed 12 pounds of plain baking soda with 2 pounds of Arm & Hammer "Pet Fresh" Carpet and Room Deodorizer. I coated the living room floor and poured it liberally all down the hall (which smelled like a litter box even after shampooing the carpets twice). This morning after some "help" vacuuming it up, I did think it smelled better. The smell lingers mostly near the linen closet and bathroom. Pouring baking soda all over the floor created "dust" on all the furniture and now my glider rocker has a different "gritty" squeak. ("") But worse than that, the "freshness" makes all the bedrooms (which before smelled fine to me) smell stale, and it even seems that Suzan's smells of wet dog.

Last week we closed on a very nice house in the suburbs. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but it isn't as bad as it sounds. People in our neighborhood go for walks (saying "hi" as they pass) and kids playing in their front yards spill out into the street. There are no neighbors behind us, rather an open field that is used by the nearby roundup club for pasturing cattle for their rodeos. Our house is large and open with a patio facing west. The back yard has room for a small garden and a small girl to run around flapping her arms "like a bird." We found the house rather unexpectedly at the end of some bad winter weather (which had discouraged other home shoppers). The owners were being transferred to Kansas City so we had a slight advantage over them I think. They took with them some things we expected them to take: their pets, some curtains and a black ceiling fan. They took some things we did not expect: the refrigerator, the washer, dryer and a magnolia from the front yard. The appliances were theirs by contract; apparently I cannot read properly. They did not reserve the magnolia. A magnolia? They were moving into temporary housing!

In spite of the lingering pet smells (growl, hiss, moan, sob, rage) and the added expense of appliances, I think we will be very happy here. It feels like home already.

The last couple weeks have been busy here. My mom and sister and I made a trip out to Kansas to visit my grandparents on the occasion of my grandfather's 90th birthday (Grandma's almost 94!). It was great to have almost a week with them in their home nearly a year and a half since our last visit. Amazingly, they're still keeping up a house, driving, walking a mile or two a day, playing scrabble, dominoes, or freecell every day, leading a Bible study, and traveling. Since we drove out, we also had fun exploring Lawrence, Kansas (there's a very nicely done coffeeshop/art gallery/book store there...Christian-run with art by a couple Wheaton/Chicago artists); and we had the chance to visit with my aunt and uncle in St. Louis. They live in an 120-something-year-old house that they've redone and have all sorts of interests and humor to share with us. AND I had a couple hours to catch up with Andrea, which was fun after four (?!) years. Thanks again, Andrea!

My most recent work has been lettering a trail of "inspiring" words along a middle school's hallways out in West Knoxville. They wanted specific fonts for the different words and phrases, so I spent a lot of time at the copier enlarging the letters [to about 16" high] so that I could trace them up on the walls. Then the fun began...standing on a ladder for hours trying to trace onto slick concrete block walls (almost impossible) with hordes of middleschoolers going every-which-a-way below. (Middle schoolers make some really weird comments...not to mention the different conversations I overheard--students and teachers--since I was apparently invisible on the ladder.) Now the kids have the job of painting all the letters in...hopefully more carefully than they have yet.

This next week is our church's missions conference, which pretty much means an event/meeting or two every day; lots of busyness, but we always look forward to it. Eva's also waiting to hear about grad assistantships at UT and hoping the outcome will help her decide whether to pursue a masters in piano or not. If she opts not to go the grad school route, the two of us are considering applying for a work holiday visa to New Zealand for 2008.

Daffodils still blooming after a month and a half. I hope the rest of you are finally getting some spring-like weather! Anybody celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday today? You might try On Beyond Zebra.

HAPPY SAINT DAVID'S DAY!!!

I suppose it is time for me to write something a bit more on this blog. So first, an update. Still living in Eugene, I am just finishing my 8th month of living in an apartment by myself. To my surprise I found that I love it, always having preferred books to people anyway. : ) I am in my fifth year of physics grad school now and there may actually be an end in sight--I would like to finish by December 07. By the way, I would like all of you to know that if I do make that deadline, I plan to buy a greyhound or amtrak pass and traverse the country visiting as many of you as possible. Maybe I will finally get to meet Suzan (whose picture is on my fridge along with Lucille Ann) and enjoy the Smoky Mountains with Hannah. (Oh yes, I did also want to say, Hannah, that that bag you posted on the blog was delightful. And some day I want to compare New Zealand pictures with you. I think New Zealand is my new image of the garden of Eden. No large predators. Only one poisonous creature and I never met it. Delightful birds. And breathtaking scenery.)

So besides working on my research (climate change--looking at trends in sunlight measurements in Oregon to examine changes in the atmosphere), I spend a lot of time with church stuff. I'm back at the church I grew up in--like going home. I just became the moderator, sort of a head deacon, and am now trying to figure out how to be responsible for church finances, visioning, insurance policies, and spiritual growth among other things. It is sort of an overwhelming and exciting place for me. I feel perhaps the first weight of adult responsibility that I have experienced, and my poor sleeping has been evidence of it. But I also feel a deep sense of belonging and awe which means the world to me. Some days I walk into church with a tenderness for the people I see there that almost makes me want to cry. I had no idea people were so precious. And I try not to take it personally when people complain to me about stuff like the time the service starts. Is that sort of what it feels like to be a parent? What a gift. There are a handful of people at that church who have become incredible mentors and teachers to me. Because of their guidance and encouragement I have tried preaching a sermon, teaching Sunday School, and started asking questions like Am I living the gospel? more frequently than I ask questions like Does God exist?

And finally, the pirate report. My most recent adventures on the high seas came over New Year's when Lisa and I planned a Pirate Party and invited family friends. It is hard to convey the sheer brilliance of the event, but it included some fabulous food, decorations, costumes, and activities. One of the activities was a pirate translation of Psalm 1, following for your enjoyment. (Pictures show the event coordinators Long John Laura and Cap'n Tar-Tar.)

'Palm' 1

1 Booty to the pirate! who does not consort with landlubbers or sail in the wake of Davy Jones or call for Parley.
2 But his eyes are filled with the gold of the treasure and over the treasure map he navigates day and night.
3 He is like a ship sailing on smooth waters, with prevailing winds and rich helpless victims everywhere he sails.
4 Aye, the scurvy-scalawags that break the pirate code! they be like the coconuts that blow in the Caribbean fierce hurricane gales.
5 Aye, those who do not lash themselves to the mast, surely will be washed overboard and those found unfit to fly the Pirate flag will be sentenced to swing at noon from the yardarm.
6 For the great CAP'N surely charts the course with fair winds and calm seas and great plunder. But to those traitors, they will be keelhauled and find themselves banished to Davy Jones' locker forever!
Arrgh-men!!

A 'Pirates with the Pens' Translation (PPT)

Well, I remembered my password so here I am blogging about nothing. But! I am finally contributing to the "oooh" factor of the blog with pictures of our beautiful child. This morning before we could do anything else, she wanted to "play the jewelry game" which she created. When asked how it was played she said, "We hold up the jewelry and say 'oooh.'" Apparently we also put it all on. Since I own about 5 pieces of modest jewelry, I really don't understand the inspiration for this game unless it comes from the few times she's been window shopping with me in the mall. Oops! We recently purchased a Canon Powershot SD 600, so that is why you are able to view a picture I took this very morning! It is nifty.

I was planning on posting a nice update a couple of weeks ago, but what with the blogger change I couldn't remember my password. And I don't have a ton of time right now. So here is the short version: We are trying to buy a house. We are attending a mega church. (I love mentioning that because it still surprises me.) We are experiencing an unusually cold/nasty winter (which we get blamed for too!). I am working 4-8 hours a weekend for Hallmark. Mr. C. (as my family likes to call him) is working a normal 8-5 good computer job. We live in the city. The largest city in the state, which - I might add - I had not realized was so big. But it is okay. We are doing something called homeschooling, which at this point most people would just call brainwashing since the pupil isn't even three. It is basically just implementing a little bit more structure to our daily activities. I introduce a letter and number each week, we color a lot and do crafts. And we are memorizing a verse and catechism each week. Oh dear, I think I heard most of you fall off your chairs. But, when you consider the alternatives, it really doesn't seem all that extreme, does it?

So what are you guys really up to? I know where some/most of you are, but not what you are doing. Andrea W., Laura, Airika?

Hi all! I'm sitting at my desk at work right now, pondering the morality of wasting time while I'm getting paid. Does anyone ever have those days where you feel as if you can't do anything at all? I like to call it a work cramp. Thankfully, I have a job in which I can do things like read childrens books on those days, and it's perfectly acceptable.

I hope that everyone is celebrating Groundhogs Day in the appropriate fashion, which of course means planning on sleeping for four weeks straight (wouldn't that be nice?).

Yesterday I had my first major program flop in four months. At least I felt like it was a flop. The kids might have actually enjoyed it. I showed up at the branch and discovered that instead of being in the meeting room, I would have to conduct the program in the main library area. It doesn't seem too intimidating in type, but trust me, singing preschool songs at the top of your lungs in the library has all the ear-marks of a nightmare (thankfully, I realized that I was fully clothed, so I must be awake). So anyway, I prepared the for the program and only one girl and one boy showed up. Their parents, of course, left them alone with me while they proceeded to check their e-mail and read the paper. To make a long story short, by the middle of the program, I had both children covering their ears and grimacing while I sang the songs. The girl was actually whimpering. It must have been an off vocal day for me, because I've never gotten that kind of reaction before. Maybe they were just sitting a little too close to my powerful pipes! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, quite frankly. I guess I needed a pride check.

Anyway, I hope all is well with everyone!

to those of you not living in 10º weather right now, i hate you.

on a completely different subject, i have officially decided to stop using Livejournal and have switched over to blogger: http://elykkyle.blogspot.com

For Jordana & Neb -- I just found a product that's intriguing ... obviously haven't tried it, but if it works would be worth the checking-out:

Preggie Pops!

The stuff I read online (and they don't lie online, right? :) ) suggests that they help to alleviate "morning" sickness.

If y'all get sick of ginger-flavored saltines. Or ginger-flavored ginger.

Questions for those of you who have done this before:

1) How soon am I likely to be visibly pregnant?
2) Did you really refrain from deli meat for 9 months (listeria)? I like a ham sandwhich...
3) Favorite morning sickness tricks?
4) Cool pregnancy sites online? Babycenter isn't really doing it for me...
5) Is it worth reading any of the books (WTEWYE or anything else?)

~The "Radient and Glowing" Neb

Hello all. Since I actually figured out how to de-beta or re-beta or whatever I did, I thought I should say hello to all of you and Happy New Year and add some pictures from Christmas. I tried to add a video of Kara singing for you but apparently I didn't do it right because it didn't work. I don't have any news to share although I thought I did for a bit last week. Any other of you gals out there relate that you can convince your body to feel just about anything when pregnancy possibilities are on the brain? The mind is a powerful thing!

By the way, my main reason for posting was to ask one of you blogger gurus to post instructions for other poor, confused "new to the blogosphere" folks like me who don't know my way around here so they too can beta-ize and can post again too. I miss all the updates (although I do love creative pregnancy announcements.)