Just a quick post tonight, guys. Anna had a great birthday. She loved the cake (that character is Uniqua, her favorite from The Backyardigans). At her school there is a playscape that only children 4 and up can play on, and she got her first taste of it today. Apparently other children yelled at her about being only 3, but one of the teachers said, "Today Anna turned 4, she is invited to play on this playscape." She told me, "I liked the slide, Mommy, and the blue stairs, but I'm afraid of the monkey bars." I assured her that when she is ready, she'll be able to do the monkey bars, too.
I made her spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. She had requested it for a birthday meal a few days ago when I was going to the grocery store, but I guess today she had birthday remorse. As I was mixing the beef, breadcrumbs made from Lisa's yummy bread, dried oregano from Uncle Buck, and a homegrown egg, Anna said, "No Mommy! I want meatball soup!" Meaning the cheap kind in a can. I told her we didn't have any, so she went into the pantry and rustled up RAMEN NOODLES. "I don't want spaghetti, I want THESE kind of noodles! I want to make them NOW." Fortunately, I was able to stall her, and after a pre-dinner trip to the park, she was hungry enough for the homemade meal. She did enjoy it, and fortunately did not request the 10 cent noodles.
I can believe I birthed this baby 4 years ago. I keep having the ridiculous thought that someone could've gone through high school in that amount of time. Or vet school, for that matter. I told her this morning, "Happy birthday, Anna. I'm so glad you were born 4 years ago today." And she said, "Thank you, Mommy, I love you, too!"
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Monday, March 28, 2005
YUMMY Easter Dinner
When we figured out that neither of us had any extended family plans for Easter, Lisa and I decided our families should do Easter dinner together. I asked Lisa if they liked lamb. "We do," she said, "but we hardly ever eat it." So that settled it - I bought half a leg o' lamb - the top, meatier half - I even palpated that smooth femoral head just to be sure. I also bought 2 bunches of asparagus (on sale for $0.99 a pound!). Lisa said she would bake bread and make dessert.
The lamb turned out so well! Even Ruby, who is a very picky eater, chowed down! And the bread, omigod! Its a recipe Lisa got from Perugia, and it has lots of cheese, butter, and eggs in it. The crust was so flaky and cheesey, we kept giving the middle part to Colin just so we could eat more crust! And dessert was this strawberry pudding - not like Jello pudding (blech), but like this light, sweet, souffle of strawberry essense. Oh yeah, and I roasted a medley of white, red, and purple potatoes (very Easter-y) and grilled the asparagus. And we had a salad from the lettuce grown in our own garden. Fresh greens taste amazing. Anthony was in charge of libations, and made us pre-dinner Cosmopolitans, then opened Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, and made wonderful decaf coffee for dessert. Needless to say, we all got stuffed and were very sorry when the evening was over.
Here's how I did the lamb:
3 1/2 lbs top end leg o' lamb, thick fat removed from outside. Slice ~3 garlic cloves lengthwise, and stuff into little slits all over meat. Rub meat with lemon juice, salt and pepper, minced rosemary, and olive oil. Sear outside on very hot grill, 3-4 minutes/side. Finish in 350 oven until reaching internal temp of 140. Let rest 5 minutes, then slice and devour.
Sure to bring out the carnivore in us all.
The lamb turned out so well! Even Ruby, who is a very picky eater, chowed down! And the bread, omigod! Its a recipe Lisa got from Perugia, and it has lots of cheese, butter, and eggs in it. The crust was so flaky and cheesey, we kept giving the middle part to Colin just so we could eat more crust! And dessert was this strawberry pudding - not like Jello pudding (blech), but like this light, sweet, souffle of strawberry essense. Oh yeah, and I roasted a medley of white, red, and purple potatoes (very Easter-y) and grilled the asparagus. And we had a salad from the lettuce grown in our own garden. Fresh greens taste amazing. Anthony was in charge of libations, and made us pre-dinner Cosmopolitans, then opened Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, and made wonderful decaf coffee for dessert. Needless to say, we all got stuffed and were very sorry when the evening was over.
Here's how I did the lamb:
3 1/2 lbs top end leg o' lamb, thick fat removed from outside. Slice ~3 garlic cloves lengthwise, and stuff into little slits all over meat. Rub meat with lemon juice, salt and pepper, minced rosemary, and olive oil. Sear outside on very hot grill, 3-4 minutes/side. Finish in 350 oven until reaching internal temp of 140. Let rest 5 minutes, then slice and devour.
Sure to bring out the carnivore in us all.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Easter Eggs
Anna said, "Can we paint eggs today?" "Yes, honey," I said, "but you don't paint eggs, you dye them." Then I thought, well, why not. We had a little water paint set from Auntie Steph, and it actually worked extremely well - see for yourself!
We had to buy these white eggs - probably first I bought since last Easter. We actually have our own chickens, but they lay brown eggs. Also, they make terrible boiled eggs. Even if they've been in our fridge for a month. Apparently, fresh eggs don't peel well after they are boiled, so you're better off with grocery store eggs that have sat at room temperature for who knows how long.
We had to buy these white eggs - probably first I bought since last Easter. We actually have our own chickens, but they lay brown eggs. Also, they make terrible boiled eggs. Even if they've been in our fridge for a month. Apparently, fresh eggs don't peel well after they are boiled, so you're better off with grocery store eggs that have sat at room temperature for who knows how long.
Egg Hunt!
The good thing about living in the suburbs is things like the really great egg hunt that neighbors organize at the park steps away from our house. They put like a thousand eggs in our little park. Enough eggs that every dawdling toddler will still walk away with a HAUL of Easter loot. Observe all the eggs strewn about in the following photo:
I like the way Anna is RUNNING towards a new egg she had spied, running past at least 3 others. This photo was taken after they had been already hunting for at least 3 minutes.
We were so glad to have our friends, Lisa & Michael, Ruby & Lyra, join us. Here, best friends Anna & Ruby show off their bounty.
Look at those baskets! Lots of Easter loot for everyone. And, I appreciate that most eggs don't contain candy. We got lots of stickers, plastic animals, and stamps!
Here's a good action shot of Lyra.
Despite the plethora of eggs, the whole thing was over pretty quickly. Before we returned to our house for coffee on this cold, blustery day, Colin got a few moments in the swing. Check out the muddy shoes!
I like the way Anna is RUNNING towards a new egg she had spied, running past at least 3 others. This photo was taken after they had been already hunting for at least 3 minutes.
We were so glad to have our friends, Lisa & Michael, Ruby & Lyra, join us. Here, best friends Anna & Ruby show off their bounty.
Look at those baskets! Lots of Easter loot for everyone. And, I appreciate that most eggs don't contain candy. We got lots of stickers, plastic animals, and stamps!
Here's a good action shot of Lyra.
Despite the plethora of eggs, the whole thing was over pretty quickly. Before we returned to our house for coffee on this cold, blustery day, Colin got a few moments in the swing. Check out the muddy shoes!
Friday, March 25, 2005
Fido 2
At work today, we had our monthly staff meeting, and part of the time we had a conference call from a scientist at a cloning company, Genetic Savings and Clone. This is the company who recently cloned a cat for $50,000. One of our staff had met someone at the company, who offered to just inform us of the technology. Before the call, most of our staff was pretty morally opposed to cloning pets when there are so many homeless animals euthanized daily.
The scientist was really interesting. He stated he was not out to change our minds to be for or against cloning, he just wanted us to be aware of the process. You see, a veterinarian has to get a skin biopsy from the pet in order to submit it for tissue culture to later be used for cloning. You can do this on a live dog or cat, or one that has been dead and refrigerated for 5 days or less.
Cats, like horses, cattle, and sheep, can be cloned with current technology, but dogs have proved more elusive. This is because dogs ovulate an immature ovum (egg) unlike the other species. The company gets ovaries from stray facility spay and neuter surgeries, and harvests the eggs and matures them, then injects the DNA from the tissue culture. The irony of them harvesting eggs from animals taken out of the reproductive pool to limit pet overpopulation was not lost on us.
He stated that the reason to clone a pet was to replace a lost companion. Most of the owners that submit biopsies do it out of abject grief at the loss of their pet. 2 weeks later, when the company calls to let them know if the cells grew, most clients have come to terms with their loss and state that they do not want to pursue the cloning any further. Cats can be cloned at this point, but for dogs they are simply preserving the cells for later cloning.
One of our staff asked about how much of the personality was transferred in clones. Although many people say the cloned pet will do things just like the original pet, other times completely opposite personality traits have been observed. Although the nuclear DNA is the same between the original pet and the clone, there is cytoplasmic DNA (mDNA) that is directly inherited from the mother's ovum. So although genetically the clone is a copy, it is not completely the same, since the ovum didn't come from that animal or its mother.
The scientist also said that he understood this was an extremely expensive process, and should only be undertaken if the clients knew to expect a replacement pet, not an exact replica. And, no one should mortgage their home to pay for it. He personally had all rescued animals for pets and would not do this for one of his pets. He talked about the pros and cons equally and even referred us to websites against pet cloning.
I guess in the end he achieved his objective, informing us about what his company does without persuasively swaying us one way or another. I'm sure he is working there because it is an exciting new field, not because he feels a calling to preserve other people's beloved pets. He also gets funding for his science. I guess if I had a client in the absolute nadir of despair over losing their pet, I could offer to take a biopsy. But in my heart, I would be hoping they could let go of their dream of reproducing this animal more than spend so much money for a fair likeness.
The scientist was really interesting. He stated he was not out to change our minds to be for or against cloning, he just wanted us to be aware of the process. You see, a veterinarian has to get a skin biopsy from the pet in order to submit it for tissue culture to later be used for cloning. You can do this on a live dog or cat, or one that has been dead and refrigerated for 5 days or less.
Cats, like horses, cattle, and sheep, can be cloned with current technology, but dogs have proved more elusive. This is because dogs ovulate an immature ovum (egg) unlike the other species. The company gets ovaries from stray facility spay and neuter surgeries, and harvests the eggs and matures them, then injects the DNA from the tissue culture. The irony of them harvesting eggs from animals taken out of the reproductive pool to limit pet overpopulation was not lost on us.
He stated that the reason to clone a pet was to replace a lost companion. Most of the owners that submit biopsies do it out of abject grief at the loss of their pet. 2 weeks later, when the company calls to let them know if the cells grew, most clients have come to terms with their loss and state that they do not want to pursue the cloning any further. Cats can be cloned at this point, but for dogs they are simply preserving the cells for later cloning.
One of our staff asked about how much of the personality was transferred in clones. Although many people say the cloned pet will do things just like the original pet, other times completely opposite personality traits have been observed. Although the nuclear DNA is the same between the original pet and the clone, there is cytoplasmic DNA (mDNA) that is directly inherited from the mother's ovum. So although genetically the clone is a copy, it is not completely the same, since the ovum didn't come from that animal or its mother.
The scientist also said that he understood this was an extremely expensive process, and should only be undertaken if the clients knew to expect a replacement pet, not an exact replica. And, no one should mortgage their home to pay for it. He personally had all rescued animals for pets and would not do this for one of his pets. He talked about the pros and cons equally and even referred us to websites against pet cloning.
I guess in the end he achieved his objective, informing us about what his company does without persuasively swaying us one way or another. I'm sure he is working there because it is an exciting new field, not because he feels a calling to preserve other people's beloved pets. He also gets funding for his science. I guess if I had a client in the absolute nadir of despair over losing their pet, I could offer to take a biopsy. But in my heart, I would be hoping they could let go of their dream of reproducing this animal more than spend so much money for a fair likeness.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
A sense of accomplishment
Yesterday was a little frustrating for me. (where are those margaritas?) I worked my ass off at work - as in 1 potty break all day, and no lunch. It was supposed to be my half day, but I didn't finish up until 3 pm. Then I came home and the house was a wreck - no clean areas to be seen anywhere! So I picked up until it was time to start cooking dinner, then we ate, bathtime, and whoosh, the day was over.
Today, though, I got stuff done. No, not all the laundry (kids' stuff mostly put away, but mine is still in the basket). I went through the toys - you know, the ones spontaneously increasing their numbers in the corner of the living room and in Anna's closet. I was ruthless - 3 bags of toys and books that no one ever plays with or will ever miss. Of course, if Anna sees them bagged up, ready to go to Goodwill, she will howl about how she needs them. If they mysteriously disappear, though...
I took 3 bags of toys, one bag of books, and 3 bags of my old clothes to Goodwill. Even I couldn't look at the contents when I handed them over. But now that they're gone - ahhh!- I feel so much lighter in spirit whenever I think of all that I got rid of. I know I do this at least twice a year. Where does all this stuff come from? How come I keep getting rid of the old stuff, but it never all seems to leave me?
Of course, I did this in preparation for the onslaught of birthday presents for Anna. So, be forewarned, all ye who are buying gifts: think quality, not quantity! Both kids already have more toys than they could possibly play with, and this house needs no more junk!
Today, though, I got stuff done. No, not all the laundry (kids' stuff mostly put away, but mine is still in the basket). I went through the toys - you know, the ones spontaneously increasing their numbers in the corner of the living room and in Anna's closet. I was ruthless - 3 bags of toys and books that no one ever plays with or will ever miss. Of course, if Anna sees them bagged up, ready to go to Goodwill, she will howl about how she needs them. If they mysteriously disappear, though...
I took 3 bags of toys, one bag of books, and 3 bags of my old clothes to Goodwill. Even I couldn't look at the contents when I handed them over. But now that they're gone - ahhh!- I feel so much lighter in spirit whenever I think of all that I got rid of. I know I do this at least twice a year. Where does all this stuff come from? How come I keep getting rid of the old stuff, but it never all seems to leave me?
Of course, I did this in preparation for the onslaught of birthday presents for Anna. So, be forewarned, all ye who are buying gifts: think quality, not quantity! Both kids already have more toys than they could possibly play with, and this house needs no more junk!
Basketball guy
Can you tell from his smug mug that I totally posed him for this picture? I was trying to get a picture of him with the very cute basketball shirt that my sister Steph sent him. He really was playing basketball at the time, for the umpteenth time that morning.
Here he is with old Montana, winking at you.
He shoots, he scores! Can you tell he actually stands a few feet away now and throws the ball into the hoop?
How you know its time for your son to take a nap
Whilst quickly checking the email, notice he's gone and quiet.
Find him squatting in front of the litter box, with about 10 toddler-sized handfuls of slightly used Fresh Step on the floor next to him.
Find him squatting in front of the litter box, with about 10 toddler-sized handfuls of slightly used Fresh Step on the floor next to him.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Laundry Update
Remember the laundry I set out to do on Sunday? I finally finished it yesterday. Well, its still sitting folded in laundry baskets. Hasn't made it back into the drawers and closets.
I'm running a little low on laundry inertia.
I'm running a little low on laundry inertia.
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