TRUTH

Yes, it has been that kind of a week. AND IT IS ONLY TUESDAY!!!!

(You might need to click on the image in order to make it large enough to read.)

Ninja Baby

Greetings all! The S Family's primary blogger has been up against numerous and frequent deadlines over the last week and a half. As soon as I meet one deadline it appears the next is looming, large and terrifying, right in front of me. Hence the lack of blog posts.

I have been plenty busy with both cameras, however, and decided to pop on to share a few pics and a video with you.






Love to all!

How to Survive your Workout

Most of my freinds and family know that my calorie burning activity of choice is running. I LOVE to run. I love to run OUTSIDE. I love to run in the morning OUTSIDE.

Unfortunately, the state in which I reside and the asthmatic quality of my lungs makes running outside, especially in the morning, an impossibility between the months of oh about mid Nov through Mid April or so.

This renders one in a touigh situation for those months, assuming that one does not want to watch one's back side swell to gargantuan proportions. When one works exclusively online, the potential for backside swelling increases exponentially.

Several years ago, due to a car accident, my subsequent orders NOT to run for several months and space limitations, we had to swap our beloved treadmill for an eliptical. I loved that treadmill. I MISS that treadmill. Running on a treadmill is nowhere near as saticfying as a good run outside, but it will do for these not so balmy winter months.

The eliptical...well I don't want to bad mouth but I do find it rather boring and unmotivating. Workouts have become a bit tedius and something I don't praticularly look forward to. Many friends and family have suggested using the TV as a means of distraction. Honestly, this does NOT work for me. Perhaps it's because I just don't have time to get interested in any shows with an actual story line or possibly because I despise most reality TV. What ever the reason, TV is not enough to keep me working out as long as I should.

I tend more towards music while working out. I LOVE plugging along to the beat of a good up tempo tune while running. But again, the eliptical is just so darn boring, even the music does not work.

So what's a girl to do?

Well for a while you can get away with making a TON of excuses about kids and jobs and laundry and making dinner and cleaning, etc, etc, etc. But eventually the swelling of one's backside will become noticable enough that the excuses won't hold enough water to ease one's concious anymore and you will simply have to figure something out.

In desperation I surveyed my office, the location of the afore mentioned eliptical, and, with a gleem in my eye, noted the location of a particular shelf. This shelf is just about the correct height to allow one access to a keyboard or laptop while at the same time plugging away on the not so beloved eliptical.

VOILA!

I type at you now while simultaneously, I hope, burning oodles of calories and significantly reducing the size of my backside or at least preventing any further swelling.

I do apologize if the typing is a tad wobbly or if you spy a comma where there should be a period or a period where there should be a comma.

Love to all!

PS The mp3/laptop combo make these workouts FLY by. You really do have to try this!

You Were Right, I Was Wrong...(by Jesse)

Yes, Hon, I admit it, here, in front of all of humanity: you were right, I was wrong. As it turns out, my hypothesis presented in Cherith's Honeycrisp post was disproved. Cherith can indeed differentiate between a honeycrisp (hereafter called the Eve-bane) and a Fuji. I ran to the store the other night because we were (O my God!) out of Eve-banes, and the store I went to happened to not carry them. Not wanting to go to a different store, I chose instead to select four very large Fujis, that visually are very much like the giant Eve-banes. I brilliantly peeled the little identification labels off so Cherith would think she was biting into an Eve-bane, and waited... the first was given to Nathan, who ate it without comment. The second to Ceci, to whom Cherith proudly proclaimed "this is the best apple you'll ever eat", to which she replied, "yeah! (heh heh)". The third is sitting on my desk, quivering slightly as it knows it will soon be consumed. And the fourth went to Cherith, who called me as soon as she choked down the first bite. Sorry Hon! I had to try!

Life According to the S Brothers

A Conversation

In the car on the way to swimming lessons:

Nathan, "Mommy, is Sammy grown up now?" Note: Sammy is the boys' 2 year old cousin. He moved to TN about 6 months ago.

Isaac, "Well, he can say everything now so he is grown up right?"

Mommy, "He can say lots of words but I don't think he is all grown up yet."

Nathan, thoughtfully, "Can he say soon? You have to be grown up to say the word soon."

Isaac, somewhat disdainfully and with a slight eye roll, "I know he can say soon."

Nathan, "Well can he say Sauron?"

Isaac, "Oh I bet he can't say Sauron yet. He doesn't even know who Sauron is. I guess that means he's not grown up yet."

There you have it. According to the S brothers, grown up status hinges on one's ability to recognize and pronounce the names of fictional evil wizards.

So Mary, IS Sammy grown up yet?

Just for fun: Videos (because I can!)

Esther, I thought you would like to see how much the boys are enjoying their Christmas presents.



Jesse's Mini-me (Excuse the mess. This is what happens when you school your kids at home.)

More than just an apple...

The line of comments on the previous entry reminded me that I have yet to impart a fabulous culinary recommendation to the public at large.

Careless of me, dreadfully careless.

Although, if we really want to give credit where credit is due, and I am a firm believer in doing so, we must thank the divine Liz of Davis Family Circus for introducing us to this wonderful and palate pleasing fruit experience.

I speak, of course, of the Honey Crisp apple. Have you tasted this apple? Honestly, the $2.99 a pound you will pay is worth EVERY CENT. These are with out exception THE BEST tasting apple I have ever encountered.

There are those, some in my own circle, who insist that the Honey Crisp is nothing special and that several other apple varieties taste similar. I attribute these woefully misguided statements to an unknown radiation exposure of their youth, during which their taste buds were tragically and permanently altered.

Poor souls.

I LOVE THE HONEY CRISP. It has become a staple food in my diet. Poor Jesse has to suffer through my weekly trips to the grocery store during which I shell out what he considers a rather obscene amount of money in exchange for this fruit from heaven. But bless his heart, he allows me my pricey apple addiction as patiently as he tolerates my Venti Awake Tea habit.

You simply MUST taste one of these delightful little beauties. If, like my unfortunate sister Mary, you live in an area that does not currently carry this fruit, I strongly suggest that you A. Contemplate relocating as soon as possible or B. Start nagging your local super market until they cannot take it anymore and start carrying the Honey Crisp. If you need help with either option, just let me know.

In case my post has piqued your curiosity and you would like to conduct further research on this miracle fruit AND/OR find an online source from which you can order the little gems, I leave you with the handy link below.

Happy apples to all!

Honey Crisp

Tra-La!

This evening I took the time to learn how to use the lovely new digital video camera Jesse gave me for Christmas.

I figure the best possible video I can show you after such a long cinematographic absence is the three of our kids doing a dance they have dubbed the "Warrior Dance."

Truthfully, I am not too sure about the title as I don't think any respectable warrior would be caught dead dancing like this.

I think Nathan started this tradition...I have odd but endearing children. I am particularly fond of Isaac's question at the end.

First Hockey Injury

We love hockey, we are so proud.

(Just kidding! He is fine and quite happy to show off his injuries. Nathan caught him right across the eye/nose with a hockey stick.)

The S Brothers on Hospitality

The S children spent their first full day with their new nanny today. She is WONDERFUL. They do miss their former nanny and her kids, but circumstances have changed a bit in the S house and we had to make a few adjustments.

Ceci, their new nanny, is an absolute God send as far as I am concerned. Before they were even dressed this morning she kindly but firmly helped them clean up their room, no small task for even the bravest of souls.

They spent a wonderful day playing with their new pal. As we wrapped up their time with Ceci, I suggested to Isaac and Nathan that they should put down their toys and walk her to the door.

Nathan looked at me and stated firmly in his MOST incredulous tone, "Mommy, she KNOWS where the door is."

I looked directly back at him and stated as firmly, if not more so, that we do not walk someone to the door in order to help them find it, we do so because it is polite and I expect my boys to have good manners.

Ceci, in case you are wondering, was turning beet red in a herculean effort not to burst out laughing.

Both boys then looked at me as if I had completely lost my mind, stepped reluctantly but obediently away from their toys and walked with me as we showed Ceci to the door.

After the door was shut, Isaac turned around and said, "I hope she remembers where the door is next time. She might get stuck here forever if we forget to walk her out."

Perhaps a trail of bread crumbs will help? I don't know for sure but I think Ceci is in for one wild ride.

Dear Restaurateurs,

A humble request from a loyal patron and typically patient and understanding consumer.

When your wait staff offers a selection of items by title and includes the word nut(s) in some titles but not others, if gives the consuming individual the impression that those titles containing the word nut(s) indicate that the items referenced contain nuts and that the items referenced by titles that do not contain the word nut(s) do in fact NOT contain nuts.

Were this in fact the case, there would be no problem and no need for this letter. However, when one selects an item from a menu, for example a muffin called Buttermilk Spice, assuming that the lack of the work nut(s) as present in another choice, Carrot Nut, indicates that there are no nuts present in the Buttermilk Spice muffin but there are nuts present in the Carrot Nut muffin only to discover via instant pain, swelling and difficulty breathing that there are in fact numerous nuts present in the Buttermilk Spice muffin, well then you have a bit of an issue.

Honestly, I appreciate that we, the nut-phobic due to allergies populace, are a rather irritating and high maintenance group. I appreciate the difficulty of catering to us. When I join a group of friends for lunch or dinner, sharing an entree proves an impossible task due to the rampant food allergies that haunt my every waking bite.

However, as I assume that you do not want to regularly terminate your patrons, you might consider a more formulaic process when titling your menu options. If one item from a group bares a title indicating the presence of nuts, may I suggest that ALL items from that group which include nuts bare a title indicating so? Or else just leave the word nuts out of the titles altogether. Those of us afflicted with this allergy tend to question the ingredient list prior to consuming anything that we are unsure about. Just a suggestion.

Truly, I realize that it is ultimately the responsibility of the food allergic consumer to make sure they consume products that are safe. I do, however, ask you to consider that your consumers might just be trying to order whilst wrangling 3 hungry, cranky kids, one of whom is dancing in the aisle with one shoe on and one shoe off, another who is trying to crawl under the table in an effort to join the performing sibling and yet another who is moaning in agony over the fact that the evil, nut allergic parent in question will not allow them to order soda and has therefore made up their mind that they will not order anything despite the fact that they are starving and stated so at a decibel loud enough to break glass mere seconds ago. The consumer in question, in an effort to locate the now missing shoe of the afore mentioned child and ensure that the other two are at the very least dressed for weather that is no more than 30 degrees warmer than the actual temperature, likely did not eat anything on their way out the door and is, as a result, also starving. A consumer in this condition will likely order the first item mentioned by a wait staff whose name they are vaguely familiar with and that does not sound as if it will kill them mere seconds after the first bite.

I really am sorry to be so difficult. You will be happy to know that thus far none of the three children mentioned above has demonstrated any of their high maintenance parent's food allergies. Score one point for that!

It SO could have been me...

Last night my sister and I were sitting in the lounge and I said to
her, 'I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some
machine and fluids from a bottle to keep me alive. That would be no
quality of life at all, If that ever happens, just pull the plug.'

So she got up, unplugged the computer, and threw out my wine.

(Not original, but pretty doggone funny.)

I created the pictures below using the new photo editing software that Jesse gave me for Christmas. How did I do?

PS I am not neglecting the boys on purpose. They just have a tendency to not hold still long enough for me to get a decent picture of them.







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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The S Family wishes you joy, peace, love, health and growth in the new year.