Nora's New Friend.

Like her Ba*, Nora gets shy around cameras. She'll be hammin' it up, then as soon as we pull out the camera to capture the moment, she becomes Little Miss Serious. So, I was quite excited to finally catch her at her goofiness.

Who needs friends when you've got yourself, to entertain, yourself?! She seems to be dancing to the beat of her own drum as I doubt the talk radio in the background inspired her moves. I love the little leg move she puts in there...

* "Ba" is Vietnamese for "Dad". That's what we call Thang. So far, it sounds more like "Bob" when Nora says it, or more like "Bobobobobob".

From the Farmer's Market.

We finally made it downtown to the Old Market Farmer's Market. It was our first time there this year. I so love walking the crowded "aisles" filled with empty-nesters with their baskets of fresh produce, young moms with babes strapped to them in various fashions, fiddlers and accordion-players, and dogs of all sizes. Today we stocked up on some red bell peppers (a steal compared to grocery store prices), fresh basil and some farm-fresh eggs.

Our sad excuse for a garden (looks more like a jungle) has managed to produce an abundance of tomatoes. So, I put them to use and thought I would share with you the recipe for one of my favorite uses for fresh tomatoes and basil - bruschetta! This recipe comes from Toast to Omaha: A Cookbook.

Tasting Room Bruschetta

10 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red onion, minced

1 1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt (this can be cut back)

1/4 cup shallot, minced

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon sugar

8 basil leaves, chiffonade cut (click here for how-to, I didn't know what this was either)

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, onion, shallot, vinegar, sugar, basil leaves, oregano and olive oil together and taste. Season with salt and peppers. Mixture will hold for 4-5 days, but is best served fresh. Serve on toasted baguette slices. Serves 6.

We didn't have any baguettes on hand, so I used the recipe in this video. It's awesome. You can either pull out a couple of fist-fulls of dough to make fresh bread each day, or make them all at once and freeze, they keep well. Makes about 4 small loaves. By the way, they don't tell you in the video, but loaves should be baked at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.

Meat.

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/cordery/ / CC BY 2.0

As a junior in high school, I read The End of Nature, by Bill McKibbon. After finishing the book I decided to never eat meat again. Then my mom made spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner, mmmm my favorite. So, I decided I would stop eating meat tomorrow. And, until Tuesday night I didn't. That was almost 16 years ago.

Since then many changes have occurred in my life...I majored in Environmental Studies in college, started following Christ, got married, had a baby. All through this, I never ate meat. And, honestly, I never missed it. Half the time I forget I'm a vegetarian. Usually it means there are only 1 or 2 menu choices when we eat out, but I'm ok with that, pretty easy to please. It does become awkward when we're invited to friends' houses for dinner and I have to tell them of my "dietary restrictions" - I feel so high maintenance, that's the worst.

Anyway, I've been doing more and more reading on nutrition and food production lately. You can see from the books I'm reading and blogs I frequent some of the info. I've been looking at. Most of my reasons for becoming a vegetarian were because of the environmental destruction that meat production caused and because I believed it was a healthier lifestyle. I never got on the animal rights bandwagon. As I became a Christian, I found it fascinating that, in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were only given plants to eat (Genesis 2:16). It wasn't until after the Great Flood that God gave Noah and his descendants animals to eat (Genesis 9:3).

While I don't totally discredit my initial reasons for becoming a vegetarian, I really don't believe there is anything morally or biblically wrong with eating meat. As I've begun to question my non-meat-eating ways, and started to think about eating meat again, the idea of it became such a big deal for me that I've realized my vegetarianism has been a sort of idol. Being a vegetarian is a deeply ingrained part of my identity and, honestly, a source of pride (not the good kind).

So, I ate some salmon. Thang said he was a little bit sad for me. Honestly, it wasn't anything to write home about. I'd take some well-prepared tofu over that anyday. But, I needed to do it. I am by no means ready to start loading my plate with meatloaf, turkey legs and pig's feet. I'm still reading and praying and trying to determine what's healthiest and most beneficial.

And, I may never eat meat again, or maybe I'll just wait 16 more years.

What Our Little One Has Been Up To.

Enough about me, back to the real star of the show...

Nora has been so silly lately, revealing more and more of her goofy and joyful personality. One of the odd little habits she has picked up recently, is the obsessive need to put everything she's about to eat...on her head. It's like she has to mentally taste it before putting it in her mouth. Mmmm, spaghetti, let me just try this on my head first. Milk? Let's just put this up here. Cheerios, peas, cheese, all goes on the head. This one's funny until Mommy has to try to wash all that gunk out of her hair. Yeah, we're working on putting an end to it.

Giving her milk the "head-test" - it appears she needs total concentration.

Another of her eccentricities is her love for her yellow block (see pic). While most kids become attached to a favorite teddy bear, a blankie or the occasional article of clothing, Nora's "lovie" is a hard, wooden block. It is quite hilarious to watch her somehow sniff out, like a hound dog, the block from her big basket of toys. Once she's found it, it's in hand the rest of the day - we even let her sleep with it from time-to-time. Thankfully, she only lets out one little whine of protest when we take it away from her when she eats or bathtime. After being in Pennsylvania for two weeks, we thought maybe she would have forgotten the block, but as soon as we walked in the door and put her down, she had dug out her beloved yellow block.

The beloved yellow block.

On the developmental front, our girl seems to like to take things reeeeeal easy. She waited until 11 1/2 months to start crawling and now that she has that down pat, seems in no hurry to start walking. She cruises all over the place and will stand quite steadily on her own for awhile. But, she's gotten pretty speedy on those hands and knees, so why mess with a good thing, right? Mommy is learning to take things easy too, not worry so much and not try to rush these milestones - they grow-up so fast as it is!

She is, however, doing quite a bit of talking these days, if only Mommy and Ba knew how to speak "baby-ese". Some of her favorite "words":

"Up"

"Bob" - not sure who this Bob-person is.

"Mamamamamaaaa" - what she yells when she's annoyed, usually when she doesn't want to take a nap.

"Rar-rar-rar"

Of course, none of these things actually correspond with what they should when she says them (at least I'm hoping she doesn't correlate "Mama" with being annoyed). So, she keeps us guessing.

That's it for now. I am supposed to be resting and recuperating from a bad birthday cold!

On My 31st Birthday.

Today I turn 31. A year ago I turned 30. Well, duh. But last year, Nora was just barely a month old and I was still living on only a few hours of sleep and figuring out which way was up. Thang and I went out for sushi that night, our first date after Nora was born. But honestly, I was thinking about my newborn the entire time. I think we were both in a daze.

So, I feel like I never really turned 30. And now, I'm 31! I'm no longer just dipping my toes in my 30's, my feet are planted squarely in my 30's - yikes! But, I still feel like I'm 15. How does that happen?

I'm stealing this idea from several blogging friends, but here are 31 facts about me in approximate chronological order:

1. I was born in Methodist Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska - the same hospital I gave birth to my own daughter nearly 30 years later.

2. I was a breech baby, so my mom had a c-section. I was a little squirt, only 5 lbs. 15 oz.

3. My only sister, Jenny, was born when I was 2 1/2.

4. When I was 3, we moved to Des Moines, Iowa where my dad owned a Godfather's Pizza franchise. We only lived there 1 year.

5. My first memory is of watching my sister falling down the stairs - rolling head-over-heels. I was 3, she was 1. Guess it was traumatic!

6. My mom bought me my first pair of safety scissors when I was 3. When we got home from the store I went into my bedroom and promptly cut off my bangs down to my scalp.

7. When I was 4, we moved back to Omaha to the house I grew up in, on Old Cherry Road.

8. I got my first pair of glasses in the 2nd grade.

9. That year, we also got our childhood dog, a miniature Schnauzer named Gucci Poochi.

10. My favorite teacher of all time was Mrs. Hanshaw in 3rd grade. She sang songs to help us remember our fractions and told silly stories and encouraged me in my storywriting. She and my mom worked to promote me to a higher reading group and saw my potential - my other teachers had assumed I was slow because I was such a quiet kid.

11. In 3rd grade I also got braces.

12. My least favorite year of school was by far 7th grade, I got a stomach-ache every Sunday night knowing I had to go back to Junior High. I would gladly repress 7th grade.

13. I was never into sports. I hated gym class. But, I did take dance lessons for 12 years and loved it.

14. In 9th grade I FINALLY got rid of my braces and got contacts. I was like a new person.

15. In high school I was involved with the Literary Magazine, German Club, Earth Club and Amnesty International. I know, a nerd, but a cool, non-conformist nerd. ; )

16. Most of my clothes in high school were bought at the Goodwill, Salvation Army or various other second-hand stores.

17. Through high school, I had a group of 5 close girlfriends. We did everything together and made great, goofy memories.

18. My senior year of high school I spent as an exchange student in Rheingau, Germany. I still to this day can't believe I did it. It was totally out of character for this homebody. Still definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done, but am so glad I did.

19. I attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and majored in Sociology and Environmental Studies with minors in German and Geography.

20. My first dorm room was the very same room my mom had lived in 25 years earlier, in Sandoz Hall.

21. At the beginning of my junior year of college, I made the decision to follow Jesus. The best decision I've ever made!

22. I got involved with a campus ministry called, The Navigators, which helped get me planted in my relationship with Christ and begin to learn what it meant to be His disciple.

23. I ran a half-marathon my senior year, well almost, I made it 12.5 miles before passing out flat-on-my-back from dehydration.

24. After graduating I had no idea what to do with my life, so after taking a year off, I moved to Champaign, Illinois to study Urban Planning.

25. I had really wanted to study in Oregon, but got better funding in Illinois.

26. Thank goodness, because in my first few weeks in Illinois, I met Thang. I thought he was the most handsome man I had ever met!

27. In January of 2002, Thang and I and some other friends went to a ski conference in Vermont. Evidently, this is when he "fell for me". We started dating in April (what took him so long?!), were engaged in January 2003.

28. In June of 2003, we were married in Illinois.

29. Our first home together was a 400 square foot converted garage, we called "The Cottage".

30. In 2005, we moved back to Omaha, I started my job working for the City of Omaha as a City Planner and we bought our first home.

31. In 2008, I gave birth to our baby girl, Nora, had 2 1/2 glorious/grueling months of maternity leave, went back to work for 3 very long months and finally quit my job to stay home.

So, there you have it. Probably more info. about me than you ever wanted to know!

Saturday Mornings.

On Saturdays, we used to sleep in.

That luxury basically went out the window once our munchkin came along.

These days, we have a new ritual. Nora wakes up pretty consistently at 7:30 each morning. So, instead of getting up and starting our day right away, we bring her into bed with us for awhile. This is one of my favorite family times together. Of course, Nora is not about to fall back asleep. Instead, Thang and I scooch to the far sides of the bed and Nora makes it her very own play-gym, rolling and crawling, giving us zerberts and kisses. It is so fun to watch her joyful and carefree play as she explores and tests her abilities and environment.

Naturally, it did not take her long to start to peek over Mommy and Daddy, to try to crawl around us or dive over us, in search of the fun we might be keeping from her on the other side. Now that she is cruising and standing on her own (although still not officially a "walker" yet), she is not so content with just rolling around, but has gotten more and more insistent on getting past us, not realizing the fall and pain awaiting her.

But, isn't this just the way I am? My Heavenly Father sets boundaries for me, saying "Don't go past here, there is pain and death beyond", and all I want to do is take a peek past them, sneak around them or barrel over them. And, once upon a time, my great-grandparents, Adam and Eve, did just that. They forsook the joy and freedom their Father had given them in a beautiful garden with Him. They took a great fall. And, I follow in their footsteps.

Thankfully, there is One who has already taken the ultimate fall for me, who died on a cross so I would never feel the full depth of that pain. To Him I am so grateful and I pray someday, Nora will know Him too.

My day as a blog.

For those of you who have been blogging awhile, or have thought about starting a blog, or read a lot of blogs, do you ever find yourself thinking "I should totally blog about this."? Since starting this blog, everything becomes "bloggable" and my days are becoming one long running commentary in my head. So, because I'm having trouble finishing some "deeper" blog posts, here was my day in short blog snippets...

"Singin' the Post-Vacation Blues" - unpacking is no fun, the cupboards and fridge are bare, too lethargic to do much of anything. I thought vacation was supposed to be reinvigorating?

"The Perils of Purse-Buying" - practical or trendy? big or small? black, brown or color? I always have purse-buyer's remorse. I bought a mom-friendly, red satchel with lots of pockets. I will probably end up taking it back.

"Who Said Customer Service is Dead?" - I actually had great customer service by the checkers at all four stores I shopped at today. I mean, they actually seemed genuinely happy to see me. I took note of their names and may make a call to their managers.

"Healthy Grocery Shopping on a Budget" - today was grocery shopping day, stops at Baker's and Whole Foods. I may actually post on this some time, but for now our cupboards are stocked once more.

"Recipe of the Day - Peanut Thai Noodle Salad" - mmmm, yummy dinner, but leaves your breath smelling like garlic for days.

"To Bed, To Bed, It's Off to Bed I Go" - actually going to get to bed before midnight for the first time in a long while. Thang starts back to school tomorrow, so we must all get our rest!

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!

Lizard Girl

So, we can't get Nora to do any audible animal sounds, well, at least not consistently, yet. But, we think this is pretty darn adorable...