WW: Go Bears!

Seltzer Water and Fruit Gels

Every Saturday for, well, forever, Bill has gone to the grocery store for me because we inevitably need something for Sunday. I'm not sure why this happens. I can go all week without going to the store and we'll do without, but knowing that we shouldn't go to the store on Sunday means that we absolutely NEED something the day before. Anyway, he didn't go tonight, I did. That's always a mistake because I NEVER stick to the list.

It seems like every time I see Bill's sister I crave seltzer water. When she used to visit she would have a bottle of seltzer and mix it with gin or Jack or whatever. I don't know exactly. I envied the way she was able to sip on her drink for like an hour and not have to refill the 10 times I would. OK, I'm exaggerating, but you understand my point, don't you? I would sometimes fill a glass with ice and seltzer just so I could sit and chat with her without getting bloated on soda or water and so I didn't have to run to the bathroom every 10 minutes. Anyway, I bought some tonight.

Fruit seems like a healthy option for a snack and the produce section seems like a safe place to shop. This is where I started my shopping excursion. Bananas, grapes, apples. Check, check, check. I bought the cheap fruit. I just couldn't find it in myself to pay a buck for a mango or even worse, 59 cents for a kiwi. Do you know how small a kiwi is?! I was checking out the oranges when I saw a sale sign below for some fruit gels. Yum. They looked tasty. The tangerine looked scrumptiously orange and you can't go wrong with raspberry. Check, check.

After I got home and sent Bill to bed because I'm not going to be tired for hours do to a 2 hour nap I took with Payton from 2-4pm, I unloaded the many extra groceries that I had and started putting things away. I opened and tasted the fruit gels, yum. I got a glass of ice out and opened the seltzer water. YIKES! That sucker started spewing EVERYWHERE! It totally took me off guard and when the geyser started going I couldn't even keep the lid in place. It blew up all over the island, including all in the 2 open containers of fruit gels, all over the floor between the island and the sink, and by the time I got it to the sink, nothing. It was done exploding. Nice.

So here I sit, blogging my disaster of a shopping trip, sipping on seltzer and eating wet fruit gels. And let's face it, seltzer water doesn't really taste good and fruit gels are really gum drops.

Honor Thy Father

Bill's dad came over today for Father's Day. I just love it when he is at his best, and boy was he tonight. Maybe he had a swig of Jack before he came over (I hope not, since he drove), but I think he was just in a good mood. And a good mood for Dad means he's up for some debate. So, what does honoring thy father mean in this house? It means you have to put up a good fight, get heated, and laugh while yelling. It's classic. Tasha even piped up from the living room with, "Mom, are you and daddy having a fight?" while Kyra sat at the table shaking her head because the 3 of us were at it. Immigration, Sheriff Joe, former and current governors, and obeying the law. All good stuff.

The fun thing is that these days Dad is going to church. He declared tonight that he found a church he likes. This makes me giggle, because apparently it takes some searching. Anyway, after some talking about a photo radar ticket he got in the mail, Bill was trying to convince him that if he just ignored it he probably wouldn't have to pay it. I mean, how do they know that you got it, right? After a bit of debate on whether or not you could really do that and if it was an effective way to deal with a photo radar ticket, Dad, "Mr. I've found religion", questions "hey, doesn't your faith have something to say about being truthful and honest?" No comment from Bill. His answer for that is usually something like, "just say 3 Hail Mary's and call me in the morning." Like we even know what a Hail Mary is! I turn to Kyra and ask her to repeat the Article of Faith that has to do with honoring the law. She stalls. Eventually we get to the part about sustaining the law. Yep, I think that covers it.

So, for you Dad, on Father's Day:

Article of Faith #12 of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
"We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."

Now the real question to all of this is how did Bill rate on Father's day? If he and I were busy entertaining his father with mock arguments who was at the brunt of all this? Bill was, of course. He is typically on the opposing end of these debates as he tries to infuriate his dad with ridiculous arguments. He's done it for years, just to get his goat. It's fun to watch and be a part of and even more fun to join in on. Ah, politics with the family, how I wish his sister had been here. I suppose I'll have to make up with Bill later tonight...but that was the point really, wasn't it?!

What is it about Bookstores?

I went in to Borders to buy a boxed set of the Chronicles of Narnia. Kyra's birthday is Thursday, we just saw the movie, she is an avid reader, and heck, I need to read them for MY book club. The set is all together but it's wrapped up in plastic wrap which really makes it less appealing to me. I looked at the individual ones and was tempted. The covers were so smooth. The pages had not been bent. It was a story just waiting to be told, just to me, nobody else. But I went for the set, so the set I bought.

On the way out I considered the buy 1, get 1 half price table. More books with fresh covers. Some had raised lettering, some had pictures, one had a whole in the cover revealing the picture on the next page. Ooh, it has been so long since I purchased a fresh book! And look, there are titles I've heard of. Ones that have been recommended and/or are now movies that I will never go see. Marty and Me, Wicked, Atonement, Those Who Save Us, ...and several others that I can't recall. I want them all! Novels with no purpose other than sheer enjoyment and interest to me. I even think about the many dollars that I owe the library and consider that buying these books might even save me money in the long run. Hmm.

So what is it about bookstores that make you yearn to have these precious new editions of books that you will only read once and then maybe pass on to a friend? Books you are sure your friends own and will loan you, or that you can get much cheaper on Amazon. Books that you know you don't have time to read and might just sit around for a year gathering dust until you finally get to them.

My mother-in-law loved to read. I think she read everything that was ever written if that is possible. If it was on Oprah's list, she had it. If it was a NY Times best seller, she'd read it. I can only imagine her at a bookstore. I can't believe I never went to one with her! I would have left with treasures galore or the promise of, "you can borrow that, I have it at home." Bill's mom was the one that bought Billy all the Harry Potter books as they were written. She had them delivered the day they came out and he was so excited. It was her influence that got me to pre-order the last one.

Nothing sat on mom's shelf unread but she understood when it sat on mine. She was the most understanding and non-judgemental person I think I've ever met. She was inquisitive and could talk to just about anyone about just about any subject. She was a housewife with a high school diploma and a drinking problem, and she was one of the greatest women that I have ever known. She cared about you and your friends and she loved to hear what was going on in your life. I think she really would have loved to talk books with Jaylee and Tori, home births with Crystal, education with April, crocheting with Bridget, politics with Amanda, piano with Sara, mothering with Rachel, Native American traditions with Monique...and the list goes on! She would have taken it all in and loved you all!

So I ask again, what is it about bookstores? What is it that makes you miss people so much?!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Bill's dad turned 75 this past Wednesday. Wow. 75! That's 3/4 of a century. And I have to say the man is in crazy good health, super vitality, and keeping up with the young dogs. In fact, he's coming over this weekend to help Bill build a swing set for Tasha.

A big kudos goes to Bill for calling his dad last week and inviting him over for dinner. Yes, he made the call ahead of time and was thoughtful without me even mentioning a thing. As he invited him he turned to me in a hushed tone and said, "is that OK?!" Then I listened to him coerce a dinner menu out of him. I can imagine on the other end his dad just saying whatever about 5 times until he finally asked for Sauerbrauten. What's that?! I've heard of it but what did Bill get me into?!

More kudos to Bill for looking up the recipe for it...not the day of, but a week before. What a blessing that man is, especially since the meat needed to marinate for something like 3-4 days. (Ours only got a day and a half since it was in my mom's fridge, grrr, no fridge here yet) So I faked my way through this new recipe, using the crockpot since I would not be home in time to cook it for 3 hours on the stove. (who does stuff like that?) And what-da-ya-know, it was fabulous. It was just what his dad wanted and commented on how great it was, several times. I guess he even called ME last night to thank me again.

This tasty dinner, and a book got me to thinking...is there something to this cooking business? If I take the time to prepare, sometimes marinate, add all the herbs a recipe calls for...will I enjoy what I'm eating enough to put the time and thought into a yummy dinner everytime? It really isn't all that great of a chore, just out of my element. I'll get out 10+ ingredients to BAKE something, but to COOK is another story. Why is that?! Although I used a box mix for Dad's German Chocolate Cake, I made the frosting from scratch and it was heavenly. Maybe I just enjoy desserts more than actual food. Go figure! The book I flipped through said that when you have really flavorful food you savor it more, eat less, and thus, lose weight. Good idea.

SO, Happy Birthday Dad! And thanks for the new experience. Maybe I'm on my way to be a Becky Sauer birthday host...oooh, and make a homemade pie that sells for over $40! WOW, wouldn't that be the day? A girl can aspire though, can't she. Maybe in Dad's honor I will try a new recipe each week...well, maybe each month would be a little more realistic.