Prediction

Predictions on pizza are the safest kind: There's a new Olympia Pizza going in on Delridge. If it's owned by the same people who own other Olympia Pizzas in the city, I'm betting that it will not only be successful (i.e. stay open longer than a year), but it will spur along revitalization of that run-down strip. Olympia Pizza was my neighbor on Queen Anne, and a very nice neighbor indeed.

Turn, turn, turn

Life and death, young people and old people are blurring together lately.

My aunt died last week after struggling through cancer for the last year or so. My uncle has progressive dementia, so her illness was really difficult and confusing for him. Now that she's gone, my cousins are trying to figure out options for care for their father. Right now he's in a geriatric/dementia ward of a nearby hospital and they're working on finding the right combination of medications for him. He'll be moved to a more permanent residential arrangement soon.

I chatted with my dad about assisted living facilities, about the range of quality of care and the expense of it all. It struck me how similar these choices are to looking for daycare, since we've been in the thick of that lately. Better ratios, better trained staff and less staff turnover = higher costs, which must be true for assisted living too. And consistency is important for both kids and adults with dementia: disruptions can be really distressing.

My aunt's memorial service will be held mid-April. Interestingly, my sister-in-law's due date is also mid-April. Maybe this is perfect timing.

The old lady and the pineapple

I made a pineapple upside-down cake today to celebrate the end of Lant. I wasn't as good at avoiding sugar this time around...let's just say I came in for a gentle landing. The cake was sure good though.

Anyway, pineapple reminds me about being a kid, on one day in particular:

Vindication

One Sunday after church
When I was but a tot
We potlucked in the church basement
(We did this a lot)

My mother had told me
"Don't eat too many sweets"
I said that I wouldn't
I reluctantly agreed

The table was laden
With all sorts of goods
Brownies, pies, cakes
And big cookies too

Nearby the sweet eatings
In a big bowl piled high
Glistening, bright yellow,
the (pine)apple of my eye

I dearly love pineapple
(Or I did back then
Now it makes my stomach ache
it's no longer my friend*)

I ate a few pieces
I went back for more
I ate a lot of pineapple
until I didn't want anymore

An old woman watched me
Mrs. McCready her name
But she assumed I ate cookies,
and more of the same

She then told my mother
I was pigging on sweets
My mother was peeved
She went straight after me

"I didn't! I didn't!"
I emphatically cried
"I was eating pineapple
And my tongue feels...wide."

My mother didn't believe me
Not initially
But one look at my tongue
Was all that she'd need

It was red, raw and swollen
My stomach, in a bunch
But tongue told the story
Mrs. McCready's couldn't touch

My mother believed me
She did not punish the girl
Who ate too much fruit
And then wanted to hurl
___________
* I can now only eat pineapple in small doses

Oh dear

My psyche

Fun fun dream last night. I just emailed my friend Miss D about it...

"...You had just got the latest gadget, kind of like the latest iPod, except this one didn't play music. Oh no, it was kind of like a sea plane, except the size of a cool little handheld device. (Don't ask me how a plane can be this small...dream logic, y'know.) So you were showing it to me and took me for a spin. It was really fun...we made a water landing and everything. I think you even let me fly the thing. And in the dream, the best thing about this gadget was that it was also...wait for it...a video camera! Wow. Imagine. Who cares about a tiny flying machine when you can record video!"

Screw the iPhone...let's see Steve Jobs come up with the iFly.

Grease

I got to thinking while puttering around the kitchen today: I've never liked the ending of Grease. Nice girl Sandy becomes the slutty bad girl to win her man. And Danny had already become less of a bad boy by lettering in track...he would've met her at least halfway on the goodie-goodie/rebel continuum. Sandy, you sold out!

It's a product of its time I guess. If made now, Sandy would've been geekier and stayed that way.

It's done

Just gave UW $50 to process my application for grad school. It's nearly official -- I'm going down the doctoral rabbit hole.

See any similarity?

House call

A clean-cut man with a dress shirt, tie and overcoat knocked on the door this morning.

Me: Can I help you?

Him: Yes, I--
<He's holding literature saying something about 'The Greatest Love...'>

Me: No thank you.

Him: Okay.
<He turns and walks away.>

He probably took one look at my red, raw nose and the circles under my eyes and decided I wasn't worth the effort. Good call.

Haven't left the house

I've gotten a really bad cold and haven't left the house since Friday. The weekend was a bust. Slept, drank hot things, finished Atonement (the silver lining of the weekend), watched Women of Ninja Warrior while trying not to breathe on August and Ray. Miserable stuff. My immune system must still be depleted? repressed? or something from being pregnant. This is one of the three worst colds ever, all contracted in the last 12 months.

I think I'm on the downside now. Feeling slightly better, and less like I want a head transplant.

7 months today

Can't believe it's over

But at least we have this (thanks Shawn)...

Whatta weird baby

August has been less and less interested in her bottle since starting solid foods. This morning when I fed her, she stopped before draining the thing. I unscrewed the lid and let her drink out of the bottle like a cup. Voila! she finished her formula.

This just doesn't seem normal.

So far, I'm a Stan fan

A few weeks ago I blogged about Stan. Stan represents the Indian corporation that just finalized the purchase of Ray's employer.

Ray's been through acquisitions before, and so far this one has had way more positives than any other. The acquiring company is large, seemingly well-run, and have expressed every interest in retaining employees. What Ray and I talk about most is the possibility of moving overseas for a few years, as the company has offices all over the world. This idea is so exciting it makes my ears twitch.

Also, as of this week, our family unit is supported by paychecks that come from a country half-way around the world. This feels...somehow satisfying. It's not that I'm anti-America per se, but I feel a bit about our mother country as I do about Starbucks. Starbucks is a great company for our local economy. From what I understand, they are a good employer and give back to the community in many ways. And they peddle pretty good coffee. However, when I have a hankering for a cuppa, I usually go elsewhere. I'd rather patronize a coffee place that doesn't occupy every other corner or has pushed out smaller independent coffee shops. And I often prefer the taste of coffee from Caffe Ladro, Cafe Allegro, Bird on a Wire, and frankly, Tully's.

It seems like we've now got one foot out the door, and it's a mystery for now whether the other foot will follow. (As for the foot that's creeping into PhD territory here at home...well...do we have to have just two feet?)

Granola: the new chocolate cake

I'm about midway through my sugar-free Lant. I've made a couple of exceptions for the sake of practicality. For example, allowable items include: peanut butter, cream-style coffee additives (okay, okay, I've let a little whipped cream in my americano) and yogurt. Last Saturday, I was craving a yogurt-fruit parfait thingy, so I bought some granola to mix in.

Holy moly, have you tried this granola?

Well, I highly recommend it. If you try it, will you please tell me if it's beyond tasty or if my taste buds have changed their sense of sweet. This granola seem like the next Dairy Queen Dip Cone. Yum.

We can't buy this stuff any more. Granola has just achieved crack status. Who knew.

I don't get it

Why Cameron Diaz? Why is she featured at the Oscars and invited to present an award? I could wonder about Miley Cyrus or Jessica Alba presenting for similar reasons, but they are apparently the "it" girls of the moment, so that explains something about their part at the Oscars tonight. But still I wonder...why Cameron Diaz?

When she came up on stage to present the award for cinematography, I said, "Huh? She's such a fluffhead." Then Diaz had trouble pronouncing cinematography. Maybe I am missing something. Maybe there was some great performance that I wasn't aware of...

Last year she did Shrek. The year before that it was The Holiday. And before that...In Her Shoes. That was it for those 3 years.

I guess maybe she's just everyone's favorite ditzy/perky actress with an extremely good publicist.

10 Thoughts

...about Sandwiches! ('10 Thoughts' theme courtesy of Sheila)

1. I don't like cheese on cold sandwiches.

2. I don't like ham on cold sandwiches, but it's great as a hot sandwich, though only with cheese.

3. I don't like PB & J on wheat bread...only white, oat nut or sourdough.

4. I love Reuben sandwiches.

5. Grilled cheese and tomato is also really good. Heck, put tomato between two slices of bread with a little mayo and I'm happy.

6. I don't like mustard on my sandwiches.

7. I don't like pickles on my sandwich, but they are okay on the side.

8. An exception to the pickle rule is tuna salad, which can have diced pickles mixed into the tuna.

9. I usually like homemade sandwiches with toasted bread. Sucks to have to bread stick to the roof of your mouth and teeth.

10. Ray likes to order a 'pancake sandwich': pancake, topped with egg over-easy, maple syrup, tabasco. Ewh.

This post is brought to you by the Torta at Taqueria Rinconsito of Burien, where you can get (as I did tonight) a delicious torta jam-packed with spicy beef, pork or chicken, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and jalepeno, all between halves of a toasty bun. I first tried a torta in Guadalajara and it trumped the burger in the big hot sandwich category. Though it depends on the burger.

I love this photo

My mom when she was about 16...

The freezer

The freezer is not my domain. I noticed recently that I don't even know what's in the bottom 4 shelves...mysterious frozen meats, doughs, and stocks I guess. A now I've learned that Ray hides his Oreo stash from Valentine's day there (I didn't want to look at them since I'm not eating anything remotely Oreo-y until March 23).

I've just learned that my Girl Scout cookie order has arrived. That means 3 boxes will need to be stashed away under the pork loin and chicken breasts. I'll let Ray do that since he apparently has some kind of special system in there.

It's Valentine's Day