Unlocked

"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man
knows himself to be a fool."

- William Shakespeare

Being a lone adult in the house can be strangely comforting and unnerving at the same time. Once I'm ready to turn in for the night, I make one last patrol of my fortress. Turning off lights, closing cupboards and locking the doors. Both locks on the front and back ones. I lock the door to the garage, too. I don't know why I do. The garage is locked, no one can get in. Just the van sitting there, shedding icy slush from it's wheel wells on the to cement.

I open the door and flick on the light, just to check on things, make sure everything is in order. You never know, I've found the odd light in the car, left on by five year old fiddling fingers. Once the light is off, I rush to close the door. Like some imaginary troll is waiting for the safety of the dark to rush upon my ankles and drag me back to his sanctuary under the stairs. Bolting it tight, an internal debate volleys in my head. "Just the doorknob lock or the deadbolt, too? Against what? Imaginary beasties? Ok, just the doorknob. Alright, and the deadbolt. Why not?" I rest easy at night, knowing my home is locked up.

I don't know what I'm expecting to see in the morning when I unlock the door. Rotate the lock clockwise *click*, it's unlocked. Talking only to myself in my head, I taunt the unseen, "Come on back, monsters! The sun is shining and I'm not afraid anymore!!" Who am I, or better yet, how old am I? Ten? What do I expect to find? An unrecognizable creature smashed against the door? Crumpled in a pitiful heap, defeated in his efforts to breach the threshold? There is a small sliver of curiosity mixed with the incredulity of my suppositions. But I'm still hoping to be wrong when I am alone and unlocking the doors.

Chillin'

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm no good at backtracking. Or blogging right now, for that matter. It all just seems to overwhelming and brain-power intensive. It doesn't prevent me from skipping around to my favorite blogs, though. Then I finish reading and go, "Oh, that was a simple way to put it. Why is it so tough for me?" Maybe it's writer's block or cabin fever or the mid-winter blahs.

We are freezing our hienies off here in Idaho. The high, (defined as the warmest measurable temperature for the day) reached 22F (-5C) yesterday. We are keeping warm inside, but that is the problem; we're inside. It looks nice and sunny outside, but then I step outside and every little hair freezes in my nostrils. But let's play the 'Glad Game'.

A) I'm not sweating in Cairo
B) I know I have a parking space when I go to the bank, grocery store or library.
C) We have a public library!
D) Any person I encounter in public speaks English.

The only downside? I can't argue with the grocer about the outrageous price of asparagus, strawberries or mangoes.



So I guess I have a lot to be glad about. The kids are finally warming up (hah!) to the idea of playing outside in the snow. They were little chickens, I tell you. Couldn't take more than 5 minutes outside before they came running for the door, pleading to be let in from the bitter cold. That was when it was only 40F (4C). Now they throw on their snow playing paraphernalia and spend all afternoon in the white drifts. We haven't had any new white stuff for about a week. Maybe we're on the tail end of all this. Probably not.

Backtracking

Sorry for my recent absence from the blogosphere. Spencer arrived Feb. 4th and all time was spent 'being together'. It was a nice vacation for the both of us. He left again this afternoon, but will return in 2 months for another chunk of time.

At the Rexburg temple with Spencer's sister, Callie & her husband, Reed

I'm kind of having withdrawals right now, so bear with me. I will update on our family's antics for the month of February. If you couldn't tell, I kind of gave up on the whole 'Dove Love' thing. Though it's probably not too late to still share some of the ideas. Anytime is a good time for love! I also got a new cookbook called 'The New Book of Soups' by the Culinary Institute of America. Very original name. Har-dee har har. Oh, and apparently the Culinary Institute of America is called the C.I.A. for short. I was browsing my favorite foodie site, Tastespotting, and saw a post with the description, "New soups from the C.I.A." Huh? was all I had to say. I clicked on the link and read about a mouthwatering minestrone recipe. And I don't like minestrone very much. So, while I leave you drooling, I will bulk this blog up in the coming week! Cheers to all!

Dove Love #3

Ok, the Lovey-Dovey Dove Love campaign is still plowing along. Loving the chocolate, just not all the ideas they provide. For example, last night I unwrapped a lovely milk chocolate Dove and the message said, "Florist tip: Ask them to leave the filler & baby's breath out of your bouquet of roses." Huh? I kind of like the baby's breath. Filler, yeah, I can do without. But baby's breath is delicate, balancing and easy to dry. Well, here's my own useful tip: Take some pictures of yourself. Go take a shower, fix your hair (fluff it, baby) and put on some make-up. Pull on the LBD that makes you feel just perfect or a top that says it all. I took some on a whim, just to experiment, and Spence came in while I was loading them on to the computer. His jaw dropped to the floor and he asked, "When were you going to show me these?" I really hadn't planned on it. I didn't think they were that good, I thought I looked dumb in them. Well, your man can be counted on to think you're sexy no matter what. Here's the ones I took. Like I said, I don't like myself in pictures period, but let the hubs have the final say.



Go dust off the timer switch on your camera and try it. A chin-eye level resting place for the camera is what I used. And zoom the frame in for a neater look. Choose a simple, unbusy background; the focus is on you!

Dove Love #2

Ok, I thought that this would be a good idea. I get to eat a Dove chocolate a day, all in the name of blogging fodder, and these ideas are really really super lame. Here's one:


Huh? Acknowledge Cupid? Who talks like that? Ok, so I guess I'll have to buy the 'Martha Stewart' cookie cutters that are those exact shapes. Or this is assuming I'm a regular Michelangelo at toast sculpting. If you can't tell through this thinly layered sarcasm, I'm not a fan of Martha Stewart. I love a lot of her stuff and some of her ideas, but seriously, most of it is not feasible here in the real world. But this isn't turing into a post knocking the Queen of Domesticity. It's about my idea for a Dove Love a day. Everyone probably has a heart shaped cookie cutter. Cutting it out in heart shapes, I think, is a waste of good bread. Just put the cookie cutter on buttered bread, then shake powdered sugar inside the heart shape. Complete use of ALL the bread and a heart shaped theme. Fabulous!

YouTube Tuesday: Celebrate!

Today is YouTube Tuesday. It is also one day before Spencer comes home. Yes, tomorrow afternoon he'll be home for 18 days. I am meeting him at the airport to take him home.



Did that song make you feel like getting up and dancing? That's how I feel right now. I only wish I could get a group of people to do that dance with me at the terminal. *WOOT* T-minus 30 hours and counting.

Recent Reading

I couldn't let any more time pass before I sang the praises of a few wonderful books. 'The Hunger Games' and 'Catching Fire' by Suzanne Collins are extraordinary. I *literally* could not put them down. I know, I sound like I'm feeding into the publisher's hype & drama. But it is a page-turner; I haven't run across one of those in a very long time. And there are two!!

The first book takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where The Capitol rules 12 outlying districts with an iron fist. There was an uprising, resulting in these 'districts'. To keep them in submission and prevent another war, they created the Hunger Games. Each district is compelled to send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18; to be chosen at random. These 24 teens are sent to the Games to fight it out and try to survive because only one may live. This book unfolds and explains itself pretty well. I'm glad I didn't know 'what to expect'. I don't want to bias anyone toward the books. Someone may think, "Oh, that's not really my genre." Trust me. It's your genre right now!! 'The Hunger Games' and 'Catching Fire' are books one and two of a three part series. The third book comes out in August 2010. 'Catching Fire' picks up where the first book leaves off and you won't need any convincing to start that one.

Though now I have the after effects to deal with. You know the feeling; you've just read a super book, but you want more. I did hit jackpot when I scooped up 'Still Alice' by Lisa Genova. More on that book later . . .

Dove Love

This idea came to me when I was eating (as many good ideas do) a square of Dove dark chocolate. The wrapping foil has always had a little 'lovey-dovey' (no pun intended. well, maybe) saying or idea on the inside. So, I figured I'd elaborate on that since this month is February, and post a Dove Love idea every day.

Lovey Dovey Dove Love Idea #1:


Nest a vase of flowers into a larger vase filled with candy hearts. Interesting. I also read somewhere that you can use those candy hearts as chalk on the sidewalk. I'm saving some and trying that once the piles of snow melt.