Graciedotes

Charming little anecdotes from the daily life of Grace.

Cheese

Gracie has had me laughing all week long. One afternoon, right after her nap, Grace and I were chatting on the couch. We had finished all of our usual cuddles when I started asking her what she wanted for lunch.

Me: Would you like some banana?

Grace: Shakes her head 'no'

Me: How about some crackers... with milk. Would you like some milk?

Grace: Shakes her head 'no'

Me: Umm... Would you like some cheese?

Grace: Tseeee!! (Gracie for cheese)

She wiggled out of my lap and started baby-running for the kitchen, both hands hands in the air. The whole time she was chanting "Tsee! Tsee!" with alternating spasms of frantic breathing. Without warning, she stumbled and landed spread-eagle with her little face flat in the carpet. I rushed over, but waited to she if she could tough the tumble out. Her little head popped up, the rest of her body listless. "tsee?" She was smiling. She got back up and continued her run to the fridge. I'm still laughing.

Ready to go

The other day, I was getting ready in our bathroom. Gracie strutted to my side, and told me she was ready to go. I didn't get a picture of her, but I should have. In Cori's closet, he has a little bag of shoe polish that has the most perfectly sized strap. She loves to carry it around like a purse. She had this on one arm, and a newly inherited Little People firetruck in her other hand. This is so quintessentially Grace- a girly girl tom boy. I giggled at her a little, and she gave me her oh-so-serious face. She had what she needed and was now just waiting for me.

Kisses

Our friends, Carl and Kris, were over last night. Their little boy, Wesley, is 7 days older than Grace. Carl had them both on his lap and somehow Wesley became inspired to sneak a kiss or two from Grace. Grace is usually pretty responsive, and gets a kick out of kissing just about everything. However, she showed immense propriety and avoided all kissing contact with a non-rejecting smile on her face. Sorry Wesley. Better luck next time... when Grace is 30.

Little Soccer Star

Sometimes I really wonder how much of us gets encrypted into our children. Point in case: Grace doesn't show much TV interest in general. But she will sit next to her dad on the couch and watch sports. She claps at the right times and is quiet at most of the right times. She's always been this way. She also loves musicals and old movies. I just discovered this last week. I had put the TV on TMC while I was making dinner and Summer Harvest (Gene Kelly and Judy Garland) was on. After 10 or 15 minutes I noticed that I hadn't heard anything from Grace in a while. This usually means that I'll have either one heck of a diaper to change, or one heck of a mess to clean up. I peeked out of the kitchen and found Grace sitting on the floor with her back to the couch, attentively watching, and clapping and rocking with the music. So cute.

I've started taking a soccer ball with us on our park outings. Gracie loves to play with any kind of ball. Again, she has always been this way. Her first real steps, as Cori proudly relates, were taken towards a ball which she promptly tried kicking before falling over. Is this girl her father's daughter, or what? So we take the ball down the 'big hill' onto the field. She kicks it around a little, pushes it with her hands, picks it up and carries it here and there. She loves fishing it out of the net. Our little soccer star.

Recipie of the Week

We love this dish. It feels like comfort food in your tummy, but doesn't sit like comfort food on your hips. Comfy food made with fish that is healthy? Strange, I know- but true! This recipe is fast (20 minutes or less from start to finish) and fool-proof easy.

Halibut in Thai Curry Broth
Fat- 8 grams Calories- 396 Protein- 42 grams Fiber- 3.5 grams
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 shallots, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste, or 2 teaspoons curry powder
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon, plus more for seasoning
4 (6-ounce) pieces halibut fillet, skin removed
2 cups Steamed spinach
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked brown rice, for serving

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer until reduced to 2 cups, about 5 minutes.

Season the halibut with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Arrange the fish in the pan and gently shake the pan so the fish is coated with the sauce. Cover and cook until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 7 minutes.

Arrange a pile of steamed spinach in the bottom of 4 soup plates. Top with the fish fillets. Stir the cilantro, scallions, and lime juice into the sauce and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Ladle the sauce over the fish and serve with rice.

Jesse Notes:
I knew Cori wouldn't be excited about the spinach, so I used 2 cups of fresh green beans that I steamed for 15 minutes. Also, my supermarket didn't have halibut, so I used fillet of sole. I think any mild white fish would be great in this recipe. The sole was so flaky that it just fell apart in the broth. So I served it up by putting the rice and green beans in the bowls first and then filling the bowls up with the fish and the broth. It is seriously so delicious. If you're not a cilantro and lime fan, the broth has tons of flavor with out it. Oh, in the interest of time, I used uncle bens ready rice. The kind you pop into the microwave for 90 seconds. The nutrition stats are actually structured around this rice.

Real Simple Interview

Natalie tagged me with this little interview from Real Simple magazine, so here we go...

Bath or shower? I'm with Natalie here. Showers for everyday life, baths for vacations. Gracie gets baths 4-6 times a week, lucky girl.

What did you want to be when you grew up? An oceanographer/whale trainer who does the Shamoo shows at Sea World. As fate would have it, I showed more inclination for arts and letters than for math and science. Hence my degree in the Humanities. No Shamoo.

What is the one thing you will never understand? How it is that I spend so much time cleaning and organizing things only to have to spend more time cleaning and organizing things. Why can't cleaning and organization keep a little longer than they do? Are these things getting themselves out at night while I sleep?

What surprises you most about your adult life? That I can feel so personally fulfilled in the selfless profession that is being a wife and mother.

What is your idea of the perfect meal? Hmmm. This would be too difficult for me to narrow down in terms of a menu. In general, it would involve being somewhere that has splendid ambiance with Cori and no Grace. It would be a meal that I wouldn't have to clean up. A meal that we could eat slowly.

What is the craziest fashion trend or hairstyle that you've worn? Ah... the 80's. I had large raspberry framed glasses, braces (with coordinating multicolored rubber bands), and a tight poodle perm all at the same time.

What amount of money would make you feel set for life? Enough money to cover education and talent development (piano lessons, dance studios, sports, etc.) for our kids, own our home and cars and stay out of debt (we've been so fortunate to stay out of debt so far, although we are paying rent and don't own the place where we are living), and have a comfy retirement that would allow us to do some traveling, serve missions and go skiing in the winter.

If you could change careers now without any consequences or financial loss, what would you switch to? It would be impossible in every way for me to change my career at this point in my life. However, when all of our kids are in school and then out of the house, I'd love to get a Master's in Art History or Curatorial Studies, and work at a museum either researching, or curating.

The big decision I'm currently wrestling with is... the decision to go with Cori to Paris at the end of February. I know, I know, the answer should be "How much underwear do I need to pack?" But life has just gotten back to normal after our last big trip. Gracie is back on schedule, and all the financial dust has settled. I'm hesitant to throw it all back up in the air. But it would be Paris, with Cori...

British Museum

I spent a respectable chunk of the afternoon labeling and organizing my family's digital pix from our London trip. Check me out in front of the famous reading room at the British Museum.

I went to this Museum practically on a weekly basis while I was a student in London. So I wasn't expecting to see anything particularly surprising during this visit. I was happy to be wrong. Just off the American exhibit, there was a little room filled with Mayan antiquities. I actually did a little dance, you know, the kind where you hop up and down and clap your hands and say "oooh! ooooh!" Below is a picture I took of Lintel 24. In one of my last semesters at the Y, I took Mayan Art and Culture 425 with Dr. Allen Christensen. Dr. Christensen is one of the foremost authorities in the field of Mayan everything. (I would love to hear what he has to say about Gibson's Apocalypto...) Imagine, a huge culture, rich in theology and steeped in tradition and art, that mysteriously disappears so suddenly that the language system is almost lost. For years, anything that was known about the Mayan was due either to remnants of theology that swim under the surface of contemporary religious rituals, or to interpretations made of discovered artifacts and temple murals. Without access to the language, all that could be read was their art. It is fascinating to me. Thanks to the work of Dr. Christensen and others, the language is fluently spoken again by more of the Mayan, and more correct interpretations are being made of what little text has been discovered. Consequently this is a field of study that is continually in flux. As part of the class we studied and memorized so many artifacts. Sometimes, we didn't even have photo's of the artifacts, just sketched pictures. Hence my delight in coming face to face with this amazing piece of history.

Lintel 24 portrays a royal blood letting ceremony. Kinda gross. The kneeling queen is pulling a thorn-laced chord through her tongue. (The kings let their blood from a different place that is better left unmentioned.) Mayan theology is saturated in doctrine of rebirth. This was a ceremony regularly performed by the royal heads of the society to insure the perpetuation of their way of life. It was incredible to see it along with the other lintels and artifacts the museum had on display.

Of course, it was amazing revisiting all the regular wonders; the Rosetta Stone, the Sutton Hoo treasure, and the Elgin Marbles. Gracie's reaction was pretty predictable. She was either in vocal opposition to being buckled into the stroller (like in the photo below), asleep, or happy in her dad's arms.

We rounded off the visit with a pricey trip to the bookstore. We got a coffee table book with illustrations of the BM's collections, a book regarding the history of idioms (very interesting), and a Jane Austen Cookbook (very cool).

Holy Places

Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Doctrine and Covenants 87:8

We had Stake Conference this weekend. Its always a nice weekend... no lessons to prepare, only 2 hours of meetings on Sunday, and adult session the night before w/o all the usual kid distractions... This weekend was super great for me. I don't think there was anything really different about it as compared to other Stake Conferences. Maybe I was in a better place in my heart.

The Stake temple night was on Friday. I spent the whole day rushing around making sure to have our Temple clothes ready to go, Gracie ready to be babysat (you know this takes some preparation), something for the sitter to eat for dinner, myself changed, the sitter pickup and debriefed, food packed for us to eat on the way, and Cori picked up from his office. Then we spent a frazzling chunk of the evening fighting the rush hour on the 405. Needless to say, by the time we got there I was a little unnerved. We only missed the first 15 minutes of the chapel session with our Stake and Temple Presidents. So I had a half of an hour to catch my breath. As we prepared for the endowment session, a blanket of relief and calm settled into the seat with me. I came away from the Temple that night so grateful. I felt more happy and self assured than I have felt in a little while. I know this is because of the time we spent with the Lord that night.

The Conference theme was on Temples. I sang in the Stake choir as well as a women's chorus. Cori is so sweet to support me in these choir endeavors every 6 months. Me being in choir = Cori being solo on Gracie duty. We had a sitter for the adult session, but he still had to do the 2 hour Gracithon on Sunday morning. Consequently, I got to sit in peace and quiet, sing, listen and ponder. I was able to look up the scriptures mentioned in the talks without worrying about curious little hands always anxious to tear pages. From where I sat I could look out over the congregation at all of our fellow Saints. From the music to the speakers to our theme, it was completely nourishing.

Recipie of the Week

If you love Indian cuisine the way we do around here, you will love these recipes! The menu: Chicken Tikka Masala over Basmati rice served with buttered Naan. The Masala recipe is spot on. There are probably better naan recipes out there, but this one was easy, ergo the one for me! I've included my little notes and alterations at the bottom of each recipe.

Chicken Tikka Masala

2 to 3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar or lemon juice

1 cup plain yogurt, plus more for garnish

1 cup vegetable oil

1 pound chicken breast, boneless and cut in small pieces

Mint leaves, for garnish

1.In a blender on high speed, or in a small food processor, add the ginger and garlic and blend until you have a paste. In a large bowl combine the ginger and garlic paste with the remaining ingredients. Add the chicken and mix until the chicken is evenly coated. Let marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

2.Grill chicken over medium-high heat until it is fully cooked and tender. You can also bake the chicken in the oven: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

3.Spread the chicken and remaining marinade evenly in a baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until chicken is tender. Serve with mint or yogurt. I served it over basmati rice.

Jesse Note: When I tried to make said 'paste' with the ginger, garlic and lemon juice in my food processor, it didn't quite happen. The bowl of my processor is too large. So my suggestion would be to coarsely chop your ginger and garlic, add all the ingredients into your food processor or blender and then run it until your sauce is nice and smooth.

Naan

Courtesy of Emeril

1 teaspoon dried active yeast

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup warm water, about 110 degrees F

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed while kneading

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup clarified butter or vegetable oil, plus 1 teaspoon

1. In a glass-measuring cup, combine the yeast and sugar. Add the water and stir well. Let rest until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. Sift together the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour the yeast mixture and oil into the center. Mix together with your fingers until a smooth dough forms, working in a small amount of additional flour as needed. Knead for 3 minutes.

3. Oil a small bowl with the remaining butter or oil. Place the dough into the bowl, turning to coat, and let rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

4. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and gently roll into 6 circles on a lightly floured surface. Bake on a baking stone, or a lightly greased baking sheet, until just golden brown and puffed, about 12 minutes. Serve immediately.

Jesse Note: Maybe because of my altitude here or something, I don't know, I had to add nearly an extra cup of flour to get my dough smooth. Also, be careful not to roll the dough out too thin. You'll end up with a naan cracker. A very good naan cracker, but not bread. When the dough is rolled, keep it at least 1/4 inch deep. I put my baking stone in the oven as it preheated so as to slap the dough onto a hot surface. (I read its more traditional that way.) I also brushed the naan with butter right as it was coming out of the oven which helped keep it soft as it cooled.

Saturday in the Park

Saturday, we packed a lunch and headed to the park. Although it was unusually cold, we enjoyed the sunshine and the fresh air. Gracie gave us a little surprise as well. I had always gone down the slides with her. Cori suggested that we send her down alone. With complete fearlessness, she couldn't wait to try. The pictures speak for themselves.

From the anticipation at the top, to her dad catching her at the bottom... we found a new favorite.

Recipie of the Week

Chili Chicken and Corn Meatballs
Serves 4 - Calories per serving: 223 - Fat content per serving: 3 G
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. lean ground chicken
4 scallions finely chopped
1 small red chili, seeded and finely chopped
1-inch piece fresh ginger root, finely chopped
3 1/2 ounce can corn, drained
salt and white pepper
boiled jasmin rice, to serve

SAUCE:
2/3 cup fresh chicken stock
3 1/2 ounces cubed pineapple with 4 tbsp reserved juice
1 medium carrot chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp superfine sugar
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp cornstarch mixed to a paste with 4 tsp cold water

1. To make the meatballs, place the chicken in a bowl and add the scallions, chili, ginger, seasoning, and corn. Mix with your hands.

2. Divide the mixture into 16 portions and form each into a ball. Bring a pan of water to a boil. Put the meatballs on a sheet of parchment in a steamer, set over the water, cover and steam for 10-12 minutes.

3. To make the sauce, pour the stock and pineapple cubes and juice into a pan and bring to a boil. Add the carrot and bell peppers, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Stir in the remaining ingredients and heat through, stirring, until thickened. Season and set aside until required.

5. Drain the meatballs and transfer to a serving plate. Garnish and serve with boiled rice and the sauce.

My modifications:
I used shallots instead of scallions, 'cause its what I had
We didn't have ground chicken so I ran some chicken breats through the food processor
Because the chicken was different, the meatballs were sticky, and wouldn't stand in the steamer, so I pan fried them. They turned out like crab cakes! They were great.

Me to the Power of 24

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, Grace and I head to the gym. I drop her off at the kids club and run upstairs. On Mondays and Wednesdays, there is an aerobics class I like to frequent called Turbo Kick Boxing (or TKB to the regulars). If you've ever seen the commercials for Turbo Jam on TV, this is the same program. I LOVE IT! The hour usually passes quickly, and before I know it... I've jabbed, hooked, uppercutted, roundhoused, and danced my way to a happier me. The class isn't offered on Fridays, so I have to resort to other favorite gym activities. Grace and I then get home in time for her morning nap, and I get to shower in peace (an amenity nice enough to get me out to the gym everyday if I could). Of course, things come up and I'm not always able to keep a regimented schedule. Today, for example, Gracie's shift in sleeping patterns (read: non-sleeping patterns) last night led to a late start this morning, and I missed my morning window. C'est la vie, n'est pas? We'll have to find another kind of exercise to do together today so I can keep on track with my fitness resolution. And I'll be looking forward to TKB next Monday morning.

The Alchemist

I finished my first read of the year last night. It was completely refreshing. In the words of another critic, "The Alchemist is a beautiful book about magic, dreams and the treasures we seek elsewhere and then find at or doorstep". Coelho uses powerful and transparent symbols- a person's Personal Legend (destiny), the Hand that wrote all things (our Creator), omens, and the Soul of the World. Melchizedek and the Urim and Thummim make an appearance as well. A provocitive tension builds as a simple shepherd faces many not so simple choices to discover and realize his Personal Legend. The narrative is laced with parables and pointed wisdom. It was a good reminder.

There were two ideas that surfaced several times which I loved in particular. First, I believe in the philosophy that all of the events in life are connected. Every experience we have, every person we meet, and every success and failure are part of one great whole. This is something that I have come to love about life. Point in case: It is a miracle that Cori and I were in the same place at the same time for long enough to date and fall in love. And it was a complex string of seemingly unrelated choices, people, successes and failures in both of our lives that brought us there.

Secondly, I am impressed by the belief that when a person is in quest of his Personal Legend, all the forces of the universe conspire in that persons favor to steer him in the right direction and bring ultimate success. There have been plenty of times in my life that I would have argued that his was more idealistic than realistic. But, when I take a look at the big picture, any time I have spent in the valleys has been a means of bringing me to higher peaks.

This was a book that I enjoyed on every level. Intellectually, it was provocative. Spiritually, it was nourishing. Romantically, it was a fairytale.

Resolutions

Change is my great comfort zone. I'm happiest when I'm working in the present to get somewhere in the future. Where this is good and bad, it is definitely conducive to making goals and resolutions. For as long as I can remember, my Dad would host an annual FHE where we would read through the last year's goals, and make fantastic plans anew. Fortunately for me, I married a great goal setter/list maker/achiever. Over the weekend, we completed our general planning for the year, complete with goal worksheets (Cori's idea and design) to have out in site, and to be filled in as we complete our goals every month/week. So here's a brief overview of the 2007 model of me.

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Spiritual 1)Daily scripture study, 30 minutes in the morning. Where the 'daily' part of this goal is already a part of life, the quality of my attention has been lacking. 2)Lesson preparations started a week in advance. I need to give the Spirit all the material to draw from that I can. 3)Perfect Visiting Teaching. I have no excuse not to. 4)Temple attendance, once a month. Again, I have no excuse not to.

____________________

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Educational 1)Take a Spanish class. Though French is the most romantic of the romantic languages, it is not as useful as Spanish. 2)Read 10 books. I have a jump start on this one because I started a couple of books over the holiday that I will finish this week. 3)Cook one new recipe every week. Thanks, Cori, for going along with this one.

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Physical 1)Work out 3 times a week. This is another maintenance goal. My gym membership is a prized possession. I feel better in every way when I'm exercising. 2)Down to xxx pounds. Of course, I'm not going to say exactly how many pounds. And where I don't measure my health by my weight, it is a good indicator of how one's diet/exercise ratio is looking. Mine needs a 5 pound adjustment. 3)Salad Mondays. When Cori and I were in school, we had a habit of eating a big salad for dinner on Mondays. I'm resurrecting the tradition with renewed vigor. Its a great way to start the week. And it makes us feel less guilty about that FHE treat.

____________________

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Financial 1)Save at least $50 a month to buy a DSRL camera. This camera is something I've been pining over for at least 2 years now. I'm going to take some action! 2)Improve my credit. My credit is healthy, but it is stagnant. Not for long.

____________________

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Familial 1)1 solid hour of Gracie time, daily. This may seem trite considering Grace has a significant percentage of my attention for every one of her waking moments. But I found that she is happier and that we have fewer meltdowns when I turn off the TV or computer or radio, put down the projects, clear my schedule and focus on her. So we read, play, cuddle, tickle, and usually laugh a lot. It is an ounce of prevention that I treasure. 2)More outside time. I haven't buckled down the details on this one, but its ridiculous that I don't have Grace outside more. We live in a paradise. 3)Date Night Fridays. We used to be really good about this one. It just needs some recommiting.

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There it is, the new model of me. So let it be written, so let it be done!

Christmas in London

I don't think we could have asked for a more perfect Christmas this year~ 7 ideal days in and around London with family. I feel like I got the biggest gift of all being able to share my favorite places with everyone. The trip was not with out its little set backs, international travel rarely is, but everyone weathered it well and we did so much. I'll just give some highlights here, with more to follow in future blogs.

The day we flew out ended up being a really lousy day to travel, both in the US and in the UK. A massive storm over Denver had caused the cancellation of thousands of flights in the US and severe fog had caused the cancellation of all domestic flights in the UK. Cori, Grace and I made our flight without a problem, but the rest of my family got held up and missed several connecting flight options and ended up flying standby. My sibs got into London just 3 hours after we did, but my parents didn't get there until the next afternoon. And even once we were all there, only Cori and Grace had luggage. Fortunately, our hotel was conveniently located just a block and a half off of Oxford Street- one of the major shopping strips of London.




So we made a little shopping trip our first night there. As nice as it sounds, I had a hard time buying much. The dollar is so weak against the pound right now ($2.11 to the pound), so if it looks like I'm wearing the same thing in a lot of the pictures, I am. Fortunately, Thea had an extra pair of levi's I could borrow. Otherwise, I would have spent our first weekend there in yoga pants! We didn't get our luggage for another 3 days. And poor Sara had to wait until the day before we left to get her bag. Even missing luggage couldn't keep us from having an amazing week.

Here is a list of the places we got to visit over the course of the week:

Trafalgar Square, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abby, Harrods, Portabello Road, Hyde Park Ward on Christmas Eve Day ( a very special service), Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Bath, Warwick Castle, Stratford, Anne Hathaway Cottage, Oxford, The British Museum, Covent Gardens, The National Gallery, Mme.Tussuad's, The Sherlock Holmes Museum (on 221 b Baker St.), Green Park, and Hyde Park. We went to a Christmas Eve performance at the Royal Albert Hall titled, Carols by Candlelight. The tidy orchestra was dressed in knickers and white wigs. The conductor sat at a harpsichord. They performed every carol imaginable, and we got to sing along with many of them. There were readings from the KJV gospels and Dickens. It was perfect. We also saw Wicked with the original Broadway casted Elphaba performing.

At the Tower Bridge

This is how Gracie spent her nap times.

At Stonehenge

At Warwick Castle

How many Whitakers can we fit in here?

The family infront of the British Museum

At Trafalgar Square

Of course, the best part of the vacation was being together. Thanks, Dad, for such a great trip!