Yesterday marked the beginning of my birth month...this is my 38th April of existence here on Planet Earth (not to be my 39th until later in the month).
April is one of those "cusp" months here in America. Sometimes it's really nice and gorgeous and springy and green, and other times it's cold and rainy/snowy and winter-esque.
Usually, by the end of the month, though, Mother Nature has gotten her shit together. And, usually by the time my birthday rolls around at the end of the month, the temperatures are good (precipitation is iffy, but one out of two ain't bad, right?). Lots of birthdays I know of are in April, which makes me wonder what the hell was happening in July of the previous year? Lots of sprightly young couples celebrating America's birthday?
Life proceeds to get busier and busier here at Chez Nelson. Spring sports have begun, and that means soccer for the younger two kids, and high school golf for the older. Not that I mean to wish away time, but I look forward to the soon-to-be-15-year-old getting his driver's license...then he can shoulder some of this taxi burden.
I'd like to be able to talk more about food here today, but frankly, I can only do so much in the kitchen right now. I could test a cheesecake recipe or something to do with beef, but that's extra food that ends up in the refrig, or worse, in my belly and in the vicinity of my rear end. I suppose when I head off to the Mackinac Island later on this month to start my internship, I'll need to focus on more "academic" blog entries anyway...since I won't have access to much of a kitchen to play in besides my work place.
In other news, there is an ongoing effort to promote industriousness here at the home; in the name of a family challenge. All Wii and xbox games have been hidden, along with the controllers for play. We've also taken the kids' iPods and Brent's iPad and placed them in a safe place as well. With schoolwork and whatnot, computer time is difficult to get around, so we've created a logsheet of time spent on the home computer/laptops. For example, after I compose and proofread this post, I will fill in how long I spent on my laptop and what I was doing. Believe me, I've been compelled to rethink my jumping on the computer whenever I feel like it, especially since I've got to record it for my entire family to scrutinize.
The point is to a.) try to loosen the chokehold that technology has on this family and b.) find something productive to do with the time we AREN'T on a screen of some sort. Because, really, we've been finding around here that we frequently piddle away hours on the Internet, doing who knows what. And because of it, we're not building anything, we're not making anything, we're not doing anything...and it's a problem.
So yesterday, with the time I saved not being on the computer...I made a French Silk Pie. The crust was too thick and tough...but the filling was extremely decadent. And today, I finished Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan (about the romance of writer Robert Louis Stevenson and his American wife, Fanny). And now, I'm in the midst of looking through a baking book Kirby checked out from the library, photocopying dessert recipes I'd like to try (mostly cheesecakes, hmph).
So mundane, yet so esoteric. These are the Days of Our Lives.
April is one of those "cusp" months here in America. Sometimes it's really nice and gorgeous and springy and green, and other times it's cold and rainy/snowy and winter-esque.
Usually, by the end of the month, though, Mother Nature has gotten her shit together. And, usually by the time my birthday rolls around at the end of the month, the temperatures are good (precipitation is iffy, but one out of two ain't bad, right?). Lots of birthdays I know of are in April, which makes me wonder what the hell was happening in July of the previous year? Lots of sprightly young couples celebrating America's birthday?
Life proceeds to get busier and busier here at Chez Nelson. Spring sports have begun, and that means soccer for the younger two kids, and high school golf for the older. Not that I mean to wish away time, but I look forward to the soon-to-be-15-year-old getting his driver's license...then he can shoulder some of this taxi burden.
I'd like to be able to talk more about food here today, but frankly, I can only do so much in the kitchen right now. I could test a cheesecake recipe or something to do with beef, but that's extra food that ends up in the refrig, or worse, in my belly and in the vicinity of my rear end. I suppose when I head off to the Mackinac Island later on this month to start my internship, I'll need to focus on more "academic" blog entries anyway...since I won't have access to much of a kitchen to play in besides my work place.
In other news, there is an ongoing effort to promote industriousness here at the home; in the name of a family challenge. All Wii and xbox games have been hidden, along with the controllers for play. We've also taken the kids' iPods and Brent's iPad and placed them in a safe place as well. With schoolwork and whatnot, computer time is difficult to get around, so we've created a logsheet of time spent on the home computer/laptops. For example, after I compose and proofread this post, I will fill in how long I spent on my laptop and what I was doing. Believe me, I've been compelled to rethink my jumping on the computer whenever I feel like it, especially since I've got to record it for my entire family to scrutinize.
The point is to a.) try to loosen the chokehold that technology has on this family and b.) find something productive to do with the time we AREN'T on a screen of some sort. Because, really, we've been finding around here that we frequently piddle away hours on the Internet, doing who knows what. And because of it, we're not building anything, we're not making anything, we're not doing anything...and it's a problem.
So yesterday, with the time I saved not being on the computer...I made a French Silk Pie. The crust was too thick and tough...but the filling was extremely decadent. And today, I finished Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan (about the romance of writer Robert Louis Stevenson and his American wife, Fanny). And now, I'm in the midst of looking through a baking book Kirby checked out from the library, photocopying dessert recipes I'd like to try (mostly cheesecakes, hmph).
So mundane, yet so esoteric. These are the Days of Our Lives.
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