Snow Day Waffles

On  snow day #2, The Girl left for babysitting and Mr. IM went to  work, so The Boy and I decided to make waffles.  Here's our new favorite recipe:
Mix:  1 1/2 C flour, 3 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 C sugar, 3T cocoa, handful of salted caramel chips
Add:  1C milk, 2 eggs, 4T melted butter
 "Frost" with topping:  1T softened butter, 3/4C powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1tsp milk

Delicious!

Note...they were pretty sweet--I think I would include less sugar in the actual waffle mix and maybe use cream cheese instead of butter in the frosting--maybe that would help the over sweetness.  We'll have to wait for the next snow day to find out :)

A Snow Day menu and activities

One of the beautiful things about Colorado is that  it can be 75 degrees one day (yesterday) and blizzard conditions the next (today).  Since we're all home, I figured I could cook.  Mr. IM even opted to stay home--it isn't very nice out there.

Although the response of The Girl was "more soup?"  (We had soup from the freezer last night), it smells tasty enough that I think she'll eat it.

This is a combination of the broth left from the corned beef, a bag of Women's Bean Project soup, a bag of frozen mixed veggies, and the lone tomato that was sitting on my counter.

I'm multi-tasking and also making a couple pans of Chicken and Rice Cassarole, hoping that we have a couple more cool-ish days and can use the oven if I freeze one for later.

For an added bonus, I just popped a couple loaves of whole wheat Oatmeal break into the oven...I may just eat that myself...

Meanwhile, Morrison's status has been upgraded from "forced invalid" to "take it easy", since it has been 19 days since her spay and elective gastropexy surgery.  She was allowed to go outside by herself (no leash) and (gently) play in the snow for a few minutes this morning (while Liberty watched sadly from the window).  Now she is enjoying her morning nap while I cook.

The Girl is allegedly cleaning her room and The Boy is doing something...hmm.. Mr. IM is trying to convince the media computer to cooperate so we can stream a movie on the big tv...snow days are exciting!

Books I read in February 2016

I'm writing this on February, so I suppose there is a small chance that I'll have to come back and add one more book, but its not looking super likely (I mean, its been a month of Downton Abbey, Agent Carter, the X-Files, and my new favorite.....Castles of Scotland!)  Here you go...
1.  Outlander by Diana Gabalton--Yes, again.  That's all I have to say about that.
2.  House of Odd by Dean Koonz--This, and #3 are more of the graphic novels that  fill in the series, quick reads, kind of fun.
3.  In Odd We Trust by Dean Koonz
4.  The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan (CD in car)--We're taking a break from Harry Potter and listening to Percy Jackson for a while.  We're finishing up book 4 and have book 5 on hold...then we either need a new series or we'll return to harry...
5. My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me by Jennifer Teege-I saw this while sitting in the Breckenridge library and was intrigued.  It was interesting, I've read lots of books by Holocaust survivors and their descendants, this was the first I remember about a Nazi descendant.  I can't say it was the best written book I've ever seen, but it wasn't the worst either.  There was a lot of first person narrative and a narrator that inserted other information that kind of interrupted the flow. It was good, but nothing earth shattering, I guess.

So there you go...now I can go read!

What I read in January 2016

So I'm more than a little behind on blogging (if being behind on something voluntary is possible), but here is my January reading post, posted in March...eesh.

1.  Water from My Heart by Charles Martin--this one may make my top 10 of 2016--I know it is early to be thinking about that, but as always, Charles Martin didn't disappoint.  I might pick it up and read it again.  There is, as always, a love story, a crisis, a twist...it was a good, good, book.  I highly recommend it!
2.  Along the Way by Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez--This one might also make the top 10--I know I might be getting ahead of myself, picking so many in January.  I've read a lot of "celebrity" autobiographies and often they are hard to follow.  This one was good--Martin and Emilio told the story of Martin's life so far, with insight from Emilio as Martin's son.  They discussed family, faith, mistakes, forgiveness. It was a good read as well.
3.  Thirteen of the Worst Break Ups in History by Jennifer Wright--picked it up at the library off their featured books table.  It was entertaining, some good history tidbits.  Probably about half of the stories were "just ok", a  couple were really sad/compelling and a couple really entertaining (in a sad way?).
4.  Captive by Aimee Carter-I really wanted this to be better--this is the 2nd book of the Blackcoat series.  It was good, but not my favorite ever. Worth the read to find out what happened,
5.  The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan--Interesting idea.  Picks up in the middle of a story, with the main character telling about the aftermath of a shipwreck.  It was a good book, worth the read, probably not a top ten-er.
6. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline--I liked this a lot more than I thought I would.  It is another dystopian society book, set about 40 years from now.  Has tons of 80's pop culture and video game references.  It was a fun book, although the irony of calling a dystopian book "fun" is not lost on me...
7.  Queen by Aimee Carter--and (see #4) the final book....same review :)
8.  Superior Secrets by Tom Hilpert-- I re-read this book to get ready for the new one (see #10)--Tom Hilpert's books are very entertaining...this one could make my top 10--unless he publishes a better one before the end of the year.  There is a mystery solving Lutheran Pastor in a small town in Northern Wisconsin...can you get more entertaining than that?  Kind of like Garrison Keiller meets Murder She Wrote....
9.  Odd is on Our Side by Dean Koonz and Fred Van Lente--This is a graphic novel, but if you enjoyed the "Odd Thomas" books by Dean Koonz, this is a good short read.  I had ignored the graphic novels for years, but started reading this while waiting for The Boy in the graphic novel section of the library.  It is a "fill in", covers part of the story not told in the regular novels--I enjoyed it, despite it being essentially a comic book for grown ups..
10.Six Months Later by Natalie Richards The Girl saw this book at school and we had the local library order it.  She hasn't read it yet, but now the library owns it, so she can read it later. It was good--I enjoyed it.  It was about a girl who falls asleep in study hall and "loses" six months. Good mystery, interesting idea/story.
11.  The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah--People kept telling me I should read this and I'm glad I did.  It is flips between "now" and World War 2, and for most of the book it isn't clear who is in the "now".  It was good, sad, as many war books are...
12.  The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian As with many Chris Bohjalian books, the title has multiple meanings.  This book is about choices and consequences and about modern day slavery.  The story felt a little contrived (as did #13) as the author tried to fit the story to an issue.  It was good, I like how Chris Bohjalian develops characters, so it was worth the read.
13.  Superior Getaway by Tom Hilpert   So I still liked the story, and Hilpert is still one of my favorite authors...but this story tried too hard to connect to the "hot" story of modern day slavery.  I agree it is an issue that needs to be addressed, but in a novel about a small town minister it didn't flow as well as it might have in other plots.

Girl Scouts...

So earlier today the local Catholic church posted this article on their facebook page:  No Girl Scout Cookies: Group has Ties to Planned Parenthood.  It was followed immediately by a flurry of "Yes, it's true" and "No, its not" websites and comments, as evidenced below, with each report questioning the validity of the opposing view:
Snopes
http://speaknowgirlscouts.com/
Girl Scouts' leadership development is needed and valued
Girl Scouts, Why Not?

So, here are my thoughts ....

The Girl was a Girl Scout for several years, through her Catholic Elementary School, and I was one of the leaders.  I, in fact, was a Girl Scout until I was a Senior in High School, when, due to some bureaucracy, I decided I was done.  And that, I think it the problem with Girl Scouts today.  Not whether or not they support Planned Parenthood (or anywhere else, for that matter) but that the Scouts have become an organization led from "the top", nationally, perhaps even internationally, rather than locally.  When I was a Scout, and for most of the years The Girl was a Scout, the emphasis was on activities within our local troop. I don't remember overthinking every action and pondering my course in life, as suggested now in the Girl Scout "Journey" format.  I remember very few activities outside our local unit--perhaps some camps, but not much else.  I remember completing activities, usually something hands on, probably "leader-driven", possibly community service related, but often a craft, or a tool for camping, or a snack item.  The emphasis was on learning and having fun, building a community, learning new skills. I still see that format in the troops of girls that we know--they may follow some of the national curriculum as well, but the troops that appear to be successful and the girls who appear to stay invested are in groups that don't really pay a lot of attention to what politics the national Girl Scouts are into.They are focused on their community, on learning, on helping right where they are.  And on earning a little cookie money to go to camp.  Some of the curriculum is a little odd-ball...but that is part of what we should be teaching the girls--to look at all sides of the story, to question if the curriculum seems a little (or a lot) skewed toward one belief system. To make the best choices for themselves, based on what they learn at home and at church.

In addition, I really haven't been able to find any solid evidence either way on the Planned Parenthood issue--I was able to confirm when I was a leader that the local Denver-area Council (at that time) did not give any money to Planned Parenthood.  I never found any solid evidence that a single penny of my cookie money went to anyone other than the Girl Scout organization. And let's face it--this is a huge corporation in many ways--it takes a lot of money to run it and publish all their materials.  Ideally, more of the cookie money should stay with the troops (that was one of my biggest  complaints as a leader--"we stood outside for four hours for $50?"), but it does appear to stay within the Girl Scout organization. I did find that it is possible that WAGGS supports family planning clinics in developing countries, however, the ties between the local troop and WAGGS are not very tight (in fact, I had trouble figuring out how, it at all, they really are connected these days). So no matter your politics or beliefs on abortion and family planning, I don't think that should be the deciding factor in whether to buy Girl Scouts cookies or not.

So I will probably continue purchasing Girl Scout cookies (until they reach over $5 a box...egads...).  I will continue to hope that the troops I support are teaching girls good, moral values.  I will continue to believe that the girls aren't all tied up in politics--whether it be about where the money is going or about what the national curriculum is teaching--rather, I will pray that the clubs are led by women who teach the girls to be good citizens, who care for others, and make good choices.  After all, we are called to be in the world, while not of it.  Why shouldn't we as leaders and members be a part of Girl Scouts, where we can witness to others through our words and actions?  And why not buy a box of cookies to support that vision a tiny bit?

I'm sure this will drive some of you to applause and some of you to send hate mail, full of research like that above...have at it...my poor little blog hasn't had much attention lately.  In the meantime, I hope you are all enjoying yummy cookies and working to make this world a little better.

Friends are Friends forever... (Are you all singing the song yet?)

So I already wrote about this topic once--about two years ago ,but since it has been 3 weeks since I blogged, I thought I'd check in and say "hi", as well!

Today I was honored to be invited to a going away party for one of my friends.  Her husband has taken a fabulous promotion...in Chicago.  So this going away party twisted my heart a bit--it was (almost) the exact opposite of the  going I did twenty years ago.  We did smile that "it's only a 15 hour drive"  and "yay, another couch for me to sleep on in the midwest!".  There were some tears, partially because I had to hold a golf club for the first time in 20 some years....but a fun day and a nice way to see her off.  I sometimes think about how lucky we all are that we can keep in touch, and while Facebook, phone calls, emails, and quick visits aren't the same as living near each other,it is so different from a hundred-twenty years ago, when people moved and never went home again.

In other news, school, work, volleyball, guitar, and snowboarding are keeping us busy.  Oh, and Morrison... (see my last post for her daily activities). I also had to watch the entire season of Downton Abbey, six episodes of the X-Files 2016 and Agent Carter every Tuesday...so, yeah,.  Eventually, I'll post what I read in January (and perhaps in February at the rate I'm going...)

A day in the life of Morrison

Ah, to be a puppy.  Here are some random thoughts and photos of a "usual" day for Morrison the puppy....(in no particular order and told in Morrison's voice..)

Ah, one of my favorite activities...eating the garden decorations...I will consume this flower...it is made of metal, but I can do it (note the bent petals...)

 I like to run and make Liberty chase me.  Then I chase her.  Then she chases me...then she is tired and pants...

so I try to get the people to come chase me...they usually aren't interested.  Well, except the Boy, but he's not home right now...

 Trick of the week...if you don't come when called, the people shake this bag and yell "puppies"and sometimes they feed me when I come.  Sometimes they don't...its confusing.  They keep saying something like "intermittent reinforcement"...I just think its mean.

 I help the people by eating all the green things in the yard.  This was a pot of lavender that had survived an entire year outside, including several snowstorms this year. I have chewed it down to the dirt so it won't bother my people any more.

 The Boy and I call  this the "dirt pile"  It is a good place to play and makes everyone say things like "blech"!!!

 This is a spot I like to dig--there are mice under that deck and I will get one.  I may have gotten one the other day, the people yelled a lot...I'm not sure, it could have just been a wad of dirt.

 Ah, some of my finest work...have you ever flipped a flower pot into the air and listened to it break on the deck?  NO? Oh, you are missing out!  It is so much fun! And that blue hippo is next on my list--I like to carry him around the yard and listen to the people chase me.  I'm going to get him off the table.  I am.  Really.

 This is my friend, Fish.  I like to bark at him.

 And my other friend, Monkey.  I eat his ears.  And throw him in the air.  And try to take him outside.  Monkeys should get to go outside, right?

 This was my toy box.  I ate it.

 Dirt is your friend.  Embrace the dirt.

 Anything she can do, I can do better......

 I like to go outside at night and early in the morning and watch for mountain lions and coyotes.  I act like a freak, bark a little, whine a little, dance around, and the people freak out.  Especially when there has been a report that there really was a mountain lion in our neighborhood.  He, he, he...I'm so funny.

Playtime with Liberty is always fun--here we are in the PCA (Puppy Containment Area).  She's pretending to not want to play, but I know she's totally into it.

 Another fun game--dump the food and water bowls, walk through them, leave muddy prints, chase the food nuggets around the kitchen.  Fun for everyone!

And naptime...Liberty really wants me to have the whole bed...I know she does.