Recently in Brooklynne Category
It is Brooklynne's 31st birthday today. She is a special woman and I love her to death. I can't imagine life without her. Here's a picture of us at our rehersal dinner. It's crazy to think that I love her more today than I did eight years ago. If you see her, give her a squeeze and tell how great it is that she was born today!
Last night at small group, Brooklynne talked about her experience coming to know Christ. I am well acqainted with the story, as I have heard it many times (and have actually lived through parts of it), but every time she tells it, I'm struck by how incrediblly God works through bad situations and broken relationships to bring about something beautiful.
Brooklynne, thanks for being such a reflection of Christ in this world.
1. Brooklynne's birthday was Monday. She thinks she's getting old, but I know better. I think she had a really good time at her party Saturday, and she loves her new bike, so thanks to all of you who helped on those fronts. Our families came together and got her a Trek Pure Sport Lowstep in gray with a baby seat, bell, odometer/computer, lock, and Halleigh helmet. 
We've already taken it to the park for a picnic dinner! What fun!
2. I usually don't like watching the olympics because it is always too sappy. However, this year I've gotten drawn in a little because the coverage is much less sentimental and I've gotten lucky in turning it on right when some of the best, most competitive events have been on. Still I have a few pointers for NBC: 1) show some great performances from people besides Americans--NBC is obscessed with only airing the events that have American headliners; 2) show more of the team sports--I would MUCH rather see a basketball, soccer, volleyball (indoor), or hockey match than another swimming heat; 3) put someone besides Bela Kiroli in the room with Bob Costas.
3) The age controversy in gymnastics is mostly sour grapes on the Americans' part. If we had brought our A game when the Chinese gave us an opportunity, we would have the gold anyway. It's just being a sore loser to cry foul after you failed to perform at gold-metal level anyway. Get over it.
4) The other day, out of the blue, Halleigh said "you're welcome" when I told her thank you.
5) As much as I hate to be on Bush's side in anything having to do with the military, I think the move to send troops into Georgia on a "humanitarian" mission is probably a good decision. Hopefully we can offer aid to the people there, while preventing the Russians from steamrolling Georgia without actively threatening our old rival. I just hope Condi will make sure Saakashvili knows that we're not going to back up all of his dumb moves in the future. I would love to hear what other people think, especially my overseas friends who may get less biased news service.
Eat at Joe's linked to an interesting article today about how food habits can affect how we relate to our partners. The most glaring incompatibilities between Brooklynne and I are that she likes "yams" and I like sweet potatoes. Sometimes I like plain vanilla ice cream and she always likes stuff in hers. I love the Rat, and she won't eat there without a suppressed cringe. I like collards and she doesn't. But for the most part, we are food compatible. Not only that, but some of our favorite, most relaxing nights are spent cooking together. I usually chop/prep, and she usually minds the food on the stove. Then we eat and talk about how to make it better, or what esle we could do with that recipe, or what we would like to try next.
I would love to hear about your food stories. Do you have any really good or bad food compatibility stories to share?
Also, you know that I love to look at Time Magazine's online photo essays. There are some really beautiful images and you can usually find a gallery about almost any current news item. Here are some interesting links that I may have posted before, but they relate to the food topic.
One more thing... while poking around for an image to put on this entry, I ran across this letter dated December 14, 2007. Does anyone know any thing about this?
Today is Fat Tuesday, a traditional day of gluttony and throwing moderation to the wind. So I was surprised and delighted to find a "Saturday Morning Special" sandwich in my bag this morning.
When we were little, we would get up early on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons, and usually that meant that we would inevitably wake up my parents. So, my dad--in kindness to my mom I'm sure--would get up and fix us breakfast so she wouldn't have to deal with us. I don't know where he got this idea, but he started a tradition of making something that in our family came to be called "saturday morning special." Here's how you make it:
- Combine in a bowl equal parts peanut butter (smooth) and your favorite pancake syrup. Use two large spoons of peanut butter for every person. Stir until the syrup is completely absorbed.
- Spread liberally on toast.
Viola! You're finished!
I never get Saturday Morning Special on non-saturdays, so this was a wonderful indulgence on the eve of Lent.
I usually eat mine open-faced, but for the purposes of transporting it, my wife made a closed-face sandwich. She is so great. She wins the Fat Tuesday MVS (most valuable spouse) award!
Brooklynne and I had a scare this week and this is the first chance I've had to write about it. Let me start by saying everyone is fine. But we weren't so sure about that for a little while on Chistmas eve....
I was cleaning up my desk this weekend and came across a disk of old pictures, including this one from our rehersal dinner. Wow. I was skinny back then.
