Category: poetry session

competition win and the atom bomb

I won my cooking competition this morning!!! Well, okay, okay. They announced it was a tie, but when I got home and looked at the scores, I realized that the judges forgot to circle/add up one of my scores, so I technically won by one itsy bitsy little point. But still! I got a ticket for two to our school restaurant and a Ninja chopping machine. Abe and the girls came and cheered me on, and it was so fun to see their smiling faces through the glass.

The surprise ingredients weren’t that hard, really. They told us to use orange roughy and apples on our plate, which had to contain a starch, vegetable, sauce and garnish. Here’s what I did:

I made a blue cheese polenta cake, beet/carrot/apple/poppy seed slaw with raspberry vinegar, baked orange roughy and a candied lemon garnish. The blue cheese was rancid; I thought it was tangy, but I didn't realize it was rancid until the judges absolutely tore me apart for it.
I made a blue cheese polenta cake, beet/carrot/apple/poppy seed slaw with raspberry vinegar, baked orange roughy and a candied lemon garnish. The blue cheese was rancid; I thought it was tangy, but I didn’t realize it was rancid until the judges absolutely tore me apart for it. Also, I plated my fish upside down. Oops! Thankfully, the other two competitors in my division made the same mistake. We’re all learning.

Then we came home and ate lunch. Ironically, I had to throw out my food before eating it all because we were in such a rush to clean the kitchen. Also, Abe had to leave early because he forgot to put a diaper on Mary this morning, and there weren’t any in the car. Oops! Mornings are hard for him.

I spent the girls’ hours of quiet time finishing my most recent book, Bomb: The Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon, today. It was a total page turner, and now I am scared that we’re all going to get blown up by the crazy people in power around the world. I sneaked to the library just before they close to get some more books to help calm me down. 

My relationship with Mary deteriorates by Saturday afternoon because I’m gone all evening Friday and all morning Saturday. She gets so mad at me that when I finally get back, she screams if I touch her and clings to Abe for dear life. The only way we get back on friendly terms is if I play peek-a-boo with her feet and let her step on my face. I’m not kidding:

IMG_6822

Also, Lydia found grown-up socks today and wore them the rest of the evening.
Also, Lydia found grown-up socks today and wore them the rest of the evening.
She also made Abe wear her headband.
She also made Abe wear her headband.

Lydia and I had another piano lesson today. I remember how hard it was to sit still when I was little, and I’m so proud of her for enduring. We made it to thirty minutes today. When I told Abe I want to try for an hour on Monday, he asked me to keep it to thirty minutes because he’s a more fun, compassionate parent than I am. Maybe we’ll compromise at forty-five. Our poetry session was truncated by my need for a nap, but we did read “Tiger, tiger, burning bright” and “The Lamb” by William Blake.

Lydia relates Shakespeare to her cat and a ton of pictures

I have a TON of pictures from today, and since I have to get up early tomorrow, I’m just going to post them with captions.

Rose came by this morning and asked if I wanted to go on a walk. Of course! We had a great walk, and Rose gave the girls stickers.
Rose came by this morning and asked if I wanted to go on a walk. Of course! We had a great walk, and Rose gave the girls stickers.
Then I took the girls to the library.
Then I took the girls to the library (and read down some more fines).

Then we headed home for a play date with Misty, Sophia and Max. I love them all so much. Max is starting to army crawl, and he is just the cutest.

After they left, I put Mary down for a nap and gave Lydia another piano lesson. I set a timer for twenty-five minutes. I think she could do longer sessions than that, but I run out of steam. I’m going to try for at least half an hour next time. When her piano lesson was over, I gave her a cookie and cuddled with her on the couch while we did another poetry session. We read “Heaven-Haven: A Nun takes the Veil” by Gerard Manley Hopkins and talked a lot about Aunt Lydia (a nun) and angels (since that’s what Aunt Lydia is now). I love that poem, but I really wanted to work more on “God’s Grandeur,” which is my favorite. Next time.

Oh! And we read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 (“Let me not to the marriage of true minds”) and talked about it a bunch. Lydia decided (on her own) that Shakespeare was writing about the relationship between her and her cat. Um…..

Lydia brought her stuffed animals into my room while I was doing homework and she was supposed to be having quiet time. From there on out, we had "quiet time" in the same room.
Speaking of her cat, Lydia brought her stuffed animals into my room while I was doing homework and she was supposed to be having quiet time. From there on out, we had “quiet time” in the same room.

Then I went to school and worked on the following:

Asparagus soup.
Asparagus soup.
Beef au jus.
Beef au jus. The potatoes Anna could have been less gray, the plate needs fewer broccoli pieces,  the beef slices need to be larger, and the gravy drizzle more cohesive.

While I was at school, Abe took the girls to the ward party.

ward party

Lydia was actually thrilled, but you wouldn't know unless you knew her...
Lydia was actually thrilled, but you wouldn’t know unless you knew her…

 

mary and balloon

Mary rode Chester tonight (much to the dismay of her terrified older sister).
Mary rode Chester tonight (much to the dismay of her terrified older sister).
Abe doing his hair for the crazy hair competition at work. He met his goal for the month today, too! Go Abe!
Abe doing his hair for the crazy hair competition at work. He met his goal for the month today, too! Go Abe!

Rainy day, but good

This is Abe.  Lily is at yoga right now.  Life has been very good in the Darais house lately, and today is no exception.  Two days ago, Lily and I had a pow-wow about our worsening sleep deprivation and made a plan for gettting more sleep.  Last night, I slept about seven hours and today I felt great!

Today was very much a recovery day for Lily.  Yesterday was a very intense day for her so she caught her breath today as much as she could while still taking care of the children.  She even had a poetry session with Lydia, teaching her multiple poems!  Lily told me that Lydia likes the poem, “Grandeur of God” which pleased Lily because that is one of her all-time favorites.

Work is going really well for me.  Although I was frustrated this morning about my performance, I had a really good lunch-time walk where I prayed a lot and felt like everything was in God’s hands and progressing as it should.  Though my afternoon was only mildly successful, I found joy and satisfaction in my work.  The last work note is that one of my collegues today told me that today was John Steinbeck’s birthday.  My collegue also told me that East of Eden by Steinbeck was one of his all time favorite books.  Whenever someone reports to me their favorite book, it makes me think I should read it.  Maybe I’ll get it on audio book?

At home I had a breif moment with Lily before she left for yoga.  I then put Mary down because she was so exhausted (she was starting to fade in her high-chair) and then I colored downstairs with Lydia before putting her to bed.

Tomorrow I have a regional lunch meeting and there will be a competition for the craziest hair.  I’m determined to participate because I’m interviewing for Region positions on Monday and I want to prove that I know how to have fun…..I have no idea how I am going to do my hair…….I’ll try to have a pic to post tomorrow!

Speaking of pictures!

Today was an incredibly rainy day. So great for a desert!
Today was an incredibly rainy day. So great for a desert!

 

Mary getting one of her favorite books.
Mary getting one of her favorite books.
Mary asking Lily to read the book.
Mary asking Lily to read the book.
Lydia climbing on a mountain/overturned chair
Lydia climbing on a mountain/overturned chair
A good shot of Lydia's braid.
A good shot of Lydia’s braid.