Dan's blog puzzle

Note From PG: Dan hacked into my blog to write this rousing endorsement for his blog puzzle. Can you believe that?!!! He even used my voice! But, he is my husband, and it is a really good puzzle, so I guess I will let it pass this time:

You should all go to Dan's blog, Unravel Every Riddle, to see if you can solve the puzzle he posted recently. You need several eclectic bits of knowledge and a flexible mind. Plus the prize is, well, unique.

Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

Thanks to the editor's of Cook's Illustrated for this yummy taco salad dressing, which almost caused Dan and me to die of yumminess when we tasted it this weekend:

5 T fresh lime juice
1 shallot, peeled (I omitted this)
1 jalepeno chile, stemmed and seeded (I also omitted this)
1 small garlic clove, peeled
1 t sugar
1/2 t ground cumin
salt
1/2 c fresh cilantro
3/4 c extra-virgin olive oil

Process lime juice, shallot, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, cumin, and 1/2 t salt in blender until shallot and garlic are finely chopped, about 15 seconds. With blender running, add cilantro, then oil, and continue to process until smooth and emulsified, about 15 seconds.

Little Brother

Some friends of ours moved from Michigan back to Utah this past weekend and needed a family to care for their dog until they could have it shipped to them. That is how Little Brother, the Beagle, came to be living with us. He arrived at our home on Saturday afternoon, and if the weather is warm enough, will be flying home to his family on Friday. Little Brother (or "Brody" as I've been calling him) has been teaching me a lot about what life is like with a dog.

I bought Brody a bone at Kroger today because I've noticed that he wants to chew on something, and we don't really have anything that seems like a good candidate for that honor. I handed it to him right before our afternoon walk. He reluctantly left it by the front door, and then picked it back up when we got home. At that point he started whining and asking to be let out. I've never seen him do this after a walk before, and thought maybe he had to go to the bathroom. I let him out and he took his bone and went right to the back yard with it. He found a pile of dead leaves under a saw horse and began digging. He dug and dug and dug, buried his bone, and then diligently covered it back up. What a cutie! It just melted my heart to see him do that with his brand new bone.

I have never lived with a dog before. I've been begging Dan for a dog ever since we bought our house four and a half years ago. The main reason I have wanted a dog is so that I can have a walking companion. Since Brody arrived, I have been out walking several times a day, in spite of the single digit temperatures. I can assure you that without a dog, taking a walk would not have crossed my mind this week. But in spite of learning first hand what good exercise motivators dogs can be, I also discovered that having four children, including one baby, and then adding a dog to the mix, is a bit more than I want to deal with right now. So when we say goodbye to Brody, I think I will also be ready to say goodbye to my dream of having four small children and a dog.

Seven Weeks

Naomi is seven weeks old today. That means seven weeks since I became the mother of 4. As I write to you, I am eating from a bag of Lindt dark chocolate truffle balls for lunch. I am surrounded by the post-apocalyptic mess which is my living room. I've got one baby falling asleep for her nap and one just waking up. We are running out of clean clothes and clean dishes. The bathroom...I would advise that you use your own before visiting. I read this statement in the Enisgn (church magazine) this morning:

"Have you received a recent calling and feel overwhelmed? Remember how easy it sounded when someone described how to play a piano or to swim? Then when you tried to do that, or any other challenging task, how complicated it seemed. Remember how as you persisted it became more comfortable and much easier to manage? As you diligently serve, the Lord will help you in like manner with your new calling."

This struck me as being quite applicable to my own situation. On days like today, after a night of being awakened by Naomi twice and Esther four times, I feel like I am wandering aimlessly in a fog. I have time to do what needs to be done, but I can't seem to get myself together enough to use that time. Esther had school this morning, and I squandered those three hours on a trip to the grocery store, a few KenKen puzzles, and iTunes. On other days I do much better.

The one thing that I am most happy about is the fact that I've been making good dinners each night so that we can sit together as a family and enjoy our meal at the end of the day. And of course the baby is well-fed and growing. The one thing that I think is most bothering me is that I haven't yet figured out how to make exercise a part of this new life. I was walking nearly an hour a day most days until the morning of the birth, and since that day, nothing. Last night I was trying to solve this dilemma with a list of times that I could exercise. After studying the list, the best option seemed to be 5:30 a.m. at the YMCA. So I set my alarm last night. No good. I got up for the seventh and final time at 7:30, barely in time to get the boys to school.

I think one of the reasons that I'm not posting to my blog very often is that I feel like a post should include pictures, but pictures take FOREVER to upload to my blog, so I always put it off. If I let go of the requirement to include photos, like I am doing now, it is easy and even therapeutic to post something. I think there must be a way to upload smaller versions of my photos. If the files were smaller, I imagine it would go much faster.

Well, I'm headed to bed. At times like this, being awake doesn't seem to do much good. The baby I thought was waking up is still asleep, so I'd better jump on this chance. Bye!