Riot and Frolic

List of Last Week's Labors of Love

- V and Mae Cake's new hobby?  Feeding Zoo.  It's hilarious and surprisingly effective.  

- V also has taken to making my bed in the morning.  Other chores I have pawned off on the wee ones? 

• feeding the cat
• changing the garbage bags
• fetching the mail
• setting the table

I'm close to sitting back and eating bon-bons, people.

- Zoo's first ride in a swing.  Don't panic.  This is as high as she went. 

it was fun for 4 seconds

- super-neat gifties from two of my friends: a surprise trip to the spa for a massage and this sweet crafty...

now I need more earrings

- splashing in the MN Zoo's awesome fountain and a token trip to see the "farm animals" [or ZOO ANIMALS, you weird children!].  I made an effort to stop at the otters.  OTTERS.

over there

over here

- how many times can I eat blueberries with cream?  

a lot

- featured on the Typepad front page most days, along with some awesome illustrators and prolific bloggers.  Is this like an extended version of my swanky judging invitation?  

- how awesome is Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution?  Both the book and the concept are rockin'.

love me some mr. freeman

One year ago: LLLL, where we did everything

Gold Digger

Remember last week when I rambled on about the expectations of Silver level dancers?  Now I'll finish the theme off with the ye olde Gold level expectations.

First of all, most dancers don't need or want to get to the Gold level because it's mainly for competitive dancers (in American style [Smooth or Rhythm]).  They are very few people who can lead or follow Gold figures (because it takes so long to master Silver), so as a social dancer, it's not a necessary goal.  It is completely acceptable to spend a lifetime at the Silver level.

As with moving up to Silver, you should be doing all the Silver stuff already, and just adding a new layer of Goldness on top.  When you're learning the Gold level steps (otherwise known as choreography, if you're an American style dancer), you should be ready for some challenging syncopations and positions, dancing apart from your partner once in awhile,  and maybe a fancy trick or two.  

But mostly, I want to see WHY you're doing all that nonsense.

If you are a competitive dancer, and you want to do Gold, you have to embrace your inner Miley Cyrus.  Wait, no.  Your inner Meryl Streep.  Yes, let's go with her.  Note: do not channel Miley Cyrus.

In other words, my Gold Stars, you need to perform.  Express.  Act.  Tell me a story.  The Gold level is the level where I want to forget about your "moves" (because you're doing them soooo well) and see what you have to say.  Figuratively.  

Your tango should not be happy.  Your swing should not be sad.  Your rumba could have an eye flutter in it.  Your foxtrot could have hip motion.  

Take each dance you're working on and write down (yes, write it, like, on paper) one word that describes that dance to you.  Check it:

Then, put on the appropriate music and and get your groove on with that descriptive word in mind.  It might help to practice this in your house... alone.

You will feel stupid the first few times. You will probably have loved ones tell you you make silly faces.  You may have an instructor tell you that your emoting is not actually showing through on your face.  (I like to call that "inemoting".)  But keep practicing.   Because, one day, the clouds will part and the angels will sing and you will make an appropriate Waltz Face.  

It will be glorious.

It will be Gold.

Remember...

Bronze: What, When

Silver: How

Gold: Why

In that order.  Please don't show me Why before you have What, but that's a rant for another day.

nea.

One year ago: The Long Mile, where I complain about running.

The Garden of Good (and Barely Any Evil)

My garden is at least one step beyond the planning stages.  Because now there are plants. Mostly, growing ones.  It is neat.

Ignore our interesting garage and don't mind the weeds 'cause LOOK AT THE PLANTS!

my darling garden (only broken spoke members will get that)

I had previously planted

• 4 tomato plants 
• zucchini
• radishes
• mini pumpkins (baby boo and jack-be-little)
• sugar snap peas
• marigolds
• morning glories
• sunflowers
• a variety of greens (buttercrunch, romaine, Swiss chard)
• sweet peppers
• herbs (cilantro, dill, parsley, oregano, basil)

Garden: Fail

The morning glories, sunflowers, and greens all faded pretty quickly after transplanting them outside.   The sweet peppers were doing awesome (I hear they're picky), but then something ate them and the herbs.  Boo.  I am now armed with organic, fairly-nontoxic insecticide.

I am starting more of the Garden: Fail plants from seeds as we speak and I have high hopes for the next round.  

In the meantime, we had our first harvest- radishes!  I was super excited to pull these and thought they were so pretty and all that, then I left them out on the counter overnight and they were all weird and soft the next morning.  SAD.  Lesson learned?  Figure out how to tell when something is ripe and store it properly.  

vegetable study

Garden: Win

The chives are a source of amusement to me.  They are quite pretty when blooming and the girls pluck shoots to munch on, so it seems they will spend the entire summer smelling of onions.  Wait, is that a win?

i can't kill it

The tomatoes are looking healthy, maybe because of the companion planting I did, what with the marigolds (natural pesticide in a pretty packaging) in front of them.  Yes, I squealed when the first flower bloomed.  I can only imagine what will happen if those morning glories work out.  

I have no idea which way zucchini grow, but they're doing something that involves big yellow blossoms, which must be a good sign.  

Sugar snap peas make white flowers.  Who knew?

Pumpkins?  I don't know what they're doing either, but they seem to be having a good time.

There are cedar 4X6s in the garage waiting to be transformed into Magical Bucket of Dirt #2.  Between the beds, I'm going to do this...

thank you, Apartment Therapy

Just the grass and pavers, not the BA chair and table (for now).  With the two garden beds, we'll have a little corner of "garden space" left where we can put our good ol' Weber (thanks for that wedding present, Miss KV... and nice initials!) and one of those fire pits, plus a couple chairs.  It'll be like we live in the suburbs or something.  I'll make ice tea.  

holy shit, it's Tony Lucca!

One year ago: Oh snap, the old-new design premeired

One Thing

Maybe it's my new Zen from the yogas, but I've been trying to do One Thing lately.  Like, One Thing at a time until it's done.

ommmmmmmmg, this is not what I do, or look like

Tricky.

It's very easy to sit down at the computer to, say, write a blog post, and end up checking Facebook, and Twitter, and oh there's that Yelp review I wanted to write, and what the hell does "welcome" actually mean, and what's new on Pinterest, and on and on and on.  An hour later, naptime is waning and there is no blog post.  Dammit.

So's, I got my to-do list in front of me and it says "water the plants".  And I go and water them plants.  The ones on the porch, the ones in my room, the ones in the garden.  I don't stop to sweep up the mess under the table from lunch, I don't change the very full garbage bag.  I get those plants watered.  

And strangely, I get more crap done.  

Double bonus?  I'm prioritizing like a mo-fo.  Important things?  Check.  Stupid things?  NO CHECK!  It's like life is getting meaningful before my eyes.  Oo la la.  (On the negative side, this is also why it took me 3 weeks to get through the last two episodes of the Vampire Diaries and OMG they are amazing, but maybe not important.)

duh, i love both of them, too

I'm all for multi-tasking, but maybe it doesn't help get anything done faster.  And I feel less stress.  Yay!

Along the meaningful route, I'm making a list of Fun Things for the summer.  You know, those memory-making kind of events that'll make my kids forget that I'm usually just yelling at them to eat over the table and go to sleep and only remember that afternoon that we played in the sprinkler.  

i'd call it a bucket list, but that reminds me of this terrible-looking movie

What's your take?  Chronic multi-tasker?  Tunnel vision?  Have any killer summertime activities I must add to the list?  TELL ME!  I'll show you the list next week!

i loved you when you were 12. google: MMC

One year ago: it was Hot in Herre.

The Final Four (Kitchen Tips for the Cooking Impaired)

No, not the NBA.  Sorry, men.

No no, my people, I'm just finally wrapping up the 10 Kitchen Tips for the Cooking Impaired.

Since this is about 7 weeks and a day overdue, let's get to it:

7. Instead of buying pre-cut and washed lettuces (which are sincerely GREAT if you don't have any time to eat), buy a couple different types of greens at the store, wash them, dry them, rip them up, and put them in your crisper drawer in the fridge (approx. time- 5 minutes).

I make sure the drawer is clean, line the bottom with a couple paper towels, put the mixed greens in, and cover them with a couple more paper towels.  They keep just as long as the bags, but you get a ton more produce for your money.  Plus, then you have a green salad just waiting to be eaten.

it won't kill you

Looking for some produce combos?  Check out Jamie Oliver's über-helpful cooking site for perfect pick-and-mix salads.  

8. Easy measuring conversions to remember: 4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup, 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon.  

also a great baby toy

I can't tell you how often I use just these two.  

9. If you need to learn how to do anything in the kitchen, consult the YouTubes.  It is often easier than calling your mom.  Spatchcock a chicken?  Check.  Crack an egg?  Check.  Chop an onion?  Check.  Make foie gras?  Check.

10.  You bought one of those awesome take-and-bake baguettes from the New French Bakery at Target, but you didn't finish the whole thing (who are you?  Superman?).  The next day you want to have the leftovers with your soup, but you want a hot, crusty baguette, not the chewy ghost of last night's dinner.  

To restore old baguettes to their former freshly-baked glory, put that baby under your faucet and "rinse" it off.  Yes, get it wet.  Then throw it in a 350* oven for 10 minutes and your day-old bread is as good as fresh.  It's bizarre and awesome.  Try it.

carbs

That last one has changed my life.  CHANGED MY LIFE!  

Carbs.

Sof, you still there?

One year ago: I had a Case of the Mondays, but I recommend some stellar stuff to make it feel like Friday.