A Quick Up-date

Just a real quick up-date on what's happening here: Carson: recently finished his junior high wrestling season and for the 2nd year in a row, was undefeated (I'm sure his Grandma Graham could tell you what his record was because she is really good at keeping track of all that stuff). He was also named 8th Grade Athlete of the Season for Winter Sports. Katelyn: made the chorus for the high school production of Brigadoon. Our house is now filled with songs of the Scottish Highlands and attempts at Scottish accents. It's fun to listen to her try out the accents. Dave: working hard as usual. I'm sure he is looking forward to a few days off at the end of the week. That's it for now.

A Time for Baking

Today was the last day of school for a couple of weeks. While it hasn't been particularly stressful at work (except for a couple of weeks ago when an administrator tried to tell me how to do my job), I must admit that I am looking forward to a little R and R. Mostly because at this time of year, I really enjoy baking and putting together little "treat" plates for our neighbors. This year I am especially excited to try out some recipes I found on this great website, http://www.glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/. Thursday morning, I made some yummy pumpkin scones using a recipe I found on the website. I did make the following substitutions:

• used 1/2 c teff flour for the millet flour
• used 2 TBSP molasses in place of the maple syrup
• used 3 TBSP buttermilk in place of rice milk
• used 1 large egg in place of egg substitute
• added 1 c chocolate chips

The scones turned out super-yummy. The only problem was that my family enjoyed them so much I only got 1 scone. That was a bummer, but also pretty flattering since some of my other tries with baking gluten-free have not always been most successful.

I Guess She Needs to Ride Shotgun More Often

"Shotgun!" Remember yelling that phrase as you raced your siblings to the car? Remember the wee big of smugness you felt as your mom said that it was your turn to ride shotgun? Remember how it made you feel like at that moment you were mom's favorite? And you would pretty much do anything for your mom if that meant that you could ride shotgun? Yeah, me too. Although with 4 other siblings it seemed like forever before it was my turn again in the shotgun seat. Unfortunately my children have not had the opportunity to ride shotgun very much. One reason is WA state legislation that requires children to ride in the backseat until they are 13. The other reason is that the front seat of my Honda tends to look my travelling office. However, when I am driving the Mountaineer, the children do get to ride shotgun. I would say that 80% of the time, Katelyn is the one riding shotgun. Yeah, well here's what I get for all of that. This is a conversation that took place Monday night as we were leaving pilates. Me (as I'm putting on my 5 layers so I won't freeze when I go outside): Hey Kate, since you're in such a hurry to leave will you help me put on my socks and shoes. You know, like how I helped you when you were little? Katelyn: No Me: Please. Think of it as good practice for when I am old and need help putting on my socks and shoes. Katelyn: Um, you'll be put in a retirement home. I'm sure that there will be someone there who can help you. Later that night I said to her that I'm sure she didn't mean it this way, but when she said I would be put in a retirement home she might as well have told me "I hate you, Mom." She said that what she really meant is that she'll probably be living in another state and won't be around to help me with my socks and shoes and I shouldn't expect her to. Wonder what the conversation would have been like if she could ride shotgun 90 or 100% of the time?

Frozen Synapses

I had a laundry list of things to blog about...last week was full of some doozies. But now I think all of my synapses are frozen!! Seriously, I was not meant to live in the Yukon so this cold snap needs.to.go! I honestly think that I may move to warmer climates once the kids are out of the house. Plus, if I move they may not be able to find me, thus eliminating the potential problem of having them return. But for those of you who question my sanity as I train for triathlons and distance races, you'll be happy to know that even though my synapses are firing slowly because of the cold, my common sense has not completely escaped me. Mar and I have decided to forgo our outdoor runs until the weather warms up--it needs to at least be in the "teens" with no wind chill. I think Saturday is supposed to warmer--it's supposed to snow. Running in snow is not a reason to skip an outdoor run. Only temps in the single and below digits--then you freeze your lung tissue and other body parts.