Fletch Sketch

Saturday, January 29, 2011

I'm a little gassy, but I'm loving these anyway.

This amazing black bean recipe.

I got it off my new favorite vegetarian blog (even though I am not vegetarian). The blog author is a professional chef and all of her recipes are completely healthy and full of great veggies.

The first time I made this, I took a bite to be sure it was seasoned correctly, and the next thing I knew I had eaten half of the pan. I almost didn't have enough left for the rest of the family. The next time I made it I doubled it so I could eat as much as I wanted. This recipe is actually supposed to go over a wonderful rice recipe (made with tomatillo salsa, garlic, oregano, cumin, red onion, then at the end you fold in sour cream and cheese...amazing), then topped with guacamole and tomatoes. I made the entire dish a couple of weeks ago and we really loved it. But it was a bit labor-intensive for me. This time I just made the beans and topped it with guacamole and tomatoes and ate it with a spoon. The rest of the family had corn chips and cheese with it.

The recipe:

Vegetarian Black Beans

2+ Tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cumin
2 cans black beans, drained

Heat oil in pan. Saute onion, red pepper, and salt for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cumin (and more oil if you need it) and saute for 3 additional minutes. Lower heat and add black beans. Add a couple of tablespoons of water, if necessary. Serve when beans are warmed throughout.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Pictures for no reason.

Lincoln with his new glasses as of today. I don't think he likes them. I had to force him to put them on.
Isaac.
Noelle today after ballet class.
Laura hanging out in her room.
My dinner, after a clumsy moment.

My birthday.

The downside: Steve wanted to take me to lunch. We tried a couple of places (and I'm limited by the gluten-free thing), but they were both closed for lunch on Monday. I was bummed because I was hungry.

My favorite moment of the day was when we were driving around looking for a place to eat. Steve said, "How about sushi?" Noelle (from the backseat) groaned and said, "Again???"

Yeah. Again. We've taken here with us to get sushi once. She wasn't impressed with the food. Lucky for Noelle, the sushi place was also closed for lunch.

We stopped off at Pioneer Co-op and I purchased this microwaveable meal instead. Sumptuous. Also, it has 50% of your daily allowance of vitamin A.
And this:

One of my birthday presents:

The frames. Our new house is still pretty empty. Empty walls. A few sparse pieces of old furniture from Target or Costco. I just wanted to put up some pictures of my kiddos to make it feel like home. To get this arrangement it took four days and a thousand nail holes and I think there were some tears, too, but I finally like it.

Oh yeah. This was definitely a bonus birthday gift.

Friday, January 7, 2011

I thought this only happened to boys.

Noelle begged me no less than eight times today to let her play the Wii, asking in her most syrupy sweet four-year-old voice, claiming she only wanted to play "a teeny, little bit" and "please???" It's very disturbing. Just watch the aggression on her face. Sorry it's a little blurry.

If you've ever wondered what Isaac would look like if he were a girl...

The first month at the new school, everyday I would ask Isaac if he had made any friends, and everyday he answered, "I don't need friends." With a little attitude...like he might be too good for friends or something along those lines.

Okay then. How to respond? If only I could locate the "parent manuel" which details exactly what to say or do specifically for this precise situation. But I seem to have misplaced it.

Last month he came home and said, "I made a friend." And he grinned a little shyly.

Ta da! Here she is. Alyssa. Isaac's same height. Glasses. Know-it-all, just like him.

Love it!

(Would you just look at that bedhead? Where is the poor neglected child's mother???)

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Look what Santa brought me for Christmas!

A laundry-folding man. I know, right? I didn't know that cool invention existed either!

A few random pictures with no particular connection to each other, except they were all taken within a few days of each other.

This:

And this:

And, yippee, five inches of this:

Get out yer shovels. (Well, not me. I stayed indoors like any smart person would.)

And these (a.k.a. Jenn poison):

Next we will feature our favorite Christmas gifts in a little blog segment I like to call, "Only time will tell if it was worth the money we spent."

The Lego Hogwarts castle. Whoa nelly, this is WAY cooler in person than in pictures. Just look at those smiles.

Laura got a mini netbook (internet restricted) so she can type her stories. Did you know the great American novel--set to hit stores in the spring of 2018--is about dragons?

My favorite gift was the coupon book Lincoln made for me. Very thoughtful, plus he knows me well. Here are the best ones:

One coupon for two "be quiets."

Three free "kids not wild."

One free "go downstairs." What? Only one?

3 free "no bouncing balls." Boy, do I hate those bouncing balls!

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 20, 2010

It's all about peace.

Last week, Steve and I were together at the mall doing a little Christmas shopping. We stopped in at Barnes and Noble for a bit. This book was on display:

We thought, "Interesting," and flipped through it. Essentially, it's the story of a Mormon girl who moves to New York as a young adult and experiences the world outside of Mormontopia for the first time. She begins to date an atheist and, subsequently, question her beliefs. The book comically depicts her journey from "blind" belief to disbelief.

In the last four years or so, I have had many close friends decide the church is not true. I keep in touch with them--they have blogs, they email me--and their stories parallel this author's journey, one in particular so closely, I wondered perhaps if she, in fact, wrote the book and used a pen name.

I can relate, in a way. About five or six years ago, I woke up one morning and had the terrible thought that perhaps I believed the church was true only because I had been told so as a child. That all the experiences I'd had that had "reinforced" this were all in my mind. For a couple of years afterward, I only saw the discrepancies in the scriptures, the flaws in the church. I didn't live any differently, though. I still went to church every week and fulfilled my calling. I felt as spurred on as ever to teach my kids the gospel. But I wondered and doubted. And I felt really yucky and anxious deep down inside.

Then one night I had an experience that confirmed to me once and for all that the church is true--that the inconsistencies and flaws serve a purpose, that if everything appeared perfect then there would be no test and no need for faith. And suddenly everything made sense. I felt overwhelmed with peace. The peace that only comes from God and cannot be had by any other man-made source.

Since then I get frustrated whenever I hear a friend's argument, maligning the church on some issue or another. I get irritated when I see books like the above pictured. Because as logical as their arguments sound, there is no peace in it. Not for me. Not for them. I just think all my friends deserve peace. Not just the temporary satisfaction that comes from their embittered, intellectual conclusions.

Last week we were in Nauvoo. I retrieved my camera, and while Steve was doing a session, I drove the kids around and took pictures of them. It was a beautiful, blue-skied day. In the 30's (practically Spring weather). No wind. No cars. No people. Seriously deserted. Quiet. Everything decorated for Christmas. Just me and my kiddos and the temple as a backdrop. A day of peace.