a little cheese with that whine?

I have lived a relatively charmed life. I don't have much to complain about at all. And the situation I'm in regarding living thousands of miles and an ocean away from my family is self-inflicted. But somehow, right now, those facts still don't make me feel any better about the fact that I was looking forward to seeing my parents in less than a week, and now I have to wait 7 months to see them. And purely due to circumstances way beyond my control. I'm not just disappointed for me. I'm disappointed for them, too. And for Trent. And on a more selfish note, I was so in need of a holiday. I was so looking forward to relaxing on a white sandy beach, not thinking about work or responsibility. And now it's business as usual. With nothing to look forward to. No plans. No beach. Nothing. I realize this makes me sound terribly spoiled and part of me is thinking "boo fricking hoo mandie, get over it, people are dying of the flu", but I just can't shake it. :-(

Idol manipulation

I love the psychology behind American Idol. The manipulation tactics they use to make you remember or forget a performance, like the "pimp spot", for example. The pimp spot is the last spot of the night. It plays on the short attention span of the veiwers. Adam Lambert has dominated the pimp spot for more of the weeks than any other contestant.
I was amused by the mind manipulation on the results show last night. I was surprised to see Adam Lambert in the bottom 3, but what I wasn't surprised about was when they said they would send one of the 3 back to safety, they chose Kris, and not Adam, and this is pure speculation on my part, but the media buzz around him and popular opinion of my friends, seems to support my hunch, that Adam was unlikely to have received less votes than Kris. The producers clearly wanted us to be on the edge of our seats as Matt and Adam waited to hear which one of them would be gone. Of course we all knew it would be Matt. We all KNEW. But it doesn't stop you from feeling that tiny bit of doubt for Adam. And the result? all those Adam fans who felt that he was safe and nobody can touch him will pick up the phone and vote for him next week. He likely won't be in the bottom 3 next week. That's just an observation from an untrained eye.

2 weeks since my last blog?

Wow, I'm slacking! Ok, what's gone on in the past 2 weeks?

Well, first and foremost on my mind is this damn swine flu outbreak in Mexico. That's royally screwed up our holiday plans. I was so looking forward to that trip, not only because *I need* a holiday very badly, because I have a very stressful job and being a mother to a very active toddler on top of that is extremely hard, but also because I get to see my parents once a year! Many people I know joke and say things like "man, I wish I only saw my parents once a year!". Let me tell you, if you were in my situation you'd feel much differently, no matter what your relationship is with your parents. I'm not saying you'd feel the same way I do, but certainly you wouldn't be wishing to only see them once a year. I'm lucky enough to have a great relationship with my parents, and I can't think of anything I'd enjoy more than spending a couple of weeks with them, and seeing how much they love Trent, and how much he loves them. Now I don't get to do that. At least not for another 7 months!
I'm trying to get over it. Really I am. But I just feel robbed of an experience that was so important to me. I'm mad. I want to blame someone, but of course there isn't anyone to blame, and blame is pointless because it won't change my situation.

Other things of note:

• Trent counts only in odd numbers.
• My American Idol prediction on who would leave last week was spot on.
• That awesome blue cheese pasta dish I made a while back is even better with beef (leftover fajita beef)

Idol chatter 2009

I haven't blogged much about American Idol this season, mostly because I've been using Facebook to air my opinions. Tonight, though, Brian is working on the Honda (regular maintenance) and I have some time to kill. He doesn't get into American Idol, so I usually watch it alone anyway.

Alison Irahita took on an Aerosmith song. In fact one of my favourites. I thought she did ok. My issue with her is that she doesn't have much range. I think that she picks songs that suit her voice, and that is probably the only reason she's still around.

Anoop Desai has a lovely voice, but there's something about him that makes me think he's a jerk. I can't get past it.

Adam Lambert is probably my favourite Idol of all the seasons (ok, I loved Daughtry and David Cook too) but Adam's got a star quality and is the most unique contestant the show has ever had. My money is on him to win.

Matt Giraud is too piano bar. I think voices like his are a dime a dozen and he pulls some weird faces when he sings. I just can't get past it.

Kris Allen is completely forgettable for me. He has a decent voice, but I find myself forgetting his performances almost immediately. I think he's pretty, though.

Danny Gokey has an excellent voice and is very talented. Something about his face reminds me of Robert Downey Jr., although I don't think he looks like him. Danny's my #2 pick. I predict that he, Alison, and Adam will be the last 3 standing.

Lil Rounds has consistenly disappointed over the past few weeks. She started off so well but has completely lost herself in bad song choices. I completely agree with the judges on this one. Poor Lil. She seems sweet.

I was happy to see Scott McIntyre go last week. I felt like he got a lot of mileage out of his disability and he didn't measure up to the others vocally. I admired his attitude and how capable he was despite his visual impairment, though. A true inspiration that you can overcome almost any challenge.

So there you have it. I predict Alison or Danny will be the second to last person standing, and Adam Lambert will take the gold. Don't let me down, America. (I voted for both Danny and Adam tonight - probably a good 20 votes for each).

I want to do it on MY terms!

Lately Trent has been protesting quite a bit about anything and everything. From changing his nappy (even though he has a huge poop in there) to putting on clothes, to taking a bath, to putting on shoes. He has to do it on HIS terms. So for example, I ask him to put his shoes on, he says "no! no! no! no! no! no!" then 2 minutes later I show him his shoes and say would you like to put your shoes on now, and he says "shoes!" and lets me... the 2 minute waiting period is important :-)

Last night I had to manipulate him into taking a bath using bubbles. Not bath bubbles, but the bubbles that you can blow from the bottle. I had to give him bubbles in the play room, then slowly steer him toward the bathroom while trying to undress him without him noticing. I finally got him into the bath without him screaming. Then when it was time to come out, and to take the bubbles away, he freaked out.

I have to bribe him to get in his stroller and go for a run with me. I have to use cookies. Sometimes even that doesn't work.

He won't sit in his high chair anymore. He freaks out if you try to put him in it. I haven't managed to find a strategy to get him in it yet. He goes all stiff and screams. Now I have to sit and eat one handed with him on my lap. I end up wearing a lot of Trent's food.

Ah the joys of reaching the terrible 2's.

another great pasta dish

3 or 4 links of **Chicken, feta and spinach sausage
handful of asparagus
1 tbsp olive oil
garlic salt
pepper
2 cups bowtie pasta
3/4 cup feta cheese

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile...
2. Cut sausage into small chunks - I find it easier to just take the skins off and use my hands to rip into chunks
3. Brown the sausage in a saute pan.
   
4. Cut asparagus into about 1 inch pieces and place on top of the sausage. Turn head to med/low. Cover and let the asparagus steam for about 2 minutes.
   
5. Mix asparagus and sausage together and turn down the heat to low.
   
6. Drain pasta. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Add olive oil and feta to the pasta. Mix it all up so the feta melts and coats the pasta.
   
7. Add pasta/feta mixture to the sausage/asparagus pan, and mix all together.
   

That's it! you can either serve it right away, or keep it over a low heat and stir it every now and then till you're ready to eat it.

**You can use other types of sausage, this is just the original one that inspired the recipe.

This dish would probably be good with some cherry tomatoes cut in half and tossed in at the last step as well.

Productive weekend

This past weekend Trent had the pleasure of spending his Saturday with his aunt Tara. He had the best time! He didn't flinch when I left, and he had so much fun playing trains with her and Austin. He helped her water the plants in the garden, and they blew bubbles and played ball with Maverick. Meanwhile, Brian and I spent the day doing some much needed chores around the house. Brian took off the front door, stripped and sanded it, and re-stained it to its former glory. All that's left to do now is a clear urethane coat. While Brian took care of that, I cleaned the entire house.
On Tuesday, Trent discovered Baskin Robbins - the ice cream shop at the end of our street. He really enjoyed his chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, but was also very interested in daddy's bubble gum ice cream. After ice cream he walked all the way home holding my hand and talking about ice cream all the way.

Last night Brian, Trent and I went to Steiner Ranch Steakhouse to see Brian & John play. It was a beautiful night, not to hot, just the right amount of breeze, and the venue is incredible because it's overlooking lake Travis in the distance and the sun sets are gorgeous.

It's official!

Brian and I are now officially holders of a United States Patent, issued by the US Government :-)
It has taken 7 years from filing the patent to actually having it issued, but here it is in all its glory:

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=7490298&OS=7490298&RS=7490298

How awesome is that?

Sadly, one of our co-inventors, Herman Rodriguez, passed away last month. Herman had an amazing enthusiasm for inventing and he took every opportunity to encourage others to invent. Herman leaves behind a an intellectual legacy of hundreds of inventions and US patents, and a personal legacy in all the people he has helped and encouraged to become inventors. I hope everyone he helped will honor his memory and continue to invent things that make the world a better place to live. R.I.P. Herman.