HP5

Jonathan and I finally rented "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" Saturday night. The movie was really good. I thought the director did an excellent job of condensing the story and moving it along at a good pace.



But it makes me wonder. Will Blue and the Lion see these movies before they ever read the books?

And I seriously hope not. I don't ever like to see a movie adaptation before reading the book first. I think it limits my ability to imagine the characters and settings for myself. And I just love to read a book, see the movie and then sit on the couch with Jonathan and analyze the hell out of the movie adaptation, critiquing everything from the casting to the costuming.

But in this day and age, will it be possible to protect my children from exposure to the Harry Potter films until they are old enough to read the novels for themselves?

i'm lovin' it

Blue calls this place "Old McDonald's"

Welcome to Hell, I mean CandyLand

I hate CandyLand. Santa brought this game for Blue, and I thought it would be so much fun to sit down and play this game with my daughter... WRONG.
This game merely serves as an illustration of how freakin' impatient I am. I felt like such a crappy mommy sitting there with Blue:

Blue, pick a card. It's your turn. Bluee, pick a card, please. Blue? BLUE, PICK A CARD! No, just one card. Okay, now put the card down. Put the card down now, honey. Blue, stop kissing the card! Put the card down! No, Blue, the card doesn't go in that pile, it goes in this other pile. Please pick all the cards up, honey. Now let's move your man two green places! No, that one is Mommy's man. That one is your man. Your man is blue, remember? Move your man. Move your man, honey. No, the other way. Onto the green space. Now onto another green space. No, stop there. Just two green, remember? Put Mommy's man down, honey. I don't remember where it was. It doesn't matter. Just put him down somewhere. Pick up all the cards again, please.
AARGH! And this game, this sick, sick farce of a game goes on for ever. Just as Blue got close to the finishline, she drew a card with a gingerbread man on it that sent her all the way back to the beginning.

I wonder how many millions of times I will play this game. Because after Blue comes the Lion...

on cooking, Corningware and conversation skills

I have no idea why I am in such a culinary mood today. Maybe because it is such a crisp, grey, English-looking day outside. Maybe I am just sick of eating leftover chips and dip and cookies all day.

Jonathan did make some delicious scalloped potatoes and (more of the leftover Christmas Day) ham yesterday, but we fell upon it like ravenous lions and it is gone, baby, gone.

So I made the soup. Which is alright. Jonny claims it is good enough that he would actually order it in a restaurant, but he is my husband so it is in his best interest to be complimentary. The rice pudding is in the oven right now and it is making the house smell fabulous.

Did I mention that I received about 1000 pieces of Corningware this Christmas? Well, I did. So I am putting it to good use.

I have to go. The Lion just asked me, "Canyou help me wif dis, Mommy? Canyou open dis, Mommy?" and I am so blown away by his conversational skills that I of course have to go and help him open whatever it is. Just my heart, probably.

Sigh. I love that boy so bad.

rice pudding made with the rice left over from our Chinese food

1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup raisins

Combine ingredients and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

split pea and ham soup

I am making soup, using the ham bone from our Christmas ham. I have never made split pea and ham soup before and I'm not even too sure if I like split pea and ham soup, so I'll let you know how it turns out!

But here is the recipe for a basic, supposedly delicious split pea and ham soup, courtesy of allrecipes.com:

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound dried split peas
• 1 pound ham bone
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium pot, saute onions in oil or bacon grease. Remove from heat and add split peas, ham bone or chopped ham. Add enough water to cover ingredients, and season with salt and pepper.
2. Cover, and cook until there are no peas left, just a green liquid, 2 hours. While it is cooking, check to see if water has evaporated. You may need to add more water as the soup continues to cook.
3. Once the soup is a green liquid remove from heat, and let stand so it will thicken. Once thickened you may need to heat through to serve.

back in the saddle again

It is hard to return to the mundane life after Christmas. What a wonderful holiday... It was very weird not seeing my sister-in-law, Leila. I think this was the first Christmas in like fifteen years that I didn't see her and exchange hugs and presents. It is very unsettling having her in Iraq. I have not been blogging about it, because I know my niece, Emily, reads my blog and I don't want to make her sadder than she is already. But it really is very weird that so much time has gone by without talking to her. I miss her a lot.

She gave Jonathan and I (most of the family, really) an American flag that flew over her base in Iraq. So that is a very cool, very priceless gift.

Santa was very good to me this year. I actually received 4 dinner plates from Emma Bridgewater's Toast & Marmalade line that I posted a picture of a few months ago:


I am in such shock, really. I never, ever imagined Jonny would actually track some of these down for me and as they are rather expensive in the States I feel a bit pretentious and snobby even owning them. But, God, they are perfection...

I am really very content right now. I got a gift card to Target from my Aunt D and I cannot imagine what to buy with it--which is a first for me. I feel like I have everything I could ever want.

Alright, this is a very funny story. And anyone within hearing distance of me all week has heard it a million times already. Sorry! But it's so funny I have to tell it again.

I bought a little jar of cat treats for my Aunt D's cat for Christmas.

Jonathan saw the treats while unloading our groceries and he thought we had gotten someone else's grocery bag by mistake. He was holding them up and I said, "No, I bought those."

"Why?" he asked, since we have no cat.

"They're for my Aunt D," I told him.

"Your aunt eats cat treats?"