I finished *One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich*. The blasé acceptance of the gulag as normal and "just something to bear" is as much an indictment of the Soviets as the injustice of the camp itself.
Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids. Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Smiley's Party
3 words to describe Smiley's bday party (in progress): pretty dang lousy.
update: It turned out OK, and Smiley was very pleased with it. Just My kids and my niece fill a room by themselves, so it didn't look empty, he loved his gifts (and we even set up and played with them) and the food was good.
Not nice Danny. Just because you think it was pretty dang lousy doesn't mean SMILEY DOES!!!!:) - Aunt Katie
I know what you mean Danny, it would have been nice if every child showed up....and I'm sure that Parker if he was older would have noticed....He is just young, Grandpa and I had a great time...at the adult party . Food was great.. - Grandma Jeanne
The kid party is done. 1 hr 55 minutes until the family party for Parker starts. I think I'm going to try and nap. Or watch the Magic-Lakers game. Either/or.
Don't take a nap Danny or Lisa ...... rumor has it the future holds the fact cupcakes will be EATEN !!! oh yeah blue frosting on a cake will be coming - Aiunt Katie
Funny! It all worked out, thank goodness I can whip a cake together like that! - LIsa
My Apple Cake Recipe. Wellll, Redbook magazine's recipie actually, but it's mine now.
Here's the apple cake recipe I've been talking about on Facebook. I've made it twice and was never 100% satisfied w/ the result (once too dry once too, er, wet), but I'd chalk that up to my tempermental oven, not a flaw in the design.
Chopped walnuts or pecans
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 large apples, peeled and sliced (I use 8 small/medium, mainly because that's what I usually have on hand)
1 tbsp bakingpowder
1 tsp salt
4 large eggs.
1/2 cup veg oil
1/2 cup/1 stick melted butter
1/4 cup Orange Juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
Heat oven to 350 degree F
Combine apples, cinnnamon, 2 tbsp of the flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and toss.
In another bowl, combine remaining sugar and flour, baking powder, OJ, oil, vanilla, butter, eggs, salt. Beat until smooth.
Spray pan with nonstick spray and sprinkle bottom liberally with nuts. Pour in half the batter. Cover with a layer of 1/2 the apples. Spoon the remaining batter over the apples and top that with what's left of the apples. With luck you might have some left over for the kids (apples that is).
Bake 1 hr and 20 min or untl toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Chopped walnuts or pecans
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 large apples, peeled and sliced (I use 8 small/medium, mainly because that's what I usually have on hand)
1 tbsp bakingpowder
1 tsp salt
4 large eggs.
1/2 cup veg oil
1/2 cup/1 stick melted butter
1/4 cup Orange Juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
Heat oven to 350 degree F
Combine apples, cinnnamon, 2 tbsp of the flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and toss.
In another bowl, combine remaining sugar and flour, baking powder, OJ, oil, vanilla, butter, eggs, salt. Beat until smooth.
Spray pan with nonstick spray and sprinkle bottom liberally with nuts. Pour in half the batter. Cover with a layer of 1/2 the apples. Spoon the remaining batter over the apples and top that with what's left of the apples. With luck you might have some left over for the kids (apples that is).
Bake 1 hr and 20 min or untl toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Today is Smiley's 5th Birthday!
Happy 5th Birthday little guy! We love you!
Smiley is a huge fan of Sprout, PBS's all-preschool TV channel; Caillou and Barney are recorded and watched endlessly around here. Another thing he likes about Sprout is their wonderful practice of announcing birthdays on air, and showing off homemade cards parents create and send in. As a surprise, Lisa made a card and sent it in last month. I know it breaches the no-names policy established here, but I can't resist showing it off.
Note: something is goofy with our scanner, and so bits of the card look to be in shadow. The original looks great. [front cover, left inside, right inside, back cover]
We still have to wait and see if his card is shown on air (we've set the DVR to take nearly the whole day of Sprout), but at the stroke of midnight a scanned copy of the card * DID * appear on the Sprout website, as they promised! Card
Again, we love you little man! It's been a pleasure being your Daddy these last five years :)
Smiley is a huge fan of Sprout, PBS's all-preschool TV channel; Caillou and Barney are recorded and watched endlessly around here. Another thing he likes about Sprout is their wonderful practice of announcing birthdays on air, and showing off homemade cards parents create and send in. As a surprise, Lisa made a card and sent it in last month. I know it breaches the no-names policy established here, but I can't resist showing it off.
Note: something is goofy with our scanner, and so bits of the card look to be in shadow. The original looks great. [front cover, left inside, right inside, back cover]
We still have to wait and see if his card is shown on air (we've set the DVR to take nearly the whole day of Sprout), but at the stroke of midnight a scanned copy of the card * DID * appear on the Sprout website, as they promised! Card
Again, we love you little man! It's been a pleasure being your Daddy these last five years :)
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Our Day
I woke up at 6 am, got dressed, scraped the frost off the windshield and drove to work, ready to start at 7 . . . only to discover my shift didn't start until 10.
D'oh.
After a busy day at work I came home, chilled for a bit, then noticed we were down to only 2 kids (after my niece's bday party YaYa stayed over, Smiley is at Gma). So I packed up & burned part of my paycheck on dinner at Villa Roma. Click on that link for a review of our experience. Lu and Junie were dolls. A nice end to the day.
Happy Birthday Stacey!
Today our youngest niece (on my side) turns 9 years old. All blessings to you Stacey, and we hope you have a great birthday!
In other news, it is also the 14th anniversary of my cousin's horrific car crash (he's ok now, but still walks with a limp)
- and -
The 174th anniversary of the Fall of the Alamo. May we never forget their sacrifice.
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