Wayne and Rebecca Madsen

We drove down to Oceano Dunes for spring break this year and rode some ATVs across the massive dunes. We went camping, we enjoyed the out of doors and almost made it to LA. But once we got to the materialism of Santa Barbara, I thought I was going to be sick and we turned back before it was too late. Just Kidding.

Because we were off-roading, we couldn't take our camera (we actually lost the water bottle we did take pretty early in the day) so our pictures of that part of our adventure were taken with our camera phone. Sorry for the low quality.

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Mreeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaoooooooooooooooooooooooow!

-Star cat, upon us opening our front door after being gone just over 2 days

Wayne was on spring break, and went in to campus to get work done on his projects even though he had no classes. He got to sleep in, and we stayed up late several nights. One night, I think it was Tuesday or Wednesday, we came up with a brilliant plan to go on a car trip [after we threw out ideas to fly somewhere, like Boston]. We went to maps.google.com and started scrolling along the CA coast -- south at first, since we've been north before. That's when we saw the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area near Pismo Beach. Excellent. We've always wanted to visit dunes. What else we would do and where to stay we left open-ended.

Thursday we left after I got off work, making it to the intended area much quicker than expected -- it only took about 3 hours to get there. However it took about an hour to decide where to spend the night. We tried a couple of state parks: one wasn't well enough labeled to find in the dark; the other was full to the brim with RVs -- this is a big turn off for us tent-dwellers [they need to start labeling campgrounds different on maps for RVs than for tents]. But on the way, we noticed a regional campground, so we turned around to find the camping area. It wasn't much cheaper; considering all we needed was a place to put up a tent and park our car, camping is pricier at most campgrounds than I would expect. But it's still cheaper than a hotel...and we get to wake up to the sound of birds chirping.... At the El Churro Regional campground we actually woke up first (around 4am) to a weird conversation on a loudspeaker system that was far enough away we couldn't understand it, but close enough to hear. Later we woke up (around 5am) to what sounded like men shouting back and forth. As it turns out, we were sandwiched between a "men's colony" (aka prison...the loudspeaker we heard) and a military camp (the shouting was drills). I still don't want to know what the loudspeaker conversation from the men's colony was all about. Ignorance is bliss. [ooh! and don't forget the mountain lion warning signs plastered everywhere! -wayne]

We packed up our belongings and headed into Pismo Beach to learn what we could about dune buggies/ATV rentals. Fortunately we lucked about a tourist information center, and got some convenient, if disjuncted maps of the area and directions to some of the rental places. We found one, asked questions about safety, and got ready to take a bus across the sand to where the ATVs were located. It was a blast riding the ATV. We got just one because I hate driving, but was interested in riding. Our lives flashed before our eyes only twice; the third time doesn't really count for me because we were at a complete stop on a very, very short hill when our ATV started to tip over. It was all in slow motion and we both had plenty of time to clear the vehicle. The other two times we were moving faster and just came across unexpected "features" of the terrain. But we only tipped the one time. Our conclusion was the short hills are more dangerous than the big ones. :) We did get charged for "rolling" the vehicle, even though we merely tipped it. We didn't feel like arguing that tipping at 0mph was hardly the same as rolling. We just won't recommend that particular rental company to anyone in the future due to poor customer service (it took them two hours from signing the paperwork to getting us on an ATV...most of the time was spent just standing around waiting). It was a blast chasing the clouds as they rolled in. We were faster than the clouds, but not as fast as the fog. The fog came in about halfway through our ride and changed the whole landscape; we suddenly couldn't see the ocean, and our depth perception was ruined. But it sure made the place look magical!

After our ride, we stumbled upon a nice park and we thought we'd have a picnic lunch of pb&j there. However, the geese were determined that their pond was a communistic society and that we must share our food amongst them. We didn't have enough for everyone (there were a lot of geese), so we had our lunch in our car parked beside the park. Hehehe. We outsmarted them in the end! [Ultimately, they ended up parking outside our parked car, hissing at us in an attempt to communicate their displeasure at being left out of our lunch.]

That afternoon we were exhausted from our adventures and thought we'd scope out our next campground and relax and perhaps take a short hike or something. We headed to the Los Padres National Forest nearby, and found the ranger station before he closed up. We learned that national parks are much cheaper to camp in, but the directions we got led us to a one-lane dirt road that meant crossing a small creek (ankle high) and traveling 6 miles over more bumps than the dunes gave us. We decided after a mile or so that our little car wasn't meant to endure such conditions, and tried the next camping area the ranger mentioned. It was a little better; at least there was no creek. But the road was just wretched, so we made our way to a state park by a lake and picked a campsite as far from the lake (and other people) as possible. Our neighbors instead were the deer! Deer, toads, and rabbits [and no mountain lions]. What fun. And apparently the deer weren't afraid of our car, just people. They ran away when we got out of the car, not when we drove past them. Tee hee. The state park wasn't as primitive camping as we were hoping for; we don't really need running water when we camp. But I guess running water + insurance of no car troubles getting to the campground is worth the difference of 17 dollars in price and company with RVs. :) Sometimes you just need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to go primitive camping.

Our next adventure led us a bit further south, to Santa Barbara. We found some lovely beaches along the way. The best kind are the ones that you just pull over on the highway to a gravel area and hike a bit to the beach. What fun. We then found a local couple to ask a restaurant recommendation from (pb&j sandwiches will only get you so far!). And we ended up in a tourist-y part of town! We normally would have avoided such areas in any given town, but we carried through with the recommendation to eat at Brophy's. We waited 45 minutes just to get a table at 2:00 in the afternoon. The food was alright, and the place was packed. Shouldn't a long wait have meant a superb ambiance, or excellent food, or cheap food, or something? Ah well. It was part of the adventure. [You just have to follow through when someone gives you recommendations they were so excited to give you.]

Our final quest on our way back home again was to find a good place to fly our kite. We succeeded in all our other quests, but alas, we were foiled left and right in this one. It was foggy, not windy. I didn't realize the two were mutually exclusive. We even followed one recommendation to a park 15 miles from a small town on a very windy road. We felt so alone on our drive to this particular park (Jalama State Park). It was a beautiful drive in the middle of nowhere. Imagine our surprise when we finally turned the corner at the end of the journey to see a ton of RVs and cars! Apparently we weren't lucking upon the locals hidden beach at all! The flags weren't even flying, so we decided to continue driving north. We'll have to fly our kite here in town somewhere. At least we had a beautiful drive.

We made it home last night. Star cat was very happy to see us. And general conference today was nice. Helpful topics for the talks we are supposed to give in Church next Sunday.

This week, I went to most of the advancement to candidacy presentations for the second year MFA graduates. ATCs are basically the thesis defense for MFA graduates in this school, as there is no post thesis show defense, only a presentation of the work. Most of the ATC candidates gave a thorough presentation, however I wasn't courageous enough to challenge those candidates I didn't think were addressing important flaws in their work.

Early in the week, Eric Paulos from Intel Berkley labs came to speak to CADRE about their research and work. Their projects blur the lines between research, art and applicational software. Urban Atmospheres. Good stuff.

I got Rebecca an early birthday present. I would have liked to give it to her on her birthday, but I am 100% incompetent with rebate forms, so I had to give it to her before the rebate was due on the 10th. I only learned after she opened it, looked at the forms and told me that it wasn't due until May 10th. Again, do I need to reiterate that I am completely incompetent with rebate forms?

While I was at the store, Rebecca went to a baby shower for one of our friends. She told me that the games they played weren't as bad/painful as most baby showers she has been to. While she was out, I took care of cleaning the house and doing a bit of shopping. At the last minute, our printer ink cartridge died and I had to pick up one before we wrote/printed our talks for Sunday.

Easter day was pleasant, although this is the first time in a while we haven't had other people over for our Easter dinner. So we made too much food and have been using it for lunches and dinners all week. Our talks in church went well and Rebecca wasn't terribly nervous.

That's really all we did. I guess we were taking it easy since things were so busy last week.

Never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think.

-Neils Bohr

Again we had late nights of school much of the week, but starting Wednesday we began preparing for a "get together" with Wayne's fellow grad students we had planned for Thursday. Wayne wanted an opportunity outside of class to talk with the other students about projects and ideas and to just get to know each other better. And since school wasn't providing that opportunity, we decided we ought to. We made several dips and lots of cookies Wednesday, cleaned the house, and minimized furniture in the living room and dining room so there would be room for everyone. Then we played games with Chris and Alyssa at their place so we would get out of our own apartment.

Thursday we reminded ourselves no one comes on time, and sure enough, no one came on time. But we had a good turnout. People brought food to share, several of the girls hung out in the spare room with Star cat because she's too cute for her own good, and we played a few games later on in the evening. We decided we should do things like this more often.

Friday we had two obligations. We signed up for camping at Camp Lehi about a month ago, and helping out with projects around the campground the next morning. About three weeks ago, my company sent around a link to sign up for the annual party...which happened to be the same night. Drat. We debated quite awhile, but finally decided that (a) we had agreed to the camping/project thing earlier, and (2) after having a party of our own, we weren't quite up for socializing with tons more people. So we went camping.

Other families from the ward came too, and it was fun to roast sausages and marshmallows with them. One family has a very energetic three-year old named Jack who likes to shout everything he says. We could hear him when he woke up in the morning several campsites away. Hehehe. When we woke up and got ready for the day, we headed over to see what projects were in store for us. It started to sprinkle. I thought nothing of this, thinking it would soon pass. It continued to rain all morning long. We were both cold and wet by the time we were done. Halfway through another lady from the ward showed up, and they recruited both of us to clean up bathrooms instead of cleaning up tree branches and trunks and debris. I welcomed the roof over my head since I didn't even had a hood on my jacket. Wayne and another guy in our ward (Jack's dad) worked hard though; so hard that when Wayne announced it was time for us to leave, they talked them into "one more thing." Unfortunately, that "one more thing" landed the other guy in our ward on a tree branch that pierced right through his upper lip! I thought we ought to race off to the hospital or something, but he is a doctor and decided since the bleeding was under control we ought to just have us drive him back to his house (we were his ride home) and he could pick up his insurance card and go to the local clinic instead, just to see if he needed stitches to help his lip heal. He said he "always wanted a scar" on his face...to look tough or something. He also mentioned that it was a such a blessing that the branch went through his lip and not his eye. Scary thought. Next time we'll all wear eye protection!

Jack's dad also filled us in on where to find a good place in Santa Clara to fly our kite. So when we got home and took a long warm shower [to get the shivers out], we went to try it out. We're quite glad to have such a nice place to fly our kite now! We also stopped at the store along the way to get a replacement flashlight. The battery officially died on our camping trip, since the flashlight couldn't even help us find our tent from the picnic table. But now we have one that will never die! It's awesome. It has a hand-crank and an AC power adapter so you can either wall charge it, or crank it yourself to get light out of it. We figure that's better than just buying new batteries all the time. :)

I don't know much about investing, or retirement plans, or buying a house. These all seem like good ideas in theory, and I thought some general book about making wise financial choices would help me at least define some terms and help me know what I want to learn more about. This book did that pretty well. David Bach has several books all along this "finish rich" train of thought. I can only assume that Smart Couples Finish Rich and Smart Women Finish Rich have similar lessons.

Not all of the chapters were that helpful -- I'm already familiar with "pay yourself first" and "don't live off of credit cards" and how interest can build your loan (which is bad) or your savings (which is good). He also had several chapters on the "true meaning of life" and defining your purpose. I didn't get much out of those chapters. (of course money isn't the true meaning of life...and of course knowing your purpose in life is good) I found the "latte factor" chapter interesting, but not particularly practical because we already incorporate that in our approach to money. Little things add up, yes. Actually, this contradicts other financial advice books that say the little things don't matter and it's the big things -- like rent or housing costs -- that make the most difference. Perhaps Bach's advice on what to do with the little you save on not buying or buying cheaper versions of things makes the difference? He says not just to not spend the money...but to put the money you would have spend into a growing investment of some sort.

The last couple of chapters were on getting a raise or switching to a career or company in which you can move up to get the pay you deserve, and the biggest financial mistakes couples make. Again, interesting, but not much I hadn't heard or read elsewhere. Teach your kids about money -- don't make them learn it on their own. Don't day-trade stocks. Take credit card debt seriously. Get a 30-year mortgage but pay it off in 15. I disagreed with the prenuptial agreement suggestion. But the rest is all good advice.

The chapters I really got a lot out of were right in the middle. Chapters 5-7 were about building your retirement, security, and dream baskets. Bach printed charts illustrating investing in retirement early versus starting to invest later; it always make me feel guilty seeing things like that and thinking I should have been investing in retirement since I was 16! But better late than never. (Unless 401k plans and other retirement plans are going to change the rules or the government collapses between now and when we "retire." It also begs the question, do artists ever really retire? :) ) I also learned that you can withdraw up to $10,000 from your IRA/401k "early" (before you're 59 1/2) without the usual 10% penalty to go to the cost of your first home. You still pay income tax when you withdraw, but you don't have a penalty. We might actually do that. Someday we won't live in California, and maybe then we could buy a house or something.

He also makes good arguments for setting up a will or living trust...especially if you have kids at home still, so you designate what you'd like to happen should something (patooie patooie!) happen. He suggests having life insurance not just on the breadwinner of the household, but on the other spouse too; because if something happened to the stay-at-home parent, costs for day-care and house cleaning and whatever can add up quickly.

Besides considering a 401k, the chapter we might also act on is building your dream basket. Our dream right now is to own a house somewhere somehow. We don't expect that to happen here in Silicon Valley. But after Wayne's done with school.... And so we'll look into mutual funds as well. That seemed to be the best fit for the amount we have to work with and the time frame we have ahead of us. Bach recommends index funds, because they work on the stock market, but your money is being combined with others so you don't need lots of money to get a varied portfolio. And varied is good. Don't put all your eggs in one basket, right? That's the idea here. The stock market in general gets a 10-13% average annual return, but who knows which stocks specifically do the best? We'll have to do more research on load versus no-load, and where to choose a mutual fund from, and whether we can invest more each month (with each paycheck) or not. But I definitely got Wayne interested from the snippets I read him.

So, lots of advice, lots of things to research more fully (why take one person's advice when you could look on the internet for lots more?!). And it wasn't that dry of a read either. For a financial book.

I started Hero's Song while waiting around for...I think for Wayne to get done with class so I could take him home. It was slow to start with, and I didn't touch the book again for well over a week. But the next time I picked it up, I finished in two days. I admit it wasn't as well executed as another Edith Pattou book Wayne and I both loved, called East. But it was a fun world and I enjoyed some of the characters. What's not to like about a girl disguised as a boy who fools everyone she meets until she joins the journey, and then proceeds to fool only the main character. Hehehe. But she's spunky, and I like spunky girls in my stories, so it's all good.

The main character, Collun, is a gardener who is torn from the only land he knows to find and rescue his sister. His friend and bard, Talisen, is not to be left behind on the journey, and other allies join them along the way. It is a fantasy genre book, so mysterious beasts attack and injure the group in mysterious ways. But they have help, and power of their own, of course. Secrets abound, and while I guessed most of the secrets, I was surprised by who was in the know and what they do with the new-found knowledge when secrets are revealed.

It was a fun read, even if it's not to be one of the books I love. I'm still putting the sequel on hold at the library. :)

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
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2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 14-inch, spring form pan with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Add the eggs, beating well after the addition of each.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix with a whisk. Add to the butter mixture, mixing to incorporate, and add the vanilla extract. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spread across the bottom of the prepared pan and bake until the edges are golden and the cookie is set but the center is still slightly soft, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Neil Gaiman (apparently pronounced Gaym'n, not GUY-man - like someone told me) has to be my favorite author right now, and by far one of the most refreshing authors I've come across in a long time. His tales don't "feel" the same as any other authors but I'm not sure why that is. Some have speculated that a familiar Gaiman theme of characters whose nature works against their perceived roles is common in his books/graphic novels. There are several Gaiman traits that I'm not invested enough in literature to pick apart, but they all add together to make an author who is as prolific as he is in creating quality works. I look forward to reading more and more and more.

Neverwhere was the first major novel that Gaiman wrote, at least the first major novel which was picked up on a broad publication. It is the novelization of a dark BBC television series which Gaiman first wrote. I'd like to pick up the television series, if it is available because this book was one of the most vivid theatrical books I have read: everything was clear and crisp, like a film. And Martin Freeman would have to be the lead character. Because his voice was everywhere in this book: just his mannerisms and intonation as the perfectly average british, hopelessly lost person.

I read this book in one day. On the bus. It should be a quick read. Don't be deceived by the size of it. It goes faster than you can imagine. Top of my list, for sure.

Last time we left off, we were up in the Santa Cruz mountains at camp Lehi, getting lips punctured, 25 foot flames and dropping off logs that weighed 500 pounds plus. We were sore Sunday and tried to catch up on that trip while preparing for this weekend's trip.

It was Rebecca's birthday, but thanks to my graduate studies, I only actually saw her for a few hours on her birthday. So, we celebrated mostly on Tuesday by going to a mediocre (not our fault!) mexican restaurant and then on Wednesday, Rebecca celebrated alone with a pizza while I was at a lecture. Rebecca got a lot of ecards, phone calls and birthday wishes and she was happy for that [thanks for all the cards and birthday wishes! -beck].

And by the time that was over, it was already Thursday night and we got things cleaned for our trip Friday morning. We woke up early Friday to pack and load up the car and hit the road after morning traffic had dissipated. 10 hours later, we pulled into Florence and had a mediocre seafood dinner at Moe's.

Most of the weekend was rainy. Oregon rain is refreshing, cold and beautiful, especially as the clouds roll off the ocean and brush through the forests. Most of our Saturday was spent lazily playing with Jon and Faith: I couldn't ask for a more relaxing weekend (minus the 20 hours driving). We played lots of rounds of Munchkin Fu and watched a few movies. Because of the rain we didn't get out to the beach until Sunday after church, and because we just didn't want to leave, we made it home at one in the morning last night. Of course, Star cat refused to let us sleep because she was so happy to have us home. But we're safe, home, and now we need to get back into the regular swing of things until the end of the semester.

Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything.

I like Terry Pratchett. I like his Discworld series a great deal. So far.

Guards! Guards! is the first Discworld book I have read outside of the Rincewind character. I was a bit nervous because I wasn't certain I was going to enjoy any other protagonist besides Rincewind. He is the perfect Aurthur Dent-ian mix of cluelessness, inane luck and cowardice. How can you not love a character like that in a world that doesn't leave many living for very long due to the magical fluctuations? But Guards! Guards! focuses its plot on the misfit crew of the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch. Why are they misfits, you might ask? Other than the unique characters in a unique city, they are the police task force in a city which it's best not to be policing. So they do a good job of avoiding their job. Creatively and carefully.

This book wasn't as funny as Sourcery or Light Fantastic, it was definitely the darkest satire of Pratchett's that I have read to this point. In fact, I would consider this a "biting satire," not ... well, not whatever the alternative of a "biting satire" is. The previous books were poking fun at the genres of fantasy, human nature and were all around enjoyable. This book kicks you in the face and stabs at your heart. Which was fine, until the end when the "character who speaks the truth" explains that all humans are bad: some are just worse than others. Not a light-hearted way to end the novel. In fact, not at all the reason I read satire. I like the jovial criticisms. I don't appreciate being shown how we're all (for lack of a better word) screwed.

Perhaps I'm just taking this book a bit too seriously. I'm sure that's all. Overall, this book was really good. I think I was just too gullible.

We love good food. While there are many restaurants we have tried and liked and we have many good recommendations for different types of food, these are the select few restaurants which you can not pass through the area without trying.

• St. John's - best burgers, Wednesday and Saturday is half price
  
• La Victoria - best burritos/taco shop
  
• Sonoma Chicken Coup - fancy food at cheap prices
  
• Chicago Pizza - deep dish pizza in Santa Clara
  
• Cafe Baklava - Mediterranean in Mountain View
  » Posted April 27, 2007 (14:46 -08:00) | Comments (3) | TrackBack

We are in the process of compiling our own travel guides for places we have lived: hopefully an insider's glimpse into these locations. This list is a directory of the best restaurants in the places we have been. These are the sorts of restaurants where you cry when the place shuts down (or even if the chef leaves and it no longer tastes the same); the sorts of places our friend jokes would be "best if you could just burn down the place afterwards so you never forget how great that food was." A bit morbid, but you get the jist - good food. The sort of place you should make a cross-country trip to eat there.

• Zingerman's Deli - Ann Arbor, MI - #38 and the turkey reuben, don't forget to try both kinds of pickles
  
• Ben's Kosher Deli - NYC, NY - get the reuben. you have never tasted a plain corned beef reuben this good. ever.
  
• St. John's Bar & Grill - Sunnyvale, CA - bacon bleu and a side of garlic fries. Wednesday and Saturdays are half price. bring friends because it's too much food. why are there lame chips?
  
• Mr. Villa's - Seattle, WA - anything. everything. i hope they haven't changed.
  
• Sonoma Chicken Coup - San Jose, CA - three words: cheap chicken carbonara
  
• Firehouse Restaurant - Florence, OR - have a bowl of clam chowder and take the next two hours to visit dream land. and the halibut parmesan is worth a 10 hour drive as well.
  
• Rudy's - Austin, TX - i can drink that sauce.
  
• Dawg's Hot Dog Stand - Provo, UT - onions, pickles, pepperchinis, sauce and a polish dog.
  
• Jerusalem Garden - Ann Arbor, MI - it's a tiny house and there's no place to eat. the flavor sticks with you for days.
  
• Diddy Riese Cookies - Westwood (LA), CA - the ice cream sandwich with their fresh cookies is heavenly; (aka "THE cookie place").
  
• BW3s - Ypsilanti, MI - I'm hesitant to put this one on the list because it's a big chain, but the wings are just amazingly good: how can you turn down the spicy garlic or the parmesan?
  » Posted April 27, 2007 (15:26 -08:00) | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Hot Sour Soup
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3/4 pound shoulder pork, thinly sliced

For Pork:
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I recommend Kikkoman)
2 teaspoons dried ginger powder
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 teaspoon cilantro, chopped finely
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons peanut oil

For Soup:
7 cups water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 can bamboo shoots
1 can watercrests
2 tablespoon fresh cilantro, cut into 1-inch lengths
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Marinate pork in the vinegar, soy sauce, green onions, sesame oil, pepper, ginger, cilantro, and chili sauce. If you don't own chili sauce, it will probably make this meal too hot for you, so avoid it. Stir well and let this mixture sit for 20 minutes at least.

On medium heat, bring the 3 TBS oil in a large wok or saucepan with a lid to temperature. Add the pork (try to avoid ladening the saucepan with the marinade), cover with a lid, and stir-fry over medium heat until the pork changes color. Remove the pork to a plate.

Without removing the oil, add the water, sugar and salt to the stockpot. Bring to a boil. Add the bamboo shoots, soy sauce, and watercrests Simmer for only 5 minutes. Add the bunched cilantro for the final minute. Turn off heat and put in the cooked pork. Beat the eggs and lightly dribble the eggs until the eggs float in soft tendrils.

Serves 6.

Yesterday was lovely weather. Wayne thought it was Hot, but I thought it was just about perfect in the 80s. So when Wayne got home from helping someone in the ward "move" (and helping paint their house for them because they weren't packed when people showed up to help), he told me he wanted to go swimming as soon as I got back from the primary activity.

So I rushed off to the primary talent show, which was a barrel of laughs. There's just something funny about three 4 year-olds doing a "dance routine." Especially when they forget at the beginning why they are even on stage and one of the mothers is anxiously signaling the steps to the girls to help jog their memories. Hehehe. I loved seeing the kids in my class do their stuff. It was fun seeing what the kids wanted to do for the show, except for the very uncomfortable "discussion" one parent had with their child who was insisting she didn't want to perform after all. With the microphone between the two of them. In the "on" position. I kept inwardly wishing she would just take her 5 year-old off the stage and move on. But it did make me wonder what a good way to encourage your child to be brave is; some parents did nothing when their 8 year-old decided he didn't "feel" like playing the piano; another tried to sit on stage with her 4 year-old child when the child decided halfway through she was done, but left after a couple of moments because the daughter kept her head buried in her mom's shoulder. It probably depends on the child and the circumstance, eh?

Anyway swimming was a blast yesterday. We played a game diving for an object at the bottom of the pool, and racing across the pool. We practiced different strokes. And we only remembered the sunscreen about half an hour into the swimming, so I only stayed in the pool a bit longer and then sat in the shade throwing the object for Wayne to dive for, or timing how long he could stay under water. Fortunately I'm not too pink today at all; there's nothing wrong with pink, except when talking about sunburns!

Friday night we went to a ward dinner, with the theme of "Survivor." This, apparently, is some sort of TV show. No one at our table had a clue what the show was about, but we ended up winning anyway. After a miserable attempt to shoot plastic cups off a table with a toy bow and arrow set, we won or tied all the other events - running with two people tied back-to-back to dump a ball in a bucket, a memory game, and a race to get puzzle pieces from a bucket of rice and put it together. They had "luxury items" or a "leg up" that you could choose when you won; we usually chose the luxury items. The "leg up" just never seemed very helpful when other people chose it. Anyway, it was fun to get to know some other people in the ward.

We wandered around Target looking at kid toys and grown up toys one night last week. :) I think it was Thursday. We had gotten a free coupon for a Jamba juice, and wandered around Target which is next door to Jamba juice, drinking our smoothie.

I went to enrichment Tuesday night while Wayne played racquetball with a friend. I came home with three pots with some seeds that will hopefully grow cilantro, parsley, and basil for us. We will see. At the very least I have some pots now.... So my question is, what else can we grow in pots? Can we grow some type of tomato in a pot? Mmm. We don't have a backyard, but we do have a balcony and a pot (not all of our ten trees have survived over the years...). Strawberries? Could we grow some other vegetables or something? Any advice?

The rest of the week went by quickly. I read all night Monday, trying to finish two books in two days because the library wanted them back (for some reason). Wayne had class and I had work. The usual, you know.

There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.

-Pablo Picasso