Nie Nie Day

I have been heart broken and amazed over this story http://cjanerun.com/. The lovely Stephanie Nielson http://www.nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ and her husband Christian were in a terrible plane crash last week, and are in critical condition at a burn center in Mesa, Arizona. She has burns over 80% of her body and he is in only slightly better condition. I know this woman only through her blog, which from the first time I visited, radiated some sort of magical happiness. I read about her life and her love for her family and thought "this is it, this is how it should be, note to self, this is what I want." I admit to feeling a slight pang of jealousy, how, I wondered, could people be this lucky to love like this and find so much joy in each other? Obviously the blogosphere is only a glimps of people, but this glimpse was particularly lovely. When I heard about this tragedy I was just heart sick, and as I read the family's stories of the reality of this couples magical life, and the fact that in seconds it was so tragically threatened it made me even more appreciative for how fully they live their lives loving each other, and those around them. It is such an example to me of the fact that life is short, and I need to live it the best way I know how. Even as these two sweet people recover, and gratefully so, had this been the end of their journey here on this earth I feel sure they would have looked back to know that they lived it with all of their hearts. And now as they fight for their lives it is amazing to see how many people, many like me, complete stangers, feel such a connection to them and want to help. It is a beautiful thing. I wish my blog wasn't so very brand new, so that more people would see this and know where to go to help raise funds for their recovery, but for my family and freinds who do look at this go to http://www.designmom.com/2008/08/nie-nie-day.html to get more info on Nie Nie Day.

Cheeks

I'm sitting in Abby's new living room. My grandparent's are playing cards at the table with Abby and Jonathan. We are all waiting for the baby to decide to come out and play. And someday I will forgive him for throwing a wrench in our labor day plans (they were really good). But that is OK, as long as I can squeeze his cheeks soon, and life is still as it should be as long as my g-pa is still randomly blurting out "cheeks cheats!" at the card table while he tweaks his own hand, the little rascal. I do love him.

Happy, Healthy Dad

I made it my task to feed Dad healthy meals out of our garden everyday this week while mom was out of town. (In actuality I do that most nights these days since mom has been on kitchen strike...because she can.)And it was a success I think:

Monday

Sauteed chard/shallot and new potato/zuchinni/shallot fritatas
Fresh sliced tomatoes/basil/balsamic vinagre
Whole wheat baguette

Tuesday

Cheese Ravioli
Sauteed mini zuchinni,sliced cherry tomatoe sauce

Wed

Grilled pork chops
Savory Blueberry/Balsamic vinagre Sauce
Whole wheat pasta
Fresh green beans

Thursday

Fresh Haddock broiled (just caught by one of dad's patients, really nice fillets)
Beschamel sauce
roasted baby potatos
Brocoli

Friday

Dad took me to what he likes to call, OB-KB's (code for Quedoba's...obviously)

Saturday

After a really hard run, Dad Margie and I went to culvers where dad was hoping for the grilled pork loin sandwhich. But was forced to get a burger, and further forced by me to make it a single, not a double. He thanked me later.

Saturday (Round 2)

Fresh tomato/basil sandwhich (he was hungry after that single)

Sunday

Egg Plant Parmesean

All in all I think I did a pretty good job