snips and snails ...

Since we have 3 girls in the house, sometimes having a boy is a breath of fresh air. Ummmmm, bad choice of words. Perhaps an 11-year old pre-adolescent boy isn't quite a bed of roses, but often I do think my boy is my sanity. Nonetheless, I thought I'd share this picture of David's school clothes. He played football at recess, dove to catch the ball, and he landed in a mud puddle. David has a magnetic attraction to mud puddles, so I wasn't too surprised at the clothes. He got to wear them like a trophy for the rest of the school day. And, oh yeah, he caught the ball! (The reason he's holding up the clothes is because he'd already changed into comfy sweats when I had the idea for the picture. When I asked him to change back into his muddy school clothes, his reply was "Moooom" (2-syllable mom with the first syllable being a higher tone than the second syllable). So at least he held up the clothes, but you can't see as much mud.)

traditional oven

I just got an interesting email and have no idea what precipitated it, but it went like this:

"Hey, Lisa, You have a traditional oven, right? - K"

I'm not quite sure if my oven fits in the "traditional" category, but I believe it is well above average. First of all, everything must be converted to Celsius before baking. If I put something in on the 250 degree setting, it'll be char-broiled. That's good to know when I cook most things at 350 (Fahrenheit)! One must take note it's in Celsius. So after I have one of my kids convert Fahrenheit to Celsius for me, I can cook.

Then, I have to choose a setting. I've never had to choose a setting before. In the states it was either "Bake" or "Broil". To this day I have no idea what my settings mean. The oven knob has pictures, but since we can't read the instruction booklet, we don't know what the pictures mean. Here's a picture of the knob, and you can help me figure it out.

• At the very top, the picture with the two lines is the "off" setting. I'm not sure how the picture represents this, but since the light goes off and it's cold on this setting, I'm pretty sure it means "off".
• Going clockwise, I have no idea what the picture means. It's a fan on top with a raindrop underneath it. Does it mean there's moisture in my oven?
• The next setting is the one I always use. There are 2 lines (like the "off" setting), but they're spaced apart. This is the one I always use and just figured it out by trial and error. I don't know why there are 2 lines since there is only an electric coil on the top of my oven. The bottom of my oven has no coil.
• The next setting has 2 squiggly lines with a fan in the middle. A fan runs when I put it on this setting, and I think it makes my oven a convection oven. Ooh-la-la. I haven't tried it yet because I know convection ovens are fancy and I'm a little intimidated.
• The next setting is for when I want prepare a rotisserie chicken. I can put a metal spit in the oven, and the chicken will revolve as it cooks. In the picture there are 3 triangles above the line. I guess the triangles represent heat? However, can you imagine the nasty greasy mess if I prepared a rotisserie chicken in the oven? I can buy a rotisserie chicken around the corner from our apartment for 5 dollars, so I'm avoiding the mess.
• The last setting is oddly similar to the previous one. It's another rotisserie chicken with a weird geometric shape above the line. Does this mean it'll set my chicken on fire? I'm not about to find out.

It's bad enough that I can't speak the language, but I can't even read "universal" pictures. All I know is that I can cook on the one setting that has 2 lines spaced apart. So, is that traditional?

Greeting Grandma

Mike's mom and stepdad came to visit, and after a loooong journey of two missed flights and some rerouting, they finally made it! It's Valentine's Day, and the kids just got home from school. Here's the video:

More lists

Since I admitted my list obsession, I thought I'd make a few fun lists.

THINGS HERE THAT WOULD GO OVER WELL IN THE U.S.:

• The man who comes to my door every day at 4:30 to ask if I want fresh bread or anything else from "7-11"
• All gas stations are still full service. You get the windshields washed and gas pumped by a freindly service man. Shout out to Ann Routt who, to my knowledge, still has yet to pump her own gas. Way to go, Ann!
• Hot tea given out for free as you shop
• The man who comes to my door every evening at 8:30 to pick up my trash and see if I want fresh bread for the morning
• Ordering my groceries online and having them delivered to my door at no extra charge

THINGS HERE THAT WOULD NOT GO OVER WELL IN THE U.S.:

• Parking on sidewalks
• Stray cats and dogs
• The Burt Reynolds moustache
• Eating raw meat with tomato paste mixed into it
• The exchange policy of stores here

Add haircut to the list

I'm a list person. I have a lot to do today, so last night before I went to bed I made out my list. There are about 15 things on that list, and I fully intend on accomplishing every one. Well, about mid-morning Mike asked for a haircut. Knowing it wasn't on my list, but also knowing if he didn't get one today it would be a while, we set up the bathroom for a "shave and a haircut 2 bits" (minus the shave). Mopping the bathroom floor was also on the list, but I'd have to do it after the haircut. 30 minutes later when the cut was complete, I'm almost embarrassed to admit what I did. I went to my list and wrote "Give Mike a haircut" and then I put a check mark beside it. I'm not sure about the rationale behind that, but it gave me a sense of satisfaction to check it off.

new favorite snack food

In our malls here there is basically one "snack food" stand where you can get a treat. It smells delicious, and every time we pass it, it beckons us. Even if it's 10:30 a.m., if I pass the stand, all of the sudden I'm in the mood for corn. Yes, piping hot niblets of corn. Even though I really miss those "healthy" pretzels from Aunt Annie's, this is the next best thing. You can choose from several toppings to put on your corn: BBQ sauce, paremesan cheese, margarine, honey, or lemon juice. Our kids' favorite topping in BBQ sauce. Above is a picture of a satisfied customer.

Corn here is also used on a few items we never used it for in America. No salad or pizza here is complete without corn!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We wish all of you the grandest of Valentine's Days! We went to the mall tonight and took these pictures by Valentine's decorations. The pink boas on the metal trees were my favorite! Mike said they looked like some kind of bad prom decoration, but I'm wondering if I can recreate this in my home for a special Valentine's effect.