Correct punctuation

Help me out here, does the period come before or after the quotation mark in a sentence?  I thought it was one way and then at work a few years ago I was told it was another way and since then I've seen it both ways.  But which is correct?

John said, "I like spaghetti with meatballs."

OR

John said, "I like spaghetti with meatballs".

I've always thought it was the former, but at work they liked me to use the latter and with all of the autocorrect going on with smart phones and tablets, I am confused.

I've heard that the former way resulted from back when they used printing presses.  The typesetter would place the period inside the quotation marks because if he didn't do it that way, the period could possibly get bent.

Hmmm, what do you think?

The gardeners before us

Lucky for us, our yard came with some beautiful perennials. It has been a fun surprise to see what spring means for us. Tulips, iris, peonies, and the yard just keeps on giving.I take no credit but thank the gardeners who came before us. We’ve been trying to make sure we can keep up with it.

The art of supplementation

I'm pretty sure at one point in everybody's childhood their parents added stuff to boxed macaroni n' cheese for dinner: peas, corn, hotdogs, craw fish (yes, we had that once).  Now tell me, as an adult, have you done the same thing?  At the age of 8, I never thought I'd add a thing to mac n' cheese.  That would be a travesty! A shame!  A true detriment to the cheesiness of the boxed meal!  But as an adult I have done the unthinkable, I have been guilty of adding peas to my mac n' cheese.  And it was, well, still not that great but a bit healthier (peas are not my favorite).

This brings me to the art of supplementing a dish to make it taste better and/or become healthier.  I find that it is an art.  Maybe peas in your mac is not an art, but other supplementing can be quite delicious and sometimes very necessary.  But it takes experimentation and honing.  Take for instance pre-made ravioli or tortellini.  For some reason, I buy the stuff thinking it will taste good on it's own.  This is never the case.  There is a reason the food company uses the word "delicate" when describing the taste of it's seven cheese blend.  How can a blend of seven cheeses be so bland?  I don't understand it nor can I believe it, and that is probably why I keep on going back for more.  I think another package will prove the blandness wrong.  And each time, I eat a serving and think, this really tastes like nothing but paste. Then I salt and pepper it in hopes of saving the meal.  I've been known to add marina sauce as well, and that's an improvement.  But I've finally come upon something that's really good at turning "delicate" into "delicious".  Cook up that tortellini, then add tomatoes, artichoke hearts, pesto and stir.  Like I said, delicious.

Other good supplementing that I've discovered includes adding stuff to your bottled marinara sauce.  I like to add balsamic vinegar (my sister taught me this one), a can of tomatoes, fresh spinach, and Parmesan cheese.  And lately, I have been adding Greek yogurt to anything sweet for a kick of protein.  Try this recipe for waffles.  It includes yogurt as well as oatmeal.  Fiber, here we come!

Is there any creative supplementing you do?  I'd love to hear.

Snapshot of our little fam

With these beautiful June evenings we can't help ourselves from spending them outside and using the nice light for some quick pics.  In this first photo, Oliver wanted to take a pic where he was very tiny. He got quite a kick out of how small he was in this photo and how his parents just couldn't believe it!

Frugal or just plain cheap?

You know you are frugal/cheap when:

• Your version of internet shopping is perusing the pages for items, placing them in your cart, but never pressing the "buy" button.
• Going to Costco is one hour of long division practice, taking the price of an item and diving it by the number of items in the box, then trying to remember if that is a better price than the previous math you've done earlier that month at the local grocery store.
• You wait so long for something to go on sale at the Gap that it is no longer there, or it is there but the only size they've got is XXL.
• You never get items that you so desperately need, so your sisters/friends end up buying the items for you.

These are some of my current examples.  How did I get this way? I'm not sure.  Sometimes it serves me well and sometimes it does not.  The funny thing is, I don't mind spending money (sometimes) to eat out or travel, but when it comes to other things it takes me forever to make the purchase.

four months

Ansel is growing like nobody’s business. He is such a smiley guy. When Oliver notices he announces, “Ansel’s smilin’,” and we all love it around here. Ansel likes bathtubs, he’s getting better at sleeping, and he’s recognizing his hands. He’s just about the cutest babe around, talking lots and laughing during a good tickle. He loves to go outside, sit on my lap, and listen to the wind rustle through the leaves. I remember doing the exact thing with Oliver. Now I am at it again, and it’s nice.

Reliving my high school smoothie days

Back in high school zuka juice had just opened around my neighborhood and it was very popular. We'd go there on weekends and pay top teen dollar for a smoothie packed with flavor and any power-powdered extras we were interested in.

Fast forward a few years and now zuka juice is jamba juice. The smoothies are near the same and the extras are something like 25 cents. But now they serve sandwiches too!?!

Anyhow, in my desire for something delicious, nutritious, and flavorful I look to the tradition of high school (ha!). I whip up a smoothie at home and add an extra, spinach. Very good. Fairly cheap. And just about as good as those at zuka...I mean jamba juice.

Mom, am I still four?

Oliver turned four this past month.  It was a birthday that had Oliver patiently waiting.  In fact, on Sunday the 19^th of May, the primary sang to Oliver.  He was excited about the singing but reminded some of the teachers that his birthday was actually the 23^rd.  When the day came, he was very excited.  He is a great four year old and has really started to be a ham.  The day after he turned four I was woken up with the question, “Mom, am I still four?”. Of course!

Oliver does some awesome things as a four year old.  He requests that Ansel be up in his room with him during quiet time.  Sometimes I set Ansel on the foot of Ollie’s bed and he watches as Oliver draws, lines up blocks, and the like.  One time, I heard Ansel whimpering a bit.  I went up to find Oliver comforting him with the one word Oliver knows Ansel speaks, which is, “A-goo.”

Oliver is between having a nap during the day and not taking a nap.  As a result, he is very sleepy during the late afternoon hours.  As such, he falls asleep during dinner and I just wake him up again.  Just today he fell asleep during reading lessons.  He was mid-sentence – “the fat eagle”- when he was out.  I moved the book which woke him.  He then said in his half awake voice, “Mom, I was reading about a bird.” He then continued reading, “the fat eagle saved the white eag…” and he was out again.

And finally, Oliver likes to write "birthday messages."  This involves getting a square of toilet paper and writing on it with a marker.  Some messages included: "Oliver Dad," "Mom I love you too," "Big Bird I love you," "2 Grade," and " Your prise is a stuft anamal.".  All good stuff.

A month without posts...

...makes me want to take on the challenge of a month full of posts, that is, one post a day (excluding weekends).  Can it be done?  Will it be interesting?  Who will care?  Well, let's face it, just me.  But I am up for a challenge.  And so, here we go.

I finished reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot.  It is (sadly) the first book I've read completely through this year.  Let's just say I need a very good book to keep the interest, especially when I have to stop and start often, and I like to nap.  With that said, here is my review:

Excellent non-fiction book about the life of a woman and the science behind her cells that never die*.   Part science, part history and present day, this book reveals the remarkable path of HeLa cells and how they’ve helped science.  But what’s more, the author explores how these cells have affected Henrietta’s family.  It also examines the ethics behind using patient tissues for research and how the laws have changed over time.  This book is a good read for anyone interested in science or not (I promise!), a page turner indeed. 

*And for anyone wondering how the cell never dies, well, it turns out the enzyme telomerase is missing in these special HeLa cells, so chromosome telomeres never break down, thus, never signaling the cell to die.

Gaufre

A few weeks ago, I achieved something I've dreamed about since Jess and I left Belgium after living (i.e., visiting) there for six weeks. 

The achievement: I made a Belgian Liège waffle.  And it tasted authentic!  As I took my fourth bite (it took a while to perfect the baking of the dough in the waffle iron for the correct done-ness) I was taken back to that 2008 overcast day in Belgium when Jess and I sat under the Arch at Parc du Cinquantenaire eating our first Belgian fare.

Making this waffle takes a little more work than your usual waffle or even your usual Belgian Brussels waffle, which are both batters.  The Liège waffle is a dough made with yeast and pearl sugar.  In fact, to make the magic happen, I had to collaborate with my dad (he brought the quality waffle iron) and my sister (she brought the pearl sugar).  Together we came up with something that I thought I could only get across the Atlantic.  No longer!  Although, I wouldn't mind going back sometime soon.

If you are at all interested in making this delicious, euro-doughnut treat, see the recipe here.