This is simple? Really?

Kristin has subscribed to the magazine Real Simple for a number of years. In the beginning, each edition was about a quarter inch think and chock full of content about paring down, simplifying, and re-zen-ing your life. There weren't a lot of ads, but the ones included hawked products that fit the theme: make life easier, a little less crazy, and save some money doing it.

I found last month's Real Simple laying around the house. I picked it up and immediately noticed that, instead of staples down the middle, the magazine was now bound like a heavy duty fashion mag. The ratio of content to ads was through the roof and the products and services advertised therein seemed more appropriate for the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book than a magazine with 'simple' in its title.

While putting the magazine back where I found it, the back cover caught my eye and confirmed that they had sold out:
Cadillac. Really? That's simple?

Bless Google Video

Thought this would be appropriate for a Monday morning. What happens when you line up 10,000 coins on edge then knock the first one into the second? Dominos have never been this fun.

Related Post: Ran across this on some random blog

35 Weeks, 1 Day

Last night while planning our activities for today, I told Kristin we needed to run a certain errand. She looked at me and asked, "Why?", to which I replied:

"Well, next Saturday is your baby shower. The Saturday after that we will be buying everything we need for this child that you don't get at the baby shower. And the Saturday after that is our last child-free Saturday for 25+ years."

She conceded the point. Enjoy the picture.

Artifical Market Pressures

Kristin is doing a special diet to make sure Clara doesn't get too big. One of the things she likes to eat are yogurt covered raisins. The SunMaid brand are ghetto, so she found another brand at Wegmans, Mariani.

At first, she would buy one bag at a time. The store only carried a few bags, and when they ran out she'd have to go back to SunMaid. After not having Mariani's for a while, Kristin decided that the next time they were in stock she would buy them out. A week later, they had four bags. She bought them all. This happened once or twice, where they would restock with 2-4 bags and she would buy them all, until today. They had a whole shelf of Mariani Premium Vanilla Flavored Yogurt Raisins. I told Kristin she should be proud as she single handedly created the market pressure necessary to cause Wegmans to dramatically increase their stock of the product.

I wonder what will happen when she stops the diet once Clara is born...

Related posts on Jared's blog: Economist's Nightmare and I Can't Take the Pressure

Blonde. James Bond.

Went and saw the new James Bond movie with Bonnie & David. Kristin isn't much of a Bond fan, and is also on the verge of coming down with something, so she passed. We got excellent seats in a huge theatre - this is one of those movies best seen on a BIG screen with good sound. This theatre had both.

It's been said everywhere, so I don't think I need to dwell on it much, but this was one good movie. More action that past Bonds. More believable. (Sadly) fewer gadgets. Both Bonnie and my coworker Holly testified to both Daniel Craig's dreaminess and sex appeal. Great locations. High stakes poker. A rousing huzzah for the film.

While watching the opening credits I caught a reference to free running. For those not in the know, free running is a way of running, vaulting, jumping, and climbing created by Sebastien Foucan and most often practiced in urban areas. I first discovered it when randomly browsing Google Video. Since then it has surfaced throughout pop culture, including two Madonna videos and the opening sequence of Casino Royale. The breath-taking opening sequence you might have heard about is all free running. And they even got Sebastien Foucan to play the bad guy Bond chases.

So, go see the movie. Click the links in the paragraph above to learn about free running and to see clips. The first Madonna video to which I link is full of free running. The second only has a little in the beginning. For quick samples, click here, here, and here.

Thanksgiving Dinner

The Thanksgiving blog post shall take the format of "Things For Which I am Thankful."

1. Alton Brown's recipe for brining turkey, expertly executed by Bruce & Julie. The meat was very moist and had a nice flavor. 5 stars.
2. Friends who like to cook as much as we do.
3. Weight Watchers (and the fact that I decided to eat whatever I wanted to this Thanksgiving.) I weighed myself before and after dinner. Starting weight: 249.4. Ending weight: 256.6. 7.2 pounds of food/liquid. I rock.
4. Cool toys, such as Julie's camera that she set to take a picture every 30 seconds after dinner. Check out the video here.
5. A cute wife.
6. David & Bonnie's homemade rolls.
7. Three types of Jell-O salad that went together perfectly.
8. Pie. And more pie.
9. Soon-to-be-born babies.
10. SoniCare toothbrushes. (You had to be there.)
11. Technology that (1) lets me share this with you and (2) makes it so I don't have to wash all the dishes.
12. Pain because it reminds you when you've eaten too much.
13. Pillows - because when your stomach is that full you just need to lay down.

HOLY FREAKING HARRY TEASER TRAILER POTTER

GO NOW.

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX TEASER TRAILER HAS BEEN RELEASED.

The links:

• Trailer at Yahoo.com
• The Official Web Site
• Four minute featurette on the movie at google.com
• The making of Kreacher at google.com

My quick take is that it looks amazing. Kreacher doesn't bother me, which is surprising as I despise Dobby. Brother Jared pointed out that the new Death Eater masks look cool. And Helena Bonham Carter looks awesome as Bellatrix Lestrange.

Update: Figured out how to download the high definition Quicktime Trailers. For all three links, right click and choose "Save As." Enter the file name 'Harry Potter.mov'. If you don't, it will save the movie as a dll file, which won't play.

• 1080 resolution
• 720 resolution
• 480 resolution

Pants. Now.

I got sick of hearing my coworkers tell me I need to buy new pants, so Kristin and I headed out to the outlets Veteran's Day Weekend to find pants that fit. One interesting side effect of losing weight is that I have options in the clothing department again. In the past I purchased anything that somewhat fit, regardless if I hated the color, style, etc. Now I get to analyze how each items wears, much to the chagrin of the one who has to wait for me.

I replaced my black pants and two pairs of jeans. The black pants are 6 inches smaller in the waist than the old pair; the jeans, 8 inches. I also had to buy a new belt. This is my second new belt since I started losing weight in January. I had Kristin take a picture of me to document my progress. Click to view.

JCREM & Friends Fall Harvest Cook Off (Updated)

Today was the third installment in the regular feature "JCREM & Friends Cook Off." Previous installments included March's "Food From Your Upbringing" and August's "Summer Themed Dishes." Today's theme was Fall Harvest. Over 20 people attended, indulging in turkey, sides, and desserts. The menu follows:

Main & Sides
• Turkey (Sonja)
• Green Bean Casserole (Oliver)
• Oyster Casserole (Holly)
• Four Cheese Mashed Potatoes (Courtney)
• Pumpkin Curry Soup (Alicia)
• Curry Fruit (Gina)
• Sweet Potato and Apple Salad (Diana)
• Broccoli and Cheese Casserole (Daquaan)
• Israeli Couscous (Kim)
• Macaroni & Cheese (Jen)
• Acorn & Butternut Squash Soup (Sheilah)
• Green Bean Quiche (Goli)
• Stuffing (Andrea)

Desserts
• Brownies (Sonja)
• Cranberry-Orange Loaf (Ali)
• Pumpkin Mousse Pie (Brendan)
• Apple and Custard Pie with Streusel Topping (Meredith)
• Pumpkin Bread (Nancy)
• Pumpkin Cheesecake (Sheilah)
• Pumpkin Cake with Rum Icing (Bageshri)

As always, there was a mystery judge. Today it was me! (Good call, Meredith.) As the mystery judge I was forced to willingly sampled every dish. It was all very good. I had never tried Oyster Casserole before - a Southern thing I'm told - and really enjoyed it. I filled two plates on main-course style food. A breather was required before I could move on to dessert. One plate got me all the desserts.

At the end of the day there were a few dishes that really blew me away. So, rather than announcing only a Best In Show there will also be two Honorable Mentions. The Honorable Mentions first. Honorable Mention for Excellence in Achievement in the Cooking of a Side Dish goes to Daquaan for his Broccoli & Cheese Casserole. Honorable Mention for Excellence in Achievement in the Cooking of a Dessert goes to Meredith for her Apple and Custard Pie with Streusel Topping.

And now for the Best In Show. A hearty congratulations goes to Alicia for her Pumpkin Curry Soup! Congrats and thanks to all for pulling off another amazing JCREM & Friends Cook Off.

Check out the comments section for recipes for the above dishes.

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Update: I would feel remiss if I didn't mention the pumpkin mousse pie Brendan brought. It had a strong pumpkin flavor and was well spiced with a good consistency. His wife should be commended, as he confessed that she made the pie.

Also wanted to explain my criteria for judging. First, was the relevance of the dish's ingredients to the harvest/fall/Thanksgiving theme. The pumpkin in Alicia's soup and the apples in Meredith's pie especially hit this mark. Second, was uniqueness. Daquaan's casserole, made with broccoli, cheese, and stuffing, was a nice play on the standard Divan casserole with stuffing as its topping.

Going All Nicole Richie

Today one of my coworkers said I'm going all Nicole Richie. While I doubt I'm looking like the picture to the right, I did hit another milestone when I stepped on the scale this morning: I am down 70 pounds. I'm certainly not skeletal like Nicole and still have a bit of a spare tire to kill. Come to think of it, though, I probably have lost the equivalent of a Nicole Richie. Nice.

Related post: Fatty Mc Fat Fats

Camping with the Little Mormon Boy Scouts

This weekend, I went camping with the Boy Scout troop in my ward. Six of us, three scouts and three leaders, headed over to Bull Run for a cool (read cold) evening communing with nature. The campground was fairly deserted; the only other people I saw were there with scout troops.

The campsite was in the middle of a hard wood forest; a carpet of oak leaves lined the ground. The scouts attending the camp out are all pretty new, so Zachariah took care of the fire. Nothing feels nicer than a warm fire on a cold night. As Zachariah started the fire the boys set up their tent. To say that it was an easy task for them would be an understatement. One of the boys later described it to his parents as "a time of much confusion."

Each camper brought their own dinner. One brought a meatball sub from Subway. Not exactly camping fare. Like I said, inexperienced campers. I brought a tin-foil dinner. Kristin prepared it after I gave her the basic format: potatoes thinly sliced on the bottom, onions, carrots, and a hamburger. Zachariah's fire had some awesome coals, among which my dinner cooked for 25 minutes. Nothing beats a hot meal on a cold night. It was so tasty I snuck away from camp and called Kristin to ask her what she included. The answer: a little butter. I love butter.

One of the leaders spent the night in his car, and woke me up when he started the car around 3am to turn on the heat. Otherwise, I slept soundly until 7am. Next time I need to bring a knit cap to wear while I sleep. The new air mattress Kristin bought me gave great support and kept me high enough off the ground to avoid the morning dew.

Breakfast consisted of oatmeal and hot chocolate. Last Tuesday night at our Scout meeting I taught the troop how to make donuts over a camp fire. They really enjoyed it, so we had to make donuts on the camp out. I'm not sure which they preferred more the eating of the donuts or watching as I dumped the cooking oil on the fire when we were done.

When the scouts reported on the camp out two things were mentioned:

1. They had a tough time getting the tent set up.
2. We cooked donuts.

At least they are retaining something.

Buying Moratoriums

I received an e-mail from Kristin last week. She started her Christmas shopping early (for obvious reasons) and wanted to let me know that the buying moratorium had begun. We have a deal that once one person starts their Christmas shopping a moratorium on all purchases for oneself is called to prevent the accidental purchasing of an item that the other has as a gift idea. This all started with Kristin's birthday a few years ago.

I always struggle with what to purchase Kristin for Christmas and birthdays. I like to get her something that she'll like and use, but is not too expensive. There is definitely a place for the $2000 pearls, but gifts that show creativity and attention to her likes and needs at the moment are oft times better received. One birthday I agonized for a month, consulted with her friends, and finally came up with the perfect gift: a set of make-up brushes. Our friend Paige gave me a lecture covering synthetic vs. natural, angled vs. straight, and the brand I should buy. Two weeks before her birthday Kristin is getting ready and pulls out ... wait for it ... wait for it ... a set of make-up brushes.

To prevent future occurrances anyone can call a buying moratorium whenever gifts are to be purchased. I asked my coworkers if any of them have a similar concept. Most looked at me like I was crazy, but Jen said, "Absolutely." I recommend the practice to all.

Twice the fun

Mika, Lauren, and McKenzie dropped in for a visit a few weeks ago. They had fun playing with some of Clara's toys, the soon-to-be Dad, and the camera cord. Everything ended up in their mouths. Lauren (below right) demonstrated the proper way to fit your entire fist in your mouth. McKenzie (below left) wasn't sure what to make of being held up in the air.

We've known Lauren and McKenzie since a few days after they were born. I had the chance to feed McKenzie a bottle when she was in the NICU. Holding her not-yet-4-pound body I worried that I would cause serious damage. Pete showed me that you have to pat with some force when burping a newborn, even a preemie. Those girls were and are strong. Now as they are learning to shove cheerios in their mouths, sit up on their own, and crawl I long for the day when we'll have the chance to watch Clara do the same.

33 Weeks, 2 Days

Well, we've made it this far. The doctor's office called the other day and mentioned something about inducing two weeks early, so we may only have five weeks to go. Crazy huh?

Enjoy the picture of the belly. It's still growing and showing no signs of stopping.

Tasty Treat

So, one of my Sunbeams seems to have a bizzare oral fixation. Several months ago during a lesson on the love the Savior has for us, I handed out small red cardstock hearts to the children. During closing exercises I happened to glance over at this little girl and noticed small red flecks all over her dress. As I looked closer I saw a soggy, half-eaten paper heart in her hand. Yes, you read that right - half-eaten. I figured she'd get the rest down before the end of closing exercises and left her to it. She also seems to greatly enjoy chewing on various parts of her clothing; any loose ties, laces, bows, anything, will quickly become wet and nasty.

Well, today she topped herself. During sharing time I was dealing with two hyper little boys to my right when I felt a strange sensation on my left arm. I looked over and saw this girl maybe half an inch from my arm, mouth open, ready to bite. Surprised, I told her to stop; she looked up at me with an evil grin on her face and bared her little teeth at me. During class time awhile later we were sitting on the floor playing a matching game when I started to feel little fish nibbles on my left arm. The kid was biting me! Who does that? Girly, I don't care if you chew on yourself, but leave my body parts alone.

Eww.

Speaking of which... (UPDATED)

Last week my coworkers and I got into a conversation about accents and regionalisms. Our team is comprised of people from Northern Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, and New Jersey via the Bronx. After talking about differences in pronunciation we discussed phrases that you only hear in certain parts of the country. There was one from Mississippi that was new to me: might could. Used in a sentence: "I might could go to the store." Replace the 'could' with 'be able to' and you get the Yankee version.

The next day on the train I was reading Express and read about a project at George Mason University on spoken English accents. On the project's website you can upload a sample and it will be transcribed, analyzed, and added to the project. Meredith especially like this one from Mississippi. Definitely check out the site.

Oh, and if you've never done this before go take the What Kind of American English Do You Speak? test. In 20 quick questions the test builds a profile for the special brand of American English you speak. I've included Kristin's and my profiles below. When you take the test post your results as a comment. (When they ask for how to format your results, select "Livejournal / Blogspot".)

Oliver's Linguistic Profile:

60% General American English

25% Yankee

10% Upper Midwestern

5% Dixie

0% Midwestern

Kristin's Linguistic Profile:

75% General American English

15% Yankee

5% Dixie

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

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Update: My coworker Meredith found another language quiz. http://gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have

A Discussion of Names

It is well known that we picked out names for our children early on in our marriage. With first and middle names for two boys and for two girls (with back up names for another boy) we felt ready for at least the first two children.

Recently, the middle name for the first girl - hopefully being born in less than six weeks - has come into question. We know the first name will be Clara. But are struggling with ... no ... fighting over ... not quite ... discussing what we thought was going to be the middle. In an effort to harness the promise of interactivity inherent in this medium, please use the poll below and let us know what you think Clara's middle name should be.

Before you vote, a few words on the names:

• Clara - name of Oliver's grandmother after whom he is named
• Jean - name of Kristin's grandmother after whom she is name
• Bright - maiden name of Kristin's beloved Great-Grandmother Doris (do you blame us for thinking of the maiden name over the first name?)
• Rachel - name of Great-Grandma Doris' grandmother

What should Clara's middle name be?
	Jean
	Bright
	Rachel
	None of the above

Expectations

Sunday night we were visiting friends and Clara started kicking. I quickly put my hand on Kristin's stomach and felt Clara going to town. Our friend wanted to feel so I moved my hand and, the moment our friend'’s hand touched Kristin's stomach, Clara stopped. The whole once-someone-else-wants-to-feel-she-stops thing has happened many times. When it does Kristin glares at her stomach and we joke that we know Clara is going to be a pill.

Kristin's grandfather affectionately referred to his grandchildren as llip, tarb, and lacsar. I sometimes wonder what sort of names Clara will have. Will she be calm and composed like her mother? Will she have endless amounts of energy and a never-ending need to be around people like her father? Will she be shy? Will she be outgoing? Who and what will she be?

This weekend we attended a two day child-birth class. The class included a tour of hospital where Clara is expected to be born. We saw the labor and delivery rooms, the postpartum rooms, and the nursery. Lying in a bassinete was a baby a few hours old. One of the nurses said she looked to be about six pounds. Kristin looked at me and said, "Ours won'’t be that small. What have we gotten ourselves into?" Seeing where Clara will enter the world made it that much more real that in about six weeks we will be parents. It's exciting and daunting all at once.

I can only hope that she takes the best of Kristin and the best of me. And that she will have people around her to give more if that isn'’t enough.

Don't keep us waiting too long, my daughter.

Google Analytics

I've often wonder who visits our site. The URL has been passed around to family, friends, coworkers, etc. I was poking around for free web counters Monday night when I found a post on a message board recommending Google Analytics. I checked it out and was surprised at how easy to use it is. So, I added it to our blog.

It's easy! Visit the site, register or use your Google username to sign in, then they provide you with some code to drop in your blogger template and - BAM - you have charts and graphs that show who is coming to your site, how often, and from where.

Check out our graphs as of tonight (click for larger image):Thanks go out to ericandjenarecute.com and moorlaps.blogspot.com for being our top referrers!

Greatest Prayer Ever

Our good friend Julie posted a prayer offered by her son Colter...yes, the famous Colter, one of the most precocious and enjoyable four-year-olds I've met. Check it out on their blog:

Greatest Prayer Ever

Oliver's Top 10 Songs

At work the other day Thalia's Amor a la Mexicana came on my iPod. I took out my headphones, turned to my coworker Sonja and said, "I think this is probably my all-time favorite song." Sonja took off her glasses, looked at me, and said, "Oliver, you'd be hard pressed to come up with a top ten list." After denying her repeatedly, I decided to take up the charge.

That night upon arriving home I opened iTunes (7.0.2), created a playlist "Oliver Top 10," and combed through my music library adding the songs I felt deserved to be on my Top 10 List.

It's 34 songs long. I think I lost.

The list:

• Breathe - Télépopmusik
• Amor a la Mexicana - Thalia
• Cells - The Servant
• Politik - Coldplay
• The Scientist - Coldplay
• Fix You - Coldplay
• I Miss You - Blink-182
• Tibet (A Passage To...) - Tibet Project
• Karma [Extended Mix] - Karma
• Yo Vivire - Celia Cruz
• Black Dada (Edo-mae Mix) - Fantastic Plastic Machine
• In the Deep - Bird York
• Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver
• Dare - Gorillaz
• Let Go - Frou Frou
• Somnambulist - BT
• Force Of Gravity - BT
• Firewater - BT
• Feel Good Inc (Single Edit) - Gorillaz
• Raspberry Swirl - Tori Amos
• The District Sleeps Alone Tonight - The Postal Service
• Float On - Modest Mouse
• It's In Our Hands - Björk
• Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap
• Ojos Así - Shakira
• Satellite - BT
• Drowned World/Substitute For Love - Madonna
• Ray Of Light - Madonna
• Redemption's Son - Joseph Arthur
• Dreaming in Colour - Art of Noise
• Rock Paper Scissors - Ani DiFranco
• Headlock - Imogen Heap
• Jung At Heart - Master Cylinder
• Ja Sei Namorar - Tribalistas

Click here to view...

You've got voicemail ... from John McCain.

We've received voicemail from some pretty impressive people in the past two days: Senator John McCain, Govenor Tim Kaine, and First Lady Laura Bush. You didn't know I was on a first name basis with these people? Well, I'm not. And I hope that I never will be.

Six voice messages in the past two days and four of them were political. People leave me alone! I've grown to hate politics. I hate the fact that Democrats and Republicans agree on 99.99% of the issues yet live to blow the .01% out of proportion. Watching Survivor Thursday night every commercial break included an attack ad slamming George Allen and another attack ad slamming Jim Webb. What do these men stand for? I have no idea. What do they hate about the other candidate? I would know if I listened to the commercials, but I am so sick of them that I changed the channel each time one come on.

Congratulations Messers Allen and Webb. You've turned me off to politics. I really don't care what you have to say. I don't really care what you want to do. I've decided to vote the party line on Tuesday. Will I be voting for one of you? Nope. Will I be voting because I think you can make a difference? Nope. Is there hope that politics in this country will every move away from the realm of personal attacks and actually try to make change? Sadly, these men are proving the answer to be the same: nope.

Refreshment

An update on my Sunbeams and the excellent comedy they provide...note that no names will be used in order to protect the "innocent."

So last Sunday during the lesson little guy #1 decided to play "Ice Cream Man" and pass out imaginary ice cream cones to the other children in the class. Little guy #2 joined right in on the fun and took periodic licks from his invisible cone. At one point we started playing a matching game and when his turn came around little guy #2 said to me, "I feel ill. The only thing that will help is some ice cream." He then pretended to lick his cone and played his turn.

We go through the same routine on his next turn, except this time he says, "The only thing that will help is some ice cream and herb." He then pantomines taking a drag from a joint.

I was so shocked that I couldn't even laugh...at the time anyway. I'm definitely laughing now. I wonder if there's something going on in that house I should be worried about.

{INSERT EXCLAMATION OF GLEE}

This afternoon I noticed the Herndon Observer in our driveway. As a child I always loved reading the Observer as it made me feel like I had a small town with which to connect in the middle of the sprawling suburbia that is the Metro DC Area. The Observer just recently began delivering to our neighborhood. I look forward to reading it each week.

As I scanned the front page a picture caught my eye:I hurriedly turned to page five and read the article. From the article:

Bowman's Furniture Company will soon close its doors in order for the commonwealth to finish widening Centreville Road. The store is located along a portion of Centreville Road where it merges into a single-lane road, and the shop received a notice Tuesday, Oct. 31, that it must close within 90 days.

Curtis Holdaway, owner of Bowman's Furniture, said he had known about the construction project since 1989, but he expected to receive at least six months notice of the closure.

For the past 10 years one stretch of Centreville Road, where it narrows from six lanes to two then opens back up to six lanes a half a mile later, has been a major bottleneck to traffic traveling from the Toll Road down to Franklin Farms and Chantilly. The county has long planned to widen the road, but the land that Bowman's Furniture sits on is needed for the project to move forward. For whatever reason, the store has remained and traffic suffered. As I rarely see customers, I've wondered how they have stayed in business. I'm all for local business - small businesses are a major part of our economy. But Bowman's Furniture is an eyesore. The building is run down, the windows are filled with junk, and the lot is run down. To some, it may be missed.

But as for me, I'm looking forward to the six lane road.