The reason: Brian was in New York for a concert with Glimmerglass Opera and took the computer. The kids and I stayed in NC and had fun with DanaLee.
The above photo is from the New York Times review of the evening. I think he looks great, but it struck me that he looks like a real adult. We are kind of in our mid-thirties and have two kids, so I suppose this is real adulthood. Since our roots go back to our teenage years, it is kind of hard to believe we have grown up. Anyway, great work Brian!
So we have a friend who has started a blog from her adolescent diary entries. It's quite funny. If you ever wanted to know what may have been going through a girl's mind in the 80's, here is your chance. I also like how the author mentioned to us how it is important to embrace your inner child but your inner teenage needs to be kicked to the curb. Here is how she describes the blog:
Due to not-so-popular yet compelling demand, I'm blogging my high school diary entries from the late eighties and early nineties. You are more likely to enjoy this blog if: - You were born between 1970 and 1976. - You thought George Michael would fall in love with you if he only got to know you. = During 1989 your Aquanet consumption easily exceeded fushia aerosol can per month. - You penned at least one angsty poem per week about your latest crush (usually George Michael or your paperboy). - Most importantly, you assiduously nursed any and all legitimate bouts of melancholia into sustained periods of truly impressive despair which were so so poetic that when you consulted your journals weeks after writing about each episode, you moved yourself to tears.
There is even a poetry contest! Sadly since we are traveling (and most of my teen age journals are in storage) I won't have anything to submit. As an 18 and 19 year old I did write LOTS of poems about Brian, which I finally gave to him to read only after we had been married almost 3 years. Yeah, pretty embarrassing.
Brian here. So,when we were in Seattle we had this bread from the Essential Baking Company. A 100% whole wheat round crusty artisan loaf called 'pain du george'. It was a revelation- perfect crust, chewy open crumb, beautiful flavor with a hint of sour. Usually 100% whole has signified 'healthy but not so tasty', so when I tried this I knew I needed to learn how to make it. I looked at the ingredient list: Whole wheat flour, water and salt. SO, I have been learning about culturing my own wild yeast starters. Today, after a week of nurturing my starter, I made my first loaf, pictured above. I'm not ready for 100% whole wheat yet, so this one is 30% whole. But the ingredient list is: All purpose flour, whole wheat flour, water and salt.
I was pretty happy with the crumb and the flavor is really interesting. It has a wheaty but mellow flavor with a slight tang.
Meet my new pets: Ozzie (whole wheat on the bottom) and Harriet (part wheat part white) on the top. I have lots of plans for them. Ann is very amused and possibly slightly concerned about my new obsession. I now belong to on online community for crazy bread people, and they are not moderate. Really though, once the starter is going, it doesn't require a huge time commitment.
It was a fun birthday for Colin. Our old friend from BYU, Kimberly Harris, was hosting a playgroup at her house that morning and she invited us to make it an impromptu party. It was very kind of her to do this and sweet for Colin because he keeps talking about his birthday with his "friends". In the collage above it is kind of obvious why he ended up with no shirt on.
When Brian put the cupcake and candles on the table and before they were lit, Colin said he needed fire on them. Here Colin contemplates the fire.
Colin and I spent the afternoon watching some Scooby Doo and then went to Big Lots. We then meet up with Brian and Dana Lee and went out for some Mexican food. We took Colin's gifts and had a fun night. Colin got lots of blue Lighting McQueens and the DVD of Peter Pan (since he seems to have a little crush on Tinker Bell.)
Happy Birthday Colin! We are so happy to have you!!
Colin had a lovely birthday. We have many more photos to post, but here is a quick overview of Colin's birthday cupcakes. We were subletting an apartment in Brooklyn, NY where we got him a red velvet cupcake, second birthday was an M&M cupcake (and he only ate the M&M's) and yesterday he requested a chocolate cupcake with blue frosting. Yum.
We arrived to North Carolina more than a week and a half ago. Brian is here for another Cenorentola (Rossini's Cinderella). We are very well situated with our old college friend Dana Lee. We opted to stay with her instead of opera housing so I would have some company when Brian is at rehearsals. She has a very nice townhouse and with her teaching job is able to bring home different toys for the kids. And her neighborhood has great places for me to take the kids in the stroller. We go on very nice leisure walks and can walk to Trader Joe's, Big Lots, and McDonald's to name a few. We are also across the street from a Gold's Gym that we joined and they have a kids club that Colin and Jane love. Since this is our third consecutive month away from home, we feel very fortunate to be so well situated. North Carolina is lovely and we are happy to be here.
Jane tried fresh strawberries at our friend's house near Seattle recently and enjoyed them. I was surprised how sweet they were.
The last few weeks we have seen Jane experimenting pulling up to things. She has even let go a few times to test her balance, and she climbs up one stair. AHH!! She is growing up too fast. She is working on her 8th tooth. At 8 months Colin did not have any teeth yet.
I love this little photo of Colin. He turns 3 years old tomorrow!
We have not been very quick on posting the last little while. A whole lot of Stuckis and a couple of my family members and other old friends came to Brian's last night of the Pearl Fishers. There were a lot more people than were around for this photo.
One more bare chested photo. Again, the three characters from the love triangle.
We have moved on the North Carolina where Brian gets to perform with clothes!
