Superbowl

Each year since taking an excellent public relations class in college, I've eagerly awaited the Superbowl ads.

I printed my score sheet from Spotbowl dot com and I plan to vote at the same site on Monday. Hopefully I can add my voice to the choir that votes against tasteless, childish ads that are not funny. Those ads make sitting through the game (when your team is not in it) a real drag.

But even more than that I hope to see something great like the Bohemian Rhapsody Mountain Dew ad from 2000. I also expect great things from Budweiser and their Clydesdales. Coke has has come winners and some duds. This year, when they are introducing a new tag line, I'm hoping for a winner.

Not Much Happening

Last post was during a frigid cold snap. It is not quite so cold any more, but the snow is still solidly on the ground. I'm reminded of a conversation I had with my cousin from Louisiana over the summer. We were talking about the winters of our childhood when it seemed the snow fell in December and stayed around until March. There may be a brief thaw, but it was quickly remedied by another 6 - 8 inches of snow.

This winter, it seems the snow is sticking around more than I recall from the past 20 years or so. We usually have some ice build up in right outside our back door, from icicles above. This year, the build up is 4 - 6 inches thick and the salt is not making much of a dent. It is treacherous for little feet to negotiate!

I'm looking forward to everyone feeling healthy again so I can take the kids sledding. We should make the most of the snow -- right? By the end of the week we should be able to go, and I just may remember to bring along a camera.

I've been unmotivated to post lately. The school days are blending together with not much notable going on. I'll mention trying yet another approach in math for the Artist and the conclusion of second grade math for the Engineer.

Knitting is moving along, but the sweater I'm making for the Artist at the moment is rather complicated and it is slow going. When the TV is too distracting or the project is too unwieldy to be portable I seem to slow way down.

I find myself longing for spring more than in past years. In the mean time, The Portrait of Dorian Gray (Wilde), The Sorrows of Young Werther (Goethe) , or The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharpe are giving me plenty to think about. And I'm mostly successful at logging 10,000 steps a day on my pedometer.

Latest Excuse

Here's why I'll forgo mopping the front vestibule today:Frost creeping under the doorway and on the hinges...

and even onto the interior frame!

Not that I needed too much of an excuse. Mopping the vestibule is more of an every other Saturday chore.

I have not checked the Florida room to see what it looks like.

I have laid some wool sweaters on the snow to experiment with the self-cleaning I've read about on some other blogs.

Birthday Party

The Engineer recently turned 7. He wanted to be a king for his birthday. That one stumped me for a while, but in time I latched on to a Mardi Gras theme.

We decorated with purple, green and gold, the Artist made a beautifully festive cake (sans little plastic baby bauble). The Engineer approves! And he got to arrange his candles. The kids all made mardi gras crowns with a vast selection of glue-on and stick-on decorations. I talked with the kids about Epiphany ("Kings Day"), carnival season, and the grand culmination in Mardi Gras.

During the party the boys opted to play with race cars, foosball, football, a toy shooting gallery, and the young lady who attended go to join the Artist in playing dolls.

The king-for-a-day and his court:

Orthodontic Adventure

School will be interrupted today for the beginning of the Artist's orthodontic adventure. I hope she does not have too tough a time of it.

When I was 15 I got my braces. I didn't have the extreme discomfort some of my acquaintances complained about, but there were two or three days following each appointment when my mouth would be sore and tender and I only wanted to eat soup.

Perhaps I didn't think it was too bad because I've always liked soup. Now I'm wondering to myself if this adventure will help the Artist become a soup lover!

Wii-cess

Winter weather recess from the school day has never been so anticipated as yesterday and today. The Wii system that made its appearance on Christmas morning has a lot to do with that!

I am thrilled that the meager half hour I can give the kids for recess does not lose ten minutes to donning coats and boots. I am happy they are playing together rather than arguing together. I'm glad they are excited about recess rather than pouting that they need to do something outdoors. And on the really yucky outdoor days I'm glad their recess is active. It is 100 times better than watching TV shows on stations that frequently don't come in well at our address.

And if you're getting the impression I'm happy about it, you should hear the kids!
The great surprise Christmas morning...Santa has installed the Wii in the middle of the night. (Tested it too!) The Artist knew what she was looking at because she has used the system at a friend's before. The Engineer is about to have a whole new world open up to him.
Now the kids have Wii-cess rather than recess. Here they are duking it out in a boxing match.

Bread Surprise

The whole house smells so good right now, because I just finished making my first loaf of bread in my new bread maker. The work was done by the machine, so I did not have to set the timer to check on bread rising in the oven or worry about getting bread into the oven before I'd need to run errands and such.

But the bread is not without surprises. Here it is, three days shy of Epiphany, but we have a bauble baked in.
The kneading paddle came off into the loaf! The booklet features a prominent instruction on what to do if this should happen, so I gather it is rather common. But it was completely unexpected to me.

We have king cakes on the brain because the Engineer wants to be a king for his birthday coming up in a little more than a week. As befits the season, we'll be making mardi gras crowns and hanging purple green and gold streamers. I don't think I'll be baking a little plastic baby into the birthday cake, but the Engineer's grandpa is hoping to come up with a genuine king cake, baby and all, to bring to the party too.

All in all, I'd rather have the little plastic baby in my cake than a stainless steel paddle in my bread.

The first loaf is cooling, but if I can tell from the delightful aroma, this will be a gift we will all enjoy! I look forward to trying some more of the scrumptious recipes featured on the Bread Blog.