Animals

I'm not an animal hater. It's just that if I could go the rest of my life without touching an animal, I would be very happy.

I never ever wanted a pet growing up. In fact, when I would go to people's houses where there was a dog or cat, I would do my best to avoid the creature. We were pretty much a pet-free house growing up. Except for a short time when my brother Jeff got a parakeet when he was about 8. Well, there were 2 birds. Megan pointed out to me that I have the two mixed up--it's just one big yucky memory of having the bird in the house to me. One bird was named Houdini who came to an early end when a curious little sister tried to get him out of his cage, and another bird was named Pee Wee. I'm not sure which came first. Anyway, Pee Wee was a good and smart bird. He would sit on Jeff's shoulder all the time, and he would sit and crap all over the piano while Jeff practiced. Pee Wee loved Jeff. But the bird grossed me out. It's just a fact that I cannot deny.

My family got a dog after I got married. Misty was a cute little maltese, and a very good and very cute dog. She recently died after my family had had her for more than 16 years. I admit I got teary when I heard the news. While I never wanted to touch her, I did understand how much she meant to my family, and I thought she was the best dog a family could have. As Nancy said, "R.I.P. our 900 year old dog."

I know that I don't hate animals. I think most of them are beautiful. The majesty of the horse is incredible, and I think dogs are cute. Just don't make me go near one. My heart breaks for dogs that are kept in yards and are never played with. Our neighbors have 2 dogs that spend all year in the back yard, and I have not once in the 6 years they have lived there EVER seen the dogs go for a walk or be played with in the yard. It makes me sad. See, I'm not heartless.

Our kids will never have a pet. I know the old adage "Never say never," but I can guarantee we will not have a pet in our house. I have too many things to take care of with 7 kids without having to worry about if the dog got walked or fed today. I think they all know this deep down, because not once has one of them ever asked for a pet.

25 random things

I got tagged by this a bunch of times over the weekend on Facebook. I though I'd post it here, too. Here we go:

1. I never had the chickenpox. I have had a blood test and somehow I am immune to it. My brother Jeff also avoided it while Scott, Nancy and Megan suffered.

2. I have gained AND lost 350 pounds between my 7 babies. Which leads into my next one:

3. I think anyone who says she enjoyed being pregnant is lying.

4. I think I have mild claustrophobia. I cannot wear nylons or too many layers, and I cannot sleep with anything touching my face.

5. I can't sleep without socks on. My feet are always freezing. I'm always freezing. I decided I am an exothermic person, selflessly giving away my warmth to others.

6. I don't like it when people leave stuff on the kitchen counter. I like to see the counters, and if you leave your homework, book, or valuable item on the counter, it's not my problem if you can't find it when you need it.

7. I love to bake. I am a pastry snob, and usually don't eat store-bought (or other people's) cookies or pies. It has to be worth the calories to eat it. My kids usually won't eat other people's cookies, either. One exception to this is Trader Joe's Peppermint Joes. I devour those like crazy during the holidays.

8. I have a commercial laundromat in my basement. Seriously. 2 commerical washers, 2 commercial dryers. How else could I keep up with the laundry for 9 people? It gives me time to do more important things, like write 25 random things about myself. It used to take me 16 hours to do the laundry--which means it rarely ever all got done. Now it takes me under 2 hours. No quarters necessary, though. Bring your blankets and sleeping bags over anytime.

9. I stink at almost every sport. Except for bowling. But that's not really a sport.

10. I have a degree in teaching middle school/jr high science. Never used it. I was pregnant with Abram when I graduated and found I could make a lot more money with my computer skills than I could teaching for those 5 months between graduation and his birth.

11. When I was in 6th grade the school librarian (Mrs. Turpin who seemed 90 years old) would come get me out of class to type the new cards for library books because I could type a lot faster than she could. I could type 80 wpm in 6th grade.

12. When I was little I was so afraid that our house would burn down. I blame this directly on a Jimminy Cricket movie we saw at school about how to prevent house fires (I'm no fool...No siree...Do you remember this movie?) and also how to escape from a burning house. I terrified me. I used to be afraid every time we had been away that I would come around the corner and see the house burning. I'm over it.

13. I used to want to travel the world. Now all I want to do is go back to Belize. Europe Shmerope. I'll take La Isla Bonita.

14. I took piano lessons for a million years. I can still play. I am a closet organist, too. I bought an organ on craigslist a couple of years ago, bought BYU's organ class materials and taught myself the basics. I secretly wish for my friend to be sick every Sunday so I can play the organ at church.

15. I love to sew. My mom taught me how to sew the summer after 8th grade. I was too young to get a job, and just old enough to be annoying without anything to do. So I learned to sew. I made some sweet moolah in high school making lycra biking shorts with fluorescent colored side insets for people.

16. I love Barry Manilow. Well, not him, but I love his voice. Scott and I used to stack up the Barry records 3 or 4 at a timeon the record player and sing along at the top of our lungs. Barry gives one heckuva concert. I've been twice. Next year when I fly to Vegas for Bradley girls weekend, I want to go to Barry's show before we head to St. George. Luckily, Mark likes Barry also.

17. I love big cities. I love to go somewhere I've never been and figure out the streets and directions and how to get around. I've got to get to NY to stay with Emilee. I've always wanted to go to NYC, just for the city experience. Not for shopping or shows. Just to see the cool buildlings and museums. Mostly, I want to go watch Em play at Peacock Alley in the Waldorf. I'm so proud of her!

18. Sometimes I dream that I cannot keep my eyes open and they blink and blink and I need them to be open because I'm trying to run away or do something. Emilee is the only other person I've know who had the same sort of dream. I also dream that I can fly, and the usual dream that I need to run but I cannot move or need to scream and can't make a sound. Before I cater something (feeding 9 peope 3 times a day isn't catering) I have dreams that I cannot get all the food ready or onto the table it needs to be on.

17. I also love Neil Diamond. I love his voice. My brother Jeff can sing exactly like him.

18. I love to sing. I never realized I actually had a singing voice until I haphazardly tried out for concert choir in high school. I made it, and had no idea if I was a soprano or alto so I sat by the sopranos to sit by my friend. I found out later I was supposed to be an alto, but I never moved to the other side of the room. I do prefer to sing alto now, and the smallest group I've sung in public with (other than my excellent duets with Betsy at girls camp) is 4.

19. Our kids are named in alphabetical order purely by random coincidence--until Zachary. Abram, Aubrey, Jacob, Joel, Noah, Savanna, Zachary. Mark liked the name Elijah before Zack was born, and I liked something else. The night before I was to be induced, we were discussing names, and it occured to me that as Mark was a logical person, I would try the ABC argument. I told him it would be a shame to mess up our alphabet by jumping backward and that we had to pick something that came after S. Muah-ah-ah..... I totally pulled the name Zachary out of the air, and we both knew it was perfect for him. We should have started on the last page of the baby name book to being with!

20. I have given birth 7 times, but I have never gone into labor on my own. Each week at my appointment the doctor would tell me that he likely wouldn't see me the next week, and yet there I was defying the odds in my own special way that someone could actually walk around dialated to a 5 and not be in labor. I have been induced at 37-38 weeks each time (except with Aubrey when I had to go to my due date). I had huge babies, and if I had gone to term with any of the last 5, they would have weighed 11 pounds. So glad to be done with that.

21. My dad has been battling colon and now liver cancer for the past couple of years. He has 2 chemo treatments left, and we are so excited for that to be done. He is a huge example of love, endurance, positive attitude, happiness, and doing hard things. He is Mark's inspiration for staying fit, because he admires so much that my dad is still so active (when not being poisoned by chemo) into his 60s. My dad tells the BEST bedtime stories.

22. My entire family (excluding me) graduated from the University of Utah. Mom, Dad, Scott, Jeff, Nancy, Megan--and their spouses. I think I nearly killed my mom when I came home my junior year from Skyline one day and told her I wanted to go to BYU. I didn't even apply to the U. I knew I needed to be there, although I had grown up hating BYU. It ended up that I graduated from the University of Nebraska in the end . I got married and moved to Nebraska where Mark was going to dental school.

23. I play the guitar--sort of. I took lessons for a while in high school, and I can sort of pick out songs. Mostly just enough to play around the campfire. I want to buy a 12-string guitar to take to girls camp this year. Get ready, Betsy!

24. I took 5 years of French in jr high and high school, and 1 year of spanish in high school. I speak Spanish better than I do french. But I can read french--at least enough to get by.

25. Mark and I have survived 3 building projects together. First the dental building 10 years ago, our house 7 years ago, and now the basement. I've heard that building/remodeling is the true test of a relationship. It actually was fun every time. Lots and lots of work, but very fun.

Blueberry Buckle

This recipe is great for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, mid-morning snack, brunch--whatever. I think it is better than any Starbucks pastry. Lots of carbs to kick-start your morning.

I have no idea why it is called a Buckle. I suppose I could google and figure out why, but I just know that it is like a coffeecake.

Sasha needed a recipe for a breakfast meeting this weekend, so I told her I would post this for her. Enjoy! Just don't tell Mark it has lemon juice in it. This is one of his favorite breakfasts.

Blueberry Buckle
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 c milk
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 c blueberries

Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, lemon juice and milk. Mix well. Sift flour, baking powder, salt together and add to butter mixture. Mix just until blended. Fold in blueberries. Spread batter into 9- or 10-inch square pan.

Make streusel topping as follows and sprinkle over top of batter before baking:
1 c sugar
2/3 c flour
2 t cinnamon
1/2 c butter
Cut into small pieces with pastry cutter or Cuisinart until crumbly.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. You can bake a thinner version in a 9x13 for 35 minutes. No matter which size, make sure the center isn't still gooey before you pull it out of the oven.

Second thoughts

Back during the basement project, we also re-did the stairs leading from the kitchen to the basement with a new banister, new non-light carpet, plaster on the beat-up walls, and paint. I painted the walls the color I was planning to paint the kitchen. It's a celery green color. I love the color. It matches my slippers.

Last week Mark's dad cut out Joel's pinewood derby car. We don't own a saw (other than the chainsaw), and Mark's dad has the ultimate wood shop--complete with a milling machine to make a precise cut for the nail axles to go in. Joel wanted a pick-up truck shape. He sketched it on the wood, and Grandpa went to town. Grandpa thought the truck would look better (he is right) with a recessed bed like a real truck rather than a flat bed. So he used some cool tool to carve out a sweet truck bed. What a nice grandpa.

On the way home, Joel and I had the following conversation:
Joel: Mom, do we have any of that green paint for the kitchen left over?
Me (surprised): Yeah. Do you want to paint your truck THAT color?
Joel: Yeah. I think that is the perfect color for a hillbilly truck.

Does that mean that Behr should rename the color "Hillbilly Truck" rather than "Rejuvenate?" Should I reconsider my kitchen paint choice? I'm a little nervous now. I was planning to paint next weekend.

Food aversions

In our family, there are a few no-gos when it comes to food. Some are logical (like mine) and other people's are not.

First, I do not like fish, or anything that ever lived in water. I can swallow a couple of bites of salmon now and then, but it's really just focusing on getting it down--no enjoyment. I used to like fish. At the Fish Lake cabin we had fish almost every night for dinner. Grandma Henrichsen had quite a knack for cooking it as I recall. But something happened to my taste buds around age 10 that forever changed how I feel about eating fish. It all just stinks to me.

I also do not like mushrooms--any type, any way. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Green peppers are another no. They poison everything they touch--you can't just pick them out. I love the flavor of onions, but I can't eat cooked ones if they are in big pieces--something of a texture issue. Same with tomatoes. I really like blueberries in baked goods, but I cannot stand to eat fresh blueberries. Other than that, I'm pretty much game for anything--oh yeah, except for game. Don't bring me an elk or a deer and expect me to be happy about it--or cook it.

Mark loves almost every food, except for citrus. The sight, smell and flavor of lemons, oranges, grapefruit are repulsive to him. He can't remember what trauma from his childhood created this citrus-phobia, but there must have been something. If we want to eat oranges around here, we have to sneak them in while he is at work--and at least a couple of hours before he gets home so that the smell can dissipate.

Abram doesn't like noodles--any kind. Or beans. Green beans are OK, just the black, pino, kidney ones he freaks out about. He will eat anything else. I mean anything.

Everyone else is pretty normal. I guess they figured out a long time ago that even if you don't like what I made for dinner, you might as well eat it because there is not another option aside from going hungry. The advantage of being the cook is that I can leave out mushrooms and green peppers and not have to look picky or go without dinner.

Last month for family home evening one night we sat down at the table with all the cookbooks and everybody had to find 20 things that sounded good to them. It was very educational for me--I have been stuck in a rut as far as dinner ideas. The kids found some really good recipes that I had overlooked.

11h30

The kids got this song as a free "Single of the Week" some time ago. It is a favorite dance tune for Noah. Aubrey shot this video of Noah, Savanna and Zack yesterday.

Go Eagles! or Jill is a cheapskate, part 2

Any of you who know our family know that we are not HUGE sportsfans. It's not that we dislike sports; it's just that we always have so many other things to do and worry about that watching sports on TV is not a priority.

The first year we lived in Nebraska, we invited some friends (3 couples) over for Sunday dinner. After church that day I cooked, made rolls, set up an extra table, and got everything ready for what I thought was just a usual Sunday dinner with friends.

When they arrived, it seemed that something was a little weird. They were acting off, but I couldn't really tell what was going on because I was trying to get dinner on the table. After we sat down and starting eating one of the guys said, "So, are we going to watch the Super Bowl?" Mark and I looked at each other and started laughing. We had no idea it was Superbowl Sunday! These people had assumed we had invited them over for a Superbowl party. We turned on the TV and watched the Superbowl and everyone was happy--but they knew we were dorks. No chips, no pop. Just Sunday dinner and the Superbowl.

Another good one was when Abram invited 40 friends over to watch the Oregon vs. Oregon State "Civil War" game. If you have read my blog for a while and remember the story, you can skip this. If not, click here for a funny story http://jillatoz.blogspot.com/2008/01/party-that-almost-wasnt.html

On with the story. I don't think we have watched an NFL game since we lived in Nebraska until this year. Mark's cousin Stewart Bradley is a linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is awesome, and our kids long to meet him. They even created a Stewart Bradley mii on the wii so they can pretend they are playing tennis or whatever with him. We have watched a few Eagles games on TV this year to see our cousin and his powerful tackles.

Of all of our kids, Abram is the biggest sports fan. He is a huge sports fan, and maybe the world's biggest Stewart Bradley fan--well, except for Mark's aunt and uncle. Anyway, I noticed that one of Mark's other cousins had purchased an Eagles jersey with BRADLEY on it, and I wanted one for Abram. Thanks for the shopping tips, Courtney! I found exactly what I wanted online, and used my cheapskate shopping skills to get a good deal.

Before I buy anything online, (I buy almost everything online) I go to http://www.couponcabin.com/ or http://www.retailmenot.com/ to find out if there are any online coupons I should be using. Today Sports Authority had a 15% off coupon for Abram's Eagles jersey, so that saved me $12 just for looking. Couponcabin.com almost always comes through for me. Check it out next time you're buying online.