Adventures N Writing

I like food. I like to eat good food. Yeah--bad food sucks, but I definitely am up for good food. I love to make it and I love to eat it--and the best is when my family tells me that they love it. My youngest actually said last night, "You are the best cook ever, Mom." Talk about melting my heart. Okay, so might have been trying to schmooze me, but whatever--I will take it anyway. I have found one of the best and most nutritious side dishes you can make is Quinoa. If you don't know about Quinoa, here is a bit of nutritional information about it that pulled off of Wikipedia: Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato , and was followed in importance by maize . In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine ), and like oats , quinoa contains a balanced set of...

My eight-year-old son brought up the dreaded question last night. I’ve explained this phenomenon before, but unfortunately kids need different forms of information as they age. I gave him the short run-down (again) but my narrative was followed by the inevitable slew of questions. Kid: What if you had another baby? Me: I'm not. Kid: But what if you did? Me: The world would implode... I mean, don't worry about it. I'm not. Kid: But so where do you get babies? Me: Costco. Or in your case, Target. Target has everything, right? Kid (glaring at me): Mom! Me: Remember your book? From Mommies and Daddies. Kid: But how? Me: Well, people have to have sex. Kid: What???? Oh my God! Me (nodding): Yes. It’s true. I then gave him a unnecessarily lengthy description of IVF in the vain hope that his interest in science would distract him from further interrogation. Kid: So which one did you do to have me? Sex or the other one? Me: I did not have IVF. Kid (look of hyster...

The Dog Whisperer would come into my home and be totally appalled. Our house is pretty much run by the dogs. The cat seems to have quite a bit of say, too. Throw in a couple of teenagers and an 8 year old and the adults here are screwed. We accept it. It's why I like wine. Not really. A little bit anyway. We just seriously love the damn dogs, and the cat (I actually have mixed feelings about the cat. She is the first cat I have ever had that I can say is a complete lunatic). The teenagers are okay and the 8 year old so far is pretty cool (I'm waiting until age 12 as I am already somewhat prepared having lived through it twice before--I am of the belief there should be a planet for people aged 13-19. They get sucked up to that planet while their frontal lobes become fully developed where they then understand how to be human again and treat their mothers and fathers like they, too, are human. Then at 19 they can come back home. Oh, they do that anyway). Back to the dogs. Java our...

Kids have the best imagination! I think that is why I love working with them so much. It's fun for me to listen to my daughter play with her Breyer horses and make up all sorts of stories. I miss that about my boys who are now teenagers. Ther imaginations are absorbed in video games. The other day I was out to lunch with a friend at a really cool fish and chips place here in San Diego , Point Loma Sea Foods . We sat down on some steps where we could watch a seal just right out in front of us playing in the water. He was actually begging. A little girl of about four was watching and I started talking to her. I asked her if the seal was a boy or a girl. She looked at me as if I was ridiculous and said, "Boy!" Then I asked her what he was doing in the harbor and she said, "Looking for his family." She was very matter of fact about it. We talked for a few more minutes until her big sister got bored with our conversation and the seal and told her they had to go. But...