Dinner Lately

Has been a bit of a toss up.

Sunday: Zucchini Frittata using a recipe Jenni gave me. It was very yummy and very fast. It probably would have been better

Monday: I did a simplified version of this Ground Gyros Platter. It was pretty tasty.

Tuesday: Linguine with White Clam Sauce turned into cappellini with white clam sauce. It was pretty good, but I think I'm Clam Sauced out.

Wednesday: Sausage with Rice.

Thursday: Chick Fil A. The chipotle is not opening until April 25, we found out.

Friday: I believe we are having ramen noodles with egg today. What culinary adventures await us next week?? Stay tuned to find out. Or see you in a month. Whatever floats my boat.

Updates

Movies I've watched (a lot on airplanes)
Becoming Jane At first I hated this. Then I liked it. In the end, I only like James McEvoy more and Anne Hathaway less.
Juno I'm sorry y'all. Overrated.
Atonement Cried.
Namesake Cried.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age Eh.
Paris, Je'Taime Cried.

Shows I'm Watching
Top Chef-who to root for...hmm, I just don't know. I think I like Richard Blais. One, his restaurant is called "Trail-Blais." It's in Atlanta, so I just have a preference there. And he LOVES Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in an authentic way. That's charming. I hate his hair, and his arrogance and it's quite likely he didn't have many friends in elementary school, but I am rooting for him.

Battlestar-It's BACK baby. If you are not making time in your life to watch this show, then I'm sorry, but your life is a little less rich than it could be.

Real Housewives of New York City-I hate all the wives in this one, but especially Alex. My favorite is the Countess that used to be a model.

Lost-Still loving it.

Books I'm Reading or Have Read
Margaret Atwood-Moral Disorder
Geraldine Brooks-March
Philippa Gregory-Boleyn Inheritance

Europe

Was gorgeous, cold, very successful.

Memories:
Watching dubbed Super Sweet 16 on French television.
Running into Jan at the Tibetan restaurant in Amsterdam.
The ladies in the Red Light District leaning out of their windows to gossip with eachother.
Snow falling over the canals.
Wittebeir
Climbing up an insane number of stairs in Notre Dame for a windy but gorgeous view, only to realize that in order to get to the "top" we must climb, yes, even more stairs.
Musee de Orsay
The basement of the Louvre
Napoleon's Rooms
Sparkly Eiffel Tower
"Chitterling" Sausage
De Bakkerswinkel
Karamel Stroopwaffels
Fraisoo
Millais at the Van Gogh

Gideon!

Is sitting up.
Is eating solids.
Is grabbing for everything.
Is communicating more.
Is turning into a toddler.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Chastised

Yes, many people who have noted how long it has been since I have updated this blog, I am aware that this blog has deprived you of contact with what is now obviously [sarcasm intended] the only reason I have to live, but the wolves that keep attacking me when I go near the computer only recently starved to death.

So below you will see some pictures that were taken of Mr. Chubby Cheeks over the last month or so. In addition I am posting some videos, and a little photoset that I hope to add to every month (near the 14th or thereabouts). Thank you for letting me know that you DO want to see pictures of His Chubbiness, and the exclamations of surprise at how much he's grown. Because we see him every day it's hard to see how much he's changing, maybe reality will hit when he leaves for college.





The above album is best viewed backwards.

Want video?


Sleeping from Jane Yang on Vimeo.


Conversations from Jane Yang on Vimeo.

More Pictures Now!!!!

Overdue

I need a new camera. I took a million pictures but they are all so blurry. I've joined the anti-flash revolution. Now I need a camera to come with me.

Turkey Turkey

Thanksgiving was lovely but I am seriously at a place where I never want to cook again.

Nightly suppers are turning into nightly take out and it's getting vicious with the hamburgers people. Any suggestions on quick and inspiring suppers would be appreciated.

For example, these sound good but does anyone seriously think I'm going to make this as a side? I don't think so.

One by one my pregnancy cravings have just been dropping away. Chipotle?-over it. Pasta-it's done. Pizza-no more.

I don't want any more cheesy, gooey, carby stuff anymore. It just doesn't have the same appeal. As sad as that is, what does my appetite long for now?

So initially I had thought i'm going to make really consistent menus, like pasta Mondays, soup Tuesdays, sandwich Wednesdays, yeah. that um, is never going to happen. It's more like McDonalds Monday, McDonalds Tuesday,... OK it's not that bad, but you see where this is going.

What I really need is one day of cooking then three days of recovery.

Man

More blogs, about food?
http://www.smittenkitchen.com/

right now i should be...showering.

Race man, Race

So I'm watching the Amazing Race last night, which I haven't in years because it gets kind of tedious when they play out the same old story lines over and over again ("we're dating--are we really right for each other?") with the same inevitable ending ("he's abusive! get away!!").

This season looks interesting because it features all sorts of DIFFERENT stereotypes like "goths!" and "hippies!" and Chris even notes, "granolas!" which are like hippies with money.

Immediately we notice the Asian-American team, Ronald and Christina, (ethnicity unknown apparently?), and all their Asian fervor. In my search for their ethnicity I come up with this link to Rice Daddies, a blog about being an Asian-American father or perhaps father to an Asian-American and all the stereotypical media confrontation we AAs deal with. Now I'm not a powerhouse in this community, having majored in WOMEN's studies versus ASIAN studies, but I thought his blog was linkworthy.

In this blog, I saw he accepts pictures of babies for his banner, and it said "Hapa babies are more than welcome." What are Hapa babies? They're half Asian-half Caucasian--Hapa babies are Gideon! Gideon is a Hapa baby. That's when the race thing really came out for me. There is a category for my child, one that is fettered with the many connotations of race in America (many not good, some just plain weird.) I'm not finished with my thought process yet, but I would recommend everyone read this article from this weekend's Post. My Favorite part of the article is about how "Whites"--are we allowed to say that now?--don't believe racism still exists, or that is as pervasive as it still is and because "white people 'control the discourse on what constitutes race in this country," says Paula Rothenberg, a senior fellow at City University in New York and author of "White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism."

I better put that on my goodreads list.

Anyhoo the whole point being that the reference to "yellow fever" sent me into a tizzy from which I have not recovered. More thinking on this will occur, no doubt.

Many cool blogs have been discovered from this initial interest in Ronald and Christina's ethnic background, and this conversation with self and others must be said (I believe).

Blogs to read later:
Rice Daddies
Racalicious
Kimchi Mamas

Note I have not read all the blogs above so if one is a crazy fascist group posing as a blog, please disregard.

Fabulous

Fabulous guesses everybody but there was only one winner!!

Nonny Jan-that's right, only grandma Ratke knew the final picture for what we supposed it could be (because it was totally made up and unintentional).

Picture one!: A representative of the Lollipop Guild. This would make sense, because it's Nonny's favorite movie. This is actually a Christmas outfit with the onesie turned backward. He can never wear this again because I bought a Newborn size like a dumbass.

Picture two!: A pea pod. This would also make sense, because Nonny bought him this costume. When I showed this picture to my students they were confused, with guesses ranging from a piece of candy to "dots" to "a vegetable thing?"

Picture three!: A boxer!! "Like Rocky?" Nonny asked? my alternate and also acceptable answer would have been: Backstreet Boy. We thought of both as we rolled his sleeves up.

This was my first week back at work and I think my body is going haywire trying to produce enough adrenaline to handle the load. There are definitely two realities in this world: Pre and post parent. There is seriously no in between.

CRap

It's NaBloPoMo, and I forgot to blog yesterday. I suck at this. I could have totally blogged too, I just didn't.

Let me tell you what makes me happy.

Dosai.

That is all. (for now, not all that makes me happy.)

Happy Halloweeeeen!!

Guess what Gideon dressed as? He has three costumes!

Costume 1:


Costume 2:


Costume 3:

Coolest Thing Ever

Want to see the coolest thing ever? I made this. OK not really. I found a site that makes this. Consider the possibilities, people. CONSIDER!!!!!!

A Quiet Moment

A special day has passed recently, without much fanfare. It was the day that Gideon was supposed to be born. That day was spent doing normal day to day things. Swinging in a swing, bouncing in a bouncer, smiling at nothing, sleeping sweetly. I could say schmaltzy things about babies and the sense of self, but those things have been said before. Instead I present you:


Then:


Now:

Pee Stories

In a pee update, things have gone from bad to worse in diaper town. I'm talking about a RASH. He has not bumps, but a little red swelling. A line of swelling has turned painful looking, though no reaction to touching has occurred. Imminently the search for strategies has ensued.

The cure for diaper rash, says the internet?

Good old fashioned nakedness.

What does nakedness mean? This question can not be pondered until you have dealt with a machine that produces foul foul things, things that hundreds of years of technology has attempted to trap.

Oh no, says nature, you can not hold ME down. And so the list of things that have been peed upon will continue.

And with it, a new list shall begin. Oh you know the list I am talking about, though its monstrous name will not be mentioned here.

Let us just say that every day is laundry day in our house.

October Pictures

Will be adding more as the month continues, so keep checking back peeps.

Dinners

I've been cooking a lot more lately!

Mon-Greek Shrimp Pasta-very good and very easy. Make a salad of feta, tomatoes, and oregano. Cook the shrimp with garlic, butter and olive oil. Make some pasta (we used penne). Add the shrimp to the pasta, add the salad to that, and you're done. Ate this for days.

Tues-Chris made a creamy corn and potato chowder (under my guidance). This reminded me of leek and potato soup and it was delicious. In Atlanta we used to go to this place called Taquieria del Sol and they had a spicy Shrimp Corn Chowder there that was to die for. This tastes exactly like that without the Shrimp and the spice. Easily modifiable-add some hot sauce and those little shrimp (or some cut up shrimp) and you're there. Ate this for days too.

Wed-McDonald's. It's Monopoly time at McDonalds. It's a good thing I don't gamble.

Thur-Spam Fried Rice. Chris claims this is his favorite dish. It's good comfort food, and after making it for six years, it's like sleepwalking. Freshly minced ginger makes the difference here.

He's Got the Moves

He's Got the Moves from Jane Yang on Vimeo.

Night Time

Night Time from Jane Yang on Vimeo.

How have I been sleeping, everyone asks. Is he sleeping through the night, they want to know. AHHH !! I don't know!!

Sometimes he sleeps. Sometimes he doesn't! Sometimes I don't know day from night!

Chris and I are trying to use the scheduling method of child rearing. Everything is going fantastically, except that 1) I keep getting off the schedule, 2) am not sure how to adjust for his developmental age, and 3) Gideon has gas and reflux which keep waking him up and off his "schedule." Two steps forward, one step back...now imagine it in sleepwalking terms. It all seemed so much easier when I was reading from the book. Then it was all head nodding and mmhmming and why doesn't everyone just do this-ing.

I think the facility that created this being should upgrade its manufacturing process or something. Oh wait. That's me.