i've been informed by maasen that i need to blog more. i'm sorry. things are busy (i can use that excuse for at least the next five, probably six, years.)

seriously.

stephanie and jack ( iwannabeyourblog.blogspot.com ) came over for supper the other night. when did i start calling it supper? my parents don't call it supper. tom doesn't call it supper. ever since wyatt started understanding my words, though, i've called it supper. i like it. it feels very comfortable. check out the definitions. this proves my point on the comfort level. look at the third definition for "dinner". table d what?

supper:
1. the evening meal, often the principal meal of the day.
2. any light evening meal, esp. one taken late in the evening: an after-the-theater supper. –adjective
3. of or pertaining to supper: the supper dishes.
4. for, during, or including supper: a supper party.


dinner:
1. the main meal of the day, eaten in the evening or at midday.
2. a formal meal in honor of some person or occasion.
3. table d'hôte.

maybe some day you'll be invited to a supper party over here. but for now, it was steph and jack's turn. we ate and talked, tried to get wyatt awake to play with little success, and once the kiddos were settled in, we talked some more. i went to high school with both stephanie and jack and we have some serious history together. i like to think that when the three of us get together it's getting even with tom about all his talk of high school with, well, almost everyone.

this time it was about ten year reunions. jack had his this summer. steph and i are next summer. we're not going. it's been decided. there's very little reason to go back to see people you didn't keep in touch with so you can pretend you have the energy to talk to people you really don't have the energy to talk with again.

don't get me wrong, i like running into people every now and again. but i lack the real social graces of most people, and if it weren't for tom, more situations would be awkwardly avoided then confronted. you may talk to everyone you can, at any given opportunity, but for steph and me, it's just hard. and more often than not, painful. every now and again we'll run into people we're curious about and give it the ol' heave ho, but usually no. we'll hide behind clothes racks or avoid eye contact or have fake conversations on our cell phones just to not talk. this is the way we are. this is why we are still friends. this is probably also why we married men like jack and tom. it's a balancing act.

so here's a funny story. (before i continue, i can hear tom saying, "ouch! that must have hurt!" when i say "ran into" i don't mean literally. c'mon.) stephanie ran into an old high school friend (actually someone we both have known since elementary school) who ran into someone else from high school in the bathroom of a restaurant. this girl who walked in and saw our old elementary school friend was so excited. "kerry pritchard!(not her real name) i'm so happy to see you!" she exclaimed. "jen cross. i feel completely neutral about seeing you." yup. don't ask me what happened after that. imagine it yourselves. rude, yes. but pretty funny all the same.

tom is a vicarious perfectionist.

we're working on organizing (always) and while he was at classes tonight i put stuff away. we moved a desk up earlier and started shifting things around, so i sorted through notes and cds and moved stuff around and threw stuff away. i did this for SEVERAL hours. he came home and was so excited about how things look. ooohs and ahhhs were quickly followed by "what's this?" and questioning looks about why certain things were NOT put away. the subliminal picking up of dog hair (yes, there is dog hair on the floor where my children play) is a prime example. i did so much to get us to a better place and he's noticing the smallest (although admittedly gross) things.

we laughed about it as soon he started doing it. he doesn't mean to. and he's so good looking that it's excusale.

he's learned a phrase from my old boss kelly. the scenario goes like this: you tell someone about a situation, then instead of asking them outright to do something about it, you say, "can we ___________(fill in the blank with a task)?" you look at them with a smile and then say, "and by 'we' i mean you." argh. that's the story of my life when it comes to organizing. that's how it was at work and that's how it is at home. and i'm not really that good at it...must be why tom feels the need to correct me. if only he'd lead by example.

while we were in colorado we spent some time at the pool. one day sarah, tom and i went down to the pool with wyatt and cassidy. tom sat on the edge of the pool while sarah and i got in. our goal: to get wyatt in the water. there was something about being in a pool that size without any kind of kid area that didn't sit right with the big guy. we got to talking with some older people at the pool, new hampshirians, and before i knew what had happened, i looked over at baby cass. i left her in her carrier by the table, happy as a clam, but she had decided she was happy no longer. she had turned herself around and wiggled her way out of the carrier, i'm sure determined to show wyatt there was nothing to worry about with the big pool. we looked like negligent parents, but tom passed it off by saying he was actually proud of her for doing that. it is a bit funny.

here's the long awaited video. take three.

post script: this actually took a long time to upload and it still didnt't really work. i can't believe how much trouble i had with this. argh!

wiggle worm...

i'm not sure why the video at the bottom of the last post doesn't work. it shows up in the preview. but i'm trying again...

i'm blogging simply because no one else is. except janet, i guess. that bathroom looks amazing! some updates. cass is sleeping through the night. she is also sittin up. wyatt is getting smarter by the minute -- picking up his toys and helping unload the dishwasher. also, fyi, our computer is getting a little wacky and currently the g and y are not cooperatin. so if i miss a letter assume it's a g. tomorrow is rosh hashanah so i'm oin to be bakin all day today -- i just spent the mornin grocery shoppin and the kids are about ready to crash. so what's new with you?

you know what i'm looking forward to?

hot chocolate. mmmm.

i made eggplant parmesan last night. it was yummy! here's the recipe (i'm pleased with the little concoction myself. although it wasn't difficult it was fun to have it work out on the first try)

1-1 1/2 cups fine cracker crumbs (i put saltines in a ziplock and mash them up with a rolling pin)
1 Tb garlic salt
1 Tb dried oregano
1 Tb dried basil
1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan
2 eggs
1/4 c milk
oil for frying
1 eggplant, sliced 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch at most
1 box penne (8oz)
1 jar pasta sauce (25 oz)(i use whole foods pesto and tomato, yum!) or you can make your own
1 cup ricotta
slices of mozarella, provolone, or monterrey jack

preheat oven to 350'.
put a good coating of oil in frying pan and heat on medium. boil water and cook penne.

combine the cracker crumbs, seasonings and parmesan. blend eggs and milk. coat slices of eggplant with egg mixture and then crumb mixture. fry both sides till golden brown. drain on paper towel (with a plate underneath).

drain noodles and put on bottom of 9x13(or so) glass baking dish, then mix in sauce and ricotta, stirring together all three. place eggplant slices over the pasta, overlapping when necessary. cover the top with slices of cheese. bake for 20 minutes till cheese is melted.

yummy yummy. add a little salad and some bread and you've got a good meal. i was really stoked. hope you try it and enjoy it.

let's see if i can put this into my own words.

tom was telling me about a debate between a messianic jew, dr. michael brown, and a jewish rabbi. one of the points dr. brown made was for the point of Messiah coming before the destruction of the second temple. this is the point that i keep coming back to: Jesus came as the final offering, the one that takes away our sins in a way that a sheep or bull cannot. the second temple was destroyed in 70 AD (CE), shortly after Jesus died and was resurrected. sacrifices were no longer possible without the temple. Jesus fulfilled the torah when the Lord commanded sacrifices, not removing the importance of the temple but the importance of the sacrifice for the atonement of sins. this is why 1)Jesus makes sense as the Messiah, and 2)yom kippur is so important.

yom kippur is the day of atonement, and as people who believe that God is the only one that atones for our sin we should take the time to fast and pray and focus on what God has delivered us out of through His mercy. if we did not have God and His commandment for yom kippur we would not have forgiveness for our ugliness. if we did not have Jesus as Messiah, we, as non-jews, would still be in need of grace! being grafted in means we get to participate in the holy day to mourn our sins and then praise the Lord for His grace.

observe yom kippur on september 22, and obey his commandment (lev. 23:26-28).