Saturday Views

We went to the temple today. On the way, I wished I'd brought a camera to snap pictures of various sites. There would be stories in those pictures.

Then, once home, we made a quick trip out to Woodside. Again, I wished I brought a camera - for the same reason.

Now, trying to think what to blog about, I've decided I can grab some photos off the web. They're probably better than what I could have done from the car anyway. Let the stories begin...

We pass the two Solyndra buildings on I-80 - they're in Fremont. Greg always worried about the success of their business, he'd vocalize it every time we passed, from the day they started building to the day we learned about the bankruptcy. Now Greg doesn't say anything when we pass by. :-/


Many years ago this building used to be a Ford plant. Then it became Numi. Closing down Numi was very depressing but Eric saw the future in the site. He told Greg that he wanted to buy/lease the facility and start his own energy smart vehicle business. Probably within the same year news came that Tesla, the electric car company, had set up business there.


The Oakland Temple - always beautiful, even on a grey cloudy day like it was today. We were married here. :-)


The Stanford Linear Accelerator - SLAC. We saw this on our way to and from Woodside. I always try to look to both ends. I remember first learning about it - I knew nothing, and still know nothing, of splitting atoms - but I'm so impressed that it is a mile long. Actually it is nearly two miles. Always reminds me of my dad.


This is the Stanford Dish. It's been there forever - at least for as long as I can remember. I asked my dad why there'd be a radar in the middle of a field like that. It seemed so unattached to anything. Dad told me it was connected to Stanford and the radar was receiving information from celestial bodies. I laughed. I thought he was joking. Until that time I'd only associated the word celestial with the Celestial Kingdom. I learned that day that celestial had everything to do with our starry heavens. :-)


This is Maryknoll Seminary. It is near Los Altos - or maybe it is in Los Altos. I have a memory of going there with Alicyn Alger and her parents, but I don't know if that's where we really went. You can see the green square top of the tower when you're headed north on 280. The area around there is so beautiful. I've always wanted to go back - or go there for the first time.

Obviously, not a road side site but was the site this afternoon because Claire and friends were working on a project in the family room thus Greg and I parked ourselves in the living room.

And finally - something funny - from Greg. Better check your receipts ;-)

Greg wanted a $5 turkey but ended up with a $10 turkey. So he returned it. It rang up at $117! He thought "This will be good for the blog" so he sent me a picture. I thought he'd been charged $117 - still a good story regardless.

So - what stories go along with the things you see when you drive around town?

11/11/11 at 11:11am

Aren't we all wondering what each other was doing on this special day at this special time?
Here's what Claire and I were doing.
We were listening to the latest installment of Droidshark.



and Claire was wishing for something...


Can you tell what she is wishing for?


Let's hope she gets her wish whatever it is. I hear this day is supposed to be a lucky day. :-)

What were you doing?

Amaryllis Update

3 Weeks

Howling at the Moon

I did some indexing this morning and listened to a recent Droidshark podcast while I typed. I kept working and listened to some older podcasts, one which was about wolves (and thank you for the shout out Andy :-). At one point they were discussing wolves howling and people howling and it reminded me of a howling experience we had here.

I have to mention that I think the Alger's Howl at the Full Moon tradition is awesome! And it maybe that this situation happened at our house because we were discussing the Alger's tradition. But then again, maybe not, I don't remember when Alger's started the monthly howl. Maybe we were just telling stories about howling at the moon.

So -
The kids were little. I'm guessing Ryan was 5 or 6. We were in the car. It was dark but not late. There was a full moon. The kids were howling. Ryan was loving it the most. He kept howling and I said he needed to stop. We pulled into the driveway. I helped everyone out of the car and then Ryan let out one last howl. I got mad at him. And then realized I'd shut his hand in the door!

Poor Ryan. :-(

The picture - it's a 6 year old Ryan. And no we're not howling but I thought it was funny that it looks like we are! :-)

Comfort

What is your favorite favorite comfort food?
Mine is toast.

How about your favorite comfortable spot...
I have a few - my bed is number one. I like our brown couch (but it isn't good for posture) and I love a warm car if it's chilly out - you know, it's sunny but chilly and you get in the car and it feels so good. I can catnap on the couch and in the car (back in the piano lesson days, I'd sit in the car with a book and soon fall asleep) - but I don't nap on my bed. Go figure. Well, I probably could but I won't go take a nap. My naps are very spur of the moment events. Often, if I sit down in the afternoon, have the TV on the next thing I know I'm falling asleep.

How about your favorite comfortable thing to wear.
I do love to put my pjs on. I have a fuzzy bathrobe - I don't often wear it but I do often put it over me, a top layer over my blankets, when I'm in bed (winter time) I like it up around my face.

Do you have a comfort show/movie?
Mine is Sense and Sensibility - it's also my all time favorite.

Do you have a comfort activity?
I don't know if I have one right now. Before we had our yard landscaped, looking through gardening books used to be a comfort activity for me. I love walking but I don't really like to walk alone...

What are some other comfort things?

Time Change

It's not quite 6pm and it's dark.
I don't like that.
I look forward to the shortest day of the year because the next day will be a little longer.
I love Summer's long days.
It's the light I like.
If it's dark outside I think I should be in bed.
I don't do well with the Fall time change.

How about you?

Rice and Meatballs

When Evan was home during the break at the end of summer term, he shared with us his favorite recipe - Brown rice and meatballs. And beyond sharing, he even made it for a Sunday dinner! It was delicious. And we like it very much. We've made it a couple times since.

Today, I invited the Jensens to have rice and meatballs with us. Sundays are busy - schedules were hard to match - the meal started out with just Nancy and me. Scott came a bit later, and then Don joined us. Then Greg showed up. Claire missed out - she was off to choir the whole time but there are left overs, she'll have some another time.



Brown Rice and Meatballs -

Evan says it has to be brown rice.
We use Costco frozen meatballs.
We warm them in a crock pot covered in Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce. Regular barbecue or sweet barbecue - both are very yummy.

Thanks Evan. It's a favorite of ours now too.

Another question needs answering

I had lunch with Dr Oz the other day. I generally don't watch any of the "doctor" shows, but as I flipped through channels, to find something to keep me company while I ate my Healthy Choice soup, I heard something about "large behind women and large belly women..." It caught my attention so I tuned in for a bit.

There is a difference between fat stored on our backsides than fat stored on our middles - has to do with subcutaneous and visceral fat. Fat on our behind is subcutaneous - under the skin. Belly fat is often visceral meaning it surrounds our organs. Each means something different to our health. Down side of the fat behind - it is hard to lose - but the upside is it is not as much a health threat. Visceral fat is easier to lose but it is very unhealthy.

Why are we storing this belly fat? As always eating and exercise habits make a difference in how much fat we store. If we eat more than we burn, we'll store fat. Menopause is a big contributor as well. Stress. Stress is messin' us up.

Oz explained that stress is a huge factor in storing belly fat. Our bodies are wired to do so. Our "ancestors", in times of stress, needed to store fat. Stress hormone was released telling the body to store fat around our vital organs for survival through hard times. (hormone - thus why things rev up during menopause)

There was other info shared, healthy and fat covered intestines handled (was so weird looking), and how to dress our big behinds or big bellies demonstrated. I changed the channel around this time.

Today I am wondering "Why, if we don't have the stressful situations of our "ancestors" to live through, do we store fat in excess like we do?" I'm sure you can answer the question yourself, but I did a little search. The answer is simple. Our stress response has never changed but some of us live in a more constant state of stress.

What is stressing us out? What could be more stressful than worrying about where to get our next meal or running away from something that might eat us?! We live in safety and seems we have plenty to eat. But really, what is stressing us out?! Not having to chase our food is causing our bodies stress. Kind of ironic. And because we eat so much we stress ourselves by worrying about how much we eat and the belly fat it causes. Isn't is crazy that we've allowed our lives of ease to actually increase our stress - or decrease our ability to deal with stress? There is so much more to blah, blah, blah about in regards to stress. It is havoc on our bodies! What are we going to do about all this stress that makes us unhealthy?!

Does this stress you out?

Sorry.

What was for Dinner

We had missionaries to dinner tonight.

We had Taco Soup and Corn Bread. Was delicious. My friend Melanie shared the recipe with me.

1lb hamburger
1 package taco seasoning
1 can beans (pinto, chili or black - I used black)
1 can kidney beans
I can corn
I 8oz can tomato sauce
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 medium onion chopped
1 cup of water

Brown hamburger, drain fat, add taco seasoning. Drain and rinse beans - add all of the ingredients to large pot - no need to drain other items. Simmer for awhile. Makes enough for 6. I served it with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and Low Salt Fritos. (Did you know that they make low salt Fritos? - They do! Melanie suggested them)

Jeepers - the Sequal

A few years back, Greg acquired a jeep. Remember this - Jeep 2008

Well - here it is today!


Greg pulled it around town behind our big car Tuesday - getting it registered. It has a 1946 License plate. And just a few finishing touches and it will be ready for the road.

Thank you Uncle Scott!!!!

some fun from POM

This is for my sister Sandy. She probably knows how to do this already but still is something fun to share.

How to Open a Pomegranate in Six Movements from POM Wonderful on Vimeo.

Yucky Candy

We don't have many trick or treat visitors stop by our house on Halloween night, but I always buy a lot of candy, just in case. I usually buy yummy chocolate minis of some sort. I often break into the bags before Halloween and then since I buy so much for the "just in case there's a crowd" thinking there is a ton left over - and I end up eating it all.

Not this year! I punished the neighbors for my lack of discipline. I bought two big bags of "yucky candy". Claire was totally embarrassed by our offerings. And now we have a lot of yucky candy sitting about, but I have no desire to eat any of it! Not one single bit.

Sorry neighbors but thank you me. :-)