The Dishwasher is for DISHES

I just read an article on Yahoo! "news" that has me shaking my head.  It was about things other than dishes that you can put in your dishwasher and have them come out clean (or cooked, yes, I said cooked).  I'm pretty grossed out at some of their suggestions.  The rule at my house will remain, dishes in, everything else, out.  Here's what the article says you can clean in your dishwasher...

• rain boots and flip-flops (top rack for the flip-flops)
• hairbrushes
• switch plates
• shin guards and knee pads
• garden tools
• broom ends (like the part that touches the dirt)
• computer keyboards (really?)
• potatoes (use the rinse cycle to wash potatoes to feed a crowd)
• salmon (yes, evidently you can cook a salmon in the dishwasher)

Want the recipe for the salmon?  You're in luck- here it is! (and I can't believe I subscribe to the magazine that featured this recipe)


Bob Blumer's Dishwasher Salmon
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 6-ounce pieces salmon fillet
¼ cup fresh lime juice
kosher salt and black pepper
1 lemon, cut into wedges
heavy-duty foil

1. Grease the shiny side of two 12-inch squares of heavy-duty foil with the oil. Place 2 pieces of fish side by side on each square. Fold up the outer edges of the foil  and drizzle the fish with the lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Fold the foil closed to form 2 airtight packets.
3. Place the packets in the top rack of the dishwasher. Run a normal cycle. Remove the fish from the foil and serve with the lemon wedges. Serves 4

Today, Nothing Special

Today is another hot summer day, nothing spectacular to report.  Jonathan's been at work all day- tube cashier #6.  Nolan and Dan are backpacking and summited King's Peak this morning (okay, so that's kind of cool, but I don't have pictures or any details yet).  Miles and I went to Seven Peaks.  While I was paranoid of getting fried, Miles had a great time.  Last year, he loved Seven Peaks, but wouldn't go near anything that might drip water on his head.  Today he was drenching himself.  He's got an amazing memory- last summer he was content to swim in Adventure Bay and stay there until he discovered Tadpole Pond on the last day we went last season.  Today he happily played in Adventure Bay for a long time, then he said he wanted to go find the "octopus".  I didn't know what he was talking about so I told him to "show me".  He took me right over to Tadpole Pond where an octopus is painted on a wall.  He had fun in there going down a mini-slide about 20 times; he enjoyed the Lazy River, then agreed to leave when I suggested without throwing a fit.  We got home and Miles dumped his toys out all over the kitchen floor.  Typical.  Sigh.  This afternoon we went to the grocery store and bought 20 boxes of cereal.  So exciting is the life we live. 

The Grotto

Yesterday Aly invited us to come down and go on a kid-friendly hike in Payson Canyon.  The hike was easy enough for the 2 and 3 year old to walk the entire way.  At the end of the trail is a pool of water fed by a waterfall.  The kids liked splashing in the water, throwing rocks, and kicking dirt.  One caused problems by climbing to the top of the waterfall- the younger ones wanted to climb it as well. 

Strawberry Days Parade

Saturday, Jonathan was in the Strawberry Days parade.  I was miserably hot and wasn't the one wearing wool.  No matter how hot it is, the band kids manage to have fun being in parades.  Here's my Marching T-Wolf...

Pin #2

Nolan, the Space Center Obsessed Volunteer, earned another pin.  He passed off all the volunteer requirements for the Odyssey.  Yay for Nolan!

Pet Peeve of the Day

Words get abbreviated- names, states, adjectives, whatever.  Most abbreviations do not bother me, but one word, when abbreviated, drives me crazy.  I hate it when the word "vacation" is abbreviated.  First, I think it sounds stupid.  "Vay-kay" sounds lame to me.  However, worse than hearing "vacation" abbreviated is having to read it.  I always see "vacation" abbreviated as "vaca".  I misread it and see a Spanish word instead of the English abbreviation of "vacation"; I see "vaca" which in Spanish means "cow".  Just a few minutes ago, I read the following on Facebook, "Had to come home early from vaca due to car troubles."  What a disappointment for them, but I had to read her post twice because the first time I read it, it made no sense. her post as, "Had to come home early from cow due to car troubles." 

First Day of Swimming Lessons

Miles has no fear of water.  Miles also needs to remember how to separate from us and to listen to a teacher, so I signed him up for swim lessons.  Today was his first day and he LOVED it!  His teacher is Matt.  There are 3 other kids in the class (and 2 of them wouldn't get in the pool).  Miles worked on blowing bubbles, dumping water on his head, being prone in the water with his hand on the bottom of the pool, and jumping in.  He had a great time and said, "More swimming class tomorrow."

Fathers' Day, 2012

Basically yesterday was a typical Sunday, with the exception of Dan getting presents (new biking apparel) and Lemon Cream Cheese Pie.  We went to Parley and Bona's and ate dinner with them and most of the nearby family.  After dinner, the kids were outside playing and irrigation water was spilling into the yard.  The kids had fun splashing in the puddles and turning into mud monsters.  The best part though, was watching Parley turn the hose on his grandchildren to clean them off; a bit out of character, I'd say.

On the way home from American Fork, Nolan stuck his head in Miles' face, and Miles responded by poking Nolan in the eye.  Nolan's contact was knocked off his eye and deeply jammed into the bottom of his eye socket.  I was able to move it to the outside corner of his eye, but it was really stuck and his contact lens was filled with blood.  We could not get the lens out and were concerned about the blood, so Dan took Nolan to the InstaCare.  They numbed Nolan's eye, but weren't able to get the lens out either.  Nolan used his super powers and managed to get the lens back onto his cornea, and with great effort, got the lens out on his own.  The blood was from the nasty scratch on the cornea and it required antibiotics (which are so fun to get at 10 p.m. on a Sunday night).  Nolan feels much better today, except for when it's time to put the drops in his eyes.  No contacts for him for 5 days.  What a way to wrap up Fathers' Day!

Bike Ride

Saturday Evening, Dan and Nolan decided to go for a bike ride.  Dan asked Miles if he wanted to come.  of course he did.  Dan got the bikes ready and hooked the trailer to the back of his bike.  He came in to get Miles.  He took Miles outside and put him in the trailer.  Miles started crying and saying, "Ride tricycle.  Ride tricycle."  He thought he was big enough to keep up with Dan and Nolan on their bikes.  So cute.  He quickly calmed down and enjoyed a fun outing to Vivian Park (and throwing rocks in the river, and playing at the playground) with his daddy and brother.

Young Musician's SummerFest

Jonathan spent last week at BYU's summer music camp.  It was an extremely successful week.  It was one of those "payday" moments for me as a parent as I watched and listened to Jonathan being rewarded for hours and hours of hard work on his clarinet.  Jonathan was selected to play in the Student Recital one evening.  He sang in the choir and played in several groups:  the Clarinet Choir, the Wind Ensemble, and the Symphony Orchestra.  In the Wind Ensemble, Jonathan got to the the band equivalent of the concert master.  He got to tune the band and shake hands with the conductors at the end of the concert.  In the Symphony Orchestra, Jonathan had several solos, including an impressive one in Orpheus in the Underworld by Offenbach.  His solo was beautiful!  Unfortunately, video recording of the concerts was prohibited so I don't have a recording of him, but the concerts were recorded and the audio will be available soon.  I'll post an audio recording when available.  Jonathan had a great week and hopes to be able to go back next year.

The Student Soloists

Part of the Clarinet Choir

Tuning the Wind Ensemble

The Symphony Orchestra

#11 Park

Miles loves parks.  He has given each park he's seen a numerical name that is specific to that park.  Northridge Park is "#1 park", Rocky Mountain Elementary is "#2 park".  The little park down the hill is "#3 park"  Dan W. Peterson School's playground is "#8 park."The park at Central Elementary is "#11 park".  Today we went and played at #11 park.  Miles had so much fun.

Look What DI Was Selling

Miles and I had an hour to kill today so we went to DI.  It wasn't a pleasant trip- junky, smelly, and an odd assortment of grabby/rude people.  While walking past an end cap, look what I found for sale... 

 

A green canister filled with brown sugar.  Nasty!

Beginning to Read

Driving home from Lagoon yesterday, Miles excitedly shouted "That says Miles."  I looked up and we were passing a freeway sign that was similar to this one. 

Yep, it said "Miles".

Lagoon 2012

Yesterday was MegaDiamond Day at Lagoon.  Unfortunately it fell on a weekend where Nolan was at Arches, and Jonathan was taking the ACT and then had to work, so only Dan, Miles, and I could go.  We got Lynn to meet us up there so Dan and Lynn could go have fun and I could hang out in Kiddieland.  Miles had fun.  He had so much fun that he refused to use the bathroom because that would take away from his playtime.  He held it until we left the park, then he pulled down his pants and peed on a rock just off the Lagoon property.  Back to the rides...He liked the rides that go in circles for about half the ride, then he sat there looking bored for the remainder.

Miles initially found the kiddiecoaster to be daunting, but it fast became a favorite.  He also really liked the carousel.  We found 3 rides that he hated- Bombora, which is a tame, yet curvy/banking coaster for anyone over 36", the kid version of DropZone, and the Tilt-a-Whirl.  Miles was so not enjoying the Tilt-a-Whirl that I had to get a picture of him on it (not a great idea as the attempt to take a picture while spinning in circles left me not feeling so well)...

The Spider Dance

The other day I caught Miles dancing to "Eensy Weensy Spider."  He was awesome (and the fact that he also had to go to the bathroom made it more interesting).

Cooking Adventures

Growing up, I had a friend whose parents were from India.  Her mom wore saris; she always had her hair pulled back and off the neck; she had a Hindu mark on her forehead.  She was a woman from India living in California.  My friend was an American girl with East Indian heritage.  She liked Indian food, but was just as happy with a hamburger.  She dressed and looked like a typical American girl.  My friend's house always smelled funny to me because her family ate authentic Indian food and the seasoning permeated the house 24/7.  I remember it, sometimes, smelling awful; most of the time, it just smelled different, exotic.  I've been on a big Indian food kick lately.  Today I started wondering if the aroma of Indian food has started to permeate my house.  I don't think I'd complain, but my boys probably would.  I just finished a bowl of Vegetable Korma.  It was simple and fast to make, but the seasoning needs tweaking.  It was moderately flavorful, but needs "more", so I need to think about how to "fix it" before I make it again.  Nolan and Jonathan would be happy if I never did though because the onion I pureed is burning their eyes.  I made another batch of Samosa filling this week.  Last week, I made full blown Samosas- the potato and peas mixture in the flaky crust.  I baked them instead of frying them and they were good.  However, I realized that I like the filling a lot-a lot and would be happy to eat the Samosa filling as a side dish.  So I did (and not having to wrap the filling was a time saving bonus as that is a real pain). 

I think it's really funny that I love Indian food.  My first exposure to Indian food didn't go so well.  One of our graduate school friends from India got married and he invited us to celebrate with him at an Indian restaurant.  I thought the food was weird-too many flavors.  I wasn't feeling well afterwards and when I got home, I threw it up.  Now, it's a favorite.

Bed: 2 Laura: 0

Yes, that is the current score.  I'm in a contest with my bed.  I'm losing.  The other day Miles insisted that his "iPad" was under my bed.  I dug out everything of his that he'd stashed under my bed, but his "iPad" wasn't there.  He wasn't satisfied.  I rotated the bed 90 degrees to prove to him that the "iPad" was somewhere else.  Still not good enough.  I took the mattress and box spring off the frame so he could see for himself that, unquestionably, his "iPad" wasn't where he was insisting it was.  He was satisfied.  But now I had to put my bed back together.  While walking around the frame, I slammed into the corner of it with my shin.  It split open.  A lovely 3.5" long gash that was gaping open.  It was stitches worthy, but since I am a stitches wimp, I bandaged it up and limped to WalMart to buy some butterfly bandages.  I butterflied it together, wrapped it up, and called it good.  Back to the bed reassembly... So I needed to move the mattresses to an easier-to-reassemble location.  I moved the box spring without incident.  I was moving the floppy mattress and it fell into me, knocking me to the ground. I landed on the floor in the middle of the frame, but my left calf was on the frame and pinned between the frame and the mattress.  It took a bit of maneuvering to get my leg out.  I have an impressive calf bruise from that adventure.  Well, then I got help and put the bed back together easily.  So, my bed won that round 2 to 0.

Back to School Shopping

Yes, my boys did just get out for summer break last Thursday, but I really did start the back to school shopping today.  It's  nearly impossible to find jeans that fit Jonathan- he needs long and lean!  His size is uncommon and most companies do not even make his size.  When I do find jeans that actually fit him, I usually have to pay through the nose for them.  I rarely can find them for a good price because if his size was ever even available, it was sold out before markdowns.  Today I found the size he needs and they were 50% off! I bought 4 pairs.  Now if I only had an idea about what size Nolan will be in the fall...