Jello Legs, Double Duty & The World Cup

Monday was a holiday and like most non-work-days-that-aren't-Sunday I try and go on a long run or to do an extended workout to make up for short ones during the week. I decided that I'd truck up a mountain and run down ... bad idea! It was a beautiful climb up and the burn was feeling pretty good, but then I had to run down as fast as I could without dying. I think my legs DID die! About halfway down I tried to walk for a few seconds and my legs wouldn't have it ... I nearly fell over. So what did I do? Kept on running. By the bottom, my legs were Jello, but I felt okay. Little did I know that this one workout would render my legs useless for the entire week! They became so sore that the 90 year-old down the street looked like an olympian compared to me. Quite a painful week.

Then again, things have been so busy at Advent that I've had to work 12-14 hour days, and fortunately (I suppose) having legs isn't required for the type of work I do. And in case you haven't heard, we are DESPERATELY seeking to hire another full-time graphic designer and a web programmer! I'd prefer to not work double duty for the rest of my days.

The world cup ends this week and it has been perfect timing to have Stan and Nga here as they're big soccer fans as well. The whole Smith family, in fact, are quite fanatical about it all. It makes for an exciting month once every four years. We are in Alpine this weekend so we can all be together for the final game. Fanatical behavior augments when accompanied by other fanatical individuals. It's fun.

Recipe of the week: Mediterranean Grilled Salmon

1 large salmon fillet
1/4 C olive oil
3-4 Tb Herbs de Provence
1Tb sea salt

Drizzle olive oil over the fillet. Scatter the herbs and salt across a cookie sheet and rub the fillet into the seasoning on both sides. Toss onto the grill and cook on low for roughly 10 minutes per side. If you have a cedar plank, cook the fillet on top of it.

(We don't have our photos here in Alpine, so we'll try and get them when we get back)

Family & Blessings

It's been quite the week of family and remembrance of our freedoms.

I was thinking about this day of independence and started thinking about all the types of freedoms that we enjoy in addition to our free nation. There's freedom from mental illness, physical incapacity, poverty, addiction, abuse, and a myriad of other things. We have the freedom of knowledge and limitless information. Never before in the history of the world has the individual had access to more information than today. And the freedom of knowledge has brought us everything that makes our lives so very cushy and convenient. Electricity, plumbing, medical advancement, vision correction (whew!), and the like are all thanks to the freedom of and to knowledge and information. There are still countless countries across the world with a political and/or economic infrastructure that obstruct these foundational freedoms and thus lead to social and economic stagnation.

And since today was Sonoma's baby blessing, I couldn't help but reflect on the reality that she is being born in some of the most privileged circumstances in all of history and in all areas of the world. And with that immense privilege comes immense responsibility to give in return. We are given such great wealth, health, and education in order to be armed with the tools we need to give, serve, and assist those who have less in life. As the scripture states, "where much is given, much is required". I hope I can teach this lesson to Sonoma and my other girls–that they'll be grateful, service-minded, and humble.

A couple of images from this week:

Summerfest, Father’s Day, and the World Cup!

Last week was Summerfest, a long-loved Logan event. The weather was perfect and we had a great time enjoying good food, fun music, wonderful friends, and excellent weather. Finally – summer has arrived in Logan!

We have also been enjoying the exciting World Cup. It’s been awesome getting together with friends and family to watch exciting games. We are sad that the US is out of the competition, but will still follow the remaining teams. What a great sport!

Father’s Day was a lot of fun. We spent the day visiting family and even got to see the Biswas family who came to visit from California. I’ll just take this opportunity to say that Adam is the most amazing father.  He cares deeply for his daughters and would do anything for them. He has a magical way of making them laugh. He truly has a gift for keeping things upbeat and positive. I know this because when I have had it with things and am ready to scream and break a whole in the wall, he comes in and somehow lightens the situation, giving me perspective. He loves playing with the girls, getting on their level and engaging with them. He loves teaching them and is very patient. I’m so grateful for him.

This week the girls and I got to go to the canyon with Linda, Laura, and her girls. Viv and Ru had a wonderful time (they idolize their older cousins). They hiked a little, made a pretend fishing pole, and even got to touch a live fish that a made had recently caught. It was amazing for them.

Sonoma is already a month and a half old, and we can hardly believe it. She is getting bigger and we love having her around! Most people who see her say that she looks like someone in our family, or that a certain feature matches this or that person in the family, or that her eye will be a certain color – but their opinions are never consistent.  Blue eyes, brown eyes, Adam’s eyes, Ruby’s mouth, …who knows? She is her own person. She likes a pacifier, will take a bottle easily, makes noises that sound like a little lamb, loves snuggling, and is cuter everyday! Enjoy the photos…

Recipe of the week:

1 tsp Thai curry paste (red or green)
1 can coconut milk
1 tsp honey
assorted veggies (enough to fill the coconut milk) such as baby corn, peas, carrots, onions, cabbage, etc.
Cooked rice (brown or jasmine)

Add coconut milk, curry paste, and honey to a frying pan and turn on heat to medium low. Chop up the vegetables into small pieces then add to the milk mixture. Cook until the vegetables are soft. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice. *honey and curry measurements can be adjusted depending on your desired spiciness/sweetness.