Author Archives: Mrs Marvel

December 7th

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When I was a little girl in grade school, one of my best girlfriends was named Denise S. We just hit it off and had a lot of fun together. She had beautiful, neat handwriting and she always counseled me to try to write neatly because my test answers would never fit onto those little lines due to my poor penmanship. Anyway, Denise was a good friend of mine, plus her birthday and mine were only two days apart. Somehow, when you almost share a birthday with someone it is like an extra little bond.

Funny thing about birthdays, they happen on whatever day the date falls on, whether you like it or not. There are people born on February 29th, December 25th, July 4th, September 11th, and Decembeer 7th. In some instances – such as Christmas babies – the person gets a little screwed in the birthday celebration because there are “Christmas/Birthday” gifts. These can be gifts a little more extravagant than a gift for a birthday or Christmas. I have gotten a couple gifts like that since my birthday is in December, but they were really nice gifts, thanks to understanding family members. When it’s one crummy gift, though, and called a Christmas/Birthday present, then it’s just that the giver was lazy. Meh.

Anyway, that is not what I’m thinking about today. When I was a girl, we talked about December 7th being Pearl Harbor day. I don’t think I need to go into the history of Pearl Harbor, but if someone reading this doesn’t know the significance of that name, here is a link to a Wiki on it. Needless to say, it is a day for reflection and memorial, appreciation for those who sacrificed all and those who survived hell.

December 7th is also my friend Denise’s birthday and I remember a specific conversation we had about the fact that her birthday fell on Pearl Harbor day. Her parents always made sure to celebrate her birthday just as any normal kid would. It wasn’t her fault she was born on such a day, so why punish her. It was then that I realized that birthdays fall on every day of the year, whether you like it or not. My own daughter was born the day before Valentine’s Day. I will always celebrate her birthday AND celebrate Valentine’s Day, but never one combined with the other.

I read a particularly sad Dear Abby column recently about a family that did not celebrate their daughter’s birthday because it fell on September 11th. They felt it was disrespectful to our national tragedy just 10 short years ago. There was no consideration that their daughter might have felt slighted because all her brothers and sisters had normal birthday celebrations. There was not even a half birthday or early/late birthday celebration. They just ignored this girl’s birthday completely. I find that disrespectful to the girl and pathetic on the part of the parents. It wasn’t her fault, after all.

If your birthday is today, then I wish you happy birthday. I am capable of separately having a moment of reflection for one of our greatest losses in our national history. As I learned so early in life from my friend Denise, the two are not intertwined. Happy birthday, my old friend, wherever you are!

Book review: The Map of Time

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Those who know me know I love historical novels, and The Map of Time definitely delivers. Set in late 1890s London and featuring H. G. Wells as a character, the novel takes the reader on a journey from Jack the Ripper’s Whitechapel through to a future of time travel. It is clever, with twists that had me considering the next possible outcome during the times I could not be reading (oh, that dastardly job of mine!).

The author, Felix Palma, wrote the book in Spanish, which I find intriguing in itself. We English-speaking nations don’t generally consider that “other people” might be fascinated with the social mores and scientific discoveries of 19th century England. Mr Palma definitely painted what I believe to be an accurate portrait of the time and was able to believably describe both the lowest classes of prostitutes and the highest classes of the wealthy elite.

The novel is structured as three intertwined stories, all involving the concept of time travel, which H. G. Wells wrote about so famously in his novel The Time Machine, published in 1885. It simultaneously questions the consequences of changing the past as well as exploring the daily lives and loves of its protagonists. Some of the plot lines were so well developed that no detail was left untouched, all the way to exposing one of the source of one character’s fortune having come from the importation of toilet paper – an irony that is both hilarious and revealing of his inner compass.

It’s a bit of steampunk, a bit of history, a bit of science fiction, and a bit of romance, all smash together quite well. It will have you secretly trying out Victorian vernacular while you wax poetical on the possibilities of the 4th dimension. I highly recommend this one!

Book Review: The Cypress House

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I listened to The Cypress House as an audio book without knowing much about the story. This is my favorite way to enjoy a book – letting it carry me along without expectations. There are certainly books that I can predict a little bit because of previous experience, such as in a series, or in the case of a Stephen King book – I expect them to be good. But there is something to be said for the naked reading of an unknown story and allowing it to unfold in its unpredictable fashion.

The Cypress House by Michael Koryta is a great story. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but if you like you can click here for the publishers summary. There is a touch of supernatural, a lot of mystery, heroics and romance; the ghosts of the past intruding on the lives of the characters. Set during the Great Depression, Arlan and Paul are workers on one of the many public works projects designed to rejuvinate Americans and break the Depression. Their travel brings them to Florida right before a terrible hurricane, and sets off a series of suspenseful twists and turns that cut open the underbelly of 1930s corruption and criminal enterprise. The novel includes history, empathy and some weirdness that is so unbelievable it is somehow easily acceptable. Arlan is an old fashioned man’s man who might remind you of your grandpa – no nonsense, hard working, dedicated, but loving and caring under the tough calluses and rough edges.

The story unfolds in such a way as to bring you back, revealing a peek at a time and allowing you the reader to put together the pieces of the multiple mysteries at a pace that is quick yet deliberate. The story builds to a crescendo with an unexpected twist and then falls into a satisfying resolution. In a nutshell, it was great.

Book review: Dog On It

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I have read several books lately, so I’m going to fill up the book review section for you! First up is Dog On It by Spencer Quinn.

I decided to try out a mystery/detective story, and this book was well reviewed by other readers. It also has a different take on story telling – the dog’s perspective. Intriguing. The dog is named Chet and he *almost* graduated from police K9 training school, but for some sort of a mishap during his final exam. Bernie is his owner and a private detective. The two are inseparable and very loyal to one another. While Bernie does the talking, Chet does the smelling, chasing and tail wagging. Chet narrates the story in a hard-boiled detective style, bringing to mind Phillip Marlow and Sam Spade, while keeping his doggy good humor and short memory.

The story is a good entree to a series, as there are a slew of Chet & Bernie Mysteries on the shelves. A frightened mom contacts Bernie to find her possibly missing (possibly just acting out) teenaged daughter. Bernie investigates in the way people do and Chet does his part too, finding contraband, bad smelling house pets and clues along the way. Not only do they follow the leads to solve the mystery, Chet and Bernie show us the dedication between humans and dogs that has gone back thousands of years. There is a reason we call dogs “man’s best friend.”

I would read another Chet & Bernie Mystery in the future, if only to find out what mischief Chet has gotten up to in the next installment. If you want a light read that is funny in parts and exciting in others, give this book a try.

October’s been here and gone already

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It is already early November, I can’t believe it! Yet again the year has flown by while I have been watching. 

I never did tell you about my ankle surgery, which you don’t really need to hear about, but suffice it to say that two months off during sumemr was not the idylic summer of years gone by that I remembered from grade school. Sure, there was lots of sleeping and TV involved, but doing all that while you are in pain and wearing a cast just isn’t as fun as the carefree days of yore. Oh well. I am in physical therapy and maybe someday I will be recovered fully from this injury.

To add insult to ingury, I don’t need to describe it more than to say “bang.” We will be getting a new car a few years earlier than originally planned.

You saw the pictures of Melody at the pumpkin patch. We carved our pumpkins on the 30th and they turned out great! On Halloween, her school had a little carnival geared at preschoolers – tic tac toe, magnet fishing, stuff like that – and a costume parade. Our little princess very much enjoyed the parade part. She definitely likes being in the spotlight!

Melody went out trick or treating with her Daddy and the neighbors. This

Working Mom’s Chicken Parmesan

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So, every once in a while I come up with a recipe that I love so much I just have to rave about it and tell everyone how wonderful I am it is. Tonight is one of those nights. I really wanted to have chicken parmesan for dinner tonight, but after reading a few recipes I realized that I just don’t have the time or the inclination to make the sauce or pound chicken into 1/2″ pieces. So, being that I am a smart and creative lady, I made a few…alterations to suit my needs. Following is my recipe, which I call Working Mom’s Chicken Parmesan. You’re welcome.

Working Mom’s Chicken Parmesan

1.25 lb thin sliced chicken breast – Zacky or Foster Farms

1 large jar of your choice spaghetti sauce

1/3 cup chopped onions

2 T minced garlic

olive oil

Parmesan cheese

1 egg

Flour

Breadcrumbs

1/2 bag of your choice pasta noodles

Preheat oven to 450. Put on water to cook pasta. In a large skillet, warm olive oil and begin to cook onion and garlic. 

Make an assembly line from three plates: 1. Flour 2. Beaten egg 3. Bread crumbs (Melody’s baby plates are great for this, sort of like really flat bowls)

Dredge the chicken slices in the flour, then dip in the egg, then in the bread crumbs. Put them in to cook with the onion & garlic. Cook for about 4 minutes per side until they are crispy.  

When your water is boiling, cook the pasta.

Place the chicken cutlets in a large casserole dish (or if you skillet is oven safe and big enough, use that). Pour on any of the carmelized onions/garlic that are left in the skillet. Cover with your spaghetti sauce. By now your oven should be ready, so put this in the oven uncovered for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, drain your pasta and hold aside warm. Cook up a veggie of some kind in the microwave.

Serve the chicken slices over your cooked noodles and top with Parmesan cheese.

Total time start to finish is about 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Time travelers wanted, apply within

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On the weekend of October 1-2, I will be heading back in time to the 1890s. And the 1940s, and the 1400s. How is this possible, you ask? I will be attending an event called Marching Thru History, which is a history timeline that takes place every year at Prado Regional Park in Chino, CA. A history timeline is necessarily military, because honestly, watching a reenactment of Shakespeare writing, or of Mr. Gutenberg running his famous printing press, or even the theoretical explorations of electricity by Marconi, while fascinating on some levels, would be rather uninspiring to the general public. So, we have wars reenacted. The musket fire, horses charging, cannons blasting and men surging forth are exciting afterall.

The Marching Thru History Exhibition includes camps from the ancient Romans all the way through the Vietnam War, within a lovely grassy park with plenty of shade and other amenities. The greatest attention is paid to the detail of camps, uniforms, and thankfully, the civilians who accompanied these great actions in history. We will be in the American Frontier section, along side friends from the Indian Wars and Civil War up through the Spanish American War. I hope you will stop by and find us at Mrs. Brewer’s Parlour. You might even find yourself transported back to a tea party between the ladies of the parlour and the Calvary officers just returned from the Indian Wars.

 

Finding beauty

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You might think that coming off the high of two days with friends and plenty of cocktails my week could not get any better, but for me it did. Sunday I flew down to Knoxville to visit with my bestie Tara. It was three and a half days of glorious happiness that I haven’t had since we saw each other last year. Starting with baked brie and wine on Sunday evening and concluding with Waffle House on Wednesday morning, this was by far my best vacation in ages! You might not think that Knoxville is all that sophistocated, what with the proliferation of Cracker Barrel, but Knoxville has something that we do not have here in California, and that is Painting With A Twist. This art studio teaches painting classes to novices and at the end of a class, you go home with your finished work of art.

I had some trepidation when we signed up, but then I heard we could bring our own wine. I figured with enough wine any painting can look fantastic! So, fearlessly we went to the class one evening, ready to unleash our inner artists. We had signed up to paint a piece called Black Dress. The instructor takes the class step by step through the painting process, first with the background and then with the focal point, finishing up with some finer flourishes. It is very interesting to see the variations that occur in a group – one lady had an entirely pink background, one had bold strokes of color all through the background, I had large brush strokes and Tara had fine blending. We all heard the same instructions but each has different taste, and so, completely different paintings.

I won’t give away the secret, I just can’t, but just know that you do not need any sort of talent to leave that room with a beautiful painting. I am delighted with the results and although I don’t know yet where I am going to hang this in my house, I am incredibly proud of it! The class had some mushy text they wanted us to write on the painting, something about not judging yourself and feeling strong about your appearance. Tara and I went with something that embodied our few days together: shopping. We shopped until our feet hurt! Tara had found a quote from Carrie Bradshaw (Sex in the City) which was “I like my money where I can see it. Hanging in my closet.” So, that’s what we put on our paintings. No sentiments of empowerment or individual strength for us, just pure consumerism! 

Even though it was an all-too-short visit, the real beauty of this trip was not in the painting. It was in the ease with which we slide right back together after being apart for over a year. It’s tough having a best friend who lives 2000+ miles away. We don’t get to talk every day and you might think that the little details of life that we miss would serve to thrust us further apart. But they don’t. I think we pack as much feeling and enjoyment into every second we are together, even if we are watching True Blood or American Dad. You don’t find friends like my T every day, and so I appreciate every second we get together, and in the months until we see each other again, I take those memories out and relish the laughter, the joy and the comfort of our friendship.

I sometimes find it difficult to be completely at ease with people, even close friends and family. I’m always worrying about my appearance, or what Melody is getting into, or if I remembered to complement a new hairstyle. I know, insecurities all. But with Tara, I can completely relax and truly be myself. That is a beautiful relationship. One for which I am greatful every single day.

Last Friday Night

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The words to Katy Perry’s song pretty much sum up the weekend I had, starting last Friday night: pictures of last night ended up online, I’m screwed, oh well; it’s a blacktop blur but I’m pretty sure it ruled, last Friday night…

Last week I went to a reunion. Except it wasn’t really a RE-union, because most of us had never met in person before Friday afternoon. When I was pregnant with Melody, I joined an online community of women who were also prego and due in the same month as me, February 2007. Over the years we have taken our group private on a private Facebook group and we are incredibly close knit. One of our ladies lives in Pittsburgh, PA, another from South Africa was coming to the US to see her, someone else said she was going to be in town at that same time, and the whole thing just snowballed from there. I decided it would be the crown of my bummer summer (another story in itself) and John was going to just have to deal with it! He did of course, he is awesome.

In all we had 15 women from all across the US and one from South Africa invade the quiet Courtyard by Marriott in West Homestead on the waterfront. They were kind enough to put us into adjoining or next-door rooms and thank heavens no one complained, because we were far from demure!

The fantastic and really rather amazing thing about this reunion is that even though we were just meeting face to face for the first time, we all fell into those patterns you have with your longest and truest friends. There was never a moment of awkward silence. Frankly, there really wasn’t a moment of silence regardless. How is it that a group of women who have only talked over email, phone calls or text messages for the past five years can feel so comfortable with one another? Maybe it was the cocktails, but I think it was something more.

The online relationship is a new dynamic in human communications, one that sometimes still has a stigma of being creepy, weird, artificial, because frankly there are people out there who are trolls. They are not “real” in their online communications. There are times someone will say something online that they would never consider saying to someone they met on the street! But this community, this pregnancy community that has evolved into a mom’s community, has the benefit of complete honesty woven into it, from day one. There are other online communities like this, mine is not something unique or unusual, but it is special to me and my friends. We know each others’ stories, our struggles, our triumphs and our defeats. Life isn’t easy, but it is somehow better knowing there are 65 women out there who understand you and support you, even if it’s just a quick note to say “I’m thinking of you!” We are far from similar, coming from every background, walk of life, and future aspiration, but we all share the bond of having been there for each other when we needed it most.

At this time last Friday night, we were toasting being together for the first time after so many years of knowing one another. We were toasting how blessed we are to have one another as solid and honest friends as we muddle through this endeavor known as parenthood. We were toasting everything to be honest, the drinks were flowing, the waiter was so kind and took care of us very well, so we tipped him hugely! He deserved it after we camped in his section for 6 hours loudly laughing, shouting, screaming “heyyyyy!” every time a new member of the group showed up. Don’t say we didn’t warn him, because I did as soon as we walked in! Later that night we took delivery of the largest pizza I have ever seen. In my life! It was easily 3′ diameter and had 49 slices, and it was good too. The drinks flowed, we skyped with friends who either couldn’t come or who lived too far away (as in Australia!), told stories and laughed, laughed, laughed, until we cried.

Saturday we went to the Monongahela Incline (built in 1870) which was interesting, and takes you to a spectacular view of the city right on the waterfront. The horns from the various boats and charters rang over the landscape like something I must have heard in a movie, but it was all real. From the top of Coal Hill (as it was known back in the day) we could see the stadium, the sky scrapers, numerous bridges, all blurring at the edges as they blended in with the hilly and tree-covered terrain. It was hot and muggy and there wasn’t much of a breeze, but we didn’t care. We walked around a bit and found a “parklet” which is basically a few benches, some brickwork, and some flowering bushes on an oddly shaped lot at the corner of two streets that have a cattywompus intersection. The buildings were angular and old, smashed in between tired Victorians that have been converted to shops and restaurants. We visited a modern fire station with a gorgeous and shiney snorkel truck, then walked down a cobblestoned street that was easily 100 years old. Pittsburgh is one of those cities that blends the old and new somehow seamlessly.

Saturday night found us at some restaurant where I pitied the tables around us. The hostess foolishly seated a family with a small child right next to our table and it must have been so racous for them to endure! I tried my first (and last!) oyster while another of the ladies just couldn’t gag it down. We enjoyed more martinis and an enormous piece of carrot cake with delicious cream cheese frosting. The food was fantastic…I just can’t remember what it was! :-) After we staggered back to the hotel we settled in the bar for a night cap while simultaneously trying to discourage a tattoo run by a couple of the girls. More laughing, more stories, more drinks.

I hated to leave but I was heading out Sunday morning to visit with my best friend Tara in Knoxville. (I’ll tell you more about that on another post because we had an incredible time that deserves its own entry and photos.) For now I will close by saying I love these ladies like I have known them forever, always in person, and I cannot wait to meet more of the group until I have met all 65!

I was in a magazine!

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Recently my friend Suzanne Broughton, who is an editor over at OC Family magazine, asked me if I would like to have one of my recipes featured in the May issue of the magazine. Well, that didn’t take long to think about and of course I said YES! It was tough trying to decide which of the many favorite recipes I would choose, but after a bit of thought I selected the brownie recipe from my Grammie Hennie. They are so easy to make it’s almost a crime, and any time I make them, there are only crumbs left in the blink of an eye.

I featured this recipe over at Gram’s Recipe Box a while ago and it’s a popular post over there. Now for your reading pleasure and my bragging rights as modest as they may be:

Click on the image for a larger view. Take a look at the current edition at OCFamily.com or click here to get to the May edition.