Germ-Free

The elementary school that my children attend has been very proactive in trying to keep the kids healthy.  The teachers encourage the kids to cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze, and they discourage passing germs through "high fives" or other hand-to-hand contact.  The use of disinfecting wipes and sprays in prolific, and the proper washing of hands has been reinforced.

JJ has taken the hand-washing tips to heart.  His teacher suggested that an effective way of making sure you have washed long enough is to sing the ABC Song twice while washing.  We frequently hear this refrain as he sings along to the sound of the water gushing from the bathroom faucet.  Of course, it's interesting that the singing seems to be the only part of the lesson that took hold in JJ's head.  He totally missed the part where you apply soap and rub the hands together vigorously.  Instead, he clasps his hands together and holds them, unmoving, under the running water.  Sometimes, he even holds his hands as though they are around an invisible tube.  The water rushes through the nonexistent pipe and never even touches his hands.  He completes his hand-washing session having run the water, but having never actually gotten his hands wet!  

The funny thing is that JJ has become a hand-washing fanatic.  On several occasions I have heard him tell his brothers that they didn't wash well enough because he didn't hear them singing.  He then ushers them back to the bathroom where he insists that they wash and sing.  If they refuse to sing, he promptly starts the singing himself and accompanies their washing.

I wish I could convince all three of them to wash effectively and efficiently.  But I guess this is a start.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The pecan pie was awesome (if I do say so...).  The chocolate pudding cake was tasty.  The yams were as good as always.  The Marie Callender's pie stayed in the fridge at mom's house and nobody missed it.  All in all, a success!

I am thankful for my wonderful family and friends.  Thanks for contributing to this beautiful day.

Thanksgiving Day Food Assignments

Mom, if you're reading this blog post before my arrival for Thanksgiving dinner, please stop reading now.  Really, you'll be sorry if you don't exit this window...  Quit reading now...  Please!


Now I can finish my posting without causing undue alarm for my mom.  She'll be glad she didn't have this information.  Trust me.

My mom is a really great cook, you can ask anyone.  And lucky for me, she's willing to host Thanksgiving dinner pretty much every year.  While I can cook a turkey with all the trimmings, I'm ever so glad that I don't have to do it!  I do, however, have my assigned dishes to deliver.  I've been asked to provide the pies, ironic since I don't/won't eat cooked fruit, which typifies pie, but that's an entirely different subject.

So, I have spent the past couple of weeks searching (seriously, searching) for the perfect pie recipes.  After much deliberation, I have settled upon amending my assignment from pie to dessert.  Now, there's no need to worry.  I will fulfill my pie-providing responsibilities for those of you who are stubbornly traditional pie require-ers.  But this is my game plan.  I am baking a pecan pie and a chocolate pudding cake.  I have also acquired a lemon cream cheese pie (haven't found a recipe as good as Marie Callender's...).  My mom has a favorite pumpkin pie, so she has agreed to provide that customary offering.

Here's the problem...  I have all the recipes, and I have the pie from Marie's, but I still haven't made it to the grocery store.  And that is why I hope my mom isn't reading this before dinner--you aren't reading, are you mom???  We have non familial guests coming to dinner.  And I'm pretty sure that the fact that I don't have my desserts cooked nor do I have all the ingredients for them, will elevate mom's stress to an unhealthy level.  If she knew, she'd clambor back into the kitchen to make the desserts herself.  The fear of sending her guests home after a lovely dinner sans dessert would be inconceivable to her.  (I know, we'd still have pumpkin pie and Marie's pie, but I'm sure that wouldn't suffice...)

But the truth is that I am better under stress.  Although acquiring the ingredients may prove challenging, I will step up to the plate (ha ha) with desserts in hand when the time is right.  And hopefully I will be delivering desserts made to the exacting standards of my well-researched recipes.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  Wish me luck!  And I hope you have a fabulously delicious Thanksgiving--I'm sure we will!

False Advertising

Creative license aside, can we just call it as we see it?  Hyperbole has become so acceptable, in fact even expected, in marketing today that advertising would be undone without it.  And there is no better example than what I witnessed just this evening.  The truth is that even the name defies accurate representation...  IN-N-OUT Burger...

I was on my way home from Provo today (no, I did not attend the BYU v. Air Force game, although if I did I would have been cheering for the losing team... )  I had the great misfortune of crossing paths with the throngs of people who were desperate enough for a burger that they had formed a line that completely encircled the block.

The cars were queued one zigzag after another, across the parking lot, and around the block, behind the strip mall, and down the next street.  What these people don't realize is that not only are they waiting for burgers to be served to those in the cars ahead of them, but burgers will also need to be delivered to those who are shivering in the cold as they form additional queues surrounding the building...  This is where the false advertising becomes obvious.  With a name like IN-N-OUT Burger there is some expectation that you might actually be able to get inside the joint.  And following that assumption is another that leads a person to believe that getting in to pick up your burger and then getting back out might be done in a timely manner.  Therefore the in-and-out reference.  I hardly believe that alacrity is a word that could be used in this situation, although that is what in-n-out seems to suggest. 

This is not to say that I don't appreciate a good burger.  I understand the desirability of a fresh burger with an accompaniment of salted fries and a thick shake.  Truthfully, I have previously enjoyed a hot IN-N-OUT Burger or two.  I have frequented several locations, the favorites being Las Vegas and Barstow.  And I'm sure that in due time I will take my turn at the newest IN-N-OUT Burger drive-up window.  But you can be sure that when I do make that detour through the drive-thru line that it will be done when the chances of a quick entry and even quicker exit are more assured.

IN-N-OUT Burger, welcome to the valley.  I look forward to your shortened lines and a quick lunch to-go!