the grass is greener

moved

2010-07-23T11:09:00.000-04:00

After too many years of blogging here, I've moved. You will be automatically redirected to http://atleastfornow.wordpress.com.

Nine months

2009-06-14T00:46:00.012-04:00

Wrote Anna's nine month letter just TWO DAYS late. This has to be a record. You can find it here
or just read it on Facebook like everyone else does.

Photobooth

2009-05-29T16:59:00.002-04:00

Five Things

2009-05-28T21:01:00.004-04:00

1. Ross is SO awkward.

2. We went to Best Buy to pick up a case for my new iPod. I spent about 45 minutes staring at the 45 options. Then I went home and found one on eBay. (Incidentally, on eBay, I found a listing for an iPod accessories "bundle," which included several cases, chargers, an a pair of earbuds all for the low price of $16.99, free shipping. Below the long list of all that is included was the following (paraphrased): "BEWARE OF VENDORS SELLING IPOD ACCESSORIES AT INCREDIBLY LOW PRICES!" i.e., beware of us.

3. Paul is watching the Scipps National Spelling Bee right now and just two seconds of it gave me the shivers.

4. Anna spends half the day yelling (just because she can). My head has not stopped hurting since she developed this ability.

5. We are splitting a share in a CSA program this year with the Smiths. We picked up our first box of veggies on Tuesday, which included radishes, beets, arugula, mixed greens, asparagus, and alfalfa sprouts. I had the asparagus for breakfast yesterday (I just couldn't wait), some of the radishes for lunch, and the alfalfa sprouts for supper (amongst other things, of course). While part of me is tempted to just put the CSA money towards more user-friendly veggies at the farmers' market, it is kind of fun to HAVE to experiment with new vegetables. The beets and arugula, however, will be a challenge!*

Oh, bonus! 6. I ate a baggie full of alfalfa sprouts and then immediately read this.

*Edit: I have since fallen in love with arugula, pear, walnut, and honey salads. Thanks, Rachel!

New toy

2009-05-28T10:33:00.005-04:00

My beloved PowerBook G4 finally died a few months ago.

In the meantime, Paul has been very generous and allowed me to use his laptop, all the while wincing when I left my grubby fingerprints on his keys and my clutter on his desktop. SO, generous husband as he is, he decided that the Big Tax Rebate Purchase of the Year should be a new computer for ME!

To be honest, I really, truly loved my PowerBook G4. At 12" it was small, cute, fairly functional (until its inevitable demise). I got compliments on it all the time. And if fit into many of my purses. And until it crashed, it was fairly reliable.

All this to say, I wasn't eager to get a new computer, especially since the smallest Macs available are 13.3", which seemed too big for me. But I played around with one at the local BestBuy and liked the fact that the MacBook makes up for its size by being considerably lighter than the G4.

The other thing that was stopping me from taking the plunge was that Apple often has back-to-school promotions (free iPods, etc.) in the fall and I thought it might be worth waiting a couple of months.

Anyway, we got our tax rebate early this week and the next day, I checked out the Apple site and saw that they had started the iPod promotion! I also found out that the PSU computer store gave educational discounts as well. So no more excuses. Paul and I went to the store over his lunch break and, after months of deliberation, it was shocking to see that actually BUYING the thing took all of about five minutes. (I have big-purchase anxiety and Paul made me promise to open the box immediately so that I couldn't return it anymore.)

I've had a day to play with my new MacBook (2.4 GHz) and so far, I love it.

Super cool new features:

huge, bright screen (relative to my old one)
magnetic power cord attachment. Handy for a klutz like me.
built-in webcam. MUCH more convenient than my old set-up.
dynamic trackpad. I like the multi-finger capabilities.
backlit keyboard (that you can dim/shut off). I haven't really needed to use this yet, but it seems like a nice feature.

Eh new features:

the ambient-lighting sensor. It took me a while to figure out why in the world my computer kept dimming and brightening seemingly randomly.
built-in webcam. I know I put this as a cool feature, but it sometimes freaks me out that there is a webcam trained on me all the time. I am always scared that built-in webcams are secretly transmitting images to some creep without anyone knowing it.
Spaces. I keep thinking I've lost windows.
lack of trackpad "button." So far I click on the bottom section, anyway.

Incidentally, the iPod Touch is amazing. Essentially the iPhone without the 3G/phone capabilities, which is fine with me because you also don't have to pay a monthly fee.

Week's end

2009-05-11T21:51:00.002-04:00

Friday night: Julia's bachelorette party (my introduction to the State College nightlife)
Saturday morning: church work day (sanitizing ALL the nursery toys--big job!)
Saturday afternoon: lunch with Hiram, AAUW booksale
Saturday evening: supper with Mom and Dad Shaffner at Damon's
Sunday morning: potato pancakes for Mothers' Day breakfast, church/Gloria's dedication at the Mennonite church in town
Sunday afternoon: soup and sandwiches at home and walk with Mom and Dad, wonderful concert with clarinet soloist at local high school, Dunkin' Donuts (my request), Target
Sunday evening: more potato pancakes!

Not bad.

Yoga baby, etc.

2009-04-27T22:40:00.002-04:00

I uploaded new pics on Facebook. Here is the link to the album for those of you have resisted its sinister forces (thus far).

what we ate for supper (also, i am posting three times in one day after months of silence)

2009-04-27T22:10:00.004-04:00

NPR is running a series this week on meals for four under $10, created by top chefs around the world.

Tonight's was Moorish-Style Chickpea and Spinach Stew by Chef Jose Andres.

I tried it and it was delicious.

HOWEVER, due to the fact that I didn't want to have to buy a bunch of new ingredients in order to make dinner:
1) I used a bit of mirin instead of sherry
2) I used regular paprika
3) I used 2/3 of a clove of elephant garlic
4) I used 2 cans of chickpeas (plus water and some chickpea juice)
5) I omitted the saffron
6) I omitted the pepper (not for any reason except that I was too lazy to reach for the pepper shaker when the food was almost done)

Ok, it sounds like I didn't follow the recipe at all, but really those were minor changes. We added a fried egg to each serving and it was quite delicious. Ours came out less watery than how it appears in the picture on the website, but I like my stews to be thick.

This also came out to be much cheaper than $10 because we already had so many of the ingredients on hand.

Oh, the final caveat: this only served three (Paul and me, plus one serving for tomorrow). I did, however, feel sick from eating too much for about three hours after the meal.

Try it!

(Sorry, no pic because the one I took of the leftovers came out so poorly that it would probably be incentive NOT to make it.)

Homemaker of the year

2009-04-27T21:53:00.005-04:00

I frosted a cake for Noel and Paul's late birthday celebration and painstakingly wrote, "better late than never" with icing. Unfortunately, I did such a terrible job that I was too embarrassed to bring the cake to the picnic and brought cupcakes instead.

One day later:

Paul: Look how perfectly I cut the cake!
Me: Wow, it looks perfect. You cut it much better than I wrote on it.
Paul: Next time I'll write on my own cake.
Me: (indignantly) Next time you'll MAKE your own--oh, wait. You did.

Yep, Paul baked his own cake. The only contribution I made was the ugly frosting/writing.

Change of plans

2009-02-28T22:27:00.004-05:00

Anna and I are supposed to be on the airplane right now.

Last night around suppertime, we noticed that Anna felt a little warm and was starting to sniffle a bit but didn't think much of it. We put her to bed and then hung out with Noel for a while. At 11:15 or so, I woke Anna up to feed her and felt right away that Anna was feverish. We took her temperature and she had a fever of 102.4. The pediatrician on call told us that we needed to take her to the ER immediately, especially since we were planning on leaving the house at 3:30 AM to head to Pittsburgh for our first flight.

After a couple of hours of tests and waiting (the ER was full of inebriated college students), the doctor arrived and said that she couldn't figure out what was wrong with Anna and that it was probably just fine to fly. Almost as an afterthought, she decided to have Anna tested for RSV (a respiratory virus) and influenza. Another hour later, we were shocked to find out she tested positive for both. The doctor said that she's never seen a case of a baby with both, but that neither really can be treated except with lots of rest and fluids.

Anna was a trooper through it all, smiling at the doctors and pleasant as ever (although subdued and pathetic-looking). The doctor gave Anna one of the biggest--and funniest--compliments we've heard: "I think she's cuter than my own baby!"

I called the airlines to postpone our ticket, thinking we'd fly out with Paul next Saturday, but the only flights available in the next 10 days was for this coming Wednesday, which is the absolute soonest the doctors said we'd be able to leave. If Anna isn't better by then, we're going to postpone our trip indefinitely.

We're bummed, of course.

Please pray that Anna gets better. And that we'll be able to make it out on Wednesday.

And we're off!

2009-02-27T21:07:00.002-05:00

Anna and I are heading to Taiwan and the Philippines for a month-long visit with my family! Paul will be joining us next Saturday and will spend two weeks with us in the Philippines.
Wish me luck as I will be flying alone with a 5 month old baby...

Two music videos

2009-02-02T22:08:00.000-05:00

that are fun.

Five things

2009-02-02T21:46:00.003-05:00

1. I need to come up with better headings for these "five things" entries, since it looks like this is the only way I blog anymore (try it, for some reason blogging about five little things is much less intimidating than blogging about one big theme).

2. Have I mentioned that I am heading to Asia for a month? I will spend a week in Taiwan, two weeks in the Philippines, and then another week in Taiwan during March. Paul will join Anna and me for the time in the Philippines. This is super, super exciting.

3. We met a guy at church who is a 5th generation Central Pennsylvanian. He is passionate about "going local." So much so that he published a book about it! Check it out.

4. Here are two sermons that have stuck out to me in the past couple of months.

5. Walking around the bakery section at Wegman's gave me a craving for scones. I was too cheap to buy a box so I made some myself. Here is a ridiculously easy recipe.

Four months, although she is almost five

2009-01-28T14:47:00.005-05:00

Paul wrote Anna's four month letter. You can read it here or here.

Also, here is a video of Paul bouncing Anna around in a front carrier.

Five Things/27 Jan

2009-01-27T15:08:00.004-05:00

1. We have become public radi o family. Our car radio is almost always tuned in to WPSU (even during daytime classical music hours) and I am currently sitting in the house with my hand-crank world band radio listening to The World. My daughter may LOOK like my dad, but I am BECOMING my dad*. The fact that I am listening to a radio I have to crank myself instead of just streaming it from the internet just underscores this fact.

2. When I was in high school, two of my friends and I would get together at least a couple of Fridays a month for coffee and The Question Game. (We would turn to the coffee shop listings on the American Chamber of Commerce's Compass magazine, close our eyes and point, and get a taxi to take us to whatever address we pointed to.) The Question Game consisted of us taking turns spinning a pen or straw to determine who had to come up with a question for the other two to answer. If someone refused to answer a question, they had to pay for everyone's coffee. Believe it or not, we came up with an evening's worth of new questions every single time we went out for two years. Plinky is not quite as fun, but it is a good online approximation. Each day it comes up with a new question or prompt for you to answer. Today's question has to do with what kind of superhero you would be. My little bro and I agreed to answer the questions every day as a way to get the creative juices flowing. You should, too.

3. My new phone (thanks, Luke) came with two games: Solitaire and Bubble Breakers. I kicked my Solitaire addiction a few years ago, but Bubble Breakers has single-handedly pushed back my bedtime a significant number of... hours. This is not a point of pride. (OH MY GOODNESS. I just found the online version. There goes a few more hours of productivity.)

4. Paul and I follow three TV shows: The Office, 30 Rock, and Top Chef. The latter is surprisingly entertaining. I was very sad when the judges sent Ariane home.

5. My little brother and I got into a bit of an argument on Skype today. He was at Burger King at around 10:00 PM chatting with me and I told him that he should be careful walking home, since everyone saw that he was walking around with a nice computer and he is not in the safest of neighborhoods. (To be fair, he isn't in the most dangerous neighborhood, either.) He got upset and told me that being poor doesn't necessarily make someone desperate or dangerous. I DEFINITELY felt like a mom and even recognized some of his arguments as ones that I would characteristically make. But I couldn't resist telling him to be careful and maybe worrying about him a little. I made him Skype me when he got home so I knew he made it home safely and we exchanged heated goodbyes.

About five minutes after I signed off, a friend of his sent him a text message telling him that she watched as someone tackled a man down, pulled out a gun, and fired, just outside her house. I don't know if this incident proved my point since the shooting was a gang-related incident and not a mugging, but STILL. I don't really know what to think. It's really hard not to see Manila as dangerous. Full story here.

Edit: I just found out that the pic my brother uploaded on to his blog is real. I thought it was a screenshot from a movie or something. The ambulance came for the guy who got shot but no one knows if he's ok. I feel sick.

*I am not complaining. In fact, I see this as a wholly positive thing.

P.S. Hiram, I saw that you tagged me. I am working on it.

Five things

2009-01-13T00:18:00.003-05:00

1. One morning in December, after roughly three and a half months living in State College, I woke up and suddenly felt ready to make friends. We got plugged into the E Free church nearby and have found ourselves a warm, welcoming community. Since then, my weekly schedule has gotten busier and busier. (It is still strange that "playdate" is now part of my vocabulary.)

2. I cannot get enough of the rooibos/jasmine tea blend we received from Rachel. In fact, I am having a cup right now.

3. It's cold outside, we keep our thermostat set between 58 - 62, but my feet are toasty thanks to one of my Christmas presents: down slippers.

4. I met a coworker of Paul's for coffee today and had a very enjoyable time discussing everything from religion to our mutual lack of artistic talent. While I have loved the aforementioned playdates, it is quite refreshing to have a friend who is not a mom. I was a bit mortified, however, when she asked me what I do during the day. I could barely manage to muster an answer beyond "wash the dishes and make the bed." Paul assures me that what I'm REALLY doing is "sustaining a life," but it is still quite perplexing that although I can barely quantify the actual tasks I accomplish, each day goes by so quickly.

5. We visited relatives in NJ over the weekend* and we stopped by Baja Fresh for lunch on the way back. Paul and I spent the entire meal waxing eloquent about how very much in love we are with the Baja burrito and the fish tacos. If you have a Baja Fresh nearby, go eat there and make us jealous.

*We had a really, really good time.

Wha...?

2008-12-18T21:30:00.002-05:00

Myths debunked. The one about hats has caused great disillusionment in this household.
(via Paul)

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T09:45:00.004-05:00

This year's Thanksgiving has been lovely. We went up to Mom and Dad Shaffner's house for Thanksgiving day and had a huge Thanksgiving feast. Grandma Rensel (Anna's great-grandma) and Susan (a Chinese woman living in Clearfield) were also there to celebrate with us. I got quite the mental workout, spending the majority of the day conversing (or trying to converse!) with Susan in Chinese. We spent the afternoon eating, sledding, riding the snowmobile, and eating some more.

Eying Great-Grandma Rensel

Hanging out with Grandpa and Chai the cat

The next day, we avoided the Black Friday insanity. The only shopping we did was shopping for a Christmas tree. It was my first Christmas-tree-cutting experience, and it was great fun, although the actual cutting took about two seconds as Paul used a chainsaw.

We had a real tree in TZ, too, but this was my first experience picking it out and cutting it down. Or at least, observing a tree being picked and cut down!

As per Lao family tradition, we decorated the tree on Friday. Paul's parents passed on Paul's yearly ornaments, a Lionel train set, and a beautiful nativity set from Bethlehem, and I put up our few ornaments from TZ, as well as my handmade Danish paper stars (we were short on ornaments last Christmas, so I had to make some!). Sean Read came over to spend the afternoon with us, then he and Kara Sunday came back in the evening. It was like college again, drinking hot drinks and talking late into the night. (Although "late" is relative!)

Paul, Sean, and sleepy Anna

Bonding with Uncle Sean

The next day, Dr. Arensen and Lisa came over from Houghton for an overnight visit. We caught up and shared stories, ate Korean food, and looked through Dr. A's photos from the South Pacific.

Now it is Sunday morning and we're sitting in front of the tree, having had a breakfast of cinnamon rolls, coffee, and mandarin oranges. We're listening to Christmas music and slowly thinking about getting ready for church.

Our tree!

We have much to be thankful for this year.

Anna and Mommy

2008-11-25T22:29:00.002-05:00

(Posting Anna photos here since Nablopomo blogging has fizzled out.)

2008-11-25T20:23:00.003-05:00

Watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

Why in the world is Franklin sitting all by himself on one side of the table, while there are FOUR on the other side?

Have a literal cupcake

2008-11-20T22:39:00.003-05:00

I stumbled upon this recipe and am trying it out as I type. Considering it takes all of five minutes, it's pretty tasty. It reminds me of the rice cooker chocolate cake missionary ladies used to make in Taiwan.

Mix
4 T flour
4 T sugar (I used less)
2 T cocoa powder
in a microwave safe cup/mug

Add
1 egg
and mix

Add
3 T milk
3 T oil (I used a bit less)
bit of vanilla
chocolate chips
and mix

Microwave for 2.5 - 3 minutes.
Let cool a bit.

Not the greatest texture, but will do to satiate a craving.

via How About Orange, where I also found a recipe for Oreo truffles, which are quite good.

And, just for kicks

2008-11-16T19:58:00.001-05:00

Score one for electricity

2008-11-16T19:14:00.005-05:00

Amongst our rather pathetic meal repertoire in Tanzania, my favourite was potato pancakes. We almost always had the ingredients on hand so we had it pretty often. Unfortunately, it took a bit of elbow grease, what with all the peeling and grating. It was one of those things we liked eating but dreaded making.

Well, Paul's mom brought over a bag of potatoes yesterday so I was brainstorming potato recipes (since we still have an unopened bag of potatoes under our sink from our first grocery trip when we moved here). I almost fell over when Paul suggested potato pancakes, reminding me that we have a food processor. And ELECTRICITY.

I made potato pancakes for lunch today and can I just tell you that I am in love with my food processor? I didn't bother peeling the potatoes and it literally took a minute to grate all the potatoes and the onion. It was fantastic.

Here is my very imprecise recipe:

Potato pancakes

3 potatoes, grated (scrubbed if you don't want to peel them)
1/2 a small onion, or a wedge of a large onion, grated
a pinch of salt
a pinch of pepper
a tablespoon or two of flour
an egg or two
if you're Paul, a dash of oregano

mix everything together. heat oil in a pan. spoon about 1/4 cup of mixture into pan, flatten with spatula. fry until golden on bottom, flip, then continue frying until both sides are crisp. pat excess oil off with paper towel if you want to feel better about yourself. serve with ketchup. serves 4, unless you're me and paul.

DELICIOUS.

We are PENN STATE!

2008-11-15T22:09:00.006-05:00

So I went to my first college football game. Even though the Iowa game last week put a damper on the general atmosphere and even though it was rainy and cold all day, I LOVED IT! There's something quite different about watching a game on TV and being there in person. The cult-ish fanaticism was much more apparent in person. And I mean that in an entirely positive way.
I am a bit embarrassed to admit that it took me about fifteen minutes to put my finger on why trying to keep track on what was going on was so much more difficult. And then I realized that, duh, it's because it never switched to slow motion.
Anyway, we won, it was great, and for the first time in my life I am looking forward to spending an afternoon in front of a TV, watching football (cue Paul rejoicing).
This bodes well for our foreseeable future here in State College.
Here's a terrifically low-quality glimpse, via my phone and my shaky hand (note the white glow over the person's head):

Nice try

2008-11-14T21:26:00.003-05:00

Instead of writing your story, Lawrence, I'm going to bed.

Good night.

Well, there goes NaBloPoMo

2008-11-13T12:19:00.005-05:00

Very tempted to back-date this post, but then I wouldn't be a "person of principle" (as my little brother pointed out, somewhat accusingly). So I am out of the NaBloPoMo running since these last two posts have been late. Boo.

I will still try to post every day, although I think I might spare the world more drivel if I just stop now. What a pathetic month of blogging.

Okay. I switched over Anna's blog to a blog Paul and I had up for our contact information, so now Anna's updates can be found here: http://shaffners.blogspot.com. This is where all of our family updates will be, including the news that we will be adopting triplets. (Not really.)

The reason I put up a second blog for Anna/family stuff is so that I can give that blog address out to extended relatives, parents' friends, and other people who don't need to read middle school surveys and such.

And I DO plan on updating it. That is where I intend to post the bulk of pictures/videos. So even though you get to read middle school surveys, karibu kusoma blog kingine.

OH SHOOT, didn't make it!; voter turnout

2008-11-12T00:41:00.004-05:00

It has been a rough day* at the Shaffner household, so this will have to do for today.
(originally from Heading East)

*I actually just woke up to feed Anna, looked at my watch, and thought, "Oh, whew, I still have half an hour to post." Except it was actually 12:30, not 11:30. I almost cheated by changing the date and time, but here's to NaBloPoMo integrity.

Babywearing

2008-11-10T21:58:00.005-05:00

In Tanzania, all mamas carry their babies on their backs, usually with a kitenge or kanga. I carried Luka this way, too, although I had to get creative because he was so stinkin' heavy and I suspect I developed some minor back problems toting around all 30 pounds of him for hours at a time. Because carrying Luka using the typical on-the-back carry was really hard on my back and shoulder, I looked online for other carrying suggestions and discovered MamaToto, which proved very helpful. Little did I know that that was just the tip of the iceberg.

I started researching baby carrying again because I haven't been sure how to carry Anna* and am getting tired of hauling her car seat around. (I haven't dared try the standard Tanzanian method since she is still so tiny and cannot support her head quite yet. Also, I found the one-shoulder method to be pretty painful!). Lo and behold, there's an entire "Baby Wearing" MOVEMENT out there! There are seemingly hundreds of carriers and carry variations and there's a bunch of sites to explain the intricacies of each type, as well as forums and groups in which to discuss anything related.
Anyway, I attended a local babywearers meeting today and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The moms involved were very helpful and friendly. I borrowed a couple of different carriers from the group's lending library. I will be trying them out these next couple of weeks, and hopefully will find one** I can stick with. And I know most of the people who read this blog are not parents, but I will post the road-testing results later and maybe someone will find it helpful in the future!

*We actually have a Baby Bjorn that works pretty well, but it is Paul's carrier of choice (until Anna can fit into the incredible contraption Mike and Tegan brought) and is adjusted for his use. I also prefer one that will allow me to breastfeed while carrying her.
**After looking through baby wearing forums, it is pretty obvious that baby wearing (and accumulating baby carriers) can turn into an addiction.

And FYI: Baby carriers can be expensive. Etsy is a great source for homemade (and often cheaper) carriers, and Craigslist is helpful for finding used ones (you can use Google to tap into non-local listings and asked sellers if they were willing to mail the carriers).

Weekend with the Diercks and Yutzys

2008-11-09T22:46:00.003-05:00

Our friends Mike, Tegan, Becky, and James came to visit for the weekend.
We had a good time.

Here's a video of us sitting around the table, eating yummy satay that Paul (with our friends' help) made (from scratch!) for my birthday dinner. It was delicious.

And here's a picture that cracks me up:

Some good books

2008-11-07T22:42:00.005-05:00

13 things to do in my 26th year

2008-11-07T22:29:00.003-05:00

Last year's list
1. ~~Find a job that provides health insurance~~
2. ~~Read a Russian classic (not in Russian)~~ (started two, does that count?)
3. ~~Start driving again~~
4. ~~Paint a picture~~
5. Travel in continental Europe
6. Start working on a teaching certificate
7. ~~Cook and eat Japanese food every day for a week~~
8. Write a short story
9. Design, write, and actually send out a newsletter
10. Go on a multi-day hike/trek
11. Work through Peter Wilson's Simplified Swahili, a book I started about 3 years ago
12. ~~Actually learn the words to "I Believe in a Thing Called Love"~~
13. Visit a new country (or, even better, a new continent)

So that's 6 out of 13. Not great!

This year's list:
1. Go camping with Anna (and Paul) or RVing with my parents
2. Write a short story
3. Join a local club
4. Exercise regularly
5. Read at least four articles in every issue of The Economist this year
6. Eat breakfast at least 4 days a week
7. Visit a new state (not as ambitious this year!)
8. Write a monthly letter to Anna
9. Write and send out that newsletter (!!!)
10. Finish reading the Russian classic
11. Learn to sew
12. Join the Chinese mother's group
13. Get involved at church

Oh, the blogging desperation.

2008-11-06T22:35:00.003-05:00

With all that's going on in the world, I can't believe THIS is what I spent the last fifteen minutes doing.

Go here to see what we had for supper. It was yummy.

1. Have you ever told anyone you were OK when you really weren’t?
Yes, haven't we all?

2. Do you think anyone in general out there loves you?
Yes

3. What do you currently hear right now?
The water heater, the oven timer, and my computer's fan

4. Who did you hug last?
Paul and Anna

5. Last person who told you things were going to be okay?
My doctor?

6. Does the number 19 have any significance to you?
Um, no.

7. Be honest, do you like people in general?
I waver. I'd like to think I do.

8. Who was the last person that left you a comment?
Tegan, who left three. (Thanks!)

9. Its 4 in the morning, your phone rings who do you expect it to be?
Someone in our family with an emergency or bad news.

10. What do you think your best friends doing right now?
Well, the ones who live halfway around the world are at work. I bet the rest are on the internet.

11. How old do you think you will be when you finally have kids?
25. The next kid? Maybe 28?

12. Does your boyfriend/girlfriend know how you feel?
Does Paul know how I feel? I believe he just came and asked me if I'm feeling irritable tonight. :)

13. What are you wearing right now?
A grey shirt and blue pants.

14. What are you most looking forward to tomorrow?
Seeing friends from out of town. And finding out what Paul got me for my birthday, since he's hidden it so very well.

15. Do you think you like anyone?
I think this survey was written for kids in junior high.

16. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours?
Yep.

17. What is one thing you miss about your past?
Hanging out with my parents and brothers.

18. Are you jealous of anyone right now?
Not particularly.

19. Last time you ate grilled cheese?
Wow, I honestly can't say. I had an opened face toasted cheese and ham sandwich last week, does that count?

20. Do you like your first name?
I didn't, then I started to, then the hurricane ruined it all.

21. Baseball or football?
Football, now that we live in State College. (We are Penn State!)

22. Would you ever forgive someone if they cheated on you?
If by forgive you mean maim.

23. Is there anyone you hate? Who?
The lady on the Glade commercials. Oh, and the person who sings the "Five Dollar Footlong" jingle for Subway.
I watch too much TV.

24. What are you looking forward to in the next month?
Coming up with new Christmas traditions.

25. When is the last time you talked to your best friend?
I asked Paul if he turned the oven off just a second ago.

26. What color is your hair?
Black.

27. Most embarrassing memory?
Well, there's the PowerPoint disaster. Then the horrible foot-in-mouth Christian romance novel
incident.

28. Are you single or taken?
Taken.

29. Do you regret doing something today?
Putting the imported chocolate through the food processor then not using it. Apparently nothing too tragic!

30. When you think of the rainbow, what pops in your head?
Cartoon bears. Both of whom are male and very loving towards each other.

31. Have you lost contact with someone you miss?
Yes. Laura Wegehaupt, are you there?

32. Do you think you’re old?
No.

33 Are you afraid of the dark?
You know what? I kind of am.

34. Are you anything like you were at this point last year?
A lot has changed.

35. Sometimes, do you wish you were someone else?
Not really.

36. Can you see yourself ever being with someone you’ve been with before?
What? As in an ex-boyfriend? No.

37. Do you talk a lot?
Not as much as I used to. Maybe it's partially due to the fact that I spend most of my day home with a baby.

38. Can you play pool?
Considering the sheer number of hours I spent at the basement of the campus center sophomore year, I wish I could say yes.

39. When was the last time you cried really hard?
Last week, due to pain related to breastfeeding. Don't ask unless you plan on breastfeeding anytime soon and you need advice/warning.

40. If you could change your eye color would you?
Sure!

41. Ever had a song written about you?
Yes! More than one! I'm so cool!

42. Ever kissed your number 10 on myspace?
I'm not on MySpace. But if you asked if I kissed the 10th person on my alphabetical list of Facebook friends, I'd say... no.

43. Last bed you slept in and with who?
My own, with Paul. (Anna was in her bed beside us.)

44. Slept with someone you don't know in a bed?
No.

45. Ever danced in front of the mirror?
Maybe for a split second before being so embarrassed, I had to stop. My superego in action even when I'm alone in a room.

46. How many hours sleep did you get last night?
About 7, not including waking up for feedings.

47. Are you friends with any of your exes?
Sure.

48. What music are you listening to?
Nothing right now. Paul got tired of Jakob Dylan.

49. Is there a member of the opposite gender on your mind?
My brother is cool! My husband is wearing a skirt!

50. Have you told anybody you loved them today?
Yes. Numerous times.

51. Do you miss anyone?
I miss my parents and my brothers.

52. Are you growing apart from someone close?
I should probably write some e-mails really soon.

53. Have you ever liked anyone on your top friends?
I assume this is referring to MySpace again?

54. Do you have Facebook?
Yes.

55. Was your last kiss sober?
Yes.

56. Who do you trust with EVERYTHING?
My husband and my pet aardvark.

57. Are you living a lie?
Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Yes, I am actually a man and I hired someone to carry and give birth to Anna, unbeknownst to my clueless husband. Plus, I'm actually really tall, I just hide my height by wearing baggy pants so no one can tell my knees are perpetually bent.

58. Who was the last friend/girlfriend/boyfriend in your house?
The last people we had over were Noel and Kristen. But the Schwann man came by tonight.

59. Can a girl and a boy be best friends without having feelings for each other at one point in the friendship?
When Harry Met Sally? No, at least one of them wants to be more than friends at one point. True story.

Incidentally, Paul is in the next room repeating "Mzungu! Mchina!" over and over to Anna.

Blogger's block

2008-11-05T20:58:00.005-05:00

My (not so) little brother is doing NaNoWriMo this month over here. His story is pretty entertaining so far, so you should check it out.

I, on the other hand, am just supposed to be blogging about ANYTHING at all every day this month, and I am already running of steam. And it is only day 5.

Has anyone noticed that I've mostly just been posting links to other websites?

I am going to go find some inspiration. See you tomorrow.

In the meantime, here are some more photos of Anna, taken by her dad.

Wry Anna

Pensive Anna

"[T]he United State can go back to being admired as the country of dreams."

2008-11-05T09:53:00.005-05:00

Saudi journalist Samir Saadi said that Obama's election means "the U.S. has won the war on terror."

"Given Obama's name, his background, the doubts about his religion, Americans still voted for him and this proved that America is a democracy," he said. "People here are starting to believe in the U.S. again."

Source: The Washington Post

Election Day!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-04T20:07:00.002-05:00

Could I belong to a more awkward sounding demographic?

Under the wire

2008-11-03T23:04:00.003-05:00

One of my goals for my 25th year was to cook and eat Japanese food for a week. I turn 26 this Friday and am just beginning my attempt to fulfill this (talk about procrastination), so I am going to fudge the rules a bit and take a couple shortcuts--a work week qualifies as a week, and I will just make one Japanese dish a day.

So here is this week's menu:
Monday: tonkatsu
Tuesday: miso soup and gyoza
Wednesday: okonomiyaki
Thursday: honey ginger teriyaki
Friday: sushi

The point of this "goal" was to get myself to experiment with different ingredients... but when I actually sat down to plan the week's menu, I opted for the easiest stuff possible because I'm not feeling particularly ambitious... or rich.

Don't have a baby for German engineering

2008-11-02T19:36:00.000-05:00

This thing generates a likeness of a baby combining two photographs--kind of like Noel's, uh, oh-so-tasteful SPOT skit from a couple of years back. ;-)

NaBloPoMo Year 3!

2008-11-01T14:07:00.003-04:00

I wish I had the energy and creativity for a more interesting inaugural post for this third year of National Blog Posting Month, but I am sick and EXHAUSTED.

It's been a crazy week.

Sunday: we drove home after a weekend in NJ with relatives
Monday: at 5 AM, I ended up in the ER (I'm fine now)
Tuesday: had my 6-week postpartum check-up; Paul and I went on our first "date" without Anna (to Penn State's Hub for flu shots and sushi--how romantic!); at night, we visited one of Paul's coworkers
Wednesday: last day with Mom; I come down with a bad cold/fever
Thursday: left home at 4AM to drive Mom to the Pittsburgh airport; had dinner with Noel and Kristen and the Smiths
Friday: Paul and I cleaned the house
Saturday: FINALLY a day of rest! We slept in (or at least tried to), watched movies about Africa, and went grocery shopping

Tomorrow, we will visit the local Chinese church. Then Paul's parents are coming over for a visit with Anna and a small birthday celebration for Paul's dad and me.

Here's a photo of Anna to make up for this blah post:

And now, I am going to go crash on the couch.

Happy hollow-een!

2008-10-31T18:47:00.003-04:00

It took me almost 26 years to realize that Halloween is spelled with an "A." I'd been spelling and pronouncing it "holloween" and thought that Pennsylvanians were just saying it funny.

It took a Google search to set me straight. How embarrassing.

On the topic of Halloween, I came across the funniest costume idea ever. Nothing like using your child to showcase your politically incorrect sense of humor.

Oh! And by the way, tomorrow starts the beginning of this year's NaBloPoMo! So here's to another month of daily blogging--please check back periodically in November!

Lola

2008-10-30T14:01:00.003-04:00

We drove my mom to the Pittsburgh airport today. It's so hard to believe that her three weeks here have come and gone! I have to admit that being back home without her has been quite lonely--the house seems quiet now that it's just Anna and me again. And I think the days are certainly going to seem much longer without Mom's company.

I'm so grateful that Mom was able to meet Anna. It just makes me sad that Anna will be completely different by the time Mom gets to see her again!

Lola and Anna

Anna Got Barack

2008-10-29T12:09:00.004-04:00

Inundating the internet

2008-10-17T04:00:00.004-04:00

I started a new blog* for Anna, where we can put up pictures and stories for relatives and other friends who want an Anna update, not a link to 90s music videos.

*Eventually, if we ever have more kids,** I'll probably just reinvent Anna's blog as something more all-encompassing so as to include a new addition, since even I think that maintaining a blog per kid would be excessive... but for now, since Anna is the spoiled only child, she gets her own blog.

**I can't believe I mentioned having MORE KIDS. Can you tell that the memory of the pain of labor and the post-delivery soreness is fading?! And that it is the middle of the night and I am not thinking straight??

Nostalgia

2008-10-09T15:15:00.002-04:00

Working my way down this list is one of the few things that keeps me awake during middle-of-the-night feedings.

Hmm, maybe I should rename this blog "Pictures of Anna"

2008-10-09T12:44:00.004-04:00

First family photos!

2008-10-08T14:17:00.002-04:00

And a bonus:

Anna na Baba Anna

Fuzzy phone camera photos

2008-10-08T14:01:00.001-04:00

Wingfields!

2008-10-08T13:00:00.000-04:00

Andrew, Miriam, and Ben Wingfield, our dear friends from Iringa, came for a visit earlier this week! While they were here, we gave them a tour of PSU and downtown State College, and brought them over to Paul's parents house. It was SO wonderful to see them, even though they DID make us incredibly homesick for our friends in Iringa! And we were blown away by how much our godson Ben has grown!

In between diaper changes...

2008-10-02T17:06:00.003-04:00

There's been an on-going debate as to the color of Anna's eyes. (Yes, we know they will change in the coming months, but I get embarrassed when people ask and I don't have a definitive answer.) We first thought they were dark brown, then thought they looked like slate grey...
I took several close-up photographs of her and pulled them up on Photoshop and used the eyedropper tool to isolate her eye color. And it comes out unmistakenly... (drumroll)... PURPLE!

Our daughter has violet eyes. Move over, Elizabeth Taylor. At least for the next couple of months.

Way to go

2008-10-02T15:43:00.002-04:00

Paul had another talk with Anna last night. We were up late watching Bravo's Top Design (incidentally, Tegan, your coworker's brother-in-law is doing WELL!), so Paul asked Anna to tweak her sleeping habits a bit--instead of waking up at midnight, 3, and 6, could she wake up at 1, 4, and 7?
And guess what? She DID!

In other news, I fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans again.* But I am also sitting here, watching TV and eating Velveeta cheese dip out of a cereal bowl, so this may not be true in a week.

*While this IS very exciting news for me, I should also add that fitting into old jeans does NOT mean that my body is the same. Can someone tell me where the extra stomach skin is supposed to go??

Links

2008-10-02T15:06:00.000-04:00

Added a links list. If I forgot to add your blog, it's because I'm trying to do this while baking cookies and watching the veep debates and am not so good at multi-tasking anymore. Please shoot me an e-mail or add a comment with your URL so I can add it to the sidebar. Asante!

And to think I used to stay up all night for FUN

2008-10-01T07:02:00.000-04:00

Up until she turned two weeks old, Anna cried for maybe a total of five minutes everyday (mostly short bursts of tears during diaper changes). Then all of a sudden, she decided she wanted to keep her parents humble and literally started demanding feedings (or at least a cuddle) every. single. hour. Night and day. Thankfully, I don't have to go to work in the morning, so I catch up on sleep while she naps during the day and usually get in my required seven hours of sleep in spurts by around noon or so, but man. (As I've heard many new parents say--it's a good thing babies are so doggone cute!)
Part of me has wanted to experiment with psychological tricks to get her to sleep longer, but we keep hearing (from pediatricians and other "experts") that she is too young to spoil and at this point, it is much better to feed on demand and to respond immediately when she cries than to let her "cry it out" or try to time feedings. I know people have differing opinions on this matter, but we figured we'd hang in there for a couple more days and see if anything changes.
WELL, last night, in our exhaustion, Paul pleaded with Anna: "Let your mommy sleep tonight, okay? You can wake up for food at, say, midnight, 3 AM, and 6 AM."
Can you believe the little girl obeyed us? Her internal clock must be just a tad slow, since she woke up at 11:45, 2:50, and 5:30, but she sure made her mom (and dad) happy.
Chinese-looking as she is, her sweet (obedient!) nature definitely shows that she is her father's daughter!

(Now you all can try to figure out from the tone of future blog posts if she continues with her improved sleeping habits or goes back to wanting to hang out with mom through the night.)

Eyes!

2008-09-30T21:38:00.004-04:00

As promised, here are a couple of pictures of Anna AWAKE!

And here, with mom:

Are you happy to see me, or do you just have gas?

2008-09-30T14:49:00.008-04:00

I don't think anyone found the ASCII joke funny, but I think that's mostly because you guys are really here to see pictures of Anna.

So here you go!

Anna at 2 weeks 4 days.

Sorry about the poor quality of these photos, I used the camera on my phone.

(And yes, her eyes DO open occasionally. Will try to post a picture of a wide-eyed Anna soon.)

I finally finished my summer project

2008-09-27T14:35:00.002-04:00

Click here.

If this doesn't seem funny, click here.

Finally, more pictures of Anna!

2008-09-21T21:22:00.002-04:00

Paul's posted them here.

Doesn't she look like Grandpa Lao (Guakong)?

Anna-fika!

2008-09-13T10:12:00.004-04:00

Does anyone appreciate my Swahili pun?

Anna Brion Lao Shaffner arrived at 3:15 AM on 12 September, 2008.

She was born almost a month before her due date of 9 October!

I will refrain from including the entire birth story here (If you want details, I'd LOVE to share them, so send me an e-mail and I'll get back to you. But I figure I'll spare the general public from words like "amniotic fluid" and "dilation."). Suffice it say, it all happened VERY quickly. I went to the doctor to assuage a very mild paranoia that something was up, and within hours, I was in labor.

Although little Anna is premature, she weighed in at a healthy 6 lbs 9 oz and measured 20 inches. She is healthy and absolutely beautiful!

We will be here at Mt. Nittany medical Center until Sunday morning so the doctors can continue to monitor her as a precaution. She is also on antibiotics to combat possible infections. She has had no problems so far and is doing very, very well.

I am also well, although incredibly sore and a bit cloudy-headed--this all feels like a dream!

Thank you for your prayers!

More pictures to come and yes, Anna will probably have her own blog sometime in the near future. That will give this new mommy a project to work on in the midst of sleep deprivation.

Custom lettering

2008-09-11T13:37:00.003-04:00

Here is a cool tool that generates Flickr photos to spell out any word you type in.

Via How About Orange, who suggests printing out the images and framing them separately for some cool wall art.

What I do at home on weekday mornings while waiting for the baby to come...

2008-09-11T11:40:00.005-04:00

On the subject of home decorating, here is a fun quiz that has you pick images to determine your "style."

My result:

SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON

OK, you may not have been shipwrecked on a desert island, but your home is full of furniture, objects and bric-a-brac from around the world. You have an easy knack of mixing your finds while dealing with the practical needs of a family: your home is packed with interesting things; it's welcoming and - above all - it's you

(This one is fun, too. This determines your "color personality.")

Via How About Orange

New apartment pictures

2008-09-09T21:42:00.005-04:00

We've been putting off posting pictures of our apartment because it is still a work in progress, but have finally conceded that anywhere we live will probably always be a work in progress. So here is a Flickr set that Paul put together of our new home! If you take the time to look through all the photos on Flickr, you'll see descriptions of each room. Scrolling over photos also reveal a whole bunch of random notes. Some of them are very random. Consider it a virtual tour!

(currently working on: curtains for the bedrooms, downsizing the desk in the baby's room, re-stretching and framing a tinga-tinga to go behind the dining room table.)

New Things that I Like

2008-09-04T15:28:00.003-04:00

Papa John's garlic butter dipping sauce
Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth
The Schlow Centre Region Library
Kool-Aid Ice Pops
Bravo's Project Runway
ice cubes
Jakob Dylan's solo album, Seeing Things
Lactaid fat-free milk

And the ice cream was fantastic, too!

2008-08-25T17:19:00.004-04:00

We went to Meyer's Dairy for ice cream yesterday. While Paul was waiting for a cheeseburger, a group of people approached the counter, tentatively calling "Hodi! Hodi!" Completely by instinct, Paul responded "Karibu!" It turns out that these two families were from Tanzania, had seen the array of Tanzania stickers on the side of our car, and figured that speaking in Kiswahili was the only way to figure out who in the world (in an ice cream shop in Western PA!) had a Tanzania connection.
They were amazed and amused to randomly meet a white guy and an Asian woman who speak Swahili and gave us an open invitation to go over for ugali.
We were relieved to know that we still haven't forgotten the language and quite gratified to be living in a town where things like this happen.

Reunion

2008-08-18T14:51:00.003-04:00

(l-r) bottom: Noel, Mike, Tegan, Andrew, James, Becky, Katrina, Paul

top: Becca, Rachel, Carina

We spent our last weekend "at home" reuniting with a group of our dearest friends, who gathered from near and far.

We are blessed!

(And now that we are settling into this new chapter of our lives and are no longer faced with innumerable "unknowns," maybe I'll be better at blogging!)

Moving on

2008-08-18T14:45:00.001-04:00

So much has happened in the last two weeks that we feel like our lives have been turned upside down (but in a good way). Paul was offered a job at Penn State last week and we found an apartment nearby on that very same day. We moved in the majority of our things last Thursday and just spent our first night in our new home. Now that I'm getting closer to the tail end of this pregnancy, it is SO nice to finally be able to "nest!" (It is also nice to unpack our wedding presents after two years.)

We are so thankful to Mom and Dad Shaffner for not only giving us a home for the past two months, but also for the myriad other ways they have shown support and love. We love you guys!

From Becky and James' wedding

2008-07-21T09:49:00.003-04:00

The lovely newlyweds

The Yutzys and Diercks

27 weeks pregnant

Paul and me

Ha ha ha. Tegan got a bit carried away.

Non-baby related news

2008-05-30T05:59:00.006-04:00

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that I finally had my first solo snake encounter*! Paul writes about it here.

*The puff adder incident doesn't count because someone else saw the snake first and I wasn't alone. All of my other, uh, dozen or so snake encounters always involved other people,too.

On the upside, I got a great night's sleep

2008-05-30T05:24:00.006-04:00

We said goodbye to Shazzar yesterday, when the Caraways (with Luka) came to pick him up.

Even though I knew the whole time that Shaz's visit was temporary, I couldn't help but feel just a little bit heartbroken when we said goodbye to him.

Me and Shaz

Reading thick Russian novels tires him out

Paul became a pro at burping the baby

It's taken a lot of restraint to just post THREE pictures here, so check out Luka's blog for more pictures of Shaz and Luka.

Teeny little super guy

2008-05-28T03:37:00.007-04:00

Luka and The Shaz

Going in for a smooch

We've had the great privilege of having a 4-week-old house guest the past several days. Belteshazzar (such a long name for a tiny kid!) was brought to an orphanage after his mother died in childbirth and our friends the Caraways (who also have Luka) took him in because the orphanage is too understaffed to care for a newborn. The Caraways also have had 3 other boys in the household and are understandably in need of a break, so we're watching Shazzar for 6 days while they take a trip to Dar to pick up some visiting relatives.

Having Shazzar is quite the experience! He is TINY. At one month, he weighs less than Paul did when Paul was born.* None of his newborn clothes really fit him and we marvel at his tiny, tiny toes.

Paul's never really had any experience with a newborn before Shaz, but now he is an old pro. I'll try to post a picture soon to prove it!

Shazzar eats, sleeps, poops, and cries. As tired as we are from interrupted sleep (feedings every 2.5 - 3 hours), we find him a joy to be around and an absolute pleasure to watch. And as nice as it will be to sleep through the night again, we will miss him!

Hard to believe we'll be doing this full time in just a few months!

Check out a Luka update here.

*I often find myself looking at Shazzar (who weighs in at around 8 lbs.) imagining how in the world I will be able to give birth to something his size... Not necessarily the most helpful exercise.

Animal fries!!!

2008-05-23T15:09:00.005-04:00

Look how happy I am

One of the best parts of being pregnant is that people make you food.

Our British friend Edd had Animal Fries in In-and-Out Burger and came up with his own version. We've been planning an Animal Fries evening for about a month now.

I ate 1 kg of potatoes, 100 g of cheese, 1/5 of a bottle of Thousand Island dressing, 1/2 pint of oil, and 1 onion's worth of Animal Fries. Then I had a butterscotch/chocolate ice cream sundae.

Edd says that the baby will slide right out. No need for an epidural.

The meal was delicious, but in hindsight, I feel kind of guilty for enjoying a terribly unhealthy meal so much. I promise I don't eat like this every night.

Family reunion

2008-05-23T10:55:00.003-04:00

My older brother is in his apartment in Taiwan.
My dad is in his house in Taiwan.
My mom's in Vegas visiting relatives.
My younger brother is in the Philippines.
Paul and I are in an internet cafe in Tanzania.

We're all on Skype.

Sweet.

Sorry for the terrible screenshot cutting job, I was too excited to crop neatly.

20 weeks

2008-05-21T03:15:00.004-04:00

I posted this on Facebook yesterday, but figured it would be good to include it here as well, since I haven't yet posted any belly shots.
My belly is a mystery to me. Depending on the time of day, I either feel HUGE or barely pregnant. Until this past week, I just looked like I had a beer belly. It is quite odd to watch my body changing before my very eyes.

Unrelated:
I am loving this blog, which I randomly found while surfing. I was about to create links to my favourite posts, but there are too many. If you have the time, read his archives of musings on kids, personal history, and family lore. There are several posts that I just can't get out of my mind.

Two years

2008-05-20T04:31:00.005-04:00

Two years ago

Today is Paul and my second year anniversary. Neither of us remembered when we woke up this morning and had to be reminded of the day's significance by my student, who wished us a happy anniversary.
It sounds unromantic that both of us forgot to wish each other a happy anniversary after only two years of marriage, but we did celebrate last weekend. We went back to Kisolanza, where we celebrated our anniversary last year.

In front of our banda.

Just as being engaged was better than dating, and being married was better than being engaged, being married for two years is better than being married for one. I trust that (despite highs and lows down the road), this pattern will continue.

New experiences this past year:

camping for 10 days in Malawi
foster parenting a 2-year-old
hosting in-laws for a holiday in our home
being godparents
pregnancy!

Happy second anniversary, Paul. I love you!

And a bonus:

Check out my face. This is how I really feel about pictures. Note how Paul is smiling patiently (amusedly?) as I fuss.

A threat

2008-05-19T06:57:00.003-04:00

"If you don't love our kids... I'm going to have to love them double. And then--then I won't have enough love left for you." -Paul

Flutters

2008-05-19T04:52:00.002-04:00

I've been feeling the baby move regularly (multiple times a day) for over a week now. It is the oddest feeling--it started off feeling like bubbles were popping inside me and now feels more like a pounding, irregular heartbeat below my belly button (which is sticking out now, much to my dismay and Paul's amusement).
From Saturday to Sunday afternoon, I couldn't be confident that I had felt any baby movement. I was a bit concerned--concerned enough to hit pause in the middle of a House episode and murmur, "Paul, I haven't felt the baby move in a long time. Is that bad?"
Paul sat quietly for a minute, then put his mouth up to my belly and hollered, "BABY! MOVE!" Sure enough, I felt a kick immediately afterwards. Obedient baby.
Paul was very much amused until I remarked, "Well, the baby is moving but he/she is now scared of Daddy!"

2 easy peasy meals

2008-05-15T08:09:00.004-04:00

Meal 1
Basil "pesto" pasta

Ingredients:
Pasta
basil (fresh or dried)
assorted spices (I like rosemary)
salt and pepper
olive oil
garlic

1. boil pasta
2. mince garlic, brown in pan
3. mix cooked pasta with garlic, add basil, salt, pepper, and other spices

Meal 2
Cheeseburger casserole

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef/minced meat
1 chopped onion
3/4 cup Bisquick (or, 3/4 cup flour, 1 tsp. sugar, 2 tsp. baking powder, 5 tsp. oil)
1 cup grated cheese
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk

1. brown beef and onion, salt and pepper
2. mix Bisquick, eggs, and milk
3. pour beef in bottom of a pan, pour Bisquick mixture on top
4. bake at 400F for 25 - 30 minutes, until knife comes out dry
5. sprinkle with cheese, bake 5 - 10 more minutes.

Not quite Indian chicken, but good for lazy evenings.

Redefining "normal" part II

2008-05-13T03:23:00.004-04:00

Today felt much like a holiday. There was something downright festive in the air. We only had a half-day of school, and Julia spent much of her math lesson jumping up from her seat and running around the house. The smell of baking cookies in the air and the hustle-and-bustle in the kitchen made me feel like we were preparing for some big celebration.

Turns out we only have half a day of school because a vet is coming in... to castrate one of the horses. (The cookies are for the vet.)

Thus marks my first experience "celebrating" Castration Day!

Redefining "normal"

2008-05-12T03:40:00.002-04:00

Julia: Oh, just to warn you--there's a snake in the classroom.
Me: Where? Tied up in a pillowcase?
Julia: Welllll... it WAS in a pillowcase, but then it escaped.
Me: Huh. What kind of snake is it?
Julia: It's just a spotted bush snake.
Me: Okay. I'll make sure to watch my feet.

Cravings

2008-05-09T03:48:00.007-04:00

Those of you who know me know that I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about food. While my appetite has shrunk over the years (no more eating contests, Mark Lempke), my appreciation for food is as strong as it always has been and this second trimester of pregnancy has only served to heighten it.

I've been asked quite often if I've had any cravings. To be honest, I was so sick during the first trimester that I had more food aversions than cravings. But now that I'm into the second trimester, the cravings are back!

Unfortunately, one drawback of having done so much traveling is that ALL of these cravings are impossible to satisfy here. And you KNOW I'll be craving ugali when we're back in America.

Current cravings:
(I took these pictures directly off the Google image search page, thus the different sizes. Is that bad internet etiquette? At any rate, I've linked the pictures to the sources.)

Left-right, top-bottom: tempura, lumpia, chimichanga, pad see ewe, McDonald's double cheeseburger, radish cake

Okay, I need to stop and get something to eat.

Happy 25th Birthday, Paul!

2008-04-24T11:31:00.000-04:00

Luka update

2008-04-18T03:24:00.004-04:00

Luka loves his monkey pillow and apparently doesn't enjoy stretching out; Rukwa, Tanzania

We used to have to brush his teeth when he was asleep because he hated it so much. Now it's all we can do to get him to stop and go to sleep; Rukwa, Tanzania

Check out a more detailed update here.
(pictures and comments from Paul's Flickr)

Aardvark Romulus Shaffner, and future plans

2008-04-17T03:56:00.003-04:00

We spent the past two days at Fox's Highland Lodge, doing very lodge-appropriate things like lawn bowling and fly-fishing, sipping tea by the fire. You'd have thought we had transported ourselves to Europe. This was the last trip (besides the journey back to Dar to send the students off) before the end of the program.

I spent yesterday morning sitting in the lounge, chatting with various students about possible baby names. I have to say, the majority of the conversation wasn't very helpful. (Case in point: "Aardvark" was brought up as a possible name.)

I have to admit that prior to pregnancy, I loved talking about and researching baby names. Now that I'm pregnant, however, I find that the responsibility of picking out a name that's supposed to last a child his/her entire life is quite daunting. Neither Paul nor I have names that we are particularly "set" on, and we've also discovered that our tastes in names differ quite a bit. Yet another reason why I am grateful there are 9 months to prepare for the arrival of a child!

In the comments below, Ma Torg asked if we were planning to have the baby here in TZ or if we were heading back to the US. It just occurred to me that neither Paul nor I have blogged about our plans. We WILL be heading back to the US this summer, "for good." "For good" means that we're not back just for a visit (which means job-hunting, house-hunting, etc... yay), although we do plan on heading back overseas after a year or two.

It has been a difficult decision to leave TZ because it really has been our home since we've been married and we truly love it here. BUT we're excited to be close to Paul's parents and also see the benefits of putting down SOME roots state-side prior to seeking any sort of long-term position overseas.

Right now we're scheduled to fly back 13 June (yes, Friday the 13th). Paul is looking for jobs in the DC area, and I'm trying to figure out how possible it is to work on my teaching certificate this next year.

BTW, thanks for all the comments here and also the congratulations on Facebook. Paul and I had decided that we'd hold off on mentioning any baby news on Facebook for a little while, figuring that our closest friends read our blogs (!!!!), so our apologies if we haven't responded to wall posts.

Cheating

2008-04-14T02:48:00.003-04:00

There's SO much to write about the last several weeks, and I just found a short-cut: Hannah, one of the Houghton students, is blogging about the TZ program for Houghton and has summarized our experiences (with pictures!) quite nicely.
Check it out.

Last Friday, the students went all out and planned a banquet/talent show (catered by Shaffin). They transformed the dining area, decorating each table in the theme of one of the places we've visited on this trip (e.g. Ruaha, Matema. The "Homestay" table included beautiful woven baskets of dried beans, husks of corn... and a bottle of doxycycline.) The talent show was a RIOT. I won't bother recapping since you really had to be there, but we ended with The Newlywed Game*. Paul and I won but I think we had the advantage since we only had to try to remember 3 years worth of anecdotes, while the other two couples had 25 - 35 years to remember! The prize? A decorated sausage fruit.

It's hard to believe this year's program is coming to a close. We're headed to Mufindi tomorrow to visit Fox's Highland Lodge (one of our favourite places) for two days and after that, last-minute packing/preparation before heading to Dar on Sunday to drop the students off.

This has been such an exceptional group. Everyone is so helpful, so positive. We'll miss them.

And someday, maybe I'll post pictures on this.

*Question: "What's the most disastrous trip you've been on as a couple?"

J: It must be that trip when we had 16 flat tires in one day.
B: No, it was definitely our trip to --------.
[pause]
J: Wait, you weren't even ON that trip.
B: YES, I WAS!!

Question: "Wives: what was the "sinker," the thing that ultimately made you fall in love with your husband?"
B: His legs.
J: What? I thought it was my love for Africa!

Habari!

2008-04-08T09:10:00.002-04:00

After a LONG break in blogging, I’m back (with a vengeance). We have been gone for about two weeks (one week of vacation in the Rukwa valley and another week in Matema with the Houghton students) and there are almost TOO many things to blog about.

But first things first. A bunch of you have been wondering why I went from obsessive blogging to basically no blogging. Part of that had to do with busyness, but more importantly, Paul and I have had big news that we were waiting to share and if I couldn’t blog about THAT, I couldn’t bring myself to blog about ANYTHING…

So, without much ado: I’m pregnant!

Yes, Paul and I are expecting a little one! The baby is due beginning of October. I am about 14 weeks along. We are obviously very excited!

Baby Shaffner has already been through many adventures! Now that the cat is out of the bag and life is slowing down a bit, I'll hopefully be better at blogging, so check back!

Don't beat yourself up

2008-02-28T09:12:00.000-05:00

Last night, Paul and I were playing the alphabet game (When I went camping, I brought an apple, banana, cat, dog, etc.) just as the generator was going off. We made it through the alphabet but I could tell the game was putting him to sleep and Paul was fading fast. Not two minutes after we ended the game (...a yodeling Swiss guy, a Zebros), I asked Paul to roll over to give me some room. He did, and started moaning in an incredibly whiny voice, "Owww! My arm is asleep and it hit me on the face! Urgghhhh! It did it again!"
Thankfully, Paul is quite manly during waking hours.
(He has no recollection of this, by the way.)

Does anybody still check this?

2008-02-26T09:21:00.002-05:00

I was reminded yet again by SOMEONE how long it's been since I've blogged.
I apologize, internet.

Paul and I have been busy with the Houghton program, but the better excuse is that a lightning storm took out the internet about a month ago.

I am at our favourite internet cafe in town (at the Ismilla hotel). It is our favourite because
1) the guys who work here always tell us to "salamia Luka"
2) the internet is fast and reliable
3) they let us pay the old rate
and 4) they spoil us. Today, for example, they handed me a roasted ear of corn to munch on while typing. Sweet.

How's that for a foray back into blogging?

And, for good measure, check this out. Via Dan.

F for Effort

2008-01-22T10:02:00.000-05:00

Wow, talk about a blogging dry spell.

Tomorrow, we are heading to Dar to pick up the students (who arrive on Friday). Thus begins another crazy Houghton in Tanzania semester!

We'll be back in a week, hopefully with Lazy Lagoon pictures to post.

2008-01-14T05:52:00.000-05:00

It has been a crazy month. So much has happened (including this and this). We had a fabulous time with my family and only wish they could have stayed longer.
There are so many pictures to post of our vacation and of our last few weeks with Luka, but trying to recap all of that is too daunting of a task... so these will have to do for now:

YAY!

2007-12-22T06:13:00.000-05:00

Paul, Luka, and I are heading to Dar tomorrow to pick up my (entire!) family!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Luka updates

2007-12-11T04:08:00.000-05:00

Updates on Luka's health here and here.

Some favourite new shots

2007-12-10T07:05:00.000-05:00

Paul and Luka

Flexible Luka

Hongera!

2007-12-07T01:14:00.000-05:00

Joe and Kim have a beautiful daughter, Ellie!

Ouch.

2007-12-06T02:38:00.000-05:00

Last night, I stayed up late filling out a lengthy job application, so Paul had been asleep for at least an hour before I finally crawled into bed.
As soon as I shut my eyes, Paul rolled towards me and said in his sleep, "'Night, Sweetie."
"Goodnight, love you." I responded.
Pause.
"You're a battery-powered punk," he muttered, as he rolled back to his side of the bed.
Then I promptly got up again to write this down. Best pet name/insult EVER!

A mass apology...

2007-12-04T05:52:00.000-05:00

...for a mass e-mail.
I think I accidentally sent everyone in my address book an invitation to Goodreads. This was an accident. I signed up to check it out and realized that very few people I know are actually on it... which is changing because a number of you so kindly responded to my invitation. Also extremely embarrassing because I have a bunch of "business" contacts in my address book, including prospective future employers. Yikes! What's the internet etiquette for things like this?? If you're reading this, don't accept my invitation unless you want to, independently of me, since I just deleted my account.
Obrigado!

Wrapping up

2007-11-30T04:03:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day of NaBloPoMo. Next month, I can go back to blogging sporadically (ha ha). I am getting really excited that it is almost December. Here in Iringa, there are two events that kick off the Advent season: a crafts fair at the Greek club, and an Advent celebration at the Danish School. Both happen this weekend and we are excited!
Paul and I are still trying to figure out what we're going to do for a Christmas tree... might have to do what our friends do, and just cut off a really big branch to lean against the wall. That or steal one of the coffee bushes from Masumbo (just kidding). Either way, we'll post a picture.
Anyway, I'm unfortunately ending on a not-very-exciting note, simply because I need to run!
So there it is, the end of Nablopomo 2007.

I love Etsy

2007-11-29T07:43:00.000-05:00

Etsy
Buy Handmade
msafiri

To the pediatrician!

2007-11-28T09:01:00.000-05:00

Luka saw the pediatrician today! We were told to pick a birthday for him. Hmmmm.
(more about this later)

Great spots in a small town

2007-11-27T02:56:00.000-05:00

This afternoon, Lynn and I are going to town to go Christmas shopping. I figure this is a good time to share Paul and my list of "Essential Iringa," which we WERE going to include in a newsletter that we never got around to finishing.

Hasty Tasty
Iringa’s social hub, run by our good friend, Shaffin
cafe at Neema Crafts
great ambiance. yummy panini and, according to their menu, "arguably the best chocolate cake in the Southern Hemisphere"--all for a good cause
Seafood Takeout
the best pizza in town
produce market
pyramid upon pyramid of fresh produce
Mama Helena’s
batik and kitenge handicrafts of all kinds
Mama Miho’s
the general store of Iringa
Amani Hardware
(almost) everything you need to construct a deck
mitumba market
Hard to believe, but it took me a year to discover this hidden "village" of used-clothes stalls. Great deals!

Fictional recommendations

2007-11-26T06:42:00.000-05:00

I like to collect recommended book lists. I have, saved on my computer, lists that range from Time’s 100 Novels to the Chicago school district’s high school reading list. I even have WB’s list of what the fictional Rory Gilmore would recommend. (Yes, such a list exists). Here is a list of Rory's "Hot New Reads," circa 2006. (I would put up a link, but the original site with this list has died with the show.)

• Small Island by Andrea Levy
• My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
• A Quiet Storm by Rachel Howzell Hall
• My Life in Orange by Tim Guest
• Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett
• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
• The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
• How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
• The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
• Nervous System by Jan Lars Jensen
• The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• How the Light Gets In by M. J. Hyland
• Oracle Night by Paul Auster
• Quattrocento by James McKean
• The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan
• Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
• Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi
• Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
• The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
• The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
• Old School by Tobias Wolff
• The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• The Bielski Brothers by Peter Duff
• Brick Lane by Monica Ali
• Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
• The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht
• Property by Valerie Martin
• Rescuing Patty Hearst by Virginia Holman
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
• The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander
• Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito
• Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
• Fat Land : How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World by Greg Critser
• Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
• Unless by Carol Shields
• Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
• When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
• Songbook by Nick Hornby
• Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
• Extravagance by Gary Krist
• Empire Falls by Richard Russo
• The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker
• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
• A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
• Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
• The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
• Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
• Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
• The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

All in all, I like a lot of the books listed. Way to go, Rory. Or, way to go, WB!

Chocolate gas

2007-11-25T09:43:00.000-05:00

By gas, I mean fuel.
(via Paul)
And yes, I promise to blog about my actual life sometime soon.

The scum has come

2007-11-24T14:50:00.000-05:00

I cannot drink of cocoa without contemplating the brevity of youth, thanks to Updike and my 8th grade English teacher, Mrs. Kennedy.

Time to put away the iPod

2007-11-23T02:10:00.000-05:00

The problem with being such a fan of a TV show is that it's difficult to see the actors in other roles. I have been trying to watch License to Wed, but every time Mandy Moore gets close to John Krasinski, I want to kick her and yell, "Get away! He's Pam's!"

In other news, I dreamed about John Krasinski again last night. He was charming, as usual.