The Exciting Conclusion of the Waffle-Off

You'll need a bit of backstory to get to the thrilling conclusion of this post, and I'm afraid the story goes much farther back than the story is thrilling.  A fine Juneau institution is the Waffle Co., and after enjoying some of their Ham and Cheese waffles while on a visit home from grad school, Matt and I thought we should try to make savory waffles at home. We acquired a little waffle-maker for the project, and some busy school night decided to give this a go.  In my memory, it took a long time.  You add cold ham and cheese to waffles, they take a long time to cook.  If you ask Matt, you would think the waffle-maker destroyed our breakfast-for-dinner optimism, that it ruined more that just one part of an evening, but perhaps our entire faith in waffles.  I actually believed for a long time that Matt didn't like waffles.  Any Sunday morning where waffles might suit me, he would snarl at the waffle-maker, or sigh in disgust, and we would usually skip to pancakes, which he says "are faster." Really, the sting of slow waffles had stung too deep, and that trust was irreparably broken, never to heal.

So imagine my surprise, when for my birthday, Matt gave me a waffle-maker.  A very nice waffle maker, the kind that flips over (I don't understand this, but the one at the dorms did this).  Tragically, it was dented, so it was returned to a store that was SOLD OUT of such nice waffle-makers, presumably to people who hadn't been betrayed by them before.  But this started the conversation again.  Didn't we love waffles?  Was it too painful to invite them back into our lives, or could we try to see past the failure of the waffle-makers to the joy that waffles bring?  Matt held firm that the first waffle-maker was "too slow," that better waffle-makers could do the job faster, possibly fluffier and toastier (sins I don't recall from the original waffle incident, but like I said, we seemed to have experienced this differently). Maybe he could love waffles again, but surely there was a better way??

At my second birthday party, at Betty's, I got another new waffle maker.  This was good, because the first present came with 30 lbs of waffle mix (see? he wants to love waffles again).  The new waffle-maker didn't have flipping capacity, but it did have George Foreman on the front, and I instinctively trust his judgement on waffles.  And now we have two waffle-makers.  Not that I am picking favorites, but we thought we should settle the score, once and for all.  Was the old waffle-maker too slow?  Would a new one be faster? Fluffier? Toastier?  We mixed up a batch of waffle-mix, and turned on both waffle-makers for a Waffle-Off- a side-by-side duel of breakfast food.

That brings us up to speed. Are you ready for this? The results of the first official Waffle-Off?

It turns out BOTH waffle-makers take about 3-5 minutes to cook a waffle. BOTH waffle-makers make waffles that are about right for one plate.  However, the key breakthrough of the experiment was making waffles in parallel- you get twice as many waffles in the same amount of time.  Oh joy! The wait was over!  We compared the relative merits of each (the old being slightly toastier, the new being slightly fluffier, both making a fine waffle), and sought the perfect combination of toppings.  There was so much TIME to indulge in peanut butter and applesauce, or applesauce and Strawberry Rhubarb Quince Jam, or plain syrup, or peanut butter and jam... so much TIME to linger on the toasty, fluffy waffles. And it was good to linger, I had missed waffles- their strange geometry being vastly superior to pancakes for capturing toppings. But it was really momentous to see Matt finally taking joy in waffles again, letting go of that old burden and setting aside his grievances to just enjoy breakfast again.

Dad is going to be staying with me this weekend.  Perhaps, if there is time, we will have waffles.

He prepares for a business trip

Matt is leaving for his first real business trip tomorrow.  He's been asked to go help at the plant in Ohio as they start making a new build of truck: his job now is to interface with the manufacturing side to (among other things) make sure that all the correct parts get on the truck in the right order, which often means finding a way to make things fit, or providing insight for the design team as the guys in the plant say, "Yeah, there is no way this part can fit in that spot with all the other stuff in the way."  I like that his job is so literal.  As I said, this big plant in Ohio is going to start making a new build of truck, and they get a bit of supervision in the form of a three man team that includes Matt.  He has to pack his steel-toed boots, and I anticipate some serious stain treating of his slacks when he gets home Friday.

(For those wondering, his job is technically 5% travel, so this trip should just about do it for the year.)

So how does Matt prepare for a trip?  Well, let's contrast this to how I get ready for work trips.  I usually work like a maniac in the weeks leading up. This ensure on the day of preparation my domestic situation is in crisis so that I can either stay up all night washing the appropriate clothes, or decide to take the trip without clean socks.  I usually pick "stay up all night" because I've been an a straight coffee and chocolate diet for 2 days and I have to get my files in order/printed to maximize the time I'll "study on the plane" (ha!), which, after a late night pack-up, has never worked once yet in the history of ever.  However, I like to know that I have spent all my energy getting ready for the trip because in my world (ie, at meetings), when you are on the trip, it is hard to carve out time for actual working because you have to appear bright-eyed, bushy tailed and very, very smart.

Ok, back to Matt.  Matt mentioned a few times that things were a little busy at work last week, mostly because this trip is taking him away from other duties at work.  He had to find a way to leave them in a position for other people to help out with.  His new bike arrived Friday, which is primarily how he dealt with that stress: long rides.  There was talk of going into to work today, which I figured would be when things got really maniacal.  He rode his bike to work, set his auto reply on his email and sent some files along to coworkers.  He was there less than an hour.  He folded all his laundry into neat piles in the living room, and has been weighing the needs to the week against his carry on for a few minutes.  It's after dinner, but I wouldn't say after the witching hour.  He has no intention of working on the plane, and in fact, just flying counts as work.  He doesn't go to the site until Tuesday, and possibly they might not be building the trucks until Wednesday.  I'd like to contrast this to the type of trip- a professional meeting is basically how you develop a professional reputation, and his business trip is just to do his job in a different place- but it's probably more fair to recognize that Matt tends to have a much cooler head than I do.  At work or home, or even when the two come together, he doesn't usually get flustered.

It'll be weird without him here. I've traveled tons without him, but he rarely goes places without me.  He has been super handy helping get a new bookcase into Nana's and installing a couple lights (since we've all been sitting around the apartment a lot lately, it's time to just fix some of those things).  Fortunately, I'm sure I'll get to see a bit of both Mom and Nana this week, and Dad is coming in Thursday night (house hunting!). 

Other Finger Exercises

One of the main reasons I haven't been blogging as much is that whenever I get a free 15 minutes or so, I've actually been indulging in a new, different hobby. I'm learning the piano. Again.

I don't have much of a recollection of playing the piano before. I can't have been that good at it, but my body clearly remembers a few of the tricks. I still remember 'doggy D', and whenever I put my hands on the keyboard, my first, third, and fifth fingers are always ready to hit the C Major chord. So far my strategy of 'make sure you practice every day, preferably before you play videogames' has been paying off. I picked up a book of instructional songs for adults to teach themselves, and it's been a great help in just lining up songs that push my dexterity a little bit at a time. I should put up some video (or maybe just audio?) later, but Jessie says she likes listening to me, so that's pretty good to hear. I keep thinking that if I still am doing this after a year I'll reward myself by getting a real piano. Probably an electric piano, or just a better keyboard. An upright at best. We technically could fit a grand somewhere in the house, but I'll save that until after I become a world-famous performer.

The idea that we should have Thanksgiving in Seattle catalyzed yesterday, and has quickly run away as a fantastic idea. It'll be neat to see the family again, of course, but I haven't really gotten to see much of the city, and I'm told it's a pretty cool place in spots. Also, Tyler did quite well on his last flight, so we're up to trying it again. Getting him his own seat is a real boon to his comfort, as well as ours and all those around us. It's an investment, but it's been a good one so far.

Jess played hookey today to go riding down the river on inner tubes with work-mates, drinking and generally having a relaxing time. I took over baby-caring-for duty, and Jess has been taking every opportunity to tell people how nice I am being to her, which is a kindness that I definitely appreciate.

Tyler's latest trick is that he really likes noticing when things are the same. If you're reading a book, and the picture on the front of the book is the same as the picture on one of the pages, he'll get really excited (if he remembers) and make you flip back to the cover to make sure they are the same. He also got really excited when he noticed that the cat on my 'darth vader kitty' t-shirt was the same as the cats running around the house. Both dee-dees.

My sparring (they call it shi-ai) in judo has never been very good. I'd mostly quantify it as 'really bad', and I've decided I have to face my fear of sucking at judo and just practice it more. After all, that's pretty much how you get better at anything. I get myself pumped up by listening to energetic music on the way in, and I'm trying to convince myself that, much like the piano, I just have to do it every day. Not a lot, necessarily, but every time needs a little more practice. I'll get there eventually if I put in the time.

-N

Things change

By now you've all heard that Nana had a little spill and will be wearing a brace until her back heals.  For a couple hours on Tuesday, this was really scary, and I am glad I got to be with her while we figured out what was going on.  Now though, now it seems like an inconvenience.  But that's Nana for you- no wallowing, just determined to do what she needs to get better.  If that is wearing a kind of inconvenient brace right now, so be it. I think she's gotten most of you on the phone, so you can hear that she isn't suffering unduly.

The rest of us are striving to take good care of her in anyway she will let us.  I say "the rest of us" because my Mom did that cool, retired person thing of just showing up where the action is.  She came in Tuesday night and is going to be staying with Nana for a bit.  (Someone has to remind her to use her walker, ahem.)  This is good, because someone is going to have to help manage the steady stream of visitors while Matt and I are working.  It sounds as if there is going to be quite a parade of visitors today and possibly through the weekend.  I mention this in case you try to call and she puts you off- Nothing personal, but Queen Martha (as we've taken to calling her with this princess perfect posture the brace forces) has many duties to attend to.

There are lots of reasons that this doesn't really seem like a major life changing event in the same way you might expect.  Partly, being close at hand makes it easy. Being at the Chateau has been awesome.  For one, they just trip over themselves to be accommodating (I imagine they are like this for everyone, but they all really like Nana). It's a huge relief to me, and everyone else I am sure.

In related news, I've been seeing my Mom everyday, which is cool.  It's been good to have a little help with some of my database questions.  And we've been starting to gel around some ideas for the holidays (spoiler: they will be awesome). One of these days, she is going to get me to help her with her Portuguese lessons.  Matt and I might be able to rope the two of them into judging our Waffle-Off, a completely objective comparison between our two waffle makers. 

Another weekend of visitors!

The other day Shaoshu actually asked if it is "Parent's Season."  Well, we are taking a lot of visitors these days.  My in-laws came up from California to partake in one of these magically beautiful Seattle weekends before going to visit Victoria and BC.  It was so nice to get to have them around- I love an excuse to play tourist, and being with your parents is good for the soul.  We mostly took them across the lake to real Seattle, but Matt's Dad got to watch him take second in a 5K Saturday morning (we all hung out for the awards), and we got to have dinner with Jeffery's family.  They have known Jeffery since he was a toddler- which makes those discussions about parenting and careers so much more family like. 

Even though we feel crazy busy all the time (how have we not had time to see the Batman movie yet??), I am really digging this family-being-around-ness we are working on.

The strange diet is still in effect.  I am trying not to be in the habit of eating only melons and cheeze-its, but those are both gentle on my tummy.  Unlike green tea, or strawberry ice cream, which are both things I have regretted recently.

Minor movement on the professional front, I am going to meet the rest of the people at the company where I intern tomorrow.  It's a testament to my blank-faced confidence that I convinced them I could take this role while working at home, but obviously, the benefit of interning is getting to meet people.  I am going to their group meeting (all 4 of them will be there!) to talk about the business development stuff I have been working on, and work on my good reputation with them.

Salesmanship

Jess and I have been thinking about replacing the windows in our house...essentially since we bought the house. We loved the house itself, but the windows are all single-pane, aluminum frame and a little hard to open and close in some places. We played around with a contractor before Tyler was born, but then decided to put it on hold until, you know, the whole baby situation got more stable.

Well since then I've noticed a couple of drips sneaking in around the windows, so we hit up consumer reports again to get some window recommendations and decided to go with Anderson windows. They do pretty darn high-end windows, but you do often get what you pay for, and they convinced us of the quality of their windows...mostly.

So when you call the Anderson guys up, they send out a guy to your house who does some rough measurements, computes a quote, and then, and this is properly obnoxious, gives you an HOUR LONG explanation on how awesome their windows are in your house. It's really over the top, and a little off-putting, but they do have really nice windows.

All of this is background so I can tell you this story:

The guy was out late, and Tyler was already in bed, and the demo had reached the point where he brought in little sample windows and proceeded to explain (in stupidly excruciating detail) every neat aspect of the windows. He had reached the part where he wanted to talk about how secure the windows were. He said: “One of the main reasons people buy Anderson windows is for security...” and then he reached down and with a single punch shattered one of the windows with his bare hands.

For an instant, I was incredibly impressed. “They are so confident of the safety of their glass, that they will break it with their bare hands, and so confident that you will buy their windows that they will replace that pane of glass after each demonstration. Astounding!” Then I looked at the guys face and realized that this wasn't really part of the demo, and he had just shattered a window in our library. And his hand was bleeding.

After we had sorted out that, no, that wasn't actually supposed to happen, Jess ran off with the sales guy to the bathroom to patch his hand up. We had just gotten some really festive band-aids for Tyler, and Jess was rather keen to use them. I vacuumed very thorougly and then walked around in my bare feet. If I missed a shard, I wanted it under my toes, not Tylers.

Anyway, we went with their windows, but if anyone who reads this ever feels like doing the same, you may want to stand back when they get to that part of the presentation.

I also got to travel to Charleston last week. It all went startlingly well, except for some paperwork shenanigans that nearly got me sent back home early. We got it all sorted out, though, and the tasks that we set out to do went off without a hitch. Which meant that there wasn't a lot of drama or excitement, at least not at work, but that's a pretty good tradeoff for success.

As for the rest of the city, it was pretty nice, in places. I got to have some fried chicken and grits several times. You know, like they do in the south. Also lots of fish, because Jessie wasn't there to help us pick restaurants. Charleston is really pretty and old in the places where it has been well maintained, and a condemnable bio hazard in the places where it hasn't. Stick to the nice places and you'll have a great time. We took some walks to go get some food a couple of times, and the City really looks nice, on foot. I'm sad we left before Saturday, there was a farmers market right across from our hotel, evidently. That would have been fun to see and eat my way through.

Tyler is getting better and better at being a toddler. He can run now, and get up to a fair clip for a guy whose legs are so short. He's becoming less and less fussy every time we drop him off at school, and he always seems fully engaged whenever we come to pick him up. He's becoming a little more of a picky eater, but that was bound to happen eventually. I'm sure we weren't going to just be able to feed him broccoli for dinner until he turned 18. He's also working a lot on copying our words, and rather a lot of them, though it's rare that these early attempts at language make repeat performances. We often quiz him on “who that is”, and he's pretty good at Mama and Dada at this point, but the real comedy comes in when he confuses the two. “Who is that?” “Mama—Dada!” He even shakes his head like, 'Wait, no, that's not right. It's the other one...Dada! That's right.” Those of you that have been lucky enough to skype with us may have seen him working on the splits. We'll make a martial artist out of him yet. He has also decided that the best use of the letter and number flash cards we got him is to take them out of our hands and throw them through the air and laugh uproariously, which is more interaction that he has done with those cards before, so I consider it progress.

-N  

Mom and Dad visit!

Like a good retired person, Mom had gotten right to the business of visiting her family.  Mom and Dad came down this weekend for a "retirement kickoff/house hunting vacation."  I'll let them comment more on the second part of the trip (spoiler alert: they haven't bought a house yet), but we had a nice time having them around.  They had Nana with them almost every minute, so it was great to see her even more (we were hardly around in July, so I was missing her!). 

We ate out a lot- which was as much an indulgence as in deference to my new "diet" prescribed to deal with major tummy pain.  Basically, I can only eat sweets and salty food (not fatty, spicy or tart food)(or coffee or chocolate or Italian food or mojitos, so I am basically losing my mind), and given Mom's limitations on salt, it was a LOT easier to just let someone else handle the cooking.  Or I guess we could have all eaten bananas and rock candy all weekend.  Anyway, this served as a nice excuse to see cousin Lisa at her restaurant.  (See what happens when you live in WA? you just run into family, all the time!)  And I never had to do dishes.  Come back and visit anytime, Mom and Dad!

AND Matt and I celebrated our wedding anniversary (6 years!) on Sunday by going to play frisbee golf in the beautifully hot weather and wading in some river.  I was thinking that thanks to a Juneau wedding, we ALWAYS have better weather on our anniversary than we did for our wedding day.  It was nice to have some time together just playing in the woods, since we've been oppositely busy a lot lately.  Once those ironpants house shoppers were done with their marathon visitations, we all got to enjoy a sunset dinner on the bay. Even though I am supposed to be very strict with this stupid diet, Matt heroically ordered a cheesecake that I shared a forbidden (few) bites to remember our wedding day. How romantic!

And then I'm back to work.  I supposed if I had planned my time better, I would have been contracting while the parent were house hunting (over the weekend), and not working when they were free to dink around.  After this last trip, I'm having a hard time keeping my focus up, and the prospect of alternate scheduling seemed like a bad idea all around.  This is the weird thing I've found about contracting.  Sure, I can work anytime or anywhere I feel like, but I mostly want to work about 8 hours straight from my own office during the middle of the week.  Yes, I could take an afternoon off and finish my work after dinner- but who wants to be working before going to bed?  And isn't it a joy to string two (mostly) non-work days together?  For all that flexibility, the main way I take advantage is by working the first half the day in my PJs and showering at lunch time.