Happy Birthday to My Favorite Ghoul!

Today is my mom's birthday! What a great time of year for a cool birthday party. She loves Halloween. She is the most wonderful mother. I love her! All my friends in high school (and those that knew her in college as well) love her too. They all call her Mom or Mom Barkume. I wish I had more pictures on my computer, but here is a little montage to celebrate the many (but not too many) wonderful years of her life, the best being the ones with me.

On the hike to Angel's Landing, Zion NP.

Out to dinner with my Dad.

Both this picture and the first one on top were taken at the beach near Bandon, Oregon.

Cast of Characters: Little Fetus Maude

I'm proud to present our unborn baby GIRL!

The internet poll has prophesied correctly: Maude is the clear winner, and thus we will call our unborn girl child Maude until she really enters this world in style. I can't wait for all that pain and tearing and screaming. She's making me work for her, that's for sure!

I wish our ultrasound picutures were a little clearer, but she is quite the squirmy baby, and apparently my placenta is right in front of her, so the images weren't as focused as some I've seen. But she looks healthy and is right on target for size, which is a great indicator that everything is developing correctly. We got to see pictures of her brain, bladder, spine, and watch the blood pump through the four chambers of her heart. It was amazing! I can't imagine being pregnant and not getting to see that! Even when my mom was pregnant with me, which wasn't too long ago, this sort of technology didn't exist. That is crazy to me. I love living in the 21st Century--what a blessing!

Clearly, the "girl"part of her. Nothing poking out between those legs! Her bum is on the left, the mouse is pointing to the labia, and her feet are to the right.

I think these pictures of her feet are just...sigh...too wonderful and amazing. She's really in there!

The best picture we got of her spine. I only wish her profile wasn't blurred.

"It's Automatic When You Know It"

Here is a picture of our baby at 11 weeks. This ultrasound was done at the end of the August. It looks like an alien, I am aware of that. But it's our alien, and that makes me happy. Everyone needs an extraterrestrial of their own to grow and love, right?

When my mom found out we were having a baby, she thought that we were going to name it Otto. Not that I don't like that name, but I have never really considered it, and since we don't know the sex of the child, I don't know why she assumed that we would name it that. My dad then wryly suggested that the middle name should be "Matic." Very clever. But then I thought, Automatic Peterson, that's a good, funny name for a sexually undetermined fetus. And henceforth our babe has been known as Auto around these parts. It's much better than Richard's suggestion of Cletus the Fetus. Eeeewww...I hate both those words.

Now my mother-in-law, on the other hand, has really been gunning for Gus since the moment we got married almost five years ago. Can you imagine hearing about Baby Gus for five years? I said "absolutely not! That's the name of the fat mouse on 'Cinderella.'" There's no way I'd ever name a human being that came out of my birth canal Gus. But Richie loves it. He uses the mouse voice from "Cinderella" and says "GusGus" really fast. Sigh. This child is in for a lot of weird nicknames.

I've also had some Oregon inspired suggestions, like Rainesong, Snowbright, and Moonstar. So now I'd like to open it up to suggestions from the audience. The new poll to your right will have my top five suggestions, but please feel free to post other options as well; nothing will be turned down on the path towards the moniker that will label one for life.

Avast, Pirates Win, Arrrr!

I know it has been up for some time now, but, Pirates win the poll! Richard was upset by the results (he was the only one that voted for ninjas). I love ninjas too. They're so sneaky (there could be one in my kitchen right now and I wouldn't know!) and if pirates had the same code of ethics or the same sense of duty and shame, ninjas would definitely win in hand-to-hand combat. But we all know that after getting slapped around, a pirate would just step back and rocket a bullet into the ninja's belly, and not even feel bad about it. That's while pirates rock. Not to mention that they live on a ship and sail around the entire world, and have hidden, cursed treasure. And scurvy. I mean, whoever heard of Ninja Treasure? Or some sort of ninja vitamin deficiency? Family Honor or a nod from the Emperor is probably the only reward that ninjas receive. Maybe a cool sword too. But I want gold me mateys, lots of gold. It's the only stable financial standard in today's economic mess.

Okay, since I am new to blogging and not too technically savvy yet, I couldn't figure out how to post youtube videos (although I know it can be done, somehow) here are some links to some funny ninja videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muLIPWjks_M
This is for "Ninja Cat" which never ceases to crack me up. It even made the Chemist laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdLCEwEFCMU
I don't condone the use of the word "fag" but this video is still pretty funny and covers all the basics of becoming a ninja. Is it racist when Asian Americans use a really bad Japanese accent?

I tried to find some cool pirate videos, but none that tickeled my fancy, arrrr....

Tomorrow look for a new poll concerning our babe. She (we think) needs a name, and she needs your vote.

Snow Day and the Conquering Hero

Today I awoke to snow!

It has been blustery and stormy all weekend, and though it snowed both Saturday and Sunday, it was still a surprise to wake up and see nothing but white out the window. I am so grateful that our landlord believes in keeping a warm house!

Luckily, the weather is supposed to bounce back up into the 60s for the next few weeks. I am definitely not ready for winter, and not done with beautiful Autumn. Winter can wait a little while longer. I took this picture this morning from my front porch. I didn't quite get the effect of the snow like I wanted, but I live across the street from the Logan LDS Temple, and it was a particularly lovely view this morning with the bright sunlight and smooth snow lawn.

More importantly, I am happy to announce the results of the St. George Marathon! Richard not only reached his goal time, he smashed it to bits as he finished the race in 3:33! His time for the SLC marathon was 4:24, so he took off more than 50 minutes! And in pouring rain I might add! I was so excited for him, even though I wasn't prepared to take pictures and video-I thought I had another 10 minutes at least to get the camera ready. I wanted video of him actually crossing the finish line. Afterwards, Richie was only minimally sore for two days. He felt fine all last week. The real secret to his success is this: don't stretch before any runs, drink lots of carbonated beverages, get minimal sleep, and shave body hair into aerodynamic coiffitures, as seen below:

What a sexy Fu-Man-Chu! He was going to put his hair into a mohawk, but the rain prevented that from being successful. My mom got a really big kick out of the moustache. When she first saw him she choked on her lunch. But she recovered enough to snap this photo:

I'll leave this entry with some more images of the wet marathon. My parents and I did the "Mayor's Walk," which was the last 2.2 miles of the marathon course and ended at the finish line. Hopefully, the next marathon will be a Boston qualifier!

Good Friends

Jonas Newsome is Richard's best friend. They've been friends since they were 12. At least, they were wellwishers, in that they wished each other no specific harm. But Jonas has been a very important person in our lives and we love him and his family very much!

Jonas turned 30 a few days ago, and I'd like to say Happy Birthday Jonas! I'm posting a video of him swimming at Alsea Falls in Oregon. He and his wife Phyleen and their baby Bridger came to visit us a year ago. I also put up some pictures of him to preserve a bit of his dignity. He really is a great guy. I hope you don't regret giving us this video!

My good friend Laron also had a birthday recently. Happy Birthday Laron! Laron is one of the most beautiful people I know in every way: beautiful mind, beautiful heart, beautiful soul. I have some great photographs of Laron, but unforutanely, none that are digital. This picture I'm posting is the only decent one I have of him on my computer. We are at the top of Mt. Timpanogos in Utah. Please ignore the way I look. We took off for the hike at 4 am and didn't get back home until 7 pm or so! It's a steep 13 miler, but totally worth it. Laron of course, didn't even break a sweat.

Laron has some gorgeous photographs posted on Flickr. If you'd like to check them out, here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/91213518@N00/

The Sweetest Zuchinni of All

I help with two different gardens, and as usual, the zuchinni plants runneth over. I figured that there has to something else besides zuchinni bread and stir fry that incorporates large amounts of this prolific squash. I saw this recipe on the news the other day, and decided to try it out. It is amazing! I think it is my new favorite cookie! And it doesn't even have chocolate in it! You know it must be good if something sans chocolate can trump a cocoa suffused delight. Without the frosting, these would work well as scones. But the frosting adds a "zip" and a zest that the cookie alone is missing!

Lemon Zuchinni Cookies

2 cups flour
1 tea baking powder
1/2 tea salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tea lemon zest
1 cup shredded zuchinni
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 table lemon juice

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In large bowl cream butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and lemon zest until fluffy. On low speed add flour mixture until dough is smooth. Stir in zuchinni and walnuts. Drop onto greased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated 375 F oven, 15-20 minutes (very light brown). While still warm drizzle with Lemon Glaze. Cool on rack. Frosting: mix powdered sugar and lemon juice together.

Let me know if you enjoy them!