Rock of Ages: Album Review

Last month I received a copy of the cast recording of a newer Broadway show called Rock of Ages. I hadn't heard of this show before so I was happy to review it for the One2One Network after I'd read in the preview e-mail that it featured arena-rock hits from the 80s.

Once I got the album I decided to read up on the show and start my listening. After I read what the show is about and learning a little bit more about it, I wasn't terribly interested in what I was listening to. So while I originally thought this would be a fun way to rock to some 80s hits, things were soured a bit when I learned what the show was really about. Because the cast recording includes lines from the show that I just don't really approve of or appreciate, the songs are not really something I can appreciate in this newer context. It is not a show that I would ever go see. This opinion is based on how the songs were used to tell the love story, and all the innuendos that were also used or implied.

I probably will keep turning up the radio if I hear "Don't Stop Believin'" or "The Final Countdown," but I would not recommend this album or show to people who, like me, have far different values than those "values" (or lack thereof) that seem to pervade most of the entertainment industry. Find something you can share with your kids instead.

Virgin Islands...Part 2

Lest anyone think we are STILL in the USVI due to my lack of blogging, I'd better post some more info about our Caribbean adventure. Jeff posted about our first day and a half. (Incidentally, Jeff has many of the trip pictures on his laptop, so I will make another post soon, as well as a link to a slideshow of all the pictures.) We were there from a Friday to a Wednesday and had a lovely time visiting Jeff's sister Kristin. My mom was at our house watching our little people, and having fun I might add.

So the day after we went to the BVI we visited the St. Thomas Branch for church. Jeff and I got to sing a musical number in Sacrament meeting, and Jeff added a few touches of his own to the song that almost elicited laughs from Kristin at the piano. After church Kristin took us on a driving tour of more of the island and we took a few pictures. We even met a goat named Madonna who is younger than Rebecca.

This still looks like an engagement picture to me. Cute.

Standing on the 99 (actually 103) Steps in Charlotte Amalie, the capital of St. Thomas. A relic from the mid-1700s.

I love the trees on the island that have these red blossoms. They are called flamboyant trees and Kristin confessed that when they are not in bloom things are a little less colorful on the island. I wouldn't mind having one in my backyard, truthfully.

Monday Kristin had to go back to work and we took her car and ferried ourselves to St. John to visit some ruins and beaches there. We got our National Parks Passport stamps at the park visitor's center there and had a lovely day. We visited Annaberg to see the old Danish sugar mill ruins from the late 1700s, and visited three beaches on the island.

Our GPS is so smart.

Here I am hanging out in the XTerra on the car ferry.

Top of car ferry!

Jeff near the sugar mill ruins.

Driving on the left, anyone?

We don't have the photographic evidence (we had left the underwater camera in the car), but it was at Leinster Bay where we first saw sea turtles, an exciting discovery during our snorkeling. My t-rex arms did nothing to help me be able to touch one, but Jeff was able to stroke one as it swam by! We tried some kayaking at Maho Bay and visited Cinnamon Bay as well. All in all, a very fun day.

Stay tuned!

Jacob Speak

I am realizing as Jacob is speaking more and more that words are just so much more fun when spoken by a little person. He really is doing well with talking more and has made many improvements in the last 6 weeks or so. I am so proud of him and I am excited for his 2nd birthday coming up in a week and a half!

Here are some words that are fun to hear, and a few videos from the last couple weeks:

odolay/oodle (usually said several times in a row so I wasn't sure how to spell it): noodle

raisies: raisins

bib

bubball: meatball

oram: orange

mock: milk

ball

wahver: water

bow: as in, take a bow

eyes

hi

baby

Pooh

konkey: monkey

puppy

bear

o's: Cheerio's or any kind of cereal

houdsite: outside

ustairs: upstairs

dowstairs: downstairs

kitchy: kitchen

key

seat

toddy: potty

tardy: party

kire cruck: fire truck

nan: man

house

usree: Nursery

shoes

shirt

tants: pants

een uh: clean up

All Join In: Album Review

I was given the chance to review Kenny Loggins' new album All Join In earlier this month thanks to the folks of One2One Network.

I've mentioned to some people already why I really enjoy listening to this album. It sounds like Kenny Loggins from the "Danger Zone" era and earlier mixed with Kenny Loggins of the Return to Pooh Corner era. And that makes for good listening. And it is great fun to listen to this album with a certain toddler of mine who tries to copy whatever dance I am doing.

A couple of our favorite songs include Loggins' original "Moose 'n Me" about his hound dog he had many years ago, and a cover of Mika's "Your Lollipop." I really like that each of Loggins' kids have an appearance on the album, making it truly appropriate for families to "join in" and listen to! There is also doo-wop, Beatles, Randy Newman, other 1960s hits, Feist, all sorts of good stuff to hear.

Fiction: Loggins is too old to still be making a name for himself in the music business.

Fact: Loggins and Messina are on tour.

Fact: I recommend this album wholeheartedly.

Here is a list of the tracks:

1. Underneath the Same Sky
2. All Together Now
3. You've Got a Friend in Me
4. Two of Us
5. Come Go With Me
6. There Is a Mountain
7. The Puppy Song
8. You Can All Join In
9. Gandhi/Buddha
10. Long Tailed Cat
11. Your Lollipop
12. Moose 'n Me
13. 1234

First day and a half in the VI

So, Stacey and I are currently visiting my sister in the Virgin Islands. She lives on St. Thomas. Here are some pictures of the last couple days. Here we are on Virgin Gorda, part of the British Virigin Islands (yes, we went to another country, finally, as a couple) Here we are by a big rock. Here I am jumping off of a big rock. It was pretty fun. This is in Britain. THis was a jump even the Queen would approve of. Here we are in a cave, kissing. A cave hiss if you will. Here is Stacey, under the water (or, under the sea, if you are into Disney music), bubbling away. Here is Stacey walking down to the Baths, a national park (in Britain). Here we are, eating. It is not at some fancy reseraunt, but, at my sisters porch. If we had eaten a bit earlier, you could see the amazing view she has off her porch. Here is a view for Virigin Gorda. Here we are, by the sign, proving we really do go over to another island. Here are Stacey and Kristin on the boat that took us over to the other island. And finally, here are two videos. One is taken from off the boat, as we did our international traveling. The other is under the sea. Both are kind of silly.

Idaho and Utah

So here are a few more pictures from our Utah trip, posted in no particular order. Here is a picture of Rachel feeding Rebecca. It was cute. Here is Jacob and Grandpa Hoopes. You can see where Jacob gets his silliness from (besides his dad). Here I am on the plane. The two people behind me ended up asking to be reseated midflight, as they didnt like sitting by Jacob.If only I could have asked to be reseated, and left Jacob behind. Here he is, little horserider Jacob, riding a little horse at Thanksiginv Point "Farm Country". Here is Jacob swinging with his cousins, Ryan and Rachel. Here I am riding the bike with Kevin, my brother. He kind of had a swaying problem. Here is Tracey, my mother in law, showing off how she can sit on a fourwheeler. Here is the second cabin we stayed at . It was very pleasant, and very peaceful. It has fairly large, and pretty new, but not too flashy. Here is Rebecca with her Great Grandma Adams. Here is Rebecca with her Great Grandpa Adams. They both seem startled to have been photographed. That is all. In the end, we spent about 20 hours driving in the car, stayed the night at four different places, saw all of Stacey and I's family back three generations (starting with our children) excepting 2 people. We did pretty well. It was a good time.

Idaho

So, we went to Idaho and Utah, and while I have been slow doing anything, hopefully this is the fist post about our trip. Before I left, a girl from China I go to school with asked me, "So, is there anything to do in Idaho." Hopefully, this post will suggest that there is at least one thing to do. So, while in Idaho, it is important to remember the following, which we found on a post in the cabin we stayed in our first night: Here is the cabin. It was one of two cabins we stayed in on our trip, and was very pleasant. All my family less Kristin and Mark and and the related persons were there. It was a good time.There are a lot of trees in some parts of Idaho. And rivers. And canyons. And lots of stuff of that sort. There are also rivers that fall over cliffs in Idaho. SOme are very pleasant.Jacob especially likes to look at them. SO, that is the first update on what there is to do in Idaho.

Squirrels

So, the squirrels like to eat out of our bird feeders. They are pretty creative. Here is one doing his dirty work. Well, it happened one day, that one of the squirrels got real greedy, and decided to just dive right in for the mother lode. And, he got stuck. The best part to me is his little paw sticking down, trying to grasp at some seeds. Here he is, a little closer up. And here he is some more, just wedged in there. I was at work when this happened, but Stacey saw the greedy little fellow, and tried to get him out. She couldn't. She called the animal control people, and they came and freed the little guy. When I went out there that evening, I found a piece of tail on the ground--I think they tried to just pull him out by the tail to start with. I am pretty sure I have seen a squirrel with a bit of tail missing eating out of our birdfeeders. So, now, we must design a bird feeder that is squirrelproof. I talked to my brother about it, and as an astute engineer, he said "Well, you need something that a bird can fly to, but a squirrel can't climb to or drop on to. So, it cant be on a post, and it cant hang. I guess we need to construct some sort of magnetic field where it can just hover."

4 months old!

Here are some recent pictures of our littlest one, as well as her recent stats for anyone keeping up on how well (and quickly) she's growing!

Weight: 17 lb 13 oz (99th percentile)

Head circumference: 44 cm (94th percentile)

Height: 25.5 in (84th percentile) ("She's about the size of a nine month old except for her height - she's a midget there." - Dr. Hilarious.)

She continues to be a wonderful little baby, loved by her big brother very much and she's just beautiful too. It is such a joy to be her mother.

TWD: Blueberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

So this week I was supposed to make Vanilla Ice Cream. It looked great, it looked creamy, custardy and downright unhealthy. I was thrilled. But, Jacob has been lovin' his milk lately, drinking a bit more than usual, and upon realizing that there was not nearly enough whole milk to get the job done, I opted to make the ice cream a few pages later. The bonus was that I got to use up more of our blueberries. It is almost time to go pick loads more of them, that's for sure. Apologies to the TWD group, but I just didn't want to go to the store just for milk. So I didn't. But I'll make it sometime - 6 egg yolks? Yes, that sounds delicious.

Here is the recipe I used:

Blueberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream 1 C blueberries, fresh or if frozen, thawed and drained 1/3 C sugar Zest and juice of 1/4 lemon (I used about a Tablespoon or less of just juice) Pinch of salt Heat the above in a saucepan until boiling and berries begin to pop/burst. Pour into blender and puree well for a minute or so. Add to blender and then pulse to mix well: 3/4 C heavy cream 3/4 C sour cream Add more sugar or lemon juice as needed (mine was fine, but taste it to see for sure). Chill custard mix in fridge, then transfer to ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. After it is done in ice cream maker, pour into a freezer safe container/bowl and freeze for about 2 hours. Makes about 1 pint.

Recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From my home to yours

The verdict?

My vote: I thought this was amazing. I loved it, thought it was creamy, and I agreed with Dorie that it tasted like summer in a bowl. Just great.

Jeff's vote: He said it tasted too much like the sour cream.

Luckily my husband really will eat just about anything I make, but the really good news is that if I make this again - I will get to eat all of it. Maybe?

It is great with blueberry cobbler, of course, as shown in the picture. But even if you don't have homemade cobbler handy, go make this. Today. For dinner.

This is perhaps one of the funnier things I have heard in the last while

This is perhaps one of the funnier things I have heard in the last while: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=a5lhZkEauCu8 Let me know what you think. I'm serious. Read it, think about it, and comment.

TWD: Raspberry (Blueberry) Blanc-Manger

This is my first adventure with the Tuesdays with Dorie group, which means that each Tuesday I will post about a recipe I made, chosen by another TWDer, from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook called Baking: From My Home to Yours. Everyone posts on Tuesday but we can make our creations whenever we wish. I made mine on Saturday this time. This week's tasty treat is the Raspberry Blanc-Manger, chosen by Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy. I was excited to try one of the recipes that caught my eye when I first flipped through the cookbook - it was French, but I'd never heard of it. Dorie's description of the recipe says that it was popular among young French people such as newlyweds because it doesn't require any particularly odd ingredients. That is my kind of recipe. You can see the recipe at Susan's blog and check out other versions perhaps much better than mine on the blogs listed in the sidebar at TWD.

Since we just picked mountains and mountains of blueberries last Friday, I decided to use those in combination with the almond milk/cream/gelatin mixture. With this being the first time I've ever used one of Dorie Greenspan's recipes, I was quite impressed at how smoothly things went in the kitchen.

Cooling the almond milk mixture. Doesn't everyone love a good ice bath?

Folding the cream and berries in with the milk. It is highly possible that I did some stirring instead of folding...

Granted, the counters were crowded and I was running all over the place grinding almonds, whipping cream and dissolving sugar and gelatin and trying to keep Rebecca content, but the instructions were so clear that I never lost my place and never had to re-read anything or second guess what I was doing.

Here it is, ready to chill and set in the fridge. Note the addition of the French-patterned napkin in the same colors as the blanc-manger. I'm trying to be creative here, folks.

The result?

We served this on Sunday night when we had some friends join us for dinner. I thought it was absolutely delicious, even in spite of the fact that I accidentally pulled it out of the fridge much earlier than I intended to (which just meant it was a little soupy around the edges instead of fully set once it was served) because I was just moving things around in the fridge while making roast chicken and the pan with the blanc-manger didn't get back in there, whoops! I didn't put any sort of garnish or coulis on top but I might try that next time to add more blueberry flavor. It was fun to try something completely new and different taste- and texture-wise, and I might even make it again sometime using some other sort of soft berry. Yum!

Next week's pick: Vanilla Ice Cream by Lynne of Cafe LynnyLu .