My Blog

Saturday, May 29, 2010

I'm a Bad Blogger


But I have good intentions.

I’m sorry for those of you who “follow” me that I don’t blog on a more regular basis. I promise, I’m always thinking of things I want to write about and fun topics for my blog posts, but somehow I struggle to find the time to do it. I recently wrote out a list of about ten post ideas I’ve had up in my head for a while, with the lack of opportunity to actually put them on the blog. I promise, I have all the intentions of a regular blogger, I just haven’t figured out how to fit regular blogging into my schedule!

This weekend my husband and I are up in Napa, CA, visiting some very good friends. We’re staying with a couple whose romance in their early dating days sort of paralleled our own…we started dating around the same time, went on double dates together, and Brent and I got engaged the day of their wedding, just hours before Brent got all snazzied up to be a groomsmen.

We’re also up here to visit the couple who took us under their wings during our dating and engagement days. Though our relationship with this couple is now mostly a friendship rooted in our common love for the Savior and love of laughter, we still look to them as examples of a godly and wise husband and wife team.

We feel so blessed that these couples give us an excuse to drive up to Napa Valley every once in a while! Talk about a beautiful place to visit! The wine vineyards never cease to take my breath away…

I’ll hopefully have pics up soon.

Oh, and as I sit here writing this on the evening of Friday, the 28th of May, I’m typing my thoughts out into Microsoft Word because I haven’t gotten the chance to ask for our friends’ internet security password….so if the date that this is actually posted is different from the date I claim to have written it, that’s why.

And lack of security password is another excuse I have for the delay in blogging.

So THERE.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Kalamata Lemon Chicken

Let's see...it's been a while since I've posted a New Recipe of the Week. That's because while I was in Seattle, I didn't attempt any new dinner recipes, and I've only been home for three Saturdays since then, and two of them Brent and I spent out on an adventure. So here is the New Recipe from two Saturdays ago.

This was good.
I wouldn't say excellent, or even super good, only because the chicken turned out very dry. I was supposed to use chicken thighs, but because I usually associate chicken thighs with nasty quality Chinese food, I used chicken breasts. I'm tempted to try the dish again using chicken thighs because I think it might turn out more tender (would it? anyone know? please answer?), but Brent's opinion is that I should let the dish be, because, remember, I don't like chicken thighs.

I hope I grow out of that someday. I know many food-loving people who think that chicken thighs are the bomb. Let me try that again -- I know many food-loving people who think that chicken thighs are fantastic. (Saying "the bomb" just isn't me.)

Aside from the dry chicken, everything else about this was delicious. Neither Brent nor I had ever tried orzo before, but this first experience was a good one. I definitely am motivated to try more orzo recipes.

Without further adu, the recipe.

Kalamata Lemon Chicken
Madison Mayberry's recipe featured in the 2010 edition of MixingBowl.com Magazine

Ingredients
1 to 1 1/4 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup orzo
1/2 cup rinsed, pitted, and halved Kalamata olives (Um, I just used black olives...Kalamata olives are just so expensive. And...I sliced mine. Halved olives can be overpowering.)
1 14-oz can chicken broth
1/2 lemon, cut in wedges
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Greek seasoning blend (made my own with what I had on hand)
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400. In a Dutch oven, brown chicken in oil. Stir in orzo, olives, broth, lemon wedges, lemon juice, Greek seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Cover and bake for 35 minutes. Makes about 4 servings.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

You Can *PAM* it Like This!

Last Georgie story, I promise.

My little 3 year old niece has quite the little mind of her own. She'll come up with her own phrases and names for certain things if no other names exist for those things that are suitable (in her mind). For instance, Heather's nursing pillow is not a "nursing pillow" or a "boppy pillow," no, it is a "cumbaya." And a little dollop of mushy food crumb found on your finger, or a booger found on your finger, or a spit wad, or any tiny-little-pretty-gross-something, is a "peeta-potter." Duh, right?

One morning while I was in Seattle, Georgie woke up ready to play and to narrate excitedly to Heather and me as she was going about her business of making us breakfast with her toy kitchen utensils. She chattered away excessively while she went to and fro, bringing dishes to Heather, telling her what was on them, when Heather could start eating, etc. In the midst of all of that busyness and chatter, I heard Georgie pause in front of Heather long enough to show her a toy skillet and say,

"And you can PAM it like this! *PAM* *PAM* *PAM*!" With each *PAM* she smacked the bottom of the overturned skillet with the palm of her hand.

Then she just went about her business of preparing breakfast and narrating.

Heather and I looked at each other and got the giggles. What in the WORLD does "pamming" mean?

Oh, George.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Back to the Blog

I'm so sorry for the lull in blogging. Not to make excuses, but I have an excuse: I kind of hit the ground running when I arrived home from Seattle. After I got home last Thursday night at 10 pm, I set out at 8 o'clock the next morning for a job interview at QAI (to be blogged about), then I went on a lunch date with Brent, then I slept for three hours, then Brent and I got caught up on all our tv shows that we agreed not to watch while we were separated, then the next morning we went out to breakfast, bought a bike for Brent to ride to work, then we did some shopping, went to Santa Monica, rode bikes for an hour next to the beach, met my mom and Hunter by the Santa Monica pier, rode bikes for another hour with them, stood in line for Iron Man 2 while eating Johnny Rockets burgers, watched Iron Man 2, the next morning we went to both services of church, went home to do laundry, met my family at Claim Jumper for a Mother's Day celebration, went to my family's place to watch The Village (Vika's Mother's Day gift for my mom), then Monday started. And if you're tired now of reading what I've done since I've been home, you'd be exhausted if I told you what I've done since Monday.

So here are some stories that have just been waiting to be typed.

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Georgie vs. The Suitcase

The Suitcase was an area of great temptation for Georgie. When she first climbed in it and closed it on herself, I thought it was cute and reached for my camera. But soon enough Heather and I had to enforce The Suitcase as an off-limits zone for Georgie, because a favorite past time of hers was to unpack and unfold all of my clothing from it. One day, towards the end of my trip, as Heather and I both sat busy at our computers, we heard Georgie working hard and chattering while she did it, saying things like "I'm putting EVERYTHING in the suitcase!" Because Heather and I were both busy at our computers, we would both make cheerful, mindless comments back, like, "Oh how silly!" By the time we shook ourselves out of our too-busy-to-notice-what-the-little-monkey-was-doing state, The Suitcase looked as it does in the above picture. What is NOT pictured is that beneath the first layer of toys, there was a layer of office supplies from the desk right next to The Suitcase. By "everything" Georgie apparently meant toys and office supplies.

We told Georgie firmly to stop what she was doing, (I giggled a bit), then I set about ridding The Suitcase of everything that didn't belong. I told Heather that I was SURE I was going to accidentally go home with a Georgie toy. Sure enough, while unpacking The Suitcase back at home, I found this.

image.png

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Hayley vs. The Coveted PJ's

Before I arrived in Washington, Heather went through her entire wardrobe and emptied her closet of four bags worth of clothing she was ready to pass on to me. 3/4 of the stuff she gave me I have NO IDEA why she was getting rid of -- it's just all too cute and SUCH great quality. Therefore, as I was going through all of the clothing with Heather looking on, I would periodically exclaim, "HEATHER! Why THIS? This is ADORABLE! Why are you giving it up?" To which Heather would reply, "I just NEVER wear it!" And I would then say "Thank you."

But then I came to these:

"HEATHER! Why THESE? These are ADORABLE! Why are you giving them up?"

"I just NEVER wear them."

To which, rather than saying "Thank you" (in hindsight I wish I had), I cocked my head, frowned a little, and said, "Why?"


I can understand never wearing an adorable dress...one does not often have the opportunity to wear an adorable dress as a mother of two in rainy Seattle. I can understand never wearing an adorable shirt...sometimes certain shirts require a certain amount of effort for hair and make-up and jewelry that is just not reasonable for your stage of life. But never wearing adorable pj's if you have them? I am baffled. There is not any sort of other preparation you must do to make yourself look presentable, if not SMASHING, in adorable pj's. They're like, the easiest things ever to wear. (Did I seriously just write like a Valley girl talks?) Also it's fun to look presentable, if not SMASHING, when you go to bed if you're going to bed with a husband.

I explained a little bit of this to Heather, who replied thoughtfully, "Yeah, I could wear cute pj's like that."

Something in the back of my mind told me if I didn't shut my mouth, I wouldn't be in possession of the cute pj's much longer.

A few nights later, I decided to wear my new adorable pj's to bed. I got ready for bed before Heather disappeared for the night -- bad mistake. She looked at me in my adorable pj's that used to be hers and said wistfully, "You look cute."

I said, "Thanks!" Then, when I noticed out of the corner of my eye that she was still eyeing the pj's, I offered with puppy-dog eyes, "Do I need to give these back to you?"

She shrugged and smiled.

I sighed and dramatically said, "Well, I guess I'll just go change into some other pj's then," not believing she was REALLY going to accept them back.

To my surprise, this was her response: "Oh, you don't need to change now. You can wear them tonight if you want."

Um, for real? Really you're going to take back the adorable pj's you just gave me? Seriously? Why did I offer them back?

Heather, I still haven't gotten over acquiring such a precious item, only to have it ripped from my hands.

And you'd better be wearing them on a regular basis, or else I want them shipped within the week. ;)

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Hayley vs. The Interview

A few weeks ago I posted a prayer request about an upcoming telephone interview with QAI, and in a following post I gave the praise report of how well it went. QAI contacted me while I was in Washington to set up a time when I could go out to their lab for an interview. We agreed on the morning of May 7, the day after I arrived back home. Much prayer went into the interview, and by God's grace it went really well. I'm pretty sure you can tell that an interview went well when you thoroughly enjoyed yourself throughout it. For the first half hour I was interviewed by the two lab managers who were easy to talk to and who seemed to be impressed with me. God blessed me again with swift and detailed answers to all of their questions. They told me congratulations, from the initial hundreds of applicants I had made it down to the last five candidates. They told me they're looking to hire three of us in the next several months for a few different positions. For the last half hour one of the lab managers took me on a tour of the lab where I would be working if I got the job. The tour was fascinating and whet my appetite for working there! I was even privileged enough to witness a fire resilience test of an airplane cargo wall! Pretty awesome.

So Tuesday, I called one of the guys who had interviewed me to thank him for the interview and re-establish how much I felt I belonged in the company. He thanked me for following up and let me know that for right now, they've hired someone else for the position. :( He did say that they are still wanting to hire two more people for other positions in the next coming months, and he said I am still on their minds as a top candidate.

All of that to say, I didn't get the job. But that's how the interview went. :)

Still trusting God. It's a comfort to know that I am exactly where God wants me to be right now, job or no job.

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Eyes vs. The Sun

This was our first attempt to take a picture with our mother during our little Mother's Day outing to Santa Monica. Hunter looks like he's praying, mom looks like sand is blowing in her eyes, and I look a little woozy. We had all been waiting for the count of three to open our eyes for the picture, as the blinding Sun was just at eye level behind the camera. Apparently our timing was a little off.

A little better. At least we're all looking at the camera. This time Hunter looks a little seasick, mom looks like she's trying to be a sassy model, and I look Asian.

Finally, we gave up and took a picture facing the other way. This is much better.

Hmm...shoulda stopped with the previous one maybe.

How did it escape my notice that Brent was wearing socks above his shoe line before we went out the door that morning? I literally just discovered this...this is not good.

Awwww. :)

Bicycle fail.

Pose fail.

Too awkward for my taste. It's not a toilet, Hunter! It's a bike!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Georgie Quotes

Georgie, walking toward Heather with the newly purchased Mothers' Day gift: "Happy Balentine's Day!

Georgie: "It's a long, long walk."
Me: "To where?"
Georgie: "To Wendy's."

Georgie: "I don't want pizza."
Heather: "But I made you a really yummy pizza."
Georgie: "SANK you."

Georgie: "I'm hot."
Me: "Do you want me to take your sweater off?"
Georgie: "Um, no sanks. My disser is hot."
Me: "Your disser?"
Georgie: "Yes. My disser is my heart."
?????

A Big City and Da Zoo!

Georgie and Smithers were best friends last night. At least Georgie thought so. It all started when Georgie was given a cookie after dinner, and Georgie decided she wanted to eat it with Smithers. She searched long and hard around the house for Smithers, then finally found her perched in one of the shelves of the changing table. Georgie plopped down next to the changing table and ate her cookie while loving on her kitty.

I came and checked in on them later, and laughed when I found cookie crumbs on Smithers' forehead. Poor Smith-face. She's such a good dog-cat.

I was trying to get a close-up of the crumbs, but Smithers yawned. I thought it made a funny action thought.

While Georgie ate her cookie, she said, "It's a long, long walk for Smithers."

I said, "Where is Smithers going?"

She answered, "To a big city!"

When Georgie finished her cookie and Smithers moseyed out of the changing table, Georgie announced to "Everybody" that she and Smithers were going away, "To a big city and da zoo!" A few minutes later, when all was quiet, I looked for them and found them like this:

I asked Georgie what she was doing and she replied, "We're goin' to a big city and da zoo! We're goin' to da zoo first." She said all of this without looking back at me.

Smithers glanced back at me.

Then Georgie glanced at Smithers.

Then I got a front shot of them. Before I snapped the picture, Georgie had her two fingers in her mouth, and she was just gazing out into the distance. I wonder what exactly she and Smith-face were pretending.

:)

Lately

We've been busy! This will be quick, because I've already wasted enough time getting these pictures ready for the blog. I'll write what commentary you need to know then get back to loving on Georgie!

Friday Heather and I hosted some very old friends of ours, Brittany Gaydos and Brooke Abel. The Abel and Hays families were very good friends as we grew up, and it turns out that the Abel sisters are both currently living in Seattle, so it was just a little drive for them to come have lunch with us. Brittany brought her little cutie daughter, Eleanor! It was a fun afternoon catching up and enjoying lots of memories.

The next morning Heather took us all out to breakfast at Salish Lodge. I had heard so much about this place from Heather, so I requested that IF we got out of the house for anything during my time up here, perhaps we could go there? We had the most delicious breakfast with a window seat that gave us a gorgeous view of Snoqualmie Falls and the surrounding mountainside.


When you order coffee at Salish Lodge, it comes with the most delicious toppings.

Sugar, fresh whipped cream, half-n-half, and chocolate shavings!

When Georgie's hot cocoa arrived, she guzzled it like there was no tomorrow.

I ordered the croissant french toast. Heather enjoyed it vicariously through me. It was SO good.

It came with butter and jam. The tabasco sauce was for Georgie's eggs...not the french toast.

As the guzzling slowed, Georgie's playfulness kicked in. She thought it was too cool to sip hot cocoa AND ice cold water at the same time.

On the way home from Salish Lodge, we stopped at the mall for a bit of shopping. Georgie was SO excited at the prospect of getting new clothes. We stopped at Baby Gap and got some summer clothes for her. Georgie clung tightly to any clothing we picked for her.

At home Georgie prompted a cozy session with her mommy and sister. She spread the blanket and cuddled in, saying, "We're so COZY!" Over and over again.

I've been having too much fun with Heather's cute dishes.

Sunday morning we went to the zoo. Here's George making a silly excited face for the camera while she watched the meerkats.

Messy do. Another topsy turvy. Didn't turn out as neat and clean as the last one I did with her hair, but this one turned out messy in a trendy way.

When we got too cold (and Olivia needed to eat), we stopped at the zoo cafe for hot cocoa. George got whipped cream all OVER her face.

Yesterday I tried out some more fancy skills with Georgie's hair.

She looks too grown up. Like a little school girl.

Yesterday Georgie and I ran some errands together, so I took Georgie out to lunch at Wendy's. I ordered her a doublestack cheeseburger and as I was taking it out of the bun and cutting it up for her, she said, "Mmm, doublestee-yack." There was a grandma sitting near us who chuckled and smiled at Georgie upon hearing that.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Sorry to Disappoint

Georgie asked me to draw for her. I asked her what she wanted me to draw. She wanted Mickey and Minnie. I told her I didn't know how to draw them, but I would try. This is what I produced:


I was actually quite impressed with myself and patted myself on the back. Georgie was pleased as well. She asked for Goofy next. With the success of my last drawing, I had confidence going into Goofy. Perhaps it was unfounded.

Oh no.

What is this? Perhaps the Russian version of Goofy?

Georgie was not sold. She said, "That's not Goofy. Maybe he needs a hat." Hence, the cowboy hat.

Surprisingly, she asked me to draw more. She asked for seals.

Pretty reasonable, huh?

Can you guess what she asked for next?

No, it's not a pig-faced banana with a gorilla body and human legs, it's just a gorilla, as the caption indicates.

Before she resorted to easier things like pansies and mangoes, she gave me one last shot and requested giraffes.

She stopped me before I attempted the spots.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

The Day's Georgie Quotes/Stories

Heather put the girls in the double stroller for the first time today.
Heather: "Do you like the stroller?"
Georgie: "I sure are!"

Heather, on the phone to her grandparents: "Georgie is enjoying Hayley so much."
Georgie, looking at me: "I'm enjoying you so much, Haywee."

Georgie, with my bulky MacArthur Study Bible open on her lap: "Shhhh!"
Heather: "Why are you sh-shing?"
Georgie, whispering: "We're readin'."

Heather told Georgie to go pick out some pj's, a task that Heather gives her every night and one that she usually completes quite well. This night, however, Georgie came out of her bedroom carrying one pair of boxer briefs and one pair of pajama shorts. She exclaimed, "Look what I found!" Heather explained to her that she had two pairs of shorts...what about a shirt? Georgie considered what Heather had to say, then took the pj shorts back to her room, returning with a long-sleeved pj shirt. She kept talking about how she was so excited to wear her underwear (the boxer briefs), and after she had them on she kept saying how much she LOVED her underwear, that they were so nice and cozy. :)

Saturday, May 1, 2010

The Straw That Broke the Camel's Back

I've always been the type of girl that when life gets stressful or tiring, slowly but surely the pressure builds inside of me until an emotional outburst ensues. Not that I get angry or throw things...the outburst is always tear related: bawling and weeping and a lot of sup-supping and talking it out with the person that I trust most. One of the most dramatic cases of such an outburst was when I was in Ukraine for two weeks for a mission trip. I had left my 13 year old cat at home, prepared for the fact that when I returned, she would probably not be alive...she was in REALLY bad shape. I knew I wouldn't be devastated when she died because we had her for a long time and her death had been coming for a while, so for the first five days of the trip I was able to forget about her and really concentrate on what I was in Ukraine to do. It was day after day of early mornings, ridiculously late nights, tons of walking and physical activities, and deep conversations with people whose English was their second language. At the end of one of these days, as my group was on the subway on our way home to our dormitory, I was so exhausted I thought I might fall asleep and get left behind on the metro. Little stresses and "tragedies" had started snow balling in my heart, and I knew I needed to get back to my dormitory and pray it all out. My dad approached me on the subway and started a conversation like this:

"Hayley, you need to know that I spoke to Mom [back at home with my cat] today."

I started shaking my head violently, trying to communicate through head-wagging that I was in no position emotionally to be hearing the news I was about to bear. My dad didn't get the cue and continued.

"I have news about Nigel."

The water works started. And with me, with one of these exhausted, stressful emotional outbursts, once the tears start, they don't stop. And they tumble out faster and faster and continuously more violently. Even if I'm in a public metro.

My dad pulled me close and told me, "It's good news. She's taken a turn for the better and the vet expects a full recovery."

I was already bawling, and there was no stopping it. I was now bawling partly for happiness about the news of my cat, but mostly I was just releasing gallons of pent up emotion. My sweet daddy held me and comforted me about the cat, but my dear friend and roommate, Ruth, looked on and knew the real reason I was crying. I just needed a good cry. I was TIRED. Physically, mentally, emotionally.

The mention of Nigel was the straw that broke the camel's back.

You needed that descriptive narrative in order to understand the events that transpired two nights ago here in Heather's home.

So I've been helping my sister take care of the monkeys, maintain the house and cook for the family since Monday morning. I slept HORRIBLY the night before I got on the airplane (not being able to sleep for the two hours before I had to get out of bed at 4:45 am), I said goodbye to my husband, knowing I wouldn't see him or feel the warmth of his embrace for ten days, and then when I arrived in Seattle the duties started right away, and I was taken off guard with how little opportunity for rest there seemed to be.

PLEASE don't get me wrong... I LOVE being here. Georgie is a CONSTANT source of smiles and laughs, hanging out with my sis is and always will be a blast, and the little peanut of a baby, Olivia, is precious. It's such a privilege to be able to pick her up and snuggle her at any time of day.

It is, however, extremely tiring. Heather can back me up on this, especially because her job is ten times harder than mine has been for the past few days.

So last Thursday evening, as I started making chicken picatta for dinner, I was 1) exhausted, 2) missing Brent, 3) in back pain from stress and sleeping on the couch, 4) exhausted, and 5) missing Brent. I melted some butter and olive oil in a frying pan, and when it was nice and hot, I took a spatula, put it under a piece of breaded chicken, and flipped it over into the pan. A little bit of oil splattered up and out onto the stove. No harm, no foul. I slid the spatula under the second piece of chicken and flipped it over into the pan. A LOT of oil splattered up and ONTO ME. I cried out in pain, backed away and bent over, thoroughly confused as to why the pain was 1) not going away, and 2) getting worse. Heather asked me what had happened, and as I rushed to the bathroom to wash the hot oil off I told her that the oil splattered up on me. She commented that it was all over my shirt. I looked down, and sure enough, my t-shirt was covered in splattered oil. Who cared? I was in pain, a lot of it. I got to the bathroom, turned the water on and splashed water all over my face and neck, where the pain was. Eventually the pain started subsiding, but it was too late. The lump was in my throat and the tears were coming.

I did NOT want Heather to know I was crying, but I knew at this point that I needed a good cry. So I closed the bathroom door as nonchalantly as I could, and then I keeled over in tears. A few minutes of silent crying and splashing more water on the not-feeling-any-better burns, and I knew I needed to go back and check on the chicken. I dabbed my eyes with a wet towel to clear away the tear stains, told myself to STOP crying, and marched out of the bathroom to the kitchen without letting Heather see my face.

I got to the kitchen. Bad news. The chicken was smoking, burned to a crisp. Not salvageable, and it was the only chicken I had prepared to fry. I would have to start ALL over again. That, or not meet my duty to make dinner for my sister and Georgie. This time, the floodgates of tears and emotions burst open uncontrollably. I stood, frozen and trembling in the kitchen, the tears flowing out of my eyes like a high pressure hose.

Heather at once became all motherly with me. She came into the kitchen and did all she could to minimize the smoke in the house, all the while saying, "Hayley! Oh poor Hayley! It's ok!" At one point, she cried out, "Do you just HATE being here?" That made me feel rotten, because of course I LOVE being here, but what must it have looked like to Heather to have me trembling with tears over a cooking burn? I assured her that I love it here.

She asked if I was crying from the pain while worriedly eyeing the burns on my face and neck. I told her that it sure hurt, but I wasn't sure that's why I was crying. I let her know I was just exhausted. She got some nice salve and gently applied it to the burns, and then we decided that the big burn on my neck needed a bandage. Heather searched and searched for a bandage big enough for the burn, but didn't have one.

So, being the creative and resourceful sister that she is, she resorted to....

a.....

pad. Yes. A pad. She taped a pad on my neck. It did the trick.

Eventually the pain really subsided, but I was still unable to control my tears. My thoughts kept turning to Brent and the need to hear his voice and get his comfort, so I finally locked myself in Georgie's room and poured it all out over the phone to my sweet, understanding and comforting husband.

Talking to him sealed up the water works. I felt much better right away, though he was concerned at the sound of my burns.

The burns on my face were at that point raised blisters, and in no time the taped-on pad fell off my neck, revealing several more blisters and a large area of raised red skin with a hot tamale-shaped tight blister in it. It looked bad. I asked Heather if it was going to heal. With the most reassuring expression and voice ever, she said yes, yes of COURSE it was going to heal. Then, on the turn of a dime, her face turned doubtful and she said, "I think so..." We both doubled over in laughter at how ridiculous the entire situation was.

My sweet, caring and self-sacrificial sister told me to not worry about dinner, that she was going to go to Walmart to get me an air mattress to help with my back pain and she was going to come home with a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream for us to share while we chilled in front of The Office. It sounded heavenly and so relaxing.

For some reason she didn't buy big bandages while she was out, so I slept with another pad securely fastened to the burn on my neck. In the morning, I left a message with my primary care doctor, telling him what happened, describing the burns, and asking whether or not I needed to be seen for the burns.

When I got a call back, the voice on the other end of the line said, "You need to go to the ER."

I didn't want to. "Even if I'm not in pain anymore?"

"Yes. You need to go to the ER."

After lunch that day I drove over to urgent care - no WAY I was going to wait at the ER for my injury. The nurse examined my injuries and announced that they were 1st and 2nd degree burns. The doctor came in and examined me as well, and looked seriously concerned as she wondered out loud how she was going to care for me. Eventually she decided on releasing the blister on my neck because it looked as though it had the possibility of being infected. Praise God, it wasn't infected, but I'm so happy she released it for me because I would not have wanted to wait for it to pop on its own. She thoroughly washed the burns on my neck and applied antibiotic ointment to them, and I was thanking God that none of what she was doing hurt. At all. Oh, so thankful.

Next she examined the blisters on my face and determined that they did not need to be released, so she skipped to the step of thoroughly washing them and applying the ointment. She sent me home with a huge supply of burn wash and ointment with instructions to wash every 6 hours, and the recommendation to not wear facial make-up so that I won't have to use any soap to wash it off. In addition, I am to not wear necklaces or wear my hair down until the burns heal.

I really liked the doctor and I felt very well taken care of as I walked out of urgent care. She seemed to think that the burns are going to heal nicely.

That evening, as I prepared dinner again, I was singing in the kitchen, and I realized that the day had felt more relaxing than any previous day at the Hitzeroth's yet. It was because of the emotional release the night before. :)

Heather is now keeping an eye on me to make sure that I'm resting as often as I need it, and I'm trying to monitor myself as well. And I'm wanting to pour out my burdens to the Lord constantly, even if they're small burdens such as "I didn't sleep well last night, and Georgie woke up early this morning. "

And now, if you want, you can look at the burn on my neck, before the blister was popped. I had a picture of my face as well, but the camera settings were such that the blisters didn't show up, so all I have is my neck, the worst burn. If you want, scroll down, and there will be the gory image.
:)















Life With George

A Compilation of Stories from Hayley's Time in the Hitzeroth House (Thus Far).

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The Snow Leopard

If you read the post entitled "The Perfect Date," you know that Brent and I bought Georgie a snow leopard as a little gift. I packed it in my carry-on with its head peaking out my bag, like this:
When Heather picked me up at the airport and I jumped in the car, Georgie was shy and quiet in the back seat. She said "Hi," very politely, but wouldn't talk otherwise. I put my purse on my lap so that the snow leopard would be in her plain view. I watched her and she spotted the furry guy even more quickly than I had suspected. She kept her anticipating eyes on it for a good 30 seconds before she interrupted Heather and my conversation with a question, "Um, mommy, what's that? What's that in Hayley's bag?"

I answered her, "Oh, it's a snow leopard!" I took it out of my purse and cuddled it. "Uncle Brent got it for me to give to you, but I think I wanna keep it!" (I was teasing, of course.)

Georgie didn't know that I was teasing so the poor thing slowly nodded her head in submission, with a look that said, "Of course. Go ahead and keep it. That makes perfect sense, I respect your wishes." She also gave me a lispy, "Yes."

Right away I told her that I was teasing and I handed the snow leopard to her. She cuddled him right away, and he's been a good friend of hers ever since.

When we got home, the first thing she did was to prepare a meal for her furry friends. Note the snow leopard in the stroller.

Thanks, Uncle Brent, for the snow leopard! (From Georgie.)

BTW, it took less than the car ride from the airport to home for Georgie to warm up to me. We've been best friends ever since. :)

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Dressing Up

Georgie has been loving digging through my clothes and finding something to wear. She'll find a shirt and say, "This looks like my size!" She'll sling it on in whatever way suits her and say "Oh Hayyyyyy-weeeeee, look at me!" If she feels particularly beautiful in whatever she's wearing she'll say, "It's my dream come true!"





What I didn't get on camera was her in the above outfit, with my blue silky robe around her shoulders as well. She was struggling with figuring out a way to adorn herself in the yards of silky fabric, until I helped her by gathering up the sleeves and putting her arms through it the right way. She got so proud and walked around as if she was wearing a ball gown.


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The Playful Georgie

There was one morning that I woke Georgie up and fed her breakfast, then I jumped in the shower and when I got out I found evidence of Georgie's busy playfulness.

I love how several puppies are stuffed in the box. I wonder what was going on here?

As I was going about my business one day, I heard Georgie say, "Look at me!" This is what I beheld when I looked:

I thought it was cute, so I took a picture. Then Heather saw what Georgie had done and and right away said, "Georgie! Get your feet out of there!" Turning to me, she said, "She twists the handles so tight that you can't get her out." This I thought was hilarious. That she had done this before, numerous times, and liked it so much that she had to do it again. And sure enough, when I helped her get out of her self-induced predicament, I found that she had twisted each handle several times before putting her feet through.

I heard Georgie working in the kitchen really hard for about 15 minutes, chattering about what she was doing all the way through. She kept saying something about having to do something with the vegetables. When she was finished and out of the kitchen, the counter tops looked like this:


Mind you, pre-Georgie, the fruits and vegetables were neatly organized in the now empty red and blue bowls.


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Smithers

The other day I was putting stuff away in Georgie's closet and noticed something out of place. What doesn't belong here?

Before I left to go fetch my camera Smithers had been laying on that red-lidded box quite contentedly. By the time I got back she was in this position.



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Hair Styling

I am loving playing with Georgie's hair. She looks darling in pigtails, braids and topsy-turvy pony tails.



Wish I had gotten pictures of the pig tails and topsy-turvy pony tail...I'll do them again and show ya later.

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The Peanut

Never met a more snuggly baby. She's so precious to hold. When you hold her, you feel like you're holding a little lady, she's so small and delicate. She makes the most wonderful, precious noises, CONSTANTLY. Heather says she "squeaks and snuffles." She does. :) I love my little Liv.

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Gluten-Free Cooking

I've been doing all the cooking around here lately (heaven!). When I made my meal plan for the ten days I'd be up here, I was surprised at how many of my meals that I like to prepare for Brent and me are naturally gluten-free. So far I've only made one meal that needed a gluten-free substitute, and that was enchiladas. I had to use gluten-free flour in the enchilada sauce.

Heather asked me to try out a gluten-free pretzel recipe for her. They were a cinch and turned out delicious, even to one who is used to glutenful pretzels like myself! The recipe only makes four small soft pretzels, though, so I may have to double it next time. We're planning on making gluten-free pretzel hot dog twists sometime next week. I can't wait, they sound so delicious!

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Further Observations/Georgie Quotes

Georgie: "I can help you roll the enchiwadas cause I'm a big sister!" Then "helping" me roll the enchiladas by squeezing my arms as I rolled them.

Georgie: I want to pway wif you.
Me: Oh, you want to pray with me? I'd LOVE to pray with you!
Georgie: No, pway. PWAY. PWAY! (Play.)

Georgie, scribbling something on a piece of paper: "K...L...G...O...Y...G...O...E...Y...A"
Heather: "What did you spell?"
Georgie's swift response: "Daddy!"

Georgie has made up a game where she complains to Heather or me: "Oh no! There's a badger here!" The only response that is suitable in her mind is for one of us to wave our hands and say "Shoo badger, go away!" So today, in the car, Georgie complained that there was something on her head! I looked back quickly and didn't see anything, so I said, "Shoo badger, go away!" Georgie looked disgusted and offended and said, "NO! It's not a badger! It's a PILLOW!" Sure enough, I looked back again and saw that a small baby pillow had, indeed, fallen on her head from the back of the car.

Georgie at the breakfast table: "I need help eating my eggs."
Me, taking her fork and feeding her: "Ok, I'll help you."
Georgie: "Sanks. It's a hard life."

Valet driver, standing next to the car while I buckled Georgie in her seat: "Do you like being a big sister?"
Georgie: "I sure am!"

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That's all for now, folks! More Georgie/Heather/Olivia stories/comments to come!

Next up...The Adventures in Getting 2nd Degree Burns While Cooking!