Fireflies or lightning bugs

it doesn't matter...

Tonight Elizabeth experienced the joy of seeing these little critters for the first time.  After her bath Nathan and I took her outside around 8:30 to catch a few in her bug box.  He and I ran around the yard chasing them down and called out when we saw one close by.  I have to admit, we might have had more fun than she did, but she was still pretty excited when we put one in her hand or when they produced their bioluminescence.  She would say with a little dance - "I got a bug, I got a bug".

This event reminded me of when I was little going out in our backyard with my sister and her boyfriend, Richard, and catching hundreds of fireflies.  We would put them in mason jars in our fridge (despite my mother's objections) to put them to sleep - really just slow their metabolism.  After we got a significant amount of them, my sister would mail them off to a research company for what I recall being 1 cent a bug to collect the enzyme luciferase to use in experiments. Little did I know that one day I would be using that same enzyme in experiments while I was in graduate school.  Those were fun memories. Heres to Elizabeth experiencing the same vivid summer firefly memories.

More photos and video

We've posted lots of pictures from this past summer and fall on our photo site.

The Halloween shots are very cute.



Also, we created a music video for one of my Dad's songs (inspired by Elizabeth) with footage of her. Here it is:

Halloween craft

BOO!

Elizabeth's footprint turned into a ghost.  She loved doing this craft. She is at such a fun age right now!

Keystone Keith Stone Always Smooth

Halloween is always fun!  Last night we went to a party with Keith and Erin, and Keith was sporting a pretty great outfit.  In Amanda fashion I will analyze Keith's outfit...

Keith Stone vs. Keith Gerdes

1. Stone has a 30 pack; Gerdes has a 12 pack +1 Keith Stone

2. Gerdes is actually drinking a Keystone +1 Gerdes

3. Gerdes has Makers Mark in the backgorund +1 Gerdes

Gerdes wins!

Unfortunately this was the only picture I took at the party.  Nathan and I were Miss Piggy and Kermit.  A classic costume that we made for an 80's TV party many years back.   For me, a good Halloween costume  has to have 2 things - it has to be recognizable and it has to be handmade.   In my next post I will do an archive of past Halloween costumes... and wait for it - we have tons of pictures of Elizabeth's costume.

Elizabeth at 17 Months

Elizabeth at 17 Months from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

Cooking... Homemade black bean burgers

I put together a few recipes for this one and wanted to document my final compiled recipe.

1 can black beans (rinsed and dried)
1/2 can corn (or frozen corn rinsed and dried)
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 slice of toasted wheat bread
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup (maybe more depending on moisture) of cooked brown rice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Blend the onions, bell pepper, and garlic in the food processor.  Add 1/4 cup oats and shred the toast and add.  Blend.  Add the 2 eggs, 1/2 of the cilantro, and spices.  Blend.  Add 3/4 of the beans and blend.  Put the blended mixture into a bowl and add the corn, remainder of beans, cilantro, remainder of oatmeal and rice.  Mix.  This should be kinda gooey and runny, but you shouldn't be able to pour it.  Spray a pan with oil and form patties (~5/6).  Put in 350-400 degree oven and bake ~10 min on each side until they are cooked all the way through.  There is a balance between cooking them and drying them out.

#13 Making cheese

I was really in the mood for saag paneer, however, I found out that I couldn't buy paneer (an Indian cheese) at the local grocery store or even at Whole Foods - and it might cost ~$12 if I did find it.  I decided to go ahead and make it myself.

I looked at several recipes online and decided on this one.   

1/2 gallon whole milk
2 TBSP lemon juice
 1. In a heavy saucepan, bring milk to a boil. (When it has reached full boil, it will look very foamy and quickly - QUICKLY, I say - rise in the pot. To avoid the ensuing mess, remove it from the heat right away.) Add lemon juice and stir until small curds separate from the whey, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Let sit 10 minutes so curds can develop, then drain into a collander lined with 2 layers of cheesecloth. When cool enough to handle, tie up opposite ends of the cheese cloth and squeeze out remaining liquid.
3. Place paneer, still in cheese cloth, on a plate. Flatten to 1/2" thick and top with another plate. Rest something heavy on top (such as several cans or the Joy of Cooking) and let sit 20 minutes.
4. Pour off any liquid that remains and cut into cubes or refridgerate overnight.

It was pretty good and easy!

#12 NC Art Museum

On February 9th Elizabeth, my friend Lisa, and I went to the NC Museum of Art.  They just added a brand new wing (see the building behind Elizabeth) and there is free admission everyday!  We started off in the old wing which housed their visiting collection.  We really liked the photograph by Sangbin Im called Western Paintings.

Elizabeth enjoyed the 3D wooden art forms by Bob Trotman called Inverted Utopias.

We then went to the new wing.  Unfortunately, Elizabeth voiced her opinion that she was done with art.  All in all we spent ~1.5 hours there, which was a pretty good attention span for a 14 month old.  We will probably go back soon to check out the part we didn't get to see.

Bathtime Comedy

Elizabeth has started to figure out what comedy is all about. She hides her dog in the bath water, asks us where it is, then finds it to make us laugh. She did this for more than 5 minutes tonight. Our little comedian.

Sheldon

Sheldon is Elizabeth's lovey. Elizabeth's grandpa, Kevin, wrote a song dedicated to Elizabeth and Sheldon and put together this video.

Sheldon is very special to Elizabeth. She sleeps with him every night and every nap. He comes all the way from New Zealand. We bought him there when we visited in 2009. In fact, when we realized that Elizabeth had become attached to him, Amanda went online and bought a second Sheldon. Just in case.

Our friend, DeeDee, named Sheldon. We just called him "Elizabeth's sheep" early on and one evening when DeeDee babysat she came up with his name and it stuck.

Another fun fact: every night, we play another one of Kevin's songs (Dear Little One) as a goodnight lullaby. You can actually hear a snippet of the song on Kevin's cdbaby page.

#11 Same Kind of Different As Me

Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent.  
I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down.  Another book for my book club - someone has good taste.  I was really captivated by the characters (though they are actually real-life people they came off as characters because of their unique circumstances) and enjoyed the way the authors arranged the chapters, alternating between voices (same as in The Help).  Although my one negative about that technique was that some of the chapters did not alternate, which threw me off for the first few paragraphs of that chapter.  This book centered on faith, friendship, and death, and it got me thinking about my marriage and how precious my time is with Nathan.  It is pretty much inevitable that one of us will pass away before the other. And although "life" (dishes, dirty diapers, having to be somewhere on time, etc.) sometimes gets in the way, I really want to try to cherish every moment that we have together.

#10 If You Could See Me Now

If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern.
This book was not as good as Ahern's other book, PS I Love You.  In the end I wanted a little more for the main character, and the plot was a stretch, an adult imaginary friend that she and her adopted nephew could only see helping her through her tough times - Really?  But I got out of it what I wanted -  a quick read over Christmas vacation.

#9 The Girl with the Pearl Earring

Book #2!  Just finished this book for my book club.  While I usually enjoy more modern fiction, I was captivated by this historical novel of a maid and her life working in a painter's house in 17th century Holland.  I'm not too keen on writing book reports, so I will not use this blog to summarize the book (there are far too many already on the web).  However, I would recommend it if you are looking for a quick read.  I would also recommend checking out the book's website to view the actual paintings that are described in the book.  I imagined them while reading and then was able to see what Vermeer actually produced.

I was even more inclined to read the book faster because I accidentally checked out a large print version from the library.  After going to the gym with it, I realized large print is so much easier to read while working out.  This mistake was both good for my waste-line and my reading!

The Contemporary Science Center

This is a short video giving you some insight into the Contemporary Science Center.  I am currently working here as an educator.  Over the last few months I have been training and learning the ropes, and in January I start teaching full-time filling in for the current education director (Alice, seen in the video) while she is on maternity leave.  I have really enjoyed my experience there so far and think that it is a great organization.  The goal of the Center is to present an authentic experience in real science through day long field studies developed in collaboration with a local bio-tech or pharmaceutical company.  During these field-trips students follow the narrative arc of solving a problem that the companies are currently facing like developing a drug or combating crop destruction by the corn root-worm through genetically modifying corn.

Fallon

While I don't watch late night TV, I find myself watching more clips of Jimmy Fallon's show than any other. Love his impression of Neil Young. Hadn't seen him slow jam the news before, but this one was worth it:

Santa

Have you been

Naughty

or

Nice?

Elizabeth thinks she is a dog.

Pancake does not approve.

#8 Quilted pot holders

I have found another use for my scraps of fabric: quilted pot holders   This was so fun and easy that I already have plans for making a whole set!

#7 a visit to the Nasher Museum of Art

I am always looking for new things to do for Elizabeth and I especially in the early evenings before Nathan comes home.  It seems like this is the time that we both begin to tire of being with each other all day.  I was so happy to find that the Nasher Museum of Art has free admission on Thursdays after 5pm.  I thought the museum would appeal to her investigative nature, and I would enjoy it as well.

We arrived right at 5, and Elizabeth quietly viewed all the art work from her stroller.  She was a little hesitant at first, like she always is.  Instead of looking at the art she began by checking out the Duke students who were clearly there for class credit and enjoyed looking at the skylights.  When we entered their permanent collection she was taken by the extremely large (~5ft) and life-like sculpture of a man's head.  She stared at it for at least 3 minutes trying to take him all in.  I am always intrigued by this sculpture. I was really glad that she was not afraid of him since his brow is furrowed and he looks a little mean.

We then visited their exhibit on The Vorticists.  To me, it looked like cubism.  She begin to point to some of the artwork and "talk" about what she was seeing.  I think the bright colors and strong lines were very interesting to her.  She was really taken by a sculpture of a small fawn.  She pointed at it and was clearly more intrigued by it than by any other piece she saw in this exhibit.

After that, Nathan joined us and we entered an exhibit call "The Record" - the first museum exhibition to explore the culture of vinyl records within the history of contemporary art. The artists used vinyl records in interesting ways to make art work.  They also integrated music and a lot of reinterpretations of album covers.  Elizabeth especially liked the piece where they had stuffed birds as the needle for the record player and the albums were of bird calls. She didn't get the irony but did enjoy seeing the life-like birds up close.  She also enjoyed wearing the 3D glasses that allowed you to see a life-sized 3D image of a recording studio.  Isn't she cute?

Cooking... Sweet and Sour Beet Saute

The beets in the local grocery have been tempting me, and I finally gave in and purchased a large bunch.  We chopped off the tops for salad greens and washed the roots.  I was surprised that a little beet can go a long way!  We boiled a few to use in salads but still had several roots left.  So we decided to make a sweet and sour beet saute and worked from this recipe. 

2T olive oil
2 beets peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 onions sliced
2 mashed garlic cloves
1/4 cup raisins
2T honey
2T lemon juice
1T OJ
2T soy sauce

Heat oil in skillet; stir-fry the beets, onions, garlic, and raisins for several minutes over medium-high heat until onion is brown. Add the remaining ingredients; lower heat. Toss well to combine. Cover and steam until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes adding more OJ or water if too much evaporation occurs.