Before 2008, I never wanted to own something I borrowed from the public library. But along came that Curious George soundtrack and, voila, I had the gimmees bad. Tomorrow is the return date for two more library items that I can’t wait to buy as well:

The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger
Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

There’s a group of folks out there that are baking their way through Greenspan’s cookbook. Sounds like fun, eh? There’s no way I could make that commitment right now, but I’d love to do it someday. One of the bakers blogs at Cafe Johnsonia and I find her posts really inspirational. In particular I enjoyed her guest post at Just An Orange; it reminded me of the creative joy of cooking.

Though I am a far cry from chef material (desserts are more my thing at any rate), I do post a recipe every so often at Needs More Butter, the recipe blog of my friends from Community Dinner.

I love these bags.
I love carrying tons of groceries in just a few sturdy totes.
I love not having wispy plastic bags floating around my kitchen.
I love the idea of reusing bags vs. simply recycling them.
I love always having totes on hand for trips to the library, Target, or even quick runs around the grocery store (no cart needed!).
I love the price tag of these bags in particular.

Livia attended her first Husker football game last week. I thought it was pretty cool and, of course, I thought my kid looked pretty cute. Check out Scowly Guy down the row. He didn’t seem to think my wiggly three year old was all that cute.

I can admit I’m a social football fan. Feed me nachos, a slice of pizza or a Fairbury hot dog and I can sit still… for the first half.

I really go to the games because I enjoy the time with my Dad, and the rest of the state of Nebraska. For you non-Nebraskans out there (poor you!), Memorial Stadium becomes the third largest city in the state on game days. We’re fiercely loyal to our college football team because, well, there’s nothing else to do in this state. Football is our thing.

As socially interested as I am in Husker games, I’ve recently been educated somewhat on the actual rules of the sport. Thank you, Friday Night Lights! So now, instead of wondering about what’s going on in the midst of all those players, I just think of Matt Saracen and Tim Riggins (ahem) and it’s all crystal clear. Or maybe not so much.

One thing I know is true: There is no place like Memoral Stadium on game day. The crowd, the noise, the excitement; I love it.

Apparently, along with her Papa, Livia watched some program with a depressed main character. Three times on the drive home that night I heard my three year old say, “I’ve got THE BLUES.” It was kind of late at night, so I asked her what having the blues meant.

Livia: It means I’m sad.
Me: Why are you sad?
Livia: I so tired.
Me: Alrighty.

My child is still my favorite English Language Learner…

Liv: Mom, what my new jammies called?
Me: Nightgown?
Liv: Oh yeah. Nightgown.

Jeremy to Liv: You’re such a kidder!
Livia: What “kidder” mean?

And then I got a kick out of this conversation yesterday…

Jeremy: If you do [naughty behavior], then I’ll have to take away your favorite toy.
Livia: My favorite toy?
Jeremy: Yes, your favorite toy.
Livia: [thinks hard] You mean Baby Soap?
Jeremy: [working hard to keep from laughing] Yup, Baby Soap.

This blog vacation business is far easier than I thought it would be. But my blog is getting kind of sad, in a purely emotional sense, and it’s time for me to come back… at least a little bit.

I have yet to write about the dawning of spring—glorious and delightful spring!—in Lincoln, Nebraska. Several weeks ago we experienced many days of unparalleled temperatures. It was sunny and warm, relatively speaking, and Livia and I took walks every day. But then the skies grew gray once more, we were bound by four walls again, and poor Liv struggled to understand why we couldn’t go outside to play. (Clearly, frigid temps mean nothing to my little person.) Slowly over the last several weeks something amazing, albeit a yearly event you think I’d get used to someday, occurred. It was two steps forward, one step back with warm days and cold days and somehow, in all kinds of ways, spring arrived at our doorstep. Our grass is green, our viburnum is unfurling adorable fuzzy green leaves, and our child is dropping like a rock by 7:30pm from all the fresh air play.

To me, spring is more than a season of sunshine and blooming daffodils. I find deep joy and renewal in sitting on the porch and watching the neighborhood come alive with activity. My heart actually rejoices when the sun’s rays are warm on my cheeks and the breezes are lightly cool against my bare arms. Though I began this day with angst and frustration in the hidden corners of my heart, I found God’s grace and glory freely given to me in every hour. And at the conclusion of this beautiful spring day, I’m reminded of this passage in Psalm 16:

LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

• The days are getting warmer, not to mention longer.
• My speedy computer is on the fritz.
• My three-almost-four year old requires a lot of attention.
• I feel like I’m updating my blog to keep up with something or someone (the Joneses?).
• I haven’t written anything of substance in quite some time–not good for a writer.
• My blog posts are hardly representing my life right now.

Sound like time for a blogging hiatus? I think yes.

I hate it when other people take breaks from blogging. And I also feel kind of dumb announcing a break only to pick up the habit a few days later. But I’ll take that chance and trust that my online friends will patiently await my return. Just so you know, you’ll have full permission to laugh at my break if I show up with a new post tomorrow afternoon.

Hasta luego.

In three words, two nouns and a verb to be exact, what did you do today?

Here’s mine:

• Coffeeshop
• Sunshine
• Played

Our Mac Mini is giving me all sorts of grief. Considering it’s the computer that operates at the speed my brain works, it’s the only one that functions well for blogging, in my snobby opinion. I upload pics on this one and do all my blog-checking and news-reading here. In the few moments I’ve blogged this entry, for example, the Mini has behaved itself. I consider myself lucky at this point.

All this to say blogging will be slow for a bit, at least until we’ve solved the problem on this computer. I hate to say anything negative about Macs because this is the first problem I’ve encountered on a Mac in four years. And only the second in 10 years of Mac usage. Anyhow, I hope to be present here more fully in the days ahead.

Me: [Just arriving home from a meeting.] Sweetie, did you and Liv eat lunch?

Sweetie, er, Jeremy: Yeah, a little bit.

Me: What does that mean?

Jeremy: We had pork and pretzels.

Hm.