Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Best Cucumbers Ever

Maybe it's just being preggy and hot, but I have to say cucumbers are the best food EVER. I love eating them they way they do in China. Here's the recipe - enjoy!

Ingredients:
- English cucumber
- Marukan original rice vinegar
- Sugar
- Peanut oil
- 3 dried red small chilies

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1) Slice English cucumber into 1/4 inch slices
2) In shallow pan, mix approx 2 cups Rice Vinegar(must be Marukan original) with 4-5 TBS sugar (to taste).
3) Add cucumber and arrange so they are all covered in vinegar
4) In a frying pan, put about 5 Tbs peanut oil in with two small, seeded red chilies (the kind you buy dried and are hot, hot, hot). Fry those chilies until they are crisp - a dark brown. The smokier they are, the smokier the cucumbers will taste.
5) When oil and chilies are smokin, pour over the cucumbers in the rice vinegar
6) Chill in fridge until desired coolness/hotness (the longer they stay in the fridge, the hotter they get because the chilies leach their heat into the marinade).

AMAZING

Schools

So I've made up my mind (finally). For this year, we are already on two wait lists - JCC and Children's Garden Montessori. They are the the only programs I've been impressed by, and as I see it, there is no reason to send Chase to something I think is only okay - seriously, what's the point? If she doesn't get into either of these schools, she'll stay home with me for another year.

Next year is a little more difficult, which is what I've been trying to figure out now so that I don't (a) miss out on any opportunities and (b) feel like my back is against the wall - deadlines for applying for Fall '09 are in December. So here's the larger question. Do we want Chase to go to public, private or a charter school? The reason why we need to decide this now is because it's important to get into the right "feeder" school.

And so after pulling my hair out, trying to figure out what school I want her to go to, what school is right for her and what school we can afford, I think I've decided we're going to try to get her into Denver International School - and go the language immersion route with her. Reason being, it seems that we're going to have to supplement her education no matter what - with schools cutting back on arts, music, sports, we're just going to have to do some stuff on the side - no matter what. And after thinking it through, the hardest thing to supplement on the side is a language, if we really want her to be fluent.

Whew! Now all we have to do is actually get in to one of the three spots available at DIS. I wonder if I just went there and wrote a check if they'd say, "Welcome to the school."

Butterflies

A couple days ago Chase put her nose on my shoulder and made a big sniffing sound.
I said, "Are you smelling Mommy?"
She nodded.
I said, "What does Mommy smell like?"

"Butterflies," Chase answered.

SO HOT

So it has been high 90s/low 100s for weeks. And I am so tired. The heat, combined with pregnancy, just takes it right out of me. I was lucky enough to get a nap - and sleep in - last weekend (thanks Hubs!) but already it feels like I've been on a transatlantic flight, with no sleep for 25 hours. And it's just been one day. With regular sleep.

And so I'm trying to figure out what to do with my precious girl today. And I'm stuck. No idea. Everything has been "done" - it feels like that anyway. Sort of like days when I just can't figure out what to make Chase for lunch.

And then I started thinking about what it was like living in China. What it was like living in Europe. And while it was quite difficult with a child in tow, we could always go somewhere interesting. And I think we could go somewhere interesting here, too, like one of the many National Parks, but with gas prices being so high, a kitchen to renovate, a new baby to plan for - oh and then there's the kids education, classes, and retirement to plan for ... how did we suddenly get so grown-up?