Phelps Family Visit

The second week of July we had Ryan's parents, youngest sister, and a brother arrive in town for a visit (his other brother was already here for an internship). I will admit I was a little worried about it, just because I don't think I've ever cooked for so many people before, plus the logistics of having so many people in our small house. But things worked out fine in the end - as usual I let myself get more stressed than I needed to be.

The first day here we mostly just hung around. People played video games together, and Ryan's dad and I headed out to get supplies needed for a project he wanted to work on (shelves for the boys' bedroom closet, which until now has just been mostly useless empty space). That evening Ryan and his brothers went to a Sounders game.

The next day they headed to the East side to check out Microsoft while I ran various errands with the boys. Gareth made fruit salad for everyone for dinner (though I did help with some fruit cutting just to speed things up a bit, otherwise we would've been eating at midnight).

Then we went for a sail on the Sound. There wasn't as much wind as some would have liked, but it was still a fun experience. We saw some dolphins (or porpoises, I'm not sure it was ever determined exactly which they were), so that was cool. And got to enjoy some lovely views of the city from the water.

City

Industry

Mal wanted me to take a picture of him, but then insisted on scrunching up his face.

Mal was getting pretty grumpy toward the end of the ride, so the deckhand told the boys they could turn these handles. At first Mal wanted nothing to do with it and kept crying, but eventually he recovered and then was more than happy to play with the boat.

 I've ridden past this boat many times on the other side on the bike trail. It's from Singapore. Loading grain into the grain elevator.

A couple sculptures of Olympic Sculpture Park with the Space Needle in the background.

After our sail we headed to lunch on the waterfront and Pike Place Market. We were all exhausted by the time we made it home that evening.

The next day I had a concert at the Ballard Locks. I knew that I'd likely be playing a duet or something similar and had requested that we perform it the week family would be in town. Everyone came and listened to the concert and then we watched the Locks in operation for a bit (Ryan's dad and siblings hadn't seen them before), then headed to the fish ladder and saw the salmon.

Their next-to-last day here I took Ryan's sister and mom and the boys to the Pacific Science Center to see the Lego exhibit as well as the rest of the museum. The Lego exhibit was a big hit with Mal, who asked to go see them again repeatedly (you only get to go through once on your ticket so we'll have to buy more tickets if he wants to see them again). Before we headed to the Legos, the kids checked out some other exhibits.

Mal, about to pop a bubble wall

Grandma, playing with gravity

Gareth, impressed by an air stream keeping a beach ball afloat

Then it was off to be impressed by Lego art.

Mal adored the dinosaur, but seemed a little nervous about standing next to it

Mal knew exactly what to do here. Not quite a perfect imitation, but pretty good for age 4

Gareth had to do it as well, of course. He worked a little harder to match the statue.

After Legos we checked out all the other exhibits. We got lucky and they were feeding the iguana, boa constrictor, and turtles while we were there. The turtles were big fans of their salads. The snake seemed the least interested in his meal.

The last day Ryan's dad worked hard to finish up the shelves (he still wants to add pieces to the front of the shelves, but we weren't able to get a table saw while they were here, so he'll finish that up next time they visit).

There are four shelves that go across the back length of the closet. Now we'll be able to store the boy's clothes in baskets on the shelves. Maybe a few toys as well. But the toys won't get as much room individually as Gareth has given them in the above picture. We also bought things we can attach as the boys get older so they can hang clothes. Right now they can't be bothered to hang anything, so we figured all shelves was the way to go for the time being.

A very fun visit. It very well might be a couple years before we are able to get together again, just because I'll be so busy with school. The boys had a wonderful time with their grandparents and aunt/uncles. Gareth made sure to get lots of Grandma hugs and Mal loved looking at pictures of his baby cousin and seeing what Grandpa was up to in the garage.

Foosball

We've got one room in the house put together. Well, sort of, I guess. Every time I think it's finished I realize that we could paint it or put up some wall decor or something. But those things won't be happening in any rooms for a while, so the room is essentially done.

Behold, the foosball room:

Before stools

Ryan's wanted a foosball table for a long while now. It was his birthday recently and we knew he'd need some stress-relief activities during the next couple years, so I told him to get the table. We had the carpet made into an area rug for the room. I was worried about echo in there - the carpet seems to have helped a lot with this. After having the table for a few days Ryan realized he'd really like somewhere to sit. I'd already been thinking some stools in the corners of the room would be nice. So over the 4th of July weekend we headed to Pier 1 and checked out their selection. We knew from looking online that these were probably what we wanted. We spent a while deliberating color and then ordered them.

He and Gareth spend quite a bit of time playing. Mal likes to "play" once in a while as well. Gareth loves when Mal decides to be on my team, because Mal likes to play "defense" and try to kick the ball into his own goal.

4th and Birthday

We celebrated the 4th by heading with Daniel to hang out with some local friends. Mr. Redpath had just returned late the night before from driving his daughter to the Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, OR, where one of her track coaches was competing in the long jump (he didn't qualify). She needed some shots for a film she's making. Anyway, we put together shishkabobs and a spinach salad and a watermelon and headed over in the afternoon. Redpaths made a lime sherbet punch, which Mal quickly became enamored with. That and the "salambe", which he made sure to tell everyone else to eat as they arrived.

Mal eventually left the food behind for a bit to play with bubbles (and we managed to tear the older kids away from video games for a bit with that as well).

It was in the 60s and overcast, which is more "typical" Seattle, but which we hadn't experienced on the 4th of July since 2010. We still sat outside in the evening to catch some glimpses of the fireworks. A very enjoyable evening with friends, though Mal struggled a bit with getting to bed once we got home. So tired and trying so hard not to be, but also extremely grumpy because he was so tired.

The kids slept in some this morning, but we still managed to get out the door in time to head to my appointment to get my second round of the TB test placed. I really know how to celebrate, don't I? Since we were back over in the old neighborhood again for that anyway, Mr. Redpath and I decided we'd throw Gareth on the tag along behind the tandem and put Mal in the trailer behind the tag along. Makes for a long bike, but it worked well. We were both able to get some errands run and get in a few miles.

At one point we ended up facing an extremely steep incline - at least a 20% grade. Partway up the hill we came across some guys driving a delivery van and they gave us shouts of approval. We all gave it our best, but did end up having to get off and walk the last quarter or so of the hill. Mr. Redpath has a heart rate monitor and he knows exactly what his acceptable limit is - once we hit that we stopped, which coincided well with when I was fairly certain I was going to keel over. Otherwise an uneventful ride. Gareth enjoyed it immensely and Mal was well-behaved.

We stopped at Redpaths for lunch, where Mr. Redpath spoiled the boys by making them octopus hot dogs and giving them blueberry ice cream. He even made faces on the octopuses.

After that it's been a pretty calm day. Just hanging around the house, taking Gareth to jiu jitsu, watching shows with Ryan, all the usual things. Pretty good way to spend a birthday.

Baking and Braces

Summer break began for the boys on Monday (Labor Day was late this year). I'd been off for almost two weeks already, but had filled my few child-free mornings running around touring preschools, getting immunization forms filled out for me and various other little things to prepare for fall.

We started off the break by sleeping in and not yelling at kids to stay on task, then walking to our local library branch for the first time and signing up for the summer reading program. I love that the branch is in walking distance - the only reason we hadn't been already is because we mostly check out Kindle books these days. But sometimes Gareth enjoys having physical books, especially when you're talking comic books, so I'm guessing we'll be back at the library a few times this summer. Then an afternoon swim lesson where the head instructor told me I really should get Mal going with lessons. I told her that won't happen until I'm out of school at this point. I doubt Gareth will get anymore lessons while I'm in this program either.

Today we couldn't sleep in because Gareth had an early appointment to get braces put on. While waiting for his appointment to start he played with the toddler toy. Mal played with the display toothbrush and teeth (he's obsessed with the teeth models they have there).

Didn't take nearly as long as I expected, probably because he only has them on his front teeth right now. He chose red and dark blue because those are his favorite colors. They go nicely with the upcoming holiday as well.

They even gave him a snazzy electric toothbrush, which he's super excited about, so maybe he'll be good about brushing his teeth for a little while. Mal was getting a bit whiny (he wanted to go into the room where all the teeth are, but some other people were having a consult in there), so they gave him a little stuffed sea animal. At first he chose a crab. Then decided he wanted a shark. Then at the end he wanted a "goldfish". He insisted it get it's picture taken as well.

He's spent most of the afternoon whining that he wants to take the fish back and get the crab instead. Mal is in a constant state of buyer's remorse over every decision he makes.

Gareth hasn't complained about pain much yet. He did mention that his teeth were hurting a bit around lunchtime, but otherwise seems to be doing fine.

We decided that Gareth should do some semi-independent baking and cooking this summer - mostly on his own, but with us around in case of questions and to ensure the house doesn't burn down. The goal is for him to bake cookies or something similar a few times and to make a simple dinner one night per week. Tonight he's going to make pasta for us. This afternoon he made homemade Oreos - he'll make the frosting to fill them tonight after dinner. He managed to crack four eggs into the mixing bowl and not have to dig out any shells - a first for him. I helped shape some of the cookies, just so the project wouldn't take all day, but otherwise he worked on his own, with occasional advice from me. Hopefully by summer's end he'll feel comfortable going start to finish on his own.

Food Science, Part IV

Our final unit was on leaveners. The first exercise focused on different measuring techniques for flour and sugars and how using measuring cups/spoons will get you different weights, so is less consistent than using a scale.

Experiment two was on yeast. We had to set up multiple bowls with water of varying temperatures and with varying things added. So cold water with and without sugar, warm water plain, with sugar, and with salt, and hot water. Then observe how the active dry yeast responded over time. Warm water with sugar works best, hot water kills the yeast, and all the others had little to no activity.

The third experiment we used chemical leavener. When making muffins we had to dish out batter after various numbers of strokes. Then we had to make up a small batch with either no egg, no sugar, or using whole wheat flour. Obviously, putting batter in tins before the ingredients are fully mixed will result in sub-par muffins. This experiment also dealt with gluten development and how that impacts the final product. I did the no egg variation.

L-R: Fewer strokes to overbeaten

Ideal muffins have a rounded top, not a domed top

The long tunnels on the interior are not ideal and indicate overmixing

No egg

The no egg variation actually wasn't all that bad. Took less time to cook and the batter was really thick and not smooth at all on the surface when cooked, but the taste wasn't too bad.

Our final project was to create our own recipe for a dish. We had to use at least 3 ingredients, each of which was supposed to demonstrate a principle that we'd studied during the quarter. I made what I called "Spicy Peanut Chicken and Vegetables over Brazilian Rice". So just a peanut sauce/marinade, stir-fry the chicken and veggies and serve over rice. We had to serve it to ourselves and at least one other person and have everyone who ate it evaluate it for taste, texture, appearance, etc.

Brazilian Rice:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2-3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 ½ cups jasmine rice

3 ¾ cups water

Bring water to a boil. In a separate saucepan heat the oil. Add garlic and sauté until lightly browned. Add rice to pan and sauté until lightly toasted and somewhat translucent. When the water is boiling, pour it over the rice. Cover and simmer the rice 18 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

Marinade/Sauce:

5-7 Thai chilies

3 cloves garlic, sliced

¼ cup tamari

3 Tbsp. peanut butter

Juice of 1 lime

1 tsp. Sugar

Food process the chilies and garlic (or crush with a mortar/pestle or bottom of a cup). Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Make one batch for marinade, make another for extra sauce.

Chicken and Vegetables:

2 chicken breast halves, thinly sliced

½ red bell pepper, sliced

2 medium carrots, thinly sliced

1 cup small-medium broccoli florets

Canola oil

Combine marinade and chicken in resealable bag and let marinate in refrigerator for 1-3 hours. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tablespoon canola oil to pan. Add chicken to skillet, cooking until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pan. Add extra oil to pan if needed. Add vegetables to pan, cooking until crisp-tender, 3-5 minutes. Return chicken to pan and heat through. Add extra sauce to pan, to taste. Serve over rice.

For our report we had to include pictures and discuss our ingredient selection/preparation and the scientific principles employed. The sauce was tasty and the only thing I'd change is using more Thai chilies in future - once combined with the rice and other stuff the sauce loses a lot of heat. The broccoli is perfect for this kind of recipe because the florets hold sauce really well. Adding red bell pepper and carrots makes for a vibrant dish.

Ryan's already asked for more of the peanut sauce to be made. Guess I'll have to have him practice making it this summer so he can make it during the next couple years if he wants to.

Graduate School

Back in December I submitted an application to the MS in Nutrition and the GCPD programs at UW. Then I waited and waited to hear something. I finally got an email saying they wanted to schedule a phone interview. Yay, exciting! So I did the phone interview, felt I did horribly (having never done a phone interview before), and figured if it were me making the decision I wouldn't accept me based on that interview. But hope springs eternal or something, so I still eagerly waited to hear something. Finally an envelope came. I was accepted into the MS program! I was wait-listed for the GCPD program. Cue sadness and depression and general feeling horrible about myself, despite knowing when I applied that there were only 12 spots in this program and that my chances might not be great.

I had to figure out what to do. There is no route to the RD at UW except through the GCPD program. And while you can find jobs with just the MS in Nutrition, I came away from talking to those in the field pretty confident that it would be much more difficult to get a job without the RD. Lots of people encouraged me to start the MS anyway and then reapply. But they don't give any particular priority to those students, though those students do have the advantage of getting to know the faculty a bit before reapplying. Sometimes spots open up in the summer or mid-year, but they obviously couldn't predict if that would happen. They can only offer those spots to people in the MS or MPH programs, so if I declined or deferred the MS offer I'd be out of the running should that happen. But that stuff wasn't enough to convince me that the financial risk of starting without knowing I'd get into the GCPD was worth it. I took lots of time to come to my decision, partly hoping that I'd get in off the wait-list in that time, and the day before the decision deadline I emailed the MS program and asked if I could defer my acceptance for a year. And they confirmed that they'd taken care of that, and I went on my less-than-merry way.

I started figuring out what the next year would look like, trying to make some connections so I could volunteer with dietitians in a clinic and hoping I could maybe get some part-time work as a dietary aide through someone from one of my prereq. classes. And I told people in my orchestra that I'd be happy to join the orchestra board next year. I looked on the bright side - I knew some things that the program had wanted to see in my application and had some ideas of how to rewrite my essays. And I figured that if I got in the next time around this way Mal would be in Kindergarten when I was starting the program, so the childcare thing would maybe be easier to figure out. But I wasn't about to get hopeful that I'd get in on my second try, so I was also trying to come up with backup plans (learn to code? take a few more prereqs and a different entrance exam and try for pharmacy school? just accept that I will fail at doing anything career-wise with my life?). Despite how that previous sentence makes it sound, I was feeling pretty good about what I had lined up for the next year.

And then this past Friday I opened up my email after finishing teaching a Cooking Matters class and saw an email from the UW program. I'm really not sure what I thought it was. I've been taking an online class through UW this quarter, so it kind of processed as something from that, even though it clearly wasn't. Opened it up and saw that they were offering me a spot in the GCPD program for the fall. And still couldn't process it. So I forwarded the email to Ryan. And then he didn't instantly respond, so I called him. And we chatted briefly and then I drove home. I called my mom and texted some with Ryan and just tried to process it all. But then I realized the offer was contingent on having accepted the MS offer, so I was a little confused as to why I'd been sent the offer in the first place since I'd deferred.

I emailed the MS program and the GCPD program asking if it was possible to change my status. They emailed back and informed me that my deferral request wasn't fully processed yet, so I was eligible to accept both offers still. Weird, that request was made quite a while ago. But okay, worked out in my favor. So now I was processing the fact that entering this program in the fall is a very real possibility. Text with my sister and text some local friends. And talk to my mom some more. And was irrationally annoyed that Ryan wasn't home yet - not with him, just with the fact that instantaneous transport isn't a thing we are capable of, because I really needed to talk with him and figure this out together.

When he did get home we both agreed that I needed to go for it. I took some time today to start figuring out some financial stuff before officially accepting (though sending an email doesn't feel all that official). I'm still having a hard time believing this is happening. I've read the initial email multiple times, just to make sure it actually says what I think it says. And even today, it took a few hours to hear back after I emailed the acceptance, so a part of me couldn't help wondering if it was all some big mistake and they were scrambling around trying to figure out how they accidentally offered someone a spot they don't have. But eventually both programs emailed back and now I've been inundated with things to do since I have to play a bit of catch-up. And it's still sinking in a bit, and I'm more than a little nervous about balancing school and family and orchestra, but I'm definitely starting to get excited as well.