It’s a Wonderful Life

Love for Emily is real, not cheap plastic

Happy Monday, everyone!! Today I hope it is especially happy because it is all about EMILY! Emily blogs at In The Limelife, and right now she is chronicling the adventures of her first pregnancy! We are so excited to meet her new little boy, who will debut in late March.

Emily and I have been friends for more than five years. I know this because I met Emily at the very first audition that was held for my dance company. At the time our first meeting was more than a little awkward, because she was the only one who showed up to audition! But she stayed and danced and then we found more people and had a show and she was there for all of it. What is very sad is that Emily lives far away now, in sunny, classy Cali. Aside from my concerns that the lack of winter will have negative effects on her character,  the miles and stinky time difference have make hanging out rather difficult.

Emily is a great friend – a terrific listener, a staunch supporter, a fantastic road-tripper. She is very chill and has a way of making everyone relax and be calm. While that is not a very flashy superpower, it is AMAZING in real life. She also has a great sense of humor and called me immediately after leaving 40 Year Old Virgin to tell me that the ending was completely awesome and I had to see it.  Also, she can totally rock a Napoleon Dynamite quote. I don’t think I can recall any time that I have spent with Emily that I didn’t enjoy. At the clubs, having lunch, making cookies, waiting in the wings, sitting in my car and talking for an hour… all good. (Once when I was drunk she snapped at me, but I totally deserved it.) Emily is so very great and you would be very, very lucky to have her as your friend. Here’s a little taste:

What are you going to enjoy this year? Becoming a mom

What is your own personal quality or achievement that you like most about yourself? My unique personal quality is that I’m pretty relaxed and I don’t get agitated very easily and I think that helps calm people down sometimes, even when I don’t know the right thing to say.

What three things would you most like to change about your life? I wish I lived closer to my friends and family (or they lived closer to me – California is very nice) and my job – that’s about it really.  I’m pretty happy with my life…I mean, I could have more money, but I don’t know that that would make me happier.

Happiest Moment of Emily's Life On Film So Far

Emily says: So, it’s a really horrible picture of both of us, but this was the happiest moment caught on film…our hotel room in Florence, Italy 2005.  The best vacation ever…so far.

What new thing is revving your engines right now?  I’m really getting revved up about nonprofit advocacy and changing the way the world looks at nonprofit organizations. I’m also pumped about the YNPN SD group I’m a part of.

Do you have a wall calendar? What is the design? Yes, it is the San Diego Zoo calendar that I got for free from a friend who works there.  This month it is elephants.

Emily's fave thing: Her first piece of choreography

Emily says: The first piece I choreographed that was performed onstage in front of a real audience.  Even though, if I watched the piece now, I would probably think it was crap, I am very proud of it. (Ed. Note: It was not crap. I was there.)

Do you have a word or intention for the year? Will you share it with us? Dare. Basically, I want to take more chances this year and not be afraid to say what I think.

What is the most influential book (or author) you have ever read? Good question…I’m going to go with George Orwell’s 1984.  Classic, but it really made me think.

Looking back on your childhood, what do you appreciate most about your parents? They encouraged and supported me in almost everything I did.

What is your favorite memory with AnonymousK?  It is hard to pick one.  I enjoyed going for hot chocolate at Borders and doing India Garden at lunch on many a day.  It was always fun to get away from the office and office people during the day and see a friendly face.  Also performing with K was always fun.

Is there anything you would like to say to AnonymousK? Please say it here:  I miss you!!  And I wish that we lived closer to each other so our little boys could be bffs.

Me, too!!!! Happy Valentine’s Day, Emily! I heart you!!

Counting down the hours to my next hairapy appointment (23 hours, 51 minutes to go…) and I am reassured by this:
The Fug Girls Totally Get It, and I extend my sympathies to this poor Taylor girl.

TGIF – because here’s another installment of everyone’s fave,  Earth-friendly Friday!! Today, the mud room:

BabyK's clothes for winters to come

Mud room:

• Sometime in my pregnancy after the pre-term labor but before the liver failure, I got crazy nesty. For me, that meant obsessively researching laundry detergents and prepping cloth diapers. After a lot of investigating, we’ve settled on Arm & Hammer Essentials Free laundry detergent. We can’t always find it at the grocery store, but it’s affordable, cloth diaper safe, and relatively earth friendly. I used the guide at PinStripes and PolkaDots for my research (from E’s hometown, no less!) and loved the Allen’s Naturally but couldn’t afford it, hated Bi-O-Kleen but can get it at Kroger. So.
• We’ve switched to the unscented, dye-free Downy, but haven’t kicked the habit entirely. (We’ve got really hard water… whine). It’s been a few weeks since I picked it up, so I guess that’s progress. The clothes are starting to get scratchy on my fragile 90 year old winter hands, though. Anyone have some good tips?
• For laundry stains, I really like the combination of Bac-Out and line-drying. Unfortunately, right now I am out of Bac-Out and while it is perfectly sunny, it’s also cold at a level that my skin can not process. OxyClean is as good on baby puke as anything I’ve found, but if not rinsed thoroughly it leaves the clothes feeling funny. A regular wash cycle after soaking overnight does not fix this problem. So I don’t use it that often. Also, the spray is unstable so if you make some in a spray bottle it only works for 12 hours or something.  Lame! Pet stains: Nature’s Miracle, every time.
• I love my clothesline, which I found at Home Depot for like $30. Regardless of how much energy I am saving, I love hanging clean diapers on it. So fresh and so clean, clean! It’s been relegated to the shed until spring, which makes me sad. (But not sad enough to go get it out and use it. Nope.)
• We’re using the Arm & Hammer refills as our general cleaner. I think it’s better than the Green Works stuff, which has too many bubbles and often seems to need rinsing. I realize it would be much greener to make our own, but that is going on the ‘post cloth diapering’ list. Baby steps.
• CFLs: they’re supposed to be so awesome, right?? Well, I am not impressed. We have them in the lights we use most around the house, like the hallways and the porch lights. Due to our ghetto-fabulous  location, Mr. K is adamant about leaving the porch lights on all night. But did you know that CFLs aren’t designed for outdoor use? And when the temperature gets low, they don’t work at all? Also, they are totally not the same quality of light. People who say there is no difference are blind. (sorry) So we use Reveal bulbs in our lamps where we read or knit or just don’t want a blinding headache. Dear Engineers: I implore you, please make the light better in these blasted things. Thanks.
• Still using the Swiffers (dry) for dusting. I know. But at least only using the Pledge once in a blue moon, so that’s good, right? (And yes, I have dusted in the past month. But not more than once. )

So, how are you guys doing with your laundry and cleaning needs? Any tips to share?

you get what you need:

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Since embracing my new domestic career, I have been working on my kitchen skills. I would like to state categorically, for the record, that I never lacked skills in the kitchen per se, I really lacked the time and energy to develop those skills. Ahem. In my trying to cope with the Extreme Allergy Elimination diet, I bought a bag of quinoa. Feeling rather worldly and sophisticated, I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and cooked it up. Foodie Mr. K offered some suggestions, I did a little experiment, and Voila! AnonymousK’s first original recipe:

Ham and Quinoa

1. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic, cook until golden. Remove garlic and shallots from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.
2. Add quinoa to the pan. Cook until lightly toasted, about five minutes.
3. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
4. Add remaining ingredients (including shallots and garlic) and cover. Let simmer until liquid is absorbed and quinoa has ‘popped’.

Serves 2 hungry people as a entree, or 4-6 as a side dish.

Enjoy!