Where to begin?

So much going on lately, that I don't know where to begin. I've been a bad blogger- just not enough time to check in. But here's a brief rundown of what I've been up to lately.

Last week I met up with my friend Stephanie (3Day Teammate) down in Plymouth. Had some greasy (read: delicious) fries at Lobster Hut while we caught up and I met her sweet family. Then I walked 3 miles along Plymouth Harbor. Gorgeous!

The rest of the week was busy with work. Lots of projects ramping up right now and seems there just aren't enough hours in the workday to get it all done. It always seems to work like this. Ebb and flow. No in between. I don't usually mind- but it IS nice when the heavy flow isn't during summer. Oh well.


Saturday we had a big day. I walked 11 miles in the morning. Dan hung out with Dave Dauphinee who came over with his friend Bob to cut and plane the pine trees we cut down last spring. 1 huge stack gone. 2 more to go. Great progress for one day.

Then we all showered and headed to Willy's for his 2nd Birthday Party. It was a fantastic day! Friends, family, lot of kiddos running around. Willy got an Indian Motorcycle from us, a Radio Flyer Tricycle from Mom & Dad and a Circus Sandbox from Nanny & Grandpa-- so he's one happy kid (pictures to follow).

From there we went to my cousin Chris' high school graduation party. My favorite Tighe you might say (or I might say-- in St. Louis, when I was drunk for once in the past couple years! LOL). Open mouth insert foot. Of course I love ALL the Tighe's (how could you not?) though I do have a special place in my heart for Chris. He's probably the only cousin that I was old enough to vividly remember from a baby through toddler to 6 ft+ giant- that I see on a consistent basis and who I've always had a connection with. He's a good kid! Good luck in college Chris! You'll do great!

Sunday morning I woke up and walked through Wompatuck State Park with my friend Cheri Dauphinee. It was a beautiful walk- rainy at first (but cool) and then hot and muggy. But we survived. We went through the Mt. Hope entrance and all the way to the Main Gate in Hingham and back.

That afternoon, Dan and I went to our good friends' Mike & Maureen's wedding at the Easton Country Club. The ceremony was beautiful but near-torturous only for the heat. The reception was, as expected, a blast! Thanks to a long-standing joke, we landed ourselves at Table 1, which spent the night in fierce competition with Table 2 (The Pascarella's) all night. We danced. We joked. We made a shrine to Wilson and Stanley who never showed up- but ate and drank well all night as the pictures will reveal (more soon)....

Monday I took the day off- knowing we'd be out late. I slept in for the first time all week! But that left me starting my walk at 11am! Three words for you: Mid Day Heat! Brutal. I walked 6 miles. Came home. Showered. Wilted into bed and fell asleep. Then went back out to do another 6 at night.

The rest of the week I paid for having taken Monday off. It was chaos. Arranging schedules of 15+ vendors and shops to move a med room and deal with asbestos (great combination of factors!) all while planning a visit from a German named Wolfgang for next week and dealing with software application upgrade issues, train fires, and other ridiculous requests. Late, trying days.

In better (read: not so whiny) news- we had dinner on Wednesday night with Uncle Ray, Aunt Lillian, Becky, Matt, Kris and Aila. I got home late (work calls!) but Dan made a delicious supper and we enjoyed the company.

And I found out that we're getting a new team member for our 3Day team. Her name is Terry and she lives in Plymouth! Which means that I won't have to do all of these LONG walks alone! I chatted with her for a long time last night and am really looking forward to meeting her.

So that's the scoop.

Dan and I are leaving work at noon today to head to Poughkeepsie for Meg & Nick's wedding. I'm not the overly nostalgic for college type, but I'm actually really psyched to drive by my old Marist stopping grounds. Then Saturday morning we head out to the Poconos to see Ray & Amy and the kids for the rest of the weekend.

Next week promises to be equally as busy as this week (if not moreso), but I'll try to post some pictures from the activities of the past couple weeks.

Enjoy the weekend!

Mail Call

If anyone is interested in sending me a note to be received while I am at Camp at the 3Day Walk in Philadelphia this October here is the information.

Send letters to:
Breast Cancer 3-Day Camp Post Office
ATTN: Jennifer Lassonde
P.O. Box 609
Montgomeryville, PA 18936

Envelopes only, please. No boxes or large packages. Mail must be postmarked no later than October 6 in order to ensure delivery at the Breast Cancer 3-Day Camp Post Office. Any mail that is not retrieved by the participant by October 30 will be destroyed.

Willy & Aila

Thursday 7/16

I haven't been great about getting in my weekly visit with two of my favorite kiddos- between work and walking and other extra-curriculars its been busy on the weeknights. But on 7/16 I got over to hang out for a bit with the munkins. Aila is getting so big, I can hardly believe it. Almost 3 months old in these pictures.

She has the most stunning blue eyes. Just like her Daddy.

I can just hear all you Litchfields screaming "BIG EYES" as you read this. Let's be nice to the little one, ok? :)

And the red hair is precious too! It will be interesting to see if these attributes stick around or if they'll change much as she grows.

I'm sure all the smiling and giggling she's doing now won't go away! We can be thankful for that.


Her big brother is learning LOTS too, thanks to his Mama teaching him all sorts of things at home. Most recently she's taught him how to show all sorts of expressions. Here are the highlights:

and another clearly "HAPPY" shot. a little fuzzy. a little frazzled.

more than a little perfect for a representation of this kid who is always on the go!

Oisín's First Birthday Party

Sunday July 12th we all headed for the Big Top- sans the big top itself, although I think that might have been the only thing missing from Oisín's circus birthday! Megg thought of everything...

Party Hats!

Birthday Crowns!

{though the birthday boy was none to fond of it,

in case his expression didn't give it away}

Horns!

Bubbles!











Cotton Candy! Popcorn!



Bunting!

even a Bouncy House!

and rides in Oisín's new Radio Flyer Car!

{these two crack me up!! Willy pushing Riley around,

then Miss Riley attempting to reciprocate, which as it turns out,

is a lot harder than it looks.

Keep pushing little girl!

After a little boost, they were on their way}

and who can forget the Cotton Candy!

You can't go to the circus and not have cotton candy, right?!

Even if you're an adult! Fun for the whole family!

Then it was time for the main event

Birthday Cake!

Though Oisín may not have liked the crown,

the cake surely made up for it!

Yaaay! :)

love that one-year-old-cake-covered-face!

And the proud Mama!

...who soon realized that wiping this boy off with a paper towel

was just not going to cut it.

into the kiddie pool!!

LOVING this hair!

he looks like a crazy clown

which is terribly appropriate, don't you think?

Then it was Uncle Danny's turn for some fun.

He let Willy sit on his motorcycle.

Willy was shy and timid at first,

which was amazing, since he's enamored with motorcycles

(or anything with wheels, for that matter)

But then he got into it :)

Round Two of Uncle Danny sponsored activities-

Racing the car down the (slight) hill!

Willy is by no means a dare-devil.

He's definitely his mother's son when it comes to some things.

Eyes closed. But huge toothy grin!

That smile could only be outdone by his sister :)

Little Miss Aila.

Getting so big. So many expressions.

Really smiling and giggling. Its amazing!

A little lovin' from her Nanny :)

Ok, this post has taken me nearly two weeks to put together. Too much going on to focus... and too many great pictures to make this any shorter. Hope you enjoyed the party. I certainly did :)

Happy 1st Birthday Oisín!!!

Summer Fun 2009

I have been working on a post about Oisin's fabulous 1st birthday party for over a week now. There were just so many great pictures of the kids (and a few of the adults) from that day... I'm still not quite done, but at lunch today I decided I needed 5 minutes of ME time, and I needed a new background for my computer. So I put this little collage together. Just a little but of summer sunshine, and I wanted to share!

Happy Thursday!

Like to Cook?

Well, I've got a new blog you might enjoy.

But since when do I cook, you might ask? And why in the world would I start another blog? Here's some insight into my crazy head these days:

Since when do I like cooking?

I've been a vegetarian since last September, almost a year now, and I've found that I've been cooking more and more... almost in self-defense. Often times when I go to a party or for a visit to a friend or family member's house, I'm not sure if there will be any vegetarian options, nor do I think its their obligation to provide one if it wasn't already in the plan. So I try to bring something. Its the polite thing to do anyways, isn't it?

Also, I signed up for a farm share of Heaven's Harvest Farm and since the end of June I've been getting a weekly supply of fresh organic produce delivered to a house in Scituate for me to pick up and enjoy. That too has sort of forced cooking upon me, which was the intent (don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining here). Some of the foods I knew how to use and could easily be eaten raw, in a salad, or some other commonly prepared dish. But others I've never even seen before. How to use lemon balm-- and what the heck is that? What do you do with bok choy or green cabbage? I already paid for the produce, and I certainly wasn't going to let it go bad without at least attempting to make something delicious out of it, so I looked up recipes. And I tried many of them... and thus far, most of them have come out great. The more I cook, the easier it gets, and the better the food tastes.


I've also done a lot of reading lately on nutrition, the world food economy, the history of different legislation related to how we eat and what we eat. Its scary. I'm still working on synthesizing it into something that's not a zillion pages long so that I can somehow share this information in a way that's useful but not so intimidating... but in the meantime, suffice it to say that the basics of what I've read comes down to this- make as much of your food as you can at home. Use foods that are fresh, local, contain as little ingredients as possible (i.e. whole foods like fruits, veggies etc), and are ideally organic. Avoid processed foods whenever humanly possible. The crazy chemicals that they put into this stuff is unreal (never mind the chemicals manufacturers use in the packaging to preserve the food, which they don't even have to disclose)... And while, no, I haven't fully gotten to the point where all my meals are fresh, local, organic and homemade- I'm making an effort, which again the more I do it, the more I enjoy it. It might take a little longer, but there's nothing compared to a well-prepared meal at home.

Why the new blog??

At this point I still have a lot to learn, but at least I'm confident enough to share my creations with others- usually even the first time I make a new recipe (thus far it hasn't backfired). I've also collected enough recipes that I've developed the problem that seems to be common amongst every woman I've talked to lately-- how to store all these recipes? A binder full of scraps of paper that messes up the kitchen? A recipe box that is never up to date? A computer file that's inaccessible when the food's in the kitchen and the computer's in the office (and you're trying to avoid printing a recipe each time you make it)...

I started trying to use links in Word with a table of contents. I soon realized that was ridiculous and why couldn't Word just be as simple as this blog where I can label things. And there was my AH-HA! moment (and, no, I don't think Oprah deserves any of my money for using that phrase). Blogger CAN handle my recipe collection... This way, its available anywhere I happen to be, I can share it with friends, I can label things according to food or category, and best of all, I can make it available to anyone else who wants something new to cook.

So here it is: Jen's Recipe Blog

What's on there?
I'm a vegetarian, so are there only vegetarian recipes? Nope. I do cook meat for Dan (occassionally), and have made some other recipes in the past that are just great. Figured I might as well share those.

I've also got some great old family recipes. My mom was thoughtful enough to scan some old recipe cards, preserving the handwriting of my grandmothers (only 2 thus far, but I am going to make a point to do that with all of the old recipe cards I have).

Recipes from friends. A few I've made myself. Others I haven't, but I have enjoyed them when prepared by others and can certify that they are delicious.

For the most part these are all recipes I've actually made and know for sure they are good (in my opinion). A few I haven't made... but that's rare.

If you have any recipes you love and want to send them to me, I'll be glad to post them and then you too won't have to search for these random recipes on scraps of paper and random computer folders. Glad to be of service if I can help.

So check it out. I'm still going through files and finding recipes I'd like to put in here. I'll keep adding to the catalogue of recipes. Let me know what you think!

Organic Housekeeping

Organic Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck

Another of my library finds, a book recommended to me by my friend Kim from work. I'm actually picking up another green cleaning book tomorrow so maybe I'll have some more tips to add after I read that, but I really did learn a lot.

For those of you not all that interested in the topic- please at least read this- you don't need all those ridiculous chemicals nor do you need a specific cleaner for every feature in your home (its REALLY expensive to do it that way, so even if you have NO interest in being green- think with your wallet). You can clean most things with white vinegar, which is a disinfectant. It was used as far back as the 1300's during the Black Plague when people washed their hands in it and helped stop the spread of disease. It works. I've been using only green cleaners for over a year and Dan and I have not been getting sick any more than usual... and I don't have a thousand bottles under my sink. It makes life easier. And so do these tips. Enjoy!

------------------------------------

Organizing Tips:

• label each organizational space with a number. Then label the shelves/sections with letters.
• When you place items in the spaces, make an index/rolodex with a list
• Label the shelves/spaces where each item goes so you know what goes back there.

General Cleaning

• Vinegar can be made from petroleum (instead of grain) so read the label (fortunately the giant 3 1/2 gallon jug I buy from BJs which is Heinz bran is made from grain. phew)
• Soot Stains- dry clean (something like a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser). Use something wet as a last resort. Try an art gum eraser or rubber dry sponge.
• Windows- if you use traditional cleaners you'll need to get the waxy build up off first- use 2 cups of water and a half a cup of white vinegar with 1/2 tsp of dish liquid. Thereafter, the vinegar/water will work just fine.
• Screens- uses a soft dushbrush attachment from your vacuum.
• Wood- make your own oil- 1 part lemon juice, 2 parts olive oil or 1 part vinegar and 3 parts olive oil (I use something closer to the second one, with some essential oils dropped in)
• Water rings on wood (in case you have a little Monica Gellar in your)- 1 tbsp white vinegar and 1 cup of olive oil- ue a clean cloth to apply. rub dry then oil the rest of the wood to blend.

Floor

• a dutch rubber brook (euroshine.net) can be used as a broom-then attach cloths to make it a mop.
  put rags/cloths in bin with water and vinegar, wring them out and have ready to mop
  

Bathroom

• castile soap does not produce soap scum
• clean existing soap scum with hot vinegar and a stiff brush
• mineralized deposits in toilet bowl -- use plunger to force out most of the water, add 1-1 1/2 gallons vinegar
  let sit overnight or while at work , scrub then flush. might take a few tries. (I did it once. No luck yet).
• fiberglass sinks/bathtub- clean with heated murphy's oil soap to get rid of soap scum (be careful because it can get slippery- don't use on the floor). this should prevent soap scum for about 3 weeks
• deposits on shower heads- soak in a quart of vinegar for at least 1 hour
• mildew- scrub with vinegar. if that doesn't get it- rub with hydrogen peroxide (but test out first- it can bleach out color)

Recommendations for routine bathroom cleaning

• sweep
• wipe hair out of sinks
• clean toilet inside and out with vinegar
• spray the sink and mirror- clean those. dry with the slightly used towel (on mirror first then sink)
• spray the floor and mop
• get in the shower, clean the shower with vinegar
• dry off- then use your towel to dry off the towel (then put it in the laundry)

Kitchen

• unbleached wax paper can be composted (better to use this than plastic)
• to disinfect raw produce or meat- spray with vinegar, then spray with 3% hydrogen peroxide until the bubbles stop. there is no need to rinse. the hydrogen peroxide leaves no taste or smell.
• do not use vinegar on marble. it dissolves it. peroxide may also damage marble.
• Stainless cookware should be 18/10 (% of chromium and nickel)
• avoid buying oil in plastic bottles
• to moisturize hands while cooking- use leftover oil or avocados

Dishes ----do NOT use sponges

• I feel like everyone should know this, and yet there are some (ah hem- Dan) who don't believe it. A study of sponges from 1000 kitchens in 5 cities found e. coli, salmonella, pseudonmonas and staph on at least 2/3 of sponges. ICK! A damp sponge can harbor bacteria for up to 2 weeks where as bacteria survives only a few hours on a dry surface.
• putting sponges in the dishwasher doesn't work either. the dishwasher doesn't get hot enough AND it spreads all those germies to everything else in the dishwasher. bad idea.
  you can put a sponge in the microwave for 30-90 seconds however it has to reach boiling temperature which is almost impossible to know for sure.
• best bet- use a dishcloth. wash the dishes. wash the counter. do a spot clean of the floor near the sink or stove. then toss it in to be washed. get a new one next time.
• Use the mesh 'bag' that onions come in to wash dishes- it will give you some extra scrubbing power. you can put the dishrag right inside it.
  

Dishwashers

• most dishwasher detergent contains enzymes which react with and break down organic matter (aka food). if the dishes are too clean beforehand there is nothing for those enzymes to stick to, so they fly around… effectively sandblasting the dishes. lesson- don't really need to rinse (with the exception of cheese which will just melt to the plates).
• dishwashers can dull sharp knives. better off washing those by hand
• this book recommends:
  use a rubber spatula to remove large chunks , remove all cheese, don't pre-rinse, use as little detergent as possible (to clean the dishwasher- put 2 cups of vinegar in a bowl on the bottome rack and run it. it will come out sparkling clean.)

Electronics

• Dell recycles computers -- even ones that aren't their own
• Computer- use water on a cloth- no alcohol or ammonia-based cleaners

Pests

• for ant problems- add a pinch of borax into mop water and do not rinse
  

Bedroom (kids/pets)

• Urine on mattress: dampen with water, then sprinkle with borax (or baking soda), rub it, let dry then vaccuum up.

Laundry

• Tip: an extra spin cycle will dry out clothes using less energy than extra time in the dryer.
• Borax- use an equal amount to your detergent
• Vinegar will help get smells out- put it in the fabric softener compartment of the washer
• Stains- if protein based(meats, milk, mud, vomit, blood): use detergent not soap with cold water and soak; if sweat: spray with vinegar after wearing, or soak with water and 1 cup of vinegar, you can also rub with ammonia. 3% hydrogen peroxide works too.
• Use distilled water in your iron. Otherwise the minerals from regular water can build up and clog the holes.

Car

• Bug guts on the window- baking soda and water mixture will take it off (and will not scratch your paint)
• Propylene glycol antifreeze is less toxic than traditional antifreeze

Lawns/Outdoors

• If you're planting a new lawn, use a mix of tough grasses like White Dutch Clover (trifolium repens) and low growing ground covers (chamomile, creeping thyme, english daisy, Irish and Scotch moss, creeping speedwell)
• Mowing- set blades as high as possible. Longer grass makes it harder for weed seeds to hit soil, and conserves moistures.
• Leave 1" of less clippings on the lawn
• Fill bare spots with grass/clover seed and cover with compost or grass clippings to prevent weeds
• Avoid PVC hoses, many contain lead-- which makes it very dangerous to drink out of. ALWAYS buy a "drink-safe" hose.
• Cooking oil can be put into standing water to keep away mosquitos
• DEET is especially harmful to kids with effects ranging from agitation, weakness, disorientation, seizures, coma and death.
• Plant based Bite Blocker is smade from soybean, geranium and coconut oils and its 97% effective over a 3 hour period (which DEET is only 86% effective for the same time period).

Photo Finish Friday- Two Weeks' Worth

Two decent weeks. 10 miles is my longest walk to date and while its tough (I can't deny that), its really not all that terrible! Plus, I passed the 200 mile mark in my training. That number seems huge! But I guess all those miles here and there really do add up!

Seeing Stars

we did see some fireworks, but moreso than that, I think Dana was seeing stars!

here are a few shots of our holiday weekend down the Cape.

Friday Dan and I both took the day off. I woke up early to do my 8 mile walk before we left for our mini-vacation. I came home and Joe and Claudia arrived. Dan cooked us all a yummy breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and eggs. Then we hopped in the cars and onto the bikes and headed south. It was already hot and sunny and finally feeling like summer.

We spent the day at Mr. Schlichti's house in Falmouth and got ready for the big 4th of July party on Saturday. Here are a couple shots from Saturday.

This is June Bug- aka Junie, Joe and Claudia's new dog. She's a cutie!

Joe and Junie being silly!

Saturday night we headed over to Pocasset where Mike and Shanti, Shawn and Ellen and the kids rented a place for the week.
The kids, Timmy, Sammy and Isabelle were very much enjoying chasing Dana around the yard, and I'm not quite sure how but it turned into beating the crap out of Dana with any plastic toy they could get their hands on.

And since Dana just plays right along, no one was going to tell them they weren't supposed to do it. They were all having a blast!

But you know what they say....

Its all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

But it at least it was the big kid, and not one of the little ones.

Dana was bleeding... nothing like a head wound from a wiffle bat ;)

{for those of you who don't know him-- he was NOT really in all that much pain- but it made for a great show!}

it was a great mini-vacation. dan and i headed home early on sunday to beat the traffic- then enjoyed a lazy day at home. a perfect end to a great weekend!