7ToF: turn and face the strange

When I decided to do the "7 Things on Friday" posts, it didn't exactly occur to me that they would be coming around so fast. Friday seems to happen every damn week. I really do have four posts that are almost ready to go, three half written and one in my head, but we were out of town three days this week, and we're headed out of internet range for the weekend, so they'll have to wait for next week. In the meantime, here are seven things.

1. The college visits were a blast. MadMax may not be interested, but Dean and I are ready to sign up right now. Seriously.

2. The weather has been classic spring-in-Montana. One minute it is bright and sunny and breathtakingly gorgeous. The next minute it is snowing sideways. Then it's sunny again, then it rains, then the wind is howling, then there are heavy gray clouds hanging so low overhead you feel like you could jump up and touch them. All in one day. It's entertaining, anyway.

3. A FB friend of mine started a 100-mile April challenge. Since I walk, and my knees don't do very well if I walk every day, the chance of me actually reaching 100 miles is pretty dang slim. But I figure if I sign up for the challenge, I'll walk a whole lot more than I would without it, so I signed up. I'm aiming for 75, although 60 would still be a pretty good push.

4. Lent is just about over, so my experiment with giving up self-weight-bashing is, too. I discovered very shortly into it that I couldn't give up weight-bashing without also giving up beating myself up over what food I eat. Which led to a bit of a wild ride, since I have allowed myself to eat pretty much whatever I want for the past month, health and nutrition be damned. Once I decided that, the next three weeks were practically a food orgy of all the things I usually don't let myself eat (glazed old fashioned donuts, anyone? I swear I could founder on the things, and practically did). The odd thing is that I don't seem to have gained any weight--at least not based on the "do my clothes still fit he same?" test-- I haven't actually weighed myself yet since that was part of the Lent deal. I will probably have more to say about this next week when I'm officially done.

5. The first couple of months after PellMel went off to college, I missed her so badly it was like a bodily ache. Over the years since then (that was 2008), it's slowly become routine. She's an adult now, she lives in Seattle and she is doing great. Nothing makes a parent happier than knowing that their kid is happy. But every once in awhile, I get a wave of missing her that is so strong it practically takes my breath away, and it happens at the oddest times. Example: we spent quite a bit of time in days past doing Legos. There were a few fairly spectacular fairy princess castles built with Bellevue Legos--although I wasn't allowed to help much, she mostly built those on her own. I was at Target the other day and they have a new line of "Elves" Legos that are pretty damn cool. I was nearly keeled over by a wave of wishing that she was still eight and we could spread a set of Legos over the dining room table (driving Dean crazy) and bury ourselves in building for the weekend.

Screenshot from the Legos website

6. MadMax's easy recipe of the week: Imagine my shock when my 17-year-old announced he wanted to learn how to cook. Pork Tenderloin is becoming his specialty. Here is the rub he likes, which is loosely adapted from a Robin Miller's Robin Rescues Dinner: 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 teaspoons thyme, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Stir together, rub over the tenderloin. Roast for about 25 min at 400° or until a meat thermometer registers 160°. Yum.

7. As someone who was raised to be intensely Evangelical, Easter week always brings up a wide range of feelings, positive and negative. As those of you who have been around for awhile know, I've written many blog posts on the subject (see either the Lent tag or the Easter tag on my old blog). But this year, although the range of feelings is still there, I'm a little surprised to realize I have absolutely no desire to write about it. Maybe I've said as much as I have to say on the subject. Then again, maybe next year I will start right back up again. Either way, Happy Easter or Eostre, Happy Passover, or just Happy Spring to you and yours.