Favorite Board Books

Reading is a habit we want to instill in our son. So we've been reading every night to Wyatt. Here are six of my favorite kids books:

Going to Bed Book by Sandra Byonton - This is a fun book for going to bed. It sets the stage for going to sleep with all of the animals doing a pre-bed routine. We also have this in Spanish. It's goofy because we struggle with some of the pronunciation. Our little one forgives us.

Hand Hand Fingers Thumb by Al Perkins - I like this book because of the rhythmic way it's written. "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, One hand, One hand Drumming on a drum." It's an amusing read.

Time for Bed by Mem Fox - All of these animals are putting their young one's to bed. It's cute and has a nice rhyme scheme.

Chica Chica Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. - If "Hand Hand" was rhytmicly good, Chica Chica is great. It's so enjoyable to read and act it out. Our LO usually laughs at this even at his young age. Probably more because I'm being goofy.

Cozy Classics: Pride and Prejudice by Jack Wang - Jack Wang and his wife have a number of books they have created with felt characters. They are really well done visually. The text is almost too simple with single words instead of sentences. It's great for classics fans, and I'm sure the board book tastes just as good to our little guy.

Trucks by Byron Barton - It covers all the things trucks do for an infant. We also have Boats!


Any favorites of yours I should add to keep up the variety?

The Stranger Analogy for new foods

My Spanish sister, Eva, shared a story she used with her kids when trying to teach them to try new foods. Here it is, with a slight change or two.

Imagine you are in your house waiting for your grandparents to arrive. You hear the doorbell and get up to answer it.

When you get to the door, instead of grandma and grandpa, you see a strange old man with an old fashioned hat and a mustache. He's familiar to your parents, but you don't know him.

He says, "I'm here", walks in, sits on your couch, and asks for a glass of water.

Out of hospitality, you get him a drink of water, but you think "I really wish grandpa were here instead of this strange man". At least I know grandma and grandpa.

One week later, the exact same thing happens. The old man comes in place of grandpa. He asks for a glass of water. This time you are still annoyed, but you expect his request, get him a glass of water.

In spite of yourself, you notice something you like. His hat is kind of neat. You still don't care for the man, but you like his hat.

Another week goes by. The stranger shows up again, with his neat hat. You get the glass of water and admire the hat. You even notice that his hat matches the color of his mustache. His style is starting to grow on you.

By the fourth week, you invite the man in, get him a glass of water, admire his hat and mustache. You decide to strike up a conversation. Ultimately, you discover that you really like this old man. You still love your grandparents, but you discover you have a new friend in this old guy.

Eva told her kids this story as they would try new foods. As they ate, she would say "Do you like it or not?" and "What specifically do you like or dislike? The texture, flavor? Does it remind you of something?"

Her kids are not yet teenagers, yet they eat like adults. They don't care for "kids" food and want to eat what their parents do.

My son is only 6 months, so we aren't quite there.

Top Ten Favorite Baby Items

I've been thinking of what are the items we use the most since having Wyatt. Here's my list:

1. The Diaper Genie. We actually fill it with office style trash bags instead of their bagging system, but having an air tight container for the diapers is priceless. A big plus: the hands-free lid has saved us from near-disasters and works better than most regular trash bins.

2. Boon Grass and Stem drying rack. We wash a ton of bottles, every day, all the time. This drying rack is a life saver. It's a space-saver that's also nice to look at.

3. Boppy. Despite being designed as a pillow for mom (how most of our friends use it), we haven't really used it that way. We've used it almost exclusively for propping our little one up while he sits on the floor. He hangs out on this every morning and every afternoon.

4. The Graco Car Seat. I like this system and found it fairly easy to set up. It clicks in and out easily and if you don't have a base, it's easy to strap in. What I really love is the next thing, which is tied to it:

5. The Graco stroller to to with the car seat. It folds up easily and clicks right in. This makes it easy to get W into his stoller if we need to get going. We didn't initially get this and have found it worth the investment. Tip: When dining out, this makes a much cleaner option than the gross upside-down high chair.

6. Infant Optics Portable Video Baby Monitor. Of course, we use this daily. Strangely, we really enjoy watching our LO sleep. He's pretty cute.

7. The Infantino Twist and Fold Activity Gym. He loves to play on this. The mirror is not even worth putting up, but he grabs for the rings and likes to bat at the monkey and giraffe. You can limit the number of items on the mobile and ad more as your baby grows, which is a nice option for those of us working on Montessori.

8. The Pack and Play with the Bassinet. The first few weeks, it was great to have this in our room. He naps in the base of this occasionally. This has been a really helpful addition to our house. 

9. We use the Medela bottles. Having extra nipples and collars is invaluable because we get to spend more time with our LO and batch wash a bunch all at once.

10. The baby teether ball. As W starts teething, he has been enjoying this more and more. It's easy for him to hold and keep his hands as he grows.

Spring Training

One great thing about getting interested in anything as an adult is that feeling of discovery. A double benefit of getting interested in baseball at my age is that feeling of being a kid a again.

I had that feeling just this past week when I found out that purely by accident I'm going to a spring training game in Arizona. San Francisco vs Colorado Rockies! It turns out that my wife has a conference in Scottsdale starting the day after the game.

I had this cool mixture of emotions: excitement, anticipation, elation. I'm going to my first Giants game and better yet, I'll be meeting a few friends there.

I'll report more from Salt Lick field.

 

Eight Men Out

Last year, I chronicled my favorite baseball movies.

I overlooked one movie when I made my top ten baseball movies list: Eight Men Out.

The story chronicles the notorious 1919 Chicago White Sox who accepted bribes to throw the World Series. The movie stars John Cusack as Buck Weaver, the player who went to the initial meeting with the gamblers, but never took any money and played to win.

The movie is well made. The plot is interesting and it dramatizes real events of the series. The acting is well done.

Does it make my top 10 baseball movie list?

No.

I decided on several criteria for a movie. One of them was: sense of life. For a baseball movie to make my top ten list, it had to have a positive sense of life.

This movie was about one of the dark scandals in the history of baseball. Calling this a top baseball movie would undermine what I enjoy about the sport. Just as the Black Sox scandal taints the White Sox organization for me; the topic of the movie taints the movie itself for me.

Is it a good movie? Yes. Is it a favorite baseball movie? No.

Choosing A Baseball Team

I decided that if I'm going to follow baseball, I need a favorite baseball team.

It's at this point that most people would say: gee you live in Colorado, so you should root for the Rockies.

The problem is that I didn't grow up with them, and I just got interested in baseball this summer. It's hard to jump on with the home town boys when they are so new, don't seem to really care about winning, and whose mascot resembles an annoying TV dinosaur. (Sorry Dinger, but you know it's true.)

I will say the most convinced argument for picking the home team was made by a friend of mine. Here it goes:

Since my wife and I are expecting our first child, it's important not to put him in the position of being the kid who likes some odd, out of town team. Further, as you'll get the chance to go to more games if you pick a the home team, it'll be a great bonding experience. And someday, even if it's 50 years from now, the Rockies may return to the World Series, and we will get to enjoy that glory moment as long suffering fans.

I wasn't convinced.

After a lot of thought and consideration, I came up with the following criteria for selecting my team, based on my own preferences.

1. History. The team had to be a long standing team with some history. The Rockies were too new of a team. I enjoy reading history generally so that was an important point for my team.

2. Geography. I know I rejected geographic destiny as the method of selecting a team, but it also doesn't make sense to choose a team that is in a place I'd hate to visit or too hard to get to. (Sorry Tokyo Carp)

3. Their fans. Lets face it, the fans of some teams can be downright obnoxious. I wanted a team whose fans I could see myself hanging out with. 

Ultimately, I decided on three teams and a wild card as finalists. 

1. San Francisco Giants. An old team that made the big migration west. 

2. Chicago Cubs, another old team with history. 

3. Seattle Mariners, which isn't that old of a team, but certainly is older than the Rockies. Plus they have the advantage of being in Seattle, a great city to visit. Plus my sister lives there. 

4. The wild card is the St. Louis Cardinals. I'm not a big fan of the city, but what a great team with great history.

After much consideration, I've decided that the only way to decide is to go to a home game in each of their stadiums. I realize this may be a bit expensive, travel wise, and may take a few years to accomplish. I don't see baseball going away any time soon.

Top 10 Baseball Movies

This summer we went on a baseball movie bender. We watched 20+ baseball movies plus Ken Burns's Baseball documentary. Based on the group we watched, here are my Top 10.

1. For the Love of the Game. Starring Kevin Costner as an aging pitcher, the movie portrays his baseball career and his relationship with costar Kelly Preston. I loved this movie because it had a great plot and used baseball as part of the drama.

2. Bull Durham. Honestly, I don't really love Kevin Costner that much. This is a great baseball movie though. It stars Costner as an aging catcher brought in to coach a young pitcher, Tim Robbins. The love triangle with Susan Sarandon is subtle and interesting. The movie is filled with humor and I love the scene where the whole team is at the mound.

3. 42. This is a great drama showing the end of segregated baseball. The courage shown by Robinson and Dodger's owner Branch Rickey is well portrayed.  One of the things I love about baseball is that it is meritocratic. The color of your skin doesn't matter; your nationality doesn't matter; how you play the game does. 42 shows part of the process of making MLB that way.

4. The Rookie. The main character is a former major league player turned high school baseball coach. His kids bet him that if they make the playoffs, he will try out for the big leagues again. This was an emotional story and it turns out to be true.

5. 61*. Mickey Mantel and Roger Maris strive to break Ruth's record. Billy Crystal directs this fun movie, bringing these characters to life.

6. Moneyball. Based on the story of Billy Beane's Oakland A's, and the book written by Michael Lewis. It shows the influence of data analysis and alternative thinking by the A's. The movie wasn't as well dramatized as others on the list, but it's still a fun watch.

7. The Natural. I don't think any list of baseball movies could be complete without this movie. The production is excellent. Robert Redford is amazing. The only issue I have is the pace. I found the movie dragged and was a little confused by some of the plot points. Maybe I need to read the book and then watch the movie again.

8. Pride of the Yankees. A bio-pic of a great guy: Lou Gehrig. Strangely this movie lacked a little in baseball drama. It was more about Gehrig's life and struggles.

9. Major League. This is a silly comedy. You can't get around it. But it has two main virtues: it dramatizes the struggle of an underdog team, and it uses the game to dramatize plot points better than most other movies.

10. Trouble with the Curve. This is almost the anti-Moneyball movie. It discounts "big data" for an "ear for the game". That said, it's a fun story with interesting characters. Plus: Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams!

You'll notice that I left off Field of Dreams from my top 10. I disliked this movie. I've watched it three times over the years and have never liked it. I'll share my reasons in another post.

Early Baseball Memories

As I started following baseball this summer, I started thinking about my childhood experiences with the game. I never had that early memory of my first game, like perhaps the kids in the accompanying photo are having. I don't miss it. I have other memories. I do think it explains a little about why I never got into baseball.

Here’s what I remember:

1.  I went to one baseball practice when I was 10. I remember that, unlike soccer, I spent most of the time standing around, bored. My dad decided it was a waste of time, and I never went back.
2. We played soft pitch in gym class one day. I was the catcher. The kid at bat hit the ball, threw the bat at me as he was leaving the plate. I ended up at the nurse icing my hand.
3. We always talked about going down to see the Zephyrs play in Colorado Springs. It always seemed too far.
4. I remember the excitement there was for getting a MLB team in Colorado. My dad was upset that they didn’t name them the Denver Bears after an older team on Colorado. I agreed that the “Rockies” was kind of a dumb name.
5. I went to a game with my dad and brother, shortly after he got back from traveling in India. I think he had some massive culture shock as we sat in the stands at Mile High Stadium while some jerk yelled obscenities at our first baseman.
6. My grandfather watched a ton of baseball at his kitchen table after he retired. He always had to turn the volume down when I came over so we could talk. 
7. I attended a handful of games with friends in my 20’s. Cubs vs Rockies with Jennifer. Reds vs Rockies with Cliff. Mariners vs Rockies with Mark. I only remember little bits of the conversations with my friends, but nothing about the games themselves.

After playing softball this summer and watching several games, I am starting to make some more baseball memories.

Baseball and Individualism

Baseball is an individualistic sport. I never understood this, and people said it all the time. Then again, I played soccer, basketball, hockey and wrestled, but never played baseball growing up.

When I think of an individual sport, I think of wrestling. It was obvious to me the first time I went to the mat: there is no one there to help me. This guy could beat me or I could beat him, but there is no one to blame but me. This is individualism. Only your performance matters; there is no collective blame.

I remember one tournament I was in: I was trying to get my coach to come to the mat where I was scheduled for a match. I wanted someone on my side so I didn’t feel so alone -- someone to yell helpful suggestions. I was called to the center of the circle. The coach wasn’t there. I was mad at the coach for not being there. I took it out on my opponent, and pinned him in the first period.

After the match, the coach came ambling up to say he was there. “Where are you going to wrestle?” he asked. I told him that I already pinned the guy. The coach's response: “Well, you didn’t need me after all.”

Since then, I’ve always loved the individual sports. My dad and I enjoy watching boxing matches. I occasionally catch a judo or collegiate wrestling match. I love the one-on-one, mano-a-mano style of sport.

So I found it hard to reconcile baseball as an individualistic sport. At least until my first at bat.

There I was, holding a bat for the first time in two decades. We already have two outs and are down by several runs. In our league, to speed-up play, batters start with a ball and a strike. Shortly, I was at three balls and two strikes. My heart was pounding. I had that exact same feeling that I had at the center of a wrestling circle. There was no one else. Only a few things could happen, I could get walked, I could strike out swinging or not, or I could hit it. But only two people had any control of that. Me and the pitcher. This was thrilling. This was me versus him. And even then, it was really me versus the 10 guys on the field. If they caught my hit, I was out. If they got the ball to first base before I was there, I was out. That’s pressure, and it’s thrilling.

This is how baseball is individualistic. The play revolves around a single individual trying to swing a big stick at a fast moving ball.

There are other aspects of the game.

In the field, there is teamwork. Anyone who watches a great double play has seen some excellent teamwork.

Yet there’s a lot of individual effort. You have to be responsible for balls hit to you. A great outfielder can make an amazing play that saves the game. If you don’t make the play you should, you get an individual error.

On offense, there are times when your goal isn’t to get on base, but to advance a runner on second home. Doing so to get runs on the board.

If you google this subject, there is a lot of great writing about this idea. My favorite is this one, written by a Brit who specializes in American history. He has a few excellent thoughts about the individualism of the sport.

America is a country based on individualism. I think it is fitting that her national pastime is individualistic as well. As Pete Rose said "Baseball is a team game, but nine men who reach their individual goals make a nice team."

Why the sudden baseball obsession?

The short answer: I started playing softball with my neighborhood team.

The long answer: I had a moment during the first game of our softball season.  I was out in left field trying to pay attention to what was happening at the plate. I was terrified that the ball would get hit in my direction, but mostly I was confused by what was going on. I knew the basic rules of the game; there were nuances I'd missed somehow. It was a moment that I realized that I should know what's happening, and I was totally lost.

After that game, I decided that I needed to learn more if I was going to really enjoy my experiment with softball this summer. I decided to do these three things:

1. Watching a lot of baseball movies. Dramatizing sports helps make the game more meaningful.

2. Actually watching a baseball game on TV. (Yes, that's right, I've never watched a baseball game.) Commentators help to explain the game.

3. Have the captain of our softball team watch the game before ours and explain what I should be doing at whatever position I was playing. Generally, try to learn about the game from my teammates and pay close attention to our games.

The more I watched and paid attention, the more I realized that baseball was a great sport. I realized I actually liked baseball. Forty years of my life and I finally discovered baseball!

I'm going to reopen this blog to do some writing about my thoughts on baseball, baseball movies, softball, and generally what it's like to discover baseball at 40.

Pho' recipe

6lb rib bones
1lb beef gravy
2 sliced onions
1 thumb sized piece of ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1 t whole black peppercorn
salt
1 lb rice noodles
1 lb bean sprouts
6 spring onions
4 firm ripe tomatoes
2 white onions
1 lb rump steak
fish sauce
lemon wedges
fresh chillies
cilantro

Color Me Excited

New Star Trek... Directed by JJ Abrams

Raisin Wine-Could be interesting

Here is a nice recipe that can be made with some grocery store ingredients. This recipe will make a 1 gallon batch.


* 2 lb raisins
* 1 gal warm water
* 2 lbs sugar
* 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
* 4 tsps acid blend
* 1 campden tablet
* wine yeast


starting specific gravity should be 1.090-1.095,acid .60%

Chop raisins.

Mix all ingredients except yeast in primary fermentor.

When cool(70-75 deg F) add yeast.

Cover and stir daily for 5 to 6 days.

Remove raisins and press.

Pour into secondary fermentor ,rack in 3 weeks. Make sure container is topped up.

Rack again in 3 months.

Age 6 months

Crock Pot Chicken Vindaloo

1 medium onion, cut into 1/2 inch wedges through the root end
3/4 lb potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1-3 teaspoon Thai red curry paste, can use green
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen broccoli carrots cauliflower mix
1/2 cup reduced-fat coconut milk

Not the one? See other Crock Pot Chicken Vindaloo (Ww 5 Pts. Per Serving) Recipes

* Indian One-Dish Meal
* Chicken Breasts One-Dish Meal
* Crock Pot One-Dish Meal
* Potluck One-Dish Meal

1. In single layers, place onion, potatoes and chicken in a 5-6 quart slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle with salt.
3. Combine the broth, curry paste, and curry powder in a medium bowl; pour over the chicken and vegetables.
4. Cover and cook until the chicken and potatoes are fork tender, 4-5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.
5. About 35 minutes before cooking is done, stir the broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and coconut milk into the slow cooker.
6. Cover and cook on high until vegetables are crisp tender, about 30 minutes.

WENG WENG RAP

I now introduce you to the great Weng Weng!

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

3 T Oil
2/4 C Water
1.5 t Sugar
3/4 t Salt
2 C Bread Flour
2 t active dry yeast
Spices/Herbs to taste

Quote:

Worrying is like paying a debt you may never have owed

- Charlie Papazian

Relax. Dont Worry. Have a Homebrew.

-Charlie Papazian


DONT PANIC!
- Douglas Adams

Greek Yogurt

Yogurt Cheese

Ingredients:

1 quart fresh plain yogurt (I use fat free)

Cheese salt (optional)

Herbs (optional)

½ packet of Splenda (this is a modification I’ve added to curb the bitterness)


Directions:

Let the yogurt come to room temperature (this actually makes a difference, when I’ve done it with cold yogurt, it doesn’t seem to taste as good).
Pour the yogurt into a colander lined with butter muslin. Tie the corners of the muslin into knot and let the bag drain for 12-24 hours, or until the yogurt has stopped dripping and reached the desired consistency.
Remove the cheese from the bag. Add the salt and/or herbs to taste, if desired. I also add a little sugar/Splenda at this point.
Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.


Yield:

About 8 ounces

Girls Making Beer

NICE!

Paella Recipe

Since it varies a lot with my mood, I’m going to give you the flexible recipe:

2 C of Arborio rice (short grain)
3 C of water +/-
3 C of stock
Saffron to taste (you don’t need much)
Veggies (and or beans)
Meats
Olive oil

Process:
Cook the meats you have selected and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a pan, then add the raw rice. Stir the rice constantly until it becomes opaque.
Add the stock and vegetables, and cook uncovered adding water as necessary.
Before adding the last cup of water add the meat back in.
It is finished when 1) the rice is no longer crunchy, and 2) a little bit of the rice is getting browned to the bottom of the pan.

Variations:
Rice: in Telluride, I used the prepackaged “Saffron Rice” that they sell in the grocery store. The disadvantage is that the long grain rice was hard to cook all the way through.

Stock: I usually use chicken stock if I am cooking meat and seafood stock if I’m cooking seafood. I also like to add “tomato stock” which you can find in the Mexican food isle.

Meats: This is where the variety really begins. I’ve added meat balls, chicken bits, shrimp, muscles, calamari, lamb, chicken wings, etc.

The traditional Spanish meat balls have pine nuts in them. I like to make Italian meatballs w/Italian seasonings and garlic or Greek with mint and oregano.

If you add seafood, it will taste terrible the next day, so you shouldn’t make too much.

Veggies: I add peppers, artichoke hearts, onions, lima beans, butter beans and green beans.