Ham Fried Rice

For Sunday dinner I made my husband’s and son’s favorite: roast and potatoes with gravy and green beans and muffins. While we dined, we watched the news. Mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena was nervously awaiting for a signal from the Mars Phoenix Lander probe. (They refer to it as “seven minutes of terror” because it takes that long to transmit anything.) It was so exciting. I couldn’t help but think of that summer in 1969, with families gathered around their black and white televisions, awaiting the news of Apollo 11 landing on the moon.

I have long held a love of space. In third grade I told my parents I wanted to be an astronomer someday. So much for that dream. So tonight as I was hopping up and down with anticipation, I said to my 5 year-old, “You should be an engineer for NASA someday! Wouldn’t that be neat?” He looked at me and replied, “Well, when I grow up, I am going to be a dad someday.” What a sweet boy. I still think he should also consider NASA.

Here’s to my venture into iTunes…finally. I know, I’m quite a bit behind on the downloads. For years I left it to my friends, family, husband, whomever, to download my music. I’d just tell them what I want. Or I’d head over to the local Bestbuy. But tonight, I scrambled to purchase David Archuleta’s version of Imagine before they closed the AI vault. And then I had to buy Coldplay’s new single, Viva la Vida. What an AWESOME song! iTunes promoted Coldplay’s single during the AI finale. And I couldn’t resist how cool it was. (I am a sucker when it comes to good marketing. I would buy a Mac based solely on their advertisements. “Hello, I’m a PC… and I’m a Mac.”) So here’s to the coolness of Apple. Viva la Vida!

Matt and I are avid (ok, die hard) Star Wars fans. (Original trilogy, of course.) But last year, our five year-old saw a clip of Darth Vadar and suffered a few nightmares. Since then, we’ve bided our time, waiting for him to mature a little. Over the past few weeks, we’ve slowly introduced the characters via fun toys and video games. He’s crazy about his Lego Star Wars video game, and I’m crazy about those Galactic Heroes chubbies. Last week, we showed my son and little two year-old a few non-scary clips from Star Wars: A New Hope. The next morning I went upstairs to tend to the baby. When I returned, they had sneaked the movie into the player and were sitting on the couch, deeply engrossed, watching the “robots” and “their friends.”

Imagine my delight when my son saw a brief Indiana Jones clip today and announced, “Hey Mom, that’s Han Solo!”

Yeeeehaw!

My five year old’s preschool class had a field trip today. They visited a local establishment which houses museum exhibits, estate gardens and a petting zoo. Parents and siblings were invited, so of course I tagged along, accompanied by the rest of my three-ring circus.

Note to self: No more hayrides with the baby. Too bouncy.

And now I have a collection of photographs of pigs, cows, horses, chickens, ducks, lamas, sheep and goats, all posing with my children, of course. However, the inset photo captured the day. Aside from the modern vehicles and lamp post, the piece is serene and the blue sky is beautiful. And yes, that sheep is real. It was quite idyllic. I will confess that I’d never see this in the city. It’s a nice way to capture the memory of a lovely day.

This photo speaks a thousand words to me. With the hanging wedding photo intact, I can’t help but think, this was once a home, with a family. There have been too many painful photographs, full of suffering and death. The ones which show children break my heart.

I’ve been feeling severely depressed as I continue to read about the situation in Myanmar and now the devastation in China from the 7.9-magnitude earthquake. We’ve been watching China especially closely. My father’s family is from Anhui province. Although they fled in 1949 to Taiwan when the Communists took over, it still hits close to home. It’s always difficult to see people suffering, regardless of country, culture, race.

Check out what I just received in my inbox:

Dear Karen,

I am contacting you with regard to a publicity campaign that is currently
being undertaken for the new Gillian McKeith book (Food Bible, The Complete
A-Z Guide to a Healthy Life).

We have identified your blog as being influential within the relevant area
of healthy living.

We would, therefore, like to send you a complimentary copy of the book for
your personal review with no obligation.

If you would like to receive a copy of the book, please do reply with your
address for postal delivery.

Thanks,
MediaCo (uk) Ltd

Here are my reactions:

Gullible me: How cool is that! I LOVE You Are What You Eat! Courtesy of one of my favorite channels, BBC America.

Cynical me: Some dork is playing a joke on me and I’m totally an idiot who’s falling for it.

Well, we’ll see if anything comes in the post. If so, I may have to change the name of my blog from hamfriedrice.com to mungbeanstew.com

of Lasik.

Last night my contact broke. Yes, “broke” in half. I wear gas permeable lenses which translates into small, rigid discs of silicone material which sit against my pupils, squishing them into the right shape so I can see. Or, for a more accurate definition, click on allaboutvision.com

This morning in the shower I pondered my “disability” of being visually impaired. I don’t get body odor, I never need to shave my legs or underarms, and I have straight teeth without having worn braces. But, unless it’s less than a foot in front of me, I am unable to see more than a blurry outline. Because of severe astigmatism, I wear gas permeable lenses rather than soft contacts. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be able to see without glasses. Well, I suppose everyone has trials and problems.

So now it’s the nerd alert. What an unfortunate stigma. But I’ve learned that since grade school. Only now, instead of coke-bottle lenses set in ugly glasses, I wear fashionable, green, kate spade specs. You might say they look artsy and chic. I say they’re still glasses which make me look like a nerd. C’est la vie.