Thank You, Encyclopedia Brown

I have been pondering The Case Of The Vanishing Breakfast for sometime. Each day, as I prepare my morning meal, I serve myself generous portions - surely more than I will need. After the tasty repast has been consumed, however, I find that my tummy is not full, and I can usually only remember taking a couple of bites.  What happened to all that food if it did not reach its planned destination?  I began to suspect that mine was not the only tummy being filled, but I had no real proof.  A mystery, indeed.

I decided to look to a few experts for a solution.  What would Sherlock Holmes, Guy Noir, Nancy Drew, Jupiter Jones, Trixie Belden and Encyclopedia Brown do in a case like this? Follow the clues, of course.   

Like any good private eye, I set my trap and staked out the scene.  Voila!  I procured photographic evidence of a little-known creature rumored to be completely imaginary:  The Breakfast Elf.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you irrefutable proof that she exists:

Don't be surprised if you hear about this ground-breaking discovery on NPR.  If I don't return your calls in the next few days, it's probably because I am busy with interviews.  Or because my phone reception at my house is non-existent.  One of those.

Butterfly Elbows

These little dimpled elbows were much yummier than the bread we made that day.

A Love Sonnet

My husband just e-mailed me asking for the text of a love sonnet he wrote me for our third anniversary.  He just found out about a love sonnet contest at Prairie Home Companion today, the day of the deadline.  Since I typed it all out for him, I thought I'd share it with you as well.

In keeping with our own anniversary traditions, he wrote this poem on leather, the customary third anniversary gift.  He also got me some incredible Fluevog knee-high, lace-up leather boots to celebrate our becoming debt free that same month.

Though rare, some things I've found improve with time
And though these can range from the finest wines
To a truly great pair of leather boots
To a Shakespearian sonnet, the truth
Found at their core, distilled by time's warring
Factions: a golden heart of Quality
Whose luster is only evidenced the
More through every passing year's abrading.
And as a poem can newly strike the heart
Each year it's read, or music find anew
Some hidden treasure, all our sacred art
Seeks that eternal, upward sloping view.
And now, my clearer eyes begin to see
The beauty our togetherness will be.

Isn't he awesome?

The Green Allergy Cure

Have I mentioned that after a lifetime of suffering, my husband is no longer allergic to Spring?  And maybe even dogs?  Here is the marvelous story:

For about a month and a half, we have been drinking daily Green Smoothies consisting of frozen fruit (usually mangos & pineapples), bananas, spinach and water - all blended up into a delicious and delightfully green smoothie.  Rob also adds locally-produced honey to his.

(Before you say "Eww, gross.  I could never drink spinach," you MUST make one for yourself and taste it.  It is very, very yummy; you can barely taste the spinach.  In fact, you should take the Green Smoothie Challenge, as we did.)

We started out enjoying about 16 ounces each daily, but Rob started having more and more. He would make a blender full every morning, drink half for breakfast, and take the rest to work to drink with a bowl of soup for lunch.  

Rob also began to add more and more spinach (or kale) to his smoothies, using the locally-produced honey to offset the extra green flavor.  He typically uses around 16 ounces of fruit, about 3/4 of a bag of spinach and two tablespoons of honey daily.

Well, as you know, spring has finally arrived and with it, we expected the usual month of Rob Not Being Able To Breath because of his allergies.  This would entail constant sneezing, loud sleeping, and just altogether miserableness for him.  We would buy lots of very expensive Claritin, which may or may not help but must be tried.  And allergies lead to asthma, which leads to chronic inhaler use, which leads to even more general misery.  And Spring is not the only thing he is allergic to, if you'll recall this post and this post.

BUT NOT THIS YEAR!!!  This year, Rob has been allergy-free!  He has had nary a sneeze and has been so quiet as he sleeps that I sometimes wonder if he's ok.  But I look over and he is still breathing - silently!   We have even visited his parents twice, and he has had no reaction whatsoever to their dog.  Normally, he would need the inhaler.

I cannot explain what an amazingly, fabulously, wonderful change this has been in our lives.  While I did not suffer the allergies directly, I always felt the effects of a chronically miserable husband (not to mention feeling so bad for him.)  Rob had tried the daily use of local honey in the past to no avail.   We think it is the combination of the greens and the honey that has helped him this time.

And the money we spend on frozen fruit, bananas & spinach is NOT being spent on Claritin, inhalers and tissues!  By the way, the cheapest frozen fruit around here can be found at Whole Foods, surprisingly enough.  It is drastically cheaper, also, so check it out.  (I haven't tried Sam's, but even Walmart and Costco were much more expensive than Whole Foods.)

Butterfly LOVES the smoothies also.  Her favorite way to drink it is to put on her lamb ears, climb up on the table and drink it in a crouch while baaing.  She apparently thinks it is the way a little sheep would drink it. 

So...will you try a Green Smoothie?  

Here is the recipe we started out with:

8 oz frozen fruit (we use 3 parts mango, one part pineapple)

1 banana

1 cup of water

2 handfuls of spinach

Blend the fruit and water until it is all smooth.  Add the spinach and liquify it.  Pour into a glass and drink with a straw.  Yum!

Try it.  It could change your life!

(This post is part of Watercooler Wednesday at the blog Ethos.)

With Bells On

Our dear friend Eric is getting married next month after patiently waiting years and years for the right woman.  To say we are thrilled for them would be an gigantic understatement.

Dreamy Laughter

This morning Rob and I were awakened around 6-ish by the giggly laughter of the Butterfly.  It was a lovely sound to hear first thing in the morning. 

It became even lovelier when we realized she was still asleep and was laughing in her dreams.  So we smiled sleepy smiles at each other and dove back into our own dreams.

Then this afternoon, she fell asleep in the car.  While stopped at a stop sign, I looked back and saw her looking around, awake (or so I thought).  She smiled, mumbled something, closed her eyes and went right back to sleep.