Trying to Open a Broken Lock As Told By A Seven-Year-Old

This is a list written while John and I attempted to get the storage shed open upon finding that the key was no longer able to open it. I think it speaks for itself but I especially like numbers 7-8 "think, feel", 15 "look up/ close eyes and whish" and 24, "hi five". This pretty much accurately describes everything we did.

Rain, Sunset, Singing and...Luau??

Last night my niece had a performance with this little singing group that she belongs to. It was held at the house of the woman who organizes the group. I have never been there before but was told it was way out on the west side (we live in the Northeast heights). Well, after about a 50 minute drive to the far, far west side through the pouring rain, we were distraught and more than a little annoyed when we walked into a packed house: think 100 people in one living room type of packed. The performance was "luau" themed and was supposed to be outside in the backyard. Since it was raining it wasn't really an option, and it was proposed that the performance should be rescheduled to Friday evening. After such a long drive through the rain, this was frustrating to say the least. After the crowd got a little shaken at this suggestion, we decided to wait out the storm. We all set out blankets on whatever bit of carpet we could find; upstairs, downstairs, by couches, in doorways. There was something slightly ironic about drinking through an umbrella straw on a blanket, in a strange living room, in the middle of nowhere, in a giant rainstorm. Yet after the food was gone, the rain thankfully was too. It turned out to be amazing outside with no sun blazing onto us. The performance was cute, even though our niece was only in two of the songs. Since we were on the very edge of the city, beyond the backyard was just desert, nothing else. This combined with the heavy clouds made for the most beautiful sunset!



Albuquerque really does have the most gorgeous sunsets.

Ninja Warrior

John and I have been doing something very interesting lately. We have been helping a friend from my step-dad's Hapkido class make an audition video for Ninja Warrior! Hopefully once it's done I can show a little sneak-peek of it. If he gets selected, you better believe we will be front row in Japan watching him compete!

Photo credit to g4tv.com

Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage

After reading many of my American English teaching comrade's accounts of eating Hungarian stuffed cabbage, I decided I should bite the bullet and make some for Sunday dinner. I really should get used to cabbage, even though those crunchy leaves are slightly intimidating to me. I wanted to see if we would like it, and to my absolute delight, it was delicious! I found the recipe online, along with many many variations. Some had sauerkraut, sour cream, or paprika, yet I chose one that I dubbed to be for more "sensitive" pallets since my whole family would be eating it. I have no idea how traditional this recipe is, but it was amazing! Here is the recipe I used, taken from Cooks.com:

HUNGARIAN STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS

8-10 cabbage leaves (lg.)
1/3 c. rice, cook until tender & drain
1 lb. hamburger
Salt & pepper
Pinch of thyme
1 lg. onion, minced
1 egg, beaten
1 c. water (saved from the pot boiled cabbage leaves)
1 c. tomato juice
1 tbsp. meat paste (or bouillon cube)
cornstarch to thicken sauce

Parboil cabbage leaves 5 minutes (just long enough to wilt, save 1 cup water for later). In bowl mix hamburger, salt, pepper, and thyme. Add rice, onion and egg; mix well. Shape into 8 to 10 small rolls and wrap each into a cabbage leaf. Tie securely with string or toothpick. Put in a good sized saucepan. In another saucepan, put tomato juice, water from cabbage leaves, meat paste or bouillon cube, parsley and a little salt. Heat and pour over cabbage rolls. Cover and simmer 1 hour. If desired, thicken slightly with a little cornstarch.



I loved being pleasantly surprised.

Taekwondo for Autism

For a few weeks now John and I have been participating in an autism-related project. I have been around people with autism and disabilities my whole life, since my Mom is the head of the Southwest Autism Network. They recently put together a "peer-group" activity for adults with autism in which they are able to work side-by-side with people who don't have autism (me and John). This particular project is a Taekwondo class. We all meet at a dance studio every Saturday afternoon and participate in an hour long class, led by Logan, a black belt in Taekwondo. We take turns holding bags so the other can punch, kick and do combinations. It is a great way for the people with autism to get into a routine, follow direction, get a workout, and have fun with peers! It has been so fun, and feels really rewarding at the end of the day.

Here is what the studio looks like:



There are curtains that can be pulled to cover the mirrors in case it proves too distracting, and a "break area" over to the left when things get a little overwhelming. You can also see a board against the wall that has Velcro for pictures showing which step is next, (Bow in, warm up, stretch, punch etc) something that is really helpful for the people with autism.

I couldn't think of a better way to spend our Saturdays, and it feels really amazing to be helping out the autism community!

Sleep?

I had another fit of Budapest-induced insomnia last night.

Our apartment building:



Credit to Jack and Cathie Holmes