maxine July 29th, 2008
If you’re like me and have been eagerly awaiting the midnight release of Breaking Dawn, here’s a little something to hold you over: The Normal Mormon Husbands blog. It has the Normal Mormon Husband’s version of what he thinks BD will/should be like (start with Part I). If only Stephenie Meyer could have consulted this guy first…
maxine July 29th, 2008
Isaac has been learning how to move around these past few weeks. Mostly, he just rolls around until he happens across something interesting by accident. Sometimes he crawls backwards, which is pretty frustrating considering it’s the opposite direction he wants to be going. Occasionally, he’ll army crawl a short distance to get an object he wants. Lately, though, Isaac has been learning to actually crawl. Let me tell you - it has been quite the ordeal for all of us! Here’s proof (you may want to turn your volume down a bit):
maxine July 24th, 2008
The amazing head shake and spitting-on-cue routine:
The incredible “ma-ma-ma” babble that looks more like an impression of a fish:
So there you have it. We can’t believe how much he has suddenly learned in the past week or so. What a fun kid!
I posted new pictures of him in our Photo section (click on the July album). Here’s one of his new goofy grin:
maxine July 18th, 2008
The Menkes got a new grill a couple weeks ago, so we decided to really put it to the test today with the ultimate grilling party.
Grill Master Collin:
The food: 1. Rosemary Marinated Flank Steak, sliced paper thin (in our Recipes section). People, this meat is so dang good! We all found ourselves unable to stop eating. Try out the recipe and you’ll see what I mean. 2. Grilled corn on the cob with chile lime cream (cream not pictured). 3. Grilled zucchini.
And to finish, homemade fresh blueberry pie (not grilled):
I gave Collin this lovely pie dish for his birthday:
So we decided to try it out by making our first ever pie (seriously, neither of us has ever made pie before, despite our mutual desire to do so).
Making the double crust with lard (you may balk at it, but lard really does make the flakiest pie crust ever - just ask Grandma!):
Mixing it up, filling style:
To top it off, fancy crust designs with egg wash and sugar:
And the finished product - delicious blueberry pie with lemon whipped cream, like none I’ve ever tasted (partially because I’ve never tasted any before):
For those interested, I’ll be posting my recipe in the Recipe section. Happy 18th of July, y’all!
Oh, and here’s a gratuitous picture of Isaac, just because:
maxine July 16th, 2008
You should probably watch this if you like humor: Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. It’ll make you laugh. A lot.
Bonus: Doogie Howser, M.D. is in it!
maxine July 16th, 2008
We’ve had to mail a bunch of things lately - birthday presents, bill payments, packages to strangers - pretty standard fare. I told Collin I’d just take care of it on one of his days off. Days off went by, and still no trip to the post office. I couldn’t really say why, since I was spending my free time looking at blogs and watching old movies that I’ve seen a million times (in my defense, I watched them while doing laundry that didn’t really need to be done). When Collin suggested that we just go together as a family, it finally dawned on me why my palms were sweating at the mere suggestion: I’m afraid of the post office!
It’s not really the long lines filled with people of dubious medical history that bothers me. I don’t mind paying large sums of money to have a CD mailed two states away. I don’t even mind the postal workers’ sometimes gruff-if-not-awkward mannerisms. It’s mailing packages that bothers me. I can’t handle buying fun special edition stamps and mailing off letters, but the thought of mailing a package downright frightens me! What if I can’t find the right size box? What if there isn’t enough cushioning in the padded envelope? What if I fill out the wrong label? It’s all so distressing.
“But they have automated machines now,” you may say. Even scarier. What if I push the wrong button and pay twice the amount of shipping? Or what if there’s a long line of people waiting to use the machine, just watching my every amateur move, impatiently waiting for me to mess up? Automated machine, you say? No thank you, I say!
Well, it’s official: Maxine is a nutcase. You can’t really say you were too surprised, can you?
maxine July 12th, 2008
Yes, my old phone has gone on the fritz, namely in the reception department. The vast majority of my conversations sounded too much like the title of this post. Very frustrating. So, enter new phone: The LG C515 in Plum!
This phone is made of shiny purple awesome! I love that it’s a flip phone (so I don’t have to keep pocket dialing people I haven’t spoken to in years). I love that it was almost free. I love that it’s PURPLE! and shiny! Mostly, though, I just love that I can once again actually use my phone for its intended purpose. Hooray new phone!
maxine July 9th, 2008
I recognize that my birthday tribute to Collin in the last post was a little lame, but I didn’t think you could all sit through such a long post. So, here is Part 2 (oh yes, there’s a Part 3!) of my very long post.
30 reasons why I’m grateful that Collin was born 30 years ago:
1. He’s my best friend. Ever.
2. He is not ashamed to be silly at all times.
3. He’s nice. I mean, some people will raise a stink whenever they can, especially to get something for free. Collin’s not like that, and that’s a good thing.
4. He’s a geek through and through (like me!). Doctor Who, anyone?
5. He opens doors for me.
6. He opens doors for other people.
7. He wakes up early to take Isaac so I can sleep in on the weekends.
8. He doesn’t hesitate to change Isaac’s diapers. Or play with him. Or make a fool of himself just to hear Isaac laugh.
9. He loves Isaac. A lot of people prefer older children, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but Collin is genuinely obsessed with his baby boy, and I find very little to be as attractive as that.
10. He makes dinner for the family whenever I don’t feel like cooking. Sometimes that means he cooks 4 times a week when I’m going through a never-again-will-I-set-foot-in-the-kitchen phase.
11. He incorporates classic “Simpsons” lines in conversation with me multiple times each day.
12. He goes along with all my crazy new obsessions, even if they’re silly. Case in point: Twilight. He won’t read the books, but he patiently listens as I give him detailed chapter-by-chapter summaries and then vent and analyze the book’s characters to death. Often times, he gets just as excited about things as I do, researches the daylights out of them, and then fills me in so that I don’t have to.
13. He always seems to know what I’m thinking and verbalizes it at the same moment as me. Sometimes this is annoying.
14. He’s going back to school for the sake of our family, and he works so hard each day to be at the top of his class. The fact that he actually goes to class every day is more than I can say about my own college education.
15. He isn’t afraid to try new things. In fact, he’s much more adventurous than I am when it comes to crazy new things, and I like to consider myself a pretty open-minded person.
16. He is quick to laugh. He makes me laugh on a regular basis.
17. He’s rarely to never prideful, which also means he is quick to forgive and apologize as necessary.
18. He takes care of all things technological. Sweet!
19. He gives me back rubs without me asking.
20. He always gives me the bigger piece.
21. He eats my food and likes it, even when I mess up (as I usually do, unbeknownst to many).
22. He isn’t afraid to tell me how he feels. I never have to wonder what he’s thinking about for long, because he always shares with me. On that same thought, he never leaves without telling me he loves me.
23. He loves animals. Maybe that doesn’t sound like much to most people, but it’s a big deal for me.
24. He sings cheesy love songs to me. I say I hate it, but secretly I love it!
25. He keeps us frugal, but he doesn’t hesitate to splurge on fun items from time to time. Hooray for gourmet cheese and olive oil!
26. He’s always open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. He never shoots down any of my ideas, no matter how wild, impractical, or harebrained they may be.
27. He’s patient beyond belief (see #12). You kind of have to be if you’re married to me. 
28. He’s oh-so handsome. Hey, it’s not shallow to love your husband’s looks. See?
29. He tries every day to make me happy. His devotion knows no bounds. For that, I am truly lucky and blessed.
30. He is a good person. And I mean good. He surrounds himself (and me) with good influences, but is never pushy about it. He is the Golden Rule. He won’t gossip or speak unkindly of others. He teaches me so much about being Christ-like each day, and I am so grateful to be a part of his life.
And there you have it, folks! Happy birthday, my love!