A Culinary Comparison

It's time for a post that has been sitting heavily on my mind.  I know it might disappoint or offend many of you, but it needs to be written.  A battle has been brewing and I feel the need to offer some insights.

I don't pretend to be impartial in this battle, but I will try to be nice.  Simply put, it is the battle between the Bosch mixer and the Kitchenaid.

BOSCH

Versus

KITCHENAID

As you can see, these are both large kitchen mixers.  They knead dough, mix batter, cut vegetables, and are relatively awesome to have. 

Bosch, obviously, is the better mixer.  Here's why:

1) Bosch is German

I will elaborate.  Don't we know that Germans are industrious, hardworking, successful, and don't have a sense of humor?  It's officially the world's least funny country!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/8560815/Germany-officially-the-worlds-least-funny-country.html  Now, you may not see this as a positive, but a sense of humor is the last thing on my list when I am cooking.  I want RESULTS!  I know my Bosch is going to plod along steadily for me.  

Further, Germany seems to have a monopoly on producing geniuses and works of art - think of all the famous composers and authors you have heard of, most of them are German.  German is the sine qua non of everything, Bosch is the sine qua non of cooking.

Bach

 Mozart (Viennese, but same diff)

Thomas Mann

Goethe (specifically picked this painting of him lounging about, perhaps pretending he is his own Werther)

If the Bosch and Kitchenaid could be compared to horses it would be a Clydesdale versus a Pony.

Clydesdale = Bosch

Pony with hair braided = Kitchenaid

Let me take a moment in defense of Kitchenaids.  They have their purpose.  Maybe you don't want a big behemoth when you just need a ride down the street.  Instead, it's more comfortable and easier to take a little prancing pony.  Sometimes I look at Kitchenaids and really love them.  I love their lines, I love the colors, and it looks like mixing cakes or cookies might be a little easier because of the multiple bowl sizes that are available.

The Bosch is a work horse, plain and simple.  It has horsepower and I love to hear it GrrrrGrrrrGrrrr as it kneads the dough.  It's made for hard work and lots of it.  It makes things in big batches or it doesn't make them at all.  I mean, look at those dough hooks!  Look at that giant bowl! 

If the horse analogy isn't enough, here is a car analogy:

Bosch - does NOT mess around

Kitchenaid - pretty, enticing, fast, but might get stuck in the mud

I will add one more positive thing about the Kitchenaid.  I like the colors.  Bosch, maybe an example of Germany's quest for the master race, is mainly available in white. 

Ryan and I got engaged in December and that Christmas my mom gave me a Bosch.  It was the first thing I would need starting my own home!  Tangentially, this reminds me of another Christmas when I asked for a drum kit, but got a sewing machine.  I love the sewing machine, but it was just a funny juxtaposition.  I had been taking drumset lessons at BYU for fun and the teacher was very encouraging (In hindsight, it's not hard to look particularly gifted when you are a music major learning a new instrument.  If music majors know how to do one thing, it is to PRACTICE and in the beginning of learning a new instrument that's pretty much all that's required, anyway).   I think my in-laws might have a drum kit stored somewhere in their basement - you can send it here, Ryan and the neighbors will thank you :)!

Back to the matter at hand, a happy home has a Bosch because a Bosch makes making bread as easy as just throwing in the ingredients.   It kneads, it stirs, it mixes, it has cookie paddles, it slices, grates, blends, and does everything thing else your heart could desire. 

Celeste wanted me to post this picture of her and Willa on the swing.  Willa sure loved her Aunt Celeste!

USC Friends

I was lucky to hang out with Ashley a couple of times while we were in Utah.  Look at the handsome Mister Mason!  He's so big and cute and smiley!

Ashley is a personal trainer and Pilates instructor; in California she would give a workout class at the institute almost weekly and I loved going to them.  She just got her very own reformer and is teaching pilates out of her house.  She did a quick session for me and I loved it.  If anyone in SL wants the best and nicest pilates instructor - go to Ashley!

It was fun to see the little house they are renting.  NH is an architect but he also paints and is an amazing artist (he even had his work in a gallery in the LA artwalk!) and they have all this awesome art hung up everywhere.  Here is a painting he did for Mason's room and I love it.  The letters in green spell out MASON.  NH just left his firm to go out on his own.  He is so talented, I know he'll do really well.

I was also able to see the Winders!  Good friends are always so dear.  We got back from the cabin and I was able to quickly go visit Myka and Shiloh before they flew back to LA.  They're currently in the market for more friends, preferably childless :), so if you're in the LA area look them up.  I guarantee fine conversation from Myka and probably some roguish moments from Shiloh.

Yes, I have completely ruined Willa's palate.  Here she is enjoying a delicious astro bar from Pace's Dairy Ann. Yumm!

My mom took some of the best pictures with her camera and my dad put them on a CD for me, but I just realized that I left it back in Utah!

Willa is a little fish!  She noticed the water whenever we were at the dock and she wanted to get in and play.  It's FREEZING water so I would just stick her toes in, but one time she kept struggling until I let her sit in it.  

Can somebody please invent a comfortable infant life jacket?  This face pretty much sums up how she felt about hers, it pushed up on her cheeks and looked pretty uncomfortable.  How are we supposed to have water fun in this get-up?

One of my favorite things is to take kayaks down Box Canyon.  It's so peaceful, the current is strong enough that you really just paddle for navigation.  After I got home from my mission we came up to the cabin and as we floated down Box Canyon I just closed my eyes and thought how much better this was than a mission :)!  It's so peaceful, the sun is shining, the water is cold, the smell of sunscreen is the best smell in the world, and breezes just gently lap around you.

This time we went down on two different days.  Here is the second trip, only five of us went so there were enough kayaks for all!  When too many people go there aren't enough kayaks and you might get stuck in a raft, which is a cumbersome mess.

Our first trip down, we actually took a raft (cumbersome mess).  This is because I wanted to share the joys of Box Canyon with Willa.  Let's go over why this was a bad idea:

1) I was taking a baby
2) Baby had to wear uncomfortable life vest
3) We had to take a raft so as to fit baby
4) I was taking a baby
5) I was taking a baby
6) I was taking a baby

It didn't end up being quite as relaxing as previous trips.  I sat down in the raft and held Willa.  Celeste paddled.  CELESTE PADDLED!  She actually learned really quickly and by the end was doing quite well, but in the beginning we mainly went in circles until we would come too close to the shore and almost hit a boulder or fallen tree.  When this happened, I would throw Celeste the baby and take the oar.  I believe that I once even yelled, "Lay down in the boat so that this tree branch will go over you!"  We ended up narrowly avoiding it, but you get the idea.  Willa had fun for about 20 minutes, because really, it can be quite pleasant, but that left another 30 minutes for her not to have fun.

Happy to be home!

Here is a photo of Willa at her little table this morning.  We got back to Houston yesterday afternoon and I think she is happy to be home.  I wondered if she would remember our apartment and Ryan, and I think she did! She's been so cheerful since we got home and has happily played by herself for hours, which shows me that she feels comfortable.  Even towards the end of the THREE WEEK visit, she was still pretty clingy at my parents' and did not like being left to play by herself.

I got this little table for $8 at a garage sale!  She is in love with it and wants to play at it all day.  Before we left, I had to sit by her and help her balance while she stood (which got old really quick since she wanted to be at it all day).  Now, look at that big girl standing with no help!  Seeing her with all her old things really shows me how much she grew while we were gone!

I was a little nervous that Willa would not like Ryan once we got home.  Happily, that wasn't the case. She was so excited when he got home from work that she kept giving these big smiles and jumping in my arms quite vigorously. In fact, so vigorously that she then bumped her head really hard right into my teeth... and then she cried.  She let him hold her right away and didn't reach for me at all.

Here are a few pictures from the trip.  I love her funny expressions in the first two photos!

 Uncle Chris and Aunt Lindsay

At Yellowstone - don't let her expression fool you, she loved that hiking backpack

Trying a new food!

She was a pretty good traveller.  She loved peeking between the airline seats to smile at the man sitting behind us.  We boarded our flight and were all ready when they had to have us deboard because something didn't pass the safety inspection.  I started to stress since traveling with a child is like having a ticking bomb with you.  I thought we might have to wait at the airport all day and become stand-by passengers on over-crowded flights.  Thankfully, they just called out another airplane and we were able to get going with only an hour's delay.  I had an empty seat next to me, which really helped!  I buckled her in there for a little bit and then she also laid down on it and took a nap for an hour and a half.  It was a big help and I think we may have dropped only one puff!

10 Months!

Willa turned 10 months old on Saturday!  We don't have our giraffe so here is a photo of Willa on the boat. 

She has gotten so big and seems more like a toddler than a little baby.  As I noted before, she is VERY busy and active.  She especially loves swimming and baths, happy screaming, looking at her shadow, and flirting with anyone whose eye she can catch.  She loves looking at someone until they look at her, breaking into  huge smile, then coyly ducking her head and hiding her face in my shoulder.  It is her very favorite activity to do at church and she does it over and over with whomever sits behind us that day.

Willa finally started some forward army crawling motion.  Not quite crawling, but she is mobile and going forward.  It's a pretty tough workout, she huffs and puffs from the effort.  No photos yet because she mainly likes to do it when she is diaperless and in the nude.

Solids are still coming along and she has made great strides in Utah.  She has tried ice cream, chicken nuggets, and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.  How can you not like those delicious foods?  I've got a post I've been mentally composing about why I think it's mostly useless to keep sugars, salts, and fats from your baby.  I'm sure it will be very controversial, since this is my first baby I am, of course, an EXPERT in all things baby.

I tried to get an official 10 month old photo, see below:

Cabin bedhead:

One more week in Utah.  We've been having a great time and Willa is going to be bored back at our apartment, but we sure miss Ryan and are excited to go home!

Out of Town

Who me? How did this picture of innocence become a tornado of destruction? I'm just so proud.

Willa and I hopped a flight to Utah this past Tuesday so blogging will be scarce or non-existent for the next few weeks. Flying is a good measure for how much Willa is changing these days! She was sooo much more wiggly and EXUBERANT this flight than even six weeks ago when we went to Ohio. We left a trail of disaster and little puffs when we got off the plane. Thankfully the man next to us had already finished his coke when Willa lunged and knocked over his midflight beverage.