I Wish...

We throw coins in a fountain, we blow out candles, we close our eyes against a falling star... all for the chance at a single wish. But what would happen if a wish was forced on you?



Kira is one of the newest batch of Jinn sent to mend the paths of those humans who have lost their destinies. She has been assigned to discover Jack Morgan's one true wish by whatever means are necessary, with only three stipulations: 1) no one is to discover she is a Jinni, 2) she is never to lose control of her powers, and 3) she is never, ever to grow attached to her human.


The stubborn Wall of Jack, as Kira thinks of him, has worked hard to create a life that is normal in a home that was anything but. He wants nothing more than to follow his meticulously laid out plan for his future. So, when Kira arrives in his English class with a rush of wind and spark of energy that knocks him off balance, he never would have guessed that she was a Jinni sent for him.


Kira and Jack battle wills, battle their own failings, and battle the impossible feelings that are growing between them; until a battle of another kind pulls them eternally together.


Even with mystery, magic and a timeless romance, nothing could prepare the reader for the consequences of two little words... I wish.

What can I say?
Yay Tia! I'm so proud of her.
I Wish by Tia Harrington, available November 19, 2011 (download from Amazon Kindle store).

A Very Slurpy Thanksgiving.

I just got a phone call from my husband.  Alex just had his appointment with the oral surgeon.  It looks like three more weeks of having his jaw wired shut. 

Poor guy.  He's lost about 10 pounds so far - 10 pounds that weren't extra.  I'll have to step up the calorie count for him (I wish we could trade metabolism right now!). I had been hoping that the wires would be off in time for Thanksgiving - and that even if he couldn't chew much, he could at least eat soft food. Now I'll be making two dinners - regular and liquid.

I just need to borrow a stronger blender.

(un)Award Winning Photography

We had a somewhat gorgeous Halloween yesterday.  I'd like to submit a little proof that it isn't always raining here in Western Washington:

Snow on Mt. Pilchuck Through Power Lines.

Farewell October



Best in Show

This was our year!  Granted, the competition was pretty light, but I think our pumpkins were pretty dang awesome.  I made the pattern myself - sort of.  I screen captured the ones that I had pinned on Pinterest, then enlarged them a bit and printed them up, traced with a push pin - then I cut out Ferb, Steve did Phineas. I'm pretty sure we'll be impressing some trick or treaters with these babies on Monday.


Not only did we get 'certificates', we also got some booty.



Tall Oaks from Little Acorns Grow...

I'm not expecting to grow any oaks with these, but I thought I'd share the treats I made for the seminary activity Deann and I are having tomorrow.  I found the idea on Pinterest.  These treats are just store-bought donut holes, one end dipped in slightly melted frosting, then in sprinkles, then about 2/3 of a pretzel stick is jammed in the top. Boo. Ya.

The Undiluted Truth...

...about diluting.

We're still on a learning curve here at Casa de Oeste.  Alex still can't handle any chunk-i-ness in his liquid meals - the bits and pieces get caught in the small spaces between his teeth and then nothing gets through.  To combat that, we strain his food through a mesh strainer.  We've found that if a food will get through the mesh, it will most likely go through a straw and NOT get stuck in his teeth.  In order for things to make it through the strainer, they often need to be 'watered' down.  Unless you're under the age of 6 months,  you're going to find most watered down food bland and unappealing.  What to do?  Well, first of all, don't use water. 

Here's a few of our favorite (so far) diluting agents:

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup (comes in a six pack from Costco) - this is great for anything tomato based.

Lipton's Onion Soup Mix - lots of flavor and (after straining out the onions) no added texture.  I'm sure it has tons of salt too - but let's just keep in mind that this is a short term diet.  Works well with bland stuff like mashed potatoes. I just had Alex make up another batch of it to keep on hand in the fridge.

Chicken Broth. I've got a carton of the stuff in the fridge - this works with lots of soup smoothies (*gag*, sorry) - without imparting too much of it's own flavor.



Typical dinner.  Not very pretty - but both liquids were easily
sipped through a straw. 



"Instant" hot cereals tend to have less texture than longer cooking kinds - but they still
tend to be a bit too thick to drink through a straw.



We've found that if you make sort of a well in a strainer, then pour a liquid over
the food (in this case cream of wheat and milk), the liquid serves to carry the food
through the mesh more easily.  Milk, however, is awfully bland - we had to add some
brown sugar to this to make it reasonably palatable. While not a favorite, Alex didn't mind
it too much.



Will It Blend...the continuing saga.

Just because you can blend something doesn't mean you should.  Word.

We definitely had some hits and misses yesterday.  First the hits:

Mashed Potato Soup.  I made up a batch of Idahoan brand instant mashed potatoes (Loaded Baked flavor), then I put a couple of spoonfuls in my little sieve and poured some prepared Lipton Onion soup over it.  Lather, rinse, repeat. Alex loves onions, so this was pretty much a hit. 

Butterscotch Pudding.  Who doesn't love butterscotch pudding? I added an extra cup of milk so that it would be runnier and flow through a straw easier.

Krogers Fortify Plus.  Basically this is a store brand knock-off of Ensure. I'll be stocking up on these babies - lots of protein and vitamins, not to mention 350 calories each. 

Ivar's Crab Bisque. I just strained this - Alex got most of the creamy broth and I had a small bowl of all the good stuff with just a little bit of broth.  Win win. The only downside here is the cost.  Each 24 ounce container is close to $6.

Costco Berry Smoothie.  It was just a tad thick, but as it warmed up a little it got easier for him to drink.  I think it took him 30 minutes to drink the whole thing.

And now for the misses:

Alex's favorite go-to meal is ramen noodles.  You'd think they would be fine in a blender.  You'd be wrong. I learned a bit about how starches start binding together in the blender. We'll give ramen another chance or two - but we'll wait a week or two and see if his suction improves.

Instant Oatmeal.  I love oatmeal - but the starchiness of it just doesn't lend itself well to drinking through a straw without diluting it so much that it becomes oatmeal milk.  Yuk. We tossed it.