I'm back

(Originally posted on Saturday, February 25, 2006 by Tim)

It has been more than 5 months since my last Chezmodi post and lots of great stuff has happened. It occurred to me that if I was going to try to catch up on all that stuff, that I would never manage to get posting again. I?ll just assume that, if you are one of the select few that read these posts, you already know most of what has been going on.

The biggest news is that Cat now has a tenure track position at Roanoke College and Cat is also pregnant. Cat is about 4.5 months along. I have wanted to post about it for a while now, but we had to keep things a little quiet until she finished her job search. Everything has gone well with the baby. She had her last ultrasound done a few weeks ago and as you can see from the picture, it?s a boy. We?ve been thinking about names and the one that has stuck has been ?Dalton?. Non-chemists don?t get it and chemists groan when they hear it. It can also be shortened to one syllable, a requirement in the Midwest. It?s perfect.

I suppose the most significant event of the week is that I boiled some beans for a beans and rice dish. It?s a very simple recipe and also quite tasty. I?ve modified it from a side dish that we have had at a local California/Mexican restaurant.

Ingredients
1 cup black beans
1 cup brown rice
0.25 cups salsa
0.25 cups cheddar cheese
1 cobb corn

Place 1 cup of dried black beans in a pot and cover with 4 cups of water. Cover and let sit overnight. The next day, start beans boiling on the stove. DO NOT GO INTO THE OFFICE AND START PLAYING VIDEO GAMES. DO NOT FORGET THE BOILING BEANS. SET A TIMER. DO NOT FORGET THE BOILING BEANS. THE FIRE ALARM IS NOT A TIMER.

As you might have guessed by now, I haven?t managed to finish the recipe. By the time the fire alarm went off, the visibility in the kitchen was about 10 feet. We aired out the house immediately and once more on a warm day this week. It is getting better, but it still smells like the dogs are chain smoking Marlboros while we are at work during the day. I?m hoping for warm weather this weekend.