I never...

Have you ever played that ice-breaker game?  

Where you say "I never....{whatever, but it needs to be true}" and you get points if you're the only one who never did that particular thing.

Shhh.  

Come closer. 

Here's mine:

I never read the Harry Potters.

I did read the first one aloud to Maddy and Sam but after that they sped through them on their own. And I never got around to reading the rest of them myself.

I know, a travesty in some households! I kind of wanted to relish them on my own time.  And to be honest, sometimes I kind of resist doing something that everyone is doing. It's my little secret snobbish--and silly--protest. 

Well the time has come, my friends.  Summer reading time. I'm on Book Three (Sam is so happy for me, it's very sweet). Go Harry and Ron. 

p.s. what's with the much cooler covers on the British versions?

For your cinco pleasure...

Try these!  This is what we're having tonight: My mom's famous swiss enchiladas.  They don't have swiss cheese in them.  And they're not from Switzerland. So I'm not sure what the story is about that, except it's an enchilada with a {heavenly! divine! wicked!} creamy white sauce.

Gather together a group of illustrious ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

1 T oil

2 c. chicken, cooked and chopped

1 can diced chiles

1 garlic clove, crushed

18 corn tortillas

1/2 c. oil

3 c. cream (light or heavy)

3 chicken bouillon cubes

cheddar/mozzarella/monterey jack cheese

Saute onion in oil until soft, then add chicken, chiles and garlic and simmer for 10 minutes.

Set aside.

This part is optional: Heat 1/2 c. oil in frying pan and quickly fry each of the tortillas, one at a time, flipping to fry both sides.  Place on paper towels to drain.

Meanwhile, heat cream and bouillon cubes in a saucepan at medium heat until cubes are dissolved.

Now for the enchilada assembly:  

Take a tortilla, 

dip it for several seconds in the cream mixture to soften.  

Lay it on a plate, 

add a spoonful of chicken mixture and a sprinkling of cheese, 

roll 

and place in a greased 9x13" casserole dish.  

Repeat for each tortilla until the pan is filled with rolled enchilada lovelies.  

Now (and this is important) pour the remaining cream mixture over the top and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Mmmm.  Serve with topping options like avocados, tomatoes, sour cream, lettuce, and olives.

* * *

And if you're looking for a good read, try Rain of Gold by Victor Villasenor.  Two different people recommended it to me (thanks, Jen and Celia) and I just finished it yesterday.  It's a wonderful true family memoir/epic that reads like fiction.  Beginning around 1900 and the Mexican Revolution, the book separately follows two Mexican families (who eventually emigrate to the US) and their adventures, travails, joys, and heartbreaks as the two main characters finally find each other, fall in love, and become the author's grandparents.  I felt like I was sitting by the fire hearing a lifetime of family stories: love, revenge, meteors, gold finds, shipwrecks, bootlegging, journeys, desire, God, mysticism, work, family, life.   

{On a personal note, I kept wondering if my great grandfather knew--or just crossed paths with--any of the people in the book. He lived in northern Mexico at the turn of the century and had amazing stories of his dealings with Pancho Villa and Diaz (he was once kidnapped by rebels and then let go on Pancho Villa's urging). Just wondering.}

p.s. How embarrassing; I spelled cinco wrong in that last post. Oy.

Cinqo de Percy Jackson day

How can you resist a ten-year-old boy who, the first thing he says when he comes in breathlessly through the door after school is

"Can we go to the bookstore right now? Please Mom?  The 5th book is out today!"

You can't.  You really can't resist.

So, while we are definitely eating enchiladas and limeade, rolling our Rs, and hanging paper flowers (recycled from before) to celebrate Cinqo de Mayo...in the heart of one reader who is currently curled on the sofa flying through pages, this is cinqo de Percy Jackson day around here.

Last Lecture for now

Today was the last session of the human development course I taught this semester. To wrap it up, I asked the students to bring in something about a life story, real or fictional (novel/movie clip/article, etc.) to relate to some aspect of the course.  I loved what they came up with.  It ended up taking the whole class since everyone had given it such thought and had so much to say.  If you have a few minutes, the links (I starred the ones that were especially compelling) are wonderful:

• Father of the Bride 2 -- middle adulthood, Levinson's theories of midlife change
  
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower -- attachment, identity formation in adolescence (Erikson, Marcia)
  
• *Mean Girls clip (3:43-5:27)-- identity moratorium, adolescent social aggression
  
• Smashed -- Erikson's intimacy vs. isolation stage, inhibited by alcoholism
  
• song "Time of Your Life" -- developmental transitions, exceptions to set theory
  
• **About Schmidt final letter-- Erikson's ego integrity vs. despair in mid adulthood
  
• song Mr. Larkin by State Radio -- older adulthood, prejudice
  
• Old School -- exceptions to older adulthood preconceptions
  
• Goonies -- middle childhood Erikson's industry vs. inferiority stage
  
• *the Last Lecture -- loss, ego transendence, Erikson's generativity, 
  
• Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius -- early adulthood and Erikson's intimacy vs. isolation
  
• When I am an Old Woman -- older adulthood, theories of positive aging
  
• **The Giving Tree (2) -- lifespan development, attachment, Erikson's stages
  
• *Guys and Dolls -- (first few minutes of documentary of Lars and the Real Girl-type relationships) social work practice, culture/microculture, Erikson's intimacy/isolation 
  
• Tuesdays with Morrie -- ego transendence and generativity
  
• Archie comic book -- adolescence transition, scaffolding, conceptions of adolescence
  
• Dalai Lama -- moral development, ego transcendence, older adulthood, "good death"
  
• Mr. Rogers -- social learning theory, attachment
  

It feels so great to be done but I'm going to really miss that class, those students.  They were very patient & accepting of this green, nervous, shaky-voiced first-time prof.  

class of idealistic, passionate grad students + human development course content =

life affirming and hopeful alchemy

The pride of Monroeville, Alabama

Speaking of Atticus Finch (as I was yesterday), happy birthday to Harper Lee, born on this day in 1926. Let's make it a national holiday!

What to do in celebration? How about:

Break out the movie and maybe roll each other down the street in a tire. Dress like a ham. Leave carved figures in a carved out knot of an old tree. Shoot a rabid dog. Be a wise parent. Sneak into a courthouse and listen to a shocking case. Ask lots of questions. Listen to the call of a mockingbird. Sit on the front porch. Or at least read this nice tribute, a Garrison Keillor essay published in the NY Times a few years ago.

p.s. Did you know her friends gave her a Christmas gift of one year off from work so she could write To Kill a Mockingbird?

"Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird."