READING: A Helmet For My Pillow by Robert Leckie. Mark and I recently watched The Pacific, a WWII film series about several men who served in the Pacific and the battles they fought in at the time, see link here. The movie was based on several books by veterans, Robert Leckie one of them, accounts of their time in the Marines in action in the Pacific during WWII. Wonderful reading...firsthand accounts always fascinating to me.
LISTENING TO: The ISO performed jazz, swing, Dixieland, and Big Band tunes at Symphony on the Prairie this weekend...a fine reason to spend some time with it here at home as well.
SWIMMING NEWS: Matt is down at IU enjoying his new swim team and working hard. The IU swim program includes much more dryland and Matt, believe it or not, has gotten as far as he has in the swimming world with no running or weight training work, etc. This, however, is not the case with the rest of the team, so Matt is working hard to try and get used to all these new bits in his routine. The actual swimming part he is enjoying very much. Here are some photos from the Freshman Swimmer Orientation/Parent Meeting.
Matt and his roommate, Ian...also a swimmer (guess you could tell that by the hair, right?), someone Matt has known through the years, Matt's swim club swimming against Ian's each year.
Some of Matt's new freshmen teammates and his sprint coach: Mike, Coach Mike, Matt, and Steve.
Head Coach Loos with the Freshmen Carmel Connection: Matt and Lauren. It's so nice to have Matt and Lauren on the IU team together after all these years of swimming at CSC together.
SWIMMING NEWS: Matt is down at IU enjoying his new swim team and working hard. The IU swim program includes much more dryland and Matt, believe it or not, has gotten as far as he has in the swimming world with no running or weight training work, etc. This, however, is not the case with the rest of the team, so Matt is working hard to try and get used to all these new bits in his routine. The actual swimming part he is enjoying very much. Here are some photos from the Freshman Swimmer Orientation/Parent Meeting.
Matt and his roommate, Ian...also a swimmer (guess you could tell that by the hair, right?), someone Matt has known through the years, Matt's swim club swimming against Ian's each year.
Some of Matt's new freshmen teammates and his sprint coach: Mike, Coach Mike, Matt, and Steve.
Head Coach Loos with the Freshmen Carmel Connection: Matt and Lauren. It's so nice to have Matt and Lauren on the IU team together after all these years of swimming at CSC together.
COOKING BYTES: Am trying to find my way about all my cooking/baking blog-alongs now that Matt is off at college and not eating here on a regular daily basis with his ravenous swimmer appetite. Making mini-sized desserts and reduced portions of recipes seems to be absolutely workable, but the number of recipes I can actually cook/bake a week has changed so am anticipating reduced participation in all my groups to accommodate the new Empty Nest lifestyle happening around here. Meals also change quite a bit as cooking for Mark is a lot different as there is less of a need to fill in menu choices with lots of carbs, etc. that Matt always needed as a swimmer. I like the blog-alongs as they are a chance to cook/bake recipes with friends and I have made things over the years that I would not have made on my own (left on my own I am not all that adventurous), so am still planning on cooking/baking, but at a reduced amount.
FAV NEW FIND: After much consideration of managing this blog to fit my needs and the needs of people who actually read it, I have decided on a new posting plan for it all. For my foodie/baking/cooking readers, those posts will be Monday through Saturday. Sundays will be family/friends day where I post Sunday's Snippets and things more of a family/friend nature. This way my non-foodie readers can skip all the foodie bits by just looking for the Sunday night posts (or clicking on Sunday's Snippets category in the left sidebar) and my foodie readers can look for the appropriate foodie posts on the days I am supposed to post them (or by clicking on the appropriate category in the left sidebar). Foodie line-up: Mondays, Nick Malgieri (Modern Baker and Bake!); Tuesday, Dorie Greenspan (Tuesdays with Dorie's Baking from My Home to Yours and Around My French Table); Wednesdays (World Cuisine from various books/cultures); Thursdays (Italian: 30 Minute Thursdays Pasta with Guiliano Hazan's book and other Italian chef recipes); Friday, A Little Ellie Everyday with Ellie Krieger recipes; Saturday, Bread Baking from Bread Baker's Apprentice and other books. You don't have to memorize that for a quiz or anything, just figured it would make it easier for those who tune in for certain posts at certain times. Oh, and don't hold me to it 100% each week or you will certainly be disappointed at my lack of timeliness.
FAV THING THIS WEEK: I have to say, it is really nice not waking up in the wee hours of the morning when Matt heads off to swim practice before school...yep, really nice just to sleep right through that these days. I miss him a lot, but I don't miss that. Let's see, other benefits: our grocery bill has decreased by a shocking amount, the tape/scissors/pens/pencils/stapler all remain in their designated places and I don't have to go in search of any of them when I need them, laundry takes only a day to complete, and there are no discussions about how late one can stay out of a weekend evening. I'm trying to look at all the positives to offset the fact that Matt is greatly missed by all, especially this guy 
who can't figure out why everyone keeps disappearing around here this past year: Alex, Sophie, Pippin, Matt...it's a little much for Vash to figure out. Among many downsides to Matt being gone are missing his hugs, his smiles, his fun personality, his excellent skill at lawn mowing (and come winter, snow removal), car washing and vacuuming, household vacuuming, and many other around-the-house chores he always willingly just did without being asked. Matt is a bit of a neat-freak. Here are some photos of his room at school, anyone want to take a guess which bed is Matt's and which one is Ian's? 
Matt's is the one with his key chain and bicycle pump on it...something I was shocked at seeing as Matt is very very particular about out of place things (when we were moving him in, Mark tried to help him make the bed and gave up after a couple of seconds when Matt said, "I like the sheet turned down just this exact amount, and don't put that much on that side, I want it to be more like this, and I don't want that touching where my head is going to be, so can you shorten that?").
Yep, just that particular about things in his room. Further evidence.
Below: Ian and Lauren hanging out in Matt and Ian's room enjoying the time before classes start. And, finally, the last photo is Reyn ensconced in her dorm room at IU, happy to be at college at last and every bit as neat and tidy as Matt!
Matt's biggest concern about going to college was whether or not he was going to get a roommate who was neat and tidy. Fortunately, Ian seems to be just that and all is going well.
Matt's is the one with his key chain and bicycle pump on it...something I was shocked at seeing as Matt is very very particular about out of place things (when we were moving him in, Mark tried to help him make the bed and gave up after a couple of seconds when Matt said, "I like the sheet turned down just this exact amount, and don't put that much on that side, I want it to be more like this, and I don't want that touching where my head is going to be, so can you shorten that?").
Yep, just that particular about things in his room. Further evidence.
Below: Ian and Lauren hanging out in Matt and Ian's room enjoying the time before classes start. And, finally, the last photo is Reyn ensconced in her dorm room at IU, happy to be at college at last and every bit as neat and tidy as Matt!
Matt's biggest concern about going to college was whether or not he was going to get a roommate who was neat and tidy. Fortunately, Ian seems to be just that and all is going well.
WEEK IN REVIEW: Same old, same old: besides working, there was beautiful weather for swimming yet, the IU/BSU football game opener yesterday was a bit of a bust for IU (Mark thought watching it at Lucas Oil Stadium was definitely preferable to the Iowa Hawk fans who had a 1.5 hour rain/lightening delay in IC), Symphony on the Prairie tonight, and a whole day of vacation to fritter away tomorrow for Labor Day.
PRAYING FOR: For all parents and children who are struggling with medical/mental disadvantages, please join me.