Meet the Sprouts

This post is made especially for those of you who have unfortunately never met the Sprouts!!! Who are the Sprouts? Two of the most adorable, lovable, and well-behaved cats I have ever known. The Sprouts (as we like to call them) are two cats - brother and sister - who we adopted from a nearby shelter last July after providing foster care for them. We fell in love! Their formal names are:

Brussels Sprouts (the boy with the white chest)

Alfalfa Sprouts (the girl)

These cats are no ordinary lap cats. We soon discovered that they are both very athletic! They love to play with their toy birds and will really risk it all (including dislocating a hip) if it means a catch! We decided to start taking pictures of these play times and some of the action shots were so hilarious, we decided to create captions and submit them to cheezburger.com.

This is a website full of all sorts of cat captions called "Lolz." The original you may know:

Yes, this is how I like to spend my free time - perusing cat captions. I'm a cat addict!

Check out some of our Lolz here: http://profile.cheezburger.com/Pyrotechnick/lolz

You will see some of the Sprouts, some of our cats that were left back in Oregon (Smokey, Bella, TigerLily) and a few of our fosters.

Here is a little teaser: :)

... Yeah, he really did a full out hand stand!!!

"Ain't it a Fine Life!"

(A picture of the stage minutes before the show began)

"Ain't it a Fine Life, Carrying the Banner Through it All!!!" It was amazing to see Newsies during its preview opening weekend. I will never forget how enthusiastic and LOUD the audience was. As soon as the lights went up and we saw the lead, Jack Kelly, the audience began applauding. And yes, I was one of the loud ones. After the opening number, "Carrying the Banner," the audience literally clapped and clapped for a good 30 seconds or so - so much that it was humorous and the audience was laughing. We watched in hysterics as the Newsies, holding their pose began to crack smiles and nearly broke character. That will undoubtedly, be a memory that sticks with the cast throughout their careers.

From that point forward, the orchestra had to take the lead by playing little tail endings to get the show moving, as the audience was relentless after big numbers, back flips, you name it. The cast definitely thrived off of our energy and this was one show that will be burned in my memory for years to come!

My sixth grade dreams of seeing this show on Broadway, were completely surpassed by the incredible dancing and energy the Newsies exuded. And the dancing was no ordinary box steps; these Newsies were gymnasts doing crazy tumbles, front flips, side flips and everything else. The singing was another highlight. The group numbers were dynamic with crisp harmonies and rich volume.

Loved, loved, loved every minute of the show and cannot wait to wear my Newsies T-shirt to school tomorrow with my Newsies tote. You better believe I'll be singing some "Open the Gates" and "King of New York" for my students tomorrow!

Match Day!

Finally the day has arrived, Match Day!!! As most of you know, Nick is now at the end of a long four years of medical school. He has taken more exams than I can recall, has done overnights in the hospital and through it all has received honors in his courses! During the fourth year, students prepare for their "match" at a program for residency. Nick applied to several schools for Neurology Residency and then we had the long one month wait to hear the results.

There is a lot of hype around match day, as every medical student in the county prepares to open a letter that will determine their fate as a doctor. Some don't match at all, many match but maybe not to the program of their dreams and then there are those like Nick (the rockstars) that match to their first choice! Medical students around the nation opened that letter at 12:00 p.m. eastern time on March 16th.

At Nick's school, the entire class gathered in a room, received their letters and then on a countdown, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, they ripped them open. During this countdown, cameramen recorded students as some began to cry with nerves and others started screaming in anticipation.

When Nick opened his letter he was delighted to see the words....

You have matched to the University of Washington Neurology Residency Program.

We're moving to Seattle!!!

I was at school, pacing the lunchroom cafeteria filled with screaming students. This was huge news that was long anticipated for both of us. 12:02 I see the call from Nick. I literally ran from the cafeteria and said, "well???." "I matched at UW, we're moving to Seattle!" I could barely hear Nick over the screams in the background. We celebrated all evening, somewhat in disbelief that this was really happening. Four years later and we're finally headed home to the pacific northwest.

Many different "theme" songs came to mind that evening as we talked over the details of what this meant in every way possible. Here is one that I have been singing to myself since the news:

"Feels Like Home"

Ravioli Dinner

Just another Wednesday night? No! We looked in the fridge wondering what to make for dinner and we only saw three eggs and ricotta... I guess it's homemade ravioli night! As we were rolling out the dough, I was remembering how much fun we had this Christmas back in Oregon making ravioli and meatballs, enough to feed 25 guests! That was a really fun night of great company and food! Since we've been home we've made our own pasta several times. Tonight, we made the ravioli in record time too - under 40 minutes flat!

We have perfected the pasta recipe so that it is perfectly moist and scrumptious. It basically requires no chewing it's so melt-in-your-mouthlike. Here is the pasta recipe we use:

-4 eggs

-3 cups flour (I use 2 cups white, 1 cup whole wheat)

-1 tsp salt

-1 tbls oil

Simple, yet so satisfying!

We typically make our own sauce and meatballs as well, but we'll save that for another night!

"Complimenti al cuoco!"

Newsies Bound... and Ricky Martin Bound?

"Open the gates and seize the day! Don't be afraid and don't delay!"

Finally, Newsies is opening on Broadway! I will never forget my first experience with the musical. I was in seventh grade and our chorus was doing a Newsies medley. One of the numbers was "King of New York" in which we all dressed as newsboys and sang and danced. What a fun experience! I remember in high school begging my choir teacher, Mr. Witt, to do Newsies for our school musical. We were all shocked and bummed to learn that Newsies was never made into a stage musical by Disney... until now!

Nick and I are headed to see the show and to be a part of the preview audience for the opening weekend! I'm definitely feeling like the "Queen of New York" this week!

The music for the show contains some of my favorite musical numbers. Allan Menkin (who also composed the music for Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Alladin and more) composed the music. I don't know about you, but this song just screams the need for an improvised jubilant dance. I don't know how I will be able to stay in my seat!

Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOnuGJsEV_8

Now you may be wondering what this is about Ricky Martin. No, he's not playing the lead in Newsies. Can you imagine him playing a dirty newsboy who wants to move to Sante Fe to be a real cowboy? No, it's even better; Ricky Martin is playing the lead in Evita! I bought the tickets unaware of his broadway debut. Will he be "Livin' La Vida Loca?" I will certainly have a tough time resisting the urge to sing him a few lines from his hit at the curtain call! Nevertheless, it will be awesome to see the original cast for a wonderful musical about political life in Argentina. I hope the infamous number "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" brings me to tears.

Have a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA1QHtFkH48

Yes, that is Madonna playing the lead in the movie production, which I highly recommend if you haven't seen it already. A song that is not as well-known but one that I am especially looking forward to hearing is "Buenos Aires." This is a 'get on your feet and dance' sort of number.

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK7Nr8ag0aE&feature=related

New York here we come!