eclaire (what's in a) name?

we went to body worlds at the tech museum in san jose this afternoon, and it was a really moving experience for me.  body worlds showcases real preserved human bodies and walks you through just about every organ as well as diseases that can affect that organ.  it also educated people on the connection between the physical body, emotions, neurology and learned behaviors, which brought a holistic view to the exhibit.  seeing the complexity that exists under our skin in a very graphic way and thinking about the way our bodies become programmed to respond to different stimuli made me really appreciate every moment of my own existence, from breathing in air to listening to music to spending time with friends and family.  

[editor’s note: after writing about the body worlds exhibit, i began to list all of the items in my life that make me happy and that i take for granted but are actually quite miraculous.  however, the list got very long and ranged from my heart beating to delicious food to fabulous friends & family to farmer’s markets to toasty fires to swimming.  so i think i’ll cut out the extensive list and instead share two pics of things that made me smile this weekend.]

60s pinball machines (see mike’s blog for more pics): 

happy cows in california (you’ll have to trust me that the dots on the hill are cows):

(click for a larger picture)

thanks to jessi for finding this and mac rumors for having such an awesome and appropriate pic for my website!!

while you’re clicking away on links, check out the tiny and amazing new mac book air at apple.com

after 2 arduous hours waiting in urgent care today (for a 30 second removal procedure), my stitches are finally out!! 

click here to see my stitch free but scar-tissued hand

have you heard of batter blaster? yeah, neither had i. but one of the blogs mike reads reviewed the product, which sent us on a mission to locate, purchase and consume it. (side note: the guy who writes the blog appears to have the same plates as us from crate and barrel – how bizarre, huh?)

ok, so back to batter blaster. what is it, you may ask? why, it’s organic pancake and waffle batter in a canister. last weekend, mike and i traveled to multiple stores to find the coveted product before finally locating it at nob hill in scotts valley in the refrigerated section. we were so overcome by happiness after finding it that we *may* have exchanged a huge high five right there in the aisle at the store, leading to several staring shoppers. oh, if only they knew the efforts we expended to find this product!

unfortunately we found batter blaster on a sunday night and during the week we mostly consume breakfast at our desks at work, so we weren’t able to use it until this morning. mike and i really enjoy making big breakfasts on the weekends, so i made a fruit and yogurt smoothie and soy sausages while mike read the directions, which included 1) shake well; 2) turn bottle over; 3) pour batter into pan; and 4) enjoy with your favorite toppings:

steps 2 and 3 in action:

a magnificent flip:

step 4 was possibly the most difficult:

verdict: the batter blaster was not as nutrient rich as the pancakes we make from scratch (we usually use whole wheat flour add flax seed meal, oats, berries, etc), but they were really tasty and quick and we thoroughly enjoyed them!

like many articles i read on slate, i’m not sure if i agree with the statements made in the following article or if i absolutely disagree…so i thought i’d post the it and see what you all think about the gender/race issue in regards to the current presidential candidates:
http://www.slate.com/id/2181646/