M is for the Meatloaf Tradititon.

re: humor... (preface, I'm from SF. A very funny city. Even Robin Williams says so :) My friend Julie T. reminded me of a Gary Larson tribute marathon run in San Francisco. Hundreds of runners dressed like Gary Larson characters. Perhaps that was when the science museum had a Gary Larson retrospective. People would walk up to the art, in a gallery setting, and laugh and laugh.

It just seems as though people these days aren't very funny, or take jokes very well. Stand up comedians occasionally say something funny but most are like Seinfeld and just sarcastic and/or nasty. Very few people in Utah are funny at all. (I know several exceptions though.) When I say something light to a stranger here they reply completely seriously. My kids all recognize this as a Utah thing. If I crack a joke with them the children reply blankly, then joke that is because they are from Utah. That is my clue to dramatically say, "OHHH! WHAT have I done?!" and we smile a little.

This brings me to family traditions. My family growing up was great, but not so big on traditions. Yet traditions help children see the patterns in life, build expectations, build stability and often in odd ways express love. Realizing that I would have liked a few more traditions in my young life, to help me piece things together, I want to provide some for my children. Especially funny traditions.

Every Valentine's Day I make meat loaf. I do NOT heart meat loaf, but I make it heart shaped, decorate it and it is a lot of fun. My children do love meat loaf, especially heart shaped. I only make it once a year.



By the way, after Valentine's Day this year, I sent one of these pictures to Gabby. That is when she "begged" me to be a Guest Mom. She knew... :)


The extra special, only in a home version of Valentine's dinner: the EGG-orta. The eggs wind up rather rubbery and hysterical and that only adds to the fun.

Technical details: boil the eggs first, (Duh.) but don't over cook them. NO GREEN RINGS. While forming the heart bury the SHELLED eggs and then bake normally. If the eggs are over cooked they only become more over cooked and then you might as well douse the thing with marshmallow sauce. If you do this do not tell your guests or kids what is inside. They'll freak!

As the French say, Amuse toi bien! Have fun!