making it up as i go along
We were out of town in Vail for a fun weekend with my mom, Kelly, our friends Mike & Holly and their baby, Liam. My dad was out of town fishing, so we haven't gotten a chance to have our celebration yet. sometime this week.
I had to share this with you all. A gentleman I used to work with, Richard Couillard, a friend of his, Bob, and Baloo the dog are in the midst of a two month journey down the Mississippi river on the BGB (Bob's Geriatric Barge). Richard's wife, Jessie, is getting phone updates from them and posting them to a blog for all of us to enjoy.
They've had quite the journey so far, including a period of two days without contact when Jessie sent the coast guard out looking for them! They're safe and sound – they were just out of cell range. Sounds like they're meeting lots of nice people and having a great time. Read all about it at The Mississippi Dream.
Bon Voyage, Richard, Bob, and Baloo!
I really want to blog, but my mind is too jumbled up with things right now. The last few days have just flown by in a haze of trips to Target, fun with friends and family, laundry, and Tabbiness. We haven't been home that much, but somehow, the house is still a mess. I've really got to get on it tonight because our cleaning person is coming tomorrow and I don't want my stuff hidden for good.
I have sent out three books already to various moochers, but have only asked for 1 in return. I don't know what to read and I have very little time to read it. Maybe Matt can get some woodworking books.
I have about 10 projects I want to do … and they are not happening at all. Seems like every time I sit down to do that sort of thing, I end up playing a computer game because my mind is so fried that I need something easy and something that doesn't require me dragging out a bunch of stuff that I'd eventually have to clean up.
A lot of the “new parent horrors” I have found to be grossly exaggerated, but this time thing … that one rings very true for me.
In our very suburban community, garage saling is in full swing. Our semi-annual (the one where it's twice a year, that's semi, right??!) garage sale was held last week and apparently the neighborhood where our babysitter lives is doing it this weekend. Thanks to Matt's schedule, we've gotten some great deals on what we need the most … baby stuff!
We have purchased so far:
1. a full sized high chair for $10 – we already had one for Ms Tabby, but I'm going to be watching our friends' baby on Mondays, so we needed an extra
2. a small baby high-chair that gets strapped to a bigger chair, good for travel – $5
3. a BRAND NEW Baby Bjorn (regularly $80) – $10
4. a baby backpack for hiking – $8
5. a cute colorful play gym – $15, which I thought was a bit steep at the time, 'til I found out it retails for $55
6. tons of baby clothes
and the piece de resistance …
7. a PINK jogging stroller – $25
I have the best husband ever, seriously.
Yesterday, before I went to bed (after Miss Tabby had gone to bed), I pumped. As I went to cap one of the bottles, I knocked it over. Anyone who's pumped before understands what a slap upside the head this is. Geez.
Before the pumping incident last night, I packed up a lovely lunch for today. Leftover dinner, cut up strawberries and edamame. This morning I removed said lunch from the fridge in preparation to leave the house. I dove into my backpack to find my sunglasses. They weren't in there. Searched the house. No sunglasses. I went to work without them. In all the confusion, I went to work without my lunch too.
Somehow in all that digging through my backpack, I failed to realize one important fact: my wallet is not in my backpack. It is not lost. I know exactly where it is. I put it in Tabby's diaper bag on Tues when I went to Target. So basically I've been driving all over the city without my wallet.
Luckily I have a box of Special K at my desk along with some other random edibles. Plus, I work with my mommy. I bet she'll buy me lunch. Just hope I've got enough gas to make it home. Sheesh.
As always, food comes first. These brownies are amazing. I swear I will never make them from a box again.
I have a little notebook called a memomate. Mom got it for me for xmas, but I lost that one and had to get a new one from Barnes and Noble. They're near the checkstand. They're tiny metal-covered notepads that come in pretty colors and designs. The best part is you can't lose the pen they come with because it's needed to close the thing. Genius. Now my lactating baby brain can remember things again. Joy.
What have I stooped to? I'm blogging about dish soap. But this isn't just any dish soap. It's foamy. And far more importantly, it smells like margaritas. Swear. Palmolive citrus rush. Your dishes and nose will thank you.
Film on the Rocks is back. After last summer's stellar lineup, I confess to being a bit disappointed about this summer's offerings. They've got 5 movies (plus a surprise one for August). Two I don't care much about (Pulp Fiction & the Big Lebowski) and another will be heavily attended by the stoner crowd (Dazed and Confused) which I don't have a huge problem with other than the smell. But the last two are real good: Sixteen Candles and Back to the Future. Yay! Plus, there's always the drive-in. Continue reading “Brain Dump (again)”
She's growing up before our very eyes. Her head is held steady and she's working real hard on sitting up. The outdoors is her favorite place. It calms her when she needs to be calm and delights her when she's happy. And she is happy a lot. So much so that it's almost a surprise when she cries. And she has found a very amusing alternative to crying which we call “baby bitching” or “kvetching.” Basically she babbles on in a very POed tone in baby talk. It sounds like she's voicing her displeasure and listing all the things that are wrong. It's very funny. “Talking” is another thing she does a lot of. She's been vocal since birth, but her grunts have now turned into babytalk and we could spend hours listening to her and talking with her.
Besides the wonderful gift of her presence that she has given us, she is also letting us get a fairly good amount of sleep. She has slept through the night a few times now and rarely wakes more than once.
By day she is very interested in her world and stares in rapt attention at her Baby Einstein DVDs or whatever we're doing on the computer. She is also a big fan of her swing.
We count her as a blessing every day and are so thrilled to see what comes next.
from: Martha
Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups packed fresh mint leaves
2 1/2 cups fresh lime juice (about 20 limes), plus 4 limes, thinly sliced crosswise, for garnish
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
Directions
Bring granulated sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium pan over high heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. Add sugar syrup and mint to a blender; puree. Pour through a very fine mesh sieve into a large serving container; discard solids.
Add lime juice, superfine sugar, and 2 quarts water to a serving container. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 1 day.
To serve, add ice cubes to fill and garnish with lime slices.
from: Everyday Food May 2006
Ingredients
2 T olive oil
4 scallions, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 t dried oregano
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
coarse salt & ground pepper
1.5 lbs frozen large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 T chopped fresh mint plush more for garnish
4 oz feta cheese
Directions
Heat oven to 475. With rack in upper third. Heat oil in a large skillet over med. Add scallions, garlic and oregano; cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 min.
Add tomatoes. Cook over med stirring occasionally until no liquid remains in the skillet, 10-15 min. Season with salt and pepper.
Add shrimp and mint to skillet. Stir to combine; transfer to an 8-inch square (or other shallow 2 qt) baking dish. Crumble feta over top.
Bake until liquid is bubbling, cheese is beginning to brown and shrimp in center of dish are opaque, 15-20 min. Serve with orzo and green beans, sprinkled with additional chipped mint.
Nutritional Info (with orzo and green beans, 1/4 recipe(
563 calories; 20.5 g fat; 46.6 g protein; 47.9 g carbohydrates; 5.7 g fiber
from: Everyday Food May 2006
Ingredients
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 C orzo
8 oz green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T olive oil
Directions
In a med saucepan of boiling salted water, cook orzo 4 minutes. Add green beans; continue cooking until beans are tender and orzo is al dente, about 5-6 min.
Drian orzo and return to saucepan. Mix in lemon juice and oil. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper.
from: Everyday Food April 2006
Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9-inch square baking pan with butter. Line bottom and two sides with a strip of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the two sides. Butter paper, and set pan aside. In a small bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
Place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of gently simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes; remove bowl from pan. Add sugar; mix to combine. Add eggs, and mix to combine. Add flour mixture; mix just until moistened (do not overmix). Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan for 30 minutes. Using paper overhang, lift brownies out of pan; transfer to a rack to cool completely (still on paper). On a cutting board, using a dampened serrated knife, cut into 16 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 2 days.
After she passed away, I inherited her piano. It has been sitting in my living room for a couple of weeks now and it makes a room that was before just there now feel complete and I can’t help but smile whenever I see it.
