Breakfast

I was scanning through things and I found a folder that I have with drafts of posts. It seems that I worked on some and never posted them. I will begin to do so. If they are repeats oh well, so sorry.

A while back I had breakfast at a neighborhood bakery. The novelty here was that it wasn't my neighborhood and it was on 8th street and 7th avenue in Miami near the car dealership where I took my car for service. Anyone who knows this area knows that it's in a very colorful neighborhood- Little Havana. My descriptions here won't do it justice but here goes nothing.


From the sidewalk when you look through the windows it just looks like a busy bakery selling morning pastries and coffees some for here and some to go as you hear the bells on the door jingle as it swings open letting customers come and go. The other thing you hear with the jingling which gets you going are clips of music. Music more suiting of a bar at 5:00 than a bakery at 9 in the morning. Salsa, Regeton. Fast paced, swing your hips music. I venture in. The music swallows me up and I realize that I am not just listening to the CD but to the waitresses singing. It's like I walked onto the set of a live musical but there are no props, it's all real.


There were all sorts of people sitting at the tables or at the counter eating everything from pastries and coffee, scrambled eggs and french fries to rice and beans. The 50-something year old Cuban man with his oversized beer belly, dockers that settle right under his paunch with a paisley dress shirt unbuttoned half way down to show his graying chest casually waiting for meat pastries and a cafe con leche at the counter. The couple in their 70's who were dressed in their Sunday best having obviously come from church. He held her chair to seat her and she held her pinky in the air as she drank her cortadito. The tired mom holding her head up with her hand leaning into the counter with maybe her sister or BF sitting at the counter with the 3 kids testing the spinablity of every stool. The old man nicely dressed out of style with his stately mother who walked in as if she were the Queen of Sheba. Her son actually dusted off the chair with -wait for it - his handkerchief before she sat down. The young guys coming in to get a days worth of food to put in the styrofoam cooler to go fishing and moi. I walked in with a book in my hand thinking I'd have a quite cafe con leche and read for a while. Right. There were people standing in "line" three deep at the counter and at the register. She took my order from 3 people back and told me to go ahead and sit, she'd bring it out. I found a seat at a table full of the plastic red baskets but no people so I piled them up, put them in a corner of the table and sat. The were men next to me that were arguing about sports, the stool testing kids were begging their mom for cookies, the waitresses were singing and here comes my Cafe con leche and there goes the pile of plastic baskets. The man asks me if I'm having breakfast, the "revoltillo" is the best in town. As far as I know Revoltillo is scrambled eggs, how good can it be. I smile and tell him maybe I'll try it. The waitress still singing and dancing as she comes over brings them a cafecito and he tells her I want to order food. I nod, order the scrambled eggs with bacon, potatoes and toast. Other waitress are sashaying by with pastries and coffees etc. Enter a group of teens looking like they haven't slept. Seemingly neighborhood kids that don't always pay/tip well. None of the waitress wanted to take their order and they all tried to pawn them off on each other. In comes a man with a belly like Santa and shirt 72 sizes too small and a toddler with the chubbiest face you can imagine. He sets the child down in front of the cookie display and the child begins to dance. The entire place stopped. You know those Visa checkcard commercials where everyone is busing along and then they stop cuz someone paid with a check. Well, this kid was the guy with the check. EVERYONE stopped to watch and he reveled in the spotlight. First boppin up and down then the head from side to side. When the largest of the waitresses comes out and gets on her knees and starts shimmying her shoulders towards him he does too. It was a hoot! The entire place started laughing. The song changed, people started hooting and hollering and applauding and the kids started giggling and life in the bakery resumed at its original pace. I got my order with ham not bacon, she apologized and asked if she had to change it. I told her not to bother. It was scrambled eggs with ham in it, a side of shoestring french fries a generous helping of Cuban bread slathered with butter and squashed to the thinness of my plate. The man was apparently waiting for me to try it. It was good. I told him. He smiled and left. It really was good. I asked her what they put in it. Butter. wow. I can't begin to tell you all the people that came into the place, the orders that were placed, that were gotten wrong and forgiven and eaten as it was. The kids got their cookies on the house and you could see mom was grateful as she counted out change to pay for the cafe con leche everyone had for breakfast. I paid for my breakfast and left a $20 tip for a $3.50 breakfast. The show was worth every penny. I had a blast.

Collegiate things

We have been getting mailings from 18s college all summer. It's been a mish mosh of things from computer info, registering for classes, workout schedule for the football team, sign up for Orientation, the tuition bill (we are NOT discussing that today!) and my favorite item so far has been from the dinning and meal planning department.

They are actually asking for home recipes! Is that cool or what. They want people to send in their kids favorite food items. They will attempt to recreate them to help remind them of home. If your recipe gets used, your child is advised what dinning area will feature it and what day. They will also post credit of the dish for all the students to learn were it came from. At the end of the year they sell a cookbook with a compilation of these recipes.

I thought this was the neatest thing and even better was when my son jumped ALL over it. Telling me to send this in and that in and this in etc. He was all like they could make a whole cookbook out of just your recipes. I thought that was so sweet of him.

So, what am I going to send well: a link to the Cuban cooking blog, along with Flan, jambalaya and brownies for starters. This is my project for next week because first we have to student loan shop to deal with that other thing they sent in the mail that I am NOT discussing today.

Menu planning

I'm not good at menu planning. I realize that I am the mom and that in many cultures I am supposed to be good at this but I'm not - Deal with it.

Actually, I think I used to be better at it. I like experimenting. I think that's my problem. When I hit the mom years of having to have dinner on the table in 30/40 minutes after an 8 hour workday and 2 hour commute all of your, at least my, creative juices were dried up. We started eating the same ol' same ol' over and over again. Add to that 2 picky eaters (hubby and 15) and I think I just gave up and when I found 10 meals that all four of us ate they just became the staple menu items.

Sure once in a while I would get bored and break out and make something exotic like a stuffed shells or jambalaya but only half of us would enjoy it. The other half usually ended up filling themselves with a bowl of cereal after dinner. I have tons of cookbooks. I heart cookbooks! and then there's the internet which has limitless amounts of recipes. I read through them and think -they won't eat that and get frustrated. That explains why I experiment so much when company is coming or when I have to take a dish to someone else's house.

Hilda loaned me one of The Barefoot Contessa's cookbooks the other day. It has some very basic recipes in there. I will of course eat any and all of them. It makes me want to make something new. So, I handed the book to hubby and told him to find something he'd eat. He found 2 whole recipes in the whole friggin book! and neither of them is new! One is for chicken wings and the other is for a breaded boneless chicken breast one of the coatings is Parmesan cheese - I've done that before. So, yeah fine, I didn't use her precise combination of spices for the chicken wings but they are basically BBQ wings which I've done both fried and in the oven. I guess I'll make them again soon just to change things up cuz it has been a while.

I wonder do most people plan menus for the week?

Check it out!

I made that card! It's the first card I've ever made and I actually entered it in a contest. I don't expect to win but it was fun and it motivated me and inspired me to make the card. I will be making more, that is for sure.

OK, this has nothing to do with the food theme. Oh, yes it does! The ladies are having an ice cream! Work with me people.

Cool Quote

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

-Mother Teresa

Simple and to the point. It reminds us that one makes a difference and I believe that. How we treat one person at any time has an everlasting effect, like the ripples caused by a pebble thrown in the water.

It remind me of Mitch Albom's book "The Five People You Meet In Heaven". Some of the people he meets he barely remembers because they played a minor role in his life yet his action played a major role in theirs and he never knew it. It's the same lesson as in the Mother Teresa quote; every action no matter how small matters. It's not easy to live our lives that way but I think it's a good to be reminded.

Positively fabulous

That title is my lame attempt at thinking positive and creating positive energy fro today. I woke up with the same back ache that I went to sleep with. I barely slept because every time I moved a spear was stabbed into my lower back and I winced in pain. Grinning and bearing my back I was up at 5:30 am to take 15 to the park for his cross country practice. After all that morning glory, I went to the dentist for a deep cleaning. Yipee! My gums are so sore that my entire face and head are hurting right now. Once I was back home I bathed Max, our dog. He has a growth on this back that he's scratched at and is now an open wound. 18 and I are convinced that he scratches at it because it bothers him in the heat. The other day 18 cut away at the hair around it and we have been spraying it with Bactine. Yes, we could take him to the vet but years ago when he had a similar growth sans the open wound, it cost a few thousand dollars to have it removed and I don't have that kinds money for the dog right now. So, a bottle of Bactine, a bath with Selsun Blue to help the skin irritation, a topical cortisone cream for the itching and he can stay inside to be more comfortable and not fuss with it is going to have to do.l So sorry Max. That brings us to dinner. I am making boliche and right now I'm not sure I will be able to chew it. I better not over cook it and it better be super soft. Going to take some meds now so that my mouth can get ready for dinner. Wish me luck cuz I'm hungry!

Simple fare

Tonight dinner will be simple but tasty. Hubby and 16 are in Tallahassee so it's just 18 and I. I am making a rice dish with the kitchen sink in it. Think Jambalaya/Dirty rice with all kinds of stuff in it. Of course this is something that the other 2 wouldn't eat because of all the stuff.

I've got lots of yummy things to put in it: chorizo, ham, shrimp, carrots, yellow squash, mushrooms, grape tomatoes and who knows what else. So the rice and a salad will be plenty.

Simple and yummy. Good for a Friday.

Rice Krispy Treats

15 doesn't eat well, or I should just say that he's a picky eater. The list of what he doesn't eat is longer than the one of what he does eat. I hope he falls in love with a girl who teaches him to eat but I digress.

One of his favorite snacks is Rice Krispy Treats. I have been making it a lot this summer. The recipe is on the side of the box but here it goes.

Melt 3 Tbsp of butter in a pot, melt 1 bag of marshmallows, remove from heat and add 6 cups of rice krispies. Mix thoroughly. Pour and press into a cake pan. Allow to cool and cut them up. Of course, we love to eat one warn and gooey. So, we don't wait for it to cool to dig in.
Obviously, you can make them as thick or thin as you want depending on the pan that you use.
Tip: I save the butter wrapper and use that to press the mixture into the pan. Since it's 'greased' the mix doesn't stick to it and keeps my fingers clean.

This one one of my mom's specialties, cooking was never her forte, so this one takes me back to happy memories.

Let's do lunch

If you are a regular reader then both of you know that not that long ago I took 18 out to dinner to the Melting Pot. It was very nice to have one on one time with him and a nice meal that we can't really afford to do all 4 of us. That, plus the fact that the other 2 members of the foursome wouldn't like fondue. Anyway, I suggested to hubby that he take 18 to lunch to Christy’s. Again, it's pricey so not a place we'd go with the kids. But they were having a Sneak Peek Miami Spice Menu and it was really a deal. Dinner was I think $35 and lunch was $22 per person. So, on his Friday off hubby and 18 went to lunch at Christy's. They had a great time. Hubby shared his favorite Miami restaurant with him and they chatted about all sorts of things and spent some good quality one on one time before 18 takes off for college. I'm glad they took advantage of the opportunity.

spork...knork

You've heard of and learned to hate the spork. That plastic spoon with mini fork tines at the end that makes this adult feel like she's 3 again! But what about a knork? How cool are they!? They would have really come in handy on the 4th of July. A combination of the fork and knife. Now THAT's handy.
http://www.knork.net/

I just have one stinking question. Why can't I think of something like that?

Failed Flan

I like to experiment and I often do so when company is coming over. I don't know why. Anyway, I have made flan numerous times but never in my pressure cooker. I was told that I could do this with one of THESE. It was given to me specifically for that reason. I was told that it could be done in the pressure cooker for 20 minutes vs. 45 minutes in the oven. That sounded good to me. Who wants to have the oven on in the summer?! So, I ventured to make my tried and true flan recipe in the pressure cooker. Now I need to ask the giver of the mold, 'How the heck and I supposed to get the mold out of the pressure cooker when it's done?" It's hot, it's a tight fit. Hubby and I tried we really did. We pulled out numerous utensils (and I have a lot) and tried to hook them under the top somehow and pull it up. All to no avail. Then we thought why don't we add more water and it will float up. HMmm. OK, of course as we do this the mold is wobbling back and forth and we both say out loud almost simultaneously, "Do you think the top will keep the water out? I guess we'll find out. " We kept trying to pull it out and finally we did. I popped the top off and the flan was flooded. We laughed. So, I dumped the water and flipped the flan anyway because I wanted to cut into and check the consistency in the middle and see if the 20 minutes was enough. I was a perfect consistency. So, the guests didn't get flan for dessert instead they got a story about it and some left over pound cake and ice cream. I'll get it right eventually with enough patience.

Sunday Dinner

It's Sunday and if you show up at my house for dinner 9.99 times out of 10 you will have Sunday Chicken for dinner. There's really nothing fancy about it. It's just baked chicken breast with some veggies and white rice. It turned into Sunday Chicken because since we used to get home so late during the week with all of the kid's activities there was never enough time to make it for a weekday dinner and so we would have it on Sundays.

It is VERY simple. Cut up whatever vegetables you like and are in season. I always put garlic cloves, onions cut in half and then whatever I have carrots, sweet potato, turnips etc. Lay the chicken breasts skin side up on the veggies. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil sometimes I switch it up and add red pepper flakes or paprika. I put a half a stick of butter on each chicken breast and bake it at 400 for 1/2 hour. Then I add lemon juice and some white wine or vermouth or whatever cooking wine you use. I pour it them over the chicken breasts and it enough to keep the veggies moist and not cook all out so that I have a sauce. I cook for another 1/2 or until the skin is crispy. I serve it with white rice and salad.
That's our Sunday chicken and it's what I'm serving up today to some friends today for dinner. I hope they like it.

Post-4th

It feels like Sunday but it's only Saturday. I love it!
We ate so many yummy things on the 4th at the BBQ. We had burger (of course), bratwursts - 2 different kinds; I think smoked and not smoked, homemade empanadas - 2 kinds, one stuffed with chicken the other beef, chorizo made on the grill that was sooo good, my pasta salad, lovely wines, a baked cheese ziti, and the appetizers were chips of course, a cheddar cheese ball, a cream cheese, spam concoction that had something else on top I don't remember what. Then for dessert was the Red Velvet Cake and mini cupcakes. I had one of everything but I had no chips and no bread. I ate all of my meats without bread. I was very proud of myself.

I commented that we are getting old because the get-togethers are now more adults than kids. We used to be out numbered. Now the kids are moving on and the adults are left to only fend for themselves. There were a handful of kids there compared to what we used to have basically because half of those kids are 18 now and living their own lives as they should. The kids that were there did set off their own fireworks in front of the house. I watched the TV specials and saw fireworks in DC and Boston. They were really nice. A good evening and I still have the weekend ahead of me. Nice.

4th of July

So what's going on for the 4th. My dad's in Marco Island, some of hubby's family is in the Keys, 18 went to Bimini with some friends. This evening I am going to some friends house to BBQ and hang out and 15 and his friends will throw some firecrackers. My food contribution is an orzo pasta salad and a red velvet cake. The cake is at hubby's request. He really loves it and I haven't made it in maybe a year. The salad was super easy. Anyone can make it. I watch a lot of Food Network and quite a few pasta salads were made in the past few days. The one I made was inspired by both Sandra Lee and Paula Deen. Paula for the veggies that I chose to put in it plus the idea of using orzo instead of a rotini and Sandra for the dressing.

Easy Orzo Pasta Salad
Boil a box of orzo. Don't forget to salt and oil the water. While that drained, I tossed in 2 bags of frozen vegetable medleys (carrots, snap peas, broccoli and water chestnut) to the same water salting again and let that cook up for a few minutes. I chopped 1/2 can of water chestnuts and tossed it into a bowl. Added the orzo. When the veggies were done I drained and tossed them in too. I picked out the large pieces of broccoli and carrots and cut them up into smaller pieces. I poured 1/2 a bottle of creamy Caesar salad dressing (I like Newman's) and mixed it all up. I added a little more dressing to get it to the wetness that I like and put it in the fridge to chill. It's that simple.

You can pick whatever pasta you like and whatever veggies you like and I have done it in the past with an Italian vinaigrette dressing and that's yummy too.

The Red Velvet Cake recipe is adapted from the Wall Street Journal back in Feb 2007 and they adapted it from "The Confetti Cakes Cookbook" and the icing was adapted from "The Waldorf Astoria Cookbook".

It's a 3 layer cake so butter and flour 3 round cake pans and preheat the oven to 350.

Ingredients:
31/2 cups flour (I used all purpose, they say cake flour)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process, I used Ghiradelli)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups oil (I used veg., they say canola)
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
6 tbsp. (3 oz.) red food coloring (it comes out to one little bottle)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla (I used 1 heaping tsp of Dbl strength Madagascar vanilla cuz it's strong stuff)
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 tsp. white vinegar

Whisk flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl & set aside. Place oil & sugar in bowl & beat at med speed until well blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. With machine on low, very slowly add food coloring (be careful, it may splatter). Add vanilla. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternating in 2 batches. Scrape down bowl and continue to beat just long enough to blend. (over mixing makes for a tougher batter). Place baking soda in a small dish & stir in vinegar add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds to incorporate. Divide batter into 3 pans and bake for 40/45 minutes until tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 20 minutes, flip and cool completely before icing.

Icing
2 cups heavy cream
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temp.
12 oz. mascarpone
1/2 tsp. vanilla (I use less of the dbl strength stuff)
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

Whip cream, cover in bowl and refrigerate. Blend cream cheese & mascarpone until smooth. Add vanilla and add sugar. Blend well. Fold in whipped cream and refrigerate until needed.

This is a very traditional old southern cake that recently became popular again. It's quite yummy. I hope you try it.

Hope that everyone has a safe 4th of July.

Harold and Kumar go to White Castle

I saw this over the weekend. Why did I like this movie? I have no idea but I thought it was funny. I actually laughed out loud! Fine. The 2 of you who know me are thinking that's not hard she'll laugh at anything. But see I don't laugh at these types of things. I don't but I did. Let's try this again. You know all those dumb TV shows out there like....I survived a Japanese game show. I can't handle that stuff. A few years back I commented to my family that if I owned a TV station I'd call it IBS for Idiot Broadcasting System and it would show all those dumb 'reality' shows. Remember Anna Nicole's show, I couldn't run that prime time because of content but it would certainly be a money maker. So the running joke when we see a commercial for one of these programs and I repeated get stunned that this makes for TV programming, they simply say "prime time for IBS!" I can't laugh at it. I just think it's too stupid. Anyway, the Harold & Kumar movie would for sure be a regular movie of the weekon IBS but the thing is I laughed. A Lot. I thought parts of it were downright hysterical. I mean come on when Doogie Howser steals the car, I was in tears laughing. And when Kumar shocks the Dean who's interviewing him with the phone conversation he's overhearing. I'm telling you, it's a hoot. Now I totally didn't get Napoleon Dynamite but Harold and Kumar are my kinds so stupid its funny.
What does this all have to do with food? Well, White Castle of course. I've never had a White Castle burger. Have you?

Cuban Cooking

As you know I have been getting together about monthly to learn how to make Cuban dishes. This past Sunday I learned to make Frijoles Colorados . YUM!

It's one of my favorites and I was taught by my MIL and its one of her best dishes. It's really not that complicated. It's just a long process even with the pressure cooker. We had a wonderful time. Be sure to click on the link there and check out the recipe.

Of course, I took some home for 18. He loves them and is very pleased to hear that I "know" how to make them now. Of course, I will give it a try soon and we'll see how they come out when I make them.

Book Review

I'm behind on my reviews so here's an old one....

The Thirteenth Tale
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It took me back to the books I fell in love with in high school. All those Gothic romance novels. There's more than one story here and they are well weaved together. I loved trying to solve the mysteries as I read a long, the plot twists, how we only got bits and pieces at a time, different parts of the puzzles. It was a fun read.

NoBloPoMo July

The theme is FOOD. I can't resist. I have to give it a try.

So, let's see if I can post 31 days in a row about food. I will link to other's recipes, write out some of my own, tell you about my tried and true and my new adventures in food. It's part of every day so theoretically there should be enough to write about. We shall see. Wish me luck.

I need to work on getting a button up for it or something. Hmmm...that technical stuff ALWAYS gets in the way.

Halfway there....

The year is half over! Can you believe it? I can't. So this would be the time of year that I take a look back and see what I've done and set my mind to a few more before the end of the year. I think about the resolutions I made and where I am with that.

So, I don't remember my resolutions. I looked back at my end of year and beginning of year entries because you would think that I would have blogged about it but didn't see any. So, we'll move on to what I have done. I fixed myself. That its I found a Doc, a DOM (Dr of Oriental Medicine) who has fixed me. I'm not in pain anymore. That's a biggie. Of course, i still have to loose weight so I am starting to walk. Haven't blogged about it because I didn't want to jinx it. But I am going to try to walk and reduce my intake. I'm already eating better because of my DOM but the problem now is quantity...proportions. My head knows the right ones but the serving hand, mouth and stomach aren't listening to the brain. I need to work on that.

I have been doing more of my hobbies which I am enjoying tremendously. I am scrapping, cooking, embroidering, crocheting and even starting to sew. It's lots of fun. I need to organize my self better and clean out closets and drawers to make space. I need to keep working on that.

So, looking ahead....I see walking....more crafting.....de-cluttering and organizing my surroundings...

Cool Quote

"Every action of our lives touches some chord that will vibrate in eternity."

-Edwin Hubbel Chapin

WOW! huh?! Think about that one for a while!

Just Imagine....

You are fast asleep. You vaguely hear some noise in the background but manage to ignore it and continue sleeping for you don’t know how long because well, you’re sleeping. You hear these words in your head “Good morning. What time do you pick up 15?” It’s a dream right, you don’t have to answer maybe you make a noise that sounds like a response, you wouldn’t know because well, YOU’RE SLEEPING. There it is again, “Hey Sweets, What time do you pick up 15?” So you answer out loud in probably an Exorcist type voice 7:15. Then you hear more voices and start realizing that this is not a dream this is your life early in the morning. You hear the Exorcist voice interrupt the voice, “What?!” You realize that Exorcist voice may be you. You clear your throat and start to open your eyes as you come out of your sleep fog and think that voice must be my husband. You are still hearing it. It’s another question, it’s about dropping the car off when you pick up 15. “What?” -that sounded like you- What time am I getting up? You are asked, “What time do you normally get up?” 7, you answer. Now you know it’s your husband who is telling you, “OK, I will go pick up 15 and when I come back we’ll take the car when I take you to work.” You’re only response is “What time is it now?” 6:32. So, you lay there for a minute and try to think. It’s 6:32, I have to get up when? To go to what before I g….” You feel yourself drifting off into that fog again. Noise you need noise. Where’s the remote. Turn on the TV for stimulation. It’s on, good. Focus on the noise. What are they saying…knit, perl, bind off…it’s a knitting show... concentrate! OK, what time is it now, click info on the TV, it’s 6:44…you’ve got to get going because even though you are unclear as to the whats, wheres and whens, things need to get done. You’re up, dressed, ready to go and he’s not there. Fine, he’s picking up 15. So, have your breakfast. 15s practice is over at 7:30, you have plenty of time to eat. The second you sit to eat, they’re back. WOW, how’d they do that? 15s never done that early when you pick him up. Hubby takes off to the room, you are still having your breakfast, and you are watching one of your favorite channels in an attempt to smooth out your rocky start. Hubby appears and sits next to you while you break fast and announces he was having stomach issues. OK, shows over, breakfast is done, what’s left of your coffee is cold. You take it all to the kitchen and ask, “Are you ready to go?” As you both head out the door, you check “Are we taking the car?” YES, he snaps back. You take the car and go to work and start bickering in the car about the time, lack of communication, the coordinating of the morning and getting to work. He naturally doesn’t understand because according to him he figured it all out with you this morning. He doesn’t understand that you were frickin frackin sleeping! WTF! If you did it to him, it wouldn’t work because you have learned over the years to NOT speak to him in the morning otherwise you mess up his routine. He thought you were different from him that he could talk to you in the morning. Yes, I’m different you can talk to me but preferably when I am maybe AWAKE! You get to work at 8:50. You had committed to having some reports delivered via email to someone by 9am. They are going to be late. Life’s a bitch. This was my morning…and hubby’s…we didn’t start off on the right foot….he doesn’t understand…he gets to go home and pace his day how he wants, he’s got the day off. I have to deal with deadlines and work demands and a buttload of work. Gimme patience! My MIL tells me that she doesn’t take returns or exchanges since I lost the receipt for him!

Coin toss

At game night the other night we were talking about odds and probability and other math stuff like that. I will be honest and tell you I don't remember how the conversation started but I know that we got into whether it was 50/50 chance of a coin toss being heads or tails. My stance was it's 50/50. Hubby and others took the position that it wasn't that it depended on the number of rotations, the number of times you toss it etc. Guess who was right? Before I tell you, sit down. I don't want you to fall over when you find out. All safe and secure now? Moi! I was right. HERE are the actual reasons why.

Any other mathematical problems you would like me to ponder and resolve (read: research online)? Just so ya know, hubby still doesn't believe me. I realize it's hard for him to imagine that I get something associated with numbers right. Go figure! :)

Stayed in all weekend!

The weekend was spent mostly in the kitchen. I cooked a lot. I made brownies Friday night for game night. I made 2 meat pies using this pastry recipe. I made a strawberry pie again, from memory because I lost the recipe and it was too wet, tasty but wet. I made a strawberry rhubarb pie. I've never had one but it intrigued me. I made this one. I made waffles for Sunday breakfast as per usual. Hmmm....when I write it out it doesn't sound like a lot. Basically, I made 4 pies, brownies and waffles. I guess it felt like a lot because the pies are like 2 parts each since I made the crust and the fillings.
I also watched a bunch of movies while I was cooking. I saw Searching for Bobby Fisher, which I had never seen and thoroughly enjoyed. I saw RV, which was really dumb but funny because I like Robin Williams. I saw Goodfellas - again- because we had recorded it for the boys since they had never seen it so, we say it because it was there. I saw Disturbia, which was good. I can't imagine seeing it in the theater, they would have thrown me out because of all my screaming. It wasn't gory but it was jump out at you scary.
All in all a good weekend even though the weather alternated between utterly too hot and torrential downpour.

Cool Quote

I stumbled across this quote and it made me laugh out loud.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - Robert A. Heinlein, "Lazarus Long"

That's a lot to ask for from any human being Mr. Heinlein! Let's see I can: change a diaper -check, take orders-check, give orders (so I am told)-check, cooperate (IMHO)-check, pitch manure (I'm guessing here)-check and cook a tasty meal-check. 6 out of 21. I guess I'll be here for a while if I have to complete that list. LOL! :)

Today is my brother's birthday. He's 41! Let's see what he can do off the list. He can change a diaper, balance accounts (I think), take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, I dunno about the equations and problems, pitch manure (again I'm thinking most of can do that), and cook a tasty meal for sure. Let's see he got 8 out of 21. Pretty good bro! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Wish I was there or you were here!

The more things change, the more they stay the same

That saying occurred to me this morning as I was driving 15 to his Cross Country practice. Last night I had a wonderful time and well needed laughs coupled with the fun of meeting new friends. Just what I needed after this week.

Pheasantly Fascinating, Mrs. Phez, The Scribbler's Nook - who I insist I know from somewhere. He looks so familiar! I truly hope it comes to me!- , The Mind Wobbles and her hubby all got together at Chez Phez to play Cranium. It was tons of fun. As we were leaving TroyBoy said they had little kids that wake them up at 5am. Well, mine may not be as little as his anymore and you may think much has changed but lets see. I'm thinking Baby Phez probably woke them up a little after 5, my alarm rang at 5:20. Mrs. Phez and I both got up. She got the baby, changed his diaper and got a bottle. I woke up 15 and got dressed. She probably took the baby to their bed to feed him and trying to get him to doze off so they can squeeze in another 20/30 minutes of sleep. I drove to the park, parked the car. lowered the windows, reclined the seat and slept for an hour while 15 ran. It's now 7am. They've given up on sleeping in. Lil' Phez is probably up by now wanting breakfast, they start the day for real this time. I am sure coffee is in play. I sit up and watch them finish up their practice, stretch and at 7:30 we leave the park and go home. He showers and I start laundry and have my coffee.
So, 15 years have gone by and my grandfathers words when I told him I was pregnant ring true. "You will never sleep the same again."
I just met the Phez' and I don't know their morning routine. I am really winging it assuming they do close to what we did when the boys were that young. But as you can see we are all up because of the boys, taking care of the boys. The upside here Phez' is eventually you don't have to change their diaper. :)
Thanks Phez' for inviting us! It was lots of fun!

Dots of the in-between stuff

In between work, hospital and regular home stuff I have managed to do some other things (not sure how) and here they are:

* Made a strawberry pie. It was low on strawberries because I didn't realize it called for so many and the kids have been picking at the pints in the fridge but it was still good, quite tasty. I want to make another one this weekend with the bajillion strawberries it calls for.

* I finished one book (The Geography of Bliss) and started another (The Last Lecture). Reviews will follow.

* I made a dress for my niece. She's 5. It's a sun dress. Don't think wow! now she can sew or anything. Frankly it was 2 seams. One up the side and the other the hem. BUT the hem came out real nice I doubled it over so there wouldn't be any fraying edge. It was good practice and helped me get familiar with my machine. I should take a picture and post it. Hmmm...maybe this weekend.

* I saw a few movies from NetFlix...Rent and La Vie En Rose. LOVED both of them. Hubby actually sat through both of them with me and didn't hate them. He didn't love them but he got through them. Yes, that was 2 movies in a row that were basically for me but remember it's June and June is mine.

* I have been delivering Orchids and Bromiliads that 15s Cross Country team is selling as a fundraiser. I thought it was clever. Would have been nice to do it before Mother's Day we could have sold a ton on Orchids then. As it is we've done very well. We are hoping that it will defray the costs of a trip they want to take this summer.

Can't think of anything else. I want to work on pictures this weekend. I want to put some on a CD for my brother and mail it along with the dress. If I do that, make the pie and get some rest in between GM's drama it will be a good weekend.

And in case you are interested, the sun is out and the headache is gone!

Weather...pressure!!!

I have the headache from hell. Yes, I am at work. Why, well because if I were to stay at home I'd feel guilty that I should be at the hospital and if I'm at work I can't be at the hospital so I'm at work. Back to the headache. It has been raining and yucky out for like 3 days. I have had the headache for like 3 days. It's because of the weather. I don't want to get technical on you (as if I could) but it has to do with atmospheric pressure and my head. Suffice it to say that other that drilling a hole right above my temples and over my eyes on my forehead and maybe on the top left of my head to relieve the pressure I will have no relief until this frickin' frackin' front passes. Naturally when I am in this state I should try to refrain from stressful situations, therefore I am at work and not at the hospital, guiltily ignoring the white elephant in the room and calling in to talk to docs and nurses and GM instead of dealing with them all in person.
But let me take a moment to rethink how I am (not) handling this....
I am grateful and blessed for:
*my GM who is reminding me loud and clear to appreciate life and that we are always in control of our life unless we give that control away
*my family who is being so patient with me, my GM and being helpful around the house
*my friends who are constantly fonts of prayer, love and support
*the rain that we so badly needed in this area
*my job that lets me forget about life stresses and yet gives me time to deal with them when needed
*for the strawberry pie I made last night because I couldn't sleep because of this horrid headache
Whatever....my head hurts...gimme patience!

Defying the odds

Yesterday's post was cut short because I was urgently called back to the hospital for my grandmother. I had left her an hour earlier with the docs orders for meds and tests having been given and a wait and see how she reacts. I went home to shower, change have dinner, connect with my family and do something a little mindless and recharge myself after a few hours in the ER.

I was called because now she was refusing treatment and they didn't want to take responsibility if something should happen. The Doc told me she wouldn't make it through the night...(heart rate in the 160s and BP 68/40)...she was arguing and physically fighting off Drs and nurses most of the night refusing treatment saying she wanted and was ready to die. We all tried to talk her into treatment. Every logic was used. Every ruse was used. Doc still claimed that she was coherent enough to make her own decisions. Finally at 3am ... I tried a different route...
ME: "Why the heck did you come to the hospital? You should have just stayed home and not wasted the bed and everyone's time and died there!"
GM: "That's what you want -for me to die! Well, I'm not going to! Nurse give me everything immediately to prove to her that she can't make me die!" Success. It hurt but it worked.
This morning she is awaiting a room to be admitted basically because they don't understand how she came back and her vitals are now stable. It's been a long night....

Nice day for me!

I had a lovely birthday weekend sharing it with the dads.

Friday, I watched Pride & Prejudice for the umpteenth time as the Oxygen channel was so kind to play it for me. It wasn't the Colin Firth as Darcy version but I still enjoyed it because I love P&P in any incarnation.

Saturday, my birthday! Yeah me! I ran a couple of quick errands and promptly came home to play with my sewing machine. I had ordered an outfit online and when I received the tunic length top it was apparently made for someone who is 7 feet tall because on me it could have been a dress. It went down to the top of my knees. So, why not just keep it as a dress? Well, frankly because I'm gave up my street-walker outfit days. The material is Acetate and Spandex. So, yes it stretches and would be a bit too form fitting for my rear for me to wear in public and not possibly be arrested. So, I was going to attempt to alter it. Sounds simple right? A hem. How hard can it be? Come on this is basic stuff. If I can't do a hem, I have no business owning a sewing machine. So, a little over an hour later, ta-da! The top is hemmed to a respectable tunic length for 5'4" me. I put it on. Aw, crap! The hem is like wavy. It's not that the seam isn't straight it's straight. It's just that since the material had stretch to it, I guess I was stretching it along as I was sewing and there's a wave thing going on. Oh, but look! It's wavy in the back too. Oh, it's like that all the way around. Cool. It looks like an effect. I finish getting dressed and walk out to model it for hubby.
Me: "How do you like it? It's the top I just hemmed. "
Hubby: Squinting to get a good look, "Not bad! That's pretty good! I like the design you gave it."
Me: "What design?"
Hubby: Squints some more and in a tone not as confident as before, "Well, the way it goes up and down kind of wavy. You did that on purpose, right?"
Me: "Not really. But it looks like it, so that's the story. I did it on purpose!"

And with that we were off to dinner at Carabas with my dad and his girlfriend (review later). After an early dinner back home to make the fixings for Father's Day breakfast. It was a lovely day...very relaxing....family....food...and crafting...what more could I want. Nothing.

Technically...NOT

As I have mentioned before, I am not technically inclined. So, I laugh as I take stock in my techness.

I can write on 3 separate blogs, I am on MySpace, I am on Facebook and I am on Goodreads. I think that's a lot! Granted I never used the MySpace or the Facebook previously except to check up on my kids and their friends. Now I have started actually using Facebook. I'm learning...slowly.

Hmmm...I wonder can I link my blog(s) and Goodreads to the Facebook? I will have to play with that later.

Another thing I just learned how to do is how to transfer pictures from my computer to CDs. I made some for the dads for Father's Day. WooHoo!

I will take this moment to send a THANKS to The Mind Wobbles! She is the one who takes the time to deal with all of my tech-questions and has the patience to walk me through things like the little linky thing up there to her.
So, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks and I'm getting a little technical.....

Musical cards

You know that commercial that is playing now for Hallmark Father's Day cards. You know the one with the musical card that plays Can't Touch That by MC Hammer and the kids give it to the dad and he sees himself in Hammer's video. My household loves that commercial. It makes us laugh. So last night 15 asked us what song we would want in our card. The first song that popped into my head was Celebrate by Kool and the Gang. Remember that one?! It took hubby a while but he thinks he'd want something by the Bee Gees and the Staying Alive album.

What song would you want in a card celebrating you?

Mine!

It's June and in case you didn't know, it's mine. Yes. The month of June is mine. My birthday is smack dab in the middle and I claim more than that day, I take the month to celebrate my birthday. I live large that way. I spend the entire month saying I want stuff and if the family whines, I say but it's for my birthday. I win. :) I enjoy celebrating things. Anything. So, I stretch my birthday out. I realize I have to give some time to the dads fro Father's Day (heck sometimes my bday falls on Father's Day) and my brother's bday is in June too and I am sure there are other things that are not me-centric that happen in June. But that works for me because I like sharing. So it's still mine. June is mine and I will celebrate it as I want but I'll share too because I like sharing. Just don't ask me to do something I don't' want because I wont' because it's my birthday month and so there you aren't the boss of me and can't make me do it.
So far this June is going just fine!

Kiss the ground

Saturday we went to hubby's aunt's house to see the MIL and give her the bday present we forgot to take to the Keys. 15 drove. He drove with all 4 of us in the car. for the first time. all 4 of us.

18 and I were sitting in the back. I try to just sit there and breath and tend to close my eyes. Hubby was instructing (read: quietly watching) shot gun. 18 says he doesn't want to do that again! He says now he understands how I was in the car with him. Mind you 15 is doing fine. But when you are in the car with a new driver you feel very out of control and you don't have the sense that they will stop when and how you want them too or that they know when and how to use the gas and brake pedal like you do. It can be very unnerving to say the least. When we got out of the car at aunt's house. 18 made a production of getting out of the car and throwing himself to the ground and kissing it. 15 just rolled his eyes and laughed saying "you're not home yet!". 18 got up put his arm around 15 and told him he did fine, he just doesn't want to test his heart that way again. They laughed there way into the house. It was nice to watch. Then 18 put his arm around me and said "I don't know how you did it for me and now you are doing it again. It must be hard." I told him it's the hardest thing you do as a parent; handing you kid the keys to the car and letting them go out into that crazy world. Yes, I am doing it again. What choice do we have? It must be done. Gimme patience.

Cool Quote

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain!"

I don't have a source for this quote other than a friend emailed it to me but I like it!
I love quotes. Pithy little sayings that hit the spot. I hardly ever remember any and I have many books of quotes and I have tons of little scraps of paper all over the place with them jotted down. So, I'm thinking that Cool Quotes may become a regular feature on my blog and be a nice way fro me to collect them and be able to refer to them when I want.

TGIF!

It's Friday. I'm glad. I'm tired. It's been a busy week here at work.
Today after work I am rushing to a girlfriend's house to catch the tail end of a lesson on making Pastel de Guayaba. It was a last minute thing and you I will post about it later. I want to finish an embroidery project I'm doing. I want to put some pictures on CDs for my dad, brother and another friend. I want to print out pictures from graduation. I want to work on some scrapbook pages. I want to watch a movie or 2 cuz they are relaxing. I want to bathe the dog. I want to cook or bake something out of the ordinary. I have a dentist appointment on Saturday and I think 18 want to go college clothes shopping on Sunday.

We'll see what gets done. I'm thinking not half of that will get done.

OMG!

I'm freaking out over here. I never talk about work (I don't think) but I am freaking out over here because the other woman that works here has just given 30 day notice! We are a VERY small operation here. There are 4 of us plus a part-timer. She has been working with the owner since the beginning of time - longer than all his wives put together! She's goto gal. She knows EVERYthing. She knows how he ticks. She knows where everything is. She knows how he likes everything. OMG! I think we should shut down the company. What am I gonna do?!?!? I can't fill her shoes. HELL I don't WANT to fill her shoes. OMG!!! How are we gonna manage?!?!?!?! I know we are all expendable but OMG!!!!!! Everytime I touch something today I have been thinking...I don't know how to do this! OMG! Gimme Patience! PATIENCE! GIMME ENLIGHTENMENT!

We decide to do an outdoor event = rain

Key West has been on level 3 water restrictions due to drought conditions. They should have called us earlier. Because that's all it took was for me and my family to want to stay and see the sunset for the skies to open and shower down on us. After a long hot day and the Trolley Tour which I recommend if you have never done it, we had dinner at The Rum Barrel (The Southernmost Philly Club in the US) and then walked over to have a slice of Key Lime Pie before heading to Mallory Square to see the locals do their shows and watch the sunset.
We felt the winds picking up but kept deluding ourselves and saying it would be a quick sun shower and move on as is common in FL, especially the Keys. The sprinkles started the camera and my in-laws ran for cover in a store. We milled about and watched some vendors pack up but one stayed. An escape artist, a la Houdini. The drops were getting bigger but he would get into the straight jacket and chains and escape if we agreed to stay and watch and not take off. We agreed. The sun teased us and peeked out from behind a cloud as he got tied up into his contraption. By the time he was locked in the rain was lightly but steadily coming down. As if nature were working with him, as his drama unfolded so did the rain. He got free and as the crowd was dropping $ in his open case the thunder and lightning came. A careful dash to the car and good-byes were said as we were driving home and they were driving back to the camp site for another night. We drove home in the dark in the pouring rain with our hazard lights on so that other cars would see us at 35 mph for 3 hours! Need rain? Call us and we'll make plans for an outdoor event near you too.

Memorial Day

I know it's the day after but...
Did you think of all the fallen service men yesterday? Did you say a prayer of thanks? That is what Memorial Day is all about. On TV, I watched the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier and talked about it with my boys. 18 saw it when he went to close-up and we all shared our thoughts. We also talked about the tour we took in Key West, we learned about it's connection to the various wars, it was a home to many a Navy, the base there, the statue of the sailor in the cemetery facing out to sea saluting all those who left and never returned. It was very interesting and fitting for Memorial Day weekend.
I again told the story of one of my best friends in high school who's brother was a marine who died in an embassy bombing in Beirut. It was the closest military death I have experienced. It was devastating to all of us at school. I pray for that family and many others.

The Plan

Here's the plan for Sunday...
to eat this:

and watch this:

Spring cleaning

I am forever spring cleaning at home. The idea is one drawer at a time, one closet at a time. I'll get there.
Yesterday it was the blog that got the spring cleaning. I'm not done. Later today I will work on my sidebar stuff. I finished that books months ago, read another one and am on yet another one. Gotta add to the blog roll and delete too. Just general organizing and culling to do.
Hope you like the fresh look for summer.
Here's wishing everyone a great long weekend and a toast to the beginning of summer.

Mental Feng Shui

A friend sent me this as a chain email and I liked the message so here you go! I deleted all the chain mail parts.

Mental Feng Shui
ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. T
TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, t heir conversational skills will be as important as any other.
THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
FOUR. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.
FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.
SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.
EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.
TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.
THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?
FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.
SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.
A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.

Must ...

My SIL realized the other day that 18 may never be back here to live. Obviously, he will be back for vacation stints and visits but who knows where things will lead while he's in college and if he will be back to Miami to live his post-collegiate life.

That prompted a lot of you haven't done this;you have to before you leave and you haven't that; you have to before you leave. So, he threw up his hands and said that we could have Sundays. Basically anyone can claim him for all or part of Sunday to take him to to what he MUST do before leaving Miami. When they were listing things many of them 15 has done and remembers doing but apparently 18 didn't go or doesn't remember.

So, we are starting this weekend. Memorial weekend. SIL's family goes RVing in Marathon Key. It's also MILs birthday. 18 has never spent the night in the RV, so we are driving down Saturday to meet them and stay the night. Sunday we are all driving down to Key West to spend the day, take the tour and have dinner for MILs bday. I hope 15 decides to go with us, even though he has spent many a night in the RV because it will be lots of fun to all go and neither of them has ever been to Key West. When they were little we used to go to Bahia Honda (another Key) but we never went down to Key West.

I'll keep you posted on what he has dubbed as his 'cultural adventures tour of Miami'. There are many things unique to this town (as any town) and I know we take them for granted because we live here. The thought of him leaving and not enjoying them will prompt us all to see our hometown as tourists. I have been wanting to do that for quite sometime.

Graduation dots

Well, one down, one to go. It was a jam packed weekend. Here are some highlights:

* A little after midnight the night before, 18 sends me a text that he's got another ticket, to invite my dad. At that hour I call my dad. He laughs because a few hours earlier his girlfriend's son called to invite her to her grandson's graduation because they had just gotten a ticket. So, originally, neither of them were going to see their grankids graduate and now a the last minute they both could but due to time and driving distances only one could. He drove her to see her grandson's. They came to my house the next day for the brunch. 18 then tried different friends to see if they wanted the extra ticket. At that hour, it was hard to give the ticket away.

* After the actual ceremony which is downtown, they block off the street and all the graduates and their families congregate there for hugs, kisses and pictures. It's quite a scene. A sea of blue caps and gowns all milling back and forth. Lots of fun.

* Since we exited through the side of the theater in stead of the front my inlaws got lost finding their car and walked an extra 10 blocks! My MIL says she may never wear heels again!

* Once we all got home we each went to our separate beds and crashed fulling clothed in our graduation finery. Hubby and I napped for about an hour. 15 slept for a couple and 18 slept 7 hours! When he finally got up and showered of course he went out to party with his friends.

* Regardless of the fact that we were hosting a family brunch to celebrate 15 woke up Sunday and had his bowl of cereal unable to wait for the brunch or break his routine. It was funny to see. It was like he was sleep walking through the motions of prepping his cereal etc. Very odd but funny.

* I need to buy an American coffee pot maker and a larger Cuban coffee pot. For these events I am constantly borrowing an coffee maker. I don't know what happened to mine. At one point I know I owned 2, now I have none. I don't get it. As for the Cuban coffee pot I have a small one for daily use. I mean it's only 2 of us, we throw the leftover coffee out everyday. When we made the coffee on Sunday, I thought there was enough but I NO. I overlooked my best friend (who incidentally had offered my her VERY large Cuban coffee pot). I had to make Cuban coffee twice. Then she doesn't know but when I was preparing it I almost really messed it up my dad and FIL were there and almost choked laughing at me because instead of putting Cuban coffee in the pot I was putting American instant coffee! That would have been a disaster. Gratefully, I noticed before I closed it up.

* I am very happy that the cleaning lady is going today to clean up after the weekend events. Hubby and I would clean up for 15 minutes and sit and veg in front of the TV for 45. At that rate it took a long time to pick up.

* Tonight we have lots of laundry to get to since we spent the weekend partying. No rest for the weary.

We are good and tired. Lots to be grateful for.....

The Final Stretch

Here we go...18's last AP test is today, Graduation Mass is tomorrow night, Graduation on Saturday with a lunch after that, and Sunday a family brunch to celebrate. My emotions and my mind are a jumble. I look at him and think 'Wow, that's MY son. He's a good kid. I did that.' See, I get misty just writing it. I need to take a deep breath. I have been doing that a lot lately.

He's so clueless. He has no idea of all the things I want for him. He has no idea of all the joy he's brought me. He has no idea of the satisfaction and pride I feel. He's so many things. A loving son and grandson, a good-natured brother, a good friend, an excellent student, a proud athlete, a determined person, a bit head-strong, a take charge kinda guy, not much time for foolishness unless of course it's time to fool around, good with little kids, a joker, a good listener, willing to try new things and comforted by tradition.

I have been doing a lot of reminiscing and I want so many good things for him. I simply pray that he will always be safe and happy. Good luck son on all your future endeavors.

The Best Laid plans...

Have I ever mentioned that hubby loves his job. He's a project accountant which means he spends some time in the office and lots of time at the various projects his company has around the county.

Anyway, today he had a 7:30 meeting and after was going to have time to stop at home to have lunch. Save a few bucks eating leftovers in the comfort of home before heading to the office. And before he actually even went to the office he's stopping by the high school to get the graduation ticket for his mom so she can see 18 get his diploma. Perfect. Life is good.

Our microwave is temperamental shall we say. The screen isn't visible right now. It works. You just have to remember what was where on the screen and hope you are pushing the right thing. So, hubby serves himself a plate of leftover fried rice and hits what he thinks is 2 1/2 minutes (who really knows), goes to the bathroom and the doorbell rings. It's the mailman, he has a certified letter for him to sign for. He does and gets the mail and put it all on the entry table and goes to get his food out. The plate got SO hot he burned his hand because obviously he grabbed it with his bare hand. In an attempt to not drop the whole plate on the stove top he did a juggle thing with both hands and the plate burning more than one finger as he got the plate to the counter. No spillage. Good. The cleaning lady came yesterday and people are coming over tonight. He quickly seeks relief and sticks his hands under some cold running water. OK. Good . Now he gets a glass out to serve himself some water. Opens the fridge and grabs the water pitcher not really looking carefully and as he pulls the pitcher out crash goes the glass bottle of lemon juice all over the kitchen floor. GREAT! There's a dirty towel on the floor from 18s workout yesterday. He grabs that and starts soaking up lemon juice and sweeps up glass and soaks up lemon juice and wets some paper towels and goes over part of the floor that was sticky. Dumps the towel in the washing machine. Fine. Done. So, it smells lemony fresh. Gets his glass of water and plate of food to scarf down lunch at this point because now he's in a hurry AND now his rice is COLD! He ate it cold not wanting to go another round with the microwave.
He called to tell me the story on his way to the office and I was laughing so hard I was in tears. Did I mention I have people coming over and now I gotta hurry home and vacuum up the tiny pieces of glass and mop the kitchen floor. I hope it's not overly lemony smelling. Gimme patience.

ADDED LATER....I just called hubby to ask what the Certified Letter was. He doesn't know. He left it with the rest of the mail and didn't open it! LOL!

Mother's Day

It's always rough for the obvious reason of it's in my face that mom's not here. I get very melancholy and wistful this holiday.

I was recently asked by a friend who's father recently passed, How long does it take to get over it? I told him, I'll let you know as soon as I do. He just looked at me in quiet silence. Then asked, You mean I'm always going to hurt like this? No, I reassured him. It won't always hurt. There will be days it hurts to the point of crying and days that a memory is a comforting warm blanket that helps you through something. But you never forget. They never go away. At least that's how it is for me.

This mother's day, I got my cards, spent time with the extended family, went to my nephews' piano recital (it was lovely!), BBQd at SILs, called other moms and wished them a happy day. It was all perfectly nice. But in the back of my head, nagging at me all day, occasionally causing a lump in my throat was that I couldn't give my mom a hug, that she never met my kids, she would love sitting and telling them all the stupid things my brother and I did as kids and that she did too. Hell, it's making me cry as I type this.

My sweet boys!

No! I am NOT being sarcastic. After dinner last night I sat at the table with both of my sons and we gabbed for about two (yes 2!) hours. It was lovely.
We talked about school stuff but not the grades, the people and the dramas that are in every high school - the stuff soap operas are made. Some of the other things we talked about:
sports (duh), their friends, upcoming summer dreams, college wishes, wouldn't it be great if..., remember when..., comparing my high school days to theirs, weekend plans.

It was great, we didn't watch TV, we didn't do any chores. We just sat, the 3 of us and talked and talked and talked. Really nice. They have no idea how much it meant to me even though I told them.

Athletic Banquet

Yesterday was another long day. We attended the boys Athletic Banquet last night after work and we had a really nice time.
We reconnected with a bunch of parents we hadn't seen in a while. That was nice. I knew boys on many different teams and it was nice to see them all getting their awards. 18 received the Senior Award in Track and Field. We were very surprised. In fact I missed the picture and quite frankly wasn't listening to what they were saying. Why, you ask, did I miss such a special moment? Well, because I was busy at the other end of the stage getting a picture of 15 who received his Letterman's jacket for Track and Field. On the way home we asked him what the coach said as the introduction to the award. He said he didn't hear it because he was looking over the table for his District patch when another coach punched him in the shoulder and said Dude, listen! Pay Attention! and he turned and listened just in time to hear his name. He was very surprised. We all laughed.
His best friend since 1st grade also received a Senior Award for his sport, Hockey. It was great to take a picture of the 2 of them with their awards. I have pictures of those two boys doing assorted things going back to 1st grade, it's great that they are still such good friends. I hope they can keep in touch through college.
Like I said, 15 got his jacket and his oldest friend (brother of 18s friend) also received his jacket (also for hockey). We are GREAT friends with the parents and I was so happy that all 4 of them received awards last night. It was great! I am so happy for all of them.
I took tons of pictures. The lighting in the place is a horrible yellow but oh well. Neither of my sons gave me a hard time about the pictures. They actually called me over to take pictures of different groups and with different friends. I think they appreciate it more, now that they see all the 'old' pictures in the scrapbooks I am making. I think they are enjoying the memories. I certainly am enjoying the ride.

Sprain or Fracture - your guess

Heck your guess is as good as theirs! 18 had been running in Track for the past month with a pain in his foot. The school trainer thinks it may be a small stress fracture and told him to have it x-rayed. 18 decided to keep running and check it out after the season was over. Since it is now over he now has an appointment with the doc but it's not until the 21st. So, he decided to go to an After-hours clinic (which has been wrong with broken bones for us before) and get the x-ray just to know because apparently NOW we need to know.

After a few hours they told him they don't think it's fractured. They think it's just a severe sprain. It's not his ankle, the swelling (yes, it's been swollen a month) is on the top towards the outside of the right foot. Anyway, they say it MAY be a minor stress fracture or a severe sprain. HULLO!!! Isn't that what we (my insurance) are paying you for? to tell us what's wrong? for what might be wrong he could have stayed home and polled that family and friends. They gave him a prescription for pain meds which he's not going to take, crutches which he used to walk outside of the clinic because he felt weird walking with them in his hands in front of their faces, and told him he should stay off of it and follow up with an Orthopedic. Gee Thanks! WhatEVER!

Seeing RED!

Red Pepper Flakes that is. I have discovered Red Pepper Flakes. Discover is the wrong word, they've always been there, I just never really used them.

Since I am cooking more and more veggies now, I gave my lazy susan a spin to look for something new to put on them and make them un-boring. When it stopped the Red Pepper Flakes were staring at me. Hmmm... I tossed in a few dashes and YUM! The jar I had was probably as old as Methuselah, so I bought a fresh jar and have been using it on all my veggies now making new combos every day. Basil and Red Pepper Flakes. Fresh Cilantro and Red Pepper Flakes. Fresh curly parsley and Red Pepper Flakes. A squeeze of lemon and Red Pepper Flakes. You get the idea. Last night I made grilled chicken breasts with garlic, scallions, chunked eggplant, lemon juice and you guessed it Red Pepper Flakes. DELISH! Baby, Where ya been all my life?!

Track Meet Stuff

We had a great time. Here are a few highlights:

* 3 of out boys got medalled in their events. We came in 15th out of over 65 schools. We had no injuries.

* A new state record was set in pole vaulting at 17'6". It was really cool to watch the entire stadium watching this boy, oohhhing and ahhhing and cheering him on. They stopped all the other events so that everyone could watch him.

* One of our coaches drank the other coach's contacts and chaos ensued. C1 didn't bring a case and so he left his contacts in a glass with saline solution. C2 half asleep in the morning grabbed said cup put water in it, drank his meds and left the glass on the counter empty! He left for the park with a group of students who had to register earlier. C1, who is basically blind without his contact, couldn't find the glass, the phone calls started to find his Dr., get the prescription faxed, go buy glasses, get kids to where they needed to be, get C2 to buy his glass. Good thing that a bunch of us parents went and there were extra cars and drivers.

* At dinner I almost yelled out to one of the kids "Let me eat your cherry!" but I caught myself at Let me and rephrased to "Are you going to eat the cherry on your sundae? No? May I have it please?" Whew! It was really close.

* I got the mother of all sinus headaches while I was there and went to get Sudafed. Did you know that now that particular decongestant is regulated and they were just shy of asking me for a blood sample to buy it. Apparently, it's used to make some street drug. Who knew!? not me!

All in all it was a good weekend. We all had fun and came home tired and happy.

I'm leaving

not on a jet plane.....Bwahahaha!

So we are taking off today to Winter Park, Florida for the State Track Meet. The actual events are tomorrow and we will be back on Sunday. It starts early on Saturday and end really late thus the extra days. I think it will be a nice quick getaway amidst all the end of year chaos that's going on. We are all excited!

Expired

Most of our food and drink products now have expiration dates on them. How far past that date is it ok to consume the stuff? This isn't Mission Impossible the container doesn't self destruct when it expires, hmmmm, maybe I'm on to something. Self-destructing food containers when the item reaches the point of non-consumption. You heard it here first people, just for the record. Anyway, back to reality. I rely on my nose; my nose knows when not to eat something because it's gone bad. I really don't use the date for much more than a guide. The other day I was going to use my last bouillon cube and noticed the box expired 2 months ago. I'm thinking how does this go bad? I used it, we all ate and we are still walking and talking.
So, last night at Coffee night the barista was going to toss a bunch of their sandwiches and salads because they expired. The date stamped on them was 4/30. I understand that they can't sell it anymore because if something were to happen to someone they'd be out of business. He offered them to us. We all took one for lunch the next day. My nose will know when I open it today if it has expired or not. Meanwhile I am looking forward to my chicken tarragon sandwich later. YUM!

White space

There is very little white space on my calendar for like the next 3 weeks. It seems there's something to do every day and the days that there isn't I have to do something to get ready for one of the upcoming things.

This week last night was the empty night which I spent cutting up graduation pictures to hand out at the family brunch I am having. Designing and printing the invitations and addressing the graduation announcements. I also reviewed some college forms for my son for the housing and class selection that need to be mailed out and made hotel reservations for our trip up in August AND for Family Weekend in October because some of the hotels were already sold out!
I bagged some of the boys old clothes to give to SIL when I see her on Mother's Day for her boys and cleared out my emails that I hadn't read in a few days.

But in the nest 3 weeks we have: State Track Meet (of course in another city, thereby requiring travel), awards dinner, prom, graduation mass, graduation & grad lunch, family brunch, Mother's Day, MILs birthday, plus all the regular every day life stuff! Tonight it's coffee night. I can't wait to see my girlfriends, they always help recharge me.

Time out!

I gave myself a timeout this weekend. Well, at least Saturday. Hubby and 15 went to a NFL Draft Party and then tickets to the Bon Jovi concert so they left at 1:00 and wouldn't be back until the wee hours. 18 went to Orlando on Friday for Grad Bash so I expected him to sleep in and then to go watch The Draft at a friend's house. At least that was his plan.
So, at noon I had plans to learn how to make Natilla and then just hang out at home all by myself. I was going to putz around on the computer and print some picture to do some light scrapbooking, cook and freeze some meals, and watch old movies that I had recorded on the big screen TV! Ah, the best laid plans....

Natilla class went great. YUMMY! and then I went home and 18 was sprawled on the sofa half asleep with the draft on. Are you going to stay home, I asked him (to rearrange my plans)? No, I 'm just watching the draft. Well, no biggie, I had other things to do. I went to the kitchen and took out all the meats that I wanted to thaw so I could cook later. I putzed around on the computer and sent some pictures to print online because I didn't have enough ink for the printer, so there goes the light scrapbooking. No problem. I cleaned out my wallet and wrote a note to the cleaning lady for Monday about some things I wanted her to focus on since I am having people over after graduation in a few weeks. I called my SIL and we chatted a while, it was her bday. I took a shower. It's now 5:30. 18 is asleep on the sofa. I start to change the channel. He wakes up: NO! I'm watching the draft.
Me: No, you are sleeping with the draft on. Why don't you watch it in bed?
18: Because then I will fall asleep for sure. -Apparently he was asleep for maybe on the sofa.
Me: Well, I have a movie I'd like to watch, can you please watch it in the room because I want to cook while I watch it.
18: Why can't I watch TV in MY OWN HOUSE IN PEACE?! - apparently he paid the mortgage off while I was cleaning out my wallet. He's grumpy, hasn't slept. I take a deep breath
ME: Well, you had said you were going to a friends and I made plans. I already switched them around and you have had this TV for over 2 hours. Now, I think it's my turn. There are 3 other TVs in the house. You can watch on one of those.
18: harrumphs and drags his body off the sofa and goes to his room.
I begin to cook and watch Masterpiece Theater's Emma. In mid saute, 18 stomps out of the house stating he's going to Friend's house. I let it roll off and continue cooking. I made Italian meatballs and froze enough for 1 dinners, I made steak burritos, set one aside for dinner, set 3 aside for 18 for dinner and froze the rest (8), I made Sloppy Joe mixture for lunch for Sunday all while watching Emma then Miss. Austin Regrets and then the 2nd part of Sense and Sensibility.

In the middle of it all 18 did come home for dinner in a much better mood. I paused the movie and he ate the burritos while I continued in my cooking. We chatted about Grad Bash, he talked to about the Draft, and I reminded him and he called his aunt for her bday. I finished up my cooking and sat to finish watching Austin Regrets and he tossed himself on the sofa to watch some. Mumbled something about how anyone could watch this and showered to go to a party.
Alone again. I cleaned up the kitchen and watched the rest of the movies while crocheting.
SO RELAXING! It was wonderful. It was recharging. I really needed that. I didn't think, I didn't try to solve any problems, or plan anything. I just relaxed and cooked, watched movies and crocheted. PERFECT.
Then came Sunday and I had to think and do responsible stuff. But I don't' want to think about that. Reliving Saturday is much nicer.

I fell off the edge but I'm getting back up now...

Where have I been? you ask. I know you didn't really ask but this is my blog, so there. I have been struggling. Struggling with obligation, guilt, responsibility, sacrifice all those types of words...


I won't get into details because I know it will turn into a tirade and well I'm not doing that. Suffice it to say that GM is testing every fiber of my being. Friends have commented to me that I'm quite and they can tell something's wrong. I am really trying people. They say it's a ll a matter of outlook, attitude, happiness is a decision we make when we get up in the morning. It's hard people. I'm really trying. What my gut tells me I should be doing she doesn't want me to do. I think I should be her go to person, there to help her burden, her emergency contact, her helper in all things. I am none of those things because she doesn't want me to be. I don't think it's that I am hurt by it. I am truly struggling because I think I have an obligation and responsibility to be those things and I don't know how to do it when she doesn't want it. I have also been told by more than one Dr. over the years that all this strife that I have over her is making my physically unwell. OK, I'm rambling already and I didn't want to do that. You can only lead a horse to water, you can't make him drink. And GM doesn't even want to go near the water because I filled the trough. I don't know what she wants/expects from me and I truly think I just need to let go. I have been telling myself that for 3 weeks now. It's not easy. It's one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. I'm trying. I'm really trying. I'm trying to do this and not feel like I'm failing. I have ordered some self-help books that have been recommended to me to help me through this and my next step is therapy which I am seriously considering if I feel like this much longer.
So, I am putting on a smile and focusing on my kids and on myself...things that make me happy...things that make me feel good about me....still praying for patience...taking baby steps.

Book Review

I finished reading Into Thin Air by John Krakauer. It's a true story about a Mt. Everest expedition gone bad. Obviously, he survives and writes the book but not everyone climbing that season was that lucky.
It was tough to read because well it's real. There are some very technical parts. I read more about ice climbing than I ever thought I would in this life time and yet I remember very of those details because I think that's when my eyes would glass over.
Typically I read during lunch. Someone who sees me read often actually stopped and asked me "Is it that bad?" I just looked up at him and didn't know how to respond and he went on to say "Your forehead is all scrunched up, your shoulders are tense. I've heard you laugh out loud and even seen you cry while reading but you look like this is painful." I explained what the book was about and he just thought I should read something more enjoyable. I took a deep breath, rolled out the kinks in my shoulders and plodded on slowly up the South Col of Everest.
The story itself is interesting and I guess by my physical reaction while reading, it was written well enough to put me there on the great mountain. But I can't say I enjoyed it. It just wasn't my cup of tea. If you like high adventure books, then this is for you but honestly, I probably could have been satisfied watching an interview. I will recommend this to few people because I don't think it's for just anyone.