catnip and coffee

• I’m doing bullets today because it seems faster….
• Work is kicking my butt yo. Too much to do before Friday deadlines. I’m ordering final images for one book, and finding a gazillion image options for another. Why do these things always fall on the same week? Last week I had nothing to do!
• Charity event I’m doing this weekend should be kicking my butt, but I feel like I haven’t done crap for it so the guilt is kicking my butt instead.
• I am obsessed with refreshing the 10 day forecast to see what the weather will be for this outdoor charity event that I’m slacking on. Right now: 40% chance of rain.
• I had leftover chicken, tomato, and garlic pizza for breakfast. The tomato made it really soggy. And now I’m gonna smell like garlic all day.
• Great mother that I am, I just fed my kid brown and serve sausages (microwaved) and a cheese stick for breakfast. I guess it’s better than fruit loops.
• Boy has to go to school today. I seem to get nothing accomplished on school days due to all the freaking time I spend in the car going back and forth. Frankly, two hours of preschool helps me not. at. all. And it costs me two bucks in tolls every day.
• My sister gave me lemon balm from her garden for Mother’s Day. I think I might have killed it already. Bummer.
• I had what I thought was a great “Mexican Lasagna” recipe all typed and ready to post. Then I made it for a recipe swap night last week. Blech. Yes, Nicole the tortilla texture was a little funny. And the re-heat value (very important!) was, as my boy would say, yucko mucko. How can something be soggy and dry at the same time. When I have time I’m going to find my tried and true Chicken and Black Bean Enchilada recipe and get that ready to post instead.
• HRC is really pissing me off that she won’t drop out already.
• I haven’t done groceries in ages, so dh has had nothing to pack for lunches this week. Not saving any $$ that way! Also, it’s the reason for the weird breakfasts. Maybe.
• I really really need to buy a can of air. My keys are a little crumby and I’m having trouble with the enter button. I have to hit it really hard to break up whatever little crumb is underneath! Um. Yeah. I suck at cleaning even worse than you ever thought.
• I’m thinking about getting a second cat. What am I? Nuts? Yes. I do think George needs a companion. And major overcrowding at local animal shelter makes me sad….hence next bullet:
• I feel bad for people who get foreclosed on, (there but for the grace of god go I…) BUT it really bites when some of them leave their pets locked up in their empty houses when they move away. Assholes.
• I read a very funny post yesterday and then I got in a little trouble with dh for my comments on said post. Sorry honey Then I went and unloaded/reloaded the dishwasher. If you go read it, you’ll understand.
• I don’t seem to know how to end this post. I don’t think I like bullets after all, it was not faster.
• Must go brush teeth and leave.

My boy and I were discussing the merits of grilled cheese versus a hot dog for lunch today. Both super! healthy! I know, but geez, I’m crazy working today!)

Anyway, he said to me “why does grilled cheese start with girl?”

Huh?

I had to pause and think about what he meant by that.

“Dude, it’s grilled cheese not girled cheese!”

“Ohhhh.”

Then he had a hot dog.

I really have to do some work today, but want to share something with you first. It’s kinda hairy. Literally. Disclaimer: if you’re a boy and you don’t want your rosy vision of girls lives to be ruined, look away now please.

Okay, now that they’re gone….

I have a confession. I have a few stray hairs in some odd places. Like the one next to my bellybutton. That’s the one that doesn’t hurt like hell when I pluck it anymore, since my c-section cut off all the nerve endings in my lower abdomen. Pants too tight? Can’t feel it! Cell phone vibrating in my front pocket? Can’t feel it! Pluck that hair? Not a twinge! Hey, if you guys are still here, it’s just your own fault.

Ahem. Okay, there’s also the solitary hair under my chin. Let’s just say I know I inherited that one from my mother. And I should expect more as I get older.

I will also confess to having a mono brow that I pluck regularly, but that’s nothing compared to having to use my cuticle scissors to clip my nose hairs once in awhile lest I get a moustache growing of of there. Don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about!

I suppose it’s to be expected to have nose hairs in my nose. But here’s the real horror people: what about one on your nose? Yes indeed, I was inspecting my face on Saturday morning (you all do that don’t you?) and I found what I at first thought was a teeny tiny blackhead. But it wasn’t. I had to pull it with the tweezers, and dang it really smarted. It was, in fact, a little tiny hair growing out the TOP of my nose. Tiny, but a hair nonetheless, and it was dead center. I am officially old.

My parents reminded me of a an anniversary today. Twenty two years ago my father had a heart attack. It was Mother’s Day. I was in eighth grade. I had forgotten. Not that he had a heart attack, but that it was on Mother’s Day. It was good I came here this weekend. It was good to spend time with them both.

I’m hanging out at my parent’s house this weekend. I think I cheated myself. If I had stayed home I might have been able to convince dh to pamper me today. Heh. Okay, maybe not. But seriously, why didn’t I plan it so that he was the one who took the kid away for the weekend and left me home alone to sleep in? In case you’re wondering why he’s not with us, it’s because I decided to stay here through to Monday and he can’t miss work. I figure if I’m gonna drive three hours to get here, I’m gonna stay for two nights. Honey, if you’re reading this, I miss you, and go call your mother.

My boy woke me very early this morning, so cute snuggled under the covers with his eyes scrunched against the early morning light. The first thing he said to me was “when are my cousins going to get here?” Dude. It’s 6. They aren’t getting here until lunchtime!

My oldest sister will be here with her two boys. The boys will babysit, and she will likely bring me plants from her lovely garden. My mother cooked a ham yesterday, and is making potato salad to go with it. She won’t let me in the kitchen. And I don’t have to drive three hours today. It’s shaping up to be a good Mother’s Day How’s yours?

ps to Beaglemum: Congratulations darling, and I hope your first Mother’s Day as a mom is your BEST Mother’s Day ever!

I’d rather have a little India Arie stuck in my head all day:

So I had to drop off the boy at t-ball this evening and then I had to go to a meeting. I didn’t have time to go home and get dinner, nor did I even have time to buy a decent meal. But there was no way I was going to a freaking town council meeting with an empty stomach. (Don’t even ask why I was there, but I’m pretty sure me and my cohort were prominently displayed on the local cable access channel. Yikes.)

Anyway, my solution was to stop at a convenience store, grab a bag of chips and a soda, (and a powerball ticket, but shhh, don’t tell dh!) and eat it in the parking lot. Now, if I ate said chips and drank said soda WHILE reading Bon Appetit magazine, is that true irony, or is it Alanis Morissette not really irony kind of irony?

I just realized, I really hate that song. Why did I write a post with that in it? Now that’s ironic. Right?

[edited to add: HELP ME. NOW THAT FRIGGING SONG IS STUCK IN MY HEAD. and I'm very sorry if it's stuck in yours now too.]

(Yesterday I promised a little something new and fun this week! Well, here it is! My latest recipe is cross-posted over at Chop. Stir. Mix. It’s the cutest foodie site ever, and it’s a great resource for busy women. Go see for yourself!)

Back when dh and I were living in Northern Virginia we would sometimes go to Red Hot and Blue, a bbq restaurant that was just down the street from us. One of the menu items we both loved was their chicken corn chowder, which had just a hint of smoke and heat. Now that we’re back in New England I can’t get no RH&B, so I had to come up with my own version of the chowder.

Now, mine certainly isn’t the same, and it would NEVER be called gourmet, but the flavors are perfect, it’s hearty, and it’s one of the easiest meals I make. I could boil the potatoes myself and I could bake the chicken myself (and sometimes I do.) I could also milk a cow myself (hee hee), and heck I could grow the corn too (well, probably not) but some nights I just don’t have time to do anything but open cans. Do you have those nights too?

The point is, I’m giving you my easiest version of this, and you change it up however you want, k? The only super duper important things here are the roasted corn and the spices.

Lazy Man’s (or Busy Women’s) Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder

2 cans corn, one drained, one not!

2/3 bag frozen roasted corn (I had a 1 lb bag from Trader Joes)

1 package pre cooked diced chicken, or 1 cup diced baked chicken

1 can diced potatoes drained or 2-3 boiled potatoes diced

1 can cream of potato soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 ½ - 2 cups milk

1 cup light cream (if using skim milk use more cream and less milk)

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne pepper

chili powder

optional:

4-5 scallions or 1-2 small onions chopped fine

2 tbsp butter/margarine

(If using onions or scallions, start by lightly sautéing them in butter.)

Get a big pot and dump in all of your ingredients, all the corn, (including the can with the water), cream of potato soup, cream of chicken soup, potatoes, milk, cream. Slowly heat on Medium to a low boil (not roiling), then turn to low to simmer. If soup is too thick add extra milk or a little water, if too thin add extra cream or more corn. Add cayenne, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste, (remember the canned soup has salt already so go easy.)

Simmer for a few minutes to meld the flavors, and enjoy!

ps. Here’s a printable pdf version if you want it! spicy-chicken-corn-chowder

I’ve always wanted to try making risotto, but it sounds so intimidating doesn’t it? Well when I saw this version of it on Pioneer Woman Cooks I couldn’t help but think it was actually doable. I pretty much followed her recipe to the letter. My only changes were to run the onions and garlic in the food processor - I didn’t want chunks. I also discovered grating real parmigiano reggiano will only make your knuckles bleed - take my advice and run that through the processor too!

Apparently, the most important thing about making risotto is: you must stand at the stove and stir stir stir, every few minutes. For about 40 minutes. So if you want a make it and walk away recipe, stay away from this. BUT if you want a truly glorious food experience, go, try it right now! It is so worth the effort.

Oh and by the way, it was great this morning too, when I ate it cold for breakfast!

When the color on the box is nothing like the color it turns out on your hair.

<deep sigh>

I naturally have very (? it’s hard to remember!) dark hair, but with a few bright white bits of fishing line hairs thrown in. I typically just do highlights to distract you from blend the gray. I’ve did some crazy highlights over the winter so when I started to see roots I thought that this time I thought I’d just do an all over color, lighter than my natural shade, but slightly darker than my highlights. I also wanted it a little more red. Doesn’t “medium auburn” sound about right? It did to me. But, no. It might as well have been labeled dark blah.

On a different note - I have something fun coming up later this week! Here’s a hint.