Everybody Loves a Parade

(and don't worry, Uncle Geoff-- he does have black gloves to wear tonight!  And a red light saber, of course)

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Quite the Pear

The first seasonal cold has hit the parentals in this household.  Mine is more of a head thing and the BG's is more of a chest thing, but neither thing is great.  We both crashed at 9:30 last night and, while I'm sure all that sleep was good, I'm not sure it was a cure-all.

Normally on a Thursday, I'd take C to school and have several hours to rest if necessary.  But not today, of course.  Her Halloween party is all morning and then his is in the early afternoon.  Blerg.

In recipe news, I don't really have anything to share other than this pic of pumpkin pear bread:

The bread itself was seriously underspiced but how fun is it to cut into it and see the little Bosc pear?  There were also chunks of pear throughout the batter.  Had it had more spiced flavor, it might have been a home run!

Happy Place

I stopped by the local farm to pick up some apples yesterday and found my wishes fulfilled for lots of variety.  I tried to take a picture of the bounty but, what with the sun and the angles and my shortness, the finished product left me a little....crooked.  So I decided that getting it to its proper position would make me happy and we'd just add a little pop of color behind it.  Behold, apple joy:

Also, these kids:

Shufflin'

Can you tell what commercial we love around here?



Hmm...maybe you need a little more detail:


(In case you are still unclear, check out this link!)

Family Fun

As gracious hosts, we arranged for beautiful fall weather for the weekend visit with Big D and Kathy.   They generously stepped in as best.playmates.ever.  Check out the winning combo of eternal swing-pusher + gorgeous skies:

And he doesn't only play on playgrounds-- he also folds himself into the back of cars so we don't have to take more than one!

An extra treat for the weekend was that Uncle Marc (Big D's brother who lives in NH) was in the general area for work so he popped up to attend his first high school football game since he himself was in high school!   GO RAMS!   (We won 54-30 and now officially have a winning record at 6-2)!

Unfortunately, the tall triumvirate (B-man, the BG, Uncle Marc) were never at home awake at the same time since Marc had to leave Saturday morning, but there was still some time for Lego talk between the wee boy and his engineer great-uncle!

Such fun!

Visitors!

We are so excited to spend the weekend with these fun people:

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Recipe Roundup

 While I know there are all kinds of tasty eggplant dishes (how can you go wrong with Parm?!), the first thing I always think of is ratatouille.  Long before there was an animated movie, Anne and I were tasked with making a batch to bring to our high school French class party.   That day, one of our esteemed classmates called it, in all seriousness, "rataTATtouille" so that is now its official name.   And, hey, it uses a ton of veggies:

Basically, I just sauteed everything, starting with the "toughest" veggies and ending with the tomatoes, and it kinda morphs into a yummy stew that we eat with rice.  That's pretty much what Emeril says, so it's all good!

 

I still had half the green cabbage from the previous week's delivery so my recipe search was for what to do with that.  I went with  Rustic Cabbage Soup but decided the BG might be in need of some meat so I bought ground pork and make little meatballs to drop in and cook.   I searched for a recipe that included that technique and ended up using the meatball prep portion of this recipe for Mom's Meatball Soup!

Coming tomorrow:  red Bibb lettuce, Nittany apples,  Romanesco cauliflower, parsnips, Bosc pears, tatsoi, red onions, and loose white turnips!

Random Photos on a Wednesday

Pleytime

I recently saw a deal for a free trial at Pley that I decided I couldn't pass up.   Like Netflix is to DVDs, Pley is to Legos and there's a certain lad who lives here who just might be a titch into building sets.  He's also really into building them once and then having the pieces strewn about everywhere and then saying he can't build it again on his own because the pieces aren't all together.  I've gone back and forth about whether it makes sense for him to keep getting new sets so the opportunity to try a "rental" was just too good.

He's excited!

Inside the box:  a mesh bag with the pieces and a plastic bag with the instructions:

The deets:

A happy boy with a (gigantic!) finished TIE Fighter:

We're sending the set back today and, if we were to cancel right now, we wouldn't be charged anything-- hence the free trial of one set.   I think we're going to do one month of paying, however, to see how it works over the course of 4 weeks and if it might be a good option for his Lego-ness in the future.  (Anything that helps develop his fine motor skills AND keeps him away from a screen is a win in my book!)

In no way did this post arise from any reason other than I saw the deal on a group discount site but I do love reporting on what we learn in case anyone out there might be interested.   If you are, the site gave me this referral link to share!

Hair Today But Not Yester(year)!!

Miss C wandered in after a nap the other day and I just couldn't believe how much hair it looked like she had.  I mean, she had so little for SO long!

And then, the next morning after I got her dressed, she very determinedly told me that she had combed her hair and brushed her teeth HERSELF:

This little girl keeps us giggling with her facial expressions and personality.  Her preschool teachers reported that she is the most even-tempered kid they have and that she is friends with everyone!

I think we'll keep her.....but I might still need to be in charge of getting her ready!   :-)

"Punkin Patch"

Miss C just told me that's what I should call this picture of our front-door-adjacent display:

I keep thinking it's Saturday because there is no school today and the football game was last night (and not pretty since our opponent is one of the state's best).  But hey- it's only Friday!!

Happy weekend!

Recipe Roundup

Let me just say, first of all, that I am well aware these are horrible food photos!  I figure it's better to give you at least a little sense of what the recipe ends up looking like....???

I've been thinking a lot lately about how, as a book person, I love the idea of cookbooks.  I love flipping through them, looking at the pictures, and trying to turn the text into yumminess.  As an information-searcher, however, I really love typing ingredients into google and going from there.  Cookbooks can't tell me where to find these magic combos of ingredients so they stay on the shelf for now.

This past week, my first search was "leek portobello" and what popped right up was Portobello and Leek Carbonara.   Um, YUM.   (And it was!)

 (That's some roasted cauliflower on the side in an attempt to keep me from eating too much pasta...also, that's a small plate not a dinner plate.)

Then, since I had some chicken thighs in the freezer, I searched "cabbage chicken thighs" and found Apple Cider-Braised Chicken and Cabbage which, yay, also used apples from our box as well as the cider I'd bought last week at Weggies-- oh, and the rest of the bacon from the carbonara, too!  (I didn't have fennel bulb, fennel seeds, or applejack but it was really tasty anyway!)

Highly recommend both of these dishes for a fall meal!!

Oh, and I didn't take a picture but I've now made this Italian Orzo Spinach Soup twice recently, the latest time being with the rainbow swiss chard from the box instead of the spinach and with a zucchini from the previous box thrown in, too!  So yummy!

Scheduled to come tomorrow:  red tomatoes, golden delicious apples, red kuri squash, beets, green beans (extra of these since I ix-nayed the rustic salad mix b/c we have salad greens already), poblano peppers, eggplant, and french shallots!  It also ends my 25% off promotion so I'll have to decide whether to keep going--- I do really like the motivational cooking, though!

Wordless Wednesday

Edited to Add: nothing being announced here. Move along. :-) (see comments for details) 

Training to be Betty Baylor?

Students who are really into the Baylor spirit are referred to as Betty or Bobby Baylor.  The specifics of the definition change with the fashion times (those crazy college kids today and their running shorts + boots...) but when we were there, it included being really dressed up--perhaps with a belt over one's shirt--and definitely featured silver beads.   Betty Baylor in the late 90s was an officer in her sorority, maybe sweetheart of a fraternity, probably in student government, and most likely either an elementary education, speech pathology, or business major**.   She might not have worn a bow in her hair all the time but her older sister definitely did when she attended Baylor earlier in the decade, giving rise to the other term used a lot:  Baylor Bow Head.

Indeed, bows are a huge deal in the Texas subculture.  "The bigger the bow, the closer to God, " they say.  Living outside the bubble for such a huge chunk of my life, I don't feel the pull to giant bows...but I take my role as a keeper of Baylor traditions seriously.  There will be bows.

**I'm giggling this morning because I just did a google search re: the origin of "Betty Baylor" and this document came up.   Apparently "Betty" has branched out to the Nerdy Side and she's been known to sit for a University Scholar exit interview.  (I'm allowed to say this because I am a card-carrying member of the Nerdy Side!!!)

The Virtual Crowd

As many of you know, Baylor played in a football game Saturday afternoon that was one for the proverbial ages.  We never led at any point during the game....until the last-second field goal put us up 61-58 for the win.  To achieve that victory, the Bears scored 24 points in the final 11 minutes.   It was insane.

For the current Baylor team, however, trailing an opponent is unfamiliar.  We're not used to it.  So, as one who likes to prepare for the worst so as to be less disappointed, I sought the counsel of my wise brother.  And that guy deserves all the gold in the world for never giving up hope:

When I was looking at the time stamps later, I noticed that we had no communication during the last hour of the game.  (Which, to be clear, a college football game has 60 minutes of playing time....and this game took almost 4.5 hours!!)

What was I doing during that time, besides charging my dead phone in fits and starts, pacing a little bit, and stress-eating some Tostitos?

Getting messages of solidarity from Polly's dad (in Virginia) sent via Polly (in Oregon):

And...sharing in the drama with Lindsay:

Hooray for Baylor, the #4 team in the nation!!!!!  They might have taken a few years off our life, but hey-- we still get to live those years as Bears!

Friday 'Fessions

(all of which arose from living out my day yesterday):

1)  Anytime I open the door to a one-room public restroom, I actively worry that I am going to find a dead body.

2)  When I see/hear the name of a city in a different country, my first point of reference is always Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego? and my second point of reference is Alias.   If Carmen's henchmen and/or Sydney Bristow traveled to the city in question, then I'm going to know it.  Otherwise, it's a toss-up.

3)  If a preschool teacher says she'd like me to come into the classroom to share something, like "my expertise," I will say, "Oh, they want to learn how to do internet research, then?"

4)  I am now officially annoyed if a public place doesn't have wifi.  I mean, come on.  Catch up with the times.

5)  When my kid actually lies down on the kitchen floor and cries for minutes on end about how much he hates homework and how it is so hard, I momentarily wonder if maybe I didn't give birth to him after all.

6)  I am so glad that I don't seem truly to be lactose intolerant because chocolate chips by the handful taste really good when stressed.

7)  I like to dance in grocery store aisles....and I'm not the only one:

Plated Produce

Maybe I need to stop trying to post every day--  I know how EXCITING looking at plates of food is!  :-)

I decided recently to re-up with the farm delivery service that drops a box of locally harvested produce on one's doorstep once a week.  (Obviously, there was a discount coupon involved.)  Friday morning was our first box o' goodies. With company in town and lots going on, we didn't really do much with it right away but I'm pleased (and satisfied!) to report that I've put quite a dent in it....which is good since another will arrive tomorrow morning!!

The company sends out an email earlier in the week listing what will be in the box and now offers the opportunity for a subscriber to ix-nay items in favor of extras of something else.   I took advantage of the POWER and said they could leave the celeriac out and give me some extra "early Fuji apples" instead.   I contemplated ditching the golden beets but decided to stick with them and, happily, they (after being roasted and then tossed with some orange juice and fig vinegar) have given me a tasty lunch several days this week:

Above is my lunch plate.  Beets on the left; farm-fresh lettuce and cauliflower on the right.  I did then add more goodies to my salad (carrots, avocado, pumpkin seeds, a bit of crumbly bleu cheese) but these were the components in our delivery!

For dinner, I took some inspiration from assorted online recipe searches and cut up the sweet potatoes and apples that had been in the weekly delivery, and put them in the crockpot with some onion, pork tenderloin, brown sugar, and cinnamon.   The apples had cooked down completely by the time we ate but it was very yummy.   The lacinato kale also came in the box-- I tried sauteeing it in coconut oil per a suggestion someone gave me recently and it truly was tasty!

According to the email, we should receive tomorrow:  Bosc pears, Jonagold apples, spaghetti squash, baby portobello mushrooms, leeks, red striped garlic, green cabbage, rainbow chard, and cheddar cauliflower.  Whew!!  Better get to recipe-huntin'!!!

It's Wednesday and I Have Nothing to Show For It

Yesterday was one of the busiest days I've had in awhile.  Nothing too crazy and nothing different from what is probably normal life for most of you, but I am starting to fear for my future sanity.  If only I didn't need sleep (glorious sleep)-- I'd be so much more productive!!   (I also could stand to give up some of my internet reading habits but hey, we all need balance, right?!)

The only pic I snapped was of my kiddies in their pajamas at Family Reading Night held last night at the elementary school, but since yesterday's post was of Miss C in those very same pajamas, that's kinda boring.   I decided to check ye olde blog to see what we were up to 5 years ago and had to stop on the first post that came up because it tickled me so.    Little Brooksie talking about his monster daddy is pretty fun!!

Take a look:   October 31, 2009

Fall Into Footie Pajamas

with HEDGEHOGS, no less!

Lady of the Stump

No idea where she gets her poses!

We had a wonderful weekend with Grandma and Papa.  The weather was so thoughtful to give them a true fall experience yesterday with a 36 degree morning and a brisk, golden day!  (Oh,and the Rams won 62-7 so that wasn't bad at all, either.)

I'm Confused

I've noticed this issue before but only recently remembered to document in order to seek your wise insight.

According to the google, the last time October 1st was on a Sunday was 2006.   What kind of calendar are they using for these bread "best by" dates??  Maybe 2017 since that's the next time it'll happen?

It hurts my heart a little to critique the good people at Wegmans but, seriously, SO CONFUSED.

PS:  Happy Friday!  

Beret? Hooray!

In my ceaseless endeavor to outfit us all in orange, I recently ordered for Miss C this beret (at a much lower price, thankyouverymuch.)    It claims to be "Fox Orange" but turned out to be much more of a coral color.  Which, while still super cute, is a big boooooo in the sports fan sense!

But hey!  It fits everybody!!!    We can share!

The Skinny (welllll.......)

Yesterday marked the last day of a 2-week period without dairy for me.

I know.

Since I've never met a cheese I didn't want to eat with crusty bread and some vino, I can't even believe I'm still standing at this point.   Amazingly enough, however, it actually wasn't that bad.

Quick background deets:  all the time I spent in Texas both in April and July "helped" pack on a good 5 lbs.  When I finally was ready to tackle the weight gain late this summer, I was so frustrated to find that even with all the food tracking and extra exercising I was doing, nothing was changing.  Then I realized that I just kinda felt bloated and gross-- and was generally experiencing not-horrible but also not-normal stomach turmoil.  So off to the doctor I went, where I learned that it's pretty common to develop lactose intolerance and my symptoms all seemed to line up.

I figured it was a challenge I could take on-- and the weight I'd HAVE to drop from not eating the cheese or chocolate or pretty much any baked good (during this time, the family had cupcakes, donuts, pastries, and pancakes.  I had animal crackers)  would SURELY help me drop a few pounds in addition to the--fingers crossed--lessening of symptoms.   

The result?   Look how great I look talking to Miss C!

 HA HA HA.   Totally kidding. 

By about day 10, I realized I really was feeling less-rumbly-tummy but then, yesterday, I started feeling the symptoms right after eating a takeout lunch from a place that is completely dairy- and gluten- free so OH MY WORD, WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?  Oh, and I lost no pounds.   It was awesome.

So maybe I just have to accept that, due to a combination of factors like Age and General Football Season (aka Quasi-Single-Parenting) Stress and who knows what else, getting rid of the fluff might not happen easily....or at all.    I have to admit that all those months of "wow, I can't believe I don't look that much bigger since I have surely been treating myself a lot" might have caught up to me after all.    Grrr.   And...maybe I have indigestion?!

But....I think I might be able to return to my friend, the cheese!!   

We shall see.