An Opinion That Matters

So our former babysitter, the beloved Katie, sent me an email recently. She was really our nanny but I don't like that word because it sounds elitist. Besides she was more like a big sister to my kids. Katie abandoned us, I mean moved back home to Washington, but we still keep in touch.

She sent this email to me last weekend and I have been reading it over and over again. I haven't even responded to it yet because I get so emotional reading it that I couldn't think of anything to say. I have now recovered enough to comment on it and I am putting it on my blog because I know she reads my blog. I hope the lady she nannies for now doesn't read my blog.........





"So I have been meaning to write you for the longest time... but couldn't put this on facebook since the family I nanny for has it and could read it. But think of the times when Mike would throw a big tantrum... well the kid I watch now is 100 times worse! Plus his mom doesn't discipline him and gives him whatever he wants. Who gives there kids cake and candy every morning?Furthermore your kids are so much more loving and always gave hugs and kisses and wanted to cuddle. NOPE not this kid he is a huge beast!! I thought I would let you know you are a great mother and your kids are angels!"


So as rotten as Mike can be, I do hold him accountable for his behavior and Katie put that proof in writing. Our current sitter has told me also, that my kids are super cuddly. I find that really interesting because I just have to take their word for it. All my friends and their kids seem cuddly too, I am not sure where these non cuddly kids are living!

Basically, at my house, if you sit down, somebody is going to sit on you. I thought all kids were like that.

Polydactylism

Polydactylism. In Oscar's case that means having some extra toes on his front feet. I realized that I mention Oscar, my 6-toed cat, in my bio but never officially introduced him. Here he is pictured with my 3 year old Bekah. They are comparing feet even though you can't see her 5 little toes next to his 6 furry toes.

The plant beneath Oscar's nose in the picture below is catnip. You can usually find him laying on top, or near that plant. Or on mine or Bekah's bed or in the van in Bekah's carseat.

Bekah is his favorite human next to mommy because she pays him the most attention. Oscar used to get all kinds of love before I had kids, and would have nothing to do with anyone except me. But once I had 3 kids right in a row........... well now Oscar will take love where he can get it.

Human Teething Rings

This is what my family has become to my youngest Jake. We are walking, talking (yelping), squishy, human teething rings. Hard to believe that somebody as adorable as the toddler pictured below can be such a cannibal. That sweet face is what the public sees, not the dangerous savage that we live with.
It started with some playful nips on the clothing of his siblings but they managed to push him off before he could get his teeth in. Mike and Bekah wised up quickly and now gently push Jake away anytime he comes near.


So then he started going after mommy and daddy. He nibbled on our shoulders a couple of times and then a week ago he locked onto my hand, hard. I yelped and as a reflex smacked him on the back with my other hand. I felt bad, but it stopped him from breaking the skin. A couple of days later I wouldn't let him unload the knives from the dishwasher (I am so mean) and when I turned back to rinsing dishes in the sink he ran up and bit me on the ass!!

But last Wednesday night was the worst. Again I am rinsing dishes in the sink and my husband is standing on the other side of the counter in the living room. I can only see Erik from the chest upwards. He is drinking a beer and telling me about his day when suddenly he yelps in a rather high-pitched voice. I turn off the water and ask,"What's wrong?!". He is leaning forward, not quite doubled over and clutching the family jewels. "That little bastard bit me on the nuts", he managed to say through clenched teeth. Of course I laughed. After I asked if he was ok.

Jake was lying on the ground crying because Erik had pushed him off, once again a normal human reflex when somebody is biting you. Especially if they are biting your privates. Jake was not hurt at all don't worry, but he did leave a mark on Erik. And Erik was wearing baggy jeans so Jake really clomped down.

Ewwww. No offense to my husband, or any other man, but that part of the body is just not attractive at all. Even less pretty to look at with a visible bite wound. And lucky me I got to see it up close and personal.

Pictured below is the Jake that we are accustomed to. He is drinking from a puddle in the backyard. I offered him fresh water but he prefers the flavor of brackish rain water as well as human skin.

Depression Kills

I just heard that a local mom may have committed suicide. I would never sully her family's name by mentioning her on my smart-ass blog. I am writing this only to remind, mothers/parents/people to take care of themselves. Suicide should never be an option.

Here are a list of local resources for Contra Costa County:

NAMI National Alliance for the Mentally Ill is a wonderful resource for individuals and families. Our closest office seems to be Concord.

U.S.A. and California Suicide and Crisis Hotlines Scroll down this site for a list of hotline numbers for every county in California. I have not called these to verify, of course I wouldn't want to tie up their lines, but remember we are in a economic crisis in California. If any of these numbers don't work due to budget cuts DO NOT GIVE UP! Call the next closest county, somebody who cares is waiting to listen to you.

Child Abuse Prevention for Contra Costa County Before you gloss over this thinking you don't need this let me point out that they have a list of links on the right side of the website, the first one titled Surviving Parenthood. Hello! Everyone I know needs to read that! In the less than 10 minutes it took for me to write this my 3 year old stripped naked and unrolled a roll of toilet paper and she is my easy kid!

Also the women that work at this place don't get a lot of funding but they work their asses off. I know because I have been to their office in Concord to donate a crib and a Bjorn, there were no fancy cars in the parking lot and they were ridiculously grateful for the donation.

I wish I could post more resources but I gotta go get Mike from Pre-K and I need to help Bekah put her clothes back on and wipe Jake's nose.


Remember, take a deep breath.........................it helps you yell Help a lot louder.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #7

I always thought pizza dough was complicated. I assumed you had to let it rise and roll it out and toss it up in the sky (which Michael begs me to do). But you don't have to do all that. If you just want some straight up, no fuss pizza then this recipe is for you. This will not be less than 3o minutes but if you hustle you can make it in 30 minutes.


I will have the pizza dough recipe for you below but I will leave toppings up to you. I use Contadina Pizza Squeeze for sauce. Just grab the bottle and spttt, squeeze it over the crust, super easy. And I just use a pre-grated Colby Cheddar-Jack mix, go easy. The beauty of this crust is that it makes a ton! I roll mine out into a huge square broiler pan (minus the broiler grate thingy) and it feeds me, Erik, Jake and Bekah for Friday and Saturday night (Mike doesn't eat pizza, he just likes to help make it). I am going to base the Weight Watchers points on this for 2 squares of cheese and veggie pizza (veggies are zero points). A square serving being the size of your palm, 5 points each square for a total of 10 points. Eat some salad to fill up, trust me I can eat 6 squares with parmesan and Ranch dressing but I am trying to behave.







INGREDIENTS
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 Tablespoon white sugar
1 cup warm water (110 degrees, I never measure personally)



Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. Dust your hands and rolling pin (or wine/beer bottle) with some flour and spread out on a large pizza/broiler pan. Top as desired.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes on top rack of oven.

Topping suggestions: red pepper rings, thinly sliced onion rings, fresh tomato slices, mushrooms, etc.

You Ain't Gonna Believe This Shit

So remember when I told you what happened the last 2 weekends? I had the stomach flu and ended up going to the e.r. for I.V. fluids. Then Jake got the Croup and an ear infection. Then Bekah got the stomach flu and then Michael got the stomach flu! Ok so Monday (President's Day) through Thursday we were healthy. Phew!

Then Friday morning Jake starts coughing again, very badly and has horrible green snot. Then Friday, after midnight of course, Bekah barfs all over her bed. And shortly after that Erik starts having some issues (I will spare you the details) and it becomes clear that he now has the stomach flu as well! Arrrgh, I need at least a month of healthiness.

Thankfully Auntie M picked up Mike today and took him to a birthday party that started at noon and she didn't bring him back until 8:30 tonight. He had a blast and it got him away from the sickies.

Now Erik has a fever of a 102 and is shivering. I interuppted my blogging to pile 5 blankets on top of him and then lay on top of him. It didn't help so I gave him some Tylenol and he went to bed. I am going to go bring him some more blankets right now. Poor husband! He's even talking about taking Monday off and he hasn't had a sick day in the 9 years that I have known him! Wish us health!

I figured out that linky thing!!

Holy Shit!! OMG!! I figured out something technically hard all by myself!! And it was soooo not hard, but my lack of technical savvy made me fearful of even trying to learn. So after a couple of beers and some severe concentration (which the beer didn't help) I figured it out!!

So if you haven't already guessed what it is that I taught myself, I will tell you; I learned how to do that link thing. You know where you just turn one word into a link for a whole other website. I have just always thought that was such a neat trick and now I know how to do it! Pretty good for a chick that only has a high school degree.

This is my hobby so this would be like somebody learning how to crochet a special kind of stitch or something. Or learning how to make a souffle if you cook as a hobby.


Ok onto another topic. I need to talk about that Nadya Suleman chick again. You know the octuplet mom? The house she is living in with her 6 kids is owned by her mother but will be up for auction in May because it's being foreclosed. Nadya was also in Nordstrom's buying M.A.C. lipgloss today. She is not a N.E.O. Mom.

My husband had a late meeting tonight and I did bath and bedtime by myself. Made more fun by my 4 year old screaming, "I want daddy, I want daddy!". Dude I want daddy too! I didn't say that, I somehow remained calm. My point is that bathing 3 kids at the same time without accidentally drowning them, getting them all in their p.j.s, brushing their teeth, combing their hair and then reading stories and then kissing them good night and then getting them cups of water. You get where I am going right? How the hell can this chick do this with 8 infants? She has 14 kids all under the age of 8 years old. Which means the majority of her kids cannot feed, bathe or dress themselves. I think I am going to go donate some money on her website so she can get herself a nanny.

Bodylines and Va de Vie-My Opinion Only

So in less than 10 days my household suffered 3 bouts of stomach bug, the croup and an ear infection. 2 of the cases of stomach bug were my three and four year old and we know how unsuccessful toddlers are in vomiting where they are supposed to vomit. The first case of vomiting and diarrhea was me! And when mom ends up in the emergency room getting 2 liters of I.V. fluid then everyone suffers. My husband and I were exhausted.


Our Valentine's Day was spent sipping champagne between loads of barfy laundry. So by President's Day we were ready for a break. I begged our sitter to come that Monday afternoon and I scored us 2-60 minute massages at Bodylines Day Spa in San Ramon for only $149.



My husband got an excellent massage but the girl that I had was way into deep tissue and I now have a giant bruise on my calf. She was at least 6 inches shorter than I am but this chick was tough! But a mediocre massage is way better than no massage. My husband and I showered there (not together) and then headed to Walnut Creek for dinner.

We went to Va de Vie, for our first visit. This is a small plates kind of place so you can order many dishes and share. Erik and I have big appetites and ordered a lot. I could have ordered more but I decided to enjoy the 4 pounds I lost after the stomach virus.

Va de Vie has an amazing wine list and you can order 3 glasses at once (a flight) or by the glass. So you can pair different wine with different dishes. The wine list is interesting enough to read if your date is boring. I ordered a flight of sparkling wine and tried not to chug-a-lug them. Erik got The Bailout which was a flight of red for $9.99! 3 glasses of wine for $9.99 is a good deal and they were tasty.

You can order all your dishes at once and the come out willy-nilly, whichever gets cooked first. And you can order stuff later too if you are still hungry. The first dish to arrive was the Miso Beef Salad. More greens than beef, just 4 very slender slices, with some thin noodles as well. Delicious but not exceptional. Pomme Frites, basically garlic fries and of course they were awesome. Erik got the Ahi Tartare, all for himself because I am not that into fish. He said it was amazing, and it looked very pretty. Then came our Mushroom Gnocchi. My second favorite dish of the evening. It tasted like a gourmet Stroganoff. The Gnocchi were not too chewy, the mushrooms were very flavorful, and the rich, creamy sauce I wanted to drink. But my overall favorite dish was the Duck Confit. The duck was not gamey at all, the skin was crisp, the meat was falling off the bones and it came with plum sauce and steamed buns. (like Dim Sum) Wow! That was sooooo good.

Dessert was a mini pecan pie for Erik and I got the profiteroles with vanilla gelato, you just can't screw that up and they didn't. The service was excellent and it's both a romantic and casual bistro.

My only complaint was the bathroom. It was dirty. Not gas station bathroom dirty but fast food restaurant dirty. I was really surprised and grossed out. They weren't that busy that evening so I didn't understand why it was so messy and why nobody could pop in there and clean it up.

But seriously after the couple of weeks Erik and I had we would have been happy eating at Burger King if it meant some time alone.

Joe Cocker

Ok so I totally love Joe Cocker. And somebody posted a video of him on Facebook recently and I didn't even have to watch it. I saw him for $5 at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds 20 years ago and it was the bargain of a century.


This song Delta Lady is one of my faves ever. "The warm and tender shelter of my body.", "Please don't ask me how many times I have found you standing wet and naked in the garden.", "And I think of days and different ways I have held you.". "Yet it seems the saddest scene is lacking you.".

I apologize to anyone reading this that recognizes quotes I have used in love letters and cards.

A Much Needed Break

Let me give you the run-down on our last 9 days here in the Gracer household.

1. Last Saturday Feb. 7th I woke up feeling nauseous with stomach cramps and thinking it was my monthly visitor, I soldiered on.

2. Erik let me nap that morning but I could hear from upstairs that he was not handling the kids very well and seemed very stressed out.

3. I put Jake down for a nap and took Bekah and Michael hiking on Mt. Diablo.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=517
That whole hike I was nauseous but just kept trucking along.

4. On the way home I stopped to get a take and bake pizza for dinner. As soon as I walked in the door and got a whiff of the pizza I knew something was seriously wrong with me. Pizza usually smells awesome so I knew as soon as my stomach flipped and I broke into a sweat that I was in trouble.

5. I took pizza and kids home and laid on couch and tried to eat apple sauce while Erik fed the kids. Soon I visited the bathroom and started to vomit and have diarrhea.

6. This continued through the night and Erik went to his office and got a shot of Phenegrine but I continued to vomit through that as well. Also a side effect of that medicine is restless legs so I tossed and turned and could not sleep.

7. When I got up to take care of Jake at about 3am, I was so dizzy I contemplated crawling. I told Erik this and he said it was from dehydration and I would definitely need to to the E.R. in the morning for fluids.

8. I called and woke up Auntie M and Uncle Chrissy and begged them to come over and watch kids so Erik could take me to the E.R.

9. We both fell asleep in the E.R. room and felt like we were on a date, it was so much more relaxing than being at home.

10. 2 liters of fluid later and I still didn't have to pee, that's how dehydrated I was.

11. That night, Sunday, Jake was up almost all night with a horrible cough. He was still sleeping at 9am when I plucked him from his crib so I could take Bekah to school.

12. Took Jake to the pediatrician and he has a ear infection and the Croup. I am still incredibly nauseous and having to visit the bathroom frequently while running kids to and from school, pediatrician and Target.

13. Wednesday Bekah skips breakfast which is a horrible sign because Bekah loves food. She is incredibly lethargic all day and refuses to eat and is crying because I kept her home from school and she loves school. In the middle of the night she finally starts barfing and barfs a lot.

14. I thankfully get Sarah to take Mike to school so I don't have to drag Bekah and Jake around and Erik picks Michael up in the afternoon.

15. By Wednesday I can finally eat solid food again and good news I have lost 4 pounds.

16. I was supposed to have a Valentine's party here on Friday for my new and far superior mom's club but thankfully my friend Barb took over. Auntie M takes Mike to the party after she picks him up for school. And Erik goes to the party and brings Mike home later.

17. Our electricity goes out for 2 hours.

18. Saturday afternoon I take Mike to a graduation party for our friend Laura. Bekah and Jake stay home with Erik. Michael is fine at the party but then around 11p he starts puking all over his bedroom. This is our Valentine's Day.

19. Mike is nauseous and lethargic and is crying because he couldn't go to his buddy's birthday party. He promises me that he will puke in the toilet at the Bowling Alley if I let him go. Poor baby.

20. I spend all day scraping barf chunks off of Mike's bedding and doing tons of laundry.

21. Finally, Monday, everyone seems to be in better health!!!


So today is Monday, President's Day and our dear sitter Sarah is coming to watch the kids so Erik and I can go get massages and go to dinner. We need it!! We are getting a couple's massage at Bodylines Day Spa.

http://www.bodylinesdayspa.com/day-spa-packages.aspx

Then we are going to dinner at Va de Vi in Walnut Creek. Awww, I can't wait.

http://web.mac.com/vadevi/Va_de_Vi/Va_de_Vi_Home.html

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #6

Ok I realizing it's freezing and raining outside but I had a craving for this salad. This recipe is for 2 people but you can double it if you have guests or your kids eat salad.





INGREDIENTS
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast (pre-cooked grilled chicken )
as much lettuce chopped as you want ****
fresh tomato, chopped as much as you want (optional)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 of a (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
4 Tablespoons Fat Free Ranch dressing *****
4 Tablespoons barbeque sauce, your fave
A handful of crushed tortilla chips per person



Preheat the grill for high heat. Place chicken on the grill, and cook 6 minutes per side, or until juices run clear. Remove from heat, cool, and slice. Or use pre-cooked/grilled chicken.

In a bowl mix tomato, cilantro, corn, and black beans together and put on top of lettuce. Top with the grilled chicken slices and crushed tortilla chips. Resist grated cheese but if you have guests over they might like it.

In a small bowl, mix the Ranch dressing and barbeque sauce. Serve on the side as a dipping sauce, or toss with the salad to coat.

6 Weight Watchers Points per serving. So that would be 1/2 a chicken breast, 1/4 of a can of black beans, 1/4 of a can of corn, 2Tbs F.F. Ranch, 2 Tbs. BBQ sauce and a handfull of crushed tortilla chips is about 6-7 chips crushed. I have big hands.


***** Making salad is boring and tedious. Eating salad is essential if you want to remain healthy and lose weight. A sad, sad truth. So I have a giant tupperware container that holds 3-4 heads of chopped lettuce. And at the beginning of the week I just chop a whole mess of rinsed and drained lettuce and throw it in the tupperware container and put in fridge. Nothing fancy, no carrots, no tomatoes just lettuce. So when I need to eat my salad the lettuce is already there and I can grab a handfull and put on some dressing or add other more exciting ingredients. The main point is to get greens in my gullet without a lot of fuss.

***** In my opinion Fat Free Ranch dressing tastes like ass. That is why in this recipe I reccomend mixing it with your fave bbq sauce. Tastes really good that way.

Old Poem

So a dear friend from high school (thank G-d for Facebook) sent me this great link from the Huffington Post. It's a talk given by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. She is talking about the creative process, the method, somewhere along the lines of a muse, but not quite. She speaks of the creative process being seperate from our ego. And she calls it the genius, and the genius exists outside of us like Dobby, the house elf from the Harry Potter series.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/10/ted-conference-elizabeth_n_165513.html



This theory really speaks to me. I don't even dare to call myself an artist, I just enjoy writing, occasionally. It does bring me joy when others enjoy what I write but if I feel myself writing for an audience instead of myself I get annoyed, and if I write something I think is fab and get no feedback, I am as equally annoyed. So to place the creative energy on an outside entity, and to place the blame on them as well.............well it's very liberating.





What is my fucking point you ask? My point is that there exists a pressure to create and whether that is internal or external is a mystery even onto myself and if you don't like it then please feel free to go check your email. I accept (almost) no responsibility. And having said all that I am going to share a poem I wrote 16 years ago. I was living in Texas and I was depressed. That's redundant. It was raining too.


Kitty stares fascinated by smoke drifting from the burning incense.
Distracted by the rain she goes to the open window to investigate.

I stare fascinated by thunder and lightning from the warm, inky night.
Distracted by the car alarms set off by the grumbling thunder.

Flourescent white lightning illuminates blue and purple hues in the thick sky.
In a flash bulb second I expect to find a red-eyed lonely teen, fingers wrapped around a cigarette, standing in a corner.
Or a demon, fingers wrapped around a frail neck, lurching towards the bushes.

In a flash bulb second I only see clearly, my drab surroundings.

Kitty playfully bats me with a padded paw.
I absentmindedly pat her and she turns tail up to casual affection.

Another round of thunder and lightning to write home about.
Home where redwoods, eucapyptus and oaks reign supreme.
Not stinky oil fields.

It's so easy to forget the past when you miss your home.

Weekly < 30 Minute Recipe #5

Everything is better with bacon.


Bacon, Corn, and Clam Chowder

Campbell's 98% Fat Free New England Clam Chower (not condensed) 1 can
1 8.75 oz. (or the closest size you can find) can of corn with diced red pepper, do not drain
2 slices bacon (freeze the rest of the package so you aren't tempted to eat it all)


Fry up your bacon and drain on paper towel. Drain grease from pan but don't wipe it down, a little bacon flavor won't kill ya. Open cans, dump into bacon pan on medium heat. Dice your crispy bacon and add to soup. You can simmer it for a few minutes or just eat it. Serves 2.

1 cup of this soup is 4 points. 5 saltine crackers are only 1 point so go nuts.

Little Star Cafe

For all local Moms there is a new place to take your monkeys on a rainy day. It's an indoor play place with monkey food, adult food and drum roll please.................beer. And wine if you like that kind of thing.



http://www.littlestarcafe.com/

More Blogging Nerdiness

I was reading my horoscope in the S.F. Chronicle pink pages from Sunday and it actually mentioned blogging!

"Sagittarius (Nov.21-Dec. 20) Who knows you may become the world's best loved - no. Best hated? No, again. Let's settle for best-read blogger. As 2009 progresses, Jupiter acts as an executive secretary, adding zip and zest to your communications. You're already a top contender. Now take a shot at the title. In other news: Mars adds muscle to your bustle. No, it's not too late for resolutions."


All Sagittarians who don't blog were probably annoyed with that horoscope, but I am stoked. I realize that blogging is just a hobby, and I am not going to get rich off doing it. Even though that's my husband's fantasy, I am more realistic about it. So hobbyists still set goals even though it's just a hobby right? Scrapbookers make a goal to finish the Christmas album from 1998, a cook will set a goal to learn how to make Sushi, some moms make it a goal to talk as much shit as they possibly can about other moms to make themselves look better, etc. etc.

I have goals for my blog stored in my polluted brain but now I want to put them out to the universe:

Goal #1 Six months from now I want 10 followers for each one of my blogs.

Goal #2 By Jan. 2010 I want an average of 100 hits/readers to NEO Moms everyday. I now average 15 for NEO Moms and about 25 for You Sure Do Have Your Hands Full. I know this can be done because when I blew up my old moms club I was averaging 60 hits a day. I do not want to go through an experience like that again, I want people coming here for positive reasons. Most of those hits were from scabpickers who would read my blog and then call each other on the phone and be like, "Oh my G-d , you won't believe what that bitch is saying now! She is a horrible mother and her kids are going to grow up to be crack-heads.".

Goal #3 Be more tech savvy. I want to learn how to do that thing where you put a link in the middle of a sentence. I don't even know what is called. For example in the sentence above it would be fantastic if crack-head was a link and if you clicked it a picture of Whitney Houston would pop up. How cool would that be?

Help me achieve my dreams.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #4

Beans make me happy. They are filling and warm and have lots of fiber. My husband makes me sleep on the couch if I eat too many but then I don't have to hear him snore so I don't mind.


Black Bean Chili

2 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 cup diced onions (buy them pre-chopped)
1 garlic clove pressed (feel free to use more I have a slight allergy to garlic, so even though I love the stuff I have to go easy or my tongue swells)
4 tsps. chili powder
2 tsps. cumin powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon (trust me)
3 cans 15 (or 15.5 oz) cans black beans, drained
2 cans 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes in juice
dashes of Tabasco to taste
hefty scoop of Fat Free sour cream
chopped fresh cilantro if you have it


Heat oil over med-high heat in large saucepan and add onions. Saute 5 min., mix in garlic and spices and then add beans and tomatoes. Simmer at least 15 minutes. Top with sour cream and cilantro if you want, resist the cheese!

One large cup of black bean chili is 2.5 points. Check the label on your fat free sour cream but the brand I use is zero points for one serving. That would be Naturally Yours Fat Free Sour Cream. So if you want you could add some grated cheese, let's say you use 1 oz. cheddar-colby mix which would be 1.5 points, that would bump up the total points to 4 points. Add a lite beer and you are still only at 6 points. Party on!

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #3

Bell Pepper-feta Pasta Toss

Ok sorry I took a week off to visit with family and make a pig of myself. So now this week you will get 2 less than 30 minutes recipes, including the Weight Watchers points. This one is riduculously easy because you basically use the boiling hot pasta water poured over the red pepper to soften them a bit.



6 ounces uncooked linguine or fettucine
1 large yellow or red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)
salt to taste
1 (4-ounce) package crumbled feta cheese with basil and sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced olives, drained (optional)



Cook pasta according to package directions. Put Pyrex measuring cup in sink, put colander over cup. Place bell pepper in acolander; drain pasta over bell pepper. Combine pasta, bell pepper, tomatoes, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; toss gently and thin with a little reserved pasta water if desired. Serves 4

1 serving is 5 points so you could have 2 servings if you have had a good day.

Inaugural Hangover, In-Laws and The Super Bowl

I obsessively watched the inauguration almost 2 weeks ago. And I have been crazy busy since then so this is going to be a long read for you.

I had a friend and her 2 kids over that morning of 1/20/09 and we feasted on bagels and donuts. As soon as Aretha, in her fabulous hat, started singing I was teary and sniffling and it lasted all day long. That evening Auntie M and I tried to come up with our own version of the inaugural feast for our dinner.

http://www.chow.com/food_and_cooking/7032

We ate shrimp cocktail, rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, green salad and apple pie and vanilla ice cream. And lots and lots of champagne.

The next day I had a teensy bit of a hangover and I am so jaded from the last administration that I just assumed Obama would take a few days off to play golf. He actually went to work after staying out all night dancing. And every time I see him sit down and sign a new pledge to the American people with his left-handed scrawl, I want to make-out with him.

Soon after the inauguration my inlaws came to town from Arizona. Must people would shudder at a week long visit by their inlaws but mine are really cool. We visited and ate and took pictures and celebrated my FIL's 60th birthday. That is the picture below. My children don't sit well for pictures, they are the squirmy ones. Don't worry that's just water on Jake's pants, he has a hole in his lip.
Right after that party was SUPER BOWL. I could really care less about the game but having 55 people over to party on a Sunday was very exciting! I made 2 huge vats of nacho cheese sauce and we had a make your own nacho bar. It was a potluck too so we had a variety of toppings, plus hotwings, taquitos, several desserts and tons of beer. Good times!!! I think Bekah basically ate a dozen cupcakes by herself as much as I tried to stop her. Well at least she didn't go to bed hungry. That's her picture below with the evidence on her face and trying to put her 3D glasses on for the halftime show.







Our other halftime show was my dear husband and his buddy playing guitar. They sounded way better than Springsteen but the video I took turned out really shitty so I didn't post it here. They also played a post-game show that included Uncle Chrissy singing made-up blues songs that were, uhm, very interesting.

We did some betting with squares and I am not even going to pretend how that works but some squares were empty and since the game went long everbody decided that Erik and I would get the cash from the 3rd and 4th quarters and the rest would go to the N.E.O. Mamas party fund.

Speaking of my new and improved mom's club. When the universe slams a door shut she opens a window. I feel bad for blowing up the last club but everyone seems happier and far more entertained and we get almost one new member a week. There is obvioulsy a need for a group of women that aren't easily offended, and their husbands like it too. I know because a couple of husbands have told me to my face that this club is better.

I also heard that a couple of scab pickers are still reading my blog/blogs. What I mean by this is that there are some women who read my blog only to get mad or to confirm their suspicions that I suck. Hey if that floats your boat be my guest. I personally avoid stuff that pisses me off or makes me feel bad. Life is way too short.

Even though I just said I avoid stuff that makes me feel bad, I do have to take a minute to get personal and talk about feelings. So skip this part if you want, I am fine with that. So all last week and yesterday, people kept commenting on how brave I am (and maybe a little crazy) to host a super bowl party with 55 guests. Most of these guests were under the age of 5 years old. Let me tell you why I don't mind doing this. I grew up in a house with an asshole, alcoholic, drug addict. That would be my mother's current husband (sorry mom you might want to skip this part). Even though my friends were welcome to come to my house, they often did not want to because they were scared of my step-father. They told me this then, and they tell me this now as adults, how they felt as children. So don't think I am just projecting my feelings on others, this is a fact.


This is why I don't mind hosting parties, playgroups, potlucks, etc. I won't lie it's a killer on my carpets and I spent a huge part of my morning cleaning, and I am not done yet, but it's so worth it. To have a home where not only my kids feel safe, but where other parents' kids feel safe and have fun, is something that is very, very important to me.

Uh-oh now I am having some deep feelings so I better go eat the leftover pork ribs in my fridge until these feelings go away.