Carbtastic

Every six weeks or so, I have coffee with a few friends from the gym.  We used to go to Caribou Coffee, but now we frequent the Great Harvest Bread Company, which sells coffee and fabulous bread.  I don't usually buy any bread, because I'm a carb monster and will eat it all, but I always graciously try the free slices of bread they offer to their customers.


It's good stuff.


Tonight is the Girls on the Run pre-5k pasta dinner.  I had planned to make some focaccia bread, but once I stepped into Great Harvest, the cheddar garlic bread called my name.

Look at that bit of chewy, brown cheddar oozing from the loaf.

Ooh, look, there's another one!

Because I don't want to serve an inferior product, a taste test was in order. 

Of course, I cut off one of the ends with the chewy, browned cheese sticking out.

And then I cut the other end off, only to find this:

Yep, that'll be my piece tonight.

I can't decide if I should just slice the bread to eat as is, or slice it, smear it with a little butter and toast it.

Decisions, decisions....


In other carb-loaded news, I'm also bringing brownies.  I had intended to make chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, but last night I asked Caroline if she thought I should make cupcakes or brownies.  I figured she'd go with cupcakes, but she chose brownies instead.

To make things even easier, I'm using this brownie mix I found in my pantry:

But, to doctor them up a bit, I'm adding some of this chocolate I found on clearance.

You really can't go wrong with chocolate mixed with chocolate.

Don't worry, though.  We're not going to feast on only bread and chocolate. Although, that idea doesn't sound half bad.  Among the pasta dishes being provided by the other Girls on the Run teammates, I'm making real dinner food, too.

Would you care to guess what I'm making?

+



=

The Pioneer Woman's macaroni and cheese.

Oh baby.

PS--Blogger has been wonky lately.  Consequently, my posts from Wednesday and Thursday have disappeared.  I hope they'll return unharmed, but who knows? 

Edited to add:  nevermind.  They're back.  Whew, what a relief.  I'd hate for all that literary genius to get lost in cyberspace for ever and ever.

Discount Shopping At the Dentist

So, I went to the dentist today.  In the spirit of honesty and full disclosure, I shall admit to you, my dental transgressions. I've been a bad girl; I haven't had a dental cleaning since we moved to Virginia.  Three years ago.  I know!  I'm not particularly afraid of the dentist, I just never got around to making an appointment for myself.  Since Caroline goes to a pediatric dentist, I actually had to find my own family dentist and well, it that just seemed like it required way too much effort.

I know.

Lame, lame, lame.

Anyway, because I know my way around a toothbrush and am proficient with dental floss, my teeth are in very good condition. Because of this, the  hygienist and dentist didn't yell at me for being so negligent.  No cavities, either.  Holla.

However, my gums, while healthy, have begun to recede a bit.  Therefore an electric toothbrush was suggested.

Lucky for me, the dentist office has a convenient selection of electric toothbrushes for the patients to purchase at their leisure.

Everything comes in such a fancy bag nowadays.

I'm now the proud owner of an electric toothbrush WITH a digital timer to time my tooth brushing sessions AND a sensor that beeps when you're pushing to hard on your gums.

Fancy.

But the best part is the bargain aspect of this whole deal.  You know how much I love a bargain, right?

Well, this toothbrush, which according to the handy sign displayed on the receptionist's desk retails for $160, was on sale for $99.

In addition to that killer sale, I was also given a 50% off coupon and a $15 rebate.

$35!

Coupons and rebates at the dentist?  Oh my!

I've never been so happy to buy a $35 toothbrush in my life.

Stick It In A Bowl And Call It Dinner

Stick it in a bowl and call it dinner is my new motto.  Or perhaps I should refer to it as my dinner mission statement?

Regardless of what you call it, my dinners of late represent the above statement quite accurately.

Remember a few months ago when I went on the great white dish search of 2011?  I think it was in March?  No, it was the end of February.    The beauty of blogging is that I can look back and see what I did (or in my case, didn't) do on any given day.    Anyway, besides purchasing normal dinner/salad plates, I also bought these pasta bowls.



Please pardon the dark picture.  I'm not sure what I did to it and the idea of fixing it seems most unappealing right now. :)



This picture makes the bowls look huge; while they're definitely substantial, they're not quite in the Jethro bowl category.

Anyway, with Craig not here, my desire to cook real dinner food has waned quite significantly.  Honestly though, my desire to cook real dinner food waned when Craig was deployed last year and I never really reestablished my cooking mojo upon his return.  Baking?  Yes.  Real food?  No.  If I can't cream butter and sugar together, the idea of creating in the kitchen doesn't excite me much.  Since it's clearly not a neccesity at this moment, I'm not really bothered by my lack of cooking mojo. Caroline doesn't require much variety in the dinner hour and is happy to eat some variation of carb + cheese + vegetable nightly.  As a result, I've allowed myself to forgo creativity in the kitchen and have taken to throwing a bunch of stuff in a bowl, heating it in the microwave and calling it dinner.

The individual components in the bowl vary upon what it is in my fridge, which provides for quite a bit of variety.  Generally it's some sort of cooked grain (pasta, wheat berries, bulgar, rice), some sort of bean (kidney, black, chick pea) and whatever cooked vegetables I have.  Sometimes I add a sprinkle of cheese.  Sometimes a drizzle of marinara sauce.  Sometime both.

It's balanced.  And tasty.

And easy.

Just how I like it.

Okay, I'd love to babble on some more, but it's time to retrieve Caroline from school.  We have a friend coming at 4pm who will then walk to soccer practice with us.  It's a really pretty day today, which makes being outside quite enjoyable.

Happy Wednesday!

Ten Things On Tuesday

Greetings.

I'm at a loss for a topic to blog about, so I thought I'd just share with you a list of ten purposeless items.  Because 1.) I'm quite purposeless and 2.) alliteration is awesome.  Eight Things on Tuesday doesn't quite have the same ring as Ten Things on Tuesday, no?

1. I bought a lot of vegetables today.  I went to the commissary for 20 items, but decided to forgo the quicky self checkout (limited to 20 items) and buy a bunch of extra produce and other things I didn't really need.
2. I think the word random is overused.  Hence my use of purposeless up above.  I did a search for synonyms for random; purposeless was listed.  So was adventitious.  I don't know what adventitious means, so I didn't use it.
3. I'm tired.  Mind, body and soul.  But mostly my legs.  And eyes.
4. I haven't slept restfully for quite some time, but last night was particularly restless.  At one point I swear my doorbell rang at 4 am.  I'm sure it was in my dream but I wasn't about to go downstairs to see if it was, in fact, my doorbell.  The bell didn't ring again, and we're all alive and well, so I really think it was in my dream.  Also, before bed I read a book in which one of the characters had a prowler near her house.  Perhaps I should read something a little more happy-dream friendly before bed?
5. I'm back on the green smoothie bandwagon.  Thus my sudden coveting of a Vitamix. I always give up green smoothies when it's cold, because frozen drinks in January don't sound the slightest bit appealing.  Now that spring has sprung, I'm drinking my greens again. 
6. I've been adding half a scoop of Craig's muscle man protein powder to my daily smoothie.  Given the combo of green spinach and protein powder, I think I may turn into the Incredible Hulk.
7. I tried to be a snoop today, but traffic foiled my plans.  You see, my friend and her family are moving here next month.  They've been offered a house on the military base and I was going to go check it out and take pictures of it for them.  Except road work and a backed up highway caused me to abort my plans. Oh well.  I'll try again another day.  Or, you know, when the traffic delays are non-existent.  Except  in Northern Virginia that will be NEVER.
8. Sunday is Caroline's Girls on the Run 5k race.  Rain is forcasted.  It rained last year at this very same race when I ran with our neighbor.  I suppose a little rain is better than the freezing temperatures we ran in during the GOTR Reindeer Romp in December.  It's a good thing running races aren't beauty contests.
9. I bought International Delight's Almond Joy deliciousliquidchemicaldeath coffee cream.  Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike the word creamer?  Sheesh, what is my problem?!  Anyway, no matter what you call it, this variety is really tasty.  I give it two thumbs up.
10. I ordered myself a Mother's Day present on Sunday.  A Vitamix water bottle for long runs. 

Are you jealous?

During marathon training, I ran with a CamelBak, but it was a huge pain to deal with.  It leaked.  It was heavy.  It made me chafe.  I kind of hated it.

Hopefully I'll like this option better.


Whew, that took longer than I expected. 

Who knew being purposeless could be so time consuming?  :)

The Magic of Motherhood

It has become quite evident that Caroline cannot take a hint.  I made it pretty clear that I did not want her dirty socks next to my beloved Ebony and yet, those stupid socks remained there all weekend.  I refrained from picking them up myself, because I wanted her to do it.  Somehow it  never happened.

 I almost had a stroke keeping myself from picking up the socks myself.   Restraint is hard.

Caroline thinks it's funny.

I do not.

Clearly she has more important things to do than pick up her misplaced, dirty socks.

Important stuff like building tents.

Happy Mother's Day to me.

Who said motherhood wasn't magical?  Just look at my life; I'm living proof that it is.

Sigh.

My house is in disarray and my kid is a slob, which certainly doesn't help with the messy house situation.  Instead of dwelling on it, I'm just hiding upstairs in my bedroom while Caroline and friends do whatever it is they're doing downstairs.


In other, less depressing news, my azaleas have fully bloomed.

Aren't they pretty?

Poor evil bunny's view is obstructed by the beautiful blooms.

Some other stuff is blooming, too.  This is from a tree in our driveway; I have no idea what kind of tree, but this little flower is pretty.

and these are from the flower box on my neighbor's stairs.



Happy Monday!

Whatever.

The Lousy Daughter: Part II

So, I didn't send my mom a Mother's Day card again.  Again!!

I know, I know; I'm a lousy, good for nothing daughter.

I feel a slight twinge of guilt, but then I remember how much my mom doesn't care about cards and gifts.  Last year I wrote her a poem, albeit a terrible poem, but this year I couldn't even come up with one single stanza to honor her on Mother's Day.

What kind of monster am I?

Since I can't fill this blank blog space with another offering from my (non existent) poetry collection, I thought I'd post a little bit of what I wrote last year to justify my reasons for being such a lousy daughter.

__________________________________________________________________________________
From May 7, 2010:

And this is where I make a startling confession: I didn't send my mom a Mother's Day Card.


Yep, I said it.

No card. No present. Nothing.

Insert cries of disbelief and general feelings of disgust over my negligence here. But actually, if you know me well enough, you'll know that this isn't much of a surprise. I was born completely lacking the sentimental, smushy Hallmark gene.

Never fear though, to recompense for my egregious oversight, I wrote my mom a poem. I'm not sure that 2010's Mother's Day poem will ever compete with the classic poem I penned around 1984, which went like this:

Moms are specal

Moms are nice

Moms take care fo you

And I like moms

We'll just let her be the judge. Since she's so wise and lovely and forgiving, and all.

The Sorry I'm a Lousy Daughter Poem

Awful, wretched, horrible

That's what you should call me

For I failed to send you

a Mother's Day card

in honor of your birthing of me

I did not intend to be so neglectful

You deserve much better than this

It was never my desire

to be a negligent daughter

But it's not really my fault, you see

For you can attest

That this trait of forgetfulness

Is simply hereditar-ee

So, as you can see, It's NOT my fault. I was wired this way. It's completely genetic and totally irreversible.

But the best part of it all is that my mom doesn't care one bit if I don't send a card. She was born without the very same sentimental, sappy Hallmark gene, too; I learned this all from her. We're simpatico.

I wonder if I learned the ability to easily place blame on others from her, as well? ;)


Honestly, I didn't *forget* to send her a card. I actually scoured the card racks at a few different stores, on a few separate occasions. The problem is that I couldn't find one single appropriate card. They were either too sappy, too formal, too stupid, not applicable or made noise.

I do not like cards that make noise. I also do not like cards that come in that square size. They're actually very attractive, BUT what's with the "requiring extra postage" thing. How much extra postage do they require? A whole extra stamp? Or just a few extra cents? I don't carry around 1 cent stamps and I try to avoid the post office unless absolutely necessary. The whole thing just stresses me out.

I have such a problem with greeting cards, for any occasion. It's hard to find one. Like Mother's Day cards, they're either sappy or stupid. I really dislike those birthday cards in the humorous section that have the old ladies on them who talk about sagging body parts and incontinence, among other undesirable ailments that come along with aging. Or any cards that discuss bathroom humor or have partially naked people on them. Tacky.

I'm not really a prude and I don't necessarily dislike inappropriate jokes, but there is something about those tacky cards that really rub me the wrong way. I love a good joke; I think it's safe to assume that I have a pretty good sense of humor. But, as God as my witness, I will never send a card like that.

Anyway, instead of sending a sub-par Mother's Day card, I sent nothing.

Don't worry, I called her and told her. I even vowed to buy her lunch when we visit this summer.

What makes her such an awesome mom is that she doesn't care. There isn't any guilt dished out, nor are there any high expectations to meet.

I'm a lot like that.


Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
__________________________________________________________________________________
 

I make some valid points, right?
 
But you know, as I was copying and pasting this together, I started to think about the one thing my mom has done that really sticks out in my mind.  The one thing I appreciate most.  Sure moms are nice and sacrificial; they teach you things; they encourage you and discipline you. Moms pack your lunch, chaperone field trips and drive you and your friends all over creation.  Those are all important things, all of which I'm happy to say my mom did for me.  But you know what I appreciate most about my mom?


After I had Caroline and would call my her to complain about the trials and tribulations of raising a toddler, she always took my side.  Some grandmas are so blind in their grandmotherly love that they can't even imagine their precious grandchildren are capable of being the slightest bit terrible.  To them, their grandchildren are angels and anything they're doing wrong must be directly related to incompetent parenting practices.
 
When I'd whine about Caroline's epic meltdowns, my mom would sympathize with me.  She didn't blame me; she didn't offer her own well intended suggestions, she merely said "I know just how you feel."  How great is it for a mom to honestly say "when you were three, I wanted to sell you at the flea market."
 
She understood my woes and never tried to make me feel worse for threatening to sell my own child on ebay.
 
Sometimes you need a little sympathy from your mom. Which, in this case, has more than made up for the time she made me wear a big, floppy lace bow in my hair on third grade picture day.
 
So, thanks mom. Thanks for your stellar hair styling advice sharing my child rearing pain and for not making me feel bad when I said wanted to trade in your only grandchild for a puppy.
 
Happy Mother's Day!

Wants and Want Nots

Let's face it, I'm a red-blooded greedy human being.  It's impossible to go through life without wanting things. Sure, most of it is fluff I don't need; I don't doubt that for a minute. Coveting is a sin, or so I read, but my neighbor does not have an ass a donkey, so I'm just going to go on wishing and hoping.

But before I share with you the things I'm currently coveting, let me show you what I DON'T want.

Exhibit A:

Last I checked, the perch upon which Ebony sits is NOT a laundry basket.  To Caroline, who does not do the laundry, any place in which her clothing lands is the perfect resting place.

Exhibit B:

 I do not want, but currently (and begrudgingly) have two scratches in my table.

Many thanks to these two candlesticks

which were knocked over by this ficus tree

on one very windy day.

Oh well, now those scratches, match the permanent pink sharpie marker on my dining room table.

So now that we've established that I do not want dirty socks in my kitchen or nicks in my furniture, let us discuss what I've been wanting lately.

Pretty feet.



(source)


It seems silly, but I have wretched, ugly feet.  Running has not done them any favors.  With flip flop season upon us, the state of my feet has really gotten me down. Too bad I cannot stand having my feet touched, because I could really use a pedicure right about now.


You know what else I really want?




source


A laundry fairy.  Oh, you know you want one, too.

I keep hoping one will show up and help a girl out, but it appears that fairies are hard to track down.


I'd really love an endless supply of these mozzarella-tomato paninis from Panera Bread



source

  Caroline and I had our Mother's Day lunch today after soccer because she has a birthday party to go to tomorrow.  I let her select the restaurant, because I'm a selfless mother (ahem).  Thankfully she picked Panera.  After soccer she asked for McDonald's, but I reminded her that she already picked Panera.  This panini is SO good; so good, in fact, that I always get sad when I get to the end of the sandwich.  I just don't want it to be over.


And lastly, I really want this

source

a Vitamix.

It's the ugliest (and priciest) blender known to man, but it can grind anything up.  True fact:  smoothies made in the Vitamix taste 67% better than those made in regular blenders.

Well, that might not be the truest fact out there, but it's one I choose to believe.


What have you been coveting lately?