09.30.04

My sanity for a harness.

Posted in Uncategorized at 3:42 pm by Anne

This afternoon I figured out what I need for Christmas and that is a harness for the toddler in my life. Lily and I had had a good morning, went to the gym, washed up, took a nap, ate lunch, and then we drove down to the special grocery store about 30 minutes away for some specialty items like good olive oil, fresh tortillas, and extra-good baking chocolate. The store started out dangerous. Before walking in the entrance, I held hands with the girl and decided weather or not I needed any fresh herbs, namely basil. While I decided, she pulled away, and stomped off. Right for the damned street! Full steam ahead! I ran after her but one of the very swift store personnel swooped her up a moment before I could and handed her to me. It was horrifying and embarrassing and I profusely thanked him, while Lily wondered at all the fuss. She still doesn’t understand the handholding rules or the street rules. Once inside, Lily got a nice helium filled purple balloon and played with it until halfway through the trip when she pulled at it too hard and it broke away from the string, floating up and up to the ceiling. By the end of the shopping trip I was tired and she was thirsty (thankfully I was prepared with some water and a sippeecup)and we started the drive back home, going a different way since there had been a huge accident in the other direction on the way there.

Then, right before getting back to town, I veered off to the outlet mall. This time, last year, the Children’s Place had a huge summer sale and it was where I had purchased some of the cutest Lily dresses for only a dollar apiece! Looking back, this was a poor decision for a few reasons. One, I didn’t have the stroller and this store doesn’t provide carts and 2) the groceries were just sitting in the back. I told Lily where we were headed and assured her it wouldn’t take very long at all, and advised her that being a good girl was in her best interest. She listened, and nodded, blinking at me with those 21 month old eyes.

And we went in.

It was a madhouse. I later learned the big sale had just opened a few days prior and they were having to call in extra staff just to accommodate the ebb and flow of parents wanting to get a deal. Lily and I waded into the toddler section and I hunted for 2T clothes. Which wasn’t what Lily had in mind at all. “Run! Run!” she kept saying until I set her down or let go of her hand. Then she’d take off and pull a shirt off the rack, and scream joyously when I tracked her down. It was the most wearisome game I have ever played with her. the worst part came when she told me ‘bye!’ and walked off. I saw her headed for the glass entrance and rushed after her in time to be there when the door alarm went off. She had tried to lock the door during business hours! I moved the lock back, the alarm went quiet, and with Lily squalling and wriggling in my arms, I weathered many a filthy look from the other patrons. But hell, I did get a few deals. I may even go back soon for some more stock-up. You can’t beat a 99 cent onesie or dress or sweater!

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09.28.04

Wow.

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:24 pm by Anne

Check this out. I knew Kerry accused Bush of harboring some kind of secret military call up/draft plans but this is pretty interesting.

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fun stuff

Posted in Uncategorized at 5:25 pm by Anne

Now don’t get me wrong, I will always like Williams-Sonoma but this place is supercool.

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Pregnancy Fun

Posted in Uncategorized at 11:44 am by Anne

Yesterday afternoon, Lily and I left the house to run errands. I was wearing one of those pregnancy skirts and understood only later, much later, the reason shorts and long pants are just better. Namely, the thigh on thigh chafing. Not good. In fact, I don’t recommend it at all. No skirts are in my future unless I am also wearing some biking shorts underneath. Is that why bloomers were so popular back in the day? Who knew?!

Rolling down the cereal aisle always elicits a great many exclamations of “yummy tummy!” but yesterday, it also called for “Tah-toon! Tah-toon!” Yes honey, that is a cartoon. In fact, it is Sponge Bob. Lily has never watched an episode of Sponge Bob which is a great relief to me, since I’m not a fan myself, but now she can identify ‘Bob’. So great. What incredibly intelligent marketing decisions these sales guys churn out. And why is it only the junky foods advertise like this? The healthier whole grain people don’t offer the same kind of shallow incentives. What would happen if they did, I wonder? I’m trying to imagine my quaker oatmeal man replaced by mickey mouse or boo-bah.

scary.

Another Tuesday night dinner with all the family. I hurried the chocolate tiramisu last night by not letting the zabaglione completely chill and after assembling the whole thing became a little concerned about it not setting up properly. This morning I baked pumpkin creme brulee as a backup dessert, just in case. So again, we will be long on desserts, not that the pregnant lady is complaining about it. I also just yanked 2 sourdough loaves from the oven which are filling the house with the joyous scent of hot bread. Also on the menu tonight, a huge green salad, and the main course, lasagna. Sunday night I compiled 2 separate pans of it, one for supper then and one for supper tonight, and quite frankly it is the best recipe I’ve used so far. WhenI was little my Dad always made his with very distinct layers of ricotta cheese that he’d mixed and egg with (I suspect). Well it always grossed me out. I’d eat everything but the ricotta layers. This recipe called for no egg, but instead for mixing reggiano and mozzarella with the ricotta and fresh herbs (thyme, basil). I even reduced the amount of ricotta a bit, just because I wanted to love it, and after layering the ricotta, noodles, fresh marinara (utilizing among other things, a pint of grape tomatoes and a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes), and carmelized onions, I am pleased to assure you that this recipe kicks booty. I especially liked the marinara and the carmelized onions added a really nice element of interest and sweetness. And it’s meatless too! I found it in one of my cookbooks; this Italian lady knows what she’s talking about.

The other fun thing about yesterday was having to interrupt the wine merchants at the grocery store to find out if they carried marsala wine. The woman cast very hateful glares, I think more for interrupting her very important winemongering than for the much frowned upon preggo-buying-wine. I smiled brightly anyway. That’s my reaction to evil witches.

And the Braxton-Hicks contractions have officially begun, which means the next 8 weeks or so of unadulterated enjoyment have really started.

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09.23.04

Chai

Posted in Recipes at 9:56 pm by Anne

This is my favorite recipe for chai tea. I do vary the amounts somewhat but this is a great start.

Masala Chai (Spiced Indian Tea)
This recipe for one variation on masala chai was adapted from Savoring the Spice Coast of India: Fresh Flavors from Kerala by SAVEUR photography editor Maya Kaimal.

1 cinnamon stick
6 black peppercorns
6 whole cloves
3 cardamom pods
3 cups of water
1 cup of milk
2 quarter-inch-thick slices of ginger
5 Tbsp loose Darjeeling tea 4-5 Tbsp sugar

Crush first four ingredients (cinnamon through cardamom) with a mortar and pestle, then transfer to a medium saucepan.
Add water, milk, and ginger and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Remove pan from heat, cover, and set aside to let steep for 5 minutes.
Add tea and sugar, cover, and let steep for 3 minutes more.
Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into 4 heatproof glasses or teacups. Serves 4.

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yum

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:23 pm by Anne

I just ate one. In a single sitting while watching CSI Las Vegas. And it was good. and I know where there is another one too (albeit an original).

somebody stop me.

Today Lily’s cousin came over. They played and played and played. and Lily missed her morning nap. but she did get back to normal with pooping, since she missed yesterday entirely. In fact, I’d say she more than made up for missing yesterday but I’m always glad to change the smellies when this happens. Then everyone in the family (seemed like) met for burgers at the local Culver’s (mmmmm…butter burger) and the girl ate very little anything except for ketchup. She nibbled fries and chicken bits but employed them, instead, as a vehicle for ketchup. I believe she would have preferred a cup of ketchup with a straw instead of pink lemonade. After her nap (finally) she was cranky and crabby and ate three bowls of cereal (cheerios). Then we played and went to the store, made dinner (leftover pork tenderloin diced with onion and chilli powder and served in flour tortillas with tomato, lettuce, and cheese…side of ranch-style beans) and Lily was back to her old self.

Now she is sleeping like a little angel. How I love that girl.

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09.22.04

Silly Songs

Posted in Uncategorized at 3:30 pm by Anne

Okay, the name of the 4-CD song set is “110 Silly Songs” Arrangements by Roland Hanneman

I’m not saying the songs don’t get old, the arrangements are all pretty similar and there are a handful of vocalists, but, it is nice to have Lily demanding something other than Barney.

Shan came home for a few hours which gave me time to make some really nice pumpkin filled tortellini. I cheated by using pre-made, pre-cut pasta dough, and I’d do it all over again. My old hand-crank machine is a pain and I’m not convinced that it is any better than this stuff I can buy. It’s not authentic anyway. I read an article last night by a journalist who worked the pasta station at Mario Batalli’s restaraunt and there was a lot about the taste/texture difference between hand rolled and machine rolled pasta involved.

Am thinking about roast pork tenderloin, roasted sweet potatoes, steamed spinach, and these tortellini (with a browned butter sage sauce) for tonight.

At the gym today I read from the old-lady periodical ‘Good Housekeeping’ as there was nothing else. A prediatrician in an article said that children don’t get enough fruits and vegs (Duh.) but especially vegs. She reccommended you feed your child 3 servings vegetals and 2 fruit a day, even though kids tend to accept fruits more. It made sense and reminded me that although Lily is a great eater, she does stand to improve on the realm of vegetables.

Speaking of Lily, here she is now.

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09.21.04

supper

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:41 pm by Anne

oh laws.

I just made the best supper ever in a long time. Sunday morning I cobbled together a tomato sauce but started it with the 3 slices of bacon. I’ve never used pork in a tomato sauce before but I wanted to get rid of these last 3 slices, so diced them up and cooked. To that, a large diced onion, garlic, a can of whole tomatoes, a diced and seeded fresh tomato, doused it with some nice red wine, and added in tomato paste. Stirred in some fresh basil and fresh thyme, then cooked it for an hour or so. Removed the pot to the fridge and there it sat until tonight. Immersion blended it, added some sliced/sauteed italian sausage and served the mess over penne pasta with grated reggiano. Goof lord. It was the best ever. I know this because Shan, who is not near as big a pasta fan as me, told me it was his favorite sauce.

Dessert was good too. I found this on epicurious and it won everyone over. The leftovers will be perfect with coffee in the morning…like a danish but not so sweet. I also topped each slice with some of the homemade creole creamcheese icecream with pralines I’d made on sunday. The ocecream was a lot better than I knew and provided the perfect sweetness to complement the less sweet apples(I used 2 Braeburn and 1 Granny). The key to the tart is slicing the apples especially thin.

Lily LOVES her CD’s of children’s songs. She knows how to turn on the CD player in her room but still doesn’t quite understand volume control and for the second time after pressing play/on, she wigged out by the horrifically loud noise bursting from the speakers. You’ve never seen a child move so fast into your arms.

Her favorite song is ‘Old McDonald’ but she calls it “E-O-E-O-E-O!” I like this 4-CD collection after only hearing 2 of the disks. I know most of the songs from either school or girl scouts. awesome! And the other songs are older ones that I never learned in the first place. So kick arse!

Did I mention the glucose test etc came back fine? This makes me think of one thing and one thing only. Lucky Charms must be GOOD for me!

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09.20.04

Smallpox

Posted in Uncategorized at 1:05 pm by Anne

I can’t explain why, after walking out of the Jude Law flick( it was fun and puffy but won’t fill you up), that the notion of a smallpox outbreak entered my mind. Maybe it doesn’t even matter since all it did was bring me down a few steps from how I had been feeling, which was happy and gracious for being granted a few hours of me and shan time, while Lily’s grandfather took care of her.

And I started imagining the conditions of a devastating outbreak and how friends and family would be affected, quarantined, how it would devastate the entire United States, how we would watch our children, our spouses, and ourselves succumbing to the virus internally while the telltale pox marks everyone externally. After the fact of transmission. So yea, I was getting a little down, as we made the walk from theatre to car and then it hit me.

An epiphany.

A Simple fact.

and you already know this, that every single one of us is destined to die. When you can wrap your head around that, even for a moment or two, you can really appreciate how important it is to love as much as you can, to appreciate all the beauty and goodness that is in your life, to be thankful, but also to live. Live as much as you can, with impunity and impertinance and joy, because, really, sh%t happens. All the cliches about life are true for a reason.

So I shook myself and looked over at Shan as he weaved us through the going home traffic and let out a long breathy sigh. We made plans for the rest of the night. He was going to mow the lawn while there was still enough light and I was in charge of picking of the Lily girl. What was more perfect than that? It was a good night.

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09.18.04

Saturday Bliss

Posted in Uncategorized at 3:02 pm by Anne

So far I’ve:

-made a nourishing (HAH!)yet savory breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits)
-vaccuumed the house
-mopped the house (Hel-Lo Pine-Sol!)
-made creole icecream
-made pralines
-washed and put away dishes
-read 4 books to Lily
-danced with Lily as she shook an egg rattle
-fed Lily lunch
-emailed work stuff
-got Shan a birthday present

And now Lily and I are watching the sci-fi channel. It is there that I realized Indiana Jones is the perfect man for me.

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