For those who have read my recent entries and care (which is probably no one):
The crab stuffed flounder left much to be desired
Twenty ounce apples are clearly making up in size for what they lack in taste
I never got to the deli for my subs and Linden's butter crunch cookies. I have errands to run soon...I must schedule an emergency stop there!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Food, glorious food!
Everyone has their vices, agreed? I don't drink...I gave that up nearly 20 years ago. I don't smoke, or do recreational drugs. I don't gamble, I don't play video games. Sometimes shopping is an issue, but I have two adorable (I think) little girls...who wouldn't want to dress them up? And a lot of my friends are impressed with my ability to hunt down a fantastic bargain. But my real vice is food. I love me my food! I love food fests, I love good restaurants, I love snacks. I will try almost anything. I have been known to get cravings that can only be satiated by the food I'm drooling over. And sometimes I'll find something I like and eat so much of it, I start to not like it. Whatever, there's plenty more out there to love.
This weekend proved to be a banner weekend for foods, old and new. It began on Friday night. Some of my college friends and I attended an event sponsored by our alma mater. We paid $20 for a cruise up and down the Hudson River. I knew $20 wouldn't get me anything fancy...maybe a few hors d'oeuvres, finger foods, snacks. I raced around like maniac just before the boat boarded. I had to meet my husband to transfer the kids to him, so he could get them to a pool party, which was earlier than the time I needed to be at the boat. I decided that my time alone was best spent running errands. It is so much easier to get in and out of a store when you don't have two children in car seats to buckle and unbuckle, a toddler to strap into a cart, and a preschooler who wants to walk through the store, generally at a much slower pace than I'd prefer. I accomplished my errands, but not after adding an extra stop and a couple of traffic jams. I made it to the boat just in time, and boarded with my friends. We had tickets for free drinks (not all that valuable to a non-drinker) but there was no food. Not a crumb. Anywhere. And because this was a boat ride, we were stuck for the whole 3 plus hours. Without food. I'd had no dinner. ACK! Anyway, afterwards we decided we needed to eat, and a friend directed us to a fantastic pizza place, not all too far from my house. The chicken marsala pizza was highly recommended, so I had a slice of that and a slice of deep dish shrimp marsala. Let me tell you, this pizza (both kinds) was to die for! Having grown up just outside of Manhattan, I can be pretty critical when it comes to pizza. Let me tell you, this pizza was heaven!! I though about it all weekend unintl I finally decided on Sun. night that we were getting whole chicken marsala pie for dinner. Sheer bliss, with enough leftover for a few lunches! It's not as greasy as NYC pizza, but it makes up for it with the ricotta cheese, mozarella, mushroom, chicken mixture they spread over the crust prior to baking. Heaven...pure pizza heaven.
Saturday, after our x-biking class, my husband and I decided to divide and conquer. Hed run errand with the big kid, I'd take the little one home for a nap. I detoured to a deli that is even close to my house than the pizzeria, and ordered what was surely a tasty and huge sub. Yum. My only regret was not seeing Tiger sauce listed on the condiment list until it was too late. But never fear, I'm stopping there tonight to pick up dinner for a friend and me before our volunteer shift at the hospital. But the sub wasn't even the best of it. As I stood waiting for my order, I spotted, right in front of my face, a display of Linden cookies. Linden cookies, if they are chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin or peanut butter, don't inspire much excitement from me; it is specifically Linden's Butter Crunch cookies. I haven't had these cookies in years. And since moving upstate almost twenty years ago, have rarely seen them. I think maybe once in a run-down convenience store in the ghetto, and they turned out to be stale. But there folks, in the really-good-deli-only-a-mile-from-my-house, were three-pack after three-pack of Linden's Butter Crunch cookies.
Usually it takes chocolate to get me that excited. But not this day. I will not tell you how many I bought, or how many I ate (which is actually the same number as what I bought). But rest assured, it was worth all those years of waiting. And it was a really, really good weekend.
This weekend proved to be a banner weekend for foods, old and new. It began on Friday night. Some of my college friends and I attended an event sponsored by our alma mater. We paid $20 for a cruise up and down the Hudson River. I knew $20 wouldn't get me anything fancy...maybe a few hors d'oeuvres, finger foods, snacks. I raced around like maniac just before the boat boarded. I had to meet my husband to transfer the kids to him, so he could get them to a pool party, which was earlier than the time I needed to be at the boat. I decided that my time alone was best spent running errands. It is so much easier to get in and out of a store when you don't have two children in car seats to buckle and unbuckle, a toddler to strap into a cart, and a preschooler who wants to walk through the store, generally at a much slower pace than I'd prefer. I accomplished my errands, but not after adding an extra stop and a couple of traffic jams. I made it to the boat just in time, and boarded with my friends. We had tickets for free drinks (not all that valuable to a non-drinker) but there was no food. Not a crumb. Anywhere. And because this was a boat ride, we were stuck for the whole 3 plus hours. Without food. I'd had no dinner. ACK! Anyway, afterwards we decided we needed to eat, and a friend directed us to a fantastic pizza place, not all too far from my house. The chicken marsala pizza was highly recommended, so I had a slice of that and a slice of deep dish shrimp marsala. Let me tell you, this pizza (both kinds) was to die for! Having grown up just outside of Manhattan, I can be pretty critical when it comes to pizza. Let me tell you, this pizza was heaven!! I though about it all weekend unintl I finally decided on Sun. night that we were getting whole chicken marsala pie for dinner. Sheer bliss, with enough leftover for a few lunches! It's not as greasy as NYC pizza, but it makes up for it with the ricotta cheese, mozarella, mushroom, chicken mixture they spread over the crust prior to baking. Heaven...pure pizza heaven.
Saturday, after our x-biking class, my husband and I decided to divide and conquer. Hed run errand with the big kid, I'd take the little one home for a nap. I detoured to a deli that is even close to my house than the pizzeria, and ordered what was surely a tasty and huge sub. Yum. My only regret was not seeing Tiger sauce listed on the condiment list until it was too late. But never fear, I'm stopping there tonight to pick up dinner for a friend and me before our volunteer shift at the hospital. But the sub wasn't even the best of it. As I stood waiting for my order, I spotted, right in front of my face, a display of Linden cookies. Linden cookies, if they are chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin or peanut butter, don't inspire much excitement from me; it is specifically Linden's Butter Crunch cookies. I haven't had these cookies in years. And since moving upstate almost twenty years ago, have rarely seen them. I think maybe once in a run-down convenience store in the ghetto, and they turned out to be stale. But there folks, in the really-good-deli-only-a-mile-from-my-house, were three-pack after three-pack of Linden's Butter Crunch cookies.
Usually it takes chocolate to get me that excited. But not this day. I will not tell you how many I bought, or how many I ate (which is actually the same number as what I bought). But rest assured, it was worth all those years of waiting. And it was a really, really good weekend.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Misnomer
Today we went apple picking. Last week some of my friends had organized a little trip, but the orchard they were going to only had Macintosh for picking. I have nothing against Macs, but I really wanted to hold out for Honeycrisp and Macouns. I knew there was one orchard about 30 minutes from here that grows both (many orchards don't grow either). This week, another group of MOM friends organized another trip to this particular orchard. I had some reservations. First, I felt really crappy earlier in the week. Second, my 19 month old is quick and sometimes very sneaky. I was having serious anxiety just thinking about her sprinting off silently in the middle of an orchard. Hubby and I had talked of going later in the month, and I almost waited for him. But when I realized that we had nothing to do today, and that Honeycrisps were ready, I decided to go for it. I'm really glad I did. Nor only were there lots of Honeycrisps to be had, but Thing 2 was surprisingly well-behaved. She spent most of her time picking up apples off the ground til her arms were full (she's little, so this was only about four or five apples), then trying to walk and toppling over. Thing 1 was pretty good at choosing apples. I could, however, do without the blood-curdling screams when she couldn't get her bag to open.
On the way out, I noticed the marker for the Twenty-ounce apples. They looked so big and enticing, so I pulled over, jumped out and grabbed five of the biggest and best-looking I could find. Yummy! We paid for our apples, bought some cider and some donuts and visited the horses, the playland, and then headed home (but not after meeting another little girl with the same name as Thing 2...this almost never happens. Her name was the 405th most popular name the year she was born.). After wrangling the girls and all of our stuff into the house, I gave them a drink, changed Thing 2 and put her to bed. I then proceeded to remove my Twenty-ounce apples form the bag, and marvel at their size in comparison to my Honeycrisps. (I'll admit, I haven't tasted them, so I don't know how they fare in a taste test). I excitedly took out my food scale and proceeded to weigh my TWENTY-OUNCE apples, sure I might have one of the fabled pound and a half apples. I am sorry to tell you that, of five Twenty-ounce apples, not a one weighs more than 10 ounces, and that is just one. I'm glad they're sold by weight and not by apple, or I'd be crying rip-off.
That said, we will definitely return there in a few weeks for our beloved Macouns. I love apple season!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Ages 3 and up
Or so it says on the toy...a large wipe off activity book. The book included an attached storage bag for the four dry erase markers and 30 + small magnets it boasts as its accessories. Any red flags yet? But the bag won't open. So resourcelful mom puts pieces in a Ziploc bag, which we seem to have now lost. We are on clothing item number 3 that has been marred by dry erase markers. Sadly, each of these items had been worn no more then twice prior. The book/toy claims it makes a great floor mat. I am anxious to meet the 3 year old who can successfully use this as a floor mat without smearing their clothes with black dry erase ink. Or their limbs. Or their mother's limbs. So what started out as an activity to keep the three-year old busy while mom with a head cold rested a bit on the couch (one year old is...asleep...yay!) turned into a mini laundry session complete with crying three year old and mother rinsing clothes in nearly scalding water. Who, I ask you, makes these age restrictions? They do not have a three year old at home. It should read: For use by ages 3 and up wearing black clothing only.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Dinner Me Date
I've always been intrigued by those dinner places cropping up everywhere. you know, where you go put together a set number of meals and then go home and fill your freezer with your nearly prepared meals, and then, oner night, you pull one out and voila, a little oven time and you have a lovely gourmet meal! I knew that it would never be a reality for me. My husband is pretty (very) frugal, and the math on those didn't quite work out in my favor. That is until my neighbor arranged a "party" if sorts. She could invite up to fifteen friends to come to one of these places, and for free, we'd get a tour and make a small (half-sized) meal. Enough for 2-3 people. For free. No obligation. No money. Free. Yup. Too good to be true!
Indeed, I checked out the menu and selected some lovely crab-stuffed flounder. And tonight, a group of eight of us met there, got the spiel from the owner and were set free to make our previously chosen meal. Andie, of aerobics fame, and I both chose the flounder, so were were able to hang out at the same station and assemble ingredients in bags, slap on a set of directions, package it all up, and now it sits in my freezer. I'm saving it for a night when my husband and I can enjoy a lovely meal sans children. If we can both stave off our hunger til about 8 p.m., when the babes are asleep. We can actually pretend we are on a date. Woo hoo! Too good to be true? I'll let you know!
Indeed, I checked out the menu and selected some lovely crab-stuffed flounder. And tonight, a group of eight of us met there, got the spiel from the owner and were set free to make our previously chosen meal. Andie, of aerobics fame, and I both chose the flounder, so were were able to hang out at the same station and assemble ingredients in bags, slap on a set of directions, package it all up, and now it sits in my freezer. I'm saving it for a night when my husband and I can enjoy a lovely meal sans children. If we can both stave off our hunger til about 8 p.m., when the babes are asleep. We can actually pretend we are on a date. Woo hoo! Too good to be true? I'll let you know!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Time to Play...How Did Visitors Get Here!
The following searches resulted in visits to my blog:
and, as predicted:
- shorts and pantyhose photo outside
- gymboree bucks rules
- gymboree exercise steps
- skis in 1900
and, as predicted:
- mom blows me
Happy National Chocolate Milkshake Day
My husband informed me, upon his arrival home from work, that it was National Chocolate Milkshake Day. This would not have made much of an impact except that he wanted to go out for chocolate milkshakes in honor of the holiday, and figured we could just eat dinner out, too. Now there's a holiday worth celebrating! National Mommy Doesn't Need to Worry About Dinner Day! I had figured I would make ravioli (not homemade, but not canned...we were having the frozen kind...but I'd cook it first.) I normally would have tried to at least get the water boiling before hubby came home. But my kids woke up simultaneously, and cranky! So we were just sitting on the couch snuggling when Daddy came home.
Thing 2 is at a pretty insane age. She spends most of her time finding new ways to end her life prematurely, or at least nearly injure herself grievously. She is adorable, and hilarious, but dangerous and exhausting. Mealtime with her is never fun. In the end, dinner was mediocre, shakes pretty good, but Mommy happy and no dishes!
Thing 2 is at a pretty insane age. She spends most of her time finding new ways to end her life prematurely, or at least nearly injure herself grievously. She is adorable, and hilarious, but dangerous and exhausting. Mealtime with her is never fun. In the end, dinner was mediocre, shakes pretty good, but Mommy happy and no dishes!
Been awhile
Yesterday was a truly crappy day for me and Thing 1 on many fronts. I realize we will have ongoing issues and never-ending clashes if I don't take a new approach, so my parenting books specific to "How not to Throttle your Children" have been resurrected from the bookshelf.
But before I beat myself up completely on my poor handling of situations yesterday, I will give myself a pat on the back for doing something right lately. My last, long ago post, was regarding the my 3 year old's acquisition of eyeglasses. She got 'em, and despite my initial despondency (will anyone ever see how beautiful her eyes are anymore?), she wore 'em. I dragged her around to the neighbors so she could show them her new glasses, and she was so proud. I abandoned my contacts for awhile and wore my glasses, which thrilled her to no end ("Look Mommy, we match!") and I sent pictures to the relatives. I made sure she was happy to wear them. An the first couple of nights when she tried to take them off after dinner, I put them right back on her. Today, we went for her follow-up and the eye doctor is thrilled. Our eyewear vigilance has resulted in an improvement in her vision. WOOT! She still needs her glasses, and a patch is still a possibility down the road, bur for now, no patch. Just keep doing what we're doing. And you know what...she looks cute. And you can still see her beautiful baby blues.
But before I beat myself up completely on my poor handling of situations yesterday, I will give myself a pat on the back for doing something right lately. My last, long ago post, was regarding the my 3 year old's acquisition of eyeglasses. She got 'em, and despite my initial despondency (will anyone ever see how beautiful her eyes are anymore?), she wore 'em. I dragged her around to the neighbors so she could show them her new glasses, and she was so proud. I abandoned my contacts for awhile and wore my glasses, which thrilled her to no end ("Look Mommy, we match!") and I sent pictures to the relatives. I made sure she was happy to wear them. An the first couple of nights when she tried to take them off after dinner, I put them right back on her. Today, we went for her follow-up and the eye doctor is thrilled. Our eyewear vigilance has resulted in an improvement in her vision. WOOT! She still needs her glasses, and a patch is still a possibility down the road, bur for now, no patch. Just keep doing what we're doing. And you know what...she looks cute. And you can still see her beautiful baby blues.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
