I talk a good game, I really do. And I absolutely 100% believe in organic food, avoiding trans fats, food coloring, and high fructose corn syrup. I know the importance of balancing the amount of protein and carbs in my kids' diets, and mine for that matter. I love to cook and to me that means cooking from scratch. We love water and drink it all day long. Plastic? Avoid it. Disposable diapers? Don't use them. And yet....
Towards the end of my third trimester (did I mention I went almost 43 weeks in the SUMMER in Atlanta?) this last time, I stopped enjoying cooking and planning. Sure, I could have packed snacks for everyone when we drove somewhere, but it was much easier to go through ChickFilA's drive thru to pick up some nuggets and fries, or Smoothie King, or even Steak n Shake. And once you start eating that way, you crave it more, I am convinced of it.
And where under normal circumstances a snack would mean cheese, nuts, fruit, whole grain crackers, and pretzels, the packaged snacks aisle at Trader Joe's and Harry's/Whole Foods became my friend. Joe's O's? Got 'em. Cat's Cookies? Got those too. The remote control was often orange from the "organic" cheese puffs. For the first time in my adult life, I programmed the phone number to the pizza place that delivers into my cell AND my home phone. And somewhere in there, my oldest had Sprite for the first time and loved it. Ten years with ZERO soda and now he's got a habit.
Enough. In 2008 I once again begin practicing what I preach. We are going back to home cooked meals most nights. Fast food once a month at the most and when I absolutely can not manage something better. Trail mix made at home from organic nuts and dried fruit, along with sesame sticks and pretzels. Smoothies made in my smoothie machine with good fruit plus flax seed oil and soy protein powder. Exercise five times a week for me, as I've turned into a slug.
I feel like Stella getting her groove back.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas is over
Now I can move forward. I'm craving more of a schedule until the boys go back to school, although I'm sure once they're back I'll be cursing the fact that I *have to get up and out every day, but such is life.
Today went well, for the most part. When Noah, my oldest, started opening his presents, he made it quite clear that he was expecting at least one more exotic stuffed animal to add to his collection. I didn't start looking at the website he directed me to (This Place is a Zoo) until I'd already bought most of his presents, and at that point I no longer was willing to part with the major coin they wanted for a mongoose or a dingo in addition to the express shipping because did I mention I waited until the last minute? But as he continued opening, there really were lots of things he wanted, and in the end he said that he was really happy with what he got. Except for a DS, which we will probably never get him.
My sweet middle child, who is happy to a fault, exclaimed over and over how great his presents were. His three favorites for the day were a $5 Transformer, a $4 Batman sticker book purchased from the bargain table at Borders, and a $5 Spiderman figure from Target. Oh, and the Mickey Mouse t-shirt I bought him at WDW earlier this month. Nice and easy! It's funny that he's so into superheroes, he's the one that has the least amount of interest in television, and can turn it off within minutes of turning it on. I think he likes being so into something that his Dad was as a kid, hence the fascination.
The baby slept through the whole present opening, which was good because she had a rough night and really needed to rest. By the time she woke up many bars of candy and coffee cake had been consumed (no one had interest in the quiche I made last night from Mastering the Art of French Cooking and who can pass up a Twix bar at 7:30?), and everyone was ready to sit and watch her "open" her presents. We went super light, and picked up three toys at Whole Foods last week. She received a stuffed banana, some bath toys, and a fabric ball that has a rabbit inside. I also ordered her a Sandra Boynton book about belly buttons, and a Laurie Berkner cd.
I spent most of the day preparing food, and it all came out great. The rib roast was just as easy as Jamie made it look on tv, and it tasted delicious. We were so stuffed from dinner that we didn't even eat the carrot cake until just a bit ago. We sent our guests home with a huge wedge, and we enjoyed ours alone with a cup of hot green tea.
As I suspected, my husband went a little bigger than I did when selecting presents. He bought me a new set of stainless steel pots and pans, which I sorely needed as my old set was a wedding gift and was nonstick, which I no longer use. Until today, I only had one stainless steel saute pan, but now I have three. I did get a lot of stocking stuffers too, a zester, a few Burt's Bee's products, a set of makeup brushes from Sephora, and a Starbucks car cup so I do not have to take their paper cups each day.
Tomorrow I am getting us out of the house no matter what. It is supposed to be sunny with a high of 57, so the plan is to go to the park late morning to let everyone burn off some energy!
Today went well, for the most part. When Noah, my oldest, started opening his presents, he made it quite clear that he was expecting at least one more exotic stuffed animal to add to his collection. I didn't start looking at the website he directed me to (This Place is a Zoo) until I'd already bought most of his presents, and at that point I no longer was willing to part with the major coin they wanted for a mongoose or a dingo in addition to the express shipping because did I mention I waited until the last minute? But as he continued opening, there really were lots of things he wanted, and in the end he said that he was really happy with what he got. Except for a DS, which we will probably never get him.
My sweet middle child, who is happy to a fault, exclaimed over and over how great his presents were. His three favorites for the day were a $5 Transformer, a $4 Batman sticker book purchased from the bargain table at Borders, and a $5 Spiderman figure from Target. Oh, and the Mickey Mouse t-shirt I bought him at WDW earlier this month. Nice and easy! It's funny that he's so into superheroes, he's the one that has the least amount of interest in television, and can turn it off within minutes of turning it on. I think he likes being so into something that his Dad was as a kid, hence the fascination.
The baby slept through the whole present opening, which was good because she had a rough night and really needed to rest. By the time she woke up many bars of candy and coffee cake had been consumed (no one had interest in the quiche I made last night from Mastering the Art of French Cooking and who can pass up a Twix bar at 7:30?), and everyone was ready to sit and watch her "open" her presents. We went super light, and picked up three toys at Whole Foods last week. She received a stuffed banana, some bath toys, and a fabric ball that has a rabbit inside. I also ordered her a Sandra Boynton book about belly buttons, and a Laurie Berkner cd.
I spent most of the day preparing food, and it all came out great. The rib roast was just as easy as Jamie made it look on tv, and it tasted delicious. We were so stuffed from dinner that we didn't even eat the carrot cake until just a bit ago. We sent our guests home with a huge wedge, and we enjoyed ours alone with a cup of hot green tea.
As I suspected, my husband went a little bigger than I did when selecting presents. He bought me a new set of stainless steel pots and pans, which I sorely needed as my old set was a wedding gift and was nonstick, which I no longer use. Until today, I only had one stainless steel saute pan, but now I have three. I did get a lot of stocking stuffers too, a zester, a few Burt's Bee's products, a set of makeup brushes from Sephora, and a Starbucks car cup so I do not have to take their paper cups each day.
Tomorrow I am getting us out of the house no matter what. It is supposed to be sunny with a high of 57, so the plan is to go to the park late morning to let everyone burn off some energy!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Fa la la la blah
No matter how hard I try, I just can't get into the holiday spirit this year. Even my usual tricks are not working; holiday music, shopping, and baking are just not doing it for me. I really want to enjoy the season, especially since it's the baby's first, but I just feel so blah about the whole thing.
We got back from Orlando last Sunday, and the weather there was perfect, which made coming back to our dreary (albeit moderate) weather depressing. I want the sun to shine all year long, I never want to be hot or cold, and I want to feel the breeze every day too. The weather here is gray and it has been drizzling off and on for days, so we've not felt like doing much (ok, anything) outdoors.
I picked up the last two Christmas presents today, for my husband. We still have quite a bit of wrapping to do and since I'm not good at it, I don't enjoy it and therefore leave it for the very last minute.
We've been trying to go for a walk every Sunday right after breakfast, so tomorrow I assume we'll do that. We're having a really low-key holiday this year as most of my extended family is not coming into town until a few days after Christmas. On Christmas Eve it will be the five of us for tapas, and Christmas Day we'll have my mom and her husband over for a late afternoon dinner. The whole meal is comprised of items I've never made before. I watched Jamie Oliver make a rib roast on Martha Stewart's show a few weeks ago and it looked really great and relatively easy. It uses a horseradish rub, and I am all about horseradish. To accompany the roast I'll have roasted root vegetables and scalloped potatoes, as well as steamed asparagus. For dessert I'm making another Jamie dish, a carrot cake with lime mascarpone icing. Yum!
My husband and I decided not to exchange gifts this year, instead we're doing stocking stuffers only. This week a package arrived from Sephora, which made me wonder what exactly his definition of stocking stuffer is. Hopefully we're on the same page so that neither one of us is disappointed on Christmas morning.
We got back from Orlando last Sunday, and the weather there was perfect, which made coming back to our dreary (albeit moderate) weather depressing. I want the sun to shine all year long, I never want to be hot or cold, and I want to feel the breeze every day too. The weather here is gray and it has been drizzling off and on for days, so we've not felt like doing much (ok, anything) outdoors.
I picked up the last two Christmas presents today, for my husband. We still have quite a bit of wrapping to do and since I'm not good at it, I don't enjoy it and therefore leave it for the very last minute.
We've been trying to go for a walk every Sunday right after breakfast, so tomorrow I assume we'll do that. We're having a really low-key holiday this year as most of my extended family is not coming into town until a few days after Christmas. On Christmas Eve it will be the five of us for tapas, and Christmas Day we'll have my mom and her husband over for a late afternoon dinner. The whole meal is comprised of items I've never made before. I watched Jamie Oliver make a rib roast on Martha Stewart's show a few weeks ago and it looked really great and relatively easy. It uses a horseradish rub, and I am all about horseradish. To accompany the roast I'll have roasted root vegetables and scalloped potatoes, as well as steamed asparagus. For dessert I'm making another Jamie dish, a carrot cake with lime mascarpone icing. Yum!
My husband and I decided not to exchange gifts this year, instead we're doing stocking stuffers only. This week a package arrived from Sephora, which made me wonder what exactly his definition of stocking stuffer is. Hopefully we're on the same page so that neither one of us is disappointed on Christmas morning.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
New Store Excitement
Imagine my surprise when I drove up to the new Target on the corner of Roswell Road and Johnson Ferry Road, and saw that it was big enough for a parking garage. Since I shop at night a lot, I actually don't like that (kinda creepy) but there is also above ground parking. The coolest feature of this two level store is that there is an escalator for shopping carts, so that when you're leaving the store to head out to the garage and do not want to take the elevator, you place your shopping cart on the cart escalator and it goes right down next to you. It doesn't take much to excite me, apparently, because I stood there for a good minute watching other people test out the cart escalator. And then, even though I didn't have enough items to necessitate a shopping cart, I ran and grabbed one just so I could watch it ride downstairs.
I was wondering if the fact that the store was new would mean not as many clearance items, but that was not the case at all. The Halloween clearance however was picked over and the only type of candy I was able to get was Reeces Pieces. I did pick up a really nice fall door hanger to replace the one a mouse in our slab basement ate over the winter. I wish I knew why my husband still puts things in the slab basement knowing that there are sometimes rodent visitors that stop by and eat through anything they can find. I also picked up a pair of leggings for the baby for $2.48. I'm not sure what made them part of the Halloween clearance since they were black with pink, green, and orange polka dots, but I was happy to get them for such a low price. Disposable clothing for the kids can be a good thing sometimes, especially now that we're not planning on any more little ones.
There was a Kmart in the shopping center across from the new Target, and it was advertised as undergoing renovations. I almost stepped foot in there a few weeks ago (first time) because Martha Stewart stuff was on deep clearance, but for some reason or another I didn't. A few days a go the Kmart sign was removed and in its place went a Sears sign. Normally I wouldn't get excited about Sears, but they will have a full line of Lands' End products. I buy a lot of LE for the kids and my husband and always end up having to run to the mall to return whatever doesn't fit, so having a stand alone Sears store close to school will save me lots of time.
I've been thinking about what other stores I'd like to see go up and all I could think of was a drive thru Starbucks on my side of town. There's not much over here other than a Bruster's and a couple of chain pizza places. A girl can dream, right?
I was wondering if the fact that the store was new would mean not as many clearance items, but that was not the case at all. The Halloween clearance however was picked over and the only type of candy I was able to get was Reeces Pieces. I did pick up a really nice fall door hanger to replace the one a mouse in our slab basement ate over the winter. I wish I knew why my husband still puts things in the slab basement knowing that there are sometimes rodent visitors that stop by and eat through anything they can find. I also picked up a pair of leggings for the baby for $2.48. I'm not sure what made them part of the Halloween clearance since they were black with pink, green, and orange polka dots, but I was happy to get them for such a low price. Disposable clothing for the kids can be a good thing sometimes, especially now that we're not planning on any more little ones.
There was a Kmart in the shopping center across from the new Target, and it was advertised as undergoing renovations. I almost stepped foot in there a few weeks ago (first time) because Martha Stewart stuff was on deep clearance, but for some reason or another I didn't. A few days a go the Kmart sign was removed and in its place went a Sears sign. Normally I wouldn't get excited about Sears, but they will have a full line of Lands' End products. I buy a lot of LE for the kids and my husband and always end up having to run to the mall to return whatever doesn't fit, so having a stand alone Sears store close to school will save me lots of time.
I've been thinking about what other stores I'd like to see go up and all I could think of was a drive thru Starbucks on my side of town. There's not much over here other than a Bruster's and a couple of chain pizza places. A girl can dream, right?
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Here comes the shop part
I'm in shopping overdrive lately, between Halloween, the baby's upcoming christening, my son's birthday party, and the holidays. I took the morning off from the bigger kids and went to Town Center Mall today in search of an outfit for me to wear to the baby's christening in two weeks.
This is the first time I've been to Macy's since Martha Stewart's line was introduced, so I spent some time looking over all of the kitchen products. I must be cheap because even the 50% off Halloween items were more than I wanted to pay. I did get a beautiful skirt for cheap and an equally beautiful top for major coin, but it looks great together so it was worth it.
Macy's has a new gimmick where they give you $10 in Macy's Money for every $100 you spend. This certificate is not issued at the register, but at certain spots around the store, which meant waiting in another line to receive the Macy's Money. There were a zillion exclusions, some of which I realized before I started shopping and others I didn't. I decided that instead of putting the $10 towards a big purchase I was going to hunt for a real bargain, like a $10.50 item that the kids or I really needed. Off I went to the infant section looking for something that would work. Fifteen minutes and one poopy diaper later, I found a 4 piece outfit with leggings, a long sleeved bodysuit t shirt, socks, and a bib all in pink and brown polka dots, my personal favorite right now. Perfect! Except, it was $9.98. I searched for another few minutes for something small to add to my purchase and came up empty, so I decided I'd just buy one more of the outfits in a different pattern. I'd still spend $10, but rationalized that it was a steal for 8 pieces of cute clothing and accessories.
Did I mention there were lots of exclusions? Yes, I believe I did except I probably didn't mention that Everyday Values, like the outfits I picked out, were part of the long list of exclusions. I probably didn't mention it because I didn't realize it. I left the items on the counter and stormed off, thinking I'd find something in the kitchen section. By then I was in such a bad mood that I decided to just go back another day when I had a clear list of what I really needed (Socks, I realized on the way home--the boys always need socks).
I was so looking forward to a Chai Latte, but by the time I got to Starbucks, the baby was protesting the stroller, so I put her in the sling. Unfortunately she's too grabby right now for me to risk holding a hot cup with her within hand's reach, so I had to pass. Next we headed to Sears to return a bunch of Lands' End stuff and look for some replacements. I do love most of their children's clothes and was able to find some good bargains on basics that all the kids need. The guy who checked me out was not the sharpest knife in the drawer so it took him oh, about double the time it would have taken someone else and he made two major mistakes that required he void the transaction and start over again. By this time the baby and I were hungry and cranky so when a little old lady came up to the register, forcing my not sharp guy to stop what he was doing completely, and asked for help with curtains, I was pissed. Even more so when she reached for the baby's hand, the one that contains the thumb she sucks. I'm sure my head was spinning when I told the sweet old lady "DO NOT TOUCH MY BABY'S HAND, please." At least I added the please to show that I'm a polite bitch, right? Then I scandalized everyone in Sears by nursing on a sofa right in the middle of the furniture department. What's up with people *still being so shocked by a nursing woman?
I came home to find my most recent order from A Touch of Whimsy--beautiful invitations to the christening and family informals that are too cute. Gina is great--I only ordered on Tuesday and had the items by Saturday. Go check her site out, you'll love the products and be hooked like me.
This is the first time I've been to Macy's since Martha Stewart's line was introduced, so I spent some time looking over all of the kitchen products. I must be cheap because even the 50% off Halloween items were more than I wanted to pay. I did get a beautiful skirt for cheap and an equally beautiful top for major coin, but it looks great together so it was worth it.
Macy's has a new gimmick where they give you $10 in Macy's Money for every $100 you spend. This certificate is not issued at the register, but at certain spots around the store, which meant waiting in another line to receive the Macy's Money. There were a zillion exclusions, some of which I realized before I started shopping and others I didn't. I decided that instead of putting the $10 towards a big purchase I was going to hunt for a real bargain, like a $10.50 item that the kids or I really needed. Off I went to the infant section looking for something that would work. Fifteen minutes and one poopy diaper later, I found a 4 piece outfit with leggings, a long sleeved bodysuit t shirt, socks, and a bib all in pink and brown polka dots, my personal favorite right now. Perfect! Except, it was $9.98. I searched for another few minutes for something small to add to my purchase and came up empty, so I decided I'd just buy one more of the outfits in a different pattern. I'd still spend $10, but rationalized that it was a steal for 8 pieces of cute clothing and accessories.
Did I mention there were lots of exclusions? Yes, I believe I did except I probably didn't mention that Everyday Values, like the outfits I picked out, were part of the long list of exclusions. I probably didn't mention it because I didn't realize it. I left the items on the counter and stormed off, thinking I'd find something in the kitchen section. By then I was in such a bad mood that I decided to just go back another day when I had a clear list of what I really needed (Socks, I realized on the way home--the boys always need socks).
I was so looking forward to a Chai Latte, but by the time I got to Starbucks, the baby was protesting the stroller, so I put her in the sling. Unfortunately she's too grabby right now for me to risk holding a hot cup with her within hand's reach, so I had to pass. Next we headed to Sears to return a bunch of Lands' End stuff and look for some replacements. I do love most of their children's clothes and was able to find some good bargains on basics that all the kids need. The guy who checked me out was not the sharpest knife in the drawer so it took him oh, about double the time it would have taken someone else and he made two major mistakes that required he void the transaction and start over again. By this time the baby and I were hungry and cranky so when a little old lady came up to the register, forcing my not sharp guy to stop what he was doing completely, and asked for help with curtains, I was pissed. Even more so when she reached for the baby's hand, the one that contains the thumb she sucks. I'm sure my head was spinning when I told the sweet old lady "DO NOT TOUCH MY BABY'S HAND, please." At least I added the please to show that I'm a polite bitch, right? Then I scandalized everyone in Sears by nursing on a sofa right in the middle of the furniture department. What's up with people *still being so shocked by a nursing woman?
I came home to find my most recent order from A Touch of Whimsy--beautiful invitations to the christening and family informals that are too cute. Gina is great--I only ordered on Tuesday and had the items by Saturday. Go check her site out, you'll love the products and be hooked like me.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Choices
When I was pregnant, I did not want to find out the gender of the babies until their birth. A lab tech who called with amnio results spoiled the surprise with our first born, but we were so excited to know that it was a he that we weren't too annoyed. The second and third times around we declined all of the tests that I was told to have, and were very specific during ultrasounds that we did not wish to know the sex. The strong reactions to our decision not to find out was quite astounding.
People who disagreed made comments such as "I'm too much of a Type A not to know". Translated that means, "I like to plan and control everything, clearly you don't." Anyone who knows me would have to laugh because I am also a Type A control freak, but one who prefers to be surprised when it comes to big things. I also love the colors green and yellow on babies and therefore don't mind not buying pink or blue everything before they are born. A few family members told me that it wasn't fair to them not to find out, as if it is at all about them. The thing about this that I find irritating is, there's no way to answer these questions without seeming defensive and/or putting down the other person's choice to find out.
Those who agreed would say things like "You're doing it the right way." or "There are so few surprises in life, this is one worth waiting for." Even the labor and delivery nurses said that it's very rare anymore that their patients don't know the sex, which honestly, I think is sad. With our second son, a full minute passed before we were told we had a boy since everyone in the room assumed we already knew.
Also, we prefer not to tell anyone what our name choices are while I'm pregnant. We don't want to listen to people tell us a zillion reasons why Eunice is not a nice name when we love it. We also don't want people calling our unborn baby by its name before its born. We want to welcome him or her into the world by calling him/her by name. Just a quirk that we both possess, I guess.
While I am always happy to hear that a new baby has been born, I am infinitely more excited to pick up the phone with anticipation, not knowing whether it's a boy or girl or what the name will be. If only I could convince everyone else to adopt my viewpoints. Yes, I'm kidding. Sort of.
People who disagreed made comments such as "I'm too much of a Type A not to know". Translated that means, "I like to plan and control everything, clearly you don't." Anyone who knows me would have to laugh because I am also a Type A control freak, but one who prefers to be surprised when it comes to big things. I also love the colors green and yellow on babies and therefore don't mind not buying pink or blue everything before they are born. A few family members told me that it wasn't fair to them not to find out, as if it is at all about them. The thing about this that I find irritating is, there's no way to answer these questions without seeming defensive and/or putting down the other person's choice to find out.
Those who agreed would say things like "You're doing it the right way." or "There are so few surprises in life, this is one worth waiting for." Even the labor and delivery nurses said that it's very rare anymore that their patients don't know the sex, which honestly, I think is sad. With our second son, a full minute passed before we were told we had a boy since everyone in the room assumed we already knew.
Also, we prefer not to tell anyone what our name choices are while I'm pregnant. We don't want to listen to people tell us a zillion reasons why Eunice is not a nice name when we love it. We also don't want people calling our unborn baby by its name before its born. We want to welcome him or her into the world by calling him/her by name. Just a quirk that we both possess, I guess.
While I am always happy to hear that a new baby has been born, I am infinitely more excited to pick up the phone with anticipation, not knowing whether it's a boy or girl or what the name will be. If only I could convince everyone else to adopt my viewpoints. Yes, I'm kidding. Sort of.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Top Chef Finale
Not only do I love to cook, but I also love watching other people cook and therefore, the reality show cooking competitions are right up my alley. I can't wait for the winner of Next Food Network Star to debut her show (should be this month, I think)!
I've watched all three seasons of Top Chef, and I'm generally not very surprised by the finale or the winner. But last night, I thought for a few minutes that Dale just might pull out a win. It was only in the last 4 or 5 weeks that I realized I was pulling for him. He was witty and honest and his food usually looked great. So Hung winning was very anticlimactic. I'm looking forward to the reunion show next week.
Now I'll have to admit that I like a lot of reality tv. This year I've watched Amazing Race, which is my absolute favorite, Survivor, Project Runway, Big Brother, and all of the sleazy Flavor Flav shows, in addition to the ones mentioned above. Grey's Anatomy is the non reality show I watch on a regular basis. We finally got Tivo last week and seriously, it's changed my life. I can't believe how quickly I can get through a 60 minute show. Being efficient is high on my list of things I love, so Tivo helps me achieve that goal.
I recorded a yoga show from FitTv, and I'm learning the routine and doing it as often as I can throughout the week. Getting to the gym is hard for me right now for various reasons so I'm walking in the park and doing yoga at home until we can get back to the Y.
This weekend there's not much going on. Our big excitement on the weekends is the Saturday morning trip to Whole Foods, where we eat our way through the store as we taste just about every sample they offer. We find it impossible not to spend a million dollars there each week, and then on the way home we stop at Trader Joe's for another half mil of items we can't get at WF. It's nuts, really, but worth it in the long run, I hope.
I've watched all three seasons of Top Chef, and I'm generally not very surprised by the finale or the winner. But last night, I thought for a few minutes that Dale just might pull out a win. It was only in the last 4 or 5 weeks that I realized I was pulling for him. He was witty and honest and his food usually looked great. So Hung winning was very anticlimactic. I'm looking forward to the reunion show next week.
Now I'll have to admit that I like a lot of reality tv. This year I've watched Amazing Race, which is my absolute favorite, Survivor, Project Runway, Big Brother, and all of the sleazy Flavor Flav shows, in addition to the ones mentioned above. Grey's Anatomy is the non reality show I watch on a regular basis. We finally got Tivo last week and seriously, it's changed my life. I can't believe how quickly I can get through a 60 minute show. Being efficient is high on my list of things I love, so Tivo helps me achieve that goal.
I recorded a yoga show from FitTv, and I'm learning the routine and doing it as often as I can throughout the week. Getting to the gym is hard for me right now for various reasons so I'm walking in the park and doing yoga at home until we can get back to the Y.
This weekend there's not much going on. Our big excitement on the weekends is the Saturday morning trip to Whole Foods, where we eat our way through the store as we taste just about every sample they offer. We find it impossible not to spend a million dollars there each week, and then on the way home we stop at Trader Joe's for another half mil of items we can't get at WF. It's nuts, really, but worth it in the long run, I hope.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Why CookShopLove?
Clearly I'm stealing a cute title idea from Elizabeth Gilbert. When reading her book, I thought a lot about three words I'd use to describe my life.
The cook part should be fairly obvious. When I moved into my first adult home, I was a pretty lame cook. The first time I tried to roast a chicken I forgot to take the innards out and so when my husband came home from work he walked in to a smoke filled kitchen. In tears, I told him to just throw the stupid chicken out, and I felt pretty foolish when he pointed out that the bag of stuff had to be removed before cooking the chicken. Times sure have changed; it's not rare for me to make an involved new recipe with multiple ingredients for a weeknight dinner all while helping my 9 year old with his homework, reading a book to my 4 year old, or nursing my 3 month old! I credit the change with good cookbooks, friends who enjoy cooking and eating as much as I do, and Food Network.
Shopping is obvious too. I do love to shop. Always have and probably always will. I can't think of anything I don't love to shop for except bedding (too many choices and they're all boring). Lately I've spent most of my time in Gap and Borders, buying clothes for everyone and birthday gifts for children whose parties my kids have been invited to.
On to the love. As I mentioned above, I am the mother of three children. My oldest will turn 10 next month. I am planning a huge surprise party for him, and since I love to plan and entertain as much as I love to cook and shop, I'm in my element.
My second child is 4½. We celebrated his half birthday with a small celebration that included a dairy free, egg free cake thanks to the carpool teacher who, when he told her it was his half birthday, said "Are you going to have half a cake tonight?". Thanks a LOT, Mrs. I! I didn't realize until it was too late that we had no milk or eggs, and my husband was out of town so there was no way I was dragging three kids and my tired self to the grocery store.
My daughter was born at the end of June and is so sweet. I absolutely love having babies. She nurses well, sleeps even better, and smiles all day long. What more can you ask for?
The cook part should be fairly obvious. When I moved into my first adult home, I was a pretty lame cook. The first time I tried to roast a chicken I forgot to take the innards out and so when my husband came home from work he walked in to a smoke filled kitchen. In tears, I told him to just throw the stupid chicken out, and I felt pretty foolish when he pointed out that the bag of stuff had to be removed before cooking the chicken. Times sure have changed; it's not rare for me to make an involved new recipe with multiple ingredients for a weeknight dinner all while helping my 9 year old with his homework, reading a book to my 4 year old, or nursing my 3 month old! I credit the change with good cookbooks, friends who enjoy cooking and eating as much as I do, and Food Network.
Shopping is obvious too. I do love to shop. Always have and probably always will. I can't think of anything I don't love to shop for except bedding (too many choices and they're all boring). Lately I've spent most of my time in Gap and Borders, buying clothes for everyone and birthday gifts for children whose parties my kids have been invited to.
On to the love. As I mentioned above, I am the mother of three children. My oldest will turn 10 next month. I am planning a huge surprise party for him, and since I love to plan and entertain as much as I love to cook and shop, I'm in my element.
My second child is 4½. We celebrated his half birthday with a small celebration that included a dairy free, egg free cake thanks to the carpool teacher who, when he told her it was his half birthday, said "Are you going to have half a cake tonight?". Thanks a LOT, Mrs. I! I didn't realize until it was too late that we had no milk or eggs, and my husband was out of town so there was no way I was dragging three kids and my tired self to the grocery store.
My daughter was born at the end of June and is so sweet. I absolutely love having babies. She nurses well, sleeps even better, and smiles all day long. What more can you ask for?
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