Growing Up So Fast

The mini has officially learned how to put a shirt on all by herself. She did it all by herself twice today. We're very proud of her, of course, but at the same time it is one more piece of evidence that our baby is no longer a baby. It was definitely a bittersweet moment.

4 Things (I Got Tagged)

Okay, so I just put up a list of 100 things about me, and then I got tagged to do a separate list, so I hope I don't bore anyone too much. Here it is:

4 Jobs I've Had:
1. paralegal
2. waitress
3. library docent
4. MOTHER - the best one by far!!

4 Movies I've Watched Over and Over:
1. 13th Warrior
2. Pride & Prejudice (or any A&E Jane Austin adaptation)
3. Bourne Trilogy (Identity/Supremacy/Ultimatum)
4. The Mummy

4 Places I Have Lived:
1. Kentucky
2. Georgia
3. Virginia
4. Alaska (born there)

4 Shows I Watch:
1. House Hunters
2. House
3. Jon & Kate +8
4. Top Chef

4 Places I've Been:
1. Paris
2. Iceland
3. Italy
4. Canada

4 People Who Email Me Regularly:
1. Brent
2. Amanda C.
3. Cynthia
4. Tamara

4 Favorite Things to Eat:
1. pasta
2. cheesecake
3. cinnamon raisin bagel w/peanut butter
4. crab legs

4 Places I'd Rather Be:
1. library/book store
2. furniture shopping or home improvement store
3. spa (pamper me, please!)
4. any vacation spots (I like to see new places)

4 Things I Look Forward to this Year:
1. 10th college reunion
2. 4th of July family get-together
3. a vacation (don't know where, yet)
4. the birth of my nephew!

I’m supposed to tag four people but I will admit that I don't know how to do that (Carrie, help!), so I'm going to just leave this as-is. If I find out how to do it soon, I'll tag someone then. Sorry!

UPDATE: I'm going to tag Trevor (the only person I know with a blog who has not yet been tagged). Additionally, I have decided that more people need to start blogs, so I'm going to tag them to get them going! To that end, I'm tagging Joey, Megan and Teresa. Let's see if they start blogs soon!

Yummyness

For some reason, I decided to attempt to reorganize my recipes today. I found a couple that I've had great success with in the past and thought I'd share them. Happy eating!

Three Mushroom Rigatoni
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Show: 30 Minute Meals

Episode: The Taming of the Shroom

1 pound rigatoni pasta
Salt
1 1/2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 portobello mushroom caps
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup dry Italian red wine
2 to 3 stems rosemary, stripped and finely chopped, a couple of tablespoons
Black pepper
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, such as San Marzano
Hunk Pecorino Romano, for grating
Crusty bread, for mopping

1. Heat a grill pan to high.
2. Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Add salt and cook rigatoni to al dente.
3. Place porcini in a small pot with about 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, drop to simmer, and reduce liquid by half, 10 minutes.
4. While pasta and porcini are working, pour about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil into a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to coat the portobellos in extra-virgin olive oil and place them on hot grill. Cook until dark and tender, 7 to 8 minutes, turning once. Remove and let rest.
5. Heat a large deep skillet with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add shiitakes and cook a few minutes then add garlic and cook a couple minutes longer. Add wine and reduce a minute.
6. Halve and slice portobellos then add to shiitakes. Scatter the rosemary into the pan and turn to distribute the herb. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Stir in tomatoes.
7. Remove the porcini from steeping broth with a slotted spoon and chop. Stir mushrooms into sauce then add a few ladles of the steeping broth. Do not use the very last of it: any grit in the dried mushrooms will have settled to the bottom of the pot. Let flavors combine for a couple of minutes more. Drain pasta and add to warm pot.
8. Grate some Romano down over the pasta and add a few ladles of the sauce to the pasta. Toss the pasta and sauce to coat, then transfer to a serving platter or into individual bowls and top with remaining sauce. Pass more cheese at table for topping, and bread for mopping.

Skillet Pork Tenderloin Medallions
(my own recipe)

serves 4

1 med. yellow onion, thinly sliced wedge-style
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into ½-inch thick medallions
1 14½ oz. can diced tomatoes
1 medium baking potato (cleaned, peel on) cut into ½-inch thick slices, then into thirds
1 7 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained
2 tbsp. Maille old style whole grain digon mustard
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. chile powder
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp. prepared horseradish
asparagus

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Place onions in oil and sautee for approximately 3 minutes. Add pork, salt, pepper, chili powder and garlic. Sautee until pork is opaque white. Add mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes, mustard and horseradish. Mix together well and cover. Cook until potatoes are tender. Serve with blanched asparagus.


Savory Crab-Stuffed Portobellos with Lemon Dressing
(my own recipe)

Serves 4

1 lemon, halved and juiced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2-3 racks snow crab legs (meat extracted and lightly separated into chunks)
2 tbsp. finely chopped purple onion or chives
5 fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Four medium portobello mushrooms
4 slices crisp bacon
1 pkg. goat cheese crumbles
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Method:

Place the lemon juice in a medium bowl. Slowly add the olive oil, constantly whisking until the dressing is nice and creamy. Combine the crab meat, onions, mint, vinegar and half of the dressing (about 1/4 cup/55 ml) in another medium bowl and stir to combine. Season the crab mixture to taste with salt and pepper.

Cut the stems off of the mushrooms. Using a jam spreader, hollow out the seed casings of the mushrooms and discard.

Lightly sprinkle the center of each mushroom with the goat cheese crumbles. Top with crab mixture until slightly mounded.

Divide the lettuce evenly among 4 plates. Place the stuffed mushrooms on top of lettuce of your choice (tossed with remainder of dressing and salt/pepper to taste). Drizzle the plates with any remaining dressing and serve.

100 Things About Me

I hadn't seen one of these lists until today, but I thought it was kind of interesting. It will be cool to do it again in 5 years to see what has changed!

1. I'm about a year behind on my Creative Memories albums
2. I talk too much
3. I hate insincerity
4. I love HGTV
5. I look really good in light blue and aqua
6. I'm a stay-at-home mom with a 3-year-old little girl
7. I watch old movies
8. I know a little about a lot of things, but nothing really well
9. I'm a failure at higher math (anything beyond Algebra destroys me)
10. I love the smell of freshly cut grass, even though it makes me sneeze
11. I named my daughter (middle name) after my beloved Grandfather
12. my favorite food changes at least 6 times per year
13. I married my college sweetheart
14. I make really good vegetable beef soup, but can't bake a decent biscuit
15. I pamper myself with pedicures every couple of months
16. I don't mind cleaning a toilet but can't stand to empty the dishwasher
17. I have a really good credit score
18. I'm not quite 5'2" tall
19. I've been blogging for less than two months
20. I'm less interested in national politics than I should be
21. I read too many romance novels
22. I love crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles and trivial pursuit
23. I'm a total klutz
24. I can't watch embarrassing scenes in movies without blushing
25. I live too far away from my sister
26. I feel really sorry for Britney Spears and hope she gets the help she needs
27. I get motion sick
28. I have really great friends who make me laugh
29. I grind my teeth when I'm asleep
30. I didn't have dates to either of my proms
31. I don't believe in growing old gracefully
32. I'm a child of divorced parents
33. I don't drink carbonated beverages
34. I have only one functioning kidney
35. I love the taste of vinegar
36. I wanted to be a ballerina when I was little
37. I'm a born-again Christian
38. I haven't yet started that novel I know I ought to write
39. I wish my metabolism worked better so I didn't have to exercise
40. I'm a member of the YMCA, but don't go very often
41. I like to swim, but hate to put my face under water
42. I don't use coupons as often as I should
43. I like happy endings
44. I'm allergic to cats, dogs, horses, rats and mosquito bites
45. I can't get a decent tan and have pretty much given up trying
46. I'm amazed by the things my daughter has taught me
47. I'm really nosy and struggle to curb my penchant for asking too many questions
48. I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt
49. I have issues with portion control with my food
50. I like to look at the ocean, but don't really want to be in it
51. my fingernails grow really fast
52. I teach 5th grade Sunday School twice a month
53. I have a fireplace in my house and haven't used it once in three years
54. I color-coordinate my closet
55. I don't remember the last time I wore perfume
56. I color my hair at home instead of at a salon
57. I can type 65 words-per-minute
58. I occasionally deal cards at casino parties
59. I use Cheer laundry detergent
60. I haven't done any ironing in over a month
61. I don't really like popcorn or ice cream (unless its real Italian gelato)
62. I read the labels on everything before I buy it
63. I don't make New Year's Resolutions
64. I'm slightly obsessive about closing doors
65. I've never been arrested
66. I don't have any tattoos
67. I don't like Barbie dolls
68. I want to have another baby someday
69. I don't know how to play soccer
70. I have really sensitive skin
71. I take at least two naps every week
72. I wish I was more career-oriented
73. I have blue or green eyes depending on what I'm wearing and how I feel
74. Bernini is my favorite sculptor
75. I get Bon Apetit magazine, but haven't read it in 3 months
76. I've been to Rome, Venice, Vienna, Paris, Iceland and Canada and want to travel abroad more
77. I received two diplomas when I graduated high school
78. I gave the baccalaureate address at my high school graduation
79. My mother, sister and I moved in with my grandparents when I was 8 years old
80. Our house was struck by lightning and burned down during my senior year of high school
81. I got my paralegal certification during the summer between my junior and senior years of college
82. I worked at a local outdoor theatre during the summer when I was 19
83. I am technology-challenged
84. I was 25 the first time I went to Disney World
85. I like to go white-water rafting as long as the rapids aren't too big
86. I go out with my girlfriends once a month
87. I was raised Southern Baptist
88. I have fewer clothes than my husband
89. I don't like camping
90. I have no desire to go bungee-jumping or anything else like that
91. I don't watch commercials
92. I do watch "chick flicks"
93. I took a tic-tac from a grocery store when I was 6 and I've felt guilty ever since
94. I didn't have a serious boyfriend until I was 19 (I married him 5 years later)
95. I was on the quick-recall team in high school
96. I've never broken any bones
97. I read "Hamlet" when I was 7
98. I don't recycle, even though I know I should
99. I don't drink coffee
100. I have really high arches in my feet

Wow, it took me almost 1.5 hours to get this list done. I don't think I'll be doing this again for a long time!

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH

It's one of those days. You know the ones. A pull-your-hair-howl-at-the-world-stomp-cry-scream-and-throw-a-tantrum-day where your child(ren) won't listen to you and you start yelling only to have them break down in tears and then you feel like an ogre for making them cry, but you're so frustrated that they won't follow instructions that you can't even see straight and all you're trying to do is get them ready to go out on the day's errands. That kind of day. Yeah. I think maybe we just need to crawl back into bed and start all over again.

Who Turned Out the Lights?

Why is it that when one lightbulb goes out, suddenly you look around and notice that half of the bulbs in your house need replacing? And of course, when you head out to check on your lightbulb stash in the garage, you discover that you've already used all your spares, so it's off to Target. And when did lightbulbs get so expensive? I can't believe it cost me $50 just to keep my lights going. I think in the future I need to buy a sleeve a bulbs once a month with the groceries so that I don't go into sticker shock again. Having to replace 20+ bulbs all at the same time is just way too expensive!

Tree Hugger

I enjoy Mother Nature. Honestly. I do. However, it was with relief and not a small amount of fascination that I watched three grown men come to my front yard and remove a 15+ year-old Bradford Pear. It was amazing that they were able to show up at 9:15, and by 10:00 the tree was down, the wood chipper was full and all of the little leaves and branches had been cleaned up and cleared away and they were gone. I assumed it was going to take at least a couple of hours. The mini, of course, was appropriately horrified by the blasphemous nature of the destruction of a beloved tree (perhaps because it had her baby swing still in it?), but I was able to distract her with Super Why.

I honestly regret taking the tree down, for the simple reason that it was quite beautiful. However, since it was also leaning over toward our driveway, I felt like it was a danger to our family and anyone who might be on our property. On a less altruistic level, the root system was sucking up all of the water from our irrigation system, thereby killing the grass in our front yard. And of course, it completely blocked the view from two-thirds of our house. Now, however, I can see all the way down the street and will hopefully have lush, full grass in the spring, which I can enjoy while watching the mini and her friends safely frolic in the yard. At least until I convince DH that we need to plant another tree!

My Own Little Picasso

Some days are too much for me to handle. Others we do okay. Like today for instance, the mini is actually deigning to allow me to keep my sanity (such as it is). One of her newfound favorite things to do is paint. I have set up a little station for her in the dining room, complete with my old "paint-the-house" shirt for a smock and a beach towel on the table. She's in artistic heaven. Here are some pictures of her gettin' her paint on.

First Snow, A New Camera and No Internet Connection!

DH came home with a new toy for me the other day - a palm-sized digital camera that I can fit in my purse and take anywhere for those little candid moments that I've been lamenting I never seem to get on film. So now I have no excuses! Then again, having loaded the wonderful new software onto my laptop, I lost my internet connection and being less than computer savvy, I had to have DH fix it for me this morning. Anyway, all's well that gets fixed in a timely manner, right? So here goes....




These are all pictures of the itty bitty snow that we had yesterday. I woke up at 7:30 and there was absolutely nothing - not a single speck, so I crawled back into bed. At around 8:00, though, the first flakes started falling and by 8:30 we were lightly covered in white stuff. It was really pretty. The mini enjoyed her first snow. Last year she wasn't interested (and I don't think we actually got any snow last year anyway). When she came to our bedroom to wake us up, she stopped at the window in the upstairs hallway and said, "Mommy, it's snowing! I'm so excited!" She was so overjoyed that she started to clap her hands, and jump up and down amid squeals of delight, declaring "Oh! I LOVE SNOW!" When I took her outside for a few minutes before we left for school she got a chance to actually play in it and feel it on her skin. But my little girl is nothing if not prissy - as soon as she realized that it was really cold and wet, she wanted to go back inside. I think she likes to admire the weather from the safety of our nice dry house. I really don't have a girl-scout in the making, do I? That's okay, though. She still thought it was pretty and was excited by it. Of course, by the time I picked her up from school, the snow had stopped and turned to cold, hard rain. She greeted me at her classroom door by saying, "Mommy, where's the snow? It's raining." Hopefully we'll get more snow before spring arrives!

She Loves Us....Or Maybe Not?

It's a good thing when your 3-year-old looks you right in the eye and says "You need to go away some more, MommyDaddy," right? Let me give you the backstory. About 15 minutes ago, DH and I got back from a movie to find our daughter dressed up like Tinker Bell and doing pirouettes in the front hall. She apparently had been having such a good time with the new babysitter that she didn't want it to end. Thus the aforementioned line about us going away. The kicker to this is that we've never used this babysitter before - the mini met her for the first time at 3:30 this afternoon, shortly before we left. I know her mom and that she's trustworthy, of course, but come on! How was I supposed to know that she would claim my daughter's affections to the extent that she wants me to stay gone? How is this fair? Isn't she supposed to love me more than the babysitter? I guess I have two options at this point: 1)let her adopt the mini as long as I get weekend visitation, or 2)never ever go out again unless I take the mini with me. Now that I think about it, weekends sound like a pretty good idea....

Life In Fast Forward

Time is against us, isn't it? I remember when summer seemed to last forever and childhood took so long that I desperately longed to be a grown up. Now I'm wondering where my 20's went (not to mention my teens) and how all of a sudden I seem to be a married mom with a never-ending list of household chores (which never gets finished) and a baby who isn't a baby anymore - I can't believe she's already 3!!! The last three years have snuck up and smacked me right in the fanny. I'm sure I'm part of some weird government experiment in time jumping and memory tampering and it is really still 1994 - I just don't know it. Oh to be 18 again! Sometimes I forget that I'm not 18 and attempt something frivolous and physically strenuous that I would have laughed at when I was 18, only to wake up the next morning and realize that I'm over 30, overweight and overwhelmed, and apparently I'm such a cliche that I actually think it's funny.

Speaking of being overweight, I think I'm going to try to get more fit. Notice I didn't say I had a weight-loss goal - that never seems to work for me. When I say things like, "I'm going to lose 10 (read 30) pounds" I tend to work out for two weeks like a madwoman, eat nothing but salad and water and then completely deflate and give up, having somehow put on two more pounds. (Sometime in the past 10 years, that extra two pounds turned into 20 pounds and I don't even recognize pictures of myself. Who is that woman wearing clothes hanging in my closet that I'm sure are at least 3 sizes too big for me?) This time, I'm just going to try to go to the gym 3 times a week for 30 minutes each time while the mini is in school or at gymnastics. I'm not even going to get on a scale or worry about the weight. I'm just going to go. I figure that way I'll hopefully develop a healthy habit that will eventually become just another part of my day. Maybe in a couple of months I'll worry about the next step, changing my diet. Wish me luck!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

We celebrated the mini's 3rd birthday on Saturday at The Little Gym and had a blast. All of the kids seemed to have a really good time, especially on the "whale ride." Even a couple of the moms got into it, turning cartwheels on the big red mat. And of course, there were tons of presents and the mini absolutely loves every single one of them! I think she's pretty much forgotten about Christmas in favor of her birthday presents!

A close-up of the birthday cake - it may have been vegan, but it was actually really tasty!

Blowing out the candles on the cake was a little more of a production than we anticipated - the mini tried, but she just didn't have the lungs for it - I guess we should have practiced for a few days beforehand. DH and I eventually helped her blow out the candles and everyone cheered!

Waiting for cake...yum!

This picture was of the oh-so-fabulous "whale ride" that the kids got to go on. The instructors basically pulled them really fast across a couple of rolling mats. I actually wanted to try it myself!

This blow up track was probably the most popular activity for the kids - they could run and jump around on it until they exhausted themselves - I bet everyone got a lot of quality sleep that night!

Daddy and the mini had to take a little break after wrestling on the blow-up track.



The mini on the uneven bars.

Happy New Year!

Ahhh, the New Year. A time for making resolutions, for letting go of the past and looking forward to the future, for cleansing your soul and reorganizing your life and your priorities....and what better way to do so than with brand new furniture!?! I received one more Christmas present (about a week late, but what the heck) in the form of a new buffet server/credenza for my dining room. We've been looking for something for about 2 years now and finally found it this weekend. We thought we wanted something in the Shaker style, stained a dark color with simple, straight lines and no embellishment - guess what we got? A painted piece more in a french/italian style with curves and flowers. Isn't it weird when you go out looking for one thing and then, wham!, something else jumps out at you and you just know it is exactly what you need? Life is so funny like that sometimes, isn't it?

We took these pictures at the furniture store. I can't wait to see how it looks in our house!

To top it all off, we're 90% sure we're going to be getting a second piece, which is actually in the Shaker style we thought we wanted, but is more of a storage and display unit. Not to mention that we're now also looking at dining room tables and chairs - heck, you can't just stop with one thing when you're on a roll, right? Might as well re-outfit the entire room. Talk about the snowball effect! Furniture shopping can be so much fun when everything is on sale!