On the verge

If I wasn't such a goody goody (and by that I mean too scared to get in trouble if I did something wrong), I would have taken up drinking mass amounts of alcohol years ago. Just a litttle something to numb the pain. And then I remember that mothers of teenagers say that these are the easy years. Maybe I'll save my first serious act of rebellion for a few years from now when Lilly wants to date a boy and Abe goes to juvy. Surely then I wouldn't be criticized for living in a drunken stupor. I tell Kelly I'm just going to head straight for the hard stuff, like vodka or whiskey in a pretty flask. I think he thinks I'd stick with fruity wine coolers. I'm really so much cooler than that, though.

And yet the funny part of it all is that really my bad days just stem from myself and my distractions and not from my children. Sure, Abe spit in my face today at Marshalls and Lilly ignores me EVERY time I ask her to do something, but generally speaking they're good kids. Oliver's a real gem and I'm for sure gonna keep him. He likes to shower me with open mouth kisses ALL DAY LONG. I often forget, though, that in the grand scheme of things, it's really for a short time that I can't always go shopping when I want, or go to the grocery store by myself, or even visit the bathroom in peace and quiet. Nevertheless, it's hard. Today's been hard. Yesterday's been hard. We all have days like that, though, and I don't see any of you boozing it up. If you start, though, give me a call.

(Please don't tell my bishop cause I'm not really being serious...Or am I?)

reminder

literary society meeting tomorrow night at 6:30. my house. be there or be square.

recipe exchange

remember how i said i was going to detox from sugar? i haven't been successful yet, but i do have a fabulous and super healthy recipe to share and even Kelly really liked it. If you don't like it, though, don't blame me.

one-pot chicken and brown rice

from Everyday Food

1 tbsp. olive oil

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (I used skinless and boneless chicken thighs)

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 large yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges

2 celery stalks, cut inot 1 1/2-inch pieces

2 medium carrots, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 bay leaf

1 cup brown rice

1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and place, skin side down, in pot. Cook until golden brown on both sides, 10 to 12 minutes total. Pour off all but 1 tbsp. fat from pot, add onion and celery. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 20 minutes.

2. Add carrots, bay leaf, and 1 3/4 cups water; stir in rice and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until rice absorbs almost all the liquid, 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes before serving.

per serving: 372 cal; 13.9 g fat; 18.3 g protein; 42.6 g carb; 4.6 g fiber

DETOX

I'm detoxing.

I'm learning to once again live without color. We just returned from a quick trip to California where I saw rows upon rows of fully grown deliciously green trees of different shapes and sizes and beautiful gardens with reds and pinks and blues. Homes had real grass for front lawns and I even sat in the front of my dad's house (you can cause it's not rocks that'll hurt your bum) and enjoyed the glorious sky in all of it's cumulus wonder. When we returned to our brown abyss Kelly pointed out all the colors he saw, like red. I asked him where the red is and he said there was a stop sign back down the street. I'm in mourning.

I'm detoxing...

from sugar. The amounts of articifial ingredients I have inhaled over the last week or so has caused Oliver to not sleep well, me to breathe heavily while hoisting myself up stairs, and generally I think I stink. It's weird what sugar by the tablespoon can do to a gal. I'm over it. I hope.

My whole family is also in need of some serious detoxing. Our house needs to be cleaned, organized, and made more functional for our needs. We need to be detoxed from TV. Especially my children. It's bad. Whole foods and grains and quality meats must be purchased and used. I must detox from making things out of a package. It doesn't work for us in the long run, especially one of my children who shall remain nameless is (I believe) adversely affected by such foods and needs my help.

I need to make chore charts

I need to buy groceries

I need to exercise (first on the list cause it makes me feel the best)

I need to download new music

I need to get better sleep (sorry Oliver, some crying is in store for you)

I need to wake up earlier and not rely on TV to watch my kids for me

I need some good healthy recipes. Got any?

I need a back massage

I need to know how to discipline my children

I need to get off the computer

bye

Hello March!

I'm happy it's March. I didn't like February although I can't tell you why. No real reason. I think I like March because Oliver/Finn will turn 6 months and I think something magical is going to happen like all of a sudden he'll let other people hold him or he'll nap in his crib or start doing some tricks. I just have a feeling...

On to some unrelated news. How about March 16th for our next meeting of the literary society? Same time same place. I think we should be a literary society in honor of our fabulous book selection for this month. I fell in love with it and was in mourning when it ended. Besides, literary society sounds far more sophisticated than regular old book club and we're nothing if not sophisticated. Am I right ladies?

Let me know if the 16th works for you.

ciao