Let's Make a List!

I have a list by the door, right by my keys, that says:

-Lunch
-Coffee
-Bottles
-Purse
-Pump

What is this all about? It's a list of the things I have to remember to take with me when I leave the house for work. Hedgehusband asked me "why do you have that list, when you take the same stuff with you each day?" and I wanted to slap him. Because my brain actually looks like this at any given moment:

pick up fathers day presents. wash diapers. return library books. schedule a massage. wash diapers. do laundry. buy summer pajamas for the baby. call best friend back one of these days. wash diapers. grocery shop. call dad. call mom. call brother. call ten other friends who are not so patiently awaiting return phone call. call mothers helper. buy more diapers. buy more wipes. buy teething tablets. finish book to help the kid sleep. make dinner. wash breastpump parts. sterilize breastpump parts. wash diapers. start weight watchers. exercise more. exercise at all. call best friend back. make vet appointments for animals. remember three separate playdates for upcoming week. pick up tasty yet easy food for upcoming mom and baby brunch. pay bills. schedule next pediatrician appointment. wash diapers......
repeat....

And that's just a quick snapshot. I have to make lists, or else I'm bound to forget something. I'm always one step behind, walking on a very fine tightrope between stretched-thin sanity and full out crazy. Me and every other mom I know, constantly juggling, managing the household and social lives and work. Down to the last detail.

I wish I could shut it off for just a moment. Despite the fact that I haven't slept more than 5 hours a night since the kiddo was born, and I'm constantly exhausted, I lay in bed at night with the wheels spinning in my brain. I toss and turn and think about all the things I need to do the next day. I think through what we need at target, what we need at the grocery store, which phone calls are most imperative to make. And then, eventually, I get out of bed. And I make a list.

Complete Blog Overhaul

Like most of my New Year's resolutions, this blog has slowly faded away until nearly forgotten. Tucked away in a musty drawer somewhere with old Y membership cards, lists of "self improvements", and my on-going quest to "become a better person." A slow, grinding halt.

Here I come to revive this blog. Put a new face on it, and keep on truckin. I really do like the idea of a food-centered blog, but I cannot sustain it. I don't actually have the time to cook blog-worthy meals. And, I have started weight watchers again, and I solidly refuse to have a DIET blog. Blech.

For a long time, I have been reluctant to post a blog about my every day meanderings and musings because they just aren't that interesting. Yet, I look forward to and cherish the "mundane" posts my friends- and heck, even strangers- make on their blogs. This is my little leap, a hop if you will, in to that realm.

And a little, tiny leap it is, because I must go put the kiddo to bed. He is exhausted by his steep leaning curve of late- by a day spent crawling after toys, pulling the dog's hair, playing in the bath tub, and saying "ba-ba-ba." Or, more likely, he's exhausted by getting up at 4 o'clock this morning. I know I am.

Tag

What are five things on your to-do list for today?
I wish my list ONLY had five things on it!
1. Have "play time" with the kiddo in his crib, so he doesn't fear it and scream bloody murder when we try to put him in it
2. Call our potential babysitter/mother's helper we are hiring this summer
3. Go to grocery store and buy veggies to make baby food for the bottomless pit of a baby. Or cop out and buy jarred food.
4. Wash endless loads of laundry and cloth diapers
5. Attempt to take a nap with the baby

What are five snacks you enjoy?
Coffee. Cheese. Cheez-its. Apples. Pears.

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?
1. Pay off my student loans, home loan and credit card debt and do the same for my friends and family
2. Pay for college for my kid, future kid, and friend's kids
3. Travel a lot! Go on culinary tours in Italy and Greece ASAP
4. Donate a hell of a lot of money to local non-profits
5. Like Cedar, hire a massage therapist and personal trainer. Also, someone to clean my house.

What are five of your bad habits?
1. Overscheduling myself
2. Taking people on guilt trips
3. Drinking too much coffee (and then passing the caffeine on to my kid, shame on me)
4. Not eating breakfast and then over eating at lunch
5. Talking about myself too much

What are five places where you have lived?
1. A chicken coop in Eugene, OR
2. A trailer outside of Junction City, OR
3. Apartments in Oly with Cedar
4. A big, dirty apartment in Mpls with Hedgehusband
5. The awesome house I currently own with Hedgehusband

What are five jobs you have had?
1. Acting in sex ed videos in high school
2. Removing staples from receipts for a grocery store chain (seriously, that was the job)
3. Event coordinator for the AIDS Walk in Oly
4. Prevention Case Manager at a syringe exchange program in mpls
5. disease investigator

po-tay-toe, pot-tah-toe

I've always loved potatoes. When I was little, one of my great joys was to go out to eat at a place called King's Table. Looking back, I can see that this establishment was nothing short of trashy- a cheap buffet of largely carbs and low-end food items, but I thought it was heaven. When I would go there with my dad's side of the family, nobody cared what I ate, so I would fill my plate with mashed potatoes. And then go back for more mashed potatoes. Plates and plates of potatoey goodness.

When I was pregnant, I had a serious love of the baked potato. With a little butter, maybe some sour cream. I made a lot of them at home, and the 99 cent baked potato from Wendy's saved my stomach many a time.

I am certainly not pregnant now, but the potato craving has come back in the past couple days. I read a lot of food blogs and chat boards, and many people seem to have posted potato-centric dinners lately. It's got me wanting a little more potato in my life.

Last night, we went out to dinner for my father-in-law's birthday and I got roasted garlic mashed potatoes with a piece of grilled salmon and some steamed broccoli- the whole plate covered in blue cheese cream sauce......droool. Today, we are having some neighbors over for lunch and I'm doing a baked potato bar with a myriad of toppings- chili, cheese, salsa, broccoli, olives, butter, bacos, sour cream, etc. Will it curb the carb craving? Only time will tell.

Don't worry, I still exist

Hi y'all. Yep, I'm still around. I just kind of lost my blogging steam there for awhile. Of course, I've been eating (a lot) for the past month, but I haven't been good about remembering to blog.

So, here I am blogging, and I can't think of a single meal to write about. We've had a lot of the old standby's: BBQ tofu sandwiches, spaghetti, tacos, rice and beans. And lots of convenience foods from Trader Joe's: multi-grain veggie lasagna, gorgonzola walnut tortellini, curries.

I am just anxiously waiting the arrival of spring and the farmers market. I am so bored with food right now!

Enchilada Combo Plate

We had our first Let's Dish meal last night- the Chipotle Cheese Enchiladas. And they were excellent! The filling was a cream sauce mixed with fajita seasoning, green chilis, corn, roasted red bell peppers, and monterey jack cheese. The enchilada sauce was flavorful and chipotle-ish without being too spicy for me. The 1/2 meal was 6 good-sized enchiladas. We each had two, along with organic refried black beans and my attempt at "mexican" rice, like you get at mexican restaurants. I cooked some brown rice and then added diced tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. We also had salad- mine with yellow bell pepper and hedgehusband's with carrot- for color and nutrition.

Pumpkin-Black Bean Soup

I made this for dinner last night:
http://crunchydomesticgoddess.com/2008/03/06/pumpkin-black-bean-soup-recipe/

I went a little overboard on the curry powder and cayenne, and had to add some sour cream to mine to tame it, but hedgehusband isn't a spice wuss like me, and he thought it was just fine. We each had some leftovers for lunch today, and I froze a couple portions for lunches down the road. It was really fast to make, and I usually have all the ingredients on hand.