Monday Again Already? But We Just Had One!

Hi, fans!

Wow, did the morning ever just DISAPPEAR today. I guess time flies when you’re FREAKING THE FRAK OUT ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TOTALLY CRAZY TRIP.

I couldn’t sleep last night because I got a great nap yesterday after our hijinks at the awesome Pullen Park. I hadn’t been to that park in like 14 years, since way back when I did daycare (because, why the heck would I go to a park with a carousel and swings and a train without a Jellybean?), and I’d forgotten how cool it was. The weather was gorgeous, warm and sunny but with a nice breeze and lots of shady places for our picnic. The only downer was that the pay-for-play stuff (paddle boats, carousel, TRAIN) didn’t open until later in the afternoon, and we weren’t going to stay forever. So we’ll just have to go back, because we all know about The Bean and trains.

I got some cooking time in this weekend, which was nice. I think I’m finally on the road to recovery in the kitchen. It’s been too long, I realized. Even before I had Jelly, like, the nine months before, I was too busy barfing in the sink and eating nothing but cake to do much cooking. So I figure it’s been two YEARS since I really put some effort in, and it felt good. The Ta let me ravage her basil plant, so I started off with a beautifully fragrant pesto. I do it the way Alton showed me, making sure to add the olive oil over a period of like 7 weeks so that it properly incorporates. Then, since Jelly was playing nicely, I made gnocchi. I like Martha Stewart’s recipe, and it’s the only reason I bought and keep a stupid ricer around. Yup, I did the whole potatoes-through-the-ricer thing even, aren’t you impressed? I took pictures, because I always think it’s cool to look at other sites where people have pictures of what they are cooking.


However, I do not have a professional studio or good lighting or lots of talent, so my pictures mostly look like an ad for the Wal-Mart flour I used.

The Bean keeps an eye on me to make sure I am working hard on her dinner

You can tell which ones I made at the beginning, when I had totally forgotten how the heck you were suppose to make them the cool gnocchi-shape, and which ones I made after I had the 'oh yeah! moment. Anyhow, Jellybean seemed to enjoy it with some nice fresh crusty warm French bread and butter, and as usual I ate a nickel-sized portion before I felt like I’d eaten bricks (that stuff is sooooooooooo darn heavy!). But it was freaking delicious. Probably better tasting than the dish washer tablet that Jelly took a bite out of. No, I did not call Poison Control, hell-o, I was too busy panicking. Luckily she barfed all over the place so the problem resolved itself. Now I have to go find some sort of anti-Jelly locks for the cupboard that she can't She-Hulk open.

The MS ‘Living’ I got this weekend has an entire section of stuff that I want to make that is all summery and fresh (roasted cherry tomatoes on zucchini wheels, for example), so when I get back from Canada hopefully I’ll be up for it, and will let you know how it goes.

Look, my plate and cup and entree all match! Mommy is compulsive!

So right now I’m trying to review a few documents for work, while panicking about a new project my Engineering team has been tasked with that will totally pull them away from my important release work. I’ve got a load of laundry in, and two more that absolutely have to get done today. Jelly’s room needs to be cleaned up, because now that Nanny brings her upstairs to her room for her naps she gets to see my previously hidden Upstairs Disaster Areas (seriously, I don’t think I’ve vacuumed upstairs since I bought this house, I’m terrible). I absolutely have to go get the documents for Jelly’s citizenship certified and sent off, because the awesome pics I had taken of her have an expiration date. And I’ve still got to get thank-you’s from her birthday party mailed out, so a trip to the post office is on the list. What else? I wanted to get some hair bows made for my niece, and need diapers (for Jellybean, not me, although that WOULD be handy for the drive, crazy-astronaut-style). Phlergh, phlergh (that’s what it sounds like when I am breathing into a paper bag).