Mother's Day Recap

I had a very nice Mother's Day, yesterday; I spent most of it relaxing on the couch, by which, I mean; trying not to move. Why was I trying to avoid movement? Because I was (and, am) very, very sore from my foray into the garden on Saturday.

I do not know how my grandmother managed to plant a large garden well into her 60's. I can't remember her being sore or stiff after a day spent in the garden nor can I recall her complaining after hours of standing over a hot canner in the kitchen at harvest time. Clearly I am lacking in the genes required to produce such levels of fortitude, because; I am in pain, people. Still. Today. In pain.

But! The garden, it is planted; as are the flower containers for the front porch and the various herbs that make up Hugh's culinary selection for use when cooking on the outside grill, you know, like a man.  A man who grilled chicken legs and tater tots for my Mother's Day dinner, last night (he would insist that I mention). And, if you are scratching your head whilst pondering the validity of cooking tater tots on the grill, allow me to assure you; it can be done, and; the result will be extra crispy tots, just like Hugh likes them.

While I was digesting the extra crispy tots and trying to relax on the couch, I was also giving myself an OPIcure, which is usually a very relaxing and enjoyable endeavour. Last night, not so much. You see, I had to share my pedicure soaking with some uninvited company...

...you would think it was his day to be pampered or something.

 At least he didn't beg for tater tots.

She Is Her Mother's Daughter

The last day of school is still two weeks away and, already, The Teenager is planning her annual Last Day of School House Party. Last year's water balloon fight was so popular; she decided to go the water route again, this time with a giant slip 'n' slide on the front lawn.

Last night, mere minutes after Hugh arrived home from a three-day trip to the Front Range for a tazer class, The Teenager had him measuring the lawn and figuring the length of industrial strength plastic that will become the base for the ginormous water slide that currently exists only in her fevered imagination.

She then described, in detail, her vision of how the drinks would be chilled (galvanized steel wash buckets filled with ice, on the front porch, of course) and of what the menu of snacks will consist (chips, dips, etc.).

She's got it pretty well planned out and I can't help but feel just the tiniest smidgen of pride in her anal-retentive party planning tendencies, because; even I can admit that she comes by them naturally.

As an aside, if you happen to be in the neighborhood on May 22nd and are just dying to relive your childhood via a large sheet of plastic coated in dish soap and ice-cold water; do join us. I'll be the one lounging on the porch with camera (and a non-alcoholic drink) in hand.

And, We're Runnin'

I spent the better part of the day lounging in the sunshine with Jana. Granted, we were at a Middle School track meet at the time, but, glass half full, doncha know?

Just in case you think that track meets are all hurdle jumping and running from point A to point B, with no time in between for stunt work; allow me to dispel that notion, right now...

... there is also plenty of time for flirting with members of the opposite sex; as evidenced by the following:

And, yeah, there is the jumping and the running, of course...

But, the kids seem to enjoy that stuff almost as much as they enjoy the downtime.

To conclude; The Fearsome Foursome highly recommend track and field as a most enjoyable pastime, should you be in the market for a new activity.

They also recommend doing the high jump with a mouthful of sunflower seeds, though, so, yeah....

Track is cool, yo.

Ah, Monday; We Meet Again

The weekend went by entirely too fast. One minute I was sipping a Starbucks shaken iced tea on the porch and the next I was back at my desk, doing payroll. Why, Monday? Why?

Oh well, at least the weather was nice enough to allow for that porch time, brief as it was. And, I managed to get one container of flowers planted. I was pretty disappointed with the selection of flowers in my local nurseries, however, and will have to expand my search for flowers for the six remaining planters.

In an effort to salve my disappointment, Hugh and I took the Man-Cub to see The Avengers in 3D at the local cinema. Now, ask anyone in my family and they will tell you, that, while growing up, I was a big comic book geek (helloo, sister), but; I never really got into The Avenger comics (I mean graphic novels. Geeks are so pretentious these days), so; I didn't really know what to expect from the movie.

I mean, Thor? The Hulk? How entertaining could it be?

Put down the lynching rope, comic book geeks; I ended up liking the movie. Like, a lot. Much credit goes to the snappy commentary by Iron Man, AKA Tony Stark, AKA Robert Downey, Jr.,  AKA The Best Hollywood Rehab Success Story, evah. I anxiously await The Avengers Part Two.

I did, however, feel a need to balance out the science fiction part of my weekend with a good old fashioned chick-flick tearjerker so; The Teenager and I watched New Year's Eve together on Sunday. We laughed. We cried. We drooled over the man-candy that is Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron and one Mr. Jon Bon Jovi. Well, I drooled over Mr. Bon Jovi; The Teenager fails to appreciate the hotness of a forty-five year old rock star with no drug addiction, who; is in a stable, long-term marriage to his high-school sweetheart, raising a houseful of children while running a philanthropic restaurant on the side (And I ask you; where did I go wrong?).

All in all, it was a really great weekend.

Oh, it could have lasted longer, but, that damn Monday is a bitch who will not be denied.

Unfortunately.

Recipes From the Porch: Mock Caprese Pasta Salad

This is one of my favorite things to serve for a quiet summertime dinner on the porch. It's especially good with a glass of chilled pinot grigio and a loaf of crusty bread.

Even Hugh, who is not a huge fan of tomatoes, loves this salad. I think the reason for that has to do with the sweetness of the yellow and red grape tomatoes vs. the less sweet taste of a regular beefsteak or Roma tomato. Or, it could just be that he is weird, either way.

I love this salad because it is made from items I stock, normally, and; because there are no measurements. Seriously, no measurements. You simply decide how much salad you want and play with the ingredients from there. I generally make a very large bowl of the stuff because we eat it so quickly. It does tend to taste better when eaten right away, however, so; bear that in mind when playing with the measurements.

Mock Caprese Pasta Salad

Orecchiette Pasta (I've also used farfalle, if you can't find orecchiette (which means "little ear" in Italian (wow! parenthesis inside parenthesis; my fifth-grade English teacher is probably rolling in her grave (sorry, Miss Wood!))))

Where was I? Oh, yeah...

Orecchiette
Tomatoes, combination of red grape and yellow cherry. Or, just red. Or, just yellow; your call.
Fresh Mozzarella cheese (I use Bel Gioioso Pearls but you can dice a ball if you can't find them)
Olive oil
Garlic cloves
Fresh basil
Salt and pepper

Slice tomatoes in half, place in a colander and sprinkle with salt, toss gently and allow to "weep" for at least thirty minutes, discard juice.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While pasta cooks and tomatoes weep, cut basil leaves into fine ribbons. Over a large bowl, grate several gloves of garlic. Add basil and olive oil (a few swirls around the bowl) and stir to mix. Allow mixture to sit for a few minutes so that the flavors can blend.

Add tomatoes and mozzarella.

Combine gently, coating tomatoes and cheese with the basil-garlic-oil mixture. Add hot pasta, stir well, sprinkle with pepper to taste, and serve immediately.

With wine.

 And, bread.

Another Milestone

My baby just applied for her first job outside of the hardware store. I really hope she gets it. I hope she loves it. I hope she is good at it and, I hope it is the beginning of a long history of career sucess.

But, wow. She was just a baby, like, yesterday.

May Day, Mayday!

Oh, look! A post that has nothing to do with Prom! It's a miracle! Also, whatever will I write about? Dilemma!

Here's a thought; it's May, already.

Last time I checked, May is followed by June which is followed by July which is followed by August and; that's summer, people! Already! And, I'm not bikini-worthy, like, at all. I'm working on it, though. In fact, Jana and I are on day three of a twenty-one day challenge to eliminate crap from our diets. So far, we are doing quite well. Yes, we have suffered the inevitable sugar-withdrawal headaches, but, nothing a little ibuprofen and some extra water couldn't handle.

I'm also walking again and trying to build up to running; I'd like to get back to the level that I was at this time last year despite the fact that my hips and feet are determined to derail my every effort.

Summertime also means a return to my gardening. Hugh has already applied the first round of fertilizer to the garden and we will be tilling the soil for a second time this weekend. I won't actually start planting until Mother's Day, when danger of frost has passed.

I'm not making any huge changes to the garden plan this year; I'll stick to the usual vegetables, and, of course, tomatoes will feature heavily, as always (You are welcome, Rowdie-dog). The strawberries that the Man-Cub planted in my granddad's old wheelbarrow last year are already coming up and I am looking forward to having a better crop this year.

Summertime also means flowers on the front porch; I haven't quite decided what varieties I want to plant and am sort of disappointed in the lack of variety from which to choose, since, low-growing annuals are not readily available in our area nurseries (pansies and petunias are the norm, here, and are b-o-r-i-n-g). The season is too short for seeded planting and; I like instant gratification in my porch-box flowers.

Speaking of the porch; school is out on the 22nd of this month (have I mentioned it is May?) and the first Porch Night of the season is tentatively scheduled for the 23rd, barring unpleasant weather, baseball games (oh, yeah, summertime also means baseball!), etc. I can hardly wait.

I'm also really looking forward to longer days, lazier mornings, sultry evenings, sunshine, crickets chirping, lake-spray on my face, the scent of sunscreen, the sweet taste of local cherries, stargazing with my kids, the feeling of sun-warmed beach towels against my skin, the hum of the ceiling fan while I lounge on the porch with a good book, digging through the cool soil of the garden in the early hours of the day, watching my kids release ladybugs into the garden just as the sun is setting, and, of course, to drinking wine with my friends.

May. Already. Yay!