Hey, Y'all!

Guy Time

Since Dean goes to preschool on campus at the university where Marcus teaches, they have the same spring break. I do not get a spring break. (alas) Later this week, my two guys will head off on a boys only adventure FOR A WEEK.  They're flying up to Northern Virginia to visit Marcus's parents.  Planned activities include the circus, which is a GREAT thing to do without me because I HAAATE clowns.  They're also going "camping." I put it in quotes because they'll be in a cabin, but still. They'll be camping.  Dean and our oldest nephew, Adam, are REALLY into the idea of camping.  They have both learned about it at preschool and are fascinated.  I've told you of our at-home camping, which involves a nap mat, the grill and some marshmallows.  Adam can name off every single thing you need to bring with you on a camping trip, including "Something to read."  I bought the boys a couple of camping-themed books to take along.

I am so, so happy and blessed to have a husband who A) is willing to take his young son on a week-long vacation alone and B) to know that Dean will be cared for perfectly while they are gone.  I will miss them SO MUCH, but I have no doubt they'll have a blast, Dean will get his medicine on time and his clothes will probably match. (Forutnatley, my mother-in-law will be able to check up on that last one.)  There is so much to do in their town and the surrounding area--we always have a blast when we visit.  We're planning some Skype and Face Time dates so I can see their faces, though.

So what will I do with myself?  Well, Chutney and I will enjoy some girl time, mostly in company housing near the theatre.  I'm glad to have her to keep me company there, and I imagine she'll like exploring some new digs for a few days. Some of my favorite people in the world are working on my current project, and they've promised to keep me entertained and in good company.  We're planning a fun birthday dinner for my friend Jen next Monday and I hope to make it to at least one movie.  I've made my grocery list, which includes things neither Dean nor Marcus likes to eat.  I plan to jump on some things at work and try to get a little ahead while I've got the time.  And, of course, I'll have rehearsal to keep me busy.  Maybe I'll finally read THE HUNGER GAMES.

Any suggestions as to how I should fill my alone time?

State of the Lane

I was (rightfully) scolded last night by my IRL friend Kat for nost posting for so long.  Unfortunately, it's easier than I'd like to ignore my little space here often because I think "Wow. I have nothing of interest to say." But I do have things to say, things I'll want to go back and read someday when they aren't a part of my everyday routine.  So here ya go.

Dean and I had a lovely time at our friends' house last night devouring fondue.  It's been a while since I've made fondue and my, oh my, was it good. Kat made some bangin' caramel fondue, into which we dipped pound cake and fruit. It was preceded by the main course, parma rosa cheese fondue, made by me with double the amount of cheese the recipe actually calls for.  It was, in a word, divine, particularly with fresh mushrooms dipped in it.

Dean continues to grow and change and is undoubtedly the coolest person I know.  He's so clever and funny, so affectionate, but also so stubborn, moody and, well, FOUR sometimes.  This morning's battle was "Mama, I gonna wear my Thomas jammie pants to school with my Batman shirt, ok? Good."  Um, no kid. I made the situation worse by trying to put him in a new pair of pants he'd never tried on, and which turned out to be waaaaay too big.  I eventually got him sacked into a pair of (only slightly too long) jeans and distracted him with a big bowl of grapes.  He asks Marcus adn me on a daily basis if we are "best friends," and we tell him we are more than that, we're family.  He glares at us for a minute, then says, "I think Papa is my best friend." He still likes to wish on stars, usually wishing for Batman, and the other night at bedtime, he prayed to Jesus that Mommy would buy him a T-Rex.  He continues to eat his weight in fruit, but is also addicted to Hershey's chocolate bells, which is kind of too bad because he ate the last one today. Imagine his disappointment when he finds out there won't be more til Christmas.  Perhaps we can distract him with Easter candy soon.

On the work front, I'm off for a couple of weeks before beginning rehearsals for my next show, THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR.  I'm looking forward to working on this show, as it's been quite a while since I've stage managed a Shakespeare.  The cast is delightful (some of the same actors I'm already working with on another project).  It will be fun to get all five (!) of our shows up and running.

At home, Chutney continues to be the perfect cat for us. She's super affectionate and very good-natured, even when Dean accidentally steps on her tail.

What's new with you?

Ready Or Not, Here It Comes

2 weeks from yesterday, I will be 35.  While I'm delighted to be on an age divisible by 5 (what? I like that number), officially hitting my mid-thirties is throwing me for a bit of a loop. 

On the eve of my 30th birthday, I called a friend who is slightly older than me and asked if I was supposed to wake up wise the next day.  She assured me that 30 was just a number and that I could go on being my usual self.  If I'd only known what that year would hold for me, I would have laughed in her ear just a little. (pregnancy, baby birthing, relocation, etc. etc. etc.)  Waking up officially wise would have been sort of nice.

35 is one of those ages where I'm feeling the pressure to check things off a list. Am I where I should be in life? Beyond that? Not quite there yet?  I feel like I'm exactly where I should be in my career.  I'm about the average age of the moms at preschool (though they all think I'm the youngest, thank you, baby face). I feel neither matronly nor horribly immature for my age.  My mind and body are certainly cueing me into the fact that YES, you are getting older. 

I had a weird moment the other day while I was driving home from work.  35 was the age my OBGYN in NYC threw out as the absolute deadline for having more kids.  And though that ship sailed long ago, actually hitting that age sort of brought it to the forefront of my mind again.

Things I like about this age are: the fact that I can let go of things so much easier than I ever could before, priorities are obvious, routines are more or less established, and I don't have to ever wear tight-fitting clothes again if I don't want to.  Things I could do without:  Tight-fitting clothes would not look as good as they once did, OMG grey hairs and wrinkles, dry skin, high blood pressure, being called "ma'am" by the kid bagging my groceries. 

Like it or not, I guess the big 3-5 is coming my way and I may as well embrace it.  I choose to revel in the fact that I'm in relatively good health, I have enough energy to run around in the yard with my son, my husband still thnks I'm pretty, I have money in the bank and food on the table, and I'm lucky enough to have both my parents, both my in-laws and both my grandmas still with me.  And the fact that I look about 24 doesn't hurt.

But check back with me when I'm 2 weeks away from 40.

Nature's A Little Gross

Now that I've been blogging for nearly five years, I feel it's time I come clean about something to you, my faithful readers. Here it is, a deep, dark secret of mine.

Sometimes nature grosses me out.

Sure, there are gross things in nature, like slugs, that are important. Though I can't think of one off the top of my head right now, I know slugs serve an important purpose in ye olde circle of liiiiiife.  I'm talking about things like a whole bunch of mussel shells stuck to a rock. GROSS.  The spores on the backs of fern leaves. SHUDDER. But the worst?  CRACKED MUD. Seriously. It makes me gag.

I worked on a dance show the first year I worked at Cornell that involved 5 choreographes, 4 of whom took the elements of nature (fire, air, water and earth) and created a dance based on their assigned element.  In our design meeting, the set designer brought in photos for reference. One of them was a full-screen shot of cracked mud.  I gagged so hard people heard me.

Maybe it's the naturally occurring patterns that freak me out, since  I also can't look at segmented worms for too long without gagging.  Something about all that symmetry is just nasty. 

As for food, I don't like to look at highly marbled raw beef, raw chicken skin (BUMPS, OMG) or, watit for it, the tops of tomatoes. I'm ok if they don't have those weird little lines on them, but if there are lines, FORGET IT. Gag city. Spotted bananas also gross me out, but not on par with the tops of tomatoes. Here, because I love you, I will give you a visual aid.

Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech.

Ok, that one on the left is extra gross, probably to everyone. But it gets the point across, right?

Now that I've nearly made myself hurl, I'm wrapping this up.

Do any of you have naturally occurring things that gross you out? Please tell me I'm not alone.

Next

I did ok on keeping last year's resolutions.  I tried to get my engagement ring fixed last week, but the jeweler I want to use is not taking new "cases" until after the holidays. (Totally understandable.)  2011 was pretty good to us. This year challenged us by making us consider some things we didn't think we'd be considering, but it also reinforced the fact that we're doing just fine on the path we're on.  Dean started school and has blossomed into this amazing little person with an imagination as big as the sky.  Marcus and I celebrated 5 years of marriage and 13 years (OMG) of knowing each other and dating and stuff.  We counted our blessings, as well as our losses, and most of all, we loved each other. Our home is more comfortable now that we have a kitty of our very own.  Our kitchen, though not always tidy, is never without tasty smells or creative concoctions, and our little boy goes to bed each night with the knowledge that he's warm, safe, loved and cherished.

2012 will be a big year for us no matter what. We'll have a four-year-old (hold me), Marcus will go up for tenure, and I got a KitchenAid stand mixer for Christmas, so there's no telling what's going to come flying out of our kitchen.  On to the next adventure, my  friends.

Here's my list of goals for the year:

• Have the time of my life at Type-A Parent Conference in June.
• Visit NYC with Marcus to see the Broadway revival of Jesus Christ Superstar. 
• See my best friend and spend no less than 4 hours sitting on her couch watching certain episodes of West Wing, Sports Night, and that classic film Coal Miner's Daughter.
• Visit my undergrad alma mater and finally see my brick. (They give each graduate a brick on the Centinneal Plaza. I graduated in 1999, but have never seen my brick.)
• Use every single piece of baking paraphenalia I received for Christmas. There's a LOT, y'all.
• Put down roots, either here or elsewhere. And I mean DEEP roots.
• Talk to my friends on the phone or Skype or Facetime or Google+ Hangout more.  Email and Facebook are great, but nothing compares to hearing your friends' voices.
• Take Dean to a play. Or 3 or 4.
• Play the Kinect with Marcus at least twice a week.  Look as dorky as possible.
• Find some boots to fit my annoyingly tiny feet.
• Eat less salt.
• Continue to volunteer at Dean's school. 
• Push harder for the people who live here to help me keep the house neater.
• Have a real Christmas tree.
• Meet my fellow Food Lushes.
• Celebrate my 35th birthday with a day out with Dean and a night out with Marcus.
• Get my stupid tooth filled. (I haz a cavity.)
• Get my car detailed, then keep it cleaner.
• Go to the outlet mall.
• Send more letters.
• Teach Dean to read, at least a little.
• Cook for and host the holidays. I did Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, now I'm hooked.

Happy New Year, everyone!

2011 in Review

I've done a post like the before, inspired by one of my favorite bloggers (and the editor/owner of Food Lush and Style Lush!) Jennie of She Likes Purple.  I love the format and I think it's a really nice way to sum up your year. I hope 2011 has been kind, educational and full of love for each of you.  Here's to an even better 2012.

 

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

Visited Baltimore (to see Alissa!), went to a parent/teacher conference as a parent.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Well, let's look at last year's list.  I'd say I did ok.  A few things fell through the cracks, but for the most part, I'm happy with what I got done. (And no, I did not quit Coke Zero.)  My resolutions for next year will be up tomorrow.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

A few people we know, as well as a dear friend's daughter (who is becoming a dear friend herself!). I go to hold her snuggly baby boy when he was just over 2 weeks old.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Marcus's Uncle Billy passed away this summer.  He was one-of-a-kind and I'm very sad he's no longer with us. Fortunately, we got to spend some time with him during our trip to Florida in May, so we were able to say goodbye.  I missed getting his Christmas card so much this year and I will dearly miss discussing Dairy Queen desserts with him.

5. What countries did you visit?

None but this one.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you didn't have in 2011?

A cleaner house, a sturdy savings account, an herb garden that doesn't die of heat exhaustion.

7. What dates from 2011 will be etched upon your memory, and why?

Dean's first day of preschool and Christmas.  Christmas was really, really good this year.

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?

I was promoted to Production Stage Manager at work. That means I'm the stage management department head.  It's both awesome and sort of terrifying, but is exactly where I should be at this point in my career.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not always speaking my mind.  I need to trust myself in my personal life as much as I do at work.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I broke a tooth, which sucked a great deal. I also got an infection in my finger from a stupid hangnail.  Other than that, just a couple of colds.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My iPhone.  I love it more than I thought I would and it has made life easier and more enjoyable.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Dean's.  He has done great in preschool, meeting the challenges, working through them as they come.  He's been so patient with us, the parents who still feel like newbies sometimes.   He rocked potty training, once he was finally ready to get serious about it, and he's doing such a good job of telling us what he needs.  I'm super proud to be his mom.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I plead the fifth.

14. Where did most your money go?

Bills. Food. Gas.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I had the time of my life working on DRACULA back in October.  It was so much fun to work on a show where everyone was having a blast producing a great piece of theatre.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

"Someone Like You" by Adele.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Happier: yes

Thinner: meh

Richer: yes 

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Visited with friends.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Worry

20. How did you spend Christmas?

We hosted my grandma and my parents at our house.  It was great! 

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?

Yes. With a kitten.  I was determined not to love her as much as my Audrey kitty, who was with us for 11 years, but Chutney has won me over.  She is sitting here with her paw on my lap, purring.  She has truly made our home a happier place.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

I really, really enjoyed The Sing-Off this season. We've watched it every year, but this was the best group yet. 

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Truvia.  I know that is a product, not a person, but I hate it. I tried it and it's just gross. Sorry.

24. What was the best book you read?

Our family reads at bedtime each night and I have to tell you--Horton Hatches The Egg is a pretty awesome book.  I read some adult books, too, my favorite being Harlan Coben's Live Wire.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Not really sure. I didn't branch out much, but rather renewed my love of some songs from my past.

26. What did you want and get?

A KITCHENAID STAND MIXER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

27. What did you want and not get?

My engagement ring fixed.  I did try, but it won't happen until the new year.

28. What was your favorite film of 2011?

Was Super 8 this year?  Then yes, that.  (We don't go to the movies much.) 

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 34 in February. I was in tech rehearsals for a new play ALL DAY LONG. However, I received 3 birthday cakes!  Dean and Marcus also treated me like a queen on Valentine's Day, which is the day after my birthday (and was my day off).

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A trip to NYC.  

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2011?

I have discovered scarves, people!  I have also fallen completely in love with one-of-a-kind or very unique jewelry.  A friend made me a gorgeous pair of earrings that I love more than I can tell you. 

32. What kept you sane?

Marcus, Dean, days off, my commute (believe it or not!) , baking, blogging

33. What political issue stirred you the most?

I try never to talk politics on the blog.  Think I'll stick to that. Know that I have issues that make me hot, though.

34. Who did you miss?

I really missed going to BlogHer this year and I still miss my NYC friends.   I also really REALLY miss my friend Tanya, who used to have my job, but left in search of something better. (Which she found--yay, Tanya!)  (But I still miss her.)

35. Who was the best new person you met?

My new buddy Jen B.  She was in DRACULA and will be back for another show at our theatre in the spring.  She's one of the most down-to-earth, hilarious, talented people I've ever met and I felt an instant connection with her.  The more time we spend together, the more I love her. (She made the earrings I mentioned up there.)  She's also a puppeteer, which is maybe the coolest thing in the whole world.  Jen is an absolute ray of sunshine and I'm so happy she's in my life.

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

Planning things out is really, really cute. Admirable, even.  Then life laughs at you and turns you on your ear and you go "OH" and take it from there.  (I've learned this lesson before...)

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

"God only knows what I'd be without you."

I don't know what in the world I'd do without my husband. He's my rock and I'm his.  How lucky that we have each other.

 

What's your year been like?

NaBloPoMo 2011: Creature Comforts

Every year during NaNaBloPop, I like to give a little info about myself for new readers.  You can certainly dig through my archives to get a sense of me, but for new and seasoned readers alike (see how I avoided calling anyone old?), I thought I'd tell you what's making me smile right now.

*Knee-high socks. With mah boots.

*Chili simmering in my crockpot.

*Lying in a pile of leaves with Dean finding pictures in the clouds.

*My iPhone. And Angry Birds, which may be the death of me.

*Real Simple magazine in my mailbox.

*Pepperjack cheese.

*This shirt, which I now own in both burgundy and teal.

*Pumpkin-flavored things, including Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses which I tried for the first time this weekend. OMG.

*The excited "hello's" from Dean's friends when he arrives at school each morning.

*Flannel PJs.

What's making you tick right now?

Inspired, Party of ME

I've told you before of my Pinterest addiction. It has died down a bit from those early days. Our relationship was new, we needed to get to  know more about each other, it had so much to offer. Now my searching is a tad more streamlined. I have found so many wonderful ideas, products and tips on that site.  Here are a few of my favorite things I've found on Pinterest.

Look at this baking necklace from PixieDust 's Etsy shop!  There are so many people in my life who would love this and by golly am I one of them!

I'm pretty sure I would search the world over to find the perfect outfit to wear with these purple pumps.  How cute is that blue bow!?!?!  They live at modcloth.com.

Why, hello, gouda cheese fondue!  I would like to dive into your little pot with my whole face!  I'm a sucker for fondue and I adore gouda, especially if it's smoked.  This recipe from nuggetmarket.com   is definitely going into my recipe box so I can dazzle folks at my next get-together.  Or, you know, so I can make myself a pot of it for dinner.

What a swell idea to put your cute cupcake cups in a kitchen storage container!  Thanks to Torie Jayne for this great idea.

What are your favorite Pinterest finds and tips?  Are we following each other? We should be.

It's Like I'm A Magnet

I sometimes attract weird people in weird places. I come by it honest--my parents are the same way.  My dad sees zany stuff every day as he goes into people's homes for inspections. (He's a claims adjuster for an insurance company.) I think my favorite of his experiences was the time he went in to inspect a kitchen fire to find his clients had a pet monkey in their house...and the monkey smiled at him.  People love my mom, especially older people, so she finds herself in a lot of conversations with strangers.  I  must have one of those faces that makes people think I really REALLY care (Not that I DON'T care, but, um, yeah, ok, sometimes I just don't). Over the years, I've found myself in some truly bizarre conversations with complete strangers.  I've also had the pleasure of meeting several versions of "that person." You know the one...he/she has no "edit" button.

A few weeks after Dean was born, we visited my in-laws in DC.  Every time we visit them, one of the top items on my trip agenda is "Visit Costco." I LOVE Costco and we are not members, so I have to get my sample fix while I'm with the in-laws.  So, there I am, walking around with tiny baby Dean snoozing in his Baby Bjorn when a woman practically jumps out from behind an enormous box of cat litter screaming, "LOOK AT THE BAYYYYYYBEEEEEEEE!"  She then says, "Hold on!" and runs an aisle over to retrieve her shopping cart which contains a huge bundt cake and her three year old twin daughters.  "THIS IS WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE WHEN THEY'RE THREE!!  RIGHT HERE!" Um, yeah, lady. I've seen children.  I smile, answer a few questions about his birthdate and weight and such, then politely walk towards the croissants.  A few minutes later, I'm standing in line to grab myself a free buffalo wing when this woman literally materializes out of nowhere and screams, "ARE YOU BREASTFEEDING? Because if you are, spicy stuff is not good for our baby!" OUR baby? Call me crazy, but I'm fairly sure she had NOTHING to do with the creation of Dean Lane.  As I stood there, searching my brain for a reply, the man serving the hot wings pipes up with, "Oh, no! My wife ate tons of spicy food while she was breastfeeding! It helps increase your milk supply!"  At that moment, and this is not just my imagination about 20 sets of eyes were pointed directly at my, uh, "girls," shall we say, so I did what any self-respecting new mom would do...I grabbed myself a hot wing and hid behind a vat of olive oil.

My encounters with strangers are not usually quite that dramatic or traumatic.  In fact, some are quite pleasant.  There's a delightful older gentleman in our town whom everyone refers to as The Judge. He is, in fact, a retired judge turned cattle farmer.  When we first moved here, we frequented our one coffee shop a lot because you can do that sort of thing with one immobile baby. Now that Dean's his own man? Not so much. Anyway, nearly every time we went in for months, The Judge would come and sit at our table.  Sometimes he'd ask to hold Dean. (And we'd let him. He has 14 grandkids and knows what to do.)  He'd always tell us, "Now when he's older, you'll come out to the farm and he can ride a pony, ok?"  Those were nice encounters. I still run into The Judge in town and he has become more of a friendly acquaintance than a stranger, which is nice. That one had a happy ending.

Over the summer, we went to the new Sno Biz in town. I was very excited to get a shaved ice and enjoy the tacky tropical decor.  I worked at a Sno Biz in high school, so I knew the menu and didn't need any time to select my flavor. Dean always gets strawberry, so I walked right up to order. (Marcus stared at the wall for 15 minutes trying to pick a flavor and ended up with blue raspberry and grape mixed together.)  The guy at the counter rang me up, then stopped and asked, "What'd you have for dinner because MAN do you guys smell! Is that curry?"  We'd had something involving Cajun sausage and onions and, ok, we DID smell, but dude. You don't say that to your customers!

My most recent stranger moment was a doozy. But I did get a pretty good recipe out of it, so there's that.  It will be featured in my Friday post over at Food Lush.  Tune in and hear, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story.

Got a freaky stranger story of your own? Tell us!

What I Know About Me

I cannot function properly until I've had a cup of coffee in the morning.

The proper music mix, especially on a drive, can completely alter my mood.

When I'm working I have to make sure I take very good care of myself. This means drinking more water than caffeine, eating a big meal on my long break and getting enough sleep.  I also need to smile a lot to get myself through the day. (It's easy when you like your job.)

I'm terrified of the day when Dean doesn't want to sit and cuddle for 20 minutes first thing in the morning.

I take up at least 3/4 of the bed. Poor Marcus.

If I really like a book, I can't put it down. If it's just ok, it can take me weeks to finish it.

I sometimes cook things just to prove that I can, then promptly forget the recipe.  Fortunately, I write for a food blog (and have a spiffy food feature here each Saturday!), so I now have no excuse NOT to record recipes.

I think way too much and put entirely too much pressure on myself a lot of the time.

I would rather lie in bed reading Sandra Boynton books to Dean at night than do any of the stuff I used to do before I was his mom.

I love Nutella. Maybe too much.

I cannot help being goofy.

I'm ok with all of the above.

 
What? Don't YOU make glasses out of  your onion rings?