Today I am grateful for: having an office where I can shut the door, the last hydrangeas of the season from my garden, going home at lunch, beautiful fall afternoons, being able to order the library books I want, beating traffic (or actually giving myself enough time to get somewhere), the way that Germans have a word for everything (schadenfruede, doppelganger), remembering that I forgot to sign my timesheet and signing it later, having delicious dinner at Portabello’s (Fritto Misto salad was spectacular) with five friends - some new, some old, a wonderful evening, store-bought cake with chocolate frosting and watching The Simpsons with My Heart’s Desire.

I don't know if you know this about me, but being told no does not dissuade me. It only makes me go about getting the answer I want in a different way. When I send work out for publication, I get at least 50 no's before I get one yes. So I've developed a thick skin to being told no. And every no I get just means I'm that much closer to a yes.

Saturday

Today I got up almost as early as I get up during the week (after going to bed with a horrendous headache last night) and read for two hours (Watermelon, by one of my favorite writers), ate PB&J with an apple (of course), went to the gym, hit the organic market for expensive peppermint soap, super-wheat bread, vitamins, and trail mix, hung out with My Heart's Desire, went to the happiest place on earth, had dinner while watching a movie My Heart's Desire chose, and chilled at home.

Better late than never

Today I am grateful for: The Four Agreements (especially the second agreement),getting plenty of sleep, waking up early, good-smelling shampoo, getting to work early, feeling sore from yesterday's workout, staying in touch with friends, having plenty of food in the fridge, making homemade soup (even though it turned out... less than delightful), having a trip to Vero Beach, Fl, to look forward to, buying a South Florida travel guide that will be here in a jiffy, an unexpected gift, wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and flip-flops, a new workout playlist, sharing dinner with My Heart's Desire, and diving back into One Fifth Avenue.

Finally!

My Heart's Desire and I broke down and went to the grocery store. Now we have food. But mostly we're eating apples (we went apple-picking on Saturday and came home with a bushel). Apple slices, apples with Nutella, apples with caramel...

Mrs. Cranky Pants

I know it’s Tuesday and I’m supposed to be grateful, but for some reason today I have been Mrs. Cranky Pants. Ugh.

Still haven’t gone to the grocery store quiche

From the freezer:
Pie crust
Broccoli, cauliflower

From the pantry:
Cream of broccoli soup
Artichoke hearts
Flour

From the fridge:
Milk
Cheddar
Parmesan
Eggs

Preheat oven to 375. Then put in pie crust for 10 minutes.

Mix all ingredients together, except save ½ c cheese.

Pour into pie crust. Top with cheese. Bake for 45 min.

My Heart’s Desire was impressed, it was a delight.

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Grocery-less

For some reason, neither My Heart’s Desire nor I will go to the grocery store. We discussed going together at some point last weekend, but the idea was rejected. And it’s been a couple of weeks since either of us has gone so now we really need a lot of stuff – like bread, milk, yogurt, Lean Cuisines, peanut butter, produce, cheese, etc. Which is one of the reasons we ordered pizza on Sunday.

We ate the pizza for lunch and dinner on Sunday; on Monday for dinner we ate steaks (defrosted) with grilled potatoes and cucumber slices with peanut sauce; yesterday I had sushi with friends and he polished off the pizza; and tonight we’ll be having either sloppy joes on buns that have been in the downstairs freezer since July 5 with or vegetarian chili.

I wonder how long we can keep up this grocery embargo. As far as produce goes, I have a dozen cherry tomatoes, a cucumber, and a peach that I bought from the roadside stand on Monday before I got my fancy-pants manicure and pedicure. Other meals we could fix include: shrimp with Spanish rice, frittata (if I can figure out how to make one) and hamburgers. We’ll see how long we can resist the lure of the supermarket. We don’t have lots of stuff, but we do have plenty of Diet Coke. So I won’t be the one who cracks!

It's the little things, really

Today I am grateful for: my shamelessly bad playlist, getting to my meeting downtown early, mail-order prescription refills, having lunch with My Heart’s Desire, getting things off my plate at work and on to the next phase, being able to be nice, having inexpensive, yummy sushi at WasabiSito in Arlington with friends, reading The Ten-Year Nap, and going to bed nice and early.

Oh, like, duh

Sorry -- just figured out that the moderate comments feature moved. So now I will approve comments in a more timely manner.

Easy like Sunday morning

Boiling hot day - taught first Sunday School class of the year, came home, My Heart's Desire and I both unmotivated to cook so we ordered pizza for brunch, dozed off reading The Post-Birthday World (interesting premise, though overwritten and discusses coarse topics in most pretentious literary fashion possible), met with friend, switched purses (finally!), talked to Dad, made food for tomorrow, checked bank balance, friended gal on FB, listened to most shameless playlist to date, and considered joining Costco.

Area Man Does Not Like Road Trips

My Heart's Desire and I are planning a trip to Florida to visit his 95-year-old great Aunt. Of course I wanted to drive. Which is how I found out he doesn't like road trips.

I, on the other hand, am quite fond of the road trip. Being able to get to where I'm going at my own pace, as well as stopping often for bathroom breaks and to sample local delights. Not to mention the road trip music CD's burned for the occasion. I've logged many thousands of miles in road trips (4k was the longest but gas was only $1.10) from LA to any-damn-where, from DC to Delaware and southern Virginia.

My BFF reminded me that the #1 rule of road trips is: don't go on one with someone who doesn't like road trip. She and I have gone on many a road trip together, with The Bad Girls' Guide to the Open Road as our trusty guide.

But, really, what's not to like about road trips? Singing bad songs really loudly, a car full of snacks (Twizzlers for sure), and tales from America. How else would I have stories about getting a sheriff's escort off Alamo grounds, the world's largest thermometer, Casa de Fruta, squishing a penny at Graceland, and the 103mph Vega$ mix?

How do you know if you are a grown-up?

I told My Heart's Desire that I didn't feel like a real grown-up. He scoffed and asked me, "You have a job, a bank account, a place to live, friends, belong to a church, and are married -- what else do you need?

I don't know. How do you know if you are a real, bona fide adult? Is it something you just decide? Or do you just start faking it and hope it will work out? In some ways, I feel very adult. After all, I have a savings account and a 401k. And I make killer guacamole. But there's still loads I need to do.

Sometimes I think about where my mom (I was nine when she was my age) and all of her responsibilities, she was married with three kids and a mortgage and a part-time job and frosted her girlfriend's hair while they sipped Tab and smoked menthol lights.

Do real grown-ups wear sneakers to work on days they don't have any meetings? Do they call their best friend their BFF? Do they see The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (both 1 and 2) in the theater? Do they still use college slang? Do they hate to wear makeup? Do they eat Eggo waffles with peanut butter and jelly for dinner?

Today I am grateful for: waking up before my alarm (unprecedented!), going to the gym, finding cool B&B’s in San Antonio that take the government rate, being able to put a serious dent in my credit card debt, having dinner with some of my favorite people at a diner that serves fries with every entrée (seriously – order an omelet or salad, you’re still getting fries), being able to connect to others in a meaningful way, talking to my mentor, and watching Bizarre Foods with My Heart’s Desire.

I'm ready for fall - for sweaters and crisp air and fresh apples and fires.

You like-a the mozz?!

I took my own free advice: Try new things, even if you’re scared.

As mentioned previously, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle has been changing the way I think about food. I have been going out of my way to go to the organic store and to the local Farmers Markets, which are plentiful and bountiful. Despite the fact that I’m running out of Diet Coke, it’s going pretty well. Last week I ordered a cheesemaking kit so that I could try and make my own cheese.

Today I came home from the organic market with a gallon of whole milk and proceeded to follow the pretty simple directions. My Heart’s Desire and I measured, dissolved, heated, stirred, drained, microwaved, stirred, and salted the milk for about half an hour. Then we had fresh, warm mozzarella cheese! It was delicious. I ate some while it was still warm. Then we made a pizza (olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and onions on my half, just onions on My Heart’s Desire’s half) and used our homemade mozzarella to top it. It was a dairy delight.

Hurricane Hannah

It's just pretty soggy, rainy and kinda windy outside - but we still have electricity (for now).

Charlottesville, Va

Does anyone read this blog...

or am I just amusing myself?

Local sauce

Today I made a pasta sauce made mostly from local ingredients. I started with fresh tomatoes from my colleague's garden, a local onion from the organic market, basil and peppers from My Heart's Desire's garden in the front window, and leftover grass-fed, local steak (last night's dinner, also from organic market). The only non-local items were the tomato paste (at first I just made a really good bruschetta) and the sun-dried tomatoes that I added for sweetness. I served it over pasta and it was a hit!