May 17, 2012

• Yesterday…

  …I over-slept (again) and missed my quiet morning time with God.

  …I packed lunches for Nikki and I for her field trip to our small, local zoo.  Hers was a special lunchable she had picked out last Friday at the grocery store.  Miniature pizza, cheese nips, cookies, and one of those mini water bottles that you can mix red flavored powder into.  Apparently, it is not a Mother concerned with healthfulness who makes these lunchables, as there is neither hide nor hair of a veggie or fruit in this box.  (Unless you count the tomato in the pizza sauce…but I think that’s a tad iffy.)  So, I packed her some applesauce and called it good.  My lunch…one of the only lunches on my Flat Belly Diet that I can eat with having a way to heat it up…A wrap spread with hummus, tapenade (yeah, I had no idea that it was smushed black olives prior to 2 months ago either!) and feta cheese…eaten with a plum tomato.  Yeah, I’m a little tired of that particular lunch.

  

  …I had a bad hair day!  Really bad.  I tried to do these little braids in the front of my hair because I was playing softball in the evening and I cannot have my hair being blown in my face while I am “getting my serious game on.”  Did I ever mention that I am NOT good with hair?  Well, during out little walk around the zoo, my one braid pretty much came out.  So…I took a picture of myself with my camera after I tried re-doing it to see if it looked anything less than absolutely horrible.

  

  Yup. Absolutely horrible.  Plus, my expression of consternation and the fact that doing my hair this way makes me look about 10 years older than I am should be reason enough for me not to be trying little hairline braids anytime soon.  One person did compliment me on my hair-do.  I’m pretty sure she didn’t look very close.  Otherwise, I am pretty sure the rest of the people I ran into were thinking “OMG…what was she thinking?” (And I did run into a LOT of people today! (And no, I don’t think that the fact that this picture is sideways either detracts from or add to the awfulness!  It stands alone.)

  …Got a little sunburn.  Yay for the beginnings of a summer tan.

  

  …I spent 2+ hours in the company of these three ^^ little cuties.  I was their “big person” for their walk through the zoo.  One is my good friend Karlee’s daughter.  It went well and they were very obedient, which is my main criteria for children who are in my care!

  …I went to Derrick’s school for field day and took nary a picture.  Nor did I get to watch him compete in any events in the hour and a half that I was there. I will chalk it up to my gift of bad timing.  I did, however, get to chat with friends and acquaintances and Derrick’s teacher, so it was all good.

  

  …I was also able to reduce (hopefully) some prior awkwardness that had happened in regards to a play date I had scheduled for Derrick with one of his classmates.  You know…the call where you say to the other parent “Um…you have no idea who I am, but my son would like your son to come over to play?” and then you go on to say stupid crap about how it would be fine if he stayed overnight but you totally understand if they aren’t comfortable with that as they don’t know you from Adam and by the end of the conversation you feel like you have pretty much blown every chance that your son had to be friends with this boy and his family, since now you have made yourselves sound like ax murderers.  The awkwardness was (hopefully) reduced by the fact that I got to meet this boys Mom and Dad and presumably remove the ax murderer image.  But with that bad braid hair day…I’m not sure it was as helpful as I think it was.

  

  …I went on a walk with a very good friend.  Girl time and exercise at the same time…How cool is that?

  …I took my kids to get fast food for the second night in a row.  I felt minimal guilt.  Did you know that at Dairy Queen on Wednesday evenings you can get a kids meal for $1.99?  (Maybe this is only at our DQ, I don’t know.)  That includes a sandwich (or chicken strips), a side, a drink, and an ice cream treat.  So…I ordered 4 of them.  Sad to say, I was the only one of us 4 kids with the maturity to choose a banana instead of fries. 

  

  (I realize that this is sideways. My computer won’t let me change it??)

  …As I had just enough time to drive to the ball field and eat my supper on the way and still make it to warm-ups for my first game on time…something happened in the backseat and the result was that nearly a complete cherry (red) Artic Rush slushie was dumped between, on and in the backseat of the van.  There was blame shifted and wailing because of the spill.  I remained quite surprisingly calm.  I grabbed a pile of napkins and cleaned it up best I could.  I did all of the swearing in my own head. Quietly.  It looked something like this:  “&%&#@WTF#$%Y(#how can they spill stuff within 30 seconds…$*@#$#@#@&(%#I  DO not have time for this #$(#$@(@#$( “

  Followed by the more rational voice which reminded me that they are just kids. Spills will happen.  Even adults spill things. It was a mistake.  They will remember more about your angry words, if spoken, than anything to do with the spill.  Let it go.  And so I did. 

  

  …I played my first ball game of the season!! We lost.  2 to 0.  Which I think was not too bad for our first time out.  I struck out.  I also got on base. And…then to my horror, I was the last person up when it was the bottom of the 7th, 2 outs, bases loaded.  Seriously!!???  I hit the ball but I was within inches of first base when the first baseman caught the ball and I was out and the game was over.  I wouldn’t have minded so much if the game handed ended exactly like that.  But it was fun!  Jeremy and the kids came and watched. Well, Jeremy watched and the kids mostly played on the playground and with friends.

  

  …I also found out that we are supposed to practice every Monday night, plus play on Wednesday. I did NOT know I was committing to 2 nights a week.  Jeremy and I are still in discussion about all of this.

  

  …I went home and made my “Famous Baked Beans”.  They are the yummiest ever and are so simple.  I am taking them to our Element cook-out tonight!  Excited!!!!  (not about the beans, but about the cook-out. Well, actually, about the beans too. They are THAT good!) 

  I think I can give you the recipe by heart.  Just know…if there is ever a cookout and we are both there, you are not allowed to bring them.  That would be something akin to plagiarism!

  Audrey’s Famous Baked Beans (Not the title that was in the cookbook, but I am taking creative liberties here)

  1/2 lb. of hamburger

  2 stalks of celery, chopped finely

  1 medium onion, chopped finely

  1 green pepper, chopped finely

  (Put all of the above in a frying pan and fry until meat is brown and veggies are tender)

  Add:

  1/2 cup ketchup

  1/2 cup brown sugar

  A dash of cloves

  1/2 tsp of ground ginger

  (I was super tempted to change the recipe to say “2 Tablespoons of cloves” because then your beans would turn out horribly, but my inner good person told me not to)

  After that is all mixed together, add 2 large cans (maybe 28 oz cans?) of baked beans. I usually use Bush’s.

  Yum-O!

  

  …I left my glove at the ball park. I realized this just as I was about to fall asleep last night. I am freaking out about this. I NEED my glove.  I startled Jeremy out of his deep first 5 minutes of sleep to ask him if he knew where it was.  I went to the ball park this morning on the way to work and looked for it.  I will go again this evening when the concession people are they. If they do not find it, I don’t know what I am going to do!  You can’t just buy another glove.  This is the one that I know how to catch superbly with. 

  

  …I had a full day.  Many good conversations. Great times with friends.  Exercise.  Time with my kids. Snuggling into bed at night with my man.  I’m so blessed!

  • 12:17 pm
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