Room-Mother

I took the day off work today in the hopes of a) SAVING one of my 15 vacation days that the company promises are "really, really, no kidding for-true" going to be DELETED at the end of this year, (and what kind of unfair crap is THAT?), and b) attending the Halloween party so I can see AJ as "Blue," parade around the front desk with all the other freaks and ghosties and goblins. My coworker squealed and said, "Oh, fun! Are you bringing cupcakes??" CUPCAKES. Now that would have made sense and been very homemade of me... except you can't bring anything chocolate. And who wants non-chocolate cupcakes?! So I signed up for chicken nuggets. At Chick-Fil-A, you can get a "small" platter of 64 nuggets for just $21.95. That's pretty scary right there. Twenty bucks!

But for this one time, it's totally going to be worth the price to see those funny 2-year-old kids. I'm a Room-mother! It's not something I think of for daycare really -- there's not a lot of "volunteering" in my daycare reality, because I have things to do while the kid is there. And those things occur far from the school so I can't just pop over there for recess duty. I'd like to, but can't. Room-mothering, field-trip-chaperoning, bake-saling on a Wednesday... aren't things I envision being regularly available for in the future, either, if I'm still working. But they are a great way to spend my superfluous (and disappearing!) vacation days. So, a revelation for the working Mom. Take a Day Off. Not for you, for them. (And you.)

AJ had a bit of tummy trouble last night, alternately being crampy and gassy, and having some serious poops, once they arrived. Poor kid's bottom was all red, and now that he's able to express himself, he'd announce it. "Mamaaaaaa! My boddom hoots." Whimper, whimper. It was so pitiful. We treated him to gentle diaper changes and that wonderful brown cream, and he slept through the night just fine. When he woke up this morning, I asked him if he felt better. "Me all bettoo now... Me happy now, mama. Me not lad."

So it's a Happy Halloween, thank goodness. :)

Growl, hiss, and ka-boom

Perhaps the angsty dreams were in direct response to real life after all. There's a relative annoying, unexpected to-do list item I had conveniently suppressed UNTIL FIVE MINUTES AGO when I just remembered: after daycare today, I am supposed to gather up AJ and bop on over to our neighborhood retail appliance store during the almost-rush-hour, procure a brand-new dryer, and thus achieve our household's downy-soft laundry incentives.

Because last night at approximately 9:21pm, we heard a very loud and disconcerting "GGRrrrrggggggudueujjkkkll7sshhhhhh" coming from the general laundry vicinity. It was our dinosaur of a drying machine, abruptly halting avec burned-rubber-aroma, in the middle of Permanent Press! (Or else it was an electromagnetic ka-boom.)

Truthfully I was frightened when I first heard it, then "Hooray'd" its demise. That it has survived this long -- my Dad donated it to me when I was first out of college, and he'd gotten it used for my Granny, I think, several years before she died in '93 -- is a small miracle. I think Hubby even installed a new heating element in one of his first handy-man acts of our relationship. ANYWAY, I am not looking forward to having to schlep out to Best Buy tonight. Ergh.

Tell me about your mother

You know it's bad when you dream you've experienced a gigantic electromagnetic discharge explosion a la one of your favorite TV dramas.* I dreamed it took place while my car was in a parking garage that was bound to collapse, but I went back to the car, anyway, reasoning that I HAD to have my cell phone (in case Husband was going to contact me - this was a natural disaster, after all, and he'd try to contact his loved one). Once I got there, I realized I needed my cell phone charger, too (as if the electromagnetic charge wasn't enough!) as well as my iPod and various cords and attachments for it. Why all the devices?! Don't know. Next scene, I was running up and down and all around the elevator banks of some decorated-in-metal-and-mirrors hotel, unable to find the correct floor, with a group of girls from high school. It was Heidi's bachelorette party, of course. And poor Heidi, having to suffer through the post-trauma of the aforementioned event, all the while trying to enjoy her wedding (and her 1 carat, heart-shaped pink diamond, eww).

Crazy. No more chicken and rice casserole for dinner, I guess. Who knew.

*Lost, by the way, is really starting to piss me off. All questions and no answers makes Jack a dull boy.

Well now! That was fun!

DAY-um! That was a lot of commentary from you Internets! Thanks bunches! I think I like the Thursday Thirteen. Might have switch off between it and Love Thursday, both such worthy causes. ALERT! CRITICAL DECISION-MAKING HERE: I WILL DO BOTH LOVE AND 13 THURSDAYS. There. The world is so much better with my weekly lists and nonsense.

But... actually, isn't it? I mean, don't you find it comforting that the interweb is becoming this lovely social meeting ground where everyone is accepted, immediately? (Instead of a gigantic billboard, like it was in say, 1997, with flashing yellow UNDER CONSTRUCTION signs and everyone's local business having a single flat PAGE that basically was a glorified phone book?) I mean, that's the first time I ever did that particular blog exercise, and poof! There I am on Technorati like someone important. And random people came to see, and said nice things about me! When does that happen, in real life, by strangers? Hardly. Ever. There are no restrictions on who's allowed to blog and who's not. There's no credential required. I found a whole new gaggle of folks yesterday who're out there, being friendly, living their everyday lives with purpose and goodness, and trying to find the humor in it all... it's just a bit of a phenomenon. Warms the cockles of my little heart. I think it's amazing, some of the extra-nice things the Internet has done.

Only thing is... um... I've REALLY got to get some work done today. I started it yesterday, but convinced myself that if I didn't want to be bored TODAY, I'd better save some. Heh. I am pretty convincing. Besides, my shower needed a good scrubbing and the garbage needed taking out, and I kinda enjoy making it *seem like* I'm Super-Woman.

My first Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I could eat for Breakfast this morning (around 300 cals each, I think) by el-e-e 1. 2 pigs-in-a-blanket, 1/2 banana 2. instant oatmeal, apples & cinnamon of course, 1/2 banana 3. 1 english muffin, toasted, with light cream cheese and tomato slices (probably my favorite breakfast of all time. 4. 1 scrambled egg with salsa 5. 1 Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie (I mean, uh, did I say that out loud? Whoops.) 6. 1 piece of white bread, toasted w/ lo-fat peanut butter 7. 1 slice of banana bread and warm coffee. Actually, all of these would need to go with warm coffee. 8. 1 apple w/ lo-fat peanut butter 9. 2 Publix brand (freezer-burned, most likely) waffles, toasted with apricot jam 10. Fruit Loops and skim milk. AJ eats a little snack of dry Fruit Loops and Craisins EVERY morning while we're getting ready for work/daycare. Some days they smell SO good I can hardly stand not to have some, myself! 11. 1 slice bacon. The end. (I recently bought the "already cooked" kind! Have you tried that? It's pretty easy. Hey, the hubby likes his bacon and eggs on Saturday mornings, I HAD to do it.) 12. Couple of pieces of French bread I got at the bakery yesterday (5-grain! Good for me!) w/ lite butter and jam, just like breakfast in Paris. 13. Six M&Ms and 4 candy corns (another of AJ's fave snacks). Just kidding. (But they're peanut ones, so... protein!) That got harder there toward the end! But I actually DO have all 13 of those options here at my house. Kinda rare to have so many! HEY! Why don't y'all GUESS which one was the Actual Retail Breakfast this morning. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. http://slacker-moms-r-us.blogspot.com/ 2. http://www.imperfectchristian.com 3. http://justtug.blogspot.com/ 4. http://practicalchick.blogspot.com/ 5. http://chaotichome.blogspot.com/ 6. http://caylynn.blogspot.com/ 7. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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Smell that delicious dust in the heating unit

Mmmmmmm.

I'm skipping my workout this morning. At least, I'm skipping it until 8:00, and then if I feel like it, I might get my shoes on. It's near freezing outside - possibly the coldest Oct 24 has ever been in recorded Georgia history - and I want warm coffee and a toasty breakfast first (light versions of cream, cream cheese, etc., of course). My scale was teasing me this morning in the weekly weigh-in, blinking to 139 and back to 140.5, blinky blinky. Cheap piece of crap.

It's one of those mornings where you just CAN'T drag out of bed; it's too painful to leave your warm cozy nest. (It's no coincidence they call it a "comforter.") You have to call on all your resolve, and fight with the muscles that have somehow atrophied or... died during the night. They moan and creak when you force them to move. And then you remember you did a big ol' Pilates section yesterday. Owww. Dadgum, that V-sit is killer.

In other news, because I'm sure you've had about all you can stand about My Belly, I think we're skidding into the slow November/December lull at the office. It's a cyclical business and this is usually the season where we can take long lunches and not worry about it. But I'll tell ya, some days sitting in the cube, watching the Internet go by, wondering when the next scrap of work will come in, you sure do wonder what in the world ELSE you could be doing with your time. It's one of the things I like about my job, as well as one that I don't like. Maybe this year I'll try to be productive and learn some new software, or something. Or maybe I'll spend some vacation days and reacquaint myself with Macy's and Bath & Body.

Ooh, Christmas list! That could keep me busy for a while...

Love Thursday

I love the idea of Love Thursdays - of posting about, capturing with a lens, spreading and sharing what love is. Clearly, my cup overfloweth.

It's still kinda rare that AJ and his Daddy get to spend quality time together. There's just too much work in this life. But bedtime is the exception. Bedtime is stories, both made-up and on the page. Bedtime is cuddling. And jumping. And the warmth from his hot little head. Bedtime is colors, and numbers, and characters, and remembering the day with gratitude. Sometimes bedtime is fussing, too. No toothbrush. More stories. But Daddy - bless him - is calm and humble even when AJ says he'd prefer Mama tuck him in. Bedtime is all of us. Bedtime is love.

Read more Love Thursday.

As of today

Hey, how are you?

... that's good. Yeah, me too... enjoying this weather. Mm-hmm.

...what? Oh! How nice of you to say that. YES, asamatteroffact I HAVE LOST WEIGHT.

ONE pound, to be exact. A package of ground beef's worth. A jar of spaghetti sauce. A large Velveeta. IS GONE FROM ME. I guess you could say the diet (stupid WORD) is going well. :) I'm not feeling (overly) deprived, although I do feel some hunger late in the day, before dinner. Hunger is good -- it means it's working. But last night I had 2 chicken drumsticks, FRIED ones, and green beans and Stove-Top Stuffing, and felt pretty darn satisfied with that. And stayed within my calorie limit. In the beginning really, it's calories in versus calories out and NOTHING MORE. Sure, as you get good at counting cals you start to want to refine other things, like your percentages of fat to protein to carbs, your sugar intake, etc etc. But for now, just limiting portion sizes and paying attention to what goes in my mouth makes a great deal of difference. I've done this before (lost weight) and I remember that's it's sorta FUN even, to try to balance In vs. Out and make the numbers line up just right. Maybe it's the same brainwave that made me enjoy algebra in high school.

The working out, too, has made an enormous difference in my outlook. Yesterday I got the heart REALLY pumping. This will sound silly, but I just love working out in my house, all alone, with only the dog watching me. (He is concerned for my mental health, I bet. He watches quizzically.) It's embarassing to admit LOVING Denise Austin's workout shows on LifetimeTV, but during the commercials I will run around the first floor circuit (this is where a house with good "flow" is quite helpful) or do step aerobics on the bottom stairs, and it's just fun. And goofy. And a little goofy can go a long way, sometimes.

I keep waiting for a President to name Denise Austin the chairperson for the President's Council on Physical Fitness, like Ah-NOLD was that one time. Maybe she's been asked and turned it down because of being a mom (and having her own very lucrative stuff already going on). Maybe she doesn't want to give up working out in the Turks and Caicos 3 times a week. I sound like an ad for her and I don't mean to. But I do think about the (primarily) women that she's encouraged to "get up off the couch;" women who might otherwise have felt fat, depressed, unlovable, even hopeless, and I gotta give her a high-five for that.

One pound in one week = perfect progress toward my Christmas goal. The goal is 132 by Christmas -- 132 being my "happy weight," the number where my body seems to rest easily, within the "Normal" BMI. Today, I'm at 140.

Easy, Breezy Recipe What-day?

That's right, Tuesday. Because we had this for dinner last night and it was so yummy I cannot wait until Thursday, before sharing it with you, my darling readers. Also because I can't compete with Love Thursday, and if I could remember to take out my camera once in a while, I'd even post a Love picture and participate.

Anyway! YOU GOTTA TRY THIS Crock-Pot gem. It is super-duper, even-my-monkey-12-year-old-could-do-this easy (old office joke). It comes from Southern Living, so it's gentle and homespun yet at the same time, polished and nouveau. Er, something. :)

Loaded Potato Soup
4 lbs. new potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8-inch slices
1 small onion, chopped
1 (32-oz) box chicken broth
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 pint half-and-half
Toppings: shredded Cheddar, crumbled bacon, chopped green onions

Place sliced potatoes in lightly greased 6-qt. slow cooker. Top with onions. Mix salt, pepper, and broth, and pour over (it won't cover the potatoes). Cook on HIGH 3-5 hours or until tender. Mash with a potato masher to desired consistency, then stir in cream. Simmer on HIGH another 20 minutes or until heated through. Ladle into bowls and serve with desired toppings.

Y'all, this is bar none the best crock pot recipe I have. Filled us up, warmed the tummy, easy clean-up. Not even THAT bad for you, if you go easy on the cheese and bacon (or use turkey bacon and lo-fat chs). [Hee hee, I just typed lo-fart.]

Anyway, make this. It's suppertime GOLD.

...and you smell like one, too!

Our trip to Zoo Atlanta -- a photo essay.

First stop, Flamingo Oasis. Because they're so pretty and graceful and... uhhh.... honey, do you smell that? Okay, WHOA. That is an unpleasant combination of poop and bacteria. And what is that pungent background stench? Bird B.O.? *gag reflex* Who knew flamingos stank so bad?! Lordy! (This was AJ's favorite exhibit. We came back twice.)

Yeah, this fragrance is better. Dirty sheep.

Too bad he wasn't blue like "GOAT!" (Vincent Van Goat). Still, AJ was intrigued.

Here's where the mood threatened to go to Hey-yo. AJ did NOT enjoy the carousel. And it WAS circling pretty darn fast, as you can see. I thought these things were minimum-impact rides. !

Luckily, comfort comes easy in the form of Sunchips. (Let's get outta here!)

Here we go, an actual exotic animal. Don't get up, though, Mr. Kangaroo. No, no, don't trouble yourself. :)

It was actually a fantastic day. Happy family time. This past weekend, too, was as sweet as a spoonful of marshmallow creme. We planted our pansies (hooray, winter flowers!), burned the stick pile in fall-bonfire fashion, attended a party where apples were bobbed-for, and breathed the clean, fresh air. Sometimes I really think THIS IS THE LIFE.

Gratitude Friday

I am grateful that it's Friday.

I am grateful for McDonald's coffee. $1.12, people. That excellent price plus the mile-long line at Starbucks this morning equals ME & RONALD being best buddies again.

I am grateful for health and fitness, having a plan, having a goal, and for feeling good about achieving it, 5 days in. Here's hoping the weekend doesn't derail the whole endeavor!

I am gratefully liking the Blogger beta. I had fun playing with it yesterday. What do you think? It'll take me AGES to categorize all my 419 posts. I'm doing them little by little. It was also hard to come up with the categories! I'd like to find an appropriate, permanent picture for my profile. I've searched my photos and can't quite put my finger on what I'm looking for, but good hair would be nice, and actually, I don't want a smiley photo because I just don't feel that's really who I am most of the time. I don't want to stage something either, because that would be silly. So we'll see. But it's fun to evolve!

I am grateful that Applebee's has curbside service, and corn dogs.

I am grateful that it's Friday. Did I already say that? ....Who even cares if it's the 13th?!

Fresh ground blog

Dudes, I've taken the plunge. Even cheapskates like myself want to have fancy features on our blog, so we're upgrading. Hold my hand, I'm scared! It says I can NEVER go back to my old alpha ways. Be on the lookout for Labels! Categories! And a new template (aaack)! Technology is such fun. But it just can't sit STILL.

Catch ya on the flip side.

Edited to add: Oh, I guess I don't have to choose a "new" template. Cool. 'Cause I'm pretty much in love with the barbie-pink, even when it sometimes burns my eyes. 8^|

Driving in the slow lane

My one friend from Alaska visited here a couple of years ago. I picked her up from her hotel and drove to dinner, an activity during which she said, "Can I tell you something honestly? You Atlantans are CRAZY drivers." I'm sure she's right, in comparison to Alaskan drivers. I actually think MOST drivers who are non-elderly have this bad habit: immediately trying to pass when we come up behind someone going the speed limit or less. I usually do this, myself. (I don't think it's necessarily crazy, but it sure is impatient. Indicative of our society's impatience for everything.)

Yesterday, however, I got behind a Geo Prism or some such and could NOT get around her. Too many cars behind me, doing the same thing. So I waited it out. I was feeling especially aware, I guess, and said to myself, "You must be exactly where you're meant to be. Behind this person, going slower than you'd like -- there's a reason for it. There could be a wreck developing up ahead that if I went faster, I'd be involved in." You just never know. (Maybe I had that thought because the night before, Husband had declared, "You were almost widowed today," proceeding to tell me about a semi that ran the red light to Husband's left, at our office's trepidatious intersection. (THANKS for that spectre of an image, dear. Thanks a really lot.) Turns out DH was also aware enough to put on his brakes, and the offending semi flew by without killing anyone. Obviously.)

Anyway, it was a good reminder to know that we're always exactly where we're meant to be, whether we're in the fast lane or stopped in our tracks. I try to keep that in my head but it's not always easy. Like yesterday morning, at one moment in a work meeting where the discussion was all, "action-scripting and betweening for Flash and blah-de-blah database-cakes" and I wanted to GOUGE MY EYES OUT. At least I was meant to be there.

---

Three days into my "diet" -- such a mean and terrible word -- but I'm still doing it! Today's not a workout day, but I decided I could still do the OTHER model diet behaviors, like drinking water. Which I am. I even packed a lunch last night, in preparation for today! Woot! I've felt really good about myself (Group HUG! Self-Esteem Class dismissed!) since I'm managing to stick to it. Last night? I RESISTED dessert after dinner even though I was HONGRY. I had no more calories left to eat, so I was not allowed. Not even an M&M. (Well, okay, six 7 M&Ms. But that's next-to-nothing for cals, so I still RAWK ON.)

---

Heh. I've always wanted to say "blah-de-blah something-cakes." A la amy. Some people talk so cute. :)

Starting off right...

ROARRR! Hear me? I just worked out. Aww, yeah. 7:00 am babee! I was hittin' it hard. Well, not really hard, just some lo-impact aerobics and hurts-so-good pilates with Denise on LifetimeTV. But I intend to do a 2nd session (!) later in the day when my butt is tired from sitting in front of the computer for a few hours. It's hard being a girl sometimes. The Last Ten Pounds should be the title of a book they give us in 6th grade after all the other girl-talk, because it seems like we're bonded for life with that topic. Up and down, down and back up. As if ten little pounds makes us better or worse. (At least our husbands promise to love us either way!)

It cannot be that hard to workout 2-3x a week. LORD, help me to do this! Monday morning. Tuesday morning. One day on the weekend. Easy, right? So that is once again the plan. Plus all the Wiggles dancing I can handle. Can YOU point your fingers and do the twist??

This is what happens, of course, after a weekend with house guests. :) My parents were here and we ate... a lot. But Saturday we also took AJ to the Zoo! It was a fantastic day. He liked the flamingos best, followed by the elephants and giraffe, I think. The very minute we got to one animal, he was asking, "What next, Mama? Let go hee homething elt." But that's good, I guess -- when you take a small child to the Zoo, you only have limited time to see it all. He was working in our favor, really.

I'm quite grateful for such a nice weekend. Despite the fact Husband had to work on Saturday morning, and therefore we were driving separately the whole day -- I really missed having him in the seat next to me -- it was a beautiful day and lots of fun. Then on Sunday morning we went to the park with our neighbors and AJ enjoyed the slide about a trillion times. He was scared to try it at first (the tall one), but after his inital anxious trip down with Mommy, he was hooked and took it on all by himself. That small bit of independence, with the breeze blowing his hair all the way down, looked great on him. His laughter was pitch-perfect. :)

For a Monday, I guess I'm feeling pretty damn good.

Not in My House!

Oh, dear, this is unfortunate news. I hope my husband doesn't see it because it just ISN'T TRUE:

Psst… Chicks Dig Technology
via wired
Reuters 07:15 AM Aug, 02, 2006

Diamonds are no longer a girl’s best friend, according to a new study that found three of four women would prefer a new plasma TV to a diamond necklace....The Girls Gone Wired survey of 1,400 women and 700 men aged 15 to 49, which was conducted by market researcher TRU, found that given the choice, women would opt for tech items rather than luxury items like jewelry or vacations....

Seventy-five percent of us are CA-RAZY, is all I have to say. I'll take your diamonds.

All work and no play?

Last night the husband and I were discussing the State of our Lives as we cleaned up from what we thought was Dinner, but what AJ thought was the Olympic event of Soup-Sloshing. Quite a mess -- which closely paralleled our discussion topic. We were both lamenting yesterday's decision to try to sell our precious little 6-game-Saturday package of hockey tickets. The one we hemmed and hawed about buying in the first place, but finally reasoned that it could be our one Thing -- our REASON to get ourselves out'da'house, since we'd PAID for it and all. (You know, like the gym membership? "If I PAY for it, I'll use it." Cough, cough.) But, after careful babysitter planning gone TO HELL -- I'm talking 3 babysitters renegging for this ONE game -- we just said "Forget it." Not worth the hassle.

People, if my husband is willing to give up on being a season ticket holder for hockey? It. Is. Serious.

So let's just chat about extra-curriculars for a moment, here. I got on the bandwagon early in life, as we all did, knowing we'd have to fill up that college application with plenty of Involvement... so you volunteer, you explore your talents and interests, you participate in things. PLENTY of them, as many a parent of school-age kids can attest. We've passed this habit of extending ourselves onto the next generation. (A topic we don't even need to get into, but one I'm sure you've heard about.)

But when you're a young parent of a baby/toddler/preschooler? It's not so much about YOU anymore. It's about them. As you know, a few weeks ago I decided to quit the church choir -- for lots of reasons, but the main one was that pesky 4-hour-a-week commitment-thing. 2 hours rehearsal, 2 hours prep and Mass on Sunday mornings. Um... well, sometimes I'd rather go on Saturday night. And sometimes? I'd rather sit with my family at church. So no, those four hours, I decided, were mine. I took 'em back.

I've kept 2 things on my calendar: my book club, and my performance choir. I almost think it's too many, but I don't want to lose the precious few girlfriends I have in book club, or my hard-earned sight-singing ability, either. DH does his fantasy football league with some friends. But that's it. No other clubs. No volunteer hours on our books. No committees. And now, no commitment to hockey. We'll buy a pair of tickets once or twice during the season, for date night. But just not a multitude of games. For us and our work/life schedules, this is plenty.

Some parents might disagree. (What? Parents? Disagree with each other? You must be joking!) They might argue that being involved and passionate and active is a good model for the kids. I agree with that, but just... not yet. Not while he's two. (Definitely not if we had more than one under 5!) I know it seems I'm advocating a complete sacrifice of self, like stamping a big "IGNORE" on your own desires and plans.

Yes. I am. And I'm totally cool with that, for now.


P.S. I realize we could just opt to take AJ with us to the hockey games. *chuckles to self, shakes head* Ohhohoho. That is a good one.

Favorite words and phrases.

Kid-tested:

Diapooh.

"Mama, what I got?"

"Mama, why me do dat?"

BIGAND'TRONG!!!

"Pees, I have 'pecial tweet?"

Wanna race?

Dooo. (As in, "I do!" AJ's standard answer for every question. Are you hungry? "Dooo.")



For Grown-ups, by grown-ups:

Craptastic.

RiDONKulous.

"Or you'll know WHAT FOR."

Brilliant.

"My name is Grumplestiltskin." (courtesy of Mir)

Fancy-pants.

Designers, make it work.

"If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." (courtesy of ME)

Life milestone

Today, for the first time, I am employing the classic pencil-eraser-as-earring-back technique.

I think I'm a real woman now.

Easy Breezy Recipe Thursday

I have had a really hard time finding Banquet Fried Chicken in my local Publix. Boooo for that. But once I find it, I am totally making this easy breezy recipe. It was one of my Grandmother's staples. It reminds me of her house in Dallas.

Spicy Fried Chicken

1 box frozeen fried chicken, skinless if you prefer (7-8 pieces)
1/3 c. melted butter, or squeeze margarine
garlic powder
cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Arrange frozen chicken on a baking sheet covered with foil (do not thaw). Drizzle butter over the top. Sprinkle with generous amounts of both garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Bake 30-35 minutes (follow box directions). Smells so good as it cooks! Serves 3-4.

With mashed potatoes and a salad? Heaven on earth. Got any easy recipes you'd like to share today?

The weather's still nice...

It's still cool and autumn-like here. In the mornings, AJ's wearing a jacket to school, and we've transitioned to pants instead of shorts. Must really be fall.

Weather's about the only thing I feel like talking about right now. I'm in kind-of a funk, despite my favorite season. One thing that helped? Going to the dentist yesterday. Surprising, I know! But my dentist is rather cool. He was playing really loud music yesterday, and the hygenist and I had a hard time figuring out who it was. We could tell by the instruments it was something '70s... it was pretty "hard" rock, not the folky stuff I like from the '70s... finally I put my guess out there: Kansas? And I was right.

I'm much too young to know who Kansas is, by the way. ;) But we did have fun playing guessing games and talking music. My dentist is cool.

While he was tinkering around in my mouth ("up to his elbows," Grandmother used to love to say) I was thinking about the history of dentistry, and how barbaric it was, back in its earliest times. I mean, the idea of banging a fat rock against the problem tooth? Even the idea of "bite down on this stick to ease the pain..." ...just unfathomable to us modern, numb-loving dental patients. But that's how it started, after all. So, like I always do when I get intrigued about something, I wikipedia'd it. Get this:

The barbers of former times were also surgeons and dentists. Most early physicians disdained surgery, and therefore, as well as haircutting, hairdressing and shaving, barbers performed surgery of wounds, blood-letting, cupping and leeching, enemas, and the extraction of teeth. Thus they were called barber surgeons...

Nice! "I'd like a shampoo and cut, please, and while you're at it, why don't ya stick your hands in my mouth and knock out this molar? THANKS."

Barber-ic. I can't seem to find exact etymology of "barber" as relates to "barbarian," but there has to be a connection there. Speaking of barbaric dentists, do you know about Tim Burton's upcoming Sweeney Todd? Starring who else? Johnny Depp! I love a good Burton/Depp collaboration, and this one's a Broadway musical, to boot. My hometown community theater produced it when I was doing theater, way back when, so I'm anxious to revisit the story. Even though it's pretty gruesome.

I also recently read Myla Goldberg book called Wickett's Remedy, about a woman and her husband who develop this pseudo medicinal tonic-water that becomes a soda. It's set during the time of the flu epidemic of 1918, which I also meant to lookup right after I finished it. Crazy history! I'd never even known of this. Millions died! Why were we not taught about it? Strange. I was amazed, though, by some of the medical practices described in the fictional novel. Or, "practices." I'm not sure you could call them "medical" so much as "experimental."

I don't know why this crazy sub-modern medicine stuff is fascinating me at the moment. I'm kinda creeped out by my own mind. Perhaps I'd better go sit in the sunshine today. Play with some kittens or something. Eat an ice cream cone. :)