Author Archives: Jenni

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2010: Jenni’s Year in Review

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OMG!  The holiday season is finally over, I have recovered from the flu and Christmas has been packed away for another year.  I’m ready to get back to “normal” – whatever that is.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been mulling over my 2010 year – it was a fairly interesting year.  And, it was supposed to be the year that I figured out what the @#&* I’m supposed to be doing with my life.  Let’s review!

1. Painting Lessons

In my quest for personal growth, I started painting lessons.  I did put them on hold as I felt that I wasn’t on the same page as the instructor.  My intention was to keep painting at home – which I did (sorta)….. there is a half-painted picture in my office right now. 

2011 RESOLUTION:  To revive my painting hobby because I really did like it.  Having some free time would help.

2.  Blogging

I started a blog in March of 2010.  I’m not sure what really triggered the need to have an online diary of sorts – do people really care what I think?  Who knows? But, I’ve got one and I like it!  Sometimes it really does help to put thoughts in writing.  Also, I have encountered a whole other world out there – I’ve “met” quite a few interesting and clever people. 

2011 RESOLUTION:  To be a better blogger. What do I mean by that?  Well, be more consistent in posting and be relevant and interesting. (Whoa!  Being consistently interesting is a lofty goal – how about moderately interesting?).

3. Entomology Lesson

Spring Break 2010 will go down in history as one of the craziest vacations for the Engledow family.  This is the trip where we learned that bed bugs are real AND really disgusting!!  In case you missed it, you can read all about it –  “Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite!” & Other Sayings. 

2011 RESOLUTION:  NEVER, NEVER to encounter another bed bug EVER!

4.  Driving Lessons

My oldest daughter, Rachel, turned 16 (I seriously have a 16-yr-old??) and got her driver’s license (on my birthday!) – Holy Sh!t!  That was stressful.  I am getting used to it now – she helps me with various errands AND taxi duty (for herself and her siblings) – the taxi duty help has been awesome. It’s funny because when this all started last February I thought it would have taken me longer to get to the comfort zone with her driving.  This winter has been a struggle, but we are getting through it.  She is a very conscientious kid and a good driver.

5.  Aging Lessons

I turned 45 in 2010.  That was a hard birthday – waaaay harder than turning 40.  I’m not sure why, but I do know it had something to do with my quest for personal growth  a.k.a. “What the hell am I really doing here other than taking up space?” quest.

2011 RESOLUTION:  Age is just a number – I still feel like a 20-something and will act like it whenever possible!

6. Swimming Lessons

A friend of mine will be doing a sprint triathlon (biking, swimming & running) this June 2011.  She was a little wary of the swimming so I volunteered to do the swimming training with her (what was I thinking??).  We have been swimming since September (I think) and it has been great!   Swimming is a great exercise and I hope we keep it up past her triathlon.  This training has motivated me to exercise more which is good for this old broad!

2011 RESOLUTION:  To continue swimming and to push myself to continue exercising.

7.  Lesson in Food Consumption

I had a weird food reaction this year – don’t worry, it’s not a gross story.  The story involves pine nuts which I have eaten all my adult life until this past October 2010.  You can read about it in two posts:  “Doc, I’ve Got What?” and “Shut Your Pine Mouth”.  I haven’t  had a pine nut since October.  I recently made a pesto sauce for dinner and used macadamia nuts instead – it tasted wonderful and my taste buds are still intact.  I have to say that this food thing was the weirdest thing (after the bed bugs) that happened to me this year.

2011 RESOLUTIONS:  I will NOT eat pine nuts ever again!

8.  Turkey Lessons

Yes, I’m 45 years old and had NEVER cooked a turkey until this past Thanksgiving!  It was quite a milestone and learning opportunity for me.  I was actually really excited to try it – a new adventure in cooking!  Thanksgiving 2010 went well and the turkeys (I cooked 2!) were really tender and tasty (can I say that about my own turkeys?).

2011 RESOLUTION:  Continue with new cooking adventures.

9.  Animal Lessons

The Engledow family grew in 2010.  You can read about it in “It’s Raining Cats and Dogs (and Birds, Rats, etc)”.  We added two parakeets and a rat in November and December.  We have an update:  Our sweet boy, Jack, had to give away Marshmallow (the rat) this week.  It turned out that he was allergic to Marshmallow.  Weird, right?  Apparently, it’s not that uncommon and it’s an allergic reaction to the rat’s urine (eeeew!).  He didn’t show symptoms in class because they cleaned the rats’ cages every day – he cleaned Marshmallow’s cage once a week at home.  I am very sad for my boy.  He was so excited to have Marshmallow.  We gave her to a friend of ours on Monday and he can see her whenever he wants.  BUT, the good news is we still have Jahmal and Dexter! 

 

 

I’m looking forward to 2011 to see what it has in store for me!  Hopefully, my purpose will be revealed in 2011 🙂  In the meantime, I will be here cooking, painting, blogging, swimming, parenting, going suburban-housewife crazy, and ????

 

 

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Oh, The Holidays Are Upon Us!

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It has been crazy in the Engledow house!  There has been a lot happening:  Jenni’s very first turkey, the arrival of Jahmal and Dexter (the parakeets), the hubby’s birthday and the preparation for the imminent arrival of Marshmallow (the rat).

The First Turkey

I hosted my very first Engledow Thanksgiving this year.  My mom-in-law, who is usually the hostess, had back surgery and just couldn’t do it this year.  There was a lot of whispering, “Who’s gonna host it?”.  There is a maximum of 21 family members so it’s no small feat.  However, I’m 45 years old and have NEVER made a turkey, so I took this as a sign that it was time.  I told my husband that I was ready so let’s do this thing!

Being somewhat smart, I made a practice turkey (12.5 lbs) on the Saturday before Thanksgiving for my dad’s birthday (Nov 22nd).  I’m so glad I made this decision because Thanksgiving day could have been a disaster.  What I learned from my practice Turkey:

There are TWO cavities in a turkey, NOT one.  I’ve heard the horror stories about people leaving the bag of goodies in the turkey and I did not want to be one THOSE.  So, I unlock the turkey from his plastic shackles and look in the “cavity” for the goody bag.  Um, okay, I see the neck, but where’s the other “stuff”?  I ask Rachel and Maddie to look in the bird – did I miss it?  Am I going blind?  The girls confirm that the cavity is empty.  I’m confused (maybe my bird did organ donation), but I move on to the wash and dry part of the process.  I’m holding this slippery 12.5 lb turkey in my kitchen sink so I can rinse the sucker.  This is harder than it looks!  As I’m rinsing, I find another “cavity”!  The bag of goodies is stuffed in the turkey’s rear end!  No one told me (and I didn’t read anywhere) that there were TWO hiding places for extra turkey parts.  Now, I completely understand how those parts get left in the turkey.  Can’t we put them in one spot and not turn it into a scavenger hunt?

Tie (truss) the bird BEFORE covering the bird in butter/oil.   Uh, yeah.  This was almost a disaster. I had to watch this food network video about a thousand times and still had trouble.  Watch it so you can imagine what I’m about to tell you – you can fast forward to about the middle where he is actually binding the bird.   Okay!  I made my butter spread (click here for recipe) for the outside of the turkey –  I’ve buttered the outside of the bird and stuffed the herbs and pears into the main cavity.  Now, I’m ready to truss my turkey!  Uh, now I begin to watch the video and realize that I have to tie (& flip) this uber-slippery 12.5 lb thing.  Has anyone seen this Thanksgiving episode of Everybody Loves Raymond?  This was ALMOST me –

Thankfully, I did not drop the bird, but my apron was covered with the butter.  I had to kind of hug the bird to flip it – I’m glad there wasn’t a video camera around!

Dry the bird REALLY well before applying butter spread.  Yeah, the butter wasn’t sticking very well and my hands were caked with the butter spread.  It was a mess, but some of the flavor was still there.  Thank goodness!

This practice bird actually turned out really well – nice and tender.  Yum!  For the actual day, I made two 13.5 lb turkeys for 17 people.  The night before, I successfully found all extra turkey parts, washed and THOROUGHLY dried my turkeys and stuffed the cavities.  I put them in the turkey oven bags and back in the fridge.  In the  morning, I pulled them out, put them in the roasters, made sure (again) that the skin was dry and THEN applied my butter spread.  Everything went smoothly and the turkeys were really well received.  I would call my very first Thanksgiving a success – Whew!

Animal Farm Update

  Jahmal and Dexter seem to be getting used to their new home and you can hear them chirping and squawking all the way downstairs – I actually don’t mind the noise.

  And, we have started the countdown until the arrival of Marshmallow.  7 days and counting………she arrives on December 14th.

 

The Hubby’s Birthday

 We had a great celebration on Sunday.  He got this Frank Lloyd Wright wall hanging that he has had on his list forever – this was his lucky year! 

     We also made him a terrific dinner –

     Crab Cakes a la Tyler Florence,

     Mushroom Soup a la Ina Garten,  and wedge salads. 

Maddie made her daddy homemade gingerbread men cookies and also a blondie brownies.  Everything was delicious!

 

Then, on Monday Morning, he went to work (as usual) and this is what he found: 

 

Isn’t this crazy?  His office manager (with some help from other staffers) did this to his office over the weekend.  He said that he got about half of it unwrapped yesterday.  EVERYTHING was wrapped, even the pens, pencils, sticky notes, etc. were individually wrapped!  Happy Birthday!

Now you’re up to date on the Engledows.  As this month moves forward, there will be more good stories to share…….

 

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It’s Raining Cats and Dogs (and Birds, Rats, etc.)

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“The difference between friends and pets is that friends we allow into our company, pets we allow into our solitude.”  ~Robert Brault,

“Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.”  ~George Eliot

“There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.”  ~Ben Williams

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~Anatole France

 

Prior to 2005, I had three young children, a husband and a full-time+ job.  “Mom, can I have a [insert name of animal here] ? I promise I will take care of it.”  “NO.”    I played the part of the mean mom that wouldn’t let my children have pets and I played this part very well.  

Now, it’s the spring of 2005 (kids are 5, 8, & 11) and the kids and the hubby are starting to work me over for a dog.  I actually start considering it – what the hell is wrong with me?  Then, my husband makes a job change and due to a non-compete clause, he can’t work for 3 months.  Now, he’s starting to say things like, “This is the perfect time for us to get a dog.  I’ll be home and can get it trained, etc. Blah, blah…”  

(I do want to take a moment to point out that I am an animal lover.  Really. When I was young, I was always bringing home stray, unwanted animals (my parents are nodding their heads as they read this).  Really, it’s true.  So, what’s happened to me as an adult?  Adult, real life stuff I suppose.  At that time, we were rarely home – both of our jobs, the kids’ activities, etc.)

Back to the story:  so the hubby, sensing my inner turmoil, declares that we will get the kids a dog, damn it!  My requirements:  no more than 50 lbs and no shedding.  Ummm, okay that’s not too restrictive, right?  To make a long story short, Jasper was a sweet surprise for the kids and for about a week, we were The Best parents EVER!  As it turns out, he’s an 80 lb horse (a bit more than 50 lbs) with the sweetest personality and NO shedding.  Not a bad addition to the Engledow clan.

Apparently, Jasper was the chink in my armor and thus the sliding down the slippery slope had begun.  We added the fish last Christmas (Rachel’s wards) and the parakeets three days ago (Maddie’s wards).  Now, we just got the best news ever!

Jack (running into the house):  “Mommy, guess what?”

Me (with a little dread):   “What, honey?”

Jack:   “I’m getting a rat!  Only two kids wanted rats and no one else put their name in, so Mrs. Eberly made a decision today on who got the rats.”

Me:  (Oh, Shoot!)   “That’s great, buddy!  Which rat did you pick?”

Jack:   “Marshmallow.  Can I go get the cage for Marshmallow?”

We did not go rat cage shopping tonight because we are not getting Marshmallow until mid-December and I need time to absorb the news.  I also need time to reflect on what has happened to me and my resolve.  I’m turning into a namby-pamby.  Oh, help me…

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Excuse Me . . . Are My Boobs in Your Way?

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I was getting caught up on the news by surfing the web and came across this little gem:

Executive says she was fired for her ‘distracting’ breasts

By John Springer / TODAYshow.com contributor TODAYshow.com contributor / updated 11/15/2010 2:31:44 PM ET 2010-11-15T19:31:44

 

How can you pass up a title like this one??  As I was reading the article, I was just shaking my head.   It made me think of this scene from Legally Blonde ~

The hubby and I were chatting about the article while he was doing the dishes.  We agreed that you can’t  fire someone if s/he has distracting earlobes, arms or a wonky eye.  Of course, as you read the article you find out that she was fired after she filed her second sexual harassment grievance.  Hmmmm……  The timing on the firing seems somewhat suspicious, doesn’t it? 

Maybe she forgot to read this “article/ad” that I posted on Sep 4th  – “Want a raise? Wash your v*g*na.” .  Could she have saved her job by reading this important article?  I guess we’ll never know.

Here’s a snippet from the “distracting breasts” article that just cracked me up!  {Of course, this came from her complaint and is her side of the story.}  But, why would she make this up?

“You have very large breasts, so does my wife, and I have talked to her about you and your breasts,” one manager allegedly told Blakely, according to the civil complaint filed in Orlando. “You should wear loose fitting clothes or try to hide your breasts because they are too distracting.”

#1 –  Why would he talk about someone else’s boobs with his wife? 

#2 – Why would he convey this conversation to the very person who owns the distracting boobs? 

#3 – What did he want her to do with them?  Tape them down?  Wear MuuMuus or bathrobes to work?  Smack’em around and show’em who’s boss?

Is he a complete nimrod?  Sounds like it.  I’ve worked in places where some members of the upper management team were severely lacking in interpersonal skills and general common sense.  Yet, they were able to climb the corporate ladder – I’ve never understood that.  This is one of the world’s unsolved mysteries.

Well, I really hope that her complaints are genuine because sexual harassment is serious.  False claims will only hurt the women who have legitimate grievances.

I wish her the best.  Hang in there! (oops, maybe that wasn’t the best choice of sayings?) 

Um. . .  Good Luck!

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Exercise Your Right to ……Whatever

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As you may or may not know, I’ve started an exercise program. It was one of the things that I committed to on my 45th birthday. I really wanted to start taking better care of myself now so I don’t have a lot of ailments to blurt to total strangers when I’m older.

We have a really nice workout facility in our city that we joined a couple of years ago. My husband has been working out pretty regularly since we joined, but I really hadn’t until recently.

I’ve really adopted a “tude” recently. I am fed up with being a slave to my family’s schedule – that was my biggest excuse for not working out. Now, I’ve adopted a “screw’em” attitude! If we have to eat dinner at 7:00-7:30pm in order for me to get a half hour of exercise into my day, then so be it! If that means that my oldest who is now driving “gets” to take her brother and sister to piano lessons, then too bad for her! I don’t care if that means she is inconvenienced a bit.

Maybe this sounds harsh, but I feel like I have the right to be a little selfish so I can do something good for myself, right? I actually felt good enough to go out and buy myself my first pair of “skinny” jeans. You may be thinking, “Big whoop!” (Do people say that any more? It was big in the 80s). But it was a “big whoop” for me. I don’t think I’ve actually lost any weight, but it seems things are migrating back to where they originated. I consider that an accomplishment.

I try to get some kind of work out completed about 5 days a week – that seems to be all I can realistically accomplish (which is fine). I have been working out at our gym for these 5 days – I run 3x a week and swim 2x a week. So, that means exercising with others which also means some interesting people-watching opportunities are available.

This workout place has the usual array of exercise bikes, ellipticals, treadmills, weight machines, free weights and an indoor track. Below I’ve listed some interesting things I’ve seen over the last couple of months. I wish I could take pictures, but that would be wildly creepy.

60-70 year old men in Speedos. Really? Some nice regular swim trunks won’t do? Are you going for a speed record?

One interesting man (mid-40s) with black sheer hose on under some really tight black small shorts – see pic. I know this is a woman in the picture, but imagine these on a man with sheer black hose underneath the shorts. Then he had a regular t-shirt on (tucked into the shorts). I just couldn’t imagine a scenario where you would look in the mirror and say to yourself, “Yep, Perfect!”. Were the hose medically necessary? I do know that some people have to wear special knee-high type socks for circulation purposes. So if there were a full version of circulation hosiery available, then wouldn’t you wear sweats over those? I’m just sayin’.

Women, probably 70+, wearing their Sunday Best to walk around the track (I mean dangley earrings – the works). I don’t even have a Sunday Best outfit now, so I can’t imagine wearing this as my exercise garb (at any age).

Women (I’ve never seen a man doing this) talking on their cell phones while sauntering (barely walking) around the track. I don’t think that I’ve seen these women break a sweat. I thought exercise was for getting away from your daily grind for 30-45 minutes.

Young sweethearts holding hands while walking around the track – how nice! Since I’m getting older, anyone 22 or younger just look like babies to me, but I would guess an age range of 17-22 yrs old for the lovebirds. As I was thinking, “How sweet!”, I noticed that he had those huge ear gauges in his ear lobes, his running shorts were sagging (if he hadn’t had undies on, I would have seen his butt crack) and a lovely saying tattooed on the back of both calves (like a bumper sticker). Instead of saying something like ” I brake for skateboarders”, it said, “STAY F*CKED” in capital block letters. It was hard NOT to see it. How nice, right? What does that even mean? It’s so clever that all of the various people on the track that were fortunate enough to see it were left scratching their heads. Of course, I started thinking that by the time he snapped out of his rebellious stage and retired at age 70 from his 9-5 daily grind, that he would be hit on the golf course. There with his golf shirt, khaki shorts and awesome saying on his legs (if it’s even legible at that point in his life). Also, his ear lobes would surely be large enough now that he could use them as beer caddies. How convenient!

An impressive 70ish woman using the 4 ft railing as a ballet barre – she put her leg right up on that railing and put her nose to her knee for a good stretch! Holy cow! She did all kinds of amazing stretches using the railing so I was expecting to get my doors blown off running around the track with her (which would have been pretty deflating). She takes off and boom! No running, just a nice leisurely saunter. I have to say that I was a little disappointed after watching the huge warm-up.

These are the highlights of just some of my workout sessions. My dress code? Baggy shirt, shorts – that’s it. I’m not comfortable wearing skin-tight workout gear to run in. I don’t think people are quite ready for that.

These interesting sights do entice me to go back and see what’s on the people-watching menu for that day!

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Strike While the Iron is Hot

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Okay,  today I have reached my limit.  I had a mommy tantrum the size of China.  I’m seriously considering going on strike.  I mean it.  I’m at my wit’s end!  This tantrum has been building for a while.

What was the last straw?  The L word: laundry.  I know I’ve written about this before.  Maybe I should make my kids do their own laundry, but we have a family of 5 and I could see the “do your own” eventually ending with someone getting either stuffed in the dryer or getting smacked upside the head with the iron.  Why?  Because ultimately the girls will each be down to their last pair of undies (they are clearly professional procrastinators) and favorite jeans and then the race to the washer for the dual of the century (which would occur about once a week – hopefully).  This would not be helpful in reaching our goal of family unity and harmony and world peace.

So back to the part where I do the laundry – I fold everyone’s clothes, put them into neat piles outside their bedroom doors.  I do not put clothes away (except my own) – that’s my line in the sand.  Okay, so I do a load of laundry every day, thus there are clean clothes for the kids every day – little stacks that would take about 5 seconds to put away.  Instead, this is what happens outside the doors of my daughter’s rooms:

“I don’t have time to put my perfectly folded clothes away!”  “I’ll do it tonight (2 days later, see pic above).”  “I have too much homework!”  “I’m tired.” “I had to work tonight.”

I’m getting angrier and angrier as I’m fixing dinner.  Guess what I made for dinner?  Curry shrimp and rice with broccoli.  Yep, shrimp.  I’m standing in the kitchen removing the shells and the shit from 2 pounds of shrimp for my ungrateful, spoiled girls!  I should have just left it in there – I don’t think anyone has died or contracted a deadly disease from a little cooked shrimp poop, have they?

Arrrrggghhhhhh!  Do they think I do all of this stuff for shits and grins?  That’s when I started fantasizing about going on strike.  Do you know how quickly this place would lapse into total chaos without my daily attention?! I started thinking about all of the little stuff I do that no one notices (I’m sure many of you can relate) – fill the soap dispensers, the toilet paper holders, keep the house tidy, keep the house stocked with food and their favorite snacks, make doctor appointments, manage their schedules, pay the bills, etc.  You get the idea. Hmmmm….. What would happen if I went on strike, ran away, or disappeared??

After wallowing in their own filth and dirty underwear, would they start crying and begging me to come back so they could apologize to me?  Would they all magically start respecting what I do, putting their things and laundry away, doing the dishes, taking the dog for a walk all with a smile and a “I love you, mommy!”?? 

I know, I know.  But it’s part of the fantasy.  A girl’s gotta have something.

I have thought about getting each of the girls a laundry basket and just throwing their clean clothes in there unfolded.  They end up like that anyway – then they can fold their wrinkled clothes on their own time.  Hmmmm….   It would save me time.

Okay, tantrum over…until next time 🙂

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Shut your Pine Mouth!

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Okay, many of you maybe like “Yeah, whatever!”   BUT,

since I’ve been inflicted by this insidious “taste disorder” as labeled by the FDA (read prior post, “Doc, I’ve Got What?!” to get up to speed), I’ve been whining and suffering!  I love to cook, but now, I have no desire for food.  However, I must eat to live, correct?

This weekend, I even did my 2-wk menu planning (as I usually do) and went to the grocery store which you all know I hate (if you read my blog).  I REALLY hated it today.  I was starving when I went (because eating makes me sick), and I resented every moment.

Is this my permanent hell?  Okay, that was a bit melodramatic, but I love to cook only to be turned off by food.  That has to be the 10th circle of hell, right?

In doing my research on this infliction, I discovered that there is a Facebook Group for sufferers named “Damn You Pine Nuts” which, of course, I’ve joined.  It was so reassuring to know that there were others like me – even from other countries.  Then I found this link to a blog that belongs to someone doing research on this phenomena – www.pinenutsyndrome.wordpress.com.

I have to say that this has been the freakiest thing that has ever happened to me – EVER. 

What I haven’t figured out is if I will ever be able to eat pine nuts again.  The articles have hinted that it might be an allergic reaction to pine nuts which I mostly discount since I have eaten a shit-load of these nuts up until now.  I am leaning toward the China invasion of pine nuts – they are mixing edible ones with inedible ones.  That has to be the problem, right?

The pine nuts that I purchased from my local grocery store was a 2 oz package of pine nuts with the Fishers label (blue  & white packaging) and distributed by John B. Sanfilippo & Son (Elgin, IL).  It clearly stated on the package that some of the nuts may be from China!  Don’t buy these nuts.  I’m serious!

I know that this is temporary.  I’m hoping my Pine Mouth experience will be very short-lived.  I’m in the 4th day of this and very disgusted.  I can’t imagine my symptoms lasting 4 weeks (which is longest time-frame that I have read about).

All I can say is, “Beware of the pine nuts!”

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“Doc, I’ve Got What?!”

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This all started innocently on a typical Monday evening.  Dinner is on the table and the menu is Salmon baked in sweet vidalia onion dressing, cous cous with pine nuts and dried cranberries, and a salad.  Yum!  Everything was devoured with gusto except the fancy cous cous – it  was enjoyed by only 3 1/2 out of 5 of us (my son, who still thinks I walk on water, suffered through the cous cous because he knew it would make me happy.  Gotta love that kid!). 

Then, by Wednesday morning (yesterday) something weird was going on with my ….. mouth/palate.  I ate my Honey Bunches of Oats as I do most mornings and it tasted really funky (it had a metallic aftertaste).  Maybe it was stale?  I made my mug of coffee (as I do each morning) and began drinking my coffee on the way into the office.  It tasted really bitter – that’s weird!  I must not have put my usual 3 packets of cancer-causing sweetener into my coffee mug.  I suffered through it anyway because I needed my daily infusion of caffeine.

Now, it’s lunch time on Wednesday.  I bring my lunch every day (saving those pennies!) so I brought the leftover salmon and cous cous concoction from Monday night’s dinner.  I started eating it and it tasted burnt/bitter.  I pulled out some of the overdone pine nuts because I thought that was the issue.  It really took all I had to finish my lunch which is unusual for me. 🙂

Dinner time!  It is sandwich night because, well, my day did not go as planned (we were going to have baked chicken thighs with roasted cauliflower), but as you will see below that plan was not executed. 

My afternoon:

3pm – Home in time to greet son just off of the bus.  He practices piano while I race around the house changing into my workout clothes, packing my husband’s workout bag (so he can meet me at the gym), and packing my daughter’s piano bag.  I also spent about 15 minutes looking for my hubby’s iPod to no avail.

3:45pm – Run out of the house with my son and all of the various packed bags.  I head to the middle school to pick up my daughter for her piano lesson (both my son and daughter have piano lessons on Wednesdays).  Pick up daughter at 3:55pm and race to lessons which begin at 4:00pm.

4:00pm – Maddie goes first.  I hang around until 4:30pm then rush her home (Jack is now in his lesson) so she will be ready for her 5pm carpool to soccer practice. Then I run back over to piano lessons for Jack pick-up.

5:00pm – Take Jack over to my in-laws where my husband is visiting with his parents.  He has decided not to workout with me (he was confused by my invite to exercise together).

6:20pm – I get home from workout and am way too tired to make chicken and cauliflower, thus sandwiches.

For dinner, I make myself a nice roast beef sandwich dressed with mayo, avocado, cheese & tomato.  I also have some strawberries and few chips.  Yummy!  I take a bite out of my sandwich and……YUCK!  It tastes like CRAP!  Strawberries – disgusting!  Chips – downright vomit-inducing! What the hell is going on?!

Now, I’m thinking I’ve got some deadly disease since everything I’m eating tastes like bitter metal (not that I eat a lot of bitter metal, but if I did, this is what it would taste like).  I go to WedMD and guess what I have???

PINE MOUTH

(hubby was calling it nut breath – I don’t think so!)

I’m not kidding – watch the video.  This guy could be me!!  My symptoms started exactly two days after eating those damn pine nuts!   WebMD Pine Mouth Video Link. 

Also, read this article from ABC News – ‘Pine Mouth’: How Pine Nuts Can Ruin Tastebuds for Weeks.

No one else in my family is suffering from it – thank goodness.  I can’t imagine listening to my kids whine about their bitter food (now, they all have to listen to me!).  According to the article, this is temporary but can last 1 to 4 weeks!  Oh brother.  For the next four weeks, my food will taste like sh*t!  Maybe I’ll be one of those lucky ducks that only has these symptoms for a week. 

It’s now Thursday and it has gotten worse – I wish I could explain how horrible my Honey Nut Cheerios, my coffee and my sandwich tasted today.  I am now forcing myself to eat which is really a new concept for me.  I’m really not looking forward to dinner which is going to be the baked chicken thighs and roasted cauliflower.  I love this dinner – it’s usually tasty (and very quick & easy), but now I know it’s going to taste really, really nasty.

My sister thinks this might be the newest diet miracle and it’s all wrapped up in a tiny inedible version of the pine nut from China (read the article)!

This new development means no more pesto, roasted pine nuts on salads, etc. 

However, it could be way worse, right?  At least I still have my health!

Unknown's avatar

What’s Everyone Been Up To?

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It has been well over a month since I posted something.  Why?  I’ve been thinking about that and it’s come down to a few things:

(1) Work has gotten busier (this is busy season in my industry) and the thought of sitting at the computer at night after sitting at the computer all day gave me the willies.

(2) There has been so much going on in the news and in my small world that it was too much and I just couldn’t keep up – my brain got clogged with so many thoughts and blog ideas that it literally crashed.  Just like a computer – the blue screen of death.  I need to start carrying a Journal so I can keep up with my thoughts.

(3) I’ve taken up a new hobby that has completely worn me out to the point that I am falling asleep on the couch at around 9:00pm (and sometimes earlier – getting old sucks).  What is this hobby?  Exercising!

Let’s address these obstacles one at a time:

Item #1 – This won’t go away until January 1, 2011 arrives, so I will just have to deal.

Item #2 – Below are just a few stories and items that have caught my attention over the last couple of weeks:

Toys – Since I still have an elementary kid in my house, we watch a lot of Nickelodeon and, thus, are subjected to a series of ridiculous toy ads (and they are really ramping up due to the upcoming holiday season).  These two toys really caught me off guard.  They seem REALLY silly to me and had me wondering “What the Heck?”  What do you think?  Am I just getting old?

Matchbox “Stinky the Garbage Truck”

Barbie Video Girl

News Items –

Did you hear about the woman driving around Los Angeles with a mummified body in the passenger seat?  Click Here for the Los Angeles Time Story.

The political ads are driving me crazy.  I was in Massachusetts visiting my sister and in one of their political ads the opposing candidate was referred to as “kooky” – it cracked me up!  Also, what about the Christine O’Donnell thing (kooky?)?

Then, there is the lethal injection drug controversy in Arizona – click Here.  Apparently there is a shortage of FDA-approved lethal injection drugs, so Arizona had to purchase a supply from an overseas company (huh? I didn’t realize that we were executing so many people in the US that we have generated a shortage).  The concern is over the safety and quality of the lethal injection drug purchased overseas (again, huh?).  Well, I suppose that if you are going to put someone to death, you want to do it right the first time.

Item #3 – Exercise.  If you have been reading my blog, you will know that I have started running.  I had a rocky start, but I’m back at it.  Since it’s starting to get colder (and windy) out, I have been running inside – this has been great!  The track is cushy and there are no weather elements to deal with.  This has allowed me to get up to a 30 minute stretch, running 3 minutes and walking 2 minutes.  That is progress for me!  Hopefully, next week I will be doing the 4 min/1 min combo.  I have also been swimming two mornings a week – I’m helping a friend of mine train for a sprint triathlon.  We are up to 1000 meters per swim.  This new exercise routine  is definitely contributing to my narcolepsy at night – the swimming days seem to be the worst (it’s hell getting old!).

Well, that’s what I’ve been up to!  I have missed blogging (it can be very cathartic) and will try to do better.

Unknown's avatar

Dear Neighbor…..

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This article, Dear Neighbor, Read This Note!,  in The New York Times has inspired me.  Maybe you’re wondering how? 

We have a neighbor that has an unusual compulsion – this compulsion involves the daily use of  the beloved leaf blower.  Neighbor has this noise maker out almost every day (Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall).  If I could tack a note to Neighbor’s door, it might sound a little like this:

Dear Neighbor,

We’ve been neighbors for a while now and have developed a healthy respect for your desire for a super squeaky clean yard (& driveway).  I wish we could support your year-round longing for a spotless yard; however, we are very busy with work, family and well, life, so we are unable to maintain our yard to that admirable level of perfection. 

Thus, we are apologizing for being bad neighbors in that we don’t pick up the lovely trinkets blown into our yard by your awesome yard machine.  It has to be frustrating knowing that some of these items end up back in your yard because we can’t get to them immediately and the wind brings them right back to you.  I know that this is the cause of your daily leaf blowing ritual and this really causes us pain. 

Maybe, if you bagged the unwanted items yourself, it could save you enough time every week so that you could pursue another hobby!  Maybe something like, bird watching, painting, golf, etc. We would definitely miss the daily high-pitched, humming and whirring sounds of the leaf blower, but, this is a sacrifice we are willing to make.

If we ever find ourselves swimming in money, you can rest assured that our first priority will be to hire groundskeepers.

Sincerely,

Your Neighbor

I’m sure that these same neighbors could write us a “note” asking us to keep our yard free of debris!  (I do want to point out that our yard always looks fabulous and we get a lot of compliments on it.)  My husband doesn’t usually start raking and bagging leaves until a majority of them are down, otherwise, he would be bagging leaves every weekend from mid-September through the end of November.  Due to this leaf-raking philosophy, some of our Fall leaves do end up in their yard (I’m not sure what’s being blown around in the Winter, Spring & Summer though).  But, what will our kids remember most?  That dad kept a squeaky clean yard or that he was at their soccer and baseball games?

Back to the article, I can relate to some of the issues that the notes addressed in the NYT article because I grew up in an apartment complex (1st thru 12th grade).  You experience things that you don’t experience living in a single-family dwelling in a typical neighborhood.  There is extreme turn-over in your neighbors so it could be a new experience from month to month (good and bad).

I’m sure all of us could write a “note” to a neighbor – people are quirky!