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| Saturday, May 10, 2008 |
Something to Say about Denial |
With my first triathlon tomorrow morning, I have been trying to be particularly careful in my eating and sleeping habits this week. I have also tried hard to manage my progressively escalating case of nerves as the week went on. So you might expect that I would have gone to sleep as early as possible yesterday. Almost as if I were in denial about my need for rest, I did the opposite, and enjoyed what was for me an unprecedented social opportunity that I could not refuse.
I was honored to receive an invitation from Soccer Mom in Denial to join her and Jenn from Something to Say about Life in the Netherlands for dinner. That's right, for this weekend Jenn in Holland is Jenn in Massachusetts! How cool is that?
We had a fun evening typing talking and talking and talking. Plus there was fabulous food. We were the last ones to leave the restaurant. Hmmm...I bet my triathlon training buddy and our trainer would have something to say about that. If they ask me about it, I may need to deny it. Afterwards, we went to a bar. Relax! I was willing to stay out late for friends, but I did deny myself alcohol in order to avoid derailing my training and triathlon prep. Actually, I had such a good time that I really feel it helped me to relax before my big event tomorrow. The Big Giraffe also denied me the consequences of my late night by generously encouraging me to sleep in today! I certainly have something to say about his kindness.
I have enjoyed what SMID and Jenn have to say for almost as long as I have been blogging, and there was no denying from our prior meetings that SMID is a fabulous person. I quickly felt that I could say the same about Jenn. I have to admit that as much as I enjoyed getting to know Jen and getting to know SMID better, what most stuck with me today, other than just having a great time last night of course, was what Jenn had to say about Life in the Netherlands.
Of course, I had to find a metaphor in what Jenn described to apply to my own life. For example, Jenn described the way she shops by going from specialty store to specialty store like the cheese store, the nut store, and the bakery, just the way things used to be in the US before supermarkets became so prevalent, except that they bike everywhere. So today I didn't just go to the supermarket, but made a stop at a specialty store, Trader Joe's, to stoke my yogurt craving as well. Technically, I haven't ridden my bike in two days, but I will be on it bright and early tomorrow for the first leg of my triathlon. Yeah, not as nice and neat as in the Netherlands, but if you add biking and choosing the right store for each purchase... Of course, in the Netherlands, an employee would have started pulling together my usual order for me when I walked into the stores. Trader Joe's didn't even have my normal order; they were out of the cheaper Greek yogurt. I silently rejoiced at the "excuse" to buy the more expensive Greek yogurt that tastes twice as good.
Tomorrow's my big day. I'm all packed and just about ready to go to bed. I'm definitely nervous although not nearly as nervous as I would have thought. Apparently a night off was just the ticket.
A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: When preparing for something stressful, there is something to be said about denial.Labels: Blogging Flexibly, Exercise and Fitness, Food (Solid), Humor (at least Attempted), Outings and Playgroups |
posted by Alex Elliot @ 8:06 PM   |
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| Monday, April 28, 2008 |
Shower Me, Baby |
I've hosted a handful of showers in the ten years (has it really been that long?) since I've graduated from college. This by no means makes me any kind of expert, particularly since each shower has been pretty different. I've hosted showers at a restaurant with just a few guests, at other people's homes with a lot of guests, and at my current home during the holiday season because my good dishes, which I love, are Christmas china.
Sunday, I threw a shower with two other women for a friend who's due with her second child next month. We decided to have a tea. I was quite excited about it. About once a year, I decide to embark on a journey of self-discovery. It leaves me feeling like I know myself a little bit better and have given myself a full mental workout. I think the everyday word for this is baking. That's right. Before packing for this journey going to the grocery store, I conjured up images of hairnets, safety goggles, bio-hazard suits and Bunsen burners. Maybe that was a little extreme. I did announce to the Big Giraffe though importantly that I was off to bake. He inquired what I was baking first, and I announced sandwiches. He looked puzzled. I clarified that baking to me means having to deal with anything that makes a mess on my counters. Placing school projects and mail on the counter also falls into that category. Wow, I really do have a lot of experience with baking!
I had fun with my baking. That's why I like to keep it as the rare treat: it allows to me fully enjoy the experience leaving me wanting to do it again, but not anytime soon. That and the fact that I munch on the extras and thus always leave a baking session feel slightly ill and exhausted.
I'll leave you in suspense regarding the menu for a moment longer. We used several people's tea cups and saucers so that every guest had a unique cup. We also used four different tea pots including mine. In addition to coffee, an assortment of teas, punch and water with limes, we had the following menu straight out of Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook which I definitely will be adding to my Amazon wish list.
- Herbed goat cheese sandwiches*
- Cheddar and chutney on mini-brioche*
- Lime curd and strawberries*
- Lemon bars*
- Mini fruit tarts
- Ganache cupcakes
- shortbread cookies half dipped in chocolate
*Denotes items made by yours truly.Labels: Food (Solid), Milestones |
| posted by Alex Elliot @ 7:52 PM |
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| Friday, April 11, 2008 |
How to Buy Cookie Dough from Preschool |
So much learning happens in preschool and that's just for the parents. If I look back at my older son's (OS) almost two years of preschool, I realize that I've come a long way, learning appropriate parental attire for the open house, how to spy on my child from the parking lot, appropriate birthday party etiquette, what gifts to give teachers, and of course the rules around preschool Valentine's Day parties. Forgot knowing letters, numbers and colors, learning the whole social system of preschool is education in and of itself!
Yesterday I learned the most important lesson of all. This is really big so you might want to get a pen and paper. Way important, right? Don't worry, I will explain why it is so important.
When OS was a baby, one of the playgroup hostesses bought a tub of cookie dough from a neighbor's kid as part of a school fundraiser. The cookies were pretty good. Based on that recollection, I decided to participate this year when OS's preschool did the cookie dough fundraiser. We really haven't done very much with fundraisers, and, if it's a choice between buying wrapping paper or cookie dough...well...that's not a hard choice for me. The order form had a list of different types of cookie dough., but the most important choice was whether to get break away cookies or a tub of cookie dough. I chose the tub of cookie dough of course. This was my type of baking. I immediately conjured images of my boys lovingly scooping out balls of dough together. I would ruffle their hair and the three of us would laugh just because we were all so happy. I even had images of us using cookie cutters to cut the cookies into fun shapes. Yeah, I don't know where I was going with that one; Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cookies probably don't mold into elephants too well. Frequent readers will be surprised to learn that there was no fireplace in this vision; it is April after all!
I was surprised when I picked OS up from school because there were boxes and boxes of break away cookie dough but only a few scattered boxes of the tubs. That should have been a sign right there. We picked up our cookie dough and, since I have been trying to eat better, particularly since my first triathlon is around the corner, I did the reasonable thing and suggested bringing the cookie dough to a playdate that had been planned for the next day. The kids were excited to make cookies. However, as soon as we let them start scooping out the dough, we realized the break away cookies would have been better.
First of all, one metal spoon snapped, even though I could have sworn the dough was completely defrosted. Second, the kids all wanted to scoop at the same time. Third, the older kids were better at scooping the dough than the little kids. As a result, my younger son's cookies were tiny. Of course, he got bent out of shape when I tried to make them bigger. It seemed like a no win situation. No one would have wanted the microscopic cookies when they burned, and OS would have been the first one to want one of the bigger cookies...made by one of the older kids. In fact, once the cookies were baked, the kids all argued over who got the bigger cookies. Break away cookies are all the same size. The other mom and I looked at each other and at the same time said "break away cookies." Then we prepared several cookies for ourselves on a separate cookie sheet. Hey, I saw how the kids cookies were handled!
The cookies were still delicious. Like anything else, with YS I'll be better prepared.
A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: Buy break-away-cookies for the school fundraiser not the tubs of cookie dough. Labels: Food (Solid), Humor (at least Attempted) |
| posted by Alex Elliot @ 8:37 PM |
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| Wednesday, April 02, 2008 |
My New Addiction |
Suzanne got me hooked on something this weekend when I visited her in NYC. No, I can pretty much guarantee that it's not what your thinking! Actually, it's probably the furthest thing from what you're thinking.
One of my challenges in trying to eat well, lose weight, be healthy, be the perfect mom and wife, and one day rule the world all the while being blissfully happy, is trying to find satisfying snacks. That's right, the perfect snack is the secret to guaranteed success and happiness! Seriously, it's hard to find a snack that is healthy and tastes good enough that I would actually choose it over a brownie or cookie. Even if I don't have either of those favorite items in my house, which according to the Big Giraffe has been particularly true the past 10 months, I still am thinking that I would rather be eating them than the banana or pear that I am eating. I think perhaps if someone did find this perfect combination, they really would be able to rule the world!
I know you're all waiting with baited breath to hear what this fabulous find is. Brace yourself. You should also brace yourself because this is about as close to a "recipe" as you'll probably ever read on this blog!
It's non-fat plain Greek style yogurt with a teaspoon or two of jam in it. Shocking right? Suzanne had mentioned in her other blog Live Active Cultures that she really likes Greek yogurt. I had also had Greek yogurt before and enjoyed it. However I had never had the plain non-fat yogurt before in the big vat. What's the difference?
The difference is the serving size. One serving size of the non-fat Greek yogurt is a full cup whereas the Stonyville yogurts, which are what I usually eat, are only 6 ounces. In terms of Weight Watchers points, you can have a full tablespoon of jam in your one cup serving (three teaspoons of jam equal one tablespoon. Don't be embarrassed, I didn't know it until a few years ago when I was at one of those dinner assembly places) and it's exactly the same number of points as the 6 oz Chocolate Underground yogurt. It also tastes amazing because, unlike regular yogurt, Greek yogurt is double strained so it's really thick like sour cream. Yes, even the non-fat yogurt. Between the larger quantity and the thicker consistency, it also makes me feel full, thus helping me to avoid a second round of potentially more savory but less healthy snacks.
A little weird fact about me (one of many!) is that I don't like yogurt with fruit skins in it. That pretty much eliminates most of the fruit yogurts for me. Good jam doesn't have the skins in it, at least not the kind I buy, so this yogurt and jam combo tastes like a fruit yogurt without the skin.
One last tip, don't use your kids PB&J jam or any other jam that congeals easily, because nothing will push you toward a brownie more quickly than a congealed yogurt mix. Personally, if the brownie is home baked or on my counter, this new yogurt is going to stay in the fridge, but the lure of the yogurt is strong enough to keep me from hitting the road for a late night bakery run. In lieu of that brownie, well it's a really great snack.
A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: Non-fat plain Greek style yogurt with a teaspoon or two of jam makes an excellent snack.Labels: Exercise and Fitness, Food (Solid), Humor (at least Attempted) |
| posted by Alex Elliot @ 7:32 PM |
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| Tuesday, March 18, 2008 |
The Peeping Peeps |
Here's a secret confession of mine: I love buying Peeps. You know those sugary marshmallow type chicks? I don't actually like eating them, but I really enjoy buying them. I think it's because when I was little, my grandmother used to keep them in a big glass jar on her coffee table at Easter. Normally she wasn't the type of grandma who baked cookies or played dolls with me, but she did have an endless supply of Peeps. They're just so cute. Plus rumor may have it that I just might have participated in a Peep experiment at work after college where a Peep was microwaved to see the effect. Rumor has it that the Peep just kept getting bigger and bigger like the Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not out of control with my Peep purchasing. I just like to buy a package every year. The problem is that since I don't like eating them, well they just sit there. After my husband, the Big Giraffe, and I got married and the Peeps had been sitting on the counter for months, he gently suggested I throw them out. I just couldn't do it. Plus Peeps taste the best when they're stale according to everyone in my family. Who knows, maybe if they were a few years stale I would like them. I moved them to the refrigerator so they were out of sight. That's where they stayed along with the Peeps from the next year and the year after that. My husband started to complain that he felt like the Peeps were being well, Peeping Peeps I guess and looking at him every time he opened the fridge. I never really saw them just like he doesn't see the recycling left in the kitchen sink. Finally we replaced our refrigerator, no not because of the Peeps, and he suggested a Peeps ban in our house.
My older son (OS) is really into anything that is sugary and artificially colored. You know what I was thinking when he was describing what type of Easter candy he hopes to get: Peeps! That is the exact description of a Peep. Plus the ban is really just for the Big Giraffe and me. The Easter Bunny was not included in the ban. It is possible that there may be some Peeps hidden from my husband the kids somewhere in the car house. I mean they're green after all, and we have never had green ones in our house.
If OS doesn't like them now, he very well may like them when they are stale enough. My only fear is that if they kids don't like them, that they'll end up in the toilet. No, literally I mean the toilet. Today's experiment, conducted while OS was allegedly using the bathroom,was seeing whether or not the washable dogs my parents got them for the bathtub will also work in the toilet. I can see them trying to decide if a Peep will dissolve in the toilet. That said, today's experiment has caused me to institute an "open door bathroom policy" until OS demonstrates a less playful approach to excretion. Unlike the dogs, I think the Peeps will end up in the trash and not the Saturday Box*.
*Box for toys that end up in the toilet or left out when I'm cooking despite numerous threats not to and are thus placed in a box to be redeemed on Saturday.
Cross Posted at the New England MamasLabels: Food (Solid), Holidays, Humor (at least Attempted) |
| posted by Alex Elliot @ 7:57 PM |
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| Saturday, February 16, 2008 |
The Uncouth |
Yesterday the Big Giraffe and I went out for a much needed date night. Yesterday had just been tiring day between an early morning "debate" with the Big Giraffe and my adventures at the vets office. In fact, between that and Aunt Flow making all sorts of demands on my energy despite not yet making up her mind as to whether or not she's going to visit this month, I felt drained. In fact, when the home repair man came, I didn't even hear him because I had fallen asleep after putting the boys down for a nap. That apparently worked out well because unbeknownst to me, the repair man had pulled out his pillow and napped in our driveway (in his van, not literally on the ground). After about 45 minutes, he rang the doorbell, and that time I heard it. As he was leaving, he told me I looked terrible and should go take another nap. Thanks! There's nothing like someone telling you that you look like crap. Although, since the boys were still asleep perhaps it wasn't a bad idea. By the time the date rolled around, I was feeling back to myself.
On the recommendation of a few friends, the Big Giraffe and I went to a great tavern in Sturbridge called the Ugly Duckling. The ambiance was fantastic, as was the food. The only thing that was weird, was that there was an unknown object on the Big Giraffe's plate. At first he thought that someone had given him a present because the object was a small sack-like thing with a ribbon tied on it. He asked me if I knew what it was. I was as intrigued as he was. I told him to try and cut off a piece of it. Surely it was food as it was on his plate, right? I mean no one would wrap up a new iPod or a diamond and put it on a dinner plate. Alright maybe for an engagement, but if someone was proposing to him, well then he and I both had bigger problems than whether or not a gift belonged on a dinner plate. This would be a problem, right Big Giraffe?
His knife wouldn't cut through the object. He then went ahead and untied it. The packaging fell open and there was still an unknown object in it. I thought perhaps it was a garlic bulb, but I couldn't tell for sure because it was dark in there....and I had drunk a glass of wine. He decided to forget about it. Of course I just couldn't let it go and so when the waitress came by, I threw my pride to the wind or perhaps just off the table and asked her. So can you guess what it was? I'll give you a hint: BG had fish for dinner. Drum roll please. It was a lemon! It was put in a fabric bag so that he could squeeze the juice out without worrying about the seeds. I had no pride anymore so I thanked her. The Big Giraffe informed both of us that he doesn't squeeze lemon on fish. Nice cover, BG. Too bad the package was completely untied.
A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: If you want to be able to squeeze fresh lemon juice onto food without worrying about seeds, place it in a porous fabric bag.Labels: Food (Solid), Humor (at least Attempted), Mom-Care |
| posted by Alex Elliot @ 7:51 PM |
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I think it's good you got to relax a little. That has to help!
Good luck tomorrow!