My neglected blog

Oh poor blog; how I have neglected thee... Such is the current busy-ness of life, I suppose!

I'm sitting in the sunny living room this afternoon while WH plays what may be his last golf round of the year. I have a glass of champagne, and a cat sleeping behind my head on the back of the couch, and the TV humming along quietly in front of me.

And I'm thinking about being thirty, which I'll be, as of Tuesday. (Hurray for Michaelmas!)

Thirty is an age that excites me. I think about where I was heading into my twenties, not knowing what end was up, where I would be, what I would do, how I would get there, how I would pay for it, etc. etc. And here I am at thirty, married to my perfect partner, living in a house that I love, doing work that is challenging and fulfilling, enjoying a tremendously busy extra-curricular life of my own choosing, surrounded by the most amazing group of family and friends... What, on earth, could I possibly think to complain about? It is practically an embarrassment of riches...

Some of you may recall that WH and I have the same birthday, but because this was a big birthday for me, WH threw me a party last night. We had burgers and munchies, lots of wonderful things to drink, and many of the friends and family mentioned above were able to come and celebrate. What a blast! And the party even had an informal theme!

Let me explain...

I always wanted a Mr. Potato Head when I was a child. Of any toy, it was the one I craved the most. (MU would point out here that I never uttered this desire, which is probably true...) I hadn't thought about this yearning until a couple of months ago, when I said to myself, suddenly one day, "Dammit, I am almost thirty, and I WILL HAVE A MR. POTATO HEAD." So I asked WH for one for my birthday, and he came through, so now I have one. And my lovely friend S brought me the little mini Mr. Potato Head that comes with the doggie and kitty as well, so now I have FOUR Mr. Potato Head figures.

And to top it all off, our friend G baked this:I know, right?! Amazing!

Needless to say, I had a great time.

So on Tuesday, WH and I will both celebrate our birthdays and the year of our life that has now past. I can't wait to see what's to come down the road!

And now, my champagne glass is empty and the laundry needs pushing. Tra la la...

Dear Weight Watchers...

... In almost all ways, you are a fantastic program. I appreciate all the things that you do to allow people who are working to lose weight to eat as close to normally as possible. We have had WW in our lives for the last year, and have had lots of success.

That said, I have a concern with your Gnocchi with Pesto recipe. Low fat or not, you cannot make a pesto sauce with two tablespoons of water instead of the traditional oil. I know; I tried. And it tastes like sand.

And life is too damn short to eat sandy gnocchi.

Word.

My Saturday Morning Grocery Routine

I had the best morning at the grocery store today.

In the last little while, I've gotten into the habit of going grocery shopping early in the morning on Saturdays and it works out wonderfully. The store is quiet, the shelves are fully stocked, I get a good cart, and the staff haven't had time to be cranky yet. It's great.

This morning, not only did I have the usual benefits of early morning shopping, but I also had the following:

$12 worth of coupons
$20 worth of bank credits
Brand-name, two-ply, double roll, 24 packs of toilet paper at NINE DOLLARS OFF EACH. I bought two.

So between the coupons and the tp sale, I figure I saved $50 today. FIFTY BUCKS!!

On top of all of that, before I went to the grocery store I did my Wii Fit yoga routine, which means I felt all stretched and relaxed and balanced and centered while I was shopping.

Best. Saturday. Ever.

Funny Cat

Trader Tuesday: Rejuvenated Rice

It's almost impossible to make exactly the right amount of rice for two people. One of the most depressing things that I usually have to pull out of the fridge and throw away is the miserable lump of dried out leftover rice.

But recently, WH found a wonderful recipe for reconstituted rice, via the BBQ.

Take a long piece of aluminum foil and fold it in half to give it extra strength. Using your fist, make the foil into a pouch-shape. Spoon a serving of rice into the pouch and add half a small onion, chopped. Sprinkle with salt, and add a dash of Worcester sauce. Add some water... about a quarter cup for a cup of rice. Dab the rice with butter. Fold the corners of the pouch together to form a closure. Place the pouch on the BBQ for 20 minutes.

And voila! Beautiful, moist, flavourful rice!