Ten on Tuesday

1. Some days I really am not friends with our dog, Eli.  Today was one of those days.  To the point that when Nick left the house for school this morning, he asked if Eli would still be here when he came home.  “But if he’s not, can we get another dog?”  Sorry, Eli, the kid sold you out in less than three minutes flat.
2. When Nick was three, if we ate a piece of gum, candy or Tic Tac, we’d be really quiet when opening the wrapper so he wouldn’t hear and ask for a piece.  Madeline, on the other hand, has her own way of finding out what you’re eating.  “Mommy, ahhhh!  MOMMY, AHHHH!”  Demanding that I open my mouth and show her.  “Jelly beans?”  No, Madeline, I have nothing in my mouth.  I swear.  She must ask me five times a day if she asks me once, and I just got grilled before she went to bed tonight.  “Jelly beans, Mommy?”  No, Madeline.  “Gum?”  Nothing, Madeline, there is nothing in my mouth.
3. If you ever have to call Emirates Air for any reason, allow yourself a good day and a half to get through.  Between busy signals, random disconnects and down computer systems, that’s about how long you’ll need.  And if you finally get through and that’s the exact moment your two-year-old proceeds to head towards full-on wail, the bathroom is a good place to hide out and finish your call.  Just sayin’.
4. If you find that it’s the third week of April and you’ve only made three new recipes this month, you can fix things by making Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes.  Now to make another 20 recipes in the next week and a half to catch up.
5. The National MS Society is extremely disorganized when it comes to running their 5Ks.  Sorry, guys, they need to be called out.  For a professional, national organization that regularly runs a multitude of annual 5Ks and assorted other fundraisers, their gaffes this past Sunday just weren’t cool.
6. National MS Society gaffes aside, I am unbelievably proud of my medal.  Even though they ran out of them halfway through because they were busy giving them to everyone who quit the race on the first lap.  If you don’t plan properly and order enough for everyone who registered, then they should be saved for those that actually finish the 5K.  Not the three hundred or so that bailed after two miles.  While in line to grab lunch, we happened to see a volunteer with a few on her arm and made a beeline for her.  Just moments before, I had talked with another person who did the 5K.  She was diagnosed a month ago with MS, and as soon as she found out, she gathered a team together to do the walk with her.  Only to do it and find out that they ran out of the medals.  Once we found the few extra ones, we hunted her down in the crowd to give her one.  Her eyes welling up with tears said it all.
7. I drink everything with a straw.  I’m not sure when this quirk first developed, but it’s been a few years in the making.
8. Two weeks ago I lost my iPod.  Somewhere between the driveway and the first floor of the house.  I have about given up the hope of finding it.  Nick has graciously allowed me to use his until I cave and buy another one.  Not without saying, of course, “Don’t lose it, Mom.  You know, like you lost yours.”
9. I would take a Zumba class every day if I could.  Right now, I’m settling for two days a week.
10. I don’t like raisins unless they’re in a baked good.  It’s a texture thing.

Project 365
April 20, 2010, Photo #80

This pot is part of a set I bought … exactly twenty years ago. I remember the day very clearly. It was full-on garage sale season and I was at a sale with my Mom and came across a box of these pots and pans for sale. It was twenty-five bucks for the whole set and they looked brand new.  I looked through the box and then walked around the rest of the sale, coming back to the box when I was done.  I was only 20 years old, new in my first real apartment, and $25 was a lot of money to me.  I really debated about it.  I got the price down to $20 (my mom taught me well!), and ended up buying the set.  It was seriously one of the best investments I ever made.  Now nearly twenty years later, I still have the entire set and use them regularly.  They are ridiculously resilient and survived many burned ingredients during those first few years while I was learning how to cook.  Even now, so long after the fact, they look as good as new.  Love them, love them, love them.

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