Welcome to My House

Hello! Welcome, I'm so glad you could stop by for a virtual visit to finish off your holiday rounds!  By the way, I first want to start out by thanking you for calling first, I always appreciate having a little bit of time to prepare for my guests (i.e. clean frantically for four hours).

So as you come in you will probably try and say "hi" to my girls.  Immediately Charlotte will plant hear face in my butt crack to hide (she is shy, and thankfully for her my butt provides ample hiding space).  Delaney is probably standing next to me glaring at you while she sizes you up.  Elli on the other hand is probably still in her bed sleeping, or just emerging from her 1/2 hour shower - she's a teenager, nuff said.  Chuck is probably in the kitchen cooking something for your visit...actually he is probably cooking lots of things and will immediately offer you a drink and more food than you can eat.

By this time I have probably dislodged Char from my rear and you will notice her eclectic outfit choice for the day.  If you came by today, she would have this on...her superhero whale panties and her Dora swimsuit top.

Oh yeah, you haven't seen my house yet!  Well last year we finally finished the last of our big projects here...you should have seen this house when we bought it!  Anyways, we remodeled our master bedroom and bathroom last year and I'm so happy with it.  Look at my shower and bath!

Oh wait, Delaney wants me to take her picture and get it in here too...she can't be outdone by her sister.  In fact she may even play the piano for you later...naked so she won't get her dress dirty.  

Well so much for the tour, lets sit down and enjoy some food.  Elli will chat your ear off probably telling stories about her dad, or the new contacts she just got for her 16th birthday, or her latest crush.  Would you like a glass of wine?  We're having turkey by the way, again.  Hope you don't mind, but we need to justify the four turkey fryer's we own.  Yes, you heard that right, we own four turkey fryer's and they have all been bought in the past five years (this is where Chuck puts his head down in shame while I tell the Turkey Fryer story). 

WE (Chuck) bought the first fryer... and really fried turkey is very good.  But every year Chuck finds some reason to buy a new one  a) the pot was too round and took too much oil to fill, b) the pot wasn't big enough for the turkey c) some other reason.  Well this year he got an oil-less fryer "for safety."  I guess I can't argue with the safety thing - but when he showed me the fryer after hiding it for two weeks I cried...and laughed at the same time. 

 

Oy.

Would you like some more wine?  Feeling a little tipsy?  It's about time for Chuck to make a comment that will annoy me so I don't want to talk to him for the rest of the night.  Like "Having 3 kids didn't make HIS body go to hell."  Pardon me while I glare at him with death lasers.

What?  Your going so soon.  Feeling a little uncomfortable with the tension?  Its okay.  Thanks for coming by and I hope you visit again soon!

Anatomy Lessons

Living in a house with two young girls has really made me wonder where they get their ideas on the male anatomy. I mean really, they are 4 and 5 and don't have a brother, they should know nothing...right?

On Halloween we were driving down the road. We passed a small truck that had a gentleman probably in his 20's driving the car. He had on a blond wig and makeup as his costume. I pointed him out to Delaney who responded, "That's a boy!"

Chuck said, "Yes, you know how you can tell? Boy's have Adam's apples," as he pointed to his.

Delaney replied," And Wieners!"

Silence, as I look at Chuck a bit dumbfounded. Delaney chimes up, "They have skulls too, that hang down." Still looking at Chuck even more confused "skulls?" Chuck whispers to me, "testiskulls!" Oh jeez.

Then there was the lesson on how daddy pees - folks, our girls have no problem walking in on us when we are trying to get a little privacy to pee - we don't invite them in, they just come. First, Delaney thought Daddy had a magic thumb that he could pee through...now Charlotte is telling me that Daddy squeezes his shirt to pee - not that I asked, it just came up. They both think boys are gross though, and should sit down to pee.

Ribolitta

Just wanted to share this recipe my hubby has been making lately...courtesy of a recipe book we have from Williams-Sonoma called "Soup & Stew."  

Ribolitta is a staple of Tuscan peasant cooking.  It is great this time of year with the fall weather...a comforting vegetable stew that makes about 8 servings.  It does take some time and planning, but it isn't difficult and it is worth it.  It is actually better the second day, so it is good to make on a Sunday than have several easy reheat dinners and lunches during the week.  Plus it is super healthy (Gillian McKeith would be proud).

Ingredients:  

• 1 lb dried cannellini beans (pick over, rinse and drain)
  
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 5 fresh sage leaves
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 small savoy cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch each Swiss chard and Cavolo Nero (black cabbage), thick ribs removed, coarsely chopped
• One 14 1/2 oz can crushed tomatoes
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

• Place the beans in a bowl of cold water and soak for at least 4 hours (up to overnight) - drain and set aside.
• In large soup pot, combine the drained beans, 3 qt of water, garlic, and sage.  Bring to boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer until beans are tender yet firm (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours).  Remove from heat.  Using a handheld or standing blender, coarsely puree the beans, leaving some texture.  Set aside.
• In a large saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and saute until softened, 7-10 minutes.  Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, savoy cabbage, chard, and cavolo nero.  Toss to coat evenly.  Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes (until the greens are tender).
• Add the cooked vegetables to the pureed beans and cook covered until nicely thickened...about 40 minutes longer.  Add additional seasoning to taste.  

Traditionally this is served over stale or toasted country style bread and drizzled with a little olive oil when served...but we've been skipping that part and it is still dee-lish!

I've been using About.com's calorie count plus to track my calorie ins and outs lately.  I love this site!  It has every tool you could want to track your calories needed, consumed, and burned, and a daily  nutritional analysis.  Plus it is free, so you can't beat that.  Anyway...I used the recipe analyzer feature on the Calorie Count site  and each serving is only 345 calories, and packed with vitamins.  Low in saturated fat and sodium, no cholesterol.  High in Iron, potassium, Vitamin A and Vitamin C.  But the best thing is my kids like it so it's a winner here...and it is cost friendly.  

Tagged

I've been tagged by Nikemom, so here we go.

The rules of this post: The rules are to list 6 things I value and 6 things I don't and then pass this award on to 6 people!

What I Value (in no particular order):

1. Laughing -especially at the little quirky things in life
2. Ice Cream - my favorite dessert
3. Security - having a family and husband I can rely on, a home I can pay for (I think)
4. The excitement of new adventures - I love to conquer something I've never done before or learn a new skill
5. Having time to read a book, or take a bath by myself
6. Being strong - mentally, emotionally, and physically

What I don't Value:

1. Politics - so tired of all the bullshit and not being able to trust anyone
2. Shopping - I hate to shop, sorry girls
3. People who take themselves too seriously...can't you make fun of yourself at all?
4. Sales calls...need I say more
5. Greed
6. Incompetency

As for tagging, I leave that open to anyone who wants to participate.  Have fun!

Time To Get My Shit Together

I've been a little blue lately...

Because of this, my muffin top hasn't disappeared, my house is a mess, I'm behind on my laundry,  I've been eating crappy and not exercising as regularly as I should, no blogging...all of this makes me more depressed.

So I just need to start doing stuff that I know will make me feel better.

• Make exercise and running a priority to get my endorphins going to improve my attitude.
• Quit eating candy corns (the truly evil part of Halloween).
  
• Try to get at least one household chore done each day.
• Hug and love my kids every day (easy peasy).

Thats enough for today...really I think that is all I can focus on right now.

Boss update:  things are actually going okay on this front considering.  It is an emotional roller coaster...somedays everyone is positive and hopeful...other days reality kicks our butt.  My boss is a lot stronger than he was a month ago after he had the reaction to his meds, and has really cut back on the pain meds.   He had very little side effects with his first round of chemo.  He has started losing his hair and leaves for Chicago on Sunday for a second round of Chemo.  My fingers are crossed that things go well in Chicago.

More Life

I have nothing fun to report...I feel guilty not posting, but on the flip side I feel guilty posting anything that seems frivolous at this point.

Here's the deal, last month my boss was diagnosed with lung cancer. The cancer has also spread into his liver and back...evidently it is a very fast spreading cancer. He has been given a year to live. He has never smoked, lives a very healthy lifestyle, a great family man that has been married to the same woman for 25 or so years, three great kids. He is 56, and by all accounts has had a great life and been very successful...but it is just so shocking still and things are moving fast.

I don't work for one of his companies, I work for him personally managing the financial aspects of the many companies he owns. This means I am having to take over on a lot of stuff and keep it running while he is in treatment, etc. Also, one of my jobs the past few weeks has been "training" his wife and kids on how the companies are structured and work so that they can understand things when he is gone. It has been tough...I don't like to cry at work, but I have been.

This week was bad...he had an adverse reaction to some of the meds and had to be admitted to the hospital for several days with internal bleeding, fluid in his lungs, a fever, and they thought his organs were shutting down. We thought we were going to lose him now, rather than in a year or so. Once they took him off those meds though he improved and he is coming home today.

When I first heard the diagnosis I thought if anyone can beat it he can, he is strong and healthy other than the cancer...and determined...but now I don't know.

So I haven't fallen off the planet...but really some days I wish I could just vegetate in front of the TV all day and not think about anything.

I appreciate any and all positive thoughts sent this way.

Life Changes

I've been abducted by aliens (sick with the flu) the last week, but that is no biggie...I will be back later today with my Gadget report.

Things are super duper heavy at work right now...in a bad way, not a busy way...and not layoffs. Just some really depressing personal stuff going on...sometimes life sucks. Lets just say I wish I didn't have to deal with this, but I'm sort of in the middle of it and need to step up.