Pumpkin Update

I realize you all must be having many sleepless nights, anxiously anticipating an update on our cute little surprise pumpkins we have wildly growing. Silly me for waiting so long to give you the update you've been waiting for! I had no idea I could become so attached to a pumpkin patch because as excited as I am to harvest these cuties and proudly display them by our front door, there's a small part of me that doesn't want it to end. I think I just took a silent vow to always plant a pumpkin patch no matter where we live. From this Fall forward.

Anyway, I can't believe how orange and bumpy and imperfectly fantastic they are. Isn't orange the most cheerful color? I can't be depressed when I look at them. That magnificent orange sucks every ounce of bad mood out of my system. There are less now then when they first started growing (gophers, maybe?), and some are still relatively small (but who doesn't love the runt of the litter?), but they've got oodles of character. They aren't the perfectly round, blemish-free pumpkins you find at the store, or even from an actual pumpkin patch farm, but there's something about them that make me want to stop and stare and smile with pride (not that I've had ANYthing to do with their growth and ability to flourish). And even though entering the pumpkin patch and checking on them means inviting hundreds of goat-head thorns to attack my shoes, they leave me no choice but to shower them with love and gratitude for being so gosh-darn adorable. Can you blame me?

 

 

A T-Shirt & A Toast

I have a security blanket. Except it's not a blanket, it's a green Buddha t-shirt from Old Navy (the official Buddha headquarters, of course) that I've had for 6 years. If you know me, then you definitely know this t-shirt- I've worn it just about a million times. My husband was the original rightful owner but he came to me one day and said, "Do you want this shirt? It shrunk and now it's too small for me". That's when I decided to make it official and adopt it, and we've been very close friends ever since. And honestly, ever since this shirt came into my life, I have a deeper understanding of why children bond and cling to comfort items such as blankets or pacifiers, because my Buddha shirt sure makes me feel safe and secure and loved and wonderful. And because it's green, it also reminds me of Christmas. Need I say more?

It's not that there's anything special about it at first (or second or third) glance- it's an unusually soft green cotton shirt. The unusually soft part is what drew me to it in the first place. It has an outline picture of a Buddha-like figure with the words "Happy Buddha" at the top, which- for this Catholic girl, doesn't have much significance for me other then the fact that it's kind of a cute little Buddha. And I have a difficult time saying no to anything that's green. Over the years it has faded and gotten thinner and thinner as I've washed it thousands of times and also insisted upon squeezing my bulging pregnant belly into it with BOTH pregnancies. Because when you're pregnant and miserable, you JUST NEED YOUR SECURITY BLANKET (shirt). I even owe staying somewhat caught up on my laundry to this shirt because heaven forbid I go two or three nights without it. There are a couple of unidentified stains. There is one very odd-shaped blood stain from the time I tried to squirt saline water up my stuffy nose but something went terribly wrong in the process and the next thing I knew blood was squirting out of my nose all over the place --and DANG IT! Blood on my Buddha shirt. For some, this would be reason enough to get rid of the tattered shirt altogether, but I'd like to think the imperfections give it character, so I keep hanging on.

A few weeks ago, we were celebrating my birthday with family and I was the lucky recipient of some very heartfelt toasts and kind words being tossed around. Although I loved every word that was said, I was holding my breath waiting for my husband's toast. (Side note: I don't think we toast our loved ones as often as we should. There should be a national Toast Those You Love Day). He waited for the right moment, raised his wine glass and said:

You know when you impulse buy something because it's the prettiest or the flashiest or has the most bells and whistles? Ever notice how it can quickly become a one-time thing and even more quickly lose its luster? If it's an item of clothing, you only wear it once maybe twice every couple of years for certain occasions.
That's not you.
You are comfortable, Nicole. You are always there for me, ready. Waiting. And at the end of day, when I am tired and looking forward to coming home, I am always excited and ready to put you on to get cozy and be comforted and loved by you. You are my Buddha t-shirt.

Apparently he thinks my imperfections give me character. And he keeps hanging on.

White Noise

I'm sure it's not completely uncommon, but for whatever reason I'm having a major case of Blogger's Block. I've just got nothing creative or exciting or hilarious or urgent to write about. It's not that life hasn't been full. Because I've got the fatigue, crazy hair and bags under my eyes to prove SOMEthing must be happening in this house. I'm just incredibly tired and have given all that I can give in a 24 hour period and when I look at my laptop, waiting for divine inspiration which usually comes one way or another, I'm left with silence and fatigue and an overwhelming desire to take a nap. Maybe it's because Ella is in teething hell, and therefore I am right there with her, begging for her to have mercy on me and my sleep requirements. (It's funny how tooth pain inevitably becomes unbearable during the wee hours of the morning). Or perhaps I'm just experiencing the bitter pain of withdrawal. It's not pretty. In any case, I began looking through many of the pictures I've taken the last couple of weeks and realized that perhaps this time I'll step aside and let the photos do the talking. Mama's tired. Mama needs a spa day.

Anyway, here we are. You can create your own narration to guide you through the photos, but in case you get confused, YES, that is me attempting to be a pirate with my siblings down below. What can I say? We go to a lot of theme parties.

Affirmations

Image via Wikipedia

This morning while Ben and I were watching Sesame Street together, two wonderful things happened. The first is this ridiculously hilarious skit that you must all treat yourselves to viewing (here's an enticement: it's entitled Desperate Houseplants). We've seen this many times before and always appreciate it, for different reasons of course. Ben gets a complete kick out of the fact that I am getting a complete kick out it. Until Ben came along, I hadn't seen much Sesame Street since I was a kid, so it's been a blast to see what they are doing on the show these days. I don't think this is dependent upon whether or not you have kids AND I do not think it's a matter of opinion. IT'S FUNNY! Also, if you're a fan of 30 Rock, then it's essential you check this one out, too. I think I've just added "Writer for Sesame Street" to my bucket list. What a bunch of geniuses.

The second great thing of this morning was when Ben turned to me at some point and said,

"Someday, I will grow up to be a Mom. Not a bad Mama, I will grow up to be a good Mama. Just like you."

Obviously, the moment was too precious to squelch it with explanations of how & why he can only ever be a daddy and never be a mommy. So I just nodded and smiled and kissed his chubby little cheek. Man oh man, I love that kid.

It's a Good Thing He's Cute Because There Sure Won't Be A Whole Lot Else To Stare At...

Image by dhammza via Flickr

"Babe, I think we should downgrade our satellite TV package," he says to me. "You know, go down to the cheaper package. Cut our bill in half".

Sounds like an okay idea in theory, right? We're all making sacrifices these days, and this one seems painless enough. So we'll downgrade! No biggie! We'll lose what?- 10 channels, right? Who cares, we don't need 14 sports channels , 20 home shopping channels and 8 history channels anyway! What's the big deal? Let's save money! Great idea, right?

Wrong. So completely wrong.

It all sounds like an okay idea until one does their research and discovers that satellite TV companies are not idiots, and they've spent millions of years (or at least several decades) learning how to manipulate the innocent consumer, and trick them into paying ridiculous amounts of money for 1,000 channels- 990 of which are absolute crap. And while downgrading would, in fact, cut our bill in half (apparently Dan did his research, too), we would also lose every fluff channel I've ever committed to and had strong feelings for over the years. Those fluff channels are the ones that ever so sweetly come to me in the evening, throw a lei around my neck, place a fruity drink with a paper umbrella toothpick in my hand, paint my toenails pink, gently fan my face and whisper, "come with us. We'll take you away from all your cares, your problems, your stress. Come with us, and reeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllaaaaaaaaaaax." I mean, what's a girl to do?And while we're on the subject, where is my satellite TV a la carte menu option? Anyone? You know... a little Bravo here, maybe a little Comedy Central there. Why does this not exist yet, and could someone please get on this?

When Dan laid this whole package-downgrade-business all out on the table the first time around, I'm pretty sure I laughed right there in his face. Me? Get rid of my treasured Top Chef? And Project Runway? And the secret dabbling I do in the world of Jon & Kate Plus 8? (Complete train wreck, and I can't not watch. What the heck happened to those people, anyway??! Those poor kids? And will someone please tell Kate that surely her hair scares animals and small children?) And don't even make me discuss losing my Stephen Colbert. Losing him means losing my main source for news. That's right, people. I prefer to get most of my news updates from The Colbert Report. SO WHAT?! I just can't be bothered with all that anger and violence and tragedy that the news otherwise bombards us with. Getting news from Stephen allows me to sleep at night AND avoid nightmares and biting my nails out of pure nervous anticipation for earthquakes or terrorists or the world to end. So when something works, you just go with it.

So naturally I kicked and screamed over this one. A grown woman throwing a temper tantrum is not something to be especially proud of- in fact, it was definitely not my finest moment. But there was much at stake here, and very little time for peaceful discussions, what with all this crazy talk that husband of mine was throwing around. And he was consistent- this was not something that would be swept under any rug, bringing it up oh....EVERY DAY. There was even talk about....get this....getting rid of the TV altogether! The nerve! The horror! But I held my ground. I was stubborn. I WAS NOT GOING TO LOSE THIS BATTLE! I was desperately trying to buy time. I'd respond with answers like, Oh, I'm just shopping around, babe. Trying to gather my facts.
OR,
Sweetie, I just really want to look into all of this in full detail. Give me a few more days to ponder.

But inside, I was panicking.

And then I woke up yesterday, and had an unusually rare (and completely unintentional) moment of clarity. Because, here's the thing: Dan doesn't ask much of me. Honestly, other then the occasional "can you please take my shirts to the dry cleaners", I don't know the last time he really really kept nagging me about anything with such conviction. And what it really boiled down to was....am I this much of a weakling? Have I become this dependent? A slave to the boob tube? Do a couple of cable television shows have such a hold on me that I can't even imagine dwelling- dare I say LIVING- in a world where they no longer exist? I'm a creative gal! What ELSE can I do with myself in the time slots that Top Chef and Project Runway have dominated for the last several years?

Wow, turns out there's lots of things I can be doing. Scrabble. More blogging. Working out. Baking. Organizing. Cleaning. Sewing. Corresponding. Make lists. Shop. Write in the kids baby books. Decorate. Read. Pray. Take a bath. Listen to music. Entertain. RELAX. Pillow talk with my husband. And by golly, he's cute! I might just need to stare at him for a little bit longer here to soak it all in...wow, it's really been a while since I've really looked at him. It's nice.

Or....I can just access & watch all of my lost shows online! PHEW! That was getting terrifying for a moment there! All is not lost after all.

As per usual, there is a bright side and shiny silver lining to all of this, fortunately: NO MORE STAR TREK! No more science fiction-y types of shows of any kind! Just thinking about not hearing Captain Kirk in the background is already rebuilding thousands of brain cells I've lost over the years. And no amount of beaming him up can bring him back to this house anytime soon.

You Had Me At Gorgonzola

I made a very tasty little spinach side dish last night, if I do say so myself. And of course I would never withhold this kind of information from you, my little ducklings, so let me give you the gist of what I did. But first, I should tell you that I am not usually a big fan of cooked spinach. (This is how you know it was a pretty amazing dish, without me coming right out and yelling it in your face.) I mean I don't dislike spinach or anything, and I know it's ridiculously good for you, but I usually prefer to eat my spinach in the form of a salad, maybe once every couple months. I just don't really think about spinach very often. Out of sight, out of mind. But good gracious, that Farmer's Market of ours has inspired me to do all sorts of things, and this turned out to be a very pleasant experiment.

Do it, you'll love it. I'll put my personal guarantee on that.


What I used:
1 bunch of spinach, rinsed and torn into large bite size pieces (and it's a good thing if it's still a little bit wet when you go to use it)
Unseasoned breadcrumbs (eyeball your measurement- it's really up to you. I probably used at least 1/2 cup, maybe more? Hard to tell...)
Olive oil
Toasted pine nuts
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
Crumbled gorgonzola
Salt & pepper

What I did:
Generously coat large saute pan with olive oil over medium heat. Add smashed garlic; stir it around and cook a few minutes until it's VERY aromatic and slightly golden brown and beginning to soften. Add breadcrumbs (which will absorb all the olive oil, so you may have to add a bit more), and stir. I just wanted to lightly toast the breadcrumbs and infuse them with all that garlic oil, so it only took a few minutes. Then I added large handfuls of spinach (maybe 2 at a time) and kept stirring it around until each addition cooked down (wilted). Kept doing this until all spinach had been added and incorporated. At this point, all your lightly toasted breadcrumbs and garlic should be mixed in nicely with your cooked spinach. Remove from heat.

Here's where the real fun began: season to taste with salt & pepper. While spinach is still warm, sprinkle gorgonzola crumbles on top. Toss to incorporate. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts, and serve. The gorgonzola will be all melty- soft and delicious.

That's all there is to it. Don't you just love how gorgonzola makes EVERYTHING taste better? That and bacon. Wait! Speaking of bacon, maybe that should get thrown in here, too! Experiment, have fun, keep me posted.