Awhile back, J. made lobster bisque with the little bit of leftover lobster from our Christmas in August feast. We could have made broth with the leftover shells and I did give thought to doing that but instead, J. bought a 'carton' of fish stock and we used that instead.
The blue box looks pretty much identical to the box of almond milk also in the fridge and there have been many a morning when I have come perilously close to adding fish broth to my coffee instead of almond milk. I'd like to think I'd notice the difference in the taste immediately - but here's the part that scares me the most: I'm not sure I would. My 55 year old palate is way less refined than it used to be so I'm not sure it would register. And if it did, it would be so gross.
Those are the things you have to be aware of when you are trudging downstairs in the early morning hours barely awake.
Let's see. What else is happening? This was to be the first weekend in ages that we would be home...only it turns out J. has church music tomorrow so there goes our morning. And last night, we got an email from friends who are in San Francisco for the weekend and hoping we could get together. I'd really love to see them - but I'd also really love for them to give us more notice when they are visiting and want to spend time together. It's no easy trek for us to get to San Francisco and with J. playing music at church until after 11AM tomorrow, it will be tricky. We are leaning towards meeting them in Pleasanton - they can BART there from the city and we can drive - and we'll eat at PJ Changs or The Cheescake Factory. I put considerable effort into looking for unique dining places for an early dinner on Sunday but no restaurant in the area they are staying at in the city serves dinner before 5 - and I just can't be out so late and then deal with lots of traffic getting home on a work night. Us getting to San Fran is at least 3 hours round trip and that's if everything goes perfectly. So no. We can't do dinner. I hope we figure something out.
I left work early yesterday just feeling 'bad' - sinus-y stuff happening and have no idea what to do about it. It's likely a brewing infection and I know I should get to the doctor but it irks me to have the body of a three year old with constant ear stuff happening. I'm going to get out the neti pot today and see if that helps.
I took Thursday off and spent the morning culling stuff from the garage. Boxes and boxes of 'stuff' to donation so that felt great!! Plan to do it again this coming week 'cuz I'm off most of Wednesday plus Thursday and Friday - trying to use carryover days. I shouldn't be off - but oh well. We had one day this past week with no internet - a construction crew on Hwy. 99 cut through the fiber cable and took out many county offices of ed and their surrounding districts. It worked out 'OK' 'cuz I spent the day cleaning out files and getting my desk back in order and that 8 hours of organizing wouldn't have happened without the outage.
The wedding we attended last Saturday in Sacramento was lovely - fun to see family. My favor had the winning dot on it - so we brought home the centerpiece - a fish bowl (that had floating lilies in it) along with a beta fish. H. named him Bowzer - I was going for something classier like Bentley - and he's living on our breakfast counter. He's making bubble nests like crazy, which the books say is a sign he's happy - though mateless. H. wants to take him to his room but I'm enforcing the 'no liquids in rooms with carpet' rule against his wishes. I do a lot of things against his wishes but oh well.
I did get a great set of photo booth pics with my sweet son and love them so much I wish I could get them enlarged. The last one has his sweet head on my shoulder and it's a perfect pic - and when people see it, they are so 'ahhh....how sweet'. Yep, he is.
Haven't heard much from son # 1 and that's typical. As the mom, my role is to remind and fret and he hates that. Though I hate noticing that he's already dipped into the savings he just added to his account via selling some of his stock - he paid us back in full (which our savings account appreciated greatly) and what was left went to his savings. Which he's living on - and no matter how much I remind him that it's not savings if you view it as usable for any purpose , he still spends.
And he wants to buy a brand new Ford F150 truck. Yeah, that's prudent. You can't live on what you make as it is so add a $400+ car payment to the mix. Heck, the payment for my Mariner was $700 for six years - I can't imagine how much a truck payment will be.
I'm the mom. So he doesn't stay in touch with me much and that's OK. I love him with all my heart and know he will figure things out on his own in his own time. It's the way growing up works.
Fresh honeydew melon, coconut milk yogurt and a piece of toast for breakfast this morning.
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Pretty Much Everyone
The list of GOP Presidential candidates continue to amaze. Basically, every one's running. Anyone can run, apparently. Anyone. It's a free-for-all of know it alls who know nothing and it would be amusing if it wasn't so scary.
Donald Trump is the leading candidate. In 100 years when this blog is archived and 'discovered', they won't know the significance of that statement - or maybe they will (because the history books will tell). If he wins, I can't imagine what will happen to this country. He's a buffoon. He's so ill-equipped to be President, it's laughable...except he's in the lead. There is no more telling statement about the status of the Great Old Party than that. I thought things couldn't possibly be any worse for the party after the Palin debacle...but I was wrong.
And I know a lot of die-hard Republicans who voted for Obama because Palin put them over the edge.
So maybe Trump is a 'good thing'. Maybe he'll drive Republicans to voting Democrat in droves. Except today in some Town Hall meeting somewhere, an ignorant bigot in the crowd opined that Muslims are dangerous; Obama is a Muslim and not an American citizen - and Trumps response was 'we'll look into a lot of things'. Really? Even McCain had the guts to set someone straight - but Trump? He's fine with people being overtly racist. He'll look into it. And I can't get over that response.
It's sad. Just so sad. I come home every night and beg J. to just shut all the crap off....'cuz I don't want to hear any of it. (J. watched the entire three hours of debates last night).
Yesterday, in a moment of total madness, I came perilously close to purchasing two tickets back to Paris in March. The fares are really good. But I just can't do it - 'cuz I remember how totally exhausted I was when we got home and how sick I ended up for two weeks plus....and I fear that will happen again, so I just can't do it. Today, I realized that it's because we've been making the trips long - if you're flying all the way to Paris, you lean towards staying more nights - and maybe it's too much. And we could spend the money on the house - interior painting is needed. I fear that, too - 'cuz there's a lot of stuff here that would need to be taken down and put back up and/or packed up and then put back - and that feels exhausting, too. But the woodwork really needs attention - 15 years is showing it's age and we still haven't painted the new stairs riser.
So we didn't purchase tickets and the only planned trip is Cancun in a little over a month. Neither of us can wait for the sand between our toes, the chaises awaiting us every morning, umbrella drinks and beers and fresh tortillas daily! And naps. I plan to take lots of naps.
This weekend, we head to Sacramento for a family wedding. We've agreed to take two cars on Saturday - J. can stay as long as he wants to visit with family (even spend the night if he wants) and H. and I can come back home after the wedding festivities are over. Most of the family in attendance is traveling to attend and they are staying at a hotel near the venue - but we're within an hour or so drive so we're not staying. And we're not kenneling Chloe so H. and I will come home.
And on the subject of H., he just got a 96% on his hardest, 'biggest' class - he is kicking serious butt in the academic department these days. He said (just now) 'High School was pretty much not caring'. And he sure is showing what he can do when he cares. He's been keeping up with his homework and reading; studied over the last three days for the test and his efforts really paid off. He is a really smart young man! and we're so proud of him. And more importantly, he's proud of himself, which is a joy to see.
Donald Trump is the leading candidate. In 100 years when this blog is archived and 'discovered', they won't know the significance of that statement - or maybe they will (because the history books will tell). If he wins, I can't imagine what will happen to this country. He's a buffoon. He's so ill-equipped to be President, it's laughable...except he's in the lead. There is no more telling statement about the status of the Great Old Party than that. I thought things couldn't possibly be any worse for the party after the Palin debacle...but I was wrong.
And I know a lot of die-hard Republicans who voted for Obama because Palin put them over the edge.
So maybe Trump is a 'good thing'. Maybe he'll drive Republicans to voting Democrat in droves. Except today in some Town Hall meeting somewhere, an ignorant bigot in the crowd opined that Muslims are dangerous; Obama is a Muslim and not an American citizen - and Trumps response was 'we'll look into a lot of things'. Really? Even McCain had the guts to set someone straight - but Trump? He's fine with people being overtly racist. He'll look into it. And I can't get over that response.
It's sad. Just so sad. I come home every night and beg J. to just shut all the crap off....'cuz I don't want to hear any of it. (J. watched the entire three hours of debates last night).
Yesterday, in a moment of total madness, I came perilously close to purchasing two tickets back to Paris in March. The fares are really good. But I just can't do it - 'cuz I remember how totally exhausted I was when we got home and how sick I ended up for two weeks plus....and I fear that will happen again, so I just can't do it. Today, I realized that it's because we've been making the trips long - if you're flying all the way to Paris, you lean towards staying more nights - and maybe it's too much. And we could spend the money on the house - interior painting is needed. I fear that, too - 'cuz there's a lot of stuff here that would need to be taken down and put back up and/or packed up and then put back - and that feels exhausting, too. But the woodwork really needs attention - 15 years is showing it's age and we still haven't painted the new stairs riser.
So we didn't purchase tickets and the only planned trip is Cancun in a little over a month. Neither of us can wait for the sand between our toes, the chaises awaiting us every morning, umbrella drinks and beers and fresh tortillas daily! And naps. I plan to take lots of naps.
This weekend, we head to Sacramento for a family wedding. We've agreed to take two cars on Saturday - J. can stay as long as he wants to visit with family (even spend the night if he wants) and H. and I can come back home after the wedding festivities are over. Most of the family in attendance is traveling to attend and they are staying at a hotel near the venue - but we're within an hour or so drive so we're not staying. And we're not kenneling Chloe so H. and I will come home.
And on the subject of H., he just got a 96% on his hardest, 'biggest' class - he is kicking serious butt in the academic department these days. He said (just now) 'High School was pretty much not caring'. And he sure is showing what he can do when he cares. He's been keeping up with his homework and reading; studied over the last three days for the test and his efforts really paid off. He is a really smart young man! and we're so proud of him. And more importantly, he's proud of himself, which is a joy to see.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Blurry
The past few weeks seem like a blur. I'm spending the morning attempting to clean my desk and am unearthing things that I should have taken care of awhile ago. Phone bill is late (paid now but a little late); never wrote the check for the pest guy; and we can't find the invitation for the wedding we are attending next Saturday. I've looked pretty much everywhere and so has J. and it's MIA. Maybe made it's way into the recycle bin accidentally? We will have to reach out to other attendees and confess our ineptness 'cuz we have no idea what time or where to go exactly -
An update to Post - AZ: I omitted my cousin in the mention of 'joy' items in the trip and I shouldn't have 'cuz we had a great time. It's just that there wasn't much 'us' time and the drama that always ensues on my side of the family complicated things more than I had anticipated. That says a lot 'cuz I knew there would be issues - always are. I messaged her and just said I was sorry for anything I may have done that upset her and she quickly wrote back and said she could have written pretty much the same message - we spent the last 18 hours of our time together walking on eggshells - something giving each of us the feeling things were amiss. They weren't. We need another vacation together and we're going to work on making that happen at some point.
I still feel raw and damaged about the weekend and the reality of all the things that play into it are hard to grapple with. And always will be. It's hard to feel like you just have to continue to self-protect over and over. That's what it is - but it's hard.
On a whim yesterday, I headed to a casino I haven't visited in a long time - had a blast. Tons of new (to me) slots and I played a really long time on their money. I hit a really good win towards the end and should have left but kept playing - and lost. But it was a fun day and I returned with money still in hand so that's good.
Today is J.'s no food day and it's hard. He doesn't want me to fix chili dogs for dinner and I'm thinking 'how will I do that since we need to eat even though you can't'. Mine was in April so I remember how hard it is..this time tomorrow, we'll be at the hospital and home soon after with him able to eat anything and everything.
The sky is overcast with smoke - there are wild fires all around us and the smoke haze has been increasing day after day. It's scary to have so many areas on fire simultaneously - man power is limited and there's not a lot of water to use to fight fires. (I don't think that's an issue but I do wonder about it). Some injuries and loss of structures (including an entire town which has suffered a devastating fire) but no deaths. Praying they can get the blazes under control soon.
I'd better get back to searching for the invite...and paying bills...and filing stuff. And then upstairs to unpack my suitcase and get things organized for the week. I'm off tomorrow but the rest of the week will be busy.
To my cousin S.: you are one of the best friends I have ever (and will ever) have. I love you and am sorry the ending of the weekend was weird.
An update to Post - AZ: I omitted my cousin in the mention of 'joy' items in the trip and I shouldn't have 'cuz we had a great time. It's just that there wasn't much 'us' time and the drama that always ensues on my side of the family complicated things more than I had anticipated. That says a lot 'cuz I knew there would be issues - always are. I messaged her and just said I was sorry for anything I may have done that upset her and she quickly wrote back and said she could have written pretty much the same message - we spent the last 18 hours of our time together walking on eggshells - something giving each of us the feeling things were amiss. They weren't. We need another vacation together and we're going to work on making that happen at some point.
I still feel raw and damaged about the weekend and the reality of all the things that play into it are hard to grapple with. And always will be. It's hard to feel like you just have to continue to self-protect over and over. That's what it is - but it's hard.
On a whim yesterday, I headed to a casino I haven't visited in a long time - had a blast. Tons of new (to me) slots and I played a really long time on their money. I hit a really good win towards the end and should have left but kept playing - and lost. But it was a fun day and I returned with money still in hand so that's good.
Today is J.'s no food day and it's hard. He doesn't want me to fix chili dogs for dinner and I'm thinking 'how will I do that since we need to eat even though you can't'. Mine was in April so I remember how hard it is..this time tomorrow, we'll be at the hospital and home soon after with him able to eat anything and everything.
The sky is overcast with smoke - there are wild fires all around us and the smoke haze has been increasing day after day. It's scary to have so many areas on fire simultaneously - man power is limited and there's not a lot of water to use to fight fires. (I don't think that's an issue but I do wonder about it). Some injuries and loss of structures (including an entire town which has suffered a devastating fire) but no deaths. Praying they can get the blazes under control soon.
I'd better get back to searching for the invite...and paying bills...and filing stuff. And then upstairs to unpack my suitcase and get things organized for the week. I'm off tomorrow but the rest of the week will be busy.
To my cousin S.: you are one of the best friends I have ever (and will ever) have. I love you and am sorry the ending of the weekend was weird.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Post AZ
Survived the trip to Arizona and that's saying something.
The Grand Canyon was spectacular and sharing the awe with B. and J. was great. Time with my aunt was lovely. The cabin was beautiful, peaceful and quiet and I did a decent job disconnecting. Thunder and lightening storms nightly and on the last day we were there, it just poured buckets for a good hour. One lightening strike so close that the thunder shook the house and was the most intense I've felt in my life. It's a really beautiful 'camp' and it was fun to be back there. It's changed a lot since we last visited (we think the kids were 2 and 4 when we were last there).
There was plenty of drama that left me feeling gutted and depressed. Much I could say but won't 'cuz it won't change a thing. At one point I thought 'OK, time for more therapy'. Biting my tongue almost in half on a regular basis.
It is what it is - and what it is is something I have no intention of doing again anytime soon. I know that's a strong statement but it's how I feel. Spending a ton of money to feel bad most of the weekend is not my thing. It feels like punishment vs. down time and life is hard enough without adding 'stuff' to it that makes it harder.
We barely made our plane out of Oakland on Thursday morning - hit traffic on every freeway and then when we entered onto 880 North thinking 'only a few more exits - we will make it', we realized that a garbage truck had dropped it's load all over multiple lanes of the freeway. If not for the amazing parking guy who followed us to our car with a minivan (so it was just us in the car and no other stops) and the curbside check in lady who said 'you guys are really late' but quickly tagged everything with 'LATE CHECK-IN' tags [bright yellow], tossed them on a rolling cart and got a guy to rush them to the plane, we wouldn't have made it. We all had to sit in the middle seats (we were the last folks on the plane) and wasted the money we paid for 'early boarding' but we got there! And so did our luggage!
I was nervous about the drive home but we made it in plenty of time for the board meeting I promised my boss I would be back for. It was a long day but it was survivable and I am so happy to be home.
I have a doctor appointment tomorrow afternoon because I had a sinus-ear thing for the entire trip and I'm still not feeling great. Not sure what my weekend holds but hoping I'm not going to be in bed 'cuz there's a ton of stuff to do.
I'm renewing my focus on 'us'. The people in this house (and the one who doesn't live here currently but used to) who bring me constant joy. Skipping on things that don't bring me joy. Less computer time. Less Facebook. More reading. More projects. More gardening. It will do my heart good to remind myself daily that the amazing people in my immediate household hold the key to my sanity and my heart and I want to focus and celebrate them and us as a family. We aren't perfect - far from it - but we love each other and stick together like glue. Who could ask for more than that?
The Grand Canyon was spectacular and sharing the awe with B. and J. was great. Time with my aunt was lovely. The cabin was beautiful, peaceful and quiet and I did a decent job disconnecting. Thunder and lightening storms nightly and on the last day we were there, it just poured buckets for a good hour. One lightening strike so close that the thunder shook the house and was the most intense I've felt in my life. It's a really beautiful 'camp' and it was fun to be back there. It's changed a lot since we last visited (we think the kids were 2 and 4 when we were last there).
There was plenty of drama that left me feeling gutted and depressed. Much I could say but won't 'cuz it won't change a thing. At one point I thought 'OK, time for more therapy'. Biting my tongue almost in half on a regular basis.
It is what it is - and what it is is something I have no intention of doing again anytime soon. I know that's a strong statement but it's how I feel. Spending a ton of money to feel bad most of the weekend is not my thing. It feels like punishment vs. down time and life is hard enough without adding 'stuff' to it that makes it harder.
We barely made our plane out of Oakland on Thursday morning - hit traffic on every freeway and then when we entered onto 880 North thinking 'only a few more exits - we will make it', we realized that a garbage truck had dropped it's load all over multiple lanes of the freeway. If not for the amazing parking guy who followed us to our car with a minivan (so it was just us in the car and no other stops) and the curbside check in lady who said 'you guys are really late' but quickly tagged everything with 'LATE CHECK-IN' tags [bright yellow], tossed them on a rolling cart and got a guy to rush them to the plane, we wouldn't have made it. We all had to sit in the middle seats (we were the last folks on the plane) and wasted the money we paid for 'early boarding' but we got there! And so did our luggage!
I was nervous about the drive home but we made it in plenty of time for the board meeting I promised my boss I would be back for. It was a long day but it was survivable and I am so happy to be home.
I have a doctor appointment tomorrow afternoon because I had a sinus-ear thing for the entire trip and I'm still not feeling great. Not sure what my weekend holds but hoping I'm not going to be in bed 'cuz there's a ton of stuff to do.
I'm renewing my focus on 'us'. The people in this house (and the one who doesn't live here currently but used to) who bring me constant joy. Skipping on things that don't bring me joy. Less computer time. Less Facebook. More reading. More projects. More gardening. It will do my heart good to remind myself daily that the amazing people in my immediate household hold the key to my sanity and my heart and I want to focus and celebrate them and us as a family. We aren't perfect - far from it - but we love each other and stick together like glue. Who could ask for more than that?
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Lazy Saturday
I slept in past 8AM this morning and here it is approaching noon and I feel like I could easily sleep another 9 hours. I'm not at work yet (and I should be) so now I'm rationalizing how I could still go in a bit today and then work in the morning tomorrow. We have a birthday party with friends tonight - otherwise, I'd just be planning to work into the evening.
I am so social-commitment phobic...a rare invite for an evening out, meeting new people and hanging out with adults - but I'm wishing we weren't going. I know it will be fun...but so would a quiet evening at home.
It will be fine. We will go, have fun....
B. just made one of his famous breakfast burritos and (ingenious and frugal!) he used leftover scalloped potatoes in them - delicious!! He 'crisps' up the burrito and it's so yummy!
Mailing off the check for Cancun this morning - all that's left to pay for is the cash we take with us and the (hopefully minimal) credit card bills when we get home. We do tend to just use cash and our eating out one meal a day usually keeps us pretty on track. I can't wait for being beach lazy - heading to the chaise lounge around 10AM, lunch on the beach noonish and then back to our condo in time to shower and change for dinner. Day after day after day...nine nights total!!
Alright - I am showering and heading out. H. needs to shop for school supplies sometime this weekend - he needs to find a binder that will fit in his backpack and also get a couple spiral notebooks, a new scientific calculator, and a bouquet of sharpened pencils. (Guess the movie!) I love shopping for school supplies so would sure like to wedge in taking him - tomorrow evening is a Jackson event so I will be heading up around 2:30ish tomorrow until late in the evening. Fingers crossed it's another fun night.
Busy weekend makes me even more grateful for a quiet, lazy Saturday morning with my peeps. And Chloe.
I am so social-commitment phobic...a rare invite for an evening out, meeting new people and hanging out with adults - but I'm wishing we weren't going. I know it will be fun...but so would a quiet evening at home.
It will be fine. We will go, have fun....
B. just made one of his famous breakfast burritos and (ingenious and frugal!) he used leftover scalloped potatoes in them - delicious!! He 'crisps' up the burrito and it's so yummy!
Mailing off the check for Cancun this morning - all that's left to pay for is the cash we take with us and the (hopefully minimal) credit card bills when we get home. We do tend to just use cash and our eating out one meal a day usually keeps us pretty on track. I can't wait for being beach lazy - heading to the chaise lounge around 10AM, lunch on the beach noonish and then back to our condo in time to shower and change for dinner. Day after day after day...nine nights total!!
Alright - I am showering and heading out. H. needs to shop for school supplies sometime this weekend - he needs to find a binder that will fit in his backpack and also get a couple spiral notebooks, a new scientific calculator, and a bouquet of sharpened pencils. (Guess the movie!) I love shopping for school supplies so would sure like to wedge in taking him - tomorrow evening is a Jackson event so I will be heading up around 2:30ish tomorrow until late in the evening. Fingers crossed it's another fun night.
Busy weekend makes me even more grateful for a quiet, lazy Saturday morning with my peeps. And Chloe.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Not Looking
You know we're in for a wild ride when your financial planner sends an email (unprompted by any questions from us directly) reminding us that our portfolios are balanced to withstand this kind of market craziness.
I can't help noticing 'cuz I downloaded our Quicken file as I do every couple of days and yowza! the change to our bottom line is hard not to notice.
I trudge off to work dutifully...and just a little grateful that I am still working 'just in case'.
Meetings today and tomorrow that are keeping me from year-end stuff so I feel untethered and stressed. I know it will get done - it has to get done - but I'm leaving for work shortly (1/2 hour later than I planned but oh well) and it's just 6:30AM here. 10+ hour days are getting old and so are weekends full of work...but soon, I'll be back to normal. I hope.
I look forward to coming home to a clean house!! B. did a fish fry again last night (for just him, apparently, 'cuz our menu for the evening was leftovers) and the kitchen was such a wreck...and now smells like fish.
Adios, amigos. Vamos a trabajo. (Practicing for Cancun!).
I can't help noticing 'cuz I downloaded our Quicken file as I do every couple of days and yowza! the change to our bottom line is hard not to notice.
I trudge off to work dutifully...and just a little grateful that I am still working 'just in case'.
Meetings today and tomorrow that are keeping me from year-end stuff so I feel untethered and stressed. I know it will get done - it has to get done - but I'm leaving for work shortly (1/2 hour later than I planned but oh well) and it's just 6:30AM here. 10+ hour days are getting old and so are weekends full of work...but soon, I'll be back to normal. I hope.
I look forward to coming home to a clean house!! B. did a fish fry again last night (for just him, apparently, 'cuz our menu for the evening was leftovers) and the kitchen was such a wreck...and now smells like fish.
Adios, amigos. Vamos a trabajo. (Practicing for Cancun!).
Sunday, August 23, 2015
7th? Really?
I just said to my sweet husband 'have you looked at the living room lately?' and he replied 'you mean our 7th bedroom?'. I would be laughing hysterically if it weren't so true - Typhoon B. has claimed that room as his own and it's a cross between a bedroom and a landing zone. Stuff scattered everywhere - including old textbooks that we think he removed from a backpack he decided to use for something. Plus camp chairs, etc. from either fishing or the tailgate party at the Oakland A's game yesterday. Or both. It's looking pretty shabby and I notice it most when I get up to go to the bathroom in the night and see all these 'unidentifiable' things (in the dark). Typhoon B. is everywhere.
I worked most of the day yesterday and accomplished a lot - back to do more today. Hoping for a final wrap up on the nuts and bolts of the report and then will spend some time trying to make sense of it all. The amount of funds that 'fall out' of our budget annually is always a challenge and this year is exceptionally amazing - the new initiatives we've planned haven't always happened the way we'd hoped so...it's going to require some careful explaining. I booked time with my boss tomorrow - and that action - the actual booking a meeting with him to talk through where we ended up - requires prep as well. I could leave it to chance - we do see each other all the time off and on throughout the day - but there are some things that need to be decided about some of the mechanics of closing out the year and I can't make those calls in a vacuum. Well, I could - but I won't. Team approach is always best.
Tonight, we are feasting on prime rib and lobster tails - a celebratory evening since we know B. won't be home for Christmas. I splurged on lobster tails from Maine - I know - you're thinking 'geez, they have way too much money if they can afford to fly in lobster tails'..but I just happened to see an email about a sale and procured the lobster for 55% off. It wasn't inexpensive - more than Costco lobster - but these tails are HUGE and fresh frozen off the boat - so the celebration was reason enough to splurge. We don't eat this way very often. We'll be back to sloppy joes and orange chicken after the feast.
Have I ever mentioned that my Dad worked as a food broker? He worked for a very large frozen food company that supplied high-end restaurants with food. This was in the days when 'frozen food' was in it's infancy. We frequently had steak. Always had luxury desserts (I can still taste the raspberry 'ice' (sorbet) that he would bring home). I didn't know the other kids in the neighborhood didn't eat steak very often. So I guess I acquired my love of food from him.
J. recently requested 'more latitude' about what to cook for dinners which I'm fine with. He does most of the shopping - however, I still wake up daily and have to ask 'what are we having for dinner tonight' and the answer is silence. So I nudged (as only a wife can) about 'doesn't do any good to shop for food if you aren't making a plan of what we're going to eat. You said you wanted to 'decide' so do it'. So he made an inventory of what we have on hand and will hopefully be able to stick to a menu plan for a week or two.
Our budget is like most family budgets - I get paid once a month and J.'s checks come in mid-month (Social Security) and the first of the month (his pensions) and towards the end of the month, we are low on cash for groceries. There's plenty of money - but we don't want to dip into savings to buy bread, you know? 'Cuz savings is there for longer term than milk and eggs. Having B. home adds 'stress' to the food budget - not to mention feeding H. . I dream of it just being 'us' someday so we can watch our food budget shrink drastically.
For now, I work ...and will continue to work for the foreseeable future - and I'm slowly wrapping my head around the number 7. Seven more years. Sounds like forever. But I hope I can do it.
The stock market dropped like a rock this past week - and I'm relieved to say we're only down around 3-4% - but those drops sure are scary. J. didn't want to look - but I said 'we have to'. It could have been worse. :-)
OK - off to the Sunday races. Which are a lot like the M-F races. Just a lot quieter.
I worked most of the day yesterday and accomplished a lot - back to do more today. Hoping for a final wrap up on the nuts and bolts of the report and then will spend some time trying to make sense of it all. The amount of funds that 'fall out' of our budget annually is always a challenge and this year is exceptionally amazing - the new initiatives we've planned haven't always happened the way we'd hoped so...it's going to require some careful explaining. I booked time with my boss tomorrow - and that action - the actual booking a meeting with him to talk through where we ended up - requires prep as well. I could leave it to chance - we do see each other all the time off and on throughout the day - but there are some things that need to be decided about some of the mechanics of closing out the year and I can't make those calls in a vacuum. Well, I could - but I won't. Team approach is always best.
Tonight, we are feasting on prime rib and lobster tails - a celebratory evening since we know B. won't be home for Christmas. I splurged on lobster tails from Maine - I know - you're thinking 'geez, they have way too much money if they can afford to fly in lobster tails'..but I just happened to see an email about a sale and procured the lobster for 55% off. It wasn't inexpensive - more than Costco lobster - but these tails are HUGE and fresh frozen off the boat - so the celebration was reason enough to splurge. We don't eat this way very often. We'll be back to sloppy joes and orange chicken after the feast.
Have I ever mentioned that my Dad worked as a food broker? He worked for a very large frozen food company that supplied high-end restaurants with food. This was in the days when 'frozen food' was in it's infancy. We frequently had steak. Always had luxury desserts (I can still taste the raspberry 'ice' (sorbet) that he would bring home). I didn't know the other kids in the neighborhood didn't eat steak very often. So I guess I acquired my love of food from him.
J. recently requested 'more latitude' about what to cook for dinners which I'm fine with. He does most of the shopping - however, I still wake up daily and have to ask 'what are we having for dinner tonight' and the answer is silence. So I nudged (as only a wife can) about 'doesn't do any good to shop for food if you aren't making a plan of what we're going to eat. You said you wanted to 'decide' so do it'. So he made an inventory of what we have on hand and will hopefully be able to stick to a menu plan for a week or two.
Our budget is like most family budgets - I get paid once a month and J.'s checks come in mid-month (Social Security) and the first of the month (his pensions) and towards the end of the month, we are low on cash for groceries. There's plenty of money - but we don't want to dip into savings to buy bread, you know? 'Cuz savings is there for longer term than milk and eggs. Having B. home adds 'stress' to the food budget - not to mention feeding H. . I dream of it just being 'us' someday so we can watch our food budget shrink drastically.
For now, I work ...and will continue to work for the foreseeable future - and I'm slowly wrapping my head around the number 7. Seven more years. Sounds like forever. But I hope I can do it.
The stock market dropped like a rock this past week - and I'm relieved to say we're only down around 3-4% - but those drops sure are scary. J. didn't want to look - but I said 'we have to'. It could have been worse. :-)
OK - off to the Sunday races. Which are a lot like the M-F races. Just a lot quieter.
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