Blog

So, I wrote this post about three weeks ago and never posted it. What is wrong with me? I don’t know, but at least my toe is better. Also, I didn’t have a matching picture, so here are Charlie’s feet.

Have you guys seen Something’s Gotta Give? It’s not a bad movie, in an “I’m entertained but it’s clear that the woman who wrote this is spectacularly in love with herself,” kind of way.

There’s a section of the movie, however, that makes me want to slap somebody across the face. I’ll try not to spoil too much here, but toward the end there’s a montage of scenes in which Dianne Keaton sobs uncontrollably for days. This is no gentle weeping; it’s intensely exaggerated, semi-comical, animal-like sobbing. Completely unrealistic and an insult to the viewer’s intelligence, in my opinion.

Well, that was my opinion . . .

It’s been one of those weeks, you know? We’ve been crazy, crazy, crazy busy. Paul started a summer job this week, and nothing seems to be going my way. When things get this way, it’s not the really big stuff that seems so bad . . . it’s the little crap that just manages to create that final brain-exploding spark.

Yesterday, Charlie and I had an overall good time at the Children’s Museum. I was pretty interested in the new Wizard of Oz exhibit, so naturally Charlie had absolutely no plans to go upstairs and check it out. That’s fine, I’ll see it one of these times.
Anyway, after I got Charlie all strapped up and snacked out in his carseat, I got up, forgot something in the backseat, attempted to sit back down, and slammed my temple (and glasses) into the top of the car.

At least, I think that’s what happened. To be honest, I’m not really sure. All I know is that it hurt and I had had it, so it was time to sit down, shut the door, and cry.

Charlie stared at me like, “Dude, Mom.”

So, I recovered and went about my business. I was pretty sure that was meant to be the crappy icing on this not-awesome cake of a week . . . until I stubbed my toe stepping out of the shower this morning. The kind of toe-stub that makes it painful to put on your shoes. The kind of toe-stub that makes you think of that girl in high school who actually broke her toe by stubbing it on a chair.

One would think that would be the capper. One, however, should probably not be surprised when a half-full Nalgene bottle falls on the same toe you swear you broke this morning.

I straight-up Dianne Keatoned all up in this Mo.

It was a horrible mix of animal-like sobbing and exhausted almost-laughing. I felt like an idiot.

Even Charlie didn’t quite know how to react. You know that terrible concerned/hilarious feeling you get when someone you know hurts themselves? Like, you really hope they’re okay, but you can’t stop smiling? What is that? Am I the only one who experiences that?

Anyway, I must not be the only one, because Charlie kept saying “YoouOkay? YoouOkay?” with a little half-smile on his face the whole time.

Was I okay? Yeah, duh. I’m such a waaaahhh-pants. Was there a moral to this story? Not really. I just thought someone should know that my toe hurts, and that I’ll happily accept sympathy chocolate.

Let’s talk about May for a second.

May is a wonderful month to fill with wonderful things. School lets out, seniors graduate, and everyone and their dog wants to get married. (Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad my friends are getting married. We totally got married in May . . . I’m just tired.)

Like I said, all of these things are wonderful. Filling one single month with 75% of the world’s wonderful occasions, however, tends to put my brain into “nothing-but-survival” mode. We drive all around the state, eating crappy travel food, and we gorge ourselves on delicious wedding food. We deal with all of the end-of-the-school-year chaos immediately after getting home from said weddings on Sunday night. We cart toddlers all across town to parks and playgrounds because we don’t have backyards.

Okay, so maybe that’s a Bonk-specific example, but still.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, “Oh sweet peaches, June! I have never been happier to see a month in my life!”

The pile of dishes that has been a constant in our lives for about a month now is gone. I am miraculously sitting down at the computer to write a blog post, and we actually made dinner and ate at the table tonight. That feels nothing short of amazing over on my side of things.

Something on the To Do list that I posted last time was to meal-plan. Well, not only have I made a meal-plan, but I based it around seasonal veggies from the Farmer’s Market . . . and that hasn’t happened since last summer. I know I’ve got some friends who feel like they’re desperately grasping for new recipes, so I thought I’d post my first meal-plan of the summer. Am I going to stick to this and make this a regular post? That would sure be cool, but honestly I have no idea. I’m going to take heart in the fact that I’ve actually made a planand actually written a blog post. We’re going to call this a win. 🙂

I don’t like to schedule meals, but rather provide the week’s options. Sometimes Tuesday just doesn’t feel like Burger Night, you know? Here’s what I’ve got, along with all the ingredients I need for a grocery list:

Corned Beef and Veggies:
Corned beef, turnips, potatoes, carrots, onions

Falafel Salads:
Spinach/greens, Falafel mix, cucumber, Feta cheese, plain Greek yogurt, red onion, radish

Asparagus-Bacon Quiche:
Asparagus, bacon, eggs, milk, feta cheese, cheddar, flour, oil

Peanut Chicken Noodles:
Chicken breasts/thighs, frozen stir-fry veggies, baby bok-choy, thin whole wheat spaghetti, peanut butter, soy sauce, Sriracha, honey,

Steak and Roasted Veggies
Steak, beets

Garlic Scape/Basil Pesto Pasta & Steak
Garlic scapes, Basil, pistachios, parmesan cheese, olive oil, spaghetti, steak

It’s kind of a bare-bones list, but it seems to work pretty well for me. I’ve been keeping track of the things we eat in a Word document, so that I can just go back through and find all our recipes/ingredients in one place. Hopefully I can keep this up! If anybody wants a recipe for one of the above meals, let me know and I’ll get it to you.

Here’s to a more intentional Summer!

Okay, folks. School is out, we’re back from our small trip, and despite the fact that there are about 500 things going on in the month of May, I’m craving some structure.

Obviously, it’s been awhile since I’ve blogged . . . but since I doubt that anyone wanted to read the stress-themed crap that would have come out of my brain, I don’t feel all that bad about it!

This post will be a quickie. Just a list of goals, posted on the internet, to help me feel a bit more accountable.

1. Yoga, every day. Even if it’s just a quick, 15 minute session. How many hours are in a day? Can I find 15 minutes to calm down my brain and stretch out my body? I’m pretty sure I can.

2. Menu plan. I’M SO BAD AT THIS. I don’t know. That’s really all I’ve got . . . I just need to do it.

3. Start training for the Color Run! Seriously, Self. It’s coming up pretty quickly.

4. Day planning. When we sit down and figure out what we’re going to do/need to get done, our days end up being a lot more meaningful. This doesn’t mean we’re going pedal-to-the-metal all day long . . . it just means we don’t watch Star Trek all day.

5. Charlie’s baby book. This is terrible, but Charlie’s baby book never exactly came to fruition. I know some of you probably have your mouths hanging open in horror, but I swear, this summer, it’s getting done.

I’d better stop there. I’ve only just started feeling motivated . . . probably shouldn’t push it.

What about you guys? Do you have any goals? Or, better yet, tips for achieving all your goals? Lemme have ‘em!