Yummy summer pasta

While I had a wonderful (and much needed) pedicure this morning, the boys were off to the farmers market for produce. The bounty included asparagus, onion, zucchini, summer squash, and a yellow pepper. Y-U-M!

So we fired up the grill and came up with this.

Served with a tall glass of iced tea and a sprig of lime mint!

As you all know, I suck at exact recipes so here is how we did it:

The onion needs to go on the grill first, we wrapped it in foil with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. I peeled and cut it into wedges first so the spices can get in between. We grilled it for approximately 25 minutes.

We roasted the asparagus, snapped into about 1-2 inch pieces, at 400 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. To prep the asparagus, I tossed it with a little olive oil and some spices, then squeezed 1/2 a lime over the top.

We sliced the zucchini and summer squash into long thick slices, brushed it with a little olive oil, sprinkled spices on it and popped it on the grill for about 2-3 minutes per side. It was still crunchy and had beautiful grill marks thanks to YKW. The pepper went on the grill after removing the ribs and seeds.

We then minced finely some fresh rosemary, thyme, chives, basil, and flat leaf parsley.

We cooked and drained the pasta, threw the herbs in along with a little olive oil. Then we tossed in all of the vegetables.



YKW tossed in a little parmesan on his, but I had mine without and it was fantastic. All of the fresh herbs really added to the dish. The ratio of pasta to veggies was perfect too, there were more veggies than pasta by about 2:1 although the picture doesn't really reflect that.

Garden Update!

Look at how well everything is growing! The tomatoes are easily 3-4 inches taller, the same with Dave's red pepper. We've already used some of the herbs and the lettuce and we ate 2 yummy strawberries!

And the flowers are in bloom! I can't wait for the rose explosion that is going to happen soon.

Oh BABY!

I am sure that Stace will blog about her shower over on Hoping For a Miracle, but until then here is a little sneak preview. Mama is looking hott still (beyotch!) and she got TONS of adorable things for Gavin! He is indeed going to be a spoiled little boy according to Grandma, who is also totally ADORABLE and sweet as can be. And from the looks of ALL the pregnant** women at the shower, sweet Gavin is going to have loads of playmates.

**Please note, I was NOT one of the pregnant women... nor did I touch any of them for fear it might be catching!

Dear You Know Who, I'm really glad you didn't marry my sister.

I never thought I'd get married. Really. It's true. I was an UBER-commitment-phobe when I met Dave. Don't get me wrong, I thought he was a great guy. So great that I tried to hook him up with my sister... it is now a running joke in our family that he could have ended up with the good sister, but he's stuck with me.

Well, anywho, the reason I am writing this is because a couple weeks ago he left me this on the keyboard in the morning:

And he left work a bit early on Wednesday to pick up Finn from me since I was at cheerleading and it was really difficult to concentrate on the things I needed to concentrate on.

And he is an amazing "DA!" He is Finnegan's hero and he changes diapers too. He is so patient and kind with him.

He works really really hard to provide for us, so that I can stay home with the bug, Dexter, and the poodle.

He just goes above and beyond to be fricken awesome. I don't even mind his stupid puns or horrendous Sean Connery impression.

He once (when I was very pregnant), drove some salsa (that I had forgotten) downtown to my friend. Happily delivered it while we were having a girls night out, turned around and drove back home. Some of that *may* have been his love for DentaLori, but I'd like to think it's mostly because he loves me.

About a week ago, I found my journal from when I turned 25 which was before I had even met Dave. Contained within its pages, along with all of my quarterlife crisis angst, was a list of everything I wanted in a partner and he embodies each of these. How many people get to have their "perfect on paper" mate walk into their lives? Not many.

It's for all of these seemingly insignificant reasons that I love you more and more each day.

We suck.

For my local readers, we suck. Right here in black and white, we're #4 for the suckiest sucks that ever sucked. My question for our fair city is, what the hell are we going to do about this? I mean really, this is shameful.

Crackers are like crack

Don't allow this to happen to your children people! The wild eyes, the fixation, the cracker mouth... it's all a sign that your one year old has a problem.




I think we're going to have to take him to some sort of support group. YKW and I are dreading that we taught him to say cracker because he says it over and over and over and well... over again.

How does your garden grow?

Well, I'm finally catching up on last weekends plant fest with some pictures of our gardening extravaganza. Dave and I both love to cook so we always plant herbs, but this year we decided to go the extra mile and throw in a vege or two.

Alas, always with the best of intentions, we tend to go a bit overboard. We headed to the farmers market and scooped up lavendar, basil, apple mint, lime mint, plain ole mint, 3 rosemary plants, thyme, some gorgeous dill, and parsley. Then we got two varieties of heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, red peppers, hot peppers, and cucumbers for good measure. Then, we headed out to Keils with Lyndsey and Britt to get the hook up on strawberries, romaine lettuce, and cantaloupe. As if we needed anything else, Britt gave us two different varieties of pumpkin seeds. Oh, and have I mentioned my little experiment with growing potatoes in a garbage can?

We now have more invested in this little garden than in Finn's college education, so I am hoping it works out and we don't end up with a pile of bunny chewed veges, weeds, and broken dreams.

Luckily, we went the container garden route this time so we didn't have to do too much soil prep, but we're thinking that next year we're going to have a lot of work with this crap clay soil around these parts.

Wish us luck... and maybe post some gardening tips so we don't fuck this up too badly.

Dear God... Elvis has left the building.

The fun one has sent me a little package filled with big ideas. I told you she is fun, but this little post is going to show you. There really are no words, so I intend to show you in pictures. Firstly, you all know my love of surprise packages via snail mail. Secondly, in case you don't notice in the pictures, it is a book, but it comes with it's very own built in stand so as to ease it's use in the kitchen. Thirdly, personalization is key... the humor is an added bonus. Without further ado my friends, I present to you...

ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING... a gift from the fun one.

Wine me... dine me...

This is quite possibly going to be ours on Wednesday. We've been on a mad search for a new dining room table and chairs for months and months. We haven't had much luck, mostly because we're both insanely picky when it comes to big purchases. This one is right there in the running, we're just thinking about it for a couple days.

What I love about it?

• It is two toned black and natural medium wood, so it will go with the hardwood flooring in the dining room AND match our existing side table without looking matchy matchy.
• It's big enough to seat EIGHT! OMG, this is quite possibly the best thing about the table. I can have decent dinner parties now! Remember, I am going to single handedly bring back the candlelight supper as an homage to Hyacinth.
• It is counter height, which is a bit different than most tables.
• The chairs are comfy!

Man oh man, I've been a slacker.

Well, mostly just a blogging slacker. We've been insanely busy as of late.
This weekend alone...

1. We went to dinner with Oma (Dave's grandma).
2. We hit Costco.
3. We hit the farmers' market with Janet.
4. We hit the devil (Walmart) for loads of dirt and planters.
5. We planted and planted and planted our butts off... the container garden is (almost) complete.
6. We cleaned.
7. We hosted dinner and game night for Lynds & Britt.
8. I worked on oodles of cheerleading shit. I can't believe the season is starting next week! It seems like it just started.
9. We headed out to Swantucky to Keils market for MORE plants.
10. We went to lunch.
11. We went to Sam's Club.
12. Dave vacuumed out the trunk of the car, which was filled with potting soil from a broken bag or two.
13. We planted more. And more. And yet some more.
14. We cleaned more and did loads of laundry.

Whew. I am wiped OUT, but we still have some more little things to tie up before I finally get to crash for the night. And crash, I will. Believe me, Finnegan's gymnastics class is going to come awful early tomorrow morning.

I promise to be a better blogger. I'm not going to lie, it probably won't be every day, but it will be more often than once a week. :-)

Palette Generator

Check out this fun online tool. It takes ANY photo and turns it into a palette for you. It's great for decorating or just screwing around.

Happy Mother's Day & Happy Birthday Daddy O!

My dad and I have an ongoing competition about, well... pretty much EVERYTHING. We've had chocolate silk pie bakeoffs, meatloaf competitions, and cakes are by far our biggest competition. I will say that in the area of decorating, he has me beat by a mile... he can create a Dr Seuss character or a bouquet of flowers at the drop of a hat, and he's good at it. When it comes to taste though, I'm all over that. This is my highest cake to date and it was really really crazy good. It's a white cake, dyed blue with some ass kicking chocolate buttercreme frosting. It was dyed blue just to mix it up a little and I knew my dad would laugh when I cut into it, which he did.

In the market for a market?

Meet me at the market.... if you're from the area, you've heard this jingle a million times. The market is officially open for the season and there are tons of filled tables.

We headed over there on Saturday morning and actually found parking, you can certainly tell that it's just getting going for the season since it wasn't completely packed yet.

Finnegan loved smelling the fresh herbs. YKW loved the fresh brewed coffee. Emily found some gorgeous Mother's Day presents. I stocked up on the asparagus for my Dad's birthday dinner. And Steph got her pepper fix... and will be in peppers all summer long thanks to some fantastic looking plants.

Here is a fantastic article from the Daily Green on following the "localtarian" trend. Especially in the summer, check out your local farmers' market... it's worth it just for the freshest veggies around!

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

Finn Bob Square Pants!

Ok, that was my hommage to SpongeBob. Anywho, dear readers, I have been hella busy as of late and I have been letting the blog go by the wayside. So are several posts all in a day to tickle your fancy...

Firstly, Finn is, at our pediatricians urging, working on his letters so I am currently working on a photobook for him. We're taking pictures of him with lots of different objects, the above picture is going to be p is for pineapple. I've been doing a lot of reading at http://www.montessorimom.com/ also so we're trying to introduce letters all in lowercase and instead of telling him the name of the letter, we're introducing it as a sound. For example, instead of saying "ES" for the letter S, you introduce it as the "SSSSS" sound. It never even crossed my mind to do it that way. Weird, but apparently it makes it easier for them when they start reading.

Some days I miss you guys. A lot.

My three best girlfriends all live out of town. Memphis, Orlando, and Helena to be precise.

I'm lucky that I have three best girlfriends, some people don't even have ONE.

But it still stinks that they're all a million miles away. Oh sure, sure... there's the phone. And email. And snail mail. It's just not the same as sitting with a bottle of wine and laughing for hours, which inevitably happens when we're all together.

It's also hard to send a hug over a telephone wire. Or give the rolling eyes at the latest goofy thing they've done. Or to share with them the mom I am, something that is so natural for my friends here. I'd like to be able to share that piece of myself with the women who have known the "me" I was, before even Dave.

These girls know my every secret. My smoking self, my old flings, every up and down over 32 years. They stood right by my side at my marriage to Dave. They knew before most everyone, that I was pregnant with Finnegan.

So, dear readers, I'd like to introduce you to them...

Natalie has an infectious smile. She is renowned for blurting out absolutely insane phrases when she gets nervous.  Allow me to provide an example, no one under the age of 75 should ask the object of their affection to "cut a rug," especially when you are 22 and in a club with Short Dick Man blaring in the background. We met while I was cheating off of her in Pre-Calculus our junior year of high school. She is caring and giving and intelligent.

Jackie is the defender of the universe and she likes to fancy herself a badass. This usually means she's needing us to rescue her from picking the LARGEST man in the bar to pick a fight with, but we love her anyway. She once sent me a tape to Belgium of all of my favorite music and her talking to me for hours, just when I missed home the most and needed my friends. She is so thoughtful and beautiful and I can always count on her having my back.

Sarah is the fun one. Oh, we'd all like to think that WE were the fun one, but we're not. It's Sarah by a landslide. She is fearless, spontaneous, and has a knack for making us laugh so hard that we (and she) are crying. Just uttering Trump Tower, where she once got her shoe caught in an escalator and was surrounded by security guards and Jackie laughing hysterically, or the flashing incident for duck beads will send us all into a fit of laughter. This woman is strong, gorgeous, and hilarious. 

I know in an instant if I needed any one of them, they would be here. Hopping flights or in the car in seconds.

But there isn't any emergency, just a sense of longing for my girls to be here for dinner, some laughs, and hours of talking about who we were, about who we've become. I miss you Jackie, and Grace, and Nat. I hope that it isn't too long before we're all hanging out being our idiot selves again.

When you're complaining about your life...

Stop for a minute. Give this blog a read. And hug someone you love.

It sure made me give thanks for yesterday, even if Finnegan vommited, snotted, and (bath worthy) pooped on me. Poor little munchkin is getting over this bug quickly though thankfully.

http://www.mattlogelin.com/if-you-havent-been-here-before/

And this is advance warning of sadness, like crying at my computer sadness, so you are not obligated to read. It is also heartwarming.

Cinco de mayo with the killer of dreams.

There are no words really for the way we spent cinco de mayo... only pictures.

Muddy

Z and Pea "thong watch 2008"

Baby, I'd hop two rows just to meet you.

Oh where, oh where could my Jake be?

1 point nachos!

Two beers and little Huckleberry is on his way.

And last, but by far least, the killer of dreams and his beautiful wife.

Anderson's Market

1. Please excuse the crap cell phone pic, it was all I had available.
2. If you haven't been to Anderson's Market, get thee to King and Sylvania STAT.
3. The only downfall I see with the Market is that we always spend way more than we had intended. It usually takes place with YKW throwing items (sardines???) in the cart.
4. Where else can you find 6 different kinds of enchillada sauce? Oh, you need 12 different kinds of wraps for your sandwhiches? How about pastas and olives and artisan breads? Check. Check. Aaaaand check.
5. It's TAFFY season y'all. That's right. Taffy bins as far as the imagination can stretch. YKW and I didn't partake in the taffy, but we sure did in spirit. Mmmmmm taffy.
   

Picture show.

There are about half a million movies I'd like to see right now. Here they are in no particular order...

• Enchanted
• Dan in Real Life
• Sex and the City (May 30th!!!)
• Becoming Jane
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• He's Just Not That Into You (out in October!)
• Made of Honor
• Run Fat Boy Run
• Smart People
• What Happens in Vegas
• Wild Child
• Ocean's 13
• Jane Austen Book Club
• The Bucket List
• Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
• The Other Boleyn Girl
• 27 Dresses
• P.S. I Love You
• Evan Almighty
• Margot at the Wedding

Losing it. **

**Please note that the title of this post is shamelessly stolen from the brilliant LisaLou, whom I adore, even if she is a skinny running bitch.

So, this is me. And the me that I want to be. Well, be polite... say hi to both of these girls.

I've begun watching what I am eating for the 9 millionth time in my life. I'm trying, and that is all I can ask of myself. It was just like quitting smoking... and I've been happily smoke free for two and a half years now. Sometimes I can't even believe it myself. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life and also my proudest accomplishment to date.

So now, it's my weight. When I think of cheering Finnegan on at soccer games, I'm not the fat mom. It makes me irritated to know that we'd like another child and I'm not going to do that until I take this weight off... and honey, let me tell you, I'm not getting any younger so it has to be now.

Plus, as if there needs to be another thing, I've had a very motivational, gorgeous friend who has recently lost (almost) FIFTY pounds. What. an. accomplishment. I mean seriously, when was the last time you did something that difficult?

My husband wants me to be healthy. My family wants me to be healthy. I want to be healthy so I can be here for my grandchildren. You hear that YKW? We're going to be 85 year olds together, rocking on our front porch and finally your cantakerous old man ways will be acceptible. My grandmother is diabetic and my grandfather died of a heart attack. This isn't something I should be screwing around with.

But it's hard. And that is where you all come in. I need your help. Your encouragement. Your support. Your love and well wishes.

It's pronounced /ˈkɒmpoʊst/.

We are proudly composting! Here is the little bug, helping YKW put it together. We got a great deal on a compost bin at Sam's and so far so good...

And here is all of the brown matter we've added thanks to a garden clean out! Now we don't feel so bad about being slack asses about cleaning out the garden last fall. We were told to aim for a 3:1 ratio of brown to green. Seems pretty simple so far.

Have any composting hints and tips? Leave them in the comments!