Final Wedding Post

Well, as you know, a mother typically gets put at the bottom of the list so my desire to watch the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday morning was delayed because other people (Nate & Lee) and things (breakfast, errands) come first. I ended up watching most of the footage yesterday afternoon during Nate's nap and at the end of dinner time.

I will only add these comments to the overwhelming amount of commentary already on the internet:

* When William and Harry drove away from Clarence House for the church, I cried. I couldn't help it. It doesn't seem that long ago that they were little boys walking behind their mother's coffin. I shed happy tears for them. They looked so grown up and so relaxed on this joyful occasion. Don't we all feel maternal toward these two??

* Harry - your mischievousness is refreshing. Can't wait for your future wedding. PS - love your messy hair.

* LOVED the maple trees in the church. Wish they could stay there. Beautiful.

* Teeny bit disappointed that Kate didn't wear her hair up in a chignon but her hairstyle seemed to suite her.

* Fashion: Sad for Allister McQueen that he missed out on this exciting day. Loved that Kate's mother wore Diana's favorite designer, Catherine Walker. Sad that Catherine Walker missed out on this exciting day. Baffled by Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.....ugh. What were they thinking??

* Two kisses on the balcony. Awesome. He should have dipped her. Women everywhere would have swooned.

* Dear ABC: I get it - the Beckhams are cool but did you have to spend so much time talking about them while other equally interesting people walked by? And, Barbara Walters - you made me wish I had taped BBC instead.

* Nice touch with the Aston Martin. Made William look a little like James Bond ("Windsor. William Windsor.") And here's what I just read about the car (on loan to William from Prince Charles): "the prince {Charles}, who is a respected environmental campaigner, converted the car in 2008 to run on 100% bioethanol fuel distilled from surplus wine." You go, Chuck!

And with that, my royal appetite has been sated. And least until their baby comes along. And Harry's wedding...

Here Comes the Bride

Royal Wedding mania has started!

Will Kate wear her hair up? What tiara will she wear? Will her train be as long as Diana's? These are all pressing questions (questions that make my husband go "yyyaaawwwwn" but what does he know...) Only 3 more days until all is revealed, including Kate's dress -- my favorite part.

Friday morning, I will be sitting in front of the TV at 7am  (bless you DVR!) with a cup of tea and perhaps a scone.  Maybe my little party-of-one will celebrate with these cuties:

They're available as a printable PDF for $7 here on Etsy. Some people are soooo clever.

Candy Hoarders

Candy doesn't move quickly in our house....and now our candy bag has acquired a new layer of Easter sweets.

"Chocolate bunny, I'd like to introduce you to SweetTarts."

"SweetTarts, have you met Fruitcake Mints?" (Yes, there really are Fruitcake mints in that bag - it was a gag gift.)

If the Valentine's Day Hershey Kisses eventually mingle with Halloween Candy Corn, then it may be time to say goodbye to the candy bag.

My teeth hurt just looking at this photo.

Easter

We had a nice {but exhausting} Easter weekend. 

Hope yours was lovely too!

Camilla and Charles get Jiggy

The royal wedding countdown is on!
Wouldn't it be awesome if it began like this....

Nate Update

Here's what Nate is up to these days:

Instead of saying "yes," he says "rigghhht!!" very loudly.

Instead of saying "no," he (sometimes) says "mmm, maybe not." Cracks me up.

Tells me his favorite color is orange (mine too).

Tells me that his favorite song to sing is "Ishy Bishy Spider" (that's how he pronounces it anyway).

Tells me his favorite song for me to sing to him is "Old Macdonald Ate Some Pancakes" (I was improvising).

His favorite book is The Big Book of Trains.

He gets upset if he doesn't get to say "hi" multiple times to the people who work at the market, the post office, the car wash, etc.

Constantly asks me during the day "mommy, what are you doooooing??"

I've started calling him our "Closet Catholic" because he's obsessed with the Catholic church down the street. We can see the spire from every window on one side of the house and he wants to check on it multiple times during the day and right before he goes to bed. "There's Saint Finbar's!!!" he yells. Lee and Nate have even walked down and gone into the sanctuary a couple times. "There were candles on the mantel," Nate told me.

Women Can Have it All - Just Sacrifice Personal Hygiene

I received three more of those "maturing women" catalogs today (go here to read about them). I looked at one of the catalogs and had to share this item with you:

Wow. Until now, I've only had an opinion about texting in an automobile (don't do it!). Now I've got to add this: please do not shave your legs in your car. I don't care how busy you are. In fact, if you can't squeeze an additional 4 minutes into your day to shave your legs in the shower, then you have my sympathies.

Thursday Threes.

One.

 (Source)

Okay, this totally spits in the face of last night's healthy dinner post. Last Sunday, my brother offered us a slice of Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory that he had leftover from a party. I thought "I don't really like cheesecake but, okay, Lee and I can take a few bites and then toss it out." People, I licked the plate clean. Thank the Lord we only had one slice. It was without a doubt one of the best desserts I've ever had.  I think I've discovered the dessert I need to help numb the pain celebrate my 40th birthday. Here's the kicker and it will make you laugh and cry at the same time...a single slice of the Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake contains 1250 calories. Leaves you speechless, doesn't it?!

Two.

 

Eric is also responsible for #2 and, thank goodness, this one doesn't add cellulite to your thighs like #1. For years he's been talking about Mint.com and how it's a great website for keeping track of your finances. I finally gave it a whirl this week and was very impressed with the ease of pulling all of our credit cards and banking information onto one secure website. Now we can see where we spend the bulk of our money (Gas! Groceries!!). For future budgeting, Mint.com is going to be super helpful. Since I'm a bookkeeper, this stuff gets me all giddy (almost as giddy as I was with the cheesecake).

Three.

I'm starving for a little feedback. Please leave comments on my blog. It's no fun talking to myself. Don't know how to leave a comment? Easy -- at the bottom of each posting, it says"no comments" or "1 comment." Click on those words and a window will pop up. Follow the directions in the window - they're fairly self-explanatory. A girl can get real lonely here in cyberland....sniff sniff.

Tonight's Dinner Was a Winner

I've been cooking more than usual lately. The recipes I've picked out have been a little out of my comfort zone (usually "drop pasta in boiling water") and have generally been healthier. My expectations for tonight's dinner were pretty low -- it was a recipe I pulled out of Good Housekeeping Magazine. So imagine my surprise when it turned out to be pretty great. "I want to eat this once a week," Lee said. Okay, that's a great sign! The ingredients may sound boring or unappealing but the flavor was truly fabulous; the dish also comes together easily. Just so you know, I don't like olives and only eat raw cauliflower dipped in ranch dressing (ha!) but I really, really liked this dish. I think I've said that enough so onto the recipe:

Chicken with Carmelized Cauliflower & Green Olives

1 head cauliflower (2.5-3 lbs.), trimmed and cut into 1.5-inch chunks

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1.5 lbs. chicken breast tenders, cut into 1.5-inch chunks

1 tsp. freshly grated lemon peel

1/4 c. slivered almonds

1/3 c. pitted green olives, rinsed well

1/4 c. packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, plus additional for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In 18" by 12" jellyroll pan, combine cauliflower, 2 teaspoons oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper until well mixed. Spread cauliflower in single layer on pan. Roast 20 to 25 minutes or until cauliflower is golden brown.

2. While cauliflower roasts, in large bowl, combine chicken, lemon peel, 1 teaspoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Push cauliflower to one side of pan and arrange chicken in single layer on other side. Roast 10 minutes longer or until chicken just loses its pink color throughout.

3. Meanwhile, in food processor with knife blade attached, pulse almonds until finely ground. Add olives and parsley and pulse until almost smooth. With machine running, add remaining 1 tablespoon oil until it's fully incorporated, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add mixture to pan with hot chicken and cauliflower and stir until well combined. Transfer to serving plates and garnish with additional parsley. 


Lame photo (I was hungry and in a hurry to eat):

(No, I did not serve this to Nate -- I wanted to test it out first. He'll be getting it for dinner soon. The taste was mild enough that I think kids would like it. And see that paper in the upper left corner of the photo? That would be my jury duty summons. Doh!!!)

Serves 4. Each serving: 360 calories, 45 g protein, 12 g carbohydrate, 15 g total fat, 6 g fiber, 99 mg cholesterol, 660 mg sodium