Mmmmmm! Fortune Cookie!

I wish I had thought to take a picture of it. After school today, Launa went upstairs to wash her hands before she had a snack. She came down carrying the most smashy fortune cookie I had ever seen! She got it at lunch and had put it in her pocket to save it for me. So, here was this pitiful fortune cookie, crumbled to smithereens, presented to me, by my very proud daughter.

I decided that we could share it.

So after very carefully opening the packet, I picked out the fortune which read, "The project you have in mind will soon gain momentum." (I don't have any particular projects in mind, but okay.) Then, Launa and I picked the crushed pieces of the cookie out and ate them. The things we do for our children. She found it as funny as I did. I like that about her. :)

Where Does She Get It?

After school today, Launa asked if she could have a small bag of m&ms. I said she could. After a bit, she's sitting on my bed, enjoying her m&ms, when I ask her:

"Are those good?"

L: "Yes. Do you want some?"

Me: "No, thank you. I don't need any m&ms right now."

L: "You know you want the delicious taste of m&ms in your mouth."

Me: "No! No, I don't!"

L: "You will be crying out for some after I've eaten the whole package!!"

Me: *rolling on the floor laughing*

...A few minutes later...

L: "Mommy, can I interest you in a green m&m? It's your ve ---- ry favorite color!"

Me: "No, I don't want any m&ms right now."

L: "FINE! I'm eating it myself! ...and I'm ENJOYING it!!"

Feels So Good

Ah! It feels like Spring this morning! Still a little chilly, but you can feel the change in the air. It's supposed to get up to 70 degrees (F) today! I think I'm gonna play outside this afternoon!

Netflix

I am so happy today because I just discovered that Netflix has 3rd Rock From the Sun! I love that show! :)

I Enjoy My Children Tremendously

My kids are so cool. They are fun, they are nice, and they have loads of personality! (For any of you doubters, ask around. People frequently tell me I have ridiculously good children. They can be loud sometimes, but overall, they're good kids.)

Anyway, yesterday at school Launa received a bunch of stuff from the post office - a coloring book, some brochures and a tiny plastic flag that could be mounted on the computer (with a mount that reads, "THIS IS MY POST OFFICE"). Launa had two of them, so she gave one to Daniel. We had sandwiches for supper last night (since J and I ate the big meal for lunch, see below), and my kids spent the evening pitching their flags into their bread and claiming it for the USA. I admit that perhaps this means that their table manners could stand some improvement, but it was actually very funny. I got to hear phrases like, "I claim this hamburger bun in the name of the USA!" and, "I claim this Swiss cheese in the name of the US of A!!"

Then, close to bedtime, Daniel told me that his principal went around the school giving suckers to the kids for Valentine's Day. He described the sucker as tasting like "an old lady's house." This, I imagine to taste a lot like Chanel no 5. He said it tasted more like new house. I don't know how he can equate "new house" with "old lady" but I liked the association.

Finally, today, just teasing my daughter I asked her, "Why do I even keep you around, anyway?" She said to me, "Because I'm your daughter, and you'd miss me, and I'd stand on the front porch with a sad, sad look on my face, in the rain ..."

I tried to convince her that I'd occasionally look out the window and wave to them from the warmth of my comfy bathrobe between sips of delicious hot cocoa. She knew better. Ah, my kids are nice.

The Best Laid Valentine's Plans

There's a reason that Valentine's Day isn't very important to me. Basically, I don't have a romantic bone in my body. I love my husband with all my cold, withered heart, but grand gestures just aren't in my makeup.

In case any of you need a refresher on a typical Valentine's Day at my house, this is what we did last year.

Well, J and I have had a rough few weeks and I felt like, this year especially, I needed to do something nice for him. Since he works nights and the kids are in school during the day, I decided to make him a special romantical lunch. His favorite thing I make is ravioli, so I thought I'd make that, some garlic bread, a salad and (his favorite dessert) chocolate molten lava cake.

Okay! I had the meal all planned out in my head, and I could make it in my sleep! I got up early this morning, got through the tub, did my hair and makeup so I'd look gorgeous for him and headed down to make lunch for him.

I started with the lava cake. Wouldn'tcha know! I forgot to check the box when I bought it, and I needed 5.5 Tbsp. of real butter. Of course I only had 2.5. After some deliberation, I decided that margarine could make up the difference. Got those ready, and in the oven.

Then I started on the ravioli. It doesn't take long. I boil water in the big pan while I make my special sauce (thanks, Liz) then drop in the frozen ravioli while the sauce cooks. I think the whole thing takes about 15 minutes start to finish.

The lava cakes were done just as the ravioli finished, and I cleared the table and put on the table cloth. All I had to do now was take care of the last minute details: put out the dishes, toss salad into bowls and set the food out. I decided that I'd better go get him up because it usually takes him a few minutes to get it together when I get him up to eat. Well, because he knew that I was making him a special lunch, he hopped out of bed and came down to eat...and I still didn't have everything done! As I was finishing the salads, I realized that I forgot to boil an egg for him to eat with his so he got lettuce and salad dressing. Exciting! Then, I grabbed the first bottle of Catalina I saw for him, forgetting that I have this weird thing about throwing away food. Even if it's REALLY old. Even if it's REALLY, REALLY old...

So I finally get everything together, and we sit down to eat. J looks around and says, "Did you make garlic bread?" OH SHOOT! I forgot! But it's the frozen kind and shouldn't take more than a few minutes and the oven is still hot from the cake, so I hurry and grab the bread, look at the directions, and realize that it's supposed to go into the broiler. I don't have a rack in my broiler, so I decide I should put it in my toaster oven - only the bread is twice the length of my toaster oven. So Jeremy and I start hacking away at this frozen bread to cut it down the the right size for the toaster oven, and there's a piece of wax paper inside to make pulling the two halves apart easier (not!), which makes cutting the bread in half an even bigger challenge. So we're cutting and laughing and imagining all the ways that this particular situation could go wrong. Finally, we get the durn thing in the oven, and it's back to the salads.

J takes a few bites of his salad and says, "This salad dressing tastes funny."

It occurs to me that we could be possession of some VERY old Catalina dressing. So I told him to quit eating it. (Don't tell him, but I checked the expiration date before I threw it out, and it expired in 2008.) I don't think he wanted to know how old it was because he didn't even look for a date. Smart man.

He moved on to ravioli. And the bread came out of the toaster oven. We probably should only have put 1/2 of the bread in at a time, because they were all squished together, and while they looked done on the outside, they were COLD on the inside. I tossed 2 of the pieces back in for a couple more minutes.

ARGH!!!

Okay, well. We finished lunch and it was time to get started on the lava cake. Which is supposed to be eaten within 20 minutes of coming out of the oven. I think it had been about 40 minutes at this point. So, I popped them out and plated them, tossed 'em in the microwave, and sprinkled powdered sugar on them. Then I threw some m&m's that J bought me for V Day on the plates for garnish. They just weren't good. That's all. :( Microwaving didn't help them at all. *sigh* Some days, things just don't go right.

We ate the cakes while we watched the romantic movie Salt, which we got from Red Box 3 days ago and needed to watch or return. I liked it!

I'm a good cook. There's nothing that should have given me a hard time today. It just didn't work out. And such is life, I guess.

Dreaming

I spent the night in combat in my dreams.

Rough

The tragedy that is my household today.

Surprise!!

I'm sure this comes as a shock to most of you, but I have come to a conclusion about myself:

I am a very shallow person.

I know, I know...total surprise! Right out of left field!

As a child I used to think that I was responsible and mature. I used to think that I was a deep thinker, and an intellectual.

What did I know?

I know the truth now.

If it isn't fun, I won't do it. If I have to think too hard about it, then it's too much like work, and I won't waste my time on it. This explains why my house is always a wreck. It explains why I only read fiction. It explains why I spend the minimum amount of time on my homework. I HATE work!

I am an irresponsible, shallow human being.

I would have thought this realization would upset me since it is so different from my former perception of myself, but as I have come to terms with my true self, I have also found that it doesn't bother me. Ah well.

Don't Forget Your Backpack!

It's 23 degrees this morning (farenheit). As Launa was stepping on the bus she realized she didn't have her backpack. I had to run the block home, grab the backpack and run back to the bus. It's been a long time since I was in track, guys. It is exhausting! Since I ran in the cold, of course I now have that cough. Fortunately, my neighbor gave me a ride home. My neighbors are nice.

NO ONE TO TALK TO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UUUUUUUUU-UUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! *bashes head into keyboard:* szb v nm,kmbgccv

The Curse Of Beauty

I posted a message one time about how everywhere Launa goes, people want to gush over her. Other little kids want to hug her. Adults want to tell me how gorgeous she is. Everyone wants to be near her. It's the price of true beauty. Anyway, I took Launa and Daniel to the Dollar Tree the other day because they had a little money burning holes in their pockets. While we were there, a Mexican lady (who didn't speak ANY English) stopped us, and started to gush in Spanish about Launa's hair. I could tell she was telling me how beautiful it was, because she was stroking Launa's hair while smiling and speaking rapidly in Spanish. I did catch a "bonito" in there, which I'm pretty sure means "beautiful." After some smiles and a "gracias" (from me) we went on our way. I think Launa was a little freaked out. You'd think she'd be used to it by now.

Why Won't My Drafts Save?

I am no longer on facebook. I'm having a little trouble adapting. I like being able to post something quick and get back to my life. I guess that's why my blogging has suffered. Anyway, I started a draft called "Things I Wish I Could Post to Facebook" and jotted down a couple of things like "The odometer in my car rolled over to 141414!" and "I just made the best pot roast of my LIFE!" and "I just tripped over the plastic hamper in my living room (it wasn't where it belonged), fell on top of it, and broke it. At least I'll have a couple of really cool bruises!"

I was going to save up a week's worth of posts and then blog them, but the drafts won't save! It's driving me bonkers! Maybe I should make a list to keep in the margin of my blog and start fresh every week.