girlfiend

I feel like this blog has been all kids all the time for the past few months.  I really do things and think about things that aren’t child related. Really. I swear. So why then, when I want to write about something that’s not a monthly update (and holy shit the baby is five months old tomorrow) do I draw a blank?

What have I been doing?

I’ve made it back to the gym for real. The Fiendling and the baby have both been great in the babysitting room so I’ve been taking advantage of it three days a week. It’s like free babysitting for the low, low price of $56 a month. And I can take an uninterrupted shower.

I’ve also gone back to yoga. I’m stunned by how easily my body remembers how to do the asanas. It’s easier than riding a bike. I’ve been going to a yoga class on Thursday nights. I like the class but I hate that the instructor makes all share something at the beginning before the opening meditation. When Isaac first got diagnosed I wanted to keep it to myself but I ended up spilling it all over the place and sobbing. She did a lot of heart opening asanas that night and when I left I felt better. The following week I shared that Isaac had died and cried some more. During the opening meditation the instructor rubbed my back and shoulders. It was nice. Then during final relaxation she put her hands on my back. I felt warmth then a release. Tears streamed down my face but I wasn’t crying like I had been. I realized at some point that she was doing (is that the verb?) Reiki and holy shit that works. I’ve felt better about Isaac since then.

I’ve  spent a decent amount of time on the Facebook. It’s fun catching up with old friends especially when you don’t know who the hell half of them are. My best friend from high school and I keep messaging each other trying to figure out who the fuck half of these people are and why they think we were ever friends with them. It sure does make me feel popular though.

There’s more. Perhaps one of these days I’ll get around to actually writing about instead of thinking about writing about it.

There is currently a watermelon in my refrigerator that is not absorbing the vodka I would like it to absorb. I tried The Naked Chef’s recipe first and it didn’t seem to be going anywhere so I tried this one which didn’t seem to be going anywhere either. So I cut a bigger hole in the top, encompassing the two holes I’d previously cut and the vodka is currently sitting there.

I want to drink it with a straw but I will refrain from doing so (at least until tomorrow morning) so I can see if any of the vodka eventually gets absorbed.

Any words of wisdom from professional vodka watermelon makers?

It’s 9.15 on a Thursday night. I just mopped the kitchen and instead of using a bucket I filled the sink with vinegar and water. I took pleasure in knowing that my sink was being cleaned at the same time. So excited by my clean sink and floor I moved on to the bathtub and the baby tub (Shut up, I know he’s awfully big to still be in a baby tub, but my tub has one of those nonslip bottoms which I can’t get clean, even back in the days when I soaked it in bleach. And besides, he likes climbing in and out of the little one.) which are soaking in vinegar and water after an initial scrub down with a baking soda paste. Now my floor and tub will both literally be clean enough to eat off of.

Speaking of baby tubs, does anyone else hate the stupid toy manufacturers who insist upon putting holes in bath toys? They just fill up with water and get moldy and they are impossible to clean.

And what’s up with Facebook? Newsweek tells me Facebook is very important. Should I have a Facebook account? I feel like I’m too old for this shit, yet I don’t want to be left out. Everyone is so over Friendster which is a shame because Myspace gives me a headache.

Now excuse me while I throw my laundry in the dryer and finish scrubbing the tubs before I take a shower. Good times.

I believe I’ve mentioned before that squirrels are fuckers. I hate them. Lower Merion has a deer hunt, my backyard should have a squirrel hunt. This time they’ve eaten my cute little not even as big as ping pong ball eggplant. I may have to buy some fox urine. I can’t believe I just typed that and meant it.

I ate the first green beans from my garden last night. Haricots verts. I dropped them in boiling water for about a minute then tossed them with olive oil, kosher salt, pepper and minced garlic. They were the best green beans I’ve ever eaten. Fresh makes a world of difference.

I finished Shopaholic and Baby last night. I do not get the Shopaholic series. I read Shopaholic and Sister, thought it was terrible, saw the baby book and couldn’t resist. It was equally as terrible, if not worse.

The first pepper turned orange. It looks like it will be red soon.

The unidentified peppers are officially out of control but I don’t know when to pick them. They seem too big to be Serrano, not lumpy enough to be the California Chile, and not yellow enough to be banana peppers, but maybe they’ll turn yellow if I leave them long enough? I don’t know.

I have two green pepper plants (California Wonder bell peppers they say, but who believes the labels anymore?) that are slowly growing. One is starting to get little blooms. The one banana pepper (so it says, but again, you can’t believe what you read) plant is also getting little blooms.

The eggplants have survived all aphid attacks and are currently flowering, which I hope means eggplants to come. The blossoms are beautiful purple and are oddly spiky. They hurt.

The zucchini (yellow, and definitely considered zucchini) is pathetic. Right now I have one measly, spindly little guy about 4 inches big, a bunch of male blossoms and a couple of less than an inch long zukes that appear to have rotted well before their time. More blossoms appear to be on the horizon, but I have little faith.

My green beans (the skinny, french variety) are flowering like crazy.

Tomatoes, planted after weeks of sitting in my father-in-law’s backyard, appear to be growing slowly. Nothing yet, but I have faith.

The basil is officially too much. I have hours of pesto making in my future. Somehow the two measly little basil transplants have become 5 enormous monsters. I’ve been trying not to use it to discourage growth but it’s not working.

Aphids are easily controlled by swift application of the garden hose. Squirrels hate me. They have eaten all of my cilantro seeds and a few green bean seedlings I planted after the first round. They’ve also eaten a geranium. Fuckers.

The rose of sharon is in bloom but the tiger lilies have sort of crapped out on me- two bloomed, but the rest are just standing there, threatening to, while the rest of the neighborhood’s lilies have been in bloom for weeks. Of the annuals, the petunias, impatiens, begonias and coleus are doing well and the geraniums look like shit. I blame the lack of full sun as well as the squirrels.

These peppers from my garden were labeled jalapeños,  yet look completely different. I’ve not yet tasted them but they smell hot. Any ideas?

And the zucchini? Clearly, it’s not green as I originally expected.

If you ever decide to make a labor intensive Moroccan recipe using phyllo dough, don’t pick the easier recipe. Go directly to the complex, more authentic one. I made a b’stilla again last night, and oh my god, it was delicious.

Chicken simmered with onion, garlic, ginger, pepper and ras el hanout is shredded and combined with egg, parsley(fresh from Junkiegirl’s garden), cilantro (fresh from my garden) and lemon juice and layered with almond sugar then baked in phyllo dough. It was amazing. Even the Fiendling ate it.

I am such a dork. I somehow got sucked into Yahoo answers. My answer, since I obviously know EVERYTHING, has been picked for best answer twice. I rule.