sarah — This Mom's Wired

Thursday Ten: If You Want Sunshine You Have to Put Up With Soul Sucking Mosquitoes

May 15, 2013 By sarah Leave a Comment

1. No, I’m not really complaining about the weather today because it was gorgeous, sunny and not too hot and not too cold. What I am complaining about are those freaking mosquitoes. I stood in my driveway for five minutes last night and was swarmed by a plethora of mosquitoes that like to chomp on feet. Gah. Gonna be a long summer.

2. And the mosquitoes remind me that my dog is late for his heartworm test and probably should start taking his heartworm medication soon. Crap. I hope the vet is open late some evening during the week.

3. The end of the school year brings all of this stuff that has to get done and it seems like it’s never ending (Didn’t I mention this last week?). Today it’s money due for a field trip, yesterday was Special Person’s day at The Princess’s gym. I wish I had all the time in the world to attend every little thing and the available brain space to remember every little thing. I suspect part of the problem is that I’m not getting all of the school papers (those pesky backpacks are like black holes)…

4. Seems like I spend a lot of time grumping about what’s wrong that I figured I would try to be a little bit more positive – and focus on what’s good rather than what sucks. I decided that yesterday after I was trying to open my garage door and the door raised a quarter of the way and then the motor stopped working and the door just slammed down into the pavement. Ugggggh. One more thang. At least it’s not snowy. Parking in my driveway instead of in the garage, it’s not a huge deal. But yeah, I need to get better about choosing what I let get to me and what I let roll off my back. (If I were to make a wish though, I’d wish for some calm)

5. The girls and I spent last weekend in Wisconsin – do you know how excited they were to realize the days we were traveling, they’d been in FOUR states (Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin). The drive there was smooth as can be. On the way back? I was grouchy, the kids were grouchy, and the toll roads were annoying the hell out of me. It didn’t help that Pumpkin asked, less than an hour into our five hour drive, “HOW MUCH LONGER?” Oh kid. We’ve got HOURS. But, I’m clearly home. We survived. It was fun to get away and spend time with friends and find some peace for a few days.

6. While we were in Wisconsin, my friends taught the girls the “Makin’ Bacon Pancakes” song – I think it’s from Adventure Time. I’m sure that didn’t help the five hour drive back to Michigan either. But, it makes the kids happy. I don’t love bacon OR pancakes so, sounds gross to me.

7. Round two of the playoffs, game 1. Annnd the RedWings lost. What a bummer. On the plus side? At least the game was over before 11 p.m. Here’s to a victory in Game Two. *fingers crossed* (Let’s go RedWings, clap clap clap clap clap…)

8. Remember that blog cooking project I have? Don’t worry, I remember it too. I found a recipe for a sourdough starter, so I’ll get that going and while that starter is…starting… I’ll finally give making hummus a whirl! The girls and I have a low key weekend in front of us. That’s SUCH a rarity these days. There will be hummus. And pita chips. Lots and lots of pita chips.

9. With less than 2 weeks until her birthday, The Princess has now given me a very very specific birthday list. She wants a yoga mat. I think I may get her one. Life is chaos, and if she can find peace that way, then that would be a super good thing.

10. Someday I’ll write my memoir and I’ll name it “Eating CheezIts At Midnight.” That’s what I’m doing now. Eating crackers, finishing up this post and getting ready for bed. I’ll wake up in a few hours, nice and extra specially bloated from all the salt. Hmmm yeah. Can’t wait. (I really love CheezIts. It’s almost worth it.)

Filed Under: Thursday Ten

On A Monday With A Morning That Was Coated With Frost

May 13, 2013 By sarah 1 Comment

Playoff games that start at ten p.m. should be against some cosmic life rule. With just under five hours of sleep, I woke this morning groggy, but managed to drag myself out of bed without playing my usual game of just how long can I stay buried under the covers before getting up. I’ve turned my heat back on, a disappointment after the warmth of last week, and getting out of the shower is dismal, cold, and like winter has landed again.

I hate winter.

Frozen waffles in the toaster, lunches packed. It’s Monday and I tell the kids, “I’m off to the salt mines…” when my stepfather arrives to get them on the bus.

–

There was a gray day in seventh grade – surely more than one – but there was a day that was gray and it sticks in my head that day. I was walking from the band room to my next class, PE. Down a small cement hill. From behind a hand grabbed a hank of my hair and pulled. And then she reached around and hit me, smacking my cheek with her hand.

She thought I was someone else.

Have you ever accidentally been hit in the face? Because someone thought you were someone else that they were pissed off with?

Freaking sucks.

–

I was thinking of it today, that accidental assault. I’ve forgotten the girl’s name. I held on to it for so long, her name, that the fact that I no longer remember the girl who was so angry at someone that she swung without confirmation, her name is gone. Wiped free from my brain. It’s a relief to me that I may one day forget cruelty and unkindness and bullying in its nonsensical, lacking-in-reason ways.

I hope it doesn’t take me twenty years to forget every unkindness.

–

There are two basic rules to life.

Rule #1: Don’t be a jerk.
Rule #2: See rule #1.

–

This afternoon I was crazed, trying to get from work to the gas station. From the gas station to the house. From the house to the gymnastics studio. From the gymnastics studio to the school for an orientation. I didn’t leave enough time for myself and it seemed like little obstacles kept inserting them in my path. The slowed, then stopped, line of vehicles on the highway. The call from The Princess that she forgot a snack, was feeling light headed. The meltdown from Pumpkin, how she wished she had a snack. How The Princess was then too ill to stay at the gym, how I ended up taking her with me. An orientation, an hour spent in uncomfortable plastic chairs listening to what to expect when my child moves on to sixth grade – a presentation tailored for our fifth graders and not their parents. Me, clicking my phone to check the time. I’m watching the clock a lot these days.

A quick dash to the grocery store – a frozen pizza, a half gallon of skim milk, children’s ibuprofen and peanut butter because peanut butter makes my world go round.

Home to a child too ill to eat pizza, tears, bona fide tears over a pizza.

–

A bowl filled with oranges on the back deck.

–

I am not used to those who do not wish well for others and those who wish so desperately for someone to fail, hoping to catch their blunder and then flaunt the imperfection, or worse, to see imperfection where there is not. It shakes my confidence, this feeling of being examined under a magnifying glass, because always if you are looking for flaws you’ll see them whether they exist or not. The reflection of my thighs in a mirror and I can attest to that.

–

A child wrapped in fleece on the couch, eyes heavy, HGTV blaring in the background, the room dim. The other waiting for me to tuck her in for the third time. Good night, sweet children. Mom loves you.

–

A video on YouTube that made me cry. And cry. And cry. And cry until I didn’t know if I was crying about the video or the day. My head finding its calm with the distance from the chaos, with its distance from the hate and the negativity – with distance my brain hears reason. This is what you must do… And so I do. I look for solutions, and I wipe tears with the sleeve of my sweatshirt.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Thursday Ten: Hockey Games On The West Coast Start Too Late edition

May 9, 2013 By sarah 1 Comment

1. Hockey playoffs. RedWings had a game last night. It started as ten. I was half asleep before the game even started. UNACCEPTABLE NHL. You should plan everything around the Eastern Time Zone because…that’s where I am.

2. Last year, I made a dish called chicken chilequiles for Cinco de Mayo. I’m pretty sure neither of the girls would touch it. I actually don’t recall being very impressed with it, and I never made it again. This year, Cinco de Mayo was carnitas – an amazing recipe from Food Network mag that was both easy to make (heh. I say that, but, uh, I didn’t make them) and not at all spicy – you add all the spicy stuff, toppings, etc., later in the game – so you could control the spice factor of your tacos. (Oh, and there were margaritas)

3. Leftover carnitas –> nachos? Yes.

4. As we get closer to the end of the school year, we get closer to the increase in the number of activities taking place at the girls’ schools. Some during work hours, some not (that orientation for my soon-to-be middle schooler is coming up next week!). It’s hard to balance which ones I need to attend, which ones I can miss – where my kids most want my attendance. I can’t be everywhere at once – which is a bummer – but it mostly works out.

5. Mother’s Day is this weekend and I will be spending the weekend with my fabulous little people. My mother, on the other hand, is underwhelmed that the girls and I will be out of town on Mother’s Day, and has kinda started in with a bit of a guilt trip. I get it, I do. Some of us want to be celebrated by our children on Mother’s Day. This year, however, there is really no one making sure my kids make me cards – or even remember to utter the words. So I’m doing my best to celebrate the little family unit we have – and my mom will be celebrated (I’m waiting for USPS Priority Mail to deliver something she will oh-so-truly love). But I kinda want to focus under my roof first on the day, celebrating with my children because I am their mother.

6. Iron Man 3 – the good news is, you didn’t have to see 1 or 2 for it to make sense. Also? It was funnier than I expected. It was slow to get started, and it took me awhile to get into it, but it got better.

7. Last weekend was so tremendously wonderful that this whole week has seemed like a giant pile of suck in comparison. The good times just make me want good more often. The weeks are full of school chaos and work uncertainty that the weekends, especially the good ones — have been a sanity saver. It’s a reminder of what is good in my life amidst the stress.

8. My efforts to get the dog to let me balance food on his nose have been largely unsuccessful.

9. The Avon Walk is in just a few weeks. Gah. I have barely prepared. I didn’t even buy new shoes this year. I feel like it’s been sneaking up on me so quickly. Not sure how I’ll ever be ready. Guess I’ll get ready while I’m walking.

10. I have been drawn to the story of the three kidnapped girls in Ohio who have been found even though I REALLY hate the news cycle. I hate reporters blathering for hours on end when they don’t have anything to say. While I’m interested in the story, I still end up mostly avoiding it because I need to limit my exposure to negativity if I can help it.

Filed Under: Thursday Ten

Thursday Ten: But I Don’t Wanna Turn The AC On Yet edition

May 2, 2013 By sarah Leave a Comment

1. From winter right to summer. No thank you. Eighty degrees yesterday though and… not a fan. And I shouldn’t complain because it’s better than snow, but I am complaining anyway. (It’s such a small margin of time, that time I enjoy the weather in Michigan. I’m so sorry.)

2. With the close of gymnastics competition season, I never have to hear “Pumped Up Kicks” again. HOWEVER, The Princess wanted to use the instrumental version of “Thrift Shop” and the coaches said no go. Soooo, it’s looking like they’ve selected Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” for her for the next year. I’ve made her promise that there would be no hip or butt waggling in her routine (Because frankly, those girls do a little too much booty shaking AND THEY ARE TEN YEARS OLD).

3. She’ll be eleven this month. Whoa.

4. Filling out paperwork for estate planning is necessary and yet… awful. I know it’s the responsible thing to do. I also know that I really hate thinking about it. No, I don’t have a cemetery plot. (And no, I apparently don’t know how to spell “cemetery” right on the first try.)

5. Lately I take more pictures of Pumpkin than The Princess. It’s not a favoritism thing, not at all. I love both of my daughters tremendously. However, The Princess doesn’t mind having her picture taken and Pumpkin hates it. It’s the dislike of the experience that I love in the pictures. Pumpkin doesn’t smile or pose for me, and sometimes it’s that genuine look on her face – even if it’s an unhappy one – that makes me love the shot. My kids are both amazing subjects, though. I’m pretty lucky.

6. So, one of the guys from Kriss Kross died. He was 34. THERE GOES MY CHILD HOOD. Rest in peace, Mac Dad. A generation of boys wore their too big clothes backwards because of you. And a whole lot of people jump-jump’d.

7. Cinco de Mayo this weekend, or as I like to call it, JUST ANOTHER EXCUSE FOR TACOS. Do y’all have a favorite taco recipe? Carnitas are on the menu for Sunday.

8. Yaaaaay! I found someone to repair my 24-70 lens! Boooooo! It’ll cost about $250. If you’re googling the 24-70mm/2.8 Canon lens before buying it and you land here (HI! WELCOME!), just know that one of the first versions of that lens is known for this weird focusing thing. It’s a pricey piece of glass. Too pricey for consistent probs like this. Do your research. (When it works? It’s amazing. Right now? I might as well be using my kit lens.)

9. With the warm weather comes people wearing less clothes. This is not always a good thing.

10. I wear my hair alternatingly curly and straight – mostly curly because that’s how it is naturally and I AM LAZY. The other day, however, I asked Instagram how to wear my hair and someone answered – curly, to look super creative and straight to look professional. And it’s funny because I have that perception too – when I want to be taken seriously, I almost always straighten my hair. But…why? Why is curly hair creative? Hippy dippy? Not professional? It wasn’t just the person who commented – I clearly have a bit of that bias too… but… I have no idea why. So… why?

Filed Under: Thursday Ten

Kitchen Through The Lens: Orange Juice

April 29, 2013 By sarah Leave a Comment

There are certain things I put on my list that I’m not entirely sure why I put them on my list. Vegan keylime cheesecake for example (can I get a judge’s ruling on this one? Need it really be vegan?). Mashed potatoes (I’m not so sorry about that one). And orange juice. Freshly squeezed orange juice.

I guess I wanted to try it for the same reason I don’t use boxed cake mix: why ingest a bunch of garbage when it’s just as easy to do it on your own?

Or, almost as easy.

Or kinda sorta easy but not too miserable and not too messy and not too cost prohibitive.

Blah blah blah.

Making your orange juice isn’t that tough. I have a handy dandy little citrus thingamabobber (not a juicer, but a…thing). Anyway.

I picked Valencias because the sign at the grocery store said they were great for juice. They’re ugly. I almost picked a different orange because they’re really ugly, but I picked the ugly oranges – about four bucks for four pounds of oranges.

Four pounds of oranges produced about three cups of orange juice. That… doesn’t seem like much. So it’s not exactly wallet friendly BUT…

It’s so good!

If I was a little more of an over-achiever, perhaps I’d come up with a better method for straining a bit more of the pulp out – I buy pulp-free when I buy orange juice.

With just the juice from the oranges, I have a sweet and drinkable juice. I didn’t have to add anything. I didn’t have to do anything else. It was fine as is.

And then we made it better. Put a big ol’ splash of juice in your glass. Pour in some Oberon. Yum.

But not for breakfast. Probably.

Filed Under: Kitchen Lens

Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Being

April 26, 2013 By sarah Leave a Comment

Dear Debbie,

Whenever I hear people talk about friendships from the internet as “imaginary,” I shake my head and think of how far from the truth those people are, and how they are probably missing out on meeting and knowing some incredible people, and how terribly sad their lives must be.

I’m not entirely sure when we met on Twitter, but it’s been years ago, as we’re approaching our fifth Avon Walk for Breast Cancer together. Without even knowing me, you welcomed me onto your walk team, welcomed me to join you and your friends in walking a marathon and a half. You were brave. I could have been a creep. Or boring. (Luckily for you, I’m only mildly creepy and only boring when I’m tired.)

When I reached my hotel in Chicago the night before our first walk, I got to my room and there was a fruit basket waiting for me, and my team t-shirt. Before we had even met, you had made me feel so welcome.

And then the next morning in front of Soldier Field we met, and over the course of 39.3 miles became friends.

I cannot imagine my life without you or Barbara in my world. You are part of my tribe. You keep me level headed when I need levity. You make me laugh when I need to laugh. You send me random texts to let me know I’m thought of, cared about – and it means the world to me.

You are a phenomenal photographer – I love your style and your eye.

You have a kind heart that is open and caring and generous.

You have a wide smile that lights up a room.

And you have an energetic, young spirit that seeks fun, finds fun and makes fun. I can think of no one else that would climb into an abandoned shopping cart on a walk course to be pushed around for awhile – but you’ve done it. Twice! I am envious of your fun-seeking spirit, and often wish I was more like you.

I am happy for you that you’ve found a centeredness with yoga, that you’ve made it a part of your life. Your enthusiasm makes me think I might like it (though…historically? My mind wanders too much for yoga).

My children love you, nearly as much as I do – and you are the fun one who sends them waxed lips and journals to trash. And I am grateful for your kindness because seeing my daughters happy is a huge blessing to me.

This past year has been filled with chaos and times that were difficult, and I don’t think I’d have gotten through it without you and Barbara in my corner cheering me on. I never felt alone, though, because I always knew the both of you were there for me and I can’t even begin to describe how much that meant. How much it still means. How I wish I could repay the both of you for every time I texted because I was angry, or stressed, or feeling some other chaotic thing and how you always responded with love and with kindness and emojis.

The two of you went so far beyond your way this year to make sure that my birthday was a special one – and all you get is some smelly old blog post. But I hope you know how so very much I adore you.

In a month, we’ll be in Chicago. We’ll have our walking shoes laced up and we’ll be logging another 40 miles. Can’t think of anyone else I’d rather get blisters and lose toenails with.

Blessed beyond belief to know you, and so very glad you were born.

Happy birthday. Love you!

Sarah

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Thursday Ten: I’m Mad at a Lens edition

April 25, 2013 By sarah Leave a Comment

1. For the longest time, my favorite lens was my Canon 24-70mm/2.8 but now? The sharpness is completely gone – well. Not completely. But mostly. And I’m likely going to send it in for repair. What’s worse? This is a common problem with this lens. This L-Series glass, which is supposed to be a high-quality lens apparently does this for a lot of people. Gah. It’s too expensive to be so flawed. And I hate to think of what the repair might cost.

2. Speaking of repair, I came home Sunday to find my house was a freezing iceberg of a house. Turns out…whee!… my furnace had stopped working. (Et tu, furnace?) The girls and I spent the night at my mom’s Sunday evening rather than pay double time for a repair dude to come on a Sunday, and the guy fixed the igniter and now I have heat again. And since Michigan won’t end here, that’s a good thing. However, apparently in the next few months I’ll need to replace the furnace motors OR buy a new furnace. Mother trucker, I hate home ownership.

3. And so. In an effort to hate home ownership a littttttlllllleeee bit less I think I need a home improvement project. Something cheap (because furnace motors, duh) and something that will give me a visual reminder on a regular basis that this is my haven and that I love it and it’s not really the Money Pit. Any ideas? I’ve been digging through HGTV magazine and have some ideas for paint colors – but… what else could I do?

4. Flowers are purrty.

5. I have had Chicago pizza and I have had New York pizza – and I actually really dig them both, though you’re generally apparently supposed to have strong feelings one way or the other about which one is better… but I actually had amazing pizza in Grand Rapids last week and it may well be some of the best pizza I ever had. And it had jalapenos on it. WHO would have thought to put jalapenos on pizza?! Not me – but it was fabulous. My poor brain can’t stop thinking about it.

6. The gymnastics season is over and The Princess had an excellent end to the season – she would have liked more medals at the State level (she earned one for Bars), but it wasn’t in the cards. I’ve been seriously evaluating the idea of changing her into a different program – but it’s up to her. If she’s still having fun where she is, I don’t want to rock that boat but DANG – the way her gym operates? I’m frustrated. Bad business bothers me.

7. I don’t know if y’all have seen the news but we have a LOT of water here in West Michigan. The constant rain hasn’t helped things – and I’m not sure when the river levels will go down. They’re a bit lower than this as of yesterday – but… still high. It’s really the craziest thing. (Well, there are crazier things than water.)

8. Leave it to HGTV magazine to make me want to decoupage stuff.

9. Today I’ll go to Pumpkin’s school for breakfast. Muffins with Moms. Only… there won’t be any muffins. Just doughnuts and I hate doughnuts. That’s okay though. It should still be fun. I’m looking forward to it. As I type this, it’s 1:23 a.m. – so… you know, just a few more hours.

10. I guess it should go without saying, since I’m typing this after 1 a.m. that I should probably get better about that whole “going to sleep at a human time” thing. Or that “staying asleep” thing. Or that “not waking up in the middle of the night for no reason” thing. Gah. Sleep. How can I be bad at sleep? I dunno… but I am.

Filed Under: Thursday Ten

It’s Like Somehow It Knows

April 23, 2013 By sarah 1 Comment

I walked into the office today and almost immediately found myself rooting through my purse, looking for a bottle of ibuprofen and shaking four of the bright orange pills into my palm before chasing them down with a swig of lukewarm tea. I sat at my desk and got to work, waiting for that moment when the ibu would kick in, trying to cross little things off my list so as to start my day feeling productive.

Headache fading, into a meeting. Conference call, sales pitch, snake oil. Off the call, another discussion, one that should have been a relief but only made me frustrated. The headache creeped back in. Another several ibuprofen swallowed down with a gulp of ice water.

My to-do list was full and I was getting things done but I was upset about the meeting – a discussion about when my job would be moving to part time.

Side note: Occasionally I question whether or not to even post about it should my employer decide to read my blog – HI GUYS! – but then again, they know what they’ve said and they know the situation, and as Anne Lamott says, “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should’ve behaved better.” And it’s not that I’m writing… not warmly. But to not write about something that is on my mind quite a bit would be to censor my writing even more than I would typically – and frankly, who WOULDN’T be upset at the looming future of no longer having full time work? So, yeah. There you go.

I have been given an extension of full time work – through the end of May now and while I am relieved, I admit that there’s frustration too, that each month has been a guessing game, that while none of us in the workforce in this economy ever have true job security, I’ve wondered each month if THIS is it, if that is the end of the line. I am seeking solutions to the part time work problem – trying to ensure that I’m able to get by. It’s not easy and so I’m frustrated a lot, stressed a lot, a little bit anxious.

And so I keep trying to put one foot in front of the other, and I try to not complain too much and I try (really, I’m trying) to be grateful for what’s good because it could be so much worse, and I know it.

But some days I am overcome by the extent of which I cannot control my life, by the extent of which I really just don’t have a clue right now, and on those days – OH THOSE DAYS – my head aches with the pressure of two very large hands squeezing the side of my head until my skull caves in, my brain compresses, and I consumeall of the ibuprofen.

Some days just aren’t easy.

And when Pumpkin’s school called and said she didn’t feel well, I needed to come get her, it was almost a relief to gather up my projects and bring them home and sit on the sofa, wrapped in blankets, nestled near my girl, cartoons chattering in the background, getting work done on my laptop instead of under the glow of fluorescent light. Without the hum of conversations in nearby cubicles. Without the chill of the constant air conditioning even though the temperature outside didn’t even reach 6o today.

Despite the pounding in my head, I’d have stayed in the office until the end of the day. Despite my discomfort and my own feelings of blah — but my daughter and her blah trumped mine.

Life has a weird way of telling me, sometimes, to step back, to breathe deeply and to just be a little kinder to myself amidst the chaos. Sometimes life has to find more creative ways of telling me, I guess.

This evening, I bought myself a bouquet of tulips and a bottle of wine. The wine is in my fridge – funny, I’m too tired for it now, but some day this week I’m sure I’ll be glad that Tuesday Sarah knew that Future Sarah would want a glass after one of those days. I tucked in my daughters. Now, I settle in with HGTV and I write, talking myself into calm so tomorrow I can get back to life, and keep on getting things done.

Filed Under: A Job Ain't Nothin' But Work, Mom Shtuff

Thursday Ten: Can I Be Glad Gymnastics Season Is Nearly Over edition

April 18, 2013 By sarah 1 Comment

1. I get a tremendous amount of joy from The Princess’s joy with gymnastics. Having said that – I’m so glad that this weekend is her last meet of the season because I think I need a BREAK from competition season. I didn’t want to spend a whole post complaining, but suffice it to say, it’s been the kind of experience lately that if I had the money, I’d open my own gym and run a better program and offer up some competition to where my daughter now goes. Maybe a few months off from competition will help me cool off.

2. Got a LOT of new music bubbling through my music library. New to me, anyway. Loving Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s.

3. Went to the Titanic exhibit at a museum in Grand Rapids last night – when you enter the exhibit, you receive a boarding pass with a name on it. At the end of the exhibit, you look to see if the person you were assigned lived or died. Yeah, thanks. I mean, I know it’s pretty well known that not everyone survived the sinking – but having your seven year old be assigned the name of someone who dies makes it a lot less fun. THANKS FOR NOTHING. MUSEUMS AND CULTURE ARE STUPID. (Well. Not really.)

4. Know what makes a great guy even more awesome? When he has ideas like NACHOS!

5. And since I just posted about fooooooood, I guess I’ll also post that I’ve started trying to run more – treadmill for now (because of all the effing rain, OH MY GOD MICHIGAN, STOP WITH THE RAIN ALREADY). I sure do hate running but nothing works quite as effectively for getting all the stuff in shape as running does.

6. I’m pretty excited that I hit my Avon Walk fundraising goal – with just under two months until the walk, I’m relieved to have that part settled – so I can focus on trying to get in shape and stocking up on blister bandaids. Seriously – am so very excited to have raised money for a cause that means so much to me, and now – the part that lies ahead is the fun part!

7. The dog seems to finally be back to normal. Whew. I’m still giving him special dog food for high maintenance dogs with sensitive bellies, but… I think, I hope, that whatever was bugging him is now out of his system.

8. So, I’m finally watching Game of Thrones. Only, I started at episode one…of the third season. To say that I have no clue what’s going on would be an understatement, but I’m trying to figure it out.

9. I read an author’s memoir. And now I’m reading her novel. And hell, I guess she took that whole “Write what you know” thing to heart because I know EXACTLY what is gonna happen because she’s pretty much following her life story. It’s a little annoying and I’m more than a little disappointed.

10. I don’t like to talk much about scary or negative things. I don’t much delve into current events here much either. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the tragedy at the Boston Marathon. I don’t want to focus on on the terrifying and bad things – but rather the ways people have found to come together. It restores a little faith in humanity, this coming together of hearts.

Filed Under: Eats, Thursday Ten

Kitchen Through The Lens: Taco Pasta Shells

April 16, 2013 By sarah Leave a Comment

Originally, the recipe was for Vegan Taco Pasta Shells. While I’m not at all vegetarian, I don’t eat a whole lotta meat so that didn’t present a problem for me – I’m all for adding meatless meals to my cooking repertoire. And then I read the words: vegan sour cream.

Uh… I’ll go meatless, but, y’know… there are limits.

(I’m not judging – vegan, not vegan, whatever. Whatever you choose to eat is for you to worry about. I just couldn’t do vegan sour cream or cheese. I LIKE DAIRY.)

So you get some fire roasted tomatoes.

I admit, I made this a few weeks ago. I don’t remember much about the experience.

I left the tomatoes alone even though I hate tomato chunks (Pureed or smushed tomatoes are fine – it’s not the taste of tomatoes, the taste I dig). Some salt.

Nearly everything is better with garlic.

Whoa, big shells. How YOU doin’?

(You know, I love me some pasta. I think I want to start putting more stuff in really big shells.)

Here’s where this recipe totally lost me.

Despite my blatant ignoring of the vegan sour cream and cheese directives, I went ahead and put in the corn just like the recipe said even though I know I don’t like random bits of corn in stuff.

The corn MESSED. THIS. UP.

I’m pretty sure it doesn’t ever help anything to put corn in it.