Guilty

 

I can never remember what's the right way to put toilet paper on the holder.

I am OK with leaving dirty dishes in the sink at night.

I like to poke bread dough. And sniff it. And taste it (and I am not sorry).

I lick bowls, spatulas, and beaters after I prepare batter or dough for baking. I also let my kids do it.

I am terrible at sending condolences cards. (I am working on this)

I ask someone else (my husband) to throw out anything that's horribly rotten/disfigured.

I forget people's names. 

What are you guilty of?

More About Food

I am not super-picky when it comes to food. But there are a few things that everyone seems to like and I just... blergh:

• peanut butter-chocolate combination (like Reese's-Pieces - no thank you!)
• mint-chocolate combination 
• marshmallows
• soda drinks 
• complicated ice creams (with lost of random bits and pieces that are not fruit or berries and that have no business being inside my ice cream) 
• Nerds (candy)
• Soft-serve ice cream
• Beer
• Doughnuts
• Dry pretzels
• Whipped cream from those aerosol cans - my kids actually (horror of horrors) spray it directly into their mouths (when they are certain I can't see them) 

Then again, there is a (probably) extensive list of things that I really like but other people look at me like I've sprouted an extra head.

• Buttermilk (to drink)
• Very tart cherries (especially right from the tree)
• Pickled herring
• Pickled mushrooms
• Mulberries (why does no one else eat them?)
• Fish eggs/roe
• Cow tongue (omg, I can't find it anywhere!!!! I really would love to make some for New Years!)
• Pancake batter, bread dough

A few things I had as a kid that would be eyebrow-raising if I mentioned it in polite society:

• Raw milk (so fresh it's still warm after the cow has been milked)
• Curdled milk
• Raw eggs (make 2 small holes with a needle and suck them out)
• Gnawing on chicken toes (in a soup)
• Pine nuts that you actually had to get out of the cone and then crack with a hammer (or a large stone)
• Bone marrow 

And finally, a list of things I thought were super weird when I first tried them as an adult, but grew to really like them:

• Avocadoes
• Tofu
• Mangoes
• Roasted chestnuts
• Pawpaws
• Fresh figs

Is there any food that you really like but everyone else thinks is weird?

Is there any food you absolutely despise but everyone around you likes it?

Of Food, and Staples, and Lack of Planning

I am not a planner.

I don't usually plan meals ahead. Instead, I typically have ingredients lying around to make basic things. Like salads. Or chicken soup. 

My son woke up this morning with a sore throat, zero energy, and a cough. He stayed home from school and he really wanted some warm soup.

I checked the freezer - I thought I had some chicken legs that would be good for making a broth, but nope, no luck. But I did find 2 frozen large chicken breasts. 

There are a few things that I try to always have at home:

• Onions
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Noodles

Plus, I have bay leaf and salt. I didn't have fresh celery stalks, but if I did - I would have added a chunk of that to the broth.

The chicken soup came out delicious, with chunks of chicken and noodles.

************************************************************************

Food things I stock in the pantry/fridge:

• Vegetables that keep well
• Regular potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Onions
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Beets
• Cabbage
• Flour
• Yeast
• Eggs
• Rice
• Lentils
• Dry peas
• Sugar/brown sugar
• Honey
• Salt
• Matzo meal
• Canned tomato sauce or paste
• Fruit that keep well
• Apples
• Fruit that don't keep well
• Bananas (if they get brown, I freeze them and use them for banana bread)
• Dry spices/herbs 
• Dill, bay leaf, parsley
• Garlic powder
• Paprika
• Pepper
• Dairy stuff: milk, buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese

Then there are fresh fruit/berries that are seasonal and spoil quickly, meat, fish, leafy greens, vegetables that don't keep well, and a few other things that we all love but only eat during certain seasons (squash! pomegranate! chestnuts!). This stuff, we buy (a lot) but I don't feel anxious if we are out of, say, tomatoes, or grapes, or salmon. But I really, really don't like to run out of onions.

What's in your pantry? Do you feel anxious about running out of certain things?

November Lists

On my playlist (in anticipation of an upcoming concert):

• Handel Concerto Grosso in D Major, HWV 323; Op. 6 No. 5
• J.S. Bach Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043
• Berio Selections from Duetti per due violini (1979)
• Schnittke Concerto Grosso No. 1

Watching

• Slow Horses
• The Moonflower Murders (I want a drive that red car... and I wish I could dress as well as Susan Ryeland)

Reading

• Just finished "A Psalm for the wild-built" by Becky Chambers. meh. Not my cup of tea.

Loving

• Trails at the nearby park
• Homemade pumpkin muffins with walnuts
• Relaxing under a warm fuzzy blanket next to kids 

Not loving

• Everything in the news

Struggling

• Parenting: kids talking back, kids glued to devices (they all have school-issued laptops, plus the older 2 have their phones), the youngest one not going to bed/not getting up, kids not doing chores (they are all super busy with homework and activities, so I kind of let things slide... but I don't think this is good). 
• Future: I think I am going through an identity crisis... it's been a while since I've had one of those

Cooking

• Recent hits: mujaddra (learned from a friend in college), roasted potatoes, Costco kale salads (salad from a bag, but I also add cucumbers, sweet pepper, pomegranate, tomatoes), pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin muffins, roasted butternut squash
• Recent misses: scrambled eggs, sauteed chicken breast medley - it wasn't terrible, but 2/3 kids complained and picked at/refused to eat
• I've been reluctant to experiment with cooking new things (because 2 of the kids will probably complain) - but I think I need to let go of that... My husband and my oldest will eat pretty much anything, and I am bored of making same old stuff.
• My youngest baked chocolate cupcakes from scratch, all by herself. They were delicious. She tried making the icing but that didn't quite work out - I am not a fan of icing, so I was thrilled to eat the "naked" cupcakes.

Energy

Career-wise, I've been in a slump. 

I've been looking around for opportunities at other companies. But when I dug deeper, it looked like other companies were kind of the same as where I'm now, with similar (or worse) issues.

Maybe I need to re-think what I am doing with my life.

Yesterday, I took the train into Philly and walked a few blocks from the train station to the hospital for my MRI. And it was... energizing. Not the MRI (still waiting for results - wish me luck). The walk in the city. The view, the sense of purpose, the bustle, the cafes, the mish-mash of pedestrians that were students/people in a hurry/people exercising/walking their dog/running to get coffee/ - it all made me feel alive and self-aware.

Perhaps I need to get out of the house more.

Perhaps even for an introvert, solitary writing work for more than 10 years and working exclusively from home for the last 5 years is just... too solitary.

Perhaps I need to figure out away to work elsewhere (library? coffee shop?). More importantly, perhaps I can figure out a way to steer my career towards projects that require working with others. 

Dear Reader: what makes you feel energized and hopeful?

Nothing on My Mind

It is a beautiful day - I just got back from a quick walk around the block.

The kids are off from school (because of election day). The older 2 are on a hike with their high school adventure club. The youngest is off to a park with friends. 

I am a bit jealous.

I've got a ton of work to get through.

I'll be going to get my annual MRI done tomorrow. It was an ordeal to get that scheduled! Because of my insurance, I used to get all radiology done with a provider that was in a completely different system (Crozer) than all my doctors (Penn medicine). Earlier this year, Crozer went out of business and closed all their facilities. Our insurance switched my radiology provider to Penn Medicine. I was thrilled - it's much easier to get stuff done (referrals! authorizations!) and get all the records to/from doctors when everyone is in the same system. (I was actually considering switching my insurance and/or primary provider because of the inconvenience of having to get all radiology done in an unrelated medical system where I sometimes had to carry around CD's of previous MRI's and mammograms because they couldn't always access each other's records). 

Anyway. Seems like all problems solved, right?

Well... not so fast.

Because now getting an MRI appointment is ... a pain. Because all the people who used to go to Crozer now need to go somewhere else. And there are only so many MRI facilities.

I was due for MRI in October. Breast MRI needs to be done at a certain time during the menstrual cycle, so I typically would call on Day 1 and get an appointment set up a week or two later. Ha. This time, when I called - the earliest appointment they had (at one of the convenient locations) was in January. 

I tried again in November, this time, widening the search to locations that were somewhat less convenient. They had a cancellation and I was able to get an appointment. It's tomorrow, in center city Philly! Not ideal, but will do. 

It doesn't make sense to drive into the city (traffic is going to be awful), so I'll be taking the train in the morning, then walking over to the hospital. If I have time, I'll stop by a cafe and get myself a treat. I'll bring my work with me. I'll bring a book. Still, this is half a day that I'll need to take off.

Are you happy with your health insurance? Do you get regular check-ups? Do you like your doctors?

(For me, it's "meh", "yes", and "meh")