The Cooking Group

My roommate Colleen started a cooking group of which she, two of her coworkers, and I are members. This week is my week to cook for the group, and I had chosen Wednesday and Shepherd's Pie. Knowing that Tuesday evening is already booked, and Wednesday I would get home too late to start, I planned to make everything tonight and then just bake it on Wednesday after work. According to schedule, I drove to work today so I could pick up a few groceries on the way home.

I would like to preface the cooking group experience by saying that when I arrived at work this morning after a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving weekend, death was all around. All the potted plants were on their last limb (so to speak), and there was the very pungeant and distinct odor of a critter (probably one of those colossal street rats) who had come to work to die over the weekend. After going through half a bottle of Febreeze, two separate children kicked me today. By 6:00 I was not to be reckoned with.

Little did I know that the entire city of Chicago with a day job does their grocery shopping on Monday nights. And as if the amount of people and grocery carts wasn't enough, the employees decided that tonight during "rush hour" would be a good time to restock shelves! We were in single file lines going both directions down the aisles, and every time I stopped to examine a product, the people behind me sighed, rolled their eyes, and stamped their feet impatiently. I could feel my brow creasing, my eyes narrowing, and my lips pooching out as my face sunk deeper and deeper into an authentic bah-humbug scowl. I finally made a dive for the meat section after circling it 3-4 times only to find that there was no ground beef left on the shelf! I sacrificed for ground turkey and high-tailed it out of there (as fast as you can high-tail when you have to wait in the check-out line for 20 minutes).

Back at the ranch I had to figure out how to quickly thaw the frozen pound of ground beef that I did have. Floating it in luke warm water was not working fast enough, so I ventured the old microwave method. However, being the technical wonder that I am, the microwave didn't heed my 30% power command, and 4 minutes into the defrost, the edges were cooked and the middle was still frozen. Meanwhile I began chopping the onions and actually had to leave the room twice to wash my face because my eyes were stinging so much.

I overcooked the meat, undercooked the onions, and forgot to mix everything in the skillet before putting it in the casserole dish. Suddenly it occurred to me that cooking groups were probably designed for people who are good at cooking. At my lowest point, I called Mom to wonder aloud about what I had been thinking. If it's possible, I may actually be kicked out of the cooking group come Wednesday. Please send me strong vibes of savory filling and fluffy mashed potatoes.

BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy birthday Jen!!! And it's a golden one too. I'd put up pictures from Thanksgiving except that once again I brought my camera home and forgot to take pictures...whoops. I hope you're having a magnificant day!!

Elinore turns 1!

Elinore turned one on Saturday, and we all went over to Michigan to help celebrate. Jen made an awesome cow cake in honor of Elinore's favorite animal sound. She sat down to a piece of cake after opening all her presents, and spent a full 3 minutes staring at it, trying to decide whether to give it a go. Finally she dug in, and ended up liking it.

Its hard to imagine that a year ago we were all sitting around marvelling at the tiny baby we were meeting for the first time. Elinore loves to give hugs and kisses. Her kisses however involve leaning in toward an object with her mouth wide open, and a hug means putting something up to her ear. Surely, she'll get it all straightened out someday!


 

Tis the Season...

Last week at work, a 2 yr old and his mom walked into the center. The child approached me with his mother, looked at her, then pointed at me and said, "Santa?" This is a new low.

Yesterday I noticed a new ad on the community board at work. It caught my attention with the title "Tennis, Anyone?" I got excited over the possibility of having someone to play with. I read further.. "..looking for someone to share court and coach fees. We meet twice per week at the blah blah tennis center..." good.. "..My daughter is 5 and a half and an intermediate player. Your child should be between 5 and 7 with tennis experience.." I guess I'd forgotten which Chicago neighborhood I work in.

Mom met me downtown yesterday to kill some time in the Loop before catching the train to Michigan for Elinore's birthday. We decided to go to the former Marshall Field's (now Macy's) to check out the animated Christmas windows. The story this year is Mary Poppins, and unfortunately they were a bit of a disappointment. Not sure if this is a product of the new ownership or just an off year, but the first window really set the tone for the lot of them. The scene showed the two children peeking down the stairs as the front door blew open and Mary Poppins with her umbrella appeared behind the open door flying through the air. Note to the animators: Next year, connect the rope to Mary's waist rather than her neck to maximize that holiday cheer.

No me gusta!

Last week was my week from hell. I had so many projects, papers, and exams. To give you an idea:
Monday: Spanish exam (somehow I got a 91), meet with my spanish group for our presentation
Tuesday: Bio collection and working on group presentation again
Wednesday: Bio collection due, Spanish group presentation, Spanish essay due
Thursday: Developmental psych exam, riding lesson, spanish tutorial
Friday: Neuroscience final paper due, Spanish composition re-write due, Biology exam

I made it through the week alive, however, last night my throat started to hurt and later I woke up with a fever. So after going to my 9 oclock class, I have an exam Friday, I went to health services and they said well we think it's the flu. This was not the end to stressful week I was hoping for.

City Life

Friday I woke up early and decided I had to buy milk before doing anything. On my way to the standard Jewel, I passed a smaller grocery store that I'd been meaning to try. Some of you may be familiar with Aldi's, but I was not. I parked at 8:45 and walked up to the doors which were still locked (until 9:00). There, I struck up conversation with the 70 yr old woman with no teeth and a mustache who was also waiting for the store to open. I marvelled at the baskets all chained together, and thought they must be to keep the carts together during the night when there is wind. (What a quaint suburban thought!) I studied them trying to figure out how to un-chain them, when another 70 yr old man came up and fed the box a quarter. Immediately the chain released and I looked away as if I'd known that was going to happen all along.

Finally the door opened, and we filed in to what looked like a Latin American convenience store. Everything was in boxes and cans, with lots of cardboard containers holding it all together. When I got to the milk section, there was one little grocery freezer section devoted to my only 2 choices. Whole. or. 2%. I picked one, and made my way to the checkout where you have to pay for a bag if you want one. What a unique experience, thought I, until I talked with Jennifer in Holland, MI who knew all about Aldi's. So much for my insights into big city culture.I have to admit that I did find it refreshing to have half of my choices eliminated for me. As a product of the obsessively indecisive culture caused by spending 20 minutes in the toothpaste aisle debating about whitening vs. tartar control vs. contains baking soda vs. sensitive teeth vs. mint vs. cinnamon vs. cheap vs. expensive vs. crest vs. colgate etc, etc, etc, I enjoyed the freedom to make an authoritative decision without question. There was no buyer's remorse after the milk.

Later that day I saw my first city rats scuttling around near the dumpsters at work. They were smaller than the reputation that preceded them. I was expecting rats the size of house cats who attacked pets and small children that were left out overnight. The signs posted on the telephone poles in my neighborhood informing the public about the rat extermination in July depict a rodent with huge ears poised for attack and baring its fangs. It wasn't exactly the "welcome to the neighborhood" that I was expecting. 

Snugglesuit

We've had a few nice days here in Michigan lately. I think it is supposed to get to 62 degrees today. We always look forward to a chance to get outside. Kevin always thinks I have Elinore bundled too warmly. I think that is one of the greatest concerns of parenting young children. How do I know if they're too cold or too warm? Is she wearing enough layers? Should I take her sweater off? Should I put a hat on? And not only are you making the choice, but then everyone who sees your baby at the grocery store or on a walk is judging you on whether your baby is warm enough. Anyway, we call this the snugglesuit. (Sometimes I call it the supersuit). It is nice and snuggly warm, but not so thick that she can't move. It has been great this fall. She certainly is cute in it!