Lunchtime Dreamers

I worked for a busy Fortune 500 corporation from the age of 24 to 40something.  I rarely looked up from my desk from 7AM-10PM that the job and promotions demanded.  But on the weekends I turned into the outdoor adventuressI wanted to be in high school.   Why did I not pursue this path full time?  'Cause of the money honey.  There was NO money in adventuring in those days.  You took a vow of poverty and that was that.

Well I like to inhabit nice, clean places and wanted to own a home of my own. So off to work I went on Monday mornings, tired, exhausted from the all-night driving when coming back from a high energy weekend in some distant California outpost.  I kayaked, skied, climbed, backpacked every weekend and had a blast.

During the week, I ate lunch at my desk and plotted with my travel agent adventure buddy where to go next.  I wished I had had the internet then to keep me company.  I could have viewed all manner of places with out leaving my desk and reduce my stress. Check this link out and you'll know what I mean.

http://bit.ly/cWUI72

Happy Lunchtime Dreaming!

Belgium Cousins

Just got a call from Michelle and Nathalie. They arrived in San Francisco safe and sound, are sleepy and looking for a great restaurant to eat at. Any suggestions?

Dinner - What's it going to be tonight?

A new mother and friend sent me this question. I thought I would post the answer.

Since you've been so great about offering sanity....a practical question:

How often did you hit the store when your girls were little? And far in advance did you plan menus?

I'd like to plan a week out. But I wonder if that's not smart when it comes to meat and produce.

And yes, I could take the kids with me to the store, have already done that. But it's so easy to run up a bill that way, and I'm watching my pennies after six months of my folks living with me.

Write back whenev....

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If you can solve the "How to shop with two small kids and keep your sanity" issue you will make a fortune. There are pages & pages of "quick and easy shopping tips," from every woman who found herself in the same situation. There are blogs, magazines, radio shows, TV shows devoted to the topic and insane asylums filled with perfectionist moms who failed."

If you go through the KCRW "Good Food" archives (use my name as keyword) you will find the segment I did on "rip n' pour". The best of packaged/frozen food for next to nothing.

I tried to plan, but something always got in the way. So I decided to have some staples on hand at all times to be able to "throw something" together.

I kept soups and thick french/rustic/paisano bread. If I could not get to anything else kids got soup and bread. Rich thick soups with a handful of rice thrown in. In addition, I picked up roast chickens. I would buy two and eat the second one cold or cut it up in the soup or throw some in a salad. Kids loved it.

Veggies are great fresh in the summer, but winter means frozen fresh. Most time I put all them in soups so no one can identify the "yucky" stuff.

To control costs try and find the smaller stores that don't buy prepackaged fresh fruit and veggies. The food is priced for less, ripe, thus ready to eat.

Price difference:

Whole Foods avocados were hard as rocks: $5.99 a pound
Olive Fresh Garden Market: ripe, ready to eat, $2.99 a pound.

You can't be all things to all people and cooking is always optional. Remember Julia Child did not have children!

Laurelle

I Need a JetBlue Weekend from my Weekend!

My two daughters had enough drama between them in the space of 24 hours that I thought I was going to run away. 

 Daughter #2 had a meltdown 'cause she hated her outfit and didn't want to go to the B-Day party. The real reason was she was hungry, but do you think she would eat what I offered her? Nooooo...... She decided not to go to the party, but after eating her dinner, while my husband and I are eating OUR dinner, she pops in (with the same outfit she had the meltdown over) and asked if we could take her to the party after all. 2 hours late - 

 The D#1 was asked to cover for her friend (who snuck out of the sleep over to egg houses with two boys, 16!) thus prompting a call from the mom to ME thanking me for "hosting her daughter". So the conversation was a bit confusing as the other mom was ready to rip my head off as she thought I was in charge of the sleepover. I was not in charge of anything except a crying D#2.

 See next paragraph.

 THEN - it turns out a mom read her daughter's diary to ANOTHER MOM, thus prompting massive humiliation on the part of every kid named in the diary! So once again D#2 was crying her eyes out, feeling betrayed, and I had to control my urge to throttle said mom.  

THIS WAS JUST FRIDAY NIGHT!  

Saturday afternoon then rolls around:  D#1 slept through the time she supposed to be at surprise party and when i tried to wake her - she lashed out and called me a name! At least she apologized.  D#2 wanted to go to the movies with her friend, but doesn't want to have dinner with her. How do you do this, I wonder, as the show is at 7PM? She changes her mind and then doesn't want to go out with her friend at all. But then pesters ME on "what to say?" I say, "Tell the truth". She says that NEVER WORKS.

OMG - give me a cup of calming tea or I am running away on JetBlue.