Why am I so tired?

"Why am I so tired?" I asked myself last night when I was in the throes of putting Mia and Lainie to bed. Joe was at a meeting, and had gone there straight from work. Just one of those days. No big deal.

My mind did a quick review of the day. And I decided I deserved to be tired. Now I am going to share my day, not to impress anyone but myself. And to show myself how very entitled I should feel to sit down on the couch and fall asleep just past 10pm--even though my norm is to keep on cruising till midnight.

Here goes some of the highlights:

5:30am wake up and run 6.3 with Joe (to Skypark and back)

Drop off Maddy and Liza at SVMS

Drop off Lainie and 2 friends at Brook Knoll

Give an invitation to the church Luau Party to my friend

Meet Melissa & Marina and take their 2 sweet peas home to play with Mia until noonish

Make huge pot of soup (or at least start it)

Wash Mia, Meredith and Lainie's bedding

Pick up Lainie and Meredith from school

Farmer's Market fun

Trader Joe's stop

Pick up Maddy and Liza from SVMS

Soccer Carpool to Blue Ball Park

Errands in Capitola

Dinner to the Ballard's*

*complete with homemade french bread (when did I have time to mix that?!?)

Bed making for Mia, Meredith and Lainie with fresh sheets

OH--and Mia's I got to do twice in one day because she wet the bed in the morning AND at nap time! Awesome.

And somewhere in there we actually ate dinner

And back to the bedtime wrestling routine which led to me my question...

"Why am I so tired?"

Hmmmmm.

Cheesy Chicken Chowder--Soul Food

Cheesy Chicken Chowder:

3 cups chicken broth

diced and cut potatoes, carrots, onions, and broccoli (totaling abt. 4 cups or so. Very exact, I know.)

diced and cubed chicken (or my version is to throw in one can of the canned chicken from Costco)

*Place all in a large pot, add salt and pepper and cook at med. heat with lid on, until veggies are soft.

*In separate pot on stovetop. Melt 3 Tbsp. (or less) butter. Then add 1/3 cup flour gradually (to make a roux). Then slowly add 2 cups of milk and stir continually. Once this begins to thicken, add about 2 cups of cheddar cheese slowly and stir to it is all melted through and thickened.

Once the roux is complete, add it to the veggie and chicken mixture and continue to heat entire soup through on low heat.

Eat it up Yum! Excellent for dipping french bread into.

When Life Gives You Cloudy Guck...Make Cheesy Chicken Chowder

Outside looks like cloudy guck. Even though there is a perfectly plump watermelon sitting on my counter, it's just one of those days for making Cheesy Chicken Chowder. Actually, not just "one of those days"~but in fact, THE first day of the season for it. It must be time for seasons to change. It's that awkward, tween stage, where there's a mix of the old and the new: the watermelon on the counter. my favorite Autumn wall quilt (that Natalie made) already hung (put it up 2 days ago so as to maximize wall time). Swim suits from yesterday still drying on a hook. And Cheesy Chicken forming up nicely on the stove, while my "Caribbean Fruit" Yankee Candle aroma exudes summer in a bottle.

It's obvious that I am NOT ready for summer to end. It never really came and warmed me to the core yet. One of those way-too-mild Santa Cruz summers two years in a row now. I feel quite cheated actually. But since I look out the window and see only gloomy clouds, I might as well make the most of it. Which means it's time to pull out the soup recipes. The old lemons/lemonade thing. And though Cheesy Chicken Chowder has hardly crossed our minds the past few months, it is one of those comfort foods my family can become emotional about. Eyes light up, smiles expand, and the next question is "Are you also making french bread?" I'm glad to give them the thrill of Cheesy Chicken for dinner, but my only question is "Do I also serve the watermelon?" Which brings me back to that awkward tween stage.

This must be how my 6th grader feels. That awkward tween stage. The mix of the old and the new. Goodbye to elementary school and all that it embodies--ultimately the innocence of childhood. And hello? to middle school and all the hassle of growing up, or at least trying to, or trying not to, or cloudy guck.

Watermelon. Cheesy Chicken Chowder. Summer. Fall. Elementary School. Middle School. Changing seasons. It just makes me hungry.

Nothin' Like the First Blog!

friday, december 7, 2007

Nothin' Like the First Blog!

Our First Official Entry on the BlogSpot!!!So, Nicki (my young and hip friend) has brought me into the next century by helping me create my very own blog. What a great word is "blog!" Kind of describes how I feel about doing this. "Blog" is such an awkward word, and I feel a bit awkward about "bearing my soul" and then posting it online for all to see. But she assures me I will love it...

Can I do this without posting it on-line??

I do love that this is a spot where I can write the menial happenings, the memories afraid of being forgotten, the gratitudes of living. I'll give it a shot--throw caution to the wind. Launch our lives into the great oblivion for any to happen upon--and just pretend that it's all a part of my bedroom library journal collection that only I peruse. Oh, wait, I don't have a journal collection yet, really! Hmmmm, guess that's why I'm giving this a shot.

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So that was my "first official" and ONLY blog entry about 4 years ago! Awesome.

Under a different blog name, and with new & improved determination to write down the bones of my life, here I go again. Hold your breath...