While we were in Tampa last month, we had a bad experience at PF Changs. It seemed they had reduced portion size while keeping prices the same. Like I've said before, I'm fine with paying more at this point. I expect it. However I'm not happy when I order what I think is enough food to feed my family, only to come up short. So Steve e-mailed them, pretty much saying the same thing in a nice manner. Today, a gift card for $40 came in the mail from PF Changs. Woohoo!

In other news, after last week's horrendous accidental chicken jerky, I've decided to make my version of Alice Springs Chicken for "TV Thursday" dinner. I've yet to mess this one up. I'm also making olive oil, parmesan and roasted garlic potatoes and some mukimame. I can't wait.

I've started to read Wicked. It wasn't exactly what I expected. Definetely not for the kiddies, but good. I also picked up the new David Sedaris book. I'm reading a bit here and there when I need a good laugh, savoring it like a fine wine. Oh, and I bought Wuthering Heights out of curiousity thanks to Twilight. I finished The Host. Very, very good. I highly recommend it. Meanwhile, War and Peace is peacefully sitting on my bookshelf gathering dust. The "peace" parts were good, but I was having a hard time getting into the "war".

Last night, Steve and I went into Georgetown. I ended up with new shoes and got to eat at La Madeleine. We've also had Thai food and cheesesteaks this week. And I wonder why I've gained 3 pounds since coming back from Tampa.

I am bummed however that Children of Men came in the mail from Netflix instead of Redneck Zombies. Seriously. I was really looking forward to watching it this weekend. It was filmed in Delmar, MD on a video camera. All the reviews said it was wonderfully bad. Oh well.

Better hop off here. I've got about 2 hours before Rob, Kirsten (formerly known at "the new girl"), and Gary arrive.

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Two nights ago I was in New York City. Now I'm in Tampa. And we drove to both places. I'm too lazy to figure out how many miles I've traveled this weekend, but I can assure you it was a lot.

Steve had planned on taking the entire family to Tampa for his business trip, but then they told him they didn't need him to go. So he planned an impromptu trip to NYC to see "Phantom of the Opera". The girls are currently obsessed with it, and the boys like it too. What's not to like about a phantom right? Sure there's kissing and love, but there is a murderous phantom. He made the reservations, bought the tickets, went to work on Friday where they told him Tampa was back on. Heh.

So 4 hours up to NYC on Friday. I never imagined my kids would be excited to get dressed up and go to the theatre. American Girl store, dinner and the theatre crammed in. Saturday morning, Toys R Us and some random souvenir shops to find Phantom stuff for Victoria. Saturday afternoon, 4 hours back to Maryland. Then frenzied clothes washing, house cleaning, and pool prepping. Sunday, back on the road and in Tampa by 11pm. Craziness. We even crammed in dinner at Cracker Barrel.

Tomorrow it's Ashley's 10th birthday. We'll spend most of the day at the beach on the gorgeous white sand. I'll have to track down a cake at some point.

I'll leave it up to Steve to post the pictures from New York City. I'm tired and it's way past my bedtime.

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So, I'm in the kitchen, bleary eyed, pouring myself a second cup of coffee, getting ready to make Steve's lunch. It's a little after 7am. The house is quiet and all the kids are still in bed. I'm exhausted and considering going back to bed after I send Steve off to work.

Josiah, the eight year old, wanders into the kitchen, wrapped in a blanket (I really need to find him a robe!). I'm thinking to myself, 'This kid is such an early riser. I can never seem to get any quiet time before he's up and out of bed, no matter what day of the week'. He looks at the clock. "7 o'clock?!? I set my alarm for 6:30!"

Here I thought I would be able to catch a day a week to sleep in during the summer break. Yeah, I think I'd like to have a talk with whoever came up with putting an alarm clock on that Nintendo DS!

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Things I loathe

• Waking up late and having to take a cold shower due to poor shower scheduling
• Messy kitchens
• Homework time after school
• Laundry
• Reading Treasure Island outloud for hours (and summarizing) because of inadequate teaching
• People who talk the talk, but don't walk the walk
• Spending 5 1/2 hours of my Saturday in a car dealership

Things I love

• A husband that keeps himself in shape for me
• Breakfast and coffee with friends
• My new shiny black minivan (I got to pick this one out all by myself!)
• Naming my new shiny black minivan (Victoria gave it the best name a minivan has ever had)
• 87% dark chocolate
• Breakfast by the pound at McKay's, a small local grocery store (french toast and scrapple for $.84, mmmmm)
• My special mix CD Steve made, each song handpicked for me
• Handwritten notes
• Egg salad sandwiches
• Clean kitchens
• Seeing my teenagers studying together for an upcoming test
• Driving with the moonroof open and my windows down
• Baseball caps and ponytails when you don't have time to do your hair
• Baby bunnies and baby cockatiels (not mine, but I got to look at them)
• Reading funny cards and laughing with Victoria
• Kids that not only can behave in a restaurant, but in a car dealership for 5 1/2 hours (Seriously, they deserve an award.) 

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So a telemarketer just called. I'm very nice to them, I just turn down whatever they are offering. We exchange the usual pleasantries...

"Hello, is Mr. or Mrs. P available?"

"This is Mrs. P."

"How are you today, Mrs. P?"

"I'm doing well. How are you?"

At this point she launches into exactly how she is...

"Well, I'm not really feeling well. I was feeling fine this morning and then all of a sudden I just started not feeling right, like I was coming down with something. I just can't seem to get over it."

I had to hold back from laughing, partly because it was so unexpected, partly because it's something I might actually do.

I managed to say, "Yeah, it's that time of year. Everyone's getting sick."

She then went into her spiel. I politely turned her down and told her I hoped she felt better soon. And I really meant it.

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Yesterday, I took homemade cupcakes into school for Josiah's 8th birthday. This was my first time. Every other school the kids have ever gone to have had strict rules for birthday snacks. No homebaked or bakery items, must be individually packaged and have ingredient list due to possible allergies. Sure, it took less effort from me, but it's just not the same bringing in a couple of boxes of twinkies instead of some homemade cupcakes. I have fond memories of watching my mom in the kitchen, the night before my birthday making cupcakes. There was something so wonderful about carrying that box full of cupcakes into your class, knowing that everyone else in your class would hurry over to see the goodies you had brought in.

Kinda from scratch

A side note, I was amazed at what a little bit of candy sprinkles do for a horrible frosting job. Who knew cupcakes were so difficult to frost? Although, I guess it could just be me.

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I'm having a lot of fun with my new computer (whom I have named Oscar, just because). Yesterday, I installed iTunes and put our entire library on it. I burned myself a cd of a bunch of songs from the various mix cds Steve made me when we started dating. I hadn't really listened to "secular" music in almost 10 years, so I was a bit behind on music. (Don't ask.)

Anyway, while driving home from the store with Ashley and Alex and listening to my "new" cd, we were discussing how certain songs can bring you back to a particular time and place in your life.

"These songs remind of when I was dating your dad. It's like I can close my eyes and just be there. And like The Fray's album reminds me of last October when Mom-Mom died because it was the cd I listened to the most." I said.

Alex (13) pipes up like he totally gets what I'm trying to say, "Yeah, and like, I don't know why, but the word supper always makes me think of spaghetti."

Alrighty then. I was a good mom and didn't laugh til I told Steve later. Although, perhaps a good mom wouldn't blog about it.

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Janie is in the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets looking for a snack. She ends up putting a single serve bag of popcorn in the microwave, as she does every night. She calls out to Steve who is sitting on the couch curled up with a quilt.

Janie: "Steve, do you want anything while I'm out here?"

Steve: "No"

Janie: "I have cookies. Do you want some milk and cookies?"

Steve: "Nah, I'm not really hungry."

Janie: "Okay."

Janie waits for her popcorn, then dumps it into a bowl to enjoy while watching tv. She comes out and sits down next to Steve. Janie neurotically methodically picks through her popcorn, scoping out the best kernels. Steve reaches over without looking away from the television and grabs a big handful giving no thought to the next piece of popcorn that Janie was planning on eating next. He throws the popcorn in his mouth.

Janie: "I thought you weren't hungry."

Steve (throwing another handful of popcorn into his mouth): "I'm not."

Janie looks incredulously at Steve while he mixes all the popcorn around while trying to take another handful. Steve doesn't notice and keeps happily munching away. Janie gives up and sighs. Steve's too cute to stay mad at for too long.

*Ok, not every night, but 5 or 6 out of seven nights a week.

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I've noticed that we aren't going through toilet paper as fast as we once did. So I did some thinking. The only thing I can figure is that it has to do with the kids going back to school. Now I need to adjust my toilet paper buying schedule. I've been buying it in the same quantities I was over summer and it seems I have 36 rolls of mega roll toilet paper after buying a humongous 30 roll pack at the wholesale club 2 weeks ago (yay for new wholesale club membership and being able to buy things in bulk!). I think I can skip buying toiler paper for this pay period. Don't you think?

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I woke up earlier than usual this morning. Victoria was going to a friend's farm to dress up like Boots from Dora the Explorer for a hayride thing they do. Sure beats asking to hang out at the mall, so I drove her down. The costumes weren't just cheap costumes, they were like mascot costumes. She promised me to get a picture or two. We'll see if she conveniently forgets.

After dropping her off I took the opportunity to call Hannah and stop at the grocery store. I wanted to make "Quick Tortilla Soup". It's windy with a good chill in the air. Perfect day for a huge pot of soup.

When I got home, I made a huge pot, big enough for a couple of days. Steve was outback attempting to turn the pool from a lovely green back to clean. The pool guys are coming to close it in a little over a week. I'm always so relieved when they come to close it. I'm so tired of trying to keep the thing clean by this time of year (hence the green hue it currently has).

Now Steve and Alex are at the dump getting rid of our old dishwasher and stove along with other random crap that was sitting out in the garage. There is still much more out there, but the van will only hold so much.

Josiah is playing some SpongeBob video game. Sophie is working on a project for school, something to do with the United Kingdom. Ashley is hanging out at the neighbors. I told Hannah I would post the recipe. So here I am. I was racked with guilt for putting it off until now.

Quick Tortilla Soup

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 tbsp taco seasoning mix

1 garlic clove chopped

6 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup thick and chunky salsa

1/4 cup lime juice

2 cups cooked chopped chicken

1 can black beans

2 cups frozen yellow corn

1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro

2 cups broken tortilla chips

Toppings such as grated cheese, diced avocado, sour cream, and diced tomato.

In 4 qt pot, cook onion, jalapeno pepper, taco seasoning mix and garlic over medium high heat until tender crisp. Add chicken broth, salsa, and lime juice. Cover and bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Stir in chicken, cilantro, beans and corn. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with broken tortilla chips and serve with toppings.

So there ya go. A good soup for a nice cold day. I already sampled it several times, just to make sure it was edible and all. (Tamzen, I bet it would be good if you used vegetable broth and left the chicken out too!)

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