wan-na find something?

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

when it rains, it pours

so last week, i was nonchalantly browsing on my local craigslist, and came across a job posting that sounded pretty sweet. part-time, minutes from home, in a field i'm quite experienced in.

no, not prostitution. hmph.

anyway, i decided to toss 'em an e-mail to get more information on the position. a few minutes later, i received a response with a link to a "core capacities index assessment." i clicked on the link and found myself at the beginning of one of those lame ass personality tests. blech. but i was bored, and it was easy enough, so i went through the 3-page process and then e-mailed the office back to let them know that i'd completed it. and not more than an hour later, i got a call requesting an interview. ha!

now, i'm all about the SAHM-4-lyfe. really. i love nothing more than being home with the bean, with my schedule completely open for lunches with friends or MIL, being able to pick up the teen from school, taking off for random overnight vacays whenever the opportunity arises. but at the same time, it would be nice for the bean to be able to hang out with someone other than me 24/7. and as for me, i wouldn't turn my nose up at being able to get out of the house for a few hours a day, having a reason to get dressed up, and being around adult folks for a while. although i still went into this thing half hoping they wouldn't end up offering me the job. haha!

i didn't even have a freaking resume. i couldn't find my old one, and was so loath to start from scratch that i strongly considered not bothering to bring one along. nice, huh? but i sat down this morning (yeah, i'm a procrastinator) and hammered one out. the funniest part to me was that i had no problem remembering the dates of my jobs from the last ten-ish years, but i couldn't recall for the life of me what my duties had been. so funny. anyway, i ended up with a decent resume, which i printed on some lovely heavyweight cream-colored paper, and put them in a pretty flowered manila folder.

i dropped the bean off at the hub's grandparents' house, headed down to the office, and found myself in the area WAY too early. like, i was 20 minutes early. so i swung through starbucks for a treat and then made my way to the office.

and as i'm sitting in the parking lot, checking my e-mails, i find not one but two separate inquiries for invitations. pink paper designs has been pretty quiet for a while - i hadn't even gotten any inquiries for a few weeks. i ended up scheduling a meeting with one potential client, who's going to bring along her sister - a bride still in need of an invitation vendor. yee-haw!

the dude who was to interview me was damn near 20 minutes late. ugh. but hey, better him than me.

he finally showed up, and he was a really nice guy. it was a nice looking office, and i could totally see myself working there. we chatted for about half an hour, and although i honestly didn't give a shit as to whether i was offered the job or not, i found myself turning on the interview charm. out of all the interviews i've had in my life, i've only ever not been offered the job once. so i suppose that it was just natural for me to ramp it up and somehow make myself look like i really wanted that damn job. i'm such a geek.

and then when i got home, i had yet another new potential client e-mail! awesome.

we'll see what happens with it all. either way, i'm a happy camper.

last night, i made some serious comfort food for dinner: cheddar-topped shepherd's pie. i chopped up the veggies and sauteed them with a little oil:



added the ground beef, a bit of tomato paste and flour, and some water:



layered it in the pan with some cheesy mashed potatoes:



and all the while, the bean was at my feet, pointing at the oven and warning me: "ot! mom! ot!"



half an hour later, i pulled it out of the oven, all "ot" and cheesy and bubbly:



it ain't pretty, but it sure tastes delicious.



i'm now debating between a few places for the hub's birthday dinner: roy's, fleming's, or smitty's grill. decisions, decisions. which would you pick?

Monday, March 30, 2009

friends, (s)family, food, fun!

for the first time in a long time, i had a super awesome, jam-packed weekend that included some girl time, seeing friends i haven't seen in a while, pajama time with my family, and, of course, more cooking fun.

we got some unexpected extra time with the teen, who stayed with us through late saturday morning. bonus! her dad was out of town for work on friday, and she just bit the bullet and asked him if she could stay, since he wasn't going to be around anyway. and wonder of wonders, he actually let her. i was shocked, and so was the teen. this threw a little bit of a wrinkle in my plans, but one that was easy to fix.

i had a class reunion meeting that afternoon, and was all set to drop off the bean at the hub's grandparents' house for about an hour or so. the meeting was scheduled to start right at the time that i normally go to pick up the teen from school. and so that morning, i wrote her a note to pull her out of 6th period (which is her T.A. class anyway, so no biggie) and the new plan was for her to hang out with the bean at home. sounds simple, right? but we were a little nervous as this was the first time for them to be alone together for any period of time. i knew they'd be fine, and i was only down the street, so when it was time, the teen took her sister into her bedroom to play and i slipped right out the door.

the meeting was at the local corner bakery and ended up being just me and one other committee member, cornell. the other two ladies couldn't make it for different reasons, so the two of us caught up for a bit and then dug right in. we discussed possible venues, dates, vendors, and each took a list of assignments to tackle before the next meeting, which we scheduled for next month.

before i left, i placed an order for a late lunch for me and the teen. i ended up waiting for over ten minutes for it to be ready, and as i stood there looking exasperated, the manager came over to see if i was okay. i was nice about it, and he went right into the kitchen to crack some heads. turns out that both cooks thought the other was fulfilling my order. d-oh! i ended up walking outta there with my order and $10 in corner bakery bucks. sweet!

and the teen did a great job entertaining her sister for an hour-ish. she even said "we should do this more often, it was fun!" awwwww. they had some great bonding time. yay!

i got the chance to try out yet another chocolate chip cookie recipe before i had to leave to meet the girls for dinner. i'd heard great things about this recipe, so i was happy to try it out. and i followed it to the letter - i even rolled the dough in 1/2 cup-sized balls and broke them in half, which i thought was kind of strange, but whatever.



and they turned out PERFECTLY - a little crispy on the edges, chewy in the middle, and these were nice, big cookies. i'd say they were at least twice as big as what i usually produce. this was good, because it made it easier to stop at one cookie, rather than chowing through about three to get my fix. heh.



on my way to meet the girls for dinner at chaya downtown, i dropped off the teen at BFF's house. it'd been a while since they'd seen each other, and i was glad they were getting some time to hang out.

lucky for me, there was no traffic all the way to l.a., and i pulled into the parking lot just before 6. i managed to snag a sweet spot right next to the elevator (although i wasn't sure if that was the valet lot or not. oh, well), made sure to bring my ticket to have it validated, and made my way upstairs to the restaurant.

the gang was [almost] all there: amber, ann marie, insomniac, and diame. once the monkey arrived, the party was complete. we noshed on all sorts of yummy happy hour eats - sushi, calamari, bruschetta, cocktails. of course, i stuck to plain ol' coke, but it didn't lessen the fun at all. the conversation was lively and cheerful, and it was a great time. the monkey got a great group shot, and i'm sure she'll post it soon. so much fun!

on saturday, i decided to make more of those delightful æbleskivers, but this time i used one of the williams-sonoma recipes to make the batter from scratch. i'd been cheating and using simple pancake mix for my earlier endeavors, and since i had the whole family home and ready to eat, i thought it'd be nice to make the good stuff.

and what a difference! this batter was uber fluffy, thanks to the whipped egg whites that were folded in.



they even looked fluffy as they cooked in the pan.



i made a lemon cream cheese filling and dropped little spoonfuls in:



and then hoped for the best as i flipped. i learned that the "real" batter is ridiculously easy to flip over - maybe the pancake batter is just too heavy to do it right.



looks good, yes?



with the teen back at her dad's *tear* we busted out some fat ribeye steaks for dinner. i sauteed some veggies and made some rice to go with them, and it was all delicious. so delicious that i didn't even bother to take a picture - i just devoured it. after a week of no meat, i was excited to savor every bite of that steak. yum.

sunday, as the hub jumped in the shower to take the bean to church, i got her ready and put her in one of my favorite dresses:



she always crouches down whenever i do, so that's the best shot i have. you don't even get to see the fabulous hot pink satin lining that peeks out from underneath the dress. ah, well.

when they left, i got myself ready too - for the baby shower that we were throwing for our dear friend lilcee. she's expecting a girl in late may, and i was excited to see her and the rest of the girls. we don't get to see each other often enough.

i couldn't find a single fucking thing to wear that i liked. but i ran out of time, so i ended up settling on a dress i've had for a few years and pairing it with my knee-high slut boots. klassy, eh?

on my way to the venue, i swung by to scoop up lilcee, and we had fun chatting and laughing in the car. when we opened the door and walked in, i was delighted to be greeted by tater and nanette, who'd also brought her gorgeous little em dash:



those eyes! so beautiful.

our table was sporting these pretty little flower arrangements, courtesy of venn:



and we loved watching these two sweet, well-behaved SFAMily babies munch on their toes, babble, and smile:



r certainly had a way with both of them - they loved her lots.



we had three menus to pick from - breakfast, brunch, and lunch. i opted for a ham, cheese and mushroom omelet with hash browns - and chose silver dollar pancakes instead of toast. yum! and because i could, i got a side of bacon, too.



we even shared dessert! there was apple pie, cheesecake, creme brulee, and lemon meringue pie. the latter two were my favorites.



check out the cuteness of our mommy-to-be!



it was over all too soon. we made our rounds with hugs and goodbyes, and then we all went our separate ways.



i went home to relax, and then decided to make some more cookies - chocolate with peanut butter chips this time. hey, the other ones were all gone.



while i worked, the bean found a new place to play.



i hate applebee's. it's one of the few chains that i really think is shitty. but i found a recipe for asian chicken salad online, and i thought it would make a perfect, light sunday night dinner. and it did!



whew. it was such a lovely weekend! and now, i must brainstorm for ideas on how to celebrate the hub's 30th birthday...this week. shit.

Friday, March 27, 2009

just when i thought it was over

the fucker figured out how to send me an e-mail on facebook.

and, because i am a glutton for punishment, i read it. but this time, i'm just amused as hell. for cereal. i mean, look at this hot ass mess:

Sorry, but das message you left me dont make no sense at all. sounds like you mad or sumthin'. anyways, dont be mad at me cuz you a High School Drop-out or No College Degreee.....that's yo fault.....it's all good tho, we are all Ghetto in some ways, right? Peace-out!

i can't stop laughing. and i guess i need to see if i can block this mofo, but since i don't plan to reply any further, it doesn't matter.

unless he decides to keep harassing me. oy.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

you like me? you really like me!

i have to say, i really appreciate the sweet comments and support from yesterday's post. i especially dug hearing from those of you who de-lurked! it's always fun to hear from people who've been reading about my craziness. i love that you're entertained by my silly stories, even when my posts are less than exciting.

now, some random crap:

opening the mail lately has been super fun. along with the usual junk mail and bills and other equally un-fun stuff, i've been surprised with some unexpected boosts to my wallet!
  • for some unknown reason, nordstrom decided to send me $60 in nordstrom notes. if you're unfamiliar, those are basically gift certificates that you can use towards any purchase at nordstrom, in-store or online. you earn them by buying shit using their store credit cards. and y'all know i haven't done any shopping in quite a while, so i'm stoked for these.
  • apparently, when we moved into the last house and opened an account with the city for our water, we put down a deposit. i totally don't remember this at all. and when i went in to close the account, the clerk didn't mention it to me. nice. so when i opened an envelope from the water department, i was surprised to find not a closing bill, but a check for $130! so awesome.
  • when we started looking for a new place to live, i registered on rent.com to see their list of available properties. the complex we moved into qualified for a bonus in the form of a visa gift card, and so when we moved in, i filled out the online form and then forgot all about it. until this week, when i checked our mailbox (which i rarely do, because we have our mail sent to a box elsewhere) and found a debit card with $100 loaded onto it! yahoo!
  • i did a mystery shop job a while ago where i had to go to a ross store, make a purchase, and then go back and return it the same day. i don't care for ross, because i hate rummaging through piles of unorganized shit to find something i probably didn't need to begin with. but the store was close by, and it was good to add to my mystery shopping experience, so i accepted the job. and i got a check in the mail for my efforts - a whopping $8.85. whee! i can take the teen to get a pinkberry. heh.
the latest in my neverending perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe saga: i finally got around to trying out alton brown's "the chewy" recipe yesterday. i picked up that bread flour at the store a couple of days ago, and crossed my fingers that i would love the recipe because i couldn't find anything smaller than five freaking pounds of the stuff.

as i started mixing it up, i noticed the difference immediately. it seemed to be...softer. silky. and not white, like all-purpose flour - it was kind of pale, pale yellow in color. interesting.

the dough had to chill for a while, so i put it in the fridge and went about cleaning the thimble. my cousin seven was coming for a visit and dinner, so i wanted to make sure the place was spic and span. i was done in a jiffy, because after all, it's a freaking thimble, and when we got home from picking up the teen, i turned on the oven and scooped it out onto my baking sheets.



they turned out nicely - luckily, i didn't experience the flat-as-a-pancake results that a lot of folks who've tried this recipe have ended up with.



and they're tasty! i'm still not convinced that this is "it," but the teen says it's pretty damn close. i've got at least one more recipe to try, so the quest continues.

while i made cookies, the bean toddled over and noticed that i'd left the chair in front of the computer. little booger - she was all stealthlike as she clambered up and took hold of the mouse (usually a big no-no, as she broke my last one when she tossed it to the floor in the old house).



when seven arrived, she and the teen sat down and we all chatted and caught up as i made dinner. i'd found a good-looking recipe for three-cheese broccoli calzones, and i decided to pair that with a nice green salad. i mixed up a batch of chili's honey-lime dressing (that baby food machine sure comes in handy for lots of stuff), chopped up some veggies, tossed the salad, and plated the calzone with a side of organic marinara sauce from trader joe's.




the dressing was DIVINE. really, i think it's my new favorite - sweet and tangy and delicious. i've never had it at chili's before, but i'm glad i decided to give it a shot. and the calzone was pretty yummy too - next time, i won't bake them as long (they got kinda crusty, sad) and i'll use less ricotta and more mozzarella, but the recipe's definitely going in the veggie-weeks rotation, since the teen polished off the entire thing. yay for finally finding success! looks like the key was NOT using the fake meat. ha!

we had a great time catching up and giggling with seven, and sent her home with a chocolate moon pie (i'd gotten a big ass box of them at costco last week, yum) and a baggie of cookies. good times. stupidly, i forgot to take pictures of us, but it's okay. we'll see her again soon, i hope.

lastly, i'd like to punch paula abdul in the throat every time she opens her piehole.

that is all.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

paging dr. blogspot. paging dr. blogspot, stat.

i know, i know. i shouldn't be letting this ridiculous facebook bullshit get to me. but it is, and i'll tell you why:

i care what people think of me.

i don't like admitting that, because it seems so petty and stupid. although i do believe that most people who insist that they don't care what others think of them actually do, and in fact care quite a lot. but acting as though it doesn't matter is a great way to keep people from seeing too much. obviously, that doesn't apply to everyone - it's just a silly theory i have.

blogging began as a fun thing for me - an easy way to document the ordinary day-to-day activities of my life, as well as what the teen and the bean were up to. i enjoy looking back on posts a year later and reminiscing, and i've also found that it's a great outlet for me to get my thoughts out and work my way through them. sometimes they're pretty personal, a lot of times rather comical, and i've received some great comments and e-mails from readers who offer support, laugh at my antics, and even come to their own realizations about their own lives. so for me, blogging has turned into something that's quite therapeutic.

as i was writing yesterday's post, i came to the conclusion that the reason why i care about others' opinions of me truly stems from all those times that i had to go to a new school, be the new kid, and prove myself all over again to a whole new group of kids who most likely didn't really give a shit whether i befriended them or not.

so although this person on facebook means absolutely nothing to me, his fucktarded posts on an open, public forum questioning and judging my life really, really piss me the fuck off. and as i mentioned yesterday, the whole high school thing is one of the few hot buttons that never fails to get me going.

i was laying on the couch with the sleeping bean last night, playing solitaire on my iPhone and checking e-mails. i clicked on the facebook application (because i'm freaking addicted to that damn thing) and was absolutely floored to find this:

Sorry girl, someone who goes to College for just a year, don't make em' a College Grad.....just get yo' G.E.D. n' you good to go! aint no shame in it, ya know whut I'm sayin?........ :)

and i was LIVID. i was so incensed that i couldn't even take the time to snicker at the absolute irony of the damn post. i'd been polite in my previous reply to this ridiculous person, answered his question truthfully even though i knew i had no reason to justify or explain myself to him, and he couldn't just leave it alone?

i couldn't help it - i popped off with another reply that was a whole lot less polite and a hell of a lot more angry. i pointed out his lack of reading comprehension, spelled out that i'd received a proficiency certificate more than a year before i was scheduled to graduate high school, and the most painful part (for me) - that i'd never claimed to be a college graduate. well, and then i threw in a cute jab about how his writing skills in his posts didn't exactly put him in a position to judge my education background. heh. come on - i had to!

as we were getting ready this morning, i was filling the teen in on the facebook shenanigans. she was just as pissed off as i was about the whole thing, and the conversation continued as we got in the car to head to school. and when i told her that both the high school experience and my lack of a college education were sensitive subjects with me, she looked at me and said "that's totally my dad's fault. i'm sorry, mom."

how much do i love this girl, really? i mean, really - i love how she thinks things through and so often comes up with the right conclusions, or close. when i told her that she had nothing to apologize for, she followed it up with "well, it was mostly because of him that you ended up making those choices, isn't it?"

and she was right. i'd met her dad when i was particularly vulnerable and easily influenced. and i was so in love with him and wanted to do whatever i could to spend time with him that i sacrificed a lot - a whole lot more than i realized back then.

sooooooo...i just de-friended the facebook d-bag. i was hesitant at first to do it, because god knows what he'll post next, but i figure, he's truly nothing. and he made himself look like the idiot with those horrible, want-to-poke-my-own-eyeballs-out-because-he-can't-write posts.

anyway! to end this post on a lighter note, the vegetarian dinners have been...interesting. i made a nice green salad the other night and served it with that trader joe's "chicken" - and let's just say that it's a good thing i left it on the side. because it turned into mollydog's dinner.



it looks like chicken, right? even had the right texture. but even with seasoning, there was no disguising the taste of the stuff. this shit was straight nasty. the hub and the bean spit their bites out, and the teen made faces at it before finally tasting it and then rushing to wash it down with a glass of water. blech.

at least the red lobster cheese biscuits i made were good.



the teen made dessert for us. i'd bought a couple of bags of these:



and she made rice krispies treats with them. the caramel in the marshmallows smelled wonderful, and added a really nice flavor to the krispy treats.



i highly recommend these, if you can find the marshmallows. so yummy!

also at trader joe's, we'd bought this:



i decided to see if i could disguise the fact that it wasn't real meat by putting it in my beloved tater tot casserole. i put it in a skillet to warm it through:



and then assembled the casserole. yes, i ran out of regular tots and used the round ones to finish it up.



i did taste the "meat" first, and while it was noticeably different from regular ground meat, it wasn't that bad. it had the right texture and the flavor was slightly soy sauce-ish (which isn't shocking, considering that it's made from soybeans). and it went over well enough - i didn't even get a chance to take a picture of the finished product before we dished it up. the teen still didn't love it, but the hub and i cleaned our plates. heh.

here's a few bean pics - i laughed as she took one of my reusable grocery bags and made a backpack out of it.



and then she got tired and decided to take a load off and rest a little - in the dog's bed.



way to end this post on a lighter note, yes?

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

facebook gone bad

i am inexplicably annoyed this morning.

well, it's not exactly "inexplicable." i know why i'm pissed off, but it's so silly and petty, and i really need to just take a deep breath, count my blessings, and move on.

yesterday, i accepted a friend request on facebook from a guy in high school whose name i remembered, but i didn't necessarily remember the person. whenever i get these requests, i immediately check out our "mutual friends," and if there are enough of them, i generally accept. i don't have an exact number that qualifies as "enough," i just wing it.

and this morning, i look at my facebook wall and see a post from him. it said, and i quote:

"Hold up.... you're a 1989 Graduate?! wait...didn't you dropped-out of HighSchool?"

WTF?? asshole.

now, some back story. this is one of the few things that is a sore subject for me, which explains why such an idiotic post made me see red. okay, here goes:

as i was growing up, i faced the sucky challenge of being the new kid in school a lot. we moved quite a few times, and i found myself having to work my way into the already-formed cliques numerous times. it bit ass in the worst way, but i dealt with it as best as i could. i always envied the other kids who'd built relationships with each other from kindergarten, and wished i had buddies like that.

when we moved to southern california, we lived with a boatload of relatives who were sharing a small 2-bedroom apartment. it was kind of crazy - there were probably ten of us there at a time, but as time went by and people found jobs and homes, the number lessened a bit. i spent third grade at a "primary" (K-3rd) school there, where i again was the new kid who had to start from scratch. i made some friends, only to find that we were going to move yet again - this time into a brand new house that wasn't yet built, in a city about 20 minutes away. and this time, i was a little more into it because my folks let me pick out which of the models we ultimately chose. i felt like i'd actually helped make a major decision, yay!

to make a long story short, that school district was the one that i was able to stay in for a good long while. and i made the most friends there - going from the tail end of elementary school through middle school (although i did spend a semester at another school due to another [temporary] move), and then those critical years began: high school.

i had such a great time as a freshman - meeting new people, changing classes, going to games and dances. sophomore year was fun, too, and about halfway through i met the now-ex - my first ever boyfriend. and towards the end of that year, i fulfilled a childhood dream: i tried out for and made the varsity cheerleading squad. i was so freaking proud, and totally excited.

one of my friends wasn't quite as enthralled with high school life as i was. she hated every aspect of it, and one day she showed me a brochure for the state proficiency test that she'd signed up for. passing the exam would prove that she was at the same level as a graduating senior, allowing her to leave school as long as she had her parents' consent. i thought she was effing nuts. no way was i even going to consider leaving high school early! junior year was going to be fucking sweet - i couldn't wait to rock that cheer uniform and perform at the games, AND i had a cute boyfriend. life was grand.

and then, over christmas break...we moved. again. i was so damn bitter, and looking back, i realize that contributed to how much my life at the new school blew. my thoughts were completely consumed with the life i'd left and desperately wanted back, and got in the way of my usual schtick: making the best of the situation i was in.

i was so miserable - until i remembered my friend and her exam. she'd passed, and was so much happier, out of high school and attending classes at the local junior college. i went right to my counselor's office and scooped up the information and application for that test.

you can guess what happened next - i passed. and i got the hell outta dodge as soon as i got those results in the mail.

i've never regretted it, but i will confess that i wish i'd had the chance to be a senior in high school. i wish i could've done all the fun stuff - getting out of school early because i didn't need to take six full classes, driving in a car with my friends, hanging out, prom, graduation. when i let myself, i still get a little bummed out from missing out on those things - the rites of passage that most kids get to experience before growing up and facing real life.

funny, though - i helped plan and attended the ten-year reunion for my "real" class and learned that a lot of people didn't even realize that i hadn't graduated with them. huh. i was pretty memorable, all right. oh, yeah.

and now, i'm helping plan our 20-year reunion (yikes, my ass is elderly). we've found a lot of people using facebook, which is cool, until i get messages like that poorly-written, uninformed one. i couldn't help it - i wrote back with a totally snarky but polite response, seething the entire time.

overreaction? probably. do i give a shit now? not so much. muahahahahaha!

Monday, March 23, 2009

veggin' out

i was happy to see the teen when we picked her up after school on friday. i know i've said it before, but the weeks that she's with her dad just drag, and i so look forward to those fridays when she comes back and brings new life into the house. i miss her so much when she's gone.

as usual, i dragged her with me to run some errands - just quick stuff like picking up the mail and a grocery run. and as i was telling her that i was planning on making chicken tacos for dinner, she gave me a weird look, stopped pushing the cart, and said "mom, i kind of have to tell you something."

all sorts of crazy shit ran through my mind. a new boyfriend? a bad grade at school? she wants to live with her dad full time? what? but i kept my composure and said "sure, babe, what's up?"

she gave me that look again, and said "i decided i want to be a vegetarian."

phew. i was so relieved that it wasn't anything drastic. not to mention, this is something she's said before, but i never really thought she'd do it. and then i thought back over the course of all thirteen years of her life and it made sense - she's never been much of a meat eater to begin with. even when she was a baby, she turned her nose up at anything that had beef or chicken or turkey in it. but at the same time, she didn't really like a lot of veggies, either. and her love of bacon is almost as legendary as mine. that's what had always stopped her before.

and as i was mulling all of this over in my noggin, she's saying "mom, i'm really sorry, i know it's going to be a pain in the butt to make dinner and stuff for me."

awwwww. she'd just decided to cut out meat from her diet, live a healthier lifestyle, and she was worried about inconveniencing me? i love her so much.

i told her not to worry about it for a second. yeah, it'd be a little challenging, but i was totally up for it, and i told her so. plus, the hub's been known to cut red meat out of his own diet for months at a time - he'd be totally on board with this, i just knew it.

and he was, of course. i wasn't shocked in the least. actually, the biggest lame-ass in all of this is me - i'm a complete carnivore and rarely have a meatless meal. i'm not a huge fan of a large variety of vegetables, but neither is the teen. not to mention, like me, she hates beans - which is a major staple and source of protein for those who choose a vegetarian lifestyle. we're both gonna have to make some adjustments and open our minds (and mouths) a little here.

so now, my big challenge is scouring the interwebz for tasty vegetarian meals that we can all enjoy. i'm hoping to find a nice variety of entrees that aren't always pasta or salad, which is what seems to be the typical dish. like, when you go to a wedding or something, and there's a vegetarian meal available, isn't it always something boring and blah like pasta primavera or spaghetti with marinara sauce? ho-hum.

wish me luck. this is gonna be interesting.

heading out to the big apple

like most of our best vacations, our christmastime trip to NYC was kind of a last-minute decision.  i don't even think there were six we...