meatloaf

I've long been a fan of meatloaf.  It's just a true comfort food for me.  I'm also married to a meatloaf lover, which would lead you to believe that we make it often.  We don't, though, for a couple of reasons, I suppose: 1) we don't have the luxury of allowing something to bake for 50 minutes in the evening, and 2) we try not to eat too much ground beef, which is the main ingredient in meatloaf.  It could be made with ground turkey, but that's sooo not the same.

The other day, I was reading an interview with Diane Sawyer, and she gave the following response when asked, "What's your signature sandwich?"

"Meatloaf.  I keep trying to perfect my mother's meatloaf recipe.  I will never get it perfect, but I'm getting closer.  My sister told me the secret is using chili sauce instead of ketchup, which was a revelation.  I've always wanted to throw a dinner party where everyone comes with their mother's meatloaf.  Everybody could evoke their mother's memory through her meatloaf."

SO MUCH TRUTH.

My mom's meatloaf is the best.  It has raisins in it, which actually makes it gross to certain people (i.e. Todd and Steve), but my mom, sister, and I love it.  The first time I made a meatloaf in my married life, I included raisins.  I caught such flack from Steve that I haven't made it that way again ... and so, in fact, I haven't made it much at all. But I am super open-minded, even when it comes to meatloaf, so I would totally attend a dinner party during which one taste tests a variety of meatloaf recipes.

What Diane said about how meatloaf evokes the memory of a mother got me thinking about how this sentiment, at this point, wouldn't be true at all for my girls.  If I don't get busy, my girls will have NO meatloaf memories associated with me.  So the moral of this story is that, regardless of cook time involved and/or the amount of red meat consumed, I need to start making meatloaf more often.  At least occasionally.  And I think I'll plan to throw raisins in half of it.

Wordless Wednesday

breathe

Alternately titled: First World Problems, But Still ...

Sometimes I feel like I forget to breathe.  I start thinking about my to-do list or credit card bills or the sticky spots that magically reappear on my floor moments after I've cleaned ... and I find my heart racing, and I have to make a conscious effort to breathe.

Last night we were watching football, and I started worrying about this spring and summer.  We have two very important weddings to attend, bachelor and bachelorette parties to host (mine is already planned, thankyouverymuch!), and multiple flights to book.  We're headed to Florida for spring break, and both girls have grown so much that we need new swimsuits and all new summer clothes (in a short try-on session this morning, Sara learned the difference between a swimsuit that stretches to fit and one that fits comfortably).  I need to find Emma a new daycare facility, one that will hopefully also offer summer care for Sara before kindergarten starts.  And, oh yeah, I have to get my ducks in a row to register for kindergarten at the end of March.  Nothing on this list is unmanageable, and each piece is just a drop in the bucket, but sitting on the couch thinking about it all last night just about did me in.  That shouldn't happen, should it?

So I had to think about breathing and count my many blessings: Melissa and Adam are coming to visit in a couple of weeks; Steve and I got front row seats to see the Cyclones play at TCU; we get to go to Florida, and I have the means to buy my girls new clothes and swimsuits for the trip (doesn't mean I'm not still looking for deals and using my Kohl's Cash!); four people we love very much are getting married soon, and we get to be part of the festivities; my girl is going to be registered for kindergarten, and I know she's ready to take it by storm!  Wow, life is good.  And just like that, breathing gets easier. 

Then this morning I held my breath for nearly an hour and a half as the girls and I waited for an oil change and tire rotation.  The girls behaved beautifully (breathe ...), but I need almost $1000 worth of brake work on my poor old car.  Yep, still driving the same one I've been complaining about for a while now.  I feel like it's become a money pit, but it doesn't require a monthly payment, so I remain torn ... though seriously leaning toward biting the bullet for a newer ride.  We'll see.

On a semi-related note, Sara has been asking for ages to go to a McDonald's with a play area, and in our usual hustle and bustle I always say "no".  But today, since there is no school and we have time to breathe, and after exhibiting more patience than I knew they had while waiting on our car, I said "yes".  The girls had such a good time alternating between playing and taking bites of chicken nuggets ... simple pleasures.  Thank goodness for my beautiful girls, who help me keep it real and in perspective. 

 

 And in the interest of forgetting my non-problems altogether and honoring the day, this is worth sharing:

"I have decided to stick with love.  Hate is too great a burden to bear."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sara Skates

Sara had been asking to take skating lessons, so I decided to sign her up after the holidays.  We went to Play It Again Sports and found a great pair of Riedell skates in her size.  She was excited all week about this morning's lesson, and so was I ... but I also have been trying to keep myself in check so I don't end up deeply depressed if she decides she doesn't enjoy skating.  Just kidding.  Sort of.

 When Sara woke up this morning, she picked out her skating outfit.

 She did well during her lesson.  She fell once, but got back up and kept practicing.

 Her class worked on skating forwards and backwards, swizzles, and glides.  I loved every second of watching her.  She looked up at me occasionally for a thumbs-up.

Sara came off the ice happy and wants to go back next week, so I'm counting her first lesson as a success.

Hair

I'm not gifted in the art of doing hair.  I can wear mine down or in a ponytail, and that's pretty much it.  I've never been able to do anything creative with it, or even give it poof or body that lasts for any mentionable amount of time.  As Sara has gotten older, I have mastered the braid, but that continues to be about the extent of my hair-doing capabilities.  So you can imagine my stress level when I learned that Sara would need her hair in a bun for her dance recital.

I ended up with more time to prepare than I originally anticipated since the recital, which was scheduled for December 7th, was canceled along with everything else the weekend of our Dallas Icemageddon.  It was rescheduled for January 4th, giving me time to think about how I would craft this aforementioned bun.  Luckily for me, YouTube exists, and it was there that I took a tutorial on the sock bun.  I was thrilled when, after only about three attempts, Sara's hair was secured - and looking good - in a sock bun fixed by yours truly.

 Sara's bun stayed perfectly in tact throughout the recital, even when one dance required her to wear a Santa hat and one called for reindeer ears.  Sara's favorite dance - and ours, too - was to "Feliz Navidad", during which she got to do her favorite move.  I'm sure it has a name (I don't know what it is), but it's where you have hands at your sides, and you spin in a circle doing butt kicks.  It's a little flapper-esque; super cute, and Sara loves doing it.  Emma enjoyed the recital and was excited when "FN" played, even though she looks totally perturbed here that I bothered her for a photo.

 Post-recital, Sara and her friend, Morgan, posed together.  Cute bun-heads.

 We celebrated a dancing success at BWW, where I took photos of Sara's hair.  I should have taken them earlier, perhaps with a nicer background, but I forgot.  And clearly picture-taking isn't my greatest gift either, but you know what?  That's one awesome bun.

 And a pretty sweet little head it's sitting on.

Fresh Start

I meant to do an "it's a new year" post a few days ago, but here I am - Sunday evening, just before heading back to work - getting around to it.  We had an uneventful NYE after flying in from MN earlier in the afternoon.  We made individual pizzas, watched the Cyclones win, and did laundry.  Sara was determined to see the ball drop, but she fell asleep on the couch around 10:00.  We woke her up at 11:00 to watch it drop live in NYC, but she was out of it, so she watched the recorded version the next morning.  And that's about as exciting as our festivities got.

We had a great MN trip, and managed to beat most of the really, really cold temps they are experiencing now.  Our first three days there were beautiful.  We were barely out of the car from the airport before Sara requested to put on her snow pants and go sledding.  She was a dare-devil on the sleds this year, and couldn't get enough; Emma even got in on the action.  Lots of fun and laughter was involved.

Now we are headed back to our routine ... which is good for us.  Sara has been asking and asking, so I finally signed her up for skating lessons, beginning next Saturday.  This excites me to no end, and I really hope she enjoys them.  We're committed for four weeks, so we'll see how she feels after that.  And it's birthday week in our house again - Steve's this time, on Wednesday.  I ordered his present online and it's not looking like it will arrive in time, so that's a bummer.  I should have planned better, but it is so hard to plan for an early January birthday before Christmas ... anyone feel my pain?!

Anyway, instead of rambling, it's time for me to wrap up this post and wrap my head around the fact that my alarm will go off at 5:00 tomorrow morning for the first time in a long time.  Our new year if off to a good, fresh start; hope yours is, too.