My kids are packing their lunches for tomorrow. They've been eating "hot lunches" for most of the year ... this is okay with me because their school is one of the few in the state which has been making huge efforts at going organic/fresh/no bad stuff. We've had parent-events "catered" by the school cafeteria, and I'm telling you ... there are no toasty dogs.

The problem has turned out to be time. The kids have to wait in line if they get hot lunches. The line is kinda long. By the time they sit down to eat, it's almost time to return to class (they have recess first, starting this year). So in the past few weeks, E has been packing her own lunch. Now J has decided, "my big sister is smart, I will be like her, even though she's bossy, and annoying, and yells too much."

It's fun seeing them choose things. "Can I have some peanuts?" "Can I have some cashews?" "I would like a red pepper, is it okay if I slice this one?" "I don't really want juice, I'll bring my water bottle." "I'll take a banana, and a pear."

These are some healthy-eatin' kids. I am pleased with the choices they make.

Granted, if we had potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, and cans of coke in the fridge ... they'd likely think those were good ideas, too.

But we don't.

Labels: diet, food, health, kids

posted by Zuska @ 9:08 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

stranded

whimper whimper moan moan.

i don't feel good.

it hit me during my first class this a.m. i have chills, and i am hot, and i am nauseous, and i am dizzy.

and i'm on my bike.

i don't feel like riding home. i feel like just going to sleep. here. on the computer lab floor.

i'm waiting to see if it passes, and wondering if i should attempt the gym.

i would say --- not bloody likely --- not today.

we're getting a snow storm on thursday.

it's mid-april.

i remember, living in new england in previous years, that we often got our last push of snow during spring break, which was always around my brother's birthday, which is March 12th.

hello? mid-april?

and i skipped my morning class last thursday due to bad weather, and i really can't do it again. which means i need to wake super-early and get on the damned bus or train at 7 fucking o'clock in the morning.

i hate that.

i think i'm gonna go home. and read for tomorrow, and rest.

then i have to go to the grocery store. if i still feel like this - i'll be taking the bus there. i am making a greek salad for dinner. oh, the effort - it may kill me [sarcasm]. i plan to buy grilled chicken breasts from the prepared food section of whole foods.

yes, i am just that pathetic. and those plans were made before i got hit with whatever ails me.

Labels: food, health, weather

posted by Zuska @ 10:22 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

I wish I were Greek

Beloved is having one of his "international" weeks. He got a new cookbook from the library, and he has been exploring. Tonight was our third dinner from the Greek cookbook.

And I am in love.

He asked all of us tonight, "out of the three meals I made from this cookbook, which components were your favorite?"

Hmm. What are our choices? The Moussaka? The lamb stew in parchment sacks? The chicken with yogurt/mint sauce and onions? The fried zucchini with cucumber garlic sauce?

E said the Moussaka and the zucchini.*

Actually, J said the same thing.

What did I say? "The Meats and the vegetables." Becuase really. If I have to choose one as a fave, aren't I implicitly choosing one as a NON fave? And none of them are my NON faves. I love them all. I don't want to live my life if ANY are missing from my future.

This is some damned good food.

I have no links to the most recent meals. I'm hoping that my going on and on about his delicious experiments will inspire some new posts from him about it. The food was more than deserving.

* Look! My pet peeve (asteriks) is becoming a staple! When the girls were little, my ex-mother-in-law used to always say stupid things to the girls, using "zucchini" as a stand in for "the grossest most disgusting sarcastic alternative." "What do you want for dessert tonight, girls? Ice cream or zucchini?" Seriously, zucchini was ALWAYS the stand in, meant to represent the world's WORST alternative. But we eat (and ate) zucchini all the time. And my poor daughters never understood.

Labels: beloved, food

posted by Zuska @ 11:28 PM 0 comments

Sunday, March 11, 2007

The Bad Catholic

When I was itty-bitty, I was Russian Orthodox. Then I went to no-man's land for a large part of my elementary years, and in high school, my family went born again. I maintained that, with quite a few backslides (I believe that's the term that they use in those worlds), through my early marriage days, abandoning it completely by the time E was three.

Never, not once, not ever ever ever, was I a Catholic. Hell, when I was a fundy-girl, I was taught (and therefore believed) that Catholicism was a cult. What with their idolatry and so forth.

Why, oh why, then, did I decide to partake in Lent? I mean, seriously. WHAT was I thinking?

Yeah, yeah. It's good to see if I have self-control. Do a little self-check to be sure that the fact that I enjoy a glass of wine or two up to 5 days a week isn't actually a problem. But for 6 weeks? I mean, jeez. I feel more than satisfied that I have the requisite self-control. 6 weeks is just dumb.

I had considered - pre-Lent - trying a "diet" that a friend was doing which included cutting out alcohol for 4 weeks, in search of weight loss. And then Beloved came up with his Lent idea, and I thought, "eh, it all works together okay." (by the way - despite the fact that I am exercising again, that I have been eating healthy -- no effect on the weight loss has been realized.)

But poo! We had yummy food last night that would have gone GREAT with a pinot noir. GREAT, I tell you. And those Greek smells coming from the kitchen? mmmmmm.

I feel done. St. Patrick's Day will be my 1 month (ignoring the book group blip), and that's when I'm done with this stupidity.

Labels: food, religion

posted by Zuska @ 7:34 PM 1 comments

Hoping the Motrin Will Kick In

What a crazy busy day that is almost over even though it feels like I just got up.

E did great in the spelling bee this a.m.! There were 50 kids, from all 8 schools in the city/town. She came in 11th. She lasted longer than I expected her to, and I feel like a horrible mother to say such a thing. I know she's a strong speller with an excellent vocabulary, and we had spent most of our time working on her weakest area - teaching her to go slow, and picture the word in her mind. Because if she didn't, she'd skip entire syllables, just from going quickly.

I thought, though, that she was going up against people who were taking this a hell of a lot more seriously than we were (because E really didn't want to - she had low practice tolerance, and wasn't that interested in becoming a Spelling Bee Zombie).

Now that we're on the other side -- I don't think that was the case at all. I think most people were in it for fun. Some kids got out on simple words, some on harder words. There didn't seem to be too much hand-wringing, and I saw little to no tears when people got out.

I was proud of E's performance. She was, too. She got out on the word "procession." When she first sat down, she was in very good spirits, and said she felt good about how she did (she survived probably 7 or 8 rounds). She got more and more agitated, though, as the remaining rounds were full of words she knew. A friend of hers (the last from our school, E was the second to last from our school on stage) got out on "acquaintance" and I asked E "do you know this word?" and she said yes. Her friend dropped the first "c," though, and I asked E if she would have gotten that "c," and she said no, she really wouldn't have.

Later, after her irritation at the easier words (like "monitor"), she said she felt good at the 4th round, like that was far enough to believe "I am smart" and she knew she'd be fine with getting out at any point after that. I think 9 kids were cleared on that round.

We brought a friend of J's home with us from the Bee, and we fed them, and had some calls back and forth with her mom to plan what was next --- I ended up taking the 3 girls to a play being put on by the group the girls often are a part of. They took the winter off because of the school play.

The girls were great and happy and the play was fine - but starting when we walked out the door to the play, I had a headache brewing. At the half-way of the play, my head started to feel like it would surely explode. I came home and tried to rest, but J is coughing like mad - a deep chest cough full of gunk, and I had to stop resting in order to find and administer child-appropriate medication.

Beloved acquired a Greek cookbook at the library yesterday, and the smells comign from the kitchen have my stomach scrambling to get out of my body so it can go be with the food. Man, does it smell fantastic. I can't wait for dinner.

Labels: beloved, cooking, food, kids, weekends

posted by Zuska @ 7:22 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

You have something on your forehead ....

As I was walking to work today, I peered into a 7-11 store, and saw a man checking out at the cash register who seemed to have an injury on his head. A scar? A depression? A scab? I wasn't sure. Then I rounded the corner and saw the downtown Catholic Church that I pass every day, and noticed that several people around me had the same mark on their forehead. Ahhh, Ash Wednesday. Beloved mentioned yesterday that it was Fat Tuesday.

The things this sent through my head ...

is it nice to be part of a religion on a day like this? Where everyone does the same thing, walks around with a badge of perhaps not their faith - but at least their inclusion? What makes someone want to have this external brand, so that everyone who passes them (presumably) knows their religious identity? I wondered what it would be like if I stepped into that church, and accepted the blessing and the ash ... would it have any wonder to it? Even if not to the spiritual aspect, to the ritual?

Beloved announced last night that in consideration of Fat Tuesday and it being the eve of Ash Wednesday - he decided to give something up for Lent - despite his lack of religious affiliation. He said he has done it several times in his past.

I said, "oh, I thought you were going to say in consideration of it being Fat Tuesday, and Mardi Gras, that you picked up some beer to go with our chili." So, I was a wee disappointed that instead, he only picked up spaghetti - as his final dose of pasta before he gives THAT up for 40 days. (Due to my anti-carb influence, I fear).

Then I impulsively (stupidly?) said, "oh, well, then maybe that's what I'll give up." No, not pasta. I already don't eat pasta. Beer. Alcohol.

Damn. I really think I should start this thing that others do --- THINK BEFORE YOU TALK.

Just kidding. I did think. I thought, eh. I'm losing my paycheck (tomorrow's my last), and I'm trying to lose weight. Every time I come home and have a glass or two of wine, I add another 100-200 calories to my day's total. Beloved says it also slows the metabolism, but pshaw on that.

Therefore, I'm dry for Lent. Not for religious reasons, but rather for a wee exercise in self-control, and as an additional step toward my quest for a Size 8 by the time I go to Europe. If it results in quicker weight loss, my dry period will continue beyond the resurrection.

Or is it the crucifixion?

Labels: food, religion

posted by Zuska @ 10:26 AM 3 comments

Monday, January 15, 2007

Yummy Meme

I have been tagged! She Says found this delightful food-based meme, and tagged me with specific instructions to pass it along to my Beloved. Done.

1. If you were stuck on an island and could only eat one cuisine (e.g., French, Italian, etc.) for the rest of your life, what would it be? Why?
Wow. That's hard. I hate to say this, really, but I think I'd choose classic American foods. I think it would be hardest for me to give up things like juicy steak, burgers and fries and Mac & cheese (contradicts my answer to #4) -- FOREVER. Saying this makes me feel very middle-america.

2. What is the most unusual food you've eaten?
I had a brain of some sort. I don't remember what sort ... but it was when I was visiting a family friend in Spain. It's actually a horrible memory, b/c our friend had always talked about eating (I believe it was brain of Lamb) when visiting us in Connecticut, and I always made it clear that I was NOT interested. When I went to Spain to spend time with her and her family, she "tricked" me and served me a breaded dish and told me it was "fish." I ate it, and I didn't like it. It was mushy, and distinctly NOT fish-like. When she told me it was brain, I was quite upset. Funny -- my parents just went to Spain this past fall to attend this friend's wedding, and they met her parents for the first time, and they told her that they were SOOO upset when I was there, b/c after that "trick" - I stopped eating. I wouldn't eat anything. I didn't remember that, and felt kind of bad that they remembered it that way. I was a jerk, really.

3. What is the most unusual food you've eaten and liked?
For me, back in 1999, it was very unusual for me to eat raw fish. Sushi is now an absolute favorite of mine and my daughters'. I'm really having a mental block on other unusual foods right now.

4. What foods will you avoid eating (either because of a dietary choice or allergies or just plain don't like)?

I try to stay away from pure starches. Pasta, white breads, white potatos, rice. I can't always (and don't always want to) avoid them -- but if I am able to make a choice as to what to eat, I will choose things that are not heavy on the white flour/white starch. The reason? In 1999/2000, I lost my baby-weight by cutting out these white flour starches, and I felt healthier than I ever had before. I looked good, I had less stomach-aches and gas, and was generally happier with my body.

5. Do you cook (and by that, I mean prepare a meal that you'd serve to friends)?
I am capable. I cooked for my family (extended) on Christmas Eve, and did a good job. Otherwise, we don't do much entertaining, mostly b/c of law school, kids, and a small apartment. When we are ready to do entertaining, I would be willing to cook for friends. Despite the fact that Beloved is the primary cook in our house for day-to-day, I think I would be the one who is more likely to cook for company.

6. If yes, what is your favorite dish to prepare to impress someone?
I used to always make stuffed mushrooms when I was going to people's houses and asked to bring a dish, and that is one of the things I made this past Christmas, and I still have the knack for them, apparently. I have also just picked recipes that look good from magazines and cook books, and had success.

7. When you go to a restaurant, what's your ordering strategy/preference?
I am so mood-driven. If I'm in a red meat mood, that's all that I even look at. I tend NOT to order fish at restaurants, b/c I fear it will be too dry or too fishy or too something, and I won't like it. I do tend to have favorites at a restaurant, and order that every time. I fear trying something new and hating it ... I don't go out often enough to waste the opportunity!

8. Have you ever returned a dish or wine to the kitchen at a restaurant? Why?
Once, at Applebys (I know, I know, what do I expect?) I returned a dish b/c mixed in with the spinach artichoke dip was a healthy-sized peice of plastic wrap. That was the last time I set foot in one of those restaurants. I wouldn't have been there then, if it weren't for the fact that it was my parents' choice, and going to one of their "safe places" is sometimes easier than forcing something different (for them). Another time, at another chain restaurant, my food was cold in the center. I complained, but didn't have time to send it back.

9. How many cookbooks do you own?
We probably have 10-15? We use them rarely, except for the [Better Homes & Gardens?] I like magazines (Cooking Light remains my favorite for at least 10 years now), and the internet.

10. What is one food that you wouldn't want to live without?
Cheese. Either as a snack or as a compliment to my food. I love cheese. On everything. I am so grateful that I am not Jewish.

I already tagged Beloved, and I'd like to see also what Lyco has to say on the topic of food. All are welcome to tease me for my answer to #1. I must say, I surprised myself.

Labels: food, meme

posted by Zuska @ 1:50 PM 0 comments

Thursday, November 23, 2006

the kids are safe and sound, elsewhere

beloved and i had dinner with my parents last night. it was 100% the best meal we've had with them EVER, i think. my father was not offensive, my mother was not annoying. she only used ONE cliche. she was talking about my hair, and said, "yeah, it's short for a minute, but it grows so fast, just wait a minute, and it will be long again. just like the weather in new england, if you don't like it, just wait a minute."

i have complained many a time that EVERY REGION in this country (except, perhaps, the southwest desert regions) uses that cliche. "you know what they say in Alabama, if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute." "you know what they said in Virginia, if you don't like weather, just wait a minute." "well, you know we have a saying here in Florida, if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute."

but otherwise, we had good conversations and a good time. the food truly was fantastic, too.

schlurg and i were both late, though. 2+ hours late. yes, we had *that* much traffic. beloved and i arrived at our meeting spot at 5:45 (the meeting time was 4), and the schlurg was about 20 minutes away. he then got off the exit, but had forgotten my directions at home, and didn't know his way around the city streets. he was angry at me for "not helping." but i don't live in that town, that state --- i don't know my way around the city streets.

jesus, hasn't he ever heard of mapquest? hasn't he ever thoguht about taking care of his own damned self?

but it was truly fine, and not an issue.

the girls were, as usual, very good in the car. they both listened to their ipods for a while - but j. got sick of it, and started to play around, and made my fingers dance to the music on the radio, but e. listened to a book on tape on her pod, and fell asleep to it, for a couple of hours. considering that the drive was twice as long as it should have been - they were great.

as i had said, my mom did not understand my desire for later dinner reservations. since we were meeting the ex at 4, she thought we should have 5:00 reservations. guess what? when my dad and i drove by the restaurant on the way to meet hte schlurg at the location which he was lost, we dropped beloved and mom off at the restaurant to get the table - it was 6:29. dad and i got there at 6:40.

our dinner was at a relatively posh italian restaurant. man, my parents have changed since i was little. this restuarant was Summer Associate quality. and my parents ordered 4 courses. which is one more than Summer Associate stuff. we had 2 appetizers for the table, then a soup/salad course. we shared a lot of stuff, which was very cool, and since i was still incredibly full, a very good idea.

very yummy.

the traffic on the way back was lighter than light, and we had a quick drive, and got home at .... uh .... 11:30.

next post: today's menu and my list of thankfuls.

Labels: ex-relations, family, food, holidays, mom

posted by Zuska @ 10:16 AM 1 comments

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

another busy day

up early today to get the kids to their class breakfasts. they were happy with the muffins. e. was especially proud that for once in her life, her mother got off her lazy ass and actually cooked something.

which really isn't fair, b/c for other family breakfasts, my being a lazy ass meant that i was the last one to sign up, which meant that coffee fell to me, which meant that i had to leave the house at 7:00 instead of 7:20 so i could swing by Dunkin Donuts to get a box of coffee.

so really, the laziness forced me to be decidedly NOT lazy. and it sucked. and i hate dunkin donuts coffee, but since i don't have a coffee URN in my ridiculously tiny cramped outgrown apartment, i have no choice. well, i could go to starbucks, but it costs more, and i'm not sure it would be appreciated.

then beloved and i bickered not once, but TWICE. once b/c he found an instrument on the side of the road that he liked. i don't know what it was. it was a percussion instrument. but with the bars? that you hit with a padded stick? you know? not a glockenschpiel, but something similar, but it was big. he would have to DO stuff to it to make it work, but he wanted to, b/c he said j. wants one, and it would be a perfect solstice gift. and i was irked. b/c it was BIG. it stands on 4 legs, it's like 3 feet tall and 3 feet long. it takes up SPACE. space that i feel we do not have.

he said i was mean, and i jumped on him unnecessarily. i thought i was sort of joking, and he thought i was being a shrew. (his words).

THEN. he had errands to run this a.m. he has to get the turkey, and he's brining it, so he has to find something to put it in to soak in salt water. i got us a zipcar MONTHS ago for this weekend. i feel certain that i told him that the zipcar started at 10. he feels certain that i did not, b/c he arranged to pick up the turkey b/t 8 and 10 a.m. so we bickered again.

the holidays are here! can't you tell?

but i apologized, and he did, too, and all is well in Zuska's house. not that it really wasn't. we just bickered.

b/c it's the day before thanksgiving, and we're human. that's what humans do. they bicker on the day before (and day of?) thanksgiving.

and now i'm packing the kids.

BUT!!! oh my god.

beloved found the sound clip of Kramer (Michael Richards) and his tirade last week.

OH MY GOD.

I saw a headline that said, "the next mel gibson?" the other day, and i didn't click on the link. i figured it was part of the stand up routine.

boy, was i wrong. this was so horrid. so horrid. and then his apology? on letterman? i can't find the link that beloved had on his computer, where richards said that is going to get to the bottom of all the hate and rage that "is in all of us."

what the hell? Dude, YOU are the one who blew up on stage and said awful racist things. YOU. Not "all of us." not everyone's default, when they're pushed, is to call people names based on the color of their skin. he behaved so abhorrently - but what's worse is that when pushed, this man showed what he thinks all the time. that didn't come from nowhere. it didn't just happen b/c of "rage" at being heckled. something that had been controlled and kept in his private thoughts has just become public --- it didn't just spontaneously generate.

it was horrible.

i have to finish packing the girls' suitcase.

Labels: beloved, food, holidays, kids, life

posted by Zuska @ 10:39 AM 0 comments

Monday, November 20, 2006

my first day off

today was mostly spent on the field trip.

i know that i recently was begging for colder weather,

but .... uh ....

i could have appreciated it more if it came, oh, say, tomorrow?

we went to this wolf sanctuary in far-off town in our state. we all sat outside, on this wooden deck, under an awning. the sun was not out. we just came off this stretch of 60 degree weather, and while almost everyone had on their warmest winter coat, and almost everyone had gloves .... we didn't have all the fixins, and we needed them. i wished i brought my beautiful wool indian scarf that beloved bought me last year. i was so cold. all the kids were so cold.

but we all survived. and the kids all got to fake-howl, and they made the wolves howl, and it was cool.

the bus driver we had was a bit of a trip. he got lost. several times. we crossed the charles river SIX TIMES today - 5 of them on the way there. we should have crossed ONCE. hello? how can you get paid to drive people around the state, and not know your way out of the city in which you LIVE? i mean, come ON. i guess considering the taxi drivers that i have been subject to, i should not be surprised. but i was. b/c my kid was in the very back seat, and i was in the third seat from the front, and this guy's ignorance made it entirely possible that we would be separated .... permanently.

we did return safely to the school, and the kids went back to school, and i went home "to go for a run" and instead, i fell asleep on the couch.

but then i went for a fun walk into town to buy a bunch of bottles of wine and such for the holiday.

and then i picked up the kids.

really, i had so little responsibility today - it felt great. i was a rider on the bus. the kids were the focus, and i was just there to keep people from getting hurt and/or lost.

tomorrow (day off #2 -- let's see how much i accomplish)

1) go for a run
2) go get my driver's license
3) go to social security office to change my name (i.e., erase married name)
4) go to school to submit my writing requirement
5) go to town hall in my town to apply for new passport b/c of stupid old married name and me wanting to get married in Canada in approx 2 months;
6) go get my hair CHOPPED OFF
7) go home and cook a roast
8) pick up kids
9) finish the damned roast
10) eat with the fam
11) make muffins with the kidlets
12) sleep? maybe? hopefully?

This is a day OFF??

Labels: cooking, family, food, marriage, parenting, wedding

posted by Zuska @ 8:13 PM 1 comments

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Finally, success

i cooked tonight. moroccan salmon. it came really really good. i served it over couscous, and the girls didn't like that so much, but they ate all their salmon, and their tomatoes, and their red peppers. i thought it was great, and didn't realize that i like couscous.

beloved wasn't home, b/c he works late on Thursdays, so he didn't get to enjoy it with us. i don't know if he'll have some when he gets home or not. which sucks, b/c i hate to keep leftover fish, and there's a good bit left over. damn.

Labels: cooking, food

posted by Zuska @ 8:26 PM 0 comments

beloved saves the day!

i worked on my paper until i realized that i was famished. and since i foolishly left my wallet at home, i could do nothing about it. i called beloved to let him know i was on my way, and lamented over the fact that i wanted to call and offer to bring him home a Shwarma, but b/c of my fucking wallet, i could not.

so what did my dearest say?

"oh, i will meet you there, and we can both get Shwarmas!" and so we did.

they were yummy, and it hit the spot (i got it with extra garlic sauce, mmmm), and we got to spend a surprise 30 minutes together over lunch in the middle of a thursday.

treats!!

Labels: beloved, food

posted by Zuska @ 3:53 PM 1 comments

About Me

Name: zuska
Home:
About Me:
See my complete profile