... since I've posted here, and no wonder! Things have been going at full speed since I last wrote.
It started with our church's Thanksgiving potluck dinner. Allan turned a vegetable dish into his faux-risotto masterpiece-- cooking a bunch of different veggies and then adding a touch of rice and cream to it. Delicious! :-9 The evening was filled with fun and laughter as we played games and enjoyed good food with good company. At our table was the former CFO of our company, back when it was still a small startup. Small world!
The next day I delved into a short week at work, but it turned out to be one of the longest, as my only 2 colleagues in my sub-group were both out on vacation at the same time, so I was more or less filling in 3 shoes. Fortunately no major problems arose :-) Still, it was an interesting challenge, and a good gauge to see how much I'd learned this past year. Could I handle being on my own for a few days? Well, so far so good :-)
I was more than ready for Thanksgiving Thursday to roll around and just RELAX during the 4-day weekend. We did our usual-- celebrating at my sister-in-law's house with all of Allan's family. Todd apparently observed Aunt Debbie bustling about in the kitchen with nary a sight of Uncle Ron about, for when Uncle Ron tried to kid him about being the one to do all the work, Todd set him straight: "Uncle Ron didn't do anything! Aunt Debbie did everything!"
As much as I enjoyed the break, I was definitely looking forward to going back to work and resuming our daily routine again. You know me-- I crave order and routine, and thrive in it. So Monday began as it always does... except this time I found Todd a karate class! I'd been making phone calls a couple weeks ago, never finding anything suitable-- most of the kiddie lessons were during work hours, or else they were really far away (far away from an SB perspective, that is :-P). On a whim, I called one place whose website I hadn't previously been able to access-- and what do you know, they are located right NEXT DOOR to Todd's after-school care program, and starts at a reasonable hour! We visited and Todd did remarkably well, attempting to participate as much as he could, and even raising his hand and volunteering for a demonstration at the end! Here's to more successful lessons in the future!
Talking to my mother-in-law during Thanksgiving made me realize that I forgot to update everyone on the washer/dryer situation. It FINALLY got stacked! I actually printed out 3 pages of calendars to jot down notes on when I called and when things happened. I should blog it one day, just so you can see how crazily it stretches out over 3 whole months. But in a nutshell: we ordered the set on Sep 14, it arrived and was installed on Sep 26, and that's when the stacking adventures began. When did it finally get stacked? Nov 8. That's right-- nearly 2 months after we initially ordered it!
I got a treat in the mail yesterday-- thank you, Kendra, for the lovely card and the cute turtle bola necklace! I love them! And I'm sorry for ruining your careful handiwork by undoing the bow on the card :-( The picture of the Muppet threw me off, I kept thinking it was a real card instead of cardboard support, and the fact that I wrestled for ages to get all the bows undone didn't alert me that MAYBE they should've stayed tied up? Silly me!
One last note-- does anyone know what the going rate for a babysitter is? Our holiday party is coming up in a week, and we're thinking of hiring Todd's primary caregiver at day care to watch him while we're out. He (the caregiver) is okay with the idea, but we haven't finalized details. Obviously he's trained/experienced since he *works* at an after-school facility, which would warrant higher pay than the teenager next door... and I'm aware rates would fluctuate wildly from the rural backwoods to the busy big city, but... what do you think constitutes a fair rate?
oh Helly..just put it back together...but the sentament is the same. You are awesome. :D
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what the going rate is for a babysitter. I DO KNOW. I need to get into wordpress now. I am blogging on grab far too much.
((huggles!))
I'm intrigued by this "faux-risotto"!
ReplyDeleteThings always seem to get crazy right before a holiday, but at least it makes you appreciate the break that much more. I'm glad you got back to work and had that order! December is always wonky for me, but at least this year it is wonky without the stress of exams. Different kinds of stress instead, lol.
Aww I bet Todd is unbearably cute doing karate. That was great luck finding the place, so I hope he continues to enjoy it.
I'm curious to hear about the babysitting rates as well. I haven't babysat since high school, but I told a friend of the family that I would watch his kids over the holidays if he needed it. Not the same situation, obviously, but I hope he knows what to give me because I sure don't have a clue!
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ReplyDeleteI will have to poke Allan to come here and reply (for once!), since he's the cook and can probably explain it better :-)
I tried doing a Google search for babysitting rates, but of course, the numbers were all over the place, ranging from $5/hour in the deep South to upwards of $20/hour in NYC. The only consensus I could really find was "at least minimum wage".
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ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued too, and as I'm trying to collect recipes I want to know more
Ok, Ok, I'm responding. I'm running an experiment now, so I've got a few seconds to spare. Faux-ssoto, as I like to call it, is risotto without all the work. Real risotto refers to a process of cooking rice whereby you keep adding chicken stock and water. Faux-sotto shortens this process considerably. I usually cook up some veggies in a wok, making sure to let the water from the veggies come out. To keep the water in the pot I cover the veggies. On the side I cook up the rice in a rice cooker. Once the veggies are ready and the rice is cooked, add the rice to the veggies. The rice should soak up more liquid and flavors from the veggies. Add a little cream (or milk) and some real parmesan cheese, and voila, you have Faux-sotto.
ReplyDeleteTry it out and let me know how it turns out.
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ReplyDeleteSounds good! I plan to try it. We are big fans of risotto over here, but haven't found a winning recipe.
(And: Ooh, new layout!)
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ReplyDeleteAllan's turning me into a fan of it, for sure! :)
I've been messing around with Blogger template code all night long... I feel like there are still tweaks I can make, so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them! Color schemes? Layout? Images? Anything at all!