quiet monday

So, Pic and I made the ziti tonight. Yea! So far, we're one for one on this menu planning thing.



Thanks to both Ms K and Coach J for their ziti input. I kind of did an easy hybrid of the two ideas. All of my meals for the week are meat-free (Cardo's in charge of the chicken taquitos and he's getting cooked chicken for that). I just tend to not cook meat. However, after reading Ms K's recipe, I know that next time I make ziti, I'll add in some ground turkey.

Pic and I did add in some shredded zucchini (per Ms K's suggestion) and shredded carrots to the pasta sauce. We really need to use the vegetables we have on hand. We're not always so good at this.



We did halve Ms K's recipe, and it's a good thing. Pic ate a noodle. Yes, people, a single solitary oh-so-lonely in her digestive tract noodle. She did eventually also eat the tops off of all of her broccoli, too, so there's that. She loves to help me cook, she just doesn't so much love to reap the rewards of it. So much for all of those people out there praising the whole 'get your kids to help you in the kitchen to pique their interests in foods and actually get them to eat' idea. Ah, well. I'll keep at it. Only in the last few years have I started to really like foods I never really liked before (squash of various sorts, watermelon, asparagus, avocado, ecc), so I have hope for her.

Anyhow, I'll definitely be making ziti again. I'll also definitely be eating ziti for various other meals in the very near future.

In unrelated nonnews, we kind of went to see the balloons this weekend. We didn't start going to the Reno Balloon Races until the year before last. Pic loves it. I enjoy it, also, but mainly because she enjoys it. Also, there's a nostalgia factor. I remember getting up ridiculously early when I was younger, my sister and me stuffing ourselves into puffy jackets, going to see a similar event in Vegas. I also remember once Peecho got a hot pepper seed in her eye. That memory will always be linked to hot air balloons for me.

So, yesterday, we had all these lofty plans to get up at four (in the morning...I know), meet our dearly beloved friends and enjoy the Glow Show and Dawn Patrol. This, however, was not to be. It's been related to me that a certain male person woke me at 5:20 (oops, already) and told me how late it was. I then, reportedly, said 'Oh' and promptly fell back asleep. I do remember waking up at 6:47 and seeing light seep in through our curtains. Crap. We rushed around getting ready and made it out just in time for Mass Ascension (which sounds like some sort of Catholic ritual, but it (probably) isn't). Although we were late and I was afraid Pic would be really disappointed, everything turned out okay. Great, even.




I've been working diligently on really being in the moment when I'm spending time with my family (which is every waking minute of my life, I know...except for the hours between about midnight and four, when I'm the only one awake in the apartment). I'm really good at letting my mind wander and letting all the big, dark, scary thoughts overtake any bit of sanity I have. This summer has been an experiment in shutting out said scary thoughts. The results of this experiment have been varied, as you can tell from reading my babbling here, but I'm making some progress.

Wow. I meant, really, to only post about the pasta, but then I realized that I hadn't posted about our almost miss with the balloon races. Then...chissa? I 'talk' a lot.

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P.S. I just read La Furie Queene's ziti recipe comment also. Next time, I'll throw in both turkey and ricotta. We might be eating lots and lots o' ziti in the coming months.