That’s me at my desk. I’ve been in this position most of the day because I have this really annoying stomachache.
So what’s been going on with me? Eh, a lot and not much, know what I mean? I’ve been really busy at work, aside from being doubled over and groaning. The baby had his first Little League game last Saturday, which followed their annual parade down our main street to the ball field.
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Mornin’ everyone. I’m trying to pretend that yesterday never happened for Pittsburgh sports. The Brewers beat the Pirates, 20-0, which makes it the worst defeat in Pirates’ history, and if you know the Pirates, you know that that’s really saying something. The husband and the sister-in-law actually went to the game and they were all depressed afterward. Then the Penguins lost to the Senators in triple overtime. Thankfully, the playoffs aren’t over for the Pens, but extending them longer than necessary gets to be really nerve-wracking.
ANYWAY, let’s move on to more pleasant things, namely who the lucky winner is of the $50 gift certificate to Seviche. I went to random.org a few minutes and drew the number 18. Commenter #18 was…Katrina! Congratulations, Katrina! I’ll be emailing you in a few minutes.
Thanks, everyone, so much for entering. I think this was really fun and I hope we can do something similar again some time. And even if you didn’t win this time, I do sincerely recommend that you check out both the Sonoma Grille and Seviche. You won’t be sorry. Thank you, also, to Nakturnal for contacting me and arranging the whole thing.
I must say, I was nervous about this whole giveaway thing but it’s been a pretty fun and pleasant experience, especially now that I get to announce the first winner.
Just a few minutes ago, I went to random.org and drew the number 10. The tenth commenter on the Sonoma Grille post was Alaina! Congratulations, Alaina! I’ll be emailing you in a second.
To everyone that entered, thanks so much for trying! And, if you haven’t already, you can still enter to win a $50 gift certificate to Seviche over here.
This is just a quick reminder that today is the last day to enter to win a $50 gift certificate to the Sonoma Grille. If you’d like to enter, simply leave a comment yonder.
I’m also giving away a $50 gift certificate to Seviche and you should enter that one, too.
I seem to go through really sensitive or empathic periods when stuff that other people are experiencing really hits me in the gut and I feel as though I’m right in it with them.
I don’t know if I’m actually in one of those periods right now, or if the reality of the situation is just too sad not to feel, but califmom’s husband died yesterday and it’s been affecting me a lot.
Leah and Bob’s struggle with Bob’s cancer is pretty well documented on her site. Over the past few weeks, it became clear that Bob’s chances of surviving much longer were growing slimmer and slimmer. Leah not only had to brace herself and her children for her husband’s death but had to think about how to live life without him after being with him for 21 years. In a recent entry, Leah wondered how she would do everything without him:
“And now, I have to figure out how to do this without him –without the other part of me.
Without my We.”
Yesterday, Leah quietly posted the words, “He’s gone,” to Twitter. I expressed my condolences, as adequately as one can do over such a silly medium, and immediately went upstairs and snuggled back in bed with my husband, who was still sleeping.
The husband is my companion through and through. For nearly 10 years, he’s been my buddy, my confidant, my lover, the father of my child. There are very few things in the world that I want to experience without him and every night, when I get to be next to him, and fall asleep, I get to feel safe and secure and like everything will be alright…at least for the next few hours while I’m dreaming beside him.
Later, I went up to him and said, “I know you’re going to look at me funny, but the husband of a woman whose blog I read just died of cancer today.” I hugged him and added, “I just want you to know how grateful I am that you’re here.”
I know that it’s something that we’ll have to deal with someday. I just hope that we have a little bit longer than Leah and Bob did. Eleven more years with him isn’t nearly enough.
So, here is the second awesome giveaway of the week. (If you’re wondering what this is all about, you can read this post for a little explanation.)
This past Monday night, the husband and I headed back downtown to Seviche, Sonoma Grille’s sister restaurant. I have had seviche once before and thoroughly enjoyed it, while the husband remained somewhat skeptical.
Backing up a bit, if you’re not familiar with seviche, I’ll give you a quick rundown. It’s fresh fish that is marinated in citrus juice and the acid from the marinade kind of cooks the fish, but not in a way that turns the fish into the flaky white texture that you get when you, say, bake it or grill it. It’s delicious.
The husband and I settled at our table and ordered drinks. I got one of their Strawberry Mimosa Champagne Mojito, which is a little more froufy than I would normally order, but it was delicious and refreshing and not too sweet at all. I had three. The husband had a Caipirinha, which is distilled sugar cane juice with fresh lime and sugar. The lime gives it a kind of tequila taste. He only had one of those because they’re strong, but very tasty.
The chef, Jeff, came out to talk to us for a few minutes about what we would be sampling that night. We would get to try some of their signature seviche and some tapas, both of which would feature some of their dishes that have a local emphasis. Jeff has been working to purchase ingredients from local farms to keep money in the area and to foster a sense of community in the culinary scene. I like Jeff.
Our lovely server, Jackie, brought out our appetizer dish, which was their Asian Tartare. It’s kind of like your basic sushi roll but with lots of yummy stuff like white truffle oil. I totally missed what kind of fish they gave us with those but the husband and I gobbled those up and nodded wordlessly. Delightful.
Next was a chorizo-wrapped diver scallop on top of a bed of polenta, spinach and a Peruvian barbecue sauce. The husband has told me several times that he doesn’t like scallops and I keep telling him that he just hasn’t had a good scallop. This was a very, very good scallop. More wordless nodding.
Next was some of the Hamachi (Yellow Tail Snapper) in the Fire & Ice preparation. This seviche comes in those big spoons that you get at pho restaurants. The Hamachi sits on habanero peppers and onions and then is topped with a cool, prickly pear granita. You scoop the whole thing into your mouth, like a shot, so that you get the hot and then the cool. Amazing.
Then there was wild shrimp with avocado and corn salsa and milanga chips and THEN there was seared filet mignon with mushrooms (again, we devoured them even though neither of us likes mushrooms), tomatoes, and saffron aioli. Sometimes, I think of it and it makes me shiver.
Finally, we had a pulled chicken tostada. By this point, we were no longer speaking and I was no longer taking notes, because all we were doing was nodding, moaning in delight, and letting our eyes glaze over. It was sincerely some of the best food that either of us had ever had.
The atmosphere is cool but cheery and is more casual than Sonoma Grille, but would be really fun for a date or a night out and I hear that they have good happy hours and events like Salsa Night.
Just like with the Sonoma Grille giveaway, all you have to do to enter to win a $50 gift certificate is be in or around Pittsburgh and leave a comment on this post. You can enter both giveaways, but I won’t award the certificates to the same person. I’ll use random.org to select a winner on Friday, April 23rd. Good luck!
I’ve had a small handful of PR pitches to do product reviews and giveaways and/or to advertise on my site. I’ve turned them all down because the products have either been something I’m just not interested in or that are irrelevant to me or my readers (I don’t write here and you don’t read here to find out about my unstoppable cleaning techniques using X product…because my cleaning techniques are very stoppable). And I’m just not sure how I feel about advertising on blogs…or my blog, really. I’m not trying to start a debate, it’s just that I don’t think it’s for me. Not now, anyway.
However, a few weeks ago, I received an email from a woman who works for a local PR firm asking if I was interested in going to two local restaurants for tastings (full/legal disclosure: yes, our tastings were free) and then, if I liked the food, running a contest for gift certificates to both restaurants. I gave it some thought and decided that this was something that I felt was worthy of my pimpage and worthy of you, my most excellent readership, because it was non-cheesy and would benefit Pittsburgh businesses. And if you’ve hung around me for any length of time you know that I’m very pro-Pittsburgh.
I know, I know, you don’t care about my existential dilemma regarding capitalism, post-industrial flourishing, and my blog. I just can’t talk about this without over-explaining myself first. It’s just my way.
So, today I’m going to tell you about our lovely experience at the Sonoma Grille and give you a chance to enter for a $50 gift certificate. Tomorrow, I’m going to tell you about our lovely experience at Seviche and give you a chance to enter for a $50 gift certificate there.
If you’re new here, you picked a good day to stop by. Normally it’s just angst.
The husband and I headed downtown on a lovely Friday night. The original plan was to start at Sonoma Grille and then head over to Seviche. About two bites into our appetizer, I realized that we were going to need to reschedule our Seviche tasting: there was no way I was leaving a bite of this food on the table.
They started us off with the Stonehedge “Terroir” Malbec 2006, which was delicious and paired amazingly with our appetizer, Wild Mushroom Flatbread. Now, here’s something important to keep in mind: neither the husband nor I like mushrooms. When the appetizers landed in front of us, we both became very nervous, but figured now was as good a time as any to give mushrooms another chance. I was so glad that we did. The mushrooms were sooo savory and the combination of the bread, roasted tomato, chevre, olives, and cilantro pesto made us groan in delight.
To go with our entrees, we were presented with glasses of the Duckhorn “Golden Eye” 2006 Pinot Noir. I like wine a lot, but I’m no sommelier and I always wondered how people could pick up different notes and flavors. This wine laid it all out, bit by amazing bit. While I was still trying to compose myself, our entrees arrived. Before us sat a dish of sauteed veal strips with organic maitake mushrooms, spinach, an apple crisp, mashed parsnips and potatoes, and a black garlic sauce and a dish of Moroccan Braised Lamb Ravioli. Both dishes were out of this world and there were staring contests for the last bites of both.
As I polished off my wine, one of our lovely servers set a long, curved plank of wood in between. Eh? But then…they rested a sampler of their desserts on the plank and I thought I might cry. We had Cosmopolitan Sorbet, Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee, Death by Chocolate Torte, and Peanut Butter Semifreddo.
The atmosphere of the Sonoma Grille is slightly fancy but definitely not uptight or stuffy. There were some folks there enjoying some post-game drinks in their Penguins gear, so while business casual dress would be most appropriate, you can go in your jeans and not feel gauche. (Though, really, this is Pittsburgh. You can wear your jeans and your Steelers jersey to the opera and be cool.) It is the perfect place for a date or celebratory dinner or for catching a good meal before or after a show at one of the theatres.
So, if you’re in or around Pittsburgh, I would love for you to try Sonoma Grille, too. To enter, just leave a comment on this post. You’ll have until next Wednesday, April 21 to enter, then I’ll select a winner using random.org and announce the lucky reader here on Thursday, April 22. Good luck!
This morning, I admitted something to myself: I’m neurotic about lunch.
And, like any good mother, I blame my son for this.
He’s a picky eater, though much MUCH better than he used to be. But at any given time, the list of things that he will eat for lunch is pretty short. So, I’m always trying to find some balance of actual calorie input and health for him. Currently, he will eat half of a sandwich, consisting of bread (wheat or rye) and lunch meat (we’re on a chicken breast kick right now), a cup of applesauce (no sugar added or high fructose corn syrup), sometimes a cheese stick (I go totally mainstream here and give him Kraft), sometimes a few baby carrots and/or some other fruit or veggie.
His old lunch box was one of those canvassy, zipper joints that was kind of small and useless. A few times, I let him use my Laptop Lunch and recently that company came out with some new bento lunch systems.
When our tax return came, I took a few bucks and ordered him one, along with some extra containers. Today was his second day using it. He had a sandwich, some carrots, some graham crackers, and some strawberries. He seemed a little indifferent about it yesterday. I hope he gets more enthusiastic about it.
I had a Laptop Lunch because I have been on a quest for the perfect lunch vessel for some years. I liked the Laptop Lunch, but I felt that it was just too small for me. I like to bring a pretty big salad, a “main” dish, dressing and croutons on the side, a snack, and my breakfast. And if I don’t have what I consider a good lunch, I get all anxious about it. I was explaining this to someone the other day as they eyed my tote bag of containers of various sizes. I needed a change.
Around the same time that I bought the baby his Laptop Lunch, I bought a tiffin from Happy Tiffin. I heard about tiffins last summer in my business class when we watched a movie about dabbawalas.
My tiffin arrived yesterday and I was so excited to pack it up today.
Here we have my salad and my bagel for breakfast…
This is my wrap sandwich that contains a layer of fresh spinach and a helping of my tweaked version this Curried Tofu Salad. (I need to take a little more time preparing that salad the next time that I make it. It’s too watery this time from the veggies and tofu. But very tasty.) The other container holds my croutons and dressing, plus a snack of sunflower seeds and dried cranberries in one of those silicone cupcake baking cups, which is a trick that I learned from watching blogs about bento-style lunches.
And here it is, all stacked up, latched, and ready to go. The only problem that I’ve had so far is finding a fork that will fit. Also, obviously, this isn’t microwave-safe, so I’m not sure what I’ll do if I ever want to bring leftovers to heat up. And if I were to bring something that was already warm, I would need to keep it away from things like my salad.
Like I said, I’m neurotic about lunch.
But so far, I’m pretty happy with it.
Speaking of food, I’m going to have some pretty big posts on the matter coming up in the next few days, so be sure to check back, especially if you’re in the Pittsburgh area.
I shouldn’t call it punishment, but sometimes it feels like it. I’m doing Couch to 5k.
I finished my third week on Saturday and I’m honestly kind of surprised that I’ve made it this far. The first few days I thought for sure that I would die, but I can actually feel myself getting stronger bit by bit. And I’ve been really pushing myself to finish the jogging intervals no matter what.
I’ve never jogged as regular activity. When I was a ballet dancer, it was generally discouraged because of the risk of shin splints and the different muscle use (read: your thighs might get too big). So, learning to jog is very humbling. And I think it’s really making me recognize that, while I’m not old, I’m definitely not as young as I used to be. I feel pretty certain that if I had decided to take up jogging, say, five years ago, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Now, my knees hurt and my breathing sucks. The 30ish pounds that I’ve put on since I started grad school and my main physical activity became typing and freaking the hell out* dance gloriously around my mid-section as I start to resemble Fred Sanford during one of his claims of The Big One.
The game has changed for me. I was very in shape from ballet when I was younger and retained a lot of that through a good portion of my 20s. Picking up a physical activity wasn’t A Thing. Now it is.
I had actually been toying with the idea of doing the Couch to 5k for a number of years after a friend on LiveJournal mentioned it. And I made an attempt last year which resulted in me deciding that I don’t like treadmills for much the same reason that I was terrified of escalators when I was little. I mean, I don’t REALLY believe that the treadmill is going to eat me, unlike that automatic foot-eating monster in Gimbel’s that forced my mom to go the long way to find a safe and non-hungry-for-tiny-toes elevator. But the speed that I had to go to run was just slightly too fast and remember one time thinking, “I really should have put that emergency clip thing on my shirt. This could end poorly.” Plus, the first few weeks of C25K have a lot of switching back and forth between running and walking, and that made for a lot of button pressing while hyperventilating, running, and trying not to fly off the treadmill and into the bench weights.
I’m not doing much in the way of calorie restriction or anything. Just eating healthy foods when I’m hungry and trying not to snack too much. A few people have told me I’m looking good and I’m just going with that for now. My scale has dust on it.
I’ll start week four hopefully tomorrow. I was going to start it today but we went roller skating on Saturday and I have a monster blister on the bottom of my foot. Sexy.
*By the way, my school was just ranked the 8th most stressful school in the country by the Daily Beast, which isn’t exactly The Source on such matters, but whatever, it’s documentation that I slayed that particular dragon and/or am certifiable for attempting such a thing.
I’m pretty sure that every spring around this time, my brain goes to work blocking my memories of how stressed I get. This is always an incredibly busy time for me at work and yesterday I was thinking about how the three springs prior to this one, I was taking two graduate classes (and getting As). I really can’t even begin to imagine, nor do I want to, how completely freaked out I must have been. And I really don’t know how I didn’t a) flunk out of grad school b) get fired or c) permanently alienate my family and anyone who had the misfortune of coming into contact with me.
I voiced this concern last night. “You were annoying, that’s for sure,” replied the husband. Gee, thanks.
That saying that God will never give you more than you can handle might have some truth to it, provided that God or some universal force does, in fact, exist and determines exactly what pile of shit we’ll fall into and God or this universal force has either a drinking problem or is just sadistic and prickish (because, really, WTF?). My evidence for this is that the baby has been pretty well-behaved up until this year.
He’s not up to anything really delinquent. All of the flies in our vicinity still have wings and he has not seen the inside of a juvenile detention center. But something in him realized that some bad behavior would no longer send his mother completely off the edge so he decided to try some out.
A few weeks ago, I received a phone call at work from his teacher, who sounded so completely DONE that I very nearly offered to buy her a drink. The baby had incrementally raised his level of douchiness over the preceding week or so. At first it was mostly small, isolated incidents of not listening, but by the time I received the call, he was nearing Lord of the Flies levels.
I listened quietly as his teacher, who I know is a reasonable person with as much patience as one should have in a second-grade teaching position, listed the increasingly assy things he had done. I wasn’t entirely surprised. A lot of it was stuff that we struggled with at home, just amplified by the presence of other 8-year-olds.
I apologized and immediately set up a parent-teacher conference, screamed via email to the MamaPop writers that I was sending him to Dutch country, and then the husband and I started crafting the crack-down.
We drew up a contract that outlined the behaviors that had to improve considerably over the period of two weeks and the privileges that would be removed during that time. No DS. No Wii. No Cartoon Network. Earlier bedtime (which will remain in place because I think he might have been a little sleep-deprived, contributing to his behavior). No arguing. No whining. Doing what he’s asked to do the first time. We would evaluate his performance in two weeks. If he had improved, he would start to get some of his privileges back. If he hadn’t, we would take away more stuff: no TV, no iPod, even earlier bedtime, no excursions with grandparents. No fun or joy, basically.
All three of us signed it and posted it on the fridge. We explained to him that it’s bad enough that he wasn’t behaving well for us, but we were disappointed/PISSED that he wasn’t behaving at school.
He got it. He cried, mostly because he was going to miss his DS, but partly because he felt pretty rotten about screwing up. A couple of times I’ve explained to him exactly how and why I get stressed and upset and how his behavior affects that (ie, I’m just trying to make a nice life for us and it’s hard and you being a jerk makes me feel like crap) and while still over his head, I think it twinges his empathy. So that’s good.
By the time we went for our parent-teacher conference, his teacher informed us that he had done a 180. So, I think I’ll go ahead and put a W in our column.
I don’t know. It felt kind of severe, but we really wanted him to understand how not cool it is to behave like a jackass. It’s an important life lesson, you know?
Not exactly a kids' album
“Um…maybe?”
It appears I was not paying close attention when adding music to the baby’s iPod and added an album that, while undoubtedly a classic and one that I hope will be part of his regular rotation in the future, is not entirely appropriate for an 8-year-old and his spongy brain. Tonight’s project: re-evaluate iPod contents.
