When did this happen?

At some point while I was not paying attention, I became a grown up. While this is a title that often makes me cringe, when I look in the mirror and survey the ever growing collection of pots, tubes and vessels of skin care products that occupy valuble real estate in my bathroom, it cannot be denied.

Last year would have been my 20 year high school reunion, however a little storm by the name of Ike saw to it that we pushed that date back a bit. So this year, I am lucky enough to process not only attending said reunion, but closing the year with a milestone birthday. Not so subtle life events of this nature in addition to a little health scare which gave me some time to lay about and think (never a good thing) ended up in me taking an inventory of my life and what things I should probably change. (Those of you who know me can stop laughing now. No really, I mean it.).

One think I decided to focus on is something that I have always struggled with and that is meal planning. Looking back, I think it was much easier back when my choices consisted of which generic Chef Boy R Dee option it was going to be. While I do love to cook, I have a couple of things that seem to work against me.

1. I am married to a man with the palete of a 5 year old who likes sausage and who's favorite vegetable is a jalepeno.
2. Niether of us like to eat breakfast in the morning
3. We do not have kids.

That being said, for 12 years now, I have not had to be the kind of wife who plans meals and cooks dinner every night. It was not unusual for dinner to be cereal, a cheese plate or something just as minimal. Mostly however, it consisted of take out or delivery with the occasional sprinkle of cooking thrown in for good measure and to make sure all the appliances were still working and to justify the killer grill I just had to have.

So, this weekend marked the first time in years that we have not eaten out multiple times. I have spent a crazy amount of time in the grocery store and in the kitchen. I think I have a handle on all the meals for this week and I only had to make two trips. I have to tell you, it was HARD though and it felt foreign and almost uncomfortable. I do think that I can get past this though. It will be better at least that is what I am telling myself.

Dear Diary....

I am not very good at this whole blog thing, however that does not stop me from giving it a good vent every now and again. It has been a while since my last update and there has been some interesting events in my little part of the martiniverse.

Quiet unexpectedly life took over the guidance system and made some unexpeted detours. All snark aside, life can come at you sideways when you least expect it, so never forget to appreciate the good things you have. If there is something in your life that is within your realm of control and you are unhappy with it, then by all means, pull up your big girl panties and deal with it. Take a deep breath and evaluate those things that are outside of your control and let go.

Get out there, get in it and enjoy yourself.

Peace, Love and Martini's.

Sunday Cooking

After going to a Greek restaurant yesterday and learning that my favorite dish was only available at dinner, it got me thinking and that is usually not a good thing. Waking early this morning, I decided that I would spend my day on a labor of love, creating this dish from scratch. So armed with a list, I headed to the store and have spent the majority of the day prepping and preparing Moussaka.

Throughout the day I had several thoughts that kept running through my mind. The first was, how really theraputic it was to take such care and to put such time into the preparation of a dish. In today's hectic world, it is a rare occasion that we have the time to set aside to really make a time consuming meal. While many see cooking as something that has to be done, stealing effortless ideas from the likes of Rachel Ray and a host of other talentless hacks, I suppose that is your right. However, cooking is an art, it is a joy there is a moment of zen that you reach and a peace that you find and it is something to be shared and taught. Cooking is more than a labour of love, it is good for the soul. That is just my two cents and I will shut up about it already.

The second thought I had was that well, I have might have mislead some of you by claiming to be domestically disabled and here I am talking about spending all day cooking a fairly difficult ethnic dish. Well, yes and no. I am lazy (shocker). I hate to clean unless I am mad and then you have never seen a toilet shine so bright. I would rather eat bugs than do laundry and I cannot iron to save my life. I own and iron, but not an ironing board and said iron actually sits on a shelf that I cannot reach, on purpose.

You may have heard me talk at length about not cooking. true, I do not often cook. Mostly because my dear husband, puts the "P" in picky eater and is not a fan of vegetables. Truth be told, he rarely will eat anything that I cook, not because it is rubbish, but because he has the palate of a 5 year old who really, really likes hot food. Actually, if you ask him, he will probably tell you his favorite vegetable is a jalapeno. I cringe every time he tells someone that his favorte thing I cook is a grilled cheese sandwich. I am actually a realy good cook, I well versed in a number of ethnic dishes and can throw together some of the most amazing hors d'oeuvres you have ever seen. Want to have a party? Let's do it. It is simply something I do not take the time to do often enough.

So I have decided to institute Sunday cooking, just for me. My own little bit of zen. I am going to dust off my cookbooks and my caphalon and get back in touch with those days when we took the time to prepare a meal even if it means making the time to do so.