Entries from September 2, 2007 - September 8, 2007
THE Mommy
I mentioned on Tuesday that both the kids came home sick from school. I was supposed to fly out yesterday for my friend’s wedding in NY. I called the airline to cancel my $119.30 ticket. They told me it would be good for a year from now, COOL. However, there will be a $100 change fee when I go to rebook it, SO NOT COOL!!
I was an event planner before becoming THE Mommy and traveled a lot for work, so I know how crooked the airline industry is. It really pisses me off. WTF…what other industry gets away with repeatedly charging that much money just to exchange a product that you’ve already paid for?!? Hotels even have cancellation policies of anywhere from 3 days before to 6pm the day of arrival…with no penalty. I’d gladly use the credit and fly out for a weekend to see my friend. I wouldn’t even squawk at a $25 change fee, but $100…give me a break!! Essentially, I just had to eat $119.30…I can think of many ways I’d rather eat that much money…perhaps a filet and lobster dinner served on the beach.
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My uncle passed away about 3 years ago. He owned a catering business out in Missouri and was truly one of the best cooks I've ever met. A love for cooking runs in the family. My grandmother made the best banana bread in the world. It's a secret family recipe. THE Daddy had to wait until we were married for me to share the recipe with him...even then, he didn't get the "instructions" to go along with the recipe for a couple of more years. My dad is a great cook as well and loves entertaining, but never made a business out of it. Sometimes I think I'd like to open a cafe someday or maybe a B&B. It would have to be when the kids get older though. Anyway, my uncle made the best black bean salsa and I finally got the recipe (and the instructions!) out of my dad. It's not a top secret family recipe, so I thought I'd share. It's amazing how simple it is...but you have to use the right ingredients for it to turn out OK. Don't substitute dried herbs for fresh, don't buy low fat versions and don't cheap out on the beans.
Vic's Black Bean Salsa
2 cans Goya black beans (they're in a blue can, usually found in the Mexican section)
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cup of diced onion
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian (DON'T go for the low fat version, definitely not the same flavor!)
1-2 tablespoons of chili paste to taste (usually found in the Asian section)
Throw all the ingredients in a bowl, mix together and let sit in the fridge for 3-4 hours before serving.
We usually serve these with a "scoopable" corn or tortilla chip.
Any family recipes you'd care to share? Please leave a comment.
I was loving the start of school, until this morning. Both Princess and BamBam were sick at school and needed to be picked up. Princess threw up all over her classroom. The funny thing is that I had that classroom for 1st grade and suffered the same fate. I remember that it was the day of my best friend's birthday party. It was a special 1/2 day Wednesday and we were supposed to go to McDonalds right after school. They had just put in a playroom and it was THE place to have a party. I was more upset about missing the party than being sick. The room must be jinxed. I was picking her up and got a call from BamBam's school. He blew out of a couple of diapers and was very cranky...he has a bad case of "monkey butt" (IOW monkeys flying out of his butt!). Poor little guy. I'm not feeling so great myself and need to pack for my flight. I'm supposed to leave first thing in the morning for NY to help my friend get ready for her wedding. I have a TON of errands to run and haven't even begun packing...aghh!
Why do kids always get sick when it's least convenient for their parents?? Needless to say, I'm rethinking my flight. I might catch a ride with THE Daddy and THE Groom late Thursday night instead. I'm going to check in with THE Bride to see how stressed out she is. If she has things under control, I might (keyword: might) eat my flight in order to spend a couple of days getting the kids healthy. Here's to hoping this is just a 24 hour bug!
Princess had her 5th Birthday Party this weekend. Her actual birthday isn’t until this Friday. However, I will be traveling to NY to be in my friend’s wedding so we decided to throw a big bash before I head out of town. Hopefully this will help avoid years of therapy later…where she blames my absence on her birthday for ruining her life.
I have been making an individual cake for the kids on their birthdays and purchasing the bigger cake for the guests. My theory was that I would save a little $$ by not purchasing a large, custom cake. Nice theory…I’ve spent more on the molds and decorations than I care to admit. I'm having fun though. I made an awesome basketball cake for BamBam last month because it is his latest obsession. It was a big hit. SO, I took Princess to a local cake store to pick out her mold and decorations. Huge shocker when she picked out the Princess cake mold! I was a bit intimidated at first, but I followed the directions and it came our pretty good, if I do say so myself. I used fondant for the dress and bodice…not sure that I would again. It took a few tries to get the fondant onto the bodice without exposing the skin underneath, especially on her D cups!! I wasted too much of the pink fondant and had to choose another color for the inside of the skirt…the plan was to have pink inside too. No one else seemed to mind, but I was annoyed every time I looked at it. Sometimes it sucks to be a perfectionist!
You might be able to find a mold at your local cake store for less money. I think I only paid $18.00 for mine. Here’s a link from Amazon if you don’t feel like bargain shopping.
