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Experimenting

I did some experimenting in the kitchen over the weekend. My first experiment was homemade cream cheese wontons. I made pork wontons last weekend, so I wanted to expand my wontons experience a bit. Plus what’s not to love about fried dough and cheese? While I was busy experimenting with the wontons, the hubby whipped up some amazing chicken fried rice to accompany the wontons. It was a great division of the housework.

The wonton recipe was quite simple: cream cheese, wonton wrappers, scallions, garlic powder, green onions and some sugar. I found the wrappers from Target were a bit thinner than those HelloFresh had provided. Consequently, they leaked when being fried. Next time, I’ll use two wrappers instead of one. Also, I’ll fold them into little rectangles as those wontons didn’t leak at all.

Saturday I went back to experimenting in the kitchen. This time I decided to try a new lime cheesecake recipe. I find baking cheesecake infinitely easier in Florida due to the humidity. By contrast, the moisture can complicate a bread recipe. Honestly, it’s hard to bake a dry cheesecake here. This recipe was pretty straightforward except for the mousse topping. It wasn’t that the mousse topping was difficult, but I haven’t baked with gelatin a lot.

Baking the cheesecake went well and it was super tasty. The recipe was pretty easy to follow. It’s a recipe I’ll make again. However, next time I bake it, I’ll cut back the amount of gelatin. The mousse tasted great, but the texture was too stiff for my taste. Next time I’ll cut it down by 1/2 tbsp and see how it goes. It’s not like the cheesecake tasted bad, so none of us will mind testing all of my cheesecake experiments. I’ll put up the recipes for both the wontons and cheesecake tomorrow.

Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?

My favorite book as a child was Super Fudge by Judy Blume. I’m just here patiently waiting for them to make it into a movie. My other favorite was C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

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Bridal Shower

Yesterday we celebrated Melly at her bridal shower. Her aunt Cathy threw the shower and it was magnificent. I felt a little bit older as the shower progressed. It feels like just yesterday I was celebrating at my bridal shower. It’s almost incomprehensible that my son is now the oldest to be marrying the woman of his dreams. She’s also the kind woman that we hoped and prayed our boys would marry.

For the shower, they served brunch, which I love. I baked some caramel rolls, especially for the occasion. They were so decadent and tasty. I can’t make those too often or everyone I know would be diabetic. Meanwhile, Cathy and Kylie had prepared a buffet of incredible brunch food to accompany the rolls. Both also served as brewmasters mixing up a signature strawberry Bellini cocktail for the event. It was mighty tasty and mighty strong.

It was a lot of fun celebrating Melody. I was so excited to be able to give her a shower gift finally. I bought her and Jake matching bride and groom aprons. Additionally, I made her a family cookbook with pictures of them and our family together, it was my favorite gift. It’s very similar to the cookbook I made for my family earlier in the year. I plan to customize a cookbook for each of the kids and my nieces and nephews when they get married. This way, we will preserve our family baking traditions.

The bridal shower was the marquis event of the weekend, but there was something else we had to celebrate. The Panthers are going back to the Stanley Cup!!!! Hopefully, the boys can get it down this year and bring Lord Stanley home to Sunrise. The cup starts on Saturday. I’d love to go, but the fees on these tickets are utterly ridiculous. The actual ticket prices are reasonable, I think, but the fees are something else.

List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?

Three books that impacted me are The Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho, Resurrection, by Leo Tolstoy and Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo. I found each of these books inspired me to by my best, to choose forgiveness, and live without regret.

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Ambivalent

I’ve been a bit ambivalent about blogging lately. I enjoy writing, but life has become a bit mundane. While mundane often has negative connotations, I find it a bit refreshing. For the last twenty-five years, we’ve been moving at light speed all day every day. It’s nice to have some slow moments where we have little to nothing going on. I quite enjoy that our excitement as of late has come from the bird feeder.

It’s been magnificent having two teams in their respective league’s conference finals. Unfortunately, the Timberwolves were eliminated yesterday. Meanwhile, the Panthers now lead the series after beating the Rangers last night. Us hockey people are quite superstitious, so true to form I watched the game at home and went to bed after period one. The boys, however, went and watched the games at our friends’ house. One mustn’t mess with the mojo.

This weekend I’ll be busy baking. I’m making caramel rolls for Melody’s bridal shower on Sunday. I also found a delectable-looking cheesecake recipe that I want to try. Fortunately, the hubby is willing to take one for the team and try whatever cheesecake I may bake. Additionally, I got stuff to make cream cheese wontons. Last weekend I made some pork sausage wontons that were a big hit. Hopefully, the cream cheese wontons turn out just as good.

How do you know when it’s time to unplug? What do you do to make it happen?

I know I need to unplug daily to keep myself mentally sane. I do that by putting my phone away at least an hour before bed. Once the phone is up, I get snuggled up in my bed with Anakin, his ducks, and a good book. I usually read until I can’t keep my eye open anymore. It’s the perfect way to unplug and unwind from the day.

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Nervous Baking

A couple of months ago, I introduced you to rage baking and now let me introduce you to nervous baking. Since the Panthers have lost every game I’ve watched at our friends’ house, I decided to stay home like I did in game one since they won that game. Consequently, I decided to put my nervous energy to work by baking some cookies.

My go-to cookie lately has been the sugar cookie. It’s quick and easy to make. Also, they have fewer calories than a chocolate chip cookie. By the time the cookies came out, the Panthers were already down a goal. It was time to feed the dogs and head to bed. I read my book for a while before falling asleep in it. I woke up around 11:30 and saw the hubby on his phone. I was happy to learn that both the Panthers and Timberwolves had won their games. Consequently, I’ll be nervous baking for game five on Thursday.

What jobs have you had?

I’ve had several jobs over the years none as big as being a mom. I really couldn’t care less about the jobs I’ve had as I don’t derive joy from employment. I’d prefer to retire like yesterday.

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The Problem

The problem with a four-day weekend is having to return to work afterward. There is something patently unpleasant about returning to work after four days off. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the time off. Yet four days isn’t enough time away to feel refreshed. A full week’s recovery from the shit storm that is work would have been welcomed. The other problem, of course, is that both my teams are choking in their respective conference finals.

I did enjoy the long weekend despite not doing anything. The hubby and I watched the Tom Brady roast on Saturday. Honestly, it was amazing. Nikki Glaser and a few others were hysterical—hats off to Brady for being willing to put himself in that position. You have to have a thick skin to get roasted like that. We also started watching Hacks on HBO, which is also really good.

Of course, the animals at the bird feeder are always putting on a show. They didn’t care much for my four days off. Unfortunately for them, my vacation schedule resulted in a later breakfast than they’d become accustomed to. There’s quite the ballroom dance that occurs daily at the feeder as the different species jockey for food. Also in biology terms, there’s a bit of symbiosis at the feeder. The squirrels spill a bunch of bird seed on the ground, which the pigeons and ducks eat happily. They’re too heavy to get onto the feeders, so this arrangement works nicely.

Do you practice religion?

I practice religion. I grew up attending church and have carried those beliefs into my adult life.

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Big Night

It’s a big night! The Cats kick off the Eastern Conference Finals against the Rangers. It should be a banger of a series. I can’t wait to see how these two teams match up. Truly, it should be a really exciting series. Meanwhile, on the other coast, the Timberwolves kick off their first Western Conference Final series since 2004. Coincidentally, 2004 was the last time I went to a Wolves game. I still can’t believe they came back and won game 7.

The only problem with this big night is the Panthers’ game starts at 8:00 pm and the Wolves game at 8:30. Do they not realize I need to be in bed by 9:30? Are they seriously trying to disrupt my bedtime routine? It will be midway through the second period when my Apple Watch will start judging me for not being in bed. For once I’ll be headed to bed long after the stars start twinkling. Honestly, though an earlier start time for these games would be great.

Do you have any collections?

I have several collections. I still have my baseball and hockey card collections that started in my youth. My favorite collection is my collection of books. My hubby has already built me two bookshelves. Unsurprisingly, he will probably need to build me another one soon as my book collection continues to grow.

Speaking of bangers, you’ll want to turn up the volume for this one.

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Cleaning update

Well here’s the spring cleaning update. I have a lot of stuff and not enough places to store it. While cleaning out the closet, it struck me that I had a ton of old jerseys and concert t-shirts lying around. They’re not just lying around. Currently, I have them all organized in tubs on my closet floor. Since we’re at the end of the hockey parent journey, I think it’s time to make the boys each a quilt of their old jerseys. As for the concert T-shirts, I might make those into a quilt for myself.

The other big update from my spring cleaning is that I desperately needed a step stool. I can’t easily reach the top of my closets, cabinets, or bird feeders. Also, I don’t want to be climbing on top of the new washing machine to put things away. Consequently, I got myself a new step stool via Amazon. This way I can put things up high without putting myself in peril. Now I need to focus on improving the storage options in our closets and bedrooms. This way our space looks organized and not like a place where someone is dorming.

What is the legacy you want to leave behind?

My kids will be my legacy. I hope they approach life with kindness, love, and a sense of adventure. Moreover, I hope they make a conscious choice to make this world a better place by the way they interact with people they meet.

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Cold Weather

How do you feel about cold weather?

How do I feel about cold weather? Well, I moved to South Florida in 2005 from Minnesota and haven’t looked back. To be fair, however, I would love for the heat index to be lower than 100 today. That said, I prefer the steadiness of Florida’s heat to Minnesota’s rollercoaster weather.

Ironically, I couldn’t tolerate the cold when I lived in Minnesota. Now that I live in Florida and have been diagnosed with Graves, I can’t tolerate the heat. Thank god my kids play hockey! One of the nice things about a warmer climate is your old injuries don’t hurt as much. Those old injuries resurface as soon as I travel north into the cold.

Enough about the cold weather though, we had an awesome weekend. We played games, ate pizza, and watched the Panthers beat the Bruins with Jake, Melly, and Company on Friday night. It was an awesome hockey game and fun to share the experience with our expanded family. Saturday we headed to Fort Lauderdale for a birthday party. We had the best time. It was nice to actually leave the house.

I spent yesterday trying to shake off the sinus headache that had started Saturday. It took all day and several Aleve, but I did feel better by the end of the day. I did, however, manage to make some bread and get the laundry done. Unfortunately, I didn’t get around to making the cookies our graduate wanted. The hubby and I started watching the Timberwolves game last night. It was game 7 of the series. Sadly, it didn’t start well. Consequently, our superstitions from hockey left us to turn off the game. It was a happy surprise waking up to see the Wolves win.

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Friday Eve

I’m so glad it’s Friday eve. It’s been quite a long week at work. It’s amazing that on one hand, it feels like the year is flying by, while this week feels like it’s taking a century. The week started with my manager leaving the company, which is a bit unmooring. Up until today, the volume has been passable. Today, however, it seems to be a ghost town.

Happy Friday Eve!

Nonetheless, I am looking forward to dinner with my PanCan crew. We’re meeting up to celebrate the success of our PurpleStride event last month. We killed our goal! Also, the event had an incredible vibe and energy. I’m so glad that I could be there for the event this year. Hopefully, the stars align next year and I’ll be able to attend again. I’m also hoping to see Jake and Melly afterward since they’re still in town. Now if I could only cheat and make today Friday instead of Friday eve.

What’s the oldest things you’re wearing today?

Everything I’m wearing, for once, is relatively new. The oldest thing I’m probably wearing is my tank Fabletics tank top. Or maybe it’s the ankle braces I wear as a badge of my clumsiness.

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Milestone

We hit another milestone last week as the Mayor turned 18. It’s incredible to me that I no longer have any children under the age of 18. It’s been a lot of milestone moments, but can someone tell me where the time has gone? I’m pretty sure I just brought him home from the hospital yesterday. Also, I can’t possibly be getting old this quick. Time is an absolute thief and someone needs to stop it.

We celebrated the birthday with Jake, Mellie, and the Hubby with dinner around Sushi Yama. Unfortunately, Goalielocks couldn’t join us as he’s staying in Orlando for the summer term. As for the waitress, I think we either impressed her or horrified her with the sheer amount of food we ordered. The Mayor and Goalielocks always order chicken fried rice and the chicken katsu meal. It’s a perfect double order because the fried rice is still phenomenal the next day. We left the restaurant well-fed and happy. It was a great way to celebrate his milestone birthday.

After dinner, it was pretty late by old people’s standards, the kids headed to Menchies for dessert. Afterward, they headed to Mellie’s to play some Dungeons and Dragons with her family. Meanwhile, the hubby and I headed home, so we’d get in before bedtime. I find keeping my sleep schedule consistent has been super important to my well being. Consequently, I try not to deviate from the schedule too much. It was nice to have Jake and Mellie at the birthday dinner. They’re quite obviously two of the Mayor’s most favorite people.

The Mayor with his brothers

Are you a leader or a follower?

It depends on the situation. When I’m hiking through a national park in search of a monument, I’m a leader. After leading for too long at work, I quite enjoy being a follower.