i'm gonna learn. there's also a lamb roast!

i looked up an old connection tonight. sent an email.

two days ago i cut a new connection off. on the phone.

i'm roasting what i think is a sirloin lamb roast right now. 375 degrees.

325 now. that was too hot.

the TV is on but there's no sound.

i've taken a vow against dating until 12/8/10. that's the peanut's 2nd birthday.

just got a text message. as my phone number is in my email signature, my heart stopped

(see first line, above).

there are potatoes, white and purple, squash from my garden, garlic cloves, rosemary sprigs, carrots, and an entire cabbage in the pan with the lamb. no oil; i trimmed the fat a little, but not much.

i really have to let someone else in again. you can bet it's gonna have to be someone awesome.

i redid my shower

my house was built in 1940. maybe showers weren't widely used then, and maybe copper was in short supply because of the many wars of the era. i'm not sure what caused it, but the bathroom in my house ended up with a wonderful bathtub with a stingy 6 inch tile border. then maybe along the way someone added some shower knobs, just stuck em there in that plaster wall, and called it a new day showertown.
here you can see the somewhat ineffective 6 inch tile border...

my architectural and american history may be off a little (but just barely i'm sure), but what i was working with, in 2009, was three shower knobs -- HOT, COLD, ON -- that looked as if they were rotting out of the wall. it was less than beautiful. SO since the US gub'ment gave me a big fat refund for being a first time homebuyer single mother red headed professional earning less than loads of money, i set out to improve my situation.

ten days ago a nice man named justin came by and ripped up the wall. oh look, it's plaster and lathe! in the shower? moving on. he took out some crappy (galvanized) pipe and replaced it with COPPER. that's right. like the grown folks use. it looked like this when he was done:

that's about a what, 5 foot hole? um whoops. i only have 3 feet of tile. f it.

right. so...ten days later, after showering occasionally at the neighbors', and generally bein a little stinkier, it's done!

but it's not. i have to call that nice justin again so that he can put the fixtures on.

AND i need to put TWO FLIPPING COATS of paint to seal it. because the point of this was to make a waterproof shower situation. and all of that plaster work needs a good seal. but we went over budget with that GIANT HOLE in the wall and i need to make up the difference with elbow grease, which may have also been an original ingredient in the home. so it's an authentic period remodel, you know.
t
in happy news, the note you see there also lists various "green" resources because my dream of a handyman turns out to be a certified green builder. well hello, nurse.

isn't the design nice? i made it up myself using 50% salvaged tile. gorgeous.

i made

this weekend, in addition to some major cleaning, i got cooking:

tomato basil sauce
cherry tomato basil frittata
home grown cucumber salad
brownies with california walnuts
baby food- summer squash, chayote and home grown snow peas with rice

and one day, i hope, before the bacon goes bad and before i give back the cookbook it's in (Sean's), cabbage soup!

i need a lot of time alone, it turns out. so much it makes me doubt my "partner" obsession. but i have a good one so i'm going to enjoy it, AND i'm going to limit our time spent together- for now- so that i can keep my house in order and my belly and my brain fed with good stuff.

xo
r

i am letting my baby go to st louis

for 8 days. i may die.

if i don't die, i'm hoping that a bunch of things will happen: i will paint his bedroom, and maybe...another room?

i hope that i will sleep a lot. like through the night. i hope i will become more peaceful once i catch up on all that sleep.

i hope that his dad learns just what it takes to take care of a baby for 8 days. this part is a stretch, as his mom will be there and it's always easier if your mom is around...but maybe.

the therapist/mediator recommended empathy yesterday. maybe this will be a learning experience?

for TWO YEARS

the same two chat windows have been open.

it's weird. and so weird. their meanings seem to have settled now, everyone's falling into their places. i hope.

glamorous life

it's barely 9am and i'm wearing spit up on my shirt and yogurt on my pants, and there is more yogurt, along with some uncooked oats, on the floor of my cube. what's for breakfast, again?

bad mom

eating rice and oatmeal
Originally uploaded by the littlest raptor

that's gotta be google's top search term. my god, everything i do could send me down that road.

but nope. i have the faith.

i started feeding the monkey again- this time with avocado. that's a recommended first food! good work, mom. Then i moved on to sweet potato. zomg! that's recommended too! then i added carrots- but they were kinda chunky for such a little guy...and then i started feeding him yogurt every chance i got.

some docs say wait til the 1 year mark for the yogurt. suck it, doctors! this is Straus!

that's right, baby's a locavore.

they also recommend starting with bananas. but this sugar-addicted mommy is trying to teach her little man to eat better...and i hear you can train their taste buds with the right program. so no bananas for you, tiny guy!

there's not much local left in the fridge, so for dinner tonight he's eating blueberries and oatmeal. blueberries aren't on any list i've found. take that! i think it's going to be great. because i love blueberries and oatmeal and EVERYONE likes breakfast for dinner.