All in Good Time

The new Barenaked Ladies album, All in Good Time came out yesterday! 

If you are surprised that I am excited about this, you must be new around here. ;)

I downloaded it this morning and I've been listening to it all day.



Zen

I guess we're all one phone call from our knees

I've had a couple of online friends ask me, kindly, about what's going on in my life that I didn't have time to blog anymore. This is my attempt at an answer.

I guess the short version is: Life.

More specifically, my work life.

I don't blog about my work. With good reason. But I'm going to break my own rule just this once and touch on the subject just a little bit.

Because I think it might do me some good to get some of this off of my chest. And because I want all you nice people who are kind enough to stop by my blog on a regular basis to know that I'm not dead or anything. But I am kinda fetal-position-under-the-desk-mumbling-to-myself. And I guess that deserves a little explanation.

To make a very long story short: We are making massive budget cuts in my organization. Fortunately, I'm one of the lucky ones who still has a job. Actually, I guess I'm extra lucky, because I now have TWO jobs.

Yep, the powers-that-be have decided that the full-time-and-then-some job I've been doing for 10 years just isn't enough to justify my existence anymore. So they've basically added a whole new full-time job to my duties.

Yep, I'll basically be doing two jobs for the price of one. Oh, wait, no, make that two jobs for LESS than the price of one. Did I mention the pay cut that comes along with my new duties?

Meh. S'okay. I didn't need all that grocery money anyway. Or a personal life.

Alright, sarcasm aside, this "transition" is really kicking my ass. The extra work - most of which won't kick in until July 1 - is already making me bat-shit crazy.

But, honestly, more than the extra work, it's the emotional stress I'm hauling around right now that's causing my current "blogger's block".

I'm am, frankly, completely overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted right now. Some days it feels like it's all I can do to just keep breathing. On those days - which are becoming more frequent - I can barely hang on to a thought, much less form them into coherent sentences. To quote Buffy, "Fire bad. Tree pretty." is just about the extent of my mental capacity at the moment.

Light and fluffy is all I can handle right now. If I try to delve deeper, I'm pretty sure my head will pop. Or else one of you will have to come post my bail.

So, there's my trouble in a nutshell.

I guess I'm just asking for y'all to bear with me for a while. I have a feeling my posts will be few and far between for a while and will likely be of the aforementioned "light-and-fluffy" flavor. Or it's possible I may just embrace my growing depression and start posting dark poetry a la Plath and Poe.

I guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out.

Just Keep Swimming,
Zen


* Post Title from "Closer to Love" by Mat Kearney
 

A Very Merry Unbirthday

So, today is my first unbirthday since I turned 36.

I have to admit that 36 doesn't feel too terribly different yet than 35.

But, somehow, I feel like it should be more of a milestone. I mean, I'm officially in my "late 30s" now. I should feel differently, shouldn't I? Wiser? Grayer? Grumpier? Something.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not quite ready to embrace my inner-crone just yet. I mean, I just got this motherhood gig down. Don't rush me.

But I could go for a bit of that all-knowing and wise vibe. That'd be nice. Because, just between you and me, I'm totally winging this grown-up thing. Mostly making it up as I go along. And when that doesn't work, I fake it until the moment passes. (And I'm beginning to suspect I'm not the only one.)

Well, whether or not another year older shall make me another year wiser is yet to be seen. But, I do know that I had a quiet and lovely birthday yesterday.

In lieu of 1,000 words ...

(What? I told you I was faking this whole responsible-adult thing.)

While all of the gifts and cards and messages really did make my day very special, I have to admit that THESE from the ZenHusband are definitely my favorite gift:

Wishing you a very merry unbirthday,

Zen

Let's waste time chasing cars around our heads

(Previously posted at Venus vs Mars)

In the before-time, the ZenHusband and I used to do lots of fun things together: Backpacking, hiking, camping, SCUBA diving, music festivals, movies, video games, sporting events, museums ...

But, since the kids came along, we don't have a lot of "us" time. We do a lot of things together as a whole family - and that's great. But, we don't really do many "fun" things together just as a couple any more.

Instead, we trade off - he has time to go do some of "his" things and I have some free time to do some of "my" things.

His favorite hobbies are homebrewing, fishing, hiking, alternative music, video games, disc golf ... throw in a little football and hockey (watching) and the occasional war movie or History Channel documentary and the ZenHusband is a pretty happy camper.

Me? I'm usually happiest when I'm reading, writing, playing with techy stuff, or taking photographs.

I used to think that it was great that we each had our own interests. And, I guess I still do. But, I kind of miss doing non-parent things together, too.

Sometimes it starts to seem like whenever we are together, all we do or talk about is how to juggle work and kids' schedules, or what's for dinner, or did you feed the cat, or can you fix the kitchen drawer, or the car needs washing, or I'll pick up milk on the way home ...

Every now and then, I feel like if we didn't have all of that "family business" minutia, we might just sit and stare at each other and wonder what to talk about; I start to wonder if we have anything in common anymore besides our kids.

And then ...

... then we somehow manage to find a few hours - or even a whole day or two - of "us" time ...

And, suddenly, we remember that, while we are separate people with different interests, we are also a loving couple with more than 10 years of shared history and a lot more in common than just those fabulous, adorable rugrats who call us parents.

A while back, we had a rare two whole days to ourselves. We went out of town to do something "fun". But, more importantly, we had a lot of time to just hang out and talk. Did we talk about the kids? Yeah, a little. But we also talked about books and music and movies and food and current events.

And we talked about the fact that we want to make sure that we don't forget that, no matter how all-encompassing parenting can (and should) be in our lives, we still need to make time to do the "fun" things that we enjoy doing together - just for us - too.

We don't quite know how we are going to do it, but we agree it's important to us to try.

What about you?

Do you and your significant other have shared interests or hobbies? Do you do "fun" things together (without your kids)? Or do you each do your own "grown up" things? Is "couple time" a priority for you? How do you find the time and what kinds of things do you do?

Zen

* Title from: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

V-Day

Continuing my tradition of irreverent Valentine's Day posts, I present my favorite V-Day e-cards for 2010.

Because Valentine's Day, for me, is just not complete without zombies.

Happy V-Day. ;)

PS: SciFiDad has some pretty funny V-Day E-Cards of his own going on over at his place today. :)

Baggage

I have a thing for bags.

And by "thing", I mean "mild addiction".

And by "mild" I mean, "raging out of control".

Okay, I'm a bag-aholic. I'm not proud of it, people. But there it is.

I don't have many "girly" tendencies, but when it comes to bags, I'm like a walking, talking, accessorizing cliche'. I am to bags as Imelda Marcos was to shoes. (Google it. You can thank me later for adding to your historical-cultural education. Now, get offa my lawn.)

Where was I? Oh, yes. My bag-ses. My preciousss bag-ses.

I have a closet full of purses and backpacks and clutches and totes: Black ones and brown ones and red ones and multi-colored ones; Big ones and medium ones and small ones and tiny ones; Summer ones and Fall ones and Winter ones and Spring ones; Beaded ones and sequined ones and fuzzy ones and glow-in-the-dark ones. (But not bedazzled ones. You have the draw the line somewhere.)

And still I buy more.

My favorites are my three (Count 'em: THREE!) different Timbuk2* Messenger Bags, including my carry-it-every-day Eula tote in sexy custom fabric and my sturdy black-and-gray Classic Messenger that I use as a camera bag.

You don't even want to get me started on my two complete sets of luggage, umpteen tote and beach and overnight bags, and my baker's dozen of "this-is-the-last-one-Honey-I-promise" diaper bags. (What? I never said it was easy to be married to me.)

And then there are my shopping bags.

I claim that I have so many reusable shopping bags because I like to be environmentally friendly. But, deep down, I know that I'm really just feeding my bag-ddiction.

At any given time in the storage area of my car you will find:

• 4 big blue totes from Ikea 
• 3 large green totes from Costco 
• 2 little red bags from Target, 
• 1surprisingly roomy Disney "Mickey Tree" tote
• 1 mesh "CSI: Evidence" bag ( I love the looks I get when I whip that one out.)
• 3-5 assorted canvas tote bags

My latest additions to the collection are my new Flip and Tumble bags, which I bought from Amazon. I LOVE them.

Most people who use "green" shopping bags will tell you the number one problem is forgetting to take them into the store with you!

Sure, it's easy to remember them when you're planning a big grocery stock-up trip. But it's harder to have them handy when you're "just running in for one or two things" with a toddler on your right hip, a preschooler tugging at your left hand and your shopping list clenched between your teeth.

But I don't have to "remember" the Flip and Tumble bags at all! They live in my purse! They oh-so-easily roll up like colorful little pill-bugs and fit just nicely in that Timbuk2 tote I mentioned earlier. I carry two or three of them around with me at all times.

When I get to the register, I just pull them out, un-stuff them in seconds and fill them up! At home, I empty them, crumple them back into their built-in stuff sacks and pop them back in my purse. Voila! SO easy.

I find they're usually more than adequate to carry $100+ in purchases. Which might say more about the current buying power of the dollar than the capacity of the bags, I dunno. But, either way, these are the perfect medium-duty "green" bags for me.

I should know, I've tried a lot of bags.

And - heavens help me - I want more.

Checking myself into Bag-Rehab,
Zen


*No, I'm not being compensated in any way by any of these companies. I just happen to really like their products.
  

Comidas buenas

In honor of Super Bowl Sunday, I present a rare "Cooking with ZenMom" post.

It's no secret that the ZenHusband is the cook of the family, but I do have a handful of things I enjoy cooking or baking and that, I think, are pretty tasty.

Today at Casa Zen, we are throwing together a bunch of "easy" finger foods to munch tonight while we gather 'round ye olde telly to watch the Super Bowl. So, I thought I'd go ahead and share my favorite, super-easy chili recipe.

I stole this recipe from my Dad and tweaked it here and there to my own personal taste. In fact, I don't think we've ever made this chili exactly the same way twice. We're always substituting or throwing in something new or changing proportions.

So, really, this is less of a "recipe" and more of a "guideline". :)

I think the best dishes come from experimenting. So, if anyone out there gives this chili a try, I'd love to hear how you liked it and how you "made it your own".

C's CROCKPOT CHORIZO CHILI

HARDWARE
1 medium-sized crockpot
1 large skillet

SOFTWARE:
2 cups black beans
1/2 pound ground beef
1 pkg (9oz) beef chorizo
6 oz (1 small can) tomato paste
3 roma tomatoes
1 medium green bellpepper, chopped*
1 anaheim chile pepper, chopped*
1/2 yellow onion
3-4 cups chicken broth (or 1 1/2 bottles of a medium ale)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
salt and pepper (to taste)

* I prefer to remove most of the seeds from the peppers to cut back on the heat, but if you like your chili spicier, leave them in.)

DIRECTIONS

The night before:
In a medium saucepan, cover the 2 cups of dry beans with water and boil for 20 minutes. Then turn off heat and let the beans soak overnight (or at least 4 hours).

Chili day:
Drain the beans. Add them to the crockpot.
In a large skillet: Sweat the chopped onions and bellpepper.
When the onions are soft and almost translucent, add the ground beef to the skillet.
Brown the ground beef, seasoning with the chili powder, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper.

Drain the beef, add it to the crockpot.
In the same skillet, cook the chorizo until it is mostly liquified.
Add the chorizo to the crockpot.
Add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and chopped peppers.
Add the chicken broth (or beer) - make sure there is enough liquid to fully cover the ingredients.
Stir.
Put the lid on the crockpot. Turn it on medium and walk away for at least 6 hours.
(Come back and give it a stir every hour or so.)

I like to serve it with a little grated cheddar cheese on top and a side of toasted french bread.

###

BONUS RECIPE: ZEN'S PICO DE GALLO (GARDEN SALSA)

(Stolen from my Mom. And, again, a lot of wiggle-room to make it to your own taste.)

SOFTWARE:

3 large roma tomatoes (or 1 beefsteak) (3/4 lb)
1/8 brown onion (or to taste)
6 sprigs cilantro
1/8 lime or lemon (no peel)
1-2 cloves garlic
1-3 Serrano Chiles
1 tsp salt
1/8 Green Bell Pepper

*For guacamole, just add 4 large avocados

DIRECTIONS:

Chop garlic, chilis. Add to bowl. Stir.
Chop onions, tomatoes, cilantro, bell pepper. Add. Stir.
Add salt, lemon/lime. Stir.
Refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors combine. It will get spicier the longer it sits.

OPTIONAL HARDWARE:

I like to make this in my food processor. Just "pulse" the garlic and chiles first until they are minced, then add everything else and "pulse" to your desired consistency.

###

Feliz Comiendo!

Zen