Walking Backwards

It has been such a long day that I can't believe it's over, but I'm so glad it is. After everything I've done today I think I'm finished for the weekend, just laying on the couch for me, thank you. Well, this flurry of activity started Friday, so maybe that's why it feels like I've just been running marathon. Let me illuminate. Starting Friday I began the mad dash to clean the house and get all my baking done for the weekend. You see, Joe and I have been trading Saturdays off, and this Saturday was going to be his to lounge around and do what he wants all day without having to take care of the little one or worrying about household stuff. On those weekends I like to have all of my house stuff done ahead of time so that Nico and I can go run around and enjoy the weekend fun together. So on Friday I did five loads of laundry and dusted and cleaned and played cars and made cookies and baked brownies for an outing I had that night and cleaned off my desk and made a grocery list and did art projects with the little guy and cooked three meals and two snacks. I was tired by the end of the day.

About the time I was ready to fall down on the bed and start snoozing, Annie picked me up to go to a Raising Arizona viewing party that some of the mamas on one of my message boards was putting together. It turned out to be a load of fun, but I got home well after midnight. Nico woke up at seven-thirty, of course, and proceeded to demand breakfast from me. This was quite difficult as I found myself almost completely unable to open my eyes I was so tired. Damn Joe was still peacefully asleep. After a short while the husband left to go to bother the people at the motorcycle shop with questions and I sat at the computer and tried to shake myself awake while Nicholas screamed and threw things.

By the time I had woken up enough to brush my teeth and realize my pajama pants were on backwards, my brother-in-law called to inform me that my favorite cooking show guy in the whole world, Alton Brown, was going to be at the mall down the street today doing cooking demonstrations starting in half an hour. So I scramble to get myself and the baby in the car and rush to the mall. We find my brother-in-law and mill around for about forty-five minutes. Nico is getting restless because he has been in the stroller most of the time and it is getting really crowded. I am getting impatient. The publicity person from the event them comes around with flyers for the show and I find out that Alton is not going to come on for another three hours! I do not love him enough to brave that with a restless toddler, so instead I decide to hit the food sample fair down the hall. I got tons of coupons and samples, but the best by far was the Godiva chocolate booth. Free chocolate will always win. Nico got a dark chocolate heart filled with chocolate ganache and I splurged and bought a half a ring of pineapple dipped in dark chocolate instead of going for one of the free options. Ah, heaven (and all for the low, low cost of $1). So no Alton Brown, but yay for yummy chocolate.

The next stop was the farmer's market where it felt like approximately 157 million degrees outside. It was noon and there were no clouds in the sky either, so it was quite bright. I became disgruntled by the ever increasing prices and left with only a one pound bag of okra and a couple of peppers after twenty minutes. Apparently, several of the farms have been selling their produce to local, natural food markets and you can buy them cheaper there. I have no idea why, but those markets have air-conditioning, so I know where we will be heading for our veggies for a little while at least. When it cools down, the farmer's market has musicians and street performers and artists and the like, but most people do not want to brave the heat of summer so it is not as exciting. Until I have a reason to shop in the heat of the sun, I am taking the simpler and cooler option.

As we were leaving, my dad called to tell me he was at my house, so we swung back home. He brought me a big box of cookbooks from the eighties that he found packed away and thought that I might want. He also brought Nicholas and I Spurs t-shirts. Nico's is too big for him now, but I have a feeling it will fit by the time next season rolls around. We got to talk for awhile and then he helped me get our crib, crib mattress, and changing table down from the attic because, yes, I sold my crib! Murphy's law is now going to work against me and I'm going to get pregnant, but I really feel better clearing up the space. Especially considering that Joe and I are on the only-having-one-kid track right now. Of course, that is due to change any day with the indecisive nature of my husband and my current emotional state with all my friends either being pregnant or having babies.

After my dad left to go back to San Antonio, I spent most of the time talking to my mother on the phone about planning inter-European plane flights and feeling like my head was going to explode. Now I'm back on the computer waiting for CSI to start and rambling endlessly. Well, not really endlessly as I think I am now going to call it a night. Sleep well all.