Grateful

I just wanted to say that I'm very grateful for a husband who goes out and does 10-12 hour shifts and likes doing it. I am very glad that I get to stay home with Jenna, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Except for maybe a personal chef...and a maid. :)

No, but seriously, it's funny how the different qualities of men and women help us complement each other. I don't think I have a lot of patience, but I have more when it comes to dealing with Jenna. When I was freelancing on-site last year and gone for a couple of weeks, Braden really had a wake up call with regards to how demanding it is to take care of a young child, and he sure was glad when I came back! On the other hand, I wouldn't want to trade places with him, either; the ER is supremely demanding as well, and I would be overwhelmed. It's great that we are well-suited to our individual roles, and it sure makes our family run smoother. I've come a long way since my "I'm never going to stay at home" days.

And the non sequitur IM award goes to......

Dan masquerading as Carolyn: "I found a penny on the urinal today."


Sorry, Dan...this one was just too funny not to post.

And I do believe he kept the penny. That's my brother, folks.

ScribeFire Rules!

So this is a test to make sure that Braden wasn't on crack when he said that ScribeFire was working for me now (in other words, it posts as me and not as Braden).

Quotes About Jenna

While playing outside:
Neighbor girl: "He can get on the bike."
Ker: "It's a girl."
NG: "Oh. She kind of looks like a boy."(In Jenna's defense, she had boyish jams and brown sandals on)
Ker: "I know. But her hair is getting longer!"
[Braden said later: You've gotta love the honesty of kids.]

After a bath, Jenna had a bath hoodie on that used to be a lot bigger on her:
Braden: "There's nothing quite as funny as being mooned by a baby."
(Every time she went to get on the couch or bent over, she mooned us.)

Upon hearing Jenna's nonstop baby babble, Braden's brother David had this to say:
"She sounds like a turkey."
(I thought this was hilarious, because it's so true! I just never thought of it.)

Slow Cookin' Away

I am starting to embrace my slow cooker. Believe it or not, we received it as a wedding gift, so it's going on 3 years old, and I only opened it up maybe a month ago. I guess I did not embrace the ways of the crockpot or realize what a timesaver it can be. But I am starting to mend my ways, people! I am currently trying out a new chicken taco soup recipe in it, and time will tell if it is delish or not. My track record for new recipes is still pretty good, but I've had some turn out badly lately. (I'm looking at you, Caramelized Banana Rice...you looked so yummy on paper, didn't you?? But no. Alas, no. Great goodness gracious me, no.)

However, the aforementioned taco soup recipe has over 900 pretty favorable reviews, so I'm guessing it must be somewhat tasty. It serves 8, so my plan is to freeze half of it for a day when I don't feel like cooking (those days are becoming more and more common as I get bigger and bigger). I find that many of the recipes I try yield a lot more than we can ever eat, so my plan of attack is to try freezing half for later. I mean, you can only eat so much [enter type of main dish here] before a) it goes bad or b) you let it go bad because you're so sick of it. And trust me, I try to force it on Braden every chance I get, and it still goes bad! :)

So now that my slow cooker is merrily doin' its thang, I'm trying to find a recipe that only calls for 7-8oz of tomato sauce. Let me tell you, recipes that call for less than a normal can of whatever are really annoying!! I'm thinking particularly of the ones that call for one tablespoon of tomato paste. I always end up throwing out the rest of the tomato paste a month later.

Anyway, now that I've semi waxed poetic on the subject of slow cookers, I make an end.

Prego Probs

I'm only 24 weeks along, and I'm already tired of my belly getting in the way.

This can't bode well for my future.

I really just wanted to say, "This can't bode well for my future." :)

Schtuff and More

So I take it the Cincy peeps have internet again, or Mom is back home, since when I went to check my email, she'd made like seven comments. :) Yay for comments!!

The bananas have sadly gone the way of all the earth as of a few days ago. I was busy doing other things and couldn't get around to using them, plus we were getting pretty sick of banana bread from my massive batch with other bananas. I thought about freezing them, but it slipped my mind, and the next thing you know, they're past using. Bananas always sneak up on me that way.

Jenna, as we speak, continues her quest to mess up Daddy's races on MarioKart, but she does it oh-so-cutely. She has planted herself firmly on his lap on the beanbag, and I said, "Admit it: you love her little booty. That's cute!"

Well, there is some stuff I would like to write about a particular freelance job I've been doing, but suffice it to say that I was up till 3am working on it due to a miscommunication, when I could have easily cut our family visit short and come back home with enough time to do it and get to bed on time. Instead, I didn't discover that there was more work to do until 10:30pm last night. Kerry was not a happy camper! In this case, I was working with a different person than the one I usually work with, and I guess the former does things a little differently than the latter. I do like her, though; she seems pretty cool. Anyway...I'm really, really tired, although Braden let me nap for a while this afternoon; thank you, hubbin!!

Hubbin, Hubbin

I would just like to state for the record that my hubbin is freaking awesome. Let's hear it for Braden (I can figure out anything) E!!!! He is the MAN and is my computer program issue go-to-guy. He saved me a lot of time today and really came through when I needed him, and I really appreciate it. Plus, he took care of Jenna pretty much all day yesterday and this morning so I could work on a rush freelance job. AND he washed the dishes and cleared the counter, thereby making me worship him forever. I love him!!!!

Kerry Continues Her Gross Streak (aka Don't Read This If You're Vegetarian)

I just read a recipe that reminded me of one of my pet peeves when it comes to ingredients. If anything, ANYTHING calls for "processed cheese food" or something similar, it's right out. As in I stop reading the recipe. That is one of the most disgusting "ingredients" I have ever heard of.

Also, I'm a meat eater, but whatever that machine is that is used to make ground meat is so gross. I can't even watch the meat come out of the machine. It looks like little worms...YUCK! We were watching Iron Chef America, and one of the challengers was using it for chicken. I had to cover my eyes.

Bobby Flay and "Throwdown"

Ryan mentioned in the comments of my last post that Bobby Flay won against the Italian place "Bove's" on his show "Throwdown". This, to me, is interesting, and I'll get to why in a minute. As I've said before, I like Bobby Flay, and I think he's a good chef, so I've now watched a few Throwdowns here and there. The basic concept is that he gets a "mission" to execute a certain dish, for example, lasagna. He then has to challenge a chef (or chefs) who is particularly well known for that dish. Almost every time, the chef believes that he/she is either being featured for a Food Network segment or that he's getting his own show (did you notice I got tired of he/she crap?). The challengee then hosts some kind of demonstration in a public place on how to make his dish, and in walks Bobby Flay to challenge him for a Throwdown.

People: As soon as Food Network contacts you about a show, ask yourself if you are known for a particular dish, and if the answer is yes, BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR BOBBY FLAY!!! I guess I'm just surprised more people aren't suspicious of Food Network's motives. I would checking the entrances/exits...heck, I'd probably post someone at the door with a picture of Bobby and tell him: "This guy doesn't get in without a severe beating." Ha, I kid. But I *would* be suspicious.

Back to why I think it's interesting that Bobby beat Bove's. The guy loses like 95% of the time. I've only seen him win once, and now Ryan says he won in Burlington. And it's not because his dishes are bad. He's a really good chef! It's because he takes a classic dish and messes with it, adding stuff you normally wouldn't find in it. So what happens is, everyone present tastes it, the judges taste it, and the judges ultimately go with the classic, traditional dish - which always belongs to the person being challenged. And afterward, everyone comments on how good they both were, but that they have to go with what they know. Bobby takes his losses well, but I'd be a little frustrated. I know you have to have some things different, but most of the time he takes it a little too far, so people are like, what the heck is octopus doing in an arepa?

While googling "does Bobby Flay ever win on Throwdown?", I came across an interesting comment about the show...things that I hadn't even considered:

"Except for the firehouse chicken cacciatore throwdown where Bobby used the same budget as the challenger, he unfairly tips the scales with an unlimited budget. (No surprise the regular guy won when both were on an equal footing).

In the lasagna challenge, the ordinary folks make a standard, basic lasagna as a specialty. Yet Bobby brings one in with an expensive meaty braised short rib ragout.... Like shooting fish in a barrel. Had the challengers known what they were up against they likely would have been able to kick things up.

Some contestants are able to change midstream, while others can't. In the Philly Cheesesteak contest, Tony Luke guy would have lost if he stayed with the standard sandwich he was demo'ing.....but when he saw Bobby coming in with expensive steak and accroutements, he sent his assistants back to the restaurant to bring out the broccoli rabe and provolone. He squeaked out a win. Would have lost with his basic one though.

In the doughnut challenge, you could see the contestant was visibly upset because he was expected to whip up contest worthy doughnuts outside of his professional environment, so he only agreed to the challenge if he could use doughnuts made at the plant, and not make them live. Smart move.

It's not a fair challenge unless both teams have similar constraints."

So there you go. Fair enough, and points well made. He still loses all the time, though.