the busy and the tired

“There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.” -Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby
We are a house full of injuries this weekend. On Friday during a play-date, Charlie slipped and bumped into the corner of the banister just above her eye, so she got a shiner and a split cut. Luckily, no need for stitches. Then even worse, Nate was playing football yesterday and broke his leg in an accidental spill with another player. So that line from The Great Gatsby about sums up how I’m feeling today.

Speaking of Gatsby, I don’t think I mentioned how my book club meeting went at Daisy Buchanan’s bar. I’ll start by saying any event with a meal composed solely of onion rings and a draught PBR can’t be all bad, amiright? I enjoyed having adult conversation, and there was much laughing and off-topic discussions to be had, as was my hope. I happened to mention Gatsby reminded me of a macabre version of Pride and Prejudice, except there is no great redemption or ride off into the sunset at the end. Then we got to discussing Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. Keeping with the theme of reading books from high school, next up is Jane Eyre! I’m thrilled because I’ve always wanted to but never read it. Let’s hope it’s a touch brighter than Wuthering Heights, which took me a combined total of four attempts and sheer willpower to finish.

Yesterday I had a list of meals I wanted to cook, and somehow even with the ER debacle I got most of them done. Have I told you about the lentils I cook for us and the girls?

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lentils with carrots and celery
serves 4

Saute 1 diced small onion, 1/2 cup of carrots and 1/2 cup of celery in a drizzle of olive oil until soft, then add a pinch of salt, a handful of chopped parsley, 2 cups of chicken stock, and 1 cup of brown or green lentils; simmer for 30 minutes. Voila! I still blend up Charlotte’s in the tiny food processor because she likes it better with less lumps. In the picture below, we had them in a vegetarian dinner with leftover naan (TJ’s!) and Pioneer Woman’s sweet-roasted rosemary acorn squash

Lentils!

I also made dahl, apple and pear sauce from big bags of bruised fruit I bought cheaply from a farm, and yummy soup. While I’m on the subject of cheap food, I’m still doing the frugal challenge, even though I’m not talking about it much. I decided if I write any more about saving a buck, I might stop reading my own blog.

Today there are more playoff games (woo……hoo……yawn), and I suppose if there’s one positive effect of Nate’s handicap, it’s that he has an excuse to stay glued to the couch all day. There’s something about a reclining adult that is irresistible to our rug-rats (spell check wanted me to change “rugrats” to “regrets.” I’ll let you ponder that one for a moment).

It was 7 degF when I woke up this morning, and the radio lady cheerfully reported the weather would be sunny with a high of 19. But her really good news was that with the wind chill, it would feel like minus 7 degrees. Funny thing is that it’s 30 degrees in Wisconsin today. We just had to pick somewhere colder to live, didn’t we? Sheesh!

There were moments today where I had a headache, and thought the day would never end, and couldn’t believe somebody wanted me to do something for them again. I would close my eyes and find that patient part of me that lies deep somewhere past the crazy-haired girl who stomps her feet and slams doors, and I would keep moving. It doesn’t help my patience reserves that I’m on day two of my non-diet, and I fantasize ripping the graham crackers out of my child’s hand and stuffing them down my throat, I want sugar so badly.

There were some wonderful moments today too. When Vivi’s favorite Lady Gaga song came on, the girls and I took hands and danced with abandon in the middle of the kitchen. And yes, I looked like a muppet while dancing. What about it?

In other homesteading news, Vivi and I are enjoying a few new library books:

Limelight Larry by Leigh Hodgkinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Per our normal routine, we grabbed this book from the display shelf, and it was a great choice! Larry is a peacock who wants to steal the show, but by the end of the book he realizes it’s better to have friends than get all the attention. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the dialogue makes me chuckle. The message reminds me of another favorite of ours, The Rainbow Fish

Every-Day Dress-Up by Selina Alko
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A mom gives her daughter a book about famous women who have made big accomplishments to teach her there are others to aspire to be besides princesses. I may have loved this book more because I understood who each of the women was and because I could use an occasional reminder to filter how many princess-theme stories enter our home. It would be a great book for older Elementary school girls who are ready to learn about historical figures.

How’s your weekend? What’s the scuttlebutt?

Editor’s Note: This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday