It's Over

We're breaking up.

At least for now.

And i'm going back to my old dish-washing ways.

I know we've only been together for 19 months, but i've had it with your mockery.
I put dirty dishes in. You promise to give them back to me all clean and shiny. You're such a liar!!!! Silverware, coffee mugs, dinner plates - they all come out filmy and grimy and sometimes dirtier than when i gave them to you in the first place!

Sometimes, you embarrass me. Like when i assume you make the glasses sparkly and then a guest grabs one out of the cupboard only to reveal to me that they're about to be poisoned by a filthy cup. No more JetDry for you, ya big waster! I hate being blamed for your mistakes. Ugh!!!

Do you think i LIKE wasting water and electricity!? You take forever to do your half-baked job and then i have to do it all over again for you by hand. My patience is worn out, and I'm through covering for you.

As my mama always said, "I don't need a dishwasher, because i gave birth to four!" Well, my 'dishwashers' might not be able to do the job for me just yet, but i'm going back to being the one my mama delivered.

At least for now.

What to do with all that zucchini?

I get tired of making zucchini bread.

Dont get me wrong - I'm a huge fan of the warm confection with a nice cup of coffee on even the hottest of July days, but the artist in me feels somewhat dwarfed when I'm limited to making only ONE recipe with any given veggie. (Like lettuce, for instance. What else can you do with it besides eat it as a salad? You can't even preserve the stuff, so you're left with multiple heads that go to the chickens.... What a waste.)

Last summer, i started looking for other zucchini recipes so i could make good use of those long, green squashes that my husband spends so much time cultivating. What we had for supper last night is one of my favorite zucchini "alternative" recipes. Filling, flavorful, an all-in-one entree, and loved even by Rosemarie. Here's the recipe, if you're looking for satisfying options:

Stuffed Zucchini

Place 4-5 medium size zucchini in a bath of boiling water for 5-7 minutes.

Remove from bath and place in baking dish. Lengthwise, slice off upper 1/3 of zucchini and scoop out pulp (so it looks like a boat). Do what you will with pulp, or reserve some to mix with the stuffing.

Fill up the zucchini boats with some of the following mixture (which i altered from the original recipe, as you may also do based on personal taste):

-1/2 lb. cooked ground beef and 1/2 lb. cooked ground sausage
-2 eggs
-diced onion
-some zucchini pulp (no seeds if possible)
-salt, pepper, sage, parsley
-bread crumbs or crumbled saltine crackers
-shredded cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese (we like lots!)

Bake in 350F oven for 25-30 minutes.
Serve with homemade bread and jam.

Enjoy!!

Ain't she a beauty?

This monsterous instrument is the best free thing i've ever had the pleasure of snagging at a garage sale.

And before you ask - no, i do not know how to play. Noone between the ages of 3 1/2 and 26 in my house does. But that's all about to change because... well, because i'm in charge here and get to boss around all the kids and enroll them in piano lessons if I want to.



*N.B. I am currently taking names of possible instructors. Pass 'em on if you got 'em!

And She's in Pig Tails!!!!

Having babies makes me realize how realistic it is for someone to want to gobble up these adorable little people!

Appreciations of a Pregnant Bod

Behold, our new shower curtain rod!!!!!!!!!

To you, it may look like a boring piece of brushed metal.
But to me - ah! - to me it means FREEDOM! Acres and acres of soapy freedom!

The beauty of this curtain rod is that it is curved out, allowing up to 7.5 inches (7.5 inches!!) more elbow room! I prefer to think of this as 7.5 extra inches of growing abdomen room. But call it what you will, it means a lot to my morphing physique.

Do you understand how awesome this is? Of course you don't - unless, of course, you were me about 15 months ago when i was hugely pregnant with Rosemarie and absolutely closterphobic in my very own shower.

So now i love my husband more - for spending $40 to help regulate my self-esteem during my 3rd round of rapid growth in 4 years. And i've resolved to show him how much i appreciate his gift to me by making sure i shower at least every other day.
(Hey! Chill out! I'm not a smelly person, and my hair actually looks better on day 2.... I like to think of it as me getting in touch with my more European side. And would i get PC points if i said conserving water and shampoo this way was, er, Green?)