Oh well, we had as good a weekend as can be expected after a white supremacist anti-Semite was chosen to be Trump’s chief strategist, and it was revealed that Trump didn’t know he had to staff the West Wing himself. Obama is ‘spending more time with him’ than a typical outgoing President does, given his complete lack of experience with political office and lack of in-depth knowledge about any of the issues he’s about to be in charge of. (Guys, before I have so much as a status conference I know every bit of the history of my case upside down and sideways. My kids practice their spelling words for days before a test. Jack has done a bazillion math facts to try to improve his skills. Lack of preparation is only lauded in government, I guess.) He did not expect to get this job, methinks. He wanted to start a right wing news organization and make some money off it . . . While he tries to learn what the NAFTA acronym stands for, the West-Wing-staffing reins have been handed off to a man who hates Jews, black people, and women. The most powerful office in the world is about to be staffed by a guy who beat his first wife and refused to let his kids go to a school with Jews. Blerg.
So, in order to hide from this alt-right new reality we are all living in, the Prof and I spent the weekend putting our house in order. Control over something small is helping us get through. I trimmed back my outdoor plants, cutting off the dead blooms and leaves and planting a few of my spider plant’s bazillion spider plant babies. The Prof hung things (like pictures, hooks for yard implements, a ladder hanging device in our tiny coat closet). I unpacked boxes of books and shoved them into an empty piece of furniture we have, for now, til we can get a bookshelf together. I also went through the boys’ toyboxes, weeding out junk and organizing. I do this at least once a year – before Christmas – and ideally more than once. It’s amazing how many socks, old chips, half-fruit bars, and other detritus you find in the bottom of their toybox. Gross, but satisfying to clean up.
It’s looking better in here. We wanted to sell our dining table but nobody seems to want to buy it, so now we’re just going to live with it for now and put our kitchen table, which is essentially a picnic table, outside. Next weekend we’ll waterproof it and put it on the back porch, and then this will feel like a house.
For dinners this week, we’re having some good stuff. In an attempt to reduce our ginormous grocery bill and get our budget in line, I bought a Costco membership. After a $110 membership fee and $275 shopping spree last week, I have approximately a billion pounds of meat in the freezer now, some giant jars of pasta sauce, 40 rolls of paper towels, and 4 dozen of Annie’s cheddar bunnies which you’d better believe my kids are gonna learn to like. This week, we spent only $40 at the store to shore up a few staples like milk, half and half, and bread (I normally spend at least $250-300 a week). I think this Costco thing is gonna work out, even though I paid money to shop there. I will use my Costco goods to make the following this week:
- Pork chops, baked potatoes, and broccoli
- Corn chowder (leftover, I pulled it out of the freezer)
- Curried carrot soup (you can only buy carrots in “entire-farmer’s-field” size)
- Sausage, green pepper, and pasta bake
- Red beans and rice (which I made last week and froze, we are sharing with our friends who just had a new baby)
- Black bean and Ro-tel burritos. I bought a full flat of black beans and Ro-tel, as we use them a lot!
Hopeful we can shrink the grocery budget and use the extra to buy Christmas presents – boy, Christmas snuck up on me this year! I’ve got my nieces about covered but that’s it, and I’ve usually bought everything by December 1 (the only way I can enjoy Christmas is if the shopping’s done early, otherwise it’s just stressful).
The Prof is working out. My day to work out is tomorrow. We are trying to up our “self care” routine right now. It’s important. It’s all, all, important. Bless you all.
We went to Costco last night to get gas and kill time because both boys took naps and we knew bedtime would be late and then left having spent almost $50 on I’m not sure what…oh wait, a giant bag of sweet potatoes, a large box of mushrooms, raspberries and a new sweater for my husband. Costco is both a money-saver and a money-sucker! 🙂
I need a good red beans and rice recipe – what do you do? I’ve tried a few from recipe blogs and nothing ever turns out for me- it’s either completely bland and flavorless or it gets mushy or textureless (word?). I cook so many things, why do I repeatedly fail at that one?
(Also, loved/hated this party: “He did not expect to get this job, methinks. He wanted to start a right wing news organization and make some money off it . . . While he tries to learn what the NAFTA acronym stands for, the West-Wing-staffing reins have been handed off to a man who hates Jews, black people, and women.” BLERGH.)
LL, you didn’t ask me, but I’m just going to volunteer how I do red beans and rice (Wisconsin farm girl living in NYC) and then RG can laugh hysterically and give you a real recipe from someone who lives in New Orleans. That said, my totally made-up version with all amounts approximate is super tasty, and it freezes well if you double it or make in advance.
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 ribs celery, chopped
2 green peppers, diced
1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 28-ounce can red beans, drained
2 cajun bratwurst from Pat’s Country Meat Market in Whitehall, Wisconsin (substitute spicy sausage of your choice, but next time you’re in Wisconsin, stop at Pat’s), sliced in half-moons
2 bay leaves
2-3 tsp dried thyme (or fresh if you have it)
a sprinkle or more of cayenne, to taste
2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
Heat a little vegetable oil in a big pot and sauté your onions, garlic, and celery until the onions are soft and the celery is softening. Add the bay leave and spices and green peppers and sauté a little more until the peppers are softening. Then add the sausage and sauté until you feel like it’s cooked. Add the tomatoes and beans and let it all simmer for at least half an hour. This is tasty right away but even more delicious the next day. Serve over hot rice.
I disagree with your statement that not being prepared is lauded in government. I have been a government attorney for close to nine years, and I have always been prepared. As an attorney for the State, the courts and other attorneys hold me to a higher standard, because I am the State, and I should be better prepared and adhere to ethical standards. And I’m proud to carry that burden, I wouldn’t have taken the job, and stayed in it, otherwise. Look at Hillary, she is the physical embodiment of a prepared, government employee. Yes, in my time in government work, I have met people who are the embodiment of those jokes about “government employees.” In my experience, they are the exception, but they give everyone else a bad name.
LL and joy – I’m not a NOLA native, but Emeril is, and I used his recipe. Except I used bacon and kielbasa because who has “tasso” and “ham hocks” around? http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/red-beans-and-rice-recipe2.html
Jaime – that wasn’t a dig at govt lawyers, it was a dig at voters who wanted an inexperienced guy (Drumpf) who would come in to run government and “shake things up” by being completely unprepared in every sense of the word. Voters are desperate to “drain the swamp” and “get rid of career politicians” (which I would call career public servants, but okee dokee). What they mean when they say that is “we want people who have never done this before and don’t know what they’re doing!” Trump literally has no policy papers prepared, at all. He didn’t know he was going to have to staff up the whole West Wing himself – he thought Obama’s people would stay. He has stated he underestimated the scope of the job. That’s all I was referring to – his lack of preparation and his voters’ lauding him for it, as if that’s something to be proud of instead of ashamed of.