After, Shiloh's Blossoming, Dental Superstar & Ma'amhood

I heard more than once this past week how "fast" everything passes.  For me, each day the clock ticks glacially by - then I've been sucked through the vortex and it's days later. Anyone else time travel in such a manner? The trip through this vortex was blessedly peaceful - no bombings followed by a dramatic shoot-out/lock-down/capture. Life has gone on, as it does. 

I'm grateful to live in the United States - where we are properly horrified by such occurrences because they happen so infrequently. For all the things wrong with this country, so much more is right. Everything is polarized, nobody can seem to find a middle ground and our leaders couldn't appear more inept if the literally shot themselves in the foot - yet the rest of the world still looks to us to keep the rest of them in line. With the crazy-scary news of Assad using chemical weapons against his people, I hope all our strength hasn't been depleted from the uselessness enacted by the previous administration.

Moving on....

Each afternoon when Isaac gets off the bus we go to get Shiloh at daycare. We spend about an hour there - Isaac plays with a boy from his school while I chat with Jess. Last week I paid a little more attention as Shiloh strutted about, hands on hips bossing around the little boy who's also there every day - using three-and-four word sentences. She was also quite adept at steering the Radio-Flyer scooter up and down the driveway. Pretty neat. I have Jess to thank for Shiloh's blossoming.

I was pretty busy at work last week, which was nice. I hate downtime. Lots of trainings coming up and I had to shuffle meetings around to make sure the trainings had the appropriate conference rooms. Next week the EPA is coming in for an audit, there's a company wide quarterly meeting and another client visit. I had to arrange for the meeting halls and lunches. All of us on the admin staff were also given cards with multiple signatures, chocolates and an American express gift card for "Administrative Professionals Day" - which was Wednesday. It'd been so long since I last worked in a professional office setting I'd completely forgotten about it! Reading how I was "the most stylish admin" several "I love your smile" and "Thanks for all you do."was an unexpected pleasure.The only criticism was that I need to bring in more baked goods. No such recognition was bestowed upon me or my other co-workers whence I was employed by the repo company in Tucson...

I finally made a dentist appointment last week. The first in nearly ten years. There was a cancellation on Wednesday and I was able to get in for half the appointment. I didn't bother to ask how long it would take when I made it, thinking it would be a half-hour or so and then I'd could dash on home to meet Isaac. But nooooooo. Whence I got there and started filling out the paperwork I was told it would be about an hour. X-Rays, exam and cleaning. So I got the X-rays and exam. Yours truly gets a gold star for taking such good care of her teeth! The dentist said that if everyone took as good care of their teeth as I do, he'd be out of a job. I was disheartened though that I have two little cavities. Grrrrrr. He reassured me that it wasn't a big deal. Of course it still bothers me. I have issues.

Yesterday I read this blurb about transitioning from "Miss" to "Ma'am". It's author uses humor (the best tool for navigating the tumultuous sea of life!) to accept, what she believes, is the inevitable: hitting the wall. I must disagree! She's in her mid-thirties (as am I) and when she awakens after a "sober night's sleep", the visage in the mirror that gazes back at her appears "savagely hungover". Even when I AM savagely hungover (not a regular occurrence), a shower and application of war paint takes it that away. But when I awaken after a sober night's sleep (I still need to put on the war paint) but I'm not plagued with permanent dark circles and bags under my eyes. Nor do my feet resemble "meaty prunes"; and because of my regular workouts I've managed to keep a sharp distinction between the backs of my thighs and buttocks. I'm actually in better shape now than I was three years ago - hell, even ten years ago! What's mentioned that I can relate to is the obnoxious coarsening and thickening of the hair on my chin. There is one other hair annoyance she mentions to which I can relate, but you'll have to read the post and see if you can figure it out! She wraps up her thoughts on "ma'amhood" nicely by extolling the virtues that happen as we gain life experience - but I don't think that one must hit the wall in order to gain wisdom. Am I right, or am I right?

How was your week?

I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge I have the best parents and friends in the world - you know why - and THANK YOU!!!

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

Creamy, herby, lemony goodness...

Technically these marvelous potatoes are a side, not a meal. They are scrumptious! They were last night's accompaniment to the Spicy Chicken Milenase - perfect! I'm completely in love with lemon. It's so versatile - when it's not the showcase ingredient in a recipe, it's the one that gives a recipe that "something special". Since I'm a firm believer that there's no such thing as too much garlic, I tweaked the original recipe (can you believe it - I CHANGED one of Giada's recipes?!). Instead of letting garlic cloves become aromatic in the oil in the pan before frying the potatoes, as she does, I minced a large clove and tossed it in with the lemon-herb dressing. I also halved the amount of olive oil for frying and added some butter to it. Mmmmuuuah!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Potatoes:
2 pounds baby or fingerling potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra as needed
3 tbsp of butter

Dressing:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 lemons, zested
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


WHAT TO DO

For the potatoes: Put the potatoes in an 8-quart stockpot with enough cold water to cover by at least 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander and allow to dry for 5 minutes. Using the palm of your hand, gently press the potatoes until lightly smashed.

In a large, nonstick skillet, heat oil and butter over medium-high heat. In batches, add the potatoes and cook, without stirring, until the bottoms turn golden brown, about 5 to 8 minutes. Using a spatula, turn the potatoes over and cook, drizzling with oil, if needed, until golden brown on the other side for another 5 to 8 minutes.

For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, parsley, thyme, garlic and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Spoon the dressing over the potatoes and toss gently until coated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl and serve.