On Tuesdays I babysit an extra kid. Normally this is the easiest day of the week because the two kids entertain each other and Miss Daynes can just sit quietly with a book (no worries, I check in periodically to make sure they're still alive and not playing with fire or sharp objects). Today, however, was not that day.

We went over to E-'s house to play because she has way better dress up clothes and it means that The Kid gets to put off piano practice for an hour or so. E- also has two sweet labs that I let outside as soon as we get home. Normally, the dogs would stay outside, but it was raining today, so I let them come in. I was surprised to find that they are trained to wipe their feet. So far, so good. The girls and I finish our book and they go upstairs to play while I nuke some popcorn. The dogs follow. Suddenly, the baby monitor goes silent. It's quiet. Too quiet. I decide to go upstairs to make sure the dogs haven't eaten the kids. They hadn't. I find the kids hiding in the playroom with the doors closed so the dogs can't get in. The dogs, however aren't interested in the playroom because they're too busy feasting on a dirty diaper they've discovered. I clean up what I can (while The Kid helpfully points to pieces I've missed) and then go hunt for a vacuum. In my hunt I discover that the dog has regurgitated the aforementioned diaper. Pause the vacuum hunt to clean this mess. Finally find a vacuum after snooping through the entire house.  Thankfully, microwaves have a magic popcorn button that cooks for just the right time because I'd forgotten about snack time. The girls enjoy their snack while I go vacuum. The dogs stay in time out for the rest of the afternoon. The Kid knew better than to complain (too much) about piano practice when we got back to her house.

After that I needed a stiff dessert. Enter Trader Joe's:

Totally worth braving torrential downpours to get some of these bad boys. I'm pretty sure these cookies are laced with crack. I've already consumed an entire box almost by myself. At this pace, I'm looking at 4 boxes by Christmas, but I can't think of a tastier way to put on some winter weight.

Fondest regards,
The Lady

Months with R R my faves...

Ladies of Leisah should eat oysters on the half shell. It feels like such a Southahn thing to do...especially if the oysters are Gulf Oysters and not those yankee oysters from New England which are probably smaller and grumpier from living in the cold. Here's to one of the few good things winter has to offer!

Thanksgiving

It should be no surprise to anyone who knows me has spent more than 2 minutes with me that Thanksgiving is my absolutely favorite holiday. A whole day devoted to food? Yes, please. As I've gotten older, I've had to (grudgingly) adjust to changing traditions. However, despite new dwellings and new diets, there are a few tried and true traditions that have not changed. Here's how the day normally goes down:

1. Watch The Parade. If I was a better daughter, I would help my mom in the kitchen, but I'm not. My real responsibility in the family is to tell everyone when the holiday season has officially begun... i.e. when Santa gets to Macy's. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying...or unAmerican. Also, I'm responsible for making judgmental comments the rest of the family can ignore:

Me: American Idiot? More like American Idiotic...
The Rest of the Family: What are you talking about?
Me: That stupid musical. Those guys standing there with guitars singing that Green Day song that gets stuck in you head for weeks at a time. No dancing, no costumes, no...Are you guys even paying attention now? You know what? Nevermind. I'll tell you when Santa gets here.

2. Make cranberries. It's important to look like you've contributed to some aspect of meal prep. Chop something, stir something, whatever it takes to be able to say you helped. The more you can say you helped before the meal, the less likely you are to be recruited for post-meal clean-up. Of course, Mom's in the kitchen doing dishes as we speak. I'm such a bad daughter.

3. Watch National Dog Show. This is a tradition that I don't really understand nor do I find all that entertaining; however, nothing says LoL more than rich people having a contest about who's pet is bred better. Respect.

4. Stir something...even if it doesn't need to be stirred. This is the point at which I also utter the words, "Is there anything I can do?" Word of caution: Know your surroundings before asking this question. Ideal conditions involve a reasonably clean looking kitchen, nothing mid-chop, and a relative air of calm from The Matriarch. Otherwise, you may be answered in the affirmative.

5. Eat dinner. This year's menu included Turkey (much better than mine), soy-sausage dressing, gravy, cranberries, root vegetables, brussels sprouts (also better than mine), mashed potatoes, salmon, and salad. Delicious!

6. Sit around and talk about what we're going to do next because we can't just sit here and watch TV all day. Ummmm....I may have been adopted.

We've eaten, cleaned up, skyped and cell-phoned the fam that's not here and now it's time to sit around and just be thankful for full bellies, warm houses, and loving families and friends...and maybe eat a little ton of dessert.

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone! May your hearts be thankful, your days be leisahly, and your glasses be full...of um chocolate milk!

Fondest regards,
The Lady

Friendsgiving 2010

We've anticipated it for so long and this weekend it finally happened!!! No, not Harry Potter. You already know how that's going to end. The real excitement of the weekend was the first annual Friendsgiving. The idea has been tossed about in the past, but this year I said, "Let's do it! I really want to share a meal with all of you because I love you so much!...what?...NO! Of course it doesn't have anything to do with my parents becoming vegetarians!" Really. Honest. Meal with friends.
As any true Lady of Leisah would, I love showing off my culinary acumen, so this was a highly anticipated event for me. After weeks of pouring over recipes, making and revising grocery lists, planning the cooking schedule, and a lovely trip to Trader Joe's, Saturday was The Big Day. It felt almost like real Thanksgiving except that the parade wasn't on TV. Also, I was allowed to cook more than just the cranberries.

First came a trip to the Farmer's Market because any good LoL knows you can't show up at someone's house for dinner without some flowers...even if you're brining dinner. I can't believe I hadn't been here before!

Next came turkey prep and cooking. This was big, people. I have only roasted a turkey once before, so I was a little anxious about this. I'm really not sure why roasting a turkey is so intimidating, though. You start with this:

You just pour some butter over it and pop it in the oven for a few hours while you sit and read Harry Potter 7, and you end up with this:

It's okay to ooh and aah. It was a good bird.

The rest of the cooking was the tricky part. We had to be at the K-'s house at 7, so I had to time everything right so that it would be warm when we got there. Also, I had to look cute. I wish y'all could have seen me as I made gravy, whipped cream, blanched brussels sprouts, caramelized shallots, and sauteed green beans all at the same time. No lie. And I didn't even mess up my hair or make-up. Okay, I messed up the make-up a little bit (Tip: put on mascara after you slice shallots). And all of it was ready to go when CB picked me up.

Once at the K-'s we did have one casualty. My beautiful green beans sauteed with shallots, mushrooms, and almonds were dropped on the lawn in my attempt to get everything in one load. I cried a little, but CB was really broken up about it:

I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that the only green vegetable left after that was the roasted brussels sprouts.

Otherwise, the meal went off without a hitch.

B- got to use her wedding china for the first time in almost 11 years:

And we all enjoyed a perfectly lovely meal together:

I even ate (most of) one of the deviled eggs that CB made and didn't gripe about it...which is more than I can say about his attitude toward my brussels sprouts:

Me: How'd you like the sprouts.
CB: I could use them in a pinch.
Me: How much pinch? Like, if you survive the zombie apocolypse and they're the only food you can find?
CB: I'd use them as a weapon and throw them at the zombies.

Then the gentlemen offered to clean up since the ladies had been slaving away all day:

And then we had dessert:

C- made a pumpkin cheesecake, I made a french silk pie, and K- made a fruit tart. I also made real whipped cream which always impresses everyone, but I'm not really sure why. I did feel a little bad because I used my stand mixer instead of mixing it by hand. Julia mixed it by hand, so I mix it by hand. Don't judge. Hand or stand, it was still whipped cream and not whipped topping...which is just gross...and a little lazy. Yeah, I went there.

There is a strong, lingering essence of turkey in my apartment. I think it's permeated the furniture...and I'm okay with that. And my kitchen still looks like this:

But it was totally worth it. The only thing better than a Thanksgiving meal is two Thanksgiving meals...uh...I mean a good meal with friends!

Just in case you were wondering, CB did take me to see Harry Potter this weekend. Obvi.

Fondest regards,
The Lady

Friends taking sides...

To clarify for those of you who were less than thrilled about the last post, I am not the one that ends our relationship each year. FOOTBALL DUMPS ME, FOLKS!

I will stand by Football week in and week out. I will work my butt off to keep our relationship going strong. Maybe I can't make it to every game. Maybe I do occasionally complain about the team's failure to convert the 3rd down. That doesn't mean that I love football any less. In a week and a day, I will be cheering for the Dawgs to wreck Tech. After that, I will be watching every play of whatever bowl game we...yeah WE...go to. I will wait in anticipation for the G-Day game. I will spend my spring reading blogs and arguing with old men, and occasionally, I will drive past Sanford Stadium (where we used to spend our best days together) and long for the day when football will take ME back.

For the record, it's nice to know who will side with whom after Football breaks my heart.

In the meantime, Football, I'm still on for our date next Saturday and I promise to look cute. Until then, this goes out to you.

Yours always,
The Lady

On the rebound...

I have kind of an on again/off again relationship with football, and I find myself falling into the same, dysfunctional pattern every year...

August to September is a blissfully wonderful honeymoon phase. The weather is great, I hang out with all my friends, and I get to pull out those game day dresses that I haven't worn in a year. Our relationship is filled with hope and promise and I could not be more excited.

Then October comes and it gets to be a little more work. I still love football, but I find myself getting a little resentful that it's taken up all of my Saturdays and I no longer have time to do all the things I used to love. However, I am not a fair weather fan and I know that any good relationship takes work.

Come November, though, I may find myself skipping a game. Football's all like, "Are we hanging out this weekend?" and I'm all like, "No. I have to work." At this point in the season moods have changed, too. If we're winning, everyone's high strung and stressed out. If we're losing, everyone's just mean.

Then the week after Thanksgiving we have the talk:

Football: I just don't think this is working. We need a break. You're great and I appreciate all the time and cute outfits you've put into this season, but we just don't have the heat anymore. You feel it, right?

Me: Yeah, I know. It's just too much work and you're right, it was like 30 degrees at that last night game. Maybe in another time and another place...

We may hook up a couple of times after that, but we're pretty much done and I can play the field so to speak.

Enter Basketball. Basketball is like Football's less attractive friend who's all like, "Hey, football didn't treat you right, but I'm here now." And I'm all like, "Eh, you're okay and I don't have anything better going on..." It's fun for a while, but I know it's just a rebound thing. I can tell because I'm okay with wearing jeans and t-shirts. Maybe even more than once in the same season.

I have a feeling that it's happening again. Football's about to dump me and we may not even be hooking up for New Year's this time. I've been hanging out with Basketball a little bit, though, and it's going pretty well. I'm thinking this season might be the start of something real between us. We even doubled last night with my friend K- and her son.

In the fall, though, football's all like, "I miss you and I want you back." And I'm all like, "Me too. Let's never fight again!"

Fondest regards,
The Lady

Lessons in Babysitting...

The Kid: How old are you?

Miss Daynes: It's rude to ask old ladies how old they are.

The Kid: It's rude to ask old ladies EVERYTHING! You can't ask how old they are, you can't ask how much they weigh, you can't ask what they're holding.

Miss Daynes: It's always okay to ask one how she is enjoying the weather.

The Kid: That's boring.

I feel like I begin every post apologizing for being such a negligent blogger. Sorry again. After the last post, I just didn't want to talk about it. I still don't, really. Here's what I will say, I have never been prouder to be a Dawg than I am this season and I would rather lose with Mark Richt than win with any other coach. We're certainly not perfect, but I am proud that our coach has made it clear where his priorities stand what will and will not be tolerated on or off the field.

What to catch you up on...

-Jacksonville was actually really fun (apart from the end of the game). I enjoyed meeting CB's friends. They do get their kicks from heckling those of us that lack PhDs and they tattle, but other than that, they're pretty cool. Anyone that picks up the tab at dinner is okay in my book.

-We took almost 60 kids on a retreat in SC last weekend. It was really cold and not at all leisahly, but we had fun.

-This past weekend I opted out of a trip to the plains. I just couldn't take another road loss. It was a lovely weekend, however, of catching up on missed television and spending time with friends that I have been neglecting of late.

I think that's all the news that matters...except that none of it really matters that much. Things are cooling down here and I'm pretty grumpy about this whole "inevitable winter" situation we've got going on, but I have to admit that I really love Athens in the fall. The leaves are beautiful and it's still warm enough that I don't need a jacket, but cool enough that I can wear a scarf. That said, I would appreciate it if y'all would leave your cars running, your refrigerator doors open, and maybe use up a can or two of hairspray in an attempt to avoid this whole, ugly winter mess next year.

Fondest regards,
The Lady