My husband gave me the best gift today: the gift of time. We both played golf today- him in the morning and then I brought G to the course for the parents’ handoff. Me speed walking through the club pushing a still groggy G through the country club leaving messages on his cellphone trying to coordinate where to meet and also trying to make my tee time.

After the craziness of the morning I got 9 holes of golf and and then a magical 2 hours during which time my husband took G to the in-laws. When he first told me, I was drunk with possibilities.

Of course, my type-A personality kicked in and I made a list. Here is what I thought I could accomplish in a mere 2 hours:

-empty the dishwasher

-fold diapers

-print return labels (I have developed a terrible habit of buying stuff on Amazon and then returning it. I have 3 things in queue to return. In my defense, I have been kicking butt at the thrift store which is why I can return some of the items. $5 privo/clark shoes that were barely worn? Hell yeah.)

-pick up CSA (a 30 minute round trip)

-get nails done

-complete Nutrition questions (still working on that nutrition certificate!)

-BLOG!

-brown meat and onions

-call mom and any other long lost friend to catch up while sipping wine

So I got my nails done (win!) and our house is a disaster. Dishwasher not emptied with dirty dishes in the sink. Diapers all over the living room. Mail in piles on our half wall in the kitchen. And that meat that has been in the thaw bowl since Thursday, still thawing.

I have 35 minutes left of that precious 2 hours and damnit I am going to blog. I poured myself a glass of wine and put a little snack in a bowl and headed to the office.

I miss you guys.

I WISH I had an awesome recipe to share with you. I really do. But, this has been my life for the last few months….

chasing grace

I have been chasing Grace.

My baby G is now a toddler. She is the love of my life and I can barely keep up with her. She took awhile to walk but now she just runs. Everywhere.

And I have been chasing Grace in other ways. Coming to peace with timelines that are not my own (despite how much I want to be control!). Coming to peace with changing relationships and the constant give and take that permeates all my relationships as a mother. Coming to peace with not blogging as much as I would like.

It sounds way more zen than it actually is. It’s not as much coming to peace but thrashing, clawing, and fighting my way there.

I have also been busy professionally, just finished my fourth article on how to save money on toys for Pregnancy and Newborn. Side note: in G’s first year of life, we only spent $30 on toys. And no, we don’t neglect our child. You will have to read the article to see how we did it!

I have been planning meals, but like my list of things to do in 2 hours, they have been a tad ambitious. This week’s plan ‘o’ meals:

-Slow cooker pork chops, apples, and sweet potatoes

-Cheeseburger pizza with an Indian twist

-Homemade KFC (slow cooker roast chicken, homemade fries, coleslaw, and biscuits)

-Indian tomatoes and egglplant

-homemade cheese crackers and cereal bars

I’ll try to post what I actually make on Facebook. Maybe I will try to do better since I have actually told you about it.

So, I gave myself 30 minutes to blog and I only have about 5 minutes left and I am realizing how much I am just rambling.

I am going to close with something I have been meaning to do for awhile. Pre-baby, I wrote a “This I Believe” post about truths that to me were self-evident. I promised to do a post-baby version, so here goes.

Kindness is always the best choice.

Having manicured nails is the best gift you can give yourself. (screw lipstick, I want my nails done!)

Fresh air fixes everything.

The only thing a baby truly needs is love.

Everything is better after a good night’s sleep.

We are all just trying to do our best…and that’s enough.

 

Thanks for letting me ramble, readers. I hope to bring you some good recipes, meal planning tips, or at the very least, some more laughs in the near future. Let’s not let it go this long again, okay?

I have 10 minutes left to run around the house like a crazy person making it presentable so I feel like I didn’t squander this wonderful gift. Ready…set….GO!