Every week, I get one night all to myself. Manatee comes home early from work and I can do whatever I please.

In true Badger Girl fashion, I have about 50 things I want to do that night. Let’s take tonight, here is what I thought I could do:

  • Shoot out some emails for my upcoming cookbook event November 1st at Cravings Coffee House in Wisconsin Rapids (4-8 pm, wine! live music! cookbook treats!)
  • Compile a new master list of mommies for our playgroup and send out an email to them about the Halloween party this Friday
  • Make pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes for said party
  • Go to Marshall’s, find a new pair of jeans, a new coat, a dress for a wedding, cute clothes to wear with said jeans, new pajamas (because I’m 8 years old at heart and still like pajamas), and some sleepers and pants for Baby G.
  • After Marshall’s, walk through World Market and do a wine tasting
  • Get home in time to breast feed Baby G before she goes to bed
  • Eat a Hugh Jass salad with a huger glass of wine
  • Write several blog posts with recipes
  • Upload a bazillion pictures of Baby G, actually order some prints to frame, and maybe even start my Christmas card
  • Curl up with another huge glass of wine and watch a foreign film with subtitles in memory of my past life as an academic, artsy person
  • Finish my current chapter in my Nutrition certification
  • Have a meaningful talk about life with either my husband or a close girlfriend on the phone

And need I remind you, that I go to bed around 9 pm.

Yeah, I need to re-work my priorities.

I love reading Chelsea do her Fun Facts Friday posts and while I would love to commit to a weekly post, let’s face it. Time is short, so I will just try to do them when I can. Instead of publishing several thought-provoking posts, I thought I would just share some random thoughts on life, being a mom, and what I am loving to eat right now. If you like this format and want to see more of it, let me know.

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1. I have been feeling very Laura Ingalls Wilder meets Madison Hippie lately: I have been saving my produce scraps to make vegetable broth.

vegetable scraps for broth

I heard about this from a woman in my book club. Save all your scraps in a zipper lock bag in the freezer and then throw them in water and simmer for about an hour. Strain out the scraps, and voila! vegetable broth. At first, I was going to save them until I had one gallon bag. Now that I have filled that, I am going for two.We had rotisserie chicken tonight, so I saved the carcass and plan to make some chicken broth. I will keep you posted on how it turns out!

2. This is why I am a fan of baby leggings.

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This is Baby G every time I change her diaper. Girlfriend cannot stay still! I guess I am just glad she is obsessed with the rails on her changing table and not the other side.

3. Manatee and I were talking about having kids the other night and I asked him, did you ever think you could love someone THAT much? He looked me right in the eye and said yes. I felt like an asshole the rest of the night.

4. This is the dish we have been obsessed with this fall.

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Cubed butternut squash tossed with olive and/or grapeseed oil, salt, sugar, chili powder, and smoke paprika roasted at 425 dg(F) for 30 minutes. It has become our pre-dinner nosh and it’s amazing!

5. I also can’t get enough of this baked oats recipe. And I don’t even like oatmeal….

6. I am hosting a little playgroup Halloween party this Friday (before hosting Baby G’s baptism on Sunday). In my mind, I am going to make pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes, apple and walnut salad, and pumpkin pie spiced pecans (made with my own recipe of pumpkin pie spice). Reality: I will probably serve apples and raw walnuts, and like last time I hosted playgroup, my toilet will probably break again.

7. For 5 minutes yesterday, I thought Baby G was deaf. Let me paint the picture for you: after a morning of constant fussing, I had given up and was taking a shower with Baby G voicing her displeasure on a blanket in the bathroom. I heard her calm down and was finally able to take a deep breath. As I was enjoying my hot shower and she was falling asleep, the smoke alarm went off. I tore out of the shower, leaped over her, and searched for smoke. Baby G didn’t stir until I came back, dripping onto her. I scooped her up and ran downstairs- for some reason, it seemed safer down there even though there was no smoke in sight. I then realized that the smoke alarm didn’t faze her and proceeded to clap and stomp behind her back. She wasn’t amused or impressed. After imagining a life of signing to her, and imagining this stupid smoke alarm as our big Hallmark turning point in our life and all the classical music I had been listening to with her was for naught, I said her name one more time and watched her turn towards me with a huge grin. Manatee is still enjoying watching her react whenever he says her name.

8. I met another mommy today at Noodles restaurant for lunch.

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Let me just express that it was very baby friendly. Baby G babbled to the white noise and I enjoyed my lunch. Their tofu is one my favorite guilty pleasures! My go-to order is Bangkok Curry with Tofu, no carrots, extra broccoli. Today I ventured out and Spicy Peanut Saute (with same specifications). What is your go-to Noodles order?

9. Have you seen the T25 infomercials? I have been doing the workouts and I love them. It’s amazing how efficient they are! In 25 minutes, I am pouring sweat and Baby G is entertained. I finished Alpha 2 weeks ago and am working towards Beta. Highly recommend them! And no, you will never see my before and after pictures here. No one needs to see my stomach post-baby.

10. If you are missing my regular posts, check me out on Facebook. I try to post pics, meal ideas, and other fun stuff. Would love to see you there!

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Well, it’s 9:00 pm. My huge glass of wine is empty and I have barely scratched the surface of my list. I guess there’s always next week, huh?