happy father's day!

This was Spencer and Daddy sometime around Father's day last year. Happy Father's day to all the dads out there! Spencer taught himself to take his diaper off today, so we awoke to a bare baby ... thankfully no accidents were had, but I guess maybe we'll start thinking about getting a potty a little earlier than planned. Hubby meant to take two Tylenol cold pills and accidentally took two Benadryll pills (doseage: one) so after a breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon, he is knocked out on the couch. Poor baby!

cleaning out the fridge

When I start having anxiety attacks, sometimes the best thing for me is to keep my mind off of it. Such was Friday, when my attacks that have been going on for a week came to a head and I was pale, clammy, shaky and a bit hysterical at work. By the time I got home I was doing a little better except that I was back to not breathing well, so I decided to clean out the refrigerator. I really didn't think the fridge was that bad, but when I got into it I realized there was leftover PW's meatloaf from last time Becky came to visit (I think 6 weeks ago, amazingly nothing growing on it). And there were numerous other things, including a lot of veggies that were okay but obviously not going to last long.

So this morning I made "clean-out-the-fridge" breakfast casserole:

Black Forest Ham (from the Omelet Muffins), green onions, zucchini, tomato and mushrooms

Mozzarella slices, mixed Italian cheese (I don't usually buy pre-shredded cheese, or sliced cheese for that matter. I tend to forget them).

Yummy Casserole

Not the prettiest cut, but it was very good. Also used: 9 eggs (3 whole eggs and 6 whites), garlic powder, salt and pepper. So clean out you fridge, and as long as all you have isn't mustard and Jack Daniels, you might have a delicious breakfast casserole!

Deconstructed Omelet muffins

I was flipping through my RR magazine, and saw these in an advertisement for Cabot cheese. I don't usually have Cabot cheese on hand (for cheddar and the like I usually just get the generic), and I didn't have egg substitute because, well, I like real eggs. But they looked like something tasty to take to a brunch potluck of the like, so I thought I'd try my hand at them with ingredients that I'm likely to have. I like to think of them as more like deconstructed omelet cupcakes or muffins than ham-egg-cheese cups. Better name, yes?

Deconstructed Omelet Muffins

• 6 slices Black Forest Ham


• 4 eggs


• 2 Tbs milk


• 1 cup shredded cheese


• 1 1/2 slices of bread


• chives


• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 6 cupcake tins (1/2 a regular muffin sheet) with cooking spray.

Scramble eggs and milk. Place 1 slice of ham in each tin - edges will stick out the top. Rip your 1 1/2 slices of bread into 6 pieces total, put one piece in the bottom of each, then pour eggs evenly among all. Salt and pepper to your taste, and put a pinch of cheese on top.

Cook approximately 15 minutes. Use a small spatula to remove from muffin tins. Garnish with chives.

Serves approximately 4-6

what I'm reading

I've had my fill of chick lit these days, and am currently reading all of Carl Hiaasen's books. What I love about Hiaasen is that even though all his novels have similarities, e.g. loner man who has been burned on love, woman who thought she was happy in the relationship that she was in before she met said loner man, environmental extremism ... they're all just so dissimilar beyond that.

Carl Hiassen has been with the Miami Herald since 1976 and doing investigative journalism since 1979. His novels are considered "environmental thrillers". What are environmental thrillers? Quite simply, very unique.

I started with Skinny Dip, Striptease (which I didn't realize the 1996 movie with Demi Moore was based on and will now have to see, boobs and all), Sick Puppy, Stormy Weather, and now I'm reading Native Tongue. I also read Hoot, his first children's book, years ago and didn't even realize it was a kid's book until I was done. It was that good.

sums up last night

little fry and the potatoes

We don't often keep potatoes in the house. Nothing against them, but in the carb world, I'd much rather have my bread and my pasta then potatoes. We mash turnips, or parsnips, or cauliflower instead.

I bought a bag of potatoes this week to make ... aww, heck. I don't even remember what I was making ***update! I remember! I made steak kabobs with this fantastic cilantro dipping sauce! I have to remember to post about that later! -- I digress, and will now continue ... But Spencer's not used to me having potatoes in the bottom bin in my kitchen. He thinks they are his personal toys. I keep finding them in random places:

and he's enjoying rolling them across my kitchen floor:

Well, potatoes are certainly cheaper than all those other toys I've got him. I guess I'll have to pick up a bag of potatoes once a month or so to keep him entertained!

just breathe

I've been having anxiety attacks since I was in high school. I used to be convinced that there was something seriously wrong with me. My mom took me to the hospital once because I couldn't breathe and my lips were turning blue. My doctor prescribed me Xanax -- yeah, I can tell you that did nothing. I know people that swear by it, but it was like sugar pills for me.

Anyhow, I have no idea what brings them on. My ex used to watch me as I fell asleep because he was always worried I had an apnea problem (and I thought I had an apnea problem; still not entirely convinced all my problems are anxiety-related). All of a sudden it will just be hard to take a full breath. It feels like I can't fill my lungs. I've been tested, and I am getting 100% fill, but it just doesn't feel like it. I'm not satisfied. This will go for several days and then I'll just be fine again. In the meantime, I just think about my breathing all the time, and concentrate on getting the air in.

Today it started on my way out of work. I'm not particularly stressed at work lately; I haven't had any need to go out of town since the end of May, I'm caught up (shh, don't tell anyone). Home is good too -- Spencer is being particularly adorable and seems to be keeping the tantrums to a minimum. He's learning new things every day - so fun! And the only thing that's not great is that I seem to be getting sick constantly over the last couple weeks. However, I felt better today than I have in awhile.

So I've been like this for 7 hours or so. We went for an 11.5 mile bike ride and I still had problems (otherwise we probably would have kept riding). I hate this, bah!