At 4am Larry and I headed for Charleston, SC to begin our much needed week of relaxing and hopefully nicer weather than here in Illinois. Does it really need to snow in April??? Because the week before it didn't and then it did...I've hit my limit with snow!
Anyway, Larry and I have this trip ritual of getting up ridiculously early to hit the road before anyone else does and arrive at or 1/2 way point (Knoxville, TN) with enough time to enjoy the area - for us, the drive is part of the vacation, so we want it to be as enjoyable as possible.
Our other trip ritual (read Larry's "requirement") is for me to immediately go to sleep upon entering the car because 1) if I wake up I instantly start chatting a mile-a-minute and 2) I avoid needing to use a rest stop if I'm asleep. By doing this Larry avoids sensory overload and the added benefit of not stopping before breakfast. But I'm convinced that at least with 2) that Larry just doesn't want to admit that he needs to stop for the bathroom and will use "breakfast" as an excuse. I'm thinking this is some vast male "conspiracy" that all men are apart of - never wanting to stop for the bathroom and never asking for directions. Sweeping generalization? Perhaps, but I'm convinced I'm right.
The problem with leaving from upper IL is that there are very few places to stop on our route for breakfast along 41 in Indiana other than a truck stop - if anyone knows of any good spots...let me know.
We ended up stopping in Attica, IN - at a greasy spoon - not too bad, and I was impressed that they had sugar-free syrup, which is a gauge of mine lately - seems it's the "normal" spots that have it and not the more fancy places, which I kind of thought the opposite would be true.
The first leg of the 2 day drive was relatively uneventful: taking turns driving and me watching a DVD or two - keeps me from using the rest stops!
I will say we love to drive because it gives us the opportunity to stop at any cute town/site/shop we come across. On most of our trips we typically find great little towns, but I will fully admit that occasionally we get suckered in by a sign saying "historic downtown..." and end up being disappointed. Luckily, we didn't get duped on this leg of the drive...
South Carolina Bound: Hitting the Road - April 9th
On the Move...And a Bit of a Vent
April and May have been utterly crazy schedule-wise: our vacation in April, and then in May my business trip to Atlanta for my association’s biennial trade show and our weekend away for our 10th anniversary – I believe I’m actually running on vapors!
I’m trying to keep up the posts on a regular basis, although admittedly, I’ve fallen behind. I really enjoy the blog as this has become a creative outlet, as well as being very therapeutic for me.
Therapeutic, because, honestly, I come home from work most days and all I want to do is lie on the couch. And then I’m hit with the reality that...ugh...we need to figure out what we’re eating for dinner...then make sure I get all the crap I wanted to get completed that night: obliterating the ever encroaching dustbunnies, telephone calls, emails, Law and Order and HGTV, :), and then actually ticking off all my “to do” post-its that I write all the time, lest I forget (and never do) so I can actually get rid of them because they are everywhere! And then on top of that, I keep placing a book I want to read on my nightstand so on the off chance I might actually read an actual book rather than a magazine! And then the weekend comes and goes and...I’m right back on Monday backpeddling.
My point here is that I’ve been wracking my brain lately wondering how I see some women who appear to have everything together – work/home life, body, mind, clothes etc. – and I feel like I’m treading water just to stay afloat. Do you know what I mean? Don’t you know someone who always seems perfect in everything she does and perhaps you want to throttle and you feel like you are just trying to keep up or are wearing those comfy sweats entirely too often???
So this blog is my way of trying to organize my thoughts and talk about the things that I love to talk about: my husband Larry, renovating/decorating our house, our trips, particularly those with Scott and Gwen, what we do around town and cooking – because when I do that...suddenly all the immaterial things I stress about, suddenly goes away.
So that’s my little vent for the day...needed to get that off my chest...and yup, I feel better. And maybe, I’ll work on easing sweats out of my wardrobe...
Scott's Surprise Bday Celebration
I know, I know...it's been awhile since I've posted - not for a lack of trying - it's just been incredibly busy lately - I swear it's not that I wanted to promote the pork picatta recipe for all enternity (although it is very good!).
The weekend of March 28th was something that Larry and I have been looking forward to for quite some time - Gwen was planning a surprise 50th birthday party for Scott. The plan was to have them fly out from NJ under the guise of a "pre-Easter" visit with Scott's family since the four of us would be South Carolina-bound during Easter.
Gwen had been planning the festivities for awhile and Larry and I were afraid that we'd blow it when the Scgwotts came in the night before for our regular Friday dinner-Rumicube-sleepover. Somehow we did not bungle the surprise...but did manage to sing a few tunes and laugh as usual.
On Saturday we went to Benedict's for our usual breakfast...still paranoid that we'd say something to clue Scott in. I actually almost gave Gwen a heart attack when I was talking about our upcoming family BBQ, but only said "party" and she rightfully thought I was talking about Scott's party - yikes - thankfully I clued in and said "OUR BBQ...in JULY!"
After breakfast we somehow started a whole conversation about Ipods and decided it was time for the Mays to live up to our techiness. So with the Scgwotts in tow...Larry and I bought one, right there, on the spot, which is pretty rare for us, since we research things to death! (We actually ended up buying 3 in total...long story).
Then with Scott and Gwen on their way, we headed home to get ready for the big festivities...somehow still managing to NOT spoil the surprise. I even asked Scott what he and Gwen were doing later that night - pretty smooth huh? Probably not, but it was my lame attempt at NOT wrecking the surprise.
On to the party!
A Pirate Looks at 50
Well we made it to Saturday night without wrecking the surprise birthday party for Scott!
Lar and I arrived early to help Scott's brother Eric decorate for the pirate-themed party (Scott is a huge Jimmy Buffet fan) while Gwen distracted Scott during the day.
Come party time, it turns out Scott WAS surpised and all was well with the world - although he did mention that the first person he saw was Dad and was wondering why Chuck was at Emmetts's!
The party was fantastic (great job Gwen!!!)with wonderful company and fabulous food!
Looking forward to seeing Scott and Gwen in South Carolina...hopefully it won't snow there!
Pork Piccata
 |
| Pork Piccata |
Enjoy!
Makes: 4 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 8 minutes
Ingredients:
8 thin boneless pork cutlets (about 1 ½ to 2 pounds total). Note: You can also use chicken cutlets for chicken piccata.
¼ t salt
¼ t black pepper
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
2 T olive oil
1 cup chicken broth (I use low sodium)
3 T capers
2 T lemon juice
1 T butter
Directions:
1. Season both sides of the pork with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour and shake off excess. Discard remaining flour.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and sauté for 2 minutes per side. Remove pork to a plate and keep warm.
3. Add broth and simmer 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in capers and lemon juice. Return the pork to the skillet and simmer gently for about 1 to 2 minutes, until pork is heated through. Wisk in the butter.
4. Serve with a veggie and mashed potatoes (I add chives, sour cream and milk to the mashed potatoes).
Source: Family Circle, October 1, 2008
