It's Friday!

Most people relish when Friday comes because that means a weekend off and not for me with soccer games Saturday and Sunday and kid who has soured on Daddy so I am the it mom for know, so my weekend is all kid and more kid and strangely that makes me smile until I remember the Saturday game is at 8 am.

Quirks and all

Since the saying goes "You can't change the person, you can only change your reaction to them," I think the standard wedding vows should read, "...in sickness and health and with all his/her flaws and quirks" and so going forward I plan every two weeks to clean out my husband's mail pile (which is on my radar and not his) and which is totally fine with me and my neatnik daughter.

In the kitchen on Friday: The fish got foiled

Fish in Foil

1/2 Lb. Arctic Char or Salmon filet
1/2 lemon sliced
1/2 Tbsp. dried dill
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
12-18 string beans, ends trimmed

Preheat oven to 350. Get a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil about 14 inches long. Place the oil on it and rub it around. On top of the oil place the green beans, then the lemon slices and then sprinkle the dill. Place the fish on top skin side up. Fold over the edges of the foil, leaving one short edge open. Bake for 30 min. Serves 2.

(Even my husband who can be picky about the fish he'll eat liked it.)

A mother'w work is never done (I know a cliche, but.....)

Happy Mother's Day!

While my daughter and her friend that slept over made me waffles this morning, it is still a Sunday which means laundry, general house clean-up and grocery shopping and thankfully my husband cleaned up the kitchen (after two 9 year olds made waffles) and took them to the park, so the house is empty and I can clean as I want without feeling like I am rebelling against mother's day.

In the kitchen on Thursday: Making clouds

Coconut and Almond Meringue Bars

4 large egg whites
1/2 C. Sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1/2 C. ground coconut (or shredded)
1/2 C. sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 325. Add salt and cream of tartar to egg whites. Beat on high until frothy. Add sugar gradually and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Stir in coconut and almonds. Line a 5" X 9" pan with parchment paper. Pour in egg white batter and spread out in pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool. Cut each side in 4, making 16 bars. To store bars, simply cover pan in tinfoil.

(My daughter, mom and husband can vouch that these are sweet "clouds" that should not go to waste.)

In perspective...

This morning my daughter was looking at her new book, 101 Baby Animals and said to her father and I, "Do you know that male seahorses if they think their wife is ugly eat the young so they won't turn out ugly" and this put every martial spat we've had in perspective for me—I am lucky to be in a species that doesn't eat its young for any reason.

Counting to sleep (and not sheep)....

Lat night my daughter had trouble falling sleep based on an ad she saw on an animal themed cable station, so my husband said to count backwards from 100 and it took counting backwards and forwards with my daughter being silent for her to calm down enough to go to sleep and I thought I should try this stress relieving technique more often (especially with Thanksgiving next week), so I owe a big thank you to my husband with reservations, since three don't fit in a queen sized bed.

November and the New Year

While it is not the new year and only November, I have decided to set some goals from now to the end of the year, break them down into bite size pieces and accomplish them none-the-less like they were new years' resolutions and those goals are to get check off more household projects, craft a better business message that really builds my "brand, support my husband in his work transition and get better at setting boundaries for my 8 year-old "teenager."

Friday: A day of reflection

This week has been awesome—my daughter started 3rd grade and already likes her teacher, my husband's contract was extended with his biggest client and my first newsletter hits computers on Monday—way to go Mayers!

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Being nice goes a long way....

Today I had to make a customer service call and since I was nice, the gentleman was nice back and over the weekend my daughter dumped her father's mail pile on the floor in an attempt to make him clean through it and I realized that we need to do a better job teaching her that if you are nice, people are nice back (I tried explaining this to her, but she was in no mood to listen).

(Eventually I sorted my husbands mail to make going trough it easier and to get it off the floor and he was appreciative—take that dear daughter.)

Tuesday's Tip: Avoid wrinkling clothes

Do not over stuff your drier or your clothes will come out wrinkled. (Since, I did this recently, I had to iron my husbands chinos.)