So many things were weighing on my mind tonight. My son is teething prematurely; it’s disrupting his sleep patterns, and also all his other patterns. My husband is doing our taxes. My playroom rug is waiting to be unfurled and put to good use. There’s Swiffering to be done! And we’re thinking of buying a minivan! Suburban dilemmas abound!

But the real issue? I could not for the life of me decide which shows to watch and/or record between eight and ten o’clock this evening.

At 7:45, I realized that How I Met Your Mother and Jon and Kate Plus 8 were scheduled to record. But, wait! The Bachelor’s down to the last three girls, and I’m actually interested in the last two episodes of the season. And there’s an all-new House.

Thus began the internal struggle. HIMYM is hilarious, but this was a repeat–although I’d never seen the original episode. On the other hand, House was brand-new…and it promised to explore the relationship between Foreman and Thirteen, and I had no idea there even was such a relationship. Still, this season of The Bachelor claims to be the “most dramatic ever”–so dramatic, they’re making the final rose ceremony “extremely intimate,” whatever that could possibly mean in the context of national television.

This decision took twenty minutes and was made for me when suddenly it was 8:05 and the DVR was recording fluff instead of substance; yep, I ended up forgoing House, and I’m fine with that.

And now my teething son has interrupted my husband’s accounting and I have to go deal with that situation. Happy Monday, everyone!

happy pursuits, quandaries

When I married Dave, I quickly realized that he was a true meat-and-veg kind of guy. My mother(and occasionally father)-in-law had executed a regular meal schedule for all the weeks of Dave’s childhood, and thus they raised four kids who are partial to hearty, traditional home-cooked suppers.

Meanwhile, 275 miles northeast of my future husband, I was spending my early years turning away my dad’s lemon-lime chicken because the dusting of flour on top reminded me of fat, and it was so gross, and can’t we just get take-out like normal people?

I made my own dinner in college, and I ate the same thing almost every night. Here is the recipe for my signature dish:

Joanna’s “Once Upon a Time I Had the Metabolism of a Hummingbird” Metal Bowl Medley

Ingredients

• one pound of cooked penne
• one bag of 2% Reduced Fat shredded cheddar cheese
• one-half bag of frozen peas, cooked
• one plastic container of organic alfalfa sprouts

Directions

Mix everything together in a metal bowl the size of your brand-new ‘99 iMac. Eat with a fork in front of the television while your best friends, also your roommates, stare at you with a combination of awe and disgust.

Recently I’ve done the money-saving/list-making routine of ordering groceries to be delivered every Sunday, so I know in advance what we’ll have for dinner each night of the week. And…maybe I put it up on the dry-erase board in our kitchen. What? I can never resist the opportunity to create a calendar. But now our free delivery trial period has run out, and I’m going back to the grocery store starting this weekend to stock up. Also, while Dave is thrilled at the fish,  pork, chicken, ravioli, hamburger, soup & sandwich rotation, I sometimes like to decide what I want for dinner that night.

Here’s what I’m asking: Does anyone have great recipes that call for basic, inexpensive ingredients? Even simple recipes for one, so that Dave can have his standard fare while I eat such pushing-the-envelope entrees as…I don’t know, a grilled cheese and tomato? Please, send suggestions–don’t make me go back to the metal bowl days from whence I came.

ask the audience, bits & bobs, quandaries