Dinner on the cheap & healthy

Our mission for the day involved the farmers' market. The kids were baited by the most delish ice cream on the face of the planet. And I had a hankerin' for cucumbers and tomatoes to put on some homemade pitas with hummus. With $13 in ones, we set off. $6 was ear marked for the cones. After checking the options, I found just what I wanted from one of my favorite vendors, Elmwood Stock Farm. I've gotten the best ground beef from them on several occasions, but today I scored two cucumbers for $1 and a plump, organic tomato for $2.20. Not too shabby.

Probably should've called it a day at that point, but then I came across okra. Fried okra is one of the (few) things I miss when not living in the south. Since asparagus is done for the season, okra seemed like just the thing to fill that green veggie void. A box of the slimy - when not cooked properly (fried, that is) - goodness was $4, but the nice, local farmer was willing to take the $3.80 I had left.

In an effort to curb our meat consumption (for financial, ethical and global reasons), I've attempted to make flavorful veggie dinners that my family will actually eat. Pita and hummus pretty much fits the bill. Pitas are insanely easy to make. And I want them badly enough that I'm willing to turn my kitchen into a gigantic oven on one of the most humid days of the summer. Hummus is slightly easier to make than the pita. It involves tossing a can of garbanzo beans in the food processor along with some garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, salt, pepper and hitting the 'on' button.

Such a great meal for a hot and humid day like today.

Haircut marathon

We let ourselves go over the summer. Why bother with haircuts on a regular schedule when the hair is drenched with pool water and/or sweat? And since the kids (okay, they probably don't really care, but I do) don't want to look like they got their hair cut for the first day of school on purpose, we have to do it a little early. This was the week.

I'm pretty good with a pair of clippers. I can buzz the heck out of any head you throw at me. I can even make a pretty straight line. And I make a darn good fro-hawk. But scissors are a completely different animal. One time Wade and I decided that it'd be a good idea to save a few bucks and trim Ava's bangs ourselves. Fifteen minutes and no bangs later, we decided that the 6 pack we drank prior to was a bad idea. (No, we didn't get drunk and cut her hair. But it would've explained the outcome.) The worst part was that I knew better.

Growing up, my mom did most my grooming. Considering what a brat I was, it must've taken all her patience to cut my hair and not my throat. When I was around 7, I decided that I wanted my hair just like hers. She got me positioned just right, grabbed the nasty junk drawer scissors and got going. My bangs progressively got shorter and shorter and shorter. When there wasn't much bang left and I still wanted them shorter she was confused and finally thought to ask what I envisioned as the final product. "Your bangs." She didn't stop laughing for a year. See, she had long hair and a pony tail.

And so, we pay someone to cut their wild little manes.

Here's the before.

My kids think that "smile" means make the weirdest face possible. The front of Luke's hair wasn't too bad, but he was thisclose to rockin a mullet. Belle's hair was actually growing out super cute and looked great pulled back in a clip. Ava pretty much needs a buzz a la Britney to avoid the scream fest that ensues after I grab the brush.

And the after.

Again, I said "smile." When will I learn? Luke's bangs look like I got my grubby little fingers on them. That's the only thing I don't like about his cut. The lady does a great job on the rest of his head and even whispers sweet nothings into his ear the entire time she's got him in the chair. Ava decided on a slightly stacked bob. Belle went back to uber short. The first time she got that cut it was an accident, but it fits her sassy personality perfectly.

Here's to all those bad mom hair cuts!

The cutest cookie cutters ev-ah

I've seen these cutie Circus Cookie Cutters on several blogs. It's hard to justify paying almost $4.00 per cookie cutter especially since we purchased the the 100 cookie cutter pack from Wilton a few years ago and aren't exactly running low. But did you look at them?

I don't often (okay, it's never happened prior to this) stage cookie cutter photo shoots, but thought it was appropriate to have the tiger ready to pounce on the elephant.

In addition to the animals, you get a cookie recipe! I was all set to try it until I saw mace in the ingredient list. That is one ingredient that's never popped up on a recipe of mine. Turns out that mace is a nutmegy spice that gives the cookies their boxed animal cracker taste.

It'd be great if I could show you the finished product. But, we're oinkers and ate them all prior to the photo shoot.

Hang up and exercise

There are quite a few people at my gym that are way more important than I'll ever be. I mean, they can't even get thirty minutes in without a call. Seems like an awful life. What? Those people meant to be on the phone? Oh. Wow. What an awful life.

I can totally understand taking a cell along for an around the neighborhood kinda jog. You never know when a water hole cover might be loose and collapse under your weight. (Yes, that was me. I wasn't really running, but easily could've been, which would've made it much, much worse. It's always been one of my rules not to step on those things and the one time I broke that rule, I proved that I wasn't a complete lunatic for having it in the first place.)

But the gym? Doesn't seem like a great idea to bench press and talk on your cell. Though, you can pretty much guarantee at any given moment that you can grunt, "Yo, Rocky. Get da bar." and some muscle bound, spandex wearing, balding 40 year old will reach over and pluck that bar right off your chest with a pinky as you continue your convo on your cell phone.

What are those people trying to prove? That they can multi-task in the worst possible way imaginable? And, really, why do I think my workout is better sans cell phone? Is the waterfall of sweat cascading over my large-ish forehead ending as a scented pool in my sports bra my reward? Perhaps it's my toned-ish thighs from riding my boyfriend (aka the elliptical). Nah, it's gotta be the fact that in case I'm being chased I'll actually have a chance of getting away due to the increased lung capacity and fine tuned muscles that real exercise provides. Those chatterboxes will be so oblivious that they'll be timing the call to their fave pizza joint so the delivery wo/man pulls up at the exact moment their "run" is over.

Would ya look at that?

That almost red thing slightly off center to the right is our first ripe (it's ripe today, wasn't a couple days ago when I took that photo) tomato of 2008. I've been jonesin' for a big, juicy tomato since May. So, these things have taken forever to ripen. We've also got a big fat tomato plant (I'm sure they have a name...but that's as technical as I get when it comes to tomatoes) that's really, really close too.

We don't typically buy tomatoes from the grocery store. No point. They taste like slightly wet cardboard. And lately they can make you pretty sick. Doing right by this fabulous planet and supporting our local farmers is an option we choose pretty often. But there's something about walking onto your back porch (our garden of choice to keep the local vermin from snagging them before we get the chance), seeing that ball (or oval) of juiciness and popping it into your mouth.

I'm finding this tomato obsession particularly odd because until a few years ago I wasn't a fan. Not even a little. Unless you count ketchup. In that case, big fan. Well, I like salsa too - specifically McDowell Farms Salsa which I happened upon a few years ago at Kentucky Crafted: The Market and have since found at Liquor Barn.

Happy tomato eating!

Shoe Tying Fun

I had never really planned on teaching Ava how to tie her shoes. Really, why bother when there are so many non-tying options out there? Besides, I bet Carrie Bradshaw didn't know how to tie shoes.

Ava is a master knot maker, so I figured she was pretty set. Then one day she brought home her glowing report card. It was almost neon it was glowing so hard. But one of the lights was dim keeping it just below neon status. Who knew that shoe tying was on a report card? At that point, Ava informed me that she was pretty much the only kid in her class that didn't know how to tie shoes. Seriously? Surely there are other parents out there that don't have that on the top of their to do list.

So, we kept trying to make time to show her. But the darn velcro and rushing out the door at the last minute made it oh so hard to remember. One lazy day a few weeks ago, I decided that it was time. I grabbed my irreplaceable Asics (seriously, can't find another pair to fit my 10AAs) and Ava attempted the bunny ear tie. That was pretty much a no go. It was on to the other way that may or may not have a name. She learned on the first try. And here she is demonstrating.

First you cross the laces.

Then you put one under the other. That fluff ball at the bottom of the photo is the pregnant momma cat that's adopted us and forces us to feed her. Anyone want a kitten in a couple months?

Then you make a loop de loop or two.

Bring loop number two over and under loop number one.

And you end up with a shoe that probably won't fall off when you take a step and a crazy happy kiddo!

Progress

So, I've been working on getting closer to my ideal square root. I'm happy to report that there has finally been some progress. That darn 11.7898261² wouldn't budge. 11.7473401² is my new BFF (or at least til I kill another pound). That's some seriously exciting stuff right there, folks. I'm pretty sure that I've almost fried the elliptical at the gym. Love that thing. LOVE. IT.

Should the elliptical ever get a spot in the Olympics, I am so at that trial. In fact, I think the gym should start having elliptical races. The ultimate prize for that winner would be an elliptical of their own. And since my gym membership is up at the end of the month, they should definitely have the finals no later than July 31.