Usually I get pesto in a glass or plastic jar, and store it in the cupboard or refrigerator as appropriate. The fresh stuff came in a plastic tub.
Unfortunately, I only saw pesto and didn’t read the label. I didn’t know it was Vegan Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto. We’ll see how it works (probably as a component to pizza sauce).
I could use that right about now. I fell off the wagon with my gratitude practice.
My New Year’s goal was to enjoy my life, by which I meant appreciate even the parts I don’t typically appreciate. Like the thought of work tomorrow taking away from the present moment. That kind of stuff.
I’m trying to do that today. We are going to my husband’s grandmother’s house since she’s flying out for the rest of the winter tomorrow. I find it awkward, and I worry a lot about being judged for my parenting, because that’s one of his family’s favorite pastimes. Some people don’t really recognize that my son has a disability, they first attributed his autism to vaccines and social distancing, and they think we are weird. It has always been an incredibly self-conscious experience to be around his family, but now that we are parents, it adds another layer.
I was listening to a podcast the other day about Burnout, and they talked about an experiment on learned helplessness where they put participants in a room with a loud noise that what impossible to turn off, and measured how long it took for people to give up. Then, at the end, they told some of the participants that the game was rigged, that there was nothing they could have done to turn the noise off, and the participants were less stressed out as a result.
Maybe this is a situation where I have to acknowledge the game is rigged and roll with it.
doggio Ace is doing his job. You can’t trust those Mole People. Love the white boots!
I told my wife that I think there’s enough room in the dishwasher for the coffee pot (urn). She looked horrified. 'Don’t wash the coffee pot! 
’ She thought I was going to dump the coffee and start the machine. No, we’ll finish the coffee, and then I’ll start the dishes.
It was a mortal sin in the navy to wash the coffee pots, or even the coffee cups. Those things were truly disgusting, and the coffee horribly bitter and foul-tasting. Imagine a 42-cup urn coffee maker that sits all day re-boiling what’s left inside, then doing the same thing on every work day of the year. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the case in the chow hall, but it was the norm in the offices.
I posted an amusing article about not washing the coffee cups back in 2017. The link in the OP is no longer valid.
I’ll wash my coffee mug every couple of months, because it grosses SWMBO out. I do like a clean pot though.
Ace, good dog!
Today is a writing day, because I have self-imposed deadlines to meet and yesterday was a wash. I’ve started doing the Julia Cameron Artist’s Way program with a group (12 weeks) and have written my 3 handwritten “morning pages.” Now I’ll move to my study and work on the book for a few hours. Later, I’ll try to do one of Cameron’s weekly writing tasks.
I don’t like Branagh’s version either. He makes a fool of Poirot in my opinion.
doggio, Ace deserves all the treats for defending you!
{{{spicy}}} I can only imagine how difficult it must be, dealing with people who believe a debunked study over multiple studies that show no correlation. Your in-laws seem like the type who’ll never change their minds on things, so as tough as it is, you’ve got to remind yourself that you are in the trenches with your kiddo every day and until they have to deal with having a special needs child day in and day out, they can go pound sand. I’ve been lucky that, for the most part, my family and in-laws are understanding but I’ve met plenty of others that haven’t. They see my kiddo presenting as neurotypical and think I’m just letting him misbehave. They don’t see the way sound and touch can be overwhelming. They don’t know how many years is taken to get him to a point where he can recognize his own feelings and communicate all of this.
Basically, I’m just trying to let you know that you aren’t alone and if you ever want someone to commiserate with, my DMs are always open.
It’s nearly 2 pm and here I am just getting lunch ready. I mis-calculated just how long the stupid large chicken I purchased would take to roast. Oh, well. The only other thing I was planning to do today was go to mom’s and continue The Purge.
I watched this documentary this morning called Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God. That documentary gave me a greater ick factor than any true crime shows I’ve watched in recent memory. I don’t know why - it was just scary, even though neither the leader of the cult nor her followers seem to have done anything illegal as a part of the cult. It was just really creepy.
Anyway, I also managed to complete our part of FAFSA. So I consider my day to have been a rousing success. All I’ve got to do is get things from mom’s to Goodwill and get the kitchen under control and I will have won. Gravy if I get a waddle in.
Hugs to all who need them. Ah, second on Branagh’s version of Agatha Christie’s work - I appreciate the atmosphere sometimes, but his execution doesn’t fully meet expectation. I assumed it was because I wasn’t open minded enough, but it’s good to hear I’m not the only one who finds his adaptations of the character to be kind of blah.
We have a chicken in the freezer outside. There’s also a very large pork roast in there. It’s going to take forever to thaw when the time comes. I thought about making pulled pork in the coming weeks, but Mardi Gras is February 13th this year and that’s jambalaya day. Then there’s corned beef and cabbage in mid-March, followed by ham on the 31st.
Trader Joe’s has beef birria. It tastes just like the beef birria from the taco track that frequently parks at the brewery down the beach.
Now I have decided to get some chicken next week at the grocery store and fry it up!
I was made a member of my church today. They give a call at the end of the service. Went up front, told the nice lady I was saved and had been baptized, and they voted, of course it was all Ayes.
Christmas decorations stowed for another year. Huzzah!
Ace is a drooling God of Chaos. He’s nuked 2 stuffies already, and Spot is very unhappy I brought home a leaping dingo, and he got chased into the sliding glass door. Did I mention the monsoon of drool this dog produces?
doggio My sister’s dog does the same with all toys. MUST DESTROY AND KILL SQUEAKER! From my past doggos, they liked Huggle hound toys.
@dogbutler, has Spot ever lived with a dog before?
Thank you for your understanding. This piece is the hard piece for me. We went over there today, and it was mostly fine. At dinner, he started acting pretty combative. Being around other people eating freaks him out, and he’s not a great conversationalist, so there are two stress points for him. At one point, I leaned over to Spouse Weasel and said, “He’s getting overstimulated.” A Mom knows. But of course people only see a kid being combative.
Sure enough, when we said it was time to leave, he had a full-out tantrum. It didn’t last long. Nothing really bad happened but the entire time we were there my watch kept pinging me: “You seem stressed. Try to relax!”
As far as his family, they raise their eyebrows at some things, but I don’t feel like they have pushed him away because of his disability. It could be worse, I guess.
yank, I hope that Lucy (and you) gets back on track once company’s gone.
Yay for having Ace home doggio! I’m looking forward to hearing of the Ace and Spot adventures.
Slothed most of the day, made Moroccan lentil soup for Sunday dinner (just enough warming spices in the form of soup that should keep my sinuses open) and am surfing / watching TV for a bit.
I’ve lived it so I definitely do understand. And that’s been the hardest part for me too. Not just from others but from myself. Because I keep thinking, “If only I were a better mom, I’d catch it before a meltdown.” But with the support of other moms, it’s been easier to give myself grace. It doesn’t help while in the middle of things but it does after.
I’m glad that dinner didn’t go badly, even with the small meltdown. Knowing that the family doesn’t treat him any differently is good to know.
Howdy Y’all! We deheathenated, had a very good first Sunday brunch with a ton o’ good foodstuffs, survived the annual meetin’, and achieved nappage and day drinkin’. Oh and the biiiiiig trash can has been hauled all the way down to the road for pickup tomorrow. I was worried I’d forget bein’ as the past two Moandays have been holidays.
doggio glad Ace is home. Hopefully Spot and he will reach some sort of detente in the comin’ days. I’m also glad Spot is on invisible mole people watch. He will earn his keep for sure!