Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Time to Say Goodbye

Hello Darlings...

Don't let the blog title scare you...I'm not moving away (well I am moving but not out of Houston) and I'm not stopping my blogging (although as infrequently as I have blogged lately you might think so...it has been over two months).

No, I am just having to say goodbye to a few things in my life...

Let's start with one I have no control over...because it is under the control of the calendar...

Saying goodbye to the easy days of summer...

It was so nice not to have a schedule...to stay up late and get up late...to laze around by and in the pool and enjoy the time with my kids.

But then school started again and those lazy days of summer were gone.

It's still hotter than hell but no more free days.

My son got to say goodbye to his "play video games all day" days...he literally sometimes would only emerge to demand a feeding and then back to his room he would go to yell and scream like some sort of demented person.

The yelling and screaming was directed at his friends...not me...thankfully...

I don't understand all this video game stuff anyway...he gets on the computer/phone/Xbox and plays with his buddies and they spend most of their time insulting each other...

Chalk that up to another thing in "boy world" I don't understand.

Because if I ever told D'Nice "you are a stupid-ass fool" she would disavow me as her bestie. And I don't think KuteKaren would like being called an "idiot"...I do hurl nasty insults at JayVee but only during spin class...otherwise I treat her like the goddess she is...

So other than being a CIT at camp this year...where my son had to say "goodbye" to being a camper and "hello" to being a counselor...my son spent his summer yelling into his computer at his friends and occasionally swimming in the pool with me.

Rough life. (Joking)

Now he gets Honors Chemistry and Honors Algebra 2 and AP World History and football practice where it is over 100 degrees on the field...and games where he comes home so scratched up it looks like he had a fight with a bobcat...and lost...

Rough life. (Not joking...it's a lot for a 15 year old)

And Ke$ha Barbie was home all summer but she is back up in New England for school and saying goodbye to her wasn't easy either...

It was harder last year when I left her in Boston but I still cried when I hugged her goodbye the last night she was home.

We didn't have an easy time of it this summer...she was used to being on her own schedule and not checking in with her mother every day/night and being expected to be home at certain hours an I was used to it just being me and The Cutest Boy in the World (TCBITW) and we had our own schedule and dinner plans, etc.

I guess it is more than just saying goodbye to her for the summer...this summer I have had to say goodbye to her childhood and to realize that she really won't be living with me again (at least I hope not...I'm paying too much in tuition for her to come home and live with me while she "finds herself").

She says she really doesn't want to live in Texas again...even over the summer...so I have had to say goodbye to her being with me for more than just a few days here and there.

Basically she has gone from being a resident in my home to just a visitor...and that has been hard to swallow...and saying goodbye to her being a kid and now an adult is rough.

She will turn 20 in a few weeks...She now enters the 3rd decade of her life and I have to face the fact she is a woman now and not a child.

But she will always be my baby...

This summer I said goodbye to my almost perfect (for me) body because between stress and rehearsals and a lot of "oh I will eat what I want" I gained a few pounds...so now I am working hard to get that off...I refuse to let all of Dr. Baldwin's work get hidden by some stress weight...

This one is hard....I'm saying goodbye to my house.

I put it on the market a few weeks ago, immediately got a contract but they buyers got cold feet so its back on the market.  I have an awesome agent and I know it will sell again.

Frankly since the holidays are around the corner I'd just as soon wait until January to make a move.

I love my house...I truly do...but it is more than I need at this point in my life.

I said goodbye to one of my kitties.

Thankfully it wasn't a death "goodbye" but rather a letting go...

My ex and I literally shared custody of one of our 3 cats.  He doesn't much care for 2 of them but he really loved our little Siamese.  So she would spend one week at our house and one week at his.

But then I had a moment where I realized that my selfishly loving my little cat didn't necessarily translate to being what was best for her.

So she lives full time with my ex and I get to visit her when I pick up TCBITW.

And so I filled that hole in my life with a new boyfriend...

He's a beast

A real beast...

He likes to snuggle...but he also likes to bite...

No, I did not find a man with a big ass truck to invite into my life...instead I invited the stray cat that has basically been living here since February into the house.

The kids named him "Dragon" which I think is the stupidest name ever for a cat but they are happy with it.  He's named Dragon because Ke$ha Barbie did not care for the name that TCBITW picked out for the cat. He was to be named after one of the dragons in Game of Thrones but Ke$ha Barbie declared that was not to be and he is Dragon.

I think he should have been called "Ninja" because he is stealthy...but I got over-ruled...

He's a gorgeous cat and sweet as pie and we are all thrilled with him...all of us except for fat Zulu and silly Seringa (my other two cats).  They are not on board with this plan of replacing Angel the Siamese (not that they cared for her either).

In a few weeks I get to say "goodbye" to football and "hello" to wrestling and frankly it can't get here soon enough.  It's been a long hard season.  My son and his team have done well...and I frankly love that every Thursday I get to spend game time with my friend PrettyPhunPhyllis and her son LuckyLucas (I'm going to steal that child...I lurvs him...), but I"m ready to not here the sound of helmets clashing and wondering if my son is on the bottom of the dog pile.

At least with wrestling it is one-on-one and I can see where he is...

And we eat better...we have to...we live and die by the scale during wrestling.  I don't let my son diet but I keep only healthy stuff in the house and all junk food is banished.

So in an effort to eat better I tried a new chicken dish that I found on Pinterest...I am attempting to try and cook the stuff I have pinned instead of just pinning willy-nilly with a bunch of stuff...

So here's the recipe...It might make you say "goodbye" to plain roast chicken:

Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Red Grapes...

3-4 lb roasting chicken (do yourself a favor and buy a good organic one...it makes a difference)

1/2 stick butter
fresh rosemary
salt
pepper
2 cloves garlic finely minced...or about a teaspoon or so of the garlic paste kind...
red seedless grapes
olive oil


soften the butter and blend up with the salt, pepper, garlic, and about a teaspoon or so of finely minced fresh rosemary...make a paste of it...

spread some of the butter paste under the skin and use the rest to rub all over the chicken.  Take about 3 sprigs of rosemary and put them into the cavity of the bird.

Place the grapes in your roasting pan (I use my Le Crueset cast iron french oven)...you can take them off the stem or just leave them on...doesn't really matter.  Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil over the grapes, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat...

Place the buttered up chicken on top of the grapes and put it, covered, into a 425 degree preheated oven.

Roast one hour.

Uncover and roast an additional 15 minutes or so or until done...let rest 10 minutes once you take it out of the oven

The pan juices are slightly sweet and delicious...

My son made half a chicken disappear in 10 minutes...he said "goodbye" to that bird quickly...

Try it...it will disappear...

So my friends, I'm not saying goodbye...and I promise to be a better blogger...but forgive me if I get distracted by costuming (yes, I have that too)/football/wrestling/house selling/etc...

Inspiration Song: oh, this is a good one...so a few months ago GOTTESS and I went to the karaoke bar with SuSu, AngelinaBallerina, Mayzie la Jess, MistyBarbie, and a few other gals...so we see that this guy is up there and he is going to sing "Time to Say Goodbye" by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman.  We were all like "yeah...right...".  Um...YEAH FREAKIN RIGHT...OMG he was amazing...he blew us away...GOTTESS chased after him to tell him we could use his talents at the theater...people were filming it with their phones...It was a surreal experience because NO ONE a the karaoke bar can pull that off...except for that guy!

Bye Darlings...say goodbye to what you must...but please don't say "goodbye" to me because I need you to get through all of my goodbyes...

I love you all...