I used to make this, but I had sort of forgotten about it. It is really good and super easy. Maybe I'll add that to our menu for the week, which I still have yet to figure out. Another easy fish tacos recipe but for summer only because you need fresh peaches for the peach salsa-- https://pinchofyum.com/easy-chili-lime-fish-tacos

That's a really good idea. Realistically, it it were me, I would just quit, because the job sounds awful. In an ideal world, I would be the kind of person who went to management with a list of my concerns and a proposed solution, such as Joules' idea. That would be showing some strong leadership skills. But I am a hypocrite because, while I might encourage my son to do that, I myself probably would not.

Dh requested cheese and onion pie. Ds requested cherry pie. So . . . both? Actually we're in the middle of a snowstorm, so I don't know if I'm going to be able to go grocery shopping before tomorrow. I might have to work around what we have on hand, which would probably mean custard pie.

Be glad he doesn't like it in his face! The problem here is the boy doesn't care but I can't stand it. Anyway, you could use a stretchy headband or bandana to hold it back.

Do you have a recipe for this? We make a vegetarian shepherd's pie that's eggplant-based that we love, but lentils sound interesting too.

Congratulations on paying off your mortgage! I had no idea it was that complicated. Our mortgage statements always have a little note to contact them if you are planning to pay it off, but I didn't realize the process would be so cumbersome. We will be getting to the end of ours in a couple of years so that's good to be prepared for. I guess if it's going to be a pain in the neck, you might as well make an occasion out of it. Take the day off work, do the paperwork and then do something fun to celebrate! Champagne lunch maybe. At least that's what I'm going to suggest to dh. :)

Do you like cottage cheese? I sometimes have salad with cottage cheese on top instead of dressing. Something like lettuce, red peppers, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes. Then add a scoop of cottage cheese and top with some raisins and sunflower seeds. The combination of different textures is really good (to me at least). But that's more of a summer thing. Like others, I eat more cooked vegetables in the winter. How about some roasted sweet potato or creamed spinach? Those sound good to me right now.

We had homemade pizza and salad. Pizza toppings were scraped together from what we could find in the fridge because I forgot to plan for it, but it turned out yummy. One pizza had mushrooms and gorgonzola, the other had pineapple, green olives, red peppers, and feta cheese. Sounds weird but it tasted good. Tomorrow I think we'll do roasted potatoes with sausage and peppers and the rest of the salad stuff. Then Tuesday I'll go grocery shopping.

I agree that A Man Called Ove could be difficult for some (themes of suicide). However, Backman's other books are equally touching, without that issue. I would recommend Britt Marie Was Here and My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry. OP mentioned urban fantasy, so I must recommend the amazing book The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. Other light-but-not-fluffy that I've read recently -- My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith Crosstalk by Connie Willis Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld These may bee too chick lit for the OP, especially the last one, but putting them out anyway.

Android vs. apple coffee vs. tea vegan vs. paleo :lol: But . . . how do you make a fun spoof of a tragedy? Does everyone still die at the end?

I went searching for the French metal spinner mentioned earlier in the thread and came across this blog post -- https://myplasticfreelife.com/2013/11/a-tale-of-two-plastic-free-salad-spinners/ She found the French metal kind and also tried using a pillowcase, though NOT in the washing machine. The pillowcase sounds like a decent option, actually, if you don't want to use a spinner.

I don't transfer it anywhere, except to the salad bowl. Spin it dry, put in a salad bowl. Is there a reason you need to spin it far ahead of using it? (Again, just brainstorming here. Feel free to ignore if my questions are annoying.)

I'm not saying you're crazy. :) I'm just trying to understand the benefit, especially if it seems to come with this added aggravation of constantly breaking spinners. Why do you find it helpful to keep it in the fridge? We might be able to help you come up with solutions that have the same benefit without the downside.

Wait, you keep your salad spinner in the fridge? I've never heard of that. What is the reason? It sounds like that's the source of your problem. I keep my lettuce in plastic bags in the produce drawer. When I make a salad, I wash the leaves, tear them up, and spin them out in the salad spinner. Then I rinse the salad spinner and set it to dry on the counter. Put it away in the cupboard later.

How are they breaking it?? The only salad spinner we've broken was my fault when I put it to dry on the stove and later turned the wrong burner on. :eek: That is not a smell I will forget. Maybe buy one that is for you and you only to use. Let the careless people go without one!

The author of A Man Called Ove has several other books similar in tone. I listened to these two -- Britt Marie Was Here My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry and really enjoyed them. The narrator is an English woman, and she has a great voice and does good characters.

I don't know. I used to take ds on walks when he was little, and even though the trail was one mile, I swear we walked 2 or 3 miles by the end of it. Meander off the path to look at a squirrel, backtrack to pick a dandelion, run back and forth just for the heck of it. Maybe dog-walking miles are like toddler miles and you have to use a multiplier. :)

I use a timer to help me keep from getting overwhelmed. I set it for 15 minutes and work on one task. I usually start with loading some laundry and doing dishes. When the timer goes off, take a minute to have a glass of water, look out the window, stretch, whatever. Then decide what to do for the next 15 minutes. (In my case, probably keep doing dishes. :) ). I do 3-4 sessions of 15 minutes and then take a 15 minute break. When I'm behind, my GET CAUGHT UP order of operations is approximately: dishes and laundry (not having these up to date makes life very difficult) major clutter put away mail checked for bills and other important stuff floors (sweep and vacuum plus spot clean major messes) bathrooms (quick wipe down) kitchen (quick wipe down) If all that's done, I would move on to: dusting mopping floors catch up on mail and paperwork deep clean bathrooms deep clean kitchen Can you tell I get behind a lot? :lol:

It's interesting that we trust *our* online friends to the extent that the OP is asking a boardie here to serve as an emergency backup. This doesn't sound shady in the least. I'm glad you posted more info, and that moms like us can adapt to new ways of social interaction. I'm excited for your son and his friend to finally be able to meet. What fun!

Yeah, do you like chickpeas? Because I swear I could base my diet on them. Chickpeas are great added to pasta and sauce. Cannellini beans too, and they have a very mild flavor. I agree that a plate of pasta and tomato sauce is lacking a little something. Legumes can help a lot with that. We aren't vegetarian, but we don't eat a lot of meat. I find if a meal is just vegetables and grains, we end up hungry again very soon. So we make sure to include legumes or nuts or some dairy. Last night, for example, we had a Tunisian vegetable stew that was cabbage and tomatoes and chickpeas with spices, served over whole wheat couscous, and topped with toasted almonds and feta cheese. Very yummy and plenty filling.

Why can't he do his normal fun things? And why can't you? I used to get majorly stressed when my inlaws came to visit. It was just like you described -- I would shortchange homeschooling, run myself ragged to keep the house clean and bountiful food cooked and provide entertainment. It was so incredibly tiring. But I eventually decided to stop. We usually try to find a day or two that we can devote to guests. Dh takes the day off work, and ds would take the day off school (he can't even do that anymore because he has too many outside commitments). And we'd go to a museum or apple orchard or whatever. But the rest of the time, our lives go on like normal. I show the guests where breakfast stuff is and that they are to help themselves. Lunch is leftovers or they can make a sandwich or go out. If we want to watch tv or play video games or take a nap, we do. It's our house. We eat dinner all together, but we try to make it clear that they need to entertain themselves as the rest of us have full-time occupations. I offer the use of our car and often ask, "So what are your plans for the day?" That seems to help set the right tone. We make some small changes. I stock up on food they like. Ds cancels less essential activities. We do try to find one full day to spend with them and plan something fun. But other than that, we just expect guests to be part of our household and do their own thing as we do our own thing. My FIL pretty much just sits in a chair and reads (and complains whenever anyone will listen) but that's the same thing he did before when I was working my butt off. Now I just let him do it with way less effort on my part. :lol: Take heart. You will get through this. But try making some changes to make things easier on you.

In that case, wouldn't it depend on her size, not on her perceived age? I mean, her size didn't change when they learned she was actually 17. YES! I find myself frustrated quite often reading news articles when it seems there are glaringly obvious questions that nobody bothered to ask.

Vegetable curry (potatoes, carrots, peas, chickpeas, onions, garlic, tomatoes, curry spices, and coconut milk) and brown rice.

I thought the advice was going to be "be rich". Don't get me wrong, Norwich is a lovely town and it does have a strong community spirit. But it's also the wealthiest town in Vermont. The children attend one of the top high schools in New Hampshire. It is an enclave of wealthy people, highly educated and advantaged in many ways. As is often the case, achievement is highly correlated with means. And people in Norwich have a lot of means.

As I said, we buy locally roasted coffee. It's more expensive than what you buy at Costco. Ours costs $12 a pound and we probably buy at least two pounds a month. So say $30 a month. That's more than 5% of our grocery budget, which seems pretty high to me for something that gives no nutritive value. It's a pure luxury. But that's what this thread is about, right? What are the luxuries that you personally would hang onto the longest? For me, good coffee is one. I would (and do) choose that over lots of other luxuries.