Thai - tanic tragedy

I am in a state of shock. My all time, hands down, favorite restaurant has closed. And not the good kind of closed, if there is one. But the "by order of the County Sheriff, all property has been seized, trespassers will be prosecuted" kind of closed.

Sure the place was a bit of a dive. But when you serve the kind of amazingly authentic Thai food they did, who cares that the lighting is fluorescent, the dingy walls bare and the flowers on each table, dusty silks. People are there to eat the food and subsequently forget all else surrounding them as their eyes roll heaven-ward and they enter some parallel universe of pure gastronomic bliss.

But alas, this well camouflaged nirvana is no more. The glorious Pad Thai that got me through most of a pregnancy too fraught with morning sickness to cook, is relegated to a mere "what I craved" recollection. The intensely dark and bitter Thai Iced tea, saved from un-drinkablilty only by the sweet coconut milk cloying in clouds among its ice cubes, is a thing of the past. And don't even get me reminiscing about the chlorophyll-ic bite of the green tea ice cream, the fragrant curries, the palate cleansing papaya and cucumber salad, and the tamarind candies.

Oh, Taste of Thai Restaurant......how I shall miss you. Perhaps, someday, if I am lucky, I will find another Thai restaurant to call my own. But I remain steadfastly certain that none will ever truly replace you or your diamond in the rough eccentricity and your five minute commuting distance from my house. You and you alone were the first to introduce me to the exciting allure of South Asian cuisine and I shall never forget that. Soon enough your small empty confines will house some depressing new Diner or Chinese take-out place. But you will never be far from my memory.....and in my kitchen, as I seek to replicate your dishes....your heart will go on...... I am sure.

Wanted: one Knight in shining armor/garbage man

Okay.

So I freely admit it, I was once a complete sucker for romance. I loved happy endings, kisses so deep you could literally melt into them and flowers, just because. I never tired of dreaming about my own knight in shining armor and the never-ending fairy tale our life together would be once we met. How he'd be devoted to me, shower me with gifts and foot rubs, never grow tired of finding me beautiful.

Now, fast forward nearing on four years and all I want is a man bold, brave and self sacrificing enough to tackle the offensive, bio hazard status of our current garbage can situation.

That's all.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

Isn't it funny how love changes? How we change? When you're young the world is full of ideals and big pictures. But as you grow up, things start to narrow. Love isn't some vague backdrop in your life, complete with candles and rose petals. And devotion has nothing to do with beauty or for that matter, the words used to describe it.

Love is practical and realistic and as simply found as the air you breathe in. Devotion is moment by moment choices. Put them together and what do you have....?

A man who comes home from work and deals with the lethal cocktail of last nights salmon leftovers and E's dirty diapers, all so I don't have to.

I love fashion in the fall

Nothing gets my heart racing faster nor my thoughts turning quicker toward the way amber sunlight looks as it filters through a field of dry rustling corn, or the way a fire feels on a cool Autumn evening. Or the way crinkled maple leaves smell when they are trampled under foot quite like the first fall issue of a style magazine.

Wait….I hear you saying…..what?

Yes, it is true. When I crack open that brand new, stiff and momentarily ungiving magazine spine and behold Tweeds and Plaids, crimson matte lipsticks and cable knit sweaters I will admit, I go a bit weak in the knees. I am by no means a slave to fashion. And during the rest of the year you’d probably find me half-heartedly and restlessly flipping through a fashion magazines glossy pages only in line at the grocery store or waiting in the dentists office. But there is just something about those back-to-school, cold weather is on it’s way, the changing season calls for a more dramatic hand with the eye-liner issues that I cannot resist. And I don’t know why.

Germ-aphobic

Having worked for years in the food service industry, sanitation and sterilization are very familiar concepts to me. And my husband, as a Firefighter/Paramedic, cannot get through a work day without medical gloves, vacuum sealed equipment and numerous hand washings. And yet, with all the education and awareness, not to mention potential hazards, swirling through both our minds it is often short of amazing how very low key we are about germs.

Sure, I have baby wipes in all my purses, sure we run E's sippy cup through the dishwasher periodically and sure, we vacuum and sweep and Lysol. But, if I'm honest, our five second rule is more like 2 minutes, (because, let's be realistic here, sometimes whatever it is they drop is pretty hard to find under that high chair.) and I don't always wash her hands after we come in from playing outside and there are just some instances when you cannot, no matter how much you want to, control what they put int their mouth. Like dirt. Or their friends toys. Or some random food they find on the floor in a public place.

Yes, indeed. Last Sunday during church E made a break for it, crawling under the row of chairs in front of us and out of my reach. Before I could subtly and quietly contort my body into the position needed to peer between chair legs and shoot her my death ray "get back her now or else" look I saw her begin picking up heaven knows what kind of little tid bits off the carpeting and pop them into her mouth.

But what was I to do? It was the middle of the sermon! I could not reach her! I could only watch and despite it all smile, as in an excited kind of glee and an (appropriately enough) Manna from heaven appreciation, my daughter enjoyed treasure hunting for someone else's mislaid snacks. And I could be glad that though I thoroughly understand germs I also have a healthy respect for the immune system.

Credits and Debits

So my husband and I hate doing finances. And this month has proved to be, well, rather an expensive one. And both of us were dragging our feet more than usual. So to make it interesting, if not enjoyable, to spread out our piles of receipts and crunch a lot of depressing numbers we decided to play 'strip' finances. The rules were simple. One item of clothing off for every area we were under budget for this month. And one item of clothing on for every area where we weren't. Well, let's just say things did not end on a very bright note, monetarily speaking. Nor was it our most romantic of evenings spent. We went to bed wearing more clothes than when we started. (Yeah, it was that bad.) But at least instead of being sulky and frustrated about it we were able to laugh. And find some extra incentive to spend a lot less next month.

Birthdays

Today was the first (of what I can only assume will be end up being a long line of MANY) birthday party my daughter, E, was invited to.

It was at a Salon and Spa.....what ever happened to McDonald's or Chuck E. Cheese......and it came complete with pink balloons, raspberry lemonade and strawberry frosted "ladybug" cupcakes. And did I mention all the little girls got pedicures. Keep in mind, E is 17 months old.

Do I hear you wondering what the Moms got? I myself received a chocolate cake crumb facial. Or more like my blue stripe seer-sucker sun dress received that. My face was coated with more of a combination of sticky lemonade kisses and pastel marshmallow goo. All super moisturizing, of course.

But a riotous time was had by all. E rocked out to the sound track from, appropriately enough for a Salon and Spa, Hairspray. She clapped for all the gifts and unlike some others didn't once try to take back the presents we had bought the birthday girl. She got her tiny toe nails painted sparkly fuchsia pink and she also ingested just enough sugar to hype her up for the ride home. And then promptly fell to pieces when we arrived and the subject of nap time was broached.

I now see why all kids love the idea of attending a big old birthday party and most parents, after receiving the invite, internally swear. But I guess, as long as it's not an every day event......