A Breather

It's 9 o'clock... Survivor's waiting on the DVR... 30 Rock/Office about to come on, but the DVR will babysit those, too... A chance to exhale in front of my trusty HP... This is the second Daddy Night in a row for me, and I relish the chance to be alone with my kiddies. Being an HOD means I get to see Jason and Lindsey (and Jill) a lot more than most men see their families, but the quality time is still at a minimum, especially since I've been running around a lot lately. I'm producing a 2:00 infomercial right now for a makeup product coming to market, called Aloe Glow (Shameless plug alert: I will be keeping you posted when the project goes "live," on the air and on the web). It's a premium quality click-pen concealer, loaded with good stuff that makes you look and feel good. Aaaanyway, it's been occupying a large section of brain space for me, so Daddy Night is a great chance for me to decompress from outside stresses and really FOCUS on the kids. Jill had Girls Night Out last night, and tonight she went to a Dave Ramsey seminar (very fiscally responsible, that one!)...
Dinner, bath, reading, bedtime...such simple activities, yet so vital for me to reconnect. I sometimes wonder who benefits more from the routine: J & L, or me...

Random thoughts:

• Is it just my 'inching-toward-dinosaur-status' PC, or is Facebook getting more and more difficult to load and navigate? Don't ruin a good thing, there, Zuckerberg...


• And speaking of Facebook: what's with all the Top 5 lists?? If you know me at all, you know I love lists (I used to doodle my list of favorite music acts in my 6th grade notebook during class -- for the record: Bruce, Van Halen, The Police, & Def Leppard topped the chart at the time)... but 5? FIVE?? I filled out a couple of them, and it's HARD! Can't they at least make 'em Top 10's instead?!?...


• Never realized how monumental it would be to make a decision on where to send your child to kindergarten... it's so cliche but so true that everyone gets so much older faster these days (Mr. Berra would be proud of that one!)...


• You know your life has shifted toward middle age when you find yourself listening to DJ Lance more than Run DMC (if you don't get that reference, then you don't watch Noggin with your kids! Check yo'self. Word.)...


• Funny moment of the week: Took Jason to the Rays-White Sox game Sunday, and his pet peeve was all the screaming. He got so fed up with the beverage hawking in the aisles, that he yelled out (for the whole of section 111 to hear), "I DON'T WANT ANY COLD BEER!" ... can't say I agreed with him at that point, but funny, nevertheless...


• Today marks the exact one-month countdown to Baby #3's scheduled arrival. Still no name decided on. Negotiations at a stand still. I wish I had a big enough blog following to solicit suggestions... anyone?... Bueller? .... (cue the crickets chirping)...


• Do I use ellipses too much...?

I wrap up with a previously alluded-to ground beef recipe I whipped up for the team the other night...

Grown-Up Ground Beef

Pulled from Southern Living mag, we really enjoyed this one, because it's simple, yet a decidedly different way to enjoy ground beef. Jill loved it, and, since she's my only consistent focus group, I take her word for it, especially in this case, because she's somewhat hot-cold when it's comes to hamburger meat in general...

1. Preheat oven to 350. Boil 3 qts. salted water. Whisk in 1c plain yellow cornmeal. Simmer and whisk until thick. Season with steak seasoning and 1/4 shredded cheddar cheese. Spread mixture into a slightly greased 11x7 (or 13x9) baking dish.


2. Brown 1 lb. ground chuck in a skillet until done; drain and transfer to bowl.


3. Saute 1 chopped onion, 1 medium sliced zucchini in 1 tbsp. olive oil until crisp-tender. Stir in beef. Add 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste & 2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans petite diced tomatoes, drained. Simmer for 10 minutes.


4. Pour beef mixture on top of cornmeal. Cover with 3/4c (or more, to liking) cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.


5. Garnish with parsley, if so desired.

Head's up: Don't know if it might've needed some extra time in the oven, but my cornmeal crust wasn't crusty at all, it was more like solidified grits on the bottom. Still tasty (or else it wouldn't be in this blog), but not the consistency I expected...

Lindsey just popped downstairs for a surprise visit before mommy gets home. Normally, I would mind. Tonight, not so mcuh. She's had me wrapped around her finger since the day she arrived nearly 4 years ago. Seems like 4 days ago. Graphic description alert from the TMI Department: We didn't know if L would be a boy or girl. Jill was convinced 110% it was a boy. I remember the doctor pulling out the newborn, lifting her up, and me being the first to confirm it was indeed a VAGINA I was looking at, then the entire room (Me, Jill, both our moms) erupting into 'It's a GIRRRRRRRRRRL' shrieks! O, happy day...

...Did I mention how quickly they seem to grow up...?