Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Surprise!

Sean usually can't pull one over on me

He's a terrible liar
And he usually gets so excited he can't contain himself
Plus, Sean has a tell
So does Lucy

Like one time, he made reservations at Davio's for my birthday dinner (and by one time, I mean a few weeks ago) but he put it on the family calendar...for which I receive notifications

Other times, he'll order things for me but forget that Alexa notifies us of all deliveries
And by us, I mean all the Alexa's in the house will play notifications and will usually tell you exactly what is being delivered
And because Amazon and I are on a first name basis, I always assume the notifications are mine because frankly, I have a problem and shop way more on Amazon than I should

Or, Sean will hide something somewhere forgetting I'm the one who cleans the house and notices if something is slightly out of whack or, if something is where it should not be
You know, like a blanket randomly tossed over something ... like I am just going to walk by and leave it there
Or a closet door not quite closing as it should
Or a random box that appears on a shelf or in the garage
I'm always going to investigate

Once, Sean tried to surprise me with a trip
I came home from work and he greeted me at the door like a cat who had just eaten a canary
He was jumping around like a kid grinning from ear to ear
I need you to take a couple days off work in May and you can't ask why he said to me giggling
OK, I replied
And you can't ask why he said
OK
Seriously, I'm not telling you why! It's a surprise!
OK I said, what days should I take off?

He told me the dates to take off and then walked away
Only to come dashing back like a kid on a sugar high

Don't you want to know? Is it killing you? Are you dying to know????
Nope, you said it was a surprise
But don't you kinda wanna know?
Nope

He spent the evening pacing around with a little pep in his step and kept giggling to himself
Then he'd say
You are going to be so excited! You are going to LOVE IT!
I bet I will honey, can't wait
Do you wanna know? Wanna take a guess? Wanna hint???????
Nope, you said it was a surprise, I'll just be surprised
What? Admit it, this is killing you, you want to know!!!
Nope, I'd say calmly with a shake of my head, you planned a surprise trip for us, I do not want to ruin it, I will take the days off as requested and just be surprised, you'll just have to tell me how to pack
He'd giggle and run away only to come back and say
This is killing you right?! Are you trying to figure it out???
Nope, I wanna be surprised I'd reply

But I did not want to be surprised
I knew it had to be someplace I really wanted to go because he was so excited
But I knew if I asked, well, that would just not work
So I played it cool...as cool as I can play it anyway

He broke in less than 24 hours
And that trip to Savannah, GA was amazing

The only time he has ever pulled one over on me was the day he proposed
I had no idea even though I had unknowingly picked out the ring
That was a good one

That was the only time Sean ever pulled one over on me

Until yesterday

Yesterday, he and Lucy pulled off a surprise 50th birthday party for me
And he is still high as a kite knowing he pulled one over on me

He thought I was on to him a few times

But he expertly turned off the Alexa in my office so I did not get notifications
He avoided making commitments to all the stuff I suggested we do together on Sunday August the 7th but did so without raising suspicion
And when he did get me out of the house to set up and get people here, he turned off the cameras so I would not get notifications that there was movement in the backyard or in the driveway

With help from some wonderfully patient friends and my family, he pulled one over one me

So on the cusp of turning 50, and by cusp of 50 I mean tomorrow, to look around a room and see my sisters and brothers-in-law, my mother, nieces and dear friends we hold close and who hold us close, who we think of as family, I can't help but think I am pretty darn lucky

I am even luckier I have a husband and daughter who would carefully and concisely lie to me for two plus weeks.....
talking about me behind my back
coercing me to leave the house under false pretenses
intercepting deliveries and the mail
deleting messages from their phones so I would not see anything
using code words so I would not catch on
doing everything they could possibly do to make sure my birthday was an event

Turning 50 is a milestone
I'll measure mine not in years but in the love I am surrounded by from my family and my family of friends

And in having one pulled over on me by Sean with lots of help from Lucy ..... a milestone indeed 

Monday, August 8, 2022

Garfield would be disappointed

I like a good writing prompt and it has been a while since I participated in Mama Kat’s Pretty Much World-Famous Workshop

 For a period, I was doing a ton of writing
 And then I stopped

There were all kinds of reasons/excuses:
We were selling/buying a house and then moving and then unpacking
and work was busy
and 5th grade was kicking Lucy’s ass
and then COVID hit
and I lost my job
and Lucy started 6th  grade
and I got a new job
and hated it so I quit
and I got another new job which I love
and it keeps me super busy
and Lucy started 7th grade
and work got even busier
and Lucy turned 13
and then I started traveling for work 
and then I went to Texas for a graduation
and I then I got COVID
and it was quarter end
and now I’m tuning 50

So I have decided I need to make time for what make me happy and brings me joy: writing
 
To jump start, I turned to Mama Kat because her prompts are the best and I like her writing
 Also, she has some pretty faithful followers, and I was just catching up on their writings and forgot how much I enjoyed dipping my toes in  their worlds
 
So here I am
 
Her prompts this week include:

1. Write about a meal you never looked forward to eating when you were growing up.
2. Write a blog post inspired by the word: hot
3. Share a back-to-school memory.
4. Share something you learned in July.
5. Tell us about something you are looking forward to in August.
 
It is always hard to choose because when I read the options, I feel like I could immediately write to any one of them

So, to make it easy on myself, and to slow my brain down a bit, I’m going to start right at the top:
 
1.      Write about a meal you never looked forward to eating when you were growing up

When I was a kid, my mother made homemade pizzas
Dough from scratch stretched out on the jelly roll pan (a cookie sheet with edges)
Two pans actually - there were after all 7 kids and there also always seemed to be extra people at the house on the nights Mum made pizza
The sauce was homemade too
If I timed it right, I could help with laying the toppings over the dough and sauce
And those pizzas were delicious
The corners were the best and we typically fought over them – Dad always won
I haven’t had her pizza in years
It’s one of those things I should have her teach me to make but I always forget to ask
 
Mum also made the best spaghetti and meatballs with sauce
I know there is nothing special about spaghetti and meatballs but somehow, Mum’s tasted better than everyone else’s
Again, everything was made from scratch, and everything was in big batches
The sauce would simmer for hours filling the house with the smell of tomatoes, basil, parsley, and oregano
It’s a quick and simple sauce but it is so good it warrants dipping your bread into the pot whilst it’s still simmering just to test it and make sure the flavor is on point
That flavor was, and is, always on point
The meatballs were cooked prior to being dropped into the sauce to marinate before it was all plated and served
Mum’s meatballs were small (again, with 7 kids, everything had to be stretched) but they were exploded with flavor and love in your mouth
 
And though I know it’s not really a meal, on Sunday morning, Mum would often make donut balls
The dough was from scratch, and she would scoop it out of the mixing bowl with a big spoon, shape it with a second spoon and plop it into the fat to be fried to a crisp golden brown
When the donut balls bobbed to the surface, she would carefully fish them out and drop them onto a brown paper bag that had been cut down the sides and spread out on the counter to soak up the grease 
Before those donut balls cooled too much though, they were given only a moment’s rest, they’d get shoveled  into a plastic Ziploc bag filled with sugar and cinnamon and tossed around for a minute to give them a nice coating before they were served up still warm and crispy
The best was when you bit into it and a little puff of steam would escape while the sugar melted on your tongue and the donut ball was just crispy enough to make a little crunch as you chewed it to pull out all the flavor
At most it was a two-bite donut ball, but those warm bites were sweet and savory at the same time
And by the time it hit your belly, it was just pure deliciousness
 
And Mum’s cookies/sweets  at Christmas are legendary: gingersnaps, chocolate crinkles, peanut butter blossoms, peanut butter squares, her fudge……yum
Her chocolate cheesecake and Bundt cakes aren’t half bad either
Who are we kidding, I’ve swiped my finger across my plate after eating her chocolate cheesecake to make sure I got it all
 
Mum also makes the best tuna fish and egg salad (still, to this day)
Hell, she even makes deviled ham taste good
 
But there was one meal my mother made when I was growing up that I absolutely detested, dreaded, hated when I knew it was in the rotation
I don’t know if it was the taste, the texture, the way it looked on my plate, but I just could not stand it
Everyone else loved it and it was always finished in one meal
When she makes it at Christmas or a family gathering, there is rarely a morsel left
 
To this day, if it is placed in front of me, regardless of the variation of the recipe or who made it, my throat closes a little and my stomach flips
If I have a choice, I will not put any on my plate
 
But when we were kids, there were no choices
I ate it because it was what was for dinner
I’d choke down every bite and never asked for seconds
 
Interestingly enough, I loved helping Mum make it
And by helping, I mean watching her make it and passing her something when she needed it
I was intrigued with all the steps that had to be taken just to prep everything
Then came the actual construction of the dish which was like watching a masterpiece being painted or a building constructed
 
Mum went slowly with a precise gentle hand so as not to break any of the ingredients
And if there were an imperfection in one of the layers, she would expertly cover it, so no one knew there was a broken piece
 
When she was done, it was like a work of art
 
She used a glass baking dish so you could see all the colors:
the deep red of the sauce,
the stark white of the cheese dotted with herbs
the noodles with their pale complexion making them look weak but they were actually the strengthening layer of the dish
 
All those colors and layers and textures were slid it into the oven to meld together for 45 minutes
Within minutes of hitting the heated oven, the smells were enough to make your mouth water and your tummy rumble with anticipation
When Mum opened the oven to pull it out, the first thing that hit you was the gorgeous velvety smell of cooked cheese and warm sauce melding into each other
Then you heard the bubbling of the cheese
And once you waved off the steam, you could see the cheese on topped was now a golden brown
 
All my favorite ingredients lovingly, precisely, pulled together in the same dish: noodles, Mum’s homemade sauce, ooey gooey cheese and more cheese
 
But when they were all put together like that, I dreaded, absolutely dreaded, lasagna
 
Maybe it’s the layers -  I’m not of layered dip either
Maybe I just don’t like the combination of cheese and sauce and noodles like that
Maybe it's because when I tried to scoop up a bite with my fork, it fell apart and just looked like a big sloppy mess
 
Whatever the reason, I just could not stand lasagna for dinner... not then, not now, not ever 



Deep in the Heart of Texas

 I'm working with a new client

His name is Houston and he's located in Dallas
In a couple internal meetings, I have stumbled over his name
accidentally calling him Dallas and then self correcting
And by self correcting I mean my colleague who is working the deal with me will gently say Nope, other way and I know exactly what he means
Yesterday, we had our weekly pipeline call - running through all the deals we're working on, updating the larger (internal) Team on the statuses and providing a bit of commentary to our VP
When it came to this particular deal, I introduced the company, the scope of the deal and the key players
I hesitated for a beat before I said Houston
My colleague, the one working the deal with me, heard the first syllable said....you're right, Houston
I sighed and said to the Team
I keep getting this guy's name wrong!
His name is Houston and he's in Dallas and I keep calling him Dallas!
Someone said seriously??
Yes, I said, seriously....and I keep using the wrong name for him!
His name is Houston and he's in Dallas......so I'm going to call him Austin
For a split second, no one said anything
I mean I thought it was pure comedy genius
But no one reacted
Then, after a 5 second beat, the VP, the Brit on the call, starts laughing
Like a giggle turned belly laugh ending in a giggle which turned into a chortle then back to a giggle
No one else reacted
He kept laughing, muted himself, seemingly regrouped, came off mute and said
Bloody brilliant!
No one else said anything - not even a giggle
So we moved onto the next deal
When all of a sudden, someone finally got the joke, explained it to the rest of the team and there was a collective a-ha moment then some laughs
The VP and I had already moved on ..... though I did ping him in messenger and said maybe it would have been funnier if I said I call him Memphis...
He started laughing, went on mute again and now it's our new private joke
I know this because this morning he pinged with
Good Morning Memphis.....