Plan B

Normally I am quite an "all or nothing" kind of person and I prefer to stick to the scheduled plan. In some things, people have called me OCD, or an over-achiever. I don't know if I'd go so far as to categorize myself in this way, but I admit to have a tendency to set very high expectations for myself sometimes. However, every week I am learning and trying to accept the very real place that "going with the flow" has in my life... at least for the next few years. So every Sunday I will continue set "plan A", and work diligently to achieve it as always, but inside I know that "plan B" awaits. Sometimes that isn't so bad.

This week, "plan A" was to spend each day familiarizing myself with italian cooking with Giada. I made it through Monday's meal -- then Benny was sick Tuesday and Wednesday so Pizza and Cafe Rio food were okay substitutes for a quick "plan B", all things considered. Then Thursday and Friday came, and the reality of teenager/baby combo hit hard. We had to start preparing Thursday, since we ended up hosting the MORP festivities this time, and I was lucky to do it. It is really a lot of fun watching the kids, and remembering my own similar times. Long story short, I got two decent cooking days in this week. Monday and Friday. For MORP we grilled out, up the canyon after games. It was FREEZING COLD and blustery up there, but thankfully it was dry.

The theme for the dance was "Celebrity Couples"... Dania's group chose Disney couples in the form of: Hercules & Meg (Hercules), Peter Pan and Wendy (Peter Pan), Woody and Jesse (Toy Story 2), and Carl and Ellie (UP!). WHAT DARLING COUPLES THEY ALL MADE! After dinner and the dance, they all came home for dessert--one HUGE ice cream sunday directly on the table, 8 spoons, and lots of toppings later... well, you get the messy idea. What a blessing it was to listen to them talking and laughing and tossing whip cream over the newly mopped floor.... really. I wouldn't trade that hour and a half for 4 planned days of successful cooking with Giada... ever.

Lesson learned: sometimes "plan B" is the B-etter plan in the end.