What I Learned This Week

Some days just aren’t meant to be lived.  Such as my yesterday.  From the moment my feet hit the floor, everything that could go wrong went wrong.  Remember the day that I had an appointment at my orthodontist and I went to the wrong location?  Yeah.  You’d think a person would learn.  But no.  I did it again yesterday.  I didn’t even bother calling in and asking if I should drive to the other office.  I just chalked it up to a Monday and went to Target.  Hey, it’s cheaper than therapy, right?

Once home, I tried to make bread in my food processor because my mixer doesn’t handle it very well.  (I’m still experimenting, trying to find the perfect sandwich bread recipe and the easiest way to make it.)  Turns out, the food processor can’t handle it either.  After trying unsuccessfully to get it mixed in the mixer, I turned it out onto the counter and kneaded it the old fashioned way.  At least I got some exercise.

Because the bread took so long, the granite guy came to template (let’s pause right here for a YAY!) before I could put my 3-year-old down for her nap, so she was a beast all afternoon.  When the older kids got home from school, her disagreeable mood only escalated.  My 6-year-old walked in the door whining about something.  She went straight to her room until she could come down with a happy demeanor.  Can a 6-year-old get PMS?  I seriously think so.  Of course it was raining so the kids couldn’t play outside, and I finally told them that if I hear “but it’s boring” or “but there’s nothing to do” one more time I was going to sell them all to the zoo.

Later in the day I put a chicken in the oven, but as it turns out, my oven wasn’t heating as high as it said it was.  And when I took the chicken out at 6:00 for dinner, it was underdone.  So while the potatoes and carrots grew cold on the stove, I put the chicken back in the oven for 30 more minutes.  The second carving didn’t go much better than the first, and finally, fed up with Monday, I walked outside and sat on the front porch for some air.

As I sat there, staring at the weeds that have accumulated in our garden until they cover the mulch like a bed of grass, I decided that I may as well be productive in my snit.  So I went to the garage, found a big yard bag and my gloves, and set to work.  I worked in the garden until it was too dark to see and it was starting to rain.  I returned to the house to see my poor, faithful husband trying to clean up the kitchen.  Evidently the chicken juices had overflowed the cutting board and were running down the counter and all over the floor.  There were leftover dinner dishes on the table, so I guess they managed to find scrounge some chicken meat that was edible.

After I loaded the dishwasher, I put the bread in the oven.  I set the timer for the usual 30 minutes and went to watch the Food Network.  For some reason I find it incredibly relaxing to watch other people cook.  Especially when everything they make turns out just perfectly and they never spill anything down the counters and all over the floor.  When the timer went off, I took the bread out without really inspecting it.  Later on, when I removed it from the pan, I could see that it wasn’t very brown.  Sure enough, this morning when I cut into it for sandwiches, it was still doughy and raw in the middle.

When I rule the world, I’m going to declare Monday an international holiday.

What did you learn this week?