Crocker, Betty Crocker

Okay, okay I haven't written anything in the past few days and I'm sure that many of you think that my massive zit probably engulfed my head. Alas, nothing so horrible has happened, in fact I have had a rather fortunate change of schedule. I am now producing the noon news, which means I go in at 6 and am out of there at 2. At first I balked at the early hours -- but then I realized that I will have entire afternoons to do whatever I wanted. It means I can see my husband, or work in the yard, beat the dog, or play with Luke.

However, the adjustment has been a bit difficult, going to bed earlier and getting up with (and sometimes before) the birds. This has not been made easier by the fact that I have had a wicked head cold that has prevented me from doing pretty much everything but whining. Ryan is so pleased. I also can't hear anything so I'm sure I've agreed to things in the past few days that are only legal in some southeast Asian countries.

There is one great side effect to my new hours that seems to be shaping up. I have become increasingly domestic. Coming home in the light of day I see how dirty the house is and have to do something about it.
Coming home at dusk meant I could blame mountains of dog and cat hair on "shadows." I find myself cleaning things I never noticed before -- like the top of window moulding. I am five feet tall -- I really hadn't noticed it was up there at all. But today I had to clean it. And it was dirty, really dirty. What if Martha Stewart had come to dinner and wanted to look at it? The embarrassment.

I also find myself cooking more than before and actually following recipes. With my old shift my nights to cook usually entailed Little Cesaer's five dollar pizza and crazy bread. If I was feeling fancy I would sprinkle it with a bottle of parsley I bought in 1997. That made it elegant and historic. But this week I have made two different dinners and a second pie. And for one of the dinners I had to go out and buy special weird ingredients like saffron and cauliflower. Not only that both but dinners got rave reviews. Ryan loved my spinach crab pasta and both he and our friend Jason loved the exotic vegetable tangine. Yes, Jason picked the olives out of his, but he didn't try to hide it all in his napkin -- so I consider that a win. And the pie, while again not perfect, was better looking than the first. I actually managed to pick up a piece of dough that almost entirely covered the top. I also tried some fancy crimping and design work on the top. Impressive, huh?


Who knows what's next. Maybe I'll start making centerpieces for every holiday. Or sewing little outfits for the cats so they look like butlers to dinner guests. The possibilities are endless...