Birthday Dinner for Mom

Nothing kills a hangover more than offering to make dinner for your ravenous family of four after a night of Kettle cocktails and dancing until 4am... Today's menu will include pot roast with vegetables, homemade mashed potatoes, blueberry peach apple cobbler for dessert, water, Gatorade and maybe a Tylenol.

Reality vs. Registry -

So I was about 21 when I moved into my own studio in Chicago... It was an exciting time and I am sure my parents had all toes and fingers crossed that they were raising me up right and that my own studio was a good way to go.

In preparation for my new digs, my mom took me shopping at a discount retailer and I gathered up all the change in my dorm room to get all that I needed for my place. I was excited but as usual, wanted to be sure not to go over my budget.

We walked down each aisle and I carefully picked out clearance mismatching dish towels, a wooden paper towel holder, other trinkets rounding the price tags up as I added so that I was sure to cover sales tax.

One of aisles that I visited and revisited a few times was "pots and pans". I was so unsure what to get - there were single frying pans and other pots that fell out of their set. There were even complete sets with like 16 pots and pans!

On our way to the register, I made one last visit to the aisle and decided to buy a cheaper set of pots and pans. They were completely stainless steel and looked like they would rust or turn copper after the first use... Before I could put the box down in the cart, my mom was reaching for another set that was quite a bit more than the one I was looking at. Initially I thought she was buying herself a set, however she explained that this set was better quality and is what I should get.

She further explained, “It has heat-proof handles so I didn't always have to be wearing pot holders like the all-stainless ones I was planning to purchase.”

I politely defended, "But Mom, when I get married I'll just register for a nicer set..."

Without missing a beat she replied, "Well, who knows when that will be... so just get this in the meantime…"

She made her point clear and I was a bit bummed with her assumption, but even more, I was bummed because that set knocked my budget out of the water with one swoop... In the end I suppose, my budget didn't matter so much as she surprised me by insisting to pay for my cart full of carefully picked clearance and on sale goodies.

Tonight, while I was making dinner for one of my best friend's, I thought about my mom that day while I was pouring out the pasta into the colander without pot holders... Almost 8 years later and with a wedding registry far from sight, I use the same high quality pots that my mom insisted on buying me... one of the many instances when the cliché is proven true, "Moms know best."

Chirping dogs?

This morning I woke up to someone moving directly across the hall from me.... It sounds like there are two dogs - a big one and a small one, both are barking but the small dogs sounds like a large bird protecting it's nest. Obnoxious.

I hope they are just watch dogs as they move in, and not my new neighbors too.