Potatoes in the Mist

I've made quiche a number of times without mishap, but tonight I tried making a tomato one and it bombed. I threw out the runny mess, then re-read the recipe and realized it just needed to cook longer. (The recipe said 35-40 minutes, but every quiche I've ever made has cooked for an hour.) Oh well, that is what Chinese food is for. I'm kind of grumpy about Pride - it just seems like an excuse to party. My neighborhood is really crowded and they blocked off most of the bike path for it.  D took E to see some animatronic dinosaurs in New Jersey (a quick ride on the New Jersey transit). I was going to go but Z fell asleep and I conked out too. The problem is, she's still sleeping (hours later). I remember E was narcoleptic like this once - falling asleep in his stroller and not even waking up when there was a crew cutting off branches with a buzz saw. Someone said it was a growth spurt. Hopefully this long nap of Zoe's has the same explanation.

I just made the most awesome peanut butter brownies from Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven. Very rich and chocolate-y. The peanut butter flavor is subtle.

Just finished watching Summer Stock with Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. I love a good campy movie.

Took yet another bike ride this morning! I feel great. It should probably be my goal to bike as often as possible. I really need to look into getting that bike seat so I can take Zoe with me when necessary. Eric has become quite a rider, too - he actually went over the George Washington Bridge with D into Edgewater, New Jersey one day. I really like my bike also. D gave it to me 12 years ago on my birthday.

3rd bike ride of the week this morning! I woke up and Z was still sound asleep. So D and E played Cranium while I took a bike ride. (She had migrated to the other side of the mattress when I got back, but she didn't wake up.) I went to Houston St. The early morning is the best time to bike. Not too hot or crowded. In the elevator when I got back, this guy I thought I'd never seen before said, "Got a break, huh? Your two are little, right? We're getting rid of one in the fall - college! So we don't have to sneak out in the morning to exercise anymore." This was kind of funny, though the phrase "getting rid of" was unfortunate. Looking forward to many more bike rides.

I just took a bike ride for the first time in years! Zoe and I are pretty attached to each other but she is starting to get more comfortable with other people. So her grandparents took her to the park while I took a ride along the Hudson River. It was fantastic. I definitely need to go more often. I might want to get one of those bike seats that attach to the back of your bike. Hopefully it doesn't make the bike feel heavy and hard to balance. Zoe would probably love it.

I saw a pin today on Pinterest, which I was unable to cut and paste here. Basically, it showed a photo of Hillary Clinton as a child, writing to NASA to ask about becoming an astronaut, and then it showed a more recent photo of Hillary as Secretary of State. I was struck by the difference between Hillary's face as a child and her face as an adult. When she was young, she looked curious, interested, engaged, yet at ease, like someone you might want to hang out with. As an adult, she looks hard, cold, a little scary. I understand that her life has not been a bed of roses, and as a consequence, she is tough. But it's images like these that make me wary of her as a presidential candidate. Can't you just picture her pressing the red button? I wish Elizabeth Warren could be elected instead.

Zoe is wearing me out. She took this little blue table from the living room and dragged it to this high table that D calls a credenza. She used the smaller table to climb onto the high one. Then D hid the blue table and she grabbed the green chair that goes with it. She climbed on that to get to the high table. D hid the green chair. Earlier this morning she opened the fridge, grabbed a raw egg and tried to eat it, shell and all.

So I decided I was in a bit of a rut and decided to make some small changes. Usually I either make baked ziti or we order in; last night I made nachos and tonight I'm going to make spinach cheese burritos. Also, I've been wearing the same gray and black tiered skirts that I bought early in my pregnancy with Zoe. I ordered a tiered chiffon skirt from Old Navy and did some shopping at Ann Taylor Loft. They had many items marked down 40% and they were classy but not ostentatious. I got a few tops, skirts and even a pair of shorts. So that felt good.

Zoe in downward dog. She loves to copy my yoga poses. Eric has 2 days off from school so we're playing Chutes & Ladders. It's strangely enjoyable. I like simple games that are easy to grasp :)

Eric is turning 5 today! 5 years ago, at 5:04 pm, I completed my first (and hardest) labor. All the cliches about time passing so quickly...are true. He is having multiple celebrations...one at his maternal grandmother's house over Memorial Day weekend, another at school (they had it early), one tonight at a random Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant (his choice, because he likes the fish in the tank), and one this weekend in the park (provided it doesn't rain). Happy birthday, Eric.