I got a little behind...again

I just realized that I missed a bunch of posts! So please enjoy the extra reading this month!
Happy Fall!

Biker or Bicyclist? That is the question.

      Ever since I had to give up running, I've been looking for a form of exercise that I can do, other than just walking. I bought a rowing machine this last winter that has sat unused in the basement. I had every intention of rowing, until my son took the TV with him to college. I mean, I can't be expected to row without an episode of “Fixer Upper” to distract me, can I? Tom has been bicycling now for about 2 years and absolutely loves it. Recently, he was asking me if I'd like to take up the sport with him. Up until about a year ago I owned a bike. I don't really remember, other than my college years, a time in my life when I didn't have a bike. Banana seat, ten speed with the loop handlebars, 20 speed mountain bike, those were my go-to rides. I grew up on a bicycle and it was my main mode of transportation until I got my drivers licence. Some of my best scars come from bike riding. My most memorable wipe-out was an unfortunate incident involving a skateboard balanced on the handlebars, and a gravel road.

       These days I'm not as interested in riding no-handed from my best friends driveway to my own, but to get in a good workout. When Tom took me for a ride with me on his other bike, he took me on his normal route, which is about 14 miles total and I'm not gonna lie, it just about killed me. But I still knew that I had found what I was looking for. So Tom went on the hunt for a “new” bike for me and two days later I was on the bike trail on my very own bike. And I don't think I have to tell you the most exciting part, all of the accessories I'm going to be able to get! On my first ride I was thinking to myself about all of the things I would need:

• A bell
• A rear view mirror
• A super-cool helmet
• Biking shorts with the spongy butt-padding
• Fingerless gloves
• A helmet
• And shoes (duh!)

Many of the items on this list are a lot like the things I need and use for motorcycling. So I come to one problem. Am I a biker who bikes? A motorcycle rider who bicycles? Regardless, I don't have to be a runner to get a good workout. I just had to return to my biking roots.

Cooking for Two

If cooking for two were a class in school, I would fail miserably. I’ve adjusted quite well to this phase in my life except when it comes to cooking for myself and Tom. I just don’t do it. We have been reduced to frozen microwave dinners and lots and lots of eggs.

As we head to the grocery store I think to myself “I have nothing planned for dinners this week!” And then I think, “That’s ok. Tom doesn’t mind his frozen dinners, and he can eat whenever he wants.” But it isn’t OK with me. Even though I feel badly about it, for some reason I’m not making a move towards learning to cook for two. Cooking for a family of 4 was enjoyable. Cooking for two is complicated. I try to remember back to the days before kids but I was so inept in the kitchen that dinner consisted of a lot of spaghetti (which Tom lovingly referred to as “Old Standby”) and grilled cheese sandwiches. I’m back to grilled cheese, but no longer make spaghetti because of the acid reflux that results from too much tomato sauce. But I don’t think Tom recognizes grilled cheese as me actually making dinner. Recently, some friends stopped by with their motorcycles and asked if we wanted to go ride and stop for dinner.

            “Sure,” Tom said, “We haven’t had dinner.”

            “Yes we have! I made grilled cheese sandwiches!” I responded.

We did try Blue Apron for about a month but I didn’t do well with the pressure of cooking some creative recipe that nobody liked. There was also the pressure of some evening commitment or class potentially preventing me from cooking one of the recipes so that the ingredients would eventually go bad, which would then be a waste of food and money (never mind the food and money I waste annually that comes directly from the grocery store). My most successful week this past year (yes there are only a couple of successful weeks) was my annual “Week of Soups.” That’s always great because soups are easy to store and reheat at a later time, usually during the cold months.

I really do like to cook. And there was a time when I made a weekly meal plan. There was usually a chicken night, a crockpot meal night, a casserole night, pasta night, leftovers night, and salad or sandwich night. Occasionally, I’d throw in breakfast-for-dinner night. We ate like kings back then! Sometimes I’ll pick up a “Cooking for Two” recipe book magazine in the grocery store aisle and flip through it for inspiration but then put it back when I see the familiar recipes that I have cooked in the past and see the $14.99 price tag on the cover. This year I’m going to commit to learning to cook for two. I’m turning over a new leaf. Tonight we’ll start with grilled cheese sandwiches.

It's the Little Things

I was talking to my friend at lunch the other day. I was telling her about the bread we are eating now. I said, “We buy the $7/loaf of bread from Oleson’s. It only has 4 ingredients, and you have to keep it in the fridge because it doesn’t have any preservatives.” “I can’t spend that much on bread because my kids eat a lot of bread.” she replied. “Oh don’t feel bad,” I said, “we bought the cheap bread when the kids were still at home!” Sadly, it’s the honest truth. We also buy the natural peanut butter and fancy jam now too. There are actually quite a few things we do now that the kids are gone that we didn’t do when they were here.

We take vacations. We weren’t a traveling family. We rarely took vacations. Partly because it was so costly, but partly because we just didn’t do well together as a family cooped up in a vehicle for long periods of time. We didn’t have an in-car video set-up so taking the Xbox or movies required an extremely complicated system of extension cords and adaptors. So rather than spending a lot of money and time not getting along, we mostly confined our family time and travels to places we could visit in 3 days or less. In the past year Tom and I have taken three 4-day vacations. Two out of three of those trips we flew.

We eat out… a lot. I have written recently about my failure as a “cooking for two” cook. I remember commenting (or judging is more accurate), Toms parents. “Why do they eat out so much? Your mom is an awesome cook! If I could cook as well as she does, you wouldn’t be eating out that much” I can and we do.

I am systematically redecorating each room of the house. Our house has looked the same for the last twelve years, other than the one year we replaced the living room carpet. First, we replaced most of the living room furniture. We had to, actually, because I gave all of the old stuff to furnish Robby’s apartment. Robby’s room was next. I turned it from a poster covered teenage boy’s room to a cute, nautical, Charlevoix Venetian-themed room with a queen size bed, coordinating bedding and knick-knacks. Sammy’s room is next. I have that one slated for a whimsical “under the sea” vibe with artsy-craftsy wall hangings that I picked up at this craft show or on that vacation.

And finally, we bought a room air conditioner. That one was a necessity. I mean, we didn’t do that when the boys were here because we thought it would be unfair to sleep in the cool comfort of our bedroom while they sweated it out in theirs. But as soon as the first hot night hit in late May, we loaded up the van with that unit and it saved our summer.

I do miss having my boys here at home, but I am learning there is a whole new world to this empty nest thing. Starting with a preservative-free sandwich made with natural peanut butter and homemade jam.