Monday Morning Mommy Brain

For those of you who wonder what the heck Mommy Brain is, I share with you my morning so far:

Premise: The Bean is sick. The Husband is staying home because I have to teach a class today. Also, we lost an hour somewhere this weekend (daylight savings) and I am highly aware of this fact.

7:30 a.m. - Leave the house in my own car, which, it is important to note, I did not drive at all last week. Feeling really good because it's early, it's sunny, I remembered my coffee and my lunch AND my work computer and keys.
7:45 a.m. - Arrive on campus and realize I do not have my parking pass (remember, I didn't drive MY car last week?). Woops. At least I realize this in time to pull into the visitor lane at the parking garage and don't have to experience the embarrassment of reversing out of the passholders' electronically activated lane.
7:50 a.m. - Problem solving in high gear, I remember that I have $20 in my wallet. Yay. I walk down the 5 floors of stairs to the ticket booth to buy 3 day passes (Ben needs some in his store too, for the days like this when we cannot carpool). I ask the parking deck employee for three passes, open the wallet, and see a $10.
7:55 a.m. - Mental flashback to Friday night when I broke the 20 on some baklava so that we could tip our waitress at The Greek. (not a bad way to get some ones!) :)
7:56 a.m. - purchase ONE parking pass and mentally note that I need to somehow rustle up $6 by the end of today to get a pass for the Husband, who needs to drive himself tomorrow, as I am again teaching...at 8 a.m.
8 a.m. - Spirits still high, I climb the 10 flights of stairs back to my car, stick the pass in the window, and grab my lunch bag (which also contains breakfast) and my coffee and head back down the stairs. I step out into the lovely morning sunshine, and make my way across the street to the library where I work.
8:05 - 8:15 - As I approach the library, I realize that I do not have my computer. Looking on the sunny side, I note that at least it is in my car and not at home! Rather than turn around, I enter the library, greet a coworker, ascend the 100 stairs to my office floor, and sit down to have my coffee and muffin, and call the doctor's office.
8:20 - Appointment made for the Bean, call the Husband, and I'm very thankfully eating my muffin and drinking my coffee.
8:30 - Put the coat back on (making sure that my car keys are with me), walk down the 100 stairs from my office, and exit the building. It's warming up already outside - the sun is gorgeous, and the birds are singing.
8:40- Walk up the stairs (5 floors again) to my car and locate my computer bag. It had blended in with the carpet before. Throw it on my back, and head downstairs again.
9:00 - I arrive in my office, finally equipped for my day, and hope that I can be mindful as I navigate the rest that is to come.

This was most certainly a morning that could have been highly frustrating, and on some levels it was. I lost all of the time that I had gained in being early to work by forgetting my parking pass and my work bag. I got nothing done, other than scheduling the Bean's doctor appointment and a whole lot of inefficient schlepping around to accomplish a simple task.

On the other hand, I had a prolonged morning outdoors, with a healthy amount of cardio built in. I accomplished climbing and descending over 400 stairs, in between brisk 10-minute walks in the sunshine. I gave my brain time to wake up, with some coffee and a muffin. I got to speak to the Husband on the phone and hear the sweet sounds of the Bean having breakfast in the background, her little voice commenting, "Here ya go, baby," each time B handed her a piece of her breakfast toast.

Mommy Brain is definitely a part of life now, something that happens because I'm too tired, or too busy, or hurried, or worried...or all of the above. But in it all, I try to take it as a reminder to slow down and work through the challenges of the day, one step at a time.

....and to the reader for whom I am to teach tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. - pleeeeease do not let this message worry you. I plan to prep all of my Tuesday morning needs tonight and be out the door at 7! :)

Wherein we Break the Rules

40 38 Days of Veggies Weekly Report:

The week started wonderfully:

We had some lovely omelets, an easy, satisfying way to clean out the fridge.

Omelets topped with salsa

Next, came an absolutely mouth-watering dish - Cooking Light: Way to Cook Vegetarian's potato gnocchi with lemon thyme sauce.  This was a most fabulous dish for a Monday. It was quick (about 30 minutes prep and cook time), simple (just a few basic, inexpensive ingredients), and yet we felt fancy and satisfied. Though the dish might sound strange at first, the bright lemony flavor of the simple buttery sauce was at once surprising and comforting. It was also addictive - none of us, including the Bean, could keep our paws off of it. We will most definitely make this one again.


The week also featured a lovely broccoli casserole and black bean burgers from the same book. The burgers were so wonderful we forgot to take a photo - we could not wait to dig in!

Broccoli Casserole

...and then came Friday. Meat day. Lunch was all veggie - leftovers from the week's feasting. But dinner was, well, indulgent. We hit up the local Chinese buffet for the first time in months. Do I feel bad about it? No. Did I learn something? Yes. I've pretty much lost the taste for Chinese buffet fare - my mouth sensed nothing but salt and sweet syrup. What does this prove? Taste is truly acquired, and can also be lost. I am looking forward to trying homemade chinese dishes, made with more wholesome nutritious ingredients, in the near future. This girl cannot live without a Chinese food fix everyone once in awhile!

...and then came Saturday. We ate meat again, but not without careful consideration. Saturday was spent cooking the nine chicken carcasses that were in our freezer down into a wonderful broth, and then turning that into 9.5 quarts of noodle soup - can you blame us for tasting the goods?

Sunday, those goods were packed up and shared with my Mimi, company and homemade food being the best medicine the world has to offer. 

Today? Back to the veggies, and no regrets about the brief trip off the wagon. No matter what we eat, we have become much more conscious of it, and I believe that will continue beyond this 40 day experiment.