Today I got the carpet in our apartment cleaned.
You should not underestimate the power of a clean carpet.
I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as Stainmaster carpet here in the BOG. The carpet in our apartment was brand new when we moved in (with the exception of a couple rooms) but within 3 weeks of our moving in, it already looked dirty. We had that first big work cocktail party and honestly, it was like people just tracked in mud. Then we had another work party that involved children eating brownies on carpeted areas and I don't think I need to elaborate any more on that. Then we had some events where people were out on the balcony and even though there's a huge rug where you enter the house from the balcony, I don't know how many people actually wiped their feet on it.
The carpet was gross and it was depressing me.
I needed to wait until after the going-away party a couple weeks ago but then one of my first priorities was to get the carpet cleaner in.
I left the apartment while he was working but when I came back, he was finishing up and Ruth commented over and over how dirty the water was that he was sucking up. It really makes me want to vomit.
Now I feel like we could lay on the clean carpet (while it lasts) and we wouldn't get a disease.
For clean carpeting with all those pesky stains removed, I am truly thankful.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
NYR 6-28-11 - a chef is born
The other day Mac and I made a list of everything we wanted to do during his summer vacation. One of the things I added to the list (which was copied from a friend) was for Mac and me to plan and cook one meal a week together. Even though my mom was a home ec teacher and taught me how to cook, I have zero patience with Mac in the kitchen because a mess always ensues and I hate messes. But I decided he needs to start learning and there's no time like the present.
Mac's first planned meal was spaghetti (no surprise for anybody who knows him well) and salad. I'd thought we'd make the spaghetti sauce from scratch but we were sidetracked by an unexpected trip to the doctor's office for strep throat this morning. So instead we took the easy way out and bought a jar of Prego at the commissary.
When I make spaghetti sauce and put onions in it, Mac will detect nearly every single piece of chopped onion in his sauce and put it to the side of his plate. So when I asked him if wanted to add onion to the ground beef, he characteristically said no. When I told him that was fine but that would mean there wasn't anything to chop, he changed his mind and said we needed to add onions because that "adds so much flavor to the sauce".
So he chopped half an onion for the sauce and half an onion for the trash can (it was just for practice), browned the ground beef, drained off the fat, and added the jarred sauce. He also cut up carrots and cucumbers for the salad and helped me wash the lettuce and broccoli as well.
He also wanted to set the table, complete with glasses that matched the placemats. He even wanted to put a water pitcher on the table so we had to pull out the one that matches the glasses from Mexico we were using. He thought something was still missing from our tablescape so we had to cut off some flowers in another arrangement and put them on the table. It was very, very sweet and he was very, very proud of himself.
Not proud enough to cook every night, though. When I told him how much fun I'd had with him, I asked if he didn't want to cook with me every night of the week. He told me in no uncertain terms that one night a week would be sufficient.
For finding that I really didn't need any great reserve of patience to cook a great meal with my boy, I am truly thankful.
Mac's first planned meal was spaghetti (no surprise for anybody who knows him well) and salad. I'd thought we'd make the spaghetti sauce from scratch but we were sidetracked by an unexpected trip to the doctor's office for strep throat this morning. So instead we took the easy way out and bought a jar of Prego at the commissary.
When I make spaghetti sauce and put onions in it, Mac will detect nearly every single piece of chopped onion in his sauce and put it to the side of his plate. So when I asked him if wanted to add onion to the ground beef, he characteristically said no. When I told him that was fine but that would mean there wasn't anything to chop, he changed his mind and said we needed to add onions because that "adds so much flavor to the sauce".
So he chopped half an onion for the sauce and half an onion for the trash can (it was just for practice), browned the ground beef, drained off the fat, and added the jarred sauce. He also cut up carrots and cucumbers for the salad and helped me wash the lettuce and broccoli as well.
He also wanted to set the table, complete with glasses that matched the placemats. He even wanted to put a water pitcher on the table so we had to pull out the one that matches the glasses from Mexico we were using. He thought something was still missing from our tablescape so we had to cut off some flowers in another arrangement and put them on the table. It was very, very sweet and he was very, very proud of himself.
Not proud enough to cook every night, though. When I told him how much fun I'd had with him, I asked if he didn't want to cook with me every night of the week. He told me in no uncertain terms that one night a week would be sufficient.
For finding that I really didn't need any great reserve of patience to cook a great meal with my boy, I am truly thankful.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
NYR 6-26-11 - a glorious day in the BOG
For an afternoon of fresh air and fun friends, I am truly thankful.
P.S. Mac is not in the photos because he chose a playdate at a friend's house over horses with us. Apparently the lure of a Nerf gun war was just too tempting for an 8 year-old!
NYR 6-25-11 - it's the small things
We have an amazing pepper grinder that we got for a wedding present 13+ years ago from a Georgetown friend of Jimmy's (I think/hope memory's serving me correctly on who it came from in case I'm wrong and the giver is reading this). The grinder was from Williams-Sonoma or Crate or Barrel or some other store like that that had not yet made it to South Carolina (at that point). It was pretty much perfection and I remember thinking that it was one of the nicest things I'd ever gotten.
Fast-forward 13+ years and the pepper grinder lives on. It is used at least once a day if not more and it still works perfectly. And it's still as beautiful today as it was then. Form + Function = BIG WINNER.
So I thought the pepper grinder needed a mate and some years ago I bought a salt grinder. Where I bought it, I don't remember. Except that it wasn't a high-quality place like the grinder came from. I did buy a wooden one to match the pepper grinder. They were like the Mr. and Mrs. of my kitchen counter.
Except the Mrs. died in the last few months. No matter how full of salt she is and no matter how tight you have her head screwed on, when you turn the grinder, nothing comes out.
Today I bought a new salt grinder with a gift certificate I received for my birthday from a local store here in Bogota. I've been thinking about what to buy/what I need for the last couple months and this morning it came to me in a flash of inspiration.
The new Mrs. sort of feels like a trophy wife for the Mr. They didn't have wooden ones at the store, so the new Mrs. is a sleek glass and stainless steel number. She would make the first Mrs. feel sort of frumpy and dumpy in her modest wooden shell that covers her innards.
I couldn't bring myself to throw the old one away yet, even though she absolutely does not work and never will again. I put her in the pantry next to the honey where maybe she'll find happiness as somebody's else's Mrs.
For a new salt grinder that actually works, I am truly thankful!!
Fast-forward 13+ years and the pepper grinder lives on. It is used at least once a day if not more and it still works perfectly. And it's still as beautiful today as it was then. Form + Function = BIG WINNER.
So I thought the pepper grinder needed a mate and some years ago I bought a salt grinder. Where I bought it, I don't remember. Except that it wasn't a high-quality place like the grinder came from. I did buy a wooden one to match the pepper grinder. They were like the Mr. and Mrs. of my kitchen counter.
Except the Mrs. died in the last few months. No matter how full of salt she is and no matter how tight you have her head screwed on, when you turn the grinder, nothing comes out.
Today I bought a new salt grinder with a gift certificate I received for my birthday from a local store here in Bogota. I've been thinking about what to buy/what I need for the last couple months and this morning it came to me in a flash of inspiration.
The new Mrs. sort of feels like a trophy wife for the Mr. They didn't have wooden ones at the store, so the new Mrs. is a sleek glass and stainless steel number. She would make the first Mrs. feel sort of frumpy and dumpy in her modest wooden shell that covers her innards.
I couldn't bring myself to throw the old one away yet, even though she absolutely does not work and never will again. I put her in the pantry next to the honey where maybe she'll find happiness as somebody's else's Mrs.
For a new salt grinder that actually works, I am truly thankful!!
Friday, June 24, 2011
NYR 6-24-11 - happy dance
Today is a day that shall live in infamy!
It is the last day of 2nd grade for my sweet Mac. And while I could wax nostalgic about how sad it is that he's moving up and growing older and becoming less dependent, what we're all really excited about is that starting tomorrow morning, we don't have to set an alarm clock for 5:45am for the next 8 weeks.
Can I tell you how happy that makes me?
For finally being able to get on a summer schedule, I am truly thankful!
It is the last day of 2nd grade for my sweet Mac. And while I could wax nostalgic about how sad it is that he's moving up and growing older and becoming less dependent, what we're all really excited about is that starting tomorrow morning, we don't have to set an alarm clock for 5:45am for the next 8 weeks.
Can I tell you how happy that makes me?
For finally being able to get on a summer schedule, I am truly thankful!
NYR 6-23-11 - 'tis the season
It's high despedida season here in the foreign service world. We were invited to two going-away parties tonight, there's another tomorrow night, and yet another on Saturday night. Tonight we both went to the first one and then Jimmy went to the second one alone while I stayed at the first. I don't particularly like going out on a "school night" because normally I'm in the bed by 8:30 (or 9 if I'm living on the edge) and the alarm clock goes off the same time at 5:45am no matter how much sleep I've gotten, but I had such a fun time tonight. Great food and company that was completely hysterical. Before I knew it, it was 10pm!
For a fun night outside of the box, I am truly thankful.
For a fun night outside of the box, I am truly thankful.
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