I exhale and realize that slowly, steadily, each time I exhale this week I will unwind just a little more.  It's a wonderful thought.  By this time next week I will have gotten through planning choirs for all of the remaining weddings for the summer, gotten all of the emails ready for those weddings, taken a group of 33 boys to sing the anthems at a Jays game honouring Carlos Delgado (the name means very little to me, a non-baseball fan, but I'm sure that you all are duly impressed), gotten through a lot of birthdays (I forgot to count this time around) and... well... I can't think of anything else.  Maybe there is nothing else.
I pulled the cookie sheet out of the cupboard today and tried to think of the last time I made cookies.  I can't recall it.  My mind is blanking and it's been happening a lot - I'm not worried though.  Sometimes the thought that I might not remember things is kind of comforting.  KT, knowing my gift anxiety and challenges, requested oatmeal cookies for her birthday.  I didn't make them while it was 2 billion degrees in the kitchen so they're a couple of days late but the were very cute and hopefully very yummy and now they are gone... some into her belly and some into her freezer.  Plain oatmeal cookies.

These are not plain, oatmeal cookies.

A royal baby was born.  Thank jeebus.  I'm not a monarchist in the least.  I somewhat resent the institution.  I definitely resent the imperial and colonial history that the institution represents and I certainly think that today we could find much better places to spend tax dollars (for Brits anyway).  However, the hoopla is going to be there whether I like it or not and I for one am glad that the child is with us... so we can have some peace.  I am also a little uneasy about the public spectacle of that extremely private event.  We didn't ask to see their wedding night sheets, did we?  It feels a little weird.


I met a guy who is just starting to train for a body building show.  He's already built but it will take another 18 weeks to get him show ready.  The diet changes have started and he's gradually ramping up his workouts.  By the time he's ready to show he'll be working out multiple hours a day and eating god knows how few calories to stay in his weight class.  Plus - no drinking.  The whole thing sounds scary to me.  The spray tan alone would decide things for me... no spray tan.

These super hero's have been watching my every move today.

KT was asking about my next tattoo and I'm really really ready to get one but the summer is realistically not the time.  I'm living on fumes (no paycheques in the summer) and you have to keep that new ink out of the sun for a short period of time.  A short period of time is pretty much what we call the season of 'summer' around here so if I have to keep a non-private-parts part of my body out of the sun then it could miss the whole summer.  Like hell.  I'll do it when I get back to work - with paycheques and work clothes.  I got it alllll planned though.


I thought that this parenting article pretty much covered me all around.  Cue sigh of relief and Wanda out.  The kids are out with two friends (who also happen to be brother and sister) having a play date which is why I'm sitting here writing this post in the first place.

This was my lunch and I thought you might care... I still might eat more.  It wasn't as filling as I thought it would be.

And finally, muffins made of stuff that isn't all salt, sugar, fat (a book that I'm just finishing up BTdub) but a little salt, sugar, fat.  Zucchini  - definitely in the clear.  Banana - yeah, it gets a pass.  Chocolate - I used good quality, organic, fair, righteous, humble and courageous - ok, we'll let it through.  I even threw some whole wheat flour in their just to make you feel that this was probably one of the best uses for that zucchini wilting in your fridge and that banana freezing in your freezer.  Kid #1 and #2 didn't even realize that it contained zucchini just in case your looking for a way to get something like that into your kids digestion system.

Please note super hero trio in the upper right corner... creepy.

Zucchini, Banana, Chocolate Muffins adapted from Martha Stewart
makes 12 lg muffins

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup red fife or whole wheat flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups (scant) grated zucchini
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/3 cup mashed banana (about 1 banana)
3/4 cup (or so) chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F
Line a muffin tin with about 12 muffin liners.
Combine both flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg together in a bowl.  Add the grated zucchini and mix until the zucchini is well incorporated and completely coated with the flour mixture.  Mix well and set aside.
In another bowl mix together the milk and egg.  Whisk to mix.
Add the mashed banana and mix well.
Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and whisk together only until everything is wet.
Add the chopped chocolate and mix until the chocolate is evenly distributed.
Spoon into the muffin cups.  I filled mine just barely to the top edge.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes clean out of the middle muffin cup.
Cool before eating.