GAME CHANGER: I don't get a celiac newsletter alerting me of what foods are now available in GF form. I mentioned to Mini's friends the day I met them at the beach that I can't eat many of the meals that I make, because cream of chicken soup is not GF.
The host mom, whose daughter has celiac: ARE YOU SURE? I THINK GF IS AVAILABLE.
Insert image of me running to Google as soon as I returned from the beach.
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Then last week, (drum roll) I made GF Cheesy Chicken, the world's easiest and tastiest meal. I made one piece of chicken for me, and the rest I prepared with gobs of gluten, because the 'real' cream of chicken soup is cheaper and I wasn't confident that the GF one would taste decent. The GF can of soup poured into the casserole dish - it didn't have that typical condensed soup consistency, but my dinner tasted normal.
We ate it as leftovers last night, and I looked down in alarm after I took one bite. As in, WAIT, AM I EATING GLUTEN? Then I remembered, ALL GOOD.
MATHCMAKER, MATCHMAKER, MAKE ME A MATCH: 'Gem', our niece, Marie's daughter but I don't hold that against her, is Lad's age. She has a great sense of humor and is full of personality. She's my kids' favorite of Marie's offspring. Is it a coincidence that Gem is MY goddaughter? I think not.
We have a few nephews (brothers) on Coach's side who are single. They are 1 and 2 years older than Gem. They live in KC while Gem lives in Milwaukee. I would like to set Gem up with one of the nephews. Either could potentially work, but I sort of think John, the one that's a year older than Gem, would be a good match.
I was bummed when we attended the ND game Labor Day weekend, when we delivered ice to our friends' tailgate, that John was in town for the game but Gem was not. Dang. Timing, right?
I've shared with both Gem and John that I'd like to introduce them. They both said OK, but I'm not sure how to proceed. Has anyone had experience in introducing two young adults who live in two different cities? I've considered sending a group text to the two of them with some get-to-know-you questions, so they can text one another their responses. Minus me.
When I shared my matchmaker plan with Mini, she looked like she might vomit, claiming what I was suggesting was incestuous. Um, NO. Different sides of the family. No blood relation. Duh. She agrees that they'd probably hit it off, but she thinks it would take a lot of explaining for her to possibly one day tell her friends, I'M GOING TO MY COUSINS' WEDDING.
Have you successfully matched a couple?
MYSTERY DATE: Speaking of Mini, she recently was involved in a date draft, which she quantifies as the most fun thing she's ever been involved in.
Really? I beg her pardon. I wasn't there and we weren't on a covert mission buying things on sale at the mall, so I'm doubting it could've been the MOST fun, but OK sure. Whatev.
Mini's dorm is having a dance and her group of friends gathered in a conference room. Then each girl left one at a time while the rest of them voted on what guy they would choose as her date with one of those computer survey tallies. The girls will learn who their date is right before the dance.
Tank will be home for October break that week and there was talk about him attending the dance with the girl who was at our house for Easter. Sadly, he didn't express a great deal of interest, so he was not chosen as this girl's mystery date.
Curly's friend, the one whose mom passed away in January, can braid hair and I told Curly that maybe she can braid it on occasion. Note - Curly did not ask me to try to learn, and that is probably for the best.
Fun fact, please stop me if I've shared this here before: Curly is approached by black girls at her school about once a week, said girls will ask her 'SO WHAT ARE YOU?'
Curly: UM, HUMAN.
Girl: NO, I MEAN WHAT RACE ARE YOU?
Curly: OH, I'M WHITE.
Girl: ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT MIXED RACE?
Curly: NOPE, I'M NOT.
(this happens a lot, but once . . . ) Girl: I THINK YOUR PARENTS ARE LYING TO YOU.
Curly is able to laugh about the whole thing, but the girl's hair is INCREDIBLY curly.
My house is SO very organized. Thank you, book club for forcing me to whip this place into shape. It feels wonderful to walk into rooms that are clear of clutter. We were in town this weekend, after being away two weekends in a row, and it was lovely. Now, if we can just keep it this way. Please share your matchmaking skills or fails with me. Any suggestions for how to keep an organized house in order?
We have two nieces on my husband’s side, the daughters of two different brothers of his (so first cousins), and the two guys they’re married to are brothers. (This might gross your girl out! ��) Also, we have a daughter-in-law—all white—with hair just like Curly’s. I’ll have to ask her if she’s been questioned like that, too.
ReplyDeleteCurly has such thick hair!!
ReplyDeleteGood job on organizing the house. My tip to keep it that way is to just do a small amount every day to keep on top of things.
I'm not a matchmaker, but Mini's date draft sounds like a lot of fun!
Have you heard of the FlyLady? I read a book of hers when I was first married, and though I didn't follow it exactly, it did help me get in the groove. Something surprising to me was that you should clean rooms even when they are not terribly dirty and NEED to be cleaned, but just keep up with cleaning them on rotation and then they never get to the point of NEEDING to be cleaned.
ReplyDeleteIrish genes and African genes do have some strange coincidences (like keloids for example, so I wouldn't be surprised if the curls are somehow related to a bloodline from the past). And a wedding from both of your family sides would be amazing! I think you text them both together and introduce them!
I heard a hint from a professional organizer years and years ago, and it made a huge impact on me both professionally and personally: Touch something once and act on it immediately.
ReplyDeleteFor example, don't toss the mail on a counter; sort it and take care of it (throw out junk, put a bill with the bills or pay it then and there, etc.). As a teacher it made me incredibly efficient. If a student made up a quiz, I graded it immediately and entered the grade in the gradebook. I had failsafe systems in place for everything. I never lost a student paper in over 30 years.
Another hint I love is If the task takes a minute or less, just Do It Now. It's surprising how fast a basket of laundry can be put away, or how quickly the inside of a car can be de-littered. Little one-minute tasks have kept so much of my life neater.
I know Walmart has a store-brand gluten-free cream of chicken option. I only know this because the GF option contains no MSG.) Have you ever tried Aldi? They have a huge selection of gluten-free foods.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any matchmaking advice because I'm not very good at it. I believe in letting things unfold naturally.
Her hair is beautiful, but I can only imagine how difficult it must be to manage at times. I can scream in pain if I get ONE little tangle.
Mail is the bane of my existence. Since I started dealing with it as soon as it came into the house, it's gotten much better. I hate the tile we have in our kitchen and bathroom- we didn't pick it, it came with the house- it's textured and always feels dirty. It's gross, but I also don't have the budget for a full kitchen reno. The rest of the kitchen is fine, just not the tile (oh, and the backsplash tile too, I hate it).
ReplyDeleteCurly's hair is gorgeous. Mine was curly at that age, too-- but now it's more wavy. As for how to keep a house organized... for us it has boiled down to less stuff + anything that can be done in 2 minutes or less is done immediately + indifference. It's amazing how much the last idea helps keep my perception of organization in line. 😆
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, Curly's hair is magnificent! Annoying to be bugged about it at school though!
ReplyDeleteYay for a workable GF option! So happy you found it.
Like Ally, I always tackle the easiest jobs first, because PROGRESS! We tried to set up our two BFF’s after hubby and I met, but it was a complete flop. They still had to be our Best Man and Maid of Honor at our wedding🤣
ReplyDeleteI make my own cream of soup. It’s a dry mix I keep in a mason jar and I add liquid to it and cook on the stovetop. An extra step, but I do it because I’m on a low sodium diet. I’m wondering if you can find a recipe that works for you? Mine has powdered milk and cornstarch as the base, but I don’t know if those have gluten?
To keep your house organized, make sure everyone puts their stuff where it belongs and not just dump it on a convenient flat surface. But that requires cooperation from the other people in the house!
ReplyDeleteI also try to clean off the kitchen counter at night - so there's a tidy counter to greet me in the morning. (To be honest, my husband does dishes so he's the one who usually tidies things away.) I also have a rough cleaning schedule for the week, so I know even if something isn't done today, it will attended to soon.
But just don't go in my basement - we were supposed to clear out 20% of the stuff down there over the summer, and that never happened. So there are few clear surfaces, much clutter, and too many bikes to keep neat. One day!
Laura Pearl - Coach's dad's brother is married to Coach's mom's sister. The cousins look more like their siblings than standard issue cousins.
ReplyDeleteI cannot get over how often Curly is questioned about her genetic makeup. I do wonder if other people are asked similar things.
Nicole - Curly has SO much hair. The hair dresser suggested if someone wants to braid her hair, they should put conditioner on their hands first. And in her hair.
ReplyDeleteA bit every day makes great sesne. I used to keep to a decent schedule: towels on Thursdays, bathrooms on Fridays, etc. I do find the paperwork/mail is the hardest. I set it aside and think a decision or an action will be clear later. It leads to too many piles.
Colleen - I have not heard of FlyLady. Doing something every day seems to be the general popular opinion.
ReplyDeleteInteresting about the similarities in bloodlines between Irish and African decendents.
I might just give the text message thing a try. Fingers crossed. I think it would be a lot of fun if the two sides united. John might not be crazy about having Marie as a MIL.
Nance - Touch something once is great advice. The mail and bills are definitely a pile up/cluttering issue here. I try to remember that cleaning the kitchen sink only takes 2 minutes and yet it makes a HUGE difference in my kitchen. I need to commit to other quick tasks, so I can tackle them and move on.
ReplyDeleteNo lost papers? I have a few kids who would love to have a teacher with that kind of track record.
Kari - I've only been to Aldi once. Maybe I should check that out. I despise Walmart, but if they have a cheaper version of GF soup I might force myself to check it out.
ReplyDeleteCurly's face was in some serios discomfort when her hair was being braided, but she survived. Both of my girls have very sensitive heads. I shudder when I think back to the days when I used to put a wig on them for Irish dancing. Pure torture.
Kara - OMG, same. The mail. It is the worst. That and any papers from schools or things that need to be saved, etc. They create piles everywhere and I shuffle them around until I have no choice but to deal with them.
ReplyDeleteAlly - I agree, her hair is amazing. Of course it drives her batty. I think I could definitely stand to cut down on 'stuff', but until we are empty nesters I'm not sure that we can control the stuff that trickles in.
ReplyDeleteBijoux - The easy jobs should be tackled first - progress is something to shoot for. Sometimes I leave the jobs to the side that the kids are supposed to do . . . but with sports and stuff they do not always have time for chores and it adds up.
ReplyDeleteI have made GF cream of chicken soup with cornstarch once so that I could make a casserole for myself for Thanksgiving. I did not like the version that I made. I made a batch and froze some of it. I was not a fan.
Suzanne - Her hair is amazing. I can't imagine being that forward and asking someone that. The first time she was asked was when she was in junior high. She was quite taken aback. Now she is more used to it.
ReplyDeleteFinding GF soup was such a big deal. I wonder how long it has been available. It might be time for me to stop living under a rock.
mbmom11 - And therein lies the problem. My people DO NOT put their things where they belong. They dump and just keep on going. The things I find in the kitchen - belts is a very common one. Why? Bags of clothes, or food. Shoes. No longer needed notebooks. It really never ends. I've tried everything - I used to toss it all out on the deck. Then I started to collect it and charge them money to buy it back, but most of the time they just shrugged and said they didn't want it. It isn't as bad with more kids in college. Lad was a big part of the problem. Like BIG.
ReplyDeleteOur garage is a trouble area - borderline a lost cause. I tackled that over the summer and I've been really adamant that it not get destroyed. So far, so good.
Curly’s hair is gorgeous! I have successfully introduced two couples and both have long term marriages. The first was when I was a teen and a friend was coming to visit - my boyfriend & I (now my ex husband) fixed her up with a friend who was really fun but a real player- we did not expect it to last! They are still together almost 50 years later. Another couple was two co- workers, she was recently separated and he was new to our city. I just thought they’d have fun together and at least have someone to do stuff with. Now 40+ years later they have two grown kids, are still married and running a very successful biz together. I was better then at choosing mates for my friends than myself lol.
ReplyDeletePat - I am crazy about Curly's hair. My entitled sis, Ann, once said to me when Curly was REALLY little, "I ALWAYS WANTED A GIRL WITH CURLY HAIR." I was baffled, because of her tone - which I can't replicate here, but I wanted to shrug and say, OH, OK - TAKE THIS ONE THEN. OBVIOUSLY.
ReplyDeleteYou are a pro matchmaker. So . . . do you support my attempts to connect the two of them? I'd love to bring them together. Both have a strong faith and good sense of humor. Hmm. I'd like to find a template online - like, these are the questions you should include in the text when you link them together.
How exciting that you found a gluten free option. Maybe you can find it in a local grocery store cheaper than Amazon. Also, some grocery stores will special order items for customers.
ReplyDeleteBeth - I can't believe I didn't know GF cream of chicken soup was available. I'm someone who just buys the usual and doens't venture far from my usual list. I will have to look at my store and see if they have it.
ReplyDeleteI'm almost on the side of Mini with the two families marrying. It's a bit Utah-ish. Although, it could make for interesting stories at family holidays. I've never matchmade anyone, but we (coach+Suz) are the product of a match made. It was more out of convince for the matchmakers than the fact that we had things in common, but it did work.
ReplyDeleteI love Curly's hair and I'm not even a little surprised she gets questioned on her race/ethnicity. Answering that she's human is the most clever answer though.
A Date Draft? This sounds great. I hope Mini got a good one!
Suz - Utah-ish. Ha. So funny. I'm still thinking this over and figuring out how to approach it.
ReplyDeleteYesterday someone asked her if she was albino. That was a new one.
I am going to be interested in who her date is also. She usually doesn't share this info, but since she shared the draft deal I think it's fair game to ask.