January Memory-a-Day

Tuesday, January 1st: Cleaning up our dinner party with Leon Bridges playing in the background.

Wednesday, January 2nd: Thinking “I love this little diffuser!” when I walked back into my lavender-scented office ♥

Thursday, January 3rd: Opening the door to my parents’ condo to see my little sister sitting on the couch.

Friday, January 4th: Peeking out the back window to see a blurry pup scurrying around in the snow.

Saturday, January 5th: Thinking “I shouldn’t have drank that extra half cup of coffee…”

Sunday, January 6th: Listening to “Shallow” REAL loud in the car, in preparation for the Golden Globes.

Monday, January 7th: The feeling of fluoride on my teeth after my dentist appointment.  Yuck!

Tuesday, January 8th: Deleting the monthly reminder to wash my brush.  (Side Note: Do you do this??  Am I really supposed to do this?)

Wednesday, January 9th: Joey using “smooth operator” in a sentence, then both of us singing “Smooth Operator” at the same time (ha!).

Thursday, January 10th: Getting a delivery of five pounds of crawfish from my uncle!

Friday, January 11th: Opening the blinds in my office ALL THE WAY so I could watch the snow come down.

Saturday, January 12th: Circling the grocery store parking lot for a THIRD time before giving up and just leaving.

Sunday, January 13th: Texting “Happy Birthday!” to my dad.

Monday, January 14th: Looking up the premier date for the second season of Killing Eve.

Tuesday, January 15th: Reading through the AFI’s list of Top 100 movies.

Wednesday, January 16th: Seeing a bucket with a face painted on it, hanging from a power line, as we walked back to our car after breakfast at Stowaway.

Thursday, January 17th: Watching my library book travel up the conveyor belt of the book return.

Friday, January 18th: Walking through the icy Alamo parking lot, while Joey purposely slid over it.

Saturday, January 19th: Finding a back door out of the movie theater that took us right to our car.

Sunday, January 20th: Hugging Jenn inside Our Mutual Friend!

Monday, January 21st: Breaking our Chemex when it slipped out of my hand after washing it 😦

Tuesday, January 22nd: Maybe getting teary-eyed when Professor McGonagall duels Snape in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Wednesday, January 23rd: Checking my phone for the time (4 AM) and hoping it was almost time for me to get up anyway (NOPE) because I could NOT sleep.

Thursday, January 24th: Sitting down on the couch to read for a bit as soon as I got home from work.

Friday, January 25th: Watching Mason throw his little football, then throw his hands in the air for “TOUCHDOWN!” ♥

Saturday, January 26th: Walking through a grocery store that was positively crowded with stacked boxes that needed unpacking and feeling so stressed for all the employees.

Sunday, January 27th: Eating a second white chocolate chip oatmeal cookie that was soft and chewy and perfect, just like the mom who made them.  (My mom is surely going to text me about how she’s soft and chewy after she reads this :P)

Monday, January 28th: Walking to the back door to let the dog out and discovering LOTS of snow!

Tuesday, January 29th: Eating a post-lunch cookie.

Wednesday, January 30th: Talking to Jory about how he and Betsy might be having a baby this week!!!!!!

Thursday, January 31st: Turning off my alarm and thinking “no, I definitely am not going into work today.”  Colds suck.

Tuesday Night Soup

Let me tell you a story about a soup that was a disaster but then wasn’t.

I dutifully soaked the beans overnight, thawed buttermilk from the freezer, got onions in the pot as soon as we got home.  An hour later and those beans were still hard, the crispy onions were maybe just a tad bit past crispy, the thyme we subbed for mint was making our entire kitchen smell like dirt.  This dinner had all the makings of an episode of deep disappointment for me.

I read these recipes beforehand, I spend money on the ingredients, I envision myself cooking them, eating them, loving them.  When reality doesn’t live up to my expectations, it can throw me for a real loop and my reactions are not healthy or helpful.  Like eating one bad meal or worse, throwing away one bad meal and having to resort to a Plan B that I never even considered existing, could ruin my life?

So imagine my shock when I was so chill about that soup.  The beans were NOT “creamy,” the onions maybe tasted a little bit charred, that thyme oil was gross and went down the drain.  And guess what?  The soup was still really good!!!  How?!  Maybe my lax attitude willed it into deliciousness?  Let’s not question these things.

Wouldn’t it be nice if this was a Lesson Learned Moment and I’m now imperceptible to cooking failure disappointment?  I’d like to pretend it is, but I know it isn’t.  I’ll still watch 50 videos on how to make pasta then feel like a failure if I don’t do it to perfection.  I’ll still be upset if I buy an expensive cut of meat and overcook it.  I’ll still be sad if my pancakes stick to the pan and I have to eat toast instead.  But maybe just one less instance here and there is progress.

Recipe: Beans and Green Soup with Salted Yogurt and Sizzled Mint