Those Little Saké Cups are for Taking Shots, Right?

Team Nugget can really be dense sometimes. Like when we think we can go out to a nice dinner (something other than fast food or Mexican) with the Little Nugget. I mean, how many times do we need to be reminded? Apparently many. Because we have a keen ability to block unpleasant experiences from our collective memory. Call it our superpower, if you will. Otherwise, why would we keep trying to take our oh-so adorable, albeit fidgety offspring to public places confined by the typical social expectations. You know, like not screaming "NOOOO!!!!" seemingly out of the blue: we're used to it so we no longer have the startle reflex, but most other diners are unaccustomed to spontaneous bursts of adrenaline during their meal. Makes you feel alive, eh?! Our gift to you! You're welcome! :-)

Team Nugget had a hankering for sushi the other night, AND we had a coupon. Score! So blinded by our fog of naive forgetfulness, we loaded up for a family outing. Woo-hoo! Usually the amnesia is short-term, as we gain consciousness as soon as we walk in the door and see 1) it's a nice, quiet restaurant and 2) there are other customers who seem to enjoy the quiet nature of said establishment. Fuck! I will share with you now:

Team Nugget's Strategies for Peaceful & Harmonious Dining in Fine Restaurant Settings, a.k.a. "Damage Control"

1. Order alcohol, tout de suite.
   
2. Waste no time in ordering food, and pray to God it arrives quickly.
   
3. Swiftly unpack the Squinkies and other well-chosen distractions from the Little Nugget's poodle purse.
   
4. Even though you are going to a restaurant to procure food, ALWAYS BRING BACKUP FOOD. Food delivery is NEVER fast enough.
   
5. Once food has arrived, eat! Enjoy and savor it, of course, but just know everything could fall apart at any minute!
   
6. When they come to ask you how it tastes, ask for the check! You just never know when you may be shamed into an abrupt departure!

Bon appetit!!! That really is our survival guide, for reals.

OK, so we weren't shamed *this time*, but we did make a quick departure as Little Nugget REALLY liked the sound her sassy boots made on the hardwoods, and she wanted to make sure everyone knew. That and she felt compelled to do a special sushi house interpretive dance in the exact spot where the wait staff come in and out of the kitchen.

After we escaped to the privacy and non-judgemental embrace of the car, I realized I had forgot to finish my Sake. I was really tempted to burst back into the restaurant, grab the tiny shot glass and down that sucker.

I'm sure the other diners would approve.

All for now,

Nugget

I'm the Queen of Denial, or, Why Do My Jeans Have Holes Worn on the Inner Thighs?

So I've noticed recently that there is something wrong with my bra. It feels...weird. Like the underwires on the sides keep rubbing on my arms. I had one blow out not too long ago (no doubt to the ample voluptuousness of my girls), my favorite black lace bra with straps like a crane. So the weird bra in question is the utilitarian beige one, you know, the laundry-day brassierre. It feels different because I hardly ever wear it, right?

Right.

F*ck!!! It's not the underwires, it's my gigantic squishy arms!! They have nowhere left to expand!!! They've hit the wall! Crap!!! How did I get this fat? You'd think I'd notice something like that, sheesh, what with all the times I've been in Weight Watchers...(disclaimer: LOVE WW, it really works... If. You. Follow. It. Duh.) Yes, I have been a WW member on three different occasions in the last six years. Sigh. I know what to do. But at this time in my life? I honestly can't tolerate that much structure. It's exhausting. Life is complicated enough, I don't have the energy to think 24/7 about journaling, if I've had all my healthy oils, water, veggies, fruit, milk, good carbs, activity points, blah blah. It's a good system, but doesn't work for me, not right now.

So, What to do, what to do. No more Weight Watchers for me, I've gone rogue. Something clearly needs to be done, but I can't go back. We'll see, I guess I have to take the parts of WW that worked for me, and adapt them to the craziness that is Team Nugget. Sigh.


But I won't give up cheese. You can't make me.


Is there a cheese and wine diet out there? I could get behind that.


:-)


All for now,
Nugget

Bloggedy Blog Blog

Wow, it's been quite some time since my last post...so sorry! I guess I should take the time to recap.

Yes, I found my beloved raffia reindeer, I was not crazy after all. I had indeed purchased them and tucked them safely away, I was just wearing my blinders that day and would have seen them in the box if I had dug a little deeper. Sigh. And as of this moment, I have glued them back together numerous time thanks to the destructive talents of the Sweet Babygirl. The standing reindeer now has a broken leg after giving Tiny Tiny Teddybear several rowdy rides. I will be getting out the glue gun once again, just not till I get ready to put them away! I have to pick my battles.

I think the blizzard is approaching! It's starting to snow! Oh my! It would be really awesome if travel weren't involved in any of the festivities, both for Team Nugget and the fam. Eggnog with a little Cap'n Morgan sounds good right about now! Hot tea will have to do for now.

I think we're ready for the Fete de Noel, except we have one present outstanding (thanks USPS!), which bites. We're not doing much cooking, except for my Mom and Dad who are coming over for breakfast so they can witness the Little Nugget open Santa's bounty! That should be a hoot, pictures to come! I just made spiced pecans to take to Papa and Gigi's along with a fruit tray. Mmm...!

Just got a phone call from Hubby Nugget--he's coming home early! Let the Holidays begin!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! Be safe and stay warm!!!

Nugget

Let the NaBloPoMoFo Begin!!!!

Are you excited?!

I just returned from the battlefield that is the Target Halloween Clearance aisle, and I arose from the ashes a VICTOR! Well, at least I thought so. I got the coveted Ghostly carousel with LED lights and real, live, MOVING parts for half price! I wanted one last year, but waited too long (I prefer 75% off, but those just don't make it to deep-discount clearance!).

So now the goods are safely tucked away in the tubs of rubbermaidly goodness, waiting patiently until they are needed again. My guess is that Monkey's birthday/Halloween party will be a grand affair next year, as we will have the backyard patio project completed. We had this year's birthday fest at Papa & GiGi's last weekend, given the muddiness of our yard, plus they have a lot more space in their new house.

Our Sweet Babygirl was a witch (note the broom she's sporting, it was mine when I was her age!!!)

The grub table...

Centerpiece...

Spiders on the scaffolding!!!

We had a sundae bar and amazing brownies and cookies from Amanda's Sugar Shack...

Little Nugget approved of the spread...

So much so that she pulled a chair up to the cookie table...

Hubby Nugget jammed before guests arrived... Little Nugget LOVES the drums!

Enjoying the bounty of her day...

Good stuff!

Unfortunately, Little Nugget wasn't the best hostess, and had a giant meltdown during the festivities, oh well.


All for now,

Nugget!

Team Nugget's Anniversary Gift to You...

To our fellow diners last night, you are welcome.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the founding members of Team Nugget, myself and my Nugget! Four years! Woo-hoo! To celebrate, we planned a nice dinner out at Justus Drugstore, a Restaurant.

It promised to be a tasty evening of wonderful cuisine. Here is the blurb from the website:

"We believe real food raised with painstaking care by local small farm producers, prepared lovingly by skilled artisans served in an ambient beautiful space is an experience everyone should enjoy. If we can’t make it from scratch, we won’t serve it." --Justus Drugstore

Last night's menu included Striped Bass, Braised Pork, Roasted Chicken, Kobe Beef, and Rabbit, all locally raised. Mmm...(I don't even like rabbit and it sounded good!)

So we get there early to take advantage of the "window of opportunity" that is the Little Nugget's tolerance level for fine dining. That entailed lots of snacks and distracting yet quiet toys. It worked well with our dining experience in Denver last spring, so there you go.

Soon into the door we discover that this place isn't too kid friendly, no boosters, but hey, that's OK, it's a sophisticated vibe, and our girl is cool with it. I made some joke about duct tape, but I don't think the woman who seated us had kids, or she would have pissed herself with laughter.

They brought us menus and water, (Little Nugget immediately noticed the straw was absent, apparently she requires straws now, but this wasn't a straw place...she rolled with it though, good girl!) First off, the waiter patiently asked us what our meal plans were for the Little Nugget. Uh, raisins and rice cakes for appetizer, then what ever she'll eat off our plate? He allowed us a few moments with the menu (which as I mentioned had rabbit and stuff, and she realistically would prefer eating play-doh to that stuff, but we were trying really hard to make it work...).

Moments later, with all her snacks quickly disappearing at an alarming rate, our waiter came back over to discuss the menu and gently assert that entrees take some time (as indicated in above statement), all the while, someone was getting fidgettier by the second. Dude, I was getting nervous. None of the toys were working. Not even the stickers. I started having flashbacks to last weekend.

He gave us another "moment" but I noticed he was taking orders from all the other tables, even though they had came in after us. Normally I would have been a little put off, but I think he knew. And we knew. And he knew that we knew that he knew the Little Nugget was not going to make it though the dining service. And for that, we are grateful. And our fellow diners should be too. Because this could have turned out very unpleasant for EVERYone in that ambient space.

We packed it up, and they seemed relieved, and frankly, so were we. But now where to eat? Restaurant dining was out. So we headed over to our local grocery store and loaded up a rotisserie chicken, bottle of chilled champagne and a couple of salads from the salad bar, and snuggled on the couch at home!

It's all good!

All for now,

Nugget

Scaredy Cat!

C'est moi.

Have you ever canned? I haven't. But I want to. That whole botulism thing is just a bit intimidating.

I have been saying I'm going to can ALL summer. Have I? No.

In my defense, most of the things I wanted to preserve were HIGHLY discouraged for home canning festivities. So instead of making roasted red peppers in oil, I roasted and froze them instead. As it turns out, that works just as well, if not better. Take a couple of strips out of the freezer, chop them up, and voila! Super-tasty FABulousness!

We've been freezing tomatoes as well, not because of The Fear, but just because it's easier. Chop them up, simmer them a bit, cool, put them in bags and freeze. Plus HN LOVES his vacuum sealer. Who am I to disagree!

I've also used the dehydrator of goodness to make "sun"-dried tomatoes, now resting comfortably in the freezer. Can I get a "YUM-MEE!"

But now it's the end of summer, well OK fall, and I can no longer put off the inevitable. Can I must.

Sigh.

Wish me luck in that I don't poison my family! It can't be that bad, right? I mean our grandparents did it, their parents, etc., and they survived! Sheesh, Just do it!

Yes, I admit I'm a giant goober,
Nugget

PS. oh you know I'll let you know how it goes!

Team Nugget Puts on it's Best Bib and Tucker, Day 4

Sorry about the title to the post, I'm running out of ideas and hit a Wild Wild West slang directory. The point is, on day four we had some serious plans!


Plan 1: Play in the forest. Plan 2: Take a nap. Plan 3: Go out to a fancy dinner in Denver.


Plan 1 was a no brainer, and we headed into the woods with glee. Monkey took time to tickle the tree, why it needed tickling, I don't know. But tickle she did.

No discussion of Colorado is complete without the obligatory shot of alpines from below, reaching high into the beautiful, crisp mountain sky.

Next, the Little Nugget felt compelled to shake "hands" with another tree. She's a complicated girl. But it makes for some awesome pics.

We stopped for a mid-hike photo op!

We were happily playing with rocks when it suddenly started to snow! Not sure you can see it here, but know that any visible white specks are frozen precipitation:

Since I was wearing black, we tried to capture the snow on camera with me posed in a most dorky snow-gathering game-show-hostess fashion:

So inside we went as the mountain temps plummeted, with grand hopes of naps and sleep and rest...and yeah, that didn't happen. Somebody didn't take a nap despite our best efforts to provoke her into slumberland. We were pretty sleepy, does that count? Uh, no. Plan 2, unsuccessful.

On to plan 3. Dinner at Rioja in Denver. Of course on the drive there, we were assuming the Sweet Babygirl would nap in the car. No. Not until oh, 5 minutes outside Denver. Crappidy-crap-crap. Usually those are the makings of impending doom, but we were optimistic. Fools.

OK, we were early, which was good, so we drove around the city and got to see some of lovely downtown Denver. We saw many signs proclaiming that Denver loved the Nuggets, and we were touched by the sentiment. ;-) Folks were so nice! We love you too!

Our reservation time was drawing near, so we decided to head towards the restaurant and park. By then the Little Nugget was awake, and decidedly NOT happy about that situation, and Hubby Nugget had to pee, so we found a spot tout de suite, only to discover that it was 15 bucks an hour! HA! Dude! Don't get me wrong, I'm no rube, I know it's costly to park in the city, I'm just saying, we were hoping to find a better deal, cuz that's just how we roll. So round and round and round we went. After 10 more minutes of screaming Monkey and increasing urinary distress on behalf of the Hubby Nugget, we finally said OH DEAR GOD LET'S USE THE VALET!

So we whipped the car up to the curb, scrambled out, and the Little Nugget upon disembarking mid-meltdown, saw fit to throw a tube of Burt's Bees lip balm as she emerged from the car, barely missing said Valet. After profuse apologies, we took off around the block to walk it off, and luckily the meltdown subsided, but Hubby Nugget was quite uncomfortable, so we headed to the restaurant a little early. No problem, they had our table ready! Sweet!

OK, how to describe our dining experience...FAN-f*ing-tastic. OK, first off, Monkey was distracted by the enormous bag of usually forbidden toys, plus I gave her a snack cup full of mangos, nuts and marshies. Honestly, she was set and could have really cared less that we were there. She was in her own little world playing with all these tiny, intricate things that I brought for her. Sah-weet! This is most unusual, and quite enjoyable. So let's get on to the sweet-assed meal...

Appetizer: (from their online menu) Flight of artisan goat cheese: Camilla, Caprino lucano di Grotto, Harbourne Blue. rhubarb-strawberry jam, almond cracker, red wine gelee

Team Nugget loves us some goat cheese. So much that I want a goat (don't laugh, I know I already have The Bug, and that little bastard is as close to a goat as you can get). Blue cheese is not a fav of mine, but slather come rhubarb-strawberry jam on it, and it rocks pretty hard. But the best was the red wine gelee, kind of like a red wine gummy bear, only soft, and not bear shaped, and crusted in sugar. Dude. We paired a wine with that, but I don't remember the name. It was good too. I should have taken pics.

Entrees: For Hubby Nugget, Grilled Hawaiian blue prawns and crispy pork belly, green papaya salad, chili-vinegar gastrique, sweet ginger peanuts, peanut sauce. For Me: Seared sea scallops, lemon crème fraîche crispy risotto, mango arugula salad. Found a pic of mine online:

I can't even begin to describe how yummy this was. Hats off to chef Jennifer Jasinski! It was awesome. I paired mine with a pinot noir, and Hubby Nugget paired his with a Spanish wine. I'm really terrible with remembering wine names. Must improve that as we plan to open a winery one of these days...note to self...

Now Hubby Nugget REALLY wanted to order salad & or soup too, and it would have totally rocked super hard, but I said we have GOT to order dessert at a place like this. It was a good call because we got this:

Dessert: Warm cashew tart, chocolate and espresso custard, toasted cashews, vanilla bean ice cream, Hawaiian sea salted caramel; and Sweet goat cheese and black mission fig filled beignets with ruby port wine reduction. Pastry chef Eric Dale deserves a kiss on the mouth for the goat cheese beignets! Seriously. I can't remember the last time I had something so delicious. We had these with champagne, white and rose. The rose was SO good with the cashew tart.

Mad props for the bread too, I could have really been happy with just a plate of bread and a glass of wine, really! I mean come on, lavender biscuits?! You can bet I'll be harvesting my lavender plants this summer and trying to whip up a batch of my own! And the sourdough was superb. Jeez, my mouth is watering!

After the food orgy, the waiter complimented us on how well-behaved our daughter was. He remarked on how he and his wife never go out to nice restaurants because the kids just can't stay still that long. We tried not to snort champagne out our noses and thanked him for the compliment. He got a big tip, too, :-)

So we walked out like rockstars, Babygirl lookin all sassy with her awesome outfit and supercute black patent flipflops (a la Walmart!). All the women just about pissed themselves at how cute she looked (patting myself on the shoulder!). Walked up to the valet stand, they fetched our car and the dude commented on how he'd never had chapstick thrown at him! Now that's good stuff!

In all, day 4 was a smashing success!

More later,

Nugget