February 12, 2009

because TWO is better than one!

So who’s getting an iTunes gift card?  Well let’s see!

Commenter #106 was Rae, who said “realsimple and allrecipies are two of my faves.”  Oooh mine too!

But wait!  There’s more!

Commenter #22 was Geralis, whose favorite source for recipes is “Chris at Work It Mom! Love the crockpot recipes.”  I just love Chris.

Ladies, email me today and we’ll arrange to get your iTunes cards to you ASAP.  And coming up later this morning, one LAST giveaway (this one is big, you all, really).

Thanks to the people at Kraft for providing the iTunes and AmEx gift cards for the winners, and for hooking me up with the Kraft iFood app. 

February 11, 2009

new media, old economics, and Web 2.0

I didn’t cook last night.  You can’t blame me, really — after the tornado, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed.  Preferably with a bottle of vodka.

I didn’t do that either, in case you’re worried.

Wade went out, to a business dinner; he ate at a new French restaurant (where he had shortribs, which I did not realize were French).  One of the perks of his job is that he sometimes has dinner meetings that take place at swanky restaurants, the kind that don’t have children’s menus or paper table cloths to color on.

A couple of weeks ago, on a fluke, we found ourselves with both a babysitter and a little extra cash, so we went out for dinner.  Oklahoma City has some great restaurants, although I don’t often eat in them, because they’re not for kids, so this was a chance for me to put on a dress and some heels and have a real grown up dinner.

We went to the Metro and had seafood risotto (me) and pan-roasted duck breast (Wade).  It was the most delicious food ever.

But it was also expensive, and not something we can do all the time, especially these days.  We’re in that fortunate sliver of households for whom this economy is annoying but not devastating, but we’re still feeling it, and we’re trying to be proactive about our money and our lifestyle.

2009 is going to be the Year of Staying Home — not just for my family, but for everyone.  If I were one of those trend spotter people, I would predict that this year you’re going to see a big resurgence of the dinner party — not big catered affairs, but friends getting together for meals, either pot-luck or hosted, because that’s easier and cheaper than going out.  People will entertain at home more, in the way that our parents did when we were kids — cocktail parties and barbecues and Friday night dinners where the kids go off and play while the adults talk and drink.

Remember that?

I think that recession entertaining will be more than just ordering a pizza with the neighbors, though –  I think people are really going to throw themselves into this and make it special.  They’re going to cook and clean and get dressed up and call it a party, even if it’s just those same neighbors coming over.

Because if you can’t afford to go out, you might as well make the best of staying in.

For those of us who don’t really cook, the idea that entertaining is back is a little scary.  Thank god for the internet, which lets you cobble together a whole virtual library of cooking and entertaining information.  Phone apps like the iFood Assistant  and web sites like Cookstr put great recipes right at your fingertips.  And of course you  have me to tell you what to wear.

I think that, in this recession, new media is going to be the lifeblood of the new entertaining.  Mark my words.

And since good entertaining needs good music, how about I give away TWO $25.00 iTunes gift cards?  Tell me what your favorite online entertaining resource is — where do you go for ideas when people are coming to your house?

Contest ends at 6:00 am EST tomorrow.

Thanks to the people at Kraft for providing the iTunes and AmEx gift cards for the winners, and for hooking me up with the Kraft iFood app.

it was like a cookbook in my comments section

I love how many of you default to pasta for a last-minute dinner. Also eggs. And I love that so many of you admitted to serving waffles in a pinch.

Not that I would ever do that, of course. Ahem.

But really, you’re just here to see who won, aren’t you? Well okay then …

Comment #52 was left by Kristen, who suggested this for dinner: “Throw chicken on bbq, while cooking roast asparagus in toaster over (400 for 12 min), mix togther dijon mustard, chopped garlic, soy sauce and olive oil. Pour over everything. Delish!”

That really DOES sound good.

Email me today, Kristen, and I’ll get your AmEx gift card in the mail!  Today’s giveaway: TWO iTunes gift cards.  Because it’s Wednesday and why not?  Go here to enter!

Thanks to the people at Kraft for providing the iTunes and AmEx gift cards for the winners, and for hooking me up with the Kraft iFood app. 

February 10, 2009

grace in small things: nineteen (TORNADO! SERIOUSLY!)

This afternoon, just as I was wrapping up my work day and thinking about possibly getting ahead by doing a few things from TOMORROW’S to do list, the tornado sirens started going off.  I am not originally from Oklahoma, and tornadoes are not part of my cultural heritage.  There is quite literally nothing I hate more than those damn sirens; even the test runs on Saturdays make me nervous.

My kids, on the other hand, aren’t scared at all — they will actually RUN TO THE WINDOWS when they hear the sirens, to see what’s going on.  Holy hell.

Wade always reminds me that the local meteorologists can track the tornadoes, by neighborhood, down to the minute — and he’s right.  We flip the television on and watch to see what time the funnel cloud is going to decimate our development.  It’s fun!

Okay no it’s not.

Today, though, I was home alone, with no kids to compel me to pull myself together and no Wade to talk me down.  I called Wade’s office, for moral support, but got his secretary, who very nicely volunteered that he was in a meeting, and offered to pull him out to talk to me.  Since I am pretty sure that dragging your husband out of a meeting because there are TORNADO SIRENS GOING OFF AND YOU ARE FREAKING OUT! is legitimate grounds for divorce in Oklahoma, I declined.

And then I had to figure out what exactly to do.  Hide in the bathroom, or make a run for the kids’ school?  Aaaah so hard to chooooooose!

I went to school.

The tornado missed my house and my neighborhood and my boys’ school; I spent an hour hanging out in a hallway with Henry and his class, while Charlie was lounging in a bathroom stall (eeew).  We’re all fine, and the kids weren’t even scared.

Only I get scared.  Because I’m the girl.

Which brings me to my five things I am greatful for today …

1. The carpool line moms who laughed at my jokes about how I came to school early because I wanted to “die with my baybeees!”  Really I went to the school because the tornado was tracking RIGHT FOR MY HOUSE.  I’m not stupid; I’ll go where it’s safe.

2. My neighbor, who said, “You’re going to hate me for this, but I’m hoping that the storm takes out the fence between our houses.”  No, I told her, I wouldn’t hate her; in fact, I was hoping the same thing.  Although I was also hoping it would take out the fence on the OTHER side, because that’s the one that REALLY needs to be replaced.

3. My husband, who announced to everyone in his office, “Okay everyone hope that a HORRIBLE HAIL STORM destroys our roof!  And takes out the fences!”  He and my neighbor should get together I think.

4. The kids at my children’s school, who were hunkered down in an interior hallway, biding their time during the tornado emergency, singing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”  Until they stopped singing it and started more YELLING it, at which point I really wanted a drink.

5. Heather, who called Chris to see if I was okay after I didn’t respond to her text message (see above, kids singing hymns – hard to hear the text message arrive over the yelling singing).

On my hit list today is AT&T and their craptastic service (you heard me, AT&T!) — every single time there’s a tornado emergency, I lose my phone and internet connections and can only send text messages, which means that while I canNOT communicate with my husband, I CAN update Twitter and text Chris.

Today I warned Wade that the next time there was any sort of tornado event, I was going to text Chris and ask her to call him.  From her house.  Which is hundreds of miles away from me and my tornadoes.