Ever been in such a rut that even the usual stuff is so unappealing that you just want to pull your hair out and scream? Well, that is my life. It feels just like the movie "Groundhog Day" starring Bill Murray. The premise of the movie (as repetitive as it was) was having to live the same, predictable day over and over again until you just snap and do something about it. Sadly, my real life is not an exact repeat of the previous one, but there is a fair amount that does repeat itself. One day in particular is Sunday.
My Sunday is what normal folks call.... family day. This is when everyone in the family does things together. In my house.... the day goes like this.....
Wake up between 7 and 8 in the morning to DH already being up, coffee is made and the longing look in his eyes for breakfast to be made (by me, of course) STAT. I grab the usual breakfast stuff (eggs, hash browns, bacon or sausage, bread for toast) and begin my day as a short-order chef for my breakfast rush. Never is there a request for pancakes, waffles, oatmeal or any other normal breakfast food..... just eggs, hash browns, toast and the usual bacon or sausage. The only thing that makes making breakfast more of a diner/short-order chef event is how everyone wants their eggs (DH with sunny side up, DD with hers scrambled and mine never really mattered... cooked is fine with me).
After cooking everyone's breakfast, I sit down with pen and paper in hand.... yep, grocery list time. I learned rather quickly that if I try something new, it would not be welcomed as the tried and true choices for my two selective eaters and become leftovers that get forgotten in the refrigerator until garbage day if it is not approved by those that eat here. While DD is more health conscious (thank goodness), she is more open to fruits, vegetables and she likes chicken, but she turns her nose up at anything that has a sauce or gravy on it. Apparently, she prefers to put ranch dressing on everything.... so as long as it can remotely be appetizing with salad dressing on it.... she is okay with whatever. Now, DH is the hard one to please. He will eat whatever I make, but only truly appreciates the garbage food on the food pyramid (sausages, mac and cheese, frozen pizzas, pasta.... he will never be the first in line for anything that is a fruit or vegetable. In fact, he only likes certain vegetables and will question what is in the meal before even taking a taste.) So, in order to make my life remotely rewarding when it comes to feeding my family..... I have to ask what everyone would like for the one meal a day that I have to prepare (they are capable of pouring a bowl of cereal, making frozen waffles, or a sandwich), and build a grocery list from there. Beyond the usual staples of favorite beverages (tea and coffee for DH, and juice for DD), and what they like for lunch that they can make themselves.... I am left with the responsibility of dinner time.
Obviously, as if you did not notice..... we shop for a week at a time.... as a family. If there was a national disaster to where we are trapped in our home for an extended length of time.... we would not survive for very long (we have no food surplus stored here and no bottled gallons of water). Don't cry for me.... I am no longer the financial decision maker... I just work for free and get no appreciation for what I manage to achieve within the rigid parameters of those I work for.
Well, here is my dilemma..... I have been cooking in this house for 16 years (2 of them as an engaged woman and 14 of them as a wife with 13 of them being a wife and mother... so far), and with a spouse that was never made to eat anything beyond his realm of garbage (apparently, his mother was forced to conform).... I am getting really sick and tired of making (and consuming) the same stuff over and over again. I have pushed the creative envelope as far as I can with finding acceptable substitutions to make DH's choices less of a hazard to health and my waistline. Yep, I came to the conclusion today that DH is in a perpetual "food jag", like children go through. DD had one, so I am familiar with the sentiment. She refused to eat anything beyond hot dogs, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and corn for roughly 4 years. Thank goodness she broke out of that habit because hot dogs repulse me to no end. The smell of one makes my stomach turn. The sight of Kraft's unnatural cheese color for their mac and cheese had me concerned for potential glow-in-the-dark tendencies. I really do not mind chicken all that much, but having everything breaded just seems sacrilegious to me.
So with breakfast already done, the pen and paper at hand.... I am now searching the internet for recipes that can satisfy the demands of my family..... it needs to be cheap (we are on a budget, thus the need to drag the family along for the grocery shopping trip every week and the restrictive list), it needs to be healthy, but it needs to be appealing to the human garbage disposal that I lovingly call DH. With Lent starting next week, I now have to find options for our meatless Fridays as well as a meatless Ash Wednesday. DH already mentioned that he wants potato pancakes. Just thinking about all the prep work I go through (peeling and shredding potatoes a-plenty) is making my stomach turn. I am not a fan of a ton of pasta, either. I am not allowed to prepare fish here for the family (only DD and I like fish) because DH would rather starve than eat fish. While the thought is appealing to let him do just that.... I despise even more the whining that DH does when there is nothing for him to eat. Tofu is out of the question, too, in DH's selective taste buds. Zucchini, Eggplant, and Spinach is a no-no, too. He turns is nose up at mushrooms, DD turns her nose up at beans, and I am left with a nagging headache to deal with. This, my friends, is my Groundhog Day like the movie.
On a brighter note.... I did get the highest praise from a client yesterday. In fact, I got two of them. One is actually determined to refer her friends and family to come and see me for their hair care needs. Felt good to get a hug of appreciation for a job well done. At least someone appreciates what I do. Well, blogging about my woes is not getting the shopping list done, nor the migraine-inducing trip to the grocery store done any sooner..... So, with well wishes and salutations to all of you to have a wonderful day and the appreciative "thanks for reading my flossing moment".... I bid you adieu.
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