The Part about the Chocolate Cake is not a Ritual

This is what happens when no one else is home, pre-menstrual hormones are flaring, and I could kill someone for chocolate but luckily I found a box of Betty Crocker mix I bought a month ago in the pantry:


Who even needs icing?

I have had a productive past few days. I cleaned two refrigerators from top to bottom while listening to Hall & Oates Greatest Hits.
(on far left is a bottle of anchovy sauce--what do I do with that? Next bottle is Ponzu--I recommend it--it is soy with half the sodium and has citrus).

I found 25 items of clothing in my closet to give away to Goodwill. Picking them out was easy. But it took a long time because while in the closet I went through my boxes of memories. You know how in "Bridges of Madison County" Francesca had a week to herself each year and she spent that time going down memory lane, wearing her special dress, certain jewelry and listening to certain music? Well it was sort of like that but not exactly.

First, I have been reading some of my journals that I wrote from age 15 through 22:


Then I took a look at some of my love letters I received in years before marriage (one box from Hubs and one box from those prior beaus). Hubs used to put cologne in his cards....on a piece of Kleenex--it still lingers there faintly. Ode to the days of snail mail love letters.


I began my week of alone time with a cook-off ritual: grilled steak, baked potato, green beans from my garden and salad with gorgonzola cheese. By the end of the week I decided to make do with what is in the cupboard and freezer. Here I took Progresso cream of mushroom soup, added spaghetti, shrimp sauteed with onion and garlic, and added bacon and parmesan cheese. If I had peas they'd be in here too.
I watched some me-time girl dvds including "An Education", "Sunshine Cleaning" and Season 1 of Saving Grace (all with fantastic acting and I recommend).

I look forward to my alone week and its rituals every summer while Hubs stays a little longer with the boys in Florida (granted I have to work every day but I am up late with the remote in my hands for once and can keep the bedside lamp on reading till 1:00 a.m.....). Anyway, he is thrilled they are old enough to be on a surfin safari with him. But he told me he will need a break from them when we get back. I miss these guys tons!
(OK, this is from 5 or 6 years ago but they are still my beach boy babies).

I'm off to Florida--the Gulf!!--for my birthday for a few days. Wish me a safe flight. Let me know if there is anything else you want to know about me.