Mama Thursday (on Wednesday): It's been a while. Have a picture.

I haven't been writing a whole lot about Lily lately because from my perspective she's in a kind of holding pattern.  She's past that huge growth hump.  She's still not talking but she continues to try.  She's a typical toddler minus most of the screaming, I think.  She's still surprisingly tantrum-free unless she's tired.  She has more hair now and it's starting to darken up.

She's still the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen.  I mean, come on:

 

She got waaaaaay more presents than we have room for in the house.  This weekend I'm hoping to turn half of the office into a playroom because I can't tell you how sick I am of picking up Mega Blocks.  And the Lego table in the picture above is kind of huge too.

Foodblogging: Mandu (만두) Cups

I am a mandu fiend.  Mandu is the Korean version of a potsticker -- only they're about a million times better than their Japanese/Chinese counterparts.  They're kind of a drag to make if you do them the traditional way.  So I did this shortcut.

They kind of look fancy, no?  I made these for a Christmas snack with my in-laws.  They went over pretty well.  They were kind of thrown together last-minute and I included a few leftovers from the fridge.  The nice thing about this recipe is that you can add, subtract, and substitute anything you want.

Mandu (만두) Cups

1/2 lb ground pork
1 Tbsp ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 each red and green bell peppers, chopped
2 cups napa cabbage, chopped

2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp sugar (more to taste)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (to taste)
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tsp cornstarch

salt and pepper, to taste
24+ won ton skins
toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
sliced green onions, for garnish

Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.  Place a won ton skin in each muffin cup.  Bake at 350 5-8 minutes until slightly crispy.

Whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, chicken broth, sugar, crushed red pepper, and cornstarch in a small bowl.  It should taste savory, salty, and sweet.  Adjust accordingly.  Set aside.

Prepare the filling while the skins are crisping.  In a large skillet or wok, cook pork, ginger, and garlic until pork is browned.  Remove from pan.  In same pan add the green onions, carrot, onion, bell peppers, and cabbage.  You may want to add a little oil or broth.  Cook to crisp-tender.  When vegetables are done, add the pork mixture back in and add prepared sauce.  Cook a few minutes more until sauce thickens.  Remove from heat.  Season with salt and pepper.

Fill the won ton skin cups and put them back into the oven for 8-10 minutes, until edges are brown and everything is bubbly.  Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and green onions.  Serve immediately.

Monday Meal Plan

It's been a while since I posted a meal plan.  Here's what we've been eating:

Meal plan and shopping list for 12/20/10

• Italian Beef, crusty rolls, peppers, onions, swiss cheese
• Dan-Dan Noodles, Baked Crab Rangoon
• Spicy Pasta Puttanesque-a
• Crispy Falafel with Yogurt Dip, pita, tomato, cucumber
• Greek Bean and Vegetable Soup, bread, salad

And there was that.

I binged yesterday.  I mean, really binged.  Binged as in, Lifetime Movie Special binged.  All the stress and frustration of the last few weeks went into this.

It's probably good that I didn't make it to D&D last night (due to being a one car family and having to pick Lily and Husband up out in the 'burbs where the traffic flows like molasses in February.  So we went home and I ate a tiny corner of pizza and drank two glasses of wine and went to bed.

And you know what I did when I got back in to work this morning?  I ate some more of the stuff I binged on yesterday. 

Ugh.

Ugh.

Ugh.

Gym today.

WTF Just Happened, Or: How Not To Sell A Fridge on Craigslist

Let me tell you a story about the last week, the shit sprinkles and shit whipped cream and shit cherry on top of our shit sundae.

We got home from Duluth last Sunday after Thanksgiving to discover our refrigerator had died sometime that weekend.  We lost everything but a few condiments.  Stuff that I had frozen from our garden.  Tons of herbs.  Produce.  Meat.  Gone.

After we determined that the fridge was out of warranty and repairing it would be all but impossible, we fired up Craigslist.  Found one for $50 about a mile away.  Perfect!  Husband and Friend go haul it out of this lady's basement, cash was exchanged, and after much struggle, sweat, profanity, and minor injury the fridge was in place.  Hooked up to the water line, even.

Fast forward two days: the freezer wasn't even close to cold and the refrigerator was leveled off at only 45 degrees.  I threw a shot in the dark and send an email to the seller.  Uh, hi, your fridge is crap.  Refund please?  She felt bad, didn't know it didn't work, blah blah, let's get this done.

Back and forth it went.  Emails, text messages.  Can we stop by and pick up our money?  Yes.  No.  Yes.  Great!  I'll stop by on my way home from D&D.  I call as I leave North Minneapolis.  No answer.  I leave a message.  Hope I hear from you before I get home....  Didn't hear from her until the next day, when I get another SMS.  Now her boyfriend thinks she's getting scammed.  I invite her to come over and take a gander or two at Fail Fridge II herself.  Because, yeah, I love wasting my and Husband's time and energy hauling a fridge up out of a basement, then up our giant front steps to scam someone out of fifty fucking dollars.  Ho ho ho.

I didn't hear from her all weekend.  Last night in one last fit of desperation I email her again with my credentials.  Here's my blog!  Twitter!  Reddit account!  LinkedIn!  Character witnesses!  I'm not some scum-of-the-earth scammer, I'm just a desperate mom who's trying to feed her child.

Today I got a voicemail from her.  She doesn't want any more "sob emails" to make her "feel like shit."  FINALLY I can come and pick up our goddamn money to try and make up for the forthcoming New Fridge Numero Tres.

So I just got back from her house.  And you know what?  She tried to lecture me.  Apparently she's butt-hurt because she sold something that she thought had value, which in fact did not, and had to return the money.  And didn't I know that everyone is hurting in this recession?  And that she was going to use the money for Christmas presents?  Waaah waaah waaah.

Because, you know, that's a lot more important than us being ripped off and still not having a working refrigerator after hauling her junk away.  For free.

As she was delivering her sad sermon I saw red but that sane part of my brain just said, "She's not worth it.  She's not worth it.  She's not worth it." 

I said, "Okay," and walked away.

::FUME::

Positive. Positivity. I am being positive now.

So my family has had a hell of a couple of months.  I'm not going to go into detail.  It's just... bad.  But I'm ready to fly a giant middle finger into the face of whatever this horrible storm is that we're passing through.  I've had enough.

Here are the things I am thankful for:
My window seat at work.  Hello sunshine!
Four functioning limbs.
A wonderful husband.
The best baby in the world.
Sledding!
Friends online.
Friends IRL.
Friends who were just online before, and now are IRL.
Parents.
Delicious shrimp.
The cold, because when you are operating without a working fridge you can at least stick your stuff outside.
All of our other working appliances.
Family.
Days off of work.
One working vehicle.
Warm dog and cat bodies in bed.
Cloth diapers.
Really cold tap water in the winter.
Webcomics.
Gainful employment.

Not that I care what you think

I'm going to just say right of the bat that I like myself just fine.

I signed up for a global Secret Santa this year.  It is a little weird to think that some stranger on the Internet is essentially stalking my posts, blog, and Amazon wish lists.  So of course I start wondering about exactly how much of an asshole I come off as on the Internet.

I vent here on this blog.  I am an opinionated motherfucker and I usually don't hesitate to call someone out on their bullshit.  I'd like to think that any negativity I put out here is negated by IRL me.  But honestly I don't think I'm all *that* negative.  Frequently disappointed in my fellow humans, yes.  Frustrated by the lack of social decency, sure.  It's true that I want to change the world for the better but I have no idea how to do this so maybe my inaction could be taken as apathy (the true enemy!) or vitriol.

IRL me is quiet (fucking stutter), polite, and a bit of a doormat.

Internet me is a frustrated ball of fire.