another standby and a daily ritual.

In talking about our standby meals, I forgot one. Veggie fajitas. S devours bell peppers (hooray for Vitamin C, right?), so we've always got them on hand. We also should buy stock in onions, garlic, and tortillas because on the rare moments when we're out of any of the three I go into panic mode. Anyway, having those things on hand makes veggie fajitas an easy go-to meal. All I do is slice peppers and onions, add some minced garlic, some olive oil, and fajita seasoning (I make ours). If I've got limes or cilantro or tomatoes, I throw those into the mix. Obviously, you could add meat to this, but I think I made it clear that we never have meat in our house. Seriously, it doesn't get much easier than this meal. You can throw everything together anytime you've got the three minutes it takes and let it sit all the livelong day. Then all you have to do is saute it in a super hot pan for a few minutes when it's time to chow. Add some salsa, and viola! Delicious.

For the record, our love of fajitas can be traced directly to T the Elder Geomorphologist. He makes the best fajitas in the entire world. I don't know what he does differently than I do, but I stand by the fact that no one can make better fajitas...despite the fact that I haven't eaten them in about seven years. Now that we're naming our son after him, I wonder if it's him we adore, or his fajitas...and all the beer we drank with him. Or maybe it's his wife and kids.

So that was the other standby. Here's the daily ritual.

Every single day, as I shower, I draw a heart on the steamy shower door. Every day. Just to remind myself that I love my life and my family. Lots of times I'll also pick one word to write above the heart. Sometimes it's something that I'm in desperate need of that day, like patience or grace or to heal if I'm sick or hurt. Other times I'll write something I'm extra grateful for that day, like M or S or friends or even hot showers or hot coffee. I know it's kind of silly, but I've never been able to keep up with a journal or a running list. Somehow, though, I can always remember this. Maybe it's because when I'm under the steamy water, I am usually alone (meaning no child regaling me with a chorus of, "mommy, mommy, mommy."), and things are usually quiet, and I am relaxed from the scrumptious hot water. Whatever it is, it works, and it makes me happy to see that heart drawn on the door. Every single day.

Now I've got some embroidery to see to. And a pot of decaf to brew. Happy Thursday, peeps.

Oh, I almost forgot. S brought me lunch.