Dinner Date

Last week after mom and dad left town, i found it hard for me to get motivated to do anything while i was home. I often caught myself sitting on the couch watching TV wasting the days away. Now we all know that there's plenty to be done around here, and I could do it. I had time! But i didn't. It wasn't until a couple days ago that i got bored of the TV and realized i lived 5 months without it...I flipped it off, gave myself a little pep talk and headed to the kitchen. I put on a movie while cleaning the kitchen and just working my way through the downstairs. We usually clean the house this thorough 1) When guests/family are come....2) We have company coming over for something. And that's pretty much it. I just got so sick of coming home to a FILTHY house. Mom and Dad are busy enough and so it's difficult to find time to tidy things up. So little items just get built upon, and the mess becomes a catastrophic disaster.

This morning I woke up really early and went into town. The plan was to go grocery shopping, stop by the theater, buy kung fu panda and come home. After accomplishing my errands - I walked in the house and thought...there is more cleaning to be done. I don't know if i had a case of OCD this week or what, but i cleaned all afternoon until about 3 pm where I figured it was probably time to take a shower, and get ready for the evening. I think this cleaning phase I'm going through is the mentality of knowing the whole family is in Sequim, WA working at Grandpa's house and I'm stuck here. So there they are working their tails off and I'm sitting and watching TV? I don't think so. Plus- Mom has been through a lot lately...with work, her back, her voice, and now her father....I didn't want her to come home to a pile of junk EVERYWHERE. The house is now in tip top shape:) Plus I thought mom would appreciate it if I went ahead and put up a few of her fall decor. So I decorated the table and the cabinet next to the dining area, it looks cute with the little i had to work with!

While cleaning this afternoon I was busy playing "Betty-Crocker" Steaming vegetables and such. Tonight I prepared dinner for Del. I've never actually cooked for him without his help. I've baked plenty but when it comes to cooking he always ends up in the kitchen helping out/taking over....which isn't a bad things because I usually expect it. He likes to cook, and he's very good at it. Plus some of the things we make, he knows how to do better so it's a learning process. But none the less, this was the first meal that I prepared solely on my own. I marinated the chicken in sage, shallots, and sour cream all afternoon. The menu was as follows : Steamed Red Potatoes spiced with Basil and Green Onion, Steamed Asparagus, Sage Seasoned Chicken, and Spinach and Mixed Romain Salad with Sea Scallops. The day when by so quickly. Between cleaning, and cooking and baking I thought I would run out of time. Del showed up around 6pm. I didn't expect him till 7pm so I asked him to stay out of the kitchen as I didn't really want him to pitch in his ideas or help for "this" particular meal. I wanted to do it all by myself. I know I can cook; and it's very necessary that I learn. He watched funniest home video's while I finished up. I finally had the finishing touches done by 7pm and we were sitting down to eat. I thought about getting a picture of the meal because everything looked really delicious, but I hadn't eaten all day and I was starving! Everything turned out excellent. You'll all be so happy to hear that I DIDN'T EVEN NEED KETCHUP ON MY CHICKEN! It's a miracle, i know :)

For desert we shared some Cream Puffs I made, topped with fresh Strawberries, and chocolate glaze. I took a picture of the platter because it looked so delicate and pretty. The picture is a little blurry cause I was using dad's digital Camera.