Weekly recap + What We Ate: Peak Bloom!!!! and Lists for Travel

First of all… mystery solved! I found the waffle batter! We have some shelves next to the fridge in the basement, and I was looking for something this past week on the shelves. I moved a bag of flour, and waaaaaay at the back…. was the container of waffle batter, a good two weeks after it had gone missing.

Truth to tell, it wasn’t as disgusting as I thought it would be; when we opened it up, it wasn’t moldy or anything. I half jokingly said that it looked fine and we should try to make some waffles from it. The Husband vehemently disagreed. Food waste bothers me, but I begrudgingly agreed.

We’ve hit peak bloom here in DC! Yay! There was one day last week, when I was at work for a morning meeting and decided to run down to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms. It was actually a few days before peak bloom, so the trees weren’t quite iconically fluffy, but they were still very pretty. I will say, running around the Tidal Basin during peak bloom is … not ideal. There are so many people there, and you never know when someone is going to stop and take pictures. Plus there is no railing on the Tidal Basin side of the path, and I was concerned that I was going to fall into the water at a couple points because the walkways were so crowded. I actually ended up mostly running on the grass, which were riddled with tree roots from the cherry trees. So running amidst the cherry blossoms during peak bloom = do not recommend, unless you do it at 7am or something.

Despite that annoyance, there is something really energizing about being at the Tidal Basin during peak bloom – all the crowds and crowds of people who come out to see them seem so happy to be here, soaking up the wonder and beauty of it all. For years I avoided peak bloom, having thought that I’d seen it once and didn’t need to see it again. Yet when I’m there among the blossoms, I realize that for a lot of people this is a bucket list trip – my grandmother, always wanted to come see the cherry blossoms and I’m actually really sad she never did. Whenever I see the Asian grandmothers wandering the blossoms with their faces lifted to the pink light, I think of my grandmother and am always a little sad that she never made it out. Seeing the joy that cherry blossom season brings makes me feel so grateful that for me, this isn’t a bucket list thing, but a yearly event to savor.

Of course the Tidal Basin is the most famous area for cherry blossom meandering, but the whole region explodes with blossoms, really. On the actual day of peak bloom, I was supposed to go down with my friend, but she got sick and it was rainy, so I went to the botanical garden 15 minutes from me. They don’t have the explosion of trees that you find down at the Tidal Basin, but they do have a Japanese pavilion and some nice trees were blooming there too.

Work wise, last week I closed one show on Saturday and then had a supertitle gig on Sunday. I feel like every time I get through a show without a performer getting COVID, and the show having to re-shuffle, it feels like such an accomplishment – like I can finally let out this breath that I’ve been holding.

Side note – there is a notice posted in the theatre, dated March 6th, 2020 that talks about how the company is monitoring the developments of COVID 19 and how there are so far only 3 cases in the DC area and we are still going to continue with all scheduled performances. Then it gives some guidelines for good preventative measures, including cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces. The whole memo really just took me back to that time of uncertainty of March 2020. It’s kind of surreal to read the memo, and even more surreal that someone has left it up on the callboard for over three years, as if it’s some kind of time capsule or memorium.

Here’s something fun, the cast of the show is obsessed with jigsaw puzzles. One of my co-workers had brought them in for our office and when we were done, we put the puzzle out in the dressing room hallway for the singers. They did about one puzzle per show. I joked at one point that I could make intermission 50 minutes long so they could work on the puzzle – but they didn’t need the help. It was jaw dropping to me. There was one puzzle that stumped us until we realized the puzzle was missing a piece – so we gave it to the singers without telling them the trick. We made them a fake piece out of a Post It to fit in the empty slot, though:

The day after the show closed, I had a supertitle job. It was a lovely concert program – music by Black composers setting poems by Black poets. There was one song/poem I liked in particular – a poem by Claude McKay titled “I Know My Soul”:

I plucked my soul out of its secret place,
And held it to the mirror of my eye,
To see it like a star against the sky,
A twitching body quivering in space,
A spark of passion shining on my face.
And I explored it to determine why
This awful key to my infinity
Conspires to rob me of sweet joy and grace.
And if the sign may not be fully read,
If I can comprehend but not control,
I need not gloom my days with futile dread,
Because I see a part and not the whole.
Contemplating the strange, I’m comforted
By this narcotic thought: I know my soul.

I love how this poem is brimming with self confidence even as we live in a world of questions and things that we can’t control.

After the concert, I wandered around the theatre a little bit since the concert had been short and I had some time. I often just go from the parking garage to backstage, and don’t have to go through the lobby at work. Well I’m glad I took time to wander the lobby. The Center is doing a huge festival about rivers and waterways and they have some really cool large scale installation art in the lobby. I actually remember when there was an all staff email asking for blue button down shirts for this art installment – it was kind of amazing to see the end result:

Annoying lowlights this week:
– I got a parking ticket. Monday the baby was no longer sick, but since she had been out of school for three days, she wasn’t allowed back to school until she had a doctor’s note. I could only get an appointment for 2:30pm, so I took her into the office with me and she hung out and played with office supplies while I worked. But then I was running late to her doctor’s appointment and instead of parking on the street like I usually do, I parked in the metered lot which was closer. And then the appointment ran long and I got a ticket. So annoying – I was mad at myself because I should have just parked in the street and been three minutes late to the appointment.
– One day the six year old’s bus was over and hour late in the afternoon. I had left work early to pick him up and the whole time, I thought, “I could have done one more hour of work!!!” I’m not at all sure what happened – the school doesn’t really communicate about that kind of stuff really well. Oh well, at least the weather was nice and I got some reading done.
– Still dragging from the time change. The kids are usually up by 6am and now I have to drag them (and myself) out of bed at 7am. I’m wondering if we’re just not adjusting well, or if it’s something deeper than that. I’ve also been really bad at going to bed before 1am lately. So that could definitely be a factor.

Other highlights this week:

-March Madness continued. I ordered us Sweet Sixteen shirts, and we wore them. It was a little sad that my alma mater lost, but things were kind of a long shot anyway.

I’ve been in full trip planning mode. My latest preoccupation is what food and snacks to bring on the airplane. Snacks are a very important component to happy children. Also, I imagine there is a meal on board, though I’m not sure. Some ideas:
– sandwiches. I’m tempted to order Bahn Mi sandwiches to bring. They are sturdy, and if we have the pickled veggies on the side, they won’t get soggy. But will they be messy to eat on the plane? Otherwise, some variation of baguette/ciabatta + meat + cheese + spread (maybe blueberry jam?)
– fruit – cut up apple slices, grapes, clementines, mango
– cookies. I’m planning on making a batch of trail mix cookies from the Rise and Run cookbook
– chocolate
– granola bars
– string cheese
– fruit snacks or my favorite gummy candy from HMart

Another fun list – we’re going to be visiting family abroad, and I wanted to bring them some classic American treats. So far we have:
– Pop Tarts
– Cereal – maybe the individual packs of sugary stuff?
– a bottle of Ranch dressing.
– homemade chocolate chip cookies – I hear that the chocolate where they are is too high quality and melts too quickly, thus making it not great for chocolate chip cookies.
– if I had thought ahead, I would have ordered them some Girl Scout cookies… next time… There is only so much sugar that I can bring these kids without getting side-eye from a parent.
– Robitussin – I hear it’s very hard to find where we are going.

Not so fun list of to dos:
– make sure bills are paid
– pause subscriptions and produce box
– grocery shop for above mentioned snacks and gifts
– pay that annoying parking ticket.
– make sure to upload all tickets to museums and what not.
– So many other things….

Part of my Trip Prep has been trying to find a pair of shoes to wear – I ordered a bunch of waterproof half boots/ booties/ Chelsea boots off Zappos and a few slip on shoes. I settled on a pair of Sorel Hi-Line Chelsea boots. I also really liked the Sam Edelman Laguna’s but on me they weren’t ankle boots, more like shin boots – maybe my legs are too short. And I also liked the Blundstones, but they didn’t have them in my size and I liked the Blondos, but they were a touch too big and also veered into shin boot territory.

And… on a whim, I ordered a pair of Rieker boots because my current pair of Rieker boots are starting to wear thin and I’ve already had them re-soled. And even though these boots aren’t waterproof and they have a fuzzy lining, so they aren’t really all season boots, they are a fabulous colour, so I decided to keep them and they make me really happy.

Podcast Listen of the Week: This episode of the Ten Percent Happier podcast, an interview with Scott Galloway, a professor of Marketing at NYU, and whom the notes describe as a “serial entrepreneur.” I feel like a lot of the podcasts I listen to talk about finding fulfillment and satisfaction in work, but Galloway stresses the importance of being financially stable and just working really hard while in your twenties. Probably not unrelated, but a lot of the work podcasts I listen to feature women guests. It seems to me that women and men are sold very different narratives about their value in the world, and men are taught, more so than women, that their value is in earning money and being ambitious. Galloway makes a point that work has a huge impact on one’s mental health because if one is going to be successful one will be spending the majority of one’s waking hours at work. Listening to the interview really made me think about this difference, because I feel like women seek work/life balance (whatever that means), but it’s not such a priority for men, particularly men in their twenties. Of course for men, there is no time constraint on having a family via birth and pregnancy, as there is for most women.

Another point that he makes is that work, structured work, is really important for young men, whose brains are still developing – it gives them a place of structure and a formal environment to learn to be a functioning member of the human race. I had never thought of this before, but for all that we glorify mavericks and out of the box thinking, especially in today’s world of gig work and telework and work from home, there is something that really is important about learning to operate in a community – and I think women internalize this more than men do.

And even as Galloway talks about the importance of work, he also talks about importance of living in the moment, and this quote struck me:

“As humans we’re drawn towards scarcity – sugar, salt, fat – we couldn’t find these things and so so we’re wildly drawn to sweets and meat and fat because our instincts haven’t caught up to institutional production. We aspire to have a Birkin bag or a Ferrari because there is only a certain number of those. The ultimate scarcity is kids… My twelve year old trying to do a handstand when we’re on vacation together – I’m like “He’s gone, never going to have that kid again.”

The ultimate scarcity is kids. – I need to remember that when it feels like things are hard with parenting.

Grateful For This Week:
– One of my coworkers had his last show last week. I’m really sad to see him go; we had both started at the company around the same time, and I’m so grateful for his presence these past fifteen years. Seeing him clear off his desk hit me harder than I thought it would.
– Spring! It’s officially Spring, which means sunlight and sunshine and flowers blooming. I know that in many ways Spring starting on March 20 is somewhat arbitrary – I mean I get the science of it, but the weather doesn’t always align with the science – but being able to officially say “It’s Spring!” feels really nice. We had our first after school playground stop of the season and I was reminded how this is always one of my favorite parts of warmer weather – hanging out at the playground after school and randomly running into friends.
– An uneventful closing night performance and a really great run of performances. Some shows feel really special and this was one of them. I felt so lucky to have been able to work on it.
-Impromptu play dates for the kids. One of our neighbors took the eleven year old to the local high school production of Chicago. It was so nice of them to think of her. And that same night, I got a text from the mom of one of the six year old’s friends asking if he wanted to come over to play. So for a few hours we had just one kid at home in the evenings – I’d forgotten how much less chaos there is when it’s just one kid at home.

Looking Forward To:
-The six year olds’ kindergarten performance.
– Spring Break Trip – I’ve been listening to podcasts that feature our destination and loaded a bunch of books set in that country on my Libby, and that’s starting to get me excited for going.
– Starting a new show – reuniting with old colleagues and meeting new ones. The first day of a new show is always a little like the first day of school – excitement and nervousness and lots of possibilities.

What We Ate: The meal planning train continues to stall in the station, so we’ve had a few cobbled together meals this week:

Monday: Sushi take out. I was meant to meet the Husband for Lunch, but plans changed, so we decided to have sushi for dinner instead.

Tuesday: Bahn Mi Salad from To Asia With Love by Hetty McKinnon. This was really tasty – basically you make a big batch of Bahn Mi pickled veggies, and eat that with fried tofu, croutons, and siracha mayo sauce. Vegan, except our vegan mayo was not good so we used regular mayo.

Wednesday: I worked and had late lunch/dinner at this restaurant, which is also very well known for it’s Tater Tots. There were a lot of Tater Tots eaten. Meanwhile back at the ranch, the Husband made taco cups for the kids – Flour tortillas folded into muffin tins to make cups, and then filled with cheese and salsa and beans and chicken and baked. It’s a really big hit and luckily there were leftovers for me to eat when I got home from work. I’ve come to the realization that the kids are more excited for the Husband’s cooking that they are for mine because he makes things like Taco Cups.

Thursday: I have no idea … for some reason I haven’t been keeping up with my journals this week.

Friday: Mac n Cheese with sweet potato from Family by Hetty McKinnon. Mac n cheese never seems like a main meal to me, but this recipe looked easy – all make in one pot – and I had some sweet potato to use up. It was definitely on the rich side.

Saturday: I worked and brought leftover lentils from last week. The Husband made pizza. I think they also watched a Star Wars movie? Or maybe a Marvel movie? Not sure.

Sunday: Grilled Tofu and Sausages with a cucumber salad. We also make this really yummy green sauce to eat with it.

That’s been the week here – how’s life in your corner?