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Category Archives: Food & Cooking

I made the news [paper]!

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Five Asian buffets offer change of pace
Melody Baetens / The Detroit News

Metro Detroit has a wide variety of Asian buffets. Here’s a look at five standout options.

Fuji Japanese Buffet
32153 John R., Madison Heights
Call: (248) 616-8868
Web: www.fujibuffet.com

Price: $11.99 lunch Mon.-Fri.; $13.99 lunch Sat.-Sun.; $17.99 dinner Mon.-Thurs.; $19.99 dinner Fri.-Sat.

Hours: 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Mon.-Thurs. and Sun.; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat.

Highlights: For a strip mall buffet, Fuji is surprisingly cool and hip. When I went, there was a considerable number of college-age diners, many of Asian decent. Sometimes, if you go late enough, you can get a glimpse (or an earful) of a private dance party or karaoke session in one of the restaurant’s many banquet rooms.

Food-wise, Fuji’s strengths are snow crab legs with melted butter, gyoza (dumplings), vegetable and shrimp tempura, and sushi. Don’t be afraid to try the green tea ice cream for dessert. “What keeps me coming back are the platters of all-you-can-eat sushi being made fresh as you watch,” says diner Jennifer Hudson of Troy. “Is it the best food you’ll ever eat? No, but it’s certainly worth the price of admission.”

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

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This was the first pineapple upside down cake I’ve ever made, and I was planning on using fresh pineapple AND fresh blueberries! Sounds good, right? I used this recipe by Paula Deen), and was intrigued by the frosting since I’d never seen it that way before. But I made it. And honestly? I could have done without it. The cake itself was REALLY good (super moist!) but the frosting was complete sugary overload that ended up taking away from the fruit itself. (That said, I was impressed that just 2 Tbs of pineapple juice was enough to really flavor the frosting.)

I did have a slight issue with the cakes coming out of the pans—I let them cool for the recommended 10 minutes but they were still very hot and some of the fruit started slip-sliding off the cake! But I’m guessing the fresh fruit had something to do with the excess moisture. There also seemed to be too much sugar, as well. I was using 8″ round cake pans, and 3/4 cup brown sugar in each one just seemed like A LOT. If I make this again, I will use less sugar. Oh, and there was too much batter as well. I had two FULL 8″ pans plus a tiny loaf pan. Which meant we just had a separate blueberry-topped loaf (yum!).

The cakes:

Unfortunately, I suck at frosting cakes, plus the frosting wasn’t quite room temp so it was a bit hard to spread, plus the fruit was really moving around… I was just going to do the sides, but then I had frosting left so then I thought I’d just put a dollop in the center…but then it looked like there was enough to finish frosting it…then it got messy and yucky looking. 😐

I am almost done with being domestic today.

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I have fed the boy breakfast and lunch.
I have made hard-boiled eggs.
I have watered the herbs.
I have baked potatoes for a new potato salad recipe.
I am frying bacon for that same recipe, plus for our BLT pizza tonight.
I have gone grocery shopping.
I have (well, we have) been to the farmer’s market.
I have filled Owen’s pool and splashed with him.
I have pretty much burnt the last batch of bacon. >:XX

I am done. DONE! My back is killing me. Tomorrow will honestly be a day of rest (or so I hope).

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse

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This was the third steak house in the local trifecta of The Capital Grille (which we tried last year), Morton’s Steakhouse (which we tried last week), and Ruth’s Chris.

To start, we were really debating taking Owen—I mean, it’s not a place for toddlers—but we REALLY wanted to try them during the (cheaper) Restaurant Week offerings ($30pp). I posted on Facebook asking, and (without counting) it was pretty well split yes vs. no.

We went.

And he was the perfect little quiet smiling happy giggling toddler. The whole time. Everyone who walked by smiled at him and/or had to stop and say hi to him/us and/or tell us how good he was or how cute he was. Our waitress loved him (“a grandma of five” she told us). We did get desserts to go, though, because he was starting to get a little fussy, but we probably could have stayed. I’m really glad we went. (And I didn’t see a stink eye from anyone!)

He is such a good little boy!

Oh, and he ate one bite of calamari and sweet potato, but spit out the filet mignon, baked potato, and shrimp.

Our rating? Better than Morton’s but not as good as Capital Grille.

My First Bechamel!

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I have always wanted to make it because it sounds good and looks fairly easy, so tonight I decided to try it—we bought Lobster Ravioli at Costco and it sounded like a perfect match.

So, how did it go? Well, I almost kinda screwed it up but it ended up okay. B)

I measured four cups of milk to start heating, but when I mixed it with the roux, it was WAY too thick, so I thought “Well, this is strange, I guess I have to add more milk.” (Thinking How can a recipe from Mario Batali be so wrong?) And I turned around and there was the rest of the milk on the counter.

/slaps head/

I apparently only poured the first 2-cup measure in the pan to heat up—that’s what I get for trying to start dinner and make sure Owen doesn’t eat anything bad or get into trouble at the same time.

I added garlic salt, pepper, and parmesean and it was yummy. I will definitely make it again (and try other spices and cheeses)!

Facebook Status Updates

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  • Jennifer Hudson is currently restoring 97,600+ files via Carbonite onto her new 1TB hard drive with a new Windows 7 install.
  • Jennifer Hudson likes the thought and spirit behind “We Are The World 25” but it doesn’t even compare to the original.
  • Jennifer scored a BINGO in SCRABBLE with the word TOLLERS worth 81 points!
  • Jennifer Hudson was not excited at all about the Olympics, until watching an hour or so of Olympic preview-type broadcasts. Now I can’t wait. BRING IT ON!
  • Jennifer Hudson just realized it’s Friday night. Being a SAHM with a husband who works six days a week kinda lessens the impact of a weekend.
  • Jennifer Hudson woke up and was depressed her dream about seeing Roger Mitchell and Ursula Mitchell wasn’t real…but was glad her screaming match with Jean L. Schwalm and Tom Hudson wasn’t real.
  • Jennifer Hudson—The boy is 12 months old and still sleeping with his burpie over his face. I wonder how long he’ll continue to do it?!?! I wish I could ask him why he loves it so!
  • Jennifer Hudson is ready to throw the Windows7 Upgrade right out the window.
  • Jennifer Hudson never gets as much done during Owen’s nap as she hopes to.
  • Jennifer Hudson is happy to celebrate Valentine’s week by sharing a photo of hubby and me…we first met 2/7/97 and started dating 2/14/97…so we’ve been together 13 years and married eight.
  • Jennifer Hudson is finally watching the season premier of Lost!
  • Jennifer Hudson just downloaded and tried Google Chrome. They need to work on Tab issues before I switch.
  • Jennifer Hudson thinks it’s hilarious that I have Shazam’ed the same song now THREE times. 😐
  • Jennifer Hudson has decided life is too short for uncomfortable socks! In the garbage they go!
  • Jennifer Hudson wants someone to stop her the next time she wants to subscribe to Cosmo because it’s a good deal.
  • Jennifer Hudson thinks that the Chocolate Cheerios were a waste of money. Blech.
  • Jennifer Hudson just got Owen to wave back at her! YAY OWEN!
  • Jennifer Hudson was having fun watching Owen dig around in his toybox, leaning completely over with his feet off the ground…until he fell in and started crying.
  • Jennifer Hudson thinks she needs to take a break from Scrabble. I seem to be getting worse the more I play (instead of better) and it’s frustrating me terribly.

Facebook Updates

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  • Jennifer Hudson thinks 6am is too early, no matter what time you went to bed. Ugh.
  • Jennifer Hudson is really enjoying Kathy Griffin’s autobiography, my current guilty pleasure.
  • Jennifer Hudson is drinking wine and listening to Christmas music.
  • Jennifer Hudson is hearing zerberts from the crib. The boy is up. 🙂
  • Jennifer Hudson HOLY CRAP! I just learned that my favorite vodka, Ciroc, is from Puff Daddy/P Diddy/Diddy!!
  • Jennifer Hudson just got home to see the USPS lady in my driveway, arranging and sorting things in her truck, apparently oblivious to the fact I was waiting in the middle of the street. I should have opened the garage door and freaked her out. Damn hindsight.
  • Jennifer Hudson just figured out my average MPG for the past few months is 13. THIRTEEN. It’s a good thing hubby’s car gets 40+.
  • Jennifer Hudson just scheduled the H1N1 vaccine for the boy this afternoon.
  • Jennifer Hudson has been craving a tuna sandwich, so I finally made one today and wasn’t thrilled. Either I forgot how to make a tuna sandwich, or I’m not a fan of solid white albacore tuna.
  • Jennifer Hudson in enjoying a post-nap cuddly boy, snuggling and watching Sesame Street.
  • Jennifer Hudson just bought Owen’s Christmas presents, even though I said we didn’t need to get him anything because he won’t really have a clue. Oh, and a birthday present, too. 🙂
  • Jennifer Hudson is thankful every single day that Owen sleeps for at least 12 hours a night.
  • Jennifer Hudson is watching live TV. I know, right?
  • Jennifer Hudson has a thoroughly freaked out dog because we tested the new CO detector. Poor dog.
  • Jennifer Hudson vows no more Costco on the weekend until after the new year. Man, it was busy.
  • Jennifer Hudson just increased our monthly retirement savings by 1%. Baby steps, right? In a few months, maybe we’ll be at 10%. 🙂
  • Jennifer Hudson just had a fun, pre-USMC Birthday Ball drunken chat with Tom Trimble…miss you, bud!
  • Jennifer Hudson is on her way to visit her cousins and introduce Owen to his cousins!
  • Jennifer Hudson is enjoying a bowl of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, just about the only fun cereal from my youth that still tastes the same.
  • Jennifer Hudson is attempting to fall asleep tonight without the help of drugs.
  • Jennifer Hudson has a stone-free husband! Yay!
  • Jennifer Hudson If you and I woke up in jail together, using ONLY 4 WORDS, what would you say to me? Copy and paste this and see what kind of responses you get.
    1. Jannie—Holy Crap girl WOW
    2. Kelly—Pfft. I’d only need two words: ‘JAIL KNUCKLES!!!’ 🙂
    3. Kelly—Alternate response: ‘who has bail money?’
    4. David—“I shouldn’t drink absinthe.”
    5. Robin—Here are your clothes.
    6. Jennifer—Where’d we leave Steve??
    7. Sue Ann—What happened this time ?
  • Jennifer Hudson apologizes for not updating again. Hubby is home, he refused surgery, so now it’s a waiting game to see if and when it passes on its own.
  • Jennifer Hudson had a so so night and is about to go get my morning smiles from the boy!
  • Jennifer Hudson hates that hubby is in pain and at the hospital, but I am hoping I can get a great night’s sleep in a quiet house.
  • Jennifer Hudson is on her way to the hospital to see hubby.
  • Jennifer Hudson just got hubby’s diagnosis via text: kidney stones. Lovely. He’s drugged up awaiting a cat scan now.
  • Jennifer Hudson wants stronger meds to try and forget about her back pain.
  • Jennifer Hudson just got about $150 worth of Shutterfly products for $60. Gotta love stackable coupons! WOOHOO!
  • Jennifer Hudson is sad that she had to throw away a great pair of shoes because the soles finally gave out and couldn’t be repaired (although the Gorilla Glue got me through the night at the Ball). Of course, they are 8+ years old so can’t be replaced.
  • Jennifer Hudson has the clingiest dog ever today.
  • Jennifer Hudson really, actually, honestly, might NOT get out of her PJs today.
  • Jennifer Hudson is listening to a spanish song on Sesame Street and now has a hankering for mexican food. Hee.
  • Jennifer Hudson is wondering why she can’t find the new episode of Sesame Street that is supposed to start today.
  • Jennifer Hudson is supposed to be sleeping because I am exhausted. But apparently even TWO Tylenol PMs aren’t helping. Sigh.
  • Jennifer Hudson Helmetless face plant with butt in the air. Degree of difficulty: 2.0. Degree of cuteness: 9.9. 🙂

Facebook Updates

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It seems like I’m always writing about Owen these days, but really, not much else is going on for me to write about here. I mean, just take a look at my recent Facebook updates…most of them have to do with the boy!

  • Jennifer Hudson has a boy covered in banana. He loves banana in the mesh feeder but MAN does it make a mess. And the banana wasn’t even fully ripe. Egads.
  • Jennifer Hudson asks the peeps: is Glee worth watching? I’ve been recording but missed the first few so would have to watch them online.
  • Jennifer Hudson says babywearing + grocery shopping = not a great idea in actual practice. It’s a total PITA to try and lean over, bend down, get stuff out of the cart…but he was a good boy the whole time!
  • Jennifer Hudson likes Sesame Street for showcasing a wide variety of people, but seriously, they have some of the homeliest people and ugliest babies I’ve ever seen. /shudder/
  • Jennifer Hudson just momentarily freaked out when I thought I lost all my Roboform info.
  • Jennifer Hudson is glad that Owen takes a good morning nap, because that’s when I shower. But sometimes I just don’t feel like showering this early. But I have to, because you never know if you will get another good chance.
  • Jennifer Hudson hates having bad dreams, then waking up with a racing heart.
  • Jennifer Hudson forgot to give Owen Motrin–hope he doesn’t wake up screaming.
  • Jennifer Hudson just figured out a cool new way to use Shazam – for all those songs in iTunes that somehow don’t have info and I don’t know it!
  • Jennifer Hudson hates days with appointments in neighboring cities. Naps get SO screwed up. 🙁
  • Jennifer Hudson is sitting in the parking lot waiting for Owen’s helmet appointment (we’re way early), letting him nap, and using KFC’s free wifi from across the street.
  • Jennifer Hudson hates clueless old drivers. Some guy almost backed into me in a parking lot because he didn’t look behind him first–and kept going even after I honked at him! I actually had to quick back up because he was NOT stopping. Asshat.
  • Jennifer Hudson is thinking her epsiode of acid reflux the other night wasn’t from the margarita…because I’m experiencing it daily now. 🙁
  • Jennifer Hudson wonders if it was the Tylenol or just being tired, or a combo of both that let the boy nap for 2.5 hours?
  • Jennifer Hudson wonders if anyone else has ever had lotion turn into [for all basic purposes] water? Apparently that’s what happens when you never use it and keep it for ~8 years.
  • Jennifer Hudson really needs to figure out her sleep number so her back doesn’t hurt every damn morning. That said, my back just hasn’t been the same since I was pregnant so maybe the sleep number is useless at this point.
  • Jennifer Hudson is going to bed early, yet still 17 minutes later than I’d planned.

Facebook Updates

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  • Jennifer Hudson enjoyed the grilled pizza: turkey, shallots, garlic, parmesan, provolone, mozzarella, and Alfredo sauce. Mmmmmmmmm!
  • Jennifer Hudson says there goes this pair of pants. Thanks, kid.
  • Jennifer Hudson hates it when she’s smarter than a word game. Bookworm on the iphone doesn’t think rut, goes, or squaw are words. Seriously?
  • Jennifer Hudson says the dog is shaking like a leaf so there must be another storm coming.
  • Jennifer Hudson just got home from another successful (and fun!) mom’s group!
  • Jennifer Hudson is really fed up with the NC Employment Security Commission right now.
  • Jennifer Hudson wonders what the NC Employment Security Commission is trying to tell her…the website has been wonky all day, meaning I cannot file my weekly certification.
  • Jennifer Hudson just put the boy to bed and is watching him play with his feet on the camera.
  • Jennifer Hudson feels like she’s back in North Carolina. It’s 70% humidity and already like 86 degrees, with a high of 94 expected. YUCK.
  • Jennifer Hudson is watching a guy at the grocery store twist off each apple stem before he puts them in his bag. Freak.
  • Jennifer Hudson is watching an old Gilroy Garlic Festival Garlic Cook Off on Food Network.
  • Jennifer Hudson just discovered last night’s hamburgers in the microwave. >:XX
  • Jennifer Hudson is thrilled the boy slept through the night again…it’s happening more often than not these days!
  • Jennifer Hudson just made what she hopes is THE most delicious garlic bread, EVER. Stay tuned. —time lapse— Well…it WAS yummy but not as wonderful as I’d hoped! That said, I think I need to bake it at a higher temp so it gets more bubbly/melty (I just guessed and didn’t refer back to the recipe). But I made extra so we have some in the freezer to try again. I would definitely make it again, though!
  • Jennifer Hudson really really really really really REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY misses her Jacksonville friends. I had a dream about them last night, where we had to say goodbye again, and I woke up with tears in my eyes. Sniff.

Tuna Salad

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So I just made tuna salad and, as usual, was reminded of the very first time I made it back in college.

Noodles? Check.
Tuna? Check.
Mayo? Check.
Eggs? Check.

But it wasn’t right. So I called my mom and the conversation went something like this:

Me: I made tuna salad but it didn’t taste like yours!
Mom: Did you use relish?
Me: No.
Mom: Did you use vinegar?
Me: No.
Mom: Did you use celery salt?
Me: No.
Mom: Well then that’s why it didn’t taste like mine.

So…lesson learned—and for the 15 years since then, mine has tasted [pretty much] like hers every time!!

Spaghetti Squash

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I bought my very first spaghetti squash ever today. I know, WHOA! 😛

I am not a huge squash fan, unless it’s Thanksgiving and the dish is full of sugar and topped with marshmallows…but my mom recently made spaghetti squash for us and it wasn’t too bad! Granted, it did have gobs of butter and parmesan in it, but I actually enjoyed it.

So I will be tempting fate and trying my hand at it sometime soon. Wish me luck!

Kentucky Vacation

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We just got back from a week’s vacation in Kentucky. Why Kentucky, you might be asking? Well, that was a fairly central mid-point for all of the Schwalmlettes & Schmitlettes (the nickname for the Schwalm kids and me) to drive and meet for a family reunion!

It was really nice, since we never all get to see each other at Christmas like we used to (see what having kids does?). 🙂 However, it wasn’t QUITE like old times—there wasn’t much staying up until 3am playing games and drinking and talking like in the old days…since there are kids to deal with now. (I might hazard a guess that I had the worst of it, since I still have to get up with the boy for night feedings, which meant I was usually in bed by 10 each night.) But we still all had fun visiting and relaxing and playing Wii games (and more to the point, watching the kids play Wii games) and watching the kids’ production of Three Little Pigs and Annie!

Owen was the absolute HIT of the week for the kids. They just about loved him to pieces! They always wanted to be in his face playing with him or kissing him or hugging him or touching him or helping feed him. I am sure he was overwhelmed, but it was very cute! Here’s what it looked like a lot of the time:

We also learned that Owen does NOT like a lot of noise and commotion. We had him in the room with us when the kids were singing or boxing on the Wii (both LOUD and CRAZY) and he was NOT a happy camper. As soon as we took him out of the room, he quieted down and was happy again. A kid after my own heart! :yes:

There was a hot tub (which I had been really excited about), but the weather was so warm that I never went in. It pretty much just got used by the kids (that is, after Kath turned it town to like 80° so it was more pool-like) who really enjoyed it!

We were out of cell service range, but the house did have internet so all us geeks didn’t have to go through withdrawal. I think we had three laptops and four iPhones—sometimes all going at once!

One day we all went to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and managed to get this family photo:

Of course, it was over WAY too soon…and before you know it, we were packing and on the road home. At least we discovered we have a pretty good little traveler—Owen slept most of the way and we only had to feed him once during the 8-hour trip (although we had to feed him the moment we got to our destination, both ways!).

Stay tuned for a link to the entire set of pictures!

Facebook Updates

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  • Jennifer Hudson really wants a squarespace website, but just can’t afford the version I want. Oh well. Life goes on.
  • Jennifer Hudson just got attacked by a tray of brownies. For realz.
  • Jennifer Hudson was slacking at the computer and missed the Vine newsletter when it arrived…so got squat this month. Boo hiss.
  • Jennifer Hudson liked Bert & Ernie better as puppets, not claymation.
  • Jennifer Hudson thinks maybe she will make brownies when the kid goes down for a nap. Which should be momentarily.
  • Jennifer Hudson loves a strawberry smoothie on a hot day.
  • Jennifer Hudson says “Seriously, ThinkGeek? You call THIS a women’s 2X? It’s waaaay smaller than my husband’s Large tee-shirts.” Booooooooo!
  • Jennifer Hudson really needs the boy to take a longer nap. None of this 30 minute BS. 🙂
  • Jennifer Hudson has a smart dog. I started taking away pieces that she had chewed off, and she grabbed the toy and ran into the other room!
  • Jennifer Hudson finds it hilarious that the boy loves to turn on his mobiles himself by rolling down the crib and kicking the buttons with his feet. Swear to god he looks like he’s aiming. 🙂
  • Jennifer Hudson should have napped with the boy, but I never would have guessed he’d be out for going on 2.5 hours. The story of my life.
  • Jennifer Hudson is trying to figure out the fun that is RTM—syncing, gmail, bookmarklets, firefox addons, etc.
  • Jennifer Hudson hates driving anywhere anymore because of all the freaking idiots and douchebags on the road. Everyone seem to think they’re the ONLY car on the road. Grrrr.
  • Jennifer Hudson really wishes she had chips to go with her sandwich. Yes, I’m eating lunch at 10:40.
  • Jennifer Hudson loves when the boy falls asleep on her…sooo sweet. Now off to shower and start laundry! YAY!
  • Jennifer Hudson says YAY! We can to go Kentucky with the fam! It’s a good day!
  • Jennifer Hudson wishes mint.com would actually update/refresh.
  • Jennifer Hudson loves a sleeping baby. So cute. So quiet. So peaceful. So needed. 🙂
  • Jennifer Hudson says Owen either needs to nap, eat more, or poop, because mom is tiiiiired of the cranky.
  • Jennifer Hudson is getting closer to getting her hair cut. I think I might get it trimmed one more time, then chopped. So maybe in a few more months?
  • Jennifer Hudson just fed the boy a teaspoon of oatmeal cereal! He’s getting better!
  • Jennifer Hudson woke up to check the monitor and see…Owen on his stomach! OMG!
  • Jennifer Hudson wonders who the #$%@ thinks it’s a good idea to cut down a tree and shoot fireworks at 8:30 on a Sunday night? Seriously. GET OFF MY LAWN!

It’s the little things.

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I hate that little things make me lose my mind lately.

Like just now, putting the sheet pan into the oven with sliced garlic bread and chicken nuggets on it, and I hit the edge just right and the entire tray tipped into the oven and across the door.

And I lost it.

None of it even hit the floor, and it was all salvageable within a minute, but I still lost it. I slammed the pan down, slammed the oven door, etc.

I hate being like this, never knowing what is going to set me off.

I blame it on sleep-deprivation.

Again, it’s a good thing Owen is cute and worth it. 😀

Facebook Updates

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  • Jennifer Hudson says the announcement of a new supreme court justice is NOT breaking news that should interrupt normal programming.
  • Jennifer Hudson is waiting for the boy to get up from his morning nap so we can go to Babies R Us!
  • Jennifer Hudson can’t believe she burnt the brownies. It’s sooooooooo sad!
  • Jennifer Hudson wonders if there is a percentile grade for foot size? The boy is already outgrowing his 0-6 Robeez!!
  • Jennifer Hudson is frustrated with Facebook because it keeps timing out on my photo uploads. 🙁
  • Jennifer Hudson just took 150 pictures of the boy at the park. I wonder how many good ones there will be.
  • Jennifer Hudson is already too used to Tom being home…tomorrow it’s back to the grind of him being gone all the damn time.
  • Jennifer Hudson has an almost-fully-organized garage! I still won’t be able to park in there, but at least we will be able to see most everything!
  • Jennifer Hudson is irritated with USAA. They took away the option to automatically pay twice a month—now you can only pay ON the due date…unless you want to manually set up extra payments. Ugh.
  • Jennifer Hudson just joined the Amazon Associates Referral program…mamma gots to make some money somehow!
  • Jennifer Hudson thinks she is losing her mind…there is an email gone missing from my inbox—not in trash, not in spam—that I know was there yesterday…?????
  • Jennifer Hudson Is finally starting to fill out her baby book.
  • Jennifer Hudson is ready to THWACK Comcast. Ugh.
  • Jennifer Hudson got 10 hours of sleep last night (minus one potty break and hearing hubby’s alarm). Thanks, Grandma Linda!
  • Jennifer Hudson is thankful for grandparents.
  • Jennifer Hudson feels like this box of Lucky Charms is skimpy on the marshmallows.

Keep your fingers crossed for Maggie!

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So we hoped that when we moved back to Michigan, Maggie’s allergies would go away entirely. It’s what her vet assumed, too (mainly due to weather conditions). Unfortunately, she still has issues…although, honestly, they do seem somewhat lessened. But she still itches and scratches herself quite a bit—she usually has some red or scabbed spot on her at all time.

So we decided to change her food—again. She has been on many different good (i.e. nothing you can buy at Petsmart) foods as we tried to eliminate ingredients she might be allergic to…but since none of them made any difference, we just ended up feeding her a five-star rated food (we actually switched between Innova Evo and Canidae).

But we decided we might as well try another, better, food. Yes, there is such a thing—a six-star rated food! We decided on Orijen 6 Fresh Fish with Sea Vegetables, a grain-free food. And for those of you who don’t have dogs or who haven’t researched dog food: grain-free = expensive. Apparently these six-star dry foods are like one step below a raw diet.

“Although life styles have changed, the digestive systems of cats and dogs haven’t changed for hundreds of years.”

As a Biological Food, ORIJEN adopts a simple nutritional philosophy: Follow Nature. By closely matching the foods that dogs and cats are evolved to eat, ORIJEN provides them the nourishment that Nature originally intended.

Anyway.

So we’re steadily switching her over, and she seems to love it. And we’re just keeping our fingers crossed that it really helps. If it does, it will be worth the expense. If it doesn’t work…well, I don’t want to think about that right now.

I swear, the things we do for our kids pets. :>>

A great first Mother’s Day!

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Technically my day started at 4am when I got up to feed the boy, but I’d say my day really started when Tom took the boy so I could sleep in—which I did until about 8:30! 😀

Then Tom made me a breakfast of scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese, and said he was going to head to Lowe’s to get planting soil and more basil—and he was going to plant everything for me! The boy’s eating and napping schedule changed that slightly, and we ALL ended up going out for errands. We talked about maybe going somewhere for lunch, but figured that since it was Mother’s Day, every place was going to be packed—so we thought we’d just play it by ear.

On the way to Lowe’s, I remembered that we had to stop by Michael’s to check on our frame job (two weeks ago we finally took in our canvas photo from the cruise and apparently the frame was messed up, and we either had to pick another frame or wait for the frame to come off of backorder).

After we took care of that, we were walking back to the car and I happened to notice across the parking lot that Fuji Japanese Buffet was open. What’s Fuji Japanese Buffet you ask? An all-you-can-eat sushi and Asian food buffet! We have talked about going there before but have just never made it. So over we went! (So the boy had his second restaurant outing in as many days!)

And WOW was it yummy! They had a Mother’s Day special running which was a few dollars more per person than their normal price, but they had more specialty items as well. (We said we’ll have to go again to see what a normal service includes.) I stuffed myself silly on sushi—but only managed to eat two plates full! I still got my money’s worth, though, so it was all good!

Then it was off to Lowe’s where we picked up the gardening stuff we needed, and then it was back home—just in time because Owen was ready to eat.

It turns out Tom didn’t do the planting because it is supposed to frost tonight—so that will come tomorrow. But I did get in a nap!!! YAY!!! And then Tom watched the boy so I was able to make dinner! (He apologized for me having to make dinner but I was more than happy to do it since I hardly even have the time or energy to do it anymore!)

So it’s been a WONDERFUL first mother’s day!!!

More Facebook Updates

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  • Jennifer Hudson loves all her Tivo friends sooooooooo much!
  • Jennifer Hudson hates that it’s impossible to cut a baby’s nails. What cruel joke is that?
  • Jennifer Hudson wishes Owen would just nap already. He’s tired, I can tell.
  • Jennifer Hudson hates hates hates online “coupon printers” because if you’re not connected to a printer (i.e. laptop) you can’t print to pdf. GRRRR.
  • Jennifer Hudson isn’t sure why her scanner thinks a newspaper clipping is a color document. /confused
  • Jennifer Hudson is on her third shirt of the day and it’s only 11am.
  • Jennifer Hudson is prepping to give Owen a bath by herself. I am not good at that alone part yet.
  • Jennifer Hudson says Facebook is irritating me. I keep getting emails about applications I have specifically said NO EMAILS from.
  • Jennifer Hudson is attempting to watch Back to the Future 3—simply to complete the trilogy.
  • Jennifer Hudson says whoops, my sneeze just woke up the boy AND surprised the cat right off my lap.
  • Jennifer Hudson just fast forwarded through the rest of Rachel Getting Married. Oh well.
  • Jennifer Hudson misses her 21″ widescreen monitor since she’s on the laptop 99.95% of the time.
  • Jennifer Hudson is hoping Owen has a better day today—he was Mr. Crankpot yesterday.
  • Jennifer Hudson has the beginnings of a chocolate headache. /damn that easter candy
  • Jennifer Hudson knows she should keep the babes up, but she is enjoying getting some stuff done around the house.

More Facebook Updates

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  • Jennifer Hudson has the oven preheating and oil, egg, and water in a bowl waiting for brownie mix…but someone decided he was hungry NOW.
  • Jennifer Hudson can’t get anything done today. Apparently sleeping through the night means no naps during the day.
  • Jennifer Hudson says holy crap, 6.5 hours last night!!!
  • Jennifer Hudson can’t believe Owen slept 6 straight hours last night. Of course then he was cranky after that.
  • Jennifer Hudson wishes Tom was home tonight instead of at an overnight work thing.
  • Jennifer Hudson just made all the bottles for overnight.
  • Jennifer Hudson just walked out of the post office because I did not want to wait behind 20 people.
  • Jennifer reviewed Baby Depot At Burlington Coat Factory on Yelp.
  • Jennifer Hudson just visited with a college roommate I hadn’t seen in almost two years .
  • Jennifer Hudson is enjoying cheesy scrambled eggs, courtesy of her wonderful hubby.
  • Jennifer Hudson is watching her cat’s love affair with my furry slippers. I’ve got to get a video of this!
  • Jennifer Hudson got a notice for an interview next week. Except I don’t know if I want to go back to work or not. I love being at home with the kid.
  • Jennifer Hudson is catching up on Phil’s Amazing Race video diary episodes.
  • Jennifer Hudson found the perfect job, except it’s too far away for the salary (pittance) they are offering.
  • Jennifer Hudson says YAY, Tropic Thunder is next in my Netflix queue.
  • Jennifer Hudson hates when the baby cries and I think he’s up for the day so I get up and…he falls asleep again. So now I am wide awake.
  • Jennifer Hudson is measuring her hair to see if she has (or is close) enough to 10″ for Locks of Love.
  • Jennifer Hudson is making brownies again. No nuts.
  • Jennifer Hudson loves napping with Owen on her chest…it’s not sound sleep but it’s something.

Mmmmmm, sushi!

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I love my husband.

I have been craving sushi but we just haven’t had the time or energy to go to a restaurant to have it.

So Tuesday he told me he would have a surprise for me today. Of course, I had no idea what it could be.

So he came home tonight with a takeout bag…of sushi!

😀

He saw the sushi place a few doors down from our drycleaning place when he dropped his uniform off Tuesday…and the rest is history!

We weren’t expecting much from a strip mall-type place, but it was YUMMY!

Miscellaneous Facebook Posts

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http://www.facebook.com

  • Jennifer Hudson says “Bizarre. I was placing an order on Overstock when an Overstock commercial came on.”
  • Jennifer Hudson is watching The Mole (S1) reruns since I missed it originally.
  • Jennifer Hudson is making brownies and cleaning the house while Owen naps.
  • Jennifer Hudson says “Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, brownies.”
  • Jennifer Hudson is fast forwarding through this week’s American Idol. Two hours in under 20 minutes. Man I love TiVo!
  • Jennifer Hudson was NOT expecting to cry at Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Cute movie.
  • Jennifer Hudson almost just got pooped on, LOL!
  • Jennifer Hudson is pissed about a late charge on AmEx. I never NEVER miss any payments. Ugh.
  • Jennifer Hudson thinks 70 is too warm for a walk. Hoo boy. What happened to me?
  • Jennifer Hudson has a cranky kid today.
  • Jennifer Hudson and Owen just surprised daddy at the gym.
  • Jennifer Hudson has a warm baby sleeping on her chest. /sigh
  • Jennifer Hudson hates it when sites don’t work in Firefox. What kind of programming is that?
  • Jennifer Hudson is about to take babes for a walk since it’s 52 degrees.
  • Jennifer Hudson had a rough night last night.
  • Jennifer Hudson is trying to pick just the right Kozy Carrier.
  • Jennifer Hudson just did 5 minutes on the elliptical. Hey—it’s a start!
  • Jennifer Hudson is enjoying Solitary 3.0.