And the Tomatoes Became…

…Tomato-Tuna-Cavatappi Salad.

Creative naming skills…that’s me.

Recipe coming soon.  I hope.  With luck.  Okay.  I’ll have to make it happen.  And I’ll link it when I do. 

Tomatoes!

The tomatoes are finally ripening.

Up until now, they’ve only been ripening one at a time, taking too long between each to do anything more than pop one still warm from the sun and fragrant from the vine into my mouth.  Have you ever eaten a tomato straight from the vine?  It’s…deliciously, divinely decadent.

But yesterday just enough of them ripened at the same time.  Just enough to…

….

I don’t know.  What should I do with them?  Surely something special?

Slice them and mix the slices with fresh mozzarella, then drizzle them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar?

Prepare a Pizza Margherita?

Mix them with pasta?

Roast them?

Or should I eat them directly from the bowl?  On their own?

Decisions, decisions.

What Do You Mean It’s Already the Middle of May?

If there is one thing I can say about 2012 so far, it’s that I feel as if someone hit fast forward on the big remote control of life.   Too geeky?  Probably.  But in all seriousness, I’m not really sure what happened to the last month and a half.  Every time that I blink another three days go shooting by, and the only things that seem to really mark that passage of time are the check marks on the calendar and the state of my tomatoes– I picked the first two ripe ones this morning.

You really didn’t think I wasn’t going to at least mention my tomatoes, did you?

The last two days have been spent in a mostly catatonic state clad in pajamas.  Poor Viv has been fighting a stomach bug, and it looks as if she’s finally starting to win out today.  However, she seems to be only operating at about seventy-five percent of her normal two-and-a-half-year-old pace.

In fact, as I type this, she has her head on that pillow to the right there and is fully stretched out half asleep.  Poor little bit.

I’ve only been able to occasionally experiment in the kitchen– things like corn chowder (we ate it all before I could style it, so this is the beauty shot)

and strawberry cupcakes with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream frosting (which I did style).

There was a field trip to the aquarium where due to the economy and budget cuts, I got to drive myself forty miles roundtrip in my own car and pay twenty dollars for an admission ticket and five dollars for parking–all for the privilege of being a chaperone.  I might be a little bitter about that part (understanding…sort of…but definitely bitter).  The kids had a good time, and that’s what counts.

My boy: a whole tank full of fish and sharks and sea turtles, and he’s drawn to the computer screen.

Then there was field day, one of which I possess more than fourteen hundred photos (not an exaggeration) that took more than three weeks to process, organize, and distribute.  This is the only one I’m willing to post.

It’s past time for a haircut for Jake, and I have no clue if he was yawning or about to say something.  I wish I could post the other photos, some of which were ridiculously gorgeous and energetic, but that pushes all of my privacy buttons, so not gonna do it.

In addition to field day, there were final soccer games and rained out rescheduled games, culminating in the final party.  No pictures there because I’m a bad mom and forgot the camera.  Yes.  I forgot the camera on multiple occasions.

There were projects,

awards ceremonies,

and an invitation to join the National Elementary Honor Society.

There was Easter: grilling with family and friends, dyeing eggs (yes we used that horrible synthetic stuff–how dare we),

and a trip from the Easter Bunny.

There was a trip to Magnolia Plantation with my mother-in-law,

which I intended to share in a separate post, but never did and still want to.

And there was a family trip to the zoo,

replete with all of the various zoo staples

that one expects,

and some that you don’t.

Also a trip for which I intended to write a separate post, but have just never gotten around to it.  I still hope to; however, as I sit here looking at the clock for the thirtieth time this morning, realizing with all of the various tasks I’ve seen to so far, this post has taken me more than two hours to type– a short time compared to normal days, but only for taking advantage of poor Viv laying on the couch feeling not to swift.

And this, this I believe is the reason that I have not written more.  The days have been full, blessedly full of family and friends and life.  And this is good.  Busy, but good.

And soon in very good company (the baby is Viv– recognize the blanket– the grown up is my dearest friend of twenty-two years as of this August whom I so rarely get to see– she’s nine times as busy as I am),

I will get a few days to relax.  While I’m not sure things will slow down, I intend to enjoy every moment–preferably without forgetting my camera and with a minute or two to write a little.