Return to Normal (Day 13, Year 2)

Today, all three children attended in-person school. As such, all three children were miserable, ill-prepared and fought with one another over obscure things such as water chestnuts, dance shoes and pillows. 

Also, I smelled vinegar today and it only smelled slightly poisonous, which is fabulous because tonight I made a very vinegar-y parmesan Italian dressing (EYE-talian, as my father would say in his old timey Philly way). 

I think friends this is the beginning of our return to normal.

In fact, at one point at dinner the oldest child, hysterical over the menu and dance shoe, shouted: "THIS IS JUST WHO WE ARE," and then stomped away to her room.

And don't worry, she is not going to bed hungry. She ate the Cheetos and candy she keeps under her bed for dinner. She was a Girl Scout, so she knows how to survive in the wilds of our home. 

My son refused to stop playing Fortnite. My middle screamed several times and flung herself on the furniture in a very "Gone with the Wind" sort of way. My husband became annoyed with us all and I coped by planning my spring wardrobe and outfits for France, while drinking tea and simultaneously massaging my sinuses (those still hurt like a mother-effer). 

Everything is returning to normal. 

Well, that is, with the exception of the strange military helicopters, flying low, with what looked like a large gun poking out of a window, I saw today. When I saw the second one, I was returning from picking up my juice cleanse juices (tomorrow is the BIG day) and I thought, "well at least I tried to get healthy, before the world ends." And then I thought, "I am glad the juices are in glass bottles. I can kill zombies with them."

A friend saw the helicopters, too, which means we had a shared apocalyptic delusion. This is actually very normal for me! 

But before the world ends, I have to share my recipe for my vinegar-y parmesan Italian dressing. It is the bomb and super easy to make! The great thing about my silly resolution to make my own salad dressings is that I eat more salad. Tonight, I paired this dressing with an antipasta garden salad--greens, onion, banana peppers, olives, turkey pepperoni, tomato, red pepper, cucumber and chickpeas. It was so freaking good--I think I'll meal prep a few of these with grilled chicken for lunch next week. 

Making salad dressing is surprisingly easy and really intentional. I think to be intentional with my food. It makes it taste better. 

To make the dressing, dump the following in your blender:

1/4 of a sweet onion (just shove the chunk in the blender!)

1 t. dried oregano 

1 t. dried basil

Salt/Pepper

1 T. minced garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup red wine vendor

2 t. honey

1 T. dijon mustard

1 T. grated Parmesan

Italian dressing is my perennial favorite and this version is creamy, but still light. It is just right. 

Well, I am off to look for weapons for the zombie apocalypse. Cheers to normal!