Fly on the Wall: Dinner Wars

Welcome to a monthly Fly on the Wall group post. Today 12 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house. At the end of my post you’ll find links to this month’s other participants’ posts.

A friend's kitchen was being remodeled so she was coming to my house for dinner. There's a dish she makes that we both were in the mood for. She gave me the ingredients and directions over the phone and I made it.

When she came for dinner the meal was good, but definitely different from how she makes it. Quite different.

So we went over the ingredients together.

Her: . . . and Bay Leaves . . .
Me: Oh, wait, you said Bay Leaves? I'd heard Bailey's . . .

So after dinner we were sitting and having a cup of coffee. Spiked, of course.We were chatting, playing cards, drinking our coffee when suddenly she made a face and pulled something out of her mug.
Her: What the heck is this?
Me: I figured since I put Bailey's in your dinner, I'd put Bay leaves in your coffee. You know, balance . . .

Here's a backwards role-reversal conversation I never expected to have:

Me: Oh, my, ouch.
College Boy: What's the matter?
Me: My stomach is killing me.
College Boy: I'm sorry, how long has it been hurting?
Me: Off and on for a couple of days.
College Boy: Do you gotta poop?
Me: Ummm, no, but thanks for asking . . .

I want to know what exactly the thought process was here . . .

I don't want this TV any more. I think I'll drag it out of the house and leave it on this street corner?

 

College Boy, on the one day a week that he's here for dinner, always asks for certain favorite meals. In the few weeks before PurDude was coming home for winter break, I was stocking up on PurDude's favorites, some of which are College Boy's too.

I brought home some Rib Eyes and was putting them in the freezer when College Boy asked if I'd make them that night. I told him I'd bought four and we'd have them when PurDude got home the following week. I didn't realize it but I must have said that about a lot of meals because this was the conversation the day before PurDude came home:

Me: Can't wait till tomorrow.
College Boy: Me too.
Me: That's great that you're happy to have your brother home.
College Boy: Yeah, that too.
Me: That too?
College  Boy: Well, I was thinking I'm happy you're going to start cooking the good stuff.

Butterscotch Rum Frosted Cookies

And . . .  he was home! For an entire 20 days. Which went by in about a minute.

Me (hugging and not wanting to let go): Do you like going to school so far away, or would you rather be closer to home?
PurDude: I would like to be a little closer.
Me: Just a little? I'd love to have you a lot closer. Like maybe half the distance to Purdue.
PurDude: I'll be closer next year.
Me: You will? Are you considering something I don't know about?
PurDude: Yeah, I'm considering moving to a room on the west side of the house.

Now that's just mean.

When the boys were growing up, I never really thought to talk to them about fashion. They wore whatever I put out for them or, when they got old enough to prefer certain looks, it was easy enough to accommodate them.

I was very surprised when PurDude started buying his own clothes. I sent him to school with a department store credit card linked to my account so he could get what he needed when he needed it.  I was in for quite a shock. He'd been wearing jeans, cargo shorts, skate t-shirts. Suddenly he'd become preppy. When did that happen? Polo pants, cotton dress shirts, polo v-neck sweaters, sperry shoes. Huh?

Although I really enjoy watching him come into his own in his sense of style, I also see where I missed out in explaining what matches and what doesn't.

An outfit he wore while home: dark brown corduroy pants, a neon orange collared shirt, a royal blue v-neck sweater with a red polo emblem and navy socks. 

I never did talk to him about what matches because, the truth is, I couldn't help but smile.

PurDude put his phone on the side table, grabbed a throw, laid down on the couch and did what he does best whenever he's home, took a nap. I was on the other couch working on my blog posts and FB interactions.

When he woke up, PurDude grabbed his phone and was looking at it when I hear:
PurDude: What the . . .
Me: {{silence}}
PurDude: You didn't . . . 
Me: {{silence}}

Not really sure how it happened, but somehow while he was asleep, PurDude apparently had scrolled down the Baking In A Tornado FB page and "liked" all of the statuses.

And he was not amused.

Manipulative? Me? Why would you say such a thing?

The day after PurDude traveled back to school I sent him a loving text from his mama.

Me: I miss you. You've been gone long enough. I think you should come back home now.
And if you do and I win the billion dollar powerball, I'll share . . .

I was working on my January Blog With Friends post. It's a really fun one to do because as a group we pick a monthly theme and everyone who wants to join in comes up with an informational, DIY, recipe, or craft project based on the theme and we all publish them together. Since we share each others' posts in our own, I put everyone's picture and a short description in my post. I reread it and scheduled it to publish on the assigned day.

My friend Rabia of The Lieber Family Blog did a DIY project. I don't know why I decided to look at the post one more time once I'd scheduled it but luckily I did. It seems that instead of sharing that Rabia had a DIY, I was about to publish that Rabia had a DUI.

Wonder if our friendship would have survived that little typo . . .

Now click on the links below for a peek into some other homes:

 Juicebox Confession
Menopausal Mother 
Someone Else's Genius 
 Spatulas on Parade 
Searching for Sanity 
Never Ever Give Up Hope 
Go Mama O 

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy
Not That Sarah Michelle 
Southern Belle Charm 
My Brain on Kids 

Butterscotch Rum Frosted Cookies

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients:
1stick butter, softened
1 stick margarine, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 TBSP spiced rum or 1 tsp rum extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2 tsp spiced rum or 1/2 tsp rum extract
3 cups powdered sugar
3 - 4 TBSP milk

Directions, Cookies:
*Place the butterscotch chips into a food processor and pulse until they look like crumbs. Set aside 1/3 cup for decorating the tops of the cookies.
*Cream the butter, margarine and sugars. Beat in the egg and rum or rum extract. Mix in the flour and baking soda. Last, add all but the reserved 1/3 cup of the crushed butterscotch chips.
*Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.
*Remove dough from the fridge and roll into about 3/4 inch balls.
*Place on cookie sheets and flatten, just slightly, with the heel of your hand.
*Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes. Allow to sit on the cookie sheets for two minutes before you remove them. Cool completely.

Directions, Frosting:
*Cream butter with rum or rum extract. Carefully blend in the powdered sugar.
*1 TBSP at a time, add in as much of the milk as you need to bring the frosting to an easily spreadable consistency.
*Frost the tops of the cookies. Sprinkle with the rest of the crushed butterscotch chips. Gently press them into the frosting.
*Refrigerate cookies until the frosting is set, then remove and store in an airtight container.