Well, Hello!

Soooo, it's been a while.  My husband and I welcomed our first child, a boy, 8 weeks early.  Having a baby changes your life, but having a preemie puts the world on hold.  CJ is now 15 months old, and a healthy, active, joyful child.  I've made all of his baby food and he's a great inspiration for me to make better choices in my own meals (if I won't let HIM have it because it contains [insert ingredient here], then should I really be eating it myself?)  I also have to eat my veggies to set a good example for him  [groan].  (We've made a joke at dinner...my husband counts out 10 peas and puts them on my plate and I must eat those icky little green things.  My son on the other hand, is scarfing them down...mostly because he can feed himself and it doesn't come off a spoon, but I think he might actually like veggies.  I'm not sure he's my kid, lol.)

In addition to the chaos of a new little one, we decided to remodel our house.  (Well, more like take the entire second floor off our cute little Cape Cod, put a 16' addition on the back of the house, and then put the 2nd floor back on, plus a huge attic.)  We packed the entire house--right down to the paper towels!--and put it in storage.  (So I'm missing all my cool gadgets!)   The kitchen, ironically, is the only room in the house NOT being redone (we're waiting a few years for that).  The house will be GORGEOUS when it's done.  The process, however, has turned into a living nightmare.  We broke ground May 4, 2010, and today (March 1, 2011), there's still no end in sight.    Thank goodness for Casa de Mom & Dad.  I'm finally getting used to my mom's refrigerator (with the freezer on the bottom), her oven (which heats up SOOO much faster than mine), and her knife set (oh I miss my Wusthof's and my big butcher block cutting board!).

My dad in September 2008, shortly after beginning chemo.

And if all that wasn't enough, my dad lost his battle with cancer in late July 2010.  This blog is named for him--he always used to warn us "don't mess with my stomach" when my brother and I would get on his nerves right before (or during) dinner.  Dad was my taste-tester, one of the few people besides my husband brave enough to try some of my dishes.  Dad knew what was missing from a recipe and what to substitute when I was out of something.  Dad encouraged my love of cooking from a young age.  He loved boring vanilla, peanut butter and saltines, and making soup.  He was the first food critic in my life.

Through all this, life went on.  I kept cooking--comfort food, survival food.  I even have pictures of a lot.  I just didn't get it all online.  But a dear friend has just issued me a challenge (see her blog here) and I can't refuse a good challenge.  So hopefully that will be the kick in the butt I need to get back to something I really enjoy.  Hopefully (SOON!) I'll be back in my own kitchen, playing with awesome gadgets, and using my awesome knives.  And hopefully, Dad won't unscrew the lid on the salt shaker when I go to season something, because he knows better than to mess with my stomach.  :)