Filling my chart with gold stars

Even though I've been teaching for a while, this is the first summer I've ever taken off (no summer school, no second job, etc). I had a loose list of things I wanted to accomplish in all my free time. They are probably things that normal people do year round and don't really consider "accomplishments". However, you need to keep in mind that I'm far less motivated and far more lazy than most people.

1. I cleaned out my closet/dresser.

I'm terrible at keeping ugly skirts that I haven't worn in three years "just in case". It's even worse now because I don't fit into anything so that gives me even more reason to save everything "just in case". I also obviously have to save ever race shirt from every race EVER because it's not like there's any sort of internet record of that sort of thing. But I managed to bitch slap my inner hoarder and fill three trash bags. I would have taken a picture, but I'm sure we can all picture that. Actually, it was only yesterday so obviously they are still there and it's still an option. I'll do it if the people demand.

2. I started another baby book (Happiest Baby on the Block).

My baby will look just that happy, but with a much darker complexion.

I'm not sure if this counts because I didn't technically finish the previous one. That one is about breastfeeding. Even though I didn't finish it, I think I managed to weed through the many reasons why getting an epidural will make my child hate me and end up in prison and otherwise ruin my life and pull out what seemed like useful breastfeeding information. There's other chapters on solid foods and weaning immediately prior to kindergarten but I own the book so I'll get to those when the time comes.

3. I did some legit cooking.

One of my favorite things about summer is the chance to actually take time and try out new recipes, as opposed to the school year when dinner is more about "what can I get into my mouth within 30 seconds or less after walking in the door to avoid killing someone with hangry rage". Tonight, I made these amazing Baja fish tacos that I highly recommend (although they are messy and photograph horribly).

What I've really been craving is a good, old fashioned fruity pie. I asked Eric what kind he wanted and he said apple. I don't know it was the hormones or what but I almost left him. I mean, WTF. It's July. You eat berry pie in summer. You eat apple pie at Thanksgiving. Do I have to explain everything?

Once we were able to move past that, we settled on blueberry or blackberry. The recipe I found called for two pounds of berries, and blackberries were being sold in plastic containers with approximately 7 berries for $3.99 at Wegmans.

I found a recipe for butter pie crust, which perfectly fit my qualifications of "things already in my home". I have a lot of fancy kitchen gadgets, and I truly love them all. Yet for some reason, as much as I love dessert, I lack some basic pie cooking requirements. Mainly, a rolling pin, and whatever people use to mix pie crust without their hands warming it up (my research tells me the key to a good crust is ice cold ingredients).

I found this little trick in the comments on allrecipes.com, and it was life changing so I thought I would share it. You freeze the stick of butter, then grate it, then freeze the grated pieces.

Looks like cheese right? BUT IT'S BUTTER

Then turn it into delicious pie.

For some reason I desperately wanted a lattice top.

I'd say it was a roaring success.

4. I posted my first #transformationtuesday

Except now I sort of regret it because I feel like I jinxed myself to still have a baby bump at 41 weeks. But I even changed out of my pajamas for it and everything!

5. Paint the nursery

Technically it hasn't begun yet, but it's ready.

Also if you really want to get technical, I had nothing to do with clearing out the room, preparing to paint, and I'll continue that trend with the actual painting. I can thank Eric for all that. But I'm creating the child who will live in there, and I was smart enough to choose a motivated and handy and strong baby daddy, so I decided to include it on this list of personal accomplishments.

So for all those keeping track at home, that's FOUR gold stars. I also went to work today, did a kickboxing class, and paid hard earned money to sign up for a test I have to take to continue to be allowed to take even though I just finished a master's degree. All in all, I feel I can safely say I wasn't a drain on society this week.

What do you deserve a gold star for today? Feel free to list as many as you want! And don't forget that you are beautiful!