“I have a culinary boner right now.” – Andrew

“I’m like Pop-eye’s wet f*$%^@#% dream right now.” – Andrew

Let’s get the very worst of it over with: Dale’s outburst at the end of the (surprisingly fun to watch) Quick Fire could quite possibly be the most pathetic moment of this Top Chef season. That’s saying a lot with this group. Was his tantrum really necessary? Yes, it stinks to lose. No, you aren’t entitled to whine about it. It seemed less like a chef and more like a spoiled boy in need of growing up. The only thing worse was the whole Marcel hair shaving thing during season 2.

But, moving on. The Elimination Challenge split the chefs into two teams and pitted them against each other catering a wedding. Adding to the drama: the chefs had to work through the night and serve in the afternoon the next day . . . nice.

Did you catch that Andrew shuts up when he is lacking sleep? He should lack sleep more often . . . though his sound bites this episode were a trip (see above).

Shining moment for the episode? Richard giving up the winner spot to Stephanie for all her work on the cake. He’s really shown some strong character in the past few episodes. He’s the guy to beat, for sure, and the guy to know . . .

I wasn’t sorry to see Nikki go. The criticism of her — that she dropped the ball being the “Italian chef” — was completely valid. Too bad they couldn’t send Spike with her . . .

All of my cooking, photographing, and posting about our food has really caught on . . . with Will. The boy doesn’t miss a thing, I tell you.

I whipped out the camera to quickly catch a shot of the beef brisket before sitting down to eat. His little eyes lit up when he saw the camera.

“My plate next, Mommy! My plate!” Will chirped.

Of course, I indulged his interest and snapped a few photos of his cut-up food.

“Now Daddy’s, Mommy. Daddy’s plate!” He chirped.

I quickly snapped a photo.

“Now, yours mommy. Yours.”

I think I’ve created a monster . . . Read the rest of this entry…

A deadly virus is attacking young children in China. A tidal wave has killed thousands in Myanmar/Burma. A woman held prisoner by her own father is finally free of her basement prison after 30 years and several children . . .

As if that isn’t enough, gas prices are skyrocketing to a point I never imagined for our country. I cringe at the pump every time I have to fill my small, fuel-efficient car that barely fits two car seats for the kids. I don’t know what I will do when gas gets more expensive . . . and we all know it will.

It’s a scary world we live in. As a mother with two young children, I can’t help but wonder what kind of a life I have birthed my babies into. Move over, I am scared. Read the rest of this entry…

The Scene: Eating dinner with the family. Paige in her Exersaucer next to the table.

Paige: {{Shriek, shriek!}}

Will: (Leaning over the side of his highchair to see her.) It’s okay, Paige. I love you.

If next Sunday is anything like today – sunny, blue-skied, relaxed – then it will be a fantastic Mother’s Day. Now, before you go off railing on how it’s a Hallmark holiday and blah, blah, blah, just listen. Mother’s Day has been celebrated since the early 1900s. It was created by a daughter who wanted to honor her mom’s work after her death. (Read the story here.) Woodrow Wilson made it an official holiday . . .

Heck, the celebration of mothering is something that has been done for centuries. So, please, don’t malign this one. I happen to like it. Maybe it’s because I am a mother. Regardless, I think mothers do deserve their day after carrying their children in the womb for months and months, and then birthing them. Oh, the wonders of birthing . . . and the stories I could share.

The simple fact is that mothering isn’t easy. Read the rest of this entry…

I love the warm breeze that flirts through the window screens. It’s like taking that first breath when your head finally rises above water in the ocean. Just having open windows is a huge treat after a long, cold winter. There’s so much possibility — plants to grow, yards to tend, games to play . . .
It’s not just me. The dogs love to play outside in this weather, and Will runs around with glee. We are so done with winter. Good thing, because it’s May.

But while the outdoors are filled with hope and possibility, the inside of my house has me losing sleep. I have a problem. A big problem. A busy lifestyle has left me cluttering my counters, desk and bedroom. There are photos to be organized, books to be straightened and papers to be filed. I can’t take it anymore. I seriously can’t. But who am I fooling? The problem isn’t just a busy lifestyle — it’s a busy lifestyle coupled with sheer exhaustion and some degree of laziness. Basically, I need to push myself to do just a little bit more to have the home I’ve always wanted.

I’ve never been a neat person per se — photos of beautiful, clutterfree homes are fun to look at in magazines, but they’ve always seemed so unlived in. On the other hand, my clutter feels overlived in. There has to be a happy medium.

The clutter makes me anxious and upsets me in ways I never thought possible. And it makes me not want to work when I need to be working. It’s consuming and it needs to be put to rest.

I cannot take the clutter. Read the rest of this entry…

It was the best of times . . . It was the worst of times. Actually, in this episode there was more that I loved than hated. For the first time this season, the Quick Fire Challenge lasted more than 10 minutes and the contestants came off as human beings. For the most part, that is.

I loved – L-O-V-E-D – that guest judge Art Smith actually gave criticism while tasting. It was a very real moment for the show this season. On the other hand, I was disgusted (this should be a big surprise…really) by Andrew’s reaction to having a $10 budget. Plenty of Americans feed families larger than four people on less than $10 a meal. Seriously. And obviously, if they were all able to finish the challenge, they were able to follow that one guideline.

Really touching though was Antonia talking about her daughter, and then talking to her daughter. It was a shining moment for her. And when Richard said that seeing Antonio cry made him want to have babies . . . well, maybe he’s not so bad.

I imagine the episodes were all cut in advance, but it almost feels like Top Chef listened this week. We got more human contestants, a longer quick fire and more Tom Colicchio. Yay!

As for Mark going home: although I liked him, I was ambivalent about seeing him go . . .

. . . Next week on Top Chef: Weddings!