Fancy That…Fancy This

I woke up this morning at the crack of dawn.  Literally.  I have no idea why I was up so early on a Sunday but I figured I might as well head to the gym to be productive.  I love being in the gym when it’s empty!  So you can imagine my shock and irritation that there was already someone there and he had the TV blaring!  I see this man often and I just want to beg him to buy some earphones already.  But he’d probably report me to the Board for being rude or something and I’d get fined.  My building hands out fines like they are going out of style.  Ridiculous. 

After the gym I made breakfast for Maya, took a shower, read her several books, did a load of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, dried my hair (an interminable process), and finally ate breakfast.  Meanwhile, Ali took a shower and got dressed.  And yes, that’s it.  

Instead of getting snippy with each other we decided to go out to lunch with my parents.  Since restaurant options near their house are pretty limited we decided to hit Cheesecake Factory in Redondo Beach.  Despite the fact that the restaurant serves gargantuan portions and basically is a food factory, I still love it.  The Redondo location is particularly beautiful because it is right on the Redondo harbor and our table had views of the water and the stunning yachts.  

My supportive husband ordered bread for the table.  I almost caved and had a piece slathered with butter.  But somehow I managed to hold it together.   

It helped that Maya decided she needed me to take her potty.  Who knew that Maya’s frequent potty breaks could serve as a mechanism for carb control? 

She dug right into her pasta when we returned: 

bowtie pasta with butter and cheese

Maya loves her carbs.  So do I.  But I was a good girl and had some protein instead (I didn’t eat much of the rice or any of the sauce):  

simply grilled salmon with steamed asparagus and rice

One of these days I am going to be completely salmoned-out.  But at least I didn’t order eggs.  

Ali took care of that instead: 

scrambled eggs with asparagus, tomatoes and avocado

My mom had the French Country Salad: 

mixed greens, grilled asparagus, fresh beets, goat cheese, candied pecans and vinaigrette.

She claims that she is the only person in our family who has no eating issues.  She’s probably right. 

I thought she looked particularly nice today:  

As did my dad:  

He decided not to order anything except a cappuccino he had serious issues with.  That poor cappuccino went back and forth at least three times.  And he still pronounced it a disaster. 

I am excited that my dad is kicking off  The Fat Flush Plan tomorrow.  I know that he is going to stick with it!!  (I know that he reads this, hence the cheerleading).  

I was feeling particularly generous and ordered Maya an ice cream sundae as a surprise:  

I got a spoon of chocolate sauce and a hug in return.  I consider that a fair trade. 

I also got a “You are the best Mama in the whole word.”  Not sure if I believe her but it’s nice to pretend she means it anyway.  

I had my usual decaf and Ali had a latte cappuccino.  No lattes around here!  Real men drink cappuccinos.  Apparently they also wear Hello Kitty band aids.  Nothing more manly than Hello Kitty band aids. 

Afterwards we walked around the harbor for a bit and fed the ducks.  

And now we are finally home.  Maya says she feels sick…I was hopeful that we could get through the weekend without any vomit but it’s looking a lot less likely now.  

Wish me luck.

If there was ever such a contest, I would probably win the award for the person with the worse sense of direction.   Am I the only person who can’t read a map?  I usually have to repeat Never Eat Shredded Wheat a few times before I can figure out which way to go.  And when I finally figure out which way to go?  It usually ends up being the wrong way.

Back when I lived at home my lack of direction would drive my dad crazy.  He’d tell me how to get somewhere and say something like, “Exit the freeway and go North.” Of course I’d ask, “Is North left or right?”  And he would literally go berserk!  Finally, he put a Thomas Guide in my car and called it a day.  I never opened it.  Because I can’t read a map!!

Today my friends and I met for lunch in Pasadena.  Naturally we got lost!   So despite leaving my place at 12:45 we didn’t get to the restaurant until 2pm.  Getting lost on my own is one thing but even sadder is when I get lost with three other people in a car armed with a GPS and two iPhones giving us directions.  I think  I am hopeless. 

Luckily lunch was worth the 20 minute detour.  A total of five of us met at The Raymond Restaurant.  The restaurant used to be part of a hotel which, if I understand correctly, shut down during the Great Depression.  The caretaker’s house was later turned into the very cute restaurant where we ate today.  Our table was outside on the patio: 

The tables were beautifully decorated with flowers and silver salt and pepper shakers, sugar bowls, etc.  Very old school and charming. 

By the time we ordered it was about 2:30 and I wanted to order one of everything.  I was starving!

My friends ordered a couple of scones to start, which I obviously had to forgo.  

baked daily and served with strawberry jam and clotted cream

Am I selfish if I admit that I wasn’t disappointed when I heard the scones weren’t very good? 

The birthday girl ordered the Thai Steak salad: 

I couldn’t find a description on The Raymond’s website but I think it had mango, peanuts, steak, and veggies.  It looked delicious. 

Another friend had the Ahi Tuna Salad: 

Again, no description on the restaurant’s website but the plate seems pretty self-explanatory.  I loved the unique presentation.

Two other entrees included Eggs Benedict on Avocado and a Veggie Omelette:

I had the Salmon Salad: 

organic mixed greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, kalamata olives, and feta cheese in a lemon dill vinaigrette

And a few of the Sweet Potato Fries that I ordered for the table: 

These fries were seriously the star of lunch!  I don’t think I’ve had fries in about 5 years…but these were definitely worth the wait.

The restaurant was nice enough to bring out a dessert for the Birthday Girl: 

chocolate brownie, vanilla ice cream, bananas, chocolate fudge and a cherry

I had a bite of the chocolate fudge and then reverted to my usual decaf coffee: 

Lunch was great!  I highly recommend this restaurant for it’s good food, friendly service, and classy decor.  Definitely check out The Raymond if you are ever in the area.

Just be sure not to ask me for directions.

Maya has been asking me for months now if she can learn French.  Damn that Fancy Nancy and her bad influence!  I have been humoring her all this time because I figured she’d forget about it but apparently my child has a memory like an elephant.  So I stopped being lazy, did a little research, and took her to a class this afternoon.

Who knew that so many preschoolers had such extensive language needs?  When I was Maya’s age I think my parents were just pleased I could speak English without utilizing the word “ain’t.”  Learning another language never even entered the picture.

Initially the teacher was concerned that Maya would have separation issues…she clearly has no idea that my daughter is willing to spend time with just about anyone else if it means she gets time away from her crazy mother. 

Things were kind of chaotic with the teacher talking at an extremely rapid pace and in a very loud voice.  I don’t think she understood that I was serious when I said that Maya doesn’t know any more than Bonjour.  After the 45 minute class was over I asked Maya what she learned and she said, “I don’t know, Mama.  I think I need some more classes.”  I wonder if that was Maya talking…or the teacher talking?

After French we headed to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner…Fresh Corn Grill. 

Fresh Corn Grill is conveniently located near our place in Westwood.  But the parking, or lack thereof, is a nightmare!  We had to circle the block a few times to finally score a parking meter.

The restaurant is quite small and isn’t exactly a dining destination so we usually just use Fresh Corn Grill for catering.  And they do an amazing job at catering!  But I was craving a salad tonight and since I wasn’t exactly about to turn heads in my soccer mom ensemble:

We figured we’d forgo ambiance for good food.

Fresh Corn Grill is the kind of casual place where you place your order at the counter and they bring you your food when it’s ready.

Maya usually loves Fresh Corn Grill but today she was in a bad mood and said she “didn’t want anything” from the restaurant.  “Not one thing.”  She brought her own pasta instead.  I had no idea what her deal was, but I was too excited about my salad to really care. 

I had the Fresh Corn Grilled Salad with Salmon (corn, zucchini, scallions, asparagus, tomato, and avocado tossed in a house vinaigrette).  It was fabulous.  I pretended not to notice Maya longingly eyeing my salmon.  But she would not be ignored. 

“I wish I could have some salmon,” she kept sighing.  And after I gave her a couple of bites she said, “I wish if I could have some more.”  I told her she could have more of my salad but the rest of the salmon was all mine.  She huffed and puffed but I would not back down.  I told you I don’t share very well.

Ali had the Grilled Chicken with Caribbean Sauce and Grilled Zucchini.  I didn’t hear any complaints coming from his direction but he wasn’t exactly laying on the compliments either.  Again, I didn’t really care because I was too excited about my salad, which he incidentally ate half of.

It’s another exciting Friday night around here…I am about to break out some chocolate and watch Sunshine Cleaning.  I hope you are all out doing some more interesting than me!