the frying pan
For the first time since I began writing this blog, I didn’t put up a post for more than two weeks.
This means that I didn’t stick with The Schedule.
It nearly killed me to not stick with The Schedule. Because without Order and Routine and Schedule, who am I really?
(Aside from the obvious answer of Ali.)
At our usual Maison Kayser…pretty Christmas tree. And Maya’s pretty new hat.
Anyway, my work hours have been so crazy that I brought home non-organic grapes and let Maya wear mismatched socks to school.
Ali even resorted to “cooking” one night, when I didn’t get home prior to the dinner hour.
He utilized the new pans I finally bought (thank you for your speedy delivery Macys.com – now we can hopefully stop slowly dying of lead poisoning) and made two sunny-side up eggs.
At Koi – Bryant Park. This place used to be WAY better.
Which led me to institute the following:
Rule #579– “When one makes a sunny-side up egg, one must clean up the greasy frying pan, the greasy stove, and the greasy spatula. Otherwise, one may not make a sunny-side up egg.”
Rule #580– “One may not, under any circumstances, utilize a metal utensil on the brand new non-stick pans. Ever.”
Steamed fish at Koi (not good), Pumpkin salad at Stella (very good!), Minestrone soup at Le Pain Quotidien (very good!), Verdure Salad at Stella (amazing)
Aside from instituting new kitchen rules, I have lots of real work to catch up on. But I decided that today, on Christmas, there will be no work.
Instead, I will continue my pattern of ignoring Maya so I can put up a post. Even one that really has no point.
At Koi. Where I at my not-so-tasty-dinner while half-asleep.
Because I can think of no better trade-off than to ignore my family in honor of The Schedule.
We’ll just call it a little gift to myself.
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 
I wish you a “sunny side up” year ahead even though a dirty stove is completely “shady”.
Cute Lauren! Hope you are having a good holiday so far. See you in the new year? Hopefully?
I have soured a relationship over rule# 580. I CANNOT stand anyone using metal over a frying pan. I hate the noise and the scratches.
On a different note I haven’t commented in a while but I’ve been reading all your posts. A few days back I was thinking, how I haven’t seen any updates on your blog. Hope y’all are having a happy holiday!!!
Thanks Priyanka! Please don’t worry about commenting – so glad you are reading. 🙂
Happy Holidays to you too!
I am a stickler for having a schedule and I can get pretty anal about it. After separating from my husband, I’ve learned to let go a bit, and it feels pretty good.
*kisses* H
I need to learn to let go more. It’s hard for me – I’m a control freak.
Joyeux Noel 🙂 Wishing you a year of schedules that will always be kept!
Thank you Elaine! I hope you are having the most fantastic holiday in Paris!
I missed you! I’m glad you took the day off and that you wrote a post (and ignoring the kids is character building, right?)
I got new pans and oven trays for Christmas (plus chocolate and Baileys, omg I am now officially middle-aged) and I have instigated the no metal rule. Hubbie insists it doesn’t matter and I insist they’re my pans! 🙂
Merry Christmas, I hope work calms down for you and you can get back to your schedule. Without order all would be scary chaos! (Something like my life…)
Thanks for the very sweet comment Amanda.
Glad to know that I’m not the only one entering middle-age…when pans and a calculator make my Christmas you know that my age is showing.
Tell Hubbie to stay away from your new pans! Hope that your holiday is great too. 🙂
Metal utensils on non-stick! Oh man, just the thought of it is raising my stress levels. Hope you’re having a great holiday season. NYC in December is magical.
It’s so pretty here Gayatri – love the holiday season. Dreading January though, just a little bit. 🙂
Hope you are having a great holiday break!
I am so happy that we have you here to uphold order & schedules. 🙂 As one Mr. George Bank says (or sings), “Precision and order. That’s all that I ask.” Joking aside (certainly I am not comparing you to Mr. Banks!) I agree with your new rule, and in fact, I will expand it to: Those who have no intention of cleaning up after themselves shall not cook. Period. Or, if for emergency, they could be allowed to cook, but shall not have the right to boast that they have cooked. COOKING includes cleaning up the kitchen. Thank you very much. The same goes to laundry. You have not done any laundry if you have not folded and put away the clothes. Even a 3 year old can be taught to throw clothes into the washer and hit START.
I haven’t been able to get my 8-year-old, or my 37-year-old, to push start on teh washing machine. It’s not looking like they could handle it.
I fear that there will be lots of doing laundry and cleaning greasy pans well into 2014. LOL
Thanks for the comment – hope you are doing well!
And Happy New Year my friend! I hope the busy work schedule is the kind of busy that makes you feel challenged and tingly inside.
Happy New Year to you too.
PS: I love work. So glad you understand how work can make one tingly inside. 🙂
New pans are definitely my weakness! I am glad that you have instilled order once again, especially where pans are concerned. But man, I remain impressed Ali knows how to make eggs 🙂
Well that’s the only thing he makes. Not sure if you should still be impressed my friend!
LOL
MAN was I relieved to read a post! I have been a looongtime lurker (and BIG fan!) of your blog… & having come to ‘know’ you & your love for schedules, I was a little worried something happened to you or your family when you didn’t post anything last week!!! 😛
Hi Khal! Thanks for the sweet comment and thank you SO MUCH for reading.
We are all doing great – luckily! Just life sometimes gets in the way, you know? 🙂
I hope that you and your family have the most fantastic holiday!!
hahaha i will stop poisoning myself too, we got a new nonstick pan for xmas from my parents. i think they are trying to tell us something…merry merry ameena hope you had a good holiday with your family x
How funny! SO many people received new pans for Christmas.
Maybe there was something on the news about it? LOL
Happy Holidays Melissa!
Sometimes the most pointless posts make the biggest point in the end. The food pictures look amazing and delicious, per usual. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Sending my love from the frozen tundra that is North Dakota.
Stay warm my friend. I can’t imagine how cold it must be there!
And happy holidays to you and your family!!
well, I am happy that Ali is stepping in the kitchen to make dinner 🙂 Go Ali..I hope he remembers #579 and #580 next time. Hope you guys are having a wonderful time in NYC.
He won’t remember my rules (he never does) but it doesn’t hurt to keep issuing them. Gives me something to do. LOL
Have a great holiday as well Dixya!
Happy Holidays Ameena! I miss you and your posts. Ali cooked? Wow, impressive. I know what you mean about new pan. It should be obvious, but yet my husband also does exactly the same thing like that. I guess it’s a man thing… sigh… 🙂
Hi Lydia – thank you for missing me and my posts! And yes, Ali “cooked.” I use the term pretty loosely though….
Hope you have a great holiday season!
I LOVE coming into your world for a little while. Seriously. Happy 2014! xx
Thank you Kim! And Happy 2014 to you as well!
My my!! Maya is becoming prettier by the day!! Loved her new hat!! Merry Christmas and happy 2014 to you 🙂
Thank you for the compliment (on behalf of Maya!). And a Happy 2014 to you as well Nandita!
I thought you were dead. Every week you post on the 7th day. Thought the OCD finally caught up with you. I’m close to it. Ali cooked? If you are alive after then it’s all good. I survived NJ and then dinner at my sisters in upstate NY.. My kids did the right thing, they showed up. It will wear off I’m sure, My daughter actually cleaned her room last night after presents. I am still in shock.
You thought I was dead? I believe only Ali wished for that. LOL
She offered to clean her room? What exactly did you get her for Christmas that made her do that AND go to your sister’s place?
PS: I helped clean up at my sisters with the dinner mess. My bro-in-law re arranged the dishwasher. What a guy 🙂
Funny – Ali also likes to rearrange the dishwasher, all the while telling me I don’t know how to properly load it!!
2 weeks without blogging! Whoa. And the world didn’t even stop spinning so that’s a plus. Glad you enjoyed your sunny side up and took time for the holidays. Hope things calm down.
The world didn’t stop…but my OCD didn’t either!
Hope you are enjoying your holidays to Cece!
Merry Christmas Ameena! Hope it was a good one! I love Calphalon pans, I ordered my wok from Macys and came right on time. Recently bought Le Creuset, I can’t wait to use it. It’s always so fun cooking the first tie. Stella and Koi look like good restaurants to check out. 🙂
My mom loves her Le Creuset…I hope that you enjoy it as much!
I know so little about pans and pots…you’ll need to give me a crash course Nisha.
Laughing as always. But I do hope things settle down with work, otherwise who knows WHAT will happen to your pans from Macy’s?
The same thing that happened to the previous set – they got all scratched up! Terrible!
I know what you mean about having your schedule! It seems like if I don’t stick to it, I just feel a little off. I hope you had a great holiday 🙂
Thanks Jena…I hope that you did too!!
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
Thanks Jolene…I hope that you did too!
Do tell about these new pans! Are they perchance ceramic? Me mum just gave me some for Christmas so I could have a nonstick surface that wouldn’t kill me.
I don’t think they are ceramic…they are Calphalon. Does that make them ceramic? I thought they were non-stick but not ceramic?
If it were ceramic it would probably be a white pan. I don’t know if Calphalon makes ceramic pans but if they are Calphalon I think they should be pretty good quality either way!
They are definitely not white so I’m going to hazard a guess and say they are not ceramic! My mom says Calphalon is good and she knows what she’s talking about. 🙂
I noticed you were not blogging for longer than usual! Hope you had a relaxing Christmas, Happy New Years Ameena!
Thanks Amelia! I hope you too have a great holiday!
Who needs schedules when its the holiday season? The days all blur into one from Christmas till New Years Day, haha 😉
Schedules are imperative in order to get through the holidays. 🙂
Here’s wishing you a brighter and a more relaxed 2014!
Thank you Anita! I hope you have a great holiday as well. 🙂
I hear you. The schedule has been blown out of the water for me. With the surprise wedding I planned in the middle of December, things went a little differently. I am just sending out my Christmas cards tomorrow. Happy New Year. Love,
Shauna xoxoxxo
Ali hasn’t sent out his cards yet either…if it makes you feel any better Shauna!
The pictures of the wedding were so pretty! You did a great job.
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. No one should have to make a rule for someone to not utilize a metal utensil on the brand new non-stick pans. Ever! It is one of the unsaid laws of the universe me thinks 🙂
Ali chooses to ignore the unsaid laws of the universe…unfortunately. He’s pretty consistent with this!!
I cringed when I read that Ali used your new pans! It is so funny, they are made for cooking but I treat my kitchen appliances like babies. How dare he use stainless steel on non stick!
It’s one of those thoughts that makes my teeth hurt…if that makes any sense?
Meh, I like to stay on schedule, too, but around the holidays, that totally goes out the window!
I hope that 2014 brings you more schedules. 🙂 Happy New Year!
So glad to see your post. Was a little worried to see a break in The Schedule. A very happy new year to you, Maya and Ali…
Thank you Gayathri! It’s nice to be back to posting…hopefully I can stick with The Schedule. 🙂
Thanks for this such a unique & beautiful post about frying pan. Now I do understand more about frying pan just because of this post 🙂
I had to laugh…a unique and beautiful post about a frying pan. I love it!
Wonderful post on frying pan…loved what you wrote for making the perfect sunny side up egg. Wish you a very happy New Year and hope we’ll stay in touch through blogging! 🙂
A very Happy New Year to you as well! I hope that 2014 is a fantastic year for you!
Happy New Year, Ameena! Loved reading your post as usual 😉
“Because without Order and Routine and Schedule, who am I really?” – I can completely resonate.