Attitude that we don’t like is known as battitude in our house.  There’s been a bit too much battitude coming from the boy this week.  I always try to look for a reason, but frankly, I think this is just something they do from time to time.  Testing the waters... checking out the boundaries.... making sure we’re riding the edge of sanity, apparently.

I always do this to myself: Last week was so creatively charged that I had boundless energy and was certain that it was a sign of “normalcy” on the horizon (“Normal” being the once upon a time when I could clean house, take care of a couple kids, provide a couple of great meals to the members of my household a couple times a day, AND have enough inspiration left over to, you know, write a clever blog entry or two.  And do some freelance work.  Riiiight.)

Ok, so here’s my yoga moment for the week.  I’ve arrived.  Somehow it became Wednesday already and I’m about to gauge my eyeballs out from a three-year-old vacillating between talking my ear off, to being a perfect gentleman, to pooping his underpants in defiance, to throwing tantrums left and right because life isn’t going just how he wants it.  Oh, and the baby doesn’t ever want me out of her sight. 

And here I am, MAD at the blog.  Because I promised myself it would be something I would commit to 3-4 days each week.  Because I keep sitting down trying to have something brilliant to say and nothing comes.  Because I am not looking at what I HAVE achieved this week.

I cook even more when I need to relax, and this definitely qualifies as one of those times.  So though I have nothing revolutionary to report, I have some lovely photos as proof that despite feeling like a torture victim at times this week, I took those lemons and made lemonade... and pretzels, and pork tenderloin with fennel, and more biscotti, and piles of various cooked veg instead. 

I am going to exhale now. And take another deep breath.  And promise myself that I will be kinder to myself during times like these and know that I am just doing the best I can... and that’s a pretty good job, now that I look at it.  That’s my real New Year’s resolution.  To just be kinder.  Everywhere and to everyone. 

And maybe to eat another pretzel.

HOMEMADE SOFT PRETZELS (courtesy of Alton Brown)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-soft-pretzels-recipe/index.html

I followed this recipe to a T, as it was my first time making any kind of boiled bread.  It was easy to prepare, follow, and produced an amazing result... DO try!!