School starting: A blessing or a curse?

Does my post title have anything to do with What’s for dinner? No, but
Among other things, yes it does. (Shit, now I can’t use this line again, can I?) Anyway, like most everyone else’ kid, at least in Utah, school started on Monday for my son Talon (going into the 9th grade) and Brittanie (going into the 11th grade). Blessing because, a)I don’t have to worry about whether or not the house will be standing when I get home, and, b)Curse, because I have to start monitoring things like how much lunch money do I need to fork out; and is the phone call I get every day from the school regarding absences really valid (yes, I’ve gotten 2 already.. I shit you not), and a plethera of other crap that isn’t worth my time to mention, or yours, because either a)you’re there, or have been there, or b)you’re gonna be there one day and you don’t wanna hear it. Either way, it’s exhausting and if I had my way, I’d hibernate through the school year and let hubs deal. So since there’s no way around it, I’ll do as we all do, and I’ll brace myself for what I am HOPING is to be a better year than last. My husband went to Afghanistan for 6 months last December and it was quite a, well, how do I put it nicely, um, well, EXPERIENCE to be a single mother to 3 kids for that period of time. That is beside the point though.
My taste buds are still quite iffy, and my desire to cook has diminished but not escaped me completely. Last night was pathetic. Frozen fish sticks and tater tots. Not that normally I wouldn’t like that meal, because every once in a while, I dig that kinda stuff, but last night, UGH, it almost literally made me ill. So tonight we had some pasta with roasted cauliflower, red onion, and garlic. And it was a hit! I noticed the recipe had no protein, so I added some toasted pine nuts and “real” bacon bits, and yeah, even the kids dug it. (I bought a new plate for pictures.. and I decided I just might start collecting plates for the sake of “plating”..)

Oh, and the other night, I needed to do something with all of the arugula I had (have I mentioned, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE ARUGULA??????) So I made a salad with It (arugula, I refer to it as It, as one may refer to Him as God), new potatoes and a rotisserie chicken. Really freaking good.. and so I decided that a picture of the preparation was prettier than the actual salad:

Unfortunately I was never able to taste that salad. Not even the next day for lunch. I have to say, this anomaly of not being able to taste my food, AND GAINING WEIGHT at the same time has me really concerned. I made an appointment with my ENT doc, but he’s booked a month out, so I can’t see him til September 24th or some shit. I guess that my love for cooking doesn’t die out with my taste buds because I still want to do it. Such is life i guess.

I’m so off, it’s not even funny

I know we all go through these periods where things just seem out of whack. For whatever reason, the fucking universe just doesn’t want to cooperate with our personal wants needs, and I really really hate that! It doesn’t sit well with me at all. A whole series of events it seems has sort of lead to a discontent I haven’t felt in a very long time. Had a great visit from my husband’s sister, whom prior to this weekend, had not spent more than a few hours with since Jas and I met over 8 years ago. It was so nice to have her here and get to know her. She’s one of those very honest people who doesn’t have any pretenses and just is who she is, and I LOVE her for that. I posted a picture or two of her on my Flickr page, check her cuteness out.
Aside from the utter bullshit at work, I have been very frequently losing my sense of taste. Not my expensive taste, but my taste buds. This is really a bitch for me because I cook for my family almost every single night of the week. You know how when you get a bad cold, you can’t smell/taste for a day or so? That’s what I’m experiencing, but it’s totally intermittent, and I KNOW first thing in the morning when I can’t taste my coffee (insert HUGE sigh) that it will be a day-long event. I had intense surgery on my sinuses last year and I can’t help but think it is related in some way. Nonetheless, it’s very frustrating to say the least. AND to make things worse, I am gaining weight like a son-of-a-bitch for reasons unknown to me other than the Paxil I’ve been on for a few months now. I can handle some vanity pounds, but now it’s getting out of control. Honestly, when I can’t taste my food, I feel like what’s the point of eating? But then I remember, OH YEAH, I’M STILL HUNGRY. It’s a strange sensation that is really messing with my mind. I have been uninspired to cook anything uber delicious, although there have been a few good meals here and there. In fact, my sis-in-law claimed the barbequed trout with an arugula salad was one of the best meals she’s ever had! (Lies to make me feel better, I’m sure):

And tonight ended up being Faco Friday, because, well I told my husband it was his turn to think of something for dinner, and as usual, he came up with tacos. Not glamorous, but they were delicious:

So if you have any ideas about the taste bud thing, let me know. My WebMD searches have told me it’s a brain tumor or schizophrenia. I can’t live with that.