The missing meatballs

Everyone says it won't happen to them, until it does. If you're lucky to grow up with great parents who raise you well, you know that much of who you are has been shaped by their words and actions. But every now and then growing up you hear them say something or do something, and you swear you will never be like that when you get older. Before you know it, you are just like them.

I had an 'I am my mother' moment the other day. Rob said he wanted to make spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread for dinner, so I said I would pick up the necessary items at the store. I haven't exactly attempted to make my own meatballs yet, so I usually get my meatballs from the frozen section. I thought we still had some in the freezer, so asked Rob to check before I bought more. I was at work, so he checked for the meatballs while I was on the phone with him. None were to be found, but I insisted he look harder because I was pretty sure of the contents of our freezer. No meatballs. I said ok fine, but if I find them when I get home tomorrow, I swear.

The next morning I came home, groceries in hand, and as I open the freezer to put away the new bag of meatballs, I quickly spot the half eaten bag of meatballs that were no where to be seen the night before. I think I let out an Ugghh, and immediately picked up my phone to text Rob what I had found. I made a smart remark along the lines of 'It took me all of 5 seconds to find the meatballs!'

Right after I pressed the send button, I felt bad. I was instantly reminded of all the times my mom got frustrated with my dad when he couldn't find things that were 'staring him right in the face', usually in the kitchen cabinets or the refrigerator. Almost every time that happened, my sisters and I would stick up for my dad, saying so what if he couldn't find it? Leave him alone. And there I was, about to freak out on my fiance for something as silly as a $5.99 bag of meatballs. I guess that's what can happen when you reach a certain comfort level with someone. You don't hold back emotions over the small things like you normally would with others.

This meatball mishap actually happened months ago, I have just been saving this post for a while. It was a small thing that we've frankly almost forgotten about, and will undoubtedly happen again with something other than meatballs. But in Rob and my dad's defense, turns out there may be a scientific reason why men aren't as good at finding things as women. The video clip below sums it up pretty well!

Welcome to the family

The idea of marrying into a family and having in-laws used to seem strange to me. Getting new relatives just by marrying someone seemed too easy. Can you really call someone family after only meeting them twice in your life?

Mother-in-laws are in a category of their own. Watch any sitcom on TV and who always gets the bad rap? Mother-in-laws. Type in mother-in-laws in google and do you know what comes up? 'Mother-in-law problems', followed by 'Mother-in-law hell.' I've had plenty of friends get married, and one thing there was never a shortage of throughout all of the wedding talk was mother-in-law stories!

I have to say, I either lucked out or chose wisely, because my mother-in-law is one of the sweetest women you will ever meet, and I have no such stories as mentioned above. She planned a beautiful bridal shower for me this past weekend in Rob's home town of Grosse Pointe, Michigan. We went on a tour of the Ford House, and had a nice lunch followed by games and gifts. Besides my mom and sister Lisa, the guests were Rob's aunts, great aunts, grandmas, step-sister, cousin, mom and step-mom. The hydrangeas on the tables, German chocolate cake for dessert, and new everyday dishes from Crate and Barrel were all wonderful surprises. But maybe the best surprise was just how much Rob's relatives made me feel like part of the family, already.

So to answer my own question. Yes, you can call someone family after meeting them only a few times. The key is marrying into a family you want to call family after only meeting them a few times.


With my mom, mother-in-law and Lisa after the shower


Out to dinner after the shower with my mother-in-law, step father-in-law, my mom, father-in-law, step mother-in-law, Rob and Lisa

Special steakhouse marinade

I am somewhat of a compulsive expiration date checker, always have been. When I was a kid it went something like this...
Mom: We have OJ if you want some with breakfast.
me: How old is it?
Mom: I don't know, it's fine.
me: What is the expiration date?
Mom: 5 days from now
me: Eh no thanks.

It was like I was scared of eating anything too close to reaching its special date. Well, like my Mom said it would, that mentality changed as I got older. Once I was on my own buying groceries, it was more like check the expiration date and see it's a week past that date, smell it, look at it, decide it's fine for at least another week. Now, that's not true with everything. Salad dressings, sauces, crackers, eggs and bread- fine. But I draw the line at most dairy products.

Nowadays, checking the expiration date has a new twist to it- seeing how close any given date is to our wedding day. This may sound crazy, but trust me, if you're engaged (or expecting or have any other significant date to look forward to) and haven't done this yet then your big day must just be too far away to have any perishable food items with a corresponding date in your kitchen. The other day I was making a nice steak dinner for Rob and I. I got out the Lawry's Steakhouse marinade, noticed there wasn't much left in the bottle, and checked the expiration date. What do you know- July 31 2010. All I could do was smile. And take a picture. And blog about it.