Football, Allergic Reactions, and Sesame Seed Encrusted Tuna

God, what a weekend.

Friday night we went to the MBA/Ensworth football game. Two rival private high schools here in town that had huge stakes in the game. Both teams were undefeated. The Ensworth head coach was the MBA coach for years until he left about 6 years ago to defect to Ensworth, which added the high school to it's K-8th grade lower school. My friend's son plays for Ensworth, so we went to support them. Ensworth wasn't favored to win, but they pulled it out in an unbelievably close game. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill sat in the section next to us...they're huge supporters of the school. At one point, cute Faith walked up the stairs, right towards me, smiling her cute little smile, looking a little more confused with every step, until she stopped next to me and realized she'd come up the wrong section. She had no makeup on, her hair was up in a bun, and she still looked radiant. Oh well.

J had a couple of clients in town for the weekend. We had dinner reservations to take them out Saturday night, but our very close friends were having a huge party that night as well. She was kind of passive-aggressively giving us a hard time, pretending she was kidding, but not really, about us not being there for the party. So we went by there early, had a drink, then took the clients to dinner for many bottles of wine and champagne (and a little bit of food, I think), then went back to their house for the end of the party. I was a little cold, so I grabbed this yummy blanket that my friend had knitted and wrapped myself up in it. A few minutes later, my eyes started itching. I had the sinking realization that her cat probably liked this blanket, too. I forget that I have developed this really weird allergy to cats that makes my whole face, eyes, mouth, and cheeks swell up like a balloon. And itch. Like you wouldn't believe. As I started clawing at my face to relieve the itching, my eyes swelled almost shut. I went home to take benadryl and put cold compresses on my face, and by the morning it was almost back to normal. But I feel like I was put through a meat grinder. I wish I had taken a photo to document my loveliness, but here's reasonable likeness to what I looked like. Pretty.



Last night we had the clients and their wives over for a small dinner party. The weather this weekend was so glorious. Low 80's during the day, high 70's at night, clear skies and no humidity. The clients are from Oregan, and this was their first visit to Tennessee. Now they think we have this weather all the time. It made Nashville look good. I made sesame seed crusted Tuna (seared on the grill), Israeli couscous salad, green beans, and a romaine/cranberry/toasted pecans salad with feta cheese and strawberry basil vinaigrette. It was probably the best meal we've cooked all summer. J's roses were in full bloom, we made a fire in the fire pit, and it was the perfect end of the summer evening.

Here's the way to make this tuna. It's basically fool-proof, except that if you like it rare, it only needs to be cooked for a minute or two, or it becomes medium or medium-well, since it continues cooking after you take it off the heat. You can sear it inside over the stove, if you want, but cooking it outside helps keep the spattering oil mess to a minimum.




Black and White Sesame Seed Encrusted Tuna with Wasabi Citrus Aioli

One large jar Black Sesame Seeds
One large jar White Sesame Seeds
Salt and Pepper
Two large Tuna Steaks (the best quality you can get)

Unwrap Tuna steaks, but do not rinse (otherwise the sesame seeds won't stick)
Place in large Ziploc bag, cover with sesame oil and marinate for 30 minutes or more.
Mix sesame seeds in shallow bowl, take tuna steaks out of oil and press into seeds, making sure they're completely covering the tuna and pressed in.




Heat grill to high, place large skillet on grill and heat. Add a couple swirls of olive oil, and sear the tuna on both sides. Serve with wasabi aioli and pickled ginger, if desired.
*If your pan is hot enough, it should only take a couple of minutes to sear the tuna on both sides, if you want it rare.

Wasabi Citrus Aioli

Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons Paprika, Smoked
1 1/2 teaspoons Wasabi Powder
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime peel
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients in medium bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Cover.
2. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

YUMMY!!

Dancing till the floor caves in!

Well, H had her first homecoming "date" last night, if you can call it that.  He asked her via text message on her phone before they had ever laid eyes on each other or spoken a single word.  He came highly recommended from one of her new friends at her new school, who as I understand it was the instigator behind the fix-up.  Up until the moment that he asked her, she had given me the impression that she had no interest in going at all, and probably wouldn't get invited since she didn't know anyone, and didn't care at all.  But as soon as she was invited,  she was all over it!  The dress, the shoes, the nails, the hair...I don't know if she thought at all about the boy, but that was O.K. with J and I!  She started a new all-girl's school this year, so boys are scarce.  They have a "brother" all-boy's school that they do a lot of social things with, as well as plays, theatre, music concerts, community service, etc.

J was "uneasy", to say the least.  Letting her go out to dinner and a dance with her girlfriends was one thing, but with a boy was something else entirely.  The boy's mom called me early in the week to fill me in on the plans.  First, there was a group of five boys and their dates.  They would pick the girls up and bring them to one of the boy's homes for pictures, and cocktails for the parents.  Cocktails were very important to J at this point!  Then off the dinner, then the dance, and then the "after-party".  Dinner and the dance were o.k., but the after-party took some convincing.  After a few phone calls to the parents  to ensure that there would be adequate adult supervision, J gave his permission.

We had a small dinner party that night, with a few friends, which was nice, because it was a beautiful evening, we got to catch up with old friends, and J was distracted for most of the evening.  We were enjoying coffee on the deck, and his cell phone rang.  It was H.

"Dad, I'm O.K."

"WHAT?  What do you mean?"

"Well, there was a little accident at the party, and a few kids got hurt, but I'M O.K."

Then, suddenly, in the distance, we heard about 5 or 6 police/fire/ambulance sirens.  We live about 3 miles from the home where the party was taken place.  J turned white.

After a few minutes of typical abbreviated responses from H, we got the story.  There were about 100 kids dancing on the deck, jumping up and down, and the deck CAVED IN!


After trying to sort through the wild exaggerations from the 9th graders at the party, I think we finally got the official word that there were no serious injuries.  Luckily it was a low deck, no one underneath, so there were just a few bumps, scrapes, and sprains.

My poor husband.  Now, two days later he is just now breathing normally.  Poor H.  She may never be let out of his sight again.

Teenage Independence

Yesterday I picked H up from school to take her to her basketball coach, and as she threw her things into the backseat and jumped into the car, I asked how her day had gone.

"It was great!" she said.

A couple of beats later, she said, "Well, it really was a crummy day, but I had a good attitude so that made it great."

When I asked her what that meant, she explained that this day (Day 2 in her 7-day block schedule), is her least favorite day.  Her least favorite classes, all-school assembly, nothing really 'exciting' to look forward to.  But she said she had started a new "thing" in the mornings.  When her alarm clock goes off, she closes her eyes and thinks of one or two things that she can look forward to, and that makes her whole day go better.

Whoa.  When did she get so smart and insightful?  It's almost like she turned 15, and shed the skin of the 14-year-old she used to be.  Being an only child, she has always been extremely close to J and I.   But suddenly, she is making decisions for herself, making her own plans for afterschool and weekends, packing her own bags, and doing her homework without my help or advice.

She signed up to do "Model UN", a three day weekend in which teams of three high school students represent different countries, propose and defend a bill relating to that country, and all the research and work for that weekend has to be done by next week.  H and her two friends have been working every weekend for several hours on the position papers that have to be turned in.  They are doing this work without asking for help from the parents at all.  It's so strange for me, because I love seeing the work she's doing, and helping her.  I'm having to just step back.

I know this is all good, and very normal at this point.  This is a normal, healthy stage in adolescent development where the child/young adult seeks to pull away from her parents as she attempts to develop an independent identity apart from her family.  I have to learn to let go a little.  In the past, when H would come to me for help in absolutely every decision she needed to make, I secretly loved it.  It validated me and our relationship.  Now that she is asserting her independence, I need to let the ropes out a little.  Hopefully, by letting them out a little at a time, by the time she is an adult and ready to go out into the world she'll be ready to go.

It's an amazing time.  Every day I am amazed at something she has learned or demonstrated in her life.  I know there will be setbacks and failures.  If there weren't, she wouldn't learn anything or progress to the competent adult I know she will be.  My role is to set guidelines, limits, and to be here when she needs me or wants to talk.  So I'm sitting on my hands and biting my lips, and watching the butterfly emerge.

Nashville's Gas Crisis: Inside the Bunker

We drove to North Carolina on Friday, and were lucky to have no trouble getting gas in the small towns on the way.  We watched with great interest as the situation unfolded here all weekend, with neighborhood watches posting availability and length of lines of cars getting gas, when it was available.  The media is warning us that it might take all week to get back to normal.  Of course, with everyone topping off their tanks every time they see gas available, the situation is not improving.  I've seen people filling up portable gas containers and milk jugs.  When the rest of the country runs out of gas all they have to do is contact us, we'll have the surplus!

The Nashville Scene posted a great little movie about the Nashville gas situation.  It's hilarious.  Watch it all the way through...


Nashville's Gas Crisis:  Inside the Nashville Bunker

Layoff from Running...Plantar Fasciitis???

Have you noticed how many people are jogging now?  Mornings, afternoons, evenings...pretty much all the time and wherever I am.  I know, the weather is cooling off, so it's typical to see more people outside, but since I can't run, it seems like all I see are people running. 

I started running, really running, about 14 years ago.  I've completed nine marathons, and have all kinds of goals for future races, like trail ultras, running a marathon a month, running a marathon in different countries, running with my daughter (might have to give that one up...she hates to run).  And even though I stopped getting faster, and started slowing down a few years ago, I came to terms with that, and still love doing it.  I love to run TO something, like to H's basketball games, track meets, soccer games, etc.  I love to explore new cities with a run.  I love to run.  It's almost the perfect exercise.  You only need a good pair of shoes, you can do it anywhere, it burns the most calories per minute, and you can do it in the shortest time of any other exercise that I do.  It releases all kinds of endorphins, helps me work through problems in my head, relieves stress, and gives me a natural high.  There's only one problem.  I CAN'T FRIGGIN DO IT NOW!!!!

I've got some kind of heel pain.  I think it's plantar fasciitis.  I had it a few years ago, and had to miss a marathon that I trained for, but it hasn't given me problems in many years.  Plantar Fasciitis is an inflammation of the plantar fasciia, the tissue on the bottom of the foot that connects to the heel bone.  The weird thing about this is that usually, the pain is on the bottom of the heel, close to the arch.  But my pain is on the outside of my heel.  It's weird, I went to the podiatrist, who has helped me in the past, and he tried to palpate the pain by squeezing and pressing on my heel and couldn't do it.  So he said it's just a really  mild case, no need for any drastic measurements, and sent me on my way with instructions to stretch, take anti-inflammatories, and not to run.  NOT TO RUN, even when it starts to feel better.  But I'm a bad patient.  I haven't run in a couple of weeks (but I bike 150 miles a week and do the stair machine and elliptical with no pain), so Sunday I got on my treadmill to see how it felt.  Started running slowly, 10 minute mile pace, and it felt fine.  So I ran a mile, then walked a mile, then ran 2 miles at 9:30 pace.  Still fine.  Walked another mile, then ran 1 1/2 miles at 9:00 pace.  It felt really good.  I was so excited!  Until I woke up the next day and could hardly walk.  I barely made it on the mile walk around the block with the dog.

So I'm not going to run.  Even though every person in the bloody neighborhood is running.  I think they're running past my house, just to make me feel bad. 

I'm going to stretch, sleep in the night brace, take advil, ice, and just TRY to be patient.  If anyone has any other suggestions, feel free to pass it on.  For now I'm just going to live vicariously through some of the running blogs I've found, like Make it a Masterpiece. 

Being the New Mom in Daughter's new school

So I decided to attend the Parent's Association lunch (or "luncheon" as they call it) last week, to try to meet some of the moms at H's new school.  She goes and decides to change schools in 9th grade, something she didn't have to do, since her first school was K-12, and now I have to be the "new mom".  Did my daughter think about my feelings?   Nooooooo.  Never mind that it's a great school, that she loves it, has made  lots of new friends, feels challenged, made the basketball team, and has already had lots of new experiences that she wouldn't have had otherwise.  I feel like I just moved into town and don't know a soul... 

So I walk in, check out the kiosk with "school approved" merchandise:  sweatshirts, tote bags, scarves, t-shirts and golf shirts, look around at the huge turnout and watch everyone greeting each other with hugs and "how was your summer" chit-chat, and try to look like I belong.  Luckily, I found ONE mom that I knew from H's old school, who was kind enough to introduce me to a few people.  So we grap our plates, and fill them with little sandwiches, pasta salad, and cookies, grap a bottled water, and walk into this shiny big room, auditorium-style, with chairs attached to long tables, and filling up the entire room was a sea of blonde haired soccer moms.  Uber volunteer-types.  I can't believe that even though I was born in this town, and have lived here for most of my 48 years...I don't recognize anyone.

So we hear from all the various committee heads, with glowing descriptions of the work they've already done, even though school has been in session for a whopping three weeks, and I try to figure out which committee I want to join, so that I can meet some people.  The main event sounds like a good choice:  Lots of sub-committees, and it takes place in the spring so it sounds like a long-term commitment.  After the meeting was over, I get introduced to one of the chairs of the event, and volunteer my services.

"Oh, thank you SO much, but this year we have 272 volunteers!  So we really don't need anyone until maybe the day of the event.  We'll probably need some manual labor to help us set up and things."

Great.  So I'm on the manual labor committee and the baking cookies committee.  On one hand, I guess it's great that they have lots of volunteers.   But the primo slots seem to go to the "popular kids".   Wonder if I should color my hair blonde?

15th Birthday Trip

I just realized it's been two weeks without a post.   Last weekend we took H and two of her friends to Florida to my in-law's for Labor Day weekend.   It's actually a repeat of last year, when H decided she'd rather do this than have a big party.  She had so much fun she decided to do it again.  Makes it much easier on the parental units.  All we have to do is cough up the money for plane tickets and a couple of dinners.  They pretty much entertain themselves.  Well, it doesn't hurt that Grandma and Papa live in a community with golf, tennis, swimming, beach club, and most important (when you're 14 and 15) GOLF CARTS.  Combine two golf carts with three teenagers and a closed golf course, and it's like their own private amusement park.  The only thing missing...boys.  At least in this community, there were no boys under retirement age, so it was very relaxing for J and I.  Something tells me when these girls start driving real cars and want more social interaction, this trip might not hold as much interest for them.  But for now, we enjoyed the weekend.

Since I don't have permission to post the beautiful faces of these girls, here's a non-identifying photo of them taking a golf lesson. 

And here's the image I see in my head when I look at H's face: