Ifferjenn Independent

I love having a good meal. Particularly meals where the deliciousness is inversely proportional to effort. Allow me to give you an example from my own dinner tonight.

1) Take a clove of garlic. Slice off the top and put in a small baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and cover with aluminum foil. Put in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, take a giant loaf of Syrian bread.

A note on Syrian bread. Here in Worcester, you would go to Bay State Bakery for these. Outside of Worcester, you’d probably want to find your own local Middle Eastern bakery. Good Syrian breads will get nice and crispy in the oven, which is what we’re looking for. Your big-brand pita pockets won’t work here.

3) Shread enough sharp cheddar cheese to just cover the loaf. When there’s about 10 minutes to go, slide the loaf directly onto the rack. Check after 5 minutes, though, as you’ll take it out as soon as the cheese is melted.

4) Top with hummus, the freshly roasted garlic, or whatever else piques your fancy!

I highly recommend the roasted garlic.

Yesterday was one of those days that happens at least once every winter. The weather forecasters said we’d get SNOW!, and so many people panicked and canceled things for the day. And here in Massachusetts we got literally millimeters of snow. Hardly worth any fuss at all, really. Certainly not worth canceling school the night before, in my opinion.

Not that I’m bitter about NOT getting my auto-call from the school, ignoring my alarm, getting up late, rushing around to get out the door, driving Ethan to school, and luckily bumping into a janitor who told us school was canceled. Then driving back home, getting Ethan settled, and running even later to work. Nope. Not bitter AT ALL.

But aside from my not-bitterness, there is a point here. I live in Massachusetts. Worcester gets an average of 67.2″ of snow a year, ranking number 22 on the Top 101 Cities with the Highest Average Snowfall. Snow is not an unusual occurrence around here. By freaking out over a potential storm, you’re going to get people all worked up, then angry that nothing happens. When an actual storm shows up, people won’t think about what they should be doing to stay safe, and will get themselves into trouble.

Remember the story of the boy who cried wolf? We had to buy it for Ethan for Christmas to remind him to always tell the truth, so let me refresh your memory. A little boy thought it was great fun to see the adults panic whenever he said the wolf was coming, so he kept doing it. When a wolf finally showed up, no one believed him, and the entire village wound up getting eaten by the wolf.

Hmm… Perhaps we should remember that story the next time we think there might be SNOW! coming.

And fix the auto-caller so I know there won’t be school, please.

So, I totally meant to do this yesterday. But I spent most of the day freaking out over WHY ISN’T MY GALLERY WORKING??!! And, in the end, I give mad props out to DreamHost Tech Support. I told them what was wrong, they did whateverthehell a chmod is, and voila! It works!

In the meantime, I spent all of Thursday tweeting. If you don’t follow me on Twitter, you…umm…should. Some days it’s very stream-of-consciousness. Particularly now that I have a pretty decent app to tweet, reply, and retweet. I’m @ifferjenn, in case you couldn’t figure it out.

So, starting in the morning at breakfast:

So Ethan the only child doesn’t feel left out, I play “I’m Not Touching You” with him.

As I got to work, remembering the guy behind me to get on the highway:

The guy behind me has the best Old Man hat evah.

Midday:

When my hair turns white, I want to dye the hair around my face purple.

At lunch:

Hummus and balsamic vinegar make me happy. Though probably not if they were mixed together.

After lunch (a few now):

The eternal struggle: To work out, or not to work out. Ugh…I hate that elliptical machine. :p

@AlliesAnswers – I just kept waffling until I ran out of time before my meeting. Ah well…now I’ll have to wait till after.

How long until I get fed up with my hair and tie it up? How about… … NOW!

I did go work out, by the way:

Is it bad that I did my 20 minute, high-intensity workout, and all I’m thinking about is trading those points in for a beer?

Also, I heart DreamHost! My gallery is working again: www.ifferjenn.com/gallery

And, after I got home:

@AlliesAnswers Thanks!

Off to watch more Sopranos! Perhaps I’ll even go two MORE points over today!

Yes, I had wine with the Sopranos. And, finally, a surprise before bedtime:

OMG…Tony Soprano is now following me! Better not mention the you-know-what with the you-know-who…

Keep in mind, this is just a FRACTION of what goes on in my head on the average day.

Sometimes Ethan just impresses the hell out of me. This is how he described his day today, after starting adderall:

The bad went down and the good went up. Like the part of my brain that wants to go tiptoe didn’t have to fight with the bad part. There was more space for it to be good.

All right, the title may be misleading, as I have mentioned ADHD before. But today was our first visit with the doctor, and a first diagnosis. Ethan’s been having trouble in school since…oh…day care, but things have gotten worse since he’s expected to sit and learn things all day. His general distraction really got in the way of anyone in class accomplishing anything, so by the end of November, I asked his teacher to have the guidance counselor observe him and give his point of view. Things got progressively worse, and by the time we got back to school in January, I also found out that the guidance counselor had never observed him. WTF?

I met with his teacher, again, but also met with the principal and e-mailed the district’s Special Education Director. The Special Ed Director got right back to me, and his principal promised to set up a team meeting to evaluate Ethan’s behavior and see if he needs additional assistance. I also scheduled this appointment with his pediatrician, just in case. And, luckily, the guidance counselor also had a chance to meet with Ethan, and agrees he definitely has some impulse control problems, and should be talking with Ethan more.

At any rate, Ethan’s dad and I both filled out parent checklists, and I did get a teacher checklist back from his teacher. The pediatrician and I talked about Ethan’s symptoms, went over the checklists, and Ethan himself gave the final bit for a diagnosis. (Ethan describes his lack of focus due to, “His brain making too much noise.” Interestingly, I have the same problem…maybe it might be worth looking into for myself…)

We discussed whether or not to have Ethan take medication, since he is all of 6 years old. The pediatrician was glad to hear that I’m hesitant to commit to long-term medication (as are all of Ethan’s other adults), so the plan right now is this: We’re starting on adderal at the lowest dose to see what it does for him. With any luck, medications will affect him the way they affect me (greatly), so we can stick with that. Once we get the dosage figured out, we’ll also keep it just for school days, so he has that added help. And, of course, we’ll supplement it with some talk therapy as well. Because, as the pediatrician pointed out, not all of Ethan’s behavior can be chalked up to ADHD, and even I’ll say that having your parents get divorced must make you a little angry.

So I think overall, it will help. We shall see, and keep our fingers crossed!

I like cooking, particularly if it’s a seemingly complicated recipe that requires special tools. Like a blowtorch. Mmm…blowtorch… Last night’s dinner did not require the blowtorch (I need a new one anyway), but I did get out the food processor, so it kind of counts. And it involved frying! Without further ado…Falafel!

In the food processor, take two onions, quartered, and whir them up until they’re at least minced. Toss in four cloves of garlic or so (last night was a six-clove night), and whir a bit more. Large chunks of garlic are okay, as garlic is just magical in its own right. Drain two cans of chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzo beans), and put them in the food processor as well. Let all that mix together for a bit, at least until you can’t see many separate chickpeas.

For spices, now you should add in four teaspoons each of cumin and coriander. Also add in four tablespoons of parsley. Your boyfriend might sneak in a symbolic amount of olive oil (less than a teaspoon), which is okay. Too much, though, and you might as well start making hummus. Mix this all together well, occasionally scraping down the sides. Before you take it off the processor, you can start mixing in flour to firm up the dough. You’ll probably need at least four tablespoons…though I think I used about twice that yesterday.

Roll the dough into 15-20 balls, no bigger than a golf ball, though you’ll want to flatten them a little before putting them in the oil. I use a wok with about an inch or two of olive oil in the bottom, which I heat up while I’m finishing up the first batch of balls. Fry each side for about 5-8 minutes per side. The timing will depend on how big the balls are and how warm the oil is. Either way, they are done once they are golden brown and delicious.

How to eat these treasures? For us, we’ll pick up some real Syrian breads at one of the local bakeries in town. Many times, we’ll go to the Bay State Bakery on Water Street in Worcester, but yesterday we went to Lee’s Bakery on Hamilton Street. Both have equally delicious bread, even more so as they are baked fresh. They also have fantastic hummus. Wrap up the falafel balls with some hummus, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, and cheese (feta, preferably), and you’ve got yourself some deliciousness!

Today is John’s birthday, so this morning Ethan decided to give him some of his toys as a present, as he knew I already got him a t-shirt. I took them to work to wrap, so Ethan just needed to put his name on his after dinner. So, as John is putting his dish away, Ethan and I have this whispered conversation:

Ethan: What color is my present?

Me: They’re both wrapped in green paper.

Ethan: So which one is the t-shirt?

John: (starts laughing)

Me: (feeds Ethan his line)

Ethan: Pretend you didn’t hear that!

Side note: I already knew that Wholly Cannoli in Worcester had great cakes (John got me one from there for my birthday last year), but I can also report that they have awesome pizzas as well. Awesome, gigantic pizzas. I’m kinda glad I missed the first Weight Watchers weigh-in due to my possessed car, because tonight was an EPIC FAIL of dieting. A fantastically delicious epic fail.

So next week I’m taking Ethan to his pediatrician to get tested for ADHD. He has quite some impulse control problems at school, as well as some challenging authority problems. And it’s most annoying that everyone at school starts off every conversation with, “You know, he’s a really smart boy, but…”

Yes. I know. He’s brilliant. Too smart for his own good, really… As I’m watching him jumping around in his room trying to…oh, I don’t know what he’s trying to do now.

Anywho, the point of this is, that the more I’ve been looking into ADHD (as a mother, not as an educator), the more I’m thinking that I have ADHD. Though I’ve got the inattentive kind, which I’ve figured out how to deal with thanks to my obsession with getting good grades, and he’s got the hyperactive kind, which I have no clue what to do with.

This does have a point…really…

Finally, John got me to download Picasa 3 so I can figure out what the hell pictures I have on my computer. Which is really fun, as I didn’t realize that I had so many drama club pictures from when I taught. But also really fun as it’s got a face recognition, which will then organize your pictures by faces!

Wonderful! This fits in so well with the part of me that has OCD!! But…the part of me that has ADHD is just way too distracted to tag all the faces. Plus, I have a horrible memory for names, so I’m constantly going, “Now who is that again??”

Oh, and I whacked my head really good today on a cabinet. So I probably have a concussion too. Oh, my poor brain…

One would think I would relish an opportunity to sleep in on the weekend. However, today both John and I slept until 1:00. This is one of those things that Never Happens…so obviously we’re both still heinously sick. (Oh, hello sinus headache…when did you come in?)

The worst part today is that there are sooo many things I should have done, which aren’t getting done to my liking. Seeing as how it is currently nearly 9:00, so I should be in bed in an hour or two. Ah, well. At least there was time for Ethan and I to make banana bread!

Me: (gives Ethan some chick’n nuggets) Here you go!

Ethan: Thanks! (eyes them suspiciously) Are these vegetarian??

Me: (lying) No. They’re Ethan Nuggets.

Ethan: Okay! (eats them all)

Me: Did you like them?

Ethan: Yes!

Me: (laughing maniacally) Good, because they WERE vegetarian!!

Ethan: (sputters to the floor while I continue laughing)

Okay…that last part didn’t actually happen. Though I did tell him that the chick’n nuggets we both had tonight weren’t vegetarian. Luckily, he didn’t think to compare his to mine.