Going with the flow.

Today I tried a few new things. And for your viewing pleasure, I've included a few pictures. Just to give you a better idea...

1) I ruined 3 of these....

by adding this...

Sure, the salad wasn't exactly how I envisioned it. And yes, everything turned alarmingly pink. No...it didn't taste horrible. But. Um... As Nathaniel put it, "It was...edible."

Even the scallions and radishes didn't help. Sure the Apple-Beet salad sounded interesting, and I'm sure the salad creator had good intentions. But if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times... "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Enough said.

2) The flour substitute. Viola:

After (what felt like H.O.U.R.S - but was really less than 50 minutes of time-in-store) grocery shopping, then navigating the rain, dashing out for a forgotten ingredient (16 oz frozen corn - bastard!), unpacking everything, gathering more ingredients, cutting the pork tenderloin into pieces, turning on the stove...I realized that I had absolutely no flour.

None.

Zip. Zero. Zilch.

And sure enough, the recipe called for flour.

Maybe I could...(whispered) skip the flour?

Yes, I'll improvise - to the best of my ability. But when it comes to meat and new recipes...I'll try to follow to the "T". I'm just too afraid of poisoning myself, my family, or my friends to deviate too much. And a third trip to the store just didn't sounds all that enticing.

So I coated the uncooked pork cubes in...Blueberry Pancake Mix.

I figured that there had to be flour in the recipe...along with a few other things. And even if a few random blueberries made their way into our Southwestern Pork Stew...well, all the healthier for us. Yeah...


And in the end, we didn't really even taste the blueberries. Although - I did catch a whiff of pancake-like-smell emanating from the skillet.

3) The Onion Goggles.

Last Christmas, I gleefully got the "Onion Goggles" in my Mom's famous 'Christmas Kitchen Draw."

What are Onion Goggles?

Glad you asked...

Chopping onions has never been my forte. Not because I'm not good at chopping things - I can assure you (even though I take my time), I am. However, when my eyes are tearing up and I've got snot quivering on the edge of my nose, I've always harbored a fear of chopping off my finger.

Yuck.

And that would just be bad.

So - the glasses. Yes. They DO work! There were no tears, plenty of diced onions...and all my digits remained intact! Success!!

You want proof that I wore them?

Not a chance, my friends. Not a chance.

But I will share the foam-enforced siding...wonderful.


4) The Neti Pot.

This has been in the making for a while...

Now that I'm dealing with my third sinus infection in 12 months, I think its time... I've avoided the thing for years, because the thought of pouring water through my sinus cavities sounds just, well, yucky.

I don't even like getting water up my nose while flip turning - and that's something that I can't help during Master's Swim Practice.

Pouring - what appears to be an evil teapot - into one nostril while the saline-solution water pours out the other...

MAJOR INVOLUNTARY SHUDDER!

But I did it, because I'm committed to getting better, getting rid of my sinus infection, and back on the road to recovery. And a Marit who is training is a Happy Marit. And a Happy Marit makes life a lot easier for those living in Marit's household.

Including this Monster -

Unfortunately, during my first endeavor with the Neti Pot, I had an audience. I told Nathaniel to LOOK AWAY! But - to my horror - he didn't, and instead commented, "Oh MY GOD! Is it supposed to look like that? I can't look away!"

Which didn't help me at all - because if its one thing I learned while using the Neti Pot... if you don't want the back of your throat to burn with the saline solution - don't laugh.

And when your Other Half is standing - appalled, but unable to turn away - mere feet from your person, while you flush your sinus cavity with lukewarm water...you've got to find humor in the situation.

I did.

Who knows what will happen tomorrow? I DO have a meeting with my doctor, bright and early to address my sinusitis. Hopefully we can nip this thing in the bud and clear out my system. Otherwise, I may go back to chopping onions sans Onion Goggles, in an effort to kill the bacteria with onion fumes.

And when that happens, I'll be sure to let you know.