It is a very hot Saturday, although not so hot for me as it is for some, and I have some unexpected Alone Time on my hands and am not quite sure how to fill it. I could fold laundry. Or I could continue editing my manuscript. Or I could exercise. But none of those things sounds appealing in the least, so let’s have some randomosity.

• I am developing new purse lines below my bottom lip. Purse lines? Is that the right term? The little vertical lines above and below your mouth that indicate you have been pursing your lips, possibly in a very judgmental fashion. I am trying very hard to Be Aware of my mouth, and to relax my lips whenever possible. But it’s an ongoing battle. I don’t even think I’m doing it in a judgmental way – at least, not always. I can’t figure out WHY I am doing it, though. But I am not looking forward to the deepening of these particular wrinkles. 
• I have already made 36 cupcakes today. They are vanilla with lemon cream cheese frosting and they are perhaps not my best effort. But they are DONE and ready for Carla’s birthday party. All I have to do is stick little dinosaur toppers on them before giving them to the kids. I will try to get a picture, but children bear such a strong resemblance to locusts when cupcakes are involved. 
• My biggest fret about the birthday party is the cupcakes. Well. The heat, really. Because I am afraid the frosting will melt. I have a cupcake holder and plan to set it on top of some ice packs and put some other ice packs on top of it for the part of the party that doesn’t involve cupcake eating. We’ll see if that helps. I am also slightly nervous that there will be a thunderstorm during the party and the nature hike portion of the party will be canceled and I will be stuck having to entertain ten eight-year-olds. I have packed some easy crafty type things just in case. 
• My in-laws are here, for Carla’s birthday. It is so lovely to see them. I cried when Carla hugged them. She hasn’t hugged a grandparent for nearly 18 months, which is too long. And then they took her with them, in their car, away from the house, leaving my husband and me alone together. What?!?!?!?! We squandered the opportunity, me by making cupcakes and him by going to get his hair cut. But it was lovely and weird to be together without our child for those few minutes.
• You know I’ve been in a big Cooking Slump, and it hasn’t dissipated with the arrival of guests.Sometimes guests can be just the inspiration I need to find some new recipe to try… but not this time. Right up until the day they were here I kept asking my husband, “But what should I cook for dinner?” We even figured out that all I really had to do was cook for three of the nights they are here – the other nights, I am being kind to myself because of things like birthday party  (won’t want to cook but will want a stiff drink after that’s over) and spending the day making a cheesecake (don’t know how to make a cheesecake and anticipate having to make more than one, so won’t want to cook). And one of those three nights is Carla’s birthday, and she requested tacos, so all I have to do is come up with TWO MEALS. And I just… couldn’t think of anything! What do we EAT? What meals do we MAKE? It is like someone zapped the specific part of my brain devoted to food preparation. Fortunately, I have recorded all my meals on this here blog for a million years. So I started scrolling through the Dinners This Week posts. The first thing I noticed is that this Cooking Slump has been going on for a looooonnnnng time. The second thing I noticed is that I have been making (or at least planning to make) the same approximately four meals for months now. None of which seem appropriate for guests. My husband was at an equal loss. 
• You are dying to know what I decided on, I can feel it: Crockpot balsamic pork, which I served over brown rice and topped with feta cheese, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, marinated artichoke hearts, and caramelized onions. It was easy, delicious, and my in-laws both commented on how nice it was. The other idea I had was to grill chicken shawarma alongside some zucchini planks. And, if I could get it together, maybe serve it with a quinoa salad. And then the third night, tacos. For the rest of the nights, we will have takeout. 
• I am having a lot of fun testing out the capabilities of the Dawn Power Wash I bought recently. I have not yet tested out Gigi’s suggestion to use it on my shower door. But I did use it to scrub a stain off of my siding. (The stain reappeared, through no fault of the Dawn Power Wash.) When I caramelized the onions for the balsamic pork last night, the bottom of my pan of course turned all black and sticky. So I tried Dawn Power Wash on that, and it worked – like magic! – and my pan is shinier than it has been in years. The only thing that has proven too tough for Dawn Power Wash, so far, is the inside of my wok. I made fajitas awhile ago and the bottom of the wok crusted over with a sticky, black layer that has refused EVERYTHING I’ve tried: attacking it with Dawn Power Wash, vinegar soak, vinegar and baking soda; washing it in the dish washer; boiling vinegar in the wok; trying to cook something else in the wok in hopes of loosening it up. The wok is, for now, unusable because I’m not sure what to try next. 
• Did you notice that I mentioned “cheesecake” up there awhile ago? For her birthday this year, Carla requested a raspberry cheesecake. Because I have only once ever made a cheesecake once (and I was so bowled over by morning sickness at the time that I could not enjoy it), I gave in to my husband’s suggestion that we outsource the cheesecake to professionals. I think YOU know how difficult a decision that was for me, considering that I have always baked Carla’s birthday cakes and use the baking time to process my complex feelings about her traumatic birth and her refusal to stay a baby/toddler/young child as long as I wish she would. We bought MANY cheesecakes to try, hoping to find The One True Cheesecake. And none of them were good. I would say only two of the five? six? we bought were even edible; the rest were too soft or had gelatin in them or the crust was disgusting. So. We are now back to ME making the cheesecake. I am a tiny bit relieved. Where are all those Time Is Fleeting feelings supposed to GO if I can’t pour them into a cake??? It is surprisingly difficult to find a recipe for a raspberry cheesecake that doesn’t have white chocolate, but I have found one and am going to try it. Wish me luck. 
• I found a very cute black dress on a new-to-me website and ordered it. And, in doing so, figured I would try a pair of jeans and a pair of shorts as well, what the hey they have free returns, and hit ORDER. Then I got an email that the dress is out of stock. Sigh.
• Speaking of things I have recently ordered online: I finally decided that I need a new bathing suit. Dress for the body you have, not the body you want, is what I’m trying to wrap my brain around. The bathing suits are bikinis, which is a stretch. And they are high waisted, which I fear will get the ol’ nose wrinkle from my husband. But I am going to try them and hope for the best. (I got two in slightly different styles, just to see.) Bathing suit shopping is worse even than jeans shopping, but being able to order things online and try them on in my own home makes it a teensy bit better. 

All right, Internet. That’s all I have for you today. What’s up with you this weekend?