Where the Deer and the Antelope Play - Living in the USA (visitors welcome)

[SuperBunny]

East Coast
MaNanny - Boston
Twinmommytobe - Boston
MuminCT - CT
Greatgooglymoogly - NY State
Yesthereare4ofthem - NY State
Brooklynmom - NYC
alarkaspree - NYC
MKG - New Jersey
Mummimamma - PA
Poetmum - PA
Twirl - MD

South
Earlybird - TN
jabberwocky - AR
Sunchowder - Florida
Marls001 - Bentonville, AR
Tinpot - NC
MadameDeathStare- AL

Midwest
SuperBunny- Chicago
Dodgykeeper - Dayton, OH
Chocchipcookie - Ohio
MonkeyLover
KickAssAngel - Ann Arbor, MI

Rockies
Alipiggie - Boulder, CO
Ribena

Northwest
AnnieLaurie - Seattle, WA
Dooneygirl - Oregon City, OR

California
SittingBull - nr San Francisco
Califrau - Milpitas
loopsngeorge - Brentwood, LA
Syd - Manhattan Beach, LA
SofiaAmes - LA
LATyke - Redondo Beach

Texas
Texan - Dallas
Tiggyhop - Houston
Vixie78 - Houston
BananaPudding - Austin
Cosmicdust - East Texas

Canada
Hellish - Ottawa
Shouldlistenedtomymum - Hamilton
Nooka - BC
Jacksmama - Langley

Exotic Islands
Anorak - Bermuda
cp - Trinidad
Barefeete - BVI

Brazil
Albert

I'm really curious why growing tea seems such a no-no for your DH dooney?

And it's hovering around freezing here with so much moisture in the fog-laden air that you're covered in chilly mist the second you step outside.
So, no, not jealous of -39 C, but not liking this much either!! Especially since we were promised sunshine yesterday!! (This was rather a treat to anticipate because it's been grey for a few weeks... feeling the lack of sun...)
Oh, could I ask a translation question? (British English vs American) - what is a push chair? Is it the same as a buggy which I assume is a stroller?

Yes, pushchair = stroller = buggy

Oh, he wants to do it. He just doesn't have a lot of time in which to do so. I don't really want him to do it, because he tends to throw himself into one or two hobbies, go crazy overboard into doing them, and then get over them after a year or so and never do them again.

I have Ds's as well - 2 of them 11 and 7. Ds1 had a very weird accent on our last posting - a mixture of Aussie and American. It's very funny watching old videos and hearing him speak. DS2 is Sarf London, but I am fully expecting him to pick up an American accent soon after he arrives.

Dooney - your DH sounds like mine . His latest thing is cycling.

Ladies, I need help with a date - going out on Saturday but it is my turn to plan & I don't know what to suggest. We usually go for a drink or dinner then watch a something at his place but I think I am meant to come up with something different. Have any of you had any interesting dates?

Apologies to Dooney cos I asked this on the 10/10 thread too. I am very stuck!

Why do you need to apologize?

I'd love to help, but let's see, my dates with DH pretty much involved hiding at his place so nobody could see me with him. And it is still freaking way below zero, isn't it? Outside doesn't work. Would cooking him dinner work?

Yeah, dinner would work expect that I can't get to a store to buy food because the car is frozen.

we were chatting about baking bread today (I was making some, he's never made it but he likes baking) so I was thinking we could stay home and bake but that seems a bit lame.

DH totally got my interest by making me food and introducing me to a bunch of "weird" things that I'd never had before. Like chick peas, sour cream, BBQ, red peppers, cumin, cilantro. If he likes it, it probably wouldn't be lame. Maybe you can go for a big, exciting date when it is a blistering 15 or something.

how many dates have you been on (roughly)? that sounds lovely, but a rather 'couplish' thing to do?

could you do dough for bread and/or pizza, then have home made pizza for dinner?

Um, 5 or 6? Maybe more. Dunno. I would actually quite like to go to a bar and play board games or dominoes or something. I'll tell him that. And then brunch on Sunday.

I'm crap at dating.

Dooney, you are such a foodie - what did you eat before 'wierd' things like chickpeas?

I LOVE BRUNCH!!!!

Will you go out with me, SB?

I'm crap at dating, too. It has been an eternity.

not sure you should listen to any advice from me. haven't been on a 'date' for at least 16 years. dh & i have the babysitter booked for this sat, but have no idea what to do. just can't make up our minds. i think we should get out & live a little, maybe go to a movie etc! oh the heady exhileration of leaving the house after dark.

Yes, some with me, Dooney. I want to go here

Kickass, have fun! It had been years since I'd been on a date. It's fun!

My mom made tacos (beef with lettuce and cheese in a tortilla) nachos (beef with refried beans lettuce and cheese on chips), spaghetti (prego over noodles) pork chops in a crock pot with a can of soup dumped over them, steak baked in a metal pie plate in the oven, kraft mac and cheese casserole with tuna mixed in and potato chips crushed on top, a whole chicken roasted with butter beneath the skin, and my personal favorite (NOT) breaded, microwaved chicken breasts. Those meals were pretty much repeated week in and out with a few different add ins, but you get the picture.

DH cooked the 1st 5 years of our marriage until I became a SAHM, and I wasn't very good up until about a year or so ago. I read this article about how in America we spend endless amounts of money on useless stuff, and yet we do everything we can to scrimp and save what we put in our bodies to help keep us alive, and that just didn't seem right. It really rang true, and I wanted to try harder.

Will you marry me, SB?

we really only booked the babysitter 'cos dd loves her (she's 13, and watches movies with dd), and kept asking when she'd see her, so i felt 'guilted' into going out!! actually, desperately want to save every penny so we can buy some furniture AND go home to the UK sometime, but i'm thinking a movie doesn't need to be expensive. don't fancy wandering around town looking for a nice place to eat in this weather.

What took you so long Dooney?

A movie will be good - it's always nice to do something without kids - and it'll be nice for DD too.

My mum cooked: chicken Kiev (frozen), spaghetti bolognese, cottage pie, chili, pasta sauces with spaghetti, tuna pasta bake and baked spuds, so not dissimilar to yours. I think she was a typical mother of the 70s and 80s. She's actually a really good cook now. I think she was just busy in those days.

Marriage is an important step that isn't to be rushed into.

i've looked up a recipe for the sweet potato & chick pea curry sb suggested. i love sweet potatoes, but never learnt how to cook with them - too sweet by themselves. i've done carrot & sweet potato sou to death & dh really doesn't want it any more, so i need something different.

when/if we get to chicago, you'll have to give us some suggestions sb for places to go & things to do. no firm plans yet, just on our 'to do' list

I like this one for burritos, too. I end up adding other spices, though, but it is really good with them.

SB is awesome at giving ideas where to go. I recommend her as a concierge.

we weren't allowed pasta or rice in our house because my dad didn't like it. even if he was out we weren't supposed to have it, as it made the house smell. he is very much a meat, potato & 2 veg guy, with gravy if he feels adventurous. no seasoning AT ALL, not even salt.

i was 19 before i had a curry!

sadly, dd is very fussy & takes after her grandad, but we still keep offering her our food, as she noshes through her bread, peas & sweetcorn.

I think my dad was part of the food problem in our house, too. His idea of the perfect meal was a can of beef stew or chili.

I know I didn't have curry until sometime after we got married, and I was 25 at the time.