Um, hello.  You might be wondering where I’ve been.  Would you like to know?  Would you like to hear about my June?  Because there’s a lot to tell.

Nothing earth shattering happened, but it was an eventful month.  Writing that just now – that it was eventful – reminds me of the prayer I said on New Year’s Day, which went something like this:

Dear Lord, your plans are always better than mine, and despite my thick skull (which happens to outrank diamonds on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness), I am finally learning to defer to you.  And I officially do.  But if, by chance, your plans for me in 2011 are fairly uneventful, that would actually be a little great.  In fact, I could even handle a year that might otherwise be regarded as quite boring.  But only if that works for you.  Because really, I’m game for whatever. 

Oh, and as always, if the universe has some energy to spare, I could use a little.

Ha!  Can’t you just envision a cosmic red stamp being crushed into my request?  It reads: DENIED.  Maybe next year, darlin’.

Here’s how it began: On a beautiful Monday morning in early June, Matt said he wasn’t feeling well.  When I asked what he thought it might be, he said two words that took the proverbial wind out of my sails: kidney stone.

We’d been down this path before, a decade ago, and I gotta tell ya: it ain’t pretty.  Luckily, it was early in the process, and he recognized the symptoms before the blinding pain set in.  Let me get The Boy to school, I told him, and then I’ll drive you to the ER.  Okay?  Okay.  Do we have time for that?  Yes. Go now.

Thus began a four-day hospital stay, which included a surgical procedure using what can only be described as Star Wars technology.  Lord, you didn’t grant me a boring year, but I sure am thankful for modern medical technology.  Especially Toradol.  That’s good stuff.  (At one point during the ordeal, Matt said (and I quote): “I would drain every bank account we have for some Toradol right now.”  Yikes.)

Having an 8mm calcium oxalate rock blasted with a laser is kind of cool — especially considering the alternatives — but having a kiddo to think about while your spouse is having an 8mm calcium oxalate rock blasted is decidedly not cool.  Lord, you didn’t grant me a boring year, and I’m thankful for modern medical technology, but I’m even more thankful for Matt’s parents, who attended to The Boy’s every need.  The Boy, for his part, had so much fun with Nonnie and Granddad that I’m quite certain he couldn’t have cared less where we were or what we were doing.

I’m happy to say that Matt recovered quickly and was soon back to his old tricks.  And you might suspect that that’s where the story ends.  Uh uh.

We spent the second week in June catching up on all the work and life we missed, and more significantly, I hauled off and quit my job.  WHAT?!

I have – err, had — a great job.  I liked the work and I absolutely loved the people there, but after almost ten years with the company, it was time to go.  So, after a ton of hand-wringing and several sleepless nights, I jumped ship and took a new gig.  My throat still gets a little tight just thinking about it.  Massive change is one thing — volunteering for it is another.

Lord, you didn’t grant me a boring year, and I’m thankful for modern medical technology and for Matt’s parents.  I’m also grateful for the talents you have given me and the opportunity to put those talents to work, even when that work causes stress and colossal change in my life.

Once again, you might be thinking we’re done.  Nope.

The third week started off relatively calmly, except for the part where my back cramped up again, leaving me doing the ol’ crab hobble for several days. And The Boy had a 24-hour brush with a viral throat infection.  Pretty minor stuff, really — until the weekend arrived.

Around mid-day on Saturday, Matt was working in the study, still catching up from his wacky medical misadventure.  I’d just put The Boy down for his nap, and was setting the DVR to record a movie that I’ll never get around to watching.  Suddenly, I heard Matt call out from across the house (which he never does  — red flag numero uno), actually using my name (which he also never does — another flag).  His specific words were, “Hey Laura? We’ve got a big problem in here!”

Big problem? Big problem?!?  If you know Matt at all, you know that we never have “big problems.” Even when he was sure was going to shrivel up and die from the pain in his kidney, he was never actually alarmed.

So I came running.  What could it be?  Maybe The Boy snuck out of bed and is finger painting the wall with his own feces, I thought.  No, Matt would have handled that himself.  A fire?  No, he would have been shouting instructions to bring the extinguisher and/or get The Boy.  Those are the only two options I had time for before I arrived at the scene, which rendered me speechless.  Me.  Speechless.

Our house was flooded with toilet water.

Somewhere, God was laughing at me, and I deserved it.

After the initial shock, we got to work.  Matt brought shop vac in from the garage, and I started salvaging anything I could: soaked books, clothes, shoes, toys.  When I realized that our furniture was sitting in water and would swell, I suggested we call someone.

And that, my friends, is how you go from casually flipping through the cable guide to having a house full of brawny men turning your house upside down.

Lord, you didn’t grant me a boring year, and I’m thankful for medical technology, for Matt’s parents, for my career options, and for companies who will show up at your door within minutes to solve problems created by modern plumbing, which by the way, I’m also thankful for.  Generally.  On most days.

When they were finished, half of the carpet in our house was gone.  The restoration company also pried off our baseboards and drilled holes into the sheetrock, so that the industrial strength blowers they left behind could dry everything out.

That’s where Nonnie and Granddad come (back) in.  We could have stayed at a hotel for the few days it took to dry everything, and that would have been fine — but Matt’s parents invited us into their home and once again saved the day.  The Boy was in rural grandparent nirvana, and Matt and I had a comfortable base of operations.

You would think that would be enough excitement for 1/12th of what I was hoping would be a boring year.  But wait!  There’s more!

That Monday morning, I noticed a red splotch on The Boy’s neck.  Matt said that he’d already put something on it and given him some Benadryl to knock it back.  Except that it didn’t – it got a lot worse.  Long story short, The Boy and I wound up at the ER that evening with a diagnosis of a probable spider bite with a secondary bacterial infection.  I thought I might be overreacting by taking him, but when the doc said staph was a serious possibility in our subtropical climate, I knew I’d done the right thing.  And once again, I was thankful.

Lord, I get it.  You very clearly feel that a boring year was not warranted at this time.  I’m thankful for medical technology, including Toradol, Star Wars style camera-laser-scope thingys, and strong antibiotics that are safe for children.  I am also grateful for Matt’s parents (doubly so), for restoration companies who know exactly what they’re doing, and for modern plumbing, which is always wonderful, every single day.

We moved back into our house on the 30th of June. We still have a bare concrete floor in half of the house, and our stuff is still scattered hither and yon, but we’ll take it.

July has been kinder and gentler so far, and we’re hoping it will stay that way.  We have insurance claims to make, contractors to hire, medical bills to pay, and a new career path in the family, so a short reprieve from minor crises is definitely welcome.

But only if that works within your plan, Lord.  Because really, I’m game for whatever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I really wanted to do something for my in-laws to express my gratitude, because after all, we messed with their June, too.  Right after we left, they went on a weeklong trip, and I thought it would be nice if they didn’t have to think about dinner when they got home.  So I made them lasagna.

I chose this particular one from Bon Appetit’s website because of the spicy Italian sausage in the sauce, which has a ton more flavor than plain old ground beef.  I also liked the fact that there were carrots and fresh herbs in the sauce – nothing wrong with slipping a few nutrients in with your gratitude, right?

P.S. The cheese mixture was a bit difficult to work with.  If I made it again, I would probably add a beaten egg to the ricotta and basil mixture to make it more spreadable, and sprinkle the mozzarella on top of that separately.  I tried adding a few tablespoons of water to the mixture, and that helped, but not much.

P.P.S. Oh, and I treat all lasagna noodles as “no-boil.”  I don’t even soak them, as prescribed here — I just slap regular lasagna noodles in the pan, totally dry.  They spend almost an hour next to bubbling hot sauce, and that cooks them plenty.

P.P.S. Sorry, but I also wanted to tell you that I assembled the whole thing the night before and stashed it in the fridge.  I let it sit out at room temperature for a while (20-60 minutes), then baked as directed.

 

Lasagna with Turkey Sausage Bolognese

From the March 2011 issue of Bon Appetit Magazine

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup diced carrot
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, crushed in spice mill or in mortar with pestle
1 pound spicy Italian turkey sausages, casings removed
3 large garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 cups crushed tomatoes with added puree (from two 28-ounce cans)
1 cup chopped fresh basil, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 15-ounce container whole-milk ricotta cheese
3 cups (packed) coarsely grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese (12 ounces)
1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
16 6 1/2 x 3 1/4-inch no-boil lasagna noodles

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, carrot, and fennel seeds; sauté 5 minutes. Add sausage and garlic; sauté until sausage is cooked through, breaking into pieces, 8 to 10 minutes. Add wine; boil 1 minute. Add tomatoes, 1/2 cup basil, and oregano. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine ricotta, mozzarella, 1 cup Parmesan, and 1/2 cup basil in medium bowl; stir to blend. Season with pepper. (DO AHEAD: Sauce and cheese mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately; chill.)

Place noodles in large bowl; cover with hot water. Soak until pliable, separating occasionally, about 30 minutes. Drain well.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Cover with 4 noodles, arranging crosswise. Drop 1/4 of cheese mixture over by tablespoonfuls; spread out. Top with 1 cup sauce, then 4 noodles and 1/3 of remaining cheese mixture. Repeat 2 more times with 1 cup sauce, 4 noodles, and 1/2 of cheese mixture. Spread any remaining sauce over. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan.

Bake lasagna uncovered until heated through and puffed, about 50 minutes. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes and serve.