More Cheese Popcorn May Be Needed

So....yesterday afternoon I wrote a post complaining a bit (ok, maybe a lot) about being sick , and being sick of being sick, etc. I happily announced that much had been helped by cheese popcorn and a lovely husband. We curled up in the media room and continued to binge watch Doc Martin. Then the mail came, and Ernie felt compelled to get the the mail and OPEN it.

Jerk.

For the first time in my life I made an error on our income tax forms...our 2016 income tax return to be exact. We looked at the bill in horror, while Ernie tried to assure me it was probably a mistake. I shook my head and said, "somehow, I don't think they made the mistake." I pulled up by tax forms and sure enough....I fucked something up, and we now have a tax bill of $1,600. Leo came home from school and I considered asking him to take over our financial affairs. I didn't however (although I did this morning and he laughed and said it might not be a bad idea since he's the only one in the family that is good at saving money...I may follow up on this). I had Ernie get me a glass of wine and build me a fire, as what the hell else are you going to do? Later, Owen got home from driver's ed, and then eventually the evening dissolved into family arguments. It was loads of fun. We ate frozen pizza for dinner and silently watched some more Doc Martin. Eventually I went to bed and for some reason tried to stay awake to look at meaningless posts on Facebook until I was woken by my phone falling to the floor. I need to bring more cough drops up for night time. It's just a little cough at night but it's constant and keeps waking me. Yes.

To make this post have some redeeming qualities, I will post some recent random pictures.

1. Owen, after his driving lesson. Yes, one of these days we will paint our porch, and the rest of the house, I suppose. Some day.

2. Every time I start red cooked pork I think it looks beautiful. Soy sauce, water, ginger, green onion, cinnamon, and star anise.

3. Sometimes you meet someone and know you're going to like them. Then you go to their office and ask why they have butterflies on the wall, and they tell you that their to-do list is a caterpillar so when things are done they turn into butterflies. I love you Ella.

4. Possibly my favorite block in all of Champaign. I fell in love with this block about a million years ago when I chose it for a paper in an Urban Planning class with Lachlan Blair. Still love it, but when it's slightly foggy I love it even more.

5. Quinoa-egg-red pepper fritters. They work for snacks or for breakfast. I'm trying to figure out what to have for breakfast post gluten. I hate the texture of oatmeal, I don't really care for yoghurt, I'm egged out and I don't really want anything sweet. Suggestions welcome.

Onward.