Bento box:  a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables as a side dish. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware.

The other day a co-worker asked me if I knew what bento boxes are. I do, but don’t have one. I have a hard time buying new shoes. ($14.99! Are you kidding me?) I can’t spend $20 on a bento box. I use a flat dollar store “lock and lock” container and silicone cupcake liners to make my bento.

I don’t mold boiled eggs or make pretty flowers with shaped bell peppers and green onions. But I have fun with my lunches and get to eat a few bites of varied items.

I didn’t take a picture of today’s box. It contained two Buffalo chicken wings (they were monsterous), cucumber slices, cheddar cheese cubes, pita chips (what up Dollar Tree), and sour cream. I also packed a wedge of raisin bread.

Tomorrow is pictured above. Cucumbers, celery, co-jack cheese cubes, a boiled egg and pita chips. The white stuff, top left, is the rest of the sour cream with a bit of light mayo, dill, celery seed, pepper, kosher salt, onion flakes and parsley. I’ll dip the veggies and pita chips in that. I’ll eat the second half of the raisin bread for my fruit component.

So it’s not trad, it’s not perfect, but it’s a good mix of flavors and helps me regain my better eating habits. I lost 40 pounds a few years ago and have struggled to keep it off. I’m used to only eating lunch, then bits and pieces (unassembled bento) for dinner. Since Michael has been home for dinner every night for several months, I’ve been dining on cheeseburgers, BBQ chicken, pizza, pot pie, breakfast, chicken strips, steak fajitas, chicken wings, tacos, etc. For posts on losing weight go here and here.  I have to tell myself, “I do not need to eat as much as he is eating, I don’t need a second helping.”

Nothing tastes as good as not being fat feels.

Michael had to work today. He and I have both had Sundays off in the (almost) ten years we’ve been together. Weird to be home when he’s not. But thankful for the income.

I watched “Reality Bites” free from “On Demand” movies. Probably my fiftieth viewing. It made me nostalgic for the 90s. Does that date me?

I called Michael half and hour before he was to leave work. He answered. I was going to leave a voice mail! Asked him to pick up a Coke Slurpee on the way home. Still battling the remnants of bronchitis and my throat gets sore from coughing. When he came come he handed me the Slurpee. Uh, my straw? “No straws. You’ll have to eat it with a spoon.” My mind reeled. No. Can’t. Must. Have. Pink spoon straw. He pulled a pink spoon straw out of his bag with a smile. “Oh, you know me so well.” I’ve only used pink straws for Slurpees forever. What a good husband.

Kroger had leg quarters for $4.90 per ten pound bag this week. So I had 11 leg quarters to butcher, wrap in waxed paper and freeze. The thighs are for meals, the drumsticks will be used for soup. Can’t beat 22¢ a piece. Marinated 4 thighs with Spicy BBQ rub. I get sick of carbs: mashed potatoes, fries, rice, noodles. I decided our side dish would be veggies. I sauteed cabbage, onion, celery, and broccoli in light margarine with an herb and pepper blend. Was so flavorful and yummy.

I bought a hair straightener yesterday. Today I attempted to straighten my corkscrew curls. Did not work! My hair came out flattish and frizzy on top and still curly underneath. Am I “unstraightenable”?

I baked an apple pie today. Apples came out great, but the crust was just mediocre. What did I do wrong?

Why do work days go by so slowly and days off so quickly? Oh, yeah, because I spend the day cleaning, walking the dog, butchering chicken, making pie and packing lunches. I do more work at home then when I am at work!

8:40am: Alarm goes off the second time. Why so tired? Get up, walk to bathroom. Do what needs to be done: brush teeth, wash face, put in contacts. Pull on yesterday’s uniform to save on laundry costs (clean undies and socks, though). Apply makeup. Try to do something with hair. Give up.

9:05am: Pour coffee into two travel mugs, add cream and Splenda. Put lunches in lunch bags. Double check tote bag: phone, wallet, gum, two water bottles, book, reusable shopping bags. Put on sweater and shoes.

9:25am: Arrive at work, put lunch in disgusting fridge full of garbage. Grab water, gum, pen, hand sanitizer, lotion and cram into pockets.

11:40am: Break is 10 minutes late. Where is relief? Need coffee, bathroom break.

1:47pm: Lunch is 17 minutes late. Am starving. Need food. Need to sit down. Is unnatural to stand 7 1/2 hours a day.

4:57pm: Think last break has been forgotten. Have to ask for last break. Only 1 1/2 hours to go.

6:37pm: Punch out and head home.

6:49pm: Arrive home. Take dog for quick walkie. Forgot baggie. Try to remember location of doggie deposit. Feed and water dog and cat.

7:00pm: Wash dishes from last night (or last two nights). Take out meat to defrost in microwave. Remember before preheating oven there are more dirty dishes hidden in there.

7:30pm: Start dinner. Something easy on a work day: nachos, spaghetti, quesadillas, burger helper, breakfast. Try to keep things clean while cooking.

8:00pm: Sit down to eat dinner on tv trays while watching “Good Eats” or “Friends” reruns. Comment that we live like old people.

9:00pm: Pack up leftovers, label, freeze. Soak pans and dishes. Prep and program coffee pot. Fill four water bottles and two juice bottles. Make sandwich for Dear Husband, pack chips, breakfast snack, cheese stick or fruit. Take out frozen soup, slice some veggies, pack some dip for me.

9:30pm: Take dog out again. Beg and cajole her to potty as is dark and raining. Acts like she is being punished by “Spring Sprinkle Gods”.

9:45pm: Plug phone into charger. Pick out sweater, socks, undies, shoes for tomorrow.

10:00pm: Take a long shower. More standing after over 13 hours of standing. Shampoo, soap, shave, condition. Comb, dry, lotion, mousse, gel. Face cream, face cream, face cream. When did little lines get so big? Ahh, jammies.

10:30pm: Check email. Check fave sites. Aww, cute kitties. Hey, new coupons to print. Ooh, a fun questionnaire to fill out.

10:45pm: Dry hair. When did so much hair go so gray? Maybe more face cream.

11:00pm: Glass of wine. More web searching. Read a bit. Chat with hubby. Need to go to bed but now feel oddly wired and awake.

12:10am: Clean contacts, wash face, face cream, face cream, face cream. Put on fuzzy socks and climb in bed. “House Hunters International” is on HGTV. Hope it’s rerun so can tune it out and go to sleep. And repeat the events of today. Life of a working housewife…

From the book I am currently reading Almost Single by Advaita Kala:

“I settle on a dragon-red dress with a  Chinese collar that stops just short of the knees.”

Wait, what? The collar stops just shorts of the knees? That’s a really long collar. Oh, no, you mean the dress stops just short of the knees. The sentence should read:

“I settle on a dragon-red Chinese collared dress that stops just short of the knees.”

From Indulgence Cafe’s weekly menu:

Portable Mozzarella Panini

Grilled Portable Mushroom, Fresh Mozzarella, Roasted Peppers, Hummus and Baby Spinach

Thank goodness they have portable mushrooms. It’s really hard dragging those stationary mushrooms around. Oh, wait, I think they mean Portobello mushrooms! What can I expect from a cafe that advertised “Chicken Noddle” as their soup du jour for about four months.

(Thanks for the post title Thom.)

(When I just double checked my post to make sure everything was spelled correctly and all puntuation was in place, I realized I had typed “poofreading”!)