Tortellini: The Symbol of Love & Support

Nobody does more to support her family and friends than my mom. She's a giver. It's just her nature. It's something I admire and try to emulate.

Last week and into this week grad school has been particularly terrible. I was treading water for the beginning part of the semester. Then the clouds aligned to unleash one heck of a storm. And just like that, I'm drowning.

Before the storm, I had committed to visiting my youngest B.I.L. at college for his last basketball home game of the season. I probably should have stayed home and worked 24/7 all weekend, but putting family first, I still went. And my in-laws answered right back by creating an incredible support network for me while I tried to squeeze in work between our weekend activities.

Then there's my mom. M. & I returned from the trip to see our fridge fully loaded with food for the entire week. Not only do we not have to grocery shop, we won't even have to cook.

I love pasta with cream sauce, but my lactose intolerant stomach disagrees. So I never get to eat it. Well, I opened the fridge to find that -- among about 5 other meals, fruit, veggies and snacks -- my mom had made me lactose free cheese tortellini in a cream sauce. It certainly hit the spot!

I'm also really lucky to have the world's greatest dad & sister, plus a couple of especially fantastic friends. And I can't forget the hubs.

Last night I thanked M. for letting me lean on him. He replied: "You have to lean on me, otherwise you'd trip and fall down." He meant literally. I am abnormally clumsy. But in that moment, I was just thankful to share a little laugh before bed.

Sorry for the cheese, but family and friends really are the most important things in life. I can't imagine what life would be like without them. I know it definitely wouldn't be any fun.

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P.S. Any lactose intolerants out there, let me know if you're interested in my mom's recipe. I'm sure I could convince her to share.

If at first you don't succeed...

I never did tell you how my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner went. It certainly wasn't anything to brag about.

As it turned out, we had too many cooks in the kitchen on and I ended up only being in charge of (more like only being allowed to make) the corn. Without any supplies to "doctor it up," I put two bags of frozen corn in the microwave with a bit of water, set it to 5 minutes and hit start.

Actually, I then forgot about it for 15 minutes. When I finally checked the corn, it was already cold – or never warm enough. Sigh... Another 5 minutes and a generous portion of butter later the corn was ready.

At first I was quite pleased to receive a few compliments, but days later when my "famous corn"(as it had been dubbed) was still a hot topic of conversation, it was apparent the fam was mocking my cooking skills (or lack there of).

My Type-A, slightly obsessive, definitely competitive side kicked in and I set a new goal for myself: must get family seal of approval on something I make.

Fast-forward to last Sunday. We had an early Christmas celebration at my aunt and uncle's house. I decided I'd go all out and bring a side dish, a few Christmas cookies and a hostess gift.

For my side dish I made Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Pecan Crunch. And (drum roll, please) they were a big hit! There was suspicion that I bought them or Fiancé made them, but by the end of the night it was all praise (and not mocking kind).

I also made two dozen of my very own cookie surprise. There's no recipe for this, I simply wrap a piece of bite-sized candy in sugar cookie dough and bake for 10-12 minutes. I use a variety, so when you eat a cookie, surprise! It might be a peanut butter cup, butterfingers, crunch bar, chocolate mint, etc.

Now I'm already plotting what I can make for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. As always, suggestions are appreciated!