Austerity Measures

I was supposed to teach this summer. I had all vacations planned around it. We're not going to Salt Lake until later. We're not going anywhere for more than a night or two all of June because I am supposed to be here, teaching Introduction to Creative Nonfiction to ecstatic undergrads. However, the class did not make. I don't know why. I think because Fiction is running concurrently and that's a hotter sport. I am sad because I need the money but I really shouldn't have even thought of teaching. After that marathon semester of baby/book/teaching, I am just now realizing how tired I am. Plus, after reading Dr. Write's list of good summer things, it's important to embrace the summer fully. I plan on picnics. I'm also generating so many funds from my ads that I practically can stop teaching (or, rather, they do offer good research tools. I found a link to a good vegetarian recipe book thanks to my doomed deal with the devil).
So the austerity measures to compensate for the not teaching include so far buying not Reggiano parmesan, buying two turkey Italian sausages and two chicken Italian sausages instead of four of the better chicken Italian sausages and making lunch at home instead of sneaking out while the big kid is at camp.
For lunches, I've been making refrigerator salads meaning anything that's in there is fair game. Today, green apple, smoked turkey thigh (turkeys suffer around here), tomato, avocado, with lime/scallion/pepper/mayo vinaigrette (the lime mayo being leftover from the salmon tacos). Delicious. I'm also trying to eat a grapefruit a day. Mostly because they make me feel a little high.
Before lunch, I took Z to camp at the ridiculous hour of 8 a.m. Who can be anywhere by 8? Apparently, we can. This is day number six and we've been five minutes late tops. She's loving camp where they play with balls and red light green light and crocodile crocodile what time is it, and who knows what else since she is already a teenager and prone to shrugging when I ask her what happened today. She has to take a gigantic lunch plus two snacks to keep her going. Today: cabbage, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, broccoli, pepperoni, string cheese, granola bar, pretzels and a fruit roll-up. Plus two drinks. She eats it all. They work her hard. After lunch, she goes swimming at Dolphin Day Camp. I think she knows she's a dolphin.
After I dropped her off, I hung out with Erik while the little baby slept. He never sleeps in the day so this was a great riot of fun. Then, I went running. Also, a riot since I've taken to running like Phoebe on Friends. The arm-swinging, skipping, turning kind of running suits me better since I don't run far, I might as well run weird.
Then, Max jumped in his jumper, laid on his boppy pillow, sat on my lap and ate while I typed outside on the deck. I feel extra-productive when I'm feeding Max and writing. I wrote for five hours today if you include this blog post and my status updates, which I do. I still have John Denver songs in my head as altered with the word "Grapefruit" instead of the word "Sun." Except now Dr. Write and High Touch got Rocky Mountain High stuck in my head via Facebook. Rocky Mountain High indeed. I don't think these are still the Rockies though. But I'll be heading toward them soon enough singing the other good John Denver song.