One of my favorite meals as a kid was what my mom called "goulash". It was actually browned ground beef, put in a casserole with a small box of cooked elbow macaroni and two cans of tomato soup. Put a few bread crumbs on top, bake for 40 minutes, and it's delicious. I guess you'd call it "macaroni and beef" or something. Total peasant food, but so comforting and tasty.

My ex-the-doctor and I decided all of these type recipes fell into the category of Cooking With Soup, which by our reckoning was one of the few universal constants defining the American working class (from which we both sprang).

When I was in college my friend John Collins had us all up to his family's house in Cleveland for Easter. His Mom was the ultimate master of Cooking With Soup. Every casserole was a Cream of Mushroom spectacular topped with either Durkees Onion Rings (which seem to only exist as a casserole topping) or crumbled Ruffles potato chips. It was good.

This is the reason I decided to come to New Mexico for two months and stay with my parents for a while. With Joe gone, my only nearby-friend in NC is a full time student with two kids who are enough older than Ellie that we can't really do stuff together outside the neighborhood. I still feel pretty isolated, but at least I'm in a gorgeous place.

Yeah, if I Christopher had to be away, I'd be with my family, too. I'm kicking myself for not getting out more and making friends but I was always friends with people I worked with. Now those people are too busy working to hang out.

Plei, ONCE IN A LIFETIME!! Squeeeee! That's awesome.

I know better. Really I do. But it was under $30, and, err... really, a once-in-a-lifetime sort of purchase. (By which I mean, the conditions that lead me to thinking this was the best idea since making your own sliced bread are once-in-a-lifetime.)

Sometimes you've just gotta do it (and that thing is pretty damn cool!). I justified my purchase because I had a full frequent buyer card that I used, which made my purchase $15 less than it would have been otherwise. I was pretty good considering. Plus, my day is going to be filled with stress-producing car errands, and I needed something to keep me sane and excited.

Some days you've just gotta give in...a little, anyway.

I don't cook with soup.

I think my mother does, but I only ever liked Cream of Mushroom as a solo act.

I'm kicking myself for not getting out more and making friends but I was always friends with people I worked with.

This was always true in my case as well. We move so often that usually I make friends pretty quickly. At least at work, you usually have some things in common. One of the hard things (for me, at least) with making friends with other moms with young kids is that "moms with young kids" is a pretty broad category and a lot of times, I feel that's all we have in common. If all you have in common is that you are both parents, but you have chosen to parent in different ways, things can get awkward.

I am amused that you guys are TOTALLY ENABLING MY PERVY PURCHASE.

But, dude. It's like having outtakes from Thrillkiller, so what's not to love?

Which reminds me: Jilli, do you happen to know if anyone in town wants to spend $20 on a pair of US size 6 platform old school Fluevogs? I have realized that they're never going to be worn again, not even a little, and so I should sell them, but am lazy about the eBay thing. (If you can't think of anyone, I'm going to delazy myself and list them and two of my pairs of hard to find Docs.)

One of the hard things (for me, at least) with making friends with other moms with young kids is that "moms with young kids" is a pretty broad category and a lot of times, I feel that's all we have in common.

Amen. Plus, buffistas has set the bar a little higher for conversation for me.

It's times like this I'm glad that 99% of my friends are of the invisible-people-in-the-internet-box variety. (Actually, I'm glad of that all the time, because the internet just works better for me. Is that strange, to be happy that one has no meatspace friends? Oh well.)

I don't cook with soup, either. (See above re: texture issues.) I'm pretty much a meat-and-pasta/pasta-and-veggies/meat-and-veggies type of cook, though I can make a mean stew.

Plei, for those of us at work, what is your OIAL purchase?

I don't cook with soup.

How can you afford soup when you're buying porn in the middle of the night?

FWIW, I also recommend the stroller walks with baby. Particularly if you've got a coffee cup caddy on your stroller. That makes all the difference. When I was at home with baby Emmett, I only survived because I'd take him out for 90 minutes in the morning and 90 minutes in the afternoon. Out to the Aroboretum and back. Very sane making, and frugal.