Cakes, shrimp, tequila, NY

I can't believe I leave tomorrow morning for my day in NY. As my friend, Mike, said, "this trip is aggressive." True enough, but a good book for six hours of train, lunch with Mike (one of my best college friends), the show...I'm not complaining in the least! Yesterday's post on parental struggles really struck a chord with a number of readers who have felt similarly challenged lately. I have been so flattered to have received a great number of comments since: of thanks, of "yes, me too!", of "I don't feel so alone." And really, because none of us should feel alone in the weeds of parenthood is one of the two main reasons I write about my own experiences in the maternal trenches. I write to vent and to connect, and I thank you for reading and responding.

I spent the morning making three round cakes of different sizes, two strawberry and one chocolate, for Jack's party on Sunday. They will form a tiered fighting stage on which Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker will battle. Fantastic.

For dinner tonight, I'm planning to make Tequila Shrimp and Watermelon, courtesy of Casa Noble tequila which kindly sent me these darling samples of their Crystal, Añejo and Reposado distillations, as well as a few recipes for experimentation. I suspect that shrimp and watermelon in a tequila-lime sauce simply can't be bad!