Maybe if We Lived in a Trailer Park...

According to FEMA this isn't enough damage to be considered for disaster aid even though residents of my state have been approved to apply for federal funds as a result of the torrential rains we had back in March. They said it "wasn't significant enough damage." I guess several thousand dollars worth of damage is chump change - and that figure doesn't take into account the fact that I'm doing all the work myself. Luckily I'm pretty handy and don't have to hire a bunch of contractors to put the room back together. Maybe I should have and then showed the Feds all of the invoices. I must mention here that the only reason I went to FEMA is because my useless homeowner's insurance doesn't cover such things. They call it "an Act of God." Since when did insurance companies get religion? Only when it benefits their bottom line apparently.

 Now I don't want to sound grabby, especially when fishermen in Louisiana are trying to make a living in an oil slick, but why make the funds available if you don't plan on honoring legitimate claims? Maybe I should have tried to look poorer. Perhaps a wife-beater T with gravy stains? Maybe a car up on blocks in the front yard? I could have used a lot of double negatives during the interview: "I ain't seen nothin' like this rain in my whole life." I think the pride we take in maintaining our home may have worked against us in this case.

Several of the FEMA reps asked if the furnace or any part of the heating system was damaged as a result of the flood. Being an honest man I said no. Would others in a similar situation? Maybe if I lied and said yes I would be getting a check from Uncle Sam. It's just frustrating that honest people get denied while other people job the system.

I Cook Therefore I Am

I officially have an unhealthy obsession with food. It's not that I'm fat or anything (although I could probably lose a few lbs like most Americans). It's just that I spend a lot of time thinking about food - what to cook, what to shop for, what restaurant to go to and I won't admit how much time I spend watching cooking shows. We even joined a local CSA farm (Community Supported Agriculture). I'm so pumped that I may hug the farmer when we go to the farm for the first time on Tuesday.

"Thank you kind farmer for my locally grown arugula and Japanese mustard greens. I look forward to seeing you again. Call me."

I know, awkward. But it's true. I'm just so passionate about good food - for myself and my family. The real frustrating part is when I spend time prepping a great dinner and the kids just want mac and cheese. I am making some inroads though. My 4 year old daughter devours mussels and clams like it's her job and my 7 year old son loves eating salad. I would post more but Tyler Florence is exploring Low Country cuisine - gotta run...

Modern Man or Just a Wuss?

It's probably better reading if I write about my struggle to accept this new role of mine. New stay at home dad is thrust into a new life and a new town...let the high jinks and missteps ensue. But it really hasn't been that way so far. I actually shared a bean salad recipe today with my daughter's pre-school teacher and no one laughed out loud. Enough said.

I've been thinking of the great Michael Keaton in Mr. Mom. Bumbling buffoon at home, unable to use an iron or change a diaper but a great guy at the factory - back-slapping his peeps at the auto factory as a union rep as I recall. I guess that made him more of a man back in the day but does it still? Does it make me less of a man that I cook dinner every night and I know what a duvet is or does it just make me more well rounded (and a well-informed Bed Bath & Beyond shopper)? Who knows but life is too complicated these days for everyone's family unit to look exactly the same. For us so far, it's working. I'm loving the domestic thing. If that makes me less of a man, then so be it. I can't be bothered, I'm having too much fun hanging with my kids and making quiche.