Eyeglasses, a Headache & Eggs Benedict

C#2 has mentioned in the past that when she is told to sit near the back of the classroom she cannot see the board very well.  Then she made a statement about reading her band music. Apparently her teacher wants them to hold their trumpets straight out with their music in front of that (make sense?!) I had no idea! She has never told me this!!! So alas, off the the eye doctor we go...

I was slightly afeared of the price of this adventure. I opted for the Vision Center at Walmart.  Firstly she need an eye exam. Oh dear. How much is that going to cost?!?!  The eye doc determined she has 20/40 in both eyes and one of them is slightly farsighted (an astigmatism) -- whatever that means.  She said she needed a mild prescription -- it wasn't 100% necessary, but, apparently it kinda was. The doc said this might alleviate any headaches she might be having and may indeed help her reading.  Little did I know C#2 was having mild headaches now and again. I am such a horrible parent...

Anyway, that exam cost a mere $45 (which I didn't think was too bad.) And then onto the frames, lens, etc...  I did purchase the $20 insurance in case she dented, scratched, broke, mishandled, sat on, chewed her glasses and they broke. They would replace them for free. Heck YA! I don't trust this child and am certain we will have to use this sometime in the near future. All in all it "only" cost about $200.00.  That didn't seem too horrible. But, I in no way have any idea how much, since I have never purchased eye glasses before.

An then I had this horrible sinus headache thing. I took sudafed. Didn't work. I took Tylenol Sinus. Didn't work, but, it did help me fall asleep. I took DayQuil (a different form of the Tylenol type stuff -- I'm trying to ruin my liver.) Didn't work. I then took ibuprofen. Sort of worked. I took a little nap and moved very slowly. And then it occurred to me that I might be having caffeine withdrawal, too.  I then decided to exacerbate the problem and have some Excedrin Migraine. It has a lovely caffeine kick and it definitely seemed to further improve my head condition. So now all is good in the world. Andddd I have a cup of coffee to go with it.

This past weekend, the darling hubby said he wanted breakfast. So, I asked him, "What exactly do you want?!?!" In my slightly annoyed tone.  And he was trying to be all funny and demanding and said, "Eggs Benedict."  Eggs Benedict is kind of a pain to make, since if you don't have all of the requirements, you then have to make them (aka hollandaise sauce.)  but, I informed his dearestness that I could indeed make that, but, I would have to use bacon instead of the normal ham.  I am happy to say that he was surprised at my answer. And so I made eggs benedict for breakfast!

I immediately looked in my Rise & Dine America cookbook by Marcy Claman. This is a collection of bed and breakfast recipes. And viola! There was a recipe for "Eggs Benedict Caledonia" on page 328 with a mention of using bacon!!

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/15314508.cfm

Then I consulted Better Homes and Gardens: Encyclopedia of Cooking Volume 7 on how to properly poach an egg. Poaching eggs are very tricky. I have only done this a handful of times. This particular book said to swirl the water, but, that just made a ridiculous mess of the egg whites.  I then concluded that it is just easier to pour the eggs into the boiling water without swirling and let them be.  Poaching is really quick and thankfully I have a toaster oven to keep the English muffins and bacon warm.  It was all a success. DH was happy and the "frightened" children decided that they would try it next time...  I am not sure what they were thinking.  Like I would make something gross. Especially after their father requested it. I guess it will be more work for me in the future, since I will have to make it for everyone.

That's it for today. Till next time...