it's a bacon jam grilled cheese kind of day...

see that picture above? yeah. it's a bacon jam grilled cheese kind of day in my book. 

rain, rain GO-A-FREAKIN-WAY already. three days of 65 degree weather and pouring rain has got me tired of the weather gods already. just when i think i'm done with summer and can't wait for the crisp fall temps, i am faced with the chilly spell of weather, am forced to turn off my AC and click on the heat and it makes me BITTERRRR. or maybe it's just the rain that gets me down. either way, i've had enough of the puddles and wet floors (or maybe it's this new puppy i'm tired of who keep traipsing through my clean kitchen with her wet, dirty, mud filled paws??) and am deciding i am going to eat myself into a happy place to try and combat these rainy day blues. 

you want to join me? i say go right ahead. i am all about inclusion. check out our piping hot dinners for the week. my chefs and i brainstormed last week and came up with some of the tastiest ideas you could possibly imagine. can you say BUFFALO CHICKEN MACARONI & CHEESE?? yes, yes we can. read on, and then go to our website at www.thecatchycaterer.com and click on the ORDER button to schedule your dinner delivery tonight for whatever time you would like to have them sitting on your table piping hot and crunchified...

time flies when you're having fun...

every time i turn around, a month has gone by and i'm not quite sure where it disappeared to. they say time flies when you're having fun, but i think my clock is in broken and it hasn't mattered whether it was joyful, a shit show or just plain haywire, those hours seemed to tick off the clock faster than i could keep up. 

 one of my favorite times of the week: late, late sunday night, when the clock is nearing midnight, when everyone has gone to bed and i am savoring the quiet of a tidied up house, four sleeping children and a docket of work that has been completed; i look forward to downloading my 1500+ friends/blog followers on the ups & downs of restaurant ownership. but lately, it's all i can do to keep my eyes open through madam secretary at 9pm. each day has felt like a marathon: so much good, a nice chunk of frustrating, but more than anything else, just plain exhausting. 

and i know all you folks out there get it. june brings end of the year celebrations, teachers gifts, travel sports gearing up and the inevitable rush to line up camps for my kids i didn't take the time to set up in march. add to that for me, three of four kids celebrating birthdays (what caterer doesn't love planning another three parties??) and the addition of an eight week old puppy (who isn't, and may never be, trained), and i just about want to punch myself in the face for biting off more than i can chew. toss in some last minute swim team commitments and more summertime catering than ever before and most days i can't remember whether to sh*t or wind my watch. somebody throw me a life preserver because i'm drowning over here!!

so rather than play monday morning quarterback on myself and point out all the ways i could have said no, fortified my boundaries, i'm looking forward to the next five days we are open to get all my ducks in a row and then plan to kick my feet up and relax for a TWO WEEK VACATION!! yes, you heard me. get me to the beach please!! 

catchy. will be closed from july 28th through august 12th so i can figure out how the hell to make my kids like me again. but before that happens, you have five days and nights to treat yourself to some catchy. lunch and dinner before we start our vacation!!

there is SO. MUCH. GOING. ON.

there is SO. MUCH. GOING. ON.

we've got your spring catering pouring in. we've got our cafe lunches flying out the door to all those health-conscious ladies who know they will be forced to wear a bathing suit & chase their little Stillwell Angel around the pool all june in the less than 6 weeks (yes, i said SIX - can you flipping believe that - even if spring temps haven't yet hit a solid mid-50's all season). 

and...we've got our hot dinner game SO STRONG that we have decided on MAY 1ST (whooooo!) we will be keeping out doors open later (8pm?? who said that) and offering apps for sale like our roasted corn guacamole & homemade tortilla chips with our new catchy.lime salt, our mouth-watering crispy deep fried macaroni & cheese bites and a bevy of other appetizers and new dinners (ummm, like this mexicali burger below with pepper jack cheese, avocado, pico & the creamiest,zippiest chipotle lime crema you will ever wipe off your chin) available to eat on our patio with a frosty CORONA LIGHT that you bring on over from chuck russo down the block - can i get a WHAT?!?!

catchy. has never been hooking you up so good. i mean it. you ask, we answer. you beg. we bow. our dinner rush has gotten so hectic we decided to capitalize on the demand and keep the doors open later just for you. come after your kids lacrosse/baseball games. meet your hubby with a bottle of rose and bring the stroller with your little lamb chop strapped in inside so you can enjoy some of best items from our catering menu AT. OUR. CAFE. who came up with this idea?!?!? yes, it's true. the genius was...not me. but whatever, i digress.

in the meantime, while we wait for the thermometer to rise and our chefs to get versed in these delectable additions to our menu, enjoy our usual suspects on the in the meantime. to get your fresh, delicious lunches or piping hot dinners you can walk in, call our cafe line 201.445.6400 or order ONLINE at www.thecatchycaterer.come. 

and if you need catering for your spring or summer event, i don't know what in the hell you are waiting for because we are already booked up chock full for april and have a dozen events for may. go get on that stick baby!!  we have your favorite's right below so take a gander and order up!

yep, that just about sums it up...

yep, that just about sums it up...

that little snapshot up above (a frosty cocktail) pretty much paints a picture of my saving grace each night at around 5:30pm when we had left the roller coasters, over-priced carnival games and turkey legs behind at the theme parks and had graduated to the hotel pool for a little R&R before starting it all over again after dinner. did we really need to cover two parks a day for five days? i think not. but  i am married to a kid and he had an agenda and on it was every ride from the hulk to the seven dwarves mine train and we travelled no less than 25,000 steps every day to check them each off our list. if no one has ever told you disney is "the most wonderful place on earth," i'm here to tell you that while i may agree, i think "the most tiring place on earth" is a little more accurate. for. the. love. that was no vacation. 

but while my veiled sarcasm may paint a picture that was less than idyllic, in the interest of honesty and full disclosure, our vacation. was. AWESOME. like my husband, i have a little 11 year old in me that screams for speed, exhilaration as well as the need for finding every single disney pin ever sold on the property for my lanyard. born in the lake placid olympics generation when we collected pins on for our ski hats like they were playing cards, my kids and i raced from one park employee to the next chomping at the bit to see which pins we could trade in between racing through the fast pass lines and downing cups of butter beer. there are no places more addictive and compulsive than disney & universal, the parks filled with places to spend money, test your limits of bravery (georgia failed misery...she does not take after me or my husband) and gorge yourself on every type of culinary indulgence. but hey, it's orlando, wasn't that what we were there for??

but my takeaway wasn't excitement over finally getting to ride rip it rocket or seeing the fireworks overhead at 9pm. in truth, it the opportunity to spend 9 consecutive days with my  husband, four kids and my son's best friend in a place where you can do and be pretty much whatever you want. watching them laugh, buoy one another up when one was a little fearful, hold each other's hands, be kind to strangers and respectful to any number of waiters, ticket takers and fellow park goers afforded me the time to see our hard work in action. all the times we tell them "be kind to your sister," "let someone else have a chance," "listen to your brother's story without  interrupting," have paid off. watching these five kids joke around, share pins with one another, give someone a boost onto a ride they couldn't manage solo made my heart sing. i am so lucky to have been blessed with these kids in my life, but also have the means to take them to a place as (f&*%ing) fun (freakin' loud) & crazy  (and exhausting) and act like a kid again. don't get me wrong, plenty of moments i wanted to string one of them up by their necks (wow, that sounded a little harsh...if accurate), but the overall takeaway: best. trip. ever.

now i need another vacation because i'm exhausted. 

back to work this week and we are READY. TO. GO. spring sports have begun, plays and activities are nearing their show times, and you moms & dads are taxed and overwrought from a long week with no school. and i know no one came home from vacation and whipped up a week's worth of healthy meals yesterday in anticipation of the busyness (well, except me...insert self-deprecating smile, but that's because i ate my weight in dairy products & french fries. don't judge me). we have your favorite's right below so take a gander and order up straight from the website: www.thecatchycaterer.com and remember, we deliver to your doorstep, couldn't be any easier than that.

i'm not one to laud this holiday. frankly, i hate it.

it's valentine's day and the best way to your bae's heart is, unequivocally, through his stomach (or at least that's been my experience being married to an italian who could eat cardboard smothered in sunday gravy if i let him). 

i am not one to laud this holiday. frankly, i hate it. it's like new year's eve: all those poor slobs without a man/woman to smooch when the clock strikes midnight are left feeling like they are defective while their cute (read: probably slutty) counterparts are tipping back champagne and giggling profusely as they are hugged tight by the strapping quarterback types. uh, it's just STRESSFUL. well, at least it was for me, an awkward, glasses-wearing teenager with terrible skin and braces...at 14 (jesus mom, we couldn't get on the orthodontics earlier in life than FOURTEEN??). valentine's day is like an exercise in feeling badly for about 84% of the population. watching my teenagers gearing up for it last night, picking out their outfits and buying cheesy crap from the Rite Aid to give to their potential crushes (i say potential bc i'm not privy to the actual data with those two...like ever), it just about gave me heart burn to watch. don't break their hearts, please, be kind. 

 so needless to say, while i have myself a strapping bae now, i'm still not one to make a huge to do over this particular celebration in any way other than gastonomically. awwww yeah baby, FOOD. who doesn't like themselves some tasty grub mid-winter when they can still hide under an over-sized sweater?? i do.  

oh you know it....

oh you know it....

i can not, can NOT, begin to explain how much i enjoyed that game last night. and i'm not even an eagles fan. god there is something so gratifying about seeing a bunch of overinflated egos get made right size again. not a person i know thought the underdog eagles could do it against platinum tom brady. 

 - who is this journeyman nick foles? 

- isn't he the back up?

 - you think he can perform on a grand stage??

um, yes, it seems YES is the correct answer there. and could he have been ANY CUTER holding that little smush of a baby girl with her hot pink sound-eliminating ear muffs - SERIOUSLY!!! my boy may be little vanilla behind the microphone but naming his kid and wife before his team and coach sends him to the top of the heap in my eyes.

they say on any given day...and having lived that saying on both sides of the coin (and hating it when my team has gone into a game as the surefire winner and come out bruised, battered, asses in hand) there is nothing so humbling to those who thought they had a W in hand to see the underdog come out on top. but isn't that the beauty of sports? of life? that the ones who look like they have it all figured out and like sh*t just flows smoothly for them in every instance have to endure a brutal ego adjustment every now and again just like the rest of us? not that i'm wishing negativity and hardship on people (well, maybe just on platinum tom), but it's nice to be able to teach our kids that though it looks like so-and-so always comes out on top, or johnny whosey-doopie always gets every new phone/game/article of clothing he wants before anyone else, they are enduring their own struggles perhaps behind the scene (or sometimes on the grandest stage of all). 

life isn't fair but the one trueity i know is that everyone will get theirs. maybe you got yours at 8, 15, or 39 years old and your best friend never seems to have anything but trips to paris and roses for no reason. trust me when i say, everyone gets their share of the sh*t. so as we sit and applaud that eagle victory today from the watercooler, know that the great equalizer that may have already wreaked its havoc on your world is circulating out of your world and into someone else. be grateful you can enjoy your moment of peace, happiness and victory after having watched the underdogs prevail. and know somewhere tom is crying in his cheerios...hahaha (sorry to my pats fans customers, i still love you though)!!

why did i think this was a good idea again??

sitting in my tiny, spartan hotel room in arizona before the sun comes up, about to embark on some self improvement at a retreat, if i am to be truly honest (and when in my blog have i not been truly honest??), i'm wondering what part of me thought this was a good idea three months ago when i booked my ticket? five days of intensive searching and learning will begin in about 90 minutes with a bunch of complete strangers and i am anxious, fearful and frankly, down right pissed. why did i leave the comforts of cozy hohokus with everything and everyone that i know and love for a shithole room at the best western with nary a loved one in sight? if i was one of my kids, i would want my lovey right about now, but i'm not, so i guess i am on my own for the next few days. 

as i boarded the plane yesterday, my extremely accommodating and understanding husband (he's on morning (noon  & night) duty the next five days when he's supposed to be at his desk at 6:30am which makes that a little tricky) gave me a hug and a kiss and ensured me i was going to crush it. my kids squeezed the life out of me with their hugs, the younger two shooting mournful puppy dog eyes while asking why i couldn't "learn to be a better, calmer person"  at home rather than leave them for five days. and could they climb into my suitcase and come? it was all i could do not to let my own fears combine with theirs and send me to tears. but i held it together, found myself a bag of pretzels & a diet coke, the new kelly corrigan book to read on the plane and headed to my gate. truth be told: i wanted to cry. i wanted to stay. i wanted to smuggle them into my suitcase so i wouldn't have to be alone. so i wouldn't have to be quiet with my thoughts. so i could have something to busy myself with. but down to the gate i trudged, sad, scared, excited, hopeful all mixing in to create a emotion-filled madwoman looking for answers.

my new year's resolution was to slow down. to be more present. to quiet the noise and find more peace with myself and for my family. a tricky proposition given i have four kids, a husband and a cafe & catering business that sometimes makes finding quiet a near impossibility. but i don't believe that's an excuse. i want to learn what is enough. i am searching to unlock the question i have been striving to answer for 44 years: why do i need to do, to be? and i plan to find some of those answers this week for myself. i will benefit from it. my kids will benefit from it. and i gotta think my husband will enjoy a less wired, more serene partner around the house not barking orders like he's my sous chef. so here goes nothing. hold down the fort back in chilly nj for me while i am listening to therapists and meditation experts and doing downward dog more than i probably care to. my fabulous crew has you covered with tasty hot dinners and fresh food pumping out all week. next time you see me i'll be all pema chodron on ya.

girllllll.

girlllllll.

if i could give you visual right now, i'd be snapping my fingers and all fulla attitude. christmas is four days away and i have got. my. shit. TOGETHER. 

presents? check. house decorated? check. food shopping done? check. 36 parties between now and christmas day at catchy.? AW YEAH BABY!! CHECK.

needed to holla at you all, with just 10 days until the end of this year, to thank you for being the wonderful customers and friends you are and have become this year. you remind me why i do what i do. 

standing in my shop today, an older woman about my mom's age asked if i was the owner after picking up her lunch. i said yes and she began telling me how much she liked the feeling she got when she walked into my shop each week. i hear ya, me too. we launched into a rambling 20 minute conversation about working hard, finding your happy place, raising kids & instilling values (ya know, just your usual surface conversation). she left after introducing herself and my knowing she will return (i hope so jodi:)) and reminded once more why i do what i do. 

my customers make me happy. you walk in looking for a break, looking to connect, looking to share and we are here and love to meet you just where you are. connection is one of three things i value most in life (courage & compassion are the other two but that's a story for another time). meeting people where they are whether that be in need of a laugh, a break from life and a healthy salad, or a hug because they have just received the shittiest of shitty news and need to have someone take care of cooking for their family for a while, we are here for you. what goes around, comes around and we hope you keep coming around.

have a wonderful holiday season. 

i hope all your wishes come true.