I'm Drowning in Mommy Guilt

Last night I came home from work and dinner was ready. *Score*  I didn't even have to do the dishes.

While my dear husband was finishing up in the kitchen, I played with the kid, puttered around the house, and mostly did... nothing.  And that continued the rest of the evening.

Rationally I know that I should enjoy these rare moments of respite.  However, I can't help but feel bothered by the fact that I was doing nothing.

And those three hours I spent watching tv?  I'd never get that time back. 

photo credit

Time that I could've spent doing laundry, cleaning bathrooms, or organizing.  And it's not like they were even good shows.

As a working mom, I have approximately 60 hours a week to squeeze in a week's worth of life.  Dinners, dirty clothes, play dates, errands....  It's overwhelming.

And while I actually believe that I am much more productive now that I have a (paying) job, I am definitely still not making the most of my time. 

(And what was I doing before that made me even less productive, you ask?  Oh yeah, chasing a toddler for 8 hours a day and collapsing on the couch at 730p...)

So, I'm going to try an exercise that I've seen two of my favorite bloggers, Money Saving Mom and The Frugal Girl, put into practice.  Tell Your Time is an ebook written by Amy Andrews that claims to help you "manage your time so you accomplish your life goals and nothing important falls through the cracks."

My first thought?  "Why do I need to spend money on an ebook when I can just read about time management on MSM?"  Because I'm cheap.  And the quality of my efforts show it.  (That hurt to admit.)

But since I'm a big fan of Amy Andrews' blog Blogging With Amy, I thought, WTH, what do I have to lose...?

To be continued...

Always expect people to do something stupid... Top 2 Tuesday

Top 2 Things you've learned from your parents

My dad could write a book of proverbs, but here are a couple of my favorite...

1.  Find something you love to do and find a way to make money at it.  Along those same lines, he also preached that success is found by being the best at what you do.  Doesn't matter if you are a doctor, a salesman, or a plumber; loving what you do and striving to be the best are the keys to success.

2.  Marriage is finding someone you like enough and the rest is work.  Growing up, I never took for granted how much effort being married takes.  Matter of fact, my dad had to interject in one of my relationships and tell me, "It shouldn't be this hard already."  And he was absolutely correct.  When I finally met Matt, I was blown away by how easy it was to be with him.  Not to say that it's always been easy, but I know that being with the right person is half the battle.  The rest is up to us.

Oh, and that little tidbit in the title...  That was what he told me when teaching me how to drive.  And it was the best advice I've ever gotten.  Thanks, Dad.

SNOW DAY!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program...

Today I had planned to blog about our debt free challenge (please let me know if you have a catchier name), however, I was surprised to find that my office was closed due to inclimate weather.  I guess three inches (and counting) of sleet will do that.

Matt was already off today, so we were excited to have a family snow day.  But what do you do on a snow day?  Besides, there isn't any actual snow on the ground and frankly the sleet stings a little when you are standing outside.  So that leaves us stuck inside.  Doing household crap.  Which is pretty much like any other day.  

Breakfast.  

Allison was eating pomegranate arils while waiting for the main course.  Once she was presented with the oatmeal, I turned my back to refill her milk and turned around to find this.

She had added the remaining pomegranate to her oatmeal.  Quite impressively, I might add, since she didn't spill any while pouring.  Apparently it is quite delicious.  But I'm thinking she would like anything with pomegranate.  And if you have no idea what pomegranate arils are, let me explain.

This is a pomegranate.

And these are the seeds (aka arils) that are inside.

Looks like something from outer space, eh?  

But getting to the pomegranate goodness isn't actually that tough.  Do you sense a tutorial?  Then you would be correct.

1. Score the outside of the pomegranate with a large (sharp) knife at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock.
2. Pull apart the sections and start gently pulling the seeds off the white membranes with your fingers. 
3. Drop seeds into a bowl of water to separate the arils from any remaining pith.
4. Skim the pith and drain the seeds.
5. Serve on salads, as a garnish (in say a martini), or eat 'em plain.  They have a bit of a crunch because of the little seed inside, but it's totally edible.

Morning.

I wanted to wash her hair.  Because this is what she did yesterday.  And it was a sticky, knotty mess. 

 

However, she doesn't like having her hair did.  So, trying to keep her laying on the counter so I could wash her hair in the kitchen sink?  It was like wrangling a croc.  I guess that could be my back up plan should this whole Inbound Lead Specialist gig not work out.

Naptime.

I sat in front of the computer trying to ignore the toddler jumping in her crib in the room above me.  For 90 minutes.  This is why I'm thankful I can blog at work.  Because I'm not very good at ignoring distraction. 

Afternoon.

I decided to start cooking.  However, it couldn't be something simple like baking cookies.  I had to make a bundt cake.  Which I've never done before.  And I didn't stop there.  In order to keep the munchkin busy, I made play doh first.  It probably would've helped to start with a clean slate because by the time I was ready to make the cake, the kitchen was trashed, I was out of clean measuring cups, and it was nearly 4 o'clock. 

But I got it done and attempted to take a break between baking and dinner.  Which turned out to be an hour spent dealing with poop.  Because my child decided to not wear a diaper.  But in her defense, I let her.  Because I was tired of toddler wrangling.  And she had already pooped in the morning.  And twice in one day?  That wouldn't happen, right?  Wrong.

Dinner

I decided to bump Wednesday's dinner plan to tonight since I knew that it was pretty labor intensive.  And I neglected to factor in the amount of time it takes to make a new recipe.  But the chicken pot pies turned out quite tasty despite the fact that I didn't have the right size ramekins and the crust sunk into the filling and looked like a meteor hit them.

Evening.

Tuesday night is Biggest Loser night.  Usually accompanied by ice cream.  However, a toddler without a nap makes it near impossible to watch television.  And eat ice cream in front of her?  Not gonna happen.  By the time she is finally in bed, we are wiped out...  Once again proving that it is drastically more difficult to be home all day with her than at work.  Yet, I still miss being home.  Everyday.


So what do you do on a snow day?

Out of the fog... For the moment.

I've come out of my NyQuil coma for a few minutes and thought I would post a brief success to counteract the bitchiness of yesterday's rant.

As we were staring into the fridge last night deciding between cooking dinner and going out, I made a realization.  I haven't eaten fast food since before Christmas.  Possibly longer.  Meal planning has been going extremely well (with the exception of this week) and stocking the freezer with pre-portioned leftovers have meant lunches for the work week. 

I know this may not be a big success for most people, but you all know that I am weak.  And the moment I leave the house, I begin to crave McDonald's cheeseburgers.  So, I allow myself to give in to temptation about once a week.  And I berate myself for my weakness the other 1-2 days I hit the drive thru.

But maybe it's due to the cold weather and the long walk to my car, or possibly just the availability of food at home due to the abundance of holiday cooking, but I've been bringing lunch every day.  A couple times it's just been a simple can of soup and a sleeve of crackers, but it fills me up and saves me from pulling out my wallet.

*In case you were wondering, we had Steak-n-Shake for dinner.  I've had a nasty hankering for a cheeseburger lately and we had a gift card from Christmas. 

**Come back next week for a freezer cleanout where I search the depths of my deep freeze for meals that can be thawed rather than preparing fresh.  It's all part of my effort to avoid the grocery store this month.

Dear Blogosphere...

Like thousands of other people out there right now, I'm sick. Not the fun kind of "sick" which really means awesome. (Although I'm kinda that, too.) But the sore throat, raspy hack, can barely breathe out of one nostril kind of sick.


I'm not telling you this to be whiny. Because I kinda did it to myself.  I am fully aware that when my body gets worn out/stressed or whatever, it usually manifests in some sort of cold-like symptoms.  It's because I'm on handfuls of immunodepressants.  But it usually goes away in a day or so without much issue.  Unless I do something stupid...  Like pass around a bottle of champagne on New Year's Eve.  And stay up til 2am.  It's at that point that my body says, "Screw her!"  And decides to teach me a lesson. 

So, five days later I'm trying to hold back phlegmy coughs as I answer the phone with my scratchy, "40 pack a day smoker" voice.  I've been asked several times at work if I need to go home, which I assume means that I look like I have leprosy.  However, going home means dealing with the miniature leper, and I don't think I can handle that.  Not again.  Because yesterday I felt bad for the little munchkin.  I mean, I was the one that got her sick.  So, I stayed home to take care of her.  Big mistake.  Sick taking care of sick never ends well.  At one point, I think I actually had to stop myself from squeezing the breath out of her in order to put a stop to the crying.  I understand that she has no comprehension of why she can't breathe through the snot pouring from her nose, so that's got to be mighty frustrating.  But I'm not particularly well known for my patience on a normal day.  Factor in illness?  And you might as well not come near me, because I'm a ticking time bomb.

But we made it through the day.  Mostly due to my amazing husband that went out to get DQ Blizzards (for the Biggest Loser season premiere) and came home with orange juice.

But that's why I'm sitting at my desk in a DayQuil induced, zombie-like state.  Because it's easier to be sick here than at home.  What happened to home being a refuge?  Oh yeah.  It's been invaded by a 2 1/2 foot, 23 pound terrorist.

So, if you don't hear much from me this week, it's because I'm looking for WMDs hidden somewhere inside my house.  Or I've OD'd on NyQuil.

Peace, Love, and Orange Juice,
Jen

I'm still here...

I haven't curled up under my desk in the fetal position, rocking back in forth, Sybil-style.  Yet.

I have made several attempts to write posts this week, however, about halfway through I seem to lose interest and start playing solitaire.

Or my phone rings.  And I have to answer it.  Because that's what I'm paid to do.

I guess I should also take this opportunity to announce that I will no longer be a temp after next week.  They made me an offer that I couldn't refuse.  So, I guess it's time to clean out the last employee's crap from my desk.  Oh, how I love to purge.

But back to my apology. 

I'll try to get something remotely informative (or at least mildly entertaining) posted soon, but no promises that my ADD will subside before the holidays are over.

Just know that even though you may not be seeing signs of life, I am here and watching reading you.  And I may even comment occasionally.

THE END.

The best part of my day...

is coming home from work.



(sorry the sound is so rough in the beginning!)

Contentment

I have a confession to make.  I'm not perfect.  *Gasp*

And actually, I think I'm about as far from perfect as you can get.  Now, I suspect some of that self-deprication stems from a little thing I call my OCD.  I think it all originates from growing up in a house where drink glasses were wisked away to the dishwasher the moment they were set down empty.  I know.  I have problems.  Blame it on my mother.  I can't even begin to imagine what kind of complexes my daughter is going to have.

Instead of cleaning my house last night for impending holiday guests, I created a blog button.

Not so much my priority for the evening...  But isn't it pretty?

I had rationalized that it was too early to start prep cooking for Sunday's feast.

And pretended the toilets weren't disgusting.

Because as much as I want to be "that mom" (you know the one that goes to the gym everyday, gets errands completed with two kids in tow, keeps a spotless house, and has dinner in the crock pot all by 10a), I know that I am not.  And I'm trying to make my peace with that.  But it's not easy.

Lately life has been one big lesson in contentment.  And while I look at others and often times wish my life were different, I know that this path has been put before me to teach me something important.  To learn to live more simply, more appreciatively, more consciously. 

Two years ago really began a new chapter for our family.  With our first baby on the way and both my husband and I recently laid off, we were totaly unprepared to deal with the situation before us. 

It was like going through the five stages of grief.  Or maybe more like a 12-step program. 

Initially there was fear.  Lots of fear.  "How were we going to survive?"  And then there was denial.  "Of course!  Unemployment!  We're gonna be fine..."  Then there was desperate zealousness.  (I know that's not a stage/step.  Work with me here.)  And I threw myself into figuring out how to be a supermom, scouring the interweb for some magic bean that would allow me to be a full time stay at home mom.  But when it was all said and done, I had to accept the fact that the numbers didn't add up.  And that something had to change.

So, here I am. 

And even though I don't get to stay home and have crafting playdates, and my house may not always look the way I'd like, or I long for a small dose of train-wreck cable tv...  I know that every sacrifice makes us a stronger family. 

Also, I'm pretty sure my kid won't grow up with an obsession about clean baseboards.  She may not even know that they are supposed to be cleaned.  And she might be better off because of it.

Spinach, Beet, and Goat Cheese Pizza & Work Place Drama

I had every intention of writing a very focused recipe post today...  But I have to admit I'm a little distracted.  You see, our company's server has been a little wonky today...  But that's not what is causing my silent repetition of inappropriate explicatives.  It would be the constant vocalization of frustration brought on by said server.  Namely by one person.  And that's why I want to shoot myself in the face.

Disclosure: I do try very hard to maintain a positive attitude and not be a perpetual complainer (unless it's for the sake of humor), but there are just some days that put even the most devout optimist to the test.  I'll have to write a separate post on my attempt to take the "No Complaint Challenge."  Operative word being "attempt."

But the great thing about being surrounded by spastic people? It calms me. It's a skill that the hubs and I have perfected since the arrival of our willful darling child. So, when one parent is at their wit's end after a long day of dealing with a whining, tantrum-throwing, and explosively pooping child, the other steps up and can take over to reinstate peace in the house.  And I had no idea that it would be applicable in the workplace.

But, I digress...

There's this thing called a roasted beet salad that you may have seen a few times on restaurant menus.  (Apparently, it's become a little cliche according to the foodie world.)  It's generally a spinach salad, topped with roasted beets, goat cheese, and walnuts.  And it's delicious.  I mean, is there anything with goat cheese that isn't delicious?  So, after slaving away for hours making pizza crust only to discover that i was a little short on toppings, I decided to try something a little different.  Salad on top of a pizza.  (Pilad?  Sazza?  I'm trying to be an innovator here...)  

The concept is simple.  Take your pre-baked pizza crust, add a generous amount of spinach (because it will cook down substantially), top with diced roasted beets and goat cheese, then finish it off with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.  Then bake.  Sounds weird, I know.  But I was surprised at how darn tasty it was.  Ok, that's really not a recipe.  So, to not be a liar, here is one.

Honey Wheat Pizza Crust
1 1/2 c warm water
2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
3 1/2 c flour (I used 1 1/2 cups of AP and 2 cups of whole wheat)
1 tsp salt
1 (scant) Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp white pepper (I used black pepper which doesn't look as pretty, but who cares?  It's covered in sauce anyways...)
Olive oil

I use my super fast Kitchenaid mixer, but if you don't have one of those fancy contraptions, you can certainly do it by hand.  Just be prepared to get messy.

COMBINE warm water and yeast in your mixing bowl.  Allow to rest for 5 minutes.  Sift in the AP flour and mix to combine.  Add salt, pepper, and honey and mix some more.  Then the whole wheat flour gets added to the party.  Now the fun part...  Lock the mixer, turn up the speed to med-low, and watch it dance!  Let it go for about 3-5 minutes or until your dough looks smooth and elastic.

ADD a little olive oil to your bowl and roll the dough around to get it lightly coated.  Then cover with plastic or a towel and let it rest for about 1 1/2 hours.  Or until doubled in volume.

TAKE your completed dough and divide it up into individual pizza crust portions.  (I like to get about 6-8 crusts out of a batch, but I make them small and thin.)  Roll into balls then flatten out...  So they look like, you know, pizzas?

HEAT up a cast iron pan of sorts to screaming hot.  Now I've tried a lot of pizza baking methods, and found this by far this works the best to avoid that soggy crust...  Now put your dough in the dry pan.  I like mine all crispy and bubbled...  Like real Italian pizza...  But this last time I went for a thicker, chewier crust. 

When you're ready to make your pizzas, just brush on a little olive oil to prevent the crust from getting soggy during baking and add your favorite toppings.  Bake at 350° until hot and cheese is melted.  And you won't hurt my feelings if you don't want to try my Pizalad...

Thankful Thursday

Thanksgiving has got to be my favorite holiday.  For one thing, it's a wonderful opportunity to create family memories without all the pressure of gift giving.  (ugh.)  And then there's the food...  Crispy, golden turkeys, mounds of mashed potatoes, my aunt's stuffing that she only makes once a year...  Heaven.

But of course, Thanksgiving isn't just about turkey.  And in an effort to create a catchy blog series recognize all that is good in my life, I thought I would take a few posts and give thanks. Holla!  (That went too far, didn't it?)

Seriously, though...  The last two years have been a challenge for our family, starting with both my husband and myself getting laid off from our jobs in 2008.  And while losing our jobs was a hard blow to our financial situation, I truely believe that everything happens for a reason. The life lessons our layoffs have provided have been invaluable.  We have learned to live on less.  And habits that were created out of financial necessity, have made us better people. 

Some of the things we've learned:

1. You don't need to spend money to have fun.  I pride myself on finding free (or nearly free) family activities.  Many times there are great events hosted at local parks, stores, recreational complexes, or even the library.  You just have to know how to find them.  In the St. Louis area, http://www.stlcalendar.com/ is a great resource for things happening around town. 
2. Cable is a waste.  Back in January, we finally made the decision to ditch the cable and we haven't looked back since.  Sure, it's saved us $60/month, but more than that, it's encouraged us to do more valuable things with our time rather than watching Law & Order reruns for three hours every night.
3. Don't buy what you can make.  For example, I began making our own laundry soap.  And with the amount of laundry that I do (including using cloth diapers), I believe it saves a lot of cash.  I can make a batch (which lasts about 6-8 weeks) for probably less than $1.  And for a minimal time investment, it's totally worth it. 
4. What you can't make, buy on sale.  For a long time I tried to play the coupon game.  And the thrill of getting stuff for next to nothing is quite exciting.  But recently I've learned that many times you end up spending money you wouldn't normally spend in order to save a couple bucks.  (Ahem, I'm talking to you, Walgreens and your Register Rewards.)  That's not to say that if there is a product you use regularly, you shouldn't watch for the sales and stock up at the best price.  I do still clip coupons, but only for items I know I will use. 
5. Reduce waste.  I hate to waste.  It started out as financially motivated, but I've also come to appreciate the environmental aspects as well.  Look at objects and ask yourself if it can serve an additional purpose.  Check out your fridge and see how you can make the most of your food supply.  And so you know, I'll be that person at Chick-Fil-A stuffing that last leftover chicken nugget into her purse, just in case...

Adventures in Housekeeping

Yesterday I was feeling quite disappointed in myself as I was reading this amazingly informative blog on how to maintain a clean house.  I thought about the laundry list of things left undone at home and I could feel myself climbing into my shame hole as I obsessed about the 1" thick layer of dust on my dresser.  And I started drafting a post.  It was kinda funny.  Definitely self-depricating (as many of them are).  And overall, very negative.  I couldn't post it.

I went home and commenced my normal routine of greeting my sweet baby girl and starting dinner.  As I'm cooking the sloppy joes, my mother in law (aka the nanny) asked me, "Don't you hate cooking dinner after coming home from work?"  And my answer was "Not if I have a plan."

So, why should creating a plan for housework be any different from a meal plan? 

And with my new found determination (and a little help from a 20oz Dr. Pepper), I started to tackle the source of much of my cleaning guilt...  The bedroom.  I told myself I was only going to dust.  But that turned into some purging/organizing.  And then carpet cleaning.  And baseboard dusting.  Then before long, the room looked cleaner than it had in months.

To my surprise, it only took an hour or so of my time.  And it was certainly more gratifying than watching Dancing with the Stars.

Adventures in Housekeeping

Since rejoining the workforce four weeks ago, I've done pretty well keeping up with housework.  It hasn't been easy, but by making sure the house is picked up before heading off to bed, I can stave off the "a toy box just barfed all over my house" look.  And that's half the battle. 

But this week....  Oh, how I can't wait for this week to be over.  Monday started out like any other day.  I got up and even had the time to get dinner in the crock-pot before getting the kiddo up.  I was feeling a bit like supermom.  But as so many superheros do, I quickly fell from grace and on Monday night, it all went to hell. 

For some idiotic reason, I attempted to stay up past the ungodly hour of 10p (I know, I'm old) and ended up falling asleep in the recliner... twice, actually.  I vaguely remember waking up a few minutes before The Office was scheduled to start and thinking, "Ohhh...  I should stay up and watch it."  Then, crash.  Back asleep.  And waking up at 2a to finally head upstairs did not lead to a cheery 630a.  (Not that I'm ever cheery at 630a, mind you.)

And that is what led to my obscene use of the snooze button this week.  And I blame that snooze button for paving the way for skipped showers, shoddy breakfasts, botched lunches, and the sinkful of dishes in my kitchen.  Because once you've figured out how long you can stay in bed and still make it out the door in time to be less than 10 minutes late to work...  Then you're screwed.

So, that brings us to Thursday morning.  I finally drag myself out of bed at 650a.  (Only two snoozes today!)   Mistake #1.  I shaved.  That took an extra 7 minutes that I could've used to unload the dishwasher.  Mistake #2.  Looking for the mysterious stink in my kitchen.  Hmmm...  Trash?  Dishes?  And the winner is... Cat puke!  But not just a little furball. Full on, day old, hardened puke.  Awesome.

So now I'm running 15 minutes late.  I wake up the munchkin, skip the snuggling, and proceed to chase her around the house for 3 minutes trying to fix her hair.  Determined to feed my kid a healthy breakfast, I throw some oatmeal in the microwave and pour myself a travel cup of milk.  Running out the door, I see the remains of a life well lived, scattered all over my floors.  And knowing that I may have lost this battle makes me feel a little more human.  And glad that I won't be home all day to stare at it.

Mommy Guilt

I had to run up to Trader Joe's on my lunch break today to pick up some cat food (who btw has great quality canned cat food, but that's neither here nor there) and I just can't be that close to Chick-Fil-A without being sucked in by the deliciousness.  So, I drove on over to the mall...  on a Friday...  during lunchtime...  But again, not my point. 

While racing through the food court to obtain my bliss on a bun, I saw mom after mom with their cute little kids.  And I felt it.  The pang of guilt that comes with leaving my daughter everyday to go to work.  And that wish that I was there instead with her...

I know that she is in great hands with her dad or grandma while I'm out earnin'.  However, that doesn't change the fact that I had always hoped that I could be a permanent stay at home mom.  But this is what I need to do for my family right now.

So, I'm focusing on all the positive aspects of working.  How much I appreciate my time with her in the evenings.  The much needed respite from constant toddler chatter.  And of course the money.  Damn the need for money.  Sometimes I'd love to move off the grid and farm our own food and make our own clothes.  Then I remember that our veggie garden only yielded a boat-load of cayenne peppers.  Hmmm...  I don't think we'll be homesteading anytime soon...

Resisting Temptation

I'm weak.  I just can't help myself.  After a life-long love affair with junk food, I struggle everyday to resist the temptation of those delicious treats I grew up with.  When I'm home, it's easier.  So much easier.  Because I don't make it accessible.  I don't buy Hostess cupcakes or Cheetos.  Because I know what it will do to my body.

Instead, I fill my kitchen with snacks like homemade crackers, fruit, and cheese.  Because I know that these are the foods I am supposed to eat.  And most of the time, it's good.

But as soon as I leave the house, I'm like a college freshman at her first frat party.  Every drive-thru calls to me.  Every vending machine taunts me.  I daydream of DQ Blizzards and McDonalds cheeseburgers. 

One of my biggest fears surrounding returning to the work force is the temptation of being out of the house everyday...  for lunch...  Of being just a short drive away from a butterburger or a chili cheese burrito...

But so far, so good.  I've managed to bring a healthy, home-prepared meal for lunch everyday this week.  It helps that we haven't any extra cash to be spending on unnecessary expenses like eating out.  But today was payday...  And you can't be good all the time...  So, I think I forsee a little splurge in the near future...  :)

Pesto is a mom's best friend...

I have this fantasy about being a stay-at-home-mom.  It involves waking up early, the family waking up to the smell of pancakes and bacon, and hours of fun family activities, all while I'm expertly juggling the housework, errands, and maybe even a blog on the side...  It's a lovely dream.  But we're poor.  So, I got a job.

A temp job to be more precise.  It's a great gig, actually.  I work at a great company, with nice people, doing very easy work for a modest wage.  But while I'm sitting here answering phones, I can only help but dwell on the fact that I haven't planned anything for dinner...  again.

While the hubbs gets home earlier than I do, I still feel like it should still be my responsibility to put a healthy meal on the table.  Maybe it's because of my OCD or possibly the fact that I'm a bit of a food nazi.  Or maybe my desire to be a super mom.  But I take a lot of pride in cooking for my family and want to feed them wholesome, homemade food.

Back to the haunting question...  What's for dinner??  Answer: PESTO!  With the weather finally turning cold and the last of the garden's offerings ready to be harvested, I have a monster of a basil plant that's been slated for the chopping block for awhile - just waiting for that desperate moment when I needed to prepare dinner in 15 minutes.

I don't even bother to pull out a recipe.  I grab the basil, throw it in the food processor, drizzle in some olive oil, and mix it with pasta.  It's really that easy.  I don't mess with adding superfluious ingredients like pine nuts, or whatever else they put in real pesto.  But I do like to add some grated parmesean at the end and I've been known to add a clove or two of garlic when I'm feeling spunky.  But if you're not having that kinda day, leave it out.  It will still be delicious.