♪♫ Isn't It Ironic? Don't You Think? ♪♫

Here lately, my life has been playing out like a tame verison of that obnoxious Alanis Morissette song.  No one has won the lottery and kicked the bucket or anything, but there have been some little things that just make a person wonder.  For instance, I finally decided to get an iPhone.  It took me 2 months to actually decide that it was worth spending the money to do it.  After all, my Samsung Continuum was fine- it just wasn't an iPod.  And it had a case that drove me crazy because it hid some of the cooler features.  And I couldn't watch Netflix on it.  Really, it was the last thing that finally convinced me to get the iPhone.  After all, baseball season is coming, as is spring football season.  I'm going to be spending a lot of time out on one sports field or another, and I relied heavily on Netflix on my phone last year to entertain the youngest (Mommy of the year, right here!)  So, I finally made the decision that I would purchase the iPhone on Monday.  Guess what came down the pipe on Sunday afternoon?  You guessed it!  Netflix on my Samsung.  By that time though, I had already talked myself into the new phone.  So, I go get the phone on Monday morning, and afterwards I drive to Meijer to pick up a few things.  Guess what I find in the clearance section?  A phone case for the Samsung that is 90% off, and addresses all the issues I had with my case.  Isn't it ironic?  Don’t you think?

Up until the irony of my iPhone/Samsung fiasco, the most ironic thing that had happened to me lately was my pasta makers.  Yes, you will note that I said "makers", plural.  I have been asking for a pasta maker for Christmas for multiple years now.  I didn't care if it was a hand crank one or the kind that attaches to the Kitchenaid.  I just wanted a pasta maker.  I finally gave up asking my parents (too many other items on the list), and only put it on my in-law's list for nostalgia's sake.  When we opened presents, I was ecstatic to find a manual pasta maker in my loot from the in-laws. Then, when I opened presents from my parents, I was doubly ecstatic to find the Kitchenaid version in my loot from them.  Seriously, the year I give up I get not one, but two of the darn things?  Um, I have also given up on that cherry red Mustang convertible.  Honestly!

As crazy as it may seem, it was a blessing to get both.  The gluten free pasta that I make takes a few times through the machine before it comes together enough to truly be workable.  The Kitchenaid machine is wonderful in that respect, because you can change the speed of how fast it rolls and you can use both hands to feed the pasta through as the machine pulls it through mechanically.  However, the Kitchenaid only makes long flat pieces (great for ravioli, but not so much for noodles if you want them consistent.)  The hand-crank machine came with two different sized cutters, so I can make evenly cut noodles in a flash.  Also, I can use the flat section on the hand-crank for the gluten-full pasta I make for the family to help offset any possibility of cross-contamination.  Both machines get an equal workout.

I am so thankful that I finally got the pasta makers.  I make pasta all the time now!  In fact, my mom even financed my 25 lb. order of Better Batter flour in exchange for keeping her in bread and pasta.  The recipe I use works well fresh or frozen, and cooks up in a jiffy.  Eating pasta and bread makes me feel almost normal!

Mmmmm...  Pasta! 

The final piece to this crazy story of irony is that a few weeks ago I was in Bed, Bath and Beyond.  Once again I was in the clearance section, (see a pattern?) and what did I come across, but a pasta maker.  A pasta maker.  A PASTA MAKER.  A little tooooo ironic.  Yeah, I really do think….