Sometimes you spend more than an hour on a new dinner recipe and you end up with a disappointing dinner. That happens to me at least a few times each month.

We spent half of Valentine’s Day making a fancy, three-course meal. The homemade ravioli with artichoke filling took ages and, when it came time to toss them in the boiling water, the dough stuck to the plate I’d rested them on and all but seven fell apart. The remaining seven were delicious (as was the sustainable sea bass it was served with), but it was tough not to be a little bitter about all the wasted time and ingredients.

That’s kind of how 2015 has felt for me so far and that’s a big part of the reason you haven’t heard much from us lately, sorry.

The best laid plans go awry — a quickly growing business hits a setback, this healthy eater “breaks her stomach” yet again, reality has set in as we’re still waiting for find a match with an expectant mother interested in adoption. I have a “theme” for every year and this year’s theme seems to be “Stalled and Stuck.”

Just like those seven remaining ravioli after all that work, “Stalled and Stuck” was not supposed to be it.

I’m trying hard to work my way out of it and, in the meantime, we have continued to eat well and have adventures.

Here are a few bites of what we’ve been up to:

We brought our 8 year-old nephew for his first Hello Pizza experience. He loved it. And yes, I got the Korean Cowboy sandwich at a pizza joint.

We went to Cochon 555 for K’s birthday and ate ALL the heritage breed pork things. And yes, we voted for Corner Table‘s plate o’pork for best in show.

We went to Zen Box Izakaya for some warming ramen made from a whole pig’s head procured at Cochon 555. I wasn’t so sure about head cheese ramen … I was mistaken, it was amazing.

I made Placek — Polish sweet bread — for Easter. My grandmother once gave me a sort-of recipe for her famous traditional yeast bread studded with raisins and topped with sweet crunch. She’d scribbled on it until it made no sense. She told me, “I don’t know…you just MAKE it!” She’s in a memory care unit now and I never thought I’d taste this bread again. But I found a recipe online and, while it’s more cakey than bread-y, it was darn close for a first try. I will definitely try again and I’ll bring some to my grandma too.

Thanks for sticking with us, we hope to be back in the swing of things soon.