June Godamn Cleaver: Hear me roar!

So I tried to drive on my slightly suspect tire and promptly blew it out in the middle of Bluemound Road. As everyone so kindly reminded me, at least it wasn't on the freeway, below zero temperatures, on your way to work, didn't cause an accident etc etc. It still means I'm hopelessly stranded in Brookfield until I get a new tire and rim (found out today that I do, in fact, have to replace the rim... YAY!). I decided to make the best of my day trapped in the house (though I did walk my lazy bum the half mile to the nearest Starbucks when my caffeine headache became unbearable) by cleaning, cooking, blogging, and jamming to some awesome music. I officially feel like June Goddamn Cleaver! I started the day off with laundry (which I desperately needed- now I won't have to buy black socks for work tomorrow) and continued that on and off throughout the day. Then I wandered into the kitchen where this was staring me in the face:

Not pictured above is the recipe I had earlier printed out for sage butternut squash soup which also greeted me happily from the kitchen table. It seemed to be a rather delicious recipe, so I decided to tackle it with my lovely day in. This is the point where I would link the recipe, however I promptly forgot where I got it from. So, I peeled and cut up the squash, happily dirtied about a million dishes and soon ended up with this:

It looks rather nice... even though I discovered in the middle of the process that I did not, in fact, have any sage. 3 different containers of ginger, yes. 2 of allspice, yes. About a million other random spices that never get used, absolutely. Sage, nowhere to be found. Rosemary and thyme are acceptable replacements for sage, right? Apparently- it turned out delicious. Pictured above is also the point that I wished I had one of these. I'll have to put it on my Christmas list. Anyway, I let it cool and took my aforementioned jaunt to Starbucks. When I returned, I pureed it in batches in my blender and ended up with:

FRIGGIN' BEAUTIFUL, BABY! Though it is like 70 degrees outside and not nearly autumn-y enough to feel like squash soup season. Even June Cleaver can't control the weather. Then, being the good hausfrau that I am, I made dinner before 6:00. Note: this does not happen in my house very often, so mark the calendar! I attempted to make this. Problems: my edamame were not shelled, I ran out of garlic, my food processor is broken (though I just minced everything by hand- much more June Cleaver anyway), and my house is full of carnivores. I added chicken... I suck at cooking meat. Somebody needs to teach me just how to cook meat... ALL MEAT. It is the bane of my existence. Anyway, I finally ended up with this:

 Note: I was going to plate it out and make it all pretty, but I'm just too lazy... as you can tell by the fact that I'm not even rotating this picture. I hope it bothers all of you as much as it bothers me... but I'm TOTALLY not going to fix it. Now I'm going to tackle my giant pile of dishes, eat some pasta, and fold a TON of laundry. What a day!