tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69814047990025049362024-03-20T18:07:52.114-06:00bethany jane.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-57967851529188715602013-05-07T19:24:00.004-06:002013-05-07T19:34:15.415-06:00Healthy Stuffed Quesadillas (+ a trick to keeping guacamole green!)This is a recipe idea that I sort of stole from one of our absolute favorite restaurants of all time... It's not exactly like the restaurant version, but it's so so yummy. So easy, too. <br />
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Here's how you do it:<br />
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Top half of a whole wheat tortilla with the following:<br />
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- A little bit of shredded mozzarella cheese (just to act as glue to hold the next layer. There will be another opportunity for adding more cheese, so go easy on it).<br />
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- cooked brown rice with fresh chopped cilantro mixed in. (This is great for leftover rice, or you can just make it earlier in the day. It doesn't have to be cold, so tonight I just made it an hour before I wanted to eat).<br />
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- a handful of black beans (out of a can, drained & rinsed).<br />
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- a handful of corn (once again, I use canned. Feel free to go fresher).<br />
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- a sprinkle of feta cheese (you can omit this, but you'll want to add a light sprinkle of salt if you go with 100% mozzarella. The feta gives it just the right amount of salt).<br />
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- and finish it off with more shredded mozzarella cheese. <br />
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Fold it in half, and carefully transfer it to a hot pan or (my preference) a panini press (seriously, theses things are WAY more useful than I realized when I acquired mine). Let it cook until it's warm and melty inside and crunchy and browned on the outside.<br />
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For extra delight, top with homemade guacamole..! Amazing.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHh8mz06DeU5a3hZrHdocOHzfY9eyi6-4Gqd5_sdnrR92fC-kexAzX48_YKSi6sYnSpZRAU8zQ59swfSAeRi-1qTeKKn0ziDmcMYMU_xQyl3U12FxHakPv6_RQZ0y33jEe3hvfIbFUdqc/s640/blogger-image-1944299548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHh8mz06DeU5a3hZrHdocOHzfY9eyi6-4Gqd5_sdnrR92fC-kexAzX48_YKSi6sYnSpZRAU8zQ59swfSAeRi-1qTeKKn0ziDmcMYMU_xQyl3U12FxHakPv6_RQZ0y33jEe3hvfIbFUdqc/s400/blogger-image-1944299548.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*this picture does not do this meal justice.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />
And a little bonus: Avocados, like bananas, start turning brown as soon as they're exposed to air. To keep guacamole looking and tasting fresh, just press plastic wrap directly onto the top of the guac, as pictured below. Easy peasy. Apparently, and I have yet to try this myself, you can freeze avodacos! Just mash them up, put them in a plastic bag, and get rid of all the air. Throw them in the freezer for those desperate times when avocados aren't 3 for $1. I would think you could just thaw them overnight in the fridge. I'm thinking of stocking up this week, especially since this is one of those magical times when avocados <i>are</i> 3 for $1.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0gn0QwC6buLGUutuztCYi2ssFrMtwckqHE8sa-SykNT-OqevtR9HOTVlLuKds1YqmzsQeGBGKl7tF5vSDEPdZ9DVY3ASnq_Cs1lx7ARvODvVUuX5vwXo96xmKk8oXIWaC5O7_Y6HvfY/s640/blogger-image--972171963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0gn0QwC6buLGUutuztCYi2ssFrMtwckqHE8sa-SykNT-OqevtR9HOTVlLuKds1YqmzsQeGBGKl7tF5vSDEPdZ9DVY3ASnq_Cs1lx7ARvODvVUuX5vwXo96xmKk8oXIWaC5O7_Y6HvfY/s640/blogger-image--972171963.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-65443097681896675962013-05-01T23:35:00.001-06:002013-05-01T23:40:20.124-06:00Back to schoolWell, not really. But sort of. More like back to learning hard things, I guess<br />
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I've been going a little bit crazy since about a year and a half ago. See, I graduated from BYU two years ago, and finally having time to do whatever I wanted was a dream come true for about four months of newly-married bliss. But then I started missing the busy-ness and the (positive) stress and the deadlines. I even miss the exams! I've been filling my time with hobbies (cooking, sewing, crafting) and church stuff (family history), which has been great, but it has not been sufficient. <br />
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In an effort to exercise my brain, I started studying Swedish, along with reviewing Arabic, every day about 8 months ago. I've been loving that, but it's become so habitual (I've only been doing vocabulary... I know, not enough) that it's not pushing me anymore. I wanted to do more, but being unable to actually go to school right now (green card paperwork is in progress...ugh), I had to get creative.<br />
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And that's when I found free college course online. Life changing. I've suddenly become infatuated with anatomy. Really, I'm pretty obsessed. I've never taken anything remotely resembling an anatomy class, and I'm kicking myself. Latin and Greek derivations, tons of memorization (which I weirdly love), and just learning how it all works. It's so much fun. I kind of want to go to med school now. Who knew?<br />
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Anyway, I found a Berkeley course (39 40-minute lectures) that's free online. The professor, Marian Diamond is amazing (pictured below). I've only watched the first lecture, and I'm completely sold. I mean, she presents the class with a human brain in the first ten minutes of class! How can you not love that? <br />
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I plan on taking the course, and taking it seriously. I'm going to watch a lecture (and take notes, make flash cards, and study and really learn this stuff) each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday till I'm finished. If you can't tell, I'm really excited about this. <br />
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Watch the first lecture and tell me you don't want in.<br />
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Find them here:<br />
http://freevideolectures.com/Course/1827/General-Human-Anatomy#<br />
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I've been sick in bed for two days now, and it's making me crazy. Yesterday I was tired, weak, and achy. Today I woke up with a horrible sore throat on top of the other symptoms. Seriously, every joint and muscle in my body hurts. It's very annoying. I'm too weak to get up for more than about twenty minutes at a time, which means I'm bored out of my mind. Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Google Reader, and even the 2 or 3 lame games I have on my phone have lost their appeal. Reading takes too much effort. Netflix was great yesterday, but I'm tired of watching movies now, too. What's a girl to do?</div>
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The worst part is that since Kimball's just starting at the U of U, we're still in the process of setting up health insurance through them, so I don't want to go to a doctor yet. But I'm pretty sure I should. I've been scouring the internets for cold and flu remedies, and I'm willing to try almost anything. </div>
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So far I've tried the following:<br />
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- tea with honey<br />
- eating lots of citrus<br />
- drinking apple cider vinegar with honey in hot water<br />
- drinking those fizzy vitamin drinks<br />
- eating raw garlic (see pic. I made it tastier by spreading it on a toasted bagel with avocado, tomato, and sea salt)<br />
- homemade chicken soup (I had to get out of bed, and making soup was the perfect distraction)<br />
- peppermint tea with honey, cloves, and coconut oil<br />
- inhaling steam<br />
- gurgling listerine (which seriously tastes like gasoline or paint thinner... at least whatever flavor we have in the house.)<br />
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- green smoothies to boost the old immune system</div>
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Unfortunately, most of these are preventative measures... I'm at my wit's end. I want to just sleep for a week and wake up better, but when I do sleep I wake up feeling worse. In fact I seem to wake up from the pain of swallowing or something. Not fun.</div>
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And we were going to celebrate my birthday today. :( </div>
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Pity party at the Germane household tonight! </div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-90766754986221091242012-12-24T13:23:00.002-07:002012-12-24T13:23:38.514-07:00Christmas Eve<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluywKoaukac2qk2q9xlsKDJ-bp60aD64j3qyBjVZIp3LG2xQmI6EwBapyOUSfcxbfRvzzGAEv9gwn9JfRNqLQL_OqVycefpn_811ndEeY1jE9egAavxyvWOmfZVNe9alkcAejLsv4HG0/s640/blogger-image-92577692.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluywKoaukac2qk2q9xlsKDJ-bp60aD64j3qyBjVZIp3LG2xQmI6EwBapyOUSfcxbfRvzzGAEv9gwn9JfRNqLQL_OqVycefpn_811ndEeY1jE9egAavxyvWOmfZVNe9alkcAejLsv4HG0/s400/blogger-image-92577692.jpg" width="400" /></a>It's already Christmas Eve! I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. We've been away from home since Friday, and we're not going back until after the new year, which is kind of sad. I love spending time with family over the holidays, but part of me can't wait for us to have a little family of our own, and to just do our own thing at our own house. I always decorate our place for christmas, but then we have to leave it behind. It's not much... all of our Christmas decorations fit in the Christmas tree box, which is pretty small. I like it that way. I like minimal Christmas decorations, which you'd know if you follow my <a href="http://pinterest.com/bejanegermane/christmas/">Christmas board</a> on Pinterest... My dream Christmas is all white with a little fresh green, and in Sweden. Not too much to ask, is it? One day I'll have my dream Scandinavian Christmas, but for now, I love my little box of mis-matched Christmas goodies. It certainly does the job of getting us in the Christmas mood for the few weeks leading up to Christmas.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">riding the new train from Provo to SLC</td></tr>
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We've already had an awesome weekend, and the break's only going to get better! So far the break has consisted of dinner and a movie with friends (The Hobbit... for the third time... in 3D 48fps!), a really hard military work out session the next morning with the same friends (I'm still finding it difficult to move), taking the train to Syracuse, so much fun with cutie-pie nieces, movies, naps, hot chocolate, popcorn, games, a little P90X, a gift-wrapping extravaganza, and lots of good food. I'm so excited for what the next week or so will bring!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-62787309076049430282012-12-17T13:22:00.005-07:002012-12-17T13:22:44.419-07:00Happy Christmas!I have so much to write about, and pretty much no drive to do it. Things are abuzz with the holidays oh-so-near, and we're busy as ever. I'm thinking about doing a photo-a-day for 2013 as a way to keep up on my journaling/blogging. We'll see if that idea develops into a commitment...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaEIAM4rlBzeuzzCpG-gBvVb0mb6i8EjgjOKwdGkGkLB3rzuo-Aq6Lor0kfLsNYlYdmaDqt5ujumLfKTOY81Js8QSmqAmbb73jIwI46d7e1beTrrW2KAGdB7uNUoQ2vbNMGnP2z9VQgPs/s640/blogger-image-1290624090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaEIAM4rlBzeuzzCpG-gBvVb0mb6i8EjgjOKwdGkGkLB3rzuo-Aq6Lor0kfLsNYlYdmaDqt5ujumLfKTOY81Js8QSmqAmbb73jIwI46d7e1beTrrW2KAGdB7uNUoQ2vbNMGnP2z9VQgPs/s400/blogger-image-1290624090.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My love and I at my mom's fun new apartment building in downtown slc</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-69757292613363600362012-11-29T20:36:00.002-07:002013-04-24T12:54:25.053-06:00Time is flying<div style="text-align: justify;">
You'd think that this last month has been pretty dull over here if you were going off of my blog posts... which haven't been happening at all lately. It's quite the opposite, in fact. It's been a very full and exciting month, with lots going on and lots to blog about, besides recipes I want to remember. We've had (in the extended family. Not Kimball and I alone!) marriages, babies, birthdays, holidays, accomplishments, and milestones. Okay, we've also had some awesome food, so you're still going to get some of that.</div>
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Time has just flown by, and not only this month. I realized yesterday that it's been 6 years since I entered the MTC and became a missionary lady. Naturally, I've been reminiscing and looking at pictures today, and I just have to say that even thought it had its extremely frustrating and difficult times, I love the memories I have from those 18 months. I learned so much, gained so much (yes, even weight), and changed so much. I loved it. Not every minute, but lots of minutes.</div>
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I was going through my facebook albums of mission pics (most of my pics are on hard drives somewhere) and had to post a few here. I just laugh so much when I look through my pictures. Probably about 85% of my memories are absolutely hilarious. I laughed a ton on my mission, but as the years pass I find myself laughing even more, because now I'm laughing at myself, not just the situations we were in. Oh, I love my mission memories, and I love Los Angeles!</div>
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I've added some little descriptions of the photos, although some don't need any explanation at all.</div>
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1. I'm a thug. 2. Besties! 3. This lady wouldn't let us get a pic without holding some dolls. 4. Mission rules - no eating in cars. Made me mad, but I was a good girl.</div>
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1. Pres. Blackburn - my fave. 2. We loved our weekly service! 3. Peruvian niños and a llama. I spoke no español, and they spoke no english (story of my mission). Tough to communicate. 4. This was our mission beach day (no water... just sand). We just<i> had</i> to show up in vietnamese sun hats.</div>
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1. Just taking a tracting/photoshoot break. 2. This is how we do it in L.A. 3. MTC roomies. Love them. 4. Besties in the same mission. Simply uncanny.</div>
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1. My tiny little Hermana Hernandez. I stood about a foot taller than everyone in this area. 2. View from the Getty Museum (best p-day activity ever!) 3. Just me. 4th of July baseball... so naturally I just sat on the bench. 4. Oh, I'm just answering phones and being on TV at the Jerry Lewis Telethon. Best service project ever.</div>
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It feels so good to relive those moments. I looked so young! Hard to believe I was even 22/23! My mission is where I noticed my first wrinkles. All that time in the sun was rough on me (and then 8 months in the Middle Eastern sun didn't help). My face also looks a little chubby in some pics. That would be the fifteen pounds I gained while practically being force-fed dinner and dessert every night and then being blessed/cured with a car (this time the 8 months in the Middle East - with no good ice cream and no car - actually helped).</div>
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I'm glad to say that even though those were great years, they weren't the best of my life. It just keeps getting better. It's been a great six years.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-59629968735393540102012-10-25T19:18:00.001-06:002012-10-25T19:19:39.770-06:00Cauliflower Mac & Cheese<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6fI9_sTZWCO-QKjMFqVjIxx-kTggqoxQTwiiih7WxYWuzSSv0VfL7SowOjBuOtlzvfXp5Om9V1pNoiqN_Lj_OOz38U_G7itzQwlF9jl11xagY1XoLMBMTkYARIx7xTAzietaqnxn6bk/s640/blogger-image-1290435257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6fI9_sTZWCO-QKjMFqVjIxx-kTggqoxQTwiiih7WxYWuzSSv0VfL7SowOjBuOtlzvfXp5Om9V1pNoiqN_Lj_OOz38U_G7itzQwlF9jl11xagY1XoLMBMTkYARIx7xTAzietaqnxn6bk/s400/blogger-image-1290435257.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This meal was outstanding! Oh my. Shutterbean does it again. I thought, since it snowed last night, that something warm and comforting would be fitting for our dinner today. This was perfect. Not only is it super filling, very easy, and deliciously satisfying, it's surprisingly light and healthy, too. Oh man, and those breadcrumbs on top, soooo good. So crispy and flavorful. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's the ingredient list:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(Recipe from <a href="http://www.shutterbean.com/2009/macaroni-and-cheese-with-cauliflower/">here</a>, but slightly adapted by me)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ingredients:</span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">-multigrain or whole wheat spiral noodles (or, you know, macaroni)<br />-chopped cauliflower<br />-bread crumbs </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">-dried parsley<br />-olive oil<br />-salt & pepper<br />-diced onion<br />-grated cheese (I used half cheddar, half mozzarella)<br />-plain greek yogurt<br />-skim milk<br />-Dijon mustard<br />-garlic powder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">See what I mean? Not terribly unhealthy. I'm not going to bother writing out the instructions or anything, but it's really not that hard either. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If you make this, just be aware that the original recipe will make enough for a large family. I cut it in half, and these are my leftovers. One and a half 8x6 baking dishes:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHONGmX0pH0Cyf5yrvtW_LLlnRjXA2KTGHkY8Vg9dj8-UgrBGCbkjZFXRs58KwdwgNNRXM5_Fd2YXcIJWDV-tuakT-WgCghT6Y72mT8no2Tq0x6uzFtVBrhuA896fGMgdFexUJw8PJFwQ/s640/blogger-image--1483778759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHONGmX0pH0Cyf5yrvtW_LLlnRjXA2KTGHkY8Vg9dj8-UgrBGCbkjZFXRs58KwdwgNNRXM5_Fd2YXcIJWDV-tuakT-WgCghT6Y72mT8no2Tq0x6uzFtVBrhuA896fGMgdFexUJw8PJFwQ/s320/blogger-image--1483778759.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-41208455872153330892012-10-20T09:51:00.002-06:002012-10-20T09:54:15.271-06:00Tomato Cheese & Herb Tarts<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3w3MljjUaGCgqLnaYt7bgsmhtr136SdrrdSU0KIUUlKu_RX6EJgRNrExAVlBCjztAyaw1_xfhpFMZzpJVAuMuPTHA79fWz_dcU8c9SXw5s2PrCloa8fz3Aro_7f1fMqWoTzRJwnWWIPA/s1600/photo+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3w3MljjUaGCgqLnaYt7bgsmhtr136SdrrdSU0KIUUlKu_RX6EJgRNrExAVlBCjztAyaw1_xfhpFMZzpJVAuMuPTHA79fWz_dcU8c9SXw5s2PrCloa8fz3Aro_7f1fMqWoTzRJwnWWIPA/s320/photo+3.jpg" width="320" /></a>These are so so good.<br />
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This is another recipe from Shutterbean, the blog I've become obsessed with this week. The <a href="http://www.shutterbean.com/2011/cheese-herb-tomato-tart/">original recipe</a> is actually for one big tart, but since the grocery store I went to was out of puff pastry sheets, I just got little puff pastry shells instead. They worked out perfectly. My only complaint was that they were just simply too small.<br />
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The recipe also calls for three cheeses, but I only used two: mozzarella and parmesan. Not only were these little tarts delicious, but I thought they were so pretty too. There's nothing quite like almost-crispy golden brown cheese with tomatoes. These little delights would make a perfect little Christmas appetizer (I would make them even smaller though) or finger food for any old party. Did I mention how easy they are to make?<br />
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Here's how:</div>
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Poke the thawed puff pastry with a fork and pinch the edges so it doesn't puff like it's supposed to.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHtIyJ-IR5QQXbVidyjaM4-e9zH3bxyHb0LiyVT0djW-PlZyDFl98xWNyZ1piF4mzlk3Eu1BJAKLpnbHYmLgk3r47iM6ULqejMRjVpigk8NveHvwl3aEEOV7MBRLCJi95V8ZHe0Y8ksE/s1600/photo+1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHtIyJ-IR5QQXbVidyjaM4-e9zH3bxyHb0LiyVT0djW-PlZyDFl98xWNyZ1piF4mzlk3Eu1BJAKLpnbHYmLgk3r47iM6ULqejMRjVpigk8NveHvwl3aEEOV7MBRLCJi95V8ZHe0Y8ksE/s320/photo+1-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Thinly slice a tomato and soak up the extra juice with paper towels.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMm4gb_hFC9c-MmPsavTlL9Ud0n3By9cESrCRY0ydhyfJImBl49VLoR9kEnWMLXLVew8m1a4uyR_Ra8aTr2jEe9bDv9ycmoNC17UDMeLyvNM1jQjfukX8P2vQ1CQZI-CO7_69C-GrafM/s1600/photo+2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMm4gb_hFC9c-MmPsavTlL9Ud0n3By9cESrCRY0ydhyfJImBl49VLoR9kEnWMLXLVew8m1a4uyR_Ra8aTr2jEe9bDv9ycmoNC17UDMeLyvNM1jQjfukX8P2vQ1CQZI-CO7_69C-GrafM/s320/photo+2-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mix up some herbs and melted butter.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdAP0x5GSePjL8omKWOd5MMQLfA98vJ2Fru5HLpd145leqg5u2GnlupktpFZlcRJN6lFHVNQjy7tB8Xa2axoqVNnJoKEcuXqcirJ75KDCSs4df6Vdc0TR-__bxgfM4e0PCsbUeuSAUgsk/s1600/photo+3-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdAP0x5GSePjL8omKWOd5MMQLfA98vJ2Fru5HLpd145leqg5u2GnlupktpFZlcRJN6lFHVNQjy7tB8Xa2axoqVNnJoKEcuXqcirJ75KDCSs4df6Vdc0TR-__bxgfM4e0PCsbUeuSAUgsk/s320/photo+3-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Spread the herb butter onto the puff pastry.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq6mFjn4leFjXfCDZxCu3UI8f6qYrku1PMeW7X21kwTNNfliEt9qPlLoU5nVXvSbUZHobAYvUt3iwLKVKQ9Azpc5UHUqUXjKiC-TYuAncOXC6exmirlVPA5D0LheUpCOjoUTsIjRBIV84/s1600/photo+4-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq6mFjn4leFjXfCDZxCu3UI8f6qYrku1PMeW7X21kwTNNfliEt9qPlLoU5nVXvSbUZHobAYvUt3iwLKVKQ9Azpc5UHUqUXjKiC-TYuAncOXC6exmirlVPA5D0LheUpCOjoUTsIjRBIV84/s320/photo+4-1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Top with cheese.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHrwaDCyI3NbXdsV1tjPO7DwdQLycjNaUd8rv95PE5XeJIupBDHqM_yJWxWtg5v7j9fBcIumZL0sfpkQlYQOfBbqlLklEBtvj3ePuKbx3eUkSWiDvu34-32jyJfXgUatDjycKTtw2ABfQ/s1600/photo+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHrwaDCyI3NbXdsV1tjPO7DwdQLycjNaUd8rv95PE5XeJIupBDHqM_yJWxWtg5v7j9fBcIumZL0sfpkQlYQOfBbqlLklEBtvj3ePuKbx3eUkSWiDvu34-32jyJfXgUatDjycKTtw2ABfQ/s320/photo+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Add a tomato slice and a little more cheese, and bake till the cheese is golden and the pastry's crispy.</div>
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Making these made me want to learn how to make my own puff pastry. Then again, maybe it's better if I don't see all the butter that goes into it...</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-62042080299825547422012-10-19T20:18:00.001-06:002012-10-20T09:58:56.735-06:00Sicky<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmJo4v4KinM2k1DU5rWTqPotm7H-YJ0uxyJdmaFhyphenhyphenbQEiLlcIKj1Z8r89BldJUSYyAMi0xMnSaLCvBIMCHcT0WZVYGosZq3JTupUtQUMNNmcGjMR4UqzUfXPpd0sqiR5bUCwvdbsio6Q/s640/blogger-image-1557738618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmJo4v4KinM2k1DU5rWTqPotm7H-YJ0uxyJdmaFhyphenhyphenbQEiLlcIKj1Z8r89BldJUSYyAMi0xMnSaLCvBIMCHcT0WZVYGosZq3JTupUtQUMNNmcGjMR4UqzUfXPpd0sqiR5bUCwvdbsio6Q/s320/blogger-image-1557738618.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ginger Honey Lemon Tea and a pretty mug from Alisa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have caught an awful cold (maybe from my baby niece Elizabeth? If that's the case, I forgive her, and I feel bad for her little sick body). Last night was the worst. I felt decent as I went to bed, but it was hard to fall asleep, and it just got harder as time went by. My throat was itchy and dry, and my nose would not allow the passage of air and needed constant blowing, so I had to breathe through my mouth, which just made my throat scratchier and drier. I was not a happy girl. I tried and tried to sleep, and I finally dozed off around 3:30 in the a.m. I didn't set an alarm, because I knew my sick body needed all the rest it could get. You can imagine my disappointment when I awoke only four hours later, at 7:30. I was awake. Wide awake. And super mad. I still felt horrible, and I knew I wasn't rested, but I couldn't get myself back to sleep. I read blogs, checked out Pinterest and Facebook, and read up on natural cold remedies, and finally at 9:30 my eyelids were heavy once more. I put away my phone and tried again to sleep, but nothing was going my way. I continued to try, basically just lying there with my eyes closed until about noon. That's when I gave up, took some meds, and made myself some ginger honey lemon tea. That sweet nectar saved me (the pseudoephedrine helped, too). <br />
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I've spent the rest of this day dealing with what comes with four hours of sleep: huge headache, zero energy, cabin fever, and self-pity, all on top of this lame cold. I'm just counting down till 10, when I plan on going to sleep and staying that way for twelve or so hours. <br />
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On a positive note, I had a lot of time today to study Swedish (my number one current obsession). I have to share a happy moment I had last night. Kimball was watching a lecture by a professor with an accent (we're both nerds who learn for fun), and I correctly guessed that he was from Sweden! I've only ever spoken to two native swedes in my life, and I'm only just learning the very basics of the language, so I was pretty proud of myself that I picked up on it. Okay, not a huge thing to brag about, but it was the highlight of my last 24 hours... next to this lovely tea of course:<br />
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<b>Ginger Honey Lemon Tea</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxuxTHm7iwobTu-UQu8jfFDPYtMsDP4soUAs7nKx6Cxm0-wsZJPrCS3QPW80-qSRh51xjQv_2vSkKF0b7jPetx2PoCeYdDVH7_tKJeuc5bYSW9H7Hg-L5Z0AR7CIVmlHkA2CMhtA0ku84/s640/blogger-image--360802461.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxuxTHm7iwobTu-UQu8jfFDPYtMsDP4soUAs7nKx6Cxm0-wsZJPrCS3QPW80-qSRh51xjQv_2vSkKF0b7jPetx2PoCeYdDVH7_tKJeuc5bYSW9H7Hg-L5Z0AR7CIVmlHkA2CMhtA0ku84/s320/blogger-image--360802461.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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1 cup of water<br />
1 T fresh grated ginger (doesn't have to be peeled)<br />
1 T honey<br />
1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice<br />
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Boil the water, remove from heat, and add the ginger to the pot. Let it steep for about three minutes. Squeeze a tablespoon of lemon juice into a mug, add a tablespoon of honey, and then pour the hot ginger-water over a mesh strainer into the mug. Stir it up and enjoy, and then be mad that you didn't make more. (I recommend quadrupling the recipe).<br />
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The ginger gives this stuff an incredible kick that will clear out your stuffy head. The lemon adds great flavor and is packed with vitamin C that will fix you up in no time, and the honey sweetens up the tea perfectly and really soothes a sore, itchy throat. It's fantastic. <br />
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I first had tea like this is at a very random massage parlor in China, just across the border from Hong Kong. (Remember <a href="http://bethanyjaneolsen.blogspot.com/2010/04/hong-kong-continued.html">that time I randomly went to Hong Kong</a> for a week to visit a boy I liked? Two weeks before I went to Cairo for four months? Single life, man, I was crazy.) Anyway, I was sick as a dog, and the masseuse noticed me sniffling like crazy, so she went and whipped up a concoction that I think was similar to this... I honestly have no idea what was in it, but I will never forget it. I know it had lots of chunks of ginger and citrus fruits and it was amazing. So was the massage, come to think of it.<br />
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So go stock up on ginger and lemons, so you can enjoy this all winter long. It's not just for sickies! It could replace hot chocolate and apple cider for me. Actually, just apple cider. HoCho will never be forsaken by me. Not ever.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-14153875604181767342012-10-15T20:25:00.000-06:002012-10-15T20:29:29.723-06:00The MOST Amazing Spinach Salad<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwuFchHuZRy5vcSkbU_T81aLopYnQ2qBHQazT9UhwKtmWmnZixik3LG9tNQRba4EBNlY04U0dIjPGVg0WvsdJwpdL2YOWCBz-xL5RUIIplMttP1ClFQClWefxX3_QQdxAF8sh-sHlnpo4/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwuFchHuZRy5vcSkbU_T81aLopYnQ2qBHQazT9UhwKtmWmnZixik3LG9tNQRba4EBNlY04U0dIjPGVg0WvsdJwpdL2YOWCBz-xL5RUIIplMttP1ClFQClWefxX3_QQdxAF8sh-sHlnpo4/s400/photo+4.JPG" width="400" /></a>I recently found an <a href="http://www.shutterbean.com/">incredible food blog</a>. Shutterbean. It's one I'd heard of but hadn't looked at. I spent about an hour or maybe more the other day reading recipes and pinning the ones that looked irresistible on Pineterest. They're mostly very vegetable-heavy, very healthy meals, and the author, like me, thinks mayo is gross! It's perfect. I should say here that I love reading recipes. I could read cookbooks and recipes online all day. It's seriously one of my favorite things.<br />
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Anyway, as I was planing this week's meals I couldn't help myself. I have 4 of her recipes bookmarked for this week alone. I'm <i>really</i> excited about it. Tonight was my first go at Shutterbean's food, and I was not at all disappointed.<br />
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The recipe (<a href="http://www.shutterbean.com/2012/super-spinach-salad/">The Super Spinach Salad</a>) is a copycat Trader Joe's recipe. I used to shop there in LA, and while I'm not one of those crazy-obsessed TJ devotees, I am a fan. I knew I would love this salad when I saw the picture of it (how can you not love such a colorful salad?), and I was hoping so badly that Kimball would love it too. He did. :)<br />
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It contains the perfect combination of salady things. It has garbanzo beans, avocado, quinoa, carrots, tomatoes, pepitas, and dried cranberries. And then the dressing is even better! It's made with carrots, fresh ginger and lime, onion, garlic, sesame oil, vinegar (I used rice vinegar), and agave. So darn good.<br />
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I highly recommend it. It's super healthy, pretty quick, very easy, not too expensive (I had most of the ingredients already), and it's really filling (thanks to the garbanzos, and quinoa). The dressing (pictured below, isn't it beautiful?) is incredible. It has cooked, pureed carrots in it, which makes it one of the stranger dressings I've had, texture-wise, but it's so fresh and healthy. It's perfect.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3ikBUMNsGrxfLIZZoL1-f9ljfzLCDAmlXcClYbYDAYICrm9WyuwFqYe7_tcEBAbwCn5Erw7Ou8mgsvDe_nli8YuoODIlZ6-krZ7gmhyCy78hIUIIYVuoSXigcQPPDBR2KGvlsqnY24Y/s1600/photo+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3ikBUMNsGrxfLIZZoL1-f9ljfzLCDAmlXcClYbYDAYICrm9WyuwFqYe7_tcEBAbwCn5Erw7Ou8mgsvDe_nli8YuoODIlZ6-krZ7gmhyCy78hIUIIYVuoSXigcQPPDBR2KGvlsqnY24Y/s320/photo+1.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<i>A couple things to note: </i><br />
<i>1. the recipe calls for pumpkin seeds, which I thought would be weird, but it should have clarified and said to use pepitas. Don't use those big ol' white pumpkin seeds. You want the little green ones. </i><br />
<i>2. I added crispy wonton strips, which were a fantastic addition. </i><br />
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<i>3. the recipe for the carrot ginger dressing makes a ton! It's okay, since it's so good, and it lasts in the fridge for a while, but you could halve it and be fine. </i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-60474139786828189592012-10-02T11:38:00.001-06:002012-10-02T11:38:43.139-06:00Autumn treatsIt's already October? So crazy. I love this time of year, and I'm so happy to welcome in the season with autumn-ish food. To kick things off I finally went and got myself some ramekins (with just a two-person family it's not wise to make more than just a ramekin, or two, of a treat), and I whipped up some apple crisp. It was so good with vanilla ice cream on top, which got all melty. Mmmm. <br />
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This week I'm making my (healthier) pumpkin cookies! <br />
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<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMg1IXG8bfsPkFHVVFX7ut1yN-K35EuqM0XUL3xSdv3c-K_cG73pBGSzAy-sefGtf13O7lDE7pddFwMMo1QpD-WhoL7PxjPUpjkPVI6iu2FxLs_wghVX6j_DojIa-bp5L0uPNQryLULcI/s640/blogger-image-1491882297.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMg1IXG8bfsPkFHVVFX7ut1yN-K35EuqM0XUL3xSdv3c-K_cG73pBGSzAy-sefGtf13O7lDE7pddFwMMo1QpD-WhoL7PxjPUpjkPVI6iu2FxLs_wghVX6j_DojIa-bp5L0uPNQryLULcI/s640/blogger-image-1491882297.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-87350593646016573132012-09-30T11:50:00.001-06:002013-04-24T13:05:42.274-06:00General Relief Society Meeting 2012<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8czcTPBEPurgcPE1A5zD82Bw2aWn1bq7Umy4AEA63AiuLhnYS_qPWpULrWLB5qRrYQopja8_17szSWpYxiMMMGZOIJQVYkjrmhiZOUzk6Dj0ID8AhdeS5sAAz6euitZDmFNqyTzGNHd8/s640/blogger-image-1578945551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8czcTPBEPurgcPE1A5zD82Bw2aWn1bq7Umy4AEA63AiuLhnYS_qPWpULrWLB5qRrYQopja8_17szSWpYxiMMMGZOIJQVYkjrmhiZOUzk6Dj0ID8AhdeS5sAAz6euitZDmFNqyTzGNHd8/s320/blogger-image-1578945551.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Every September, the Church (of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) holds a big netting for women only. It's one of my favorite events of the year. This year was no exception. I usually watch the broadcast at a church building (except for 2006, when I sang in the choir at the Conference Center!), but this year my sister had tickets, so I went to see it live in Salt Lake with her and my mom. It was so good. I loved every talk that was given. It was all very Christ-centered and inspiring. If you've got time, I recommend <a href="http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/archive/general-relief-society-meeting/2012/09?lang=eng">watching it here</a> if you missed it. The message of these meeting is always very inspiring and uplifting, but the events are always so much better when I get to spend the evening with female family.</div>
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Now that City Creek exists, it's even more fun. We were planning in dinner at Blue Lemon, but the lines were crazy, so we went to Nordstrom's restaurant, Sixth and Pine. I was surprised at how good and classy it was. And it must get forgotten, because it was not busy at all, and everything else downtown was. We were in a rush, so we just got soup to hurry things up, but I'd love to go back there and try their other menu items. I had the Chicken Pot Pie soup, and oh my, it was tasty. It had two tiny rosemary biscuits on top, which were just as delightful as the soup. After the meal the waiter brought us two different types of chocolate, which is just always a great thing to do. They had a display case of desserts, which I will try someday. They had a chocolate cheesecake that looked insane. I must eat it.</div>
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Oh, I also have to touch on a couple hilarious things that happened throughout the night. I won't go into the whole story, but we laughed a lot. There was this old homeless guy sitting on a corner and he said to us, "can you spare some change for and old veteran?" My mom misheard him and yelled back, "oh, you're not an old wretch!" He was confused, and when I told my mom what he actually said we all just about died laughing. There's more to that story, but I'll just say we couldn't stop laughing pretty much all night. </div>
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As we crossed the street from Temple Square to the Conference Center there were a couple ladies with big baskets handing out compliments, smiles, and packs of free tissues with little bows tied around them. Call me rude, but I honestly thought it was a little weird and didn't accept one. We were wondering what relief society thought it was a good idea to spend SO much time and money putting these bows on so many hundreds of Kleenex packets, and then missing the conference to stand out there passing them out. Well, turns out it wasn't a relief society thing at all. As we got into the building and went through security we noticed a huge box behind the counter where they check your purses. It was literally overflowing with those kleenex packets, and there was a woman there asking us to pass any tissues we received to her. Turns out those sweet ladies had opened each packet (yeah, their hands were all over those kleenexes) and inserted a little card with a sad-looking picture of a depressed woman with a bunch of pills next to the temple on the front, and all these websites listed on the back, before wrapping it up all pretty to hand out to these Mormon women. So weird. Pills? I think they were suggesting mormon + woman = depression and meds. Not so, ladies, not so. I'm quite happy. I just found it so bizarre. A kind enough gesture, I suppose, but also a little strange (even if they were LDS, I'd have thought it strange), and sadly, a waste of their time.</div>
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See, I really don't care what people think about the church. They're entitled to their opinions, as I am mine. I don't care if they try to fight against it (although it seems like a huge waste of their time), but I thought their trickery was pretty disrespectful. To assume that we're ALL cryers? I mean seriously, ladies. Some of us can keep it together.* No but really, it was kind of weird to masquerade as RS ladies. Not to mention unsanitary. Not the masquerading, the kleenex business...</div>
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All in all, it was a great night. (We missed you Brit! She was planning on coming but ended up not).</div>
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<i>*I am totally a cryer. </i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-73854844974545724342012-09-28T20:51:00.000-06:002012-09-28T20:51:00.177-06:00Rosemary Olive Oil Bread<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDBJ89Ze49xsKqsNVtK9fA-pMgOZ2NB_YAPRImsUDy9vPjCIzcNETV1zJrmKvclO5O1aBPWyWRHfASTmgACRaZ4vxisFpe5Maou2U6sX4CbfMk8mjSC0ZGvH8vFNsdNVTNoXFUkINs3Jk/s640/blogger-image--1221848246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDBJ89Ze49xsKqsNVtK9fA-pMgOZ2NB_YAPRImsUDy9vPjCIzcNETV1zJrmKvclO5O1aBPWyWRHfASTmgACRaZ4vxisFpe5Maou2U6sX4CbfMk8mjSC0ZGvH8vFNsdNVTNoXFUkINs3Jk/s320/blogger-image--1221848246.jpg" width="320" /></a>My mom and step-dad came over to see our new place last night, so we decided we might as well feed them, too. We had some tasty pasta, and <a href="http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2011/04/rosemary-olive-oil-bread.html?m=1">this</a> bread. I wasn't planning on making bread, but I saw this recipe on Pinterest two hours before they showed up, and it looked so good and so easy.<br />
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<i>*I should mention that what I saw on Pinterest made it seem as though it was a crackpot recipe, but it was not. Pinterest is really dumb sometimes.</i><br />
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Still though, it was super easy, and it was recommended that it be made upon a pizza stone, which we have and love. It only takes an hour or so to whip it up, and it is delicious. I highly recommend looking at the original recipe, because you'll wan't to make it soon. Also, the blog's pictures look <i>way</i> more appetizing than my awesome ariel view.<br />
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And on an unrelated note, <b>Happy Birthday to my Dad!!!</b> He's 30 and a half years older than me, so he turns 57 today. I love you dad, and I hope you had a great day! (So weird that I'm 27, and when my dad was 29 he already had 5 kids... which would mean my mom was 28 at the time... I've gotta get crackin.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-15231666373086973772012-09-26T11:22:00.001-06:002012-09-26T11:27:29.419-06:00AutumnWe went on a lovely morning hike the other day. It was so nice to feel the cool, autumn air after such a long, hot summer. I really do love the heat, and I'm sad to see it go, but at the same time it seems as though I'm always ready for the seasons to change at about the exact time that they do change. Summer was fantastic, but I'm so happy it's fall. We walked up Rock Canyon, which happens to be the place where Kimball proposed to me. <br />
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The picture of that little rock below (it's much larger in real life) is where we sat and became betrothed. We love going back to that place. I'm glad he proposed somewhere quiet, (relatively) private, and that we can always, quite easily, return to. <br />
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(Is it just me, or do we both look like little kids in that top picture? Maybe it's just our sleepy faces...? Do we always look like that? No wonder people always think we're 21. It's funny how differently they treat us when thy learn how old we actually are, haha.)<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-19744587256697239302012-09-25T19:21:00.001-06:002012-09-25T19:21:21.400-06:00Lots of ice creamFor only $1.39, how can you NOT get the Kong?<br />
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<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LXnzOH39XYzJGzy4f3nmZF6Cy23ymJCjjdj8sFJfQmpqn2Ce8YmvomdYpic0EYwayN0CJWG2dK4iRCyND-KGer-RuX-RVIg9qZxEY1w2pt_tKT_NCf49p-lIXJF7ziugwpQYjHEev5Y/s640/blogger-image-989579202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LXnzOH39XYzJGzy4f3nmZF6Cy23ymJCjjdj8sFJfQmpqn2Ce8YmvomdYpic0EYwayN0CJWG2dK4iRCyND-KGer-RuX-RVIg9qZxEY1w2pt_tKT_NCf49p-lIXJF7ziugwpQYjHEev5Y/s640/blogger-image-989579202.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-57387045860886047682012-09-24T20:10:00.002-06:002013-04-24T12:56:22.179-06:00Our latest adventure - Arizona!<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKGKYtuTziamseX2kO7vzegB2of_eGTgTcV8aNIzKIJve0qzUXH4N_tRNQ64zXsTP4qrelMzCJ8PXtrDE2pDDX9yMp1tPLj5O5jSroZfMwncopK1nTbBI6SfpxOFlxQ0VR3tf_ZoL_gU/s640/blogger-image-643131702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKGKYtuTziamseX2kO7vzegB2of_eGTgTcV8aNIzKIJve0qzUXH4N_tRNQ64zXsTP4qrelMzCJ8PXtrDE2pDDX9yMp1tPLj5O5jSroZfMwncopK1nTbBI6SfpxOFlxQ0VR3tf_ZoL_gU/s320/blogger-image-643131702.jpg" width="320" /></a>I will likely do an entire post on Les Miserable in the near future, if only for myself, but for now I'll just say that I started reading it about a year ago, and once I finished reading Fantine's story I had to see the show in real life. I've seen pretty much every film adaptation of Les Mis, I know the music, and I saw a high school performance if it years ago, but I'd never actually <i>seen it</i> seen it. My sister-in-law (my oldest brother's wife) purchased a whole bunch of tickets to see it in Arizona (she bought a lot so she could sell them to friends at a discount... and to strangers for more, haha) and I decided it was high time we went to Arizona. They were kind enough to let us stay at their home for nearly a week and to give us the really great, expensive tickets (12 rows from the stage in the center!) even though we could only afford the cheap balcony tickets. Thank you, again! I'm pretty sure it made a huge difference. It was incredible. </div>
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We loved Arizona, (we were in Tempe) and it was so nice to finally get there, after having family live there for so many years. I loved getting to know my two adorable and hilarious nieces and my funny, hard working nephew... more on that later. Unfortunately, since Kimball's got a lot on his plate right now, he had to spend much of our time there working on his thesis. We missed him a lot at the Phoenix Zoo! I was so impressed with this place. You can walk through this little jungly path where squirrel monkeys are just hanging out all around you (as pictured below), and instead of monkey cages, they put a bunch of their monkeys on little islands in this lake. Apparently they're afraid of water? It much more fun to see them this way. We even got to pet sting rays. That was a first for me. They're surprisingly soft! They almost feel slimy, but not. It was cooler than I thought. Also those skinny little deer-like creatures were much cooler than it looks in this photo. They stand on their hind legs to reach leaves in tall trees. They usually rest the front legs against the tree, but we caught a couple of them just standing with their little arms dangling. One even took a few steps like that. It was like seeing a Far Side Gallery come to life. So bizarre. </div>
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We spent a good amount of time just hanging out at the house, laying by the pool, swimming, and playing. It was beautiful there. I loved all the flowers growing right by the pool. Okay, I have to explain the picture of little nephew, Soren. He's really into chores. Seriously, he was always putting stuff away, and helping out. It was so funny to watch such a little boy be so grown up and helpful. This is a picture of him taking out his bag of dirty diapers. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of him putting the milk and juice back in the fridge after breakfast, trying so hard to clean the pool (with those 20-foot poles!) after watching mama do it, or pushing a stool over to the cereal cupboard so he could climb up and put the cereal away. So funny. Kimball actually spent a lot of time hanging out with Laela, who's turning 9 tomorrow! Happy Birthday, Laela! They both love math and programming, so they had a lot to talk about. She's a smart cookie. I spent more time with Ivy. Ivy's 6, and she's more into playing, like her aunt Bethany. She says some of the funniest things. My favorite line was, "Did you know that President Obama eats and <i>owns</i> pigeons?" Yeah, not sure where that came from. The picture of Ivy is of a much-too-messy toy. You get to dye Barbie's hair! It doesn't turn out nearly as good as it looks on the box. </div>
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We did get out a little bit and see some things. We had great pizza, went on a fun walk down Mill street, where we poked around a really cool-looking abandoned flour mill, had fantastic cookie ice cream sandwiches - you choose the ice cream and the cookies to go with it! Oh my, amazing. I had Dulce de Leche ice cream with a macadamia white chocolate chip cookie and a chocolate salted caramel cookie. It was okay, I guess. </div>
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I'm not as good at taking pictures as I once was, but we also spent Sunday evening with my aunt, uncle, and cousins, the Brays and my awesome cousin Jerilyn, who I wish we could've spent more time with. Those big family get-togethers are the best. It's always lots of good food and lots of laughter. Oh boy, it was such a good meal... We wee also lucky enough to get to watch Laela and Ivy practice for their primary presentation during church. It was going to be held the Sunday after we left, so we snuck in and watched. They sang "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus" and it was so good. They're little performers. </div>
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After all of Kimball's hard work, we decided that Monday, our last day, would be our big adventure together. We'd get out and do something extra fun, like rent a boat and eat lunch in the middle of a lake, or go explore museums, shops, and local cuisine. But, we also wanted to start the day off right. We would work out first thing, swim for a bit to cool down, and then get ready for our adventure. We started our workout with a short run, which was cut even shorted when I tripped (I think on my own shoelace, which was tied, but it's just too long). Since it was 100F, I was carrying a water bottle and was unable to catch myself. Oh man. I can't even describe how annoying it was. My elbow and hip were so scraped up. My hands, wrists, and knees were also bruised, swollen, and cut up. Somehow I even managed to bruise the top of my knuckle on my index finger. I can't figure that one out... seems impossible to hit the top and bottom of your hand at once, but I did it. I was in so much pain, and cleaning those cutes was torture. Poor Kimball swam alone, while I cried in the bathroom slowly pulling tiny rocks out of my flesh. It was horrible. I had such a headache, and I couldn't move my arm. All of the muscles in my arm, upper back, chest, and neck were strained, and even my thigh muscle. I wish I could watch it all in slow-mothion, because it seems like every part of me just got crushed. I landed hard. I really wasn't up to doing anything. I ended up reading all day, and Kimball worked and took a nap. So sad. Sorry for the gross descriptions and pictures, but I promise I had it worse. :) </div>
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The only good thing about the injuries was that whenever little Soren saw my bandaged elbow, he'd get this concerned, sad look on his face, and just stare at it and point with a little bent finger, and then he'd sort of groan the word, "ow." Hilarious, every time. </div>
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It's a good thing we had such a fun vacation up until that point. Did I mention the food? Chrissy, my sis-in-law, made some incredible tikka masala, and Mexican food. Those recipes are going into our rotation!</div>
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Thank you Olsens (you guys were seriously fantastic hosts!) and thank you AZ! We loved it! I miss the hot weather already! And I'm slowly recovering from that ridiculous, and humiliating fall... sleeping is still painful and frustrating, but I don't need fresh bandages every few hours anymore! I feel like these bruises will never go away. </div>
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<i>*Side note: our bodies are amazing. Really, they do incredible things. The healing process is mind-blowing to me. Maybe it's old news. I've just never been injured before, really. </i></div>
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Did I mention yet how incredible Le Miserable was? I sort of glossed over that, but really, highlight of the trip for sure. I cried through the entire thing. I'm dying to see the movie now but I can't see it until I see The Hobbit, which comes out the same day (December 14th). I'm just a little bit more excited about The Hobbit. What a great year for movies!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-7679634618555625832012-09-04T09:54:00.001-06:002012-09-04T09:57:50.027-06:00Labor day weekendI thought we'd be too busy with the move too enjoy this weekend, but we ended up having plenty of time to relax and spend time with all sorts of loved ones. My little niece (pictured) was blessed in church on Sunday, and she also happens to be the sweetest little thing alive in that pretty dress. We got to spend most of Sunday at my sissie's house in Salt Lake, where we ate much good food and played with their five chickens (thanks for the eggs, Brit!) The party was already getting started at my in-law's on Sunday evening, so we stopped by on our way home and got to play with another adorable baby-niece. There are babies everywhere these days. <br />
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Monday, Labor Day, was a long, tiring, and very enjoyable day. We woke up early-ish and ran to the park near our house. Kimball and I love working out together, and our latest routine is so fun. We bring my phone and use the Sworkit app (it's free and awesome. It gives you a new random exercise to do every 30 seconds for as long as you want to go, interspersed with short breaks). We let the app tell us what moves to do and then whenever the app gives us a 30-second break, we sprint (or run backwards or sideways, etc.) to this tree and back. It's so hard and so fun, especially in the morning. <br />
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We cleaned up and headed to the in-laws for Belgian waffles, long chats out in the sun, whiffle ball (while I read Les Miserables) more baby love and fun with the littles, and these really great pork tacos made by sis-in-law. <br />
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We headed out early and went from one party to the next. Some of my friends from study abroad days were having a BBQ, so we headed back down to Provo to spend some time with them. It had been way too long since I'd seen many of them, and it was so fun to catch up and enjoy even more great food. We were going to go to Seven Peaks after the BBQ, but we ended up staying longer than we thought, which worked out well, because just as we were leaving we got a text from some friends who had moved away that were back in town for the weekend! We left the BBQ and met up with them for a game of mini golf in which none of us played by the rules (way more fun), I got a hole-in-one in the first hole, and then I successfully hit my ball into a pond at the last hole. That might have been intentional. I just wanted to see if I could, and I did. We ended our long day with ice cream (always a great way to wrap things up) and headed home tired and happy. We're still living in a bit of a mess over here, but we've consolidated the mess in the second bedroom, so it's functional. <br />
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This year is already going by too fast, but this weekend got me so excited for the holidays! They can't come soon enough!<br />
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Oh, and I'm writing this here so I never forget: if we ever move in the heat of the summer again, we MUST end the day with a few hours at a pool. We went to Seven Peaks water park after we'd moved on Thursday, and it was so relaxing. We didn't even go on any slides. The lazy river and the wave pool were so relaxing. Just being weightless and cooling down our sore muscles was exactly what we needed.<br />
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We are so so so happy to have signed a contract tonight. It was in high demand (they had about ten other couples trying to get it... one of them even came over to see it three times in one day!) I don't know why they chose us (maybe our hundreds of prayers?) but we'll take it. <br />
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I spent all day packing and cleaning, and we'll start moving tomorrow! It's a little smaller than our current apartment (we currently have nice 9-foot ceilings) so it's causing me to narrow down our belongings. I'm always a fan of downsizing, though; keeps things simple. DI loves me right about now. <br />
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I'll get some pics of the place tomorrow. It may not look like much or seem that fancy, but it's our dream come true! <br />
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Prayers = answered.<br />
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I also feel a need to mention that in all the chaos of packing and running to the store for packing tape, I may have had ice cream and salt and vinegar chips for lunch. You know how it is.<br />
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Strangest thing I saw all day: a setup of a human skeleton hurling a rock at a mammoth skeleton, which was crushing another human skeleton beneath its knee. Very bizarre.<br />
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I was a bit burned out when school ended, especially with Arabic. That language killed me for two and a half years, so I took a much-needed break. <br />
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Anyway, about two weeks ago I started craving learning again. Like real, hard, disciplined learning. So, I'm happy to announce that I'm diving back in. (I just realized this sounds like an announcement of grad school plans, which it's not... maybe eventually, but not yet).<br />
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No no, I'm simply pushing myself again. I'm getting back into arabic, learning more Español, and, this is my favorite part, learning Swedish! I'm obsessed with all things Sweden these days, and I really don't know where it came from, but let me tell you, it's insatiable. If I'm not playing with my Swedish language apps, or listening to a Swedish podcast, I'm reading Wikipedia articles about Vikings, or browsing Ikea catalogues... nothing new there, but I'm proud to say that I can now pronounce the product names. That's about where I am with Swedish. I'm working on the alphabet and how to pronounce it all. It's got just a few extra letters (ö, ä, å) but it's just like English, in that pronunciation makes next to no sense whatsoever. :) <br />
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I try to read through things out loud to work on pronunciation, and I'm just learning vocabulary with a handy little app I found. I have yet to delve into the grammar, or even know where to look to learn it. <br />
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And here's where I bear my testimony. I'm a Mormon, or a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love the church for so many reasons, the main ones being that it's true, simple, answers my questions, and helps me to be happy. Aside from all that though, it's just an incredible organization. Since it's a worldwide church, we have materials in nearly every language. This is SO helpful for a language learner like me. I have used the church's Arabic and Spanish websites a ton, and now the Swedish one is helping me. I decided to jump in and memorize The Living Christ... In four languages. I started a week ago and I have the first paragraph down in English, Spanish, and Arabic, and about half in Swedish. It's tough in Arabic because I really know no church vocabulary, so I'm learning a lot. Swedish is just hard because it is, in every sense of the word, foreign.<br />
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Wish me luck as I finish paragraph one in Swedish and tackle the first half of paragraph two this week!<br />
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*I also have to recommend doing this. It's been enlightening. If you know a foreign language give it a shot, and if not, do it in English! You won't be sorry. The Family: A Proclamation to the World is next on my list!<br />
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The recipe is from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (again), but I changed it ever so slightly. I used half whole wheat flour, half white, and I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. This bread is delightful. It's so moist (it's full of applesauce and Greek yogurt) and the sweet and tangy lemon glaze that goes on top is perfect. as an added bonus, your house will smell of lemons all day after you zest those three lemons. (so glad I finally bought a lemon zester....)<br />
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If you've seen it, you'll completely understand. If you haven't, you'd better cancel any plans you have for the weekend and get it done. I watched it (series 1 and 2) back in January, and I kept telling Kimball how much he would enjoy it. He must have thought it would be too girly, and he didn't show any interest... until his dad watched (and enjoyed) it. I was so excited that he wanted to watch it, and it had been long enough for me that it wasn't boring to watch again. We ended up having the most awesome and ridiculous weekend ever. <br />
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We borrowed the DVDs on Friday, and we watched all fifteen episodes and the extra-long Christmas special in about four days. It was fantastic. It was so much fun that I seriously have no regrets or shame in admitting that in that weekend we didn't go out to enjoy the beautiful weather, we took a small break from reading in the park, we stayed up way too late, and we ate too many treats.<br />
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Worth it? Most definitely. We can hardly wait for the third series!<br />
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(Is anyone else wishing they were around to enjoy the elegant styles of the 19teens? Let's bring those gowns back.)<br />
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<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTweQNLlVXd4a00pEjo3dMWP6MGofYBfUaQUpT1UX_XMEFN6RDpWXtKkTLnixyu07Kzk67LuNHgEGThFwim6ET3QNRSpWXXZB_XKtoSH1Qg8A3FYeYwp73iXRdx_6dVC8wQWbmRWsbfSA/s640/blogger-image-922753237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTweQNLlVXd4a00pEjo3dMWP6MGofYBfUaQUpT1UX_XMEFN6RDpWXtKkTLnixyu07Kzk67LuNHgEGThFwim6ET3QNRSpWXXZB_XKtoSH1Qg8A3FYeYwp73iXRdx_6dVC8wQWbmRWsbfSA/s640/blogger-image-922753237.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgi69Jzk4WQB3RUuGMF5bxfpe7iBvNrD3xEeQQIubXOkAMrCoYw2Pw08rpIJ-mKbq5bggVs0mZtT3sJUJTn9eL8_sA6l51YEkuKKDncZKBx-s2svpJ61cv3QCza2TuB8Cw232gMBMZ5Qc/s640/blogger-image-1054123316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgi69Jzk4WQB3RUuGMF5bxfpe7iBvNrD3xEeQQIubXOkAMrCoYw2Pw08rpIJ-mKbq5bggVs0mZtT3sJUJTn9eL8_sA6l51YEkuKKDncZKBx-s2svpJ61cv3QCza2TuB8Cw232gMBMZ5Qc/s640/blogger-image-1054123316.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-22176280658069543072012-08-15T14:28:00.000-06:002012-08-15T14:29:00.993-06:00An over-abundance of textilesAfter years of hoarding fabric scraps, I'm finally putting them to use. I spent much of the day going through my bags and boxes of fabric - washing, folding, and organizing all of it. It feels so good! You accumulate a lot of very fun fabric when you have two interior designer parents (think lots of high-end, good quality, BIG fabric samples), and a generous aunt who was the costume director of the Hill Cumorah Pageant for like 6 years (it was her job to donate or get rid of extra fabric... and much of it came to me). It doesn't help when you love sewing and creating, and you have a hard time parting with anything that could one day be a part of something. (It borders on a disorder, but I'm working on it!)<br />
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Thanks to all that, I have so many awesome (and crazy) fabrics that I never would have considered buying myself, but I love that they're mine! I have some lovely things in mind to use them for, and I am so excited to finally do something with all of it. Especially since I'm starting to develop a minimalist mentality, and the sooner I can be rid of it all, the better. No more hoarding. I'm clearing out everything in my life, slowly but surely.<br />
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Hopefully these little projects of mine will be gracing the ol' blog with their presence sooner than later.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6981404799002504936.post-38372909059842192112012-08-11T15:57:00.001-06:002012-08-11T15:59:45.763-06:00Plum ice creamMy sister has a plum tree at her new house. I don't think she was too excited about it, and neither was I when I saw it, until we tasted one of these plums. It's not remotely possible to describe how sweet, juicy, and delicious they are, so I won't try. I'll just say that I already cannot wait for next year's plum season. <br />
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I was at my her house this week, and we spent a long time picking up old plums that had fallen on the ground. We filled a huge garbage bag with those sticky, stinky things. It was gross. But once the ground was clear we picked plums until it was too dark to see them. She let me take a big bag home (probably about thirty plums - thanks again!), and she kept about triple that. We have been eating them like crazy and wishing we had more.<br />
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They're beyond good on their own, but when I saw a recipe for plum ice cream (a combination I've never even thought of) I couldn't resist. It's the sweetest ice cream I think I've ever had. I really shouldn't have added any extra sugar. It might also be the most beautiful ice cream I've ever seen. It turned out to be such a beautiful light pinky-purple. If you have an abundance of plums, you really should try making it into ice cream. <br />
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