My Ugly Blog

I thought I would be more festive and change my background to something more Christmasy.
So I found this one.

When I showed my 5 year old niece, she responded, "You like THAT?! That's UGLY!"

I thanked her for her constructive criticism and told her that even though she thought it was ugly, I didn't.

She responded, "Okay. But it's ugly."

Sticks and stones...Sticks and stones.
So, welcome to my ugly blog!

Ryan and I are heading back to Utah as I type this.
Yes, I have internet at 36,000 ft in the air.
I thought it was pretty cool too.

Georgia was a lot of fun and, of course, went by too fast.
We played games every night, ate yummy food, wrestled with the kiddos, and listened to Christmas music. Oh, and we bravely fought the Christmas crowds to get amazing presents.

Ryan and I also enjoyed our Chick-fil-A, Steak N Shake cheese fries, and Philly cheeseteaks. Yum.

It was nice spending time with my family this holiday season. We had three out of the five siblings home, my parents, and 5 kids running around. It was always fun! I love the spirit and excitement of Christmas with the family time, lights, cookie decorating, paper snowflakes, and remembering the birth of our Savior. No worry in the world except for wrapping presents and broken refrigerators (in our case at least).

We were spoiled with the best Christmas presents this year. Some highlights include Subway and iTunes gift cards, chocolate, a pink snuggie, books, Blokus, and a Wii game. (Thanks everyone!)

Ryan got me black snow boots, pretty headbands, and pink plaid pj pants with a big velvet bow.
I got him a day pass to Brighton ski resort, as well as new Sanuks. It's not a shoe. It's a sandal.
We love each other.

Other sides notes:

1. Ryan and I have officially been married for 6 months. My how time flies!
2. I ended my streak of not throwing up for 14 years on Christmas day. Ryan was a wonderful husband and held my hand as I was bonding with my bathroom floor and toilet, sick as a dog.
3. JENNIFER GOT HER MISSION CALL!!! She is going to the Las Vegas, Nevada West mission. She is leaving March 31st, and I am so excited for her.

My thoughts on heading back to Utah: I am sad to leave Georgia. I'm dreading the cold, but am excited to spend the New Year's with my hubby in a home that is not flooded and has a working heater.

One of our favorite pictures this break:

Jayden loves Christmas!

Drink service is coming.
And Ryan wants to watch Rudolph with me.
So have a happy New Year's, and see you in 2010!

Georgia Time!

In less then 24 hours, Ryan and I will be in Georgia. I am excited.

And in case any of you were wondering, Ryan survived finals...barely. He is now catching up on all the sleep he missed.

Hope everyone has a good holiday break!

Turkey Day Overview

I hope everyone had a nice Turkey Turkey Gobble Gobble Day! Ryan and I were spoiled because both his parents and my parents were in town. I had to work Thanksgiving day, but it wasn't bad at all. Here are some highlights of the break in no particular order:

6. I learned how to play the game Blockus. It was fun.

5. Ryan had 3 Thanksgiving dinners--one with my family, one with his, and one from the hospital. (Gotta love the hospital food.) He was officially stuffed.

4. I went bowling with Ryan's family, scored a 126, and still got last place. Wii bowling is really my expertise. :)

3. My parents helped me unpack the rest of the boxes. We can finally walk into our spare room! We discovered that we have 2 blenders, a million cords and wires, 4 toasters, and 2 rubber duckies.

2. Ryan was caught yawning on national televsion. (He said he wasn't yawning; he was cheering. How are the two confused? I'm not sure. Hehehe.)

1. And the best highlight of the week was that Ryan got a neeeeew CELLPHONE! I can now officially call my husband! Yes, I am counting my many blessings.


Thanksgiving break was fun. Now it is time to survive finals and work and get ready for Christmas! Fun, fun, fun!

Not Quite What I Was Hoping For

Today was a momentous day. I went to a BYU football game.

We bought these tickets way back in August for Ryan's birthday, and I have had it in my schedule book ever since. The big day finally arrived, and I was a frozen icicle.

It was my fault really. When Ryan left for work this morning, he sternly lectured me on wearing warm clothes. He said, "When you think you have dressed warm, put more on. Trust me. I don't want you to be cold."

Dress warm. Okay. I can do that. I put on leggings, jeans, a sweater, hoodie, gloves, and scarf. I even brought another hoodie for good luck.

When I met up with Ryan, he took one look at me and said, "You're from Georgia, aren't you?"

So we went to the game (a little late because of Ryan's work), climbed up a million stairs to the nose bleed section, and watched the game. Actually half the time I watched the other team's mascot. He was really bad. He laid like a dead bird on the grass most of the time. I could've done better then him. He actually was really jealous when he saw that Cosmo had his own show. Then Cosmo ran out and started doing flips and arials and the bird plopped back down on the grass dejected. What a party pooper.

Football games are actually pretty fun. Ryan got a foot-long donut (Correction: Ryan just corrected me and said it was 3 feet long). And the guy next to us ate a hotdog that dripped everywhere. Of couse it was perfectly acceptable to spill mustard on the floor. Only in football. :)

During one of the contests, Sierra West Jewelers hid 250 cubic zirconiums under 250 seats. Everyone was reaching under their bleacher seat hoping to be among the lucky 250. I reached my gloved hand under my seat, and I felt it, the cubic zirconium. I got really excited and pulled it out. Behold!....an old hardened piece of chewing gum? Gross. I was so disappointed and grossed out. Ryan thought it was hilarious. Wasn't quite what I was hoping for, but it was pretty funny. I must admit it was a good ploy to clean up the old gum under the bleachers. At least I was wearing gloves.

BYU ended up winning 38-21. Ryan told me I must be a good luck charm because everytime I go to a game, BYU wins. Even if BYU isn't playing. Just kidding.

The football game was actually pretty fun, and I'm glad I went. Cold, but fun.

It's Official.

I have decided that I am officially nocturnal.

The other night I tried to go to bed relatively early, 1 o'clock am, and I could not sleep. I tossed and turned for about two hours when I finally decided to give up. I went into the living room, got myself a nice big glass of apple juice, and read my book until Ryan woke up at 5 o'clock (when I usually come home from work) and found me reading. I finally fell asleep at 6.

Last night, I came home from work at 1, only to play Yahtzee with Ryan until 5 in the morning. Oh dear. (It was really fun though...)

When I told Ryan that he needed to get more sleep and that I was worried about him getting sick, he replied, "But I don't have a mom here to tell me to go to bed!"

That's when I threatened to tattle and tell his mom that she needs to call and remind Ryan to go to bed every night when I'm at the hospital. He then politely reminded me that his phone was dead, so that probably wasn't going to work.

So trust me when I say that working graveyards three times a week really messes up your sleep schedule!

Someday I need to get myself and my poor husband (who has 8 am classes three days a week!) back on normal human sleeping time again. However, if anyone wants to join us, we will be playing Yahtzee into the wee hours of the morning until that time comes.

Fall Cooking 101

Hello, and welcome to Julie's Fall Cooking 101 class!

First order of business--This:

is a spaghetti squash.

The Spaghetti squash wins today's award for the most interesting vegetable! Congratulations squash--Be sure to stick around after class to pick up your prize. It will be graaaape! I mean great!

So, what exactly is a spaghetti squash you ask?

Well,

A spaghetti squash is a vegetable that has multiple purposes: you could use it as a weapon! It makes a great weight for exercising! Hollow it out and make leg holes, and it's a perfect Halloween costume for your pet! However, since this is a cooking class, the purpose we are going to talk about today is that you can actually use the pulp on the inside of the squash for a healthier alternative for spaghetti, hence the name.

Normally, what you would do is bake, boil, or microwave the squash (kind of like a baked potato) until it is done.

Because of my expertise in fall cooking and my vast knowledge of spaghetti squash (having cooked the vegetable a total of 1 time), my preferred method of cooking is by baking it in the oven. Make sure to poke a couple holes through the little guy. Then place it on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven (350 degrees) for 40 minutes (times may vary due to size of squash). Wait until the squash is tender. Don't get too excited and eat your squash too early!

Next step: Forking out the guts...er, pulp.

Make sure to take the seeds out! The whole entire pulp up until the skin is usable. Use a fork to scrape the squash out. And voila! Spaghetti! Easy cheesy? I think so!

Season how you like or add butter and enjoy your yummy fall dish!!

Here is the recipe I tried:

Baked Spaghetti Squash with Beef and Veggies

Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 1/4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Place squash on a baking sheet, and bake 40 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, cool, and shred pulp with a fork.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a casserole dish.
4. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in the green pepper, red pepper, red onion, and garlic. Continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender.
5. Mix the shredded squash and tomatoes into the skillet, and season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir until heated through. Remove skillet from heat, and mix in 2 cups cheese until melted. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish.
6. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, and continue baking 5 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 399 Total Fat: 26.4g Cholesterol: 100mg

Variations

I am not a big fan of canned diced tomatoes, so in half of my dish I substituted marinara sauce for the italian icky diced tomatoes. One side of the casserole had italian tomatoes, the other half marinara sauce. Ryan liked the first half better, and I liked the second.

Pictures

With prego...can't even tell this is squash!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes our class for the day. Thank you, and come back next time for Julie's Fall Cooking 101. Have a great day! Seed...er, See you next time!

(Disclaimer: Teacher is not a certifed expert in spaghetti squash. At all. Not even close.)

The Perfect Guy

Tonight I have been reminiscing my younger years by reading my old blog (anyone remember xanga?). I came across one entry and had to laugh.

In my opinion, Ryan, for the most part, meets my 16 year old definition of "The Perfect Guy".

For your entertainment, I have copied the post below. Keep in mind that this is coming from a 16 year old girl.


The Perfect Guy

1. hair color: Brown, maybe w/natural bl0nd highlights from all the basketball he plays outside in the sun....hahaha
2. eye color: really pretty blue/gray
3. height: at least 5'10 or taller
4. six pack : Of course!
5. long or short hair: short, i dont really like the shaggy hair
6. glasses: He wears contacts most of the time, but sometimes he wears his glasses which makes him look CUTE and SMART! HA!
7. piercings: None
8. scars: Everybody has scars, so yes. Just not any huge ones (like on your back, haha Fer...)
9. eyebrows: Perfect size and shape, not huge or bushy
10. straight or curly hair : not bone straight, it has a little bit of a curl in it
11. chest hair : No thanks!!!
12. buff or skinny : Dude, he is buff!
13. straight teeth, gap- Straight teeth, pretty smile
14. funny or serious : Both, he's funny but knows when to be serious
15. party or stay at home: Party, he likes to go out! (w/me of course!)
16. should he cook or bake : Is there a difference? Uhh cook!
17. should he have a best friend: ME! and he can have another best buddy guy friend i love you like a brother type of person
18. should he have a lotta friends: They're my friends too, and he wont flirt w/them
19. outgoing or shy : Outgoing, although being shy can be cute sometimes
20. sarcastic or sincere : Sincere, of course!
21. should he love his mother : ALOT!
22. should he watch chick flicks : He'll watch them w/me!
23. would he be a smoker : No way, unless he's so hot he's on FIRE! heh heh
24. would he drink : No alcoholic beverages
25. would he swear : No
26. would he play with your hair: Yes!
28. would he pay for dates :uh...OF COURSE!
30. where would you go to dinner : Somewhere we both like!
31. would he bring you flowers: Yeeeeeees! or candy or a teddy bear
32. would he lay under the stars with you : How cute, yes!
33. would he write poetry about you: He doesn't have to, but he'll write in his journal about how awesome I am and then when we're married he'll show me and it'll be so cute!
34. would he call you hunny, sweetie, or baby : Yeees
35. would he hang out with you and YOUR friends: Me and OUR friends
36. would you hang out with him and HIS friends :OUR friends? Yes!
37. will he walk you to the door at the end : Yes, like a gentleman!
38. holding hands :Yeah
39. soccer : He played when he was younger
40. baseball : Not necessarily
41. basketball : Church basketball! haha and for fun
42. football : uhh, doesnt have to be, but sure?
43. water polo: Nope
44. surf: he's not very good at surfing
45. skateboard : No
46. snowboard :He'll have gone 2 or 3 times, and be pretty good considering
47. sing : Yes, he'll have a nice baritone voice!
48. play guitar : Yeeeah!
49. play piano : Doesn't have to
50. play drums: No
51. clean his room : He won't ever let it get TOO messy
52. paint, draw, sculpt : Nope, he can draw some pretty gosh darn good stick figures though!
53. writes his own music : Naaaaw
54. use the word dude : Sometimes
55. use the word tight : Not too often, but yeah
56. would he watch the sun rise with you: of course!
57. what kind of car does he drive : Hmmm, havent decided yet
58. how old is he : right now he's between 16-19
59. what would his name be: Doesnt matter as long as it isnt something like Fred or Bob

Awww, but of course looks don't matter as long as the personality rocks. He could have dark hair and eyes and be good-looking....Yep, or have bl0nde hair and hazel eyes, don't really matter! Yep yep! That was fun. Comment if you do so please!

Xoxo,
Julie

I like how I leave myself a disclaimer on the bottom just in case. Haha.


And FYI: Ryan is better than any perfect guy I could have made up in my head. 

Even though he is rolling his eyes right now. :)

One Stressed out Cat

Right now I am lying on the floor in my spare room hiding because the furnance maintenance guy is here. Ryan is out in the hallway supervising.

Now, I know what you're thinking. How the heck am I laying on this floor? Isn't there stuff piled everywhere? Well friends, for the majority of the day I have been cleaning my home! Fun! The landlord called us yesterday and said that the furnance guy was coming....and so was he. I took one look at our tornado-destructed home and knew it was time to play the clean up game. And let me tell you, there is a BIG difference between cleaning and unpacking. For instance, instead of unpacking the boxes, we organized the boxes. And instead of hanging our clothes up, most were stuffed into bins. Poor Lily has been stressed out, trying not to be accidently closed up in a bin, smashed by a box, or washed with the rest of the laundry. Now that it's calmed down a bit, she is lying next to me taking a much needed cat nap.

And guess what?! We talked to our home teachers and one of them has a friend who has a truck we can borrow! Operation Move the Rest of Our Stuff will occur on THURSDAY. I am really excited and can't wait to have more than a bed and a rug to sit on. And we'll finally have places to put all of our stuff!

I must admit, though, I am a bit sad because I keep think of how easy it would be to move out if we just kept all of our stuff in boxes and lived like scrap rats...

Hmmmm....

Good thing we're humans!

An Embarrassing Story

Two weeks ago, Ryan and I had time to kill before he went to work. So what did we do? We sat in his car and ate yummy little Costco turkey wraps! Mmmm...It was a perfect pre-work snack. We ate and ate until our bellies were quite full and content, and then I walked him to work.

About half way there I turned to him and asked for the keys. "I need them to drive home," I explained.

He looked at me. The confusion in his eyes quickly turning to panic. "I thought I gave them to you."

Nope.

We quickly ran, well, speedily walked, back to the car, and peered through the car window, looking like little kids eyeing a toy store window. There, sitting in the passenger seat, placed right next to the perfectly wrapped little turkey rolls, sat Ryan's keys. I could almost hear them taunting me through the tinted window. "Nananananana! You caaaan't get meee!"

Well, there was only one option to do. Call BYU info.

We quickly dialed their number, and after a little snicker from the operator, they transferred us to the BYU auto shop. Lucky for us, they told us a little secret.

If we waited ten more minutes, they would be closed and the campus police would have to get the keys out, free of charge. I thought they were doing us a favor. But really, they probably just wanted to go home and not deal with our key fiasco.

I sent Ryan off to work, telling him I would tackle this endeavor.

He called BYU police for me, and I sat by the car and waited for them.

And waited.

And waited some more.

A cop car, a cop golf cart, and several people looking at me strangely came and went. I even had a couple people ask me if I was okay and then knowingly told me to call BYU police. Thanks.

Finally, after a long, grueling 45 minutes later, a big, Tongan police man came to my rescue. He said sorry for the wait, but the other policemen were called away due to an emergency situation. Y'know, like people ducknapping the ducks south of campus.

Anyways, I signed a little waiver saying that if he damaged the car, he wasn't liable. I think I said something like I trusted him, in which he responded, in his thick Tongan accent, "Don't. I am the worst one at this." I laughed at what I THOUGHT was a joke. Boy was I wrong.

After trying all sorts of methods, arguing over which button unlocked the car, and a scratch or two later, the cop finally was victorious in unlocking the door. The passenger door on the other side of the car. He was also victorious in setting off the car alarm. Frazzled, I ran to the other side and was trying everything to stop the ear-splitting car alarm from sounding off--turning on the engine, unlocking the door, locking the door, and begging. But to no avail.

After awhile, people started looking and glaring at me.

I shot a quick glance at the police officer who was getting into his car about to pull away.

I shouted at him over the blaring noise, panicked. "Do you know how to turn this thing off?"

He kind of looked at me and shrugged. "It's your car."

Mind you, it was RYAN'S CAR!!!

By then, everyone was looking at me. Even the few stray ducks that wandered my way.

What a sight.

Car alarm going off, a police man. They probably thought I was a criminal. Moms were probably yanking their kids away from me. I was humiliated.

And the cop just watched.

Finally, the usually broken automatic car unlocker, silenced the piercing siren. Phew. The police man just said, "See! You just learned how to turn off your car alarm." And drove away.

Meanie.

Lucky for Ryan, he was sitting behind his nice warm, check out counter the entire time.

Maybe someday soon I will be able to regain my hearing. And my pride.

But on the bright side, at least it was free!

Better than an Alarm Clock

This morning I rolled out of bed, leaving my warm blankets and warm husband behind to go take a shower.

I was actually having a pretty pleasant morning. I went to bed early last night and got my full eight hours of sleep when a normal human being does, for once. I proceeded to walk to the bathroom, petting the cat on the way, and turned on the shower. After a minute or two, I stepped into the warm waterful, and ahhh, it felt so good. I started thinking of various things, such as work and Gold's Gym (which is another story in and of itself), when I saw it.

Red.
Big.
Eight legs.
On my shower Curtain.
Right. Next. To. Me.

I, of course, did what any sane woman would've done.

I screamed.

You should've seen what happened next.

My husband, who didn't budge a muscle after 3 alarms, jumped up like lightning, and stumbled into the bathroom in record time. I was still screaming, of course, and think I might've gotten out one coherent word, "spider".

Ryan, being only sensible, shoved open the shower curtain. This flung the spider closer to me, making my screams louder and more urgent. I started jumping up and down, pointing, "RIGHT THERE! RIGHT THERE!!"  He was still half asleep and confused, looking in all the wrong spots for the red arachnid, on the walls, on the floor. I finally got enough wit to run past him and into the hall, screaming "It's on the shower curtain!" It finally dawned on him. Water was flying everywhere as he grabbed his shoe and squashed the criminal bug against his hand, with only the shower curtain between them. What a hunk.

And that my friends is what true love is.

Water was all over the floor, a dead spider carcass on the shoe, my cat cowering in some corner, and my husband half-frazzled, having been awoken by my screams, and he wasn't one bit mad.

Even when the fire alarm went off.

Three times.

He hunted for more spiders for me. I had actually killed a baby red one (that was probably already dead) the day before.

12 hours later. He still checks for spiders for me so I can go to the bathroom. And the first place he checks is the shower curtain.

One good thing that came out of this situation is that I realized my full potential.

As an alarm clock.

Wanted: Alive or Sleeping

WANTED

Alive or Sleeping

Name: Lily Stephens

Description: Gray with Black Stripes

Yellow/Green Eyes

Height: 9 inches

Weight: 8 lbs

Said to be armed with fangs and claws

Caution: May be dangerous

Accusation:

Hairband

The last, lone survivor of the horrible attack

Claims that it's family and friends have all been brutally torn, chewed, hunted, and eaten by the furry beast we call Lily. All that is left of the horrifying scene are various remains, scattered to be found by unsuspecting bystanders.

The faint of heart should look no further.

Crime scene:

The murderer was last seen in hiding.

Justice must be served.

If you have any information about the crime or the whereabouts of the kitty,

please let your local blog enforcer know.

Thank you, and have a purrrfect day.

My Best Friend

I have a best friend.
Her name is Jenn.

See Jenn's pretty smile.
Smile Jenn smile!

Jenn likes to play in the sun
Jenn likes to play in the rain.

Jenn also really likes
to go "bang bang!"

Jenn likes to play hide and go seek
She hides and I seek!
Where is Jenn?

Is she above the table.
I cannot see!
Is she hiding
behind that tree?!

She does not like to make a sound.
She kicks and screams
When she is found.

Oh Jenn is my best friend.
She is happy and merry
Really cool and not scary!

 Going potty is our hobby.

And that is why we
are the best of friends.

(Jennifer has a new blog! I helped design it. Check it out!)

Subway Night

Tonight was a Subway night.

What exactly does that mean? Well, it was supposed to be Chicken Lo Mein night, buuut let's just say that didn't turn out the way I wanted. Ryan liked it (please refer to #6 on the previous post). I guess I shouldn't be too bummed though. It was really bland, so I tried to add different things to perk it up, and it got too heavy tasting. Needless to say, I am going to trash the recipe.

Adios Chicken lo mein!
Hello Subway!

I Love My Husband...

And here are some reasons why:

1. He makes cute faces like this--

He gets especially excited when his rootbeer almost explodes. That's what you get when you forget about it in the freezer. Here is the aftermath.

Mmmmm!!!

2. He buys me pretty things like this--

And this--

3. He gets his cholesterol tested with me. The phlebotomist thinks he has good veins. Lucky him. She thinks mine stink. Oh well.


4. He's good with kids. I remember one time at church, he made this scary face at this little girl, and she LAUGHED! If I were to have done the same thing, she would have cried. Mean glares from the parents would have also resulted.


5. He makes funny faces with me.

This was at Temple Square.

6. He is a good eater. Every time I make something new, he declares, "This is the best _________ (fill in the blank) I have ever eaten!!" And then I giggle. Even though it's not true.



7. He got me my kitty. And we are the best of friends.

8. He is a competitive basketball player. He is okay with pushing people half his height around. Like me.



9. He buys me flowers for my birthday...even if it's not my birthday.

Like my new hippie look?

10. My husband is my Prince Charming. And I love him.

The end.

A Much Needed Letter

Dear Head Cold,

This is very hard for me to say, but it needs to be said. I know you like me. And I think I have been very tolerable. However, you have overstayed your welcome. You have made a terrible mess in my nose, you make my eyes water, and I am afraid to kiss my husband with you around.

Now, I know what you are thinking. What about our friendship? What about all we've been through? Well, I have something to say to you. This relationship has been very one-sided. You demand so much and I get so little in return. I feel so crowded, and every part of my body is tired of you.

So, the bottom line is this.

You need to move on.

I know it's hard, but it needs to be done. Just think, by doing this, we can both have a fresh, new outlook on life. We can breath a little easier!

I hope you understand.

Your friend,
Your acquaintance,
Julie

Saturday highlights

Yesterday was a good day...I got a new dress, fed a homeless man, and went to the movies with my hubby.   

Too bad BYU lost.

...Oh well.

I am...the Crazy Scientist

My new project as of late is to make this.

Being newlyweds, what greater time is there to experiment on new recipes than now, when we still have googly eyes and see fireworks every time we say hi to each other. I mean, Ryan will love me no matter what I cook him (even after the chile con queso dip recipe!) So my new goal is to finish my lovely cookbook after I have tested enough amazing recipes to fill the dang thing up!

In the meanwhile, poor Ryan has to deal with me saying, "What the heck is a stock pot?" and "I thought I put more toothpicks in this chicken than this..."

Oh boy.

So, what has been on the menu as of late?

Tasty Chicken Cordon Bleu
...With a few stray toothpicks

Delicious Ham and Potato Soup

And most recently,

Homemade Vanilla Crepes!

...with a sprinkle of our friend, cinnamon sugar.

 

And when things don't turn out right, there is always pizza rolls in the freezer.

So go ahead and call me the Crazy Scientist.
And wish me luck on my cooking experiments! (I'll need it!)
Bon appetit!

(If any of you have great recipes you want to share, send them  my way!)


Ham and Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 7 cups peeled and diced potatoes
• 2/3 cup diced celery
• 2/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cup diced cooked ham
• 6 1/2 cups water
• 4 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
• 10 tablespoons butter
• 10 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups milk

Directions:
 
1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.


2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

On step three, I took about a cup of the soup and blended it up in a blender. I then mixed it back in the soup for more flavor and a thicker consistency.

Enjoy!

Gone fishin...

Yesterday I went fishing...in my kitty's water. What did I catch? This:

Yes ladies and gentlemen, my cellphone took the ultimate plunge. Into my cat's water cup. Ryan and I are still investigating why my phone has turned suicidal in the last day or so causing it to jump out of my pocket into the deathly waters. Maybe it felt old and used. Tired of working all day. Too much burden and stress. Or maybe because her boyfriend, Ryan's Razor, will soon be replaced.

In desperate efforts, we have confined this pink Venus to a ziploc bag of rice in hopes of drying it out and preventing any other suicidal attempts. Hopefully soon, I will be able to talk some sense into it.

Literally.

Ryan asked me...

if I wanted to go get a treat.
And he bought me this.













He must really love me.

The Cheese Monster!

So a lot has happened recently! Some good things, some...not so good (like being flooded out of our house, geez). But that's life! Tonight I tried to make some chile con queso dip that I found in this recipe book, and it was...drum roll please...soooo GROSS! Now before you say anything, I know what you're thinking. I really am a good cook. I promise! It was the recipe's fault (maybe). It was way too sweet and had that velveeta cheese taste times 2,945,809,476,026. Ryan, who is a sweet husband and will normally eat whatever I cook (even if it's gross), couldn't even handle this one. Now that is scary. So what did I do? I tossed the recipe...and the cheese monster. I think I'm going to have nightmares about it now. But on a more positive note, at least it looked good! See!

Work is going well. I work at the ER as a registrar and secretary. In fact, last night I actually did a graveyard. It was an exciting way to spend the last hour of my Labor Day. The most exciting part of the night was around 2:30 in the morning when we had a patient leave without permission that most of the nurses, techs, and even security guards had to chase after in the parking lot because he was legally not allowed to leave. I bet the people in the parking lot were afraid to get treated after that.

Mom: "Man, that security guard just tackled that poor guy! I wonder what he did!"
Sister: "I don't know, maybe he, like, asked to go to the bathroom."
Sick Girl: "....I think I'm feeling better now."

That's probably why we weren't too busy that night. Word got around that we have weird forms of treatment. Poor guy.

Overall, working at the hospital has been pretty educational and not boring at all.

Anyways, I better go do something productive now, like clean up the kitchen or find better queso dip recipes. Wish me luck.

We're going to the temple and we're...going to get married!

Well, Ryan and I are officially married, (yay!), and we even have sweet Hawaiian tans too! How much better can life get? :)

Last week on June 26th, 2009, we got married in the Atlanta, Georgia temple for time and eternity. That is a looong time! Hopefully Ryan can put up with me that long. Haha. It was a HOT day, but it couldn't have been more perfect.

We should be getting wedding pictures soon, but there are some awesome pictures on http://www.tedjamulia.com/ that my dad took.

Anywho, I need to be getting to bed soon. I just got the memo that married folks go to bed early these days. Well, earlier then in their single years. Woohoo. Party!

Testing testing

This is a test. Let's celebrate.