Whew!
Let's start off with some important news: The Beavers won! Next weeks game will be legend....wait for it... D-A-R-Y!
Next, I have my interview tomorrow! Please keep your fingers crossed and think good thoughts for me tomorrow. I'd really like to get this job. It would be a good opportunity for me, not to mention, I'd like to have a job again, and I really appreciate everyone's support so much!
Wednesday I went to the Capitol building with my Mom, Dad and Donna. Then we found a beauty school and Mom and Dad got great hair cuts, while mine left something to be desired, about an inch and a half on one side and nothing else on the other. After agonizing over it I went to a little Perfect Look to have it evened out. The hair still looks pretty much the same, so that's good at least. I'm waiting until after the interview to try dying it myself though. No need for added stress there!
This last week, I got started on some Christmas cards with Mom. We spent Thursday cutting, stamping, gluing and preparing, then all of Saturday finalizing and putting together. Unfortunately we are only half way done. But I now have 24 cards that are done and waiting for writing in. I will try to work on those this weekend.
All the baking and prep and whatnot is coming to a head. I'm ready and armed with my recipe. I'll be making a devil's food layered chocolate cake with peppermint icing. It just looks so good and I can't resist making it. I hope it is as yummy as it looks in the magazine (it should be, what with the 3 pints of heavy whipping cream and all!). Also, will be making bread for the feast!
Then this weekend is going to be a whirlwind! First, black Friday. I'm expecting some really good deals this year, so its going to be pretty much amazing. The longstanding family tradition lives on! Then, Saturday is the biggest football game of the year. The longest running rivalry will determine if the Beavs get to play in the Grand-daddy of all Bowl games! Keep your fingers crossed for that too, Please!
Hope everyone is having a happy wonderful pre-Thanksgiving weekend! We're constantly reminded of how much we have to be thankful for and I thank my lucky stars every day to have such a loving, supportive family and great friends too!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Changes...
I'm sorry for lack of posts...but there has been a gigantic elephant in my living room and I feel that I'm finally ready to address it. The company I was working for fell victim to the economy and had to let me go. So I've been trying to put my life together and mount a tremendous job search effort in the last week and half or so...
At first it was hard to think that I didn't have any where to be the next day and all the other thoughts and feelings that go along with that. But my Husband is loving and wonderful and we are doing fine. Speaking of loving and wonderful is my family, which has been gracious and supportive, I am truly thankful. I couldn't have gotten through this without the help of my Steven, my Mom and my Dad...and of course Colin, whom I've gotten to spend some more time with.
But over the last week or so things have picked up and I've been sending out resumes and the like, and I had a phone interview this morning and I have another interview next week. This is a blessing in disguise, as my career wasn't moving forward at my old company, and I don't think I was adding to their bottom line either. So in all, this is a good move forward, even if precipitated by bad circumstances. Its hard to be bitter or complain about it, because even though I really liked my coworkers and the company, it really was time for us both to move on.
I also think that my guardian angels were watching over us, protecting us from getting a house at a bad time and helping us to keep our options open. Its always nice to know that there is someone watching out for you.
As for now, please keep your fingers crossed that I can get back to work soon! I don't like sitting around much, I have always needed to be doing something. And for those of you who have already prayed and helped so much- Thank you and keep up the good work. I love you so much for it!
At first it was hard to think that I didn't have any where to be the next day and all the other thoughts and feelings that go along with that. But my Husband is loving and wonderful and we are doing fine. Speaking of loving and wonderful is my family, which has been gracious and supportive, I am truly thankful. I couldn't have gotten through this without the help of my Steven, my Mom and my Dad...and of course Colin, whom I've gotten to spend some more time with.
But over the last week or so things have picked up and I've been sending out resumes and the like, and I had a phone interview this morning and I have another interview next week. This is a blessing in disguise, as my career wasn't moving forward at my old company, and I don't think I was adding to their bottom line either. So in all, this is a good move forward, even if precipitated by bad circumstances. Its hard to be bitter or complain about it, because even though I really liked my coworkers and the company, it really was time for us both to move on.
I also think that my guardian angels were watching over us, protecting us from getting a house at a bad time and helping us to keep our options open. Its always nice to know that there is someone watching out for you.
As for now, please keep your fingers crossed that I can get back to work soon! I don't like sitting around much, I have always needed to be doing something. And for those of you who have already prayed and helped so much- Thank you and keep up the good work. I love you so much for it!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Soup for the sickies...
It has been an eventful weekend!
First Darren was in town on Thursday for another interview and he stopped by to watch shows with us (Survivor and the Office!) before heading out.
Friday was Halloween. We had about 7-8 trick-or-treat-ers...We watched some TV shows that we needed to get caught up on and "The Wedding Singer", which is very funny and always seems to be on TV. Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler- comic gold! Then we headed off to bed in preparation for Saturday's game, for which we got to use our first tickets of the season, yay!
Saturday we got up and headed down to Corvallis. Spent some time with Tara at her place, met up with Larry, Marlene, Jim and Jill, ate lots of yummy American Dream pizza and then headed out to find a parking spot. We got a great (slightly super secret) spot and then walked off some of that pizza. I forgot how much I absolutely love walking on campus. It is so easy to forget how beautiful it is...and how much walking you can do in one afternoon. Don't get me wrong- I love walking. I could walk to the ends of the Earth and back...except that I foolishly chose Saturday afternoon to break in my new Nike walking shoes.
I'm not sure that everyone knows- but I have weirdly shaped heels. The back of my heel bone actually juts out a little bit, which makes shoe buying very tricky. Anyways I'm very prone to blisters- and I got two really huge ones...they really tore up the backs of my heels. I'm doing extra TLC today to help them get better.
At any rate, the game was good. We tried to give it away (thought it would be a repeat of Utah for a minute), then the refs tried to give it away, but in the end we pulled out the victory and it was sweet. It was even sweeter with our 45-yard line tickets. But sadly we spent so much time yelling and booing and cheering that my throat was pretty sore by the time we got home at 1 AM!
So Sunday I spent most of the day laying around and watching movies...and I made soup! Well Steven did the grunt work (shopping and chopping) while I stirred and added seasonings. It was pure team work. Anyways, last time I made it I had problems with the soup reheating. The seasonings were off. But today I ate some at lunch and it was amazing. So I'm going to the share the recipe here, it takes practically NOTHING to make this soup! It is delicious and filling and probably isn't too terrible for you. At least that is what I tell myself :)
Julie and Julia's Potato Soup:
2-3 large-ish Russet Potatoes, peeled and chopped roughly
1 medium sized onion (yellow), diced
8 cups of liquid (I prefer to use 3 or so cups, usually one container, of low sodium chicken stock and the rest water- but all water is the Julia Child way.)
3 Tablespoons of salt (possibly less if you use chicken stock)
2 Tablespoons of softened butter
That is the base from Julia Child's recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking...the rest is all me:
2 strips of Bacon cut up into small bits (I find kitchen shears work really well)
1-2 teaspoons dried or fresh Chives and Parsley, or to taste
Pepper, to taste
2-3 cloves of Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
Put the bacon pieces in a large stock pot or dutch oven, on medium heat. Cook for a few minutes to render out the fat of the bacon. Then turn the heat up to cook the bacon until crispy, but not burned. (The bacon will become soft during cooking in the soup, so getting it crispy now is good). At this point you can either remove the bits and add in at the last minute, or you can leave them in, personal choice. I leave them in, the more the merrier!).
Now, add the liquid (stock/water) to the pot. Be careful with the fat in the bottom of the pan- you will get steam! Add in the potatoes and onions and bring the liquid up to a boil. At this point I added all of my seasonings- to taste. Once the liquid is at a boil, reduce heat to simmer and simmer soup for 45-50 minutes, partially covered, stirring occasionally. Right before the soup is done, add the butter for added depth of flavor and richness.
I like to serve it with crostini or a big hunk of bread with butter or for dipping. Yummy!!
I hope you like it. Its very hard for me to find soups that don't call for tomatoes (which I can't have anymore!) so I like this. Its easy, its cheap and it tastes so good!
First Darren was in town on Thursday for another interview and he stopped by to watch shows with us (Survivor and the Office!) before heading out.
Friday was Halloween. We had about 7-8 trick-or-treat-ers...We watched some TV shows that we needed to get caught up on and "The Wedding Singer", which is very funny and always seems to be on TV. Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler- comic gold! Then we headed off to bed in preparation for Saturday's game, for which we got to use our first tickets of the season, yay!
Saturday we got up and headed down to Corvallis. Spent some time with Tara at her place, met up with Larry, Marlene, Jim and Jill, ate lots of yummy American Dream pizza and then headed out to find a parking spot. We got a great (slightly super secret) spot and then walked off some of that pizza. I forgot how much I absolutely love walking on campus. It is so easy to forget how beautiful it is...and how much walking you can do in one afternoon. Don't get me wrong- I love walking. I could walk to the ends of the Earth and back...except that I foolishly chose Saturday afternoon to break in my new Nike walking shoes.
I'm not sure that everyone knows- but I have weirdly shaped heels. The back of my heel bone actually juts out a little bit, which makes shoe buying very tricky. Anyways I'm very prone to blisters- and I got two really huge ones...they really tore up the backs of my heels. I'm doing extra TLC today to help them get better.
At any rate, the game was good. We tried to give it away (thought it would be a repeat of Utah for a minute), then the refs tried to give it away, but in the end we pulled out the victory and it was sweet. It was even sweeter with our 45-yard line tickets. But sadly we spent so much time yelling and booing and cheering that my throat was pretty sore by the time we got home at 1 AM!
So Sunday I spent most of the day laying around and watching movies...and I made soup! Well Steven did the grunt work (shopping and chopping) while I stirred and added seasonings. It was pure team work. Anyways, last time I made it I had problems with the soup reheating. The seasonings were off. But today I ate some at lunch and it was amazing. So I'm going to the share the recipe here, it takes practically NOTHING to make this soup! It is delicious and filling and probably isn't too terrible for you. At least that is what I tell myself :)
Julie and Julia's Potato Soup:
2-3 large-ish Russet Potatoes, peeled and chopped roughly
1 medium sized onion (yellow), diced
8 cups of liquid (I prefer to use 3 or so cups, usually one container, of low sodium chicken stock and the rest water- but all water is the Julia Child way.)
3 Tablespoons of salt (possibly less if you use chicken stock)
2 Tablespoons of softened butter
That is the base from Julia Child's recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking...the rest is all me:
2 strips of Bacon cut up into small bits (I find kitchen shears work really well)
1-2 teaspoons dried or fresh Chives and Parsley, or to taste
Pepper, to taste
2-3 cloves of Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
Put the bacon pieces in a large stock pot or dutch oven, on medium heat. Cook for a few minutes to render out the fat of the bacon. Then turn the heat up to cook the bacon until crispy, but not burned. (The bacon will become soft during cooking in the soup, so getting it crispy now is good). At this point you can either remove the bits and add in at the last minute, or you can leave them in, personal choice. I leave them in, the more the merrier!).
Now, add the liquid (stock/water) to the pot. Be careful with the fat in the bottom of the pan- you will get steam! Add in the potatoes and onions and bring the liquid up to a boil. At this point I added all of my seasonings- to taste. Once the liquid is at a boil, reduce heat to simmer and simmer soup for 45-50 minutes, partially covered, stirring occasionally. Right before the soup is done, add the butter for added depth of flavor and richness.
I like to serve it with crostini or a big hunk of bread with butter or for dipping. Yummy!!
I hope you like it. Its very hard for me to find soups that don't call for tomatoes (which I can't have anymore!) so I like this. Its easy, its cheap and it tastes so good!
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