Theme: P

Last night's dinner theme: P. It was a total accident, which is why there is not a photo to go with it.

I came home from work late last night. So Nathan so lovingly made me dinner. One of my friends had given me some delicious fresh homemade PESTO. So Nathan made some PEAS and PASTA and mixed in the PESTO. He also made chicken - which we decided would have to be called by its Spanish/Italian name POLLO to make it an all around P dinner. Tasty. I'll work on the pesto recipe for you all.

I think the best part of our accidental P dinner was coming home to it made and ready to eat. I'm so used to cooking dinner for myself or with Nathan that it was such a treat to have dinner made for me!

Love Is In the Air

Love is always in the air in my house, but it's been exceptionally clear these past few weeks!

I had so much fun making my home love filled with time with friends and Nathan and of course with CRAFTS.

First I made cards:

Then I made blocks. They aren't all the same size - but floral foam is very is hard to cut in straight lines. I was inspired by some blocks I saw at hobby lobby - but they were too expensive. Next year I may try to make some new ones - these aren't my favorite.

I had an empty shelf on the wall, so I made it my holiday shelf (I may just keep Valentines up a little longer before I put up St. Patrick's Day) and it was the perfect place for my blocks.

I added a few more little do-dads and called it good!

Dinner of Cakes

So last week I made a carrot themed dinner. I would have posted a photo - only I didn't know "themed" dinners were going to become normal. A few nights ago, Nathan and I had a "cake" themed dinner. The theme was inspired by a recipe I found for zucchini cakes - think patty. Dinner tasted good even though it looked a bit strange!

The menu:

- Zucchini Cakes (with horseradish sauce)
- Salmon Cakes
- Potato Cakes

The results: So, that many round things on a plate is a little bizarre looking! And the amount of oil used to fry everything was a little disturbing.

The only thing that really held together were the salmon cakes. I think perhaps I didn't squeeze enough liquid out of the zucchini  - and I think maybe I shouldn't make mashed potatoes so creamy when the end result is supposed to be a cake.



The modifications:  We combined the left over zucchini with the mashed potatoes - DELICIOUS. I may  just make mashed potatoes with zucchini in them just because!

Nathan wants to try layering the cakes into a "burger." Judging by how well the flavors blended on my plate, I think it could just work.







Dessert:  We had some left over pound cake so Nathan decided we needed to continue the theme of "cake" and topped the pound cake with Nutella, bananas, raspberries, and whipped cream. YUMMY!

Birthday Love

I look forward to my birthday every year. It’s probably my favorite day of the year with the exception of maybe Christmas. It’s not really about the presents (although they certainly don’t hurt). It’s the one day per year that I can think about myself. I love spending the day reflecting on my past year and making plans for the next. This year, I had a lot to reflect on – 22 was a big year! Some highlights:

-       Student teaching

-       Graduation

-       A new boyfriend

-       London

-       New apartment

-       Joblessness

This past Tuesday (January 25) was my 23^rd birthday. I had some wonderful pampering going on all day, but I also did a lot of thinking about what I want to happen in the next year. I wont force all of the details of my brain’s twisted thinking on you, but it was a fantastic day of reflection. The essentials:

1.     I must get a full time job ASAP!

2.     I must apply for my teaching license in any state that I may want to teach in.

3.     I must remember that everyone is not perfect and that imperfections are part of what make a person unique, interesting, and loveable.

4.     I must remember to stretch in the morning when I wake up…. 23 is old!

I have to share a few birthday photos – only because of how wonderful my Nathan was all day.

Breakfast (not in bed, much too messy):

I lounged on the couch all morning reading blogs while he slaved away in the kitchen. He even watched a YouTube video on how to cut green onions (totally adorable)!

Dinner (Out, because cooking one extravagant meal in a day in plenty):

We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner (compliments of a left over Christmas gift card) and had DELICIOUS margaritas. I wore my new-to-me skirt from goodwill and felt fantastic. 

There is a shelf and some art waiting to be hung on the wall above the book case...

***Side note – that banner in the background of the photo – my sister made

that for me last year with help from Katie at On the Banks of Squaw Creek. 

It did a nice job fancying up my plain wall.

3 of my girlfriends came over to enjoy the perfectly decorated cake – I had wondered what took Nathan so long in decorating! 

All Smiles for Now

I have been sooooo bored the last few weeks. After getting my apartment in order, I've done lots of scrapbooking, reading, movie watching, blog reading, and just about everything to pass the time. I'm playing the oboe again and trying to exercise with out a gym mebership. In many ways, I'm doing things that I have just not had the time to do for a long time. And during those moments, I feel REALLY good. But, after being awake for a few hours, I've finished everything I wanted to accomplish in the day and then - I'm bored!

I never thought that after 17 years of being in school, that a break would be unwelcome. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy that I don't have any homework - except job applications sure do feel like homework!

I know it will take time to find the perfect job, a full time job that I love and makes me feel like I'm making my contribution to the world. I'm under no illusion that it will be easy or fast. But, today I did have a small victory. I was offered a job as a part time after school math and reading tutor.

I start (paid!) training next week and will be working 2 to 4 days after school a week. It's not much, but it does get me out of the house and helping people. It's still teaching and even though it's not directly in my field, it's a step in the right direction!

I'm Back!

Ok, so it’s been a really long time since I last updated. I don’t even know if anyone is still reading my blog, but I think I’m going to still post once and a while.

My blog is about all the different parts of my life puzzle. I’ve recently moved to Indiana and I figure, this is a pretty big life puzzle piece being cut. I’ve moved into my own place (although frequent visits from Nathan… well.). I’ll post some photos of my attempts to make it my own home, after 9 days I’d say it’s coming along quite nicely.

I’m looking for a job and enjoying filling the time between job searching and job applications. I’ve even taken up playing the oboe again. It’s hard to play after taking this last year off, but it feels good to connect with music again (I can thank London for the push in the right direction!).

I’ll keep you posted as my puzzle fills out!

Thanks for following!

1 Week Later

I have been home for a week now. Everyone said to expect a little culture shock - I didn't think I would - and I'm not. Well, kind of. It hits a strange times. There are moments in the last week where I would give anything to be back and other moments that I'm so happy to be home.

Things I miss about London:

- Never being bored (there was always something to do, close by)
- Not driving (I hate looking at the gas tank drop - maybe some of this has to do with the fact that i'm not driving my lovely car - but seriously, I hate putting gas in a car)
- Low cost healthy food at the store that looks fresh.....seriously I don't want preservatives.
- Public transport - but that goes with the whole car thing
- Ethnic food (maybe that's because I live in Muncie)
- Pastry
- Culture
- Affordable art/music/dance
- Walking everywhere

Things I'm glad to have back:

- Nathan (maybe I should just take him to London)
- My cell phone with a keyboard
- The ability to call my family whenever I want
- Fast Internet
- Street signs/road names that you can read - in other words, I don't have to get lost because the road names are posted on some buildings.