1. I love it that Matt and my plans tonight include wearing pajamas, catching up on smallville and going to bed early. He owes me a dinner out, but I'm liking the low-key plan.
2. I like getting valentines. Especially from my in-laws. :D Did you know they make "dear son and daughter-in-law cards?" They SO do.
3. It helps a LOT that it's on a monday.
4. And I've been LOVING those commercials that are about how Valentines this year is not about "I love you" it's about "I love US" cuteness indeed.
Happy Valentine's everyone :)
Monday, February 14, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
[insert corny joke here]
aka "The Awesome Corn Soup I Made Last Night."
There is this amazing fancy mexican restaurant in Durham that I LOVE. It is expensive. It is delicious. They make GOOD margaritas. They are sooooo not Tex-Mex, but they have yummy, yummy food. And this delicious creamy corn soup that I've been craving for days.
So, after talking myself out of going there for lunch repeatedly, I decided it was time to see if I could make it. I'm pretty sure theirs is better--but I'm pretty sure theirs also contains cream, and mine is healthier than that.
I started out with this recipe. It wasn't quite right, though, so I made it my own...for me the KEY was adding more flour and pureeing the corn--it thickened the soup and helped it have a yellow color.
I forgot to take a picture of it cooking, but I'll take one when I heat it up for lunch! mmm mmm MMM!
There is this amazing fancy mexican restaurant in Durham that I LOVE. It is expensive. It is delicious. They make GOOD margaritas. They are sooooo not Tex-Mex, but they have yummy, yummy food. And this delicious creamy corn soup that I've been craving for days.
So, after talking myself out of going there for lunch repeatedly, I decided it was time to see if I could make it. I'm pretty sure theirs is better--but I'm pretty sure theirs also contains cream, and mine is healthier than that.
I started out with this recipe. It wasn't quite right, though, so I made it my own...for me the KEY was adding more flour and pureeing the corn--it thickened the soup and helped it have a yellow color.
Ingredients
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk (I used a mix of skim and 2%)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 (15ish ounce) cans whole kernel corn, rinsed and drained
- 3 tablespoons cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ground cayenne pepper, adobo seasoning, cumin and garlic powder to taste
Directions
- In a large pot over medium heat, combine the onion, garlic, parsley and butter or margarine. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until onions are tender.
- Add the flour, stirring well, to make a pasty mixture. Whisk in the milk and the broth.
- In small batches, puree 2 of the three cans of corn, adding liquid from the pot to help it blend smoothly. Add pureed corn, remaining canned corn and the cream cheese to the pot and allow to heat through. Add the garlic salt, black pepper, adobo seasoning, cumin and cayenne pepper to taste. Stir together and serve.
Monday, February 07, 2011
bHaObUiSeEs and BhAoBuIsEeSs
babies and houses and houses and babies and babies and houses....
repeat ^ infinity.
I feel like eventually, at some point, everything I ever talk about eventually boils down to a discussion about a baby. or a house. or a baby in a house. or a house 'cause we're having a baby. you get what I mean.
except WAIT--I AM NOT PREGNANT AND WE ARE NOT TRYING. (yet)
That sentence about should have read "a house 'cause we're eventually having a baby." (fingers crossed)
But oh my goodness--talking about going to Italy? Babies. Seeing our friend's house? Babies in houses. Heck, even a really rude comment someone made about a breastfeeding mother (OMG don't even get me started!) eventually turned into a conversation about--you guessed it--babies. (And in my head I was thinking "where will I go to breastfeed when I'm cube-bound?") But I digress.
I have like eleven thousand pregnant friends. Okay, like more like at least three. But still. And then I have many friends who either a) had babies recently (and their little babies are SO cuddly!) or b) are with me in the "waiting to try to have babies but thinking about it anyway" boat.
I mean, we talk about baby names and baby clothes and cloth diapering and whether or not baby food tastes like real food and will we make our own? And how will we raise them? And is spanking okay? And will we be crazy parents? And oh my goodness gracious. Whoa.
okay, I think that's it for now. until the next time I need to tell you about a baby. or a house. I'm crossing my fingers that I'm not talking about either until June 1st at the earliest--because that's when we get back from Italy!
repeat ^ infinity.
I feel like eventually, at some point, everything I ever talk about eventually boils down to a discussion about a baby. or a house. or a baby in a house. or a house 'cause we're having a baby. you get what I mean.
except WAIT--I AM NOT PREGNANT AND WE ARE NOT TRYING. (yet)
That sentence about should have read "a house 'cause we're eventually having a baby." (fingers crossed)
But oh my goodness--talking about going to Italy? Babies. Seeing our friend's house? Babies in houses. Heck, even a really rude comment someone made about a breastfeeding mother (OMG don't even get me started!) eventually turned into a conversation about--you guessed it--babies. (And in my head I was thinking "where will I go to breastfeed when I'm cube-bound?") But I digress.
I have like eleven thousand pregnant friends. Okay, like more like at least three. But still. And then I have many friends who either a) had babies recently (and their little babies are SO cuddly!) or b) are with me in the "waiting to try to have babies but thinking about it anyway" boat.
I mean, we talk about baby names and baby clothes and cloth diapering and whether or not baby food tastes like real food and will we make our own? And how will we raise them? And is spanking okay? And will we be crazy parents? And oh my goodness gracious. Whoa.
okay, I think that's it for now. until the next time I need to tell you about a baby. or a house. I'm crossing my fingers that I'm not talking about either until June 1st at the earliest--because that's when we get back from Italy!
Thursday, February 03, 2011
"I do not think that means what you think it means..."
~my favorite movie EVER
Today we had a meeting with a project lead. He kept saying "the paradigm we're in" and "the paradigm in choosing between this and that" and similar phrases. He meant predicament. But that is so not what he said.
Highfalutin words are useful. Sometimes they're very specific, sometimes they make you sound smarter. Or, like, erudite. :) I mean, anthropogenic, defenestrate, picayune, punctilious, epitome, perfunctory...all good, specific words. (and for you Latin nerds, remember mutuni@tus? riiight) Paradigm is too. When used correctly.
Me? I really enjoy using the whopper-words. But I enjoy using them correctly. And you can bet your sweet bippy that I'd never use a word in front of important people (e.g., people from work) if I wasn't absolutely certain of its meaning.
I know it's a *me* thing, at least to some extent. But seriously, folks, we can do better. Let's, shall we?
And, since it's been a while since I posted pictures: some Gobi cuteness (I see this almost every morning!) and some pictures from our trip to the DP@C to see Li0n King! And our trip to Tyler's after. I love the DP@C's end-of-bathroom-line sign. And the fried pickles and special beer at Tyler's were sooooooooo yummy!
And special thanks to my iph0ne4 for taking such awesome pictures. HUGE improvement over my old one!!
Today we had a meeting with a project lead. He kept saying "the paradigm we're in" and "the paradigm in choosing between this and that" and similar phrases. He meant predicament. But that is so not what he said.
Highfalutin words are useful. Sometimes they're very specific, sometimes they make you sound smarter. Or, like, erudite. :) I mean, anthropogenic, defenestrate, picayune, punctilious, epitome, perfunctory...all good, specific words. (and for you Latin nerds, remember mutuni@tus? riiight) Paradigm is too. When used correctly.
Me? I really enjoy using the whopper-words. But I enjoy using them correctly. And you can bet your sweet bippy that I'd never use a word in front of important people (e.g., people from work) if I wasn't absolutely certain of its meaning.
I know it's a *me* thing, at least to some extent. But seriously, folks, we can do better. Let's, shall we?
And, since it's been a while since I posted pictures: some Gobi cuteness (I see this almost every morning!) and some pictures from our trip to the DP@C to see Li0n King! And our trip to Tyler's after. I love the DP@C's end-of-bathroom-line sign. And the fried pickles and special beer at Tyler's were sooooooooo yummy!
And special thanks to my iph0ne4 for taking such awesome pictures. HUGE improvement over my old one!!
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
you're, a mean one, mister [february]...
oh, february.
I was fully prepared to not even acknowledge your arrival this month. I mean, things were going just fine! Last night I found a pair of jeans that I forgot to return in all the wedding crazy (they were in with the socks and blue ties that we couldn't find when we wanted to return them. I think some people are going to get some awesome green socks and blue ties in the future!)
when I bought them they were too small--so I was going to return them. But, I tried them on last night and since I've gotten a little smaller, they fit! Hoooooooray! See, end of January/beginning of February off to a wonderful start!
um, yeah.
and then today--this morning Matt overslept. And he must not've been feeling awesome, because he took a looooooooong shower. It's what he does when he's sad, sick, tired, hungover, you name it--he sits in the shower. Well...although I waited ten whole minutes to get in, my shower was lukewarm. And by the end of it I had goosebumps.
Oh and it meant that I didn't end up using the sinus rinse I prepared because I was afraid it wouldn't be warm enough. And then I forgot to pop it in the microwave and warm it up. Which isn't a huge deal, but it means that my sinuses are going to be unhappy later today.
Also, my friends and family in Oklahoma are experiencing a kind of snow that comes with words I've never heard of---like thundersnow. TWELVE inches of snow are predicted (PS--remember 12 inches of sn0w?) Man, I seriously loved that song. I'd make my dad play it over and over and over--especially before softball games. {shudder}
Let's see--what else...oh, I had to figure out a hodgepodge lunch (edammame, honey nut cheerios, carrots and granola) and I spilled milk three times this morning.
And February marks the beginning of our new budget. Also not fun. Necessary, but not fun. Oh and I get to spend tonight cleaning because we have a visitor coming on Thursday.
Yep. Wooooohoo February. Bah, humbug.
I was fully prepared to not even acknowledge your arrival this month. I mean, things were going just fine! Last night I found a pair of jeans that I forgot to return in all the wedding crazy (they were in with the socks and blue ties that we couldn't find when we wanted to return them. I think some people are going to get some awesome green socks and blue ties in the future!)
when I bought them they were too small--so I was going to return them. But, I tried them on last night and since I've gotten a little smaller, they fit! Hoooooooray! See, end of January/beginning of February off to a wonderful start!
um, yeah.
and then today--this morning Matt overslept. And he must not've been feeling awesome, because he took a looooooooong shower. It's what he does when he's sad, sick, tired, hungover, you name it--he sits in the shower. Well...although I waited ten whole minutes to get in, my shower was lukewarm. And by the end of it I had goosebumps.
Oh and it meant that I didn't end up using the sinus rinse I prepared because I was afraid it wouldn't be warm enough. And then I forgot to pop it in the microwave and warm it up. Which isn't a huge deal, but it means that my sinuses are going to be unhappy later today.
Also, my friends and family in Oklahoma are experiencing a kind of snow that comes with words I've never heard of---like thundersnow. TWELVE inches of snow are predicted (PS--remember 12 inches of sn0w?) Man, I seriously loved that song. I'd make my dad play it over and over and over--especially before softball games. {shudder}
Let's see--what else...oh, I had to figure out a hodgepodge lunch (edammame, honey nut cheerios, carrots and granola) and I spilled milk three times this morning.
And February marks the beginning of our new budget. Also not fun. Necessary, but not fun. Oh and I get to spend tonight cleaning because we have a visitor coming on Thursday.
Yep. Wooooohoo February. Bah, humbug.
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