Killing the flavor

Why does everybody in Kentucky insist on eating bland food all smothered in a bland sauce? Everybody makes casseroles and everybody knows that said casseroles must be covered in cream of mushroom soup or velveeta cheese. Food in Kentucky is generally unexciting. It all tastes the same. Mostly it fits the following categories:

• Greasy (French fries, hamburgers, fried chicken, etc)
• Creamy (whitish casseroles)
• Bland (smothered in ketchup, american cheese)
• Just plain boring (spaghetti with plain sauce from a can or jar)

Somedays I just want to eat flavorful food. Just give me one good slice of sharp smoked cheddar cheese, or grate fresh ginger, or the even the wonderful taste of basil all ground up in pesto. And if you want something creamy, please do me a favor and use real cream.

I think I need to do some cooking this weekend.

Cross stitch inspiration...

A week ago, I found an old cross stitch sampler that was half way completed. I remember working on it when I was about 13 or 14. Looking at it, I was inspired to complete it. As of right now, I am about 3/4ths of the way done. I hope to finish it this week. Now I've been brainstorming on a project to work on next. Here are some that I found online:



I like this one because it has the blue toile pattern. I definitely think it needs a darker shade of blue though...
This one is simple but kind of Swedish looking:

This one is just amazing. I love it.

Baby Shower #2

Mom and I are done with baby shower season. Today we hosted our second shower in just 3 weeks. Whew...They both turned out wonderful. Here are some pictures. These are the two moms. Their due dates are only about a week apart.

Tissue paper pom poms. True love.

The amazing fruit flowers my mom made:

Thankful Friday

Because it is only two more days until the Sabbath, now is the perfect opportunity to reflect on the good things of this past week.
A couple of weeks ago, I was stressed out. Not majorly, but stressed nonetheless. That little bit of stress that I did have made me realize one of the best things about my life right now. I was stressed for most of the past four years. Maybe I wasn't constantly freaking out, but there were tons of little stresses. I had deadlines out the wazoo, finals every 8 weeks, papers due, late nights, early mornings...you know the routine. As of right now, I have no deadlines, no papers due, I don't stay up late unless I want to (and I never do), I don't have a high pressure job, and I have look for work instead of hide from it. Sometimes it annoys me when I don't have enough work to do during the day, but, for right now, I'm just greatful that it is not at all stressful. I get to leave every day promptly at 5 pm and I never have to take work or work-related stress home with me. My evenings are mine, completely mine to do whatever I want. Work also never interferes with my weekends. And so I announce before the world (or at least before my small gathering of faithful readers) that I am not stressed and I am extremely grateful that my job is easy and sometimes boring. grateful

P.S. I surprised mei amici with a container of banana bars with cream cheese frosting over my lunch break. I know, I'm amazing.

Stocking up...

In preparation of the long winter, I have filled my work desk with cheetos and dark chocolate. 80% cocoa is the bomb diggity.
Hmmm...I think I should go running tomorroww

Directions On How To Get Directions...

My boss just called me and asked me to get directions to a certain parking lot because he is attending a certain sporting event. He suggested I call the campus police or security. So I did. After I explained the situation, they promptly transferred me to the Parking office. Again, I explained the situation and again they transferred me. This time I went to the Athletics department where I again explained the situation. Still, it wasn't right. And so I had a nice little chat with the Ticket office. If that wasn't enough, the first person at the ticket office couldn't help me so I had to wait on hold until another member of that office could help.

This made my slow Friday afternoon so much better.

Encouragement

Skip over to Jasmine's blog to read her latest post on single women preparing for marriage. It is definitely worth reading. Her wisdom is worth more than an entire hope chest filled with meaningless dishes. Be sure and check it out.