Flowers

I finally got all my flowers planted! This is how they looked before they got pelted with rain. They've looked a little waterlogged the last few days.


And my vegetables are growing.


Yay for backyards. :) And for privacy fences. :)

I hosted sewing club on Tuesday... it was a good time. We had chocolate lava cake... it was yummy... next time I'll make a double batch for thirds.... :)

Tomorrow is transplant day...

Blessings.

I'm a Big Sister!

*grin* So, a few months ago we had a speaker at work for MLK JR month. (We have speakers every month in honor of "national whatever month," it's fun, they're usually interesting and they always have cookies. Anyway.) He talked about different ways that we, as well educated scientists, could get involved in our communities and talked about the different mentoring programs they have available... a lot of kids in the city schools don't even know that science is more than a subject in school, it can be a career. And I remember way back when, one of my cousins was a Big Brother... but... it's a big time commitment and I don't exactly live very close.... and then I saw on the BBBS website that they have a lunch program. You get to meet with your Little during their lunch at school at least twice a month and eat with them, help with homework, and be their friend. Which is perfect.

I filled out all the paper work and they did another background check... I'm starting to get a little worried that all these checks are going to send up a red flag someplace. Seriously, twice for work in the last two years and now a DCFS check. And I, of course, forgot to give my 'non-family references' the heads up so they've been telling me how confused they were that somebody was asking about "Jennifer K" and not connecting it with me. Oops.

Today was the first time I got to meet with her, and it might be the last time before school starts again in the fall. (I'm not allowed to have contact outside of school) She's 9, in 3rd grade, talkative, and has a completely different life than me. I told her I was married and she said, "so where's your ring?" *SIGH* She would pick up on that right away. I just said I didn't have one, and it was ok, I'm still married without one. Pretty sure it didn't click, because the next thing she said was "that boy should propose!" Haha... um... cue Beyonce..... it made me laugh.

Sooo... should be interesting. And good for me. It's already clear that I need to brush up on my knowledge of Disney and Nickelodeon.... *grin*

Blessings.

asparagus tips

So once I again, I have very little to blog about. *sigh* Haha... actually, I like it that life isn't crazy right now. And I like asparagus. Bob's not a big fan.

Last weekend we had potluck on Friday, which was great fun as always. And Sunday we went to Blake and Kristin's wedding. It was sooo good to see people, especially Joanna, since I haven't seen her since her wedding. Three years ago. Eesh. :) I must confess... I love being married to one of the Shaker Brethren. They had a 'shaker bench' and it just makes me feel all special to get to sit there. I mean, I got to sit on the same bench as BDY and J-Nell, and Matt, and Nic and Amanda... haha. Anyway... yes, I know I'm a little ridiculous. :P The dresses were pretty, the flowers were gorgeous (yay for Amber), the cake was good; definitely a successful wedding.

This week has been quiet... I'm just hoping that it will stay dry enough and be dry enough this weekend to plant the rest of my flowers. And next week I can stress about hosting sewing club. woot.

Blessings.

Concerning cook books

So sometimes when people ask me how married life is, they ask about how I manage working full time and cooking and cleaning and all that good stuff. Honestly, I have no idea. I'm semi organized? I like cooking and I like it when the house is clean so that's fairly motivating... :) I plan meals for the week... I dunno? But anyway. Yeah, I'm not sure how/where I learned to cook and bake. Mom says I just have "the touch," whatever that means. I helped Mom some growing up, but it was never a formal, "and today we are going to make meatloaf" kind of thing. Speaking of meatloaf. Shelly and I are bad at meatloaf. I've gotten much better at it.

I don't really use recipes much since we usually just have meat, potato, vegetable, and occasionally fruit. Bob and I both like stuff fairly plain and simple. It's probably healthier that way, and recipes usually take way more time and more ingredients than I have. This is the one cookbook that I look at regularly:



It's the best. My Grandma had a copy that is held together with masking tape. My mom has a copy. My M-I-L gave me a copy (mine's spiral bound on glossy paper- woot!). I love it because it's not full of fancy recipes with tons of obscure ingredients, it's just basic cooking with lots of instructions on techniques. The section on meat has diagrams of all the cuts, and then the best way to cook each type with a few simple recipes. It has a section on sauces, which I love, because I cannot for the life of me remember the proportions for white sauce. There are pages and pages of different kinds of frosting and glazes. I love the quick breads. And the cookies. Where else can you find old fashioned gingerbread and spritz? Definitely the most comprehensive and useful cookbook that I own. :)

And then there is the most amazing pie cookbook ever. Everyone should have one of these, and use it often. :)

This one has a pie recipe for every kind of fruit and nut you can think of, plus meat pies. And custards and cremes and chocolate pies. Seriously, it's wonderful.

I do like this cook book. She makes yummy, simple food too.

Otherwise, I have a cupboard full of unopened cook books... maybe some rainy day...

Does it make me a heathen if I rarely use the church cook books? There are a few specific recipes... but I just don't use them much. Please don't faint in shock. *grin*

What's your favorite?

Blessings.

Busy busy

Lets see, this weekend I:

• cleaned the house
• got lost in Pekin
• bought some more annuals
• went to Hannah's testimony in Champaign
• stopped at the Shake to see our siblings
• spent Sunday in Washington
• baked two pies and cooked supper for the fam with Shelly
• wandered around the farm with Bob

... although, to clarify, I knew exactly where I was in Pekin, I just didn't know where the place I was trying to find was.

Blessings.

How does your garden grow?

Mine is coming up! Yay. Now I just need to find time to plant some flowers... :)

There hasn't been much going on lately, which is nice. I finished Anna Karenina and absolutely loved it. Not sure why... Tolstoy just has such a great way with words and with describing life and subtly putting truth into his stories...

I also finished part one of book twelve of the Wheel of Time. It was really good, and so much faster moving than the last three books.

Today I met Heidi at One World for lunch, which was great fun and the food was great too. I ordered tortilla soup and a chicken sandwich on foccacia with pesto... two totally different types of food... it was a strange combination but really good!

Kary's church shower was tonight so I went to that. Shelly almost spilled her water on me, oh, about 10 times. :) It's good to see Suze so happy... and excited about dishes and things. Hehe.

Blessings.