Newsflash

So... a I guess a lot can change in like 12 hours. I have a job. It's working at the Distribution Center. It's not the glamorous job I had machinated for myself when I chose an advertising degree but I have to say that this is a perfect example of God answering our prayers because He knows what's best, and not us. I would be very ungrateful if I complained about that the fact that I have a job that pays well enough, is around the corner (since I don't have a car, is on temple grounds, and is part time so it affords me the time to be domestic, which I really do enjoy (believe it or not). So it's worked out quite well. Now that I think about it, I didn't ask if I got a discount.

Family News

Nothing all that exciting has happened since I slapped Brandon on the neck. Brandon is still working hard at his job, I'm still working hard on the baking thing. I haven't found a job yet, but I feel I'm close. I feel so bad that I'm not working that I've devised new ways to save us money. Some of the ways I've come up with are making our own sandwich bread, making beans from scratch, and making my own oven-dried tomatoes, which by the way is the best idea I've ever had. We spend A LOT of money on convenience so cutting that out has made it so we spend less money and it gives me something to do.

ANYWAY, Maggie, our dog-to-be, won't be around until Thanksgiving weekend. We're sad but excited. All her things from Pet Edge came yesterday. I spent like an hour playing with an empty collar and with her bed. I figure I won't buy toys until I can take her to PetSmart to pick her own.

Other than that life is good. The beach still receives frequent visits from us. We're still going to church. We're still eating a lot. And we're still friends with the Gunderson's. So...stay tuned for more of the same.

Danny Boy

This video makes me want to pee my pants every time I see it. Animal is the funniest.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OCbuRA_D3KU

Just go there, I couldn't get the video to play on the blog but I promise you it's worth your two minutes.

Chez Jacobsen

Brandon and I are pretty proud of our place. It's not big or fancy but we like it, so I thought I would share what it looks like with you guys. Keep in mind, it looks a lot better in real life, which is an invitation to come hang out. Loved ones are always welcome (if you're not sure about your status call and find out).


"Velkommen å Våre Hjem" - This is the first thing you see when you come in. It was a birthday present from his parents to Brandon. Hmm...banana...


Living Room - This room has positively benefited from IKEA. I'm really proud of my orchid. Brandon and I spend a lot of time on that wicker chair.


Our little dining room - The cushions on the chairs were Brandon's idea - for when we have people over. Always the considerate gentleman, that's why I like him.


Command Center - This is where I spend about 80% of my time. Notice my laptop, I always listen to my podcasts while I'm working in the kitchen.


Bedroom - It's not that exciting. This room took a while to get together so that the energy was flowing well. But we can finally sleep.


Bed/Bath - We hate that the bathroom is in our bedroom, but I guess it could be worse. We could have an outhouse.

Deep Thoughts

My current thoughts:

1. I just realized Robert Redford kind of reminds me of Gordy (my oldest brother-in-law) which has ruined Robert Redford for me forever. C'mon!

2. I LOVE Thanksgiving. I think because it's the food holiday. It's just such a good idea, we get to be thankful AND eat tons!! I can't wait for the stuffing.

3. I can't help being skinny, I really can't and I'm sorry because apparently it pisses people off. But I like myself and I like fat people too, and people in the middle are cool as well. I think we should all dislike each other for our personality traits and not the way we look, cuz we can't help that as much. There's a new book called Skinny Bitch (author's words - not mine) which kind of makes me angry because why would anyone want to be perceived that way? I don't think we need any more divisions as people. It shouldn't be us vs them.It should just be us.

4.Rachel Ray is... let's just say not my kind of person.

5. Are we seriously on season 11 of The View? How? I suppose we all need outlets to air our grievances. Some of us turn to our blogs, husbands, friends, and those women just happen to do it on national TV.

6. Chevre is my new favorite thing. Brandon is my old favorite thing

7. I'm hungry.

8. Quiet people make me nervous. You just never know what they're thinking.

At the Movies: Part Trois

Here are a few more movies I have been watching while folding laundry, eating lunch, and looking at pet supplies.


All About Eve - This was so good!!! I loved it. It was a lot of fun because there are twists and deceptions... it's pretty juicy. Bette Davis, the one with the big eyes, is just phenomenal in it. Even though she's spoiled, you still want to be like her, so poised and confident and strong. The movie is about a theater diva that meets an overzealous fan (Eve) and ends up taking her under her wing, but she's getting a lot more than a fan in Eve. Again, so good.


A Letter to Three Wives - This was also quite good. Joseph Mankowitz, the guy who wrote and directed this (as well as All About Eve) really gets women. I don't know how he did it, but he did. It's about three women who are friends that get a letter, addressed to all three of them saying that one of their husbands ran off with another woman. They know the woman but not the husband. You're kept pretty interested. Like a lot of older movies, there isn't any action, but that doesn't mean you're not glued to the TV.


Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - This is a musical so you know it's going to be fun. And it is. It doesn't deliver the depth and intrigue that the other two do, but it was entertaining enough for laundry folding. Besides it's kind of a classic, which makes it a must. Watch out for the voices of the actors when they sing, they catch you off guard. It's pretty much about seven brothers who need brides, so they go get them by unconventional means.


Surf's Up - Sadly this movie came at a time when Hollywood decided to focus a lot on zoo animals, namely the penguin. So it got bumped to the back. But don't worry, this is not at all like the socialist Happy Feet, with weird imitations of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. This one is actually entertaining and leaves you with a desire to go surf instead of suicide. Brandon and I really liked it. The recording sessions were done differently so it sounds like the actors are actually talking with each other. Everyone does a great job, especially John Heder (yay Napoleon!) as Chicken Joe. There are cameos by Kelly Slater and Rob Machado (whose penguin also has puffy hair). It's pretty much the story of North Shore only with penguins, better actors, and less cheesy lines. So... an improvement all around. And I know this sounds weird, but for a second you forget that you're watching penguins surf and it actually feels like a surf movie. I love the Australian penguin. I would highly recommend this.

I've got a few more waiting for me, so I'll keep you posted!

Jelly Roll Extraordinaire

So the Gunderson's are our next door neighbors/new bff. Their names are Ryan and Joselyn and their really cool. Thankfully we've hit it off and it's really nice to have friends who are in our ward and share a wall with us. They are proud owners of Maddie, the Boston Terrier. Also, Ryan likes to surf so Brandon now has a surfing buddy at about his level. Anyway, since we're all stuck at home because of the fires Joselyn came over and we made dessert. It was grand. We took a jelly roll recipe and added ice cream instead of jelly (thank you Benihana). We call in an ice cream roll.
Here is proof. We did half strawberry half vanilla and the recipe follows.


This is Joselyn spreading ice cream.


The finished product


Hmm... with berry sauce...

Ice Cream Roll
5 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
confectioner's sugar
ice cream of choice (we used strawberry and vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Grease jelly roll pan (we used a cookie sheet - not the flat kind obviously). Line with waxed paper; grease paper.
2. in large bowl, with mixed at high speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form when beaters are lifted. At high speed, gradually sprinkle in 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until whites hold stiff peaks when beaters are lifted.
3. In small bowl, with mixed at high speed, beat egg yolks, remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar and vanilla until very think and lemon-colored, 5 to 10 minutes; sift in flour. with rubber spatula, gently fold egg-yolk mixture into beaten egg whites.
4. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake 10 to 15 minuted until top of cake springs back when lightly touched with finger.
5. Meanwhile, sift confectioners' sugar onto clean kitchen towel. With small knife, loosed edges of cake from sides of pan; invert onto towel. Carefully peel off waxed paper. Trim 1/4 inch from edges of cake. Starting from one sort side, roll cake, jelly-roll fashion,in towel. Cool completely on wire rack.
6. Unrolled cooled cake. Spread with ice cream. Starting from same short side, roll cake without towel and transfer seam side down to cake platter. Stick it in the freezer until ready to serve.

If you have any questions as to how to roll the cake, call me.

Mexican Fairy Tales

We had dinner with friends tonight and I told a story I hadn't told in a long time. It goes something like this:

Once upon a time the Trejo's joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They were happy, it was a good change for them. Bright-eyed and bushy tailed, and in spite of their breeding the Trejo's decided to become a functional family. They went to church, made friends and in general were happy. Then one day a different couple moved in, fairly new members from a far away ward. This couple was in a tight spot financially. This couple knew they needed to swallow their pride and just ask their friends for help so they came to the Trejo's. The Trejos weren't exactly best friends with this couple but they considered themselves generous people, so when asked, they gladly gave. Next thing we know this new couple had left the ward and skipped town with the Trejo's money. This couple was going to die.

Pissed doesn't even begin to describe the rants that went on in our living room. It looked more like rabid. My parents found out that these people were con-artists and had done this before to other people and all hell broke loose. My mom found out where they lived, found out their kid's names and the fact they had a dog. She wasn't sure what she was going to do with the information but she was toying with the idea of kidnapping and killing the dog. Thankfully, my dad and I talked her out of it (I'm not sure she would have gone through with it, but I didn't want a dog on my conscience) and after a while the storm calmed and we moved on with our lives. Then one day my mom and I were grocery shopping when we spotted the con-lady in the check-out line. I knew what was coming so I ran to hide behind the salad dressing aisle. My mom took one look at her and asked, "Where's my money!? WHERE IS MY MONEY!? IF YOU DON'T ANSWER ME I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!!" May I add my mother is freakishly strong and knows tae-kwon-do. These were not empty promises. It would not be the first ass she kicked.

The lady answered, "I don't even know you..." Which of course was a lie and a weak desperate attempt to flee with her life. My mom kept screaming making a huge scene asking this lady how she could sleep at night, how she could walk out in society and not shrivel with shame. Just when things looked like my mom was going to draw from her tae-kwon-do knowledge a couple of clerks and I stepped in. I told my mom that it wasn't worth it, this con-lady was going to go straight to hell anyway, that my mom should salvage what little dignity she could for being the bigger person. Well, we paid for our groceries with my mom telling anyone that would listen what the big deal was about and we got into the car and drove off with my mom cussing. I think she's forgiven them and we laugh about it now, but it still makes a good dinner party story.

Joie de Vivre

Michael: "...ok but in turn I get to ask you for a favor some time."
Gob: "My gut is telling me no, but my gut is also very hungry..."

Further evidence that one must always be full to fully function and rejoice.

Which reminds me of Europe. When asked what we wanted to do while there, Brandon and I consistently answered, "Eat."
"We know that," my in-laws replied, "but any day-trips or special tours?"
"Hmm... you mean like to Belgium for the street fries?"


Nothing else interested us. Sure the Musee D'Orsay has become one of my favorite museums ever, the Eiffel Tower is a structural miracle, the bones at the catacombs are old. Yet nothing compared to a fresh crepe with nothing but whipped cream in Paris after a ride up the Tour Eiffel. Or to the third gelato of the day in Belagio. My only regret from Europe is not buying a whole rotisserie chicken off the street and eating it with my hands. Why, oh why had I not stopped in the marche to purchase the mini, tiny tomato/cherry looking things and had a bite!? Why did I not order pig's trotters!? What was I thinking when I refused the millefeuille!? Brandon is still sad about the lack of Belg frites and kabobs even though, let me tell you, the French love their fries. You can't escape them. Fine by me.


You know that feeling of hunger? It goes like this: You eat breakfast, then you go on about your day and then your stomach reminds you that nourishment is lacking. A gurgling in your tummy typically guides your eating patterns. In Europe this was not so. We let our taste buds and lusts do the guiding. We heeded our desires and did not hold back. This meant that for 10 straight days we had liberated ourselves from the feeling of hunger and just ate, whatever, whenever. When a fresh pain au chocolat (croissant w/chocolate) called, I answered. In fact, I started anticipating the pastry's call and took to keeping a few in my purse for metro rides or long lines. And it wasn't just pastry that called, it was caprese salad, baguettes with goat cheese and ham, and fresh pasta-oh, the pasta.

Europe did not inspire talk of butt sizes or scales; there was no need for it. We just talked about painters and the beauty of the architecture. In Europe we were happy. Just happy.

What in the...

This is what we get for bragging to everyone that we live in San Diego and the weather is perfect and why would anyone live anywhere else. San Diego is burning to the ground as I'm writing this. I'm not going to lie, it's a little unnerving. More than half a million people have been evacuated from their homes. Hundreds and hundreds of homes have burned to ashes. No one can breathe the air without coughing or getting a headache. Thankfully Brandon and I have been safe and the only thing we're dealing with is the awful air quality. If one of the fires keeps going the way it's going we may have to evacuate. We're blessed that we're in a position to see the fire coming and get to safety in plenty of time. Also, luckily only one person has been lost, so that's good news (well, not for that person).

The mayor is asking people to stay home, not to be on the road unless necessary and not be on the phone unless necessary. Brandon even came home early from work and we don't know if he'll be ok to go tomorrow. We're grateful for our safety and hope that we can remain in our apartment the whole time.



Please pray for those in the stadiums and other shelters, even though they are safe from fires, they'll still have to sleep outside and breathe the awful air, and for the firefighters that have been working something like 30 hours by now.

Dinner Party

I find myself pictureless after our first dinner gathering. I'm sad.

We had our neighbors over and a couple that moved in the same time we did. It was fun. Mostly we talked about various things such as dogs, mountain goats, Ph.D's. Brandon grilled up (he's become a prodigy with the grill, he really has) great teriyaki pork with grilled pineapple and I made roasted garlic mashed potatoes (my best batch yet!) and green beans with a vinaigrette. For dessert we had berry tartlets with ice cream. Oh, I made bread which almost burned, but it didn't. Phew!

Then we all moved to the living room to chat and Mattie (our neighbors' Boston Terrier) puked on the carpet. So we called it a night.

Libros

I took a day off from movies to read a book.


Ladies Auxiliary I really liked this book. It made me think about what I believe and why I believe in it. It reads like a juicy piece of gossip - a fun short read. If you have time during a rainy day I would totally recommend it. The story is about Batsheva, a convert to Orthodox Judaism, who with a murky past moves into a community of Orthodox Jews in Memphis with a lot of ideas of how life should be led.

Ye Olde Van-e

When my family and I first moved to the States I was about 7. It was by far the hardest thing we ever had to do, but at least we had each other, even if we weren't crazy about each other, we were going to have to make do. There was no room for tears or anxiety, what was done was done and we were going to have to live with our decision, whether it turned to be a good one or not. My mom and I came first, then about a year later my dad followed. While my dad was taking his sweet time my uncle's family was nice enough to put us up for the year. Hardest year of a lot of people's life. My mom and I slept in the living room while my uncle housed my wayward cousin in the garage (son of my uncle and my dad's sister). There were disputes, pneumonias and a myriad of assorted problems.

Much to everyone's relief my mom and I had found an apartment (for $400- in LA!)and my dad was going to join us soon. As an act of good faith my uncle let us borrow a van, a 1960's Chevy looking thing (much like the picture). Actually it was a 1961, the same year my mom was born. It was an awful, flat tan - the color of dead grass - with the motor in between the two front seats so that if you weren't careful you might burn yourself. The front seats were black pleather and behind that there was not much else, just an empty cavity of ugly tan metal. The back of the van had no windows, no carpeting, no flat floor and most importantly no seats. At least the seat-belt law hadn't been put into place yet.

I remember many a road trip riding in the back of the van. The back was my dominion - I laid blankets all around the floor and made a bed for myself, did cartwheels at stop lights, and bounced around when we hit a bump. Stopping suddenly was the best because whatever activity I was doing in the back of the van was stopped abruptly and I was thrown towards the engine. I had good times in that van. If we ever lost our apartment we could have all slept there comfortably. In fact, now that I think about it I don't know why we didn't take it on camping trips. I suppose because we are city people. Besides I doubt that van would have made it up any sort of anthill.

The best part about the van was when it would decide to take a break in the middle of an intersection. Once we were turning left, on our way to an adventure (you see, my parents' philosophy was that weekends were NEVER EVER for working, ever, at all)when the van decided to stop in the middle of the intersection. The nice thing about living where we lived was that this was not an uncommon sight. Quickly, a few other cars stopped and men got out to help us push. "A empujar! A empujar!" (to push, to push) My mom, dad and a few other dudes were pushing the van out of the intersection as I took the wheel and steered us to safety. My mom and dad squeezed between the seats and took a look at the engine, argued for a little bit and it was decided that the problem was fixed. My dad started the van and we rode into the sunset looking for tamales.

My soul delighted

Few temporal joys in life lift the soul like a good portion of whipped cream.

(note: Craig was nice enough to not post the picture where I'm literally shoving my face in the crepe. :) )

At the Movies: Part Deux

Ok, so I went out and got some more movies. Movies are my favorite way to spend my time cleaning, they just make the burden lighter. Also, like reading or TV (thanks Comms 100), movies help us come together as a society. If I like Ocean's 13 then I already have something in common with the person on the East Coast that also liked Ocean's 13. Ta-dah! Thus making connections with the people who read my blog and like movies I like. Again, Ta-dah!


Love Finds Andy Hardy: Super cute. This is a good-time, family-fun, parents-with-integrity movie. Andy Hardy is in a series of movies, so there are a lot of Andy Hardy movies out there. They're about Andy Hardy and his family and his escapades. This one is about how Andy got mixed up with two different girls on accident and now he's in a jam. It's fun and goofy, nothing controversial or deep about it; good for a rainy day.


His Girl Friday: Fast, fast, fast!!! How the actors ever memorized their dialogs is a mystery to me. It's about Hildy, a fantastic reporter, who throws in the typewriter for a wife's role. She wants to settle down and have a family but her ex-editor/husband won't let her and he's determined to win her back. It's supposed to be a comedy but we stopped laughing half-way. It's a great movie, it just loses it's humor. The ending is happy depending on whose side you're on. (Note: Rosalind Russel plays Hildy, she also plays Auntie Mame!)

At the Movies

Annie, sister-in-law extraordinaire, gave me a good idea. But instead of books I'll do movies. I like books, but currently my reading list isn't going to be interesting to anyone that doesn't feel like baking. So here we go:


The Philadelphia Story - always a good classic. It's about this bratty socialite that realizes that the world can't always go her way. It's a comedy. My favorite thing about old movies is that you have to pay attention to little nuances throughout the whole movie, otherwise you won't know what's going on.


Aunti Mame: Love it!!! Current old-movie favorite. I think it's hilarious, but it's fast paced, don't go to the bathroom. Rosalind Russel is perfect for this role. Secretly I wish I could be like Auntie Mame. It's about her orphan nephew (Patrick) who comes to live with her, but he doesn't know what he's in for. Patrick's fiance, towards the end is Brandon's favorite.


Lust for Life: This is about the troubled life of Vincent Van Gogh. The thing I like about most old movies is that even though a subject has the potential to be crude, it's handled very carefully. Such was the life of Vincent Van Gogh. Kirk Douglas is amazing as Van Gogh, he's so intense and yet so tender. Must watch.


Gosford Park: So good. New, though done in the style of old, you have to pay attention to know what's going. It's a who dunnit murder mystery, with a great list of characters all trying to not look guilty. Must warn, it's an R.

If Sin I Must

One of my favorite things about our relationship is that Brandon and I can always be honest with each other.

One day we were walking down the hall of our college library when I spotted 7 small, framed posters detailing the 7 deadly sins (leave it to BYU). After taking a good look at them I noticed that one of the deadly sins was gluttony.

Aghast I replied, "Gluttony was a sin?!"
"It still is," Brandon said.
"Oh yeah... well then I'm going straight to hell."
"Yup."

Tuna, how I love thee

I hate strictly following recipes. I really do. Recipes are more like guidelines than strict rules anyway. I refuse to believe that I have to follow a recipe for something to be edible. This is not new, resourceful moms have been changing recipes for ages. Don't get me wrong, I can recognize the merit in recipes, they're useful and helpful. Hence my recipe postings. It's just the measurements that make me nervous and suspicious. How do I know a little more of this or that won't make it better?

I don't know, maybe one day I'll learn to follow a recipe and I'll never make cooking mistakes again. Until that day, Viva la Resistance!

Here's a recipe for tuna cakes I "created". It was a crab cake recipe but I didn't have all the ingredients (including crab) so I moved some things around and made it my own. And it was really good if I do say so myself. Tuna is so versatile and so good for you. If you're scared of the taste, it's very subtle, not fishy at all in these cakes.

Tuna-Cakes
(remember, experiment!)
Makes 6 small cakes (good for two people)

2 cans drained tuna (in water)
1 egg
1 grated carrot
about 1/3 cup of red onion
a small squeeze of dijon mustard (or spicy brown)
two medium spoonfuls of mayo
a few shakes of garlic powder
a dash of salt
a dash of cayenne pepper
juice of half a lime
about 1/2 cup of crushed saltines
flour
canola oil (or any other light colored oil)

Place all ingredients, except for flour and oil, in a bowl and mix together. Then make little cakes, dredge in flour and place in pan with hot canola oil.

Cook on each side about 5 min, or until golden on each side. Serve with garlic aioli, hmm...

Cara de Perro Muerto...

Good news, we have a dog!!! Well, almost, we don't have her yet but we will within the month-ish. She needs to be spayed, cleaned, and generally beautified. But she'll be here soon, and we couldn't be more excited. Her name is Ch. Andover Magic Maid (so you know she's cool and official) but her regular person name is Maggie. Yay, Maggie!! She's a soft-coated wheaten terrier (refer to a pic of her ex-boyfriend of the same breed to the right). I know that breed wasn't originally in the running, but oh, well.

Brandon and I are SOOOOO excited! It feels like we're going to be parents but without the swollen feet and sympathy pains. Soon we'll post pictures.

El Perro, La Casa

So Brandon and I want a dog, really, really badly. And don't worry, we're getting one. However, we're conflicted as to which one. The thing is we have a weight restraint of 35 lbs. or less. We'd like a wheaten, but we feel it's a little too big for an apartment, at least until someone stays home with it to walk it often or whatnot. Our next-door neighbors have a cute Boston Terrier named Maddie that does really well in their apartment. So we've got it worked out that when we get a dog Maddie and our dog ( I want to name it Pancho) can hang out and be buddies. Another thing to consider is how it will get along with Sydney, Connor, Mia, and Blackie. Mostly, we want a a dog that fits the weight restraints but won't die when playing with its dog cousins.

Anyway here are the contenders, I included pictures for your viewing pleasure and so you can vote.

Italian Greyhound: attractive for it's speed, couch potato-ness, easy-to-train disposition, and the fact it looks like us. We'll call it sleekness.
Downside: Mia will kill it.


Sealyham Terrier (looks like mini wheaten): attractive for its sturdiness, couch potato of terriers, cuteness, terrier personality.
Downside: They're stubborn and hard to find.


Westie: Attractive for its cuteness, sturdiness, easy to train.
Downside: It's almost too cute and prone to skin irritations.


Cocker Spaniel: Attractive because their tried and true. Brandon and I both have had cockers. Friendly and eager to please, big enough to hold their own with their dog cousins.
Downside: Maybe a tad too energetic.

So far those the contenders, Boston Terriers might be another one, or French Bulldogs...I think right now the Sealyham is winning.
If you have any other suggestions let us know.

I had a dream with this man. I'm not kidding. It was odd to say the least. His name is Floyd, he's the lead singer with the Muppet Band. He also shows unsuspected depth when singing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Check it out on youtube.

Pan!

Ok, so I'm a freakin' genius. Here is a crouton recipe I made up. I've been on a baking spiritual journey to find myself and suddenly I find our kitchen with a surplus of bread. I had to find some use for all the bread, so here is one idea for croutons I had. Don't throw away old bread! (unless it's moldy) There are so many good uses for it. Put the croutons in salads or soups or just eat by themselves with a yummy cheese like Havarti. The recipe is pretty common sense, but I really liked it so I thought I'd share it.

Homemade Croutons
(Please experiment with any ingredients you want or have handy, this just happened to be the first thing that came to mind. If you find you've improved on it, let me know!)
Makes for about 4-5 salads

1 old baguette (not ancient)
about 1/2 cup of olive oil (extra virgin is best)
about 4-5 garlic cloves, minced
about 1 tsp of dried rosemary
about 1/2 tsp of salt, or to taste
about 1/2 tsp of pepper, or to taste

1.Put oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper in a little pan and put over medium low heat. Let it get really warm, but monitor it so the garlic doesn't burn, otherwise it tastes bitter (if it gets away from me, I just put a little more oil to bring the temp down).
2. While that's on the heat, cut your baguette into little squares or whatever size you want (I did medium squares). Put bread in an oven pan (not cookie sheet), pick your size. Just make sure the bread is close together but not too tight.
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Once the oil is fragrant and warm pour the oil (including garlic and herbs) over the bread and then toss the bread for a bit to make sure all the little squares are covered in oil. Stick in the oven (middle rack) for 6 min. Take out of oven, swish the croutons around so the they turn over and put back in oven for another 6 min. Let them cool a bit so they harden. Voila! They're done, if they're still too soft for you just put them the oven longer.

Hope this helps someone who was about to throw away a piece of perfectly useful bread.

Eek!

Conference update: Brandon did not win the nano, but he did win a gift card for a restaurant, so we went tonight and it was ok. I certainly wouldn't spend my own money there, and I would back off the cocktail sauce on the oyster shooters. But all in all it was fun to be the only people at the bar with cokes.

Spider story: I usually stay up really late, really late. Mostly cuz I don't sleep well, hence my blog entries and weird times in the night. One night I was reading while laying on my stomach when out of the corner of my eye I noticed small movement. Much to my horror a large-ish (by my standards) spider was making its way from behind the mattress. Like a horror movie. It noticed me and I noticed it and we had a brief but tense moment as we stared at each other. Then eye contact was broken and the fiend tried to escape by scurrying past my book, which was met by a shriek by me. If you remotely know me you will agree that I'm not a shrieker. Sure, I may yell at Brandon from time to time or scream at a fellow driver, but I do not shriek. Sadly, Brandon was asleep for my shrieking debut, that is until the shriek, when he woke with a start. What happens next took place in about 10 seconds.

"Brandon! Kill it!" But before I knew it Brandon had instinctively run to the bedroom door thinking someone had broken into our place. Then he turned, bewildered and drowsy, and saw me staring down at the mattress and realized it must be a spider that spooked me. Meanwhile, back on the mattress, I felt Brandon get up and run away and thought, "Great, no help." All the commotion had caused the spider to stop and reconsider its route to safety, which led to another tense moment between us. Quickly I decided action must be taken, I grabbed my book, announced my battle cry and started hacking at the spider with my book.

"Die!Die!Die! You damn fiend! Die!!" I hacked with vigor. The poor thing didn't know what hit it. It was dismembered after about the third "Die!" but adrenaline kept me going through a few more hacks. When the 10 second scene was over Brandon had gone to the bathroom for toilet paper for clean-up of the carcass and I was left with a dirty book, the hair of a maniac and a crazed look in my eye. We must have looked like a murdering duo out of a horror movie for spiders.

"Geez Nat, I thought someone had broken into the house. You scared the crap out of me."
"Sorry..."

Slapwater Jack

Family news: We're doing fine. I think a lot of that has to do with the weather. It's never been above or below 70 degrees since we've been here.

Brandon is thinking about law school and I try to dissuade him from it constantly. If he decides it's something he wants to do I'll support him without complaint, but I was just so excited to get our life started, more school would just delay that. Which I guess is fine if it's something he really wants to do, but it just kind of came out of nowhere. We'll see. We might be embarking on another adventure pretty soon. Keep you posted. As of yet, Brandon really likes his job. The people he works with are really cool and he's actually doing things, not just counting cars. He's at a conference today, where they are raffling off a new iPod nano. He is instructed by me to win it at all costs.

I sadly haven't found a job yet. I've sent out resumes and such but no one's biting. I found a paid internship I would love to do but that doesn't start until early Feb. so I might wait around for that. It's the kind of job you would wait around for. For now, I'm trying not to spend money because I feel that Brandon works hard (he gets to go golfing for work Friday) and I don't. Although at least the house is clean and I get to cook a lot. And blog.

When Brandon comes home we usually hang out, eat, go to the beach. Brandon is trying to surf a few times a week so if we're not home, call the beach. It turns out that our neighbors next door are members so we hang out with them and their dog too. We're actually going over there to watch the Office. We don't have cable, just an antennae so on good days we get about 4 channels.

Funny story: Last night, after eating, surfing, cleaning, laundry and a small fight it was 9pm and we had run out of things to do. The natural progression would have been to go to bed, but it was 9pm and we weren't sleepy. So we went to bed and played cards while sitting on our mattress. We were happily playing cards when I developed a bad case of the hiccups which was annoying Brandon because I couldn't get through a story without pausing to hiccup. In order to cure me he decided to give me a scare. A potentially dangerous thing to do because my first instinct when I'm scared is to throw slaps around. So I'm shuffling the cards, talking about something when out of nowhere Brandon goes "BLAH!!!" I jumped then slapped him on the neck. It all happened so fast. Let me break it down. When Brandon said "BLAH!!!" he accompanied it with what he thought was a scary Just-Jack-adorn-my-face-with-jazz-hands gesture that looked more like Broadway than Elm Street. It wasn't scary at all only I didn't notice that until after I had slapped him on the neck, which by way was an accident. I meant to slap his shoulder and I did, but with the momentum my hand slipped off, kept going, and eventually landed on his neck. Then we looked at each other and burst out laughing. I guess you had to be there.

It burns us!!!

A few days a go I discovered a great recipe for brown rice and was understandably excited. Brown rice is one of those foods that mock us by saying, "I'm super good for you, and yet taste like soft cardboard. I resist even salt." In the right mixture brown rice can be a great stabilizing agent-- a logical voice amidst rebellious and expressive flavors. Yet, that mix is hard to come by since like I mentioned, brown rice resists most companion ingredients. To make matters worse I had added cooked lentils to the mix and only had brown mush to work with. At least I had cooked them properly so both rice and lentils were tender and firm all the same time. I don't know why I had mixed those two together. I blame it on a moment of health-conscious-weakness. I had been persuaded by the school of thought that says taste can be sacrificed as long it's good for you. And look where it got me. Mush.

I couldn't serve this to Brandon when he got home, he'd throw it in my face. Brandon is a prince amongst husbands in that he'll eat anything I cook, even when I don't want to eat it myself. But I was sure even he had limits. So I frantically looked to the Food Network web page for help.

Enter Bobby Flay. I'm a fan of Bobby Flay, especially in his show Throw-Down, he loses graciously and understands the merit of good regional food. Food not carefully crafted by chefs in France, but cooked by moms the same way generations of women have cooked it before them. From Bobby Flay came the salvation of my brown mush. It's a really easy brown rice salad (recipe follows) that in the end kind of reminded me of the ceviche my dad makes. It was really refreshing. Note: I didn't have fresh Thai basil or mint so I skipped it entirely and it was fine.

Ok, I told you all that to tell you this: I was chopping the red onion the recipe called for and all of a sudden all hell broke lose. That tiny little red onion (powerful things come in small packages, consider garlic) made me cry more than I remember crying in a really, really long time. In fact, aside from the onion incident I can't remember the last time I cried (which makes me feel like an empowered emotionally balanced woman). Uncontrollable tears poured down my face and I tried to fight them. I grasped for a paper towel and tried wiping them away to no avail. I even tried walking away, taking deep breaths then wiping with the paper towels, again to no avail. Eventually, I decided that it was something I was going to have to ride out. I stumbled back to the kitchen -eyes entirely shut and swollen from the tears- felt around for cutting board, onion, knife and started blindly chopping my onion. I prayed to retain all ten of my digits and hand for that matter. My knives are incredibly sharp and pretty heavy, I don't chop with steak knives, but with big proper knives. My favorite, and the one I was using that day, is a 7 inch santoku I treat like my baby. I had never suffered an injury at the blade of my santoku (unlike those pesky little steak knives) and I trusted it to protect me as I had protected it while I chopped, eyes completely shut from tears. And it did.

When I told Brandon my story of the most dangerous thing I had done all week, he laughed mercilessly.

Brown Rice Salad with Citrus Thai Vinaigrette by Bobby Flay
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 carrots, grated
1 cup pea pods, thinly sliced on an angle
1 small red onion, halved and minced
6 green onions, thinly sliced on an angle
Citrus-Thai Basil Vinaigrette, recipe follows

Chopped fresh cilantro, Thai basil, and/or mint leaves, for garnish Combine rice and vegetables in a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and stir to combine. Let the salad sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with desired herbs.

Citrus-Thai Basil Vinaigrette:
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup fresh Thai basil leaves, chopped (substitute regular basil or mint leaves if needed)
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 heaping tablespoon honey
1/2 cup canola oil

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend for 1 minute

Hola

So I don't know if anyone will actually read this but I need an outlet before I explode. Plus, I figure at the very least our family will care a little bit about what we post.

We're going to make this family news/musings/cooking blog.

My husband and I are doing fine in case anyone asks, we like it here and the weather is nice. I'm at the cusp of writing a book and Brandon is faithfully going to work trying to save us from poverty. I'm suddenly struck with the horrifying thought that our life isn't that interesting, how can we sustain a blog? I'm embarassed for starting one in the first place.