Hot Like Ebola!!!: August 2005

I heart my husband! We just drank an entire bottle of champagne, trading toasts for every single sip. It's a lot harder to type when I'm tipsy! We also went to Red Lobster last night and a coffee shop this morning. Wahoo!

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 12:53 AM | link |

28 August 2005

Takes a Lickin' but Keeps on Tickin'

2 pathogens detected

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 8:53 PM | link |

18 August 2005

Hugs?

8 pathogens detected

So, I was reading Yankee Transplant's recent post about her brother, and it made me think about my own family and the way we express afeection. Despite the many malfunctions that are obvious and embarrassing, I feel like my family is pretty good about showing love. Well, at least my immediate family: my grandfather definitely responds to "I love you!" with "Alright, byebye".

But my mom and dad and sister and brother are all great at affection. My dad has always told me how much he loves me as well as holding my hand, hugging, and kissing me often. My mom is like a teddy bear- she used to crawl in bed with us kids and hold us for awhile, which is one of my favorite memories of her. My sister is as ebullient and affectionate as a little kid. And my twin brother? Well, he has never thought it strange or uncool to walk down the street holding my hand, or to pick me up and carry me around, or to hug me in the most wonderful way a brother can. People occasionally think we are dating because we are so affectionate!

All this love has led me to be what Lacey calls a "promiscuous hugger". I give and recieve love by physical touch. I hug people, rub shoulders, hold hands, etc. Although I don't usually hug complete strangers, I have before and I will again. I love touching my husband as much as possible, which sometimes makes him slightly annoyed when we're trying to fall asleep and I keep grabbing his arm to hug it. What can I say? I love to love people! When people tell me they don't like hugging (i.e., Lacey), I respect that and find other ways of expressing affection (in Lacey's case, a liberal dose of Swedish Fish seems to help). But to me, nothing beats a good hug.

Some particularly good and frequent huggers in my life are Kayla, Miranda, Matt, my mom, and Jasmine. I receive excellent but less frequent hugs from Gravy, Becky, Ryan Pappan, and Bill Sperry. If I missed anyone, let me know and I'll revise!

Anyone want a hug?

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 9:29 PM | link |

17 August 2005

Insane

3 pathogens detected

I think I'm cracking up. No, seriously, I'm pretty sure I'm going nuts. I keep seeing and feeling things that aren't there. For instance, I was just walking to the laptop to post a blog and I literally jumped in fright because I thought that our (bright yellow) vacuum was a large black dog.

Weird, huh?

In a suprise twist, Matt and I acted both married AND productive today! We woke up early, went downtown to see if the mechanic could look at our car (he couldn't), went to breakfast at Frank's Diner, and walked around for about an hour in Riverfront Park. The new gondolas are almost up and the interactive fountain looks so cool! Anyway, we went back home and cleaned out the spare room, moved the snakes in there, organized my bookshelf and desk, and did a few loads of laundry. As of now, all my cheesy mystery novels (except the Jonathan Kellerman books holding up the amp) are on the bookshelf in the spare room, and all the classier fiction is out in the living room. That way, I can read what I want without houseguests giving me strange looks as they peruse the living room.

For dinner, we went all out. We made an artichoke gratin and grilled chicken breasts. Here's the recipe for the gratin:

Lemony Artichoke and Onion Gratin
Filling:
Butter
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Large yellow onion, sliced into 1/4 in. thick rounds
2 15 oz cans artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic, minced
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup vegetable stock or dry white wine (we used stock)
3-4 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon each of basil and oregano
salt and fresh-ground pepper
Topping:
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Generously butter a 1.5 quart gratin dish (we used a 2 quart pyrex baking dish). Preheat oven to 350 degreees.
In a large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and stir occasionally until onions are beginning to carmelize, 5-7 minutes. Add artichoked, zest, and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add stock, herbs, and parsley, bring to boil. Reduce by 1/2, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
To make the topping: combing bread crumbs and cheeses. drizzle remaining olive oil over mixture, toss until crumbs have absorbed oil. season to taste with more pepper.
Transfer artichoke mixture to dish and top with crumbs. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and top is brown. Serve warm.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 4:30 AM | link |

12 August 2005

The Kids!

6 pathogens detected

We took Chloe and the male snake to the vet yesterday. As a "GetSmart" employee, I get free vet exams from the in-store vet clinic. He said they are both ridiculously healthy. Yay!

The male is laid-back, a little slow, and very friendly. He also likes climbing. We don't really like the name the breeder gave him.I want to name the male snake either Ron or Weasley, but Matt isn't sure.

Chloe is smart, a bit more active, and has a huge feeding response. She really likes travelling through any opening she imagines she can fit through, whether or not she is correct. The breeder named her Chloe, and we can't think of a better name.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 6:06 PM | link |

09 August 2005

Pets!

10 pathogens detected

Matt and I went down to Boise on Sunday afternoon (a 7h, 45m drive) to look at the snakes that this breeder had. We stayed Sunday night at a motel, and hung out in beautiful Boise all morning before meeting him. We ate breakfat, saw the capitol, went to the Julia Davis Park, walked though the rose garden, and hung out at the zoo. Man, Boise is the coolest city! One might think, "Hmm. Idaho? Probably not that special." But Boise is one of the best planned cities I've been to, and it was really easy to get around.

Anyway, we had gone to see this breeder because I had conversed with him via email for about a month now, and had told him that we were interested in a docile and friendly adult corn. He said he had a few, so we went to see them.

You may have wondered why is says "Pets" (plural)on the title. Well, we went to get one snake, but there was this breeding pair that were SO calm and friendly, but he didn't want to sell them apart, so we bought both! A breeding pair? Yes, Matt and I may now be interested in someday breeding corn snakes.

So, I am now sitting on the couch watching our new snakes become acclimated to their enclosures. They are so big and gorgeous!!

This is the male.

This is the female.

Any suggestions on names?

The world is going crazy, but I kind of like it!

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 5:40 AM | link |

06 August 2005

Parade!

1 pathogens detected

Today Matt, Mary (Gravy) and I will be on Dr. Mike and Teri's wagon for the annual Clayton Parade! I would have a link to it, but it is a small town parade in a place where the internet does not exisit. I heart Clayton!!!!

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 3:17 PM | link |

04 August 2005

Inexplicible

9 pathogens detected

I am not from the South. I have only spent a total of about 2 weeks of my life in the South. Two good weeks, but only two.

So why do I love southern food so much?
All of it. I love fried chicken and hush puppies and greens and corn mush and biscuits. When I dream about cake, I dream about red velvet cake. I drool at the though of fried catfish or pulled pork sandwiches.

Above all, though, is one thing:

I love sweet tea. I love it.

I recently discovered I could make this delightful concoction at home, and our fridge has had a pitcher full ever since.

Mmmm... Sweet tea...

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 9:56 PM | link |

03 August 2005

Right

2 pathogens detected

Okay, so I can type in the "edit html" text box, but not the "compose" one. Any ideas, oh blogging world?

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 9:18 PM | link |

Clarification

2 pathogens detected

Let it not be thought by my KitchenAid fixation that I like cooking. I love to bake, but anything that is not a dessert seems to fail me in the most spectacular way possible. And I am not just talking about fancy things like pancakes, either. I'm talking about quesadillas, pastaroni, and rice.

Today, after receiving a wonderful jar of pesto from Italy via Kayla's luggage, I decided to experiment. Sad. I thought, "Hmm, I have a jar of amazing pesto, some tortillas, and some mozzarella. Why not make pesto quesadillas?" So I attempted to do so, but the quesadilla burnt and stuck to the pan, then stuck to the serving plate. The pan was bad enough that I couldn't even make mine without soaking and scrubbing it. Needless to say, a little while into doing those things, I no longer wanted to eat. Ever again.

Microwave dinners, how I long for thee.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 9:18 PM | link |

Apparently, I can only type in the title section right now. I will let you know if this gets resolved.

0 pathogens detected

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 9:17 PM | link |

Ahem

0 pathogens detected

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 9:15 PM | link |

AAAAAHHH!!! BLOGGER IS EATING ME!!!

0 pathogens detected

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 9:09 PM | link |

Well, fine

1 pathogens detected

Two things:

a. To whoever wrote that anonymous comment (probably my sister), sorry! If it is my sister, I don't know why neither of the thank you notes I sent to you got there. I am in the middle of a third, but I will send it out soon. If it is someone else, let me know and I will send you one!

b. My husband has now written as many songs dedicated to me as he has dedicated to this, but only one of those songs was worthy of public attention. Just kidding, love! Kinda.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 6:25 PM | link |

Mmmm.....

4 pathogens detected

Ixnay on the vegan thing, for today at least. Matt made rolled flank steaks stuffes with spinach, feta, and sauteed onions. One cannot get more carnivorous, I think. Especially when one considers the relative rareness of said food item.

Alright, here's my selfish whine for the day. When Matt and I got married, we got a fabulous assortment of wedding gifts, including a cool Rivera print, a vacuum cleaner, some plates, and several martini glasses. (We also got a decorative (not usable) coffee grinder called a kaffekvarn. Neither of us drinks or appreciates coffee. Oh, well.) We also got enough money to buy a couch, the rest of our plates, great knives, etc. All in all, a good haul. I have thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated all of these gifts.

But there was one thing we did not recieve. And that thing happened to be the one item I longed for, dreamt of, drooled over, and stood stroking in the store in the most pathetic way possible.

The KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer in Empire Red.

Ah, how many nights I spent thinking of the many masterpieces I would create with her. The moist, fluffy cakes. The perfectly smooth frostings. The chocolatey brownies and the soft, dense breads.

But alas, we did not recieve her. And she is just frivolous (and expensive) enough that it doesn't look like she'll be in my life any time soon.

Someday, my sweet. Someday.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 6:15 AM | link |

02 August 2005

Let Them Eat... Taco Bell

6 pathogens detected

So, as many of you know, Matt and my 1st anniversary is coming up (Sounds bells and trumpets). Until Sunday, the top layer of our wedding cake was sitting more or less pretty (she accidentally dropped it on our wedding day, so it's a little smushed) in a goldfish cracker box in mom's freezer down in L.A., waiting for us to eat it. Well, since I was down in L.A. last weekend, I figured I would take the cake with me back up to Spokane and we could "enjoy" it up here on the dia fantastica. So I packed the box into my carry-on with 2 ice packs, got it through security with only minor embarrasment ("Why do you have a frozen cake in your bag?") and took it home.

Here is where the problems started. When I arrived in Spokane, I forgot to put the cake in the freezer here, so it sat in my bag for about 30 hours. My eyes flew open at about 3 a.m. as I remembered about the cake, and I pulled it out of my bag. Well, it was still coldish, so I figured I'd stick it back in the freezer and we could eat it with only a small amount of e. coli ruining our fun. I crept out of our room and stuck the cake in the freezer, forgetting in the process to put the sherbet back in after it. I collapsed back into bed and slept like a dead woman.

When Matt and I woke up this morning, I told him about the cake thing as we were walking into the kitchen. He said, "What the...?" in a concerning way, so I looked around him at the kitchen. The freezer door was open and the cake was on the floor. The cake must have slid in the night and pushed the door open, causing the cake to fall out (and thaw again) and ruining all our freezer goods in the process (like 10 hamburger patties and 7 lbs of boneless skinless breasts). So, as I stood there cursing myself, Matt scooped all of the goods out of the freezer and threw them away, including our pathetic little cake. We then went on a vacation to the vista that is Costco to buy some more food.

Yay, Jeni the moron! It's not like I even really care about the cake tradition. Is a piece of year-old cake supposed to remind us of our cold, stale love for each other? But to ruin all the chicken! Man!

Maybe this is the real reason the vegan lifestyle is better. Less salmonella.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 10:41 PM | link |

Yeah, well...

3 pathogens detected

Alright, I returned from L.A. relatively unscathed, and that freaking bee that was terrorizing me on Thursday was dead on the windowsill, so that was a plus. I know I shouldn't be scared of bugs, they're harmless, etc., but I am anyway. Deal.

Anyway, I have been reading a bunch of fabulous blogs lately, and it occurs to me that many of these blogs use pseudonyms. Oh pseudonym-using bloggers, why is this the case? Is it just to retain a bit of privacy? Or is it for fun? Both? Something else?

I think I will stick with the regular names of people for two reasons:
1. I am not creative enough to come up with pseudonyms for the people in my life. Well, Mary could be Gravy, but other than that...
2. I have already had like 2.5 years of calling people by their real names. It kind of defeats the purpose of using fake names for privacy when people can take a quick look through the archives and see the real names of everyone.

Ah, well. I just got off work (no poop or bites today! yes!), and I am just hanging out for a couple of minutes before I pick my love up from the airport. I am so happy that I will have somebody to share the covers with tonight! In a figurative sense, anyway. It is so hot that the covers aren't getting used all that much.

Any ideas on what you'd like to hear me talk about? I am kinda sapped creatively right now in terms of thinking of topics.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 5:49 AM | link |