Meeting The Pioneer Woman

My AMAZING husband took me to Indianapolis for a Pioneer Woman book signing. He drove me all the way there, stood with me in line, and came up and shared a star struck moment with me.

We waited in line for at least three hours, and when the big moment came, I was too busy being excited to stay in the moment. But what I do remember, is how sweet she was. She took the time to have a real conversation with every body, pose for a picture and sign their books.

I am so excited to have met her! And to see that she really is as nice and funny in person.

But mostly I am grateful for my super patient, wonderful husband who would spend nine hours with me waiting for a 60 second moment. I love you Joe!

St Patrick's Day

This is always a fun holiday for me, mostly because of the time required in the kitchen. This year, like year's past, I made corned beef and cabbage (in the crock pot!), potato leak soup, and Irish soda bread. This year I also added potato leek pizza and a friend brought a yummy casserole! It was delicious! Here's the spread:

My New Office

We have a two bedroom apartment. The extra bedroom is supposed to be an office. In reality, it is Joe's man cave and my storage (for cooking appliances and books). In order for me to get a desk in there, we would have to buy new book cases, a desk and then do a whole lot of shuffling. In other words, it isn't going to happen, at least not within the next couple months when I need a desk/office area the most (classes, the extra volunteer responsibilities I took on, my crafty needs and vacation organization). So I decided that I was going to make my dining room an office as well. I usually do my work at the table, I like having the option of spreading out to organize my brain and my work. So I pulled some shelves out of the office to make my storage and am going to continue taking over the dining room table when we don't have people over. I am happy with my temporary arrangement. I believe it will get me through my spring and summer work.

2012 Garden

The past couple of weeks my mom and I began our seeds for our summer garden. And when I say mom and I, I mean mostly her. As she says, I am the busiest unemployed person....so my schedule is tricky.
Anyways, back to the plants. Mom planted: tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles, yellow squash and zucchini. We will also be planting lettuce, spinach and carrots once we get outside.

Then I came over today with some herbs to plant and brussel sprouts, but that has to wait a few months before we plant them.

We plan on digging in the garden in May, and I look forward to a season of free veggies!

Four Things That Make Me Happy

1. I love my DVR....I get to do sinful things like record One Tree Hill on Soap Net. And I certainly never cry while watching these shows.

2. I love dropping two pant sizes, no big deal. And I seem to have done it mostly through diet...and with out having to give up the joy otherwise known as Ben and Jerry's.

3. I LOVE blogger's cookbooks. They make me happy. I read them like a novel. What makes them better then traditional cookbooks are the stories they share, the practical tips (ie how/when to freeze stuff for later) and the gorgeous pictures. I am currently going through Joy the Baker's Cookbook and prepping myself for Pioneer Woman's Food From My Frontier.

4. I love that Joe and I have solidified our travel plans to go to San Francisco in June to help crew the AFSP Overnight. It will be nice to get away, we've only done weekend trips the past two years, so a real week long vacation sounds wonderful.

Pride and Predjudice

The other day I finished my first Jane Austen book yesterday! It was Pride and Prejudice. Somehow, I got through my English degree without being required to read her! I really enjoyed it and plan on reading more of her. For my February book I am going to read James Patterson's Witch and Wizard.

Super Bowl

So once a year we a host a huge party. We host Super Bowl for our mutual friends. We have people over often, but Super Bowl is our big one. So yesterday I spent the day cooking, Joe spent the day cleaning and we spent the evening relaxing with friends.

Another perk of my cooking all day? I finished the appetizer section of PW Cookbook! Two sections down, three to go!

All in all it was a good party. Now if only I didn't have to catch up on homework today....

Notes My Husband Leaves Me

My New Love

I love my mini muffin pan. I had originally bought it right before my wedding. I wanted to make dessert for the rehearsal dinner, so I made a LOT of mini cupcakes. Since then I have used it for recipes which call for the lovely mini muffin pan. But I have also used it to make miniature versions of larger recipes: full sized muffins, zucchini bread. To be honest, I don't think I have ever used my full size muffin tin. I like having bite sized foods. Its so simple, especially for my hectic lifestyle and easily helps me stick to the ever frustrating diet. So, to my dear and wonderful mini muffin pan, I want to send my love; thank you for your versatility and dependability.

Julie and Julia vs Meg and Ree SUCCESS!

Today I have officially cooked all the recipe's in the the dessert section! 1 down, 4 to go!