Thursday, October 30, 2008

you can vote however you like

This week has been a weird one. It started off with an outreach gone wrong. I had submitted a request to pass out halloween candy to students in EAJ dorm, which I did in plenty of time! Then I called them last Wednesday to find out what the status was, and they said they were still working on it. Then I called again Monday morning (the morning of the outreach) to find out what the deal was. They said the couldn't get the last signature they needed and so they weren't going to let us do it. I was obviously frustrated since I had done everything in my power to make this work - and bought $60 of candy and bagged it, etc. But, I thought maybe they would get their act together by Tuesday, but of course they didn't. I am still hoping that it will work out for next Monday, but that means I'm passing out halloween candy after halloween. OH WELL. I guess this is life sometimes. :)

Jordan has been sick this week, too. :( I wanted to make soup for him last night for dinner, but I am just too tired of chicken noodle soup to make that. So I tried a new recipe! Wednesdays are usually our date night, but since he was feeling real bad, we decided to just stay in and watch a little deal or no deal - but I still wanted to cook something good! Here is a picture of the soup, and the recipe of course :) We really liked it, but then again Jordan is a fanatic for anything with coconut milk - and we both love shrimp.

Coconut Shrimp Soup
Serves 4

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 grated fresh ginger (I used the spice)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red-pepper flakes
1 lb. (6 to 8) medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
1 tbsp. cornstarch
4 oz. angel-hair pasta
1 1/2 lb. large shrimp
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Coarse salt
4 scallions, thinly sliced

1. 
Heat oil in a large (3 qt) saucepan over medium-low heat. Add ginger, garlic, and pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add carrots, coconut milk, and 3 cups water. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water until smooth; add to pot. Bring to a boil.

2.
Break pasta in half; add to pot. Return to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until pasta is al dente and carrots and just tender, 3 to 4 minutes.

3.
Add shrimp; stir until opaque, about 1 minute. Remove pot from heat, and stir in lime juice; season with salt. Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with scallions.


Anyway, it was yummy and I love cooking so it was fun to try something new! So, if anyone is reading this - you need to start your own blog! I am having lots of fun with it but it's not going to be fun for very many days if no one else makes one, so...I have talked to a few of you who are going to - you better! :)

Yesterday, Leah sent me the greatest youtube video ever!!! Jordan and I - and now I think the whole staff team - have all been singing it the past 2 days. I thought I should pass it along! Enjoy.


 

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The First Post!!

Since we've gotten married and started life on staff, I've really wanted to start a blog so that we could keep in touch with our friends and families lives better. Unfortunately, not too many of our friends have them! So, I'm hoping that the more of you all that start reading this, the more that will begin their own! Maybe I'll be a trendsetter in this....I hope so!! I saw a friend from high school's blog the other day and it was so cute that I was inspired. Since I'm totally new to this whole blogging thing I'll probably be bad at it at first, so give me grace please! And I'm hoping that I can figure out a new template or design my own, so that will be an experiment as well.

This past weekend my parents were up, so we had a great time with them. I felt bad because they stayed in a hotel - it is a lot with just 2 bedrooms and one bath trying to have 2 or 3 extra people stay here. I'm hoping that eventually we'll have a REAL guest room for people when they come to stay, since we've already had a lot of them! On Saturday we went to the 1964 concert in Burruss (Beatles Tribute Band) and it was so much fun! Sarah, Leah and I went and saw my parents and brother there which was great. We had so much fun dancing in the aisles - I love my friends and that we do things like this still. Here are a couple pictures we took afterwards...

Sarah, Leah, and I
Sarah, Katherine, Leah, me, and Jen

 After the concert we all went back to our house and played Phase 1o with Scootie, Peter, and Jordan. I won!!! I never win at games like this so I was quite excited! :) It was a great night. I love my friends - which makes me sooo excited for this weekend since Sarah, Leah and I are going to go visit Anne Parker and her new house (and JM of course!). As JM says, all the hens will be cluckin around his place.