Lunch With An Old Friend

I am sentimental and love to keep in touch with people, so today I was really excited to meet up with my cute friend Mary Ellen. We were in a singing group together at BYU-Idaho several years ago, and really haven't seen each other since. We had a fun little lunch date at Mimi's and got all caught up.

Apparently, I am unable to smile like a normal person....


Good thing seriousness is lost on her, too!


I'm not hurling, just really enjoying my orange...


Ahh, how I've missed Mary Ellen -- she is such a crack-up! I am really excited to have her nearby so we can play more often!

Tidbits

It seems as though I'm always thinking of things to blog about, but I can never find the time to just sit down and write. Then, of course, I miss the opportunity....who wants to read about something I cooked three weeks ago or sewed for my sister last March? I'm going to be better -- if only to document my life for posterity, and at the risk of upsetting those already acquainted with my long-windedness -- starting with some random thoughts from this week:

First, one of my biggest fears about becoming a dental hygienist is that I won't be able to talk to my patients. Sure, I can scrape stuff off your teeth -- I'm getting pretty fast, too! But I get so awkward when it comes to talking to people about important things (smoking cessation, nutrition counseling, even brushing and flossing technique have me tongue-tied on occasion). I had a good experience with a patient this week: a single mom of a low-income family, whose entire life revolves around her three small children. She works so hard to give them what they need, but neglects herself in the process. Though she has a seemingly decent attitude about her situation, I just wanted to hug her and cry. I even thought about copying her address from her patient chart so I could leave money on her doorstep, but figured that the HIPAA people would frown upon that. Maybe it was because of my feelings of personal empathy towards her, but with this patient (unlike any other patients) I was able to address my concerns about her health, explain what is happening to her, and teach her how to take better care of herself. I think she got it....I even think she'll do it. Suddenly, I became a hygienist.

Secondly, today was awesome. For the first time in what seems like months, Colby came to church with me! I sometimes worry that our neighbors think he's gone inactive, when really he's just sick in bed most of the time. Sundays always seem to be the worst. Needless to say, I was thrilled that he made it through 3/4 of sacrament meeting before he was too sick to sit any longer. I came home after the block to find him snuggled up in bed with his oxygen on; he must have been really ill this morning. I'm letting him sleep for a few more minutes, then we're going up to Kaysville for the holiday. Colby's little brother gets home from his mission tomorrow!

And finally, I got my taxes done -- woo-hoo! Happily, we are getting about twice the refund we got last year, though my income was roughly the same. Sadly, most of our refund will probably be applied directly to our credit card.

A Welcome Distraction

I think Colby likes it when I'm bored, and today I was. I seriously sat around all day, studying tobacco cessation and watching WAYYY too much TV. Finally, around 5 o'clock, I decided I couldn't just sit any longer. Inspired by the culinary wizardry of my Food Network friends, I whipped up something tasty for my sweetie. This was a bit of a challenge for me, as I'm on the tail-end of the low-carb torture stint from Hades and have been battling the flu, but I've really missed cooking and desperately needed to do something productive. Plus, I've felt this crazy need to "make up" for last week's tasty-but-ugly homemade lasagne....I made up my own recipe, and Colby really loved it; however, its glaring unattractiveness necessitated its omission from my blog.

For dinner, I made an Italian chicken pot pie, a slight adaptation on the Barefoot Contessa's recipe. I didn't have all the same vegetables, so I used potatoes, corn, and asparagus. I added about 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and a packet of dry Italian dressing mix to the sauce, then sprinkled a shredded Parmesan/Asiago mixture on the crust before baking it. I think it looked pretty; Colby said the cheese made the crust a little crunchy. He really liked it, so I guess I will add that to my list of regulars. I may have to invest in some smaller oven-safe dishes, though; I really like Ina's suggestion of making individual-sized pies rather than one large one. I actually ended up with a lot of extra crust and am not sure what I'll do with it.



Dessert was a batch of Tyler Florence's Amaretto Chocolate Brownies. I substituted slivered almonds for the walnuts, and used 1 teaspoon of almond extract in place of the amaretto. I wish my picture looked prettier. When I watched Tyler make these on his show today, his were all huge and chunky....mine looked perfect when I pulled them out of the oven, but as they cooled, the middle caved in. Does anyone know how to prevent that? Either way, they smelled good and were ultra-tempting to me. Colby said they were delish, so I will have to attempt these again as soon as sugar and flour are legal again.



So, it was a fun diversion and only made a little bit of a mess. Hopefully it'll keep Colby from complaining that "we don't have any food" for at least a few more days. Unfortunately, I still feel like dirt. My throat is killing me and I sound like I swallowed a bag of nails. I have to go to classes in the morning, but I think I will skip out on my early-morning weight training class so I can get a little extra sleep before my DH4 test...

Sick Days

Right now I am curled up on the couch in a blanket, watching Nick Arrojo work his magic on a school teacher's froufy fro. I feel like poo. My head hurts, my body aches, my back is killing me. My throat hasn't been this sore since I had mono in the eighth grade. And, seeing as this is the position I've assumed since Friday morning, I am excruciatingly bored. I wish that I felt well enough to do something productive, but as it is, all I want to do is sleep. I keep forgetting that with my DV-R, I can fast-forward through commercials now. I think I've seen the Kaboom! commercial 3 times in the past 40 minutes...man, that guy bugs me!

I think it's gonna be a long day.

Entertain me?

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Rachel

Okay, first of all, you guys are awesome....I've never had so many comments in one day on my blog! Thanks for making me feel special. :)

Now, if you'll indulge me for just a moment, I'm feeling the need to brag...but just a little. I am taking a kickboxing class this semester -- both to fill my schedule so I can get more financial aid, and to aid myself in my skinny-and-sexy goal. This class is not what I thought it'd be. I was expecting a Tae Bo-imitation with a perky instructor, like the classes I'd taken at the gym with friends. I almost dropped the class when my teacher, a jiu jitsu champion, said we'd be sparring with each other. What? I have to buy shin guards, a mouth guard, and boxing gloves? This is hard-core, and I really don't want to lay the smack-down on any of the cute little girlies in my class. I'm sticking with it, though, and I think I'll be glad.

Today was something of a triumph for me. We were learning some new sparring techniques that were a little tricky. When I fight, I feel absolutely ridiculous. I giggle incessantly with a silly grin on my face, even when I'm really going at it. So, I was surprised when the girls in my class kept asking me for help...my teacher even used me as an example for the class. Woah, maybe I'm gonna be all right. Maybe Clint Eastwood will make a movie about me. I'll be doing flying-double-twist-jump-roundhouse kicks by the end of the semester.

Move over, Jackie Chan...I'm the next martial arts master.

A Quick Update

School is once again off to a running start. I think if it wasn't my last semester, I might be losing it already, but somehow I am managing the insanity with a fairly cool head. At this moment, I am bundled up in bed with my lappy (affectionately known as "Hugh"), enjoying a reprieve from the madness and missing my sister...

Andrea dearest came down last week in great hope of finding a job here. We've been hoping for her to move to Utah for months; a hope spurred by the apparently lousy job market in Boise and a desperate need to play Pinochle. Unfortunately, nothing has panned out thus far. She was offered a job in Boise today, which she accepted. I'm happy for her; she's been searching fruitlessly for employment since her graduation in April....still, I'm secretly wishing that some Utah company will offer her a fantastic position, and she'll dump her lousy Boise boss and come play with me. Now, I normally wouldn't condone that kind of irresponsibility, but after last week's Tai Pan trips and Sister Movie Date Nights, I've remembered what I'm missing...I am in despair.

Fortunately, I've got a lot right now to distract me from my woes. My national board exams are quickly approaching, and I am stressed out. When I haven't felt like studying (which has been most of the time), I've busied myself cleaning and reorganizing my entire apartment to make room for our new addition...yes, that's right. We bought a couch; a couch and a love seat, actually (what did you think I was going to say?). They are used and slightly worn, but they're leather and infinitely prettier than our previous scruffy-hide-a-bed-and-crumpled-slipcovers look. Yay for new-old furniture and awesome KSL bargains!

Miss Me?

Hello again, from the world's boringest blogger. I swear I've become just a blob lately as, Christmas presents aside, I've failed to exert an ounce of effort towards anything productive. It's been really nice, though. I spent the last two weeks working in Ogden, setting up hundreds and hundreds of mortgage files for the credit union. The work was a little monotonous, but I enjoyed the mindlessness of it. Plus, we got to stay with my in-laws for nearly the entire Christmas break, which made it really feel like a vacation. We played games every night and ate all kinds of rubbish. Whitney and I discovered our true calling in life: rock stars. Well, guitar heroes, actually...we really tore it up on the Wii. Pretty impressive for two girls who don't like video games. I also enjoyed whipping up some sweet Rachelpologies for Christmas, like the jacket I made for Andrea:




And now I'm back to school. Blah.