What spice are you?

I took this quiz twice, from two different venues, and this is what I got.

What Spice Are You?

You are Basil! You are widely known as being dependable, cheerful and caring around others. Not much rubs you the wrong way, but you're not above defending those close to you if the situation calls for it. You can adapt to almost anything, and can find ways to be of use in nearly every situation. However, you're not the type of person to stand out in a crowd or seek the limelight. But for the most part, you're happy with your place. You are a perfectly normal and decent person.Basil, a very common spice in nearly all cooking, originated in India. It was introduced to the world at large in the 1570's. It flowers in July and August. Dried basil is used in tomato sauces, pizzas, soups and other dishes, while fresh basil is used in a myriad of summer dishes and is excellent with fresh sliced tomatos and mozerella cheese. Basil has long been a standby spice in Italian cooking.
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I'm not quite sure about this. I do love basil, but it's an herb, not a spice. And I can only relate to about half of the description. Ok, here's the next one.

You Are Cayenne Pepper

You are very over the top and a bit overwhelming. You have a fiery personality, and you can give anyone a good jolt. You can easily take things up a couple notches, no matter what crowd you're running with.

What Spice Are You?

Now this might be pushing it a little too far. I don't think I'm quite that obnoxious (I hope).

Isn't there something in between like cilantro (since they consider herbs spices) or mustard seed. They add a great flavor and pack a punch in small amounts, but too much would take away from the main ingredient. When they are over bearing, you realize you added too much and will try to hold back next time.

KC says he is Posh Spice.

Small talk

KC's boss presented him with an opportunity to go to a scholarship type gala at the Hilton. We don't often go to these types of parties, but we know just what to expect when we do. The theme was Prom Night, as you can see on the ticket. We didn't take this literally and buy corsages, boutonnieres, and rent a tux, but we did see people that did. Only a select few, but the dresses were big, and the hair was very done up. It was really fun to people watch as we browsed through the silent auction items. I guess these people really look forward to these types of events. With KC not being extremely familiar with his few co-workers that were there, we didn't have many people to chat with and when he did recognize someone we had those types of "So do you like what you do?" and "the hors douvres are really good."with awkward silences in between-conversations, which always kind of annoy me. No one likes to do it, but no one cares to say anything else for fear of saying something dumb in front of someone they don't know very well. We did have a few laughs when we ran into some more out spoken people that go right pass small talk to real conversation with no fear at all. It was very refreshing. We had a great four course meal complete with multiple cheeses, coconut shrimp, steak, crab cakes, multiple desserts and had a great time being entertained by The Capitol Steps, a political satire type of performing group. You really have to keep up on the latest politics to get a lot of their jokes, but they seemed pretty spot on.

I have to say that I was very happy to leave. It was nice to match some faces to some names I hear every now and then, but I just couldn't help feeling awkward at at event that is mostly for drinking and partying with old friends, when I didn't do any of that. It's hard for KC, or probably most LDS guys, to get to know the other guys at work, when they biggest bonding moments are during happy hour, so we're glad we have great friends from church to eat ice cream with instead. At least I got to wear this fabulous shirt that a friend loaned me. It happened to go perfectly with one of my favorite skirts (don't pay any mind to my half closed eyes in this picture). And I had to show you the new look KC is sporting. I actually think he looks pretty sharp.

Motivation

I have owned and enjoyed my elliptical for about 7 months. Only recently, I have noticed this nice motivational comment right by the button you push to unfold the machine to begin working out. Now I feel that every time I push that button, I have a sense of power and energy that really gets me moving. Don't you wish you had a motivational button?

More adventures in babysitting

Today Claire's mom was feeling a little under the weather, so I brought her to my house to have some fun. I gave KC a Play and Freeze ice cream ball for his birthday, so in light of today's fluffy snow fall, we decided to put it to use.


We filled the ball with ice...


and rock salt.

Then we filled with coconut ice cream ingredients.

We rolled it...

and sat on it.

And then Claire got bored so she took a break with the Rubiks cube...

But came right back to play some more.

Soon it was ready,

and we ate it up (but only a little bit since it was right before dinner)

And to distract the little one from wanting more we read some stories (KC was home to take pictures for us).

Another fun day in the lives of Claire and Emily.

We thoroughly enjoyed our coconut ice cream and our time together, as always.

It's a surprise

So what kind of yogurt is it?
Oh Aldi, you make me smile.

The contents of the purse

Just when I was thinking there was nothing to blog about (besides the unusually warm and inviting temperature of 70 degrees outside) Cami tagged me to do this little ditty. So here goes:

I am supposed to write about my purse and what it's contents are at the moment. Here is a list of the items. All very necessary.

• Water bottle-Of course. I don't leave home with out it.
  
• Toiletries-I guess that's what you could call them. Hand sanitizer (for any eating out type situation, or after filling the tank etc.), lotion, concealer, tissues, flossers (love those) and a couple make-up pencils for emergencies ( I don't think I've used these in a long time. They look pretty old, I just can't bring myself to take them out.)
  
• Ibuprofen-This bottle actually has a number of different pills if the need ever arises.
• Keys-I also have a valet key, not because I expect to use it for valet, but I feel it might come in handy if I lock my keys in the car. But then again, I would probably lock my purse in with them. Oh well. I keep my keys on a lanyard from a Hawaiian flea market. I really don't know what I'd do with out it. It always hangs out of my purse and helps me find my keys very quickly. I highly reccomend getting one.
  
• Lip gear-If I don't have my chap stick I am lost. I have a gloss and a lipstick hand just in case as well.
  
• A metro card with 90 cents left on it.
  
• A checkbook with my old name and addess on it-I use this once in a blue moon, but and I am sure glad to have it when I need it.
  
• Two wallets-I'm even confused about this. I wanted to try a smaller one for the cruise and it was great, but now I can't bring myself to transfer them back since I like having a smaller one better, but I still need all the stuff in the big one. I'll figure it out one of these days. The big one is the exact color of the purse even thought I ordered it online at a different time.
  
• Mittens- for the cold steering wheel.
• Orbit gum
• Jelly bellies-these have been in there since Christmas. I guess I just forget they are in there. I'm always a little afraid to eat them without a flavor guide.
• Phone and hands free device-I don't talk on the phone with out the ear piece. I have a bluetooth, but people always complained about the static. As annoying as the cord is always getting tangled, it's better than holding the phone. There was also a cover to the ear piece that I found in here. I had lost it a while ago.
  
• Trusting God-An inspirational book I'm slowly making my way through.
  
• Sunglasses-Two pair and a case for one of them. It's better than four, like I had in a previous post.
  
• A pen and a highlighter- I think the highlighter is there from when I'd keep a book of word searches with me when I got bored. And the pen is an "Office" pen. Whenever you click it open or closed, another Michael Scott quote appears on each side. Right now the quotes are: " I don't understand...you want to see other people? Oh...only other people..." and, "I want people to be afraid of how much they love me." Always good for a few laughs.

Probably a lot more than you wanted to know about my purse, but it is very important to me. I am very much a just-in-case person though these contents might not prove that. I also usually carry around my camera bag that is almost as big as the purse. I have a few bags I cycle through, bigger and smaller than this one. I seem to like the depth and size of this one so I've stuck with it for a while. But alas, it's not perfect, it's handles are wearing out, and I think most women would agree that we are always on a quest for the perfect purse. I am constantly talking myself out of buying more purses, and think I do pretty well. I would buy one every day it those wallets above were a little thicker.

Id like to know what Sarah, Marianne, and Molly have stashed away in their purses. (I'm not sure of the rules of how many people to tag, so three seemed good.)

The V-Day Overview

It was quite an eventful day yesterday so I'll present you with some pictures to commemorate the day:


It began with heart shaped hole-in-the-breads. It was a spur of the moment decision but it turned out pretty cute.
It continued when I was babysitting and we made valentines for our loved ones. The kids all have a very artistic eye.

Iris at work.

Claire being her adorable self. She is moving to Germany shortly, and I will miss her dearly.


Wades favorite part of baking. Licking the paddle.
We made chocolate cookies with butterscotch chips and toasted almonds for their mom. She was thrilled with her valentines.

Now onto Dinner:

The table was set like so for a different than normal feel.

The first course for dinner was a Pea and Mint soup and Tomato Basil Bruschetta. I will admit the bruschetta is not homemade. I just had it on hand and thought it would go well.
We moved to the second course which was bacon wrapped salmon with a maple glaze, white cheddar wild rice, and steamed green beans. We were so full we could barely eat half of the entree. We're not used to this three course business. The recipe will be on Emily's Experiments soon.

Later on, we finally had room for dessert. This is called a Concord. In school my teacher made it and I have wanted to make it ever since. It is layers of chocolate mousse and chocolate meringue disks, with chopped meringue straws on the sides, garnished with ganache dipped strawberries, and chantilly cream. So rich. The crunchy on the outside, and chewy on the inside of the meringue, mixed with the silkiness of the chocolate mousse makes it a new favorite in our family.
The valentine I gave to my special valentine.



Cheers to full hearts and full stomaches.

Free short stack

IHOP had a free pancake promotion today (of course they ask for a donation for a foundation for a local charity, which we donated to). I went with a few girlfriends and it was a usual IHOP experience complete with an incoherent waitress, a dirty plate, cold syrup, no silverware on the table, lukewarm pancakes, a misplaced check, and no requested lemon in the water. We still had a pleasant time eating our free pancakes, and talking in our corner booth for a long time while there was freezing rain outside. We all seemed to have gripes about the day so we were the right people to be with, and drown our sorrows in pancakes with lots of butter and syrup. The promotion is still going until 10 pm so check it out, especially if you have a better IHOP than we do.

Prescription: Slippers and Rice

Since Thursday night I've had sharp pains running from my abdomen to my shoulder blades 24/7. In the first hour of it I was doubled over in so much pain I was writhing, overcome with nausea, and could've open my eyes or hardly talk to tell poor KC what was hurting or how he could help. The sweet boy was bringing me anything he thought would help. I took a Lortab I happened to have on hand. Even that took an hour to take the edge off the pain and I also took an anti-nausea pill. He talked to his mom who happened to be with a doctor and he gave us a number of diagnoses. He was nice to help us out, but I was trying to believe it would just go away. I wanted some fresh air and it took everything in me to walk outside because of the pain. The cold sidewalk seemed so appealing on my stomach so I used it as an ice pack for a few minutes by laying down with my skin to the sidewalk and it actually helped. By then the two medications were kicking in with mostly the drowsiness. I got into bed with out changing to pajamas, or the other regular bedtime activities since it hurt to even move the slightest bit, with an ice pack on my stomach. I didn't even get in the covers. KC just covered me with a few blankets and I was out until 7 am. When I woke up there was still lingering sharp pains, though not nearly to the degree of the night before, that mostly flared up when I ate anything, or when I push on my stomach at all. I tried stretching the pain out with some Yoga (A group of my friends get together Sat. morning to work out at the church. We love it.) and although it didn't get worse, it didn't get better either. KC and I made our way to the urgent care to play it safe, and after a about 2 1/2 hours, I was given a prescription of Prilosec and told to go on a diet of toast, plain rice, apple juice/sauce, bananas, jello, and things like that, and to make an appointment with my regular doctor on Monday. She said that due to the varying areas of the pain she blamed it on the spicy foods we'd been eating for a few days. And I used dried black beans for the first time. Apparently my body doesn't like them very much. She wanted to know every ingredient I put in our dinner the night it started. It was like I was giving her a recipe.

I called my mom after seeing the doctor and she gave me a prescription I liked even more than the doctors. She said cancel everything for the next couple days, put on my best pajamas and slippers and just veg, forgetting about all stresses for just a little while. A lot of times this kind of pain is stress induced. And you know what? She was right. With the combination of easily digestible foods and my comfy new slippers, I was feeling much better. Today, on Monday, all that's left is a little heartburn type feeling, that Tums is really helping with. Am I glad that's over and I didn't have to see another doctor. I was getting very worried it would be something serious. I am so grateful for my health and to all those who helped solve this non-mysterious mystery. But I'm afraid to go off this diet even though I am craving flavor very much. Soon I'll be normal again and I'm going to have a nice big, and healthy, meal.

We just finished...

...this,and boy was is good. We were intrigued at the grocery store the other day when were were searching for this but couldn't find it so we were up for the adventurous little splurge. Try it out sometime. But beware as it contains 15 grams of fat in 1/2 cup. And there are 4 of those in this delicious treat. Luckily there were two of us eating it, on two different occasions, so it's justified a little. Hopefully someday we'll find the other one we want. But until then, we'll try to find other gold mines in the frozen food aisle.

Today's Aldi find

1 gallon skim milk: $.99

I was told

Last night during a little silly quarrel between KC and me, I went into my room to vent into the huge pile of clothes that had to be folded (cleaning is my best outlet, next to baking). I never turn on the radio in my room because it's one of those tuning ones that never comes to a clear station, and when it finally does, it get scratchy again the moment I move away. I needed some music so I took my chances. So the station I came to first came through loud and clear. And do you know what it was saying? It was one of those commercials on how to improve and keep harmony in your marriage, and how to talk things out yadda, yadda, yadda. I tried to stick it out and learn from this inspired coincidence, but I just promptly turn it off feeling a little betrayed by my radio for not helping me out. However, it did eventually put a little smile on my face where there wasn't one before when I considered the humor in the situation. I guess it might've helped a little after all.

My time of day

So, Cami had this quiz on her blog. Check it:



You're the time of day right around sunrise, when the sky is still a pale bluish gray. The streets are empty, and the grass and leaves are a little bit sparkly with dew. You are the sound of a few chirpy birds outside the window. You are quiet, peaceful, and contemplative. If you move slowly, it's not because you're lazy – it's because you know there's no reason to rush. You move like a relaxed cat, pausing for deep stretches that make your muscles feel alive. You are long sips of tea or coffee (out of a mug that's held with both hands) that slowly warm your insides just as the sun is brightening the sky.

I am amazed at this. I wasn't sure with the questions I was answering that it would be correct. But usually when I have a choice of when to wake up, it is exactly in the 6:40s everyday (if I go to bed before 12:30 am. Even then I have a hard time sleeping past 7:30.) There was a time that I think it was exactly 6:49 for several days in a row. Weird, huh? I do love the morning and a nice relaxing day. I love grocery shopping early when everyone is cheerful and everything is quiet. If you haven't tired it, you should. You'll be hooked.