Academic Apathy

Is it bad that I'm doing the happy dance, even after getting a C- on my VERY LAST FINAL?!?!?! Wahoo!!!

End of Semester Desperation

So yesterday I'm in the line at the grocery store, talking to my mom on the phone, purchasing my NyQuil, a magazine, and a bunch of bananas. And I can't help but noticing the guy in front of me keeps looking back at me, smiling, and pointing at my stuff. I'm thinking he must be annoyed that I haven't put down the little bar that separates his groceries from my groceries. I get nervous, hang up my phone, put the little bar down and I say, in my froggy bronchitis voice (yes, it seems to strike me at finals week every semester)"Sorry, you probably don't really want to pay for my NyQuil."

He responds, "Hey, I'd be happy to buy you some NyQuil...I was just thinking that there are a lot better ways to self-medicate."

Then I notice that he is buying nothing but beer, and, still nervous, I respond, "Yes, that's probably true..." You have to realize I have not flirted, even harmlessly, with a single guy since I started dating my husband back in 2001, so I'm seriously lacking in flirtatious skills.

At this point, you must prepare yourself for one of the worst pick-up lines I have heard in my time on the planet...

He says, "You sound beyond the possibility of being helped by NyQuil. Maybe you just need someone to come over and take care of you for a while..."

My first thought, after the initial disbelief at the lameness of what he has just said, is, "Idiot! Can't you see I'm wearing a...a...crap, I'm not wearing my wedding ring." I mean this guy was cute, but whatever happened to subtle flirting? Feeling stupid for both the guy and myself, (I mean, how could he possibly know that I'm married and buying bananas not for myself but for my toddler's breakfast) I smile and start nervously thumping my fingers on the counter in front of me, relieved that he has to turn his attention to the cashier to pay for his beer. She is apparently his friend, and they get into a conversation about how having a USU card can save you 5% at Smith's Marketplace, and whether or not he would like to come hang out at her end of semester Rocky marathon, which he declines, explaining, after glancing back to see if I'm paying attention to him, that he may have other plans for the night.....

When he starts loitering at the end of the counter while I pay for my groceries, I start to panick. Its not like I can say, "Hey, stop flirting with me, I'm married." Because what if he wasn't flirting, but just being friendly? Or worse, just talking just to be talking?

I start to leave, and he says, "Hey, you're sick, I can carry that for you if you want." What? My 2 pounds of bananas and my Nyquil? Do I look like that feeble? Am I going to die?

I thank him and tell him, "No, that's ok, I think I can fend for myself. . . .Well, See ya...."

The funniest part to me about this story is that I looked like complete crap because I had pulled an all nighter the night before. There I am, with no makeup, in yoga pants and my USU sweatshirt, my hair falling out of a ponytail, red eyes, in all my full finals week glory.

Do you think maybe college guys just get desperate for action at the end of the semester?

Ryan, when I told him this story when I got home, laughed, but seemed oddly proud.

Happy Day

I just finished the last big paper I will ever have to write at USU. You have NO idea how happy I am about this. The best part is that I didn't start it until last night, and I finished it four hours before the deadline. All 20 pages. What can I say, I work well under pressure. I really should become a journalist or something...

In other news, just after I posted the final law school update, Ryan got his first waitlist acceptance. (Wahoo!) So now, we can add Washington and Lee to the to-consider list. Not only did they accept him, they offered him a half-tuition scholarship, which I thought was weird since they didn't initially accept him. They must of got word about how freakin' hot he is...

Anyway, even though it would end up costing quite a bit more than BYU, its also ranked about 19 spots higher. So, what can anyone tell me about Lexington. Of the people we know who know anything about it, there seem to be two camps of thought. One, those who claim it is the best small town in the U.S., and two, those who exclaim, "Uggh, it is out in the BOONIES!" and then ask me how about how I feel about doing all my shopping via internet (This, for me, might be a good thing. I am much more restrained when it comes to internet shopping).

Boonieville or no, I think I would be happy just to get out of Utah. It's not that I don't like Utah, I just am ready for a change, for an adventure. But I'm just not sure how much adventure can really exist in a town of less than 3,000 people. But I hear it has great bike trails! And they have movies in the park! And, FYI, Sommersby was filmed there (the only change they had to make to the town to make it look like the 1800s was to add dirt to the street!). Anyway, I will keep you updated as to what we decide, but if anyone has the inside scoop on Lexington, PLEASE fill me in!

No more stalking the mail man.

I have exciting news. After MONTHS of waiting, we can finally stop being mailbox vigilantes. Of the 22 law schools Ryan applied to, all 22 have FINALLY responded!

Here is where we are at right now, along with the school rankings:

Acceptances:
George Washington-20
Washington University in St. Louis-20 (+Scholarship)
BYU-34 (+Scholarship)
University of Utah-47 (+Scholarship)
Southern Methodist University-47 (+Scholarship)
Indiana University-40 (+Scholarship)
Temple-? (around 50, I think) (+Scholarship)

Rejections:
NYU-5
Columbia University-4
Duke-10
University of Texas--Austin-15
UCLA-16

Wait-lists:
University of Chicago-6
University of Michigan-7
University of Pennsylvania-7
University of Virginia-9
Northwestern-10
Georgetown-14
Vanderbilt-17
Washington & Lee-23
College of William & Mary-29

There is one school I can't account for, but I can't remember for the life of me what it is. But anyway, there you go. So, phase one of waiting around to find out where we're at in life is OVER! I can stop stalking the mailman.

Now begins the fun part: Phase 2, the wait-lists. The problem with wait-lists is that they can call Ryan anytime from now until the first few weeks AFTER school starts! So, now we become telephone vigilantes. True story: we know someone who, on a gamble, started attending NYU, where he was on a waiting list, instead of the school he was accepted to. The third week, he got in! I told Ryan not to get any ideas...

At this point, I think Ryan is leaning towards BYU, just because it's too good a deal to turn down (he'd pay less than he's been paying at USU for his undergrad). But I think if he's accepted off almost any of the waitlists he's on, that's where we will go (6 of the 9 are top ten schools). Which means our odds of living in Provo are probably pretty slim. This is, of course, a good thing and a bad thing.

Anyway, that's my big news for the day. Now, I'm off to finish my term paper, which is due in less than 20 hours, and I have only written 2 of the 20 pages required. Some day I will learn to stop procrastinating.

This is how I feel about finals...

Actually, this is how I feel about finals, term papers, research, and school in general. Someday I will have a life again...

Love is in the air at the Hogle Zoo...

Over the weekend, we took Matthew on his first trip to the zoo, where we attempted to keep him from seeing this:

and in the cage next door, at the very same moment in time, Meerkats in love:

Apparently there is some spring fever going on in that zoo. I'm sure you all really appreciate that I shared that with you...

In another fit of weekend madness, I came home with this:

In my defense, this wasn't just a mad case of stash enhancement. This is all for specific projects. Most importantly, the Aggie scarf, pictured at bottom right. You think that will be manly enough for an old guy?

And I also accomplished some cooking. The weekend pick from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook comes from the appetizer section: Hummus, on page 46.

This recipe is SO easy to make. It involves dumping ingredients into a food processor and turning it on. We made it as an appetizer for homemade pizza. To be honest, it turned out too salty, too garlicky, and too strong in general for my taste. However, not wanting a perfectly good bowl of hummus to go to waste, I decided to monkey with it a bit. 1 tsp. of sugar (I have no idea why this works when salt is involved, but it does) and a bit of olive oil later, the hummus was quite tasty. I also served it with some chopped tomotoes (the first really red ones I've seen yet this year), which really makes it tasty. And again, this is better after sitting in the fridge a day or so. The flavors seem to settle down a little bit.
The recipe:

Hummus

2 cups chickpeas, liquid drained (reserve 2 Tbs.)
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt (I used finely ground sea salt, but that could be why it ended up too salty)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
6 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons--please don't use that nasty faky juice!)
2 Tbs. liquid from chickpeas (or water, if you dumped the liquid, as I did)
8 dashes Tabasco sauce

Put all ingredients in food processor fitted with steel blade and process until hummus is coarsely pureed.

Makes 2 cups.
Enjoy!

The next recipe I will try is the coconut cupcakes, pg. 175.

Flower Power

KNITTING STUFF:

My friend Miriam told me I should have little side projects for when I get sick of the sweater I'm working on. Well, as you can see, I'm making a lot of progress on these side projects, and not much progress on the sweater. Currently, I have five projects going, plus two more that are going to be started in the next couple of days (Hey, I have to start some graduation gifts!). I think I may have caught Margene's Startitis!

Here is my latest little project. It is a washcloth from Weekend Knitting, accompanied by my little bathroom duck, Pato Otimista (yes that is his real Lladro name).

I used the recommended Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille, which isn't fun to knit with because it has zero stretch to it, but feels nice when it's finished. This is possibly going to be a gift for a family member.

Other projects currently on the needles:
The Om Yoga Mat Bag, which just needs put together.
Super Mittens, missing one thumb.
A sweater for my toddler.
Lucky wrap sweater for me.
Mini socks, also for my toddler.

And today I shall get what I need to make Susan's branching out scarf, an Aggie scarf which will be a graduation gift, and the Fair Isle Jazz Scarf from Scarf Style, which is supposed to be a gift, but probably I will just end up keeping it.

BLOGGING STUFF:

I have added a few new links. I have two new knitting links to fellow Loganites, gracias a Miriam. I've also added Shanda World, the brand new blog of my cute little 13-year-old sister. She's going to hate it that I called her little. Shanda, even though you are entering high school, you will always be my baby sister.

COOKING STUFF:
I am really liking the Barefoot Contessa cookbook. Along with some great recipes, there are tips in the margins to make things easier and point you in the direction of great sources for different types of food. I also love Ina Garten's introduction to each chapter and her chapter on the importance of using really good, fresh ingredients, which can be tricky to find, but are really worth it.

As promised, the Filet of Beef Bourguignon (recipe follows) review:

I had to borrow the pic right out of the cookbook because mine just didn't turn out so pretty. (The tasty food in my kitchen is rarely pretty.) I chose this recipe because the boys at my house like beef, and this did not disappoint. I used some nice beef ribs, as my grocery store did not have a good filet, and it still turned out alright. I also wanted my beef a little more well-done than the recipe calls for so that I could feed it to the little person.

In my opinion, there are three things that make this recipe good: The sauce, which HAS to have the fresh thyme and the wine(Some of my more conservative bloggie readers might balk at this, but I promise the alcohol cooks out!), the bacon, and the pearl onions (I don't know why, they were just tasty with the sauce). And I would definitely serve this with some boiled red potatoes (I got some from my dad's farm). I also served some crusty artisan bread from my local bakery. By the way, you may want to have extra beef stock on hand (mine thickened up a little to quickly). Also, this dish is tastier the second day after the sauce absorbs a bit, so make extras and have leftovers.

Here is the recipe:
Filet of Beef Bourguignon

1 3-pound filet of beef, trimmed
Kosher Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3-4 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 pound bacon, diced
1 1/2 cups dry red wine (Burgundy or Chianti)
2 cups beef stock
1 Tbs. tomato paste
1 sprig fresh thyme (I actually used two because I really like thyme)
1/2 pound pearl onions
8-10 carrots, cut diagonally into 1-inch thick slices
3 Tbs. unsalted butter at room temp.
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/2 pound sliced mushrooms

Cut filet crosswise into 1-inch thick slices. Salt and pepper on both sides. Saute over medium-high heat with oil until browned on outside and very rare inside, about 2-3 minutes each side. Remove from pan and set aside on platter.

In same pan, saute bacon over medium-low for 5 minutes, until browned and crisp. Remove the bacon and set aside. Drain all fat but 2 Tbs. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.

Deglaze pan with red wine and cook over high heat for 1 minute, scraping bottom of pan. Add beef stock, tomato paste, thyme, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Bring to boil and cook uncovered over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Strain sauce and return it to pan. Add onions and carrots and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes, until sauce is reduced and veggies are cooked.

With a fork, mash 2 Tbs. butter and flour into a paste and whisk it gently into the sauce. Simmer for 2 more minutes to thicken.

Saute mushrooms separately in 1 Tbs. butter and 1 Tbs. oil for about 10 minutes, until browned and tender.

Add beef slices, mushrooms, and bacon to pan with veggies and sauce. Cover and reheat for 5 minutes until heated through. Do NOT overcook. Season to taste and serve immediately.

Serves 6-8

Yippee. I have socks.

It's official. I am a sock knitter. I am the proud new owner of these happy stripy things:

The striping ended up slightly different. I knew it was a good idea to start each sock with the same color, but I did not realize that it was important to pay attention to the LENGTH of the color until I started the second sock (I didn't want to waste all the yarn until the next green section, either). I thought that it was more important for them to be the same size, which is why one toe has more green than the other. Oh well, knowledge for next time...

Oh yeah, and they were knit on size 2 dpns, from a basic sock pattern I borrowed from one of the Logan Knitter's Night ladies, out of Fortissima Socka Colori yarn in...um...some nice colors.

The Cookbook club:
Don't worry, you don't have to buy a book. I will pick one or two recipes a week and share them and then let you know how they turned out at our house. That way you can decide if you want the cookbook or not. And if you have it, you can play along. This week, I pick Filet of Beef Bourguignon on Page 123, because the boys at my house are beefeaters. I will let you know how it goes.

In other news, I would just like to share that I have recently joined weight watchers. At the end of week 1, I am down 1.5 pounds. If I keep this up, I shall be at fighting weight by somewhere in the middle of swimsuit season.

And notice that I now have links! Is it pathetic that I had to ask an 11-year-old boy how to do this?

Kim's Cookbook Club.

Since, in blogland, many people have WIP of the week, or Fashiony post of the week, or Book of the month, etc., I am starting to feel left out. I do not knit fast enough to have WIP of the week, or read enough to have a book club, nor do I know a thing about fashion. But cooking...now that's something I do every day. And I seem to be acquiring a ridiculous amount of cookbooks. So, I am going to have my very own Cookbook of the Month club. This month will be The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, which I just bought last week.

I will explain how this will work tomorrow, for all 3 of you which read my blog.

Have a nice day!

The Road Trip Academy Awards

I know, I know, it has been two weeks since I promised this post! Forgive me, besides being sick, I have had two horrible awful Spanish exams and lots of other school stuff. (I can't even tell you how bad I have senioritis right now!) And then there's the law-school decision-making fun, which I won't even get into today.

But I will post all my favorite things I saw in Texas! Here are my Texas Road Trip Awards and Statistics:

Days: 5 1/2
Miles added to José (our Honda): 4,000
Major cities covered: Dallas, Austin, and Roswell, NM
Time it took to get there: 23 hours there, 27 back (due to Roswell detour)
Most essential road trip item: Sirius Satellite Radio (I will NEVER, EVER travel without it!)

Ugliest part of drive: New Mexico

Prettiest part of drive: Texas Hill Country (Austin to Fredericksburg. You can buy fresh peach cider along the roadside. I was driving, so there are no pics, but it is featured in this month's Cottage Living.)

Funniest thing I saw the whole trip:

Better watch out...apparently Jesus is watching you somewhere in New Mexico.

Also slightly funny: New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, where Ryan went to High School. (Roswell, in itself, is a funny place. I was bummed we didn't have time for the alien museum.)
Ryan has the record at NMMI for marching the most hours (marching is the NMMI equivalent of detention) without being expelled.
Average marching hours: 15
Average student kicked out at 80 hours.
Ryan's hours: 208
Somewhere inside my practical, responsible guy there is indeed a wild side.

Best place to escape Logan winter (I should mention that it is snowing TODAY! That would make this our 7th month with snow):
Dallas Arboretum
Where you can see these flowers:

and this cute little cottage:


Best shopping: Dallas
Best thrift-store shopping: Austin

Best music festival in the West which we just happened to show up for: SXSW Austin
Bands playing at SXSW that we tried to see: Kings of Convenience, Ed Harcourt, Phoenix, a couple british bands that I don't remember their names, some EMO bands...
SXSW concerts that we actually got into: 0
Local wannabe bands playing the same night that we got to see: 3
Local wannabe bands that were actually good: 2

Biggest yarn store: This place in Austin on Congress:

This place had 6 rooms just like this one. I just fondled the yarn. I didn't actually buy anything.

Best city slogan: "Keep Austin Weird" (And yes, it is weird, but kindof cool)


Pinkest State Capital: Austin


Best bakery: Doughmonkey Dallas

The desserts might even be better than the name:


Best restaurant: La Duni, Highland Park, TX

Best thing I have ever eaten in my whole entire life:

At La Duni. I want to eat this right before I die. I would move to Dallas just for this cake. I'm not exaggerating. I would pay thousands of dollars for this recipe, and then I would cook it for every birthday for the rest of my life. And then I would eat it right before I die. Maybe we will have to make another trip....

Best food in general: Dallas (though it might help that I have a major foodie for a brother-in-law. This is a guy who waited on a 6-month waiting list at a restaurant in San Francisco and then made a special trip just to eat there when his name finally came up. If we move to Dallas, he will be my new best friend.)

Biggest caves: Carlsbad Caverns

Note the road trip hat, started in New Mexico on the way there and finished in New Mexico on the way home.

Family member most traumatized by separation: Kimi, who called home 5 times a day.
Family member least traumatized by separation: Matthew, who barely noticed we were gone. (Matthew, couldn't you have missed me just a LITTLE? Oh well, I'm glad he's independent!)

Place were maps do not correspond to actual roads: Navajo Indian Reservation

Prettiest Law School campus: Southern Methodist University (Ryan is accepted there with a 3/4 tuition scholarship. However, since we went to Dallas, SMU dropped into the second tier rankings, which means we probably won't go there, pretty or no.)

Not-so-pretty Law School campus: UT Austin (who sent Ryan a rejection 2 days after we got home anyway) which is decorated in lovely shades of pumpkin and avocado green.


Funniest knitting conversation overheard in biggest concert line at SXSW:
Good-looking young man: Hey, wow your sweater turned out great.
Good-looking young man with girlfriend: Thank you! I just blocked it yesterday. Did you finish the scarf in time for your sister's birthday?
Good-looking young man: No, but I decided to give her the one I finished last week anyway.
Good-looking young man with girlfriend: Oh, the grey alpaca?
Good-looking young man: Yeah. I was going to keep it for myself but Sarah said it looked more girly.

This was right before the girl wearing the pink kittyville hat walked past (the SAME kittyville hat I knit on the road trip). I had heard knitting was the IN thing everywhere, but I really had no idea.