Food Blog Junkie

Jason likes to eat. He gets really grumpy and lethargic when he's overly hungry. It's a good thing I've learned to like cooking and baking so much, or we'd be up a tree without a ladder. So thank goodness for my first two years of BYU, during which I learned how to feed people without giving them food poisoning (the apple juice and milk incident was not my doing- I never told Kayleen and Ron to combine them). But in the last six months of marriage, I've had little else to do with my free time except cook up a storm. And I've learned lots of fun tips along the way. Do I follow the recipes anymore? No way! Not exactly anyways......

But my newest favorite hobby has to be reading food blogs! What can get better than professionals' or other great cooks' recipes, tips, and notes? A-mazing! Seriously, I have gotten some great ideas from these people. And yeah, some of the stuff is kinda weird. A lot of these bloggers are vegans and gourmet food junkies. But at the same time, there are so many different recipes that do use stuff that you have around the house, that you are sure to find something. Here are a few of my favorites:

http://everybodylikessandwiches.blogspot.com/

http://canadianbaker.blogspot.com/

http://www.fuzzymelon.blogspot.com/

http://smittenkitchen.com/

http://littlebirdeats.wordpress.com/

So if you have some extra time, check these out. And it's great, because these blogs change weekly. Be careful though, they can be super addictive!

Happy Birthday to Jason!

My last week of February was spent plotting Jason's birthday celebration. That week was fun. I went decoration shopping, and ordered Jason's birthday present. We also went out to eat. A lot. But you see, we had so much to celebrate! Not only was March 1st Jason's birthday, it was also his one year home-from-the-mission mark. And the day before, February 28th, was the six month anniversary of our wedding (time passes so quickly when you're having fun/you live with Jason). So anyways back to the birthday boy.

I got creative with construction paper and balloons and trashed our living room with birthday cheer. I also got very creative with Starbursts in order to decorate his cake. I tried to keep this all as a surprise from Jason (he didn't want any hullabaloo about his birthday). Yeah, that didn't work out......It's difficult to have a secret when you live in a 450 sq. ft apartment. And have you ever tried to keep a surprise from Jason? It requires superhuman strength! So sufficed to say, Jason knew all about how his birthday was going to go down.

March 1st was also fast Sunday. That was interesting, let me tell you. Have you ever met a hungry Jason? Gru-mpy! So instead of breakfast in bed, we did present in bed. And boy, was Jason sooo excited about the nice new Nixon watch he had picked out himself. He thinks it's pretty baller. Then the rest of the time before church was spent collecting fast offerings (Jason), and baking bread and making the cake (Megan).

After church we came home, and I made one of Jason's favorites- what I call "Dirty Chicken and Zucchini." He tells me that he knew for sure he loved me when I first made this for him when we were dating. Then, we played our own version of the game, "Celestial Companions" that Jason's sister Jessica got for us. And then we ate cake and ice cream. And went to bed.

So overall, maybe not the most exciting birthday, but we got to spend it together, and that was the best part.

Can I really be a beach bum when I grow up?

The first or maybe second to first description I was given of Jason was that he was a beach bum. He was verbally painted as a boy who lived in board shorts, board shirts, flip flops, and a fro. This description was incredibly appealing to me for reasons I will reveal later. For your information, Jason has graduated to tee shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes (only because the Honor Code says so) but that appreciation for everything oceanic has never disappeared. If you look at pictures of Jason as a teenager, you will notice a few things: his bedroom had an island theme; he wore a hemp bracelet and shell necklace, constantly; and whether it is in pictures or not, he had and still has an aversion to shoes. I don't know. Maybe it's because Jason was born in Honolulu. Actually, that's the only reason I can think of.
Anyways, this appealed to me because if I could be anything I wanted to be, I would probably be a beach bum. Honestly. Jason insists that being a beach bum takes a lot more thought and effort than just deciding to be one. He's probably right. I need to learn to swim better. But anyways, I was also born close to the ocean: about an hour away, in Southern California. However, in the six and a half years that I lived there, we never went to the ocean, probably due to my mother's irrational fear of sharks. I have visited the ocean exactly once. I was fifteen, and even though I came out of the water with a sore throat and stinging eyes, I was hooked.
Now, I have this unquenchable longing to go back to the Pacific Ocean. I dream about being at the beach frequently. When I can convince Jason to go into Hollister, I stand in front of their live feed of Huntington Beach and gaze longingly at the waves. The sound of crashing waves is one of my favorite sounds. Arghh. I just really really....want to go to that place. And that's basically it. Just one long, rambling, random thought.