Super Duper

That's how I feel. Just good. Happy. Content. This whole past week went smoothly, and things got done. Ross and Monica from Friends used to say "check" when they either remembered or completed something, and that's how I feel inside too. Geeky, I know, but true. Taxes? Done. Jury Duty? Called in, didn't have to go, and done for a year. Grocery shopping? Taken care of. Cleaning the bathroom (which I hate)? Smelling good and lemony. Since all those things are now behind me, now I'm really looking forward to what's ahead of me...
So, I've been flexing my crafty muscles and honing in specifically on embroidery. I was taught really young by one of my grandmas, and for whatever reason, just kinda gave it up. I guess it got lost along the way of Girl Scouts, piano lessons, gymnastics, church stuff, life in general, you get the jist. I hadn't even though about it till I was introduced to the website Sublime Stitching and was amazed at what I saw. No geese or hearts or teddybear patters - totally awesome, retro, kitchy stuff, which I get a big kick out of. This little voice in the back of my head kept saying try it, give it a shot and why not? So I caved. I figured it would be a lot like riding a bicycle and getting back on, and all that. And if not, no one would have to know. Here are my first two (in like 17 years) dish towels. I love, love, love stitching! Already my brain is starting to formulate things to do. I have some ideas for Mother's Day presents, I would eventually like to participate in a craft swap, and the ULTIMATE goal is to have some things to sell at our church's Holiday Boutique this coming November that is headed up every year by my mother in law. All the proceeds go to missions, and I would really like to be able to contribute something. All fired up with my new found confidence, I hopped back onto Sublime Stitching and ordered up some more stuff, all the while telling myself , "this is really not an expensive hobby, especially compared to Joe's (hello- mountain biking? 4 wheeling? airsoft?!?!)", and "I'm really just building up my supply base now...I won't always order like this". Right. I should monitor myself though because I would hate to go into financial ruin via that website. So that's that.
On Saturday, I'm going to a book signing of Giada de Laurentiis!!! I am SOOOOOOOO excited!! I absolutely love her, and you should to. I think there's something wrong with people who don't. There is no way I'm missing this. I will probably be tongue tied and act like a goober in general, but I cannot wait. I love my foodTV girlies. I still kick myself that I didn't head to a book signing of Rachael Ray's when she was in Berkeley. I went to work like a schmuck. I'm grabbing Marisa, and we're heading down nice and early to San Jose where she'll be at a Sur la Table shop. Another reason why I shouldn't spend all my money on that stitching site is 'cause I'll want some to spend there too. She'll be at a really ritzy shopping center called Santana Row, and they have all kinds of fun stores like Anthropologie (a fave), The Container Store, Urban Outfitters, and the Cheesecake Factory. Yum!
Another thing on the horizon for me is I plan on going to this ginormous antique flea market that is held the first Sunday of every month in Alameda, right by the bay. How lame is it that I've lived here my entire life, and never gone to it? One of my mom's good friends goes religiously, and the things she finds there are unique and beautiful. Again, I'm really excited. I have a few things in mind that I'd like to find...some wall art (anything to alieviate the whitness of the walls), antique linnen, some old suitcases/ steamer trunks...did I mention that I'm excited? I also hear they've got great food there as well to munch on while you browse. May 6th, I'm there.
And perhaps the biggest news, is that it looks about 95% certain that Joe will get some time off before the next shift change in September, about 10 days worth...so we are starting to plan a trip to ITALY!!! Or maybe England. Or Spain. But Italy looks like the definite front runner, and either way, we are definitely getting out of the country. It's where we've said we would like to travel together even before we were married. My feet don't even touch the ground at that thought, and my heart rate majorly accelorates. It seems way too good to be true. I'll definitely post more details about it later, but it just seemed that there would be no way possible at first. Which was very discouraging. In the grand 5 year plan we mapped out during pre-marital counseling, part of the reason that we wanted to wait 5 years to start a family was to travel. A lot. But with vacation time routinely being denied to rookie cops, it was making less and less sense why we were waiting (since everyone and their sister is pregnant around here), if we couldn't even travel. When Joe injured his ankle in January, it seemed even more remote. All I have to say about that, is that God's timing is perfect, and it really is through Him that things are made possible. So, I've been to Rome as a kid, but would love to go back, and I also want to see Venice...but, any other ideas of must sees? I'll welcome any and all advice!
So with all these thought whirling around my head today, I was a very happy girl. But do you know what the best part of the day was? I came home from work to find MY HUSBAND MADE ME DINNER!!!! This may not be a big deal for some of you. You may have guys that love to cook. But Joe wasn't trained up like that, and it is definitely outside his comfort zone. Normally this is OK, because as stated before, I really like to cook. But with me working full time now, I'm wiped out a lot of nights when I come home...and right now, he's got Sat-Mon off, so it just makes sense for him to slowly branch out and take on Monday's cooking. We're still in the tweaking faze of that though...a lot of other things will have to be divided up too. But this was great. So here it is, Joe's first roast; a combo of chicken, potatoes, and asparagus with lemon and thyme. It was fantastic! Talk about giving me the warm fuzzies and proving to me once again why he is the cream of the crop.

Alphabet Soup

So, even though its technically spring, at the end of last week we had a bone chilling wind. I was secretly glad because I knew exactly what I would be making for dinner...alphabet soup!! It has been years since I had it...mostly because when I would go to the grocery store, I couldn't find the little alphabet macaroni. Sure, I guess I could've bought a can of Campbells, but I wanted the real deal! I don't know what brought on all the nostlagia, but I'd been thinking about it a lot; honestly, alphabet soup is some of my earliest memories with spelling. My Granny used to make it for my brother and I , and we would always fish the letters out and stick them out on the side of the bowl and see what words we could come up with. "K"s were always really hard to find and that used to frustrate me because, of course, the first thing I wanted to spell was my name. It really bummed me out that the tradition might stop there, and my future kids would never know the joys of spelling with their soup. So I did what any girl would do. I called Granny and told her my dilema.

Granny is a little 5 ft. dynamo (who claims she's 5'1), and probably one of the people that I love best in the world. She was tickled that I wanted to make something that to her, was so basic. She couldn't believe that I: a. remembered it; and b. wanted to keep it alive. Sure enough, next time I was at my mom's, there was a package for me from Granny, with none other than the alphabet macaroni.

Turns out, that the alphabet macaroni is actually in the Mexican Foods section of the stores. I don't know if that's just a California thing or what. Who knew? Now, when Granny would make the soup, she would use any old veggies and meat that she had left over. You never knew what combo you were gonna get. My recipe for it is really more the basic version of a Pasta e Fagioli, which Joe and I really love. In fact, its in the arsenal of Food to Tempt Joe, or Food to Get Joe To Do What I Want. Powerful stuff. So here it is, in all its glory, my version of Alphabet Soup:

3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 circles of the pan with EVOO (hey I'm a Rachael Ray fan)
2 or 3 strips of bacon
1 or 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium yellow onion peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
1 0r 2 stems of rosemary, left whole
several sprigs of thyme (I personally go lighter rosemary and heavier on the thyme)
salt & pepper to taste
3 cans (15oz each) chicken broth
1 can (15oz) cannellini beans
1 small can of plain tomato sauce, or any leftover marinara you have on hand
2 palm-fulls of alphabet noodles

Heat EVOO over medium heat. Chop the bacon into smallish pieces and brown in the EVOO. I like to add the heartier veggies first (celery & carrots), then the onions & garlic, herbs and seasonings. I sweat them all together until the onions are translucent and soft. Next, I add the beans, and leave afew in the bottom of the can. With a fork I mash them up before I add them to the pot. The startches in them thicken the soup a little. Stir all together. Add the broth and bring to a boil. At this point you can add the tomato sauce, just enough to make the soup a nice orangey-red color. But, if you like, you could omit it all together. Once you have a nice rolling boil, add in the alphabet macaroni. Cook about 8-10 minutes.

Seriously, so good and so easy!! And the leftovers only taste better and better. Is it just me, or is bringing leftovers to work the next day becoming a thing of the past? I almost always do, and it never fails to get responses from my co-workers. Mostly, they're just curious about what it is I made, although once, I did get the snide comment "so, do you cook for your husband every night?", like its a bad thing to do. We're the same age, but obviously, you can see where she stands on marriage and cooking dinner for my guy. Oh well. I truly do enjoy cooking, which I patiently explained to her, and although I don't cook every single night, I sure try to because its healthier, and saves us money. Instead of buying Starbucks and lunch, I can just do Starbucks and still come out ahead (just kidding Joe- I never do that). :)
So try it!! Enjoy!! Because this soup is m'm, m'm good.