Friday, Friday

We are still hanging in there, much the same as before! Every time I get positive feedback about a job (which is not very often, by the way) I spend an inordinate amount of time waiting to hear more. It's been driving me insane, but I am thankful to have heard back about anything. It's one thing to be wondering about the next step, it's quite another to be wondering if anyone out there is even looking at your resume! Enough about all that, though. It consumes quite a few of my thoughts as it is. :-)

They are working on replacing the windows and siding on our apartment building (woohoo for that! Ours was one of the THREE buildings in the whole complex to have old, crappy windows and siding), so we've been looking for ways to get out of the apartment while they're constructing. Yesterday we tried to go to a supposedly famous custard shop in a not-so-nice part of town. After getting there through all the bad traffic, the place was closed! So we relied on our lovely GPS to take us to Sonic instead. Traffic was so bad on the way back out that we missed happy hour by about 10 minutes! Oh, well.

Where we failed to get custard

Today we hit up the art museum in Forest Park, which was lots of fun. It's free to get in, and it's huge, so we just wandered around for a couple of hours before Ben had class this afternoon. I definitely want to go back sometime. And explore more of the park in general. The contemporary art was my favorite--I love all the bright colors. I also liked the numerous furniture exhibits they had. They had some great woodwork too, and it reminded me of my dad. The one that was my favorite was a big wooden coil that had been made out of ONE 25 foot long piece of wood. It was crazy to think about someone spending that much time bending the wood that way. If I was smart, I would've taken a picture. Or at least noted the artist so that I could look him up. I did neither. Instead, here is a picture of the museum from the internet. Beautiful, huh?

We don't have anything planned for this weekend, so I don't know what exactly we'll be up to!

Happy Birthday

To my wonderful mama!

Wish I could be there to celebrate!!

Things I Want:

• A job (duh)
• Highlights for my hair
• A whole new wardrobe
• A new pair of cute librarian glasses
• Exactly all the right decorations for our apartment in exactly all the right places

Things I am lucky enough to already have:

• A supportive, loving, funny husband
• A supportive, loving, sweet family
• Food to eat, a place to live, clothes to wear
• A phone to talk to friends from home
• Friends from home who call me! :-)
• Phone interviews and in-person interviews for jobs

That's all for now I think. Things are trucking along here basically the same as before. I am keeping my fingers crossed about a couple of job situations and trying not to be impatient because things feel like they're moving so slowly.

Keeping busy (kinda)

Well, I haven't felt much like blogging here lately, mainly because we haven't been doing much around here that is very blog-worthy! I think we're both trying to pretend these past couple of weeks have been our summer vacation (and they have, for Ben!), and we've been enjoying being lazy. It's nice, but I look forward to meeting some of Ben's friends and making some friends of my own.Our days have consisted of watching TV, reading, and cooking--with a few errands and other fun things thrown in here or there. I went to campus with Ben one afternoon while he bought his books for this semester (ohmigosh, insane). We went and toured the Anheuser-Busch brewery, too. The tour is free and it's interesting and you get free beer at the end! I went with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend when they were in town before, but I knew Ben would enjoy it, too. It was fun. I also finally have my own library card for the county libraries here, so I'm excited about that. I promptly checked out 5 books (like always) and have read 1 1/2 so far. :-)

Otherwise, we've been watching this:

Going here to use a few gift cards:

Buying things like....

A bath mat (finally!)

It's just like the one I had in Chapel Hill, which makes me feel nostalgic. Plus, I like how plush it is on my feetsies. AND it was cheap (bonus!). Haha.

Another type of scrubber

The awesome pink one isn't small enough to get to the bottom of glasses. And our glasses sometimes come out of the dishwasher dirtier than they went in (ANNOYING).

A rotary cheese grater

Guess whose idea this was??? Haha. Ben has wanted one forever (he loves kitchen gadgets), and he loves fresh parmesan, so it works out p

erfectly (minus the new need to buy expensive hunks of parmesan cheese! :-)

I also got the chance to use my cake plate! Not for anything fancy, just a cake mix cake, but still. It was fun to break out another wedding gift and use it! :-)

Also, I was uploading pictures and I came across these from our license plate fiasco. I just had to share what it took to get that dang license plate off my car and then get the new one back on.

Clorox wipes (lots of them)

Because we had sprayed, oh I don't know, half a can or so of WD-40 onto the rusted screws of my old plate to try to loosen them. That technique did not work. So we had 2 stuck rusted screws, an old license plate, and disgusting greasy hands/plate/bumper. FUN.

Electric screwdriver and drill, license plate mounting kit, drill bits, and oh yeah, Clorox wipes

Funnily enough, even though the new plate is there in the photo, the picture doesn't even show what finally worked for us--the socket wrench we happened to find in my carside repair kit (thanks, Mama!!!). It worked like a charm on one screw, but of course, it broke off the other one. So my license plate is currently being held up by two screws on the bottom (where we drilled holes into the metal....fun times), and no screws on top (because one hole is blocked by a broken screw and because the other screws we had were too long to fit in the other hole). I'm telling you, if I had known how hard the physical part of switching the plates would be, I am sure I would have had a breakdown! After everything else was FINALLY in place, it would be my luck to have trouble getting the stupid plates actually onto the car. None of this stuff ever happens to Ben :-P

Well that pretty much catches up what's been going on here! Random, huh?

Laughs for today

I saw this on another blog and on Facebook, so chances are you've probably already seen it. But it made me laugh today, and I thought I'd share it! My favorites are bolded, and I may or may not have added some commentary in parentheses. :-)

Random thoughts from people 25-35 years old

• I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
• More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me. (Um, should I even admit this is me sometimes??)
• Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong. (Truest statement EVER)
• I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
• Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk. (This happens to me a lot. I'm not sure what that says about me!)
• That's enough, Nickelback.
• I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
• Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
• Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
• There is a great need for sarcasm font.
• Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.
• I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
• How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? (Seriously. Mine are basically rolled up into balls...on a good day)
• I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in. (And my fingers are always purple afterward, but it's worth it!)
• I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
• The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text. (And then, of course, the lights are never red.)
• A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
• LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
• I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
• Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
• Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
• How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
• I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
• Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies" (Happens to me ALL THE TIME.)
• What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
• While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
• MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
• Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
• I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
• Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
• I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."
• I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
• Bad decisions make good stories
• Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
• Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
• If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
• Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem.... (And then I inevitably stutter anyway and manage to sound like I really don't know my own name)
• You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
• Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
• There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far
• I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
• "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
• I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
• I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
• I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
• When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
• I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
• Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles... (Hahahaha)
• As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
• Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
• It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
• I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
• Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
• Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
• My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?
• It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
• I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
• I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
• I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
• The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

I have Missouri plates....

and I have exactly four things to say about it.

1. I was over the 30 day registration period by one day, so I had to pay an extra fee
2. My car is registered and titled in my maiden name, so I will still have to change that eventually
3. They got my address wrong on the registration and title form, and of course I didn't realize it til I got home
4. My stupid old license plate was rusted on with its stupid screws

It's been a looong day. BUT I have my MO plates, and they're securely on my car. Regardless of how long it took or how many details I still have to work out. :-)

Cooking some more

Ben and I have been having a great time hanging out around the apartment, working on our second bedroom (sick of hearing about that project yet?? :-), and generally relaxing. I'd love to show you what we've been up to, but it is not very entertaining or even photo-worthy! I will be posting photos of the second bedroom if it's ever completely finished, you can rest assured of that! :-)

I've also been working on getting my name changed everywhere it needs to be changed. Since we JUST got our debit cards for our new checking account (with my old name!), it'll probably be a couple of weeks before I get the one with my new name, but that is in the works. My new credit card came, too, and the customer service man who helped me activate it called me Mrs. Isley the whole time--so much fun!! I also have big plans to go finally get my own library card (I know, I know--I seem to be all talk on this one!). And I got a new driver's license, too. It's funny because twice now--at the social security office and at the DMV--the workers have assumed I wanted to use my first and middle names and drop my maiden name. I had to quickly correct that!! :-) I also hope (fingers really crossed here) to get my car registered in Missouri tomorrow. I have all the forms now, and Ben had the EXACT same forms and got his done no problem, so we'll see how that goes. I'm still nervous. :-)

Since we've both been home so much, we've been cooking more! As I mentioned before, we made some delicious cookies--the recipe we used can be found here. However, the bakery featured on the Throwdown episode we saw has a whole list of copycat recipes on their site, too. The cookies were really good and really rich! Of course, we ate them all. And most of the cupcakes. And our how is now dessert free, at least for this week. We don't want to gain our newlywed 15 in our first month of marriage! :-)

This week we plan to use some recipes from Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade magazine. My mother-in-law sent me this in the mail (it also has quick white cake recipes, just like I was looking for!!), and it's an awesome resource. Sandra has a week's worth of recipes and a grocery list for those recipes printed right in the magazine--that's what we're trying this week, and the whole thing is available online here. We're skipping the Sloppy Joes, by the way. Ew. :-)

Today for fun we're making a loaf of white bread in the slow cooker. I've never made bread before today, and using yeast for some reason makes me very nervous, but the process was really easy! The recipe came from another great wedding gift, a book called "101 More Things to Do With A Slow Cooker".

Classic White Bread

Ingredients:

1 envelope (.25 oz) or 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup warm water

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup lukewarm water

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

3 1/2 to 4 cups flour

1. In a bowl, combine yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 cup warm water. Allow yeast to foam, about 5 minutes.
2. Add egg, oil, lukewarm water, salt, 1/4 cup sugar, and 2 cups of flour. Beat with an electric mixer 2 minutes on low.
3. With a wooden spoon, stir in the remaining flour (we used only a tiny bit more than 3 1/2 cups).
4. Place dough in greased 4 to 5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat 2-3 hours (ours cooked for 2 hours and 40 minutes, but I think that was a little too long. The crust is approaching burned. Maybe 2 hours and 20 minutes instead? Our bread is still plenty moist, though).
5. Remove stoneware from slow cooker and let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Makes 10-15 servings.

Final product!

It smelled SO GOOD while it was in the slow cooker. Our whole apartment still smells good. YUM. Also, confession: I forgot the salt. In fact, I'm not sure it even counts as forgetting--I completely did not see the salt in the recipe until I started typing it up here!! The bread it still good, but definitely bland. I am thinking it needs to be dressed up with olive oil and garlic salt. BUT, I am just glad my omission didn't completely ruin the recipe (thank goodness! :-). And the nice thing is that it was so easy, I feel like I could make another loaf later this week without a lot of trouble. It's fun to make new recipes, but I also really like knowing what to differently the next time for a better result.

Well, that's it for now, I guess. I will try to update more often this coming week. :-)