not exactly wine and roses...

but not so terrible as the title might hint, either... :)

the stepford wife has started a weekly series - sweet wine, red roses - and as soon as i read her post, i wanted to contribute something, but i was a bit stumped. i started several posts, but tossed them as being rambling and nowhere near what i wanted to say.

then i remembered something that i wrote for jay for our "first date anniversary" this past december...we haven't technically tied the knot yet, so this is the closest thing we've got to an anniversary, but we both feel as though we're already married. (to each other, of course... *g* )

two years ago, we met for the first time...

we'd had that awful ice storm, and you'd been without power for almost a week. i was running late, a combination of nerves and poor time management, and the restaurant was packed.

we sat at the bar, talking and laughing as we waited for our table. and waited...and waited...and waited...

finally we noticed the bar area was looking pretty sparse, and the bartender asked, "um, did you guys want to order something to eat?"

we had that moment of pure synchronicity as we looked at each other, then her, and you said, "well, we've been waiting for a table, we had a reservation."

the blood rushing from her face was almost comical when she blurted out, "i'll be right back," and scurried off.

i had my suspicions, so i stood and looked over the half wall and - to my horror - spotted a mostly empty restaurant. i glanced back at you and advised, "don't stand up!"

but oh you did - and within a few short minutes we were able to laugh, and a shame-faced assistant manager seated us at a "real" table, just in time to eat before the movie.

i knew then that if we made a go of this thing, we would be able to face the tough stuff together.

and you know what? we have.

i love you, honey. more than i can tell you...

happy first date anniversary!!

intentions

i've had a post rumbling around in my head lately which has been rather distracting and caused me to just not post anything. that's how i usually end up, actually, paralyzed by doubt. but this time around, i blog guilt free...even if this is one of the few places where i manage to check my guilt at the door.

i almost created a new blog for posts of the sort taking up real estate space in my head, because i felt that, well, it probably didn't mesh well with what was already out here. then i thought, ok, well then, probably you need someplace for the recipes then. and then there's the kid stuff...and then i thought, hell, you have no real purpose behind the place anyway, so why bother to create some new url?

i've heard and read a lot lately about knowing the purpose for your blog when you start it, thereby giving you the best results, blah blah blah. so many are trying to become the next dooce. cracks me up, because i had no real intent with this the first time around other than finding my own voice. ended up selling off my original domain for about a billion zillion percent of what i paid for it. my, i had quite a bit of traffic...and traffic as they say is money.

but i never monetized anything, didn't have so much as a single ad. wasn't my purpose then, and isn't my purpose now. although i do have a lonely little adsense ad down there in the corner. *waves at text ad* was just curious since i've heard so much about it all, so figured i'd give it a whirl. i've already warned it not to get comfy down there as it probably won't be sticking around terribly long.

so i guess this is my statement of intent, to myself as much as to anyone who might stumble along here. this small cubit of web space will likely be as chaotic and diverse as i am, and i'm ok with it not being a relationship blog or a food blog or a "mom to furry kids" blog. just like i'm not any one of those things...

ham and mixed bean soup

incredibly easy soup...i didn't start from a recipe, so i don't have a link to share unfortunately, but the good news is that my experiment was yummy!

ingredients:

- 1 C cubed ham
- 1 lb mixed dried beans, soaked overnight
- 3 or 4 medium carrots
- 2 medium onions
- 1 - 2 stalks celery
- 64 oz chicken broth - i actually used 32 oz chicken broth, 32 oz water, and 5 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 T cornstarch mixed with 1/3 C cold water, optional
- 1 T butter

to start, i got the butter melting on medium heat in the bottom of a stock pot and dumped in the cubed ham while i chopped the carrots, celery, and onions. as i chopped each, into the pot they went. did a semi-saute for a bit, and when the onions were mostly translucent, i put in the chicken broth. i held off on the rest of the water and the bouillon until after i'd put the pre-soaked beans in the pot. wanted to make sure the ratio of "stuff" to liquids worked out well...

simmered everything on low all day, then put a little cornstarch in at the end to thicken a smidge before inhaling two bowls of it...very yummy, very filling, and we've got plenty of leftovers, half of which i froze. i'd love to hear if you try it!

friday's feast

for some reason, i never really did these on any of my other blogs, but today feels like a good day for a feast...

Feast One Hundred & Seventy Eight

Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of cereal?

would have to be bite-sized mini-wheats...so yummy...

Soup
When was the last time you purchased something for your home, what was it, and in which room did it go?

argh...something for my home...hmmm...probably the last thing we bought for our home was a new mattress and bed last summer. there was a sale at a local furniture shop, and we needed a new mattress desperately. it's a beautiful oak sleigh bed, and i splurged on a new bedding set as well. *le sigh*

Salad
What is the funniest commercial you’ve ever seen?

tough one...there are too many really funny commercials, and i've got a mind like a steel sieve...everything just slides right through lately. i'd have to go with the world of warcraft commercial with william shatner...i love me some william shatner, and the commercial is just priceless.

Main Course
Make up a name for a company by using a spice and an animal (example: Cinnamon Monkey).

lemon pepper walrus

um, ew.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I haven’t ______ since ______.

i haven't knitted since right before christmas. damn scarf is never gonna get finished...

you can play friday's feast here: