Construction continues

My dad is visiting from Maine and helping us (or really helping Jared) with some home improvement projects. Specifically shoring up our sliding glass door (a mid-1980s edition done by people with the intelligence and work ethic of  a sand flea) that was supported with a 2x4 and a cinder block (and no I am not exaggerating). It reminds me of my childhood to hear hammering and to walk by the kitchen and see new sheetrock. They are fixing the existing opening, doing thing properly this time, and we are putting in 2 new recessed lights. YEAH!! 

I think we are also going to play with the layout of the kitchen table. Tonight will be the first dry run as we are having people over for lasagne. yum 

I really don't understand how anyone could condone the level of workmanship we have seen in this house on some of the add-on projects (slider, deck, upstairs, etc.). Thankfully the bones of the house are good, but I think we are going to be fixing these idiotic mistakes for a while to come. The good news is that between Jared and my Dad most of these projects can be handled ourselves with a relatively low cost. YEAH!

cooks illustrated rocks

As most of you know I love to cook. Well, more bake than cook really, but I do enjoy both. I learned to cook pretty young, mostly in self-defense (sorry Mom) and the baking was influenced by my childhood caregiver Gerry who was the queen of Molasses Cookies and Strawberry Shortcake Cake (white cake layered with strawberries and whipped cream, YUM).

Not so surprisingly the cooking Librarian is a fan of cookbooks as well as various internet recipe sites. I came across Cooks Illustrated as the source of a chocolate cream pie recipe that I made once and instantly fell in love with due to the dark-chocolate content and firmness of the filling. Since then I have borrowed a coworkers magazines and subscribed to their website. While I enjoy both the print and the online (separate subscriptions, grrrr) I do think the website wins. I like the searchability and the fact that I have access to 20 years+ of recipes not just the ones in my magazines. They also do taste testings and comparisons and actually explain the results. I tried the Ghiradelli's 60% chocolate chips as a result of the taste test results and have become a HUGE fan! No idea now what to do with my half full 6lb bag (BJs also rocks) of toll-house chips.

Anyway, more things to follow. I also made a muffin recipe that turned out well. Jared is enjoying the increased baking as are my coworkers. Further updates to follow.

Spring Has Sprung

It now officially feels like spring. Despite the fact that it snowed on April 7th here, it now feels spring like. 60+ degrees, Jared mowing the lawn, discussions about plants and trees and we are off and running.

Bracelets and Tattoos

So I am contemplating getting a butterfly tattoo on the inside of my right wrist. I have wanted a wrist tattoo for a long time, and have been going back and forth about what to get for a while. I first thought I would get stars for my godchildren (5 and counting) but decided to move that to my foot. Now I am onto a butterfly, similar to the ones on my left shoulder only a little more spread out. Now while I have 2 tattoos and 1 of them is quite large, neither is visible when I am regularly clothed. The wrist will be a whole different story (one which will probably throw my Mom into hysterics) so me being the anal retentive person that I am, I need to have a plan on how to cover the tattoo in situations I don't want it to show (like Interviews, my Mom, etc.). I found a leather cuff-style bracelet on Etsy that has (of course) butterflies embossed in the leather. I think it is cool that the butterflies will be covering my butterfly. :) I'm sure I'll end up with more cuffs in the future, but I really wanted to have 1 in place before getting the tatto. Now I just have to finalize the design and decide where to go. YEAH !!!!

Snow baby Snow!!

I LOVE snow. Love everything about it. Love how it looks, how it feels, and even how it tastes (no yellow snow jokes please). Growing up in Maine I saw lots of it. And we Mainers tend to have a rather blase attitude about anything less than a foot of snow. Now that I live in NJ, everyone gets worked up about 1/2 inch like it is the end of the world. Added to the fact that no one knows how to drive in bad weather (they are either going 5 mph or 80) and snow here can get interesting. They are predicting 6inches for tomorrow and everyone is making predictions about whether the Library will be closed or not. For me I hope it is so I can go home a day early and not get stuck in as much Holiday traffic. Everyone at work was schocked that I would consider driving in 6 inches of snow, and didn't seem to grasp the fact that it really isn't that big of a deal if you drive carefully. Oh well, here's hoping for SNOW!

Random Gifts

I grew up in a household of random gift-giving. My mom is a fan of the random card, treat, small gift, etc. Sometimes for a reason, sometimes just because. I remember how much fun it was to come home and find a treat waiting for me. Still when I go home to visit, 9 times out of 10 there is a small gift waiting in my room for me.

I have decided this is something I will do for guests when they come to visit, and something I have been doing in my own life for years. Sometimes it confuses people (particularly my friends with kids who can't seem to figure out why I keep showing up with clothes, toys, etc.) but thankfully Jared has gotten used to it.

We have been having cat pee issues again and Jared has been dealing with the brunt of it. I have issues with ammonia so dealing with the pee is hard for me. Also, he has been working on the upstairs reno so I decided while I was out and about to get him a treat (handmade chocolate covered pretzels, yum). He was happy (understandably) and then when he got back from his third autoparts trip he brought me a coke slurpee (something I sometimes crave when I have a headache). I had asked him for one if he went past a 7-11 but he said he didn't so I dismissed it. For some reason I was still surprised when he showed up with one a half hour later. YEAH!!!

I was pleased with us and our consideration for one another with the little things. Sometimes I think it is easier to make grand gestures or deal with special occassions (birthdays, christmas, etc.) then it is to do nice things for each other during the day-to-day monotony of our everyday lives.

GO US!!!

Random Wanderings

As organized and anal and plan-oriented as I am, I do enjoy a good wander. Case in point was this weekend. First on Friday night we went to NYC to see Ari Hest perform at the Rockwood Music Center. Jared was kind enough to accompany me even though it isn't his type of music. We had ethiopian food for dinner, YUM, and then realized we were right by a beer bar that Jared wanted to go to, d.b.a. So while we started off with a plan we sort of wandered around within it. YEAH!!!

Saturday we went to Red Bank to Basil Ts, a brewery/restaurant that Jared had been wanting to visit. We went for a late lunch/snack and had a good pizza and beer. I had the seasonal Spiced Apple Wheat and Jared had his usual sampler. I liked the beer I got, but thought that their filtered wheat beer (what I normally would have ordered) tasted MUCH more like an IPA then a wheat. Oh well, woo hoo for seasonals.

We then drove around town and did a winding route along the water looking at some GIGANTIC houses. This is one of my favorite things to do. My dad got me into this when I was a kid, and I can drive around for hours looking at the insanely huge houses and imagining what it would like to live in one. (lottery here I come). We also stopped at a little market/nursery and got cider donuts, YEAH! and some thai peanut sauce for Jared.

We ended the evening with a visit to see the movie Bolt! about a dog who is on a television show but thinks that he REALLY is a superdog. The best part of the movie was the hamster Rhino (who I think I need to get a figurine of for my desk). Suprisingly enough Jared liked it, and even with them bashing you over the head with the animals rights message throughout the movie it was a lot of fun.

Busy weekend without a lot of planning but super fun! Yeah for wandering.