Doncaster Regatta

On Saturday I had my first regatta with my new rowing team.  It was a very nasty, rainy day.  I only had one race and it sure wasn't the most fabulous race of my life...

The river was so small, and right off the dock we were in the way of the race coming down the course.  We moved aside as quickly as possible, bulldozing into a single and receiving a "Warning" from the officials.

The start of the race was a total disorganized traffic jam with boats running into each other.  It was a floating start (meaning was no one there to hold the boats in place and its tricky to get everyone lined up evenly).  So we were heading straight for the trees at the start... Not good.

The other crew were beating us from the get go, but we managed to catch up with them and were neck and neck around the half way point...

Then we decided to do a pretty brutal push to win...

Check out those faces!  Pretty darn extreme, huh?  But we got flustered and couldn't keep it together.  They walked straight past us and won the race by a long shot.

All in all not a successful day - I looked like a soggy lobster and had nothing to show for it.

Hopefully I'll have better luck next weekend!  Oh and I hope you like those rowing pics Nick took.  I dragged him along to the race, he's never watched me row before and he has now decided that rowing is the most boring sport ever and never wants to come to a regatta ever again.  Thanks for your support, honey!

Eurovision 2010 Highlights

Every now and then something happens in England that just screams, "Dorothy you're NOT in Kansas anymore."

Last night was the annual Eurovision Song Contest, which for my American readers, is a song contest between the European countries.  Basically American Idol for Europe.  What is thought of as "cool" in this contest would pretty much be defined as strange / Euro trash by Americans.

I wanted to share some of my personal highlights from the contest with you...

Spain - Curly haired man resembling Richard Simmons singing what I think is a love song, with lots of clowns dancing around him.

Belgium - Very cute boy with a guitar, singing about hanging out with his guitar, in bad English lyrics.

Serbia - Blonde guy with a bowl cut, looked like more of a Queen than Elton John, wearing a sequined blue suit jacket with tails and singing "I'm SO naughty.  We kiss three times here!"

Belarus - Women in long sequined dresses glittering like the sun suddenly sprout MASSIVE butterfly wings while singing, "And we're like butterflies flying to the sun"  Talk about a literal translation.

Ireland - Busty red head singing Irish words of wisdom.  So cliche.

Greece - Very tan man wearing all white and glowing like a resurrected Jesus...  If only JC sang Greek dance songs.

Britain - Typical posh and reserved Brits.  Even the back up dancers were wearing ties.

Georgia - Bare chested men in sailor outfits with guido facial hair dance around nice looking girl.

Turkey - Is it rap?  rock?  techno?  I don't know.  But I did enjoy when a robotic girl cut her robot arm off with a power saw.  Though I'm still wondering... why?

Iceland - Fat woman in a moo moo singing dance number and not dancing very well.

France - Black version of Ricky Martin.  Lots of "Allez Allez Allez"  And you thought no one was inclined to hurry in France...

Russia - Sad emo boy band... Favorite lyric - "What are you doing man?" "Looking at her photos.  What should I do with them?"  "Through them into the fire."  The fire, really? Gosh get over her already you little emo russians.

Armenia - Jasmin singing about an APRICOT STONE (wtf?) while Aladdin intimately dances with a water jug around her.

And finally we have the winners.... Germany!!!

My favorite lyric was "I even bought new underwear - light blue.  And I wore it just the other day."  I thought it was strange that she was wearing her partner's underwear, but then it finally dawned on me.... she bought lingerie for herself.  Duh!

A Letter of Hatred to the Recession

Dear Recession,

Once again I would like to tell you how much you suck.  In fact, I would like to flip two middle fingers in the air to you and spit in your face, if only you had one.

Because of you and my current state of funemployment, I am unable to attend my dear friend Amy's wedding.  I was so excited to be her bridesmaid and see her get married to the lovely Ben in Chicago this August.

Amy and Ben about to jump into the FROZEN Lake Michigan, 

in support of Invisible Conflicts, an awesome charity which Amy is super involved in.

Amy was my all time favorite college roomie and we had planned and discussed wedding topics all senior year.  I was very excited to see how hers panned out (and if it was as awesome as mine). Recession, you're really taking the FUN out of funemployment.

I was going to wear this dress (which isn't cooperating and won't let me paste it into blogger) in Marine.  I'd probably look a little fat in it as it stands, which is why I have been rowing extra hard AND running home from practice.  I wanted to be a banging hot bridesmaid.  But all that thinspiration has evaporated into thin air now that I have had to make the hard decision that the plane ticket alone is just too expensive for my unemployed self, not to mention the cost of hanging out in Chi town all week.

Oh and I almost forgot, the fact that British Airways is having strikes, and there is a volcano erupting and screwing up flights from Europe. That makes buying a $1,000 plane ticket seem like a ridiculous Vegas style gamble, and I don't think unemployed people should gamble in Vegas.

Going to Chicago was going to be a blast, I was going to cross off Go On A Cupcake Crawl from my list of 100 Things To Do, I was going to see my friends, and my family was going to come up from Cincinnati for a few days to visit.  And of course there would be lots of wedding related shenanigans!

So Recession, if I could punch you I would.  I hate your guts.  You make me want to scream the F-bomb repeatedly.  Just thought you should know.

Yours with the utmost detestation and burning hatred,

Kelly

PS.  I haven't totally given up hope, if I get a job we're back in the financial clear and I can go!  Please keep your fingers crossed for me!  I need all the help I can get!

Rhubarb Pea Soup

I needed to get rid of that left over rhubarb from the crumble I made a little while ago.  Rhubarb seems to be largely ignored as an ingredient in savory dishes, which really doesn't make any sense to me considering it looks like a piece of celery.  I wanted to say screw you to the convention of only using rhubarb in desserts, and prove that it is a versatile veggie and can be served up in a healthy way, it can function without its buddy the strawberry and stand happily alongside another vegetable.  Ok, thats enough with the anthropomorphism of vegetables, but this is how rhubarb pea soup was born.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 hunk of butter
• 2 and a half stalks of rhubarb, peeled and chopped
• 1 bag of frozen peas (907 grams was used in this)
• 1 veggie stock cube
• 3 cloves of garlic
• small handful of fresh mint

Place large pot over medium heat.  Melt a knob of butter in the pot and add onion and rhubarb.  Heat until the rhubarb falls apart, it will form a bit of a soft mushy mixture with the onion.  Then add 4 cups of water to the pot, the bag of peas, a veggie stock cube, garlic, and mint.  Simmer until the peas are tender.  About 10 minutes.  

Blend soup with an immersion blender and garnish with fresh mint and pretty flowers.

This is a really tasty spring time dish.  It's still chilly here in England so a little warming soup is welcome, but it has the fresh clean flavors of spring.  The rhubarb adds a little tartness to jazz up an otherwise sweet soup.  

A Weekend of Injuries

We had the most uneventful weekend ever!!  Saturday was the first summery day of the year, and Doodle is not allowed to go on any hikes for 10 days until she is fully recovered from being spayed.

She was pretty much the most miserable puppy ever with that cone, but she soon realized it was a great way to con us into letting her into our bed. (she's usually not allowed upstairs at all, but she has learned to open the baby gate...)

And by us I mean Nick, seeing as I got up on Saturday morning to go to rowing practice, and the two of them stayed in bed spooning all morning. Heidi was the little spoon if you must know.

So Heidi is on house arrest so she couldn't play with me, and then Nick goes and breaks his bloody toe on some wire.  Can I just express my extreme dislike for wires?  They really irritate me, they always seem to be everywhere and get tangled and you can never find the one you want, and then they go and break your husbands toe!  Anyone else have wire issues?  

So my husband and my dog were both out of commission this weekend and I had no playmates!  Oh well, hopefully everyone will have recovered by next week!

How was your weekend my friends?

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

Last night Nick and I had a lengthy discussion about immigrating back the US and when would be a good time to do that.  In the end we concluded that moving home right now (when we were planning on moving back to the US this time last year) would be really risky.  The fact that I can't get a job in England, makes Nick scared that neither of us will get a job when we move back home, and having us both be unemployed is certainly not the life anyone wants.  But it makes me a little sad that our current timeline for moving to the states is based on the outcomes of this damn recession.  Screw you recession!  You're really effing my life up right now.

Anyways, always one to eat my feelings, I whipped up some good old American style pancakes for brunch this Sunday morning.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup white flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter (plus extra for frying)
• 2 large bananas chopped 

In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients.  In another bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla, then add the melted butter and whisk again.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing well  and then add the bananas.  

Melt a little butter over medium heat and cook the pancakes until nice and golden, about two minutes per side.

Then smother them in organic pure maple syrup.

Oh Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.......

Seriously these might be the best pancakes ever.  I'm usually an Aunt Jemimah box mix kinda girl myself, but they only sell that shit on the black market and totally overpriced here.  And while I am a fan of everyone's favorite aunt, I mean she sure does help you whip up some pancakes in a pinch, I do think that these home made from scratch babies are kinda putting her to shame.  

Moist, delicious, and they got an extra little somethin somethin from those bananas and cinnamon.  I think you'll love them.  Oh and they're made with whole wheat so they're "healthy" right?  Rhetorical question -don't answer that.

93. Donate Blood

Today I went with my sketchy old man neighbor, Bill, to donate blood.  He lives in this super neat very cliche British farmhouse cottage that Heidi and I always pass while out on our hikes.  He mentioned he volunteered for the Red Cross or something, and I mentioned that donating blood was on my bucket list.

So we made a "date".  He picked me up around 10 this morning and we went to donate together.  He is a little forth coming and frequently says seedy things like "have you told your husband about me..."  Today he was very complimentary of my hair and called me beautiful, which I have to admit is quite flattering, even if he is older than my dad.  I must say a huge thank you to the very sweet nurse who made him well aware of this fact by asking if I was his daughter, she definitely put him back in his place, if only for 5 minutes.

Anyways the donating of blood part was pretty ordinary, anti-climatic in fact.  I have been wanting to do it ever since I was told I couldn't (I'm like that you know?), because of my trip to Africa.  Anyways 5-10 minutes with a needle in your arm and you're finished.  bingo bango bongo.  Just like that.  Well actually it seemed to drag on.  I wish they would've put posters on the ceilings like in the a dentists' or something.  

I wish I had a better funnier story for you, but unfortunately I don't.  It was just an ordinary blood donating experience I guess. Well as ordinary  as you can get when donating blood with strange older men.  After we donated Bill and I met Nick for lunch, and the men folk talked politics.  *yawn*

At least now 93 is cross off my list!  So I feel accomplished and hopefully someone out there will benefit from my blood!  It's pretty exciting actually, I could've saved someone's life today!  How cool is that?

Cultural Difference : Appliances

Owning appliances in England just isn't considered the absolute necessity that it is in America.  I'm not talking about appliances like a Kitchen-aid, I'm talking dishwashers and clothes dryers.  Yes, that's right dishwashers!  Nick never had a dishwasher growing up and I can't remember life without one.  We finally got one put into his old house, and then we moved.  Our rental property does not have a dishwasher and nor do most the houses we're looking at buying right now.


I HATE this fact.  I'm not a fan of dishpan hands.  Call me a lazy American if you will, and yes I'm not the domestic diva that I wish I could be, but seriously, would you like standing over the sink for at least 45 minutes a day doing yesterdays dishes, sweating as you immerse your yellow rubber gloved hands into the hottest water possible, scraping congealed orange juice off of glassware and cooked on tidbits from pots and pans?  Yeah, thats what I thought.  


Now get this, my husband told me recently that he didn't even have a washing machine until he was 18!!  18!!! You think you know somebody, and then they tell you something like that!  Apparently he had what he calls a "spinning machine"  which he described as a massive salad spinner but for your clothes.  Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?  Have you ever heard of such a thing?!  It sounds like something those Little House on the Prairie people would use.  I've never even heard my parents talk about not having a washing machine, and that sounds just like the sort of "when I was your age..." type of shit my dad loves to spew when telling my sisters and I how spoiled we are.  


Now you may be wondering just how old my husband is seeing as it sounds like he grew up decades before me....  You must be thinking I'm a gold digger after all his moolah when he kicks the bucket right?  Well he's 27.    


The thing is, in a third world country you would expect this kinda crap.  But England is supposed to be pretty on par with America.  So let me just say, respectfully, England...

GET WITH THE PROGRAM!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

Riverford is such a great scheme.  We order a "box" and get to be surprised with fruits and veggies we would never really think to buy.  This week's super fun veggie (or is it a fruit?) was rhubarb.  I was pumped.  My great grandpa used to make a mean strawberry rhubarb pie, so I decided it would be great to reproduce it here and blog about it.  After much investigative work (two emails), it has been concluded that Papa's rhubarb pie recipe died when he did (at the ripe old age of 100!), and it is no longer to be found.  Or else my mom and aunt are just too busy to go hunting for these things and it will turn up somewhere one day... fingers crossed!

Until then, I needed a substitute, and I found one, over at Dessert for Breakfast.  I was totally blown away with her photos and thought, man if this girl is half as good at cooking as she is at food photography this recipe is not going to disappoint.... (seriously, go check out her pictures for some mouth watering food porno).

And woo hoo it sure didn't!  The crumble was sweet, but with just enough salt to contrast the sweetness of the fruit, and a bit of orange zest for extra complexity.

I called Nick on his way home from work (he had a very big, important day yesterday thats why I made this for him, really I swear... ) and I asked him to pick up some vanilla ice cream at the corner store where he gets off the bus... They were out of vanilla, so he got strawberry.  Works for me!!

This is seriously SO good.  I'm not going to post the recipe, because I followed it spot on and you can see it here.

Oh and that ice cream?  I am a little afraid to say this, but my dear Cincinnatians, it beats Graeters... It's from a Sheffield company called Our Cow Molly, and I have never tasted ice cream so delicious.  Apparently they make it with milk and cream from their own cows right on the farm.  Nick and I are planning to go there soon, so I'll keep you posted.  Until then, I will be hiding from my fellow Cincinnatians for saying such blaspheming things against Graeters....

How to Speak with a British Accent

Last night Nick and I were watching some late night British talk show and they started showing clips from a woman named Tracey Goodwin.  I have to tell you, I was laughing so hard I was crying.  I have a feeling these won't have quite the same effect on you, but I figured they could help anyone who is planning a trip to England soon.

A Sad Day for Sheep

Yesterday while I was walking the Doodle I saw our local farmer, Phil, herding his sheep and lambs into a very small enclosure on the far side of the field.  I feared the worst....

Today confirmed my fears when the little babies were no where to be found.  Unless Phil has moved them to a secret hidden field somewhere I think it is pretty safe to assume that they are currently being butchered into little lamb shanks and rack of lamb and other lamb based carnivorous dishes.

Doodle and I are sad.  We've really enjoyed watching them run and play in the fields.  Each of them had their own little personality.  Some of them were brave and would come up to us to say hello, and others would run straight to their mums when they saw us coming.  I always told Heidi she couldn't play with them because what would eventually happen to them would only break her heart (and she sometimes eats lamb flavored food so that would be pretty effed, no?) but today I am the one feeling a little pit in my stomach.  I think I got attached.

While it's no secret that I'm a vegetarian, I don't usually get up on my soap box and preach to you about my lifestyle choice.  I, for one, do not appreciate it when carnivorous comedians think that dangling meat in front of my face is absolutely hilarious (you would seriously be surprised how often this happens and FYI it's NEVER funny), so I assume my omnivorous friends don't appreciate me sharing all the details of how that steak came to be on their plate.  But today I just have to say,  I don't get it.  How can you kill such adorable little lambs just to give yourself maybe 10 or 15 minutes of gratification at the dinner table?  If you have any convincing arguments I'd love to hear them.  But be warned I have been a vegetarian since the age of 9 and I have yet to hear anything in the slightest way convincing.

ps.  I hope we can still be friends even if you are a meat eater.

Getting the Doodle Spayed

I can't believe how big our little doodle is getting!  I am feeling a little conflicted today because I made her an appointment to get spayed next Friday.  I KNOW that getting your dog spayed is the right thing to do.  I have volunteered in dog shelters and have seen the number of dogs that are given up for the most ridiculous reasons.

Some of my favorites....

The dog doesn't match my furniture (are you serious?!?)


Our new apartment won't allow dogs (go find one that does!)


The 3 year old husky I got from the pound last week has just grown so much I can't keep him (um sorry but your husky didn't grow)


This puppy is aggressive.  (aka it play bites like ALL puppies do)


The dog pees in the house.  (duh you have to train it not to!)  

I would never want to contribute to the unwanted dog population.  But I have to admit, a part of my animal lover self would love to see Heidi become a mommy and have little german shorthaired pointer puppies running all over the house.  Sometimes I feel conflicted between what I think is morally right, and what I think would be fun!  If I was going to be 100% honest, breeding puppies seems like a dream job - doesn't it? But its really a job for professionals, not people who just buy two purebred dogs and let them do it like they do on the discovery channel.  

photo of Heidi and her siblings from her breeder.

Ah but who can resist a cute little puppy?  I'm sure it's really a lot more hassle than its worth.  I know puppies wake up all night and pee in the house and with 7 or 8 of them that would be a lot of puppy pee!  But she is a purebred and she could produce a lot of puppy cashola to be fair!  Oh well!  Her appointment is next Friday so wish her luck!  And I have started talking to her new vet about doing some kind of internship there.  So wish me luck that that all goes through please!  It's about time someone threw me a bone here! (pun intended - ha I kill myself).  

Hey, Hey, Hey...

Hey random a-hole from Brazil that hacked into my gmail account and screwed up my blog,

 I don't like you one bit.  

But I'm glad you haven't accessed anything more important.

Hey GRE vocab words,

Why are you so obscure? No one uses you in real life.

But I got flashcards with you on them, 

and I'm going to have you all memorized very soon.

Hey Heat Radio,

You're my favorite radio station in England. 

Please keep playing such awesome jams.

Hey English bus drivers,

Why can't you ever understand me?  I'm speaking English.

Hey Husband,

I'm sorry I complain so much about not having a car.  

Your joke about me donating my legs to someone who would actually use them wasn't that hilarious, 

but I get your point.

Hey Girls My Age in Sheffield,

Why must you all dye your hair unnatural colors and pop out so many babies?

No offense to your babies, but they don't seem like much fun at our age.

Hey Cups of Tea and Biscuits,

Our relationship has got to end.  

I've become addicted to you since living in England, 

and you're making me fat.

Hey Blogging Friends,

Thanks for reading the crap that I write. 

Sorry if I haven't been leaving comments on your lovely blogs lately.

Our internet isn't working well at all.

Until next time...

Cheers!

31. Join a team

So there is one good thing about being f-unemployed.... plenty of free time!  I recently joined a rowing team.  For those of you who don't know me, I rowed for 3 years, 6 days a week during my awkward teen phase in high school.  My life basically revolved around rowing.

Evidence : 

I wish I had better photos, but they're all like actually pictures and in America, oh the days before digital!

We were pretty serious about the sport in high school, and I rowed with people who competed at a National level, I of course never made it past regionals because I'm not much of an athlete, but I do like being part of a team.  I had my first practice with the team here last night...

First Impressions/thoughts:

• People are nice, but take themselves a little too seriously
• The club is a little disorganized for my liking, but maybe this is a good thing because it won't matter if I miss practices.
• Speaking rowing is a foreign language and American rowing language doesn't translate to English rowing language which makes me look like an idiot.
• This team REALLY needs a coxswain, (short bossy person that steers the boat / yells at the rowers)
• Stereotypes are there for a reason, and most these girls fit the rowing stereotype.
• I keep thinking they're doing things wrong, but really they just do things differently, and I guess that doesn't make them wrong.
• Rowing is like riding a bike, getting back in the boat was a very familiar sensation.
• There are some muscles my back has forgotten it has.
• Rowing in the English countryside is much prettier and less smelly than rowing in the Licking / Ohio River, must take pictures soon to share with you.
• I'm not sure if I'm ready to have blistered and bloody hands again.  That is the worst part of this sport.
• Why did I ever stop wearing spandex?

I'm hoping I'll meet some nice people through this.  It's SO much cheaper than a gym membership and I could definitely use a little workout inspiration.  In high school I rowed so much I was like 20 pounds lighter.

Dear God,

Will I ever be high school skinny again?

I know that wouldn't make me totally happy, 

and I promise I won't wear skirts so short you can see my undies ever again.

You're right, that wasn't a good look for me,

but maybe I could be skinny and dress modestly now that I'm an adult?

I would certainly appreciate it.

Thanks for your consideration,

Kelly

Oh and friends, since join a team is number 31 on my bucket list, do you think I can cross it off?  How long do you think is an acceptable amount of time to be on a team before it really counts?

Job Centre Plus

I have a story to share with you.  I wasn't sure whether to share it or not, because I don't want this blog to get emo or anything, but I think it's worthwhile and I hope maybe someone will benefit from it.  I try not to talk about it much on here because it is such a debbie downer topic, but being unemployed is playing a huge role in my life right now.  I'm writing this for those of you who are in the same boat, I know you're out there.  I know you are lonely.  I know you're trying your best.  I know that no matter what people say, "staying positive" becomes harder with each failed job application.  Not giving up becomes more and more difficult.  I don't have advice, but I wanted to share this because being unemployed is quite possibly the loneliest experience ever.  Not only do you most likely not interact with many people during the day, because you are at home applying for jobs, but you don't have the spare cash to really get involved, to go out, and to enjoy life.  They say the best things in life are free, but lets face it, at least the second best things in life cost money.  Don't get me wrong here, Nick makes enough money to support us, and we're not doing horribly, but if I could find work we would really be living the good life.

Nick has been telling me to go to Job Centre Plus, for a couple weeks now.  Job Centre Plus is a government run organization that helps you find work and gives people "benefits" which I think is just a British term for welfare.  Nick insisted that there would be jobs there that I couldn't find online, and after much kicking and screaming, we made a bargain and I finally went.

I haven't felt so embarrassed since junior year of high school when I ripped the loudest fart during a test in math class.  I was there, me and my little white girl suburban raised American self, with the derelicts of society.  The Job Centre was really busy, and I waited in line and when I got to the front desk I told the woman I just wanted help finding a job, someone to reread my resume.  She looked at me confused, "You don't want benefits?"  No.  I just want help finding a job.  She didn't know what to do.  Could they even help me if I didn't want to make a claim?  She sent me to a job kiosk, which are basically crappy computers which direct you to the same jobs they post on their website, while I was instructed to wait for a man named James who may or may not be able to help me.

I pretended to look for jobs but I was pretty distracted by the crowd.  One man cussing at security and making loud, rude jokes, people smelling like cigarettes and BO, small children crying, most people had tattoos on their necks and many had piercings, almost all of them were in really crappy clothes.  Then there were a few who reminding me of myself, they were well presented and had this look of "What the fuck has my life come to" smeared across their face.  I saw one guy I knew from walking the dog, he told me he moved to Sheffield for work last time I spoke to him.  I wondered whether he was lying when he told me about his job before, or whether he just got fired.  I avoided him to spare us both the humiliation.

Finally I was able to meet with this James character.  He was really nice, told me my resume was perfect and I shouldn't have trouble finding a job.  He didn't really know what to do with me because I have a degree and most the people he helps don't.  He stuttered a little and couldn't spell a lot of words, but he tried his best to help me and told me he may know of a position opening up at a dog groomers because the last derelict they hired was probably going to get himself fired.  Cool.  Anyways I think he liked me because I was polite and well educated.  So I hope he remembers me if something comes up.  I think he will.

I left feeling better than when I arrived.  At least I know that I'm trying, that I'm taking advantage of the resources available to me, even if they don't seem very useful.  And I knew that I wasn't alone.  The recession is hitting hard, and this place was crowded, and even if it was mostly crowded with people looking for a free handout, there were still a few of us who just wanted a little help finding a job.  And sometimes just knowing that you're not alone is enough to get you through the day.

Quinoa Pesto and Asparagus Salad

I adapted this recipe from one posted on Closet Cooking, an amazing food blog which I stalk regularly.  This guy seems to whip up more food posts than there are meals in a day, everything always looks delicious and he often features veggie friendly recipes.  Score!

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• 1 can of artichoke hearts
• 1/2 cup of pesto, I used store bought 
• a little olive oil

Cook quinoa according to instructions.  We used one cup uncooked quinoa, and simmered it in about 2 cups of water for 15-20 minutes until it was fully cooked.  Meanwhile, in a grill pan, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil over medium high heat and place artichoke hearts in the pan, so they get nice grill marks on both sides.  Blanche your asparagus until tender.  When quinoa is finished, mix in half a cup of pesto and your asparagus and artichoke hearts.  Serve with a little fresh lemon juice on the side.

I wish the photo of this did it a little justice because this dish was seriously delicious!  Unfortunately we were hungry so I didn't bother fiddling around with it and making it tastespotting/foodgawker worthy.  But even Nick was loving it (which is a HUGE accomplishment when the dish doesn't have copious amounts of dairy).  You should have seen his face when I told him it was actually VEGAN!!  OH the HORROR!  But after he got over the shock he managed to scarf the whole thing down.  Perfect week night meal.  This one is a keeper!

Welcome to Our Neighborhood : Part 2

Just wanted to share some more pretty photos with you from this weekend.  Sheffield is SO beautiful sometimes it just takes your breath away.  We love our neighborhood, and we've started looking for houses to buy here when our lease is up - but we can't find anything for sale!  Seems like everyone who lives here never wants to leave!

Could these pictures make our life seem any more perfect?

I just love both of them so very much and going on walks is our favorite.  Especially when the flowers are blooming like crazy!!

Eeek there I am in my dog walking uniform.  Must go shopping this week and buy all your recommendations...

Don't get jealous, it's not really as perfect as it looks.  It actually rained A LOT this weekend, and Monday was a holiday here so Nick had work off.  We kept wanting to go explore, and every time it looked sunny we'd say "Oh, it's cleared up lets go!" and then it would start hailing.  One thing about the weather in England - it's not horrible, but it is SO unpredictable.

So mostly all we actually did this weekend was watch the World Snooker Championships which were being held in the city center.  This might possibly be the most boring sport EVER.  When we went to bed last night the final match had been going on for 10 hours!  And it continued on to the morning!  I have to admit it got a lot more interesting at the end because these poor guys looked like they were going to lose their minds any minute.

Oh and I made Nick work on HIS bucket list.  He doesn't like bucket lists at all.  He thinks they're depressing because we can't afford to do half the things on my bucket list at the moment, plus he is just a happy go lucky kinda guy and barely wants anything.  But he has decided that he wants to learn to play Snooker and go to the Championships next year.  I'm supposed to accompany him.

Shoot. Me. Now.

Welcome to Our Neighborhood : Part 1

Hi Friends,

I've had a few requests to show you around the neighborhood so I took some pictures this morning while we were walking Heidi.  I want to show you the cute little stereotypical British cottages around here, but the weather just isn't cooperating.  Hope you enjoy these for now.

The local primary school

Our humble abode

Pinch, Punch

Pinch, Punch

First of the month.

And NO returns.

Via

People in England like to say this while they pinch and punch you.

Nick gets me every month....

but today...

I GOT HIM!!!

Looks like I'm getting good at this being English thing.

ps.  Hope you're having a good weekend!