The Gift That Keeps On Giving

I've been thinking really really hard about what I want for Christmas and my birthday.  Mostly for the sake of my mom.  Nick says he's bought me my birthday/Christmas pressie in the form of a plane ticket home.  But my mom, she has Kris Kringle Syndrome.  She HAS to buy things for her kids.  It is really nice, but if I don't figure out what to ask for... she'll waste her money on something that I might not be crazy about.  Not that she has bad taste, just that I am really really picky.  


So I've been racking my brain about this for awhile and I can't think of anything.  I suppose I need generic work clothes, but sometimes only getting clothes is a little boring.  The only other thing that keeps popping into my head is that I would really like a pet chicken.  Well actually two.  (They are rather social creatures afterall...)  

Via

In my opinion, chickens would truly be the gift that keeps on giving.  Forget "___ of the month" clubs, hens can lay like 250 eggs a year, which would mean I would have plenty for baking and making quiches.  I'd probably never have a moment where I'd need to run to the neighbors for an egg, I could just pop into the backyard and say "Heyyyy Ladies!!!" and they would cluck politely and show me how they made a cute little egg for me.  I would rest assured knowing these hens had a cruelty free life because hello I would be raising them.  (Though in fairness my biggest dilemma is how to get Heidi to coexist peacefully with birds.  I'm not sure if this is possible.)  

Via

I spent some time researching different breeds of hen - Did you know that some breeds are better for eating, while others are better for laying, and some just look cool - like show chickens.  People seriously show them, like a dog show but a chicken show.  Also some are feistier than others.  I'd pretty much decided that I wanted a good layer, nothing too feisty and maybe one that lays those chic little blue/green Easter egg types.  But then I discovered The British Hen Welfare Trust which rehomes commercial laying hens.  Doesn't that sound perfect?  Giving a laying hen a better future for Christmas?  Better than ending up as Christmas dinner don't you think?

My boy Jamie Oliver with some rehomed hens.  

Anyways, Mom, if you are reading this... 

I would like one of these neato chicken coops for Christmas from Omlet.    

Also, Mom, if you are reading this, Nick says please don't actually buy me this.  He's not convinced of the merits of chicken keeping like I am, particularly when I keep telling him I want to move back stateside.  But, between you and me, friends, when we buy our next house - it will have a massive garden and I WILL have chickens.  Quote me.  You're all invited for egg salad sandwiches when I realize this dream. 


Anyways I need to know, bloggers, what's on your Christmas list?  Maybe I will put together a little master list so we can help each other think of the most awesome presents/gifts.  Be honest.  I seriously need help this year.    



ps.  Before you think I'm a spoiled brat please know that I'm really very thankful that I am in a place in my life where deciding what to put on my Christmas list is a major dilemma.  
pps.  I would just like to note that I start a new job on Monday and am super pumped about it. 
ppps.  Check out this huge list of egg dishes on Wikipedia.  Who knew?

Only Read This If You Have a Vagina

I'm going to talk about periods.  I've been toying whether to share this fantastic product with you folks due to the fact that some people aren't cool with talking about periods.  And there is the possibility that my dad or other menstrual-phobic men folk might read this, or even menstrual phobic women and they would be totally grossed out by the knowledge I am going to share with you.


But this little invention is the best thing that will have happened to your period since you discovered if you skipped those 5 pills at the end of the pack then you can avoid the po po on important days of your life or vacation.  Also, I feel a moral obligation to my fellow sister friends to share this product that has changed my period for forever.  Seriously.  I don't have to buy tampons or pads ever again - think of all the money you'll save and it's better for the environment.  I have zero leaks.  There are no more awkward moments where I have to sneak a tampon out of my purse or accidentally pull one out in front of a dude while looking for a pen.  There is no super uncomfortable feeling when you put a tampon in at the end of your period and you take it out too soon and it gives you a little preview of child birth.  You can't get TSS from it - don't tell me you've never stressed about this.  Furthermore it's comfortable, and I feel so fresh and so clean with it.  


This miracle product is the Diva Cup, and although it has a super lame name, I suggest you purchase one immediately.  It is a little silicon cup that you fold in half and you stick up your hoo haa and then it pops open and forms a seal so every thing gets trapped in there.  When you need to (and I didn't need to more than once a day) you pull it out and you dump it down the toilet and you rinse it in some water and you pop it back in.  Easy.  Don't freak out about this.  It's not as gross as it sounds.  


I will admit that it took me two periods to totally get the hang of it, but now I absolutely love it.  Just give it a try.  At least google it for pete's sake.  


You'll thank me later.

A Day At The Races

Just wanted to show you some more Diana Mini's 

from when we went to the Keeneland to watch the horses this October.  

Nick and I were ballin.  We won $100!  Word.

Some other members of the family were less lucky - but we all had a good time.

I don't know what the recent horse theme is all about but you know... 

They're pretty cool animals.

Also, just wondering how you all feel about

Obama's restoration of the US horse slaughter industry?

I don't really get what the big deal is, but what I am wondering is....

 if you are against it....

 is it just because they are horses and horses are cute animals?

or  

Are you against the slaughter of all animals?

or 

Am I just missing something?  

Holler back.  

B&W Diana in the Country

I took these pictures with my Diana Mini last January... 

I guess it was about time I got them developed. 

My hipsterness is getting out of control.

Take it or leave it...

There's more where these came from.

Double Birthday

On Friday Nick and Heidi celebrated their 29th and 2nd birthdays.  Nick and I have been super busy working on graduation at the university we work at, so I've been pretty lame at planning birthday surprises this year.  In fact, I passed out at 8 o'clock last night and left him to watch TV alone, on a Friday night, on his birthday.  Wow.  I suck.  But at least on Thursday I did spend 3 hours slaving away in the kitchen making these... which some of you might remember I posted on this blog 2 years ago.

They were totally as delicious as last time, so if you haven't made them yet - find an excuse ASAP.  We also went out for a romantic dinner Friday night, leaving Heidi alone on HER birthday.  So today we decided to make up for it today by going on a long hike in the Peak District together.

Lately we've been bracing ourselves for what is looking like it might be an exciting but also a little challenging year ahead. But at least for a moment life seemed pretty near perfect in the Peak District this afternoon.  It's funny how blue skies can do that to you.

The First Year : Gardening Lessons Learned

As the end of the growing season is upon us, I just wanted to take a minute to say how awesome growing stuff is.  I honestly can't tell you how much I love it.  Well actually I love it so much that I have decided to make it my plan B in life.  If all else fails (and maybe even if all else doesn't fail) I am going to go to school for organic farming or horticulture and create an organic cooking school/retreat on a farm.  I know I told you that already.  Whatever.  It will be freaking awesome.  You can all pay me and I'll let you come.

Also I just wanted to recap some things I have learned in my first year of growing... for all of our benefits.

• Most importantly, plants WANT to grow.  It's not that hard, if you water them and give them sunlight they grow.  I don't know why before I started gardening I thought it was this big complicated mystery.  Here's a secret: it's not.
• Follow the instructutions on the seed pack.  This may seem like a "duh" but sometimes I would plant things too late and then they wouldn't really work out.
• Tomatillos are rock stars in the garden.
• Everything that is from a warmer environment than here should have been grown in the green house; ie: eggplant, cucumber, peppers, etc.
• lettuce and radish give you instant gardening gratification... and by instant I mean like a month.
• Potatoes are really easy and taste 100 times better fresh from the soil.  
• Don't dump water on seedlings, just mist them with a spray bottle.  
• Grow bags are not all they're cracked up to be.
• And finally, grow things you would want to eat!  

And here is what I am looking forward to in my quest for food self sustainability:

• Ducks and chickens... but especially ducks.  They're much cuter than chickens don't you think?  Chickens give me the creeps a little.
• Growing Jerusalem artichokes - most underrated and totally delicious vegetable ever.
• Planting fruit trees
• An asparagus patch : it takes a few years to get these started, so we have to wait for our forever home to invest in this.  
• A pumpkin patch : Pumpkins are my favorite and they keep for months in the pantry.  I have a few pumpkin recipes in mind for this month so hopefully I will get around to posting them.  I know I have been neglecting the blog - especially the recipes bit.  

Do you guys have any good growing tips?  

Happy Halloween!

It was a typical love story.

British Boy meets American Girl and they fall in love.

They also have crazy hair.  

Can you guess?

In addition to dressing up, we went to a take that tribute band concert on Friday.

They called themselves... "Take That... Again."

Note to self : It was really awkward.

Like there were 30 ppl there and no one would dance and at least 20% of them were their family members.

Next tribute concert is Lady Gaga, we'll let you know how that goes.

October Trip to the USA - The Good, the Bad,and the Ugly.

The Good

• Spending time with friends and family
• My godfather's spectacular wedding to a girl we are pumped to welcome into our family
• Winning $100 at Keeneland horse races
• Taking my husband to his first public sporting event EVER, yay Bengals!
• Absolutely perfect weather... sunshine I missed you!
• My first hot yoga class with my sister 
• Food, food and more food.  My mom's home cooking really deserves a shout out. And I'm sorry British folks, but you're food sucks compared to American food.
• Outlet mall shopping.  Hell yeah.
• Nick feels a renewed sense of America's awesomeness.  Hopefully that means we will move back sooner rather than later.

The Bad

• 10 days is not long enough
• Accidentally leaving my digital SLR on the train platform at Sheffield Station on our way to the airport. (Although the good thing is it has been recovered!)
• Watching the $100 we won dwindle away to $2... but at least we still came out on top!
• I probably gained 10 pounds.
• It's raining a lot in England now.

The Ugly

• Listening to the advice of the lady on the train to get off the train and go back and get my camera.  A train NEVER came going the other way, we almost missed our flight, and this resulted in a lot of gesticulating and a few choice words between the husband and myself.  
• Drinking too much wine at aforementioned wedding and thinking it was hilarious to tell a woman that her kids were "mediocre at best." even if she knew I was joking - lets just say other ladies did not...
• Man in front of me doing a downward dog in boxers at hot yoga class, dudes should be required to wear briefs for these occasions... talk about an eye full. 
• Getting in a dispute with the 20-something high on herself snooty snooterson at UK border control who told me I had to go to the back of the foreigners line because I went through the British ppl's line because I was with Nick.  Apparently we are supposed to split up to go through different lines because all the other people with foreign passports are going to be mad at me for cutting in line even though I have indefinite leave to remain in England and a british husband.  Are you following?  Anyways, she sucked.

My Husband in a Tux

One day, I'll be your plus one.

When we're a little more important.

You swanky man, you.

It's Mushroom Season!

Last year Nick and I dabbled in a bit of mushroom hunting, but without the knowledge we were too scared to eat anything, and identifications seemed complicated and dangerous!  We usually identified everything as poisonous or "no idea what that is" but yesterday we had a major break through!  We identified this bad boy as a Bay Bolete.

And we're convinced enough to eat it.  But we haven't yet.  I will let you know how that goes.  Unless of course I'm dead.  Knock on wood.  

Also this nifty website, Wild About Britain, has a forum where you can post your mushroom pictures and people can help you identify them.  So you have to be a little trusting, but it seems like a great learning tool when you just can't find the right pictures in the books or you want a second opinion.

Speaking of books, the one that is our favorite is Mushrooms : River Cottage Handbook.

Have you been mushroom hunting?  I highly recommend it, it's like a treasure hunt for epicureans.... which Lord knows most of you blogstars are!

The Taste of Tomatillo Success

Guess what......

My hard work has finally paid off because last weekend I made the most delicious enchiladas with tomatillo salsa ever.  Like seriously, I got mad at Nick because he pretty much inhaled them, and I wanted him to savor them since I have been growing the damn things since the beginning of the year!  How delicious do they look though... 

Ok a little messy I'll admit but I think I could eat homemade enchiladas every day of my life.

Here's the recipe I concocted for the Enchilada Sauce : 

Ingredients

• 1 can of crushed tomatoes.
• Diced fresh tomatoes, (equal to about a cans worth)
• I'm sure you could use two cans instead, but I had fresh on hand.
• 1/4 cup of diced onion
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 4 tablespoons olive oil 
• Chipotle powder
• onion and garlic spice blend

Add tomatoes, onion, garlic, and oil to a wide skillet, and simmer until the water has boiled off and it's begun to thicken, about a half hour.  Let it cool a bit and pour into a blender, puree until smooth and season with Chipotle powder, salt, pepper, and extra onion and garlic spice blends.  The chipotle powder really adds an amazing smokiness to the sauce.  I highly recommend not skipping that step!

Meanwhile while my enchilada sauce was simmering away, I made this simple tomatillo salsa:

Ingredients : 

• 1 pound of tomatillos
• 1 onion diced
• salt

I boiled my tomatillos for about 10 minutes, then popped them in the blender to puree with the onion and salt to taste.  This recipe was definitely simple and effective, which I think is good for tasting your produce, but I think with my next harvest (which is currently waiting for me in the fridge) I will roast the tomatillos rather than boiling.  But either way the salsa was still delicious!

Next I sauteed a bunch of mushrooms and peppers to fill my generic Old El Paso corn tortillas with (hey I can't make everything from scratch!).  I smothered these with my smokey enchilada sauce and grated a heart attack inducing amount of cheddar cheese on the top, and popped in a hot oven to melt and get nice and crusty while I made a simple guacamole.  (2 ripe avacados, some lime juice and salt.).  And before I knew it I had this in front of me...

It was absolute perfection.  

Best meal of the year.  

Go make these for yourself.  

You'll thank me later.  

I love gardening.

Do you love gardening?

Are my garden posts the most boring ever?

Actually I love gardening so much I have been thinking a lot about screwing vet school and starting an Organic Farm / Vegetarian cooking school.  

Where fabulous people could come and cook for a week at a time.  

Like a relaxing cooking vacation.  We could do yoga and ride horses in the morning and then pick our food and then cook.  Would you come?

Dear Friends,

I would just like you to know that we're having fun exploring the Peak District.

Especially with all the heather in full bloom.

It looks like a purple blanket is covering the hills.

And sometimes I wonder why I'd ever want to leave this place.

But then it usually rains so I remember.

Dear August, (Yes the entire month.)


Could you please be over already?  You totally suck.  I really have not appreciated what you have thrown at me this month AT ALL... Including but not limited to...

• Studying for a Life in the UK citizenship test
• Taking a Life in the UK citizenship test.
• Dealing with massive amounts of Visa drama.
• Paying £1,500 pounds to swiftly end visa drama... but then having financial drama as a result.
• Spending the whole day at the immigration offices (I've never been to the ER but I imagine it was a similiar vibe.)
• My childhood dog dying
• Knowing that that means it is time to grow up a little.
• Getting two job interviews....and not getting either of the jobs.
• Note:  When can I be grown up enough to consider feedback "constructive criticism" and not negative/you suck at life and are a complete failure criticism?

Sincerely,

Kelly Leigh who is insanely busy

ps.  Yes, I am throwing myself a pity party. You're invited.

pss. I know it is ironic that the busier I get the less I post on Kelly Leigh Gets Busy.   

You know you've had a bad week at work when....

.... you not only decide to totally blow your diet (I HAD lost 2 pounds this week) and bust open your very last bag of nestle toll house chocolate chips (they don't sell them in England) to make cookies....

But you also decide it might be a good idea to stuff half a dozen of them with Nutella.  

Yeahhhhhhh.... fat girl decisions.

I need a new job before I become morbidly obese.

Also in an interesting twist of hormonal imbalances and a moment of enlightenment I burst into tears last night because I decided my job must be punishment because I was a very bad, horrible, judgmental person.  (most notably between the ages of 12-17).  I have since seen the light and am no longer super duper judgemental, but I have recently decided that my karma is bad from my being so awful previously.  I'm on a mission to restore my karmatic  balance, but I'm not sure where to start.  

Do you believe in karma?  Any tips for setting it right? 

PS.

If I have ever been a snooty bitch to you I'm sorry.

Can I get you a cookie?  I have a lot and I'll share.  

The Class Dunce

We've been training Heidi for awhile, but she is still super giddy around other dogs....

And then she forgets we exist and totally ignores us.

However, lately she seemed to have turned a new leaf.  We went for a 7 mile run yesterday and she heeled fairly well, and when I let her off lead on the trails she would come back to me on the first call without harassing the local fishermen or other dogs at all.  

(This is success for us.)  

So I was hoping today at her first day of school... ahem obedience classes, 

she wouldn't make a total fool out of us.

Key Word : HOPING

Before the class even started she broke NOT just one, but TWO leashes.  

The second being that of the burly looking training instructor who lent it to me as a replacement, 

And who was not at all impressed with the Doodle's shenanigans.  

(which I think is unfair really - 

like why would I be at obedience if my dog was already obedient... amiright?)

Can I also add that she decided to run laps around the field both of these times while barking and being a nuisance and EVERYONE was staring at me while I was shouting...

HEIDI COME!  

COME HERE RIGHT NOW!  

COME!!!!!

I imagine it must be like being a parent feels like when your kid throws themselves on the floor of the supermarket and has a tantrum because you won't let them have a toy or icecream or something.

Like all the other parents are watching and thinking 

"Thank God my kid isn't so awful."

Yeahhhhhhhhhh.....

So here we are... after all our hard work training... the class dunces.

Wish us luck for next Monday.

God knows we'll need it.

ps.  For those of you who are fashion bloggers, or are just nice people in general, my bestie, The Queen City Girl, Garenday has entered the My Career My Way Challenge from Lucky Magazine.  I know it would mean the world to her if you could take a little time out of your busy schedules to vote.   She is super duper fashionable and is also a good person and she is my friend.  So just vote for her!  Dooooooo it!  Doooooooooooo it!    Look how fantastically chic she is..

She deserves it!

Click here to Vote!!!

Put A Star On Your Chart

Remember how when you were a kid they had those charts with chores and you got a star if you did one of your chores?  Yeah I never had one but I sarcastically tell Nick to "Put a star on his chart" every time he does something useful.  However, lately I seem to have become a nagging wife.  I dunno where it came from but out of nowhere I just can't stop myself from nagging him.  It's like word vomit.  I don't mean to be so irritating - I swear.  But seriously I just wish that we had a clean house and when he is playing computer games our house is not getting clean.  And to be honest I get a little bitter.  I know I'm not the only one here....

However, Nick swears he does the same if not more than me!  Therefore I devised...

Put A Star On your Chart!  

The DeCourcy Family Chore Sheet

It's an excel document to keep track of who's done what.  Annnnnnnd it really brings out the competitive side of him.  Which is totally useful.  Oh no honey I can't believe you've scored higher than me on the chore chart again!  Damn it *wink*wink*

The chore chart is in trial stages at the moment but if you think such a chart could help you deal with your lazy husband/wife/life partner, let me know and I will share it with you on google docs.   

Oh and also I would like to give a shout out to my favorite of all housewives (even if she isn't technically a wife) Martha Stewart for creating some stellar cleaning charts, which mine is loosely based off of.  

Anniversary Round 2

Yesterday was our anniversary.

Two years.

I'm not gonna lie now, last year when I wrote a really super mushy post about how fabulous married life was and everything I was kind of lying....

 I mean I just found the first year pretty hard, and not that fabulous.  

Even though I was in love with him and everything.  

I just hated England, and I was unemployed, and we were poor,

 and I missed being an independent woman.  

(And by independent I mean living with my friends 

and calling my parents up whenever I needed a bank refill.) 

But anyways being married is soooo much better now.

But it's still annoying sometimes, for instance yesterday when Nick got me gardening books for our anniversary.  I like gardening, but he had told me that he was shopping for my present in a jewelry store, and had also told me that he took time off to get his passport renewed the week before.  

This is when my imagination starts running wild.... 

Needless to say... my face looked something like this when I opened my pressies....

And then I threw a major bitch fit.  

He's still getting hell for it now actually.  

Luckily after two years I have learned a little something about forgiveness.

And I try not to be a huge bitch.

Even though I fail most the time.

In fact I'm probably failing right now 

since I am sharing this anniversary drama with the world wide web.

Oh well.  I want you readers to know that I love him.  

Even though he messes up sometimes.  

Cuz I mess up even more than him and he still thinks I'm cute.  

And he's nice to me 99.9999% of the time.  

And he is awful at holding grudges and he forgets why he is mad at me really quickly 

which is great for me because if I were him I would be mad at me for weeks at a time. 

 And I guess that is what I've learned about this whole marriage thing this year.  

Forgiveness is super important.  

I love you, Nick.

The First Feast

This is me.  Holding zucchini like a creep. 

A happy creep.  Finally all our hard work has paid off. 

Actually its not that hard.  It's pretty easy.  All the little seeds needed was a bit of love and water.  

And this is Heidi.  Looking at me like I'm crazy.  

I've had requests for her to feature more on the blog (hi beans) so here she is.   

Can you believe we have a patio under all those weeds she's standing in?

Ugh, our vegetables get all our attention ...

Anyways we picked the two biggest ones today.

And we dug up enough potatoes for two.  

And took cliche dirty potatoes in our hands pictures.

And this is what I made with them.  I sliced the zucchini into 1/4 inch rounds, placed them in a non stick grill pan over medium high heat, and grated some good Parmesan over the top.  When they got nice and melty I flipped them over and did the same on the other side.  So they had a good crust.  I tossed them into a spinach salad with a bit of balsamic and olive oil, walnuts and salt.

I made a tangy mint sauce for the potatoes.  While they were boiling I chopped an onion up and cooked it in some olive oil until it got translucent.  They I added some boiling water and a few large handfuls of finely chopped mint (also homegrown from seed) to the pan.  I let it simmer down and reduce before adding salt and lemon juice.  It tastes kind of like that mint chutney you get at Indian restaurants.  Sooooo good.  

Everything was absolutely delicious. I kept wondering whether the food just tasted better because I grew it myself, or if it was actually better.  I think it was actually better.  The potatoes were much sweeter, and the zucchini had the best texture.  I don't know how to explain it.  Just go plant some things.  and water them.  And watch them grow.  And eat them.  It is the best feeling ever.  

In other news : We took Heidi to check out an obedience class Monday.  We start in 2 weeks.  I'm scared shes going to be the class dunce....  I don't think I'll ever be ready for parenting. 

I went to Leeds with my friend on Wednesday night and saw Bright Eyes.  It was some really deep shit.  I've been feeling a little emo since then.  

I got a Groupon for osteopathy a few weeks ago and it has been awesome.  But Friday he did something called Applied Kinesiology on me.  Anyone done it?  It was weird.  He put a magnet on my stomach and then put test tubes of different things in it and apparently he can diagnose me from how my muscles reacted to the test tubes.  So apparently I have a fungus in my intestines and I need to take nettle root pills.  This fungus is making me eat sugar too.  So that's cool.  I can blame the fact I just ate a brownie on a fungus and not on my lack of willpower.  Also according to him I am NOT gluten intolerant.  Hooray... except why do I feel so shit after eating it?  But he says I am sensitive to chocolate, sugar, and alcohol.  Balls.  

Victory Garden

Hi Friends,

Gardening is this new hobby I have.  And I'm so addicted.  I feel like a loser but actually I think gardening is in right now.  So maybe I'm one of those hipster kind of losers.  hell yes.  Goal in life fulfilled.  Anyways I don't really care about pretty flowers, they're beautiful and everything, but they seem so vain and fickle.  We have a few in the front yard and I tend to let them die.  My adoration goes almost entirely to my utilitarian kitchen garden.  What can I say.... lately when I'm not eating food I'm trying to grow it.  Check it out...

My strawberries were doing really well until Amy came for the week and we didn't water them.  Oops.  There are still a few hangers on but I doubt they'll amount to much.

Being from the Midwest I just gotta grow corn....

 as Nick would quote the infamous Kid Rock, 

"Skinny Models, you can keep those!  I like big corn fed Midwestern ho's."

Heres the window box herb garden plus a little salad.

Here's a view of the whole shebang.  

Tomatoes, tomatillos, cucumbers, corn, eggplant, zucchini, peppers.  

There are some potatoes, radishes, and spinach just outside of view as well.

I'm currently trying to decide whether to pick and stuff these zucchini flowers with some cheese and fry them... or let them grow to proper zucchini size.

Here's another view of the set up.  

It's dog proof.  

Heidi loves the organic fertilizer, which wasn't working out for my plants.  

So I made Nick build a fence.  Ahhh husbands are so useful sometimes.

Oh and here are my little tomatillos.  I know I shouldn't have favorites, but I am dying to make salsa verde and no one in England knows what a tomatillo even is so it's really important these are a success.  Seriously the only salsa they have here is mild Old El Paso.  Bleh.  Sorry but it just doesn't cut it.  

I just can't wait to make my own!

In other food news, this week is Sheffield Food Week, and today Nick and I had a nice lunch in a pop up restaurant but I found two black curly hairs in my food.  Which was pretty unfortunate, but at least they comped the bill and I could see a man with an afro making my food because seriously who knows where that could have come from!  Also tomorrow night we are going to a food foraging lecture, which I'm super excited for!  Foraged food recipes to follow.

We also attended our first scuba diving class last week, which was cool.  We got a great deal on Groupon.  Does anyone have a scuba certification?  We are trying to decide which certification to go with.... like the one where you can go it alone or the one where you still need a guide.  Any tips? 

Also I just joined Daily Mile and need more friends.  Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller? Bueller?