January Update

Hi Friends,

I know I've been totally slacking on the blogging front.  I've been getting busy, but my new found life as an employed member of society has been leaving me with less time for superfluous bloggy activities.  Anyways, here are some updates about life around here since the last time we left off...

• I have nicely adjusted to working life.  I thought I would be super duper tired, but I'm not.  The only thing I struggle with is boredom.  My job isn't that interesting.
• I have been going to the gym A LOT more in hopes of shifting some of this Christmas weight.
• Last week I ran, swam, and went to spinning, some activities more than once, and I gained a pound.  Typical.
• I rode The Duchess to the post office yesterday - it was the first time I have rode my bike to do an errand and this made me feel quite proud (and cold).  Nick even took a picture...

• Ironically, I was going to post a form to obtain my provisional driving license.  
• We have been seriously slacking on our DIY activities.  
• But we have finished some things, and I feel like I am a bad blogger for failing to post pictures, but I am always embarrassed of what a slob I am - as soon as a room is finished it is a mess.  Nick says I am trying to create a "show home" that is why the pictures are so long in coming... but I will post some soon...  Maybe even in progress ones?  Do we like in progress shots - or just straight up before and afters?
• Yesterday we went to B&Q (a DIY store) to get back on the DIY train.  We bought lots of blue-ish paint samples for our kitchen.  
• I've been told you're not supposed to paint kitchens blue because blue is an unappetizing color - but encouraging me to eat less seems like it can only be a good thing, no?
• At B&Q I also went a little overboard with the purchase of these...

• Apparently I want to be a farmer.  I will keep you updated to whether I have a green or a black thumb.  FYI all of these have sow dates in February (at least in the UK), so if you want to try farming too go buy some seeds now! 
• Also on the subject of food... I have started planning our meals for the week now, to minimize our (outrageous) grocery bill by only buying things we need, and making cooking after work a less daunting task.  I was thinking about posting our meal plan on this here blog, and letting you all vote on what you want to see featured here.  Thoughts?
• Heidi has been a naughty little dog since I went to work.  See below, that is sour cream on her head.

• Earlier in the week I got a bad report from her dog walker, who said that he let her run around on "the commons" and she refused to come back for 30 minutes because she wanted to play.  Later that night I took her for a run, and when we came home she kept complaining about how bored she was.  She also had a pimple on her nose.  I think it is a case of teenage angst. 
• She also chewed up a pair of my shoes for the first time this week.  She never chews things (except for raw hide) so this was a big surprise.
• Annnnnnnnnnd she just stole a pineapple carrot muffin I had cooling on the counter.  Fail.  
• She liked it so much she even ate the wrapper.  They were good.  I'll post the recipe.    
• We're working on retraining her.  

That's all folks.  

How was your January?  

Hope it was fantastic!!

Breakfast at Tiffany's Tuesdays : Eliot's Breakfast Parsnips

Those of you who've read this blog for awhile know that we get our vegetables delivered from an organic vegetable delivery scheme called Riverford.

This ensures our vegetables are seasonal, fresh and mostly local.  

It also means, that we have less choice than we would if we went to the supermarket.  

And sometimes, we get things that we would NEVER purchase on our own.

Enter the parsnip.  

In my opinion, one of the lowliest of root vegetables, 

but oh so common in our vegetable box over the winter.

I was REALLY struggling to cook these little buggers -

in fact, more than once this winter I left them to rot.  

Forgive me for being so wasteful.

But finally, I have found a solution for my parsnip problem....

Eliot's Breakfast Parsnips

from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone 

(yet again - I LOVE this book)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 pound parsnips - peeled and sliced into thin rounds
• 1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts or pecans
• warm maple syrup to serve.

Melt butter over medium heat.  Add the parsnips and a pinch of salt.  Cook stirring frequently until the parsnips are carmelized and golden.  Serve with nuts and maple syrup.  

Hands down the best parsnips of my life.  

I Don't Feel Like Dancing...

This weekend would have been an ordinary weekend.  Friday night was spent watching a movie on the couch, Saturday we went grocery shopping, and came home had a little dinner and snuggled up yet again to watch a movie.  Truth be told, I am not a massive fan of watching TV, but Nick loves watching movies, so I usually humor him.  But last night, when I Love You Phillip Morris was over, and Nick started scanning his media center DVD collection for something to put on next, I had had enough.  


I got up turned off the TV and said,

"Nick, I am sick of wasting my youth sitting on the couch with you.  

Get dressed.  We're going out."

Considering we have not gone out on the town together for the entire year and a half that we've been married, he was pretty confused.  But he sarcastically got dressed as I put my make up on half jokingly.


I continued with my little game and got dressed and told him to call a cab, which really confused him, and maybe it confused me a little too, because I didn't believe we'd actually end up going out.  Nick really hates dancing, and thinks that drinking with me at a bar is a waste of money since drinking at home is much cheaper.  But he did call a cab and we did go out.


And we finally explored the Sheffield night life scene.  It was a strange combination of college students and mature folks.  We heard live music and techno, and even the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song (in a trendy club - weird right?).  We took shots and danced dirty until the early hours. 


We woke up this morning with hang overs, but you know what - we had fun.  Much more fun than if we had stayed at home to watch another movie.  


I am a naturally lazy person.  I wish it wasn't true, but really, I am pretty damn lazy.  I am constantly trying to fight my urge to be lazy.  But sometimes it is just easier to lay on the couch than get up, get dressed, and put your dancing shoes on.  


I just wanted to share this little story to remind you (and me) that while we're stuck in our houses, life is happening outside.  People are doing, dancing, creating, laughing, moving, motivating.  And sometimes you (I) need to turn off our computers, turn off the TV, and start living life.  

The truth is...

• Today was my first day of my new job
• I never understood how people could get "stuck" in life.
• And now I can't figure out how to get unstuck.
• I love having guests.
• Every time a guest leaves it makes me feel a million times more lonely than before they came.
• I had separation anxiety about leaving my dog alone today.
• She is probably my best friend.
• I am so scared of failing, sometimes I don't try.
• I thought I would get skinnier when I joined a gym in December, but every single night when I try to book a spinning class online, they're full.
• Is that karma?
• I hate being fat, but I can't stop emo eating.
• When I was a kid I used to make butter burritos.  Recipe : Spread butter on a tortilla, microwave until butter melts.  Add more cold butter.  Wrap.  This will give you the perfect mix of cold and melty butter.
• If you're not judging me right now, I'm judging YOU.    
• I haven't had a butter burrito in a while.
• I think this this picture just might epitomize my perfect life and I have looked at it a million times.

• I wonder if America is better in my head than it is in real life.  I haven't lived there for a year and a half now.
• I really want to be an urban beekeeper and have chickens.
• And ride my bike every where.
• Apparently Nick's mum is allergic to bees and Nick has never been stung so he isn't so sure about my bee keeping idea.
• I wonder if I will miss England when we leave.
• I have made a lot of deals with God lately and I'm not sure I ever hold up my end of the bargain.
• I still haven't sent the Christmas presents I bought.
• I do not remember the last time I slept through the night.  
• I should probably get some pills for that, but I hate doctors.  
• ...and fashion blogs.  There I said it.  But I like the girls who write them because I think they're cute.  but I hate how much fashion bloggers shop.  It seems really wasteful.  Sorry.  

We Love Guests

On Sunday I cleaned our little house up and down in anticipation of 

a very special guest's arrival...

And I made these delicious Lemon Curd Muffins because I am the perfect hostess.

(They were pretty much excellence in muffin form -

slightly sweet, oozing lemony goodness, and just tart enough)

Anyways, as I was taking these little beauties out of the oven we received...

 a knock upon the door.  

And this razzle dazzle sparkly Australian girl showed up and graced me with her effervescent presence.

She brought her boy friend too.

And we went to a little British pub for dinner.

They were only meant to stay the night, and leave in the morning 

for a quick stop over in York before heading up to Edinburgh, Scotland.

But I hadn't seen her face in 3 years and one night was not enough for me.

So I invited myself to York with them for the day.

I hope they didn't mind.

I cherished every minute of my 3rd wheeling!!

In case you're counting, these were our fabulous 3rd and 4th Aussie guests since October.

And no, we're not running an Australian only hotel.

Yes, I would like some red, white, and blue (of the USA variety) in our house.  

But OH how much do I L.O.V.E. all of our guests?!?

Thanks for visiting Temae and Jack!