Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Dear Ms. Zobrist,

A student that interviewed me in January for a class came to my work today to drop off a 'thank you note'. You may be thinking this was a kind gesture on his behalf. It was not for the following reasons:

1. During the interview he told me he was required to send one. He also told me this with a hint of disbelief in his voice... like he was thinking that it is passe to write them (note: It is not).
2. He did not mail it... he gave it to me. call me old fashioned, but it just seems odd for a person to drop off a thank you note. 44 cents for a stamp is not that much.
3. It was written in PENCIL and on a piece of LOOSE LEAF PAPER! Seriously?!?!

That is not only lazy, it is insulting. I know my job is not very busy... but I took time out of my day to answer his questions (of which 95% of them can be found on our website) and he thanks me by writing me a 'note' that is not even folded into fourths correctly. I about had a flashback to fifth grade in Mrs. Kelso's class while taking it from him (except for the fact that we folded our notes way cooler - of course)!

I showed it to my boss. She just stared at it and shook her head in disbelief. We then had a talk about how unbelievable it is that kids like this are getting degrees (yes, this guy is graduating in May... and to top it off, he is going to be a nurse. God help us all).

I don't know... am I being a snob? Perhaps, but we all have our standards.

Friday, March 26, 2010

On Living Things...

Today I took a big step towards adulthood; I re-potted my plants that are in my office. My Granny gave me a plant a while back and recently it has grown so much that I needed to re-pot it. It was actually 2 plants on one pot, so I separated them too. And I did this all at work! Luckily for me the boss was gone today and a co-worker used to work in a flower shop! So Amy helped me re-pot them; so far they are surviving!

I actually have 4 plants now. Unfortunately Spartacus isn't doing too well... but Herman, Harriette, and Peter Parker are beautiful! 4 little plants, a goldfish (named myrtle), and a husband... oh my! I think it is officially time to turn 25!

(21 days and counting!)

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Website Wednesday

The time has come, dear reader, to start a themed weekly post. This post is cleverly named 'Website Wednesday.' Obviously I will post a website/blog that I read often and gush about why I love it so much.

So, here goes:

Apartment Therapy: I might be a closet voyeur... I LOVE looking inside homes (not is a creepy way, just in the 'i'm a nosy american ' way). Apparently I am not the only one, as Apartment Therapy is basically pictures of really neat apartments. I love getting ideas on how to decorate, especially when the ideas (and hopefully supplies for the project) are free or cheap! Since we live in an apartment, storage is always an issue; apartment therapy has given me some good ideas! Most of the homes are more modern and not my style, but sometimes you see one and think "I could live there"... and that is so refreshing.

p.s. They also have great sister sites; The Kitchn is a great site for recipes and tips!

I hope you enjoy it!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Opinions

Everyone has an opinion on the healthcare bill passing... and I appreciate those opinions. I am glad that we are able to express our feelings without being afraid of persecution. However, I am not a fan of uninformed opinions.

I understand how hard it is to find a balanced news-source, but they are out there. The husband and I are frequent visitors to Politofact. It is a GREAT website! Basically they take claims politicians have made and check them for accuracy. It's so simple and informative!

So please, for my sake, do your homework before you update your facebook status!

Thank you.


ps... I am ecstatic about the health care reform bill passing! it's not perfect, but it is a start!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Irish Feast update



The Irish inspired dinner was so delish! I seriously could not believe I made it! I think i'm beginning to realize that cooking isn't as scary or hard as I thought. It does take patience and time though... and when i'm hungry I dont want to wait. maybe that is why cereal is the best food ever!

The meat was tender, the veggies were not too soft and not too crunchy, and even the cabbage tasted divine! I also made green mashed potatoes; they were good, but mashed potatoes aren't my favorite. Of course my favorite was the mint dessert brownies. I used a box for the brownies (I didn't want to chance dry brownies) and made the mint cream and chocolate toppings. Friends brought over soda bread and salad with homemade dressing. Overall I would say it was a perfect evening!

I have three regrets though:
  1. That I couldn't invite more people
  2. That I didnt have a green tablecloth; we have 2 tables pushed together
  3. That I made place-cards for everyone and labeled mine "Jayme Z (D)". I did that because while I didnt officially take The Husbands name, I wanted to put it on my place-card. However, it ended up looking like the '(D)' was there to say Im a Democrat (which is true, but still...)!
The wonderful-ness of the night greatly outweighed the regrets though, so I would label the night a great success!

I hope you all have a great weekend; I plan on doing nothing and relaxing afterwards!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Irish-like dinner

well, today I am preparing a dinner feast for the Husband, a few friends, and myself.

I have Corned Beef, cabbage, a rutabaga, a leek, and a pound of carrots warming up in the crock pot as we speak. I also have my mint brownies done, and boy do the look yummy!! When I get home the husband is going to help me peel the potatoes and then we will have green mashed potatoes as well. Yum! Some friends are completing the meal with a salad and soda bread. The only thing missing is some yummy beer, but seeing as it is a weeknight and I forgot to pick some up, it looks like we will be having organic sparkling lemonade.

ps... youtube is wonderful... thank goodness for instructional videos on how to cut rutabagas and leeks!

I think i like being a hostess.. I might host another one next month in honor of my birthday. 30 days left!


Tuesday, March 16, 2010

31 Days!!! But who's counting...

T-31 days until my birthday!!! Just thinking about my birthday puts me in a better mood! I guess when you think about it, 25 is a pretty monumental birthday; after all, you are a quarter of a century old! Plus (and this is a big plus), now you can rent a car! The next milestone birthday isn't until you're thirty... and even then, it's not looked upon as a happy one. However, if it's an excuse for cake and food, chances are I will want a celebration.

A lot of my friends have odd feelings towards the big 2-5. I guess it's because none of us are where we thought we would be. Many of us thought our lives would be more permanent; we would have a house, a good job, and/or possibly a family. Others thought our lives would be more exciting... but here we are, most of us working in jobs for which we are overqualified, bored and sometimes underpaid. Some of us are wondering how we got stuck in this monotony when we were supposed to be changing the world and traveling.

I think reality sets in around this time in our lives. We are realizing that it is a lot harder to change the world than we thought. It takes more than a passionate heart, it also takes organization and ingenuity. Yet it is still not impossible... just harder.

So take heart, 20-somethings everywhere! maybe our time has not come, but when it does, they will feel our velocity!




Monday, March 15, 2010

Ah, the weekend

This past weekend The Husband and I made it a priority to do nothing of significance. Of course the goal was achieved. We wrapped up odds and ends, he played a lot on his new Xbox, and i kept on at the puzzle I am putting together. Yes, we are officially lame. No, we don't really care... mostly because we had a great time doing nothing! Also, we have been on the go for the past 2 weekends so we deserved a break.

The Husband did make supper Saturday and it was delish! I am so glad to have someone who is able to share cooking duties with me! We had eggplant and spaghetti; yum! Today I am making hot ham sandwiches... and hopefully going grocery shopping later tonight. After all, I am trying my hand at an Irish inspired meal on Wednesday; corned Beef and cabbage, green mashed potatoes, and brownies with this delicious mint creme on top. I think I will make the brownies tomorrow so I am not so overwhelmed on St. Patty's day. However, the beef and cabbage will be in the crock pot, so hopefully i will only have to worry about the mashed potatoes.

On a completely different note, The Husband and I watched (500) Days of Summer last night. the movie was good, but even better than the movie itself was Zooey Deschanel's (or Summer, in the movie) wardrobe. Seriously folks, if I had all the money in the world I would own THAT wardrobe. It was so beautiful and 50's feminine, but not costume-like. I commented to The Husband on all the outfits throughout the entire movie! Sorry! :)

I am attaching a link to another blog that posted a bunch of Zooey's clothes from the movie. I would make one myself, but i'm too lazy. Sorry!

Friday, March 12, 2010

series yet to be named... part 2

Growing up in a small town of 500 had it's perks and disadvantages. It was great in the summer as a younger child;one of my favorite things to do was jump on a neighbors trampoline with my BFF's and sister. I distinctly remember choreographing a dance to Ace of Base's "All that She Wants" on my friend Emma's. Those were the days.

Another great (and awful, depending how you look at it) thing about living in a small town is getting to know everyone in town. One woman in town that I always admired was an older woman named Clara. Clara and her sister lived in what used to be Goodfield's schoolhouse (now it is turned into 2 apartments). They were devout Christian ladies who were the epitome of hospitality. They were always baking pies and rolls for people and businesses in town (however, since they grew up in the depression they didn't use enough sugar!). Clara took a walk every day and, from what I could tell, was in pristine shape until the very end. She had so much energy; maybe it was the walking, the baking, or the constant gardening. I guarantee she had more energy at 80 than I do now.

My favorite thing that Clara did was pick flowers from her (or a neighbors... love knows no property laws) garden, put them in a lovely vintage vase and place them on the door step of the Baptist Church I attended. Sometimes she would add a poem she had written and typed out (on a typewriter folks!). Now this may not seem that powerful and moving, but the church she attended has the reputation of not fraternizing with others; even other Churches. The fact that she did this seemingly small act all summer still makes me smile.

I was so saddened to hear of Clara's death when it happened; I had always planned on writing her to tell her what an inspiration she was to me... but I never got around to it. So she will never know what an impact she had on me, but I can only hope to pass on her story through actions, and when necessary, words.




Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Underdog

Confession: I have a serious crush on 'the underdog'

It started surfacing in High School. Well, maybe in middle school; after all, I really liked "God help the outcast" from the Hunchback of Notre Dame... anyways... My friend Kagan and I did our own part in the Iraq War effort by printing off protest signs (at school) and posting them on our lockers. Sure, the "No War for Oil" posters didn't stay up there long, but it was our way of 'sticking it to the man'. In high school I also started seeing the way my classmates treated those that were gay, and that really ticked me off. I'm not really sure why, but it did. Also, I started getting heavy into researching mental health and its effects on belonging.

I decided in college that my major would be sociology/psychology mainly because I wanted a job helping the under-served. I went on 2 work/mission trips and also worked at a day camp for kids in low income families. All of these events increased my passion for the underdog even more. Also, I did a crazy long report on sweatshops in the garment industry. Man, was that an eye opener!

Then Camp Kindle came... Whoa. Words cannot express how much those 10 days affected me.

After college I joined AmeriCorps*VISTA and worked at a day shelter for homeless neighbors. That was one crazy year. I was also on food stamps during that year... and let me tell you this; NO ONE that is on food stamps should be considered lazy. it took me 3 MONTHS... and I had a college education! Not to mention i had to take 1/2 a day off of work to renew them! If someone is willing to endure that humiliation and agony they deserve that money.

After my term was up I eventually found a job working at another day shelter for the homeless in another town. By the grace of God they promoted me in a week to the job I have now, helping those with a severe mental illness. So there that is folks; these are most of the philanthropic issues I am interested in so far... and i'm only 25 (well, I will be in a month)!

Tomorrow I might post about another person who has changed my life; and it's probably not you. :)

Loves!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Cooking and Such

Well, it's finally happened! The Husband is done with his second job! Wa-hoo! Obviously I'm excited to spend time with him, but i'm also very excited that we will now be sharing the cooking duties! Tonight he is making this chicken and veggie thing; I think he made it up. It's good, easy, and doesn't dirty many dishes!

Which is good, because all of our bowls are dirty. However, we use bowls for everything. And we (okay, I) eat a lot of cereal. We normally don't let the dishes get too out of control, but they just sneaked (apparently snuck is not a word) up on us! I can not WAIT until we get a dishwasher... someday.

In other news, it is a whopping 68 degrees outside! I was so happy that I could finally start wearing my spring dresses again! Perhaps this will motivate me to try some new hairstyles... I have so many I want to try, but I am finding that i am not patient enough for all of them. We will see!

One style I do not want to try; a Farrah hairdo from the 80's. No disrespect (RIP Farrah), but I am just NOT a lover of the 80's hair. A co-worker saw a lady with this hair today and told me that this could be inspiration for me. I'm not very good at hiding my emotions off-the-cuff... so I think I looked mortified. Good thing she was walking away when she said that!

Well, only 1/2 an hour until I am off of work and with my love! I'm thinking that I might be able to persuade him into going to a coffee shop after supper... I want to enjoy this weather (and perhaps a sweet treat)!


Monday, March 8, 2010

Jayme's Day Off

Today I am sick. Blame it on The Husband. Oh well... at least I have paid sick days!

Tomorrow I write. I promise.

Friday, March 5, 2010

What to write...

I am a very indecisive person. That is probably why I have started this post 3 times about 3 completely different subjects and promptly deleted all of them. Since I cant decide what to write on, I will leave you with this.


Have a great weekend!


Thursday, March 4, 2010

On Celebrations...

Well everyone, my hummus turned out great! I put a bit too much red pepper in it for my liking, but The Husband thinks it is perfect.

Just in case you don't know (but I'm pretty sure everyone who reads this blog does), next month I celebrate my Birthday Week! Yep, thats right folks, I am important enough to have an entire week dedicated to how wonderful, funny, and beautiful I am.... and the fact that I've made it this far. I'm not sure how im going to spend my week, but i'm sure it will involve cake, wearing a crown to work, presents, and probably more cake. It will be the best week EVER!

I think I love my Birthday not only because I get cool stuff and get to eat cake, but also because I just love to celebrate! I'm finding out that not everyone in the world celebrates as much as my family does; we celebrate all holidays on the Christian calendar and then some!

If they make socks decorated for the holiday, chances are we celebrate it.

Last week a co-worker noticed my St. Patty's Day socks and commented that it wasn't St. Patty's Day yet; I kindly informed him it is more than acceptable to wear the socks because as soon as valentine's Day is over it is St. Patty's Day Season.

I'm probably taking this out of context, but I've heard from a pretty reliable source that there is a season for everything... St. Patty's Day included.

ps... Jenny Houch: remember to tell Justin that my B-day is April 16th!!!! :)


Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Happy Hummus Day

Today during lunch I ventured to the international food store in town for some ingredients for tonight's dinner; I am making hummus! The ingredients I bought are probably the real deal ... they have arabic writing on them like this تحيني (that says Tahini, thanks Wil!) and everything was only 7 dollars!

A few friends have made it recently, and as impressionable as I am, I needed to make it too! Plus, I bought some hummus at the store a couple weeks ago and it wasn't very good. I would have regretted it if i hadn't bought it on sale and had a coupon for it! So I researched online and found 3 recipe's that sounded good; Smitten Kitchen's Recipe required you to buy dry beans and soak them for 36 hours (not happening), one was for beet hummus (I would enjoy it, but The Husband, not so much), and the other was just right. I was skimming the comments on the last recipe and one person who is Arabic posted a few suggestions to make the dish a bit more delicious. I wrote down the suggestions and altered the recipe. I am excited to make this!

So tonights meal will be hummus on bread topped with cucumbers and tomato, mixed veggies, and I might defrost some raspberries for fruit. Delicious, healthy, easy, and cheap!

I'm thinking about trying my stolen recipe for tomorrow's dinner.

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment if you want; they are fun to read and I get all excited when I see that someone left me one!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Martha Knows Best

You know you're getting older when you are in a waiting room sifting through germ infested magazines and get secretly excited to see Martha Stewart Magazine. You wonder if you are becoming your mother when you ponder if you should put it on your birthday list. You know you are your mother when you rip a recipe out of it while waiting.

Come on, doesn't caramelized pears and red onions sound too good to pass up?!?

Monday, March 1, 2010

Our mini-vacay was GREAT! We got to see some friends, go to a few shows, and eat great food... which brings me to today's topic.

Food.

I am a lover of food. I love food with my whole being and I don't think I am exaggerating. Of course good chocolate is my favorite with cereal at a close second. Nothing beats chocolate and breakfast food together. Yesterday I at hot chocolate French toast topped with whipped cream (sadly it wasn't homemade) and chocolate ganache. it was heaven on earth! I almost didn't order it because I was afraid of it disappointing me, which it did not. I'm glad I took that risk!

Anyway, while out eating with friends this weekend we were discussing my 'odd' eating habits. It is not that I eat weird things, it is that I eat things a certain way. I have a particular way to eat burgers, brownies, toast, different cereals, and yes, Reese's PB Cups (there IS a wrong way to eat a Reese's in my eyes). Now some (i.e. The Husband) think that these 'rules' I have for myself is constricting, but I find it refreshing.

On the other hand, if someone sneaks a bite from my sandwich/ice cream/whatever, it throws off my whole meal. The Husband has learned how upset it makes me if he messes with this fragile balance. I am more than willing to share, but one must ASK FIRST. You would think most would know this by now, but some think it is entirely appropriate to take a bite of my brownie, which I have eaten in a certain way as to save the middle (ie the best) for my last bite. I am generally a nice person, but someone who eats the last bite of something of mine might be eating their last meal. Okay, I wouldn't kill, but I would get extremely pouty, whiny, sad, and grumpy. Don't mess with me and my love of food.

So there you have it folks. We all have things that we like a particular way, mine jsut happens to be edible.