1261

1261. That's the percent daily value of iron supplements that I'm currently required to take by my doctor. Almost two weeks worth of what a normal person would need. Doesn't that seem kind of ridiculous? I feel like I'm going to turn into a solid chunk of iron any day now. Matt says it's a good thing Magneto from Xmen doesn't exist, otherwise I'd be in big trouble.

Confession: a weird obsession

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved to rip things. We're not talking just ripping paper - it's got to be perforated so that it rips nicely. When I was younger, my sisters and I used to put on plays that we'd write. I used to collect the tags off of new clothing (you know, the kind where the price rips off the bottom) and use them as tickets. Well, that habit has never died. After I go shopping, I can't throw away the tags unless I have checked every single one and ripped it at the perforation. In fact, if I don't have enough time to nicely rip each one of them before I throw it away, I keep the tags on a pile on my dresser until I have time to go back through and check and rip each one. Today was a great day - I was organizing baby clothes and things, and got to rip tags off of all the baby things. It was lovely. :)



Note: No, the above tag was not mine. I don't think I've ever spent that much money on one thing in my life. It was a google image. :)

New recipes in my own kitchen

So one of the things that I missed the most about our apartment in Provo was having my own kitchen, with all my gadgets and all my spices and the things that I'm used to cooking with - not to mention Matt as a captive audience for whatever I create. So in honor of being back in my own kitchen, I decided to try out some new recipes. Two of them turned out really yummy, so I'm sharing them. Without further ado:

Applesauce Bread

2 1/2 c. Bisquick
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter
2 eggs
1 c. applesauce
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and sugar a 9x5x3 loaf pan. Beat everything together on medium until blended - about 2 1/2 minutes. Pour into pan. Bake 35 minutes, or until toothpick in the middle comes out clean

Notes: Don't try to use a smaller pan; this bread expands a lot, and you'll have batter baked on to the bottom of your oven (like I do). Also, I had to bake it a lot longer than 35 minutes, but then my oven tends to undercook.



Creamy White Chicken Chili

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1/2 onion, chopped (use the full onion if you like onion)
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder (I used more - I love garlic)
2 (15 oz) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
2 (4 oz) cans diced green chilies
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. whipping cream
1-2 T jalapeno juice (optional - if you like it really spicy)

Brown chicken, onion, and garlic in oil. Add beans, chicken broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, or until most of the juice is gone. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and whipping cream (and add the jalapeno juice at this point). Serve and enjoy!

Notes: I didn't add the jalapeno juice, and it was quite spicy enough for me. Very yummy. :)


Well, that's it! Hope you enjoy them.

Summer in California

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

On being pregnant...

I've decided that the toughest thing about food during pregnancy is not being able to eat certain things. At the top of my list? Brownie batter and cookie dough. I know with the raw eggs you're not really supposed to eat them anyways, but that's never stopped me... and now I'm feeling the absence of licking the bowl when I make brownies. Sad day.

Summer Jobs

__________________________

Well I thought it was my turn to report on how my summer is going,

So, I have come to realize this summer how much I love school. I am not as eager as I once was to graduate and start working full time. In fact, searching for a job is pretty much miserable.

So far this summer I have had two jobs. I started out with an internship working for the Fremont group in San Francisco. It was a research internship and I gained a lot of great experience. I was able to do a lot of informal interviews with people in the firm and really enjoyed myself. I had my own office on the top floor of the building, and it was incredible.



The second job I have had this summer has been helping the accountant at a small technology company in Berkeley. They are called Cantaloupe Systems and they sell remote sensors for vending machines. I was mostly helping as a collections clerk, trying to get the company up to date on their accounts receivable. It was good experience, but I am glad to be finished there.



On Monday I start my last job of the summer.
I am going back to work at Pool Chlor doing what I did the summer after my mission. It isn't the most prestigious summer job for my resume, but it pays really well and I will be done working by 1pm everyday which will be really nice. I will also enjoy spending more time outside and developing my farmer's tan.



On August 25 we are making the long drive back up to Provo to begin school again,
And I am really excited.

It's a boy!!

We got our second ultrasound done last week, and we found out that we're having a boy! The doctor couldn't tell what it was the first time around, so we scheduled an ultrasound with a 3D place that cost half as much as the doctor. We got some cool pictures and found out that it's definitely a boy. We're very excited. We don't have a name yet, but he'll be due sometime around/between October 18-27. The pictures below are scanned in, so they're not that clear, but I'll try again later to put some better ones up. He was moving around the whole time, and his little mouth was opening and closing like crazy - maybe he'll be a singer. :)

His little face.

Profile view with his mouth open.

His face again. Matt thinks his nose looks funny
in this one, but the doctor assured us that because
of the angle of the ultrasound, most babies' noses look
kinda weird while they're inside. It'll look more normal
once we actually see him.