Mundane Monday

After working the weekend, I had today off work. I was...partially productive in that I got my taxes done. I am getting a little money back...and a little money back is better than none! Beyond that, today was not as productive as I wanted it to be. I planned on digging up the garden, but it stayed just above freezing and raining/drizzling all day.

When deciding what to make tonight, Aegs suggested one of our frozen Target pizzas that are actually pretty good and was sitting in the freezer. I was thinking of the fresh mushrooms and leftover Alfredo we had in the fridge that needed to be used. He agreed pasta would be good. (Plus I like the idea of having that pizza avail for a day after work when I am more likely to not want to cook).

Well, once we decided on pasta and mushrooms, we went through the fun task of deciding what else we wanted in there. After some deliberation a strip of cut up bacon was added to the list as well as garlic and freshly grated parm.

I sauteed the bacon, olive oil and garlic together and sliced the mushrooms in the process. After the bacon seemed mostly cooked I added mushrooms.

We were both kinda sad to see that we only had elbow macaroni pasta in the cupboard, but not so much that we felt it warranted going out to get different noodles. Once the noodles were done I added the sauce and my wonderful mushroom concoction. Peppered it, cheesed it up and put it in a casserole dish. I added a parm coating to the top and popped it in the oven.

I heated up some peas and mixed them into my bowl of pasta (I would have added it to the whole mix but Aegs doesn't like peas). It turned out good, but needed more sauce, which I had thought it might when I was putting it in the oven. Otherwise successful meal!

One thing I have found interesting in cooking for the two of us is finding ways to include things we each individually like but the other doesn't. For me, it is finding ways to add veggies to a meal. We also find ways to make things healthier but still full of flavor (he is one to always want to add more cheese or more butter or oil etc). It is a fun challenge actually. It has me thinking outside the box and I think we have surprised each other on what we will and won't eat. Aegs now eats tomatoes, which were not a part of his diet before he lived with me. I've experimented w/ more spices than I ever have in order to provide a lot of flavor without adding the calories.
Well, back to preparing bills to go out tomorrow.
Until next time,
Kith

My First Yard, My First Garden!

Last weekend started Friday night when I was giddy with excitement....about yard work! I highly doubt that this feeling will continue as the years go on, but having someplace that is *my* yard and garden is really exciting to me. I took a few before pictures.

It took all weekend and several trips to Home Depot, but I feel like I got a lot accomplished. Cleaning out the garden...I didn't finish that, but it was my biggest time sink. It obviously hasn't been used in at least a couple years..seeing as there are three small trees growing in it. I got a little less than half of it cleared out.

I also planted my first plant, a raspberry bush!

It was a lot of work, but I was really proud of myself and it felt good to be outside again. I still need to plot out my garden, but I do have a little bit more time to do that, seeing as I am now in Zone 4. I realized when picking out what I wanted to plant that most of my planting/gardening knowledge is about NC and NC soil/native plants/times to plant/etc. I've been researching a lot trying to make sure I do it right for MN so I don't end up with a flop of a first year.
Here are a few pictures from the yard...much more clear from leaves.

It took 20 bags to clear up what I did...and I still have more to do! Anyone have any advice on how to get those trees out of the garden? I dug a hold about 3 feet down and still am hitting roots...just keep digging? Until next time! ~Kith

Cooking and Interns

I challenged Aeglaeca (WoW name of my boyfriend shortened to "Aegs" for time sake) and myself to not go out to eat until our Michigan trip. Likely I will break that tonight b/c one of my good friends got accepted to not only one but two grad schools with a full ride to both, so we need to celebrate. But, beyond that, we have both been very good. Thursday night I made a recipe I found online called "Amish Chicken Casserole." It turned out very delicious! See the recipe here I didn't have sage so I didn't add that, and I ended up adding quite a bit more flour b/c the sauce wasn't thickening w/ just 1/3 cup. I also added more cheese..because both Aegs and I love cheese... It was very very very good. I have leftovers today for lunch!

Last night, I made Jumbalaya! It was also wonderful! I didn't really follow just one recipe, but I used this recipe as my base. The whole reason I thought of Jumbalaya was that there was a chicken sausage vendor at the supermarket that had samples. I got to taste then bought the Cajun sausages and used that. Aegs and I both wanted shrimp so we added shrimp. I did use chicken like that recipe suggested, but not as much. I also took out the diced onions (used only onion powder) and added diced tomatoes. For the cayenne pepper I used about half of it and did the rest chili powder. I didn't add the hot sauce nor the green pepper even though I most likely would have enjoyed it, Aegs didn't want it as spicy as I did and he also hates the taste of peppers. Looking through the recipes for Jumbalaya, I learned that it truly is just a dish that you could throw whatever you want in it! I saw recipes adding carrots, some with corn, some with fish, etc.

I meant to take pictures of the processes..but completely forgot until I was putting leftovers in the fridge...oops. Both were very fun and pretty different from my "usual" cooking. We both enjoyed both meals very much.


I recieved an e-mail yesterday that squashed my short lived excitement of my first intern interest, she accepted another internship site offer. It doesn't surprise me, but it does make me a little sad. However, to pick me back up, another student emailed me late last night saying she was interested in the site. What is the saying, as one door closes, another opens? I don't know if this is always true, but it feels right for this occassion.


Well I need to get to work. I had a fun night (long time since this happened) on WoW last night but I stayed up a bit too late, I am exhausted today! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

~Kith

Introductions

Well hello there. Welcome to what I am hoping will become my new place to put down my thoughts and memories of the goings on around me.

Who am I? I was born and grew up (I refuse to say "born and raised") in North Carolina. After I finished my course work in college, I worked for about 8 months until moving to Minnesota to finish my degree by starting, then completing an internship at what would become the place I now work.

As my internship came to an end, there was a position opening up as a memory care specialist. I took the job and worked as an evening memory care specialist/programmer until March 2011. The music therapy director, that was my internship supervisor, left in March and I became the new music therapy director. January 27th of this year, the same day I closed on my house, I received the paperwork saying I was approved from the national music therapy board for being internship supervisor for the site.

Memorial Day weekend 2011, my boyfriend who is from Michigan, moved in with me. We had met online, playing World Of Warcraft and a friendship bloomed from guildmates, which became more as time went on. (I am sure I will write many a posts about WoW and my boyfriend)

Today, I received my first application submission for my internship. I am excited and nervous all at once. I need to remember that I am not perfect, and that is ok. I am there to help teach interns to go from student to professional, not to mold them into me or make them perfect. I am there it help guide and bring out the best in them. I know I can do this, but I must remember that this is the goal.

One last note before I go. I tried blogging just about WoW last year see the old blog here but I found that although I love it, I didn't want to blog only about WoW. I will have WoW posts here, but there is so much more in my life I want to write about that a WoW blog wasn't enough.

It is getting late, so that will be my intro. Have a good day/night!

~Kith