Ten years ago today....

I married the bestest friend I have ever had.

 

 

Thanks for ten wonderful years John. I love you!

Eating with Liz 2012 - Chicken Noodle Soup

It's time for another recipe. I have been bad at this so far this year because we have been in the process of buying a house… We found a house. We love it. We're looking on closing on it by the end of the month!! Stay tuned for more information. Here is a recipe for you to try out this week.

 

Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

 

1½ c uncooked egg noodles

Rotisserie chicken, meat pulled off in bite size pieces

4 c water

2 c carrots, sliced thin

2 c celery, chopped

1 T salt

½ t sugar

dash of pepper

4 chicken bouillon cubes

 

Cook noodles as directed on package. Heat all ingredients to boiling; reduce heat and cover. Simmer, stirring often, until vegetables are soft; approximately 30-45 minutes. Add more water if needed.

 

 

This is our recipe for this week. It was really good. Here is what I did differently.

1 T salt is A LOT. I only used 1 tsp. When I make this again I wont add any salt. The bouillon is salty enough.

I used about 6 c water instead of 4. After it was cooked and eaten and I was putting way for lunches I added about 1 c water to each Tupperware. This evened out the flavor on the leftovers nicely. Next time I think I'll just start with 8 cups.

The recipe says to cook noodles separately. This I didn't do. I let the chicken and veggies cook for about 30 minutes. Then I added the noodles directly to the soup. This saved time, and pans, and the noodles were able to absorb the chicken broth rather than just a pan of salty water for cooking pasta.

 

I baked some Pillsbury Croissants that were in my fridge and put those in the oven when I added the noodles to the soup. This timed out perfectly.

 

The soup was good the first and second time, and I think this recipe will be added to my recipe book for use again one day.

January so far.

What has been going on with the us for the first two weeks of the new year?

 

Logan and Jenny are getting divorced. There is really no other way to say it. Then to say that we’re disappointed in the actions and events that have lead to this would be a complete understatement. It’s heartbreaking actually. It has been stated in our house that it’s like having a set of our own parents getting a divorce. It’s made for some very frustrating days, broken hearts, anxiety provoked sicknesses, and lots of frustrated cleaning. One never knows how the choices that are made effect the people around them. Sure, immediate family more than others, but friends and relatives, and people who have looked up to you are effected too. And for us, It hurts. I’m sorry for everyone involved, I’m sorry that a hero has fallen, I’m sorry that the damage has been done, and overall we’re the most sorry and sad for their kids.

 

That being said I have done a lot of frustration cleaning over the last few weeks since we found out. The house needs a good cleaning anyway…

 

We’ve gotten that extra bedroom livable again without too many sacrifices. The bed is cleared, the floor has been vacuumed, and all the stuff has been neatly piled in the corner. It is now habitable. Sure it’s not cleaned out like I want it to be cleaned out leaving only the bed, the desk and the cupboard… but that’ll have to wait until we move some where with more storage.

The Bathroom has been SCRUBBED. I have lamented over cleaning that tub for years. It just gets dirty and there are days when I don’t think anything is going to get it white again, but then I make an effort. I’m happy to report that the tub is clean and white. What did I use to clean it? Comet. Yes, the old standard cleaning scrub and some mussel. I funneled all of my anger into that poor scrub brush, and lo and behold it worked wonders. I guess all that extra money I spend on cleaners isn’t really worth it when all I really need is some Comet, some Borax and a steam mop. I think I’ll put some effort in to going back to the basics when we move into a new house.

The Living room also got a thorough vacuuming the other day. Floors and couches. I think I need to work a bit harder on the curtains, but those can wait. They probably just need to go in the washer.

What’s next?

Probably the kitchen. It got a good deep cleaning not to long ago, but it still needs some work.

 

Lets see…. John FINALLY got a job title change and a raise at work. He is now titled “Senior Clerk” it’s about time. He’s been a “Janitor” for the last 8 years and four of those years he’s been working exclusively as a shop clerk, making sure the men and computers are working properly. So this has been a long time coming and it is good that it has finally happened. He’s referred to a lot as the expert with their computer system, but with the title of “Janitor” it didn’t help him out very much when it came to promotions or applying for new positions. We’re hoping that this job title change will be beneficial in a lot of ways.

 

It’s not a secret that we’ve been looking at buying a house. We’ve seen a lot in the last two weeks. 14 to be exact, and we have liked two of them. Well, we actually kinda loved one of them, but it has another offer on it, and even though we’re still interested, and may be putting an offer on it anyway, it may not happen that that is our house. But our #2 choice isn’t so bad either.

Our real estate agent is a nice guy. Troy Starkey, I’d recommend him to everyone. He grew up in John’s ward in Kaysville, so he’s considered more of a family friend. And as an agent he has been spectacular. He’s funny and opinionated, but we don’t let his opinions sway our choices, he wouldn’t want them to. The only real complaint I have about him is his down play of small homes. We’ve looked at a lot of houses that have small square footage that we haven’t not liked.

The thing is… John and I don’t have kids… we *can’t* have kids. It’s not like this is something I want to tell our realtor. Some days it’s more than I even want to admit on my blog that no one reads. All we need is a little house. All we want is a little more room. So him being so down on “small square footage” houses is a little annoying to me. Besides, more space in a house is just more room I have to clean.

 

We’ve been ultra busy between time with friends, working, house hunting, and all the other things going on. It’s hard to find us at home. We will definitely be happy when February is over.

 

My Birthday is Friday.

Andrea is coming to stay at my house for the weekend.

My Grandma turns 90 on Friday and there is a big party for her on Thursday. (At least that’s what I have heard I haven’t really been invited to it yet.)

I’m making a Captain America Shield cake for my little buddy William Brand over the next few days to have it for him by Saturday.

We’re putting offers on a house or two.

We’ll celebrate 10 years of married life on the 25^th.

 

I think that’s it for now.

What happened in 2011

First of all, lets look back and see what I have accomplished out of last year’s goals?

Go to Church (definitely working on it. We’ve attended church weekly for the last several months.)

Learn to crochet (I guess technically I’m still learning, but I’m getting better and willing to try more complicated ones.)

Crochet something for every baby that comes this year (Well… My new nephews, Jack and Cooper, both got new blankets from Auntie Liz, friends who had babies were out of luck.)

Cook one new recipe a week (ACCOMPLISHED!)

Clean out the "other" room (Still a work in progress, but I actually think I made a serious dent this year.)

 

Other things that occurred in 2011:

John worked a second job at the Energy Solutions Arena for several months before the NBA lockout happened and he was laid off.

We attended a U2 concert at the Rice Eccles Stadium you can read about it HERE.

Bought our first refrigerator.

I finished four crocheted afghans. Made several crocheted roses. Crocheted a hanging neck pouch for my iPod. Crocheted a scarf for my sister-in-law.

We watched a lot of movies, both at the theater and at home.

Went to a Ludo concert. It was awesome. You can read about it HERE.

I’ve made six cakes: a TARDIS, R2D2, American Flag, Batman, a Skull, and Perry the Platypus. And I already have 2 cake orders for 2012.

Discovered I’m allergic to a medication.

I hosted a Halloween party that a few people came to carved awesome jack-o-lanterns.

I spent a large majority of the year sick from one virus or another.

I gained a new cat when the idiot neighbor moved out and left the kitty behind.
I learned to love some new music.

I thought I had an ulcer, but my doctor thinks I may just be lactose intolerant… which is sad because some of my favorite foods are made of lactose.

And the year ended on the news that two of our best friends are getting divorced. Too sad.

 

... as always, of course you can always look at my blog archives if you need to know more of what we did.

 

What’s new for 2012?

We’re going to buy a house