Guess who was in town?

Really? Did you have to guess? If you did, and you guessed Needtobreathe you would be correct! They played for the fourth time at the Intersection (it's a venue, not the street corner, although it does sit on a corner).

Yes, I saw them again. This was the seventh time I have seen them. It was a great show! I did not take a set list, but I did get a photo of it. You may think this is weird, if you do, I apologize; I take their set list and make it a playlist in my iTunes. Maybe it's less weird if I tell you I only have three set lists out of the seven concerts.

(this is from November)

Last night's concert was a fifteen song set. It rocked! If you haven't heard any of their songs yet, (honestly I'll be surprised because they're going mainstream, good bye cheap tickets and small venues) click here to to check out their website and listen to some music.

Busy

I am busy. It never fails that I plan a couple of things and then before I know it the surrounding days, nights and weekends fill up around the original plans. I like to be busy. Too often I get bored. I watch too much tv. I just got hooked on another show, but that will have to be a different post.

I was thinking about how busy I am right now. I'm in two Bible study classes (using the same book, so that's a relief), I am going to visit my bff Heather this weekend, I was in Detroit last weekend, and next weekend I've declared it Spring Cleaning in our house. That is Palm Sunday weekend, so the following Sunday we will be heading down to Cicero. Skylar will be coming back for her spring break. I'm looking forward to all of these things (yes, even the cleaning. The sense of accomplishment is what I'm looking forward to the most).

Then I was thinking about Easter and the Lenten season. We do busy ourselves, much like Christmas, preparing for the coming of Christ. Easter Monday is always so... sad. It shouldn't be, it should be another day of rejoicing. I think I know the reason why. Because we've filled the time before with so many things. The bible studies, giving something up; there's a constant reminder of the season of Lent and then, just like that, it's over.

How do you carry on after Easter? Do you try to keep doing whatever you were doing (or continue to give up whatever you had given up for Lent) throughout the year, like some kind of New Year's resolution? I'm curious to hear how you deal with Easter Monday, and the other days of the year that feel like Easter Monday?

Adventures during dinner

In my last post I was excited to "reinvent" my eggplant leftovers. I learned something that day. Eggplant does not keep in the fridge for five days. It was moldy. Ew! Although, it was a pretty shade of green-blue. I threw it out and scrounged around for something else for my dinner. I ended up making nachos with cheese. Mine are never as good as Bill's. He gets that cheese to nacho distribution just right. I ended up with a small tummy ache.

I redeemed myself for Dave and Greg, making them a turkey sausage, rotini dish.

I also made a flour-less chocolate cake. It was good, but I made it Thursday and we didn't eat it until Sunday, so I think it would have been better sooner. It wasn't bad. I also made fresh whipped topping once we found the hand mixer in their basement. That was pretty funny going through their boxes. Bill, at one point, thought he had found it. Alas, it was the iron. I ended up finding it in a random box. We also found a cast-iron skillet, a sifter, and several other kitchen gadget treasures that the two of them have forgotten they owned. That's what happens when you leave things in boxes in your basement for two years. Speaking of, we have a couple of boxes we need to clean out...

Food For Thought

I'll be the first to admit, I'm no Julia Childs. However, I have found a passion for cooking. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I'm home and I have time to cook. I love watching Food Network, my favorite chef is Giada De Laurentiis. Bill has met her, he even got a kiss on the check from her. It is my dream to meet her, to tell her because of her I love cooking. Of course as a result, I feel like I'm part Italian. There's nothing wrong with that. I also admit we probably eat more pasta than we should.

I have also found that desire to make things from scratch. To do things the way they used to be done instead of relying on prepared foods. My grandmother gave me a "no fail" pie crust recipe that is really easy! And no matter what you do to it, it always turns out flaky and delicious.

Another thing I have discovered is my love of so many different foods. I grew up being a very picky eater (if my mom would like to weigh in, I'm sure that's an understatement). As I've gotten older I've been more daring. I'll try new things. Not everything, I do still have my limits. (Calamari is on that list of things that still makes me gag looking at it. It is still squid with little slimy tentacles, yuck!) And I've even been eating a lot healthier, more veggies and fruits in my daily diet!

This last weekend I tried yet another new recipe. It was Penne with Pesto and Eggplant. It was quick, easy and delicious. I wanted to capture it, to share with you, to make your mouth water. Alas, real food does not photograph too well. I tried. Here's the result.

Look, you can see the garlic. Mmm. This dish made a lot, so I still have leftovers. Tonight I plan on reinventing the dish by combining it with another recipe I have. I'll let you know how my creation turns out.

I once said on my facebook page that if you have a dishwasher and would like a cook, I'm available! I'll be cooking for our friends Dave and Greg this weekend. Check back soon for more pictures!