My best friend

Ok, so as many of you know.. I love food.

I love cooking, I love watching cooking shows, and I love reading cookbooks. Being married to someone who loves food has just made my obsession even worse. I pore over cookbooks looking for something new to try. I'm obsessed with trying new recipes.. but I do make and re-make some of Graham's favorites, like shepard's pie, taco soup, roasted pork tenderloin, etc..

Anyways, let me get straight to the point..

I have found a new best friend. It's called The New Best Recipe cookbook.

The authors in this book detail how they made the "best recipe" ever.. It may not be interesting to those of you that don't enjoy cooking or food science, but it helps if your recipes fail in the kitchen.

The best part is that every single recipe I've made from this book is seriously delicious. Our favorites are: beef stew, stuffed bell peppers, warm spinach salad w/ bacon dressing, cinnamon rolls, apple pie, focaccia bread, lemon cheesecake, strawberry shortcakes.. among others.

If you are looking for a new cookbook for your repertoire, consider this cookbook. You will not be disappointed.

Lately...

My sister Julie came out from Utah to visit me and Graham. We really didn't do much, but we had a good time.

Our activities included:
--Picking our own strawberries at Sauvie Island and then making strawberry short cakes.
--Shopping in downtown Portland and visiting the famous huge Powell's Books.
--Watching several episodes of "Legally Blonde: The Search for the Next Elle Woods".
--Eating lunch at Round Table Pizza.
--Visiting Graham's brother and wife, and playing with their dog.
--Cooking, cooking, and more cooking.

Anyways, I'm getting really excited about my job interview on Thursday and have been very excited about the potential new job and move. Graham and I are very excited about the possibilities in our future.

Job Interview

So.. I randomly applied for a job as a dietitian the Seattle area, only a ferry ride away from downtown Seattle.

I really didn't think anything would happen, since the job description says it requires 3 years of experience and perhaps a background in diabetes education.. neither of which do I have.

I mainly applied because it said there was a $5000 dollar sign-on bonus with a 2-year agreement. Hello! We could definitely use that cash!

So anyways, I got an email today saying they'd like to interview me next week. Yahoo!!! Isn't that exciting?!

Currently unemployed

Ok, so I've never been in this position before.. where I officially have nothing to do and nothing that I "should" be working on.. And I'm BORED already.

--How do you spend the hours of your day?

I've been applying for jobs, but have only heard back from ones that require more than one year experience. Apparently, having a master's degree only counts for ONE-YEAR of experience for jobs. I was starting to get really ticked off because this practically puts me at the same level as a recent internship graduate with no higher degree and no experience. Ok, so getting a master's isn't exactly experience, but it means a couple of things.. 1) I'm smart (no conceit there), 2) I'm dedicated, 3) I have plenty of self-directed work experience, and 4) I have student loans I need to pay off.

Really, I think a higher degree should count as 2 years experience.. otherwise, how am I supposed to get a job without experience? And, does the compensation match the "level" of experience? Anyways, I'm not snobbish about having a master's.. I just want a good job and to really get a good monetary return on my investment. ARGH.

So yeah, I don't have much to do during the day, besides applying and looking for jobs.. I've already done all of the filing in the house.. I worked out for 2 hours today, and I tanned. I also made cookies for a church activity.

--Question: Do any of you recommend a certain workout video? I think I need to vary my routine.

All right.. that's it. There is NOTHING good on TV and Graham is playing basketball. Boo.

Do I look like a pioneer?

Ok, I don't know how many of you have experienced one of these activities, or even heard of one..

Graham and I were asked to be a "ma and pa" on our stake's annual TREK.

This means, we both have to wear pioneer clothes and haul a wagon and possibly some oxen (?) in the mountainous terrain around Portland with a "family" of 13-17 year olds.

A man who's in our ward, who's also in the stake presidency, recommended us for the job. Apparently, we impressed him and he really likes us. But really--Graham has pioneer potential, but what about me?

1) I've never squatted to go to the bathroom in my whole life. I'm not about to start.
2) I like air conditioning.
3) I hate dresses, and I totally hate bonnets.
4) I appreciate a real stove and a refrigerator.
5) I love my bed, down comforter, and down pillows.

My mom is making me a pioneer outfit. She's made me one before--I had a speaking/singing role as Mary in the play about Tom Sawyer in 6th grade. I wish I had a picture of me in this outfit to show you all, but I don't.. So yeah, it's a good thing my mom can sew or I'd be wearing just a smelly old dress from Goodwill. Graham has to wear suspenders. Ha ha.

Needless to say, this will be interesting..

25 Things About Graham

Thanks for the tag Lex.. I've already done one like this, but I thought I'd do it again.

1. What is his name? Graham Rockwell

2. Who eats more? Definitely definitely him.

3. Who said I love you first? I did. He'd never even told it to a girl before, so he had no experience. I said it to him under the stars on a beach at the Oregon coast.

4. Who is taller? He is.

5. Who is smarter? We're smart for different things. He knows about how things work, I'm smart about other stuff. The better question is: who is more clumsy.. because that's a toss-up.

6. Who is more sensitive? Me.. I'm a crier. I've also seen him shed a couple of tears..

7. Who does the laundry? Me. Graham comes home with 5 less socks than what he left with.

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I sleep on the right when you are laying on the bed. Graham even makes me sit on his right.

9. Who pays the bills? We both do. "Pay" is a relative term, however, meaning that Graham is the one who works to pay the bills. We both send the checks out.

10. Who cooks more? I do.. Graham has only cooked like 3 times. He does help out in the kitchen as my sous chef.

11. What meals do you cook together? Sometimes we cook breakfast foods together--I'm not too great at the pancakes. If I need chopping or stirring, he helpes me out all the time.

12. Who is more stubborn? I probably am. That's how I get him to call kisses "smooches" every night,

13. Who is the first to admit they're wrong? Me.. But he's pretty good about it too.

14. Who is cleaner? Me, but we both have bad habits of leaving clothes lying around. His is more annoying because he leaves his socks and shoes EVERYWHERE. One day I counted 5 pairs of his shoes in the family room.

15. Who has more siblings? He does. He has one more brother than me.

16. Who wears the pants in the relationship? I have my way with him.. But if he asks me to do something, I would definitely do it.

17. What do you like to do together? Cuddle, laugh at each other, support each other, see movies, try new things, get me out of the house when I'm going crazy, and get/give foot massages.

18. Who eats more sweets? He does, especially if I make him a special cheesecake or cookies. He's a cookie monster. He also loves Little Debbies.

19. Guilty pleasures? Right now, it's the TV show "Heroes". We have been watching it for the whole weekend after Sarah introduced me to it.

20. How did you meet? We were on a multi-stake activities committee. I went up to talk to him at a dance because he served a mission with one of my friends from Utah. The next dance, he asked me to hang out with him and his friends after a dance.. We're "poster children" for the Young Single Adult program in Portland.

21. Who asked who out first? He did. He asked me out for a couple of dates for the next weekend, but I asked him to come over one night during the week.. So Graham likes to say I asked him out first.

22. Who kissed who first? He definitely did... in a CHURCH PARKING LOT at 2 in the morning.

23. Who proposed? Graham did, duh.. He got down on one knee on a bench in front of the Sacramento temple, where we got married 4 months later. I was so nervous and so excited.. My heart was racing, and Graham made me cry when said wonderful things to me.

24. His best features? His goofiness, willingness to laugh at things to keep life light, his cute butt, and his hot face (the hottest in the ward).

25. What is his greatest quality? His humility, his leadership abilities, and his love for me.

Memorial Day..

Wittle baby Emma at 4 months.

We spent our holiday weekend down in California to play with my family and to meet Baby Emma for the first time.


We went down to Monterey.. We went to the aquarium, down to the 17 mile drive in Carmel, and a drive down to Big Sur to meet with all the hippies.

We were a little tired (my nephew Braden has limitless energy) after the weekend, but it was a good weekend.



Here are some pictures..

The Lone Cypress

Me and Graham

My dad, Braden, and Maren

Little Emma being pensive.

I "graduated"!

I still have class, but I graduated from OHSU last night. Yay.

Graham is hot.. apparently

Ok, so no need to worry about me guys.. I was just feeling fat and I went for a sarcastic post. Graham thinks I'm beautiful, even when I look disgusting, so he's not putting extra pressure on me or anything. I just want to look good for myself.

But yeah, so Graham might be embarrassed about these stories, but I think they're hilarious. I'll just start telling them.

Before I met Graham, he used to sell protein bars in Bally's gym in downtown Portland. Some guy got his phone number for protein bars, but instead asked about his height and weight. Graham told him, and the guy said, oh yeah.. that's just the right size. He then offered to give Graham a full body massage. Graham of course said no.

So when we first moved into our apartment building, a weird man tenant asked me about Graham and how old he was. He then went on about how handsome Graham is and how he puts every other man in the building to shame. He also asked how often he works out.
----Later that day, I mentioned this man's name to Graham, and Graham was like, yeah.. I think he's a pedophile because I saw him looking at the Olson twins online. I then told him about him asking about how old he was, etc.. Graham was kind of creeped out.

Several people in the ward have told us that we're the cutest couple ever, but one man in our ward took it to the extreme yesterday. After sacrament meeting, this man turned to me and asked, "so how does it feel to be married to the most handsome guy in the world? I mean, man.. gahh. sheesh." Graham didn't like how this guy said it.. Hahaha.

Also, the creepy guy in our apartment building again asked Graham how often he worked out and how he keeps his body so toned.. Personally, I thought this guy would've lost his interest once he found out that Graham is over 12 years old. Mind you, Graham hasn't been to the gym since like October.. so "toned" isn't really the right word. Anyways, this guy has the hots for Graham apparently..

But, so do I... and ain't no man gettin between me and my man, no matter how much he may flatter Graham.

**Update: I told Graham about this blog entry, and he had another funny story about guys thinking he's attractive... or gay?

He was in American Eagle, buying a new shirt for our first date (aw how cute right?), and they were giving away free cloth bags with purchases. The "gay" salesperson tried to convince Graham to take one, and he said no.. The guy said, "are you sure? The bag is pink." Graham refused the bag again, and the guy said, "Oh, I was hoping you would like the pink bag." Hahahahaha. Poor Graham.