Halle-freakin-lujah

Graham finally got a permanent job!

Almost a year since his last permanent job, he got a job in the mall, working in a kiosk.. He starts tomorrow.

He'll be working part-time, evenings and weekends.. With a base pay and commission, it's the perfect part-time job with school.

Seriously, thank the Lord!!!

New Ingredients

I may not get into cooking ruts, but I do tend to use the same ingredients over and over, like cilantro, parsley, chicken, lemon, etc..

So, I decided to be adventurous and try something new in my cooking. This month I tried tarragon and short ribs.

The Verdict

Tarragon: Beautiful herb, but not to my taste. It has that "black licorice" flavor, kind of like fennel. YUCK. I just don't like that flavor profile AT ALL. I used it in a creamy sauce for chicken.

Short Ribs: I freaking worked my butt off all day to get these puppies tender. The day before Valentine's Day, I roasted the ribs, braised them with aromatics in a red wine sauce, strained the cooking liquid, and refrigerated them overnight to be able to skim the congealed fat off the top of the liquid. On Valentine's Day, I sauteed some bacon, parsnips, and pearl onions and added the cooking liquid and the short ribs to re-heat. Was the cooking marathon worth it? Absolutely. When placed over a potato puree, it was heaven on a Waterford china plate. I can't say exactly what Graham said, but I'll have you know, these ribs were damn good. Simply said.

My next mission: Collard greens.

My Life is a Mormonad

Graham and I have been practicing singing for the past couple of weeks.. I mean, he is the primary CHORISTER and all..

Anyways, I've been trying to learn how to sing alto parts, because my voice is a bit lower and it's easier for me. Graham told me I'd probably do better as an alto, but that he likes the way our voices harmonize together when I sing soprano and when he sings tenor in the LDS hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour".

We started singing "I Need Thee Every Hour" while getting into bed, pulling out our Book of Mormon while we harmonized together. Graham then said, "ok we need to stop singing or I'm going to get sick from our cheesiness."

Not a joiner

I've had many titles in my life, including:
1) Cheerleader
2) Slut (see #1)
3) Nerd
4) Man stealer
5) Jokester
6) Best backspot (see #1)

Among many others...

But never the title of "joiner". What do I mean by this?

My mom always complained when my sister and I were older that we were not "joiners". We didn't try to hang out with other people all the time. We didn't go to parties. We didn't join in any reindeer games..

I am perfectly content being by myself, mostly.. In Portland, I became perfectly comfortable with seeing movies by myself. I would go to bars with grad school friends and be the only non-drinker there and feel ok about it. I don't feel the need to constantly talk to people and be the center of attention in groups. I am ok with listening to other people talk and say something when I have something important to say.

Even when I was young I was like that. It's not that I was shy. I just didn't enjoy other people's company all the time. Sometimes in elementary school when I'd get invited to sleep over at a semi-friend's house, I'd pretend to ask my mom and tell the semi-friend my mom said no. I never had a large circle of friends.. just a few close ones.

If I had been a "joiner", my life definitely would have been different. First of all, I would've been a drinker and your stereotypical ho-bag cheerleader. I would not have attended BYU, and who knows if I would have graduated college. Marriage? Maybe later, after I popped out a kid or two.

So, mom... I think my life turned out alright huh?

And no, I'll never be a joiner.

My Little Bubble Boy

Graham's family knows how allergic Graham is to everything, and I've told the story about Graham getting hives from a used basketball jersey last year...

But Graham's recent allergy experiences really are almost too much to take..

First though.. Let's take it back a bit, to February/March of 2008 when we were first married.
--Graham decided to get a Snicker's bar and he ate it before dinner. Graham wasn't allergic to peanuts, so he figured it was ok even though it may have some tree nuts in the bar according to the package. When he found a hive on his hip about 30 minutes later.. he started FREAKING out..

He literally tore all of his clothes off and was pacing around the house.

Imagine my face.. "Um, honey.. Why are your clothes off?"
Graham: "I don't know. I'm itchy!"
Me: "Are you going to shower?"
Graham: "I don't know!"
Me: "Well dinner is ready and getting cold... Do you mind if I eat now?"

Graham proceeded to take his plate of food and sat on the couch, naked, and started eating dinner. Me: "Um, what do you think you're doing? That's nasty. Put some clothes on!"

Obviously, Graham goes nuts (nice pun eh?) when he gets a hive, and I don't have any sympathy for allergies or hives.

Graham stopped going to the allergist in Portland when we met for an unknown reason.. But he found one up here and got all of his tests done again in November. Let me list his allergies:

trees

grass

tomatoes

watermelons

honeydew melons

cantaloupe

cherries

celery

cabbage

corn

apples

apricots

peaches

nectarines

green beans

shellfish (including shrimp)

all nuts (including peanuts), except walnuts and macadamia nuts

soy

milk

oats

barley

wheat

flax

mustard

I believe that's the whole list. And no, I'm not making that up. An allergy to healthy food. The allergist partly blamed it on me because I made Graham all healthy and made him eat whole grains and fruits/vegetables. We don't take all of the allergies seriously, like the wheat one (but I don't buy whole wheat bread anymore), but Graham stopped eating fresh apples and milk, and his headaches have all but disappeared.

But he has had an incident lately. His allergies give him severe sinus infections, with severe congestion. He took some antibiotics in December, but the infection is back in full force..

Anyways, Graham came home from church basketball the other night with a crazy story.. Why is it the crazy stuff always happens at church ball games?

Graham and another kid were going up for a rebound or something, and the other kid came down on Graham's right side of his face with his elbow.. HARD. Graham fell to the floor and almost blacked out. He felt a crackling noise in his nose and felt fluid pouring out of his nose.

He assumed his nose was broken and that it was bleeding profusely all over his face, shirt, and gym floor. When he opened his eyes and wiped his nose, the color was orange/yellow, kind of the color of Mountain Dew...

His sinus emptied out on the floor!! He said it took 3 paper towels to soak it up..

And man, have I been obsessed with trying to clear out his OTHER sinus (his left side). I keep trying to karate chop his left eye/nose area to.. you know.. "help him out". But Graham won't let me do it for some reason...