My Struggles With Rice

Many of you know that I am proficient in the kitchen. I can bake mouthwatering pies, throw together a tantalizing salad, create a layered lasagna that would made Garfield go crazy and put together many many more amazing meals with ease. Surprisingly I have always struggled with the simple things.

When Jared and I first got married I attempted to make a box of macaroni & cheese. He took his first bite and could hardly finish it. He then informed me from now on he was in charge of cooking the macaroni & cheese. He had perfected the art of macaroni and cheese in his years as a bachelor. I should have felt offended, but truthfully I knew that I always lacked these simple skills.

Well, rice has always been something else that I struggle with. My mom makes the best rice ever. She sautes it first with a little butter and garlic and then cooks the rice. It comes out perfect every time. I have attempted cooking rice many times in the year and five months we have been married. Every time it comes out disgusting. It would be either too hard, too soft, too garlicy or too salty. I blame the 7,000 feet of elevation for my horrible rice, but Jared has informed me that elevation does not effect taste.

Last night I decided that I really wanted to eat rice with the kabobs that we had been marinating. I took a deep breath and started the rice. I did every thing my mom would have done and then I crossed my fingers. Finally the timer went off and both the rice and the kabobs were ready. I put our dinner on our plates, prayed for the best and took my first bite. The rice was amazing. It actually had just the right proportions of salt and garlic. I was so excited. I inhaled the rest of the rice and went back for seconds. My life is completely changed. I can now cook rice!

The Attack of the Rouge Brownie

In my last post I briefly mentioned how we didn't have any clean dishes left. You might have assumed this is because we were too busy to wash the dishes or the fact that I hate doing dishes. This is entirely not true. The truth is that lately our humble apartment has been under attack by a rouge brownie.

For those of who are unfamiliar with brownies and their folklore let me explain a little. (I give credit to Wikipedia for this scholarly information.) A brownie is a legendary kind of creature popular in folklore around Scotland and England. Brownies are said to inhabit houses and aid in tasks around the house. However, they don't like to be seen and will only work at night, traditionally in exchange for small gifts or food. They take quite a delight in porridge and honey. They seldom are seen by humans and live in the unused portion of the house in which work in. House elves, as depicted in Harry Potter, have several characteristics of Brownies.

I believe that we have a Brownie living in our apartment. This Brownie doesn't eat porridge, but pies. Our brownie used to live in our office, in the little extra space that we had there. Recently we filled up every nook and cranny of our apartment with furniture. I believe that our Brownie turned rouge in protest to losing its home. Our rouge Brownie now dirties all our dishes, sprinkles crumbs on the floor and scatters our belongings throughout the apartment. Lately the attacks have gotten worse. I don't know what to do. Jared and I have tried everything. If anyone reading this blog has information on how to neutralize our rouge Brownie, we could really use it.

A possible depiction of what a Brownie could look like. Hopefully ours wears more clothing.

The Power of Fruit Snacks

As many of you know my life is quite hectic. In between trying to succeed in school, being an amazing wife and working a full time job my weeks are continually packed with to-do lists. Most of the time I check off what needs to be done, but at times I avoid the dishes. I personally feel this is a healthy way to balance life. In addition to avoiding dishes at times I have found another way to fight for my sanity.

The only way I am able to make it through my everyday activities is a little hint of sunshine in the middle of each day. This semester my little ray of sunshine is fruit snacks. Every day I make my lunch and include a package of Welch's Fruit Snacks. (They have 100% vitamin C per serving.) At about 10:30-10:45 a.m. I open up the package and slowly eat each fruit snack savoring each fruit flavored delicacy. I make the package last about 28 minutes by enjoying every last fruit snack. When the fruit snacks are gone the only thing I have left to look forward to is coming home to Jared. I invite everyone of you to find your own personal fruit snack in life and soak in your own little piece of sunshine. It has changed my life and I know it can change yours.