I discovered the most amazing flower at Kroger. They were sunflowers, but they had fiery red petals, a yellow reddish center, and deep purple leaves! How amazing?! So amazing that I spent $7 to have them on the dinner table since we are having company over tonight. I'm pretty sure they are spray painted, but that's okay with me. The stems even dyed the water purple. I think maybe we should work "weekly fresh flowers" into our budget; they just make a girl happy.
Oh, that reminds me. This might be my favorite newlywed story so far, because it's just a perfect example of the kind of little ups and downs I think every newlywed couple experiences. A few weeks ago I got dinner with a girl friend and left Matt alone for the evening. I stopped by the house after work before heading to dinner to start the dyer so we could have clean sheets on the bed that night. I got home a little after 9... very tired and very excited to be coming home to my way-cute husband. First, I pulled in to my parking space to find that he had drug the recycling bin out front when I thought we had decided that I was right and that the recycling was not going to be picked up the next morning. So, in a very small way, I had gone from happy to frustrated in an instant. I walked in and saw flowers in the living room with an amazingly sweet note. Aww! Happy again. My way-cute husband however, was nowhere to be found. I concluded that he must be waiting for me in our bedroom. I open the bedroom door and not only is he not waiting for me, but there are not even sheets on the bed. Frustrated again. I was focused on the fact that I was so tired and unable to get right into the bed that I couldn't fully appreciate the flowers or even notice that he had put a movie in the dvd player for us to watch. I refluffed the sheets in the dryer, made the bed myself, and crashed. He said he was going to get himself ready for bed. I felt better once I was horizontal, and I was once again happy to be ending the day with such an amazing man. I laid there waiting for him to return. After ten minutes or so I realized he wasn't coming back. Frustrated again. I wandered out into the living room only to find him sitting on the edge of the couch, eyes wide, mouth propped open just a little. One look at his position and expression and I knew exactly what had happened. He got ready to turn the movie off, got sucked in by a scene, lowered himself onto the couch (slowly now, because gonig from standing to sitting while watching tv constitutes multitasking and this is no simple feat for those way-cute boys), and there he sat, as if frozen in time, until I came out and found him. The movie was Ice Age, mind you. No high speed car chases and captured his undivided attention and prevented him from joining me in the bed. No thrills or action or suspsense. Just a really cute sloth with a lisp and a pear shaped bottom. The up and down of my emotions that night made me laugh. If not then, at least the next day.
On the menu:Taco Night!
Fresh Garden Salsa4 tomatoes, chopped however chunky you like your salsa
1/4 red onion, chopped fine because they're hot
1 jalapeno, minced
8 sprigs cilantro, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Chop it all and mix it together in a bowl. It makes about two cups.
Easiest Bestest Spanish Rice1/2 cup white rice
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa
I have this pot that I got from my mom that I use for absolutely everything. If you don't have one like it, I recommend getting one. It's a 10" "skillet" with raised sides and two short handles. I also have the same pot, a little bigger, with one long handle and sometimes it's just too hard to clean in the sink to be worth the trouble of cooking with it. Ok, back to the rice. Heat up the olive oil on medium heat and brown the rice for a few minutes. Few a few. Stir in the chicken broth and salsa of your choice. I prefer medium spicey, chunky salksa, and for this recipe I just use the cheaper grocery store brand. Bring to a slight boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Done! Give it a stir and serve. This is such a hit every time I make it and it couldn't be easier.