Mr & Mrs Peters

I love sweets. Love them. Like, til death do us part sort of love…

I am the sort of person that has to have dessert after a meal. I feel so… well, incomplete if I don’t have something sweet and tasty after dinner.

This is something Justin has had to try to adjust to. He does enjoy dessert every once in a while, but really thinks I am bit overzealous in my need for daily dessert.

Tonight during dinner, Justin asked me very sweetly what was for dessert, and it sort of threw me off. I told him that I didn’t have anything particular in mind, but that the usual items were on standby (i.e. ice cream in the freezer, popcorn in the pantry)

Justin let me know that tonight, he would be surprising me with dessert. You can imagine how my little heart just SOARED with the thought of a special dessert. I instantly began to mentally categorize all the potential options of what I thought he might get for us.

Let’s just say, folks… I had no clue what I was in for. I’ve got one word for you all…

Gelato.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Gelato is basically the Italian version of ice cream. And it is amazing. The place we visited tonight had a funny little feel to it as it had both Italian and Korean influences. But, boy oh boy it was tasty! If you have never had it- I urge you to google search the nearest gelato cafe and visit it immediately!

Oh, and for my lady friends out there trying to watch your dainty little figures, here’s the truly great news: Not only is gelato delicious and creamy… It is something like 75% less fattening than regular ice cream. How did I never know about this before?!?

New Haircut? Check.

Bags packed? Well… not quite.

So, instead of packing like a good little girl, I give you my day in pictures.

Yummy lunch. Only cost me $2.75. I love employees meals.

Got a new hair cut.

The first step in packing? Making a packing list. See, I am WAY ahead of the game. Oh wait, this isn’t a packing list… it’s a “what I should buy at Target tonight” list. Drat.

Come on… How am I supposed to pack when I could spend my moments reading about how Valerie is now bikini ready??

I was attempting to call someone today to schedule a job interview.

Lady who sounds slightly asleep: Hellooo?
Me: Hi, may I please speak to Steve?
Lady: Yeah, (still sounding very groggy) let me find him.
Lady: Steve!
Lady: STEVE! TELEPHONE!! (she is now screaming right in my ear)

What a weekend… I am sitting here nursing a headache and amazed at all we fit in this weekend. Minus the headache I’ve got going on, it has been an absolutely wonderful weekend.

1. After years and years of raising funds and praying, our church moved into the new building this week. We had our first service in the sanctuary this morning and it was such a neat time. Justin’s parents have been going to Grace for something like 30 years and it blows my mind to think of how long they have been waiting for this day. I get weepy-eyed thinking of the fact that our kids will be dedicated in this new building some day.

2. Doesn’t it feel good to be known well by those you love?

3. I am continually reminded of how blessed I am to have the job that I do. I am thankful for steady employment and a chance to do something I enjoy (most of the time!!).

4. This weekend felt like the ending of an era… Yes, that’s right- Justin and I finished watching The West Wing. I cried like a baby throughout the whole last episode. We started with Season One months and months ago and I honestly feel like the characters are friends after all the hours I have spent with them. President Bartlett, Leo, CJ, Josh, Donna, and Toby… I will miss you all!

5. We celebrated Justin’s birthday on Saturday night. I surprised him with a party and we got to spend time with some of our family and close friends. He had such a great time, and quite frankly… I am glad it is over with! Too much work keeping secrets like that in

Enjoying our cupcakes!

On a side note- I ordered cupcakes from Kelly at Once Upon A Cupcake. Check out her site- her baked treats are the cutest!

6. This week I leave for Nashville to visit Miss Chloe. She has been gone for 3 months and I absolutely cannot wait to see her. Kelly and I will be gone for a long weekend and hopefully Justin won’t burn down the house while I’m gone.

First, and most importantly, I must wish my darling husband a very happy birthday. Today he is 30 years old! (And I think he starts to cry every time he thinks of his new age.)

Today’s list is of my favorite movie quotes. Many of these I say (to myself usually) on a regular basis. Others are just quotes that I like but don’t normally have reason to use.

They were cones!
The Wedding Singer

I’ll think about that tomorrow.
Gone with the Wind

Be demure, sweet and pure…Hide the real you.
Summer Magic

Oh, pook!
Thoroughly Modern Millie

But Daddy I love him!
The Little Mermaid

So okay, I don’t want to be a traitor to my generation and all but I don’t get how guys dress today. I mean, come on, it looks like they just fell out of bed and put on some baggy pants and take their greasy hair – ew – and cover it up with a backwards cap and like, we’re expected to swoon? I don’t think so.
Clueless

I said I wanted four minute eggs. Not four one minutes eggs, and where in God’s name is our bread?
Ever After

My sisters may write to me. They will have nothing else to do.
Pride and Prejudice

UPDATE: How could I have forgotten some of my favorite quotes of all time? All day random quotes have been coming to mind and I will add a few here:

Do I KNOW you?
Father of the Bride, 2

Get in my bellllly!
Austin Powers 2

If you haven’t seen any of the above mentioned movies, I thoroughly recommend all of them! (Well, expect Austin Powers. It is funny but slightly tacky)

I love lists. They are fun to make, help me organize my life, and let’s be honest- I am hard pressed to think of something that compares to the joyful feeling I get as I cross items off my daily to-do lists.

Lists help my clarify my thoughts and decide what is important. Sometimes, they aren’t even all that interesting… (For example, the time during college when I kept a list of every single thing I ate for a few days. That just got depressing.) I have catalogued some pretty weird things during my career of list-making. I have decided to share some lists with you, my lovely blog readers.

Today, a (partial) list of my greatest fears:

1. Snakes. Hands-down, my biggest “physical” fear. (I classify a physical fear as something that when I see or encounter scares me. Most of my fears are things that might happen, but I don’t see or experience regularly)

2. Everyone in my family being in some sort of horrific accident that kills them all and leaves me alone.

3. Cats. This is a hard one to explain- it really all stems from a cat we had when I was 4′ish. Mindy liked to hide behind corners and jump out at me. She could sense my fear. Evil, huh? She left me scarred. I do okay with some cats, but only the ones that don’t move quickly.

4. I am sort of a hypochondriac and therefore I have a lot of health related fears. In college I was convinved that I had several different forms of cancer. Every time I get a headache I am convinced that I am about to have an aneurysm.

5. My biggest fear? Something happening to Justin.

6. Freeway overpasses. I am always scared that I am going to have an involuntary twitch and accidentally send my car sailing over the side.

7. Driving into intersections where I am the only car. I once was almost hit by a driver running a red light. Thank God I was paying attention or I would have been hit. Now I am incapable of going through an intersection without slightly pausing.

8. I have never done well with bike riding. I am always scared of accidentally falling into the street and getting run over.

To summarize:

Okay, so if you didn’t already know this about me- I very obviously am slightly paranoid. I already worry about the kids I don’t even have yet. My friends have lovingly told me that when I do have kids they are going to teach them how to be “tough.” Kelly says she is going to put my children through some sort of boot camp so they aren’t timid.

My mom once told me (while I was in the midst of one of my “Holy crap I am going to die of this random disease I just heard about on the internet” rants) that there are a million ways to die. In her super blunt terms, “Honey, you could walk out the house and get run over by a bus so you need to get over this.” Thanks, Mom.

The truth of the matter is that, yes, I am scared of a million things. Quite frankly just thinking of this list made me imagine even more things to add to the list. But the good news is this- I know where I am going when I die. I am going to Heaven to be with my Savior. He tells me not to worry, to trust Him. Obviously, I am not so good at this. It is an area I am trying to grow in. So when I start to freak out and have one of my miniature panic attacks I force myself to think of the only thing that really matters in the end- God has me in His hand, and nothing can snatch me away.

Okay, I know… Super depressing post, huh? But, I promise that tomorrow’s list will be something funny and cheerful.

A few thoughts for the day, and then I will share my dinner recipe from last night.

1. Are you wearing green? I sure am! My S-I-L Amy bought me the cutest green sweater for my birthday and I am sporting it today.

2. Today is my cousin Katie’s 21st birthday! Happy Birthday Sweetie!!

3. Do you have a guilty indulgence? I have a soft spot for red Swedish Fish and vanilla cones from McDonald’s. I got thinking about snacks this morning because Miranda at www.aduckinherpond.com wrote a poem on her love of vanilla cones. (Side note- How am I the only person left in the world that doesn’t know to do that fancy linking thing where you can show a link without writing it out?) HELP!

Without further ado, here is our dinner from last night. This is another All Recipes find that I changed to fit our tastes.

Beer Battered Fish Tacos, serves 6-8

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup beer (I used Coor’s Light. It’s all we keep on hand)

1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used low-fat)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used the nonfat variety)
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (If you like spicy food you can increase this amount)

Oil for frying
1.5 lbs cod fillets, cut into 2 to 3 ounce portions
White Corn Tortillas
1/2 medium head cabbage, finely shredded

Beer Batter- Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Add in egg and beer, quickly stir. Don’t worry about getting all the lumps out- you don’t want to stir this too much.

White Sauce- In a medium bowl mix together yogurt, mayo, oregano, cumin, dill, and cayenne, and lime juice. Stick in fridge until ready to serve.

Heat oil in deep frying dish.

Dust fish pieces lightly with flour. Dip into beer batter, and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

You can fry your tortillas if desried. I threw mine in the oven covered in some foil while I prepared the meal.

To serve, place fried fish in a tortilla, and top with shredded cabbage, and white sauce. I served dinner with a side of black beans as well as chips and salsa.

This weekend we took Skyla on a walk to a new park that Biola recently dedicated on their campus. It is on a hill-side and showcases the remaining olive trees left on campus (La Mirada was once nothing more than a very large olive grove).

Skyla loved running through the high grass and was jumping around like a young pup. Justin tried several times to hide from her, but she was uncharacteristically astute on this occasion.

Every Friday night we meet with our Homebuilder’s Group. Every other week we do a potluck and this was my week to do the main entree. I was having a hard time thinking of something that would be relatively easy to put together after work on Friday that would serve 16 people. I was originally going to do a casserole, but decided on this soup instead. I sure am glad I changed my mind! Everyone loved it. I didn’t even have a sip or two to bring home to poor Justin (who had to work). I found the original recipe on All Recipes, which is my go-to site for dinner ideas. I made a fair amount of changes, due to the fact that among other things, I refuse to cook vegetables in 2 cups of butter… Here is the recipe I came up with.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, serves 16

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter
1 finely chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1 pound fresh sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 cups chicken broth
4 cups cooked wild rice (I used two bags of Uncle Ben’s wild rice microwavable stuff. That was all the grocery had)
2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup beer (I used Coor’s Light)
3 cups 2% milk

Instructions:
Saute the veggies in the butter.
Add in the flour and chicken broth, bring to a boil.
Add in all the other ingredients, bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer.
Let simmer for approximately an hour. (But keep an eye on the pot and stir somewhat frequently)

Alaska, here we come!!*

* In 6 months. I try not to think about that part.