1.28.2012

Curry!

We eat a lot of curry dishes around here, as I've said in previous posts.
It's just so easy and so good! I love that I can come home from work, cook some chicken, add onions, some spices, tomatoes, and some water, serve it over rice, and dinner is done.
I finally found my favorite blend of spices for making a quick yellow curry dish:
(There are no measurements because I just throw stuff in a bowl, sorry)
Garlic powder
Ground ginger
Salt
Pepper
Cinnamon
Coriander
Turmeric
Cumin
Fenugreek
Madras curry powder
Red pepper flakes
I just mix all of these together and add it to the chicken and onions, followed by about 1 cup of water, and let it reduce. Repeat that process three times.
Finish with a little cream and some chopped tomatoes.
Yum.

Lontra canadensis


Excuse the very blurry picture.
These live in the pond directly behind my house! Our back yard is separated from the water by our fence and about 8 feet of brush and some trees. For the past couple of weeks, Malo has been getting out of the yard (we did finally find his secret escape spot and repaired it) and mucking around back there, getting into the water up to his chest. We had no idea why, it seemed like an odd behavior to suddenly develop.
This is why. 
Ricky came home, let the dogs out, and walked through the yard with them. Malo and Maggie started losing their minds at the fence. Ricky looked over, and there were 2 3.5-4 foot long otters up on the bank, making this weird hiss-bark noise at the dogs. They scurried off into the water shortly after.
I'm glad he got a picture! I was at the grocery store. =(
How have we lived here for 2 years and never noticed these guys before?
Sneaky otters.

1.15.2012

Books.

Everyone has their laundry list of books you must read while pregnant.
I for one found the scare tactics in "What to Expect When You're Expecting" a little too much to handle, but that's just me. I know people who swear by that book. I've heard it called "the bible of pregnancy books."
I skimmed over it and hated it. So I bought these!
 Silly name. Incredibly useful, practical information.
Also an odd name, but don't be fooled. Really interesting information on the science of pregnancy.
I'm a fan of science.


1.09.2012

Salvador

On Tuesday, January 3rd, I came home at noon on my lunch break and found that Salvador, our 1.5 year old male cat, had passed away sometime in the morning. I found him laying on our bedroom floor, next to Ricky's side of the bed. 
There were no outward signs as to what the cause was, and I did a thorough check of the house. Nothing was out of place, nothing had been chewed. All the cabinets were closed. Everything was as it always is.
He was just... gone.
I called Ricky, and as soon as he got home we brought Sal's body to my work so that Dr. Dyson could try to see if there was any reason to be found. Salvador was a healthy, active, energetic cat. He was vaccinated properly and ate a great cat food.
She did an ultrasound and found what we had suspected it was. He had a heart attack. Sal had an underlying heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopethy. Some cats have symptoms, and in those cases it can be found and maybe treated. Unfortunately, Salvador had none, so we had no reason to think that there was anything to be found. He was only one year and five months old.
That was that, and we had him cremated. I got his ashes back today in a cedar box with his name on it.
We put the box in the small window above our front door. Sal was always trying to get up there, and although he only made the very high jump a few times, he never stopped attempting it.
We love you Salvador, you were a wonderfully weird cat, and a cherished member of the family. Thank you for sharing your time with us.




Merry Christmas to me...


Ricky was very proud of himself this year. 
I love love love my new bag, and I love that the Louis Vuitton Neverfull MM is also large enough to use as a diaper bag. 
Right?!
Ricky also received a snazzy new bag for Christmas. The Petunia Pickle Bottom Rubicon Rucksack. How awesome is this thing? All leather, all sorts of pockets, messenger style, removable bottle/sippy cup holders, and a laptop sleeve. Whenever I see men out with their wives carrying those big, squishy, pink or blue and brown shoulder diaper bags I feel sorry for them.
Ricky will not be one of those men, I just made sure of it.

I still cook, I swear


I promise I'm not one of those horribly lazy women who stopped just because I'm pregnant.
I am, however, really bad at finding the time to blog. 
 Tofu and vegetables over rice. One of my favorites.
 Slow cooker pot roast over egg noodles. Made in the fabulous Cuisinart multi-cooker that Ricky got me for Christmas.
 Pasta with peas and mushrooms.
 Thanksgiving! Ha! Has it really been that long?
Thanksgiving desserts! Pumpkin bread pudding with pepita caramel sauce and apple blackberry pie. 
Yessir.