hi !!!!!!!!

Hey All!!

I'm alive! Husband and I were Up North for a week! I will tell you all about it on Wendesday because I am tired now and tomorrow I work!

Exclamation points!!! I guess I love them a lot today!

Foodie Meme

Trevor and I consider ourselves to be foodies. Before I met him I wasn't much of one though...I didn't like mustard or onions or asparagus or medium rare meat, or sushi. I didn't know the names of more than 10 spices. I remember sitting across from him at dinner when we first met...he was TALKING about his food. In depth. Asking me QUESTIONS about the flavors I was experiencing....asking my opinion on the TEXTURE and richness of an onion pearl (which i hated but was trying for him). I remember wanting to slam his face against the table and tell him to shut the f**k up and just let me eat already. Really. I felt that irritated by it. My mom was, and still is, a great cook...but in a different way. In a home cooked MOM way. Trevor introduced me to a wild and crazy world of flavors and textures. After a few months of being forced to talk about my food, I actually began to enjoy and learn from it. I began to try a whirlwind of new things and understand the complexity of food. Now....we love to talk about food together. I no longer want to cause him physical harm while we dine. The pinnacle of my foodie experience was with Trevor....at Charlie Trotters last December. I had just finished nursing school and to celebrate he took me to experience food ecstasy. Charlie Trotters printed up a special menu with a message of congratulations just for me....and then we got a tour of the kitchen. The food was more that just food...it was art...it was transcendant....it was heaven. The evening was a pure delight. I'll never forget it.

So...the point of this post is....I saw this Meme over at Green Style Mom....thought it was a good way to get a blog entry in this week!

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. (I don't know what command crosses out...so I'll use and exclamation point)

4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/uncategorised/the-omnivores-hundred/ linking to your results.


1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. !!Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (some berry and dandelion...GROSS)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. !!Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu Nah
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut. (best warm!)50. 50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV (PISGAH BREWERY!! HELLLLLAAA!!)59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores62. Sweetbreads (had them in a NYC restaurant years ago... I didn't know what I was ordering!)
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette.
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. !!Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.(No...a dream of ours)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. !!Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam (I can't believe I've never tried Spam...)
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa (no, but sounds really interesting)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (back in my Prescott College days...)
100. Snake

Home is where my sanity is. Most of the time.

Major lesson learned from husband falling from 3 story balcony and having to stay in a hospital bed for 5 weeks at his parents house:

I LOVE my little house and all its cramped spaces and disorganization and tiny 1940's closets with no room and not-so-perfect drapes and dog hair tumble weeds and deck with chipped paint.

We do not need to live with my in-laws for a year to save money for a bigger house.

I am perfectly content in staying here and saving as much money as we comfortably can each month. I feel happier knowing that our first child will be with us in our first home where we humbly began...they will share in that togetherness with us. Maybe not REMEMBER, but they'll know that they slept under our little roof and ate veggies from our little garden and swung in our striped hammock with us. I remember feeling a sad pit in my stomach when we made the decision to move in with my in-laws...not because I don't like them or felt it would be particularly difficult, but because I really wanted a BABY in THIS house....in our little yellow room with lots of light. In my mind it has always been "the nursery".

So, now we can do that....with confidence and without wonder.

Living with my in-laws these last 5 weeks because of Trevor's injury was a blessing in disguise. We learned that while it's great to have a Mom and Dad cook and clean for you, pay the cable bill, walk the dog, offer to do laundry, load the dishwasher, and have a hot meal waiting for you at 8pm after a 14 hour day....it ultimately feels WAY better to do those things on your own...at your own speed, on your own terms. I think it was after the first 2 weeks when we just looked at each other a blurted out almost simultaneously that we couldn't wait to get back to our little house.

So here we are. Back home. Piles of laundry and dishes. Doors off the hinges so Trevor can maneuver easily. A 3 foot pile of paperwork to shuffle through. Barely any food in the fridge.

And it feels so damn good.

Things I have been doing.

-Reading the book The Devil In The White City by Erik Larson
-Listening to Liam Finn and Katy Perry Two very different artists...but both make my ears happy.
-Working out with Factor 5 Fitness as my guide with my new YMCA membership through my parents. a la on the cheap.
-Sitting 2nd row center at the Eddie Vedder show from his solo tour last Thursday...sexxxxxxy dude.
-Staying at the Hyatt Regency downtown using priceline.com's name your own price dealy. Super cheap.
-Painting my bedroom walls this color (the can on the bottom right) with this color trim
-Using this tape that sucks ass to assist me in acheiving paint perfection, but instead doubling the amount of work I have to do and making me feel like killing others because I must spend even more time breathing toxic fumes in my small ass bedroom. It is NOT operator error. I am VERY good at painting & taping.
-going to car shows in Madison and McHenry with my family
-working
-sleeping
-giving my husband hugs
-strangling my husband
-hugging him again
-eating the "That's How I Roll" ice cream treat at Cold Stone Creamery.

For The Love Of God.

WHY???

I saw someone wearing these today.
Why.
Why would someone think that THESE CROC HIGH HEELS are a wise fasion choice?
I am not a fashion guru but I know that this is, in fact, WRONG.
A BAD PURCHASE. A WASTE OF MONEY. A SURE SHOT AT GETTING LAUGHED AT BY MANY.

Today's Mood = Disgruntled

It's August. Seriously, WTF.

-I have YET to really go swimming in my parents Lake.
-I have NOT enjoyed very many barbeques on our deck, or anyone elses for that matter.
-I have BARELY gone bike riding on my normal paths through out Lake County.
-I feel like our vegetable garden is TORTURING me by s l o w l y ripening one tomato at a time.
-I don't have a great tan. You can KEEP your skin cancer comments.
-I lost my iPod in March somewhere between my in-laws and my house...and STILL cannot find it. So my Summer 2008 Playlist?? FUCKING GONE.
-I can barely leave Mr. Broken Pelvis' side without feeling like a BIG JERK, so any hope for Summer Activites for the last 3 weeks and for the next week are hopeless.

And much, much more.
Growling, Grumble, Grrhh, Spit, Hissssssss.

Scenes From My Life: July 20th-July 31st

Sunday, July 20th @ 3am:
We are at the Herrington Inn & Spa spending the night after our friends beautiful wedding and a night of merriment. Josh, Trevor's best friend in from Arizona, is staying with us in our room and we have just returned after some drinks, dancing, and lots of fun. I immediately jump in the shower as I am sweaty from dancing and wet with rain. I'm in the shower for a few minutes when I hear, "KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK...KNOCKKNOCK KNOCK!!! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!!

"WHAT?!", I yell.
"Ummm....Kristin? Trevor just fell from the balcony!!", Josh shouts.

My mind stops and I jump from the shower..grab a towel and run to the balconies edge to see Trevor laying on the ground 3 stories below.

Thursday, July 31st @ 7:15am:
I am asleep in a guest bedroom upstairs at my in-laws. It is my belief that my husband is asleep as well, in his hospital bed in the dining room downstairs. I am dreaming when in the back of my consciousness I hear, "KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK...KNOCKKNOCK KNOCK!!! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!!

"Come in...", I sleepily say.
The door swings open and in a panic my father-in-law stands there and says, "Kristin, I walked into the kitchen and Trevor was standing there trying to make his way to the bathroom"!
"GODDAMMIT", I yell.

I grab a hoodie and zip it on as I practically tumble down the stairs to Trevor who, by now, has made it too the bathroom....and he's naked (because he can't get boxers on due to the pelvic fractures...but now he can walk??!! WTF??!) He is in considerable pain. I grab his Dad's office chair with wheels and help Trevor's naked ass on to the soft leather that his Dad will later sit on and do work from. He is squawking and moaning as I roll him to the side of his bed...and we maneuver him into a laying position with his legs elevated.

I shout, "You are the stupidest person I know! If you pull that shit again, I'm going to send your ass to a nursing home to get rehab! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Trevor meekly nods his head in agreement and keeps his mouth shut..because he knows I'm THIS close to punching him in the face.


I need a drink.....and it's not even noon.