What's for Dinner?

Today felt like summer. Spring at least. Okay, it wasn't snowing. Anyways, it was so nice to be warm I thought I'd make a summer treat for dinner tonight. Rice, blah. Chicken Kabob, blah. Mango Salsa, EXCELLENT! (and super easy too!)
1 Mango, peeled and cubed
1/2 a small red onion minced
1 green onion finely chopped
1 handful of cilantro finely chopped
2 tablespoon lime juice (or lemon juice is fine)
- combine all ingredients
- chill for an hour or so until all flavors mingle
- serve with chicken, steak, or tortilla chips
You won't regret it!

April 9 2010
I officially have one more day of classes. I just finished the last page of my last college paper ever. It feels great to be done (well, mostly done), but it's weird at the same time. For years - seven to be exact - I have defined myself as an English major (except that one year that I was a history major). Saying "I was an English major" doesn't seem to hold quite as much weight as saying "I am an English major" though. I guess what I'm really wondering is how long it's okay to define myself as "having been" something instead of "being" something.
What do I do now?
Yesterday, at work, a co-worker and I were discussing our impending graduation and she asked me (as everyone inevitably does) "and what are you going to do now?" I don't know. Maybe I should go to school to figure it out.
Being Canadian, and married to an American, I have to wait several months before I am allowed to work here once I'm no longer a student. I pretend like this is the worst thing ever because I'm dramatic like that. But secretly, I don't know what I'd do with myself if I could work. Maybe I should go to school and get a marketable degree. But then I'd be marketable, and who really wants that?
School is easy. It's always been easy (which of course is a judgment you can make only once you're finished). The real world seems so hard and mean and scary. And I have an English degree. Great. Maybe I should go to school and study something a little more vicious to prepare myself for entrance into this world. Maybe kicking? I feel like you could major in kicking at a reputable university today.
Maybe not. I'm sure by now you're tired of my musings. Hopefully my punctuation's correct. It would be terribly embarrassing if it wasn't. I am an English major after all.

The Mysteries of a Modern World

This picture was snapped on March 27 2010. As you can see, this balloon is from Valentine's Day (over a month ago). When I was young, a helium-filled balloon lasted a day or two. This balloon floating around our apartment is so weird!

Happy Birthday Gack!

Surprise! For your birthday, I got you a new house (or maybe just a book that talks about buying a house...)

March 29 2010
Yesterday was Zach's Birthday - and we had so much fun! We went to Church, had carne asada, and other Mexican treats, and then ate cake and played games with friends. I love him very much! Happy Birthday Honey!

The Break.

March 26 2010
I am waist-deep in term papers - long term papers. And, I'm struggling to stay awake (I guess that doesn't speak strongly as to the riveting nature of my papers...) so I decided to take a break. Imagine the summertime. Imagine reading for fun, without quizzes, papers, or exams. Sound nice? I think so. From this recent experience, here is some reading information I have gleaned.
Wright: "Native Son" - If you read this, you will hate Bigger, the protagonist, you will hate white people, and you'll probably start to hate yourself a little too. Good luck.
Willa: "My Antonia" - This is a very good book dealing with the problems of nineteenth century American immigration, but that theme is barely noticeable if you choose to ignore it.
Card: "Ender's Game" - This is a YA book that takes about 2 hours to read, but once you start, you won't want to stop! My one criticism is that Card (a Mormon) uses bad language for no apparent reason.
Cormier: "The Chocolate War" - This is "Native Son" for kids. You will hate Archie, and Leon, and everyone. Plus, you'll want chocolates.
Head: "Mr and Mrs Bo Jo Jones" - This is one of my new favourites. If you can handle teenage pregnancy, and can empathize with a new marriage, then I would recommend this YA read. It's short too, but don't worry, it ends the way you want it to :)
Maeve Binchy: She is an Irish author and I love everything she has ever written. Read her.
Okay... back to work.

Sopa de Verduras

Lately, I have been craving a Mexican Vegetable Soup (Sopa de Verduras) that I had on my mission so yesterday, I decided to try my hand at making it. It turned out quite well, but was hard to find a recipe so here is what I did:
Roast 2 tomatos, 1/2 an onion and 4 cloves of garlic in the oven.
When roasted, blend these things and some water in a blender.
Meanwhile, chop (large pieces) an onion, zucchini, celery, and carrots.
In a large saucepan, cook the onion until translucent.
Add the tomato blend, 1 can of chicken stock, and 2 cups of water (maybe more?)
Add a few springs of cilantro
Cook until the cilantro is limp.
Remove the cilantro.
Add a dash of lemon juice, a bouillon cube, and a dash of chili pepper
Add the vegetables and cook until they are tender crisp.
Serve with warmed corn tortillas and enjoy!

Ten Things....

.... and not that I hate about you either.... Our good friend Malorie tagged us in a post (I think...), so now we're supposed to post ten things about us, and then tag 4 other people to do the same. Got it? Here we go...
1. We're probably the biggest nerds in the whole world. Zach has an air compressed pogo stick and Sarah has a stamp collection.
2. We met serving missions in the California Carlsbad Mission... Zach was Sarah's first Zone Leader! Ha!
3. "We collect BO-OKS" (think Bill Nye the Science Guy minus the Rocks...) and in fact have more bookshelves then we have rooms in our apartment!
4. We have a million pieces of Canadian paraphernalia - thanks Mum!
5. We once almost died (not really) on a four hour long tubing trip down a river in Canada.
6. We got married on May 09 2009 so that in some countries, our anniversary would be 09-05-09. And because that's when the temple was available...
7. We have a little red car whose name is Rosie. She doesn't like it when Zach says mean things about her and she gets back at him by turning on her emergency light.
8. In our home we speak French, English, Spanish, and the all-important Spanglish.
9. We love to ice skate, take Sunday walks, and to play play play!
10. We think that you - the dear souls who care to read about our life - are GREAT!

alriiiiight.... now I tag: Kerry P, BriAnna J, Natalie M, and Alex G (though I do recognize this has nothing to do with dreams...)