Something New: Weeks 26 and 27

June 24 -- Three words: Jolly Rancher Chews. They are so satisfying! The perfect snack for church, where I am always ridiculously hungry for some reason. I brought them for my primary kids that Sunday and was so happy that there were leftovers for my purse.


June 25 -- Met a really nice couple from Boston. The husband is here for a summer internship and the wife is expecting their first baby. We had them over for dinner and tried to get them to like Midland. Not such an easy task when people don't have kids. I've realized that almost every reason I have for liking this place is connected to my children. There's so much for them to do, and so many nice kids for them to play with, and that means a lot of moms for me to hang with. But if I was single or married without kids, I honestly have no idea what I would do here. I feel for them.


June 26 -- Started reading The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie for book group. Can't quite get into it for some reason, but I keep trying.


June 27 -- Tasted Our Best Bites cupcake frosting on some cute patriotic cupcakes my friend Melissa brought over. Weird recipe, but it was different in a yummy way. Creamy, yet not sickeningly sweet, and a nice compliment to the chocolate cake.


June 28 -- Made a new recipe for dinner. It was this delicious Cajun chicken pasta that came from Melissa. (Yeah...we talk about food a lot.) Again, it was something a little different in terms of flavors and ingredients, and I think that's why I loved it. Plus it was a pretty quick one to make, so I'd recommend it to everyone.

June 29 -- Started watching "New Girl". Watched the whole first season in one week (twenty-four 21-minute episodes). Guess I'm addicted. It's like reading an entertaining book -- if there's more to the story, I want to hear it NOW!


June 30 -- Big E's chicken pesto pizza. Really, really good. I finally found another place to order take out from besides Jet's!


July 1 -- Met a member of our stake presidency during a temple recommend interview. It's kind of sad that I've been here almost a year and just barely learned the names of the stake presidency.


July 2 -- Met a new girl at play group, here for the summer while her husband interns.

July 3 --  Made s'mores cookies. They actually taste like s'mores! If you are a true American, I'm sure you'll love them.

July 4 -- Went running with some friends. They go a few times a week early in the morning, way before I would usually choose to wake up, and even before my own kids wake up. I've been saying I wanted to start running with them for almost an entire year, but kept making excuses. Mostly I was worried that I would slow them down and embarrass myself with how out of shape and terrible at running I am. But today, I went for it! I decided the only thing that will get me to actually go running is 1) to promise someone else I will be there for them at a specific time, and 2) to do it without kids. Also, I realized that my baby is almost 16 months old and...let's just say there's work to be done before I consider another pregnancy. For some reason I like to be kind of in shape before I voluntarily lose control of my body for a year.


July 5 -- Harvested radishes from our Dow Gardens plot! I have no idea what to do with them, but it's exciting to me. Three weeks ago they were little dots the size of poppy seeds and now they are THIS!


I also tried a new dinner recipe that night: a massive chicken spinach tomato stromboli. My bread dough didn't cook all the way in the middle, which was really disappointing to me, but Matt said he loved it.


July 6 -- Worked on a new piano piece: Beethoven's The Glory of God in Nature.


July 7 -- Planted rosemary and jalapeno peppers in my tiny little garden area. Smells so good!