I might be a real mom someday!

So! Jamie got the first decision back from the San Francisco Tribunal! And they don't think he had a valid marriage! So... in 2-3 months we will know officially whether he is free or not. But! The second tribunal's cross-checking is mostly a formality, and the first decision is the one that really determines it!

Which means...another Mom is going to get married!!!! Jamie won't officially propose until the second decision, but we are taking the first steps in planning to be able to make it happen when it's time!

We are thinking of possibly next January or next May or next June. It will all depend on when we get the second affirmative and if Churches will let us be married in them even though we don't live in the country.

So! Also, some of you don't know that I'm moving to France in September to be an au pair.  If you didn't know, sorry and surprise! I met the family 2 weeks ago and they seem really great! And you can see the Alps and Mont Blanc from their backyard! I will take pictures! The parents are Sebastien and Charlotte. The kids from the left...Garance, Grégoire, Priscille, et Quentin. So I will be learning French and living with the family until Jamie and I are able to be married and live together.

So a few updates, but I'd love to talk to people in person about all this exciting stuff! So let me know when you'd be free to skype and we can catch up properly!

Love you all!!!!

Salsa verde: un gran éxito!

I've been making fresh salsa for a couple months now.  Between Karl's love of all Mexican food and my desire to use appliances that we received as wedding presents, it has been the perfect cooking adventure.  I've gotten pretty close to perfecting regular fresh salsa the way we like it (a little bit of heat, sweet onion taste, and LOTS of cilantro), so I decided to try something new.  Behold, I give you, SALSA VERDE!

You begin by removing the husks from the tomatillos.  This is my favorite step because if you pull with just the right amount of force, the entire husk and the stem satisfactorily pop off the tomatillo.

You have to rinse the tomatillos because they are really sticky.  Then they get cut in half, placed on a baking sheet, and are broiled for about 6 minutes.

Next, combine the roasted tomatillos, onion, cilantro, garlic, jalepeno peppers, lime juice, and salt and pepper into a food processor and voila!  You have salsa verde! 

And no, I didn't cut myself and bleed into the jars on the right and left.  I made a batch of regular salsa while I had all the kitchen toys out.  Now all I have to do is figure out how to keep the salsa from disappearing so fast. 

Saturday in Cleveland

Today is my first Saturday in Cleveland without a show or something to do in a long ass time.

This is what I have done today, in order:

1. Wake up, want to sleep more, but have to pee.  Once I pee, I can't fall back asleep.
2. Curse my bladder.
3. Go to breakfast with Laura at Inn on Conventry - our favorite breakfast place, and right next door (almost).  So delicious.
4. Sit on my couch for 30 minutes messing with my phone.
5. Go for a walk with Laura to Starbucks (a couple miles away), get a soy cinnamon latte.
6.  Browse the bookstore next door that I have a gift card to.  See a book by JK Rowling that is not Harry Potter.  Become extremely excited.  Become extremely wary. Look at book for 3 minutes and then put it down and try to pretend it doesn't exist because it is not a fantasy.
7.  Be indecisive about what book to get because I want to read everything (except that book that doesn't exist and is probably disappointing) and leave the bookstore.
8.  Walk home.
9.  Watch the 3rd episode of Season 3 of Downton Abby on "Project Free TV" because the 3rd season hasn't started in the U.S. yet.
10.  Write emails to the subs that are teaching my Cleveland classes while I'm home in Nov. and Dec., write an email to a dance company in Chicago that I am courting, figure out how to vote absentee.
11.  Play an iphone game that I am way too into.  Woops.
12. Facetime with Jeff.
13. Make and eat perrogis.
14. Look up the recipe that Nora posted for sweet potato and black bean burritos and write a list of ingredients I need.
15. Decide to make a post because we are starting to ignore this blog again.  REMINDER: DO NOT IGNORE BLOG.
16. Think about how much I miss my MOMs.
17. PEACE OUT TO DO MORE EXCITING SATURDAY ACTIVITIES.

Love you miss you ... hope to hug you all soon!

The Top Ten Reasons Why I Love Having Short Hair

10. I get to sleep in SO MUCH LATER in the morning.  It literally takes 1 minute to do my hair
9. I no longer find my hair in my food.  Or all over the floor.  Or in my underwear (how does that
     even happen?)
8. My hair never looks greasy.  This is dangerous.  My oily hair was previously the main motivator
     for me taking showers.  Now?  I think I could go a week and no one would notice.  Well, Karl
     might notice....
7. People rub my head ALL THE TIME now.  Maybe because it's so short and it feels cool?  I really
   don't care what the reason is.  I'm just happy that I'm guaranteed a head massage at least once a day.
6. I can actually see my earrings now!
5. I have awesome bed head in the morning.  It makes me laugh every time I wake up.
4. My bottle of shampoo is probably going to last me twenty years.
3. My dad alternates between calling me "Butch" or the plucked chicken.  He thinks he's really funny.
2. My hair looks the same all day long.  I used to do my hair all nice for work, and when I came home
    at night it would look like a pile of death.  Snip snip, problem solved : )
1. Let's be honest, I'm really lazy and short hair is easy : )

Food food nom nom nom

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

What you need:

Ø  2-3 sweet potatoes (depending on how much sweet potato: black bean ratio you want)

Ø  1/2 teaspoon salt

Ø  2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Ø  One half of onion, diced

Ø  2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed

Ø  1 Tablespoon minced fresh green chile

Ø  2 teaspoons ground cumin

Ø  2 teaspoons ground coriander

Ø  One 15 oz can of black beans

Ø  1/3 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves

Ø  2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Ø  1 teaspoon salt

Ø  1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Ø  1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

Ø  Fresh salsa and/or mexican shredded cheese

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with the salt and water to cover. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, warm the oil in a medium skillet or saucepan and add the onions, garlic, and chiles. Cover and cook on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender, about 7 minutes. Add the cumin and coriander and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a food processor, combine the black beans, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cooked sweet potatoes and puree until smooth. Transfer the sweet potato mixture to a large mixing bowl and mix in the cooked onions and spices.

Lightly oil a large baking dish. Spoon about some filling in the center of each tortilla, roll it up, and place it, seam side down, in the baking dish.  Bake for about 30 minutes/ until piping hot. Serve topped with salsa or cheeese. I used a little of the cheese inside the tortilla instead of salsa.

Voila! Donezo. Yummy dinner.

Enjoy!
~Nors

Hi. So I don't have energy for a post...

yet, but in the interim here is a for-fun vlog of mine that I did a while back.  It's about SPACE!

Most of my videos are not as 'production value'-esque, but this one does at least have some artistic merit (maybe).  The first thirty seconds or so is a sort of joke with an online friend, and the rest is just sorta scenic :)

Hope u lyk! Less than 3 to you all dear friends~

Keith

PS Larger screen is better than this tiny embedded one!  FYI

Friday Five.

FRIDAY.
Friday is the 5th day of the week therefore I will be posting 5 things about this week. Just because. Here I go. Here I go.

1. Yesterday, I pretty much performed an entire autopsy on my own. The medical examiner was there helping me out, but I took out all of the organs and pretty much dissected all of them myself. IT WAS SO COOL. On another note, I performed an autopsy on a 10 day old decomposing body last week. All I can say is: so. many. maggots.

2. This week I officially decided that I am obsessed with The Big Bang Theory. I can't stop watching it and drinking wine. Science nerds and alcohol? What's not to like?

3. I went to a pottery painting place in Boston earlier this week and painted this alien (on the right). There is also a dinosaur that I want to paint the next time I go. You can also bring alcohol and food to this place. I'm sure we have places like this back home but I had never been to one so it was awesome!

4. I made sweet potato and black bean burritos for dinner this week and still have let overs. So delicious.

5. I got pulled over for the first time EVER this week and received a wonderful $155 ticket. Thanks, New Hampshire State Police. I appreciate the warm welcome to your state!