Five Years

Yesterday was the anniversary of the day I met my husband. Five years!

We met at a Shins show of all places. He was so cute, trying not to get caught looking at me. And of course I was playing the same coy game. Who knew we’d fall in love?  (Side note: the image above is of a print that Eric tracked down and gave to me for Christmas this year. He got it at Signed and Numbered. Yay!)

photo by B. Elenor Photography

Oh, remember how exhilarating everything is in the beginning of a relationship? Your body is making nearly toxic amounts of endorphins,  you don’t sleep, every touch is electric. But that ends guys, and in the past, for me, when the intense physiological stuff died down I lost interest. Honestly, I was the queen of the six-week relationship. Not this time though! Yeah, the endorphin induced love-fest ended, the “romantic love” as it’s called began to fade a bit (though I’m lucky to report that he is still a very romantic man.) But our bond held tight! Because we had more than love or infatuation, we had a partnership! We even got married!

photo by B. Elenor Photography (what can I say? We love her!)

And things have changed a lot. We’ve gotten to know and understand and accept each other. We know and love every flaw the other has. I’m more comfortable with him than any other person in the world. I really do adore this man. Even when he makes me crazy. Maybe especially when he makes me crazy… I feel that we’re growing together, and I love this little life we’re making.

Two of the people I love.

And maybe it’s nice to settle down, and have replace that initial replacement with something more calm and steady. Maybe it’s good that I can fart in front of him ( and do… a lot) or that he loves me even though I look like a Monster in the morning.  I like that the man who swept me off my feet is also the man who takes turns holding the screaming baby. And even though things have gotten comfortable, he still buys me flowers.

His gift to me.

And even though our lives sometimes feel chaotic, what with the children and all that, we still acknowledge a special day with a special meal. Because I firmly believe in the bonding power of the ritual of shared meals. We had homemade brown-rice sushi and crab claws.

My gift to him.

It’s Not Me, It’s You

This gallery contains 6 photos.

The tale of how and why I’m breaking up with my dog. (It’s a dog-blog!)  I know, just look at her! She’s so cute. And you may be thinking, “What an evil person Natalie must be. How could anyone want to end their relationship with that slobber-faced cutie?” Ah well, yes, I am somewhat evil. [...]

Things from the Brighter Side

Ugh, I know. I haven’t posted in like days. This is because I am: a) utterly sleep deprived, b) coping with stress, c) anxious by nature, and d) probably still more than a little hormonal. These four things combined have left me little time for internetting, let alone writing. In fact, these four things have put me into a bit of a Dark Place, which I must admit, is fairly easy for me to fall into from time to time. Are things terrible? No, not at all. So let’s focus on the brighter side for today.

We’ll catch up on things that have happened!

Eggplant and Asparagus

Tuesday night Sister Sarah joined us for a Harry Potter night. It’s a bit of a tradition, you see. Normally Sarah will read a volume of Harry Potter to Sebastian, and then once they finish, they watch the movie together and have dinner. But part way through the reading of Book Five, Sebastian decided he had outgrown being read to. So he finished the book on his own, but we still gathered to discuss it, watch the film, and break bread.

I don’t know if he’s really outgrown it, or if he just got tired of waiting around while Sister had her adventures around the globe. He’s eight, so you can’t really blame him for being impatient. And Sarah is young as well, so you can’t really blame her for seeing the world while she has the chance. But not to fret, they have a bond that is not easily broken.

What did we eat? Well, I adapted a Mario Batali recipe for Eggplant Caponata, but the result was not very Italian. We’ll call it Moroccan-Italian fusion. Not what we expected, but absolutely delightful. Next time I’ll substitute pearl couscous for the pasta. Side note, Eric always calls couscous “goose-goose.” Always. It’s very cute.

Want to hear another (and far more hilarious) side of this story? Click here!

Also, the other day my dad came up to SLC and we had breakfast at my place.

Isaac the Viking-Wizard came to explore some bacon!

Sister Nikki joined us with her cute kiddos, as did Brother Sam. Good times were had by all, take a look:

Sister's looking mighty fine for 9am

Brothers makin' creepy look, well, creepy...

Poppa Marty read stories and played with the grandsons while us the “kids” occupied the kitchen and had all the real fun. Which is to say we made inappropriate jokes, and ate most of the bacon before anyone else had a chance. Ha!

How could you not love those boys?

We ate fried egg sandwiches and drank coffee. PS Thanks for the coffee Dad!

Ripe tomatoes and gooey yolk. Heaven in between bread.

In other news, I’ve used my Blendtec blender over 100 times!

See, I have proof. Evidence if you will.

To celebrate the centennial use of this very fancy gadget, I made a delicious Chocolate Greens Smoothie. It’s the boys favorite. I’ve been making green smoothies for a while now, but they are SOOOO much better when you make them in a Blendtec. It’s like VitaMix, which you may have heard of, but they’re made locally and apparently fit better under the counter. Anyway, I love it. Thanks Don and Eileen!

I got a package!

Another time I received a package addressed to “Mrs. Eric Jensen.” That always cracks me up. They could just address it “To the Property of Eric Jensen.” Ah, well…

It was a Valentine!

The boys at the shop have been working crazy hours lately, so the company sent chocolates to all their wives so they wouldn’t divorce them. Unfortunately I can’t eat them, so Eric and I are splitting up. No, we’re not. Not even close. I love him even when he works he works hard to support his family. Silly people. If our marriage ever is in trouble, they’d better send some champagne. Just sayin’.

 

 

Oh Little Sprout, Little Sprout

Right of the start I have to tell you that I only know how to do this because of Eric’s Aunt Jan. She is a wonderful woman,  a vegan and  is full of great ideas. About a month ago, on my thirtieth birthday to be exact, she showed me how to make bean sprouts, and even gave me this:

The key to sprouting beans.

I’m 99% sure that this green plastic is cut out of a strawberry box, or something of the like. So, you’d just cut it to fit whatever jar you plan to use. I used a widemouth mason, well a “Kerr” to be precise. It doesn’t matter, though I will quickly inform you that I actually prefer Ball Mason Jars. Apparently Kerr is made by Ball, but it just isn’t the same! Actually, the best kind of jar is the one that is given to you by a friend, filled with something the made with love.

So, you’re going to take your recycled jar, and fit into the lid a recycled bit of plastic. Easy peasy. Now, add about 1/2 cup of dried beans. I’ve used garbanzos, lentils, and mung, all successfully. Jan uses a mix of several different beans. I think any will work, so try them all!

Day One, Mung beans getting their soak on

Next you’ll fill the jar with water, and let the beans soak overnight, of for most of the day. When they’re done soaking, you’ll drain them and leave the jar inverted in a sunny spot. I like to put mine in a bowl in the windowsill. Jan has a dishrack in a sunny spot that works great too.

Day Two, Sunbathing

Now each morning and evening you simply rinse the beans, drain, and set back in their sunny little home. It really is so so simple. Sprouts appear sooner than you’d expect. Look!

Day Three, maybe Four.

Look how much they grow! And they aren’t even finished just yet. I mean, you could start eating them when they look like that, but I like to wait a little bit longer. It always makes way more than I need, but I like that. This way I always have something to send home with my guests. This is the finished product:

Day, umm Seven or so. They're finished!!

See? So many sprouts, so little time. And they’re actually sort of beautiful. Green, white and purple. Who knew that would happen?

Such pretty little things.

You may wonder what you would do with sprouts, and so I will tell you. I use them in salads, stir-fry, on sandwiches (they are fabulous on Black Bean Burgers,) and by the handful as a snack. Jan also showed me how she likes them for breakfast mixed with dried fruit and nuts. Don’t knock it, it’s surprisingly yummy. And why would one want to eat sprouts? Well, aside from their beauty, they’re crunchy and fresh, and very nutritious.

Now go try it out Reader, and tell me what you think.