Drowning in Domesticity

As of yesterday, Jon and I have been married a whole month, and now consider ourselves experts on all things marriage related. :) Just kidding. It has been a great month, and we love each other more than ever. Since moving to Baltimore, I have started a new chapter in my life. It's called "Unemployment". It's really not as bad as it sounds. I've been looking around a bit, but I haven't really decided exactly what I want to do, or rather, I haven't really figured out exactly what I should do. So I have had lots of time to pursue other interests...like, cooking! I have found out that I actually like to cook! One of our favorite restaurants in Provo is the Bombay House, so for our one month "anniversary", I decided to try my hand at a curry. I have NEVER cooked a curry dish before. I don't even think I've ever had a homemade curry, but I tried to be brave, and it turned out amazingly well. Not that I just discovered the secret to good curry making...I had some help, in the form of the Better Homes and Gardens red checker cookbook, but I was truly impressed with myself. And with how simple it really turned out to be. I have also been sewing, ironing, cleaning and doing laundry. I am reaching heights of domesticity I never thought possible. Today I'm actually going to attempt to make pizza crust from scratch with real yeast and everything. Lofty goal, I know, but I figure if it bombs, I'll just run to the grocery store, buy a pre-made pizza crust, and Jon will never know the difference!

Speaking of grocery stores, it has been quite the adventure finding a good one. There is a place called "Mars" just up the street making for maximum convenience. However, it seems like the closet place is never that great, and this has proven to be true in our case. I've gone there a couple times, but have come to realize that the prices are high, the selection is poor, and the produce is pitiful. I couldn't even find chili sauce or jalapeno peppers there! So on Saturday night when I realized that I desperately needed the chili sauce for Sunday's "pulled pork in root beer sauce" (Yes, that's right, I just said root beer sauce. I'll have you know it was delicious.), we ventured a few more minutes up the street to the "Super Fresh". I was shocked. The superiority of the Super Fresh to Mars was immediately obvious. The selection was amazing, the floors were shiny, and the produce section was huge. I'm sure I would have had no problem finding jalapenos there, and I swore that from then on out, I would be shopping at Super Fresh. But I totally forgot that I needed the jalapenos, and on Sunday, the bishop's wife was telling me about the area, and said that the "Weis" (they call it the We Is, because apparently it used to be really ghetto, but now it's super nice) that is even a little bit further up the street has the best selection and the best prices. So yesterday when I remembered that I needed jalapenos, I decided to check it out. And let me tell you, all loyalties to Super Fresh were instantly swept away. I was seduced by the luscious bakery, the gourmet deli, the "build it yourself" salad bar, the huge selection, the lack of any alcohol whatsoever in the entire store, and the gorgeous gardening section. I mean, the place even had a "dollar section", and we all know that anything that costs a dollar is practically free and need not be accounted for in any budget. Now, I was a huge fan of Macey's back in Provo. I even know personally Ben Macey, grandson of founder Waldo Macey, and feel a certain allegiance to the place...but the Weis gives Macey's, Smith's, Reams and Albertson's a run for their money! I think I have found my match in grocery stores. I hear there is an even nicer place about 20 minutes away (it has been called the Gucci of Grocery), but I'm just not sure I could handle anything better than the Weis.

How life has changed...when I was lost in the middle of research papers and lesson plans I never thought I would think so much about grocery stores. But lest I get over zealous with the whole domestic thing, I do have a job interview tomorrow. It is for a Spanish Teaching position at a private school for students with special needs. It seems like a really neat place, and I'm excited to learn more about it.