Sarah's Pasta Primavera

Awhile back I shared my hidden talent for making soup from scratch. I would also like to confess that I create pasta dishes on a regular basis. Today, I stumbled across a good one...as in, it's a no-meat pasta, and my carnivorous husband said that it was his favorite pasta dish ever. I'll let you decide.

8 oz of your favorite pasta (I used bow-ties)
one baby yellow squash (sliced and halved)
half a red onion (chopped)
about 2/3 a cup white mushrooms (sliced)
one small tomato (chopped)
2 Tb. cream cheese
one fresh lime
salt, pepper, basil & thyme
olive oil

1. cook the pasta
2. lightly saute squash, onions and mushrooms in olive oil (the squash should maintain the slightest crispness)
3. drain pasta & place in serving bowl
4. add sauteed veggies
5. add fresh tomatoes (do not cook)
6.season with salt, pepper, basil and thyme and stir well
7. add cream cheese and stir until all ingredients are mixed and cream cheese is melted
8. serve with fresh lime and salt and pepper to taste

This is SUPER easy and very tasty. It's light, and perfect for the end of a hot day. (It's been in the 90's here...and it's still April.)

While I'm at it, I'll tell you about the delicious Frozen Strawberry Lemonade I made to cool myself down tonight.

1. Toss frozen strawberries in the blender
2. Add lemonade (I used pink lemonade...use whatever you have)
3. Add sugar to taste
4. Blend the heck out of it
5. Sip to cool perfection

Happy eating!

What the?!

Today I was sending an email when I suddenly heard a loud clanking sort of noise. I jumped up to see what was going on, and realized that the sound was coming from the laundry room. When I flipped on the light, I was surprised to see water dripping from the light fixture onto the dryer. My fear of electrocution caused me to turn the light off quickly, but it wasn't dark enough to keep me from seeing the dripping turn into a full on spraying. Water from the light???
I called maintenance right away and apparently the washing machine upstairs was leaking and went through their floor and our ceiling. But the exact location was very odd... when I say it was coming from the light, I really mean it. It wasn't just coming from that general area...the light bulb cover was actually full of water and it was spraying from the fixture. Hmm.

Our Nation's Capital

We also visited D.C. proper. Our feet (especially my swollen ones) had had it by the end of the day, but we had a great time and saw lots of cool monuments, and a little bit of cool museum. We'll have to go back again soon. (At least, Jon and I will...)
I swear that's the White House behind my dad's hat. :)



Joy, Christy and Rachel playing by the fountain at the WWII memorial.




There was a convention of Lincoln presenters from around the nation at the Lincoln memorial when we visited. Pretty sweet.



Mr. Lincoln himself.




View of the Washington Monument from the Lincoln memorial.




Sisters with...not cherry blossoms. But pretty blossoms nonetheless.

I love to see the temple...

While the fam was here, we visited the Washington D.C. temple (which is technically in our very own Maryland). It was an absolutely gorgeous day!!

Family in Baltimore!

We were SOOO excited to welcome my Mom, Dad and sisters, Joy, Christy and Rachel to Baltimore last week. Here are a few pics of them and us in our current hometown.



The fam arrived a little after midnight last Tuesday, at which point we had an impromptu baby shower (they brought lots of sweet gifts from family...THANK YOU!). These are a pair of "ruffle bum" pajamas. Pretty cute.



Another impromptu celebration (this time of Rachel's birthday- she'll be 13 this Friday) at Cheesecake Factory. We had dinner there after visiting the National Aquarium in the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. So fun!




Shoulder rubs in the Inner Harbor. We watched a couple of "Pirate Ships" sail by. Seriously...skull and crossbone flags and everything. I wonder if it was inspired by recent current events. In any case, we were very glad that Rachel didn't fall into the harbor while taking this picture.



My dad recently went to India on business and he brought us these traditional clothes. I love how the sari is one-size-fits-all...worked out for my increasingly large belly. Incidentally, I'm pretty sure Jon wishes he were Indian. He LOVES the food, music, clothes, dancing, etc.

This totally made my day.

Kindness

I'm 8 months pregnant, so I think it should go without saying that I have been a little absentminded lately. Yesterday I got to the grocery store and was impressed with myself that I actually remembered my list. I finished my shopping, got in line, placed all my groceries on the conveyor belt, and then, as it was almost my turn, realized that I had completely forgotten my wallet at home. The lady in front of me was still paying, but the cashier started to pick up my groceries to ring them up, so I quickly asked her to wait, and explained that I had just realized that I didn't have my wallet with me and asked what I should do. I told her that I didn't live too far away, and that I could go get it and come back (though I was worried about leaving my groceries sitting out since I had milk and meat). Upon hearing me, the lady in front of me turned around and said "I'll pay for your groceries, and you can just send me a check. It's absolutely ridiculous for you to go all the way home." I was floored. I almost didn't want to take her up on the offer, but I asked if she was sure. She told me "Absolutely positive", so I said "okay" and thanked her for her kindness. I don't know if a total stranger has ever shown that much kindness and trust. I've already mailed the check and a thank you note. It really made my day. What if more of us were so kind and trusting?

Easter in the City

NYC was great! And we honestly didn't really do that much...(maybe that's why it was so fun...we were really relaxed). We drove Friday afternoon and arrived at Lindsay and Nate's place in Brooklyn by early evening. The graciously fed us dinner and then we all headed to Junior's for Brooklyn's most famous cheesecake. Mmmmm....

The next day it was rainy, but Jon and I headed out for some exploring. We decided to skip the park (we'd been there before and the rain was making it rather damp) and do some window shopping instead. We checked out Bloomingdale's and FAO Schwartz. We (not surprisingly) had the most fun at FAO Schwartz, and especially enjoyed the huge Lego sculptures, the jelly bean soldierand the world's only Barbie runway.

We even made a quick stop at the m&m store. It smelled like chocolate.

We had some New York pizza for lunch and then headed to the Gershwin theatre to see Wicked! It was Jon's second time around, but my first, and we both REALLY enjoyed it. Amazing music and an overall incredible production. We couldn't resist buying this for baby
(who let me know she was also enjoying the show by dancing around in my belly during the entire thing).

I also found out that being obviously pregnant has its major advantages. At intermission I asked an usher where to find the nearest restroom, and she said, "It's that way" but then after looking at me for a second, she added "but there'll be a long wait. Just get in the elevator there, push two, and then go through the second door on your left." Hmm. We followed her directions, and when we got there, the second door on the left was completely unmarked. It looked like a stage door or something, but Jon thought I should try it anyway. I did, and what did I find but a large, empty, clean bathroom, just for me. Pretty awesome.

After the show, we met up with Chris in Chinatown and had some amazing soup dumplings and scalion pancakes at a hole-in-the-wall place with a 30 minute wait (and apparently we were very lucky that it was so short). They actually sat us at a table with several other people. It was a new experience. And a very delicious one. It was really fun to hang out with Chris, and have a guide with us who knew the good tricks to getting around and where to eat, etc.

Sunday morning we went to Church with Lindsay and Nate, and had wonderful Easter meetings and then came back to their apartment and made Easter dinner together. We made an Easter egg to add to the ones we made last week. Chris came over for dinner, and we had a great time eating and talking before it was time to head back to Baltimore.

So far...

Spring break is flying by!! I cannot believe it is already Friday!! We've had a fun time. Here are some of the highlights...

• Jon's haircut in stages (we didn't take a legitimate "before" picture, but we did start cutting in the middle, just for fun)
• Dyed Easter eggs between conference sessions. I think they are lovely. Conference was also awesome, by the way.
• Stayed in the Marriott Residence Inn for Jon's conference in New Jersey. I hung out in the room, went to Wegmans (the coolest grocery store EVER...I'm sad that we don't have one nearby) and got to go to dinner at Cheesecake Factory with Jon and his coworkers after day 1 of the conference. They were troopers and worked super hard (until 1am on Tuesday...I was glad I headed back to Baltimore Tuesday morning....would've made for a looong day in a hotel room).
• Had Young Women over for a sleepover. We made chocolate Easter eggs for our girl's camp fundraiser (the girls worked hard until 10:30 pm making nearly 200 eggs) and watched "Enchanted" while we ate lots of good food. Loved being able to sleep in my own bed!
• Just spent time together. Love it.

This afternoon we head to NYC where we will have many adventures, I am sure. I'll update on said adventures soon.

Spring Break!

Since I went to BYU, I haven't had an official spring break since high school! And now that I go to high school again (with a slightly different role...this time I get paid for it), I couldn't be happier that after 9 years, spring break is finally here again. :) I honestly think that I am happier about spring break now, as a teacher, than I ever was as a student. The only damper is that Jon can't take vacation time because:
a. we recently found out that the week of paid paternity leave that he was supposed to get when the baby is born doesn't kick in until he's been with the company for a year, and I'm due three weeks before that will be the case (so he needs to save vacation time for when the baby is born) and
b. he has a mandatory conference in New Jersey Monday through Wednesday.

However, we have tried to make things fun anyway. I'm going to accompany Jon to his conference, and although he will be working long hours, at least I will be able to see him at night. And hang out at the hotel pool. And have a bit of a change of scenery. But seriously, New Jersey? (It's been called the arm pit of America...oh well.) So we're leaving tomorrow evening after General Conference, since his conference for work starts early Monday morning. Then I will hang out there on Monday, and come home Tuesday morning (Jon's catching a ride back to Baltimore with a coworker).

Tuesday evening I am hosting a Young Women's sleepover at my apartment. And I'm praying that I'll have enough floor space for everyone. I'm really excited about it though...I think it will be tons of fun, and I hope all the girls show up (sleepover on a Tuesday night works because they all have spring break too).

Wednesday night, Jon gets home late, and Thursday I am planning on hitting up Jo Anne's for some great fabric deals.

Then Friday, Jon will work a half day, and then we will hop in our car and drive to NYC. We're staying with our friends Lindsay and Nate, and we're super excited, because on Saturday, we're seeing "Wicked". Jon has actually seen it before, but it will be my first time, and I can't wait. Aside from that, we'll probably hang out in Central Park, and partake of the culinary goodness that NYC has to offer. We'll stay for Easter dinner with Lindsay and Nate, and then come back to Baltimore Sunday night.

Monday is my last day of freedom, and I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do. Hopefully not be incredibly bored and spend the whole day checking facebook and reading other people's blogs (I love reading your blogs, but really, no one should ever spend an entire day doing such a thing).

Tuedsay is back to school...spring break over. BUT, that is also the day that my family (Mom, Dad, Joy, Christy, Rachel) arrive! I can't wait to see them!

If you don't have spring break, I'm very sorry. I know what it feels like. But right now, even though I'm not going on a cruise, or to Hawaii, like some of my coworkers, I am basking in the glory of the grass turning green, the trees full of blossoms, and not having to think about work for an entire week!

April Fools!

April Fools day has always been a much celebrated holiday in my family. Usually the pranks ranged from putting corn flakes in each others pillows and salt in the sugar bowl to saran-wrapping the toilet (I do NOT recommend this). One time we even convinced my mom to call my dad at work and tell him I had accidentally cut my arm really badly and that we were in the emergency room. He totally fell for it, and I'm pretty sure that was the only time in my life I have ever heard my mom say anything that wasn't the truth.

That said, I was trying to think of a good April Fools joke this year, but with so many other things going on, nothing came to me. Until I woke up at three yesterday morning. I looked at the clock and thought, "Oh! It's April Fool's Day!", and suddenly, I had the best idea ever.

I rolled over and shook Jon awake and said (as frantically as I could manage having been awake myself for about 1 minute) "Honey! I think I'm in labor!"

Unfortunately I didn't have the heart to draw the prank out, though it definitely would have made for a better story...I already felt bad for waking him up at all. My little ploy did seem to work though, because he immediately sat up and said "Really!!??"

To which I said (in a very small voice) "no...april fools!"

Oh well.

What are your favorite April Fools stories?