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?