"Girls dream a lot."

The title of my post is a direct quote spoken by Graham today. We had a great day together, running errands, shopping, enjoying pho soup and then having a delicious dinner at home (Graham made the best burgers ever!)

First we went to Shane Co to have our rings cleaned and polished (and mine re-dipped and re-sized). Of course I had to check out all the other rings on display, dreaming of the right hand ring I'll someday have... I did make it very clear to Graham that I am not expecting a ring ANYTIME in the near future, but explained to him that a girl always dreams about her wedding ring, and after she gets that, she has to move on to dream about her next piece of bling.

Then we went clothes shopping and I kept making comments like "Wouldn't it be cool to have red shoes someday?" or "Maybe we should just buy a pretty pump of green scented hand soap for our kitchen--wouldn't that be nice?" And on and on.... I really wasn't begging for these things or even asking for them really, I was just dreaming. Anyway, I did find a gorgeous winter coat that I'm excited about.

Over lunch, I started talking about how I want to take a three week trip to Europe sometime soon--"When will we fit that in?" Graham just laughed and playfully rolled his eyes.

On to Crate and Barrel where I used my gift card to buy the CUTEST Christmas mugs. Check out http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=17&f=30443 and http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=17&f=30370. Graham could not get over how excited I was to drink out of these come the day after Thanksgiving. Of course then I was on to jabbering about how my dream is to have a set of Christmas dishes to use during the month of December....

All this to say, we had a great day together and I in particular really enjoyed dreaming--it does my heart good. Now I'm doing my heart a 2nd favor as I sip a glass of red wine.

Today I dialed 911

So I was leaving work when the following scene unfolds:

I'm driving along Broadway when I pass a couple of strip mall (7-11ish type) shops next to a gas station. Out of nowhere, a man comes booking it out of the store, running along the sidewalk as fast as he possibly can, looking back occasionally as he runs. It was pretty much a blur because he was going so fast but I see him zipping into the gas station where I presumed would be his "getaway car." Acting on instinct, I take an immediate right next to the gas station to get off the main road and do something. (What I was going to do I'm just not quite sure...my gut said not to lose sight of the guy). To my surprise, he did not jump in a car at the gas station but ran into the alley right by where I had pulled over. Someone else apparently saw this suspicious activity go down and also had pulled over. He was dressed in nice slacks and dress pants actually got out of the car and approached the runner with fists raised. Then things get a little odd....The runner looks for a minute like he is going to try and knock the lights out of this nice business man, but instead he lifts up his white t-shirt and exposes his giant beer belly (I wish I would have had my window down to hear the verbal exchange because I certainly felt like I missed something!) At this point, I decided I should disappear because in Everett, crazy people like this carry guns and I wasn't about to get shot just for trying to be a good citizen. I was already on the phone with the cops and so I sped away quickly, giving them my best description of the runner. I hope they catch him! I don't know what he did, but he sure looked like he didn't want to be caught.

Good ole' Everett--gotta love working is such a classy city!

Bear--grrrr

Today Graham and I finally went to see a financial planner to discuss....well.... our finances. We've been meaning to do this for a very long time but it just never happened. We went to the father-in-law of one of Graham's fellow worship leaders at Bethany and he was so great! I think we definitely made a great choice by selecting a Christian man to help give us advice and guidance--not only does he know a lot about money and the market, Don also seemed to have lots of godly wisdom.

The two of us are pretty clueless when it comes to money and investing, or at least so we thought. Apparently though, we've gleaned enough guidance from friends, family, financial articles, and for Graham, NPR, that we're doing the right things (according to Don). We learned a lot about bear markets and bull markets and what that all means and were glad to see that a financial expert was so relaxed even despite our current bear market economy.

Basically now we need to decide our timeline for the various goals we have (i.e. selling our place, moving to Seattle, having babies, me quitting etc). In the meantime, we're going to explore the world of CDs while Don helps us look at our current 403b retirement plans. (By the way, my current retirement plan is set up for my retiring in the year 2050---doesn't that just sound depressing!?! I better not still be working in 2050!)

Sight of the day

Need I say more?

You know I've had a bad day when....

.....I voluntarily order a beef burger with bacon, cheese, mayo and guacamole on a WHITE bun--so out of character for me! I would have had a glass of wine too but we were on a $10 date night budget so that would have put us over...

Welcome Fall!

I love it when the leaves change color! Graham and I went for a walk today to enjoy some fall sunshine. I took pictures as we went....this one is my favorite.

Eggplant Season

For those of you who like to cook, now is the perfect time to showcase a fall favorite: eggplant. It's full of fiber and also a good source of potassium. If you're anything like my husband, you're probably shuddering at the thought of trying to choke down the purple veggie, but really, you need to give it a fair chance!

Last night Graham came home from work (very hungry I'm sure) only to look down at his plate and notice a foreign and undesirable object beneath the red sauce and cheese. "Is this eggplant?" he asks. "Yes" I reply, and smile at him with a look that he knows means "I know how you feel about eggplant but just give it a shot." He took one bite and it didn't kill him and so he proceeded. I knew this would happen! Pretty soon, his plate was clean and he rose from the table, glanced at me sheepishly and then headed towards the stove to dish up seconds! I didn't have to say it--he could see the "I told you so" look beaming in my eyes.

Ahh, success! Oddly enough, it is often my goal to somehow get people to like the foods that they think they despise the most. This task can be rather tricky, but if you just present it to them in the right form, it can be done! Try the recipe below showcasing and see if it doesn't win you over. If you don't want to make the pesto from scratch, you can just blend store-bought pesto with the cream cheese and ricotta for the filling.

Eggplant Manicotti With Creamy Pesto Filling
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup shredded part-skim Mozzarella cheese -- divided
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup spinach leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts -- toasted
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup tub-style fat-free cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 container (15-ounce size) fat-free Ricotta cheese
2 cloves garlic
1 large eggplant -- cut lengthwise into quarters
Cooking spray
2 cups low-fat spaghetti sauce -- divided

Directions: Combine 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese and next 9 ingredients (Mozzarella cheese through garlic) in a food processor, and process until smooth. Set pesto mixture aside. Arrange half the eggplant slices in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil 5 minutes or until lightly browned and very tender. Repeat procedure with remaining eggplant. Preheat oven to 375. Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Place eggplant slices, browned sides down, on a smooth surface; spoon about 2 tablespoons pesto mixture in center of each slice (the amount will vary from 1 to 3 tablespoons depending on size of eggplant slices). Roll up, starting at short ends; place eggplant rolls, seam sides down, over sauce. Repeat procedure with remaining eggplant and pesto mixture. Pour 1 cup spaghetti sauce over eggplant rolls. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Top with 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese; bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned.