1/3 done... nearly

I have been slacking on my March posts! My second semester of graduate school is more than half over now. Crazy and wonderful! I'm learning great things and I love most of my classes... but I did enjoy being out in the working world before I went back to school. Only 2 more years after this semester! And time is flying quite quickly actually.

Tomorrow is my first choreography showing of a solo I made for an undergraduate at school. She is an awesome dancer and this is my favorite piece I've made so far. I can't wait to show it! We are using "Mad Rush" by Phillip Glass for music. Love the song!

Spring break is this next week. I'm ready for a vacation! Too bad I couldn't go back to Switzerland. I found this photo on Flickr (craftydogma) and I SWEAR it is the exact place we were at in Switzerland when I went with a band in 2003. Cool!

We will be going to good ole Oklahoma for several days to visit family and spend a day in OKC. We miss that city!

new routine

Austin has been working hard at his great new job in OKC! Unfortunately we've had to get used to new schedules. Our friendly neighbor comes by to check on our pets a couple days a week (when I'm super busy) and Austin gets to help take care of my brother & sis-in-law's dog, Pete :) I've also started staying up a lot later than normal. Oh well. We do make the most of our weekends. One weekend we had a backyard picnic and I made a delicious new cookie recipe:

Salted Caramel Coconut Thumbprint Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together 3 sticks unsalted BUTTER and 1 cup SUGAR with a mixer until fluffy. Beat in 1 1/2 tsp VANILLA extract. Gradually add 3 1/2 cup all-purpose FLOUR, 1/2 tsp SALT, and beat to combine. Press dough together and roll into 1 1/4" balls. Dip each ball in beaten EGG (recipe calls for 2, you could probably just use 1) and roll in COCONUT flakes. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets and press an indentation in the center with your thumb. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and re-press thumbprints. Bake an additional 8-10 minutes until golden. Place 40 Kraft CARAMELS and 6 tbsp HEAVY CREAM in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth. Spoon into thumb indentations and sprinkle (while warm) with flaky SEA SALT.

Mr. Conner

This man is a high school teacher now:

Finding a teaching position in a public school is fairly difficult in Texas, especially if you're from out of state and are right out of college without previous experience. At the end of the 2010-2011 school year DFW schools laid off tons of teachers... so he has to compete with hundreds of applicants (with experience) in every Texas job he applies for. Luckily, Austin kept his options open and he found, applied, interviewed, and got the exact type of teaching position he was hoping for ... in Oklahoma. Last week he started teaching technology classes for grades 9-12 at a school in Oklahoma City. From what I hear he is doing pretty awesome so far. I wish I could see him in action :) It is tough being apart 5 days a week (luckily our brothers both live in the area so he has a place to stay!)... but he is doing what he has wanted to do and I can tell he enjoys his job. I am so proud of him!

happiness

My pets bring a lot of happiness to my life (and Austin's).

They are sweet, fuzzy, loving, snuzzle-buddies.

I'm also enjoying the Instagram app... all these pics were taken with it.

Happy Saturday ~

Rip, Feisty

This is Feisty.

My family adopted her from the humane society when I was in 3rd grade.

She was 16 years old when she passed away on February 15th.

She will be missed!

Valentine's Day

I made a pie for Austin via the Martha Stewart Pies & Tarts cookbook.

It was delicious.

Crust recipe here (via my mom).

Cut one crust into heart shapes with a cookie cutter and refrigerate.

Whisk together 1/2 C granulated sugar, 3 TBsp cornstarch, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon (I used more cinnamon). Add 5-6 pears, peeled cored sliced, and 8 ounces of raspberries. Toss in sugar mixture with 2 TBsp fresh lemon juice. Prepare crust in a pie dish and pour fruit blend into the bottom crust. Dot with butter. Place heart shaped crust pieces on top in a pattern. To help the hearts stick together brush with water. Make sure there are vents. Sprinkle with sanding sugar (I used cinnamon & sugar). Refrigerate until firm about 30 minutes or more. In 400 degree oven, bake pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet to catch spill-over. Bake 20-25 minutes then reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake until done. The recipe says 85 minutes but mine only took about an hour. Cool completely and eat up!

We ate at the best Greek restaurant we've found in DFW. Ziziki's.

Austin made me love coupons (which I used all in one day).

"Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." -Robert Heinlein

baby fever

After working full-time at a child care center for 1 1/2 years, babysitting for some of the kiddos, and watching some of my friends have kids of their own... I have a serious case of baby fever. I miss seeing those kids everyday and having fun, hilarious (ok, and also frustrating) happenings on a daily basis. I learned a whole lot about children and parenting.

When I moved here to Texas I couldn't get a child care job due to my insanely uncooperative school and rehearsal schedule (I'm not exaggerating - it is quite ridiculous). But I finally found a nice couple in need of a babysitter. I had my interview today and got the job! It's not like it is going to bring me much of a paycheck or anything (it is only occasional), but I look forward to getting to know little Mr. Ezra!

I confessed to my cousin Sarah last weekend that Austin and I have a list of baby names... yep. It is getting pretty serious! I'm not going to tell you our top names, though. We agree on girl names more often but boy names not so much. For example, Austin thinks that Tiberius is a good name. . . . I'm not kidding (sadly). Hopefully by the time we have a baby Austin will come to his senses... I mean, we can both agree on some wonderful baby names :)

via Pinterest

Update!

My wonderful cousin, Sarah, visited over the weekend. When we were little we used my tub-of-bows to cover people's heads with bows. Her mom had to answer the door one time with a head full of bows... it was awesome. We played lots of card games and way too many trampoline games :) She was also my maid-of-honor when I got married. I'm glad we've stayed such close cousins since we were younger than I can remember!

We had lots of fun at the Dallas World Aquarium, watching 50/50, playing poker, chatting, and of course eating! I definitely recommend both the aquarium and the movie!

2007- being weirdly wacky with makeup and dancing :)

In 2011 - a more normal picture :)

Spectacular movie.

With a dog named Skeletor and one very handsome Joseph Gordon-Levitt...

Before Sarah visited (last week) I made this delectable brownie recipe from my chocolate chip cookbook. You need to try it (only if you are a serious chocolate-lover)!

Delectable Chocolatey Brownies

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on low speed to combine 1 2/3 cups ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR, 1/3 cup unsweetened sifted COCOA POWDER, 2 cups packed BROWN SUGAR, 1 tsp BAKING SODA, and 1/4 tsp SALT. Add 1 stick of UNSALTED BUTTER cut into small pieces. Mix until butter pieces are about the size of peas. There will be loose flour. Mix in 1 large EGG and 1 tsp VANILLA extract. The batter will appear dry. Add 1 cup SOUR CREAM until batter looks evenly moistened. There may still be lumps of butter but that is ok. Mix in 12 ounces of CHOCOLATE CHIPS (I used bittersweet, but semisweet would also work). Scrape the batter into a 9x9 pan lined with parchment and buttered. Bake at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out fairly clean. Cool completely, about one hour (I totally didn't do this...). Enjoy alone or with vanilla ice cream!

More to come on my adventures in the second semester of grad school and my baking endeavors... enjoy your week!

try it!

Scramble With Friends is oodles of fun!

If you want to play me : Lesconner8

Thanks to Lee

My wonderful corner-neighbor, Lee, knows I like to bake. The other day when I was getting mail he asked if I have ever made pudding because he had a bunch of bananas and wafers so I could make banana pudding. I gladly accepted his ingredients and made my first banana pudding ever. It was delicious (one of Austin's favorites now)!

Recipe & below photo via Martha Stewart.

I've also been eating up this tasty peach jam my mom gave me.

Made in Oklahoma!