Food!

I loooooove to cook. And I love food. And new restaraunts. And entertaining at home. And trying new things in general. But...really, I love to cook.

This picture is of cruncy vanilla almond french toast, sweet bacon and fruit salad. This recipe is one of Rachel Ray's. I know...you can only watch her show for about 5 minutes at a time but she has some great recipes and I love that she encourages you to experiment on your own and use what you already have.

This picture I cannot take credit for. My husband, Matt, made jambalaya for me and a friend one night. It was spicy. And delicious. He's really good at thinking of a meal he wants to try, looking at a dozen recipes and then coming up with something that's a bit of a mix of all recipes he's read.

This one was a collaborative effort (apples from the farmer's market, yum!). I did the filling and made the dough, but Matt had the painstaking job of doing the lattice top (his own choice). Lucy stole the bits that fell on the floor. It didn't quite turn out like mom's, but pretty close.

Photos courtesy of Mrs. Brandy Shannon Sanchez

7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learning

The habit that is both hardest and easiest for me is having confidence in myself as a competent, effective learner.

I enjoy learning new things and once I've done something a couple of times I'm usually confident enough to expand and take initiative on it.

That being said, I also sometimes have doubts about learning new things and that I won't retain the information well enough to do a good job.

Mar-leeen vs. Mar-lane

So apparently the pronunciation of my name is a subject of hot debate, so I thought I'd clear it up. Even though it is spelled "Marlene" and it looks like it should be "Mar-leeen" my parents thought they'd make things fun for me and it's actually pronounced "Mar-LANE-a". Which is actually not as bad as my maiden name, "Werne" pronounced "Vair-nuh". Yeah. I know.

That being said, I will never be offended if you ask or accidentally call me Mar-leeen. Because I have also been called Mary, Molly and am frequently mistaken for Lauren on the phone. Not to mention the plethora of nicknames I had growing up because Marlene is just too hard. Or because my sister has diarrhea of the mouth. Those, however, I will not be sharing.

Lucy

Lucy is my 85 lb bloodhound. We got her to be my guard dog while my husband was out of town for training for 6 weeks, but we quickly learned Lucy is not intimidating in any way, shape or form, unless you count slobber.

I have found slobber everywhere. On the walls, ceiling, TV, books, and most recently connecting a chair to the dining room table. I have learned to love Chlorox wipes.

She also follows her bloodhound nose to things that smell good and has eaten an array of items around our apartment (including peppermint lotion, 5 lbs of frozen chicken and a Duraflame log) and is miraculously still alive.

But mostly, Lucy sleeps. She often commandeers 2/3 of the couch, leaving the rest of it for Matt and I to squeeze on to. She also enjoys sleeping in doorways, hallways, and just outside the kitchen while I'm cooking. It's incredibly helpful.