Chickpea Curry and Crunchy Romaine Toss

Although my mother would never believe me, I have been cooking quite a bit lately and enjoying it. I like trying new things - and I feel a little proud after I make a meal - like I just accomplished something. I know that for most people simply cooking a meal wouldn't really be an accomplishment, but come on, I'm trying here. And we got this lovely, big kitchen for a reason, right?

So, I made a salad and a main dish. The salad I had actually tried out on my coworkers a week ago and an impromptu potluck lunch we decided to have. I got the recipe from my fav cooking website, allrecipes.com, and I followed it to a T.

Crunchy Romaine Toss

I found it quite tasty myself and fairly easy to make. It took probably 15 minutes to do all the tearing, chopping and toasting.

Next up, the main dish. We usually cook with turkey and chicken, but I decided to mix it up with chickpeas as the protein.

Grade: A

Chickpea Curry

Now, this was pretty easy too. All it required was chopping an onion, mixing some spices and opening up a couple cans of chickpeas. We served it over brown rice. The spice was good and Andy enjoyed the heat it packed (not TOO much, but enough to have a glass of water near). I wanted a little more crunch in mine - not sure what that could entail next time. Some reviewers said they added tomatoes, which I may try also.

Grade: B

Young whippersnappers

So, maybe sometimes you do grow up. Well, maybe not so much grow UP but more grow OUT of some things. In this case, it's tailgating with the students.

All of our tailgates have always been in the student area by the tennis courts at MSU. We've always had a blast. But something different has been happening this year. In the past few tailgates, these words have either passed through my lips or my mind:


"Gosh, that music is loud. Can't they turn it down a bit?"

"Those girls must be freezing! Put on some clothes already!"

"That guy is way too drunk and crazy."


Now, why did these thoughts never cross through my mind before? I don't know, but apparently I'm growing out of being in the student section. I still want to drink and hang out with my friends, but I'd like there to be a little less madness around me. So, I believe we will be moving our beloved tailgate to a different location next year. Which means I will have to donate money. Which means we're DEFINITELY getting older - paying bills is directly correlated with age.

I have to go watch Matlock and knit a potholder now.

Is that a towel in your belly?

On lunch breaks Andy and I trade off going home to let Tobias out. Monday it was my turn. I returned home to see puke in his crate and a long thread coming out of his throat. Then I noticed the towel we had been using to wipe his feet during the rainy weekend was chewed up and half pulled into his crate.

I was a bad puppy Mama and had set the towel on his crate. Shame on me.

I called the vet. When I was explaining what happened, she gasped. Great, as if I wasn't feeling scared enough about the situation, your *gasp* at what he did sure doesn't make me feel better. Then she talks to the vet and tells my I need to bring him in immediately.

It was at this point I teared up and thought "I just killed my perfect little puppy."

Turns out all is fine. The vet thought he was a smaller dog and Toby's eating and pooping like normal.

I'm never having human babies.

Well Hello!

Photo by Amy Carroll Photography


Who: Juli

What: A twenty-something wife, daughter, sister, friend and doggy-Mama

Where: Ada, Michigan

When: Whenever boredom strikes

Why: Why not?

I'll start out by explaining the name. In trying to think of a name, I thought about some of my favorite quotes, songs, etc. One personal favorite quote of mine is:

"People never really grow up. They just learn how to act in public."

That pretty much sums up the way I live my life. In public, I think I put up the image of being a mature and intelligent lady. Although I appear this way, I still laugh at fart jokes and the other week I opened a car door into my face.

If you're reading this, you probably already know my public image is a total fraud. But for some reason, you're still my friend. Thanks for that, and I hope you'll never grow up with me.