The Food Trials

I just logged on to write a post of my own and was surprised to find that Brian actually wrote one this week! That boy always has something up his sleeve. But it's also funny that he wrote about food, because the is the precise thing I was going to talk about. Can you tell that it's a pretty constant subject of conversation for us?

We were walking around Trader Joe's, our grocery store, this morning, and I was complaining about Brian's lack of good taste and he was reminding me of all the things he has tried this year. And it's true, he has tried quite a bit, and it is one of my life goals to get him to expand his palate. If you don't know him, you should know that Brian is historically one of the pickiest eaters on the face of the planet. And that is only a slight exaggeration, people. He likes carbs and chicken, and that's about it. In college, he ate terribly. I'm not sure that he ate any vegetables or fruits in an entire week.

But now he eats them daily! I am proud to say that this week he has brought fruit salad to school almost everyday. And the other day he told me that he took carrots and hummus for lunch, and I didn't even nag him to do it! He's getting healthier and healthier by the second.

In the past year, he has tried pomegranates, kiwi, plums, grapefruit, pineapple, huckleberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, avocado, bell peppers, mushrooms, butternut squash... and I'm sure there is plenty more that we can't remember. The point is, this is awesome. And he's now enjoying so many of my favorite things! So yay. Congratulations, Brian.

On another note, it is an absolutely beautiful day here today. We walked down the street and got some coffee and sat outside this morning. We also got to pet the most adorable apricot-colored poodle pup. And then walked to the grocery store. Now I'm going to go work on some homemade pizza for lunch. Yum yum. Hope ya'll are enjoying your Saturday!

My mind is telling me, 'No'...

Dear friends, if you know me, then you know that I am an incorrigible chocolate addict. Most specifically, the chocolate chip cookies that Katie has perfected over the last 2 years. And I just ate some a few moments ago, that made me feel the need to share that with you. And also the fact that Katie will no longer be making them, as we* have decided to try to continue improving the health balance of what we consume. And apparently, entire batches of cookies in a day has no place in 'healthy consumption.' Vegetables are gross; yea, I said it. It's just too obvious to not. Now don't go throwing out carrots, celery, lettuce, or even broccoli as tasty vegetables, because we all know those aren't the really healthy ones. The worst offenders are the beans, and peas, and greens; all of which have remarkable vitamin contents, when raw. But to make them the least bit appetizing, they are generally cooked or steamed in a way which degrades active, complex compounds like the enzymes and vitamins they are valued for.

But really I don't even want to talk about those abominations, I'm really just here to tell you that we took our engagement photos this weekend, and we will have them in about 2 weeks to share with the world. But if Katie wants to, she can post 4 'teaser' photos the photographer sent to us already. So, if you want those to be posted, you will just have to nag her to do it.

Well I think I should probably get back to planning some more experiments and compiling information. bye bye.




*She insisted, I consented. And concurred.

The Countdown

Woah, we haven't blogged in quite awhile. Sorry about that, people. I feel like we go through periods of time where we have tons to blog about followed by times when we have absolutely nothing to say. I promise, I'll try to be better about it.

Let's see... what can I tell you? Brian has been busy with school. He's taking 1 class right now, which is (hopefully) his last actual class he will attend as a student in grad school, and after this quarter it will just be lab research and the occasional teaching assistant-ship. For those of you who may not know, Brian is in school for a PhD in Chemical Engineering. So he's a smarty pants and is working hard.

I've been busy with work! It's so good to finally be able to say that! :) I like it a lot. I have learned so much about the digital marketing world and about nonprofits. It is so different from working with Periclean Scholars in college. That experience provided me with a great basis of doing this kind of work, and now I'm seeing how such a huge, far-reaching organization does it, and that has been really exciting. It has also provided me with the chance to really evaluate what I want to do with my life and different options I want to explore. I will meet a lot of senior leaders from all over the organization soon, and I'm excited to learn about what everyone and all the departments do. I'm having a lot of fun learning about different things and being so engaged with work that, in the end, I know helps a lot of people all over the world. 

In other news, it is exactly 6 months until Brian and I get married! That is wonderful and stressful all at the same time. I can't wait for it, and at the same time, we still have SO much to do! It'll all come together though... We have a photographer and someone to marry us... That's all we really need, right? We'll feed our guests on paper plates and have a BBQ and we're good to go. I can probably scrounge up a white dress, we'll text all the guests directions... Good, right? Haha, if only. That's okay. It's been crazy trying to pull this thing together, but it will happen, and it will be so very fun.

Today as a celebration of 6 months until our wedding, Brian took me on a picnic to the beach, and he surprised me with some of our friends who showed up to picnic with us! It was grand. I wish the weather had been better better, but the sailboats were out, and that is something about which I cannot find any reason to complain. Oh, and someone had THE cutest little puppy. I wish I had gotten a picture of it. It was roughly the size of a football and looked like a teddy bear. Seriously, I need one.

PS- Can you believe there are normally mountains on the other side of this little sound? This is what we mean when we say that mountains disappear around here... Literally one day it looks like this and the next, you can see the most majestic Olympic mountain range in all its snow-capped shimmering glory. We decided today that the mountains just migrate south for the winter. Those tricky beasts.