Nine Lives -- Update

So the plan worked. We had some of the best steak ever at Maddox and the mushrooms were dee-lightful! Sadly, they were out of sarsparilla (what is it with that?). We stopped by my parents' house to say hi to my dad who I've not seen since he's been back from Iraq. We even got a phone call from Bryan's dad and Criscell wishing us a do-over happy anniversary. Then we decided to watch "Taken". It took some doing. The Ogden theatres had showings at 10 pm, but it was only 7:45. We decided to drive home and watch one of our movies. On the way through town I thought we should stop by our theatre to see if a time would work. There was a showing at 9:10, and it was 8:50; PERFECT! The movie was good; not too scary at all. And it was exactly the way Bryan would hunt down one of his loved ones if necessary. Kind of weird to see Hollywood do it our way. So if anyone ever has a horrible anniversary, plan a fake one. They work well. :)
Tomorrow night is an official "do-over". After the dismal performance of last week, we decided to have a new fake anniversary. Bryan deemed tomorrow as the perfect day. I'm a little worried. Tomorrow is exactly nine days. Do-doo-do-do Doo-do-doo-do *Twlight Zone*. The plans start with being done at work at 4 pm. To begin the trek to Brigham City, to have our traditional Maddox dinner. We started this on our first anniversary, and continued until this year. Perhaps Kharma has come to call. I'm looking forward to good steaks, decent fries, yummy mushrooms, soft rolls, and homemade sarsparilla (yeah!). The plans after that are a little up in the air. I've had the idea of bowling; our most favorite activity. We each have our own bowling shoes, I have a plastic 10 lb ball, and Bryan has a rolling carrying case with a 14 lb spare ball and a 15 lb strike ball. I think we may be serious. I also thought of possibly going to see the movie 'Taken'. However, this presents a problem. For Bryan it would be great. I would be in his lap scared to no end. Which makes me not want to go, but I think Liam Neeson is a great actor. I'm ambivalent when it comes to this idea.
So all of you out there who read this in the next 24 hours: wish us good luck and that the nines won't come calling.

Butter-Rum Apples

Here is my latest creation. Sorry I was too busy eating to take pictures of the final product, maybe next time. This dessert is fantastic, it is great to show off and better to eat.

Start with one Gala apple per person. Core and peel the apples then quarter. Add the apples to a large saucepan. Add 1 T butter per apple and begin to lightly brown the apples. Now add about 1/2 T brown sugar per apple and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Add about a dash of cinnamon per apple and continue to simmer for about 2 minutes. Then pour 1 ounce Apple Jack (apple brandy) and 1 ounce of any kind of rum (I prefer Bacardi 151) into a glass. *WARNING* do not pour directly into pan or you may need to get a skin graft. When the bottles are not near the pan, pour the glass of spirits into the pan and fire it up. The flame is very hot and intense so be careful. Do not use a plastic spoon to stir, it will melt. Remove the pan from the heat and stir until the flame is gone then put back on heat and continue to stir until the smell of alcohol is gone and there is a syrup developing. Now add 1 T of heavy cream per apple to the pan and simmer and reduce until the mixture becomes a decent caramel. Put apples in a dish with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle some of the syrup over the ice cream. Damn! That's good.

What You Need to Know About 2009

Well the new year is proving to be a challenge. At the beginning of January it looked like my job was going well and I would end up with a decent bonus for the second part of the year. Not so fast, January was the worst month ever and now no bonus. I have also been hoping for some operations managers to move on from other stores and open up a position that I could slide into. Not so fast, a restructure of the company and budget decreases eliminated these positions from the stores likely to open up. No bonus, No promotion. A couple weeks back we ventured down to Salt Lake to sample a "Moochie's" Philly Steak. Everything was going to plan when a noise developed coming from the truck. As we cruised down the highway the noise got louder. We pulled in to the gas station and attempted to identify the noise. In the end the transmission was the quitter. The NV4500 is one of the strongest transmissions of all time, I blew it up. Price tag $3000.00. No bonus, No promotion, Truck is broken. We have decided to put a bathroom in the basement, the toilet flange was already installed years ago after some quick recon we found that the toilet flange wasn't even attached to the sewer, WHAT, WHY! well that meant we had to sledge hammer up a ton of concrete and tap into the sewer line, NASTY! So, No bonus, No promotion, the truck is broken, the basement is ripped apart, and yes I, the germaphobe had to tap into the sewer. Then with much excitement we welcomed our 9th anniversary. The morning of our anniversary I got up and began work on the truck. It was snowing, the wind was blowing and the ground was wet. After a couple hours of working in soaking wet clothing, I called it quits. Near hypothermia I went in to get warm. Jen had a pain in her jaw that was getting worse and she was in a ton of pain. After getting cleaned up I came down with the worst migraine headache I have had in many years. I lost all vision in my right eye and my head was pounding and did I mention the house was spinning? After some good pills and some rest we set off for Salt Lake and Ruth's Chris Steak House. We put money in the meter and walked a couple blocks to the restaurant. The door was locked, WHAT THE HELL! looking through the windows the tables were set but the lights were off. We were so mad, this was supposed to be our romantic anniversary dinner. Later we found out this location went under, how do you go under charging $85 for a steak? All you have to do is sell a couple a day. So we set off to find another restaurant. The only thing we could come up with for a good steak was Ruby River. On the way over we had a road rage retard in the appropriate jackass BMW. He followed us for a while acting all scary but when I pulled over ready to pull him out of his German suppository he hid down an alley. All talk and no walk, typical BMW driver. After toying with him we headed to Ruby River. The restaurant was a lot lower quality than had been described to us in the past. They claimed to offer hand crafted sodas and had much of their decor in Sarsaparilla bottles but NO they did not have any Sarsaparilla. Our food arrived and I dug in. The steak was so full of gristle I had to leave half of the steak on the plate half chewed. The potatoes were under cooked and overall it was the quality of your average chain restaurant, BLAH! By this time Jen's jaw was killing her we drove home and Jen was near tears the entire way. Today Jen went to the dentist and found out her tooth had passed away. So two hours later and nearly $900 she was numb and happy with her first root canal. So, No bonus, No promotion, Broken truck, house ripped up, nasty sewer, crappy anniversary, and a Root canal to top it off. So far 2009 SUCKS! not to mention the whole thing with having a retarded socialist President and watching the country crash and burn. Looking forward to the rest of the year!

Bryan is simple!

Jen's extremely long and complicated self analysis has led me to realize I am much simpler. If it's fast, loud, mean, dark, difficult, unpopular, wrong, or tastes good, then I'll like it.

Jen I Am

For many years I've felt lost on who I really am. I've tried to pin down what makes me, me but feel like I fail every time. Until I read Elicia's latest post. So thanks to her, I finally have the courage to put 'me' on the radar.
My name means 'gentle white wave'. I always liked the meaning, but never thought it explained me. I am definitely not gentle. It should read crashing, or tsunami, or monstrous. Being an Air Force brat gives me a special patriotism that only military children will understand. I get the itch to move every 18 months to 2 years. The idea of living in one place for 50 years terrifies me. I crave change. I have a weird habit of using eggs in a diagonal pattern. If the carton is not arranged this way, I'll take the time to fix it. OCD idioiocracy. I also have to work in a clean environment. Whenever I cook, I take the time to clean the entire kitchen, even going so far as to sweep and vacuum sometimes. I am an organize freak. I will take the time to rearrange the dishwasher if someone else has filled it. My favorite color is blue, although I've never really admitted it. I usually pretend purple is. I am an ultimate James Bond fan. And only true 'Bond'. I own all the Sean Connerys, and feel Daniel Craig has done well enough to be owned. But my most favorite James Bond is "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". Which was played by George Lazenby. I also will watch a movie over and over and over like a broken record. I've probably watched "You've Got Mail" 3000 times. I snack constantly. If someone brings goodies to work, you'll find me at the plate more than anyone else. I constantly wiggle, shake my leg or tap my feet. I have a jaw like a vise, constantly clinching. So much so, that it makes my teeth and jaw hurt, and even gives me headaches. I love to play the piano, but rarely play my own. I play the one at my mom's more often (sorry Bryan). I have a fetish with shoes, but am so cheap that I hardly have any pairs and no one would realize. I have a love affair with coats too. Stars are my most favorite and I have a flowerbed in that shape. I love the night sky. I've spent countless hours in cars traveling state to state gazing at the stars. At 8 years old I read two encyclopedias cover-to-cover on the universe. I love to learn; if I could go to school for free I would be there every day. I don't even mind homework or tests. I'm an overachiever. But for some reason, I'm not when it comes to exercising. When I hit 110 my jaw dropped to the floor and my eyes bugged. It didn't help when my sisters told me that I looked heavier and that most of the weight had gone to my butt. I feel the fat is finally starting to set in. It's weird when you are finally a triple digit when all your life you've been a double. I get extremely cranky when I'm hungry. So much, that Bryan will start randomly offering food. I used to be extremely gullible. I have a bad habit of taking off my wedding ring and laying it down in strange places. And forget the 'safe' spot I set it in. Bryan now teases me and steals it so I become panicky. I love my dogs, but am afraid to be known as the 'crazy dog lady'. I used to think those that treated dogs like kids were insane, but now I catch myself doing exactly that. And it hurts when people look at me weird or call me silly. I love to be considered unique. Although copycats are a form of flattery, I can't stand when someone tries to be just like me. I have never found Brad Pitt to be hot. I gave up the opportunity to see "Seven Years in Tibet" to watch "Rocketman" instead. I love horses and wish I knew how to ride properly. I have always wanted to own a horse ranch, but married a man who is allergic to alf-alf-a. Oh well. I can't stand high pitch noises. Bryan does this strange whistle and my ears about explode. He can't even hear himself making this noise, and neither can most people. I don't know why I can. I also can't stand when people pick at their nails. The clicking noise it makes is disgusting. I love to receive neck and shoulder rubs but don't like to give them out as it makes my hands ache and tighten up. I have horrible pains, but feel like a wimp any time I talk about them. It makes me feel vulnerable. I can read a novel of 200 pages in 2 hours. And can tell you what it's about. I recently subscribed to a scrapbook magazine and spend more time disliking all of the layouts then actually getting inspiration. I love old cars and the smell inside them. I adore flowers, especially tulips. I have hundreds of bulbs planted in my front yard. I loved a flower arrangement of daisies and red roses so much, that I created a flowerbed as exactly that. I do not like ground meat. For some reason, I will slide the meat in spaghetti sauce, stroganoff, steak and ale pie, etc to the side while I eat the noodles, mushrooms and potatoes. But the meal wouldn't taste right without it. Every morning I have oatmeal for breakfast with strawberries or raspberries and add about 3 Tablespoons of brown sugar. So much for healthy. I will eat a food so often that eventually I cannot stand it anymore. I love to watch gangster British movies. I find the accents soothing. I love the ocean but can't stand the smell of it. And a landscape without mountains would be hell even though I lived in Oklahoma for three years as a kid. I have night terrors occasionally; so bad I can't move and lay in sweat for hours waiting for the sun to come up. I wish I would outgrow this. I had a large stuffed orange dog (and who knows why I picked orange as I don't really like the color) that would protect me at night. I would wrap him around my back and face away from the wall. For some reason, the wall was scary. I love to doodle and draw. Most of my time in church as a teen was spent getting my required sketch minutes finished. I love stipple; for some bizarre reason I can see the shadows in faces much better this way. I love to paint and draw with colored pencils. And will spend hours coloring. I won a coloring contest in 2nd grade for President's Day. Growing old by myself scares me. I find myself becoming extremely interested in politics, enough that I have grandiose ideas of running for city councils or the US senate. As a kid I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I thought of everything from a teacher to a spy, an astronaut to a bounty hunter and even a marine biologist. I then decided I should be an actor because then I could do all those things, but am camera shy. My most favorite feature is my hair, not many people have the color red I do. But it makes it difficult to find a variety of clothing colors. I hate glasses. I now wear a contact for one eye, but when Bryan said I should have a pair of glasses for backup, I sat there and sulked with my big fat lip. I love to do homely things like crochet, cross-stitch, scrapbook, bind blankets and so on. I spend hours working on these projects. I am fascinated with history and become engrossed with shows like 'Universe' and 'Cities of the Underworld'. I hate reality TV, but every once in a while find something I'll actually watch. Like Tori & Dean. Who knows why I get infatuated with these people's lives. I prefer lamp light to overhead lights. I like to expand my vocabulary with words like sapid. I'm a sucker for traditions and don't smile enough. I love to travel and have big plans to see the world. I love to spend time with my soul mate and will waste an entire day lounging on the couch doing nothing with him willingly. I like to think I'm dignified, but then do something klutzy. I sometimes will get so angry about a situation that I will have to throw something to let off steam. I talk to myself constantly. I think values are important and those who don't stand by what they pretend to say annoy me. I literally cannot stand when someone speaks over me on the phone; it is one of my biggest pet peeves. But I have the sneaking suspicion I do it too. Oops. And on that bombshell, and blogged Bible, I hope that all these traits will remind me I do exist and that I'm meaningful.