Life is good.

This past week has had its ups & downs as I began resuming responsabilities after my week off post-Spain. Jobs are hard to find, GRE stuff is scaring the stuffing out of me and Grad school apps are giving me PTSD-esque flashbacks to the hellish experience of college apps. (Do I really want to do this all again? Yes, Kate, you do.) (Do I?) (Yes. Maybe.)

But life has been mostly sunshine when you look at it:

*I had a great and much-needed catch up session with my best friend Elise over delivery Chinese food and a movie. We talked through the movie and drank a succession of Shirley Temples until I went into a happy sugar coma.

*My nephew continued to be cute--in fact he GREW in cuteness. True fact. Need proof?



*We celebrated Father's Day early with a delicious breakfast at The Egg and I and followed it up with a viewing of "The Invention of Lying" (Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey, Rob Lowe, etc.)--my parents picked it up for $5 at Target and it was actually super cute.

*My sister and I continued to be awesome. I'd tell you more about it, but you'd probably look at me like I was crazy and I'd just say "you had to be there." (Right, Jen?) ("Why are you talking to the baby about venereal diseases?")

*I fixed up my room and hung some new pictures.

{The sketch in the bottom-middle is of the library on the Rhodes campus. At graduation each Senior was allowed to pick a sketch of a building on campus and naturally I picked the library--heck I lived there! Anyway, you can tell I am a dork and love libaries since I actually framed and hung the thing.}

Here's my reading corner where I spend a lot of time, natch. The print I hung above the chair is one I bought in Palma de Mallorca. I was in love with the artist's work and we chatted it up and became friends. I ended up buying a piece of her art for my nephew/sister, my friend and one for me.

I wish I could get the details more clearly, but it's an ant being carried away on a lasso of words right up to the moon. Perfect for me and perfect for my reading corner.

I also re-did the space above my desk so I could hang the gorgeous picture Chris got me from Japan on his last deployment (top left). Isn't it lovely? I also cleaned off the clutter and updated a few photos.

*I finally got to bake again! I love Emma the Joy's blog in general, but I especially love her recipe index. I've basically been bookmarking recipes from her blog all year while I was living sans oven and now I finally get to try them all out. I started with Homemade Oreos ...yum!

*I've also finally gotten to cook with an oven again. Tonight I made my favorite comfort food: Baked Mac 'n' Cheese. It was perfect for this rainy cold Colorado day. No pictures of that 'cause we just ate it right up.

*And last but most definitely X 1000 not least: I got to chat with bestie Tina for a good hour the other day...and then today she texted me to say she got us tickets to see The Colbert Report when I'm in NYC! Thank you so much Tina, you are the best. She knows I LOVE Colbert.

So, I guess the moral of the story (oops, was I not telling a story?) is that while I am feeling stressed and a bit worried at my state of life lately, I am also very happy and trying to focus on that.

What have you been up to? Please share.

Sopa de Ajo

The first time I traveled to Spain was in the winter of 2003-2004. My family and I explored Andalucia taking in the culture, the sights and the tastes.

Unfortunately in 2003/2004 I was 15 and had a very unsophisticated palette. While my family feasted on Spanish culinary delights, I stuck to the basics. One of these basics was Sopa de Ajo--garlic soup. I love garlic, as does my family. It's always been a staple so it's no surprise I took to Sopa de Ajo quickly and pretty much stuck with it at every restaurant we went to.

{Alhambra in Granada with the sister; December 2003.}

Luckily, what my parents always told me as a picky-eater child--"your tastes will change as you grow!"--proved true. Now I will try anything and enjoy most types of food. Seriously, sometimes I'm amazed at how far I've come. Guys, I used to hate mustard and parmesian cheese. Who hates parmesian cheese? I love ALL cheese!

My parents are coming to visit in March and one of the things I'm most excited about, ranking just below seeing them for the first time in 6 months and traveling, is eating with them. I really haven't tried anything here that I haven't liked and I've tried a lot of things! I think it will be such a fun change from our last time together in Spain.

(Ok, pate. I don't like pate. And Spaniards seem to eat it ALL the time.)

{Royal Palace in Madrid with Jen and Mom; January 2004.}

Anyway, I woke up sick again today. That's 3 times in 3 months. My immune system was clearly not prepared to work with children. This time I'm barely even fazed by it. I'm just chugging tea (although I really always do that) and tonight I made a big pot of Sopa de Ajo. It's really good for your immune system! And I never really need an excuse to cook anything that calls for lots of garlic.

These pictures are unrelated to the post but they're from Spain and I can't upload anything new. The post is a sort of unrelated to the post. Maybe I shouldn't write when my mind is hazy and my thoughts are distracted because I can't remember finishing my cup of tea but I must've cause now it's empty...

I think I'll have some more garlic soup.

Buen fin de semana, amigos.

EDIT

In my clearer state of mind it occured to me that maybe I should post the recipe for this delicious soup in case anyone ever wants to try it. Except that I sort of combined a few recipes and really I just improv in the kitchen, so I will type up how I do it and hopefully it'll work for you

Garlic--you choose the amount. Recipes say 4 cloves. I added about 8 BIG cloves. I love garlic.

Meat based broth. I use chicken bouillon and add it to the...

1 Quart of water

Half a loaf of French bread. I like for it to be slightly stale.

3 eggs

Ok, so I sautee the crushed garlic in a little bit of hot oil until golden. Then I add the 4 cups of broth to a large pot with the garlic and bring to a boil. Once it's boiled, put the temperature on low and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, I cut the bread into rounds and then cut those in half (I just prefer this size, you can adjust) and then toast them with oil in a pan. Also, beat the eggs together. After the soup has simmered for about 20 minutes you remove it from the heat and immediately stir in the egg. (It appears kind of like egg drop soup.) Now I throw a few of the toasted rounds in the bottom of the bowl and serve the soup on top, but you could add them later or just dip them if you don't like the soggy texture.

It's super easy and delicious. Let me know if you try it out!