Cough, cough :(

How Cute!! Don't be fooled, this is a rare moment of affection for one another.

I finally feel that my life is starting to ease into a pattern again. Work is at a good steady pace, my first big school are done, I'm finding time to hang out with Anna, Kellie and a few other people here and there (goodbye months of hermit behavior!), and my house is being cleaned on a regular basis :). So what's the first thing I do?? Try to find something new :). Seriously, I have no right to ever complain that my life is too busy or that I have too much going. My new found interest is most certainly a side effect of my becoming a voyeur of some craft and domestic arts blogs. Most of them revolve around knitting and baking, which I have tried and enjoy, but when one of them discussed quilting/sewing, I got really interested.
I stayed home from work today with a cold. All week I'd been going to work sick, but today I finally gave into the crusted eyes, soar throat and chest rumbling cough. Forcing myself to stay on the couch for an entire day is so hard, but I've used the time to read online sewing how to and think I've gathered enough info to start on my first project. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude, but I don't do self-taught things very well. More than likely I'll need to enlist the help of a friend who sews. If you can sew well, please let me know! I pay in cookies :)

I really need to catch up on posting the pictures I've taken of the recipes we've tried. This blog originally started because we kept forgetting all the good meals we'd made and never knew what to make for dinner. So although this is entirely unrelated to today, here goes:
Martha Stewart's Living magazine has two sections that I almost always make when I get the monthly edition. Thomas has taken to grabbing the magazine first when it comes just to see what these sections hold, as he knows he will directly benefit from their contents.
Last month, the what's for dinner recipe cards section had a recipe for Marinated Flank Steak Sandwiches with Baked Sweet Potato Chips. I need to work on making pictures look more appetizing, but I promise it was tasty!


The recipe was pretty quick and easy and made good left overs. The entire sandwich can be reheated and the bread doesn't get soggy (I hate reheating sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, etc with any type of cold produce on them like lettuce). This is my much loved and used bento lunch box (found at lunchboxes.com, gifted to me from Tom & Sylvia last Christmas). It helps me eat healthier lunches. The novelty of filling the little containers has yet to wear off in the 10 months I've had it.

Marinated Flank Steak Sandwiches:
Makes 4 sandwiches
1 small onion (the recipe called for white, I used red), sliced into 1/4 inch rings
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (from 2 oranges)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2 to 4 limes)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, crushed (i used 2 tsp jarred minced garlic)
1 1/2 lbs flank steak, trimmed of excess fat
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 loaf ciabatta bread, split horizontally & halved lengthwise (I used wheat sandwich buns)
6 oz Gruyere cheese, thinly sliced (splurge on this one item above all others, it makes a difference)
1 whole dill pickle, thinly sliced crosswise
1. Combine onion, juices, cumin, and garlic in a shallow dish. Add steak, and let stand, turning once, for 20 minutes.
2. Preheat a grill pan to medium-high and oven to 400 (I just preheat the oven, with the grill pan inside). Pat steak dry, and season with salt and pepper. Grill to desired doneness, 5 to 10 minutes per side. Let rest.
3. Grill onion for 2 to 3 minutes. Discard marinade.
4. Butter bread. Grill, buttered side down, for 2 minutes. Place cheese on bottom havles, and bake in ove until melted.
5. Slice steak thinly, AGAINST THE GRAIN (if you cut with the grain, it's really hard to bite off). Top cheese with pickle, steak, onion, and bread. Halve each sandwich and serve.

Baked Sweet Potato Chips
2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced 1/8 inch think
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lime, cut into wedges for serving (do not skip the lime! it makes the dish)
Preheat oven to 400, with racks in center and lower positions. Place in bowl with lid, drizzle with oil, secure lid, and toss to coat. Divide sweet potatoes between 2 rimmed baking sheets and spread them in a single layer. Bake, flipping once, until centers are soft and edges are crisp, 22 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve with lime wedges.

Business as Usual

This is my wonderful cozy living room, with two even cozier cats. It looks nothing like this right now :). In fact, it's rarely looked like this all semester. This welcoming sitting area is now piled high with text books, articles read and unread, lists of TEKS, art album discs, etc, etc.
I am trying to decide if i have given myself too much to do or if I am the type of person who is easily overwhelmed and suited better for a simple lifestyle.

Turning album designing into a company is an awesome dream; however, it would be great if someone could just hire me on to create albums and they took care of the websites, taxes, marketing, contracts, and so on that comes with the business side of things. I don't think I'm cut out to do it. The truth of the matter is, when I start to teach, there will not be time for this company, at least, no more time than I give it now. And isn't that the ultimate goal of what I'm doing? To get a job teaching? I like album design, but it's not painting and it's not teaching art. Should I just chill and not try to actively grow the company? I could keep working at Elliott until I find a teaching job. It shows a lasting position with a company and it has good benefits. It's also not a bad job :). Album design is just so interesting. It could be 0 - 5 years before I find a teaching job so it's hard to plan. Also, album design would be good for when I have kids- working from home............
(Thanks for reading through that short list of pros and cons, I'll spare you the rest, of which there is a lot). Suffice it to say, it's so hard to decide how much work to put into this.
But I will mention that I am possibly being hired on part time (case by case basis) with an album design company out of California. YAY!!!

To top that, and add more stress (happy stress), a friend of mine in Alaska, who works for an interior design firm, showed my work (paintings/prints) to her boss. It's apparently not quite the right style to show in their office space as they often do for local artists, but she likes my work and wants to get a good portfolio from me to keep on file to show clients in search of art pieces. Thanks Lisa for playing art dealer!!

I feel like I've already said too much about myself, but after all it is my blog and I should mention for those curious that I rocked my teaching assignment Thursday. I sounded confident and knowledgeable (not hard to do when you are teaching the kids about the four seasons :) ) and most impressive of all, I got all 60 kids to be quiet at one time! For like 10 minutes! Booya! Te he. Then I had fun getting them all rilled up and excited about watercolors for the next 30 minutes. Art is great :). The best part about it was that I wasn't nervous when I was standing in front of 75 people who were judging every move I made. I was exhilarated. I love teaching!!
I celebrated by drinking a lot of Raising Cane's Lemonade. I've never eaten their food, but that lemonade is like crack.
Whoo! So much running through my little brain....