Lisa: bittersweet

Today is my last day working for the library, at least for the near future. My feelings about this are so mixed, but I think excitement for the next phase of my life is winning out.

Thank you, thank you to Dawn for helping me find library science, to the University of North Texas for allowing me to earn an MLS without leaving Salt Lake (and Blake), and especially to the Salt Lake County Library System for hiring and training a brand new children's librarian (and for working around my pregnancy, delivery, and new motherhood for as long as they did). I consider this my career, and I'll be back, refocused and ready to work harder than ever in just a few years.

Thank you also to Concert Black, for making this change possible, and to my mom, whose vision, drive, and very hard work has made our little company run so well that instead of working on it "on the side," it can be my main job. I can hardly believe that I'll be writing myself a paycheck for filling those website orders from home.

Thank you most of all to my little Nora, for coming into my life so fortuitously. You have brightened it and made each day better in a way I could never have imagined. It has been hard for me to leave you every day (even with people who love you as much as Sir, Grandma, and your dad do) and I can't wait to be home with you to watch you changing and growing. I feel like I'm growing because of you, too. And of course, I'll be there to make sure you have on pants.

Phewf! Enough sappy stuff. See you all online.

Lisa: does anyone want some herbs?

I don't know if anyone remembers our herb garden project, but I thought I'd post an update since things are going so well.

Here's a view of the whole garden, the HUGE comfrey plant (What does one use comfrey for? I guess I should have researched that before planting.), mint, sage, and our little champion tomato plant. We've picked ripe tomatoes four times now, I think. Sorry, I'm blocking the sun with the camera in some of these shots.

So, does this count as having a vegetable garden? I think so. Now, to find a way to use some of these goodies before they go to waste...

Lisa: This is going to be awesome.

I can see the resemblance:

ETA: A few costumes I might have to look forward to.

Lisa: chicken & broccoli quiche

Soon after I had Nora, my awesome friend Gabrielle brought over dinner. It was SO GOOD, you guys. It was a salad with homemade dressing (in a container that I complimented so much that she got me one for my birthday), and a deep-dish quiche with broccoli and chicken. Blake loved the quiche so much that he called Gabrielle and told her so. Possibly more than once. Gabrielle thoughtfully included a handwritten copy of the quiche recipe, and I finally got around to making it last week. Why didn't I do it before? I'm kicking myself, because it is so easy and so delicious. Anyway, this is definitely going to be one of the ten recipes I memorize.

Gabrielle's recipe is after the jump. Things I added are in bold. If you want to kick the whole thing up a notch (both in taste and in difficulty), make it in the homemade crust of your choosing.

Edited to add: I only have one glass pie pan, so I made the second quiche (which wasn't eaten yet by the time I took pictures) in a square baking dish. It worked fine, but the crust--which started out round--looks a little funny. Don't you judge me.

Gabrielle's Chicken & Broccoli Quiche

Serves 6. Cooking time 35-40 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1 unbaked 9" pie shell (I use Pillsbury) These are in the refrigerated section near the Pillsbury crescent rolls in the tube. Get the rolled up refrigerated kind instead of the kind in the freezer section that are already in a pie tin, because then you can bake the quiche in your own dish and crimp the edge yourself so that it looks more homemade. Tricky! They come two to a package, so you might as well make two quiches at once.
2 cups fresh broccoli, cooked and drained
1 whole chicken breast, cooked and chopped Or chopped and then cooked, which is how I did it since I was in a rush. Small pieces = faster cooking, plus they don't have to look pretty because they'll be covered with delicious, delicious egg and cheese.
6-8 ounces Swiss cheese, cut into 1/4" cubes When I was buying the cheese, I forgot I was doubling the recipe, so I bought an 8-ounce brick. When I figured out my mistake back at home, I threw in 4 additional ounces of cheddar that I had on hand. The cheddar was tasty in the finished product, and I ended up with about 6 ounces of cheese per quiche. Disaster averted.
3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream I also only got enough cream for one quiche, but I added a cup of milk to make up the difference in volume (skim is what I had on hand). I didn't notice a difference, and there was a little less fat, so...whatever. Your mileage may vary.
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
chives (green onions) to taste

Leave the pie shells out of the fridge for 15 minutes or so before unrolling. Unroll pie shell and place in pie pan while you prepare the other ingredients. Sprinkle broccoli in bottom of the shell. Top with chicken, then cheese. In a small bowl, using a whisk, beat the eggs, cream, lemon juice, salt, and pepper until blended, but not frothy. Pour over cheese mixture; sprinkle with chives. Bake in 375-degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (If you have some extra, sprinkle grated swiss over the top for the last 15 minutes of cooking.) Let stand at least ten minutes before cutting.

Since I made two quiches but only needed one, I pulled the other out of the oven at 35 minutes and stuck it in the freezer. The interwebs tell me I can warm it up in a 375-degree oven for 20 minutes. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Lisa: 29 x 29

When I was making my list of things I want to do, I started thinking about the things I've already done. I think everyone should do this--we all need a little pat on the back and a reminder that we've experienced some pretty cool things.

In the last 29 years, I have...

1. Backpacked through Europe
2. Become a regular at a restaurant
3. Bought my own house
4. Chosen a pumpkin from a pumpkin patch
5. Collected trilobite fossils
6. Cooked with fresh herbs I grew
7. Danced in the rain like a crazy person
8. Earned a Master’s degree
9. Finished a marathon
10. Found the best recipe for chocolate chip cookies
11. Given birth
12. Hung my own art in my home
13. Landed a job in a career I love
14. Laughed until I peed my pants
15. Married someone who thinks talking nonsense as I fall asleep is charming
16. Performed in front of an orchestra (four times)
17. Picked fresh raspberries
18. Printed using an old-fashioned letterpress
19. Seen the Grand Canyon
20. Shopped for honey at a Trappist monastery
21. Spent the night on a train
22. Started my own business
23. Stayed up all night reading a book
24. Stood in four states at once
25. Swam with a sea turtle
26. Touched a stalagmite
27. Tried water-skiing and snow-skiing
28. Worn something I knitted
29. Written a blog featured on Boing Boing

Lisa: 35 x 35

I'm turning 30 this year, a milestone that I think typically comes with a lot of soul-searching and maudlin whining about getting old. Time is going by faster than ever, and I was starting to get concerned about waking up one day as a sixty-year-old, having no idea how I'd gotten there and wishing I'd done more along the way. When I saw Maggie's list of 100 Things to Do Before I Go, it seemed like the perfect way to take control of the next few years of my life and accomplish some things--big and small--that I want to do for myself. Instead of 100 things to do before I die, my list is 35 things I want to do before I turn 35. I work better with a deadline.

1. Appear as an extra in a movie
2. Attend a fancy-dress ball
3. Be debt free
4. Build a tree house
5. Buy a new car with cash
6. Eat off the fancy china more than twice a year
7. Find the perfect signature scent
8. Fly first class
9. Give homemade Christmas gifts
10. Go on a photo safari in Africa
11. Help someone learn to love to read
12. Ice skate at Rockefeller Center
13. Inspire someone to become a librarian 3/20/08
14. Make Nora the Halloween costume of her choice, like my mom did
15. Meet an honest-to-goodness celebrity
16. Memorize (and regularly use) ten main-dish recipes
17. Order room service in a five-star hotel
18. Own a fabulous designer bag or pair of shoes
19. Paint every room in my house a different color
20. Quit my job and work from home9/4/08
21. Rent a scooter in Greece
22. Reupholster a piece of furniture myself
23. Sew Nora’s baby clothes or Christmas pajamas into a quilt
24. Sign up for a pottery class
25. Sing in a musical
26. Spend money only on essentials for one month
27. Start a vegetable garden 8/20/08
28. Stop needing validation from other people
29. Tailor all the clothes in my closet so they fit just right
30. Take ballroom dance lessons
31. Teach Nora to knit or sew
32. Walk along the Great Wall of China
33. Wear a bikini on the beach without being embarrassed
34. Weave a rug on a loom
35. Write and publish a book