Potato, Potahto

Seriously, how awesome is this potato? I couldn't resist sharing.

This big-hearted starch was just what I needed to begin my week. I've been feeling down; being unemployed stopped being nice a month ago, and I've rewritten and resubmitted my resume many times past the point of desperation. 

There's gotta be a name for whatever funk I'm in, because I know there are millions of college students hosting the same worries. For way too many of us, we've sacrificed four years of sleep, a social life, and living off the parents to get a degree and hopefully make a name for ourselves. I can only assume if they're like me, one can't help feel they might have chosen the wrong path. The world is scary. 

Looking at the potato picture is a nice reminder that although there are things in life that hurt, there are still a lot of great things. Like, my supportive husband. Or my awesome family(ies), and some really great friends that I miss (check three of them out -  1, 2, 3). Or, the simple things in life...like a heart-shaped potato. 

Throw it on the barbee.

I love living in Kansas City for multiple reasons, but what may top my list is that it's known for it's barbecue. Yum-oh.

After spending way too much time watching Downton Abbey, E suggested we go to a local barbecue hot spot for dinner. Friends, meet Oklahoma Joe's.

This place is pretty popular; we stood in line for 20 minutes, which was better than the last time we were there. I assure you, the wait is worth it. So.delicious.

BBQ beef brisket, in my belly. Please take note of my ketchup smiley
face; I made it for you.

Excuse my husband - he was in a food coma.

Come visit, and maybe we can arrange a trip to Joe's. You'll have to twist my arm, though.

So easy it shouldn't taste this good.

E loves pizza. We're convinced he could eat it every day. Statistics show that if I ask my husband what he wants for dinner, 90% of the time he'll say pizza. Do you see my problem?

I came across an awesome recipe (check out this book) for barbecue chicken pizza. I knew this would be risky; E's last experience with barbecue chicken pizza did not meet his taste requirements. It was do or die, folks.

Victory is sweet, in this case, in the form of delicious pizza. Here's the recipe:

1 pizza crust (You can make your own, if you like. For the first attempt, I used a pre-made Pillsbury crust.)
1+ cup of cubed chicken, cooked
1/2 cup of chosen barbecue sauce (or more, if you'd like)
Mozzarella cheese

1. Follow the instructions for your pizza crust. With the Pillsbury crust, I always bake it for 5-7 minutes before adding the toppings.
2. Add barbecue sauce, chicken, and cheese, in whichever order you want. :)
3. Resume instructions for baking your pizza.
4. Enjoy with drink of choice.

Ye-ah, buddy.

I wish I could e-relay how easy this recipe is in relation to how awesome it tastes.

May the force be with us.

So, this one time, we were in Indiana when my husband's one wish for our wedding came true. Even though it was a little late.

Back story:  Before we were married, my husband repeatedly requested if we could have Hans Solo and Princess Leia (yep, Googled how to spell both of those) on our wedding cake. That didn't happen - our cake looked like this:

I will forever be proud of my homemade cake topper.

E's parents threw an open house for us in Indiana for all the family and friends that couldn't trek to South Dakota for our wedding. Unbeknownst to our knowledge, my father-in-law sneaked some action figures onto our cake (yes, it did take a while for me to notice). 

It was a happy day for E.

For all those craving some wedding photos...

Here are a few I'll share with you. Enjoy!

2 is better than 1.

Don't worry, I'll save you the sap of why being married to E is so great, and although I could, I won't tell you to listen to this song while I list the reasons why I love my husband. Here's what actually inspired this post.

Since flannel came into style, I've struggled to find one that fits. It's probably my athletic build, or obnoxiously long torso; either way, I've been repeatedly defeated in my search for a flannel shirt.

One exceptionally cold day, I was scanning my closet for something warm. A sweatshirt was too confining, and a long-sleeved shirt wasn't enough. And then, it happened. My eyes peered over to E's side of the closet when I saw it - his black and white flannel shirt. I laughed internally at the idea of wearing it. I'd heard from a few friends that men's flannel shirts are better, but I never gave the thought much attention.

Until that day. I stood in our closet for a good minute contemplating what to do. I finally decided it was worth a shot.

And it was. E's flannel fit me far better than anything I'd ever tried on. It did take me a bit to master the reverse buttoning, but since taking the leap, I've pretty much lived in this flannel...except on days where it's nice outside.  Reason 589 marriage is awesome:  two closets, my friends (although I highly doubt I'll start wearing my husband's pants).

You can just call me 'awesome', because that's how I feel in this flannel. 

E proves he can shop.

Let's set the record straight. The title of this post may lead you to believe that E lacks skill in shopping. False. The E man has always been a good shopper, and a recent excursion to my beloved Target led to a dream coming true.

To me, there are two kinds of shopping:  the shopping that a lot of people do when they see something they like and buy it, and the shopping I do - bargain shopping. If you know me, you also know that I won't buy anything unless it's marked down 75%, or if it's 10$ and below. My extremely wise mother, the ultimate shopper, taught me at a young age that garage sales and clearance racks are our friends.

I've tried to impress these philosophies on everyone I know, and one Saturday night, a students became a master. E and I were in Target's shoe section, scavenging the shelves of on-sale shoes looking for a pair of slippers. I made the mistake of walking into the store knowing exactly which pair I wanted, and to my predictable displeasure, they were nowhere to be found. I dreaded admitting to myself that waiting for them to go on sale would bite me in the butt, and just when I was about to settle for a lesser pair, E saved the day. He called my name, and as I turned to look, he was strolling towards me with the slippers. I could barely contain my excitement as he asked, "What about these? They're your size."

I almost screamed when I saw that my husband had found the fancied moccasins, originally $19.99, for $4.98. We left Target a happy couple - me with my cheap, awesome slippers, and him with the new Dark Ascension Magic deck. And two weeks later, E outshone himself with another fantastic bargain display at Kohl's. Gosh, I love that man.

$4.98 has never felt so warm.

There is a time for grocery shopping.

And apparently, that time isn't ever on a Saturday, and it definitely isn't on the Saturday before Super Bowl.

Aside from the money it costs, I enjoy grocery shopping. At the end of each week, E and I sit down to decide what the next week's menu is going to look like. After the menu is set, I (sometimes we) venture out to gather the supplies. It took a little bit to figure out which grocery stores we liked best and which ones are cheaper - two details that coincide with each other - and today, I headed out to two of our favorite spots while the hubby guarded our fortress (a.k.a. played video games).

What I did not know was that my beloved grocery stores were also going to be everyone's favorite spot that day. It didn't click with me at the first store, but as I made my way to my second stop - HyVee - I realized the error of my ways: I had tried to do normal grocery shopping on the Saturday before the biggest American sporting event of the year. What had I done?!?!

It was not pleasant. There were people everywhere, and the "deals" overwhelmed me. I could barely find the things I actually needed through the thick of sale advertisements. And just when things couldn't have gotten more delayed, I made the ultimate mistake.

...I tried to use a coupon for Pepsi on Coke products.

It's all a blur as to how it happened. Everyone was moving so fast. I couldn't differentiate Pepsi's cool blue packaging from the bold red of Coca-Cola. And thankfully, seeing that I was clearly out of my element, the clerk politely honored my coupon as long as I promised to visit customer service and make a swap on my way out.

Learn from my ways, fellow grocery shoppers. Go against the grain and do your shopping another day, and maybe give it a fun nickname. Something like 'Major Grocery Shopping Monday', or 'This-Sure-Beats-Shopping-On-Saturday-Day'.