Seven Quick Takes (vol. 12)

1. One of my 101 in 1001 goals is to use one new recipe a month, and last month, I blew that goal out of the water by using 4 new recipes. One of those dishes – the tastiest, if I do say so myself – was Pioneer Woman’s Apple Dumplings. They were so good that after two each, we decided to share the love with our neighbors. Our motives were neighborly, but I’d be lying if I said that was our only motive. We were worried we would eat the whole dish within a day if we kept it at our place! I took a picture of the finished product (thanks to my sweet husband who reminded me to take a photo!), but it’s not on this computer, so I’ll have to come back and update this post later this evening.

2. Earlier this week when I was grumbling about the return of cool, gray weather (ie being thrown back into late winter), I noticed these little buds on the bushes by our mail room. It was reassuring to see that the bushes and trees are getting their leaves back. Yay! See:

To make it all better, the snow has fallen off our forecast. We will have a few more days with lows in the 30s, but at least there’s no snow!

3. With spring at our doorstep, John and I have gotten an itch to try our hand at growing a garden. Perhaps Jim over at JS Johnson can give us some veteran tips. We are currently waiting for our seeds to sprout. We have a few weeks to go before we can move them outdoors. We’re a little worried about who will care for them while we’re out of town later this month, but hopefully we’ll figure out a plan and they won’t die while we’re gone. That would be a huge bummer. Oh, and here’s what we’re growing: strawberries, tomatoes, lavender, and sundance bicolor gaillardia. We also bought a few bulbs, and we’re hoping to get some good gladiolus and dahlias.

4. Does anyone else watch V? Was the end to this week’s episode not the creepiest thing ever? On the topic of TV, we’re loving Modern Family.

5. This morning Beni discovered a tennis ball outside while we were out for his morning walk. He low-crawled all the way under an SUV to get it. He is so proud of his find that he has been carrying it around every time I’ve seen him today. Super cute!

6. After 2 years here for me and 3 for John, we still don’t have a church. We are going to try another on-post chapel service this weekend for Easter. We really hope it goes well so we feel comfortable and good about going back.

7. I have already started the job hunt for next year. I figure it’s wise to scout out some companies I’d like to work for and get in touch with them. Unfortunately several of them don’t seem to understand that I’m not trying to get a job right now nor am I trying to get them to offer me a job a year in advance. I’m just trying to start networking and get my name out there. I do have a meeting set up with someone for whom I’d be thrilled to work. I have no idea what she’s going to say though. I hope it’s promising!

Happy (early) Easter, everyone! (I feel weird wishing people happy Easter on Good Friday. It doesn’t seem right…)