Favorite New Apps

So I'm using the Blogger app for iPhone right now, and it's pretty nifty. About time they came out with one, too! Blogger mobile just wasn't cutting it. The only thing that's missing is the Analytics feature (unless I just overlooked it), which is unfortunate since quite a few businesses use Blogger. I'm sure it will come around before too long, though.

Another app I'm all about right now is Pinterest. I hesitated to get on the Pinterest bandwagon at first because I have enough social media in my life and I didn't want to overcommit again (case in point: my sad Tumblr). And that may still happen, but as of right now I love it. It's like a combination of Tumblr, StumbleUpon and Flickr - you showcase your interests by "pinning" photos from the web (or "repinning" from other users) and organizing them on boards by topic. It's simple, creative, and actually pretty fun. Best of all - the social component takes very little time. Though it is easy to get sucked into browsing other pins for hours... It's a great outlet for (minimal) artistic expression, it's perfect for gathering inspiration (for weddings, home decor, etc.) and it's a useful tool for companies and bloggers to get exposure in a creative and unique way, provided their audience is women who like pretty photos (I have yet to encounter a male Pinterest user). So far, count me as a fan; time will tell if I remain active or get bored and move on.

Let me know your favorite apps - I'm always looking for new ones (especially if they're free).

Stay tuned this week for a new cupcake recipe. :) Happy hump day!

<3 Mrs. G

9/11: Ten Years Later

I couldn't not post on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. It is still such a vivid memory for me, as I'm sure it is for any American who was alive that day. Naturally, I remember where I was - I was sitting in my 8th grade Spanish class. I remember not knowing exactly what the World Trade Center was or why everyone was talking about it. I remember wondering what went so wrong that a plane would hit a building and why none of the teachers were saying anything to us. After the second plane hit, the hallways were abuzz with panicked discussions and suspicions. Everyone assumed now that it was an attack, and there was mention of the Pentagon and the Capitol. That's when I started getting seriously concerned. I thought of the former nuclear power plants not too far away in Oak Ridge, TN, and couldn't help but think, how far is this going to go? Some kids just wanted to know if school was going to let out early, which it did. As soon as I came home - to an empty house - I turned on CNN and caught up on what I had been missing. In complete shock, I was transfixed for hours. I know I called my parents, but I don't remember what I said. I don't even remember what happened the rest of the evening. For the first time, I realized that my country was not as invulnerable as I had been led to believe, and that was the most disconcerting thing I felt all day.

Now, as I watch and listen to all the tributes to that day, I still can't believe it happened. And what I really can't grasp is that there are children now who have no recollection of this happening outside of their history classes. Even more, that my own children will only view this event as a part of history, not as the real, unbelievable and horrific tragedy that it was to us. It's hard for me to comprehend that I would ever see something like this happen in my lifetime, and I wasn't even there.

The following is an excerpt from a post I wrote for a previous blog about those who leapt from the towers that day:

"As far as uncomfortable topics go, I think suicide probably tops the list. I watched a documentary about a month ago on the suicide "jumpers" of 9/11 who leapt out of the burning towers in desperation and resignation; the video was inspired by an article in Esquire that was based on the controversial photograph of the Falling Man that circulated widely after 9/11. Interestingly enough, the deaths of the jumpers were not documented as suicides or even jumps but as accidental deaths. I remember watching the live media coverage on that day and seeing some of the jumpers leap to their fates (before the media was instructed not to show them anymore). Those images haunt my memory more than anything else I saw that day - more than the limbless people, more than the blood, more than the fire, and more than the final collapse of the tallest towers in the world. I remember how I felt - it was a bizarre mixture of horror, sorrow, and paralyzing helplessness. It's hard enough to comprehend suicide abstractly, but being forced to face it directly - that's something else entirely."

Despite all the tragedy of that day, there was also an unparalleled resolve. When I think of modern-day heroes, I think of the firefighters and policemen of New York who risked their lives many times over to save others, I think of the passengers on United Airlines flight 93 who overtook the hijackers and crashed the plane to prevent another attack, and I think of the individual New Yorkers who came together - despite differences in race, religion and class - to help their fellow citizens.

I can't pretend to know what it feels like to have experienced 9/11 firsthand, and I would never presume to understand the grief that the victims' families have gone through. All I have to offer is my own perspective and memories of that day.

Here are some others:
Chicago Magazine: "9/11 and Social Media" (via @MNPR)
KDWB Remembers 9/11
The Wall Street Journal: "The Public Remembers"

I would love to hear yours. Please feel free to comment with your own memories of 9/11.

May God bless all those involved on that day and every day since.

<3 Mrs. G

Nashville Trip

Hello all!

Sorry for the delay in posts - I've had a crazy busy week! Mr. G and I got in from Nashville Tuesday night and have been going nonstop since.

We had a great trip, though. As I mentioned in my last post, we stayed at the Opryland Hotel for our Anniversary on Sunday, and we ate at a delicious restaurant in the hotel called Old Hickory Steakhouse. We had escargot (for the first time! Mr. G didn't know they were snails, though...), mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and of course, steaks (I had filet mignon, Mr. G had New York strip). It was fantastic. After that, we exchanged gifts, sipped champagne (a delicious pink moscato given to us by my parents), and we ate our wedding cake topper. Believe it or not, the cake was actually pretty good. It was slightly dry, but other than that it tasted as fresh as a year-old cake could possibly taste. No freezer burn, either! I was impressed.

Here are some photos from our trip:

at the church where we got married last year

my anniversary flowers from Mr. G :)

my Tiffany earrings from Mr. G

my gift to Mr. G - a Michael Kors watch

wedding cake!

As for the rest of our trip, I got to see my friends (and yes, we went to Las Palmas) as well as my family, and we even made time to play several rounds of dominos, none of which I won...

This weekend, Mr. G and I are going to a wedding and celebrating his mom's birthday. Maybe I'll have another cupcake recipe to share. ;)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

<3 Mrs. G

State Fair & First Anniversary :)

Hello all!

I hope you had a lovely weekend and as happy a Monday as is possible...

I had a very relaxing weekend. Mr. G and I went out to his family's house on Saturday and to a church picnic yesterday, and that about wraps it up. On Thursday, though, we did something Mr. G has been looking forward to for a LONG time - we went to the Minnesota State Fair! Our "Great Minnesota Get-Together" is the third largest fair in the nation and the first in terms of average daily attendance. And the food? Amazing. Here's what Mr. G and I ate (however embarrassing to admit):

Australian Battered Potatoes

Chocolate Covered Bacon

Mini Donuts

Cheese Curds - my favorite :)

Chocolate Malts

Unfortunately I have no new recipes to share with you this week, but I did cook more lemon salmon tonight, and it was delicious!

In other news, Mr. G and I will be traveling down to Nashville this weekend to celebrate our first anniversary. :) We'll be staying at the beautiful Opryland Hotel on our anniversary night and eating dinner at a steakhouse in the hotel. The rest of the time we'll be staying with my parents and hanging out with friends. I can't wait!

Hope you all have a great Labor Day weekend!

<3 Mrs. G

Sunday Recipe #8: Lemon Salmon

Hello everyone!

Hope you've all had a great week. I survived my first week at the new job! Moreover, I actually really enjoyed it, and I think I picked a good company to work for. I picked a good week to start, too - we launched our company this week and had our summer party at the horse races yesterday. I just feel so blessed to finally be doing what I want to do, even if it did take me a while to get here. :)

As for today's recipe, Mr. G and I bought a huge slab of fresh atlantic salmon on sale yesterday at Cub, so I decided to try my hand at it. I've cooked salmon a couple times before, but I've never cooked it fresh, and let me say - it is a million times better fresh. Honestly. I used a very simple recipe with only the following ingredients - olive oil, lemon juice, lemon pepper seasoning and rosemary. I cut a couple strips of the salmon, basted it in a small amount of olive oil and lemon juice, and sprinkled with the spices. After about 15 minutes in the oven at 375, I added a little more lemon juice and pepper then let it cook 2 more minutes before taking it out. In my oven, 17 minutes was perfect - the salmon was flaky and tender but still juicy. We ate it with sides of rice and broccoli, and it was a perfect summer meal.

I also made chocolate chip cookies tonight (as requested by Mr. G), and I think they were my best batch yet! I used the recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip bag, but I added a little extra brown sugar, substituted some pancake mix for flour, and I didn't use the entire bag of chocolate chips. Also, they only took about 8 minutes to cook. Definitely will be making these again!

In other news, Mr. G and I joined a gym! We had been waiting to see what kind of insurance I got at my job, which turned out to be a good decision because it will pay most of our (already severely discounted) membership fee each month. :) We joined L.A. Fitness, and the one we go to is a huge facility that never seems very busy, so it's perfect. However, we do have to go at least 3 days a week in order to get insurance coverage, so we will be working out a lot. Maybe now I'll finally get in shape! If I stop baking cookies and cupcakes, that is...

Hope you have a good week!

<3 Mrs. G

Sunday Recipe #7: Croque Madame Redux + Exciting News :)

Hello everyone!

I'm not sure about you all, but I've had a very busy week. And it isn't going to stop anytime soon, because I got a job!! I finished up my internship at the ADA on Friday, and I start my new job tomorrow. :) My position is Media and Communications Specialist, and I'll be working at a start-up company that promotes health and wellness to other companies by providing tools, resources, and personal consultation to employees. It's a great company, and I'm so excited to get started!!

After getting the news last Friday, Mr. G and I celebrated with dinner in downtown Minneapolis - at the restaurant where I used to work, ironically - and went out with friends afterwards. If you've been reading my posts, you know that this has been a long time coming, and that I was starting to get pretty discouraged. But throughout the interview process for this job, it just felt right. Moreover, I was starting to get the feeling that my job search was about to come to an end - I can't really explain it, but I just felt a sort of peace about it that I hadn't had in a long time. I just knew I was close to getting a job, and it turns out I was right. :) Mr. G and I are both thrilled and immensely relieved. Life just got a lot better for our little family!

Amidst all the excitement about the new job as well as working extra hours at the internship, I still managed to re-try an old recipe that you may recognize - croque madame! Mr. G and I debated tackling a different recipe for it, but ended up going with the same one with a couple slight changes.

Here's the link to my previous post on (and recipe for) le croque madame. This time, however, we used Italian white bread (not French, but better than wheat), actual Gruyere cheese (yay Cub Foods!), and a bit more milk (I wanted the bechamel sauce to be slightly runnier). We also tried to cook the sandwiches less on the stove as well as in the broiler, but they ended up being about the same - slightly burnt, but not as bad as before. They actually started burning in the broiler almost immediately, so they were in there maybe a minute. Overall, the sandwich was still delicious, even though it was still quite a challenge to cook. Timing everything is the hardest part, but it's definitely doable, and there are plenty of easier recipes out there to try if this one scares you. Either way it's worth the trouble!

Wish me luck at the new job!

<3 Mrs. G

Belated Sunday Recipe #6: Low-Fat Turkey Tacos

Happy Monday!

I tried a new recipe last week, and Mr. G helped me out with this one. It's a quick, low-fat meal that anyone can make, and it tastes amazing! I served it with refried beans and Mexican rice, but you can skip the beans to keep it health-conscious. Personally, I have an obsession with refried beans... Hope you enjoy the recipe! I know I'll make it again.

Low-Fat Turkey Tacos

Ingredients:

• Mission tortillas (96% fat free)
• 1 lb ground turkey 90/10 (we used Jennie-O - watch out for the recalled stuff from Cargill!)
• Ortega reduced sodium taco seasoning
• Diced tomatoes
• Onions
• Green onions
• Lettuce
• Mexican cheese blend
• Light sour cream

Directions:

• Cook ground turkey in skillet. Once cooked, add taco seasoning according to package directions.
• While turkey is cooking, cut up vegetables into bite-size portions.
• Serve with tortillas and desired toppings.
• Enjoy!

Stay tuned, because I have exciting news as well as a very successful bargain shopping trip to report. 

Feel free to share any ground turkey recipes of your own! We buy a ton of the stuff, so I'm always on the lookout for new ways to use it.

<3 Mrs. G