Long time, no update! :)

This week has been very busy, as the Art Museum prepared for the annual fundraising gala. Friday night my friend Lauren and I worked at the VIP Reception selling raffle tickets for a diamond necklace, and then last night we worked the actual gala! It was really fun, and very hectic, with over 400 people attending. The theme was "Safari".

Here's Lauren and I before the craziness began. (we worked the check-in table and later worked the check-out table, which was even more hectic!!)


the ballroom


tables


Johnny and I (he stopped by for a bit after he got off work)


I bought a raffle ticket for the diamond necklace (but didn't win! :( ) but for each raffle ticket you get a wine glass. I bought one but someone at checkout didn't want his and gave them to me, so now I have four! They were each wrapped in animal print tissue paper, and Atari has claimed them as her hiding places.

I spy a little kitty!




Today I worked some more for the gala, as many people wanted to pick their items up today. There were extra favors, so I was given one! It's a little basket woven with telephone wire by Zulu weavers!

So, if you didn't know, I was offered a permanent position at the University of Wyoming. The position at the Art Museum is temporary through nearly the end of November (which is sad because I really like it there), and I will then move to the Office of General Counsel at the University of Wyoming. I'm going to be the Senior Office Assistant for the two attorneys and the office in general, occasionally helping with the VP and his assistant. I'm excited because the people are all very nice and welcoming and I'm going to be exposed to a very interesting work environment. I definitely think I'm going to be kept busy and enjoy the position. I hope I can still help out at the Art Museum still, as a volunteer maybe.

Yesterday I made this type of apple pie called Rustic Caramel Apple Tart.

here you go:

It was SO GOOD. I decided I am going to make them for Thanksgiving.





Prep: 20 min + 30+ min chilling
Bake: 25 min

DOUGH
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold butter
6 1/2 teaspoons cold water
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

FILLING
1 1/2 cups chopped peeled tart applies (one large apple does the trick)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon all purpose flour

TOPPING
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping, warmed

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add water and vanilla, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 10 inch circle. Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. (I didn't do this, just put it on a non stick baking pan). Combine the filling ingredients;, spoon over pastry to within 2 inches of edges. Fold up edges of pastry over filling, leaving center uncovered. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over filling.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Using parchment paper, slide tart onto a wire rack (I just used a spatula since I didn't use the parchment paper). Drizzle with caramel topping. Serve warm.

Yield: 4 servings.

nutrition facts: 1 slice equals 286 calories, 12g fat (7g saturated fat), 31mg cholesterol, 226mg sodium, 44g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 3g protein.

SO GOOD


Speaking of Thanksgiving, we'll be going to visit Aunt Sherry! yay! AND, Meghan and Nick are flying in from Seattle and we're going to have another Thanksgiving with them! WOO!

The best thing about Wyoming: blue skies nearly everyday. LOVE IT!

Tonight Johnny and I decided to study up on how to take pictures of the night sky and we went out and took a few shots. We just stayed on our street because it was so cold (11 degrees!!). Next weekend we are going to the local park and maybe to the only hill in town to take a few.

SNOW! It started around 5ish yesterday I think and stopped for a bit overnight and started up again. It's supposed to snow another 5-8 inches tonight!! then clear M-W I believe and more snow???

We got up at 7 to go to the park and take a few pictures. I need to figure out what to do to keep my camera dry. I just put a plastic bag over it and ripped a hole for the lens. haha.


























I bought myself some flowers last week for getting a job. haha. :P They sure are pretty though! And they've lasted the whole week, which is a record for me.



this is done by turning the lens while clicking the shutter (Katie (Johnny's cousin for those of you who don't know) taught me that wayyyyyy long ago.


Speaking of the job, it's going pretty well. I'm helping in the museum's administrative department but mostly with the development department with planning the Art Museum's fundraising gala. It's a black tie event and over 400 people are going to be coming! I'm pretty excited for it.

well, I think I'll go take some more pictures outside, stay tuned!

SNOW!!!

Johnny and I were watching the Denver news this morning and it's snowing there, so just before Johnny was about to leave for work, I decided to peek out the window and see if it was snowing, and it is!

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!

I think Wyoming has the strangest weather, because Friday it was sunny and 70. lol!

Anyways, that's my update for the morning. I made Johnny take my car just in case...although it seems like it's going to melt as the day goes on.

Yesterday my friend Lauren and I went to Fort Collins. She got a tattoo so I was her support, haha. Then we went to Chipotle, YAY! I also picked up some fabrics to make another purse (well, or a few purses haha) and two GRE study prep books and a digital photography book. We endured thunder and lightning the whole time we were there and on the way back to Laramie, it really sucked and it was quite scary. A few times the lightning struck right above or in front of us! It was difficult to see the road at times and we had to slow down considerably. Also, the roads in Fort Collins quickly flooded along the sides of the roads, it was pretty amazing!

The digital photography book is awesome! I totally want to spend all day reading it and not studying for the GRE...but I need to study for the GRE....The recommended studying time is 4-12 weeks, and my test is in 4 weeks...haha.

fabrics...





that is all!

OH! I haven't figured out how to reply to your comments yet...does anyone know how?

ah, my parents say it's time for an update. :P

OH! First, I changed the settings so that ANYONE can comment now. You don't need to be a member of this website. yay! (I'm expecting comments now...)

Not much has been going on, Johnny has been working and going to school full time, so he is pretty much a ghost around here. They finally got out of the classroom and into the shop to work on real cars, so he says it's easier to stay awake now (you'd be falling asleep after 8 hours of lecture, too! Especially from 4:30pm-2am!).

I've interviewed for several jobs and to my immense disappointment have not gotten one yet. Apparently possible employers "admire my education and enthusiasm but have hired someone with more experience". That's what most of my lovely rejection letters say. This was an especially good week, I got 3! oh wait, no I got 4! It's almost comical by this point. But I'm still hopeful. I had an interview today and I have another Monday. I submitted a few more applications so we'll see if anything turns up...

In other news, I have been working on my graduate school application. You all better go knock on wood for me RIGHT NOW. I'm really hoping to get into the University of Washington Museology Master's degree program...now cross your fingers now that you've knocked on wood! I want my application to stand out and really show why I want to be there, so it has been quite stressful. I am also signed up to take the GREs in mid-November...I'm not really looking forward to that.

OH and the other big news is that Johnny and I are going to be famous! Our photographers submitted some of our wedding photos to Seattle Bride Magazine, and one of our photos was chosen to be part of their "Commitments" section, with includes a photo and a short story about us and our wedding. It will be in the Spring/Summer 2008 issue (I'm not exactly sure when that comes out...) and it will be one of these two pictures:

(the magazine *really* wants to use this one)


or


so keep an eye out early next year!

Also, we had a really good dinner the other night, here is the recipe:


"Flavorful Chicken" (real original...but it really is flavorful!)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (5 ounces each)
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika

In a shallow bowl, combine butter and soy sauce; dip chicken on both sides. Place in shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic salt and paprika. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 170. Yield: 2 servings

It is *really* good! And I thought of you when I bought that paprika, Hannah. :)

until next time...(with me hopefully bearing better news about a job...)

well here we are in Wyoming! It took us 3 days of solid driving and enduring the pitiful meows of our kitty, but we made it. We are now unpacked and organizing our things. Yesterday we got our tv and internet package and today we had our living room measured for new carpet. Johnny finds out about his work schedule on Wednesday and I have been applying for jobs left and right. Hopefully something will pop up soon. It sure seems like everyone in town is hiring. I applied to work at the police department (not as an officer), at the city Utilities district office, at Alberstons in the baking department, at the University of Wyoming's Art Museum as an assistant to the director and curator, and at the local cable company's Laramie office. We'll see if anything pans out.

Speaking of the the town....We are at 7,100 feet above sea level, which is very different from sea level! It is actually difficult to get used to the altitude, but we're making do and hopefully will get used to it soon. Laramie has just 27,000 people, most of which I'd say are students at the University of Wyoming (the Cowboys aka the Cowpokes if you wanna know) or Wyotech. At any rate, the town is young. Also, apparently it's about time for it to start snowing out here, and when it snows really bad the freeways close down and Laramie is pretty much an island. greeeeeeeeeeeat.

So what's in Laramie? Let's see...we've got Safeway, Kmart, Albertsons, WalMart, ACE Hardware, quite a few hotels, a bunch of auto parts stores, a host of fast food places, 29 bars, a few thrift stores, and a few car lots. That's pretty much all we know about so far since we haven't really explored, but we have driven around the town and we're pretty sure that's it. haha. But there is for sure NO Target! :(

Yesterday we drove to Cheyenne (about 45 minutes away) and on the way there (through the mountains in the middle of nowhere) we saw a few real cowboys herding cattle with their dog. They were dressed just as you'd imagine cowboys, and it was so neat! I couldn't believe it. In fact, many people around here wear cowboy hats and the like, which is so totally different from Seattle.

Anyways, here are some pictures from the drive over. Once we get new carpet in the living room and a dining table and chairs, I'll take pictures of our apartment to show y'all. For some reason blogspot is cutting the pictures in half because they won't fit on the template I've chosen, I'll try to fix that soon, in the meantime, you can see the pictures here: http://s182.photobucket.com/albums/x274/johnnyjessica/

entering the Cascade Mountains

still in the Cascades

leaving the Cascades

Vantage and the Columbia River

Eastern Washington

Idaho I think

Idaho again

Montana

Montana

Rocky Mountains

leaving the Rockies

more mountains in Montana

some intimidating mountains in Montana

still in Montana as it nears evening

Day 3, traveling through Montana still

more Montana

Wyoming tractor graveyard

neat cutout of a mountain in Wyoming

This is for mom. hahahah

ooooo Wheatland - I think we lived there when I was about 3?


apartment pictures to come soon!

- Jessica