P is for Puppy...

... I really want a puppy. When I say that, everyone tells me why I shouldn't get one. Here are some of their reasons:
You live in an apartment so you can't have a dog.
You and Alma both work, so you won't be able to take care of it when you're gone all day.
Having a dog is like having a baby - you two aren't ready for that yet.
Dogs are expensive.
Dogs need room to run around and you don't have a yard.

I think all of these reasons are exceedingly lame. Here is my response to each of them:
Our apartment lets us have small pets, and I don't want a big dog, so it would be fine.
I don't go to work until 9 and Alma gets home at 2, which means puppy would only be alone 5 hours a day, and we could just keep it in the kitchen while we were gone. It would be a-okay.
Everyone talks about how having a baby brings a couple closer together - shouldn't we want that for ourselves? This way, we wouldn't have to go through the hassle of pregnancy.
A little dog doesn't eat that much, and wouldn't be anything we couldn't afford.
A little dog doesn't need that much room to run, and I would take it for walks every day. Promise. At least most days. And it could run around our apartment.

I would take any dog:

Either of these two adorable little aussiepoos would be great.

Or this darling puffball of a Maltese.

And this beautiful labradoodle would be fab.

I'm sure I've convinced all of you that Alma and I could handle a little baby puppy to give our love to. The only problem is that all of these arguments have failed to work on my husband. Got any advice? Cause I really need a puppy.

S is for Slumdog Millionaire...

... So I did it. I watched Slumdog Millionaire. I know, I know, how could I? It's rated R, right? Haven't you only watched only one other rated R movie in your life?! (And don't think I'm going to tell you what movie that was - it was a total waste)

In case you haven't heard, Slumdog Millionaire's been getting a ton of buzz. I mean, it's been nominated for like, a kajillion awards, including an Oscar for best picture. Normally, this wouldn't sway my no rated-R stance, but when I looked up why it was rated R, I discovered it was for four instances of the F-word and not much else.

Now don't think that the F-word doesn't bother me. It does. I wince every time I hear it. But I really wanted to see this movie. And my mom watched Erin Brokovitch and it was way more language than that (that's right, I just threw my own mother under the bus as an excuse to see the movie - see how desperately I wanted to see this thing?). And it doesn't help that Alma has no problem watching rated R movies.

So we watched it. And guess what - it shouldn't have been rated R. I caught maybe two or three instances of the F-bomb, and Alma picked up on none of them. It was no worse than most PG-13 movies, and a lot better than some. And it was GOOD. Really good. Two thumbs way, way up, as Roger and Ebert would say.

If you've been debating whether this one is worth watching, stop it. Go see it. Now. It's that good.

P is for PS...

Upside down b ... is for PS...

PS. I love food

C is for KonstantKaseofKonfuzzled...

Sometimes, being married is like speaking English to a non-English speaking Japanese man/woman/kid/baby/cat/dog/turtle/hamster/gold fish; they look back at you like you are crazy, but pretty, but crazy, but in love, still crazy, sometimes, maybe.

Last night/pillow talking...

Me (the Japanese man speaking sign language): Sweetie, I love you, goodnight.
Lexi (attempting to pillow talk in French): C U.
Me (konfuzzled): Why do you want me to leave, you sick of me, I can move more to the left, look I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you, I'm really tired don't make me sleep on the couch, it's cold out there, and it's scary.
Lexi: What?
Me: Seriously, it's cold.
Lexi: Non, je te dit, "You too."
Me: Huh? U2 (remembering that she is in love with Bono, but konfuzzled.)
Me: They are coming out with a new album in March. Great band. Do you want me to turn on some music right now? U2?
Lexi: What? I'm tired. Nevermind. Night. (thinking... he better not touch me, what's wrong with him, seriously what's wrong with him.)
Me: (thinking, pondering... she just yelled "night" in a library voice, but I know that yell, I know better than to peep another whisper, I cherish my life too much to breathe.)

S is for more Snow...

... I do not like this weather we're currently having. I do not like the snow, and I do not like the cold. But I have to admit that it sure does make campus look pretty. This was the view from my office today:

R is for Recipe...

... I have wanted to start a food/cooking blog for a long time now. Food is one of my great passions. I love cooking it, reading about it, looking at it, and trying new dishes and restaurants. There are some pretty amazing food blogs out there, which I read at least a few times a week. I'm not quite ready to start my own food blog, mostly because I haven't even decided on a name, much less a design, but I thought it might be fun to post a recipe once a week. I usually make a big meal on Sundays, so look for the latest recipe either Sunday or Monday.

Yesterday I was craving Mexican, so I made chicken enchiladas, beans, and Mexican fried rice. It is one of the easiest meals to make.

I grew up on Mexican food. My mom is from Mexico, which, although it doesn't exactly make me full-blooded Mexican, it does mean that I've inherited some great Mexican recipes and traditions. I can always tell if a Mexican restaurant is serving "the real stuff." If any of you live in the area, The Red Iguana Mexican restaurant in Salt Lake City is the best Mexican in the state. Seriously, go there. You won't be disappointed.

Hope you enjoy the meal as much as we did. I usually pair this with a green salad and limeade (another Mexican favorite). Feel free to post any questions in the comment box and I'll try to answer them as soon as possible. Bon Apetit!

Beans:
A staple of the Mexican diet is beans, either black or pinto. I prefer pinto, but I've found that most Americans prefer black. You can make this recipe using either.

• Scoop out as many beans as you'd like and rinse. Two cups usually makes about four cups of beans.
• Put the rinsed beans in a crock pot and fill with water. You can add a quartered onion at this point, or not. It adds a bit of flavor, but it's not necessary.
• Set the crock pot on low and leave to cook for at least 12 hours. I usually leave it overnight and throughout the day until I'm ready to eat them. If you need them faster, you can cut the time in half by setting the crock pot on high. My sister and I always say, the longer you cook them, the better they are. If you're using pinto beans, they will get redder in color the longer they cook.
• Finally, add salt to taste before eating. Just pour it into the crock pot and then mix in. It usually takes more salt than you expect, but add it gradually so as not to over salt. My aunt once said she thought beans tasted like dirt, and I largely expect it's because they weren't salted. So don't skip this step just to cut back on sodium.

Mexican Fried Rice:
I've never liked the fried rice you get at Mexican restaurants that has bits of carrots and peas in it. Carrots and peas go fine Chinese fried rice, but not Mexican. This is the way my mom always makes it with tomatoes and onions.

Ingredients:
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 1/2 cups white rice
Knorr Tomato Chicken Bouillon Base (you can buy this from any grocery store in the hispanic food section. I got mine at Wal-Mart)
Olive Oil
3 c. Water

• Heat olive oil in frying pan on medium heat (a couple swirls around the pan should be plenty)
• Add rice and fry, stirring often, until most of the rice has turned golden in color
• Add onions, stir fry a few minutes longer
• Add tomatoes, stir fry one minute longer
• Add water and bouillion base. I add the base to taste, but I would imagine it's about 1/4 of a cup, give or take a few tablespoons depending on how strong a flavor you like.
• Let rice simmer on low until all water is absorbed and rice is soft, usually about 20 minutes
• Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas:
I'll be the first to tell you that chicken enchiladas, with a sour cream based sauce, are not, and never will be, authentic Mexican food. They are most definitely an American invention. That said, they certainly are good! I make them when I'm not in the mood to go through the long process of making real enchilada sauce (a post for another day!)

Ingredients:
1 can green chile enchilada sauce (I prefer Hatch's brand)
1 4 oz. can diced green chiles
1/2 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
2 cups of monterey jack cheese
8-10 tortillas
4 chicken breasts (1 lb), boiled and shredded
1 packet taco seasoning + water called for on packet
Olive oil

• Mix together enchilada sauce, chiles, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup. Pour 3/4 cup into bottom of 9x13 pan, set the rest aside
  
• Heat olive oil in frying pan on medium heat, then add shredded chicken. Fry chicken until heated through and slightly browned
• Add taco seasoning and water, let simmer until water is gone.
  
• Add 3/4 cup of cheese and mix with chicken until melted. Remove from heat.
• Separate chicken equally and put into tortillas. Roll up each tortilla and set into pan w/ sauce in the bottom
• Pour remaining sauce over the top. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of sauce
• Bake at 35o degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
• Let cool and enjoy!

C is for Couches...

... We haven't had anything to sit on or eat on in our apartment since we moved in. I've been on KSL.com looking at the classifieds constantly, trying to find some couches that are in good condition and aren't too expensive. I found a couple prospective ones, but before either Alma and I could go look at them, they were sold. The good ones go in less than a few hours. So last weekend, after much complaining and begging, I finally got Alma to promise me that we would go look at couches. We went to the RC Willey scratch-and-dent outlet Friday night and sitting there waiting for us was a beautiful leather and microfiber couch and love seat set for only $510! We looked them over, sat on them, messed around with the cushions and the pillows, watched some other people express interest in them, and finally decided to buy them before it was too late. We're now the proud owners of two lovely sofas. They're a bit bigger than we had planned on, but it was worth it for the price and for how much I like them. They were a pretty big pain to get into a third floor apartment, though. A big thanks to Gary and Crystal for their huge help with moving them in. We couldn't have done it without you.

H is for Haircut ...

... About three weeks ago I got a haircut. I cut blunt bangs straight across, and then cut my hair short and blunt all the way around. It was very edgy and European. I liked at first, and then I really liked it, and then I decided I didn't want to look quite so edgy all the time. So I went back to my hairstylist (Courtney Little of Serenity Day Spa & Salon) and we put some layers in it and did a bit of an A-line. I like it much better now. I think it still maintained the European look, but is toned down just a bit. This pic's not so great of me, but here's what it looks like. Hope you don't think it's too terrible.

H is for Homepage...

... I've gotten a lot of questions, so I'm just going to announce it to everyone.

Yes, that's my grinning mug on the BYU homepage. And for those of you who can't figure it out, I'm holding skis behind me. It's not that clear.

I guess this is what you get when you work with both the BYU photographer and the BYU webmaster.

See the original here.

M is for Month ...

... Alma and I have been married for one month today! This was our conversation yesterday as we were driving to the grocery store:

Alma: Do you think we're gonna make it?

Alexis: Yeah, I do. We've made it a month, so I think that means we're gonna be okay. It's been getting better every day.

Alma: I think so too.

So don't worry people. Things are going swimmingly in the Jean household.