New Music

One of my greatest joys is discovering new songs and artists that feed my inner muse. It's almost a sickness. I start out on Pandora (if you haven't discovered pandora yet, you need to. Type in an artist you like and it will play artists that have a similar style and sound. LOVE it!) Once I find an artist I like there, I go to iTunes and listen to clips from an album. If the album passes inspection, I head over to Ruckus to download it so I can listen to the entire song. Then, if I REALLY like it, I go back to iTunes and download it to my ipod. See, its a sickness.

So in an effort to give myself something to write about other than work or the cat, I've decided to start posting about the new music I've discovered that week. Take a listen and let me know what you think! (aka Leave comments please!)

This week I'm being haunted by the song Samson by Regina Spektor. It's a beautifully haunting song--the type that you're afraid to stop listening to in case the melody falls out of your head. While I was looking online for the lyrics, I found an amusing chat about "what the words mean." Some people were certain it was about Sampson and Delilah, while others were certain it was Regina writing about her desire to find a man who would trust her enough to let her cut his hair. HA! I thinks its a beautifully redone version of the Sampson and Delilah story--not biblical, but still a VERY beautiful song. Hope you like it!

(I'm working on getting a music player on our blog. I'll get there someday. =0)

Wow...we're lame.

Our last blog post was in October. I really do have things going on, but so much of them revolve around work and the cat that I feel really lame always posting about them. Kind of like I'm a workaholic cat lady....which I'm not........yet. So to give you an update:

Work is going well for both of us. I'm getting my kids ready for their Christmas Concert in 2 weeks. We are overly prepared. You know its bad when after telling the class that you're working on Christmas music they say "Do we have to?" and you think "Yeah, do we have to?" But it should be one great concert, so if you're in the Twin Falls area on December 17th, come on down!

Sadly, Christmas rehearsal overload has affected my holiday spirit and there is NOTHING suggesting holiday cheer up in our apartment. No, not true. I did buy a let it snow window cling, that's up. And I did put up the nativity (complete with hippos) and our little miniature Christmas tree...which Maybe promptly took down 5 minutes later.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. We spent the holiday in Boise and it was just a fun, relaxing vacation. Kurt brought the Wii with us, so the boys spent the whole time playing video games. I watched them play and savored the fact that there were no students around! I love my kids, but by Thanksgiving break I was tired of looking at them! Christmas will be spent in Idaho Falls with the 'rents, sister and bro-in-law. I'm very much looking forward to having my two favorite women under one roof again! Yippee!!

Kurt's birthday was on the 30th. Yep, he's the big 2-3 now. He made quite the birthday haul--power drill and bits, Wii Play, Lego Batman and Castlemania. Lots of big boy toys...=0)

So all in all, we've had a very fun and full couple of weeks. Now bring on the Christmas festivites!

In, Under, and Between!

Places we have found our own little "fort builder":

In old soda boxes,
Under the plastic covering of a case of Propel,
In Emily's work bag,
Under the chair cover,
In the laundry hamper,
In a paper bag,
In cardboard boxes,
Under cardboard boxes,
Between the shower curtains,
Under the covers!

Delicious Success! (An Unexpected Birthday Present)

Yes, the rumors are true. We have finally mastered the art of sweet and sour chicken. The effort was long and laborious, but the fruit of our labors was sweet indeed (and sour). I suppose I should let you in on the back story to this amazing feat of cookery.

It all started on a Saturday morning. A Saturday morning much like any other EXCEPT for the fact that Emily was out of the house at a girl's brunch. It was that morning that I hatched my devious plans for her birthday celebration.

The plans were thus: Wait for the wife to come home from the brunch. Take said wife on a shopping spree as per her request. Accompany wife in selecting professional yet stylish articles of clothing, swiping credit card as necessary. Tender the lovely lady one coupon for a tasty beverage of her choice. Escort her to Canyon Crest for an evening of fine dining. Slip her a coupon for one hour of some form of service from her husband (massage, housework, etc.).

This is where the plan took an unexpected turn. Instead of the cleaning that I had anticipated, Emily requested that I make sweet and sour chicken for her on Monday. Yes, the same sweet and sour chicken that she had more than a little trouble with (see the Disgusting post for more info). Now, some of you aren't familiar with my wife's cooking. Well, without rambling for too long, I'll just say that her cooking does not come out bad. I just didn't think it was possible. So, now I was entrusted with making a dish that even Emily could not master. Goody.

Fortunately for me, Emily decided to give me some coaching as I attempted sweet and sour chicken. I proceeded to measure, mince, slice, stir, batter, and boil my way toward what would hopefully be a delicious dinner. The results were as follows:

Somehow, I managed to succeed where my wife had failed. In the end, it came down to the fact that I got the batter for the chicken to come out right. It may have been the fact that I fried a few pieces of chicken at a time, or that I had a deep fryer at my disposal, or that I'm somehow a better cook than my wife... Yeah right. But due to my success with the whole battering process as well as a track record for a few good pizza crusts, Emily now affectionately refers to me as her 'dough boy.' Oh boy.

Tested on Family Members!?

The other day I was in need of a Carmex refill since my squeeze tube was almost out. I headed to the closest store to pick up a tube, thinking that everything was fine and dandy. And then I started reading the package. And I quote:

Suffering from chapped lips and occasional cold sores,
Alfred Woelbing invented Carmex lip balm in Milwaukee in the early 1930s...
The Woelbing family still runs the business today,
answering every letter and email!
Carmex is tested on family members--not on animals.

I'm all for the ASPCA and the protection animals, but now it looks like someone needs to start an ASPCFM--The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Family Members!

Really Carmex, Really?

The Adventures of Maybe cat!

One hand-me-down wire chair: Zero Dollars

One old sheet from Kurt's bachelor days: Zero Dollars

Maybe's new hiding place: Priceless!


Please poke our furniture before you sit down--you never know what might be lurking inside!

Back to School

I think I can finally say I am all settled in at my new job. Which is nice, because my hormonal self had quite the hard time with it the first week or so. I'm also recovering nicely from the annual beginning-of-school cold I caught last week. So with all of that behind me, the future looks bright and rosy, and I'm quite happy to be where I'm at. My students are fantastic and have been so excited to play the new instruments I bought for them. (The instruments finally arrived last Tuesday--another reason life is looking up!)

How can you not love teaching at a school where its difficult to walk down the hall because so many students want to give you a hug!?! Or where they draw you pictures just because they want to? Or where you get to carpool to work everyday with two cool girls? Or where you have a standing lunch date everyday? Goodness, Life is good!

Introducing....Maybe!

Yep, this is our new little Maybe cat.

For those who like cats, continue on.
For those who don't...go home!?!

So much to say

Wow, a lot has happened since I last updated! Life for the Krohmers has been busy (hence the lack of posts!) Let's see, where to start...

Our anniversary was AMAZING! I woke up to an anniversary scavenger hunt which eventually lead me to Starbucks and my waiting hubby who had taken the day off. It was romantic and fun, and I was so blessed. The next day we hopped in the car and took off for Pullman to see 2 of our friends get hitched. An absolutely radiant bride and groom and a beautiful ceremony always makes for a good time! Plus, it was great to see some familiar faces. We love the Dykes!

Once our feet were back on home soil, it was time for me to get back to work. Whew! What an intense week that was! I got blind-sided by a schedule that was VERY different from what I was expecting. After several freak outs and TONS of help from the PE teacher, I think I finally have it all figured. (For those of you who are teachers, I see each grade for 2 hours a week! Craziness!) I did teach on Thursday and Friday, and already (despite the nightmare schedule) I am falling in love with my students. Thank you Jesus for reminding us about what's really important!

But most importantly, there has been a new addition to our little family! We adopted a gray and white tabby cat from the animal shelter Saturday! He's incredibly cute, very active, but likes his snuggle time, too (which I love!) We are pretty stoked about what a good kitten he is...minus the whole scratching on the furniture thing. But that will be taken care of when we get him de-clawed! Pictures will be posted soon, I'm sure.

Happy Anniversary, Love!

I can't believe that one year ago I became a Krohmer!
This past year has been better that I could ever have imagined!
Thank you for always being there--a strong shoulder when I'm weak,
a helping hand when I'm needy
and pretty much the coolest guy I know!
I love laughing with you and making you laugh.
Here's to many, Many, MANY more years of the same!
I love you!

Disgusting!

"Oh Sweet and Sour Chicken! That you were mine..."

Kurt and I have recently been on a Chinese food kick. Inspired by the yummy food at Moscow's Old Peking Restaurant, I have been trying my hand at cooking Chinese food with good results. (We bought a wok and everything!) It had been very tasty, until about 2 weeks ago...

I decided to get fancy and try to make Sweet and Sour Chicken, complete with homemade red "lollipop" sauce. Note that I said TRY! Long story short: oily batter + watery chicken + frying oil=big disgusting oily mess! It was HORRIBLE! Although the batter refused to stick to the chicken, I persevered to the end, only to end up with a big gloppy mess that wasn't fit to eat. Every once in a while you would catch a taste of the sauce (which was good!) but it had mixed in the batter to create one big, disgusting mass. Gross!

So what did my wonderful husband have to say about it? "Let's throw it off the balcony. I'll toss and you can make up-chuck noises! It'll be great!" Yes, it looked that gross. I sincerely wish I had a picture so you could revel in my cooking mishap with me!

Since that fateful day, we have inherited a deep fat fryer, so hopefully next time the will much triumphant rejoicing and yummy eats! And there will be a next time. I refuse to leave such a disparaging mark on my otherwise (mostly) spotless record! I will be vindicated! Sweet and Sour Chicken will be mine!!!

Yay for a wonderful weekend!

Twin Falls canyon and bridge.

This past weekend, my parents came for a visit to see us AND our new, completely put together apartment. They had helped us move in so they knew what the apartment looked like, but they hadn't seen it since we had really made it ours. It was a really fun weekend: low key, relaxing and full of lots of laughs!

While Mom and Dad were here, we took them to a nearby waterfall. There's a hiking trail at the falls that lets you walk behind the waterfall. Its beautiful and a great place to cool off on hot days. They're practically in our back yard...which is odd, 'cuz we live in a desert.

"Our" Falls.

My handsome hubby cooling off.

The mist at the bottom.

The view of the canyon from behind the falls.

I should've stayed home!

I had one of those "shoulda, woulda, coulda" moments the other day. Kurt had been planning to go to The Dark Knight with a group of friends we had recently met at church. I had plans to happily sack out on the couch with a movie that I didn't want to force Kurt to see, but had been wanting to see myself. During the day, though, I decided to go to the movie, too. "Why not? I really do want to see it and maybe going will help build friendships." So against my better judgment, I hopped onto the Batman boat and took off with everyone to go to the movies.

I knew within the first 5 minutes that me going to Batman was a HUGE mistake. As soon as the Scarecrow dude appeared on screen, I suddenly remembered that the ONLY reason I had enjoyed the first Batman movie was because I had watched it with Kurt who had seen it before and could tell me when to close my eyes to avoid seeing something Emily's should just not see. But alas, there I was, stuck in the theater, surrounded with people and completely vulnerable! Let's just say I spent a lot of time contemplating the design on my t-shirt! Lesson learned: If you feel that something will be just to much for you to handle, do not, under ANY circumstance, talk yourself into going!

Now that I have had time to unwind from that unpleasant experience, I do have to say that the Dark Knight is very well done. I can understand why everyone loves it so much and I agree that Heath Ledger should win an Oscar. But if you're like me, and would rather not spend the next twelve hours trying to wipe your memory of images that I know MY Jesus didn't want me to see, then maybe you should hold off and wait to see it with someone who can close your eyes (and maybe even your ears) at just the right moments.

A very good place to start!

I am officially taking my jump into the world of blogging and hoping against hope that I will have SOMETHING interesting to write at least once a month! Bear with me, as life right now (for me, anyway) is rather boring!

Kurt and I have officially moved from good ole' Moscow down to Twin Falls. After six years of being in Moscow, it feels weird to be anywhere else, but Twin Falls is definitely growing on us. (I mean, who wouldn't like having a Target less then 3 blocks away!) Kurt is working for a cheese company and come the end of August, I will be emplyed as the elementary music teacher in a nearby town. But until then, I spend most of my time oh-so-patiently waiting for Kurt to get home! If you're ever in the area, come on over for a visit!