Please forgive me!

I have a confession...

I'm not sure how to say this...

It's a bit difficult for me to admit, but...I have...

Seen every single episode of "Murder, She Wrote".

Every. Single. One. (Thank you, Netflix)

I don't really know what it is about the show, but I can't stop watching it.  That's right, I STILL watch episodes of it even though I've seen them all already.

I think it may be further proof that I am an old soul, Kelly and I used to joke that I am actually an 80 year old woman trapped in a 20-something's body.

It feels good to get that out in the open though...

Next episode!

Grumpy Gills

Holy Hannah... is it Friday yet?

Seriously, this has been a hellacious week, and I will not be sad to say goodbye to it.

Work has been a bit nuts, school a bit disheartening, church callings have stolen time, wedding planning has been good yet frustrating, I haven't had as much time with Bruce as I'd like due to conflicting schedules and prior commitments...man I'm whiny tonight.

Must be time for bed...

I Jump, You Jump, We all Jump, for iJump

We have a giant trampoline gym here in Idaho Falls.

I'd heard of trampoline gyms before, but had never actually been to one.

Tonight Bruce and I got the opportunity to go for a regional YSA activity, and it was pretty fun.  Though both Bruce and I began to feel our age pretty quickly...he could feel every bounce in his spine, and my equilibrium kept getting thrown off and gave me a headache.  Aren't we fun?  Haha!

I think it would be a fun place to bring kids though, they have these foam pits that you can jump into, and are a blast, of course, then you have to somehow manage to extract yourself from them afterward, which is the trickiest part!

Planning

I've had ideas for Bruce and my wedding floating around in my head for a while.

Now, trying to actually get them down on paper, that's a different story.

All I can say is, thank heavens for the internet.

Though, the internet also makes things pretty frustrating too, especially since I don't follow (or want to follow) most of the traditional wedding ideas.  Turns out that that makes me weird.  But I don't care.  I'll figure this thing out with or without support of the internet and its "helpful" ideas.

Good thing I have oodles of time and a supportive fiance.

Chocolate Truffle Tarts

I am in the process of making a Chocolate Truffle Tart for a friends' birthday tomorrow.

While I am not the biggest chocolate fan, I do actually enjoy experimenting with recipes that call for chocolate.  Chocolate desserts seem to have a way of always pleasing chocoholics no matter how mediocre they actually are.

I am pretty sure this tart will be delightful though, I mean, it's a truffle in tart form.  What's not to love about that?

Here is the recipe, courtesy of Annie's Eats

Chocolate Truffle Tart

Yield: about 10-12 servings

INGREDIENTS

For the tart shell:
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp. heavy cream
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup (5 oz.) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
¼ cup (¾ oz.) Dutch-process cocoa powder
2/3 cup (2 2/3 oz.) confectioners’ sugar
¼ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

For the filling:
12 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. liqueur, such as Kahlua, brandy, or dark rum (optional)  *I just used vanilla

DIRECTIONS

• To make the tart shell, whisk together the egg yolk, cream and vanilla in a small bowl; set aside.  Place the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a food processor.  Process briefly to combine.  Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture; process to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses.  With the machine running, add the egg mixture and process until the dough just comes together, about 12 seconds.  Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a 6-inch dish.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 48 hours.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator.  (If refrigerated for more than an hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable.)  Unwrap and roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 13-inch round.  Transfer the dough to a 9-inch tart pan.  Mold the dough to the sides of the tart pan and remove the excess off the top.  Set the dough-lined tart pan on a large plate and freeze for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to middle position.  Preheat the oven to 375° F.  Set the dough-lined tart pan on a baking sheet, press a 12-inch square of foil into the frozen shell and over the edge, and fill with pie weights.  Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time.  Remove from the oven and carefully remove the foil and weights.  Continue to bake until just set, 5-8 minutes longer.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• To make the tart filling, place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl.  Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan (or in the microwave).  Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes to melt.  Whisk together until smooth, then whisk in the liqueur.  Pour the filling into the tart shell and chill in the refrigerator, uncovered, until the filling is firm.  To serve, transfer the tart to a serving plate or platter.  Slice with a clean, sharp knife, wiping the blade between slices.

Newsflash!

Bruce and I are engaged.

To be married.

Yep, it's true!

I get to marry the most amazing, wonderful, caring, considerate, handsome, funny, supportive, hard-working, Batman enthusiast ever!  I could not be happier!

Truth be told, I've known for a while that I was going to marry him, and we had discussed it and decided it was happening some time ago, but now everyone knows, and that is good too.

So it is definitely official.

We're getting hitched!  And we're thrilled!

Please just give us time to enjoy it without a barrage of questions about dates/venues/themes, or anything of that nature.

We're basking in our engagement.

Ready...Aim...Blast 'em!

I enjoy weekends, except that there are too few of them.

Weekends are when I get to see Bruce the most.

It's a general rule that we see each other on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  Not all day on any of them (Fridays get the most love), but really, any time I get with him, I will gladly accept.

My day started out with a trip to Target to purchase a baby shower gift (because I am a procrastinator who has had the invitation for the aforementioned baby shower sitting on her fridge for the past month and has done nothing about it).  Then, after an adventure with GPS and a smartphone, I managed to locate said baby shower.  I'm not going to lie, I have never been a fan of showers (except rain showers, showers in the bathroom, and meteor showers...I enjoy those...but baby showers and bridal showers?  Not so much).  I always find them to be a little awkward and uncomfortable, and it's hard to find an appropriate time to excuse yourself to leave...I'd prefer to be able to drop my gift off and leave right then, but I've been informed that is rude.  Rude?  I just bought you a present!

Anyway, after being at the baby shower for 2+ hours, I left and got a little shopping done before heading home to change and head back out to meet Bruce.

Once at Bruce's we went back out with a trip to...wait for it...Target!  To purchase a birthday gift for our friends James & Courtney's sons 1st birthday party.  It's been a while since I've been to Target twice in one day.

The kiddo was so fun to watch as he devoured his cupcake, and he makes the funniest "excited" face.  Seriously, he is a riot to watch.

After the shindig, Bruce and I went to get frozen yogurt.  Going to Orange Leaf always reminds me of our first date, and that always makes me happy.  I actually always get the same thing too, though I generally add something else new to try as well.

Later, we met up with some friends to play laser tag.  We ended up having to wait almost an hour before we could start, so we wound up back at the frozen yogurt place with everyone before heading back to the arcade place (I guess you could call it an arcade).

So while today was not exactly the busiest day ever, it still wiped me out a bit...I started yawning before our turn at laser tag.  And I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.