travel, wedding, travel, travel

i'm making a quick update on what feels more like a 3-day layover in madison rather than time at home. i have two interviews down, two to go, and three "outstanding" phone interviews that i haven't heard back from. i'm trying to keep most of the details off of the interweb just given that you never know who might end up with access to your facebook page, blog, etc. yet, given that that is pretty much all i'm doing lately, that leaves me with little else to comment on.

i am not going to share site-specific stories yet for the aforementioned reasons, but i will share this pic that becca snapped for matt and me at the hilliard-starr wedding last weekend. we had a great time in texas and even put in some QT with the schlegel-hicks clan. it had been far too long since we had seen cole. i am sad to report that i missed what was probably the cutest photo-op of the weekend, which was cole making friends with the flower girl and both of them playing in the dirt at the end of the aisle. however, i did get this video during playtime after some texas bbq. to really get the adorableness, you have to listen for cole's "wheeeeeee" at the top of the slide.

the most perplexing moment came yesterday, i think, when i was waiting in line for the drugs that will supposedly subdue my sinus infection in time for me to fly out again tomorrow (keep fingers crossed about that, please). the target pharmacy was pretty busy and i was waiting in a pool of several people who had gathered. at some point, an older woman approached the counter and got into what turned into a fairly heated argument with the pharmacist. the short of it was that the woman had a prescription for eye drops that was supposed to last her for a month and a half, but was only lasting her about a month. she wanted to get two months worth of drops at a time, which her insurance company wouldn't allow. she was pretty fiesty about it, because she had apparently received two months at a time before (and claimed that is what her doctor wanted) and she wanted the pharmacist to just fix the insurance claims to say that she was picking up her drops at two different dates. the pharmacist kept explaining that they wouldn't do this as it was essentially filing a fraudulent claim. to the pharmacist's credit, she stayed pretty cool throughout the conversation; however, the eye-drop woman kept getting more and more upset, more and more confrontational, and started to claim (and probably believe) that this was all happening because the pharmacy had "screwed up" at some point.

you could tell that all of us who were waiting were getting uncomfortable, feeling sorry for the pharmacist, and were pretty clear that no matter how this eye-drop woman argued or how many insults were hurled, things were not going to work out in her favor. at one point, one of the other women waiting beside me interjected, "lady, you just need to move on."

"stay out of my business," replied eye-drops.

"i don't care about your business," responded the other customer, "but i do care how you treat this woman and the way you're acting is [expletive]."

the two breifly exchanged words and eye-drops eventually huffed away. truthfully, the customer didn't need to resort to her own nasty language, but in her defense, we'd been standing around watching the altercation for close to 25 minutes. and while i wasn't thrilled with her methods, i found myself admiring this other customer for standing up for the pharmacist. and further found myself wondering why i hadn't done something myself. we all saw the same thing unfolding - why had only one of us interjected on behalf of the poor pharmacist, who was holding her own but by the end was simply enduring the customer's insults? it was almost embarrassing, really. i still don't know what it was that kept me from saying anything, but it has made me think a lot over the last day about the extent to which we're really willing to put ourselves on the line to defend someone else from an attack. i'm not sure if other people have found themselves in similar situations. i would like to think that i'd do my part to step forward to help someone who is not necessarily in a position to help themselves. but i didn't. and so now i find myself how to moving forward with resolve to be - not aggressive - but more willing to at least step forward in defense of others. it's just not totally clear to me what my own "tipping point" is as far as being willing and able to step in and lend a hand. maybe this is something other people already know about themselves? or maybe we all continue to struggle with similar things.

anyway, the next few days are another travelpalooza, followed by thanksgiving, followed by more travels. if you're counting, we're heading out for our honeymoon in 47 days. now THAT is a trip that i'm looking forward to!

for the masses: a recipe and a question

what does this even mean?
i feel like this is not the first time that i've been stumped by such a scenario. the perfectly-spaced parallel lines say, "park here. you're welcome anywhere there is an open space." yet, i've also been trained to recognize the yellow curb as strictly prohibiting the presence of my car any any other. (seriously, i ended up with 100% in driver's ed - - you can trust me on this). so, i ask you, what the heck?

please stop sending me mixed messages, neighborhood gas stations! you're hurting my brain. and you make look dumb as i drive really, really slowly through gas station parking lots trying to figure out where i am (and am not) supposed to park.

okay, end tangent.
how about something a gazillion times easier than that?

i realize that some people have instant anxiety about recipes that contain a cream of soup. i get it. it comes out of the can as a a glob that holds its own shape. it doesn't smell like food. and it's not good made as a soup on its own (on this i am also a self-proclaimed expert, as saint mary's served me cream of mushroom soup after my back surgery). however, it's coming on winter here and where i'm from winter is casserole season (affectionally called "hot dishes" if you're from minnesota and "bakes" if you're from pennsylvania. are there more names like this?) and casseroles/hot dishes/bakes almost always contain cream-ofs. so, they don't scare me. and now that i know that i'm supposed to be eating more salt in my diet, i don't even spring for the low sodium selections.

but i can guarantee you that this cream-of-including recipe is delicious. it takes almost no time to assemble, it never turns out wrong, and it always tastes yummy. i got it and about 7,000 taste tests from my mom. bon apetit!

Chicken & Asparagus Casserole

Ingredients:
3/4 pound asparagus spears (12-15)
1 1/2 cup cubed cooked chicken
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 can cream of asparagus soup
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1/3 cup milk

Directions:
1. Trim, cook, and drain asparagus (boiled or steamed, i've done it both ways and they're both fantastic).

2. In a 9" pan, arrange asparagus and chicken.

3. Combine soup and milk.

4. Pour soup and milk mixture into pan over asparagus and chicken. Top with cheese and bread crumbs.

5. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbling.

You can serve over rice, potatoes, noodles, or toast, but it's totally delicious just as is. For real.