Smiling in Ohio

I’ve been married for one week shy of a month now, and I’m finally getting to break into my role as wife and homemaker. You’d think after a month of marriage I would have been overjoyed at the chance to cook every day. Alas, last night was the first time I’ve made dinner for the two of in quite some time. A honeymoon encompassing three wedding receptions along with the drive from California to Ohio left little time for me to master, or even attempt, some form of culinary creation. Last night however, I made Butter Chicken with Sautéed Onions and Mashed Potatoes, with Cheesecake for dessert. The food, of course, was excellent. :) Ben loved it and it felt so good - not only be cooking again, but to make dinner for my wonderful husband and have it waiting for him when he got home from a long day at work.


If you had asked where I see myself in 5 years in January, Ohio would have been one of the last places I thought of, if I even thought of it at all. Yet, here I am! We’ve only been here for a couple days, so I can’t complain about anything yet. :) It does seem like a nice little place though, and we were lucky enough to get here while the weather's still a little cool, before the humidity really sets in. We have our very own little 2 bedroom apartment and I can’t get over the excitement of having my own place. (Ok, its not completely mine, but I’m sharing it with my husband, not 5 other girls.) Just opening the refrigerator is a joyous experience because I don’t have to dig through piles of food belonging to my roommates in order to find something with my name on it. So while Ben goes to work everyday from noon until around 10pm, I stay at home and do.... what? I'm still working on that one, so I'll have to get back to you.


Tuesdays we have small group dinners where some of the married folk feed the single ones. I’m in charge of dessert today and I'm rather excited. Ben is basically in love with Oreos – he has been since I met him, and probably long before that. I’m quite the opposite. I’m not really much of a fan of store bought/processed foods. If I can make it from scratch, I’d much rather do it that way. It’s definitely healthier and I think things taste better when made from scratch. Well, it just so happens that in one of my random recipe searches I stumbled upon a recipe for homemade Oreos that boast tasting just like the store-bought variety. So my project for tonight: make Homemade Oreos and test them on a group of guys who all know and love the “real” ones. I had to stop by the store to pick up some necessary ingredients and as I was checking out I had the following conversation with the cashier – a cute old man who looked to be in his 70’s.


Cashier: How’re ya doin’ today?

Me: Pretty well, how about yourself?

Cashier: Just fantastic. Couldn’t be better. If I was any better I’d be twins!


*pause as he starts ringing up my groceries*


Cashier: Ya know, people just aren’t as happy as they used to be. They don’t enjoy life anymore. If people enjoyed life as much as I do they’d sure be a lot happier.

Me: So tell me, what’s your secret to enjoying life?

Cashier: Keeping a positive attitude and Smiling. People just need to smile more. Ya see, I’m like a mirror. If you smile at me I’ll smile right back. Don’t you forget it either. Keep on smiling and you’ll enjoy life just as much as I do.


And you know, he’s right! As I left the store, I couldn’t help but smile - not just to myself, but at everyone I passed as well. Maybe it was the hint of “down home country” in his speech or the way that he said it, or maybe it was just my lack of human (other than Ben) in the past couple days, but whatever the reason, his comment hit me and I can’t seem to stop thinking about it.




So, I guess that's what's been going on lately. I'll post the results when I finish those cookies later!