Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Back in the saddle again...

Like I said in my previous post I am back at it in the mortgage industry. If you or anyone you know needs to purchase a home, do a refinance or take out a second mortgage to pay off credit card debt or make home improvements please email me at kattiejones@comcast.net.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Thai Fried Rice

This recipe was requested by one of my most favorite people in my life so I thought I would post it here. Be prepared...this recipe is REALLY, REALLY good so if you take it to a potluck make sure to take copies of the recipe with you. I actually adapted this from Emerils "Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe".


THAI FRIED RICE

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined OR Chicken
1 pound jumbo lump crab, picked of shells
1/3 cup peanut oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup minced yellow onions
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
2 Cans Coconut Milk – the full fat kind
4 cups jasmine rice
1 Tbs Green or Red Curry PASTE (Don’t use the powder)
1 - 2 tsp fish sauce depending on how much you like it
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons black pepper
3 eggs, scrambled firm, cooled and chopped

To cook the rice put the rice and coconut milk in a sauce pan. You will need to stir this together so the coconut milk gets dispersed. You will also need to add some water so that it is ABOUT half an inch above the rice and coconut milk mixture.In a large wok or large, non-stick skillet, heat the peanut and sesame oils over high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, 1/4 cup of the green onions and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring continuously so they do not burn. Add the onions, carrots, and shrimp and continue to stir fry. When shrimp begin to turn pink, after about 30 seconds, add the rice and mix thoroughly. Add the soy sauce, curry paste, fish sauce, sugar and black pepper, and stir to mix well. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Gently fold in the crabmeat and the cooked eggs and just heat through.

~~~~I have made this recipe with all sorts of meats so if you don’t have the meat that is called for don’t worry. You can also add other veggies like broccoli or bell peppers. ~~~~~

Update on The Jones Family

Well it's been awhile so I figure I should be updating everyone on the recent happenings of our life. I know that Ive seen many of you and didn't really tell you what was going on but I *really* didn't want to tell the story again...Don't worry its a good one.

Greg - At my last update about employment I told you all that he was working for a carpet cleaning company. It started off fine...but ended up being not so fine. The guy who hired him sold his franchise back to the corporation and it all went down hill from there. The guy they sent out to run the place was a COMPLETE douche bag and long story short...both Greg and the other employee, Shae, (it was a small place) left. Within a week Greg got a job working at a collections agency that Shae had previously worked with. He has now been working there for about three months and is actually doing quite well. It's really amazing how you *think* your life is going to be perfect if it will only work out the way you have planned and you think its a disaster when it doesn't. Funny how God works in your life when you let Him! When Greg first took the job I thought the hours were wacked and that I would NOT be liking them. Tues-Thurs he works from 12:30pm - 8:30pm and Fri and Sat he starts at 8 and works until 5 on Fridays and 6 on Saturdays. He then obviously has Sunday and Monday off. I'm definately glad that we can all go to church as a family and the schedule actually was a blessing in disguise (IMAGINE THAT!).

Me - For some time now I've been trying to go back to work in some capacity while trying to avoid taking Mahayla to daycare. Greg's schedule has completely allowed for that! Back in June I started working for a loan officer processing her loans. She is also a Mom and is TOTALLY flexible with my hours which is pretty much un-heard-of (sp?) in this industry. She is actually paying for my licensing and we decided to go ahead and just get my loan officer license since they can process AND sell loans. I started out working in the mornings from my home office early each morning until Greg goes to work. I'm pretty darn excited and we actually just funded our first loan together on Friday!!! My ideal situation would be to work just for her processing and selling loans but it hasn't been busy enough so two weeks ago I started my SECOND job two weeks ago. Back when I was in school I had a house cleaning business. It was great because it was flexible and I made pretty good money. Once I got out of school I wanted to be a bit more of a professional so I got into the mortgage industry....Soooo about a month ago I get an email from a friend of mine that was going to have to quit her job cleaning a mansion in Bellevue. Anyhow she remembered that I had previously cleaned houses and wanted to recomend me. At first I was going to say no because of my processing work but I decided to go for it and Im SOOO freaking glad I did. The house is 7000 square feet so I go for 6 hours on Mondays since Greg has that day off and Tues-Thurs I work from 7:30 - 11:30 so that I can be on time for Greg to get to work. Once I get home we do the switch off then I feed Mahayla, lay her down for her nap and get to work on my loans. I am one tired puppy but am SO glad to have the cash! The situation could be somewhat temporary as she is looking for someone with a 1 year + commitment and Im not sure that I want to do it that long but would like to have the money at least through the end of the year. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I will be talking with her about this in the next few weeks.

Mahayla - Well, she is a real goof these days. The stuff that comes out of her mouth has us cracking up on a daily basis. She is also getting to be such a smart cookie and can count to "eleben". She loves to dance and sing and "read" out loud. Its so sweet to listen too. She is still a little mama's girl and will NOT go to sleep very well so that is going to be worked on this week. Her newest trick when I am getting her dressed is to say "NO I don't WIKE IT!" about anything that isn't Dora or pink....or purple...depending on the day.

Well there you have it...Thats us in a nutshell. Im sorry that I've been so bad about updating you guys. To be honest I was REALLY getting tired of how things were working out for us and I just didn't want to talk about it and I also felt like people were most likely getting tired of it. I feel like we have finally found our place though and have really been blessed! God has totally been at work in our lives and we are seeing the fruit of it.