Many of you already know Gianni met with his supervisor (the facility director) recently where he told Gianni that he has decided to step down and let Gianni take over the facility (permanently, not just for training.) So it's been a crazy couple of weeks and Gianni will now take a more active role in running the facility, but he is still in training and still has to pass his test (Nov. 4) before he will be licensed. So the director is going to stay on for the next month or so in an advisory role and basically let Gianni run the show. That means he will be working 12-15 hours most days and probably some time on the weekends.
It has added lots of stress to our lives (mostly Gianni's) and now we know we will be in this area for a few years at least. So if you've ever wanted to visit San Francisco (or the also well-known Petaluma) you might start planning a trip. We live in a small apartment now, but I am hoping that when our lease is up (end of Nov.) that we can find a nicer and bigger place to rent for a while and one that will help us to be better hosts! And one that will have more room for the girls to play, and a bigger kitchen for me to play in.
We do like the ward here and I think it would be great if we were able to stay in the ward. We will see how things go. Housing is a lot more expensive here, but hopefully we can find a nice place that will work out, and how could I forget, it has to have a washer and dryer! The adventure of pushing my laundry in the stroller is one I don't want forever, but I am trying to be patient with for now.
That's how things are going for us. This isn't quite how we thought things would go, but we trust that the Lord has it planned out better than we do and hopefully someday we will know why things turned out the way they have. As I've tried to tell Sara since we moved here, we will be happy wherever we are and there will be good things wherever we go.
Don't forget, I still would love to collect family recipes and make a cookbook. Maybe we can have a goal of next Christmas (2011). To get you excited about this I am going to include a recipe I found on allrecipes that Gianni loves and the girls eat some of! It is now one of our favorites although it is mostly a summer dish. It is called Black Bean and
Couscous Salad:
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked couscous
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 8 green onions, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
- 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Bring chicken broth to a boil in a 2 quart or larger sauce pan and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans and toss to coat.
- Fluff the couscous well, breaking up any chunks. Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve.
You might want to double the sauce. It is really tasty and we have enjoyed it.
We love all of you and hope you are all well. Take care and we will keep in touch.
Jolene, Gianni, Sara, and Caia
{Pictures of the girls helping in the kitchen & trip to Bodega Bay}
