Happy St. Patty's Day!

So, I know this is a day late, but I'm also a dollar short, so it all works out... I've always preferred St. Patrick to St. Valentine. Few reasons, 1. If we need commercialism to remind us to show our love to each other, Chris and I need to have a long chat. Just bring home a bouquet of tulips any other day, not when Hallmark tells you to and they've tripled the price of roses which aren't even my favorite flower. 2. Thanks to my dad, I have Scotch/Irish roots (I know, like you couldn't ever guess with my blonde hair, blue eyes and extremely pale skin.) and 3. St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland, that is a hero in my book! (I know, I know, total myth, but let's pretend.)

This year though, I have another reason to prefer St. Patrick over St. Valentine. I kept it quiet to almost everyone, but on Valentine's Day I failed the written Utah Master Esthetics exam. Yep. I received a 74% and 75% is passing. I then proceeded to drive home from Sunset in a crazy snow storm and then sat on my couch and cried. I studied so hard, it didn't even cross my mind that I would fail. I still chalk it up to test anxiety. Anyway, I apparently have a thing for holidays because I rebooked the test on St. Patty's Day. I didn't sleep the night before and I was shaking so hard through the whole thing I had to keep my hand glued to the computer mouse, terrified I would accidentally mark an answer wrong due to shaking. And I Passed! The luck of the Irish was with me and this time I scored in the 80s. Well above passing. So, now I am officially a Master Esthetician. My huge goal for over a year and a half. My next goal is to become a licensed instructor.

Another fun thing was dinner last night. I've never talked about my cooking because I geneally hate to cook. I have never made anything in tribute to St. Patrick's Day, but as many of you know, I have a lot of extra time on my hands. (ironic that I am laid off from an esthetics school days before I receive my license- I have my license, but I'm not in the industry) I was watching Rachel Ray and usually I switch the channel because her voice makes me want to shoot myself and I want to rip out chunks of my hair everytime she says "YUMM-O!" but the dinner she opened with caught my attention. Reuben Stuffed Potatoes. Basically taking all the fantastic elements of a reuben sandwich and making a twice baked potato with it. I love a good reuben, especially the sauerkraut. So, I tried it and they are fantastic. Not only did we really like them, Chris took one for lunch today. The ultimate test! He almost NEVER eats leftovers. So, below are pictures of my great dinner: