Hypothetically...

I found the recipe I want to use to break in my newly discovered Dutch oven: maple pot roast. I found the recipe in The Best of the Taste of Home recipe book that my wonderful boyfriend got me for Christmas, which is awesome because it puts a little icon beside recipes that are especially portioned and designed for two people, so I don't have to cut them in half myself. As the recipe presupposes some knowledge in the user about how to use a dutch oven (for instance, it doesn't say what temperature to put the oven oven on, or precisely when the lid should be on and off), I'll most likely be on the phone with one of my parents for most of the cooking time.

I learned yesterday in a book that a friend and I were looking through at the library that too much compromise in a relationship is bad, especially if it's unacknowledged. I knew that before, but what stuck with me is the idea that if you always compromise on something (like if your partner has very long, difficult weekdays so you decide to do the dishes and cook dinner every day because you think it would be asking too much of him to help out since he's tired when he gets home and you have the time... hypothetically) and it's not discussed or acknowledged yet you expect something in return for making the extra effort, eventually resentment can build up and show itself in ugly ways. My boyfriend and I talked about this last night and how we can acknowledge and change the ways we make compromises for each other so that resentment won't build up for as long as it has in the past. By acknowledging eachother's points of views, desires, expectations, and fears, we are on our way to a healthier place in our relationship.

That's all for now. I'm off to work on a midterm for one of my classes.

Learning lots,
Monica