I'm So Proud

Last night I did something I haven't done in a long time. I really conquered something I didn't think possible. I wanted to go to a movie with some girls. With trying to merge busy schedules, we decided on the 10:05PM showing. I am known for falling asleep in movies that start much earlier. Whenever I fall asleep, it ruins the movie for me, and everyone that laughs at the movie and wakes me up, suddenly become this stupid bunch of people that are laughing at something not worth laughing at ( I think I'm partly mad at whatever I've missed). This is my mentality when I am tired. So earlier the day of the movie, I tried to take a nap and it was about 30 minutes. I didn't think it was enough. KC just kept warning me, "Honey, you always fall asleep. I don't know if you'll make it." Of course, he has learned of my early bird lifestyle the hard way. Sometimes I don't even remember the harsh things I say at night, but am gently reminded of them in the morning when, by the way, my mood is at it's best. My friends from high school will tell you how rude I was at sleepovers just because I was tired and they were just having fun. Something really comes over me and I can't help my words or actions. It's like I have a small version of the Hulk inside of me that comes out after 10:30 if something upsets me. I hope it wears off someday because this life guarantees more night distractions through the years. Maybe when the kids come, KC will be the night go-getter and I'll be the morning retriever. We'll have to work something out. I don't want anyone else to have to witness this side of me. But, the point of this whole post was to announce loud and clear that I did make it though that movie and got home at 1:15AM without my hulkish attitude anywhere in sight. I was chipper the whole way through and it wasn't even an act! I'm wondering the last time this has happened. I even drove...safely. I really feel like I've accomplished something. I hope someday, somewhere, it will happen again.

KC's Appreciation

I know what you're all thinking. Two posts in one day? But I just had to tell of my appreciation, for my husbands appreciation, for me. As we sat down to our quiche dinner, (Or any dinner for that matter. Tonight it just happened to be quiche.) He was commenting on how good it smelled and how he couldn't wait to eat it. Then when we started eating it, he began to comment on the texture of the flaky crust and how much he was enjoying it. When he finished his wedge, I said "a little more?" and he gave me a very long but sweet explanation for why he wouldn't care for any more. He told me about the level of appreciation he had for the quiche right now. He was satisfied to just the right amount. He told of his appreciation for the meal with one hand and the fullness of his tummy with the other. The higher the fullness hand got, the shorter the rises of the appreciation hand became, and eventually started going down. This shows so well the way KC thinks things though and can explain them a way that I don't think I ever could. I think we all know what he's talking about. I know that some great meals can be ruined if I get too full to remember how delicious the meal really was. All I can think is "I ate way too much." Most of our dinner conversations include questions from KC about what it entailed to make the meal, what this flavor or that flavor was, what ingredients I used, how satisfying it is, and even sometimes he comments on how nice the plate looks (we all know when we've made a nice colorful plate). Not because he's picky, but because he's intrigued. Sometimes I'll anticipate all his questions, and try to remember all the things I put in so that I have an answer for him when we asks. I might even answer before he can ask. Some meals are made from whatever I have to use up in the fridge so I really can't remember what to tell him. These nights I just say, "can we just have dinner and not talk about the food?" Then I feel bad because I really should always be grateful for his constant appreciation for the meals I prepare. Lunches the next day usually come out of dinner the day before so sometimes I even get double appreciation for one meal when he gets home from work and reports on lunch. A friends the other day told me that her husband never says anything about the food she makes. She said she asked once, and he just nodded, shrugged his shoulders and said "yeah, it's good." Why would I ever ask my husband not to appreciate me? I'm a lucky girl. I hope this sticks, along with his daily dish washing.

I will resist!

I'm trying to resist buying anything that I know will be 75% off starting on December 26. I've never been one to decorate but since there is no one else (mom, roommates, sisters) to do it, I have to, and want to, do it myself. But since me are leaving a few days before Christmas, I feel like I should take advantage. We did buy a tree and it's not a Bonsai. Not much taller though. Lowes was the only place (out of several places that we looked) that had any real trees under 6 feet. It goes about to my waist and KC being the man of the house put on the lights. But we've also yet to get an extension cord to turn those lights on. I'm improvising on trimming, candy canes, and ribbons, but I think our humble tree will be a great memory for our first Christmas together.
As my other siblings have mentioned on their blogs, Gingerbread house making was great fun thanks to all the hard work by M,C,and J. KC and I made a gingerbread house 2 years ago at a party. We to achieve the same effect, but it turned out quite different. We had fun at both occasions as you can see from the picture. Every one's house was so creative. I loved Jacks gumball "Christmas light" roof.

How long has that commercial been running?

I was watching TV and saw that seasonal commercial where the snowman walks in the house because he smells the soup. When he starts eating it, he starts melting. At the end, there's a little boy with snow dripping off his shoulders. I feel like I've been seeing this commercial for years and it always kind of scares me. Why is there a little boy inside all that snow. But I do like it because it reminds me of past Christmas seasons. Man, it's coming quickly isn't it? I really want to show KC the Pee Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special. I don't remember what year, but we have it on tape at my house. That is a huge tradition. I laugh just thinking about it. We have tried to find a tree that won't take over our whole apartment and they are all too big. They don't harvest them small enough for us that often. We're thinking of getting a Bonsai pine tree and we can use it every year and it would be less than 2 feet tall. They live for hundreds of years if cared for properly. I'm only kidding as it wouldn't be tradition like the other photo. (Although mine would not have teddy bears and stuffed snowmen around it.) At least we'll be going home for Christmas where there is plenty of space for trees that are easily two feet taller than that tallest part if out ceiling. I hope everyone has had more luck finding their perfect tree, or at least are planning to.

We're fryin' again!

Well I am happy to say that the turkey was fantastic! KC was the designated fry cook for the day and did a great job. It was a little rainy which makes for a very unsafe frying situation. So we made a covering of sorts and it worked okay. It took only one hour for the turkey to be fried to perfection with crispy golden brown skin. I am converted to fried turkey. It is very dangerous and we had to keep the kids at a safe distance at all times. So Thanksgiving went off without a hitch and the weird thing is, we only turned on the oven for about and hour to bake a couple things. I was right in my anticipation to buy more oil. KC and Jake went and bought a 4 1/2 gallon jug at BJs. We didn't use all of it, but we wanted to be sure. Everything tasted great! Last night the leftovers were great as well. And now that Thanksgiving is over I can listen to all the Christmas music I want. It has begun! Christmas cards are done, my winter cold is here (it was inevitable), and we are making lists of presents. We have yet to get a tree, but Black Friday weekend rushes are not my kind of fun, so we'll wait.

This year we're fryin'!

Yesterday as I was making preparations for Thanksgiving (so far two pies are made and everything is ready to go tomorrow), I thought about every year where I set the oven timer for 4 or 5 hours and checking it every 30 minutes to baste the big bird. I know it's traditional and festive but I always like to try something new, so I went and bought TURKEY FRYER! I found a great deal, as they can be very expensive and can't wait to try it. I had to buy a lot of peanut oil and am anticipating making a last minute run to the store for more. Let's hope not. I tried so hard to do my shopping in advance since the store was insane, but I was surprisingly patient. I think we can all get a little crabby in long lines. Anyway, the greatest thing about frying that I know without actually doing it yet, or eating it (which I am really looking forward to) is it is only a fraction of the time it takes to roast. I'm really hoping this works because I can't ruin a 19 lb. turkey which is what I'm told I have to work with. I'll write about how it turns out.

Bloggers Block!

I know it haven't posted for a while. And when you're a semi-internet surfer like me and have a few regular places to check when you have a few minutes, it gets boring when nothing changes. I think all the avid bloggers out there know what I mean. The truth is, I've have Bloggers Block. I feel like every time I want to add something it seems too irrelevant to mention or too personal for literally anyone to stumble across. Or I can't think of anything at all. I have recently seen "Stranger than Fiction" and really liked it but could only imagine how much more I would've related to it if I really understood writers block. I'm sure it's insanity. Not that this blog is as important as finding our how Harold Crick is going to die, but it really can drive someone crazy not knowing what to write on a little white space where you're not getting any money, grade, and barely have anybody waiting on what you write except yourself. I use this a way to be "productive" so with this blog I'll consider my day well spent. I also worked, did some advance baking for Thanksgiving and took a great nap, but for some reason this blog was yelling at me. If someone was writing a story about my life there wouldn't be much to write about at this point. But that's probably what Harold Crick thought too. He should've blogged. his life would've been much more interesting. At least every few days when we decided to add a new post.

Zzzzzzzzzzz...

Oh, how I wish I could just sleep in! It is Saturday morning and I have woken up at 6:00. I actually woke up at about 3,4, and 5, but I convinced myself to at least sleep to a reasonable hour. Since I can remember, I have found myself awake before anyone else no matter where I am sleeping. I used to pray to be able to sleep in. Most people who know me know that I'm definitely a morning person. What most people like to do at night, watch movies, go to parties, read books, etc., I'd much rather do in the morning. If I try at night, I fall asleep and get really grumpy when I have to wake up to people talking or loud movies. (All the friends I had sleepovers with will agree. I really am sorry for the things I said, but I honestly couldn't help it.) I will gladly go to bed at 10:30 (usually not by choice) and wake up at 6:30. But the hitch is, it doesn't matter when I go to bed, I wake up at the same time anyway. If I get a second wind and stay up until the late hours of the night, it doesn't matter. It used to drive me crazy knowing I could sleep in but just ...well...couldn't. KC likes to story about Christmas last year. Not only am I an early bird, but when I'm in a time zone that makes it even 2 hours earlier, I know it's going to be a long morning. So I woke up rather early Christmas morning. I would blame it on the day since as a kid we all had trouble sleeping in, but I think I'm past that by now. I was sleeping at KC's house. I knew I would wake up early, and I wondered what I would do in another person's house when they all sleep in. I naturally woke up at 6:30. I decided to go to the living room where KC was sleeping and see if I could just hang out there until someone woke up. At least I wouldn't be alone. Of course he woke up and we talked a little. He's very kind about my morning alertness. He asked what time it was and I told him what my clock said, when he looked at the clock next to him that clearly said 5:20 am. We had only been in Utah a couple days, so this felt like 3:20am. My clock was wrong, but now I was awake and there was no turning back. Poor KC isn't like me, he likes his sleep. But he knew I was awake and stayed with me. Others didn't wake up until about 8:30 or something. We actually got engaged that day and you can tell in a couple pictures he looks pretty tired. He hid it well for the most part. We laugh about it, but I still don't know how I don't need the sleep that everyone else is so desperate to have. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. I have tried to use the time wisely over the years getting things done in the morning rather than later in the day, but just because I'm awake doesn't mean I want to get started with the day. Maybe later I'll have a child that will demand my morning alertness, and of course on those days I'll magically be able to sleep in. To tell you the truth, I'm starting to appreciate my alone time in the morning while I still have it. I get to blog, watch the morning TV I'm very familiar with, and sometimes even make a special breakfast, my favorite meal to make and eat. That's always been one of my preferred morning pastimes. I'll find my early bird purpose sometime in this life. Until then, if anyone wants to hang out around 6:30 ET, give me a call. We'll do breakfast.

Me...decorating?

Well, as we're going to stay in this apartment another year, I have decided to do what I can to make this place less drab. I've gotten new clocks, more frames for the walls, a bookcase for the living room, some pictures enlarged for the walls, a little art, and even Christmas decorations. It sounds silly that I'm getting all excited about all of this, but in a place this small, any change is a big one. Anybody that will come over won't even notice it, but that's not what it's for. It's for me. I never did anything before because I thought we didn't have room, but I've found ways. It's been really fun for me, and anyone who really knows me, knows this is a big deal for me too. I am a minimalist first of all, so buying things to just look at, seemed silly to me. The I started to notice how others homes were, and felt the warmth and creativity that was there. Guess which of these two clocks I bought. Okay, I'll tell you, I bought one similar to the one on the right. It's not the exact one but close enough. I think KC might wanted the Homer clock, but I didn't even consider it. He pretty good at helping me with my developing decorating skills, so I think he would agree that there isn't a place for Homer in our tiny apartment. I just thought it was funny. I also bought some DVDs to add to our non-collection (because we hardly have any). It's fun to make a house a home, especially when you are new to having your own space. Well, it's fun now, but I might have to hire somebody when I have a whole house because this is about all I can handle right now.

The Holiday Season is Here!

I guess I had a happy Halloween. Can you if you didn't really do any traditional Halloween activites. With our back door entrance we didn't get any trick-or-treaters, we didn't have any costumes, and didn't go to any parties. We did, however, get the makings for caramel apples and watched "The Changeling" thanks to my brother and his wife. It actually set the Halloween mood when I thought it would just come and go. I used to love Halloween. It was almost my favorite holiday. I loved seeing what shows would come on at night during the season like: "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown", or "The Worst Witch" ("Anything can happen on Halloween, a dog could turn into a cat." We used to sing that all the time.) I even liked watching a little "Casper the Friendly Ghost" during the season . But my favorite thing about it is the upcoming Holiday season. Thanksgiving is an out-of-work chef's favorite holiday in my opinion. It's an excuse to really put those culinary skills to use. And I'm all about traditions, but there are so many dishes at Thanksgiving dinner, no one will care if you add another new one here and there. I'm already making a list of new things I want to try this year. It's always hard to decide. I'll just save the recipes I don't use for Christmas.

That would be an interesting life.

I saw this picture on a morning news show and could not believe it. It might just be because I am a twin myself that I found this so amusing. These girls were born of the same womb but have completely different genetic make-up. Their mother is of Jamaican-English descent and their father it of German descent. I just can't imagine having to convince everybody my whole life that the person I don't look anything like is my twin sister. This link will give you more detail about these girls. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,20621551-5006009,00.html
I have to say that are both very cute.

On my birthday of all days...

Well I had the surprise to beat all surprises. I wasn't really building up to this birthday as I have in the past. It was just 22. Nothing new, not really any more respect as an adult from 21. I was just kind of letting it pass as a mostly normal day expect maybe a little gift or two from my husband. Birthdays just haven't been the same since I haven't been celebrating them with my twin sister, with whom I had celebrated 19 of our birthdays. My family was planning a little party for the weekend so that was the party to celebrate my 22nd year of life. That was fine with me. I thought, maybe a dinner with my husband and a gift that I'd been hinting at for a couple weeks. Nothing too out of the ordinary. So the night before my birthday I started to get a little blue. I guess I just started to think that if this is the one day that things can be a little different from everyday life, why shouldn't it be. This is the time to party right? No kids, easy job, I wanted 22 to be a day to celebrate. So I was grumpy and annoyed that my husband didn't plan something for me. I kept him up for about an hour, sweetly lecturing him on my needs and wants from him. I don't know why I ever feel like I can say things like this, as he puts me first in everything he does. I just am not a night person and I say things I shouldn't. As I was talking he just took it all. I don't even want to think about what I said because of what was about to happen. We went to sleep and I woke up to a whisper, "happy birthday honey." I had almost forgot it was my birthday. I went to the kitchen to fix his lunch and was sitting at the table alone wondering what to do with my long day off by myself. I was looking at mail from yesterday scattered on the table wondering if I wanted to tidy up or not, when I got and unusually loud knock on the door I assumed was from the land lord telling me to move my car for road work or something. I was rather embarrased to answer the door since I was fresh our of bed. I cautiously looked out to find a crouched figure that looked like. . . was it really. . . yes it was. . . it really was my TWIN SISTER! She was here on our "birthday of all days"( it s quote from the movie "Clifford" starring Martain Short.) It was like she just came down the street for a visit. I had no idea of all the planning and secret keeping that had been in the works for 4 months. This is just like my sister, alway thinking of something you'd never expect. When I saw her I cried. Party because of her presence and because I knew how much my husband probably just wanted to tell me that everything would just turn out when I was whining the night before. He and my sister have the tightest lips of anyone I know.
There's so much to say, but I guess I just have to say that what I thought was going to be another ho-hum day at home turned out to be a day I will never forget my whole life. A day with my sister and her husband and a night my my amazing husband (who of course had a perfect night planned for the two of us. It was perfect.)
I love my sister and really had to fight to not cry the whole way home from the airport. Sometimes I get really homesick when she's not with me. I so grateful for my husband. He not only makes my life better everyday, but he supports my love to my sister.
So I guess it ended up being a pretty good birthday, contrary to my previous thoughts, not to mention the party today with the fam. My family is so sweet. My sister planned a fun dinner and a spectacular cake was made my my brother and his wife. I am really lucky for the family I have here. It was a little weird to not have melody there, but I'm sure they'll celebrate with out me in Utah. I think with that kind of arrival to my 22nd year, it will be a fun age.

English lessons

My husband often finds thing to laugh at online. We've all gotten sucked into the YouTube revolution. This is one we thought particularly funny.

http://www.youtube.com/v/UE5-EORgjno

If you ever need help learning English from some asian language, this is sure to help.

Pastry Chef or Photographer?

Well, I am currently working as a photographer for newborn babies at a hospital in the area. I am sort of conflicted as to what my occupation is. I am a trained pastry chef and enjoy making desserts for any occasion. My favorite project was definitely my twin sisters wedding cake. It was a huge accomlishment for me and she probably doesn't know that I was terrified about it. It sounded easy at first but I had to pack four frozen layers of cake with packing peanuts in a cardboard box from Maryland to Utah. My duffle bag was full of ganache and buttercream Anyway, it made it's way to the wedding through a lot of second guessing and reassuring (all in my head if course. I had come from my job in DC at an upscale hotel telling everyone it was no problem.) I am so glad I did it.

So I worked in the bakeries and such for a couple of years and it was fun. Telling people you work in a bakery strikes up a lot of converstion. I know it's a hard business and I liked the hard work while I had nothing to do except work. When I met my husband I realized that I actually wanted to spend the weekends and holidays with him. I actually didn't mind giving up those things at the time because I knew it wouldn't last forever, but throw in a bad boss and simple, hardley any professional knowledge required, tasks and it really gets old. I had looked and looked for another pastry job, but nothing stuck out. At that point I just wanted a job, some way to be productive with my time. So I quit and almost immediately found this photographer job.

I like being a photographer. I work for Growing Family First Foto, www.growingfamily.com. The hours are great, I have time to blog (actually the blog is a result of my spare time) and I just like baking what I want, when I want to. I get an urge to work for an upscale restaurant again because of all the things I know I still would love to learn. And then I remember the commute, hours, and the constant repeating of "Yes Chef!" Yep, it's just like Hell's Kitchen on TV.

So I think I like where I am right now. But I just don't know what to call myself. Anytime someone asks, I tell them I am a pastry chef on a break. Is that allowed? Am I still a Pastry Chef? I have the knowlege and the certificate. I think this is just a phase.

I love being married!

So my husband and I just made it to our seven month anniversary and are continuing to enjoy wedded bliss. My brother and sister live close by with their families so we have a lot of fun at birthdays, playdates for the kids (which we go to even though we don't have kids yet) or just because I feel like making a new dessert and don't want us to eat it all by ourselves. Marriage has been something I have always known that I would love. It has been so fun to make little dinners for the two of us, inviting people to our humble home, (it's pretty tiny so "people" is usually limited to two or three.) and listening to the sweet sounds of my husband playing his ukulele as I'm falling alseep. I know, I know, people say I'll get over the newly-wed glow soon enough, but why let it. I love waiting at the door to see him come home. Being a twin, I'm used to, or I could even say addicted to, companionship and I wouldn't want to satisfy my addiction with anyone else except my husband. This is a picture of us on the formal night of out honeymoon cruise to the Carribean. We even went Parasailing in Key West and loved it! I'll never forget our first week as newlyweds.

Just trying this out...

Hey everybody. With the free time I have these days, I am putting a little of my energy into a blog. I've never done this before so here goes!