Cars, Peanut Butter and Wooden Dishes

Warning: This blog post is long but (I think) fascinating! Enjoy if you wish!

So this week since I have not had school (won't have that for awhile) or work, I have had time to actually do things and feel alive again. Seriously. One thing that I like to do when I have time, is cook. Really cook, not just opening cans, mixing and/or nuking. While at BYU, I was very passionate about cooking, but things have kind of died out since then.... Cooking in Taiwan was just unique and then I moved home and I did cook on occasion, but either I wasn't home for dinner or my mom had done it. Thanks, Mom!

OK, getting to the point.... Since I moved out Sept 1st to my apartment, I think I have really cooked, 5 or 6 times. Stuffing a tortilla and cooking it in the sandwich maker does not count! This week I decided to hold a dinner party for some friends, but I was a bit nervous thinking, "what will I make?" The last time I had a dinner party, I made taco soup, so chili was out of the question, and I really was feeling low on ideas for what to cook.

Thankfully I was inspired with a dish I used to love but haven't made for about 5 years. Peanut butter vegetable stew. I could no longer find the recipe online, but I remembered the ingredients, though I had no exact idea about measurements and/or quantity. I decided to give it a shot anyway. I wondered if I should make something that was more universally food friendly, not everyone in family is a fan of PB stew. But I figured that what I wanted was good enough and I could always have some mac and cheese on hand. Thankfully, I didn't need it. The end result was delicious! The dessert was another story- chocolate chip pumpkin bread undone in the middle, ah, well. We ate chocolate stuffed bread chunks instead!

There were to be 5 dinner guests, 3 friends, my roommate Dana and myself. Dinner starting time was 6:00 pm. Long story short, the first guest didn't arrive until 6:30. One guest got in a fender bender and couldn't make it- she never did make it, another was late because our mutual friend had a day from heck and she was going to go get her fav ice cream and drop it off before dinner. I don't know why the 3rd guest was so late, but thankfully she was! We waited for a half hour for our last guest. I just couldn't start without her since she was out helping someone else...

That explains the cars and pb. Now for the wooden dishes.... While in the Philippines I bought several wooden dishes. I bought them at least 7 years ago and they have sat in storage until now... They sat in storage in my parents basement, because they weren't the kind of thing I trusted with some of my college roommates...But while I was home for thanksgiving, I finished cleaning out my basement storage, and... ta da! Wooden plates AND bowls were used tonight!
Final thoughts
-Ice cream is good for friends who've had a hard day
-I didn't forget how to cook!
-Why wait for an "occasion" to use your "special things" A dress, furniture- in my case it was wooden dishes!
-And.... with the encouragement of friends from my last blog post, I am now going to begin training for a half-marathon! I suppose stating it on a blog post makes me committed... But why not? What's the worst that can happen? I like a challenge, it will be good motivation for healthy eating and exercise habits, and.... truthfully, growing up in a family of 6 girls (and one boy) I like the idea of doing something none of my sisters have attempted. I'm kind of an individual like that....