Wednesday, December 17, 2008

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....

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Moab Pics






Here are some pictures from my recent trip to Moab. The main purpose for the trip was to participate in the 10k, but no race pictures... sorry. I really did finish though! With a time of 1:10. I don't know how good that is, and I don't really care.... but 1:10 was my goal so I happy with my time and know that next time I will do even better!

We got to Moab Friday early afternoon and went on a few hikes, and then after the 10k on Saturday morning, we wanted to see Delicate Arch before leaving. So after some showering and freshening up, we hiked another 3+ miles, followed by 4+ hours in the car. Lovely.... But thankfully doable!


So now I have finished my first 10k! Half-marathon next? We'll see......