Falling Into the Technological Future While Hitting Every Branch on the Way Down.

Yesterday I partook of something I had never partaken of before.  Black Friday.

But not the "trample-your-grandmother-when-she-tries-to-go-for-the-same-ipod-you-want" kind of Black Friday.   It was more the, let everyone else go crazy first, and then show up at the stores at 9:30 with the other sane people.

We're up in Montana visiting my Brother's family.  They wanted to head out to Billings in order to catch a few of the Black Friday deals so I went along for the ride.  We stopped at Lowe's first so that Marcus and Tiffany could pick up a grill; then we headed over to Cost Plus World Market where I found probably my most prized find-

They're Russian Doll Measuring Cups!

Amazing, right?  I know they are.  Well after that, we headed to the Mall and I somehow stumbled into the AT&T store.  You see, I've been mentally preparing myself for the last 2 weeks to possibly be mildly ok with the thought of maybe potentially upgrading to a smart phone.  So my plan was to just go inside ask how much it would cost, and then be content that it was too expensive and not get one.

This is what actually happened.  

Me:  Hello, I'm technologically incompetent and might be looking into upgrading to a smartphone from my current feeble-minded phone.

Clerk:  OH! Well, lucky for you!  Our Blackfriday deal today means that this normally $100 Motorola Atrix smartphone which can type what you speak into the phone, navigate the internet, predict your future, aid you if you ever need to stop a missile crisis and brew two cups of coffee simultaneously is a completely free upgrade today! 

Me:  Oh...well. Umm...maybe I...er...I'm going to go take a walk and think about this.

           ***30 minutes later***

Me:  Ok Joseph,  I think I might be ready to take the plunge.

Clerk: Wonderful!  We'll just get you set up really quickly and you'll instantly know how easy this is to use and how smart you'll feel too as long as this is in your hand and you are using it.

Me:  Uhh....

           ***30 minutes later***

Clerk:  Here you go! The Sacred Goblet of Knowledge and Wisdom.  What do you think??

Me:  .....  I'm confused.

And thus began (and continues) my first step into the new wave of technology.  I'm sure that I'm functioning at a second grade level when it comes to this phone.  Actually, scratch that. I can't use that analogy anymore because I'm pretty sure all second graders these days would actually be able to stop a missile crisis using only their phones.  

At least I know how to work my Russian Doll Measuring cups

Pumpkin Fest 2011- Spiced Pumpkin Fudge

Pumpkin Fudge

Yield: 3 pounds of fudge

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 12 min-15min


Ingredients
3 cups granulated white sugar
3/4 cup melted salted butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk
½ cup canned pure (unsweetened) pumpkin
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice *I generally just throw in a bunch of cinnamon, cloves, and a few pinches of ginger, nutmeg and allspice*
One 12-ounce package white chocolate morsels (chips)
One (7-ounce) jar marshmallow crème
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Line a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil. Spray with nonstick spray.

2. Stir together first 6 ingredients in a 3 1/2- quart saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer registers 234° (soft ball stage) or for about 12 minutes.

3. Once mixture reaches 234°, remove from heat and quickly stir in the white chocolate, marshmallow creme, pecans (if using) and vanilla until well blended.

4. Pour into the prepared pan. Let stand 2 hours or until completely cool; cut fudge into squares.

Pumpkin Fest 2011- Pumpkin Scones with a Spiced Glaze

Pumpkin Scones.

Pumpkin...

Scones.

I just wanted to give you a minute to take in all the glory that is the recipe I'm about to share for Pumpkin Scones.  It's a winner every time.  Starbucks pretends they have good pumpkin scones.  Puh-lease.  These are much better.  Delicious...Nutritious (maybe not)...and wonderfully heartwarming enough to remind you of all the good things in this life.   What more could you ask for in a recipe?

Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glaze Frosting

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon*
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves*
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger*
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1-inch cubes **
• 1/2 cup pumpkin (You should know by now the trick is pumpkin that you puree yourself and NEVER from a can)
• 3 tablespoons half-and-half (or substitute about a 1/6th cup of milk plus 1/3 tsp melted butter if you realize at 10 pm after you've started the recipe that you have no half and half)
• 1 large egg

Scones Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

2. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl.

4. With a fork, pastry knife, or your hands, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter remain. Set aside.

5. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk pumpkin, half and half, and egg.

6. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball.  Get your hands dirty child.  It's worth it.

7. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide).

8. Use a large knife to slice the dough into three equal portions. Cut diagonally to produce 6 triangular slices of dough.

Alternative Option- Use an ice cream scoop to get equal portions and don't bother with the triangles

9. Place on prepared baking sheet from step 2.

10. Bake for 14–16 minutes until scones turn light brown.

11. Place on wire rack to cool.

*  I ALWAYS add more of the spices than what pumpkin recipes call for

** Cold butter is important for scone making endeavors

Spiced Glaze Ingredients: and a quick side note - The original recipe calls for a plain glaze to be spread over the scones BEFORE putting on the drizzled spiced glaze...I personally don't think you need it, but if you have a super sweet tooth, don't add the spices to the powdered sugar/milk combo quite yet, you can go back after you spread the plain base glaze on and add those spices in" 

1 cup powdered sugar  **This is too much if you only do the spiced glaze, cut it in half (but not the spices)

2 Tablespoons whole milk

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 pinch ginger

1 pinch ground cloves

Use a whisk to mix all the glaze ingredients;  Drizzle over cooled scones 

English Skillz

At the urging of my dear friend Julie  I am going to post tonight.

I am a little scattered though so bear with me.  First of all, don't worry!  Pumpkin fest 2011 is not over yet.   There is always a little hiatus between Halloween and Thanksgiving.  There is certainly more to come.  Especially because I just got 3 giant pumpkins for free today.  If you wait until after halloween, people (especially roadside pumpkin vendors) begin to despise the pumpkins that haven't been sold yet (fools), and they choose to give them away.  So of course I nabbed 3 of the orphan pumpkins and a Merry Thanksgiving/Christmas/Rest of Pumpkin Fest 2011 will be had by all.

Secondly, I've actually been kind of busy lately, in a good refreshing way.  So that sort of not at all explains why I haven't posted that much.  But don't you worry my 2 faithful readers.  I'm here to post now, and when you see what I'm about to post, you're going to say "Really?  That's what she chose to talk about after 3 weeks of silence?"

So I'm not sure exactly why, when, or how this started, but I'm pretty sure learning Spanish had something to do with it.  Once I got back to the States, I knew that I was going to need to brush up on my English skillz (with a "z" makes me more Gangsta...so does spelling gangster incorrectly).  What I didn't realize was that I had developed a strange form of dyslexia along the way...but not really dyslexia. I'm not really sure what to call it as a matter of fact, but I noticed that I'm having trouble spelling out the word that I'm actually trying to say when I type and write.

What usually happens is that it comes out as its homophone or even a word that is close but no cigar to the word I'm trying to say.   It often comes out the way you would spell the English word if you were saying it in Spanish and vice versa or just a word that is almost the same, but definitely isn't

For example- In my mind, I want to say the sentence I'm going to see a movie today.   However, as I'm typing or writing that, it may come out "I'm going to si a movie today"  

Another example-   I was trying to text a friend the phrase "At some point"  It actually came out "At some paint".

I don't know what's wrong with me.  Has this happened to anybody else?  Should I get checked out for a brain tumor?

Cartoon by Dan Piraro

And yes...this is what I chose to talk about after 3 weeks of silence.

Pumpkin Fest 2011- Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins 

1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled 

3/4 cup pumpkin puree 

1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream 

2 large eggs 

1 tsp vanilla 

2 cups all purpose flour 

2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/2 tsp ground ginger 

1/4 tsp allspice 

1/4 tsp cloves 

pinch freshly grated nutmeg 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/2 cup white sugar

Streusel Topping 

1/2 cup butter, softened 

1/2 cup sugar 

3/4 cup flour 

pinch salt 

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

Preheat oven to 400° F. Line twelve muffin cups with paper liners or lightly grease the tin. 

Make the streusel: 

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and rub the butter in until the mixture is 

crumbly. This will be a bit of a sticky operation because the butter is soft, but take your time. Once it is crumbly, gently squeeze bits of the mixture together to form larger 

pieces of crumble/streusel. Set aside. 

Make the muffins: 

In a large bowl, combine melted butter, pumpkin, yogurt/sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and 

whisk until smooth. 

In another large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt, then stir in 

the sugar. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and sir until just combined. Divide batter 

evenly between the prepared muffin cups and top with streusel. **Note- these rose a lot for me, so don't fill your cups too full**

Bake for 16-19 minutes at 400F, until a tester inserted into the center of the muffins 

comes out clean. 

Cool muffins in the pan for about 5 minutes to allow the topping to set up, then turn out 

onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Makes 12 muffins. 

Pumpkin Fest 2011- Pumpkin Cheesecake

1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 

5 tablespoons butter -- melted 

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar 

24 ounces cream cheese -- softened 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 cup pumpkin puree 

3 eggs 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 

1/4 teaspoon allspice 

whipped cream 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make the crust by combining the graham  

cracker crumbs with the melted butter and 1 tablespoon sugar in a medium bowl.  

Stir well enough to coat all of the crumbs with the butter, but not so much as  

to turn the mixture into paste. Keep it crumbly. Press the crumbs onto the  

bottom and about two-thirds of the way up the sides of a springform pan. You  

don't want the crust to form all of the way up the back of each slice of  

cheesecake. Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then set it aside until you are ready  

to fill it. In a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and  

vanilla. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the pumpkin, eggs,  

cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.  

Pour the filling into the pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes. The top will turn a  

bit darker at this point. Remove from the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool. 

When the cheesecake has come to room temperature, put it into the refrigerator.  

When the cheesecake has chilled, remove the pan sides and cut the cake into 8  

equal pieces. Use dental floss to make a clean cut. Serve with a generous  

portion of whipped cream on top.  

Pumpkin Fest 2011- Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Recipe from Country Living
24 Jumbo Pasta shells
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
22 oz. Fat-Free Ricotta 
15 oz. Pumpkin Puree
2 1/2 oz. Pecorino Romano, grated (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
1 Large Egg White
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 cup Fresh Basil, chopped
1 tablespoon Finely chopped Fresh sage
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 jar (26 oz) tomato sauce

---

Directions

1. Cook pasta shells according to package instructions; drain. Transfer to a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Set aside and let cool.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, pumpkin, 3/4 cup pecorino Romano, and remaining ingredients, except tomato sauce.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread sauce in bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Fill each pasta shell with about 3 tablespoons ricotta-pumpkin mixture and arrange in pan. Cover pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
4. Remove foil, sprinkle shells with remaining pecorino, and bake for 15 minutes more. (If desired, stuff shells the night before and refrigerate overnight in an airtight container, in between layers of plastic wrap; arrange shells on sauce right before baking.)

Pumpkin Fest 2011- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

That glorious time of the year is back! Pumpkins are for sale and my heart is content to purchase them.   If you and I haven't met, you might not know about Pumpkin Fest.

Pumpkin Fest began in a little apartment kitchen in Peru in 2007 (click here for my first post about it) and has just continued growing every year since.  See, my family has always boiled down our own pumpkins to get the pumpkin puree- canned pumpkin be damned!   And what does one do when you suddenly have an entire pumpkin's worth of pumpkin puree?   You start making pumpkin things of course!

And make pumpkin things I have.   I've got my collection of pumpkin recipes and generally I just go into high-octane pumpkin mode to bake and cook all things pumpkin related.  So this year, I will start posting my recipes to this blog.  And I appreciate your pumpkin recipes as well.  

I will go ahead and post my first recipe which is what I'm currently waiting on to rise.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

    * 1 cup pumpkin puree 

    * 2 large eggs 

    * 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup lukewarm water* 

    * 1/4 cup soft butter 

    * 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 

    * 1 3/4 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour 

    * 1/4 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk 

    * 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

    * 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 

    * 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, optional 

    * 3 tablespoons brown sugar, light or dark 

    * 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 

    * 2 teaspoons instant yeast 

    * *Adjust the amount of water by the time of year or your climate. For summer, or in a 

humid enivronment, use the lesser amount of water. In winter, or in a dry climate, use the 

greater amount. It's always best to start with the lesser amount; you can  

Filling 

    * 3/4 cup Baker's Cinnamon Filling* 

    * 3 tablespoons water 

    * 1/2 cup minced crystallized ginger, raisins, or dried cranberries, optional 

    * *Substitute 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon for the 

Baker's Cinnamon Filling and water, if desired. If you use sugar and cinnamon, DO NOT 

ADD THE WATER. 

Glaze 

    * 1 cup glazing or confectioners' sugar 

    * 1 tablespoon butter 

    * 1 1/2 tablespoons milk, or enough to make a "drizzlable" glaze 

Directions 

1) Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients together — by hand, mixer, or bread machine 

— until you've made a soft, fairly smooth dough. 

2) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise for 

1 1/2 hours, until it's almost doubled in bulk. 

3) Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface. Roll it into a 14" x 22" rectangle; the 

dough will be thin. 

4) Mix the cinnamon filling and water. Spread a thin layer over the dough, leaving one short 

edge free of filling. 

5) Sprinkle with crystallized ginger or dried fruit (or both), if desired. 

6) Starting with the short end that's covered with filling, roll the dough into a log. 

7) Cut the log into nine 1 

8) Place the rolls into a lightly greased 9" x 9" pan that's at least 2" deep. Set aside, 

covered, to rise for 1 hour, or until the rolls look puffy. 

9) Bake the rolls in a preheated 375°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're lightly 

browned and feel set. Remove them from the oven, and set them on a rack. Turn them out 

of the pan, and allow them to cool for about 15 minutes. Towards the end of the cooling 

time, make the glaze. 

10) To make the glaze: Heat the butter and milk together till the butter melts. Whisk into 

the sugar. 

11) Drizzle the warm rolls with the warm glaze. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, if desired. 

Preach it, Andy

Are you ever just struck sometimes with how entirely big the world is, and how entirely big you are not?  Tonight as I was cleaning up my room a bit, I was just thinking about my mundane task on a Sunday night.  Somewhere else in the world, maybe in multiple places, at the exact same moment, someone was having a different sort of moment.  What was that moment? I'm sure I'll never know.  Perhaps it was a sad goodbye, perhaps it was a terrible moment of fear, perhaps it was a moment of personal revelation.  Whatever it was, I was just struck with how the world works.   Though I would never purport that I have an iota of insight into how the world works,  I do know that life is made up of moments.  And my mundane task moment is someone else life changing moment.  To me, it is truly awe-inspiring to think of the wonderful orchestration that God executes in all of these moments.  He is with me in my menial chores, He is with the person that is going through a major upheaval in his or her life.   And that is fascinating to me.

Don't you hate it when you make sense?

I found this old post on my Peruvian blog tonight.

I think I should pay attention more about the enjoying the not so enjoyable moments in my life.

Thursday Night Musings of a girl with Everything and Nothing to talk about 

Michael Weinberg Photograph

Sometimes I feel like I can't keep up with myself. All these changes that I have gone through, am going through, and will be going through seem to hit me all at once, and I think- What are you doing Gillian? Why on earth would you get involved in all the things you've gotten involved with in your life? Why would you leave your home to go to a university on the other side of the country; and then why would you leave your home and university again to go live on the other side of the equator? Why did you pick the major you did? Why did you leave the career path to do non profit work for 3 years? Why are you leaving that life soon too? Why why why? And these questions start to weigh on me, and I think...Gillian, You don't make any sense.


But then, I remember why I did all that and why I will do a lot of other crazy things in the future that may not ever make sense to me, let alone anyone else.


God chose this path for me. I am exactly where God wants me to be right now. Everything that has happened in my life has been ordained by God and I all I have to do is enjoy it and enjoy Him. And then my new question becomes "Why are you even asking why?"


So enjoy life I will. I will enjoy the small things, the quiet moments, moments like walking by a beautiful garden that smells of roses and honeysuckle; listening to the summer sounds in my neighborhood; holding a puppy; going to the beach; short friendly conversations with people that I don't know, but already consider them friends.


I will enjoy the big moments too, the life-changers; the graduations, the goodbyes, the moves, the not knowing where I will be a year from now, the not knowing where I will be two months from now, the milestones of new family members, new friends, and everything in between.


And by golly, I will enjoy it....whether I like it or not.

Decisions, Decisions

I've been sitting here for the past 10 minutes just trying to think of something worthwhile to post.

Do I talk about how productive I was this past weekend?   Nah.

Maybe I should mention how my ESL classes are going?  Nope.

Perhaps I can discuss my latest baking endeavors?     I don't think so.

Nothing is really popping out at me, so I think I'm just going to leave you with this photo instead.

Yep...that'll do.

May I tell you a story?

This is a story of a heart attack that nearly was.

This past week I went to drop off the final payment for the immigration lawyer we've been working with.   You know- the immigration lawyer that currently has all 600 pages of evidence and has just about total control of the applications we turn in to the department of immigrations?  Yep, same one.

So this week, I drove downtown to his office to drop off the final payment check and check how things are going.  Though there is only so much that you can check on when the government is involved and gives you a window of a 5 month wait time for a response.   It's kind of like the cable guy telling you he'll be there sometime between 8am and 6pm.  Thanks, cable guy...that's extremely helpful.  And thanks to you too, department of immigrations, you're specificity is simply meritorious.

Back to the story.   So I drove straight to the lawyer's office, parallel parked my Kia Sportage like a champ (p.s. I'm getting back into the groove of parallel parking), and got out of the car to walk up to the converted Victorian house that the lawyer's office occupies.

At this point, there are only 3 things wrong with this.

1.  There is Caution tape stretched across the gate.

2.  There is absolutely no furniture inside the house.  How do I know this?  There are no window treatments which give me a complete view into the entirely empty house.

3.  There is a large "For Rent" sign very thoroughly attached to the ground.

Enter the near heart attack.

A long string of words that I shouldn't say and certainly cannot type out on this blog immediately entered my head.  If my thoughts had subtitles... you would have seen a lot of this:  #*!&%**@!!!!!!

Now, I don't have a lot of experience with gypsies but at this point, I was pretty sure I had just had my first encounter with one, and my lawyer was currently dancing around a gypsy campfire in the forest with his gypsy wagon posse, celebrating their latest victory.     Either that, or my lawyer was wearing a Hawaiian shirt  and swinging peacefully in a hammock, sipping a very large fruity cocktail with all sorts of paper umbrellas in it somewhere off the coast of Bora Bora and smugly thinking about how he ripped off another one.

I probably should mention at this point that he technically hadn't charged enough to escape to Bora Bora or to buy a gypsy wagon and posse, but my imagination wanders.  I can't help it.

Somewhere in all this, a brief second of rational thinking peeked through, and I decided to call the main number.  I was so relieved when someone answered, and even more relieved when they answered with the name of the law firm.  

I casually asked "so where's your new office located?"   And the receptionist casually gave me the address of a building about 3 blocks away.  

I drove over to the new location, parallel parked like a champ again, and got my heart rate back down to normal once I saw the sign on the front door.  Silly lawyers.  They might be really good at complex interpretations of the law; however, they're pretty terrible at spreading the word to their clients about minor things...like when their entire office changes locations.

And that my friends, is the heart attack that NEARLY was.

The great mystery of time and the great fun of Cake

How is it that so much time can pass so quickly between my blog updates, and yet everyday seems like it lasts for 10 years as I try to look towards the future?

*Sigh*  The world may never know.  Scratch that.  I'll never know.  It does me no good if the whole world knows and I don't.

Anyway,   I'm not really sure what I want to write about.  The spirit is willing, but the thoughts are jumbled.   BUT with that being the case, I will talk about the most recent really fun thing I've done lately and how it is that I actually got to do it.

Alice 105.9 is a radio station here in Denver.  They play alot of top 40 songs, but their afternoon radio hosts Slacker and Steve are really funny, so I like to tune in for the show and then change the station anytime Ke$ha comes on (she makes me want to drive a spike through my eye).   I digress.

Slacker and Steve have a lot of listener interaction, and everyday they'll have some sort of a topic that you can call in for and share your story.  If you have the best story, then you get some sort of a prize.   A couple weeks ago, I was listening and the topic was "I have never..."  They were wanting to hear stories about something that you've never done that most people have.

I wasn't planning on calling in until they announced the prize- two tickets to the Cake concert!

I quickly dialed and got through, and was able to tell the story that I have never been to a football game.  Yep it's true.  Never ever.   Not a high school game, not a college game, not a professional game.   Oddly enough, I've been to all sorts of other sporting events- Basketball; hockey; soccer; heck, I've even been to curling matches, but never a football game.

Slacker and Steve were shocked, and because of my football deficiency, I was able to score those tickets.  I went with Missy to the Ogden Theater (which is a fantastic Colfax Theater by the way), and we got there just in time to score some pretty decent standing room only spaces.

If you ever get the chance to see Cake live, do it.  Unfortunately in this day and age, singers don't necessarily have to know how to sing well, and musicians don't necessarily have to be able to play their instruments well.  So even though it shouldn't be a rarity, it is always pleasant to find a band that performs just as well if not better live than they do on their CDs.

Plus, they gave away a tree in the middle of the concert.   Who wouldn't like them?

I think I wiped out a rain forest somewhere...

Well, supposedly the world is set to start ending at 6pm tonight.  I figured I should at least get one last blog post in to leave my legacy.   Though I guess if the world's ending it's not really going to matter anyway.

Hm.   Anyway...

It's finally sunny here for the first time in what seemed like forever (but really it was 5 days of rain).   Weather conditions can really get me down if it's gray for too long.   And it was especially tricky this week to have the weather getting me down.  Why?   Well.  I'll tell you.

After a loooooooooong (I'd add more "o's" but that's an obnoxious amount already) time, I was finally able to submit all of the evidence to the lawyer for Jamesson and I.

And at this point in my blog post, you might either be saying "Hey! That's great news!"  Or you might be saying "What the heck are you talking about??"   I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but we're engaged. (Yippeee!) And because the world works the way it does right now,  Jamesson is not allowed to marry me, until Uncle Sam says "welcome to my country."  

And how does one get an invitation into Uncle Sam's country?  

A lot of paperwork.

The first step in a process that I still don't know all the ins and outs of but thank God my aunt was able to recommend a good lawyer that does and is helping us, is to get together a lot of evidence of our relationship to submit with the application.   We had to gather documents, passports, birth certificates, drivers licenses, tax info, e-mails, photos that are dated and labeled with the names of anyone else included in the photos, letters (plus envelopes), emails, chat conversations, phone bills, affidavits from people who know us, proof of insurance, wedding plans (for a wedding that we're still not sure if Jamesson will make it to), and a slough of other items to say that we a too legit to quit.

So now you know how I've been spending the last few months of my life.  With a lot of paper cuts. BUT the good, no...the great, no....the FANTASTIC news is that FINALLY we had all the evidence we needed gathered and I handed the very large stack over to the lawyer on Thursday.  It was a big relief.  However, now we start the waiting game.

How does it work?  

We wait; for an undisclosed amount of time.

Know any card games?

And the beat goes on...

Right before I left for Ireland,  I decided that my life was missing something.

Well, it was missing Jamesson...but even more than that, it was missing a small musical instrument in the shape of a ukulele.  It was....a ukulele.

So one night at 11pm, when I seem to get most of my whims (read: really good ideas), I purchased a ukulele.   I left to go on vacation before it came, so luckily when I got home, and was visciously thrown back into the cruel monstrous claws of reality,  I had a nice little wooden ukulele with a turtle on it to cheer me up.    I immediately sought pedagogy from the teacher that is available 24/7, dear to my heart, and known as Google.   And thus began my musical journey.

I quickly picked up the 4 easy chords, which translates to me picking up 80% of pop music, which means that I'm no pro, but I can strum up a couple of ukulele storms including, but not limited to Happy Birthday, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Home on the Range.   I also am very very proud to say that I can now play one of my favorite Noah and the Whale Songs- 5 Years Time.

Look out Ukulele World! I'm heading straight to the top!  Just as soon as I can figure out how to strum and sing at the same time.

When Irish eyes are smiling.

So I went to Ireland.

Oh. Em. Gee.  It was magical.

What can I even begin to say about this?   Alot, actually.   For brevity's sake I will merely touch on the important parts.   The first being that I would move there in a heartbeat (as long as Jamesson isn't too far behind in meeting me there).   Just about everything was right up my alley.  The fun people, the sense of humor, the bright colors and the amazing historical places.    There were a few things that were not so up my alley, but I'd be willing to overlook them- mainly the fact that Budweiser is one of their top selections for beer, and the fact that many Irish girls have been delusional in thinking that leggings are pants.  They're not pants.  Stop acting like they are.  I think if Ireland and I sit down and have a good heart-to-heart, we can work out both of these things.

Overall though, Ireland was such a great country to visit, and the company made it that much more wonderful.   We drove to Dublin, went to the Guinness factory (where I'm going to try and convince Jamesson we need to move to), we ate incredible food and our weight in chocolate, made friends with the locals, saw some amazing natural scenery and landscapes (pretty much everywhere, but especially at the Cliffs of Moher.  And we completely exhausted the word "cute" because everything is adorable in Ireland.  Everything.

One great thing about going to Ireland with 4 art majors is that we all very much had the same goal in mind-  Get.  Good.  Pictures.     Generally, we'd park the car somewhere to get out and see something, and then 4 girls would all walk sort of in the same direction, but all stop at different points along the path (which was never well defined) in order to take pictures of whatever caught one's eye.

I'm pretty sure I got around 400 or 500 pictures, but feel free to take a gander at whichever photographs catch your eye!  And please, if any of you readers out there stumble across a big bag of money and don't know what to do with it, feel free to send some of it my way so that Jamesson and I can move to Ireland immediately.






Links to Facebook Photo albums:
Day 1: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.541424170316.2038915.85500234&l=4253ee7d61

Day 2: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.541478681076.2038945.85500234&l=210b72aaa1

Day 3 & 4: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.541588705586.2038987.85500234&l=448e405b59

Day 5:  http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.541682248126.2039021.85500234&l=e8999d5563

Cheers!

Spring is...springing

Well...I think I can safely say that I made it through the winter.

It's strange. I lived the entire first 18 years of my life in Colorado, spent 18 winters there with no problem. I spent 4 years in South Carolina, where the winter was a little less harsh, but still wintry. And then I moved to Peru where the weather really never got below 55 in the winter.

I only spent 3 winters there, but somehow, that made my first true full winter back in the states a bit difficult. I forgot what it was like to have the sun go down BEFORE 5pm. And what it was like to scrape the ice off my windshield, and what it was like to be so pale!

Being a native Coloradan, I am a bit ashamed to admit that this winter hit me hard...especially because by Colorado standards, this was one of the mildest winters we've seen. However, it did. I'll admit it. I was a wuss this year. And now, I am so very thankful for the spring.

The days are getting longer. The weather is getting warmer. I heard birds outside the window last week, and I saw the first little purple crocus coming up in our front yard.

One thing that I've always liked about Colorado is how very different and unique the 4 seasons are. Winter is very clearly winter with the snow and freezing temperatures, but then spring comes, and later in the summer, we get up to near 100 degrees often. Fall is beautiful in Colorado and unlike any other.

I think one of the reasons I appreciate this so much is the fact that I am not static person. I thrive on new experiences, and get so eager for the next change that is coming my way. So I welcome spring with open arms, and shorter sleeves.

See you later Winter...don't come back soon!

Things are piling up...

Scattered thoughts, droopy eyelids, and the slight formation of a knot in my shoulders is what I'm working with tonight.

Between things getting busy at work, Jamesson and I trying to gather enough evidence so that Uncle Sam will give us his blessing on our marriage, and that oh so joyous thing we call life...I'm starting to feel like the water is rising and I am stuck to the floor with super glue.

I knew that the process would be frustrating from the beginning. Anyone who's spent over 25 minutes at his or her local DMV can relate to the bureaucracy. This is the same...but much worse. We have to gather evidence to prove that we're not scamming the government with a fradulent marriage. We have to gather photos, chats, emails, affidavits from people that know us, all my notebooks that have Jamesson's name scribbled across the front in bubble letters and surrounded by hearts and daisies, and every other little scrap of evidence to say "HEY! Let him into the country. It's legit, I promise!"

Knowing is half the battle they say....in this case...just knowing how frustrating it will be doesn't amount to a hill of beans. (what does that really mean anyway?)

KNOWING that this was going to be frustrating, just gave it time to marinate in my mind...and knowing now just makes me want to send my computer in a bubble wrapped envelope to the department of immigrations and say "HERE! TAKE IT! Look through the photos and e-mails yourselves!"

As frustrating as it is, Jamesson's of course worth it, so I guess for now, I'll just hold my tongue (maybe not completely) and try to learn some patience....not my strong suit.

On a happier note...this is movie I want to see. Be prepared for some "Awwwwwws" and some possible warming of the heart.



Soap Box Commentary: Not every movie needs to be in 3D. Just saying.

A song that you should listen to...

Things That Fascinate Me...

I've always been a fairly crafty type.  But let's just stop and define crafty for a moment.


There's this type of crafty:

Which I am not.


And there's the type of crafty that I fancy myself to be.  The type of crafty that sees old objects in the thrift stores and can re-purpose them to be something that is no less than awesome.  So what have I been into lately?   Maps and Globes, my friend.  Maps...and...Globes.


I've always had a strong sense of wanderlust and therefore, have always loved things related thereto.  So over the past few months I've been starting to gather things like Vintage postcards, old maps, and of course, Globes!   My first find was a sweet 5 dollar globe (thank you goodwill) on a wooden stand which will look so nice between my two old rattan barrel chairs that I purchased earlier this year (thank you craigslist).     And then today, I went to the Habitat for Humanity Thrift store and when I walked in- there it was gleaming in the florescent light.  Another globe for a whopping $6.50.  I've been on the lookout for another globe lately because of a project that I've been wanting to do.   So, my bloggy friends- feast your eyes on this-

Not my actual globe.  Mine's still drying and I'm too impatient to wait and take the picture before I post.

It's a chalkboard globe!   I took home my $6.50 globe, purchased my 4 dollar spray can of chrome Krylon along with my 5 dollar spray can of chalkboard paint, and Ta-daaah I am now the proud owner of the coolest thing I've made this year.

Things I have made recently

Every so often, I get a very very strong conviction.  Something deep inside tugs at my heart strings and I know right then and there that I will not be content until...I...bake...something.

So whenever this feeling comes along (oft'times at 9 or 10 o'clock at night) I go to my favorite website www.foodgawker.com and I look up a recipe for whatever strikes my fancy.

Cookies?  Why not!  Double layer cakes?  Child's play!   Muffins?  You betcha!

But my latest endeavors have usually been cupcakes. So for tonight's post, I have decided to just post pictures of what I've been trying out lately, and hopefully inspiring you to bake something as well. 

Chocolate Sea Salt and Caramel Cupcakes

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Wherever you are...There you are.

I opened up the old blog just for the heck of it.  Knowing where you're coming from is half the battle of preparing for your future, but I just wondered...what about knowing where you are now and in the past recent months?

Where I am right now isn't where I was 6 months ago.  But it's also not where I'm going to be 6 months from now.  It's just here.  In the middle.    It's always so weird to be living right in the middle of your life.  I remember having that thought in Peru.   When you're at that point where you're somewhat comfortable with your surroundings, but at the same time, you're very aware that your surroundings aren't completely comfortable yet.

I'm definitely in a transition period right now.   Still transitioning to the states (though not nearly as much as before) getting ready to transition into marriage, into a completely new life.   And I'm just fine with that transition.  Just interested to know where and how exactly I'm transitioning.


There's at least one time every couple of weeks that I just stop and think..."What am I doing here?  I mean...I know I'm here, and I know I've got this life here, but really...what am I doing?'

Should I be doing more? Should I be doing less? Should I be doing different? Should I do the same?  It's sort of a feeling of walking through a corn maze...or any maze for that matter.  You can get in there, and you know your basic goal is to get to the end.  You have all the supposed tools you need (i.e. your feet to walk) and all you have to do is find your way out.  So you start, and you know as long as you keep walking, you're not really messing up the process.   But the more turns you take, the more lost you get, the more time you spend in the maze, you begin to realize..you know what? There's not really a logical way that I can find my way out.  There's no knowledge or strength that I can rely on to get me out of here faster.  All I can do is not make the same wrong turns twice.

But for all intents and purposes, you're walking blindly.  All you can do is keeping walking and hope the victory of finding the end comes sooner rather than later.

So...Here I am.

Time is flying...can it go a little faster?

So here it is, the middle of February and the world is still turning.  I'm not going to lie, I just want to be done with this year, onto the next and stop living so darn far away from Jamesson!

I believe it was the late John Lennon who said "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Well John....I can't argue with that, but it doesn't mean I like it. 

Jamesson and I will be beginning the long process of getting him here to the states, and hopefully getting married by Spring of next year.  I know that this year apart will be necessary for preparations and to save up for beginning the next chapter in our lives, but still.  I'm good about not making rash decisions and thinking things through.  Once I make a decision, however, I'm not good at being patient for things to fall into place.  I figure if I spent so much time at the outset to think things through, I shouldn't have to wait.  Come on!  Let's pick up the pace, life!

Well, in any case, we still have a long road ahead of us before we can actually get married, and I guess I'll just be patient until that day gets here.

Once Upon a Time, a Gringa Went to Peru...

So as Facebook may or may not have been the first to tell you, Jamesson and I are engaged (insert multiple gasps and thunderous applause). 

I wish that we could call each of you to tell you all the details, but alas, that is not the way of society these days.  We will however take this opportunity to share with you all our story.

Jamesson and I met at the San Agustin Language Institute in Trujillo, Peru.  Jamesson was a student and I was teaching a different class, though I eventually ended up teaching his class for a few months too.  We were friends over the course of about a year before I found out that Jamesson liked me.  He likes to tell me that he knew right away when he saw me at SALI.  I don't like to admit it, but I was a bit more skiddish about the whole love thing, and actually turned him down 3 times before I finally figured out that I really wanted to date him. 

We began dating July of 2009 and enjoyed our time together in Peru until April of 2010, when unfortunately I had to return to the United States in order to pay off student loans that were starting to catch up with me.  We said goodbye knowing that we weren't breaking up, but not knowing exactly what the future would hold for us.  We began a (very) long distance relationship, and with our eternal gratitude to modern forms of communication were able to talk everyday.   Over time and 5,000 miles apart, things became very clear that we were heading towards a life that couldn't be lived on different continents.  Marriage became our clear direction. 

I bought a plane ticket to Peru for Christmas and New Years and though our time together on this trip has been short, it certainly was long enough for Jamesson to squeeze in a proposal!  Jamesson had been dropping hints that a ring was on it's way, but that it might not be ready yet because it's a ring that's been made by hand so it wouldn't be ready by new years.  Ok, ok.  I was disappointed, but would try to have fun that night anyway.  On December 31st, we attended a party with our friends from church and rang in the new year in true Peruvian style- Fireworks, loud whistles, silly string, and crazy hats.  At midnight, we were greeting everyone, eating grapes (it's a Peruvian tradition) and having fun when Jamesson led me to the outdoor patio.   Our friend Julie slyly crept out when we did with a camera in hand and I knew before he said anything what was happening.  He kept the proposal short and sweet by saying- Sorry I put you through a rough time by saying the ring wasn't ready, but Gillian- Will you marry me?   And I of course said Yes as he put the ring on my finger.



We finished the night/morning celebrating with friends and family and having a great time!   Our wedding will still be pretty far in the future (August 2012) to give us time to apply for the visas to get Jamesson up to the States, but we're so happy and content to know what we're heading towards.   We want to say thank you to all of our friends and family who supported and encouraged us while we were dating and of course now to everyone as we get ready for marriage!