Hong Kong - Aug 16

 

Hi Everyone,

 

I made it to Hong Kong.  I took the above picture with my phone as we were landing, it isn't the greatest since the wing is in the way and it's blurry.  But you can see that Hong Kong looks very fun lit up at night.

 

Some quick observations...

 

They shouldn't serve things like broccoli, or cabbage, or beans on planes.  Enough said.

 

They take their avian flu concerns very seriously here.  If you even looked or sounded ill, you were quickly shepherded towards one of many temperature check stations.  I did my best to look very healthy as I didn't want to get stuck in quarantine.

 

The customs officers are quite pleasant, but super picky.  They wanted to know why there was crisscross marking on my passport.  You know like the kind of indentation you might get if you had written on a paper on top of your passport?  They let me in anyway, but let this be a lesson to you...don't write on top of your passport.

 

The 50 dollar pair of compression socks I bought seem to have helped a bit with my swollen ankle problem I get when I fly.  So I guess that was a good purchase.

 

It is humid here people.  Like really humid. 

 

Also, I left my brand new Ralph Lauren black sweatshirt on the cab, and it wasn't cheap, and I doubt I will ever see it again.  So that was sad.

 

My hotel is fantastic.  But my hair tools do not fit into the Hong Kong adapters.  You know how our plugs sometimes have one prong that is slightly wider?  Well, the Hong Kong adapters don't like that slightly wider prong.  Believe me I spent some time trying to force it in.   Whatever.  So...I couldn't do my hair today.   Which is ok, since I am sure I will be dripping wet as soon as I step foot outside, but still, one always likes to approach their day at their very best.  This doesn't seem to be a problem with the mainland China adapters, so I will attempt to do my hair for work for the next 2 weeks.  We shall see how long that lasts.

 

The breakfast buffet was really great.  Asians sure do like their buffets.   There was American style food, Japanese style food, and Chinese style food.  I stuck with American mostly.  But I did try a few Chinese dishes.  Some dim sums, since Hong Kong is supposedly famous for Dim Sum.   And Congee....see below.  It is very like grits, which I love.  From Wikipedia - Congee or conjee is a type of rice porridge or gruel popular in many Asian countries.  Mine had kidney beans in it today, another plus as I love kidney beans.

 

 

Diet Coke is gross here.  It's the sweetener they use.  I have found this in Eastern Europe as well.

 

That is all for now.  I have a driver picking me up in an hour to take me to mainland China. 

 

 

 

The Twelve Days of Thanksgiving - Day Eight

 

(picture borrowed from foodnetwork.com)

 

 

Tonight I made Lemony Shrimp Risotto for dinner (from scratch), and it was so delicious.

 

 

So today I am grateful for tasty food and the ability to create it.

Gratitude Month - Pinterest

Today I am grateful for Pinterest.

 

Let me tell you why.

 

It has widened my horizons.

 

I have tried probably 50 new recipes since joining Pinterest.

 

I have the world's cleanest looking caulk in my bathroom.

 

My mattress is all fresh and supposedly dust mite and bed bug free.

 

I learned how to make a few crafts.

 

I get inspirations on how to build different outfits.

 

I found ideas on gifts to get for people.

 

I have been inspired by quotes.

 

And awestruck by beautiful pictures of far off destinations.

 

The possibilities seem to be endless.

 

Here is proof of my Pinterest love.

 

I made no-knead bread in my Le Creuset yesterday.

 

And it is seriously sooooo tasty.   The crust is amazing.   Just as good as any artisan bread you would pay 4 or 5 dollars for at your local bakery.

 

In the interest of full disclosure though, I should have let it bake a little longer so it was a little more golden, but I couldn't wait.

 

Also, my store was out of yeast (weird, right?), so I had to buy what they had and it was yeast specifically for Pizza Crust.  In fact it said on the side, "not advised for bread making".  But I was tired and didn't want to drive to another store, so I bought it anyway.   It seemed to work just fine.  But I will probably try the recipe again with normal yeast at some point, just to see if there is a difference.

 

Simply So Good:  Crusty Bread

 

 

 

I also made this....

 

Crockpot Swiss Chicken Casserole

 

...but I used medium and sharp cheddar sheese instead, because I don't like swiss cheese. 

 

 

And before you mention that I lived in Switzerland for a year and half and so that it is weird that I don't like swiss cheese, let me just tell you american swiss cheese is nothing like what they sell in Switzerland.

Christmas Cheer - Day Nineteen

Today's Christmas Cheer post is a little DIY tutorial on making the world's easiest Christmas treats (thanks for the recipe Mom).

You just need three ingredients.

Snyders of Hanover square pretzels. Rolos. Pecans.

The pictures are pretty self explanatory, so I will just say - 300 degrees for 4-5 minutes. Then if you want you can cool them down in the freezer until they set... or not. Just do whatever the mood strikes you to do. See....it's that easy.

Smoosh the pecan into the Rolo.

Then give them away before you eat them all.

I was able to make 60 (would have been 62, but I ate 2 of the Rolos) of these with one bag of Rolos.

Note: In the spirit of full disclosure, after taking the third picture, I decided to take all the nuts off and roast them first. I also baked the pretzels and the rolos without the nuts first.

Here is a lovely Christmas Tune to start off your week.

Gratitude Month - Tiny Cupcakes

Today I am grateful for tiny cupcakes.

Don't get me wrong I DO enjoy working with the kids at church. But there are days when I just want to give up. Today was one of those days. They were out of control today. After 2 hours I just deeply with every fiber of my being wanted to walk into the Bishop's office and ask him to give me another calling...either that or go home and take a nap. But instead I came home and had a tiny cupcake and somehow everything was alright.

Thank you So Cupcake for making these teensy little morsels of joy.

A few of my favorite things...Autumn

Yesterday I woke up to snow on the mountains and when I walked to the gym I could see my breath on the air. Ohh how I love Fall and the colder weather. I really do. But it would seem that 90 % of the people who live in Utah do not love cold weather like I do. I have heard nothing but complaints for the past 2 days. Almost as if everyone is suddenly surprised that it snows in Utah. Umm...people...it snows in Utah. If you don't like it, move somewhere warm. But I suppose that isn't very charitable of me.

Anyway, here are a few things I love about Autumn.

Storms...

Fall Leaves...

Honey Crisps...have you tried these apples? They are like eating candy. I kid you not. I was so happy when I went to the store last weekend and saw the first shipment of Honey Crisps for the season.


Fall TV...New and Old....

Are you watching this?


Or this?

Or this?

Or this?

You should be.

Oscar worthy Film....

Have you seen this yet?

Or this?

I highly recommend.

Halloween...and Halloween Decor

I love my new Villains!

Happy Fall everyone!!!

Lent

So...I know I am not Catholic, but I think the tradition of giving up a vice for Lent is a pretty cool thing. I decided today that I would give up swearing, and then within an hour of that I had said about 3 swear words. So I scrapped that idea and decided to give up something that is truly a problem for me. And that is my fruit punch flavored Welch's Fruit Snacks addiction. I am serious like a heart attack about this too. I calculated the other day that my fruit snacks addiction may have surpassed my Diet Coke addiction in terms of money spent per week. Disgraceful I tell you. So you heard it here first...for the next 40 days I will refrain from purchasing (even if they are on sale) or eating Welch's Fruit Snacks.

On a more serious note...I read this about Lent on Wikipedia today.


"There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbour). Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations.[9]"

I didn't actually know about the other two acts of penance - prayer and almsgiving. But it sounds so nice to me that I think I will incorporate all three into my life for the next 40 days.

How about you?

Hawaii Salad?

Hello Friends! As many of you know I am in the Czech Republic for the next week or so. Mostly we get up early and go to work and then come home late. So I haven't seen much in the daylight yet...hence the need to "borrow" a few pics from the interwebs.

The town I am in is named Brno. It is the second largest city in the Czech Republic (which isn't saying much) and one of the oldest. It is geographically located in between the regions known as Moravia and Bohemia. Apparently there is a nice Moravian restaurant by the hotel, I would enjoy trying that out, I am not sure what Moravian food is like. If it is anything like the salad we had in the cafeteria at lunch today though, I think I should pass. Bless their hearts but the cafeteria workers seem like they don't know that the "Velvet Revolution" has occurred and that we are no longer in an Eastern Bloc country. Today we were served a salad called "Hawaii Salad" which consisted of slices of ham, mushy tomatoes, canned pineapple, and a ginormous load of creamy/sweet salad dressing. The state of Hawaii should sue for defamation or something, because that salad was naaaasssssttttyyyy.

Old town Brno...with St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral in the distance.

The Comsa Hotel. This is where we are staying. It is very nice.

View from my room.

Some pics of the room. They are a little blurry.

Brno shopping district and trams.

This sweatshirt is for sale in the store kitty corner to my hotel. Fancy that.

More old town Brno.

I am too tired to try and group my pictures together intuitively, so here are some more hotel pics.

It took me a while to figure out I needed to put my room key card in this little cubby in order for the lights to work.

The inner courtyard of the hotel. I am on the 4th floor and all they have is a glass elevator. I didn't need my Xanax on the flight over, but I feel like I need one each time I get in that darned glass death trap.

More to come later I hope.

As they say in the Czech Republic...

...Dobrou noc!

Baked Eggs, Olympic Posters, and Christmas Trees

So...for some reason I felt the need to do my own cooking segment, just like all the other bloggers do. For my very first cooking tutorial I give you...baked eggs. I know weird, right? They were delicious though I promise.

The Ingredients:

Olive Oil

Shallots

Eggs

Salt and Pepper

Cream

Butter

Chives

Feta Cheese

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

Drizzle some olive oil in a ramekin.

Finely dice a small shallot and add to dish.

Crack one or two eggs into dish. Do not whisk.

Salt and Pepper.

Add a splash of cream. Probably a little less than pictured below, I got a little excited.

Add a dollop of butter.

Place ramekin in on a tray in a water bath and pop in oven for approx. 20 minutes (or until you are comfortable with the consistency of your egg whites and yolks, I like mine firm.)

After the eggs are cooked. Add some chopped chives and crumbles of Feta cheese. Then enjoy.

Tonight I made Cornish Game Hens, but I can't decide if this recipe blogging thing is for me or not. It was fun to try though.

Next on the agenda....

I finally hung my Olympic posters. This was no easy feat I must say. But I will take care of all the nail holes when I move out. :) Also pictured my new futon. In case any of you are thinking of visiting, I can attest that it is quite comfy.

And how could I go through December without showing my Christmas tree? Here are two shots, I am sorry that they are blurry, but trust me it is a beaut. And it smells so lovely. Freshest one I have had yet.

And finally, I leave you with a video of what might be my favorite Christmas song. You have to wade through an Ad and some chit chat before they actually start to sing, but it is worth it.

Summer Obsessions

Normally I don't drink smoothies, or milk shakes, or Jamba Juices. I tend to be strictly a Diet Coke and Water (not together) kind of gal. But I can't get enough of these Strawberry/Banana smoothies at McDonalds this Summer.

My new favorite place to eat, and it's in Provo. I know...shocking, right? Provo actually has fine dining. Last time I went I had home made smores for dessert. Oh my goodness, I am almost tempted to learn how to make marshmellows myself.

My 2 favorite movies this Summer. Inception and Toy Story 3.

Inception is a cool kids kind of movie. Smart, imaginative, thought provoking.

Toy Story 3 is just sweet.

Mad Men is some of the best written TV I have ever seen. And Don Draper is not difficult to look at.

I love, love, love Muse.

And I love, love, love this little guy. With those sweet, chubby, pinchable cheeks. My baby nephew Samuel. Isn't he a love?