Enjablog

So many parties today. No time for year-end recaps or resolutions. Maybe next week.

Gotta get back to preparations! :) -j.

Went shopping on Monday for miscellaneous items. Finally bought some scissors so I can cut things, picked out a water cooler to copy Sonny, and got a neat little vacuum cleaner to complement the As Seen on TV Swivel Sweeper he got for us. Also looked around for a couple furniture items, but the prices were outrageous so we decided to keep looking and go back to our roots (a.k.a. check the internet).

Spent the rest of my waking hours playing Animal Crossing. That’s all I have to say about that.

Christmas started out pretty early. Got up to finish the cake, opened presents with Ian, then wrapped the last of our presents before heading over to my parents’ house for second Christmas. Ian and I arrived at the same time Sonny did and we headed in with armloads of pretty packages. My granny was very excited about our arrival and decided to start eating right away.

Made some phone calls around to check on when the other siblings would arrive and just hung out for a bit. I was pleasantly surprised when our local relatives showed up. I had asked them at the re-reception if they were going to come over like they did last year, but they weren’t sure of their plans yet and I never got around to following up. Soon, the house was filled with people, food, and lesbians on tv (they are, of course, what you would have gotten on the 13th day of Christmas).

Around early afternoon, the relatives headed back home in the Christmas rain, and my family did our gift exchange thing. Ian and I got a bunch of nice housewarming stuff, so now we’ll definitely be ready to host a party next weekend! We had family bonding time reading Christmas cards before Ian and I had to leave for third Christmas.

Stopped at home to pick up cake, switch cars, and grab some miscellaneous items, then went over to Sonny’s place to shop for a last-minute white elephant present. Ian picked out a re-gifted white elephant present that one of Sonny’s friends won at a recent party. Wrapped it by putting it in a bag and throwing some months-old comics “tissue paper” on top.

We arrived just in time for the festivities. I got a chance to catch up with some of Ian’s cousins before dinner. After everyone was stuffed, we watched some football and a video of their church Christmas Pageant. Then, it was time for the gift exchange.

I think I mentioned this around Thanksgiving, but Ian’s family tends to ask me a lot about my culture when I see them. Specifically, his grandmother likes to ask me where I am from and what my family eats. She was much better this time, asking only if my family had a large Christmas celebration. That seemed like a very fair question to ask, so I didn’t get a chance to tell her about the dragon with black bean sauce or the tofunicorn.

In any case, the present that I brought was to poke fun at this culture shock his family seems to experience around me. I thought I was so clever with my white elephant* present, but only a couple people got the joke. It got stolen a couple times though, so I guess people liked it. I was hoping to win it myself so I could bring it back next year and start a silly tradition in his family, but I ended up getting something even awesomer: a set of silicone bakeware pans – loaf pan, muffin pan, and round cake pan.

After the party broke up, we headed home for some down time. I checked on my town, fished some, and shook some trees. It was hard work.

*

Thursday night, Ted had a little get-together at Olive Garden. I met a few new people and saw Mindless again. Friday night was date night with Ian. We got to go to Sweetwater Tavern, which we haven’t done in a while (thanks to Jas!). Afterward, we headed over to watch King Kong. So scary, but good. I won’t say anything else to ruin the story, except for this: there is a large ape who fights dinosaurs. How could this movie not be awesome?

Saturday was filled with baking! I hung out with Ian’s family for the majority of the day baking festive holiday cookies. There were almond tree cookies, rolled sugar cookies (snowpeople, reindeer, trees, holly, stars, candles, candy canes, Santa mail, ornaments, bells, and Bilbo dogs), Danish crullers, and rum balls. They also decided this was the year to make triple batches instead of their traditional double batch. It was so exciting!

After we finished up for the evening, Ian and I headed home to bake a cake for his family’s Christmas. I, of course, didn’t plan for it, so we had to go on an adventure finding a store that was open. No grocery stores were left open, so I couldn’t get box cake or frosting, so I had to resort to making stuff from scratch. We did luck out and found ice cream at the CVS near us, though.

I got to use my brand new Betty Crocker Bake ‘n Fill from Squidgey and created an ornament ice cream cake with a sugar cookie candy cane for a hook. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of it, but it got an awesome response, so I’ll be sure to take a picture next time. It was a butter cake filled with mint chocolate chip ice cream, green frosting on the outside, and decorated with Hershey’s hugs and kisses.

Butter Cake
INGREDIENTS:
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 cup white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 8 inch square baking pan. Line bottom with wax paper or dust lightly with flour.
2. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
3. Cream the butter and blend in the white sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Stir until just blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 to 55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from pan and allow it to cool.
5. Variation: Blueberry Cake; Add 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg to your dry ingredients and stir in 1 cup fresh blueberries into the batter before you bake it. Cut it into squares while it is still hot.

Note: For dome cake, 1.5 recipe and follow baking instructrions from booklet.

Frosting (modified)
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
food coloring, if desired

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine ingredients in medium bowl.
2. Mix with fork or mixer.

Note: combine with fork until most of the sugar is moist before using mixer. Add more milk as necessary

So much going on… where to start…

Friday, I did my follow-up with the optometrist and ordered my new contacts. Slightly closer to blind than I have been for the past 4 years, but still doing alright. Dropped by the parents’ with Ian to have lunch with my parents and granny after that. Had to cut the visit short so I could get to my doctor’s appointment on time.

So, I had a sleep study done last Monday. Had an adventure getting to the hospital, but once I got there, it all went smoothly. I was greeted by a technician who introduced himself to me and said, “I’m going to watch you sleep tonight.” I assumed the creepiness in his tone was ironic.

I filled out some paperwork and read for a little while before he started putting electrodes on me: one on my forehead, one on each temple (to monitor my eye movement), one on my right cheek (to check if I grind my teeth), two on my chest, six on the back of my head, and one on each leg (restless leg syndrome). In addition to all that, there were two straps on my torso and a two-pronged sensor for my nostrils to monitor my breathing and a microphone on my neck to record snoring.

It took about 20-30 minutes to set all this up, everything stuck on with conductive goo. I was gorgeous, I assure you. After this was all gooed onto me, with wires coming out of every one of the sensors, I was brought to the bed, had a temperature gauge taped to my finger (with another wire hanging off, of course), and told to go to sleep. You’d think it’d be difficult with all that stuff on me, but no. I slept soundly and was woken up shortly after 5am and sent home.

Fast-forward to Friday. The people at the sleep clinic weren’t allowed to tell me anything about my results, so my doctor’s office made an appointment with me to discuss the results. Apparently, I’m an awesome sleeper! I’m 98% efficient and the only thing bringing down my efficiency is that I’m a shallow breather. My sleep cycles are right where they should be and I stay in the different stages for as long as I should.

I eat well, exercise, and am at a healthy weight. I’m young and don’t get sick often. The blood work that was done last year confirmed that I don’t have a thyroid problem or other common ailments that cause fatigue. There is nothing wrong with me.

They drew blood again to run some more tests – lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, Epstein-Barr (mono), folate deficiency, and some other deficiencies. Other concerns: ADHD, depression, and narcolepsy. I don’t think it’s lyme disease because I don’t go anywhere that bugs are; I got mono over 3 years ago, but I was tired well before I got that; I eat cereal or other enriched breakfast-y food every day, so it’s unlikely to be folate deficiency; I’ve been taking a multi-vitamin sporadically, but I never notice a difference between days I take it or not, so I’m skeptical.

Anyway, the current solution: Amphetamine with Dextroamphetamine, a.k.a. Adderall.

SIDE EFFECTS:
This medication causes dizziness and can affect alertness. Use caution driving or operating machinery while taking this medication.

Controlled substances: It’s a Christmas miracle!

And happy Hanukkah!

Now for the annual story-telling:
On Christmas night, Santa is in a superposition of quantum states, smeared out all the way around the planet, and each quantum state delivers presents to a single child. This explains why it is so important that children are asleep, because if just one child sees Santa, he immediately collapses into a single state, in accordance with Heisenberg. This would mean that no other children would receive presents that Christmas. This theory elegantly avoids all the flaws in the conventional theory. The only problem is that you will have to explain quantum theory to your children before you tell them about Santa.

Sean Smeltzer, Croydon, Surrey, New Scientist, January 16, 1999

Hung out with Mindless on Tuesday for pre-Friendmas. Watched some Jeopardy!, caught up on gossips, played some Sorry Card Revenge and Bop-It, and traded presents. Ian spotted some Star Wars Pez dispensers when we were out a couple weekends ago. We, of course, immediately thought of Mindless. He got us a classy housewarming present: an ottomon. It’s nice and suede-y on the outside and the top comes off so you can hide stuff inside. Maybe I’ll hide my cookies in there. I guess that’s a bad idea now that I’ve told everyone.

Went over to the castle last night before Friendmas adventures. Caused a ruckus with my parents and then jetted out. Picked up Ian from the metro, stopped by Sonny’s place to pick up presents, and then to the HOY! Brought over a bunch of boxes so my sister can evict her roommies, some cookies, and presents.

So, let’s see… Ian, my sis, Squidgey, Jas, Crit, and Bracken were all there. I got a bunch of awesome presents and I’d like to think I did a pretty good job this year of finding things people wanted. I will, of course, spend my entire weekend playing Animal Crossing on my shiney, new Nintendo DS! (I suspect there may have been some scheming going on…) It was so exciting. I’ve never even owned a video game before. Now I can play anywhere I go, whenever I want! And I can use the power of the intarweb to visit my sister’s and Squidgey’s villages. So, uh… expect fewer updates in the near future. ;)

Other themes for the night: books, DVDs, and boozahol. So much fun and so many cookies. :)

QOTD from Fortune Cookie: “You will be successful in everything.”

Friendmas is tonight! 9pm at the HOY if you are a friend. I’m bringing cookies and there are rumors of eggnog. :)

Raspberry and Almond Shortbread Thumbprints
Original recipe yield: 3 dozen.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 cup butter, softened
* 2/3 cup white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

* 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
* 1 teaspoon milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and white sugar until smooth. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Mix in flour until dough comes together. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Make a small hole in the center of each ball, using your thumb and finger, and fill the hole with preserves.
3. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the confectioners’ sugar, 3/4 teaspoon almond extract, and milk until smooth. Drizzle lightly over warm cookies.

Note: Cookies expand a little, so make smaller (1″) cookies in order to yield 3 dozen. Used strawberry preserves on half and hershey kisses/hugs on others. The preserves I used didn’t melt/spread as much as the cookie dough, so the thumbprint could be slightly more than just filled without overflowing. Bake dough balls for the kisses and take them out 2 minutes before done, put in kisses, and then bake for remaining time. Hugs have a lower melting point, so shouldn’t be left in as long.

Washington Regional Alcohol Program, Programs & Activities:

WRAP’s SoberRide provides a free cab ride home up to a $50 fare.
Callers are financially responsible for anything over $50.

You must be 21 or older to use the SoberRide service. All calls must originate in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; the Cities of Rockville, Bowie, College Park, Gaithersburg, Greenbelt and Takoma Park in Maryland; the District of Columbia; Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William and Eastern Loudoun Counties in Virginia; and the Cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Manassas and Manassas Park in Virginia.

You cannot reserve a SoberRide or schedule a pickup in advance. To receive a ride, you must call 1-800-200-8294 (TAXI) or #8294 (TAXI) on your Cingular telephone during the program hours. A SoberRide call operator will direct your request to the correct participating cab company.

Just FYI, in case you might be going to a New Year’s Eve party or something…

So the green cake I made this weekend went over alright. They could still recognize that it was cake. Responses were luke warm to positive and they said it tasted like pear. I don’t know what to do about that… but that’s what they said.

Raspberry Cake (Strawberries and Cream modified)

2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/4 cups white sugar
1 (3 ounce) package raspberry flavored gelatin
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup raspberries, pureed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 9″x13″ cake pan.
In a large bowl, beat sugar, gelatin and butter until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Mix flour and baking powder, and beat alternately with the milk into the sugar mixture. Fold in vanilla and pureed raspberries. Pour into cake pan.
Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from pan and cool completely.

Note: “Wild berry” Jell-o is blue. When mixed with eggs, cake turns green. Go science!

P.S. Happy birthday, eepie! :)

Went to NY for my brother’s re-reception yesterday. Sonny has a better update, but in summary: big banquet thing, FAPWAD (Find A Place Without Any Directions) NY style, and then the fartiest ride home.

Off to run errands. Hopefully, I’ll have a better update later. :) -j.

Um… So, I discovered today that wild berry Jell-O is not the same as raspberry Jell-O. More specifically, wild berries, when mixed in cake batter, is green and raspberry, when mixed in cake batter, is red. Anyway, baked a “cake” for my cousin’s birthday and it came out unexpectedly Christmas-colored. Woo!

Went to Ian’s office Christmas party last night at Utopia. Never been there before, but it seems like a pretty cool place. Good food and lots of boozahol. Hung out for a couple hours before heading home.

Not much going on recently. Getting settled into new life, wrapping Christmas presents, looking for scissors, making lists of things we need (plastic wrap, soap, ketchup, etc.), and being lazy.

Had our first dinner guests last Sunday. Ian’s family came over for their Sunday dinner thing. His brother made lasagna and we made cake. Yeah, so we didn’t actually do the dinner part, but we invited the people. That counts, right?

So the latest gossips: I heard from my mom, who heard from her sister-in-law, who heard from her daughter, who heard from her mother-in-law, who heard from her son that Ian and I are getting married next year! Why am I always the last to find out about stuff? So, I guess… congratulations to us.

QOTD: “So what does your family eat?”
“Oh, normal stuff… white rice, chicken with soy sauce, dragon and broccoli, and on special occasions we’ll have unicorn, usually with tofu (I like to call it tofunicorn).”

Happy birthday, Dorothy! :)
Happy birthday, Steph! :)

Woo! Pictures, finally! :)

The foyer… and more.