Food Exchange

I am excited for Thanksgiving. I am roasting my very first Turkey and making gravy and cranberry sauce from scratch.

I love experimenting in the Kitchen. I get bored so easily with making the same old menu items. I think experimenting with new foods is my way of introducing adventure and self-expression into everyday life.

I've been having fun lately with Middle Eastern Flavored Dishes. I am drawn to them particularly because they have so much flavor and nutrition.

Z is sick, so we won't be having our neighbors over for Thanksgiving like planned. Instead we are going to do a food exchange, making all the same dishes we divvied up in the first place and exchanging portions of them. Not ideal, but Z has a virus and they have a newborn so what do you do? This way we'll all still have a good meal.

I deleted all my sidebar info. Not purposefully, but I don't know anything about html and I either had to keep the last template (which I did not like) or erase my stuff. I suppose it's motivation to get a new blog. I've been thinking about that for ages, we'll see if it ever happens.

6 Years...

I had a fantastic Anniversary celebration recently. Hubby did so good. He hates surprises and I love them. Let me re-phrase that. He hates surprises when he knows that a surprise is coming. When he doesn't know it's coming, he loves it.

So what usually ends up happening is; I surprise him all the time and he surprises me...never. Even when he has previously tried to surprise me and he has made really great efforts, something always happens to ruin it.

So this year I told him it was his turn to plan something for us to do. He kept it a secret until the morning of and told me that we were going to a very chic restaurant and then hiking up to some hot springs. I thought that sounded fun and he did keep it a secret until the day of.

That night after an incredible dinner, we started walking downtown chatting away. I thought it was strange to be walking downtown, but I just said "I assume you know where you're going." Then he said "Well, it's kinda cold for the hot springs don't you thing? Would you be mad if we didn't go?" I told him that was okay and asked him what he wanted to do instead. He said "Oh, I don't know, I wonder what these people are doing" referring to a crowd gathering near the town hall, "Maybe we could do whatever they're doing."

I looked up and in a split-second a bunch of tiny little thoughts pieced together perfectly and I realized that he did it! He finally, really, truly surprised me! He had planned all along to take me on the City Ghost Tour, which was something I really wanted to do, but didn't think we ever could because it's too late for Z. I was so pleased with his surprise and so proud that he actually pulled it off!

Inspired by a friend who recently had her anniversary, I wanted to post some photos.This first one was one of our engagement photos. (by Brenda Manookin)

This was one of my fun Bridals. I did have a more normal photo taken in my dress by Brent's sister, and it was gorgeous, but other than a few low-quality scans, I lost all her pics when our computer crashed a few years ago. (by Brenda Manookin)
(by Emily Daley)
The morning outside the Temple. (by Emily Daley)
The museum where we had our reception. (by Brenda Manookin)
I Loved our cake! (by Brenda Manookin)
It's just a snapshot, but I love this photo of my father and I. (by Karen Stauffer)
(by Karen Stauffer)
(by Brenda Manookin)

Same Page

In Church yesterday, one of the speakers started off by telling a little about themselves and their history. Their family had lived in Norway, Germany, Italy, England, South Korea and six different states. (and I think I even missed a country) Brent and I were stunned and simultaneously whispered "Wow" to each other. Then Brent added "I am so jealous". I nodded with a smile and whispered "And I so married the right man."

Later that night, the speakers of the day came up again and Brent said "I want to live out of the country again so badly I can hardly stand it." Hearing him say that was like music to my ears. I think somehow it makes me feel better knowing that he shares the exact same sentiment on the subject that I do and that it is not just me somehow dragging him along. Not that I ever thought it was, but it's just good to know that we are on the same page. Exactly the same page.

My family moved a great deal when I was younger and I remember being envious of people who had lived in the same house their whole life, grown-up with the same people. They never had to worry about saying goodbye and leaving people behind. They never had to worry about being the new kid and making new friends. They could walk around their home and be in the same place where so many, many memories were made. What a wonderful thing that would be. I think about my life and in some ways I envy those who have now what I envied then. It would be nice to be settled. To not have to worry about what's happening next. To have a yard! There are many reasons why that would be so nice. And I am certain that if that was the path our lives had taken I would be happy about all of those things and we would be content as a family because we were together.

At the same time however, when I really think about it, I can also see living life on that road as extremely challenging for me. I think at times I would be downright miserable because of it. At this point in my life I find that I thrive on adventure and change. Three years sounds like the perfect amount of time to live in one place. I love meeting new people and I think exploring a place I've never been might just be my favorite thing in the whole wide world. I too want to live outside the country again so badly I can hardly stand it. I'm sure a time will come when I am fed up and just want to settle down, but I hope that until that time comes we can stay on a path in life that leads us to many different places and many different people.