A Fisher out of Water: November 2010

Monday, November 29, 2010

Thanksgiving, part II

My sister keeps pointing out to me that if I do a part I, I need to do a part II. So Sarah's OCD, this is for you!

There are many things that need to be done the day before Thanksgiving. (As I learned a few years ago, going to Costco should NOT be one of them.) For me, it meant cooking some delightful side dishes. We'd been invited to spend Thanksgiving with our friends, the Griffiths, whom we met in Beijing and then rented a cottage from during law school. Now they're living in Virginia, and... so are we! So they invited us out for the holiday, and we had a great time. Holidays are mostly about spending time with people you love, and I am thankful for dear friends.

I took pictures of the food I made, but I generally forget to take pictures if I'm having fun. So no pictures were taken during the actual Thanksgiving feast.

Behold, cranberry sauce:

I made it from real-live cranberries. It makes me feel so rustic. I'm practically a Puritan! I added a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and a handful of blueberries, making it hands-down the best cranberry sauce I've ever had. (I might be biased.)

And then I made a pie. Safeway helped me decide what kind of fruit to use by stocking frozen peaches and blueberries in their freezers. Thank you, Safeway, you make a marvelous pie! Well, I've never liked pie crust, so instead of making a top crust to double the stuff I just throw away anyway, I put a streusel topping like on an apple crisp. It was amazing!

It might have been prettier if it hadn't bubbled over, but we didn't complain too much.

Voila:

Our evening at the Griffiths' was marvelous. Each family has their own take on the Thanksgiving classics, and their stuffing was fantastic!

Taking Penny to friends' houses is always risky. We never know if she'll be docile and just enjoy the spectacle of being in a new place or if she'll get bored and start rooting through other people's things. She was a little bit of both on Thanksgiving, until she got settled with Andrea and watched the entire movie of "The Never-Ending Story." I have kind of mixed feelings about her attention span lasting so long as to watch an entire never-ending movie. She's well on her way to becoming a major couch potato.

I was happy to hear that the little cottage is doing well. They've planted more fruit trees, redirected the driveway, hooked up to the sewer system, and generally made progress on the place. And everything that was watered by the drip-line is still thriving and doing wonderfully. I'm so happy that it is. I loved working on that yard, and it's good to know that the time I spend 7-months-pregnant finishing that stupid drip line has actually paid off! Maybe someday I'll go visit my sister and stop by to have a look at the place.

So that was Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for friends. I'm thankful for family. I'm thankful for all the pie I got to eat. I am thankful for all I've been blessed with.

City Girl

Penny can't quite run yet, so she doesn't know she's missing out on frolicking in wide, open fields or twirling in the hills like on the Sound of Music. She sometimes does twirl a little bit. This, along with her raised eyebrows and emphatic nodding counts as her dancing. And we dance a lot in our apartment.

Since we live on the 8th floor-- and also because I have yet to find the stairwell leading from the main lobby to the parking garage-- we take the elevator several times a day. Remember when you were little, and the elevator was practically as exciting as a roller coaster? Your stomach would lurch at the top and the bottom, and for the whole duration of the ride, you'd wobble and move, feeling dizzy and trying not to fall over? Well, I'd kind of forgotten how fun it used to be, now that my mass takes a bit more force to lurch and sway. When Penny gets on the elevator, she's recently become scared of the little gap on the floor between the building's floor and the elevator's. She won't cross over it without holding someone's hand, and often not even then. Once on the elevator, when it starts to move, she bends her knees and stares at the floor. Sometimes she'll see that I'm leaning against the wall, so she'll mimic my same pose.

Our little city girl likes elevators, but she loves parking garages.

When we get off the elevator or out of the car into the garage, she starts yelling, "A! A!" You have to be careful not to be holding her right next to your ear. She has discovered the echo and loves playing with it! Kevin and I usually join in. I'm not sure what other people might think of us, but I'm not sure I care much, either.

Today we went down to our apartment's activity room for Kiddie Corner. We were the only ones this week, but it was a great experience. We learned that right under the coffee cups is a whole cupboard of toys just perfect for Penny to play with! Penny played happily, and I talked to a couple other adults who had shown up. We also found a dried Fig Newton in the coffee table book about horses. That may be a relic from our movie night down there on Saturday....

Penny does pretty well eating at restaurants. She rarely eats much, and sometimes she gets kind of restless. Once she starts squawking, though, it's usually because she's sick of sitting in her high chair, and once she's out, she happily plays and throws silverware on the ground. We don't go to fancy restaurants for some reason.

We put up our Christmas tree this weekend, and for some reason, the lower branches often find themselves denuded of ornaments. But the top is very pretty, and is where I put my cranberry garlands.

City life is an adjustment, but Penny has adjusted well.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving, part I

This year, Kevin, Penny, and I spent our Thanksgiving morning at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Penny was enthralled the whole time! At this rate, she could have a promising career ahead of her as a tour guide.

She really loved it. I loved the museum too, but my favorite part was watching Penny love it.

And this next picture is for Melanie and Katie. See that coral reef? It's crocheted! And it's huge! This is only a small portion. I think it's a great idea, but something you really can't put in your living room for display. But one of this size and magnitude definitely works in a museum.

And Kevin's favorite part was the gems and minerals. I loved that they had some out for kids to touch and play with.

And that's how we spent our morning on Thanksgiving.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Penny and her hat

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08jBP5gUHmY

Penny on Flag Day

Friday, November 19, 2010

Flag day

I know I ought to have taken a bunch of pictures, but I have this special talent of taking my camera places when its batteries are dead. So, let me describe what happened during flag day.

I met the fiance of one of Kevin's classmates in our apartment lobby to drive us all over there. But when I got down into the garage, I couldn't find my car keys, despite having double-checked before I left the apartment. I ripped through my purse and everywhere I could think of, but they just weren't anywhere to be found. I ran back up and searched my apartment. Same thing. I ran back downstairs and found that they hadn't magically reappeared, so I called Kevin. Maybe he could beam himself back and use his car key.

Or we could just take a cab, which is what Kevin suggested.

So we took a cab. The friend's fiance ended up paying for it because I didn't have cash (I know, I feel really awesome about the whole ting), but we did get there in time.

The basic gist of the meeting was that they would show a big flag on the screen, then announce the post and who would get sent there. My heart would skip a beat every time they would call the name of Kevin somebody. I think it was the most popular name in the class!

In this class of 75, there were 15 people going to various cities in Mexico, and I can't say I was very happy about any of those posts. I also wasn't terribly thrilled about many of the African posts. I'm sure many of those would actually be fine, but there is so much I don't know, and that makes me a bit timid about them.

Eventually, probably about 2/3 of the way through the class, they finally called Kevin (Fisher)'s name. And in May 2011, we'll be going to Shenyang, China! This was our top choice, and we are both very excited to be heading out there!

I really thought we would go somewhere else. See, Kevin isn't the only person in his class who speaks Mandarin, but this was the only post in China. It is a Facilities Management position, and that's not Kevin's area of expertise. But thank goodness for training opportunities. I can imagine it would be easier to learn to manage facilities than, for example, to be an economic analyst. Especially when your entire understanding of economics can be explained using a picture of a pie and a chart showing one person making shoes and another person making ladders.

So Shenyang, China. It's really far north and gets very cold in the winter. Actually, it is pretty cold all the time. You know those kids in China who wear about 6 layers of clothing? That will be us, all of us. They have an ice sculpture festival in Harbin, which is sort of in the same area. I'm just glad our baby will be born in the summer, not in the middle of the frigid fall, winter, and spring.

And our cats can't come with us to Shenyang. I think this means that, once and for all, we have to find a new home for them. It will be simpler in the long run, but that doesn't make it easier.

Thoughts on Flag Day

When Kevin started law school in 2006, we knew where we'd be living and what we'd be doing for the next 3 years or so. That's the last time we've had that luxury. But after today, we'll know where we'll be for the next 2-5 years. See, since Kevin speaks Chinese and used that skill to raise his scores and get hired sooner, he's obligated to use Chinese at one of his first two posts. Since there's only a tiny chance that he'll get sent to China this time, we're pretty sure that's where we'll go next time.
I'm excited about all our possibilities. But honestly, there are so many options that are each so entirely different, I'm a bit overwhelmed thinking abou them all. I'm happy that we find out today where we'll be going so I can just think about the one-- not all the "what ifs."
One of the biggest reasons I'm excited to know where we'll be in the future is that we'll be finding out where our next child will be born. The baby should be here about June 7th, and there are about a million places we could be at that point. Part of me thinks it would be best if we were still in DC. But on the other hand, moving around the world with a newborn and toddler would be pretty tough. If we are posted in a developing country with inadequate medical facilities, I'd go to a nearby first-world country to have the baby there. At least, that's my understanding. I'm sure each situation is different.
Well, this is an exciting day! Woo hoo!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

In DC

Back in 2006 Kevin and I lived in Beijing. But since then, we've lived in small towns, most recently White Rock, New Mexico. White Rock has two traffic lights, and during the night you can see all the stars in the galaxy. Since I grew up there, I know a lot of people everywhere I go. It's a good little town.

Now we're back to the big city. We live on the 8th story of a building, and our nighttime view consists of the neighboring buildings and their lights. The Reagan International Airport is a few miles away, so Penny is constantly pointing up at the sky (or ceiling), which is her sign for airplane. We're working on making sure Penny holds hands with us when we go out walking, and now after a couple days, she's complying a bit more.

It's a bit surreal being in Washington DC. I mean, in order to get to Costco, the directions include driving past Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon (as in, THE Pentagon), then turning left. And the whole time you can look across the Potomac and see the Washington Monument pointing up at the sky. It's pretty cool.

Today Penny and I took a walk around our neighborhood. Now, I've always heard that people on the East Coast are a lot more proper than in the west. But as I walked in my sweatshirt, jeans, and tennis shoes, I was quite aware that everyone I saw (Everyone, even the homeless people, I think) was wearing slacks, polished shoes, and an appropriate amount of makeup. I don't even have any makeup!

Also, there are no playgrounds around for Penny or other kids to play at. I looked at the map for parks, and there are a few around. Some are memorials for various things (the Berlin Wall coming down, etc), and others are just a tree or two with park benches for the homeless to hang out at during the day. Or in my judgmental eye, that's that they looked like. And then there are some vast empty lots surrounded by tall chain-link fences, but I'm not about to throw Penny over just so she can play in the weeds.

So I'm getting used to this city life again. We're planning on going to the National Zoo pretty soon while the weather holds up. We also want to go to some museums and fun stuff like that.

Tomorrow is Flag Day for Kevin's training class. That's where they have a little ceremony and find out where everyone is going for their first posts. Kevin is trying not to be stressed about it, and I have put off being stressed until later. We gave our preferences a couple weeks ago, and once we find out where we'll be going, there will be plenty to read, study, buy, and otherwise prepare for. No sense in doing any of that until tomorrow. For once, my procrastinating has paid off!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

To DC

Flying by myself (except for the baby, two cats, two suitcases, stroller, carry-on, and large diaper bag/bag of tricks) from one end of the country to the other, I was pretty sure that nothing would go wrong. After all, how hard could this be?

Imagine my shock when I arrive at Albuquerque's ticket counter (my mom helping me lug everything) and there's a problem: the cats. Despite being properly caged and prepped, they weren't going to be allowed on the plane. There's a minimum temperature requirement of 45 degrees, and in Albuquerque right then it was 42 degrees. Sorry, no can do. Plus, they told me, it was 31 degrees in Washington DC, so it just wasn't going to work out at all. (Hmmm... it may have been 31 degrees CENTIGRADE, but there is no way it was below freezing here. When wimpy-I got off the plane and followed Kevin through the parking lot, I had to take off my coat because it was too warm, i.e., not below freezing. Far from it.)

This makes me mad for several reasons. First, the only reason I paid to fly on stupid American Airlines definitely wasn't for their reasonable ticket prices or quality customer service. No, that's why I'd originally bought tickets on Southwest. But Southwest doesn't check cats, and I needed to find an airline that did. So I cancelled that ticket, paid twice as much for an American Airlines ticket, and then paid an arm and a leg to check two lousy suitcases. When I called their customer "service" hotline to ask questions about taking the cats, I never found an option on their menu to give me any help. And despite my laborious efforts, I never got a chance to talk to an actual person. I hate that airline.

I had to leave the cats with my mom, and she is trying to figure out how to send them to me. We'll get it straightened out, one way or the other, though.

Only one other thing went wrong on the trip, though: I missed my opportunity to board with my group in Dallas, which meant I boarded after the overhead bin space had all been filled. I'm a trooper, but it was quite inconvenient to try and fit my diaper bag, backpack, coat, baby's coat, and baby all on my lap and under the seat in front of me. It's a good thing I have a cute baby, because when the flight attendants would walk by to check if we were ready to go, they would just look at cute Penny and move on. It also helps to have a backpack and coat that matched the blue airplane carpet.

But everything else went well. Penny is delightful and travels as well as any kid. She beamed and cooed for the first flight, and then after fussing for maybe 25 minutes, she napped for a lot of the second flight.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Finishing up

As far as a last week of student teaching, I couldn't have asked for anything better. Monday: normal-- I teach half. Tuesday-- same thing. Wednesday-- work for 20 minutes and then have a going-away party. Thursday-- Veterans' Day. No school! Friday-- Field trip.

Yup, it was a great last week.

My first-period class has some incredibly motivated students in it. There was an entire planning committee who planned, delegated, and carried out a fantastic going-away party. It was originally a surprise going-away party, but when your only time to plan is during school, it was almost inevitable that I heard little snippets of conversations that let me on to their plans. That didn't detract from its awesomeness, though! They made some going-away banners that said things like "Thank you for being our teacher" and "We'll miss you" -- in Chinese! One person was designated to make a card, and the whole class signed it. And then everyone brought food. You might think that 8:00 AM would be too early for chips and salsa, homemade guacamole, pudding cake with strawberry sauce, soda, and brownies, but you'd be wrong. Everyone chipped in either food or utensils, and it was a fantastic party! I was amazed at their preparation, and I was almost as amazed that everyone remembered to bring things. I guess it's easier to remember party supplies than homework.... ;)

Each class after that had a few students bring things in, and Mrs. Holmes and I both brought treats, so they were all really fun parties. I have awesome students, and it was nice to just hang out for a few minutes.

I made turtles for everyone, and a few people wanted the recipe, so here it is:

Turtles

Ingredients:

Mini pretzels

Rolos

Pecans or cashews

Directions:

Set pretzels on cookie sheet. Peel Rolos and place one on each pretzel. Bake at 350 for about 5 minutes. Pull them out of the oven, and poke a pecan or cashew on each one.

Tadaa! Easy! The hardest part was peeling all the Rolos. Oh, and making sure not to buy Honey-Mustard flavored pretzels. I haven't tried them, but I have a sneaky suspicion they might not go so well with chocolate.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Happy Hula Girl

Even though I have more current things to post about, I am still going to go back and post this video of our happy little hula dancer at the ward Halloween carnival (which should explain the ruckus in the background). Oh, and if you see little bits and shreds of green hula skirt grass all over the ground.... I don't know where that might have come from. :)

Sunday, November 07, 2010

Happy October

I've been rather busy lately. Mostly, though, I haven't written on my blog because I've been procrastinating writing a paper for my class. And if I have a paper due last Tuesday, if I write anything, it SHOULD be that paper, not a blog entry. Hence, no writing (blog nor paper). But I finished my stupid paper today, so here are a few pictures from the last little while.

After I get home from school, Penny and I usually go out on a walk. On this day, we went to Chamisa, my old elementary school, and played on the playground.

Then this is the only picture I uploaded from Halloween. I may upload more later, but my computer was being slow, and I only have so much patience. She cried when I initially put on the grass skirt, coconuts, and leis, but eventually she forgot about them and had a dandy time. This is a picture from a noontime party we went to with some of the other families in our ward that have young kids.

Penny said she may want to be a hula dancer again next Halloween because it was a simple costume and should still fit her by then. And when else can you wear a coconut bra and not be completely scandalous?!