On our recent move and other updates

I haven't been on my blog much in the past few months.  Mostly that's because I've been writing many research papers and reading these:

My textbooks for fall quarter

Also, I was pouting.  I put up a poll a few months ago asking what posts people wanted to read.  The most votes went to the one I thought would be the most boring (this one!).  I was hoping people would choose things I thought were more interesting, and when they didn't, I decided I just wouldn't write about anything.  I'm done pouting but not with ALL things childish.  Check out my fish tank!  If you click on it, you can feed the fishes.  :D I'm taking my last final this evening, so I've got a little time and energy to spend updating the blog.

Our move went very smoothly.  We had great help and incurred only minor damage to one piece of furniture.  Despite my many moves, I did not like the feeling of being transient for a few days.  Watching my dad and brother drive away in a truck that held all our earthly possessions was surreal.  The sale of the condo went through perfectly.  Thankfully, the buyer didn't ask us to make a single repair, not even to replace the 14 yr old water heater or the broken handle on the storage closet!  Our new apartment was sparkling clean when we moved in (I wasn't expecting that), and they even replaced the carpet after the previous tenant.  We were blessed.  Here's Blake relaxing after finally getting settled in.

Since we've moved in, we've had all our immediate family come visit--parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephew.  They must really love us!  We put mints on the pillows, as promised.  (I'll put them out for you too, when you come.  wink wink)  Our Disneyland passes really came in handy, too, as many of our visitors wanted to visit the happiest place on earth.  I went four times in three weeks! 

We spent an awesome Halloween with my cousins in Redlands.  The neighborhood was so festive.  Blake said, "If Halloween weren't already my favorite holiday, being here would definitely make it my favorite holiday."

One thing I love about our apartment is the kitchen.  It's twice as big as the kitchen in our condo.  (I also love the pool and fitness center on site.)  

Having a decent sized kitchen came in handy for the Thanksgiving dinner we hosted.  My mom and Ben came down from Utah and we had Uncle Lou and Aunt Christine with us as well.  It was perfect!

It was our first time hosting Thanksgiving, and went off quite well, if I do say so myself.  Allow me to boast for just a moment.  (I do love cooking so much!)  There was a cheese fondue appetizer with broccoli, pumpernickel pretzel sticks, and blue corn chili lime crackers.  We had a green salad, fresh green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry cornbread stuffing, delicious gravy (Thanks, Mom), and of course, the turkey.  We experimented with a high heat/frequent turning method that got the skin crispy and kept the breast moist.  We stuffed the bird with onion, apple, lemon, raisins, and cinnamon sticks and then roasted sweet potatoes in the same pan.  The turkey didn't need cranberry sauce or gravy; it was just good.

 

 

There was also homemade pumpkin pie (not pictured).  Mmm, pie.  We put the turkey carcass in a pot that same day and made a good turkey stock.  Then, we put plastic bags into mugs, poured a cup of broth into each, and froze them.  Once they froze solid, we removed the mugs from the freezer and now have pre-measured homemade stock ready for use in future recipes.  I'm so proud of us!

Ok, the tooting of my own horn is over.  We're excited to spend a week in Utah for Christmas.  Our schedule is rapidly filling up with family dinners and lunches with friends.  It's going to be great!  No snow and sunny afternoons didn't quite feel like Christmas for my cute husband, so we've been doing things to get us in the Christmas spirit, like decorating our house, listening to Christmas carols, drinking hot cocoa, and taking surprise stockings of goodies to the missionaries serving in our ward.

Speaking of the ward, we're serving in the nursery and loving it!  I adore the little kids.  Blake is so good with them.  I'll be playing with one kid at a time and look over and see Blake with five or six reading a story or something.  One little girl really likes him and notices if he leaves the room.  The first time she asked me where my daddy had gone.  She's learned his name since then, but I suspect she still thinks he's my dad.

Final updates: Blake got a job working with a logistics management company in Ontario.  He designs the user interfaces for the web applications they develop.  I got an offer this morning to work at the Marriage and Family Therapy clinic associated with the University.  I am very excited.  I'll get great experience and supervision there. I'll also get a small paycheck, which is significant considering many placements for trainees are strictly volunteer. 

Whew!  Update done.