I have only spent one weekend out of thirteen, it's going to be fourteen this weekend, at home. Even the one weekend I was home, I was cleaning and making an anniversary dinner for my boyfriend and I that Saturday. Sunday we had his brother's over for the Texans football game. And if it weren't for the fact that I have to write everything down in my planner (I jokingly call it my brain!), I would hardly remember what I did.
Since I've been so horrible about posting this month, I'll just recap what's been going on:
The first weekend of October was spent just as I said, a nice, romantic dinner for my boyfriend and I. I made what is known as Engagement Chicken. I had threatened him with it a few months ago, mostly joking, but after hearing the recipe, he wanted to try it. I made a vinaigrette dressing for salads, garlic butter for our garlic bread, ginger and garlic green beans, some cabernet sauvignon sauteed mushrooms (all of the recipes are from this wonderful cookbook). And for dessert, I followed this sweet cream recipe, because I'm a total nerd and it sounded like a great compliment to some fruit. I used the medieval recipe and it was yummy! It's a lot of cream just for two people, but if you used it for a mixed berry dessert at a party, it would be more than enough. So I spent four hours cleaning to spend three hours cooking and get half of my dishes dirty all over again. Dinner was a success, though! Sunday we had a great time hanging out with his brothers and unfortunately, we watched the Texans get stomped.
This was the week that we started reading a book about Rigoberta Menchu in one of my classes. I have to say that we're about to be on week four of her, because we read two different books then compare them, and I'm thoroughly sick of this woman. She lied about her experiences, then she got mad about people making stereotypes based on what she said was "the story of all poor Guatemalans" years later because she started changing her mind about how she wanted to be represented. She contradicts herself at every turn. Yes, I know that memory is not perfect. Again, were it not for the fact that I wrote these things down in my "brain", I wouldn't have remembered the order they occurred. But to blatantly lie about your life to garner attention and international sympathy for your cause is just wrong. Why she did it makes sense to me - she wanted people (read: Americans and Europeans) that were in a position to do something to help to know so they would help - but does that make lying about your life (and then taking it out on others) right or wrong?
I went with one of my classmates to her daughter's school's international festival. It was really cool to see some of the dances, traditional dress and sample the food! The food was so great! I left full!
The following weekend, I cleaned and we went out to dinner with my boyfriend's brothers and their ladies. We had an overly talkative waiter. I've waited tables myself, and there are times when it's fun to interact with your customers and there are times when you're just being annoying. This guy was annoying. After he brought our food out, he left only to take care of a few closing duties then came right back and dominated the "conversation." I'm sorry, but there is absolutely no reason in the world that I need to know that you met your baby's momma by selling her weed. And that you just quit smoking weed, too. I didn't think my entree was that good, combined with the overly friendly waiter made for a not so stellar experience.
But the haunted house we went to made up for our less than amazing dining experience. To give a little plug for them - it's $20 to get into two haunted houses and there is a free haunted house, the chainsaw maze. They did an excellent job, so go check it out if you're in the area!
Sunday was much more school-oriented. I worked on a midterm that day and spent time with family.
Last week I made cookies for the class that we're reading the Rigoberta Menchu books in. My grandmother passed away a few months ago, so I finally got to the point where I could handle making molasses cookies. This was a recipe that I grew up on and always associate with her. The first time I made it, I cried quite hard. I made a second batch a few days later for class and that was a tear-free event. She always told me not to eat the dough (yummy!) because it has raw egg it in. And that half the dough needed to be baked. She would have been proud that I actually proceeded to actually bake the dough! They turned out great and they were a hit! I went in with 30+ cookies and left with three. I also decided to do something different for my chapter presentation.
Because I'm obviously super thrilled about another week of Rigoberta, I decided to take a somewhat satirical twist on the chapter summaries that we have to make and created diary entries for my chapters. I threw in a few pictures, too. Hopefully it will be a nice change of pace than just the usual chapter summary that we've been reading. I had to edit out some of the sarcasm that I used when I wrote them.
Another positive occurrence - I've finally narrowed down my thesis topic enough that I can start writing my proposal! I've been gathering sources for that so I can start writing an abstract for that this weekend. I've also been working on an annotated bibliography that's actually due for class in a few weeks. The semester is half way over!
Since I've been so horrible about posting this month, I'll just recap what's been going on:
The first weekend of October was spent just as I said, a nice, romantic dinner for my boyfriend and I. I made what is known as Engagement Chicken. I had threatened him with it a few months ago, mostly joking, but after hearing the recipe, he wanted to try it. I made a vinaigrette dressing for salads, garlic butter for our garlic bread, ginger and garlic green beans, some cabernet sauvignon sauteed mushrooms (all of the recipes are from this wonderful cookbook). And for dessert, I followed this sweet cream recipe, because I'm a total nerd and it sounded like a great compliment to some fruit. I used the medieval recipe and it was yummy! It's a lot of cream just for two people, but if you used it for a mixed berry dessert at a party, it would be more than enough. So I spent four hours cleaning to spend three hours cooking and get half of my dishes dirty all over again. Dinner was a success, though! Sunday we had a great time hanging out with his brothers and unfortunately, we watched the Texans get stomped.
This was the week that we started reading a book about Rigoberta Menchu in one of my classes. I have to say that we're about to be on week four of her, because we read two different books then compare them, and I'm thoroughly sick of this woman. She lied about her experiences, then she got mad about people making stereotypes based on what she said was "the story of all poor Guatemalans" years later because she started changing her mind about how she wanted to be represented. She contradicts herself at every turn. Yes, I know that memory is not perfect. Again, were it not for the fact that I wrote these things down in my "brain", I wouldn't have remembered the order they occurred. But to blatantly lie about your life to garner attention and international sympathy for your cause is just wrong. Why she did it makes sense to me - she wanted people (read: Americans and Europeans) that were in a position to do something to help to know so they would help - but does that make lying about your life (and then taking it out on others) right or wrong?
I went with one of my classmates to her daughter's school's international festival. It was really cool to see some of the dances, traditional dress and sample the food! The food was so great! I left full!
The following weekend, I cleaned and we went out to dinner with my boyfriend's brothers and their ladies. We had an overly talkative waiter. I've waited tables myself, and there are times when it's fun to interact with your customers and there are times when you're just being annoying. This guy was annoying. After he brought our food out, he left only to take care of a few closing duties then came right back and dominated the "conversation." I'm sorry, but there is absolutely no reason in the world that I need to know that you met your baby's momma by selling her weed. And that you just quit smoking weed, too. I didn't think my entree was that good, combined with the overly friendly waiter made for a not so stellar experience.
But the haunted house we went to made up for our less than amazing dining experience. To give a little plug for them - it's $20 to get into two haunted houses and there is a free haunted house, the chainsaw maze. They did an excellent job, so go check it out if you're in the area!
Sunday was much more school-oriented. I worked on a midterm that day and spent time with family.
Last week I made cookies for the class that we're reading the Rigoberta Menchu books in. My grandmother passed away a few months ago, so I finally got to the point where I could handle making molasses cookies. This was a recipe that I grew up on and always associate with her. The first time I made it, I cried quite hard. I made a second batch a few days later for class and that was a tear-free event. She always told me not to eat the dough (yummy!) because it has raw egg it in. And that half the dough needed to be baked. She would have been proud that I actually proceeded to actually bake the dough! They turned out great and they were a hit! I went in with 30+ cookies and left with three. I also decided to do something different for my chapter presentation.
Because I'm obviously super thrilled about another week of Rigoberta, I decided to take a somewhat satirical twist on the chapter summaries that we have to make and created diary entries for my chapters. I threw in a few pictures, too. Hopefully it will be a nice change of pace than just the usual chapter summary that we've been reading. I had to edit out some of the sarcasm that I used when I wrote them.
Another positive occurrence - I've finally narrowed down my thesis topic enough that I can start writing my proposal! I've been gathering sources for that so I can start writing an abstract for that this weekend. I've also been working on an annotated bibliography that's actually due for class in a few weeks. The semester is half way over!
