1. The holidays in New York City were inspiring. Walking to work or school with the Rat Pack singing me Christmas tunes via iPod allowed me to look at the crowds, grinches, and scrooges through rose colored glasses. My Christmas cheer level was at an all time high this year.
Salvation Army Rock Stars
2. I did 99% of my shopping online and I think that was about 80% of the reason my Christmas cheer cup was overflowing. No fighting crowds, no standing in long lines, no buying gifts that aren't exactly perfect but you just need to get the hell out of the store. Just me, a cup of eggnog, and my laptop. (Contented sighing).
3. We had our first snowstorm in New York on Saturday the 19th. We got close to a foot of snow and it coated the city in powder and temporarily hid the grime and garbage. It was lovely. Here's a pic of Mike and I walking home from a holiday party in the Village.
Note: This photo was taken just a short while after I slipped and landed so hard on my bum that I couldn't sleep on that cheek for 3 nights.
4. Speaking of holiday parties...my class threw one at a Korean restaurant in the East Village on blizzard night and I am confident we as a group will never be allowed back. I haven't seen such madness since my last San Diego State frat party. It was like letting a group of caged animals loose. I feel a mixture of shame and amusement just thinking about. Mom, you'll be pleased to know that I did not do any of the following: break a chair, break glasses, lose my dinner, or get carried out unconscious. I did acquire a bruise the size of my face on the previously mentioned cheek, but I maintain that had more to do with the snow than the Soju we were served.
5. We spent Christmas in Buffalo with Mike's extended family, although I feel like I am equally a part of the family after our three years living there. They are a great bunch of people best described as very loving wise asses.
6. Mike's aunt made her traditional Christmas Eve feast for us which consists of a mountain of jumbo shrimp cocktail, beef tenderloin, lobster tail, twice baked potatoes and peppermint cheesecake. This in addition to the 4,000 plates of cookies and sweets she put out for us and following the couples massage she booked for us upon arrival. Needless to say, we were spoiled!
7. We spent Christmas night at our good friends, Trisha and Mike's home on Lake Ontario watching the Chargers - Titans game. We showed up in full Charger gear (complete with my new lightning bolt earrings that Santa put in my stocking) and they were very good sports. Mike #2 yelled at the TV right along with us and Trisha cued up the San Diego Super Chargers song and drinks every time the Bolts scored, which was often.
8. We had a chance while in Buffalo to reunite with my all my old co-workers and their significant others (well in one case, two of them have become significant others) for wings at the Anchor Bar and drinks at our favorite bar on Allen St. It's kind of smelly but it's our favorite because it has a photo booth and we probably spent $20 trying to cram ourselves in there. Good times.
9. We made a Sunday trip up to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada for wine tasting and lunch at one of our favorite wineries, Vineland. It's been several years since we have been up there and I was even more impressed with the quality of the wines. Especially when you consider the bone chilling cold and wind, it's amazing what they are able to produce.
Note to Elaine: You will notice the lovely scarf I am sporting in this picture. Thank you so much for the gift and encouraging words, they are very much appreciated.
10. We were welcomed back from Buffalo with bone-chilling, face-numbing winds. The wind just seems to scream down the streets and smack your cheeks leaving them red and stinging. Yaaaay...
11. It was 76 in San Diego yesterday. Yaaaay...
12. Winter just began. Yaaaay...(crying quietly)
13. We spent New Years Eve on Long Island with some good friends continuing our tradition of a multi-course tasting menu paired with wines and beers. It was awesome as usual, although it did make me miss our San Diego friends who have shared the tradition with us previously.
14. The Chargers are going to make my head explode. They are playing so well that it's hard not to look at where they may go, especially considering that they fell to 2-3 after a Week 5 loss to Denver that looked nearly impossible to bounce back from. I was ready to break up with them and was grateful for the bye week and some time apart to evaluate our relationship. Now here they are, teetering on the brink of greatness and getting ready to deliver the biggest gift a fan could ever hope for or to lay a playoff egg and punch me in the gut again. So exciting, yet excruciating. Inhale. Hold. Exhale.
15. I've mentioned before that school is flying by, but today begins the final phase of my education. I will spend Levels 5 & 6 cooking at L'Ecole, the school's highly regarded restaurant. I'm excited and ready to get some experience cooking for real people. We rotate our way through 5 stations over 6 weeks Garde Manger (appetizers, salads, soups), Poissonier (fish), Saucier (meats), Patissiere (Pastry), and Entremetier (Daily Special and Vegetarian Entree). I start on Entremetier tonight and am grouped with 4 others on this same station. I'm sure I will have more to report on my newest endeavor. Stay tuned.
16. While Level 3 was intense and focused on whipping us into shape in regards to timing, organization and cleanliness, Level 4 felt like something of a vacation. There were several nights when are prep work and cooking was complete and we took on extra projects making cookies or curing meats for fun. There were also nights where we spent a good portion of the time goofing off and trying not to get caught. In short, going from Level 3 to Level 5 would have made more sense. We were focused and disciplined and now it feels like I have to ready my head, sharpen my knives and put the pressure back on.
17. Level 4 made my pants tighter. We had more down time than any other level and therefore more time to eat and plenty of leftover food to take home. I'm almost looking forward to the lack of time to eat in the restaurant kitchen so I can zip up my jeans without laying down.
18. I've been trying to walk instead of taking the subway whenever I can to combat the Level 4 side effects. This wind chill though makes it pretty unappealing. I hate that the forecast includes words like "bitter", "bone chilling", and "17 but feels like 3".
19. I know I said in this post that I would try to only write positive things about winter in order to not allow myself get in funk, but it's haaaaard. Wah.
The best way to look at Winter
20. Okay, I just realized that since I have to get through at least another 3 months of this weather, I better find a silver lining quick. Hmmm...it's nice to not be soaked in sweat when I'm walking around. Now it just happens as soon as you walk indoors in 13 layers.
21. That wasn't very successful. Okay here is actually a silver lining. Mike got me one of those faux fur lined wool hats with the ear flaps and chin strap for Christmas. It's like wearing Uggs on your head. Toasty warm, but not very attractive. I love it.
22. Looking ahead to 2010, I do have a few hopes, wishes, and plans for the new year and decade for that matter. First is that two sweet little babies continue to grow and become healthier. Let's hope that when they turn 1 in April that we will be there to give them hugs and kisses and celebrate their being cancer free.
23. With two-thirds of my education under my belt, let's hope that the my career path and next step come into clearer focus. My plan is to work in a restaurant kitchen here in New York for at least a year before we decide what and/or where is next. Not knowing what the future holds is both exhilarating and anxiety inducing, but I know that whatever it is, I have the best possible companion for the journey.
24. Speaking of companions, Mike's zest for beer is gaining steam, if that is possible. He brewed his 3rd batch in November and it is finally ready to drink. He calls it 3rd Street Stout, named for our location. He brewed an Oatmeal Stout and then divided it into 3 batches. He left one as is, added Gorilla coffee (a Brooklyn coffee roaster) to the second, and to the third he added coffee that he had steeped in bourbon. They are all very good, my favorite being the regular Oatmeal Stout, although if I am in the mood for an eye opener, the bourbon coffee stout definitely has a caffeinated kick.
25. I'm looking forward to the next batch, which I get to pick the style and I am leaning towards some sort of Belgian Ale. You never know, someday you may just find us with a brewpub of our own.
Inside the Brewery, aka our kitchen
26. Another wish for the New Year is for square footage. We'll see once I am finished with school and have a job if we can afford a larger apartment, but something tells me making $11 an hour as a line cook is going to inflate our income only enough to find open spaces on a weekend getaway to Connecticut. Sigh.
27. As far as plans for 2010, we'll be doing some traveling in celebration of milestones. There will be births: a new niece and beginnings and additions to our friends families. There will be birthdays: two little fighters with something big to celebrate. There will be weddings: summer in San Diego, yes please!
And there will be house warmings: a Paris apartment, don't mind if I do.
28. The other travel plans I'm banking on is to win one of the 14 contests I entered to win tickets to the Super Bowl, which of course the Chargers will play in and win. Oprah told me if I visualize it and make a collage about it and stare at it, it will happen. She was right about all those books, so she better be right about this.
29. Another very important plan for 2010 is to get my hair cut and colored. My BFF Donna used to do my hair in San Diego and she was out here in August and that was my last cut and color. I don't think I will find anyone who compares to her and I have been putting it off. It turns out that I have a startling number of grey hairs that went previously unnoticed under the constant coloring. I can't put this off any longer...
30. In all seriousness though, I am looking forward to another years worth of memories, lessons, challenges, and triumphs. Happy New Year!
Finally!!! Your mom said you were very busy, and I said, How dare she ignore her adoring public and actually have a life outside of this blog! So..thank you...and you are welcome. You did not disappoint.
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