There's no one here these days since Sundance started. Jesse is definitely working for the money he's about to make. On the first day, we were up at 7 to pick up the car he would be driving and he wasn't home till 3am that night. That's pretty much been the same every day since Sundance started. At first we thought there would be breaks while waiting for people when we'd be able to see each other but so far it's been impossible. Like at Andrew's birthday dinner last Saturday, he said he would be able to stay for three minutes and it really was just three minutes, including walking in and walking out time. Needless to say I'm a bit frustrated with the whole situation but I keep thinking money money money, I must think $$$ if I'm going to get through this week.

He's been meeting some interesting people though. Just yesterday, he was driving around the director of this environmental documentary. They got to talking about the film and what Jesse was interested in doing which is working for the UN doing population statistics etc. This director, his name is Michael Nash, whips out his cell phone and calls this lady name Coco from theUN who is at the moment having lunch with Al Gore and Lester Brown. The four of them chat for a second and in the middle of Al Gore saying something, Nash interrupts and tells Coco about Jesse and his UN hopes. She promises that she will give him an internship and once he graduates, a job, all they have to do is stay in contact. Can you believe that? Al Gore got interrupted!! Obviously we are ecstatic about this news and if all goes well, we will be moving to New York (UN headquarters) or some European city in the next couple years. OMG! Stay tuned.

I've been keeping myself busy I would say. Planning Andrew's dinner, Andrew's birthday, hanging out with friends I haven't seen in awhile, homework, babysitting, work, watching Coraline and Julie and Julia for the fifth time in a row etc (Both amazing movies by the way.) The house is a mess and for some reason I cannot bring myself to clean it. Perhaps today's the day.

Let me just take this moment to say that Financial Aid at the University is beyond ridiculous. I've been dealing with getting my financial aid through for the past 6 months and it is out to get me till the very end. Has anyone tried calling the Financial Aid Dept? Everytime I attempt to call a message comes on almost immediately saying "Thank you for calling the University of Utah office of financial aid and scholarships. Currently we are experiencing a high volume of calls and we ask that you call back at a later time." Then it goes on to say that they are open Mon, Wed, and Fri with LIMITED HOURS on Tues and Thurs. Even if you do somehow manage to get through, you are put on hold for 20 min at least. Why don't they think of getting more people to man the phones if they are busy like this all the time. Even if you try other depts, they always refer you back to the financial aid dept, why doesn't the University use it's vast array of resources and do something about it!

Because of this delay, and because in 2010, the University and government systems are somehow NOT conveniently interconnected, my financial aid that finally came through wasn't applied to my tuition and I had to pay for it by myself in the end anyways. Doesn't this render the department useless? Don't people rely on this dept so they can go to school? Even though they know that I have financial aid coming through to cover my tuition and then some, they aren't able to defer my paying tuition and of course when I did pay it (with my dad's help dear old dad) it was the easiest thing in the world. Just a credit card number, an expiration, not even a CVV number, and ONE submit button, $1600 for two classes is taken in an instant. Sixteen hundred dollars for TWO classes...the University seems like the only place that is increasing in value with these hard economic times. One wonders, where does this money go? I have a few suggestions for where it should.

I'm glad I got that all out. Phew. Anyways, I've decided that I need to focus on something, such as a hobby of some sort. I haven't had much time lately to bake or cook and I want to get back on that. I was thinking of doing the Julie/Julia project sort of but with a different cookbook. Speaking of that, anyone who has seen the movie will agree with me, the food styling in that movie is amazing, I was famished by the end. The one thing that got me salivating excessively was the Tomato Bruschetta that Julie cooks in a scene and since then I've been trying to find the recipe. I finally did and it is the legit thing, originally published in Atlantic Magazine by Susan Spungen who also happened to be the Culinary Consultant and Food Stylist on Julie and Julia. I'm plannning on making a celebratory dinner in honor of Sundance ending and the good paycheck that will have made the ten days all worth it. I'll be making the bruschetta as a part of it. More on the Julie/Julia project I will be attempting, and pics to be up soon.

a new year

I cannot tell you how busy this past holiday season has been. Obviously there was no time for a blog because it's been a month and a half since my last post. I figured I should probably start up again before it is too late into 2010.

Since Thanksgiving, which went really well, Christmas took over my life. We decided this year, to have my parents come to my house instead of trekking to Park City since we wanted to do a smaller holiday than years past (no money!) and since it would be more convenient. Everything was chaotic with finishing school during the first half of the month that present shopping and holiday planning were pushed until a week and a half before. Since this was my first experience with having my family over at my house, I wanted everything to be perfect so I was stressing about all of it. The menu was:

Eggs Benedict with homemade Hollandaise
Cajun Potatoes
Mimosas
Strawberry Cake

My parents brought the Asian dishes like tofu with mushrooms and cabbage, chile wings, and leek buns. We had a really good mixture of everything. Along with cooking for my family, I also baked gingerbread for Jesse's Christmas that would be in the evening. On Christmas Eve, I cleaned the whole house, we wrapped presents, and cleaned some more. Vivian had her puppy Mochi with her that whole week so the cats were very unhappy and Andrew brought Kudo, my Aunt's dog, who he was babysitting. It was a crazy Christmas with all the animals chasing each other around my small house and all the cooking going on, but it was the best Christmas I've had in a while.

All the food

My family + Jesse (Viv is taking the pic)

the Strawberry Cake


our tree

the pups had to be separated

After Christmas at my house, Jesse and I hurried over to his sister's house for their Christmas. The gingerbread cookies turned out fantastic and everyone loved them. Best gingerbread recipe ever and definitely a keeper. We didn't make it home until 11 pm Christmas night and since I was up at 8, I was exhausted. It was a really great day and it helps me remember why I love Christmas despite it being incredibly busy.

For New Years, Hollie and I planned a party at their house. It was even better than last year's party with more people, more food, and more dancing. It was the perfect way to end a fantastic year and a memorable start of a new decade. I have now been a vegetarian and 1/2 vegan for a year now. I plan on keeping it up this year as well. Jesse will be working at Sundance and it's something we're both looking forward to because of the amazing pay and the experience. I plan on getting my CNA this month so I can get some hospital experience and quit my current job which is generally unfulfilling. This way I'm also working toward my bigger goal and not wasting anymore time! I've also decided on my major which will be Environmental Studies so I'm anxious to just get it done and graduate. Overall we're both optimistic about this upcoming year and can't wait for opportunities to surprise us.

PS. Christmas morning brought me a delightful package. Jesse splurged on me and got this to help me pursue my developing interest in baking. I'll be testing recipes now more than ever which means more blogs. This baby is going to change my life. (& isn't she pretty?)