I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving! I am back from Oceanside, nice and refreshed and ready to finish out the quarter. Here are the Thanksgiving highlights:
I learned how to make stuffing. Karen got out this big bowl and we dumped a whole bunch of bread cubes into it. While she dumped in spices, chicken broth, eggs, and sauteed onions and mushrooms, I vigorously stirred it all together. Eileen was pretty impressed. And, apparently, you really do need to use lots of butter when making stuffing.
Toasted pecans are the secret to a great pecan pie. Karen made an awesome pecan pie, and I got the recipe. Oh so good. That is all.
I was watching the football game on Thanksgiving day, and the NFL kept airing these commercials about its campaign to fight childhood obesity. I'm sitting there, passing the time until it's time to eat, and I'm thinking to myself, "It's Thanksgiving; can't the fight for childhood obesity wait until tomorrow?" Oh, and the Jonas Brothers performed during halftime. Or, as I like to refer to them: "Hanson, Part 2."
We went out shopping on Black Friday. Kylie wanted to leave the house at 6 in the morning, but Karen quickly vetoed that and we left at 8. The stores were not as crowded as I'd anticipated, and I got some good deals on some clothes. So, there were 2 San Diego Chargers cheerleaders standing outside of this store autographing Chargers cheerleaders calendars. Of course, they were wearing their midriff-bearing uniforms that show lots of leg. The best part? The store was right next to Santa's workshop; you know, the North Pole replica with snow and elves. About 10 feet from the scantily clad cheerleaders were kids waiting to get their pictures taken with Santa Claus. Hilarious! The irony! I can't even make this stuff up!
I've decided that the Ugg in Ugg boots is short for Ugly. Enough said.
I went to Kellen and Cole's high school's football game on Friday night; it's playoff season. It was my first football game in California, and the first that I'd been to since my marching band days at the University of Minnesota. In contrast to the playoff games I went to in high school, there was no snow on Friday night.
In the downtime in Oceanside, I like to watch the Food Network. (I don't get this channel in Irvine) I was watching this show hosted by Guy Fieri, and he was asking people which holiday family recipe they wish would just die. And I thought to myself, "anything with Jello."
I've been here for 2 years, and for the first time my family asked me some pointed questions about my program and research. They asked how much longer I would be at UCI, and I joked that they must be getting tired of seeing me at family holidays. Anyway, I gave them a general idea of my program requirements: 3 qualifying papers, advancement exams, prospectus, and dissertation. They sure were curious, so I started to talk about my papers. I told them that my first paper was about abortion rates and social spending. Their response? Silence. I chuckled and joked that nothing halts a conversation like abortion. That lightened the mood. I told them that my research interests just get more depressing and that it's all downhill after abortion. I explained that my second paper is on the anti-rape movement. They were interested and listened while I briefly discussed that paper. Then, because I just can't quit while I'm ahead, I told them that I was doing a lot of reading about female genital mutilation. They asked what my dissertation would be about, and I told them that I didn't know but that it would probably encompass citizenship, female sexuality, and bodily integrity and control. I think that I may have ensured that my family will never again make the mistake of asking me about my program and research interests.
Audrey, my 80 some year old great aunt, watches the Daily Show! She says that this is how she gets the news! (along with reading the LA Times and Time magazine) I find this to be so surprising and amusing all at the same time. Cool points for Audrey.
Thanksgiving has come and gone, so I guess it's officially the holiday season. I don't think that I will ever get used to listening to Christmas music and seeing Christmas decorations while simultaneously experiencing 70 degree weather.
Tonight, I made eggnog poundcake. It tastes good, but not quite eggnog-y enough for me. I love, love, love eggnog!
I learned how to make stuffing. Karen got out this big bowl and we dumped a whole bunch of bread cubes into it. While she dumped in spices, chicken broth, eggs, and sauteed onions and mushrooms, I vigorously stirred it all together. Eileen was pretty impressed. And, apparently, you really do need to use lots of butter when making stuffing.
Toasted pecans are the secret to a great pecan pie. Karen made an awesome pecan pie, and I got the recipe. Oh so good. That is all.
I was watching the football game on Thanksgiving day, and the NFL kept airing these commercials about its campaign to fight childhood obesity. I'm sitting there, passing the time until it's time to eat, and I'm thinking to myself, "It's Thanksgiving; can't the fight for childhood obesity wait until tomorrow?" Oh, and the Jonas Brothers performed during halftime. Or, as I like to refer to them: "Hanson, Part 2."
We went out shopping on Black Friday. Kylie wanted to leave the house at 6 in the morning, but Karen quickly vetoed that and we left at 8. The stores were not as crowded as I'd anticipated, and I got some good deals on some clothes. So, there were 2 San Diego Chargers cheerleaders standing outside of this store autographing Chargers cheerleaders calendars. Of course, they were wearing their midriff-bearing uniforms that show lots of leg. The best part? The store was right next to Santa's workshop; you know, the North Pole replica with snow and elves. About 10 feet from the scantily clad cheerleaders were kids waiting to get their pictures taken with Santa Claus. Hilarious! The irony! I can't even make this stuff up!
I've decided that the Ugg in Ugg boots is short for Ugly. Enough said.
I went to Kellen and Cole's high school's football game on Friday night; it's playoff season. It was my first football game in California, and the first that I'd been to since my marching band days at the University of Minnesota. In contrast to the playoff games I went to in high school, there was no snow on Friday night.
In the downtime in Oceanside, I like to watch the Food Network. (I don't get this channel in Irvine) I was watching this show hosted by Guy Fieri, and he was asking people which holiday family recipe they wish would just die. And I thought to myself, "anything with Jello."
I've been here for 2 years, and for the first time my family asked me some pointed questions about my program and research. They asked how much longer I would be at UCI, and I joked that they must be getting tired of seeing me at family holidays. Anyway, I gave them a general idea of my program requirements: 3 qualifying papers, advancement exams, prospectus, and dissertation. They sure were curious, so I started to talk about my papers. I told them that my first paper was about abortion rates and social spending. Their response? Silence. I chuckled and joked that nothing halts a conversation like abortion. That lightened the mood. I told them that my research interests just get more depressing and that it's all downhill after abortion. I explained that my second paper is on the anti-rape movement. They were interested and listened while I briefly discussed that paper. Then, because I just can't quit while I'm ahead, I told them that I was doing a lot of reading about female genital mutilation. They asked what my dissertation would be about, and I told them that I didn't know but that it would probably encompass citizenship, female sexuality, and bodily integrity and control. I think that I may have ensured that my family will never again make the mistake of asking me about my program and research interests.
Audrey, my 80 some year old great aunt, watches the Daily Show! She says that this is how she gets the news! (along with reading the LA Times and Time magazine) I find this to be so surprising and amusing all at the same time. Cool points for Audrey.
Thanksgiving has come and gone, so I guess it's officially the holiday season. I don't think that I will ever get used to listening to Christmas music and seeing Christmas decorations while simultaneously experiencing 70 degree weather.
Tonight, I made eggnog poundcake. It tastes good, but not quite eggnog-y enough for me. I love, love, love eggnog!
No comments:
Post a Comment