Turkey Party '09!

I finally got to go to one of the lovely KellyRy's fabulous Turkey Parties!!! In all the years we both lived in California, I was never able to make it. Last year there was no turkey party because she had just moved to Chicago and was getting settled into life. But, I (with the help of a few others) talked her into doing it this year and I am SO glad!

Everything about the evening was delightful. K's friends who hosted live in a super cute loft apartment that was perfect for hosting a dinner. I was a little nervous about not knowing anyone else that was invited but I was made to feel so welcomed by everyone and spent the entire night laughing and enjoying getting to know new people. We were each tasked with bringing a dish to share (and everything was delicious) but K put us all to shame with one of the best turkeys I have ever had in my life! Those of you who have experienced the maple-glazed goodness know what I'm talking about and have started drooling. Those who have not experienced this, let me know so that I can help you become best friends with K and get on the invite list for next year.

I'm honored that I finally got to be a part of this wonderful tradition. Thanks KellyRy for letting me be a part of the celebration (and for letting me steal your photo for this post)!

Pretty Please?

For my 30th birthday in a couple of months I would like this cake.

Thank you.

Adventures in Cleveland

Yesterday afternoon I boarded a plane and headed off to exotic Cleveland. I was headed there for a press check for our holiday cards for work. I'm very important. I was joined in my adventures by one of the designers for the project (I spent several days worrying about which of three designers would be joining me for the trip. Two of the three would have made for some awkward travel partners. I lucked out and they ended up sending the one I would have also chosen to take the trip. I know him the best, he's absolutely hysterical and he's kind of cute). We hopped on our Southwest flight (where they still give you peanuts) and were headed into the wild blue yonder.

Before I left for the trip I was told to be sure to do something fun that I wouldn't normally get to do. It was hard to come up with a list of options in Cleveland that were even close to being exciting and that could be done in the 20 hours that we were going to be there.

We arrived and were instantly picked up by our tour guide/chauffure/and sales rep and whisked off to enjoy the nightlife of downtown Cleveland. It was in the midst of the one block of nice area where we actually managed to do something exciting. For dinner we dined at Lola Bistro which is owned by Chef Michael Symon. He's an Iron Chef! To someone who is completely addicted to the Food Network, this was very exciting. He was not there that evening but we stuffed ourselves on decedent hanger steaks, pork chops, bacon maple ice cream and pear and oregonzola (that is not a typo) basked alaska. I also had a fig and pomegrante martini that was lovely.

After we had stuffed ourselves we checked into the brand new Hilton Garden Inn where I enjoyed some free cable before a restless night's sleep. Our driver picked us up again in the morning and we were off to check on some presses. The giant man that owned the press had done a great job so we didn't have to spend much time there and were taken back to the offices to meet all the other people that we work with all the time but never actually get to see. I met a woman who had pink streaks in her hair and a woman who looked like Pat Benatar (spelling?).

Since we hadn't eaten enough the night before we decided that getting gigantic burgers for lunch would be a good idea before getting on another airplane. The flight home was uneventful, involved more peanuts and only took 2 minutes (took off at 1:55 and landed at 1:57). With a quick stop at the currency exchange to turn in our last remaining Cleveland dollars for US dollars (the Cleveland dollar isn't very strong right now) we boarded our train back to reality.

My grand adventures and globetrotting left me a bit fatigued so it was home for a quiet night at home. The pajamas were on early and I decided to indulge in this for dinner to slowly bring my strength back up.

Evaluations

I'm sitting at home tonight trying to fill out my self-evaluation forms for work. They were due today but work's been so crazy that I haven't had the time to fill it out. So, I'm trying to do it at home tonight so I don't have to beg for another extension.
As I'm filling these out I realize how much I hate doing self-evaluations. I don't mind having a supervisor evaluate me and let me know how I'm doing. I just hate telling them how I think that I am doing. Really, it's because I just want to write down that I think that I'm pretty awesome at my job most days and that even though I don't get everything right you are lucky to have me on your team. Unfortunately, it's not really ok to write that down and hand it to your boss.
Oh well. Back to trying to tell my boss how fantastic I am without actually telling him how fantastic I am.

4 Years

I was having a long overdue dinner with K last night when I suddenly realized that as of last week, I have now lived in Chicago for 4 years! In some ways it feels like so much longer and in other ways it seems like it was only yesterday. As much as I often miss California and dear friends there, Chicago is very much home right now. I have found a community here where I can be known to others and can know them. Since I moved here I have:

• Lived in 4 different apartments
• Started working for a different organization than I moved here for
• Have been baptized in Lake Michigan
• Served as an elder of a church during a very difficult time of transition
• Learned where to find the best bar food deals every night of the week
• Somehow become a fan of the Cubs
• Learned that it is possible to function without driving everywhere I go and that taking a bus is perfectly acceptable
• Felt some of the most intense loneliness of my life
• Gotten past that loneliness and been able to help others with the same feelings
• Have spent more time talking about the weather than ever
• Uttered the words 'oh good, it's warm enough to snow now'

The list could go on, but you get the picture. The last 4 years have been good. There are things in my life that I wish were different (cough, I'm still single, cough) and there are ways that I want to improve myself personally. But, I'm on the right track and have learned to give myself some grace in life. I have no idea what the future holds. I don't know how much longer I will live in this city. I don't know what the next steps in my career are going to be. But, I know that 4 years ago I moved to a new city and started over and have become a better person for it.

You know you want to try these

Several months ago we joked with one of my co-workers that we were going to find him a cake with bacon for his birthday. A couple of months after that his birthday rolled around and we were on the hunt for something including bacon to bring in for him. We found a bakery near our office that made a bacon maple cupcake. They were expensive but we thought we'd get a couple just for kicks. One of my other co-workers made the brilliant suggestion that we should just make bacon maple cupcakes instead of buying them. I'm not one to shy away from a baking challenge so when she found a recipe for the cupcakes online I promptly volunteered to make them.
The process began with cooking up about a pound of bacon so that I could save the drippings and then chop up the bacon. Both would go into the cupcakes.
This is how the cupcakes begin. Two sticks of butter and two tablespoons of hardened bacon drippings. This is going to be good!

Once the butter and bacon drippings are whipped together, you add other standard cupcake batter ingredients and some good quality maple syrup. The more I think about it, if you take out the bacon drippings, this batter would be a really good basic cupcake. Once the ingredients are all mixed together you add in all the bacon bits and stir together.

Once you bake the cupcakes you end up with these.

Hands down the best part of these was the frosting! Butter, powdered sugar and good quality maple syrup. Amazing! I'll be keeping the frosting recipe around for a long time. Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with a little sea salt and raw sugar.
Aren't they beautiful?

These were a huge hit at the office. I was almost afraid to even taste them but they were surprisingly good. The cake wasn't overly sweet (almost like a cornbread) and the bacon added a nice touch of savory. These were pretty dense and only a few people were able to eat an entire cupcake in one sitting. I made these back in July and people are still talking about them. They were declared to be the best birthday present my co-worker had ever gotten. They made people do little dances of joy. They made jaws drop in disbelief.

Oh Julia

I got to see Julie and Julia last night. It was cute, but I'm glad that I saw it for free. It's a good renter. Make a nice meal, have some friends over and then watch. Entertaining, but not the best movie ever. However, it is an undisputed fact that Meryl Streep is AMAZING! I want to be her.
I'm sure I won't be the only one who feels this way, but I was actually almost inspired to pick a cookbook and cook my way through it after last night. I don't have the follow-thru to actually do it, but the thought did cross my mind. I'll just have to settle for having my friends over occasionally and trying out a new dish or two.

On another note, I'm off to treat myself to a mani/pedi and then this evening I will be making mini cupcakes for a benefit tomorrow night for a friend who just had brain surgery. Perhaps I will also blog about all those other things I keep saying I'll blog about.

In the meantime, check out www.helpfebepainfree.com