once upon a time

once upon a time I had a blog.
once upon a time i used to post.
once upon a time i even posted 113 times in one year.  (thats almost once every 3 days!)

and then came 2012.
and then i posted only 3 times in 2 months.
and then i posted not at all for 9 months.

until one day when i went to chilis and i had some HCCCs
until one day when i was inspired to find my post about the samanta who? episode about HCCCs
until i saw how sad and lonely my blog was

and so we have been reunited
and so posts will be forthcoming just in time for the christmas season

Why are you all fancy?

As many of you know, last night, nearly 5 years after I tore a hole in the side of my car door at the south bend airport as i was trying to get to Chicago to see nick's poster presentation at the ACS meeting, he finally popped the question, and I finally said yes.

and so I use this post to show pics and tell "the story" and answer those questions.

We begin back a few days before my knowledge in an attempt to illustrate Nick's sneakiness.  A few days ago Nick's phone rang, and he left the room to answer. "Who was it?" I asked.  "The kid who wants me to tutor them."  he responded. what I know now... LIES  it was the store telling him the ring was ready.

Fast forward to Thursday afternoon...around 1:30 Nick says he's going to a meeting and he'll see me at home.  strange I think, his meetings only last an hour.  Whatevs...perhaps this is a special meeting.  what I know now...LIES  he was off to pick up my ring.

and then Friday rolled around.  I ask Nick if he wants to do pizza for dinner.  He asks if we can discuss it at home.   strange I think, he never says no to pizza, but whatever apparently he's busy.   I go about my day, come home and start dipping things in chocolate for emily's valentines day present.  and then Nick walks in, all fancy in a shirt and tie (from me) and the pants we bought at Disneyland when we realized the only non-suit dress pants he had were SUPER old man pants.

"why are you all fancy"  I ask.  thinking did nick have a super important meeting about a job or something today that i didnt know about.

"for you"  said nick. 

"what?  Lies.  really, why are you all fancy?"  I ask again.

"for you" he said again.  and got down on one knee, taking my chocolate covered hands.  why is he being so silly  i think.  then he pulls out the ring and the rest is [recent] history. 

We texted our friends and family, posted our status update on facebook, and started fielding the wave of congratulations.  Meanwhile nick relealved all his lies and deceptions, and told me how the jewelry store was the one we saw on the news the night before while they were covering the ROBBERY that had taken place there Wednesday night. 

I then matched his fanciness...and we ventured out into the cold and snow to have dinner downtown to celebrate with my consumption of baby cow...trekked through the snow to meet claires for cocktails and pics (since my stupid camera battery was dead and since the stupid snow and cold ruined our plans for pics at the bean)

and now your most favorite questions:

the ring: as you may know there have been talks for awhile about how my future ring would be Nick's mom's ring which Claires wore most of the time.  What it turned out to be is the stone from her ring, in a new platinum setting.  which is very classic, simple, and elegant.  aka JUST MY STYLE. 

the date:  WHO KNOWS  we're not even sure where we'll be living in 5 months much less when, or where, we'll be getting married.  Once we know, you'll know.

why now, (and why not Valentine's day): Nick has an offer for a post doc position,  this is close enough to that "real job" my dad told him he had to have first.  (my dad, of course, denies that he actually meant this...and was just trying to get my Grandpa to stop asking me about it :) ) as for Valentine's day, apparently that would be too cliche.

New Meal Monday: Panko Breaded Chicken with BBQ Sauce on Bun

Nick is a list maker.  He is always carrying around a piece of folded paper, taking notes, writing down ideas, plotting his world take over.  His list making extends to our grocery shopping.  We make a menu for the week (from the list of meals he has complied) make a grocery list, and hit the store…with a strict stick to the list policy. (I on the other hand get distracted by the shiny sparkly objects on the shelves at the store)

Last week while list making Nick suggested chicken sandwiches.  What kind of chicken sandwiches I implored.  He apparently had a vision, of chicken and bbq sauce on a bun

This is what we came up with

This week's selection: Panko Breaded Chicken with BBQ Sauce on Bun

This week's verdict: not quite the vision Nick had, but a good flavor

This week's maybe next time: cut the chicken breast thinner.   As much as we liked chomping into a 1.5 inch thick piece of chicken that took FOREVER to cook, our jaws only unhinge so much. 

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Panko Breaded Chicken with BBQ Sauce on Bun

servings: 8

2 tbsp flour

1 egg beaten

1 cup panko bread crumbs

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in half, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness (oops should have read that)

BBQ sauce

place flour, egg and bread crumbs on separate plates

coat chicken with flour, dip in egg, then coat well with bread crumbs

heat oven to 375 F.  Spray baking dish.  bake chicke 20-39 min until thickest part is 165 F

serve on bun with BBQ sauce and your choice of condiments.

homemade christmas

this year nick and I decided to make christmas.  we thought homemade gifts would be a delightful treat...we're both crafty and thought sure we could take on christmas.

and so we did.  we cut, and glued, and hammered, and sewed we took on christmas. and christmas took us on. we canceled plans with peeps so we could stay home and craft.  I counted my blessings that this year I made cards on shutterfly instead of creating 30 christmas cards by hand.  and we CRAFTED.

some projects went smoothly...others not so much...there were even some that were created down to the wire.  I taught nick to sew as he created clothing for his pinecone elves, my dad and I bonded as we questioned whether my idea for my marble cutting boards came from bob villa.com and begged me to do a knitting project next year.  but our crafty christmas came together and was delightful

I made:

 etched bike glasses for my dad

 beaded necklaces for claires, emily, my mom, and nick's mom

 woven bracelets for claires, emily, lindsey, and kerry

 reinbeer for my brother and for joey and ashley

 dr seuss inspired trees for anyone who would take one (i have more if you're interested)

 Dino etched glass for nick

 a guster big friend for emily and nick

 bath products for my mom and elizabeth

 marble cutting boards for mom, emily, tim and elizabeth, claires and ME!

 a book bird for claires

 an etched READ glass for claires

 etched celtic knot glasses for nick's mom (there was an ND glass for nick's dad too...oops forgot!)

 

and a book necklace for claires

we may already be crafting for christmas 2012.

December 7: The Wreath

i havent had a real tree for years.  not since we had the incident where we all woke up to the house alarm, set off by the falling christmas tree.

but I love the fresh smell of a real tree.  and so we bought a wreath.

and we hung it inside so WE could enjoy it.

New Meal Monday: Sweet and Sour Chicken

for weeks I've been craving chinese food.  Apparently Nick was on the same page.

last time camping we made FANTASTIC sweet and sour foil dinners.  this week we decided to try our hand at the real stuff.

Nick said he'd make the batter if I'd do the frying.  He mixed, i fried, we did and we did good.

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Sweet and Sour Chicken
Servings: 8
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
2 1/4 cups self-rising flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 egg
1 1/2 cups water
1 quart vegetable oil for frying
2 green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces

Combine flour, 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, salt, white pepper, and egg. Add 1 1/2 cups water gradually to make a thick batter. Stir to blend thoroughly. Add chicken pieces, and stir until chicken is well coated.
Heat oil in skillet or wok to 360 degrees F (180 degrees C). Fry chicken pieces in hot oil 10 minutes, or until golden. Remove chicken, and drain on paper towels.
When ready to serve, layer green peppers, pineapple chunks, and cooked chicken pieces on a platter. Pour hot sweet and sour sauce over top.

december 3: the penguin cake

when I want ridiculous baking accouterments, my mom and I have a system, she gives them to me as a gift...Nick can't complain when its a gift after all.  (and of course our cover is now blow...since nick will be reading this)

a few birthday's back, I received a pull apart penguin cake pan.  12 "cupcakes" that piece together to be a penguin.  I had big plans that year to rearrange the penguin parts to be a bunny for my birthday and later a turtle for nicks. on my b-day the cake got stuck in the pan, we had pen-gunny carcass for my bday, i didnt even try with nicks.

since they i have successfully made two penguins.  the first made me infamous with my teacher friend, the second was this year.  12 pieces 12 advisees.  PERFECT. i made the penguin, filling to the top like it suggested. it turned into the stay puff cake penguin man.  but then eventually because super cute. complete with magical rainbow snowflakes.