The Dinner

It was so incredibly thoughtful of her to invite us for dinner.

After all, we didn't really know her, but we had had a passing acquaintance with her father many many years ago. So, for her to ask us to come to her home was above and beyond.

The dinner smelled delicious; then it was served.

The meal actually reminded me of something I would have fixed when I was newly-married, and didn't know how to cook. Or even of something I might fix now. In other words, it was sort of, how shall I say it...let me describe it....

the chicken was dry and rather tough. It was smothered in some sort of globby gloop that I'm not even really sure what it was....potatoes, rice - I couldn't really tell. Let me just say that it was very difficult to eat. The bread, fresh from the bread machine, had a distinctly odd taste to it. The salad at least, was good... it was fresh.

But, my point is certainly not to complain about her food, but rather to point out that I am a VERY picky eater, and that scares the heck out of me when I think of the upcoming Sept through June.

Whatever am I going to do when eating in a foreign country with food that I cannot identify????????

Okay, so now I'm terrified; but could this finally be my way to lose weight?

Humbled - again!

NOTE: this is a very difficult post as it shows the real MOI! And, I don't like what I saw in me last night.

But, this is my journal, so I need to attempt to be honest. Here goes:

Monthly meeting of the organization. Interesting people, fun music, stories, historical tidbits.

BUT...blah food that seems rather pricey for what we get.

We were at the very back corner table, so I could see the server bringing out the plates of food...good gracious, what is THAT on those plates, I wondered?!??! (Usually it is ham/turkey/roastbeef w/ mashed potatoes, and green beans.)

Then the plate was put before me; baked beans (probably Bush's from the can), barbecued chicken (probably bottled barbecue sauce), 4 little baby carrots steamed for about 60 seconds.

Goodness, I thought, didn't they learn in home ec that you need a rainbow of colors (the entire plate was bathed in orange/browns)? It didn't have a very appetizing appearance, frankly. So, I was mumbling to myself....blah, blah, blah.

Then, as I put the first bite of food into my morth, the images of the Haitian people popped into my head...

starving children too weak to cry
fathers looting to give their children something - anything - to eat.
hands straining through a gate to plead for water from the military
children with big, beautiful brown eyes with parched lips
people drinking water that was filthy, but water nonetheless.

And, I was ashamed and embarrassed.

I felt like one of the many politicians who promise to make a difference, change the way things are done, and then lead lavish lifestyles, with no care or concern for the people.

Oh, I was shamed. I ate the food, grateful to have it. Grateful to live in America. Grateful that people will give up their lives to go help. Grateful for FOOD.

A Truly Memorable Day!

How to have an (Almost) Perfect Day:

1. Take a large dose of family (that is what made this a not-quite-perfect-day...we were missing Kristi D and Jordan and family). But here's who were there to celebrate with us:
Brent, Jenni, Sean, Janessa, Stockton, Landon
Justin, Amy, Eli, Miles
Jeremy
Allen, Loni
2. Stir in lots of other friends and their famlies: (These are the 4 other nurses from St. George who completed the Nurse Practitioner Degree with Jenni)
Bridget
Amanda
Heide
Melissa
3. Add great pot luck food at a church in Bountiful:
home-made chicken salad sandwiches
Macaroni Salad - the best I've ever had!
Costco potato salad
lots of fresh fruit
home-made cookies, brownies and cheesecake (none of which I ate because I'm cutting back a little on sweets - just a little! )

4. Blend in a short, but fun, fun program with Jeremy singing, Melissa singing a song about the Fab Five Nurses Finally Finishing their degrees after three long years, and Bridget doing a stand-up comedy routine about a day in the life of the fab five sharing a room in the motel!

5. Top with a highlighting event; graduation as a Master of Science in Nursing, and A Family Nurse Practitioner Degree.

6. Sprinkle in a surprise of opening the program to see that Jenni was elected to THREE honor societies for her FANTASTIC grades: Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Theta Tau, Golden Key. ( I just want to add here that not all Master's Programs are created equally...it is hard for any of us to understand the WORK,WORK,WORK that is required to get this degree. Classes, papers, research, patient diagnoses, more papers, traveling to Salt Lake many times, internships with a variety of specialists and doctors, projects, and a master's research paper. And, all of these 5 women did it while working and raising families. Their families deserve lots of praise. Thanks Supportive Brent and kids...you are great!)

Thanks Jenni for a great day!

And, ConGRADulations on being a Nurse Practitioner!

And the Winner Is:

Best Meal in England:

It's a tie between:
a sort-of-quiche-like dish with a sweet tomato chutney sauce on top; eaten at the little cafe at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. I had never tasted anything like the yummy little sauce, and oh, it was mighty tasty! The portion was very teeny, so it left me wanting more, which is good!

And, in Edinburgh Scotland, at a Beefeater's Restaurant, I had the most delicious sort of burrito which featured spinach, cheese, and carmelized onions. Oh, wow, that was so good. Unfortunately, that was a very generous portion, and I ate every bite!

Best Day Trip in England:

Another tie:
Blenheim Palace left me incredulous; not only the grounds, the palace itself, but the fascinating history of it. I just loved being there and learning about the Churchill family; Sir Winston, who was such a remarkable figure. It was a great outing, made even better by a delicious little luncheon; (see above)

the Wedgwood Factory....wow, wow, wow! My mother always loved fine china and things like that. I was never interested in it, or really saw its value. I'm sure that was a big disappointment to my dear perfect mother, but I repent now. Mom, I hope you know how I've seen the light. Seeing those master craftsmen at their work absolutely fascinated me! And, learning about Josiah Wedgwood, his passion for his craft, his concern for his workers - long before it was fashionable to be interested in the labour force, and his devotion to making each piece of Wedgwood perfect left me astounded. It was wonderful to be there and see it all. Sad side note: no one wants to take the time to make china the way it has been done in the past, so each factory is floundering, and in fact, the Wedgwood factory - in existence since the 1700s was just bought out by an American company.

Best Overnight Trip:
Oops, another tie;
I loved our trip to the Preston Temple; we went through a temple session for three days, then went to see church history sites in the Preston area; then went to work on family history at the family history center. It was a peaceful, pleasant, inspiring three days.

But, for sheer beauty, nothing could match the Lake District. It was indescribable, so I won't even try.

Most Fun City:
Oh, now that is a tough one! It's a tie:
Edinburgh, Scotland and the Royal Mile...that was just a fun walk and so interesting to see all the Scottish "stuff."

Chester: I wanted to go back here. It had a vibrancy about it that was intriguing! We walked around the city on an ancient Roman wall, and it was just so fascinating! But, to tell the truth, after awhile, all the cities sort of run together in my mind; so sad!

Best Book Read while in England:
Easy answer, Sense and Sensibility, which incredibly, I realized while reading it, that I had never read it before...what was I thinking?!?!? Loved it. Although I also read a Rumple book, which I dearly love, and am almost finished with a Dickens book, so I was really into Brit Lit while there!

Most Interesting Event:
Sad to say, we missed the horse races, so I felt really disappointed about that, but we went to Newborough, a little village very close to Abbots Bromley for a well dressing. It's a centuries old celebration where the town vicar blesses the well(water) and the people of the village. It's a little bit like our county fair; lots of booths, food, dancing, celebrating, fun, and frivolity.

Worst Part of the Trip:
Easy answer: the long flight going and coming!

Thanks, Tony and Agnes, for allowing us the use of your car, your home, and for being part of the village for five weeks. It was a JOY!

Food, Glorious Food

Zagat; the ultimate in rating restaurants in New York rates it high; Allen rates it low.

So far, we have eaten at two restaurants that are rated in the Zagat rating book. So far, Allen has been very disappointed in both!

First, was a little teeny place that has been in business for 50 years. I just looked at their website and scrolling through the gossip section was a list of famous people (Bill Clinton, Tom Cruise and wife, Kate Hudson, Lance Armstrong; the list goes on and on)who have eaten there. It's really quite the hot little place to enjoy a frozen hot chocolate and other interesting items. You can look at the menu here:http://www.serendipity3.com/main.htm. At any rate, Allen, Loni, and Kristi ate there and none of us was very impressed with our food.

The next place was a very famous pizza place that has also been in business for a long time. It's right by the Brooklyn Bridge and is called Grimaldi's Pizzeria:http://www.grimaldis.com/.
Their pizza is very unique. I watched it being put together. They spread the dough - not roll - but spread by hand, then put on about 6-8 chunks of mozaralla - not shredded - add a small - very small amount of tomato sauce - a little bit of olive oil, and the toppings. It's not cooked in a pan but directly on the coal-fired oven floor. It's very unique. Allen thought it tasted like a piece of cardboard. It reminded me of pizza we had on the isle of Capri when we were in Italy. It is a more authentic pizza and not the Americanized version. We heard about this place from a couple of people who recommended it highly. One tourist told us that a columnist for the New York Times said she had to eat there while she was in New York.

So much for popular and highly rated eateries. We'll probably just stick to the hot dog stand on every corner or the Dallas Barbecue where you can get 2 chicken dinners for ten dollars before six.

Ah, but the pastries...now that's another story for another day.