So that’s my bad about not updating, AND LOOK WHO’S JUST FOUND HER NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION! Apparently I’ll be better at this now.
Christmas 2008 was really nice and relaxing but somehow interspersed with drama, like all family Christmasses should be. I went with Ben to his family’s place in the England ‘burbs, where they are famous for their road construction of roundabouts, a little fact that seems to really capture the essence of that area. Dinner included parsnips- a new favorite veggie of mine, a turkey, a goose, little sausages wrapped in bacon (another fave), brussel sprouts which I’ve decided aren’t actually that bad, and other typical fare. Dessert included Christmas Pudding- a gigantic mound of fruitcake that is lit on fire after being doused with brandy- and shots of toffee flavoured vodka.
Also for dessert was chocolate cake because Ben’s mom knows that it’s his fave. He cut a good chunk of it onto his plate, to which his 5 year-old niece Emma responded (in a little English accent), “Ben’s a bit greedy.” I gave her a copy of Goodnight Moon for an xmas present.
OUTSTANDING XMAS PRESENTS 2008:
Jamie Oliver’s (I totally just spelled it Jaime at first, chingow) “Ministry of Food” cookbook, from Ben
hot pink foldable cutting boards, from Ben
This is probably the point at which I should mention a most shocking new development in my life: I’ve discovered that not only can I cook, but I quite enjoy it too. I know, right?!? I was as disbelieving as you probably are. But seriously, I’ve made some killer pastas, soup, cornbread, omlettes, mexican things, homemade cookies, I’ve even come up with my own secret chicken marinade. Yeah, all pretty simple stuff but it tastes damn good, and I’ve gotta start somewhere, right? So do feel free to pass on some good (and not very difficult) recipes– I am indeed thinking of some of you specifically.
Also among the presents was A BIRTHDAY TRIP TO AMSTERDAM (by this time you should be able to guess from whom). I just got back a few days ago, and it was pretty incredible. The city was most definitely on my top list of places to visit, and now it is on my top list of favorite cities visited. It’s totally like Austin in that it’s a smaller city, has a real “town” feel, has a bunch of independently-owned local business, and is trendy and hip and awesome. We visited the infamous Red Light District and a bunch of Amsterdam cafes, but also enjoyed the Anne Frank museum in the house where she hid from the Nazis, as well as the actual diary itself. At one point, we decided that we wanted a light lunch of dutch cheeses, and spent quite a few hours wandering around the city on a hunt for cheese (naturally getting distracted by a shop or cafe around every other corner). We set out around noon, and at about 5pm, we came up on a clearing from the windy Amsterdam streets and ran into this:
JACKPOT.
We also visited the Amsterdam Sex Museum, which wasn’t so much educational as a centralized facility for all kinds of pornographic documentation, as well as this:
So yeah, the ‘Dam was a blast.
In between Christmas and my birthday was New Year’s Eve. The pub where I work allowed it’s staff to have a private party there for ourselves and friends, which was great because the pub is located right near the River Thames, where the massive London NYE fireworks show is at. Although I was totally content staying in the warm pub, Ben and others insisted on walking down to the river to see the “world famous” fireworks display. I knew this was a mistake as soon as we walked out of the pub, because there was a literal flood of people pouring down the street. We went into it, and sure enough, the flood came to a total standstill as the people could move no further, a good distance before the high buildings ended. I was trapped, in my heels, in a crowd of tens of thousands, with zero visability of the fireworks. After the fireworks noise ended the crowd began to push, and I had no control over where we were going. It was kind of cool in that big-city way, but kind of not because I am short and had to really struggle to keep my head above the other bodies in the crowd. We made it out fine though, and got wasted, etc. etc.
In other news, I’ve been wearing a minimum of 4 layers before going outside lately, including tights under my jeans and Uggs, and by lately I mean the past 3 weeks. Check out my most recent photos (just click any of the photos here) to see the new Eskimo look I’m pulling off. On the bright side though, I’ve quite easily accepted this as my fate and I’m looking at it like this: from now on, any cold I experience later in life will probably be accompanied by thinking, “Well, at least it isn’t as cold as London,” or something like that. It’s only snowed once so far though, and that was like back in late October, so I’m starting to feel a bit ripped off.
Ben and I forced ourselves to get out of the house this past weekend and somehow we chose to visit an outdoors food market in 25 degree weather. Luckily it was great despite the involuntary shaking of our bodies towards the 2nd hour of being outside. It’s this famous farmer’s-type-market underneath the London bridge, and it’s just massive. Tons of different international spices, produce, high quality meats, etc. I even got some legit Mexican hot chocolate.
Soon, we’re going to go ice skating. We attempted to a few days ago but it didn’t work out, I’d even gotten well drunk for it and everything. I’ve accepted that this adventure will consist of me falling on my ass for the majority of it.
Now it’s time to pile on some clothes and go pick up some groceries. Tonight, homemade burgers. Word.
Oh, and Happy Holidays to you and yours.
