Foodie Friday -- "The Last Supper"

I've been packing and organzing for hours, I totally lost track of time.  Before I knew it, Friday had passed me by!  Pardon my tardiness.

Well folks, tonight was my last night in town.  And, subsequently, my last home cooked meal by dear old dad.  Breaking from tradition, my father has always been the cook and baker in the family.  My parents were never trying to "make a statement."  Rather, my mom's culinary talents include hard boiled eggs, sandwiches, and hot dogs . . . which got old shortly after they were married.  My dad is a whiz in the kitchen.  It's probably genetic, as his mother (may she rest in peace) was an amazing cook in her day. 

I always miss my dad's cooking when I'm away.  I longed for his homemade spaghetti bolognese when I was far away at college and dreamt about his famous potato salad.  As I digest my last dad-cooked meal for a while, I am beginning to miss it already!

Sometimes my dad and I would cook or bake together, like for school projects or holidays.  Here's a few of my most happy cooking-related memories of my dad and I together:

1.  FLAN.  In the 6th or 7th grade I had a Spanish class project to make a Latin American dish to share with the class.  I don't remember who came up with the idea, but we decided on flan. 

Get in my belly!

We could have taken the easy route and get the already made stuff or a mix, but OH NO, we made that treat from scratch.  I even remember caramelizing the sugar in the pan for an authentic taste.  It was a new adventure for both of us and I was very proud of the final result.  Needless to say, my classmates polished off my pan.

2. Christmas Cookies.  Okay technically I'm Jewish but my dad's family are not so we have gotten into the habit of celebrating Christmas.  I love that we do both traditions.  Mostly I am just a fan of "Christmas spirit," an excuse to eat my body weight in holiday treats, Christmas trees, and Santa.  Anyways, most years I didin't bother with making Christmas cookies because my cousin tends to make a delicious batch for the family.  But a year or two ago, I was particularly poor and decided I would bake and decorate cookies for friends and family as gifts.  I really went all-out, I even got cookie press to make cute and festive shapes.  I spent a small fortune on icing and sprinkles.  I was ready. 

This is a weapon of mass cookie construction

Mid-decoration, my dad came downstairs to check on my progress and joined right in.  I was very impressed with his artistic skills with the red and green icing.  We were both quiet, deep in concentration, but bonded over the fun holiday activity.  I almost felt like a kid again.

3. Sundays with grandpa.  Since my grandma passed away two years ago, we've started a semi-tradition of eating dinner with my grandpa on Sundays at his apartment.  My grandma (his wife) usually prepared his meals when they didn't eat in the community cafeteria, so we knew when she passed away he could use the company and the meal.  Sometimes we brought pizza or took him out somewhere but my favorites were the times dad would make his yummy meatloaf and potatoes and we would bring it over.  The whole car ride over, all I could smell was the oven-fresh loaf that I would soon devour.  Both the meal and the time together was delicious.

Sometimes food is just food.  Like when you scarf down your lunch at your desk on a busy day or hit the McDonald's in the wee hours after a late night out.  But sometimes food is a memory, it's an expression of love, it's the catalyst for bringing loved ones together.  I hope that when my parents come to visit us in August that I can repay the favor by making a home cooked meal for my parents and we can catch up at the dinner table.  

What's your favorite home-cooked meal?

So TOMORROW I am off to England!  EEEKKKK!!  Can it be??  Is it really here??  It still seems surreal even though my bags are in the hallway (bursting at the seams, I might add).  Too many emotions and thoughts running through my head to list here, but I'll be sure to write a post once I've slept off the jet lag and unpacked my underoos.

Wish me luck!

A

HUMP DAY HISTORY!

Sorry for the late entry, but it's 11:00pm on Washington, D.C. time so it's still hump day here!

A Wild Day at the Zoo

Whether you are a fan of the scientific and educational merits of a public zoo or find it cruel to animals (I'm still on the fence on this one), all of us have probably been to a zoo at some point.  Like me, you were probably on a school trip or dragged by your parents on a hot Saturday in the summer so you would stop annoying them for a few hours.  Some of you may have even visited a zoo last month with your own kids!  My point is, we're all familiar.

Did you know that the oldest scientific zoo open to the public was actually in Regent's Park London?



http://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/



 It's true!  This zoo was opened to the public around 1828.  Before this time, there were animal parks in existence across Europe and the rest of the world but they were primarily used as private royal menageries for kings, queens, and emperors.  I suppose a modern equivalent would be Mr. Hugh Hefner's own private zoo on the Playboy Mansion grounds.



I am told Hugh has actual rabbits in the Playboy private zoo. PicSource





















The London Zoo opened in April 1828 to fellows of the research society and among the first species available were an Arabian oryx, greater kudus, orangutan and the now extinct quagga & thylacine (InfoSource)

The next year, King George IV granted a Royal Charter to the researchers to open the zoo to the public in hopes of raising ongoing funds.  To this day, the London Zoo receives no public funds, but instead relies on membership fees from members, private donations, and entrance fees.

60 years later, the same mission for zoological research and public education was the impetus for creating my neighborhood zoo, the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.  The National Zoo was created by Congress for “the advancement of science and the instruction and recreation of the people.”  We are very fortunate that due to both federal funding and private foundation funds, the zoo is free to the public.  For now, anyways!

So the next time you enter the stinky enclosure of the majestic elephant or have a childhood flashback to watching the adorabe prairie dogs on a school field trip, you can thank the Zoological Society of London for leading the rest of the world.

Or, if you're not a zoo fan, then you can point the blame accordingly.



OMG can I keep it?  (Source)

 Okay back to packing! 

-A-

Blog Blast from the Past!

Four days til I leave for England!!! 
I have been talking about and planning for moving to England for over a year now and it's FINALLY happening, it still feels so surreal. 

The other day I randomly stumbled across a really really really old blog I had briefly around the time that I studied abroad in England in 2007.  This was my first time abroad, period.  I got a real kick out of my blog entry about my nervousness at moving to England for a few months.  It makes me smile cause I was so hopeful about my future with Kieran and I always knew it would work out this way...us, together...FINALLY.  So for old times' sake, here's my 20 year old self blogging about the anticipation of my first trip to England. WARNING:  I cussed at lot back then.  Okay, I still cuss a lot now but this particular entry is guilty of bad language.  :-)


okay party people, it's been far too long since my last post.


finally done at school, got through the semester with flying colors (thank God), and now back here in good 'ol MoCo. I gotta say i haven't done a whole lot since I've been home, just a lot of down time. Which I admit makes me quite antsy and frustrated cause i constantly have this feeling that there's something i need to be doing. I feel so lazy and useless!! I hate it. That's the TYPE-A Personality for ya. But as January 18 approaches, I've gotta spend some time buying stuff I need and finishing up some paperwork stuff. There's a lot still to do.


So yeah, England. Wow it's coming up fast. But somehow not fast enough. I keep envisioning myself at the airport and it just feels like this distant dream, some fantasy that won't actually happen--even though my plane ticket is bought and paid for and there's a dorm room with my name on it in Cheltenham.

 I have to admit, I'm really scared. What the fuck do I, a sheltered suburbanite with no travel experience, know about a foreign country? Can i handle it? Will I make friends? Can i afford this? Will i be homesick? 6 months is a damn long time. What if I get sick? What if I get lost? What if I run out of money? What if I hate it? What if people hate me? What if I get mugged? I'm gonna miss my family. What if something happens to grandma while I'm away? I'm gonna miss my friends. Are they going to forget about me? I'm scared.

 There's only one thing keeping my fears at bay right now. If it weren't for Kieran and his family I'd really be panicking right now, I'd be about ready to call Jarmila and be like, "HAHAH JUST KIDDING!" But I can't do that, I won't do that. Cause all I can see in my mind's eye is Kieran's face at London Heathrow with the biggest smile I've ever seen and I'll know it was all worth it. It means the past 3.5 months we've spent waiting and being sad and missing something was not in vain.
But for all these worrying thoughts, I really feel in my heart that this is going to be the best thing that ever happened to me. The moment I get off that plane will be the first day of the rest of my life. I need this. I need to break away from my parents, push the boundaries, step outside my comfort zone. I need to prove to myself that I can truly take care of myself and flourish in a new situation. I need to find that faith in myself that I've lost completely. I need to learn to trust myself and feel good about the decisions I make. That I really can be okay in the long-run even if I'm nervous and uncomfortable at times. It's okay to make mistakes and fuck up and be confused. It's okay to be anxious and fearful, really!! I'd be concerned if i wasn't. I feel like this experience is really going to help me accept these things and be a better person afterwards. My goal is to love it so much that I cry all the way home. My goal is to cry like a bitch.

 When I say it's gonna be the "first day of the rest of my life," I really feel that applies to my relationship with Kieran as well. When he left that day in October, I can't recall ever feeling such pain. Missing him is agony. In the past 3.5 months, we've said a hundred bajillion "i miss you"s and every day i meant it more and more. Struggling together, we really grew closer. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that I was willing to put myself through this in order to say cheerful hello's in January. Every day that went by, I realized more and more that I HATE missing Kieran. He is the hardest person to miss. And I want to do everything in my power to make sure that in the future,I don't have to miss him. I'm gonna enjoy saying "hello" again for once. I'm fucking ecstatic, I dunno if there are words in the English language that can capture that emotion. But i enjoy putting a "FUCK" in there for emphasis, that helps some.Okay that's all for now. I'm NY-Bound tomorrow, feeling a little unwell, so I gotta try and shake this illness.



happy new year's people! Bring it on, 2007!! Let's make it a damn good one.

 Ohhhh 5-years-ago-me, you are a gem.

Toodles!
A

HUGE NEWS on Foodie Friday!

On my first weekly "Foodie Friday" special post, I have BIG news!

MY VISA HAS ARRIVED!!!

I dunno why I look sad in my visa picture, I am actually quite happy :)

This has been the longest 5 weeks of my whole life.  But at 22 business days, I was still under the 33 day average. 

Now to book a flight for next weekend and I'm finally off!  It seems so surreal.  I've been waiting for this day for what feels like a lifetime and now that it's actually here I don't know quite where to start!  Considering my room and the guest room look like Hurricane Amanda ripped through, I should start by organizing the mess into suitcases and/or giveaway piles!  Eeee I can't believe I FINALLY get to pack!!!

* * * * * * * * * *
Now, as promised--My first "Foodie Friday" post!

Wikipedia defines a "foodie"  as a person with a special interest or knowledge of food, a gourmet. I wouldn't call myself a gourmet, but I do love food and I love to cook and try new things!

Of the many types of food I thoroughly enjoy, cake is definitely one of them.  They come in all shapes and flavors, what's not to like?!  One of my favorites is Red Velvet.
Last night I made Red Velvet cupcakes with a yummy cream cheese frosting...

The red food coloring makes it look like a delcious surgery.  Nom nom.  Be jealous. 

The top tier of our wedding cake is red velvet!  I only have to wait 325 days to eat it.  I hope it doesn't get freezer burn by then! 
Ok for reals, time to get serious about this packing thing! Yay!

Love,
A

HUMP DAY HISTORY LESSON

Some of my favorite expat blogs like Betsy Transatlantically have a "theme" for certain days of the week, just to keep things interesting and consistent for readers.  I would like to institute the same thing on my blog!  Which is why I have decided to start  "Hump Day History" and "Foodie Fridays" so I can dish about some of my favorite things-- storytelling and food!

Here we go!

The Six Wives of Henry VIII

I know I'm about 5 years late but I have fallen in love with the Showtime series The Tudors.  The series was 4 seasons long and chronicles the most infamous King of England.



King Henry VII

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a young King Henry.  Sooo hot, want to touch the hiney.  *ahem* I mean he is a fine actor.

Most Americans don't know a whole lot about the history of the English monarchy aside from the fact that we were once under British rule.  Having grown up in a country with no monarchy, I am utterly fascinated by it and by the rich history of absolute monarchies in England and elsewhere.

Before King Henry VIII, England and most of their European neighbors were Catholic nations and all religious laws were overseen by the Pope, the Bishop of Rome.  This wasn't really a problem until King Henry VIII decided around 1530 he wanted a divorce from his wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon.  Though a pious and honorable wife, she was the ripe old age of 42, had not bore him a son, and he had his eye on a younger model--Lady Anne Boleyn.

The King and his aides tried to convince the Pope and the holy men of Rome and England that his marriage to Catherine was illegitimate because they had married against God's will.  Catherine was briefly married to Henry's own brother (King Arthur) and as it says in Leviticus 20:21 "If a man takes his brother's wife, it is an impurity: he has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless."  King Henry asserted that Catherine and Arthur had consummated their marriage and thus God was punishing King Henry and Catherine for their sin by not giving them a son.
Much to the King's anger, the Pope and holy men of Rome and England refused to grant the annulment on the grounds that the marriage was, in fact, legitimate under God's holy law.

King Henry VIII shocked Rome and his European peers by announcing he would separate England from the Catholic Church and become supreme the head of a separate church--The Church of England.  Not only would he be able to make political decisions for his country, but he could also decide on all ecclesiastical matters, as he believed he was meant to be the human decision-maker on earth of God's will.

As the head of the Church of England, he annulled the marriage between he and Queen Catherine, banishing her from court.  Their daughter, Mary, was deemed illegitimate and sent away.  (However later King Henry made her legitimate and she ruled as Queen of England for a short time).

Thus began a long history of love and tragedy with his subsequent 5 wives.

1. Queen Catherine of Aragon (married 24 years).  Divorced
   They had one child, Mary, who was Queen of England for 5 years
2. Queen Anne Boleyn (married 3 years).  Executed
   They had one child, Elizabeth. Elizabeth went on to be Queen for 44 years.
   Anne was very passionate and outspoken at times, traits not expected of a Queen
   By the time Anne was accused of incest and adultery, the King already had his eyes on his next wife.
3. Queen Jane Seymour (married less than 2 years).  Died after childbirth
   Queen Jane finally bore King Henry his much desired son and heir.
   She died 2 weeks after the birth from infection.
   It has been said that King Henry had a special affection for Jane and felt she was his "true wife."
   She is the only wife to be buried next to King Henry
4. Queen Anne of Cleves (married 6 months).  Divorced.
   No children
   King Henry mourned over the loss of Jane for three years before his advisors suggested a marriage for foreign alliance.  The King did not love her and didn't find her attractive.  The political reasons for the union were becoming less necessary, so they divorced.
5. Queen Kathryn Howard (married 2 years).  Executed.
   No children.
   The Queen was accused of adultery and promiscuity before marriage.  After investigation, the rumors proved to be true and Queen Kathryn was executed
6. Queen Katherine Parr (married 4 years).  Widowed
   No children.
   Queen Katherine was his 6th and final wife before his death in 1547

I hope this short lesson was interesting and informative!  I highly recommend The Tudors series if you can get a copy on DVD or on the internet.  Though the writers did use some artistic license with the story, much of the historical facts remain intact.  Plus, Jonathan Rhys Meyers ain't too bad on the eyes.  Sorry, I had to say it.

Stay tuned for more history!

Who is your favorite historical figure?



Visa Update:  My case has been assigned to an Entry Clearance Officer and she emailed me today requesting one additional supporting doc, which I sent.  Now I'm glued to my email waiting for updates!



Reppin' the Motherland

Visa Status: NADA. Just over 1 calendar month. 21 working days.

If I can't be in England, I might as well teach others about England!
My bff Rachel asked me to help out at her elementary school for "International Night." They needed someone to represent England so of course I was happy to oblige.

I think I went a little bit overboard with my tri-fold posterboard and detailed info but I had so much fun putting it together. Plus, projects here and there are a much appreciated distraction.

(ME with my English bounty)

(I'm not sure why Israel was hanging with Europe, but they had yummy food!)

(That's Rachel on the left with her Israel presentation)

(The finale was traditional dancing.  This was Peru)

Very fun time! Loads of amazing food made by the international families represented there. My favorites were Ethiopian, Polish, and Portuguese. Nom nom nom!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In an unrelated story, Kieran got us a mattress to fit our king size bed frame. It was a pretty hilarious story whereby Kieran's dad was offered a brand new mattress on offer from a mattress delivery guy cause he had extras in his truck. Long story short, we got a king mattress worth 800 or 900 quid for 150 pounds. Not too shabby! I found the story quite amusing. At least if I ever get to England I will have a nice bed to rest on!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far!

Goodbye, my trusty chariot!

This is my dear friend, my 2005 Hyundai Tucson. Yesterday she found a good new home for a decent price! Out of respect, I write this blog in memorium of our time together.

The summer after my freshman year at Juniata, I was realizing that rural Pennsylvania was not exactly the best place for a pedestrian. Though the campus itself was small, the big Sheetz and liquor stores were 2 miles away! That's not acceptable. Not to mention we were getting a big Walmart about 5 miles away.

My parents liked the idea of not having to drive me to and from school every few months. We figured if I got an SUV I could be responsible for transporting all my crap so my parents wouldn't have to endure another semester of lugging my CD colletion up long stairwells. Did I mention none of our dorms had elevators? Or air conditioning? Yeah. And move in day in August was usually hot as balls.

Amanda needed a car.

That summer, with the help of my grandma, I found my highway companion.

That car took me everywhere...
Back and forth from MoCo to Juniata
Friday trips to Altoona for Shabbat services with my second family
To "the spillway" several times during that one semester I played Rubgy
Exploring Pennsylvania outside of sleepy Huntingdon
To New York in 2006 where my life changed
Road trips, airports, homes of friends and family
First jobs
Last days
Drives to clear my head
Snow storms
Downpours
First days of spring with the windows down and Jimmy Eat World turned up

She never let me down.

My aunt, being a social worker and a veritable wellspring of emotion, asked me "how do you feel about selling the car? Does it make you sad?" Despite being pleased about the dollars in my pitiful bank account, I admit I was a little sentimental. Don't misunderstand, I'm not emotionally attached to any of my material things. But there were so many memories in that car. Images of friends laughing in the backseat, all my wordly college possessions blocking my rear view on the long drive home, digging her out of record snowfall, listening to Kieran snoring from the passenger's seat on long drives. It was just a car but it was also a major backdrop in the movie of my life. But I take comfort in knowing that although the car is gone, my memories will always stay with me.

I guess I'm also a little sad that soon this might be my fate as a European driver:

Source
God help me.

Visa Update:Monday is 1 calendar month and 19 business days
Nothing yet.

I did the math

Y'all, I am a sad sight to behold. I've just checked my email for the 47th time (no spouse visa yet), I'm sitting in my duckie boxer shorts, and eating breakfast at 6:00pm. My daily nail-biting is compounded by the fact that I'm unemployed and don't exactly have much to fill my day with. It's quite pathetic.

Anyways, my point is, I have A LOT of time on my hands.

A more ambitious person might go to the gym every day, do chores, or at least carry the dirty clothes pile blocking the door 3 feet to the hamper for which it was created. Not I!

Instead I have chosen to obsessively check American Expat message boards, make obnoxious posts on the UK Consulate in New York facebook page, and check processing time stats every 3 hours.

I have made an interesting calculation that pisses me off...

This is the current statistics for settlement visa processing times posted on the UK Border Agency website:

These stats are based on the month of March. That's 237 cases in one month. Sounds like a lot, right? Not really.

If there's 20 working days in a month. That's 11 cases in a day. REALLY?!
Come on now, you can surely do better than that. I assume theres more than one staff person assigned to this type of case. Even if there are two people, they should surely be able to make a decision on at least twice that amount.

Consider this.
It should take no more than 30 minutes to look at the supporting documentation and determine if this is clearly a legit couple or not. If yes, stamp APPROVE on it. If no, pass it along for a second opinion. So, in theory, one staff person could make a decision on 14 cases in one working day (I am being nice and giving them an hour for lunch). I would like to think they have more than one person working on this.

Ugh I am just making my brain hurt. At the end of the day, it doesn't make my case process any faster. Blergh.

Sorry y'all, I hope to make a more cheery post later.

Bittersweet

Happy Monday, everyone!


The past 24 hours have been the definition of "bittersweet" for me. On one hand, I never thought I would still be here for Mother's Day so I felt very blessed to be able to have this time with my mom and dad, the three musketeers on the loose! On the other hand, today is Kieran and my 1 month wedding anniversary and we're still separated by immigration.





(Here's me and my beautiful mom just a month ago on a very happy occasion!)

Well I think I speak for my mom when I say we had a lovely Mother's Day together! The three of us drove to Frederick for the day. As the country scenery flew by our window, we jammed out to Taylor Swift tunes. We did what mom and I love best--shopping! My mom got a Movado watch that she has wanted for a long time and we spent a great deal of the time in the bookstore...AKA mom's second home. We got some children's books for my cousin's baby on the way and bonded over chatting about our favorite childhood tales. Some of my favorite memories of my childhood were reading stories with my mom! It was nice to reminisce. I'm grateful that I could see my mom's reaction to my flowers and card and was able to give her a nice day together.


On the other hand, I'm still apart from my heart. Today is 3 weeks and 14 business days from when I received confirmation that my spouse settlement visa was received. Every single day is absolute agony. The waiting is killing me. It's so hard on the both of us. Trust me, Kieran and I are no strangers to long distance, we've been doing this for nearly 5 years now. But this particular experience definitely measures up there with the worst. I think it's because:

A) We have no control over when the separation will end. I can't just hop on a plane, I have no passport.

B) We're married now and we're not able to live like a married couple. We thought marriage was gonna end this nonsense and yet we're still apart. I hate not being able to be there to do wifey things and contribute financially!

C) Both of our lives are on hold. I'm not working because I thought I would be in the UK getting a job by now and Kieran's living in a half furnished apartment cause we're not there together to set it up properly.


I wish we could go back to this happier time...



It just feels like a horrible injustice right now.

I feel guilty sometimes for being such a sour puss about this situation when I know there are loads of couples who have it way worse. I'm very fortunate that although Kieran is far away, he's not in a war and at least I know he's safe. I am very lucky that I'm not having to worry about children and how this affects them. I am so so blessed that I have my parents here who are supporting me emotionally and financially by letting me stay with them rent free until I can finally move to England. It could be so much worse, I know. I just can't help feeling sorry for myself anyway.

I just miss my man and I'm devastated that our first month of marriage wasn't what we thought it would be and that I'm missing out on this time together.

Well I guess I should get out of my pajamas and do some chores. At least it will fill a few hours and I desperately need to do laundry, I am fresh out of undies...noooo!

Thanks for reading,
A