30by30: 2.) New Dinner Dishes - Cheese Fondue

For Christmas, my step-mom got me this gorgeous fondue set from Williams-Sonoma. My husband and I made a delicious cheese fondue from our own home. Though not particularly complicated, neither of us had ever made fondue before. It was a lot of fun and I think we will use it a lot. We figured out some short cuts for next time. We had some fantastic Artisan Roast Garlic bread to dip and enjoyed some medium grade champagne in our wedding Lenox glasses. It was very fun and romantic. What a wonderful way to wish in 2012!

30by30: 8.) Works of art, Sugar riding a Velociraptor

This work of art was inspired by several things. First, I recently purchased the new book 642 Things to Draw and that made me create my own version of it with additional drawing options. This drawing was inspired by one created by The Oatmeal, a Seattle cartoonist who I admire. The cat is my Siamese, Sugar , and she is riding one of the all time terrifying animals, a Velociraptor! I was terrified of that scene in Jurassic Park when the V-raptors learn how to open the doors ... shiver. Anyways, my cat is clearly awesome because she is flaunting her glory. I have done several drawings in pencil, ink and colored pencil for the two books. Between the two, I think there are more than 1,000 different subjects to draw from! I love writing prompt books, so having a "drawing prompt" book is fantastic. :)

30by30: 12.) Learn how to drive a stick - COMPLETED

This is the first accomplished task from my 30 before 30 list. I worked on driving the Volvo a lot more often and it got smoother and smoother. I figured out to deal with handling a hill and I really didn't feel bad about driving it at all by the end. If I ever participated in the Amazing Race, I would be able to figure it out.

This was a real challenge for me at the beginning, so the fact that I did it is a huge accomplishment!

30by30: 25.) Empty Storage Unit - COMPLETE

This storage unit we had to get when mom died. We cleaned it out and closed it. Man, that felt great to be saving ourselves $100 each month!

30by30: 1.) Graduate school, update

I will begin my final term at George Fox University in January 2012. I'm really ready to be done. I love school but it's taking a lot of energy to do both the work samples, working full time in the school, and doing a full-credits worth of homework. Being a teacher will always be a lot of work, but reducing the homework element will be helpful for my sanity in the long-term. At this point I just feel spread a little too thin. Christmas break will hopefully help make me a little more calm.

30by30: 8.) Works of art, Unit final, Middle School poetry books

To become a Middle School Language Arts teacher, I taught 10 lessons of poetry in a local Middle School. That wasn't all it entails, but that is the short version of the story. For the final summative assessment, the students put together poetry books of their own poems they completed during the two weeks to give to someone, if they should so choose, as gifts for their families over the holiday break. I remember doing this in 6th grade with Mr. Faber when he made these great Seashore books bound with our own drawings and data of different things found in tide pools and then we took a class field trip to the tide pools. One of my favorite elementary school projects!

For the project, the students used watercolors to decorate the covers. Each student was provided with cotton balls to smear the paint to make an abstract image. Inside the book was a dedication page, a Purpose of poetry page, a found poem, a quatrain and a concrete poem. Then I went and laminated and comb-binded them. They turned out looking really nice!

30by30: 2.) New dinner dishes

This recipe I had been dying to try for several years. It always sounded great, but I never had an excuse to make it. I am attaching the recipe I used, which I reduced by half.

Better yet, it tasted very savory and left me with that great umami feeling in my mouth. The picture attached was after I served it to me and my husband.


COWBOY CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST
- Serves 6 (or 4 cowboys) Active time: 30 minutes. Start to finish: 1.5 hours

Ingredients:
1 pound bulk breakfast sausage (not links)
4 Texas Toast pieces - thawed
1 dozen eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (and more if you like cheese)
1/2 cup whole milk
scallions
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Put a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375*F. Generously butter a 9x9 baking dish. Cook sausage in a skillet until browned, drain off fat and set aside to cool. Place Texas Toast face down in the baking dish. Sprinkle sausage on top. Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper until frothy. Whisk in scallions and half of cheese. Pour egg mixture over sausage (bread will float to the top) and push down on bread with a spatula to help it absorb liquid. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with a large sheet of buttered foil (buttered side down) and bake for 30 minutes. Carefully remove foil and bake until top is slightly puffed and eggs are cooked through in center, about 20 minutes more. Let casserole cool for 10 minutes, then cut into pieces. Note: The dish can be assembled up to 12 hours ahead an refrigerated, covered with buttered foil. Bake as directed.

Adapted from:
Reichl, Ruth. Gourmet today: more than 1000 all-new recipes for the contemporary kitchen. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 657.

30by30: 12.) Driving a stick update

The manual driving went well. I felt brave enough to drive somewhere on my own, which happened to be the Goodwill. I shifted to reverse well and then instead of going to first, I went to third. Oops. But, I didn't kill the car and it all went fine. This picture is of the car perfectly parked :)

When I was growing up, I learned how to drive an automatic on a Volvo station wagon. It had grey-black sheepskin seat covers and hand-brakes. Now that I have a Volvo it makes me think of growing up and how I felt driving that adorable Volvo from my younger years. :)

30by30: 8.) Works of art, Hand-made B&W cards with husband's photo pics

We had a whole bunch of very attractive 4x6" images left over from my husband's black and white photography adventures in Europe and Japan. With these 75 images, I put one side using decorative scalloped scissors and then attached them to basic photography cards that I purchased from Michael's. Then I gave them away as Christmas presents in groups of 10 or 12. On the back of each card, we put the location of the picture. Only family received them, but everyone really loved them.

30by30: 2.) Bento box & 12.) Driving a stick update

2.) Though not terribly exciting, I purchased my first bento box from Uwajimaya. I got one that had chopsticks that screwed together. It is, of course, baby blue in color and it fits in my vintage 1980s My Little Pony lunchbox next to the thermos. I keep it in an adorable blue and black stripped zipper bag. Here is a cute bento box design that I would like to make:

12.) Learn to drive a stick - This still hasn't happened yet, but I drove home from a burlesque show and then Kevin and I practiced driving up the "hill" that I was worried about on the way to school. I did it really well and only stalled out a few times :)

30by30: 8.) Works of art, Hand-made furoshiki

When I was in Japan this year, I purchased some really nice Japanese fabric to use in making furoshiki for Christmas presents this year. History of the furoshiki began from the Edo Period, in the early 1600s. Furoshiki literally means "bath spread," as it was originally used to hold clothing, shoes and personal belongings while attending at the Japanese public bath. Users would wrap and fold it in various manners. As use of the furoshiki expanded beyond the bathhouses, merchants began using the cloth to carry their goods to the market and as a form of wrapping paper and gift carrier. It's reusable wrapping paper at it's finest. To me, it also reminds me of the "hobo bag" in the stick that people used to use in America. I made approximately 12 furoshiki as gifts this year and I believe my friends and family will really appreciate them. I made them large enough that if they would prefer to use them as a head wrap, like a bandana, then they are large enough.

30by30: 26.) Repair, furnish and decorate the backroom

The last room in our house that is not usable (as it currently stands) is the backroom leading out to the yard. We've been considering different ways of dealing with it but have left it as a winter project. We have ripped out the fireplace mortar that was left by the previous owner and the wall-mounted heater that took up one whole wall. We had the sliding doors (there were two of them) replaced with a vinyl door. We have some ceiling damage from a leak and we need to replace the floor and get a more functional heater. We are replacing a leaking window with a round window. We will need to decorate and furnish the room too.

Today I had help from my mother-in-law with spackling, sanding and painting the room. My hubby and I selected Behr paint in Gold Buff. My MIL and I sprayed on orange peel texture and spackled and sanded like crazy. The place that had the fireplace is completely hidden now.

BEFORE TODAY

AFTER TODAY

New Thing #119: Project 365

I began the Project 365 project on the day Kevin and I got married in August 2010. I took and posted one picture a day on FB. A lot happened that year that was chronicled:

• got married - my husband, my best friend
• was laid off from my job - it's okay I hated it anyway and I planned a career change plus I got unemployment
• went on my honeymoon to Australia for a month - That was brilliantly fun
• my mom went in to the hospital - I went to visit her often because I was unemployed. She still seemed okay. We began preparing our hearts.
• our offer on a foreclosure home was accepted by the bank - though tedious and awful process we got the house of our dreams
• I started graduate school for a career change - put those career change wheels in motion immediately
• mom passed away - was there with her in the end and we had many conversations about the house (which we got) and my career change to teaching. She was informed of everything upcoming in my life. And I was grateful K and I were there with her in the end.
• we moved into the new house - glad to be rid of the scarry, narrow apartment quarters.
• Kevin totalled my car - no one was hurt and we will get another

And I was compelled for my sanity to do the Gratitude Journal for 365 days (beginning in February) and the Project365 (began at the end of August) with photos. For my food interest, would it be conceivable that I could eat something new every day (or week). I'm inspired by many of the food blogs and I enjoy those readings. I've been to so many foreign countries and I think I could do well. But would one new meal or technique be too much to handle? I suppose I could always try. This would need to be a photo journal to be best served in the future. Maybe a facebook album?

New Thing #118: Saw O-Bon in Kyoto, Japan

After teaching in China, I went to Kyoto, Japan for a two-week trip culminating in the annual Obon Festival. This was my second trip to Japan but my first time visiting the ancient city. Highlights included:

• Visiting the Urasenke location
• Walking around town
• Air-conditioning (so warm!)
• All the numerous shrines and temples I visited
• Going out for my birthday and watching the sunset from the rooftop with Urasenke friends
• Teramachidori 
• Arashiyama day trip
• Cultural shops (wagashi, chanoyu, kodo, etc.)

New Thing #117: Taught English in a China

I was teaching English at a Chinese English camp for three weeks. It was an amazing experience. Highlights included:

• Walking along the Great Wall
• The food!
• Visiting the Forbidden City
• The passion for teaching children that it kindled inside of me
• Eating scorpion and sea horse
• The culture shock!