I Have Arrived

 Sorry it has taken me a couple of days to figure out that the library here in town has wifi courtesy of University of Alaska's Chukchi College.  

My journey began at 4:30am Saturday morning.  Tyler and I shuffled out of his Aunt and Uncle’s house in Atlanta around five and headed for the airport.  I had been praying about my flights, because the forecasts had been predicting sketchy weather in Houston, which was to be my first connection.  But when I got to the airport they said that I was re-routed onto a direct flight from ATL to SEA (Seattle).  I had some breakfast then bid Tyler farewell.  (Tyler refrained from eating because he was on his way to run 10k with Lauren Frame.  I wish I could have seen the two of them at mile 6.) 

When I got to my flight, it was completely full, except for the seat right next to me.  After the changed connection and empty seat, I knew God was looking out for my travels.  Apparently God wanted me to get some sleep and catch up on my reading, because there were NO t.v.’s on my first flight even though it was four hours long.  And then, my second flight only offered movies and DirecTv if you paid, skip that.  So, I slept a lot, which ended up really helping reset my well-oiled internal clock for the time change.  After Seattle, I flew to Anchorage where I just barely caught my flight to Kotzebue.  Again, praise the Lord. 

On my flight to Kotzebue, I met two men that were carpenters from Tucson that were on their way to Nome.  They have a group all kinds of tradesmen that go there every summer to help with home repairs after the rough winters and share the Gospel with all the people they get to help.  I had never thought about how helpful that would be.

I touched down in Kotzebue and was welcomed by Stephanie’s smiling face.  Stephanie has been helping me for months now to get all my plans made and even went house hunting for me.  So, it was great to finally meet her face-to-face.  (Yes, I will be posting a picture of her soon, for all of you who have been hearing me talk about her so much that you also feel like you know her already.)

For now, here is the airport I flew into and the scenes I saw as I swooped into my new town.

More to come soon.  For now, I am off to Zumba Class at the Church of Go.  It was the Church of God, until the "d" fell off.

The Day of Love

I have always loved Valentine's Day, even the first eighteen years of my life when my parents were my Valentines.  This evening, because Law-Man is working hard for no money at school in the crooked letter state, I cooked up my own Valentine's dinner.  You have to love cooking what you want when you want.  You don't have to worry about what other people like or don't like and whether anyone else is hungry at 5pm on-the-dot.

First on the menu, corn meal chicken.  Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, and corn meal on both sides of a boneless-skinless chicken breast that may or may not be completely thawed.  (Sometimes you forget you want chicken for dinner when you leave for school at 7:30am.)  Because of the uncertain thawedness, I heated the pan over low-medium heat so that it wouldn't burn on the outside before it cooked in the inside.  Turned out pretty tasty.

 What are those succulent goodies accompanying my chicken, you ask.  That would be bundle of beans.  First, boil a handful of the frozen green beans that are always in my freezer for just a minute.  Then, roll beans in bacon...BUNDLE!  Finally, put the bundles back in the same pot you cooked the beans in (without the water in it, duh), and sprinkle with brown sugar.  Cook over medium heat for a few minutes.  Turn the bundles to brown the bacon on all sides.  Yum.  Btw, this is not the official way to make large quantities of bundle of beans, but it is my quick, only cooking for me, way.

And it's Valentine's Day, so clearly there was dessert involved.  White chocolate-pumpkin ice cream sandwich.  First, win a dozen cookies by jumping into your apartment complex pool in February.

Bur!  Next, go to the grocery store hungry thus prompting you to buy pumpkin ice cream.

As a side note, this ice cream was indeed purchased in late November when everything is pumpkin flavored, much to the dismay of Roomie.  The key to preventing the grotesque and ever disappointing freezer burn on your ice cream is to adhere a piece of Saran Wrap to the surface of the ice cream after each use.  This is a very helpful hint for a person like me that only occasional craves a bite of something cold and creamy.

Now that you have your supplies, place the cookies on a plate, put ice cream on one of them, and top with the other. Yay!

I hope that you each have a wonderful Valentine's Day and go out of your way to show love to someone you don't always get to share with.

P.S. Results of the Blood Orange cocktail throw down are coming soon.

Back in Action

Greetings to all who pondered, "Will she ever blog again."  As you can see, I am back with a vengeance.  I recently witnessed the genesis of what should prove to be one of the greatest contests of all time.  Tyler Adams vs. Mike Stone, the ultimate kitchen throw down. 
In one corner you have Tyler Adams.  His lifelong love of food has recently blossomed into full-fledged foody-dome.  Coming from a past bound by recipe books, he is looking forward to a chance to show-off his new found knowledge.  One may describe Mr. Adams' style as having southern roots and branches reaching toward the sky.  He has an intense focus for the simple and savory.  Joined by his teammate, Abby Northcutt, there is little that can stand in his way.
In the other corner stands Mike Stone.  Mike's love of cooking was born in his very own kitchen.  He finds greatest pleasure in combining new and unusual flavors to give classic food his signature Stone Style.  Mr. Stone's cuisine takes traditional staples and elevates them to ever higher heights.  His goal is to spice up your everyday favorites.  Some underestimate Stone's assistant, Louisa Warren, while others assure me that she is the backbone of this duo.  Together, they are taking this challenge head on.
The game is simple.  Once a month, there will be a cooking challenge issued by a fifth party including a secret ingredient.  Each piquant pair will then prepare their version of the challenge item being sure to show-off the flavor of the secret ingredient.  Both dishes will then be judged and a winner declared.
I will be posting each month's challenge along with photos and recipes, so that you lucky bloggees may basque in the glory of culinary greatness and hopefully be inspired to challenge one of your friends or loved ones to a fight for food supremacy.
Do you smell what the rock is cooking?

Northcutt's go to Skybar

My youngest brother recently turned 19.  Among my brothers and myself, Spencer is most definitely the "Man about town."  He is the type of person that attracts other people.  I was talking to him the day before his birthday and asked what he wanted to do to celebrate the big one niner.  He said, "Well, I am going to Skybar with Sarah [his girlfriend] and some friends."  Uh, huh.  So, The Skybar is a place of much interest.  It is "the" bar in Auburn that allows people under 21 in, only on Wednesday nights.  On any given weekend night, it is filled with my Greek sisters and brothers.  On Wednesday nights there is a similar yet slightly different crowd of upperclassmen creepers and underclassmen girls on the prowl.  Never-the-less, it is the place to be for 19 year olds on a Wednesday night.  Spencer went on to say, "Why don't you come with us, little girl?  Would you come?  Have you ever been there?  Would you really come, little girl?"  I do not understand the implication that I have never been to a prominent Auburn hot spot nor the accusation that I would not go to the location of his choice for my little brother's birthday.  He went on to request the presence of my mom and dad at The Skybar and was again skeptical of the fact that they would go.
Well, we went.  My parents and I got there before Spencer, because he was waiting for Sarah to get ready.  We all had on work clothes which were in strong contrast to the lovely skirts and tasteful eye shadow of the normal attendees.  While we waited for Spencer, my mom had a Jack 'n' Coke, and we scoped the crowd.  I spotted a couple of high school mates and one or two sorority sisters.  My mom sited a boy from her religion class that she had been wanting to talk to all semester.  She assumed by the way that he spoke that he was pretty bright but was amazed by the way his hair stuck straight up when he came to class.  She yelled, "Hey, yellow shirt, hey!"  She, in fact, did not know his name, but he recognized her and came to speak.  She asked him why his hair looked so nice and flat today.  He responded that there is more time to comb your hair in the afternoon than there is before 8 o'clock in the morning.
When Spencer arrived he was surprised and proud to find that we had actually come and proceeded to introduce us to all of his friends. Once we had met everyone and said our hellos I gave my mom a quick tour of The Skybar dance room in the back.  She was amazed at how large it was and noted that it would be a great place for a dance party.  I told her that it was in deed and that we should have one sometime.
This is the end of the story. I suppose Spencer had a good birthday.  He was happy to be the only boy to ever invite his parents to The Skybar for his birthday, and my parents were happy to go.
BTW We are still suspicious as to why Spencer did not have X's on his hands that evening...

Running Numbers

I am slightly more physically fit than I may appear.  Although it is true that I can not jump, I do occasionally enjoy a run and love to speed walk and do gym classes.  Gym classes are my favorite, because they keep my mind occupied on what I am doing for a whole hour.  I am focused on what the next move is and don't get distracted by what kind of studying I have to do or what I am going to eat for dinner.  Lately though, I have gotten more into running which typically is not my favorite past time, but I have come to enjoy it.  Sometimes, when I run I listen to music, but I don't really have any good work out mixes.  And, I don't really want to spend my spare time making one, even though it would take like five minutes, and I would really use it.  So instead I usually just count while I run.  Most of the time, I count my steps.  There is a very specific way that I count them.  I start with my right leg as the lead leg and count 1 step each time my right leg hits the ground.  I count these "steps" in groups of four.  Each time a take four steps I count that as one on my fingers.  After I have counted to ten and back on my fingers in these groups of four steps, I change and lead with my left leg and repeat the same count.  Once I finish that, I count each finger as two steps and go to ten and back on each leg. This continues on until I am exhausted of running.  I do other combinations of fingers and number groups depending on my mood, and occasionally, instead of counting steps, I count my breathes.  This sounds really crazy, but it keeps my mind focused on the task of running instead of thinking about too much stuff at once.  My mind usually has a couple of things going at once, so using part of it to count allows me to use the other part to think about one other thing instead of a bunch of stuff.  It's weird, but at least I'm exercising.

Gadsden Dating 101

     This is an instructional post on the proper way to take the one you love on a date in Gadsden, AL.
     The boy must first meet the girl of his dreams while "chillin'" with his buddies in the Subway parking lot.  Once the match has been made, the date must be set.  Saturday is the most conventional date day due to the First Friday Street Fair which commonly conflicts with Friday evening plans.  In preparation for the date, the boy must throw away all of the old papers and Dr. Pepper bottles that have accumulated in the passenger floor board of his pick-up.  He must then wipe the crumbs collecting in the seat out the door with his hand.  The girl must call all of her friends to make sure that everyone knows who she is going on a date with Saturday night so that her friends can then pass this crucial information on to the rest of their friends and acquaintances.
     There is a very strict dress code for a Saturday night on the town in Gadsden.  The boy must wear jeans that he purchased already having rips and or holes as well as a well worn or faded appearance.  His shirt must be a polo, preferably from aeropostle, and the ensemble is completed with a pair of flip flops and a prescribed amount of hair product.  The girl should wear a jean skirt that appears to be tattered around the edges with some sort of camisole that is brightly colored and well fitted.  It is typical that she also wear flip flops.
     After picking up his date, the boy will drive to the fanciest restaurant in town, The Red Lobster.  In exchange for his name and smoking preference, the hostess will bestow a table indicator device on the couple.  They will then proceed to the waiting area bar that is well stocked and ready to please where she will order the Fruitastic drink of the day and he will "just have" a Budweiser.  After enjoying a basket of Cheddar Bay Biscuits, Iceburg Salad with Ranch Dressing, and a Lobster Fest entree, they will ponder dessert but only ask for the check. 
     Following dinner the date must continue to the Premiere Cinema 16 located inside the Gadsden Mall, "It's where to shop.", between the Sears and Belk.  Although it is unacceptable to put down the armrest between the daters, at least one of the outside armrest must be used to hold the Coke Icee they share.
     The evening ends as the boy drops the girl off at her house.  The boy can be assured a kiss:  if the girl had a good time, she will want him to ask her out again, and if she did not, she will feel sorry for him and not want him to be sad, so he will receive a pity kiss.  These kisses with conflicting meanings can lead to uncertainty and confusion on the part of the boy.  However, he can soon clear up any doubt by asking his friends if she had a good time, because the girl will have told her friends about the date in its entirety who will, in turn, tell the boy's friends everything she has said.

Oh yes, there's more

After a lifetime of similar experiences, I am immune to embarrassment and choose to see these things as amusing.  When I told my friend CeeCee this story, she decided that we needed to seize the moment and not let Bennett get away with only a single fortune cookie encounter.  In the wake of this decision, we formed a plan. We would go to The New China restaurant and get a box full of cookies.  We then wrote giant fortunes on strips of paper including topics such as the girls of the IB '06 class think you have a nice butt, which he did.  That night, we collected all of our supplies and headed out.  I need to paint a picture.  Bennett lived down a long driveway that only has three houses at the end of it.  This driveway is on a pretty major road and does not afford one much cover, even at night.  So, CeeCee and I pull into the end of the driveway, and CeeCee starts to get out of the car.  But of course, CeeCee forgot to take off her seat belt and has to put everything down and undo it.  Thank heavens for that seat belt, because as soon as she opened the car door, we saw a car coming toward us.  It was unmistakably Bennett's hand-me-down teal and tan Mercedes sedan that use to be his mom's.  My accomplice (or puppet master, I'm not really sure which) leaped back into the car, and I attempted to throw the car in reverse.  Oh wait, that's neutral.  We started rolling down the hill toward the target, now screaming in unison.  I quickly put the car in real reverse and jetted out onto the road.  Still screaming and barreling down the street, I realized that I was on the wrong side of the road, at least for here in America.  I righted myself, and CeeCee and I attempted to catch our breath.  Many would abandon ship at this point and abort the mission, but CeeCee and I knew that this was a better time than any because the eagle had left the roost.  We went back and completed the mission, as any true schemer would and laughed all the way home.  We continued to fill Bennett's mailbox for the next few years with various and sundry items.  We have not paid him a visit in several years now though, I hear he is engaged.  I wonder how many cookies his new mailbox can hold?