Wednesday, May 27, 2009

There is always tomorrow...

Bad as I like ye, it's worse without ye. ~Irish Proverb

This quote seemed very fitting for the day that I had today, and it made me think that you really have to take everything with a grain of salt.

I don't have a lot of information for you right now, but will for sure keep everyone posted. I have a feeling that their will be a lot to share either for the good or the bad in the next couple of weeks. And regardless will take all the support from my friends and family I can get.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

To Be Treated Like a Queen

Over the last week or so, I have found myself catching up on season finales that I missed and watching some guilty pleasure TV. Majority of these shows had moments that made me think... I wish someone would do that for me, or that would be so amazing if that really happened.

The first of these moments came watching the season finale of Gossip Girl. Seeing Chuck (a male lead character) pull out all of the stops to make Blair's (lead female character that Chuck secretly loves) high school prom perfect made my heart melt. Although money is unlimited in their life, to have your flowers canceled because they would clash with her dress, have the dry cleaners destroy her prom dress, and have her dream dress since Jr high flown in from Paris for her to wear, and making her prom queen, even through their school does not have a prom queen regularly, we just some of the gestures that he did for her. He truly made her feel like a queen.

The second of these moments came last night watching the Bachelorette. One of the guys (don't remember his name) was an airline pilot. She was asking him how it was to always be on the move and if it was difficult to maintain relationships with a life like that. His answer was just about perfect. He said how would you feel about waking up in the morning with your bags packed and a note saying that you would be off somewhere that evening. You board the plane and wake up in Belgium to have Belgium waffles before heading back home.... This to made my heart melt.

I know that living your life like this everyday, would make the special and spontaneous moments not so special and spontaneous anymore. But it would be nice every once and a while. I hope that each of you get at least a few of these moments in your life, and get to experience them with someone special, whether it be a best friend, a significant other, or your husband of 50 years!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Catch Up Time

So I realize that it has been a while since my last entry, but things have been a little crazy as of late. I will catch you up quickly, then should get back to work...

I got back from Thailand to about +10 weather. To most this would be pleasant seeing that we are slowly warming up from our -30 winter. However, when you spend the last 2 weeks in 30-40 degree weather... it sure felt like it was -30 outside. I went back to the farm for the weekend, spent Mother's Day with the family, played with my cows, and just relaxed. Taking a 2 week holiday made me tired!

I got back to the city Sunday night, to start a new week at work. I was really not looking forward to this. I was enjoying the idea of work being sleeping in, playing with tigers, afternoon naps at the pool. Sitting at my computer, pouring through emails and playing catch up wasn't looking to appealing opposed to the other. However, work wasn't all that bad. It was great to see everyone again, and share all of my stories. I made Mango's and Sticky Rice for the staff, a little Thailand treat and we handed out all of our gifts for them. Everyone loved it, and I have posted the recipe below for anyone that would like to try it.

In between working, and doing laundry I have also been trying to pack for our trip this weekend. We will be heading to Las Vegas for 5 days, leaving early tomorrow morning. I am super excited for this trip and have been saving up to go on a crazy shopping spree when we get there. We leave at 7 am tomorrow morning, and we will have a full house tonight. My mother doesn't think we will make it onto the plane sober, and we might not, but we will be having fun none the less.

I will hopefully be able to post some pictures and blogs while in Vegas, and once I get a home computer back up and running I can finish sharing some stories from Thailand. Until then, have a great long weekend everyone!

Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango's

Ingredients
1 cup sticky rice- soak in water for at least 3 hours or overnight (also called Sweet Rice)
1 ripe mango
2 1/2 cups coconut cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
- Drain water from sticky rice and place in steamer. Steam until cooked (15-20 mins)
- Make the sauce by mixing together coconut cream, and salt in a pot over low heat. Reserve 1/4 for topping sauce
- Put sugar in the hot cream, stir until dissolved
- Heat off and add sticky rice to sauce. Mix well, cover and let stand for 10 mins
- Peel mango's and slice thinly
- Sever the sticky rice onto plates, top with mango's, and drizzle topping over.

Friday, May 1, 2009

More Thailand Fun

The last few days have been an extremely busy, but fun time. We have done a ton of shopping, laughing, and gotten a good share of exercise.

On the 30th we set out on a day trek through Thailand. We started off climbing a mountain to visit a small mountain tribe. It was amazing to see how simple their life was. Their buildings were all funtional but simple, they raised all of their own food, and are very accepting of tourists coming though. We then hiked back down the mountain and onto our next stop.

Our next stop was a Elephant Camp. We all were given an elephant to share. They had metal "saddles" for us to sit in and hold on with dear life. The animals were amazing. They are so large, but seem so gental. The riding of the elephants was a different story. Their gait is extremely choppy. They also like to pick up dirt as they walk along to blow onto their backs to keep them cool. The problem is that you are also ontop of their back. Our elephant was the worst of them all for this. When my partner and I were done, our legs and faces were black with mud!!

Our third stop was at a waterfall. We had a short trek into the fall, and then we were able to wash-up and cool down in the water. It was great to see. There were 3 small falls all pouring off a cliff. Everyone had a great time, were able to cool off, and we were able to wash ourselves off!

Our fourth stop was at another tribe. This tribe was part of the largest hilltop tribe in all of SE Asia. Again their life was very simple, growing all of their own food, and definetely not having the luxuries that we enjoy in our day to day life.

Our final stop was at a bamboo rafting place. We loaded up 3 at a time on this long raft made of bamboo trees. There were 2 people to guide us through the river, and at some points the rapids. The ride was beautiful and a perfect way to end the day. As we came along others in the water it was a splashing war, so everyone was drenched when we were done. We also floated by 3 different elephant camps. There was a mother and baby elephant in the river with us, playing in the mud, and getting cooled off. There was another elephant in the water further up that was rolling around in the water. It was a really neat experience to see it.

We then packed up and headed back into the city. Overall the day was really awesome. We got to see lots in an action packed day, and all had a great time doing it as well.