21

So it is New Years Eve and I am stuck in Nashville. Eww... this was not what I had planned at all.....

They are taking us to Baltimore now? What? I think the fog should clear.

It actually makes absolutely no sense that they are taking us to Baltimore. I think they just want to waste gas in the plane and make everyone in this enormous room move (with their children in hand) over towards another door. Instead of moving with the massive herd of agitated passengers, I am getting on Facebook.

The Nashville airport reminds me of the Los Angeles airport, except I don't feel like I am going to get mugged or have my purse stolen. It sort of reminds me of the Hong Kong airport too, but that is mostly because when I left Hong Kong, the terminal looked alot like the terminal I am in right now.

And I will be 22 in five hours. 21 was good.


Hmmm....Happy New Years:)

Happy Endings

I hope that your Christmas season is incredibly happy.

Merry Christmas friends.

‘Til Next Year.

I've Got a Feeling

I've got a feeling....that tonights gonna be a good night.

The hot Black Eyed Peas song blared over the speakers at around 10 p.m. and people headed out dance on the marble floor of Robertson Hall.

It was a good night. Last night, December 5, 2009 was Regent University’s 2009 Christmas Ball. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Christmas ball, it is an annual dance held for Regent’s students both graduate and undergraduate.

Some people have been preparing for the ball since September when the ballroom dance lessons began. Regent offered a series of ten dance lessons for $25 hosted at a local dance studio.

The dance started at 8p.m. and was hosted in the lobby and three floors of Robertson Hall, a.k.a. the law building. There were a few waltzes, a few swing dances and much to my dismay – not many rumba dances. Then 9 p.m. rolled around and the crowds were pouring in the door. Everyone knows it is best to show up fashionably late.

The event’s theme was “Old Hollywood” but dresses of all kinds rustled on the floor and there were even a few glimpses of a tux or two – a very prestigious event.

Before coming to the ball I heard from my roommate there was a special dessert planned. Much to the wisdom of the party-planners, this special dessert was located on the third floor of the building right by the elevators.

It was a chocolate mouse-filled decadent cake. I could only eat ¼ of a slice and my friend had to finish the other ¼. Good thing we only took a half-slice. The cake was even decorated with flowers.

At 10p.m. the Regent dance team did a performance. It was a swing dance. I watched from the second floor, oohing and ahhing with the rest of the crowd as the boys swung the girls every which way around the floor - very exciting. Then the real dancing broke out. All the hip-hop you could imagine. There was an electric slide thrown in the mix too.

We have some talented break dancers at Regent. Unfortunately I did not get a picture, but they were bold enough to part the crowd into a small circle around them as they “broke it down.”

You definitely get a fair share of dancing culture at Regent. It is not a typical Christian college in the sense that they shy away from dancing or even hip-hop dancing for that matter. It makes for quite a varied crowd.

The Christmas ball was great. The only thing missing was champagne. This was a champagne kind of event. Then I remember we are a Christian university and don’t drink champagne - at least not on campus.

Anyways, it was a great night. If you went to the ball, you know what I mean. If you did not go to the ball, I suggest you go next year. It is definitely a defining moment of Regent culture and the Regent experience. ‘Til next year.

And for now, Merry Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving all!

I sincerely hope that if you are reading this you had a delicious Thanksgiving, ate way too much, got your fill of family and are ready to finish up the semester....and of course go to the Christmas Ball!

Yey! See you there!

Cheap Gifts for Starving Students

I am a starving college student this year, as I was last year. Maybe even the year before. Having been in school now for awhile, I know what it means when the Christmas season rolls around and it is time to choose between buying the little brother a gift or buying milk.

Decisions, Decisions. I still see no reason why college students cannot give great gifts, though. I say, why not share the love with everyone this year? Just because you are a poor student trying hard to get by, does not mean that you cannot come up with some killer gifts for the fam or your beautiful, wonderful, oh-so-worth-it girlfriend, right?

Here are some great gifts that can be purchased for under $10

1. Bottle of Sparkling Cider. This can be purchased just about anywhere. Just make sure you complete the item with a tied red ribbon.

2. $5 Movies. If you are not yet aware of what I am talking about, then shame on you! Go check out any Walmart, Target, K-Mart or even grocery store and they will be there.

3. Magnets. Do you have a lot of gifts you need to give to the family for Christmas? Please, go find your best photo and put it on a magnet. Google photo magnets and see what happens.

4. Candy. You can buy candy. You can make candy. You can sell candy. Personally, I will be making white-chocolate dipped peppermint sticks this year. Yum.

5. Hand-made Cards. If you are a handy, dandy crafter, you might already have the scrap-book supplies to make these. All it really requires is a little bit of creative thought, some great paper, pens and pretty handwriting. Create-away! (You can also buy $4 packages of gift cards at Ross)

6. Magazines. Either buy someone a subscription or visit the closest thrift store and find some old magazines and wrap them up in a pretty ribbon. No one hates the gift of knowledge.

7. T-shirt. Three words: Walmart Photo Center. Check it out. (Maybe your younger brother’s secret wish is to have a t-shirt with your face on it)

8. Family Photos. Its always great to get everyone together and take a family photo. Being the one to initiate the event (call the photographer, make an appointment, pick the outfits) is a gift in and of itself.

9. Frankencense and Myrrh. If you are feeling traditional, wanting to remind people that Jesus is the reason for the season, Frankincense and Myrrh can be found at organic grocery stores. But please! Make sure you burn incense at least in a bowl, away from a fire extinguisher – it can get messy and smoky, though it makes a great satchel for someone.

10. Ross. One word: Ross. Check them out. They have aisles upon aisles of marked-down, home accessories from department stores. You can find almost anything, and it is likely to be a name brand like Calvin Klein too.

Happy Gift Buying! I hope you steal some deals on Black Friday! Rest assured, I will probably be nestled in my apartment writing papers instead of racing to get a toaster oven first.

Ida: A Picture Story

Hello Ida!

Hurricane Ida hit Virginia Beach this week. It went a little bit like on Monday I was warned a storm was coming. On Tuesday I figured it would just be torrential rain. On Wednesday I tried to walk through this storm to class and my umbrella was completely torn inside out and I got wet. On Thursday class was cancelled and I stayed home. And on Friday I drove in the pouring rain to Harris Teeter and ate free salami, cheese and cake samples.

The storm was more than expected. It involved rain, killer wind and broken trees. Unless the Regent University lawn crew has recently decided to tear down well-established trees for no apparent reason, then Hurricane Ida is left her mark. Eek. She even blew a kiss to Walmart.

Good thing for Walmart that kiss is easily fixed. In Colorado we call these kinds of things flash floods but they don't have the wind. I tried to leave the Regent Commons on Thursday but the foot-deep puddle of water on Centerville Turnpike was a little bit disheartening. I asked my little Honda Civic if she was up for an adventure through the puddle. Partly due to the instructions of my Old Testament professor not to drive through standing puddles but mostly due to common sense, she said "Absolutely not."

As much fun as it would be to spend all my Christmas gift money on getting towed two blocks back to the Regent Commons and having my engine saturated with water, I opted to go back home and watch television instead of dropping off my passport application at the Post Office. It is a good thing that I decided this because when I made it to the Post Office on Friday, there was a paper sign with orange magic marker scribbles saying, "Closed due to Power Outage." Darn for my passport.

When I woke up on Friday morning, there were little leaves like this one plastered all over my car. Best of all, though, was that my car was not a victim of the tree pictured at the top of this post. That would have been a dilemna slightly larger than getting stuck in the Centerville Turnpike puddle.

Life is still good, even with Ida.

I Won't Even Charge 25 Cents...

I made it late on Thursday night and it simmered until Friday morning. All the white beans, chicken, cilantro, cloves, green chilis and cumin rubbed off on each other all night long. Then only a few hours before dropping my chili off at the table with the twelve other chilis, I added a heaping 4 oz. of jalapenos and the result was a biting heat that hit your tongue a few seconds after a a tiny spoonful of the green chili goodness.

My chili at Regent’s 2009 Chili Cook-Off did not win any prizes, but in my opinion it was it was good, downright delicious. I did get a few compliments too. I even had a request that I post the recipe on my blog. So here is my not-so-winning, aromatic and innovative green chili recipe. I won't even charge you 25 cents for it like the last year's winners were charging for their recipes. Beware though, I did have one chili-taster tell me that he could not finish his sample because it was too spicy. Luckily, it was a one time comment. Otherwise the response to my recipe was quite positive.

The initial recipe for this white chili came from simplyrecipes.com. Just to put my own edge on the chili and make it a little personal, I had to improvise the recipe a little. Give it my own western, Tex-Mex touch. Green chili is nothing new to my family and now it does not have to be new to yours. Enjoy.

Hot Green Chili

6 cups chicken broth

1 can great northern beans

1 can cannelloni beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can navy beans

1 lb. chicken breast or boneless thigh meat

1/4 stick of butter

1 garlic clove, minced

2 medium onions, chopped (divided)

2 4-ounce cans chopped green chilies

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 can diced tomatoes

1 4-oz. can of diced jalapenos

1 bunch of fresh cilantro

3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

1. Dice chicken into dime-sized pieces. Believe me, this will take a little while. Peel garlic clove, crush and mince into small pieces. Then sauté the chicken in a non-stick saucepan with ¼ stick of butter and minced garlic. Dice both onions and add to the chicken and sauté. After about five minutes add both cans of green chilis to the chicken mixture, then add cumin, oregano, cloves and pepper. Mix thorough and cover. Allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes.

2. In a large crock pot combine chicken broth and beans on high and allow to boil. Add chicken mixture from the skillet and allow to simmer overnight. Allowing the chili to simmer overnight will soften the beans and thicken the broth. In the morning the whole mixture should look more like chili than stew. Add the can of tomatoes and jalapenos and salt to taste. If necessary add more red pepper flakes, cloves or oregano.

Add the cheese and any remaining cilantro. Both items will enhance the taste as you eat the chili! Enjoy! You will have lots of chili!