For Noelle's Amusement

This post was inspired by Noelle, who commented to me how funny the end of this post was.  She loved the picture of Brittany and I dressed for the Prom in Peru compared to us dressed for a party at BYUI.  We felt so gosh darn pretty at that Prom...and we kind of look a little trashy haha  Well, I wore my "prom" dress to church today and...there's quite a difference there as well. 

My eyes are a little squinty from the sun but at least my hair isn't slicked back and greasy!!  And sadly, I've almost completely lost my tan by now :(

Business in the Front...Party in the Back

I know, I know, I KNOW, you're sick and tired of me blogging about my job.  But I just love it and the people so much!  Granted, there are days when I would really rather stay home and take a nap or watch a movie instead of go to work, but once I get there I usually have a good time.

Yesterday we had a work party at the Director of Admissions' house in Rigby.  It was a blast!  We had almost all of the student employees there as well as quite a few full-time employees with their wives and children.  Can I just say, those men did well.  They all had absolutely GORGEOUS wives and cute-as-a-button kids.  It was neat to see them interact with their families and not be dressed in suits.  Most of them aren't more than 10 years older than me so it's fun to talk with them and their wives and hear their stories.  Oh my goodness, I just love them all so much!

Can I also mention how incredibly awesome it was for our director and his family to open his home to us for this shin-dig.  His wife organized a big cooking lesson and taught us how to make everything we were going to eat.  She teaches culinary classes in Idaho Falls and her food is spectacular.  We made mini pulled pork taco things for the main course and then creme brulee for dessert...we even go to torch our own!

Molly, one of the new front desk workers.

Kevin and Annalise.

Okay, time to talk about a few people.  This is my first semester working with Kevin.  He started last semester and is also in my Program Planning class.  Annalise and I have been working together since Spring 2011.  She's amazing.  So amazing, even, that I'm living with her in the fall!!  

 Hilary here is also new for me.  She started last semester while I was away.  Hilary works part-time at the office, is taking 17 credits AND has an internship that she does 20 hours a week.  I have no idea how she does it all.  Oh, and she's preparing for a mission and can't wait for her call :)  In the back we have (from the left) Johnathan, Jason, Jason's wife and Brady and his wife...plus lots of children.

 We played a nice friendly game of kickball in the backyard.  Somehow we managed to split up all the couples but I think that helped the competitiveness of the game.  I didn't play the entire game (as I wanted to help with the cooking a little more) but when I left, my team was winning.

 (From left) Vi, Janeen and Emily.  I honestly don't know Vi too well as she works mostly in the back room.  Janeen and Emily I've known for a while but I've really gotten to know them better this semester.  They both used to be readers (of applications) in the back and have now moved to the front lines.  Oh, and lets not forget Boston being a man.

Kevin wanted a picture looking like a hick...

 A not-quite-in-focus picture of my food.  Soooooooo good.

Here's a few pictures of most of the group just chilling after food.

 Jordan and his cute little family.  He's worked as a counselor starting the winter after I started and has been a HUGE help in me learning the counseling job.  We love when his wife and chunky little boy, Boston, come to visit us in the office.  Sadly (for us), Jordan got an internship in Belgium for the fall so he won't be working.

Torching our creme brulee

Brady and Adam playing with fire.

Christina and Janeen.

 Jeana and her husband Trevor.  Jeana is the only one of the students who's worked longer than I have.  She has a plethora of knowledge and has also helped me immensely in learning my new job.  She and Trevor just got married in December and they're expecting their first baby at the end of the year!

 Adam and Brennan.  Adam started in the office just after I did and has been my boss for part of the time.  He's listened to my rants about life and boys way more times than he probably would have liked, but I always appreciate his advice and insights.  He and his wife are the managers of my apartment complex and we're next door neighbors which is fun.  I like being able to look out my window and watch his son play out in the grass :)  (and I say that in a totally non-creeperish way)

 Kaylani here is half Samoan and she's gorgeous.  This is also my first semester working with her.  She's a sweetheart with some spunk and always has funny stories from work.  It took me a few weeks to realize she lives in my apartment complex too haha

Adding sugar to my creme brulee before torching it.

  And here's our wonderful director and his wife who so graciously allowed 30-40 people in their home for an afternoon.  They're amazing examples to me and I hope one day I'll be able to have people over to cook in my home :)

Overall, I'd say it was a pretty successful party!

Picnic in the Park

What's the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon?  A picnic in the park, of course!  Chicken salad sandwiches (or wraps), pasta salad, chips and salsa, grapes, and brownies.  Beautiful.

The Blog- Forgotten Friend

Don't go judging me now!  I haven't actually forgotten any friends.  But a few have gone unmentioned on my blog in quite a while.  A year and a half ago I didn't write a post without talking about Whitney...now I don't remember the last time she was a part of this blog.  You're time has come, Whitnast!

Even though it's not stated quite as often, I still love this girl more than blogposts can say.  She's one of my best friends!!  Don't take this the wrong way, but I need to hurry up and get married so I can see her again!  Weddings do wonderful things for long distance friendships :)  Alas, if I don't get married soon (which is also perfectly okay by me) I think I'm going to try and find an internship in Mesa for the winter so I can be near her.  It would be the best winter ever.  Well, maybe not as cool as living in Peru, but a close second.

I'm so happy she's happy.  Even if we don't ever get to live near each other again we're planning on having neighboring mansions in heaven.  Maybe we'll share a backyard and have barbecues every Saturday.  (Are there days of the week in heaven?)  We're also planning on watching our life movies.  Especially the funny and embarrassing times that we shared.  It's going to be one big party!  As great as heaven will be with this girl, I'm pretty happy with earth-life...even if I don't get to see her as often as I wish.

Here's a few pictures to remember the good times :)

Whitney's wedding in Mesa.

Rehearsing for the talent show.

Baking...what brought us together.

I liked to wear her glasses...

Trying to be each other in a picture.

   Oh, and here's a few links to some of the better blogs about our adventures:
My Trip to Seattle
A Shower Surprise
Awkward Moments
Whit's Wedding

Perunion

One month after separating from my Peru buddies, we were finally reunited!!  Sunday consisted of going to Breet's ward, having a picnic up by the temple, visiting some of Noelle's old friends, and having a Rust family dinner.  Oh, it was a great Sunday!

Our picnic view.

Disappearing chaco lines :(

Confectionery Midterm

This looked so much better in person...the lighting is really weird in the pictures.  The base is made of candied orange peel held together by pulled sugar with a sugar cage glued on top by more sugar.  Inside are caramel hazelnut truffles covered in colored white chocolate.  Pulled sugar curl on the side.  

Sadly, right after these pictures were taken, part of the sugar cage broke.  I guess things like this are meant to be enjoyed and then destroyed!

Candied Orange Peel

I know you all have missed my food blogs.  Heck, I've missed food blogs.  So here we go.  This semester I'm in a class entitled "Confectionery" and it's a blast!  I LOVE learning how to make truffles and caramel and all sorts of deliciousness.  The only problem is....I'm TERRIBLE at it.  I have not had a SINGLE thing turn out the first time I've made it.  It's kind of a downer haha  And it's even more stressful because it's just a block class, so I have to do all the work in half the time.  But at least it's fun :)  Here's a recipe for an easy (although slightly time consuming) treat.

Candied Orange Peel

2-3 thick skinned oranges

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 TBSP orange extract

1/2 TBSP water

1) Cut the ends off the oranges and then cut into eight slices

2) Cut the center part out of the orange, leaving about 1/2 inch attached to the skin.

3) Cut the chunks into thin strips and put in large pot of water.

4) Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil for five minutes.  Strain, and then repeat twice more with cold water.

5) After third boil, strain oranges and peel off anything still attached to the skins.  

6)  Put the skins in a large skillet. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar, extract and water.  Mix well.

7)  Cook over low heat for about an hour.

8)  While cooking, prepare a pan or sheet of waxed paper with other 1 1/2 cups of sugar.  When peel is done cooking, pour onto sugar and mix around, separating the peel individually.  Lay on waxed paper to cool.

9)  Optional: Dip ends in chocolate...which is never a bad idea.

This pic stolen off the internet...all others are mine.

ENJOY :)