Missing Home and Chinese Cookin'

This week has been pretty typical. Nothing huge to report, but we did miss Kyle and Melissa’s wedding on the 20th. Stu and I have both been having a hard time staying motivated lately. Each thing that seems to happen only serves to enforce our desire to go home and start a normal life. Case in point: the wedding. Heh. I saw some pictures and I was excited and sad at the same time. Melissa looked gorgeous (AWESOME eyebrows!!!) and Kyle was so happy looking! I kept smiling all the way through them, seeing so many of our friends there, but all it does is make us sadder that we are missing so much.

Stu and I have seemed to bond over this though. Since we’re both dealing with the same things, we tend to talk to each other about it a lot and we’ve become so much closer because of it. Kaden never seems to care where he is and maintains his happy outlook, so he helps too. We’re still struggling with the Boise/Coeur d’Alene debate in our minds and out loud. We can’t decide where we’d like to go back to. So much so that we’ve started a pros and cons list of the two places. We seem to get set on one and then something will happen or we will remember something new and we switch again. Stu had his heart set on CdA and yesterday came home and said, “I changed my mind again, I want to live in Boise.” I’d received a message from Nicole the same day, so I was pushing Boise too. We’ll see what tomorrow has in store for us! Haha.

Eid is coming up here very soon. It should start on October 1st (depending on the moon of course… sigh). Since we dragged out feet on deciding if we wanted to go anywhere, we’re not. We have some places we’d like to hit up in town now that it is cooler during the day (cooler, meaning 100), and I’d like to spend some serious time relaxing with no commitments, like on the roof with tons of sunscreen and a kiddy pool, lounging for hours. I will obviously let you know what we decide to do.

For now we’re getting by with the homesickness ok. For me it is keeping a countdown in mind for when Mimi and Papa get here, and planning a list of activities for us all to do, or for Stu and I to get to sneak away to do alone while we have a trustworthy babysitter. For Stu it entails debating the Boise/CdA issue while listing to Kissin’ 92 on the internet and looking us houses in our price range. Me discovering that Spinneys sells the best crusty bread and assorted cheeses EVER has helped too. I have no problem with eating my way to happiness! Haha. Which also means that I’ve been spending more time on the elliptical to make up for it!

Kaden fell down today and bit his lip and made it bleed. This is the first baby blood ever and it was a little nerve wrecking, even though I watched him do it. He immediately stuck his finger to his lip where it hurt and got blood on his hand so it made it look worse than it was. I looked and there is the teeniest little baby tooth cut on his lip, but I felt so bad for him! He is napping now to feel better after we cuddled on the couch.

Anyway, that’s about it for me.

Oh, as far as rock on food goes, I made some killer Chinese last night… have a go at it if you’re feeling adventurous. It was a huge hit and is SUPER easy to make! Keeping in mind that everything I cook is an adaptation from some SEVERAL other recipes I've found!

Sydney’s Fried Rice:
2 cups cooked white rice
½ small white onion, or two medium scallions, chopped
¾ cup frozen mixed vegetables
2 TBSP olive oil
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
Soy sauce
Salt and pepper

1) 1. In a large pan, heat oil on medium-high heat. Add onion and rice. Stir and cook until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

2) Reduce heat to medium and add vegetables to rice mixture. Cook 2-4 minutes until veggies are warmed through.

3) Spread the mixture out to the sides of the pan, leaving space in the middle for the eggs.

4) Add the eggs, and scramble until cooked firm.

5) Mix the eggs with the rice and vegetables, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir.
6) Sprinkle very lightly with soy sauce and stir well, taste to see if it needs more. Do not add too much, it really needs very little.

Sydney’s Egg Foo Yung:

6 Eggs
¼ cup finely chopped green onions
¼ cups chopped mushrooms
½ cup already cooked frozen shrimp, thawed
1 TBSP soy sauce
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Egg Foo Yung Sauce:
½ cup water
2 TBSP Soy Sauce
I chicken bouillon cube

1) For the sauce, heat the water and soy until hot, crumble the bouillon cube into the water, stir. Keep warm over low heat.
2) Wisk the eggs in a large bowl, add salt and pepper to taste, soy sauce, stir.
3) Add onions, mushrooms, and shrimp (or any other meat you have on hand) to the mixture and stir to combine.
4) Heat a small pan over medium heat, add about 1 TBSP olive oil and then add half of the mixture to the pan, allowing eggs to set.
5) Cook about 4 minutes until the eggs are slightly brown. Flip with a spatula. Cook until eggs are fully cooked. Repeat process with the remaining mixture. Makes two large servings.
Serve with or over the fried rice, spooning the sauce over the dish, as desired.

Happy Eating!