8 Days Until Christmas!

Today Marshall and I decided to make a new tradition, by partaking in a very old tradition in Atlanta. We planned to go to the Georgia Aquarium, stop by CNN Center, and then head over to Lenox Square to see Priscilla the Pink Pig.

The original Priscilla the Pink Pig

According the Macy's website, Priscilla has been an Atlanta institution since 1953! The Pink Pig is train ride through a lifesize storybook. Marshall actually remembers riding the Pink Pig when it was at its orginal home at Rich's department store in downtown Atlanta. Unfortunately, we did not make it to Macy's today. :(  However, Priscilla will be running through January 4th, so I will get back there to ride her, and make an Atlanta tradition a Williams family tradition.

We did make it to the Aquarium, and it was decorated for the season. There are also two new additions to the aquarium family: Qinu and Grayson, beluga whales. Here are some pictures from our excursion:

Underwater tunnel in Ocean Voyager

Four beluga whales in Cold Water Quest

Christmas tree at Centennial Olympic Park

While visiting the Georgia Aquarium has not been a tradition, in the past, Marshall and I love aquariums, and have been to several. Maybe it can become a Christmas tradition of our very own.

9 Days Until Christmas!

I wrote about traditions yesterday, and mentioned my mom's village. I wanted to make today's post a more in depth look at the Village.

My mom started her collections in the mid 1990s, I believe. There was an awesome store in Northeast Albuquerque called Chezems. They sold everything Christmas and collectibles. Over the years, my mom's Village has grown from fitting on small table, to overgrowing the 4X8 plywood table my dad made specifically for it.

Marshall took some "glamour" shots a while back. And even these really don't do the Village justice. Not too mention the Village is even bigger than this now!

Putting the Village together was always a fun and frustrating event. Mom would set the peices out, and for days (and sometimes weeks) after we would each go in and rearrange the pieces and add accessories. My absolute favorite pieces are the camper trailer pulled by the station wagon.

Department 56 "On The Road Again"

10 Days Until Christmas!

I thought about creating a Top 10 List for Christmas, but in all honesty, I am not sure I could limit it to 10 things, and there is no way I would be able to actually rank my favorites. So over the next week and a half, I plan to list my favorite traditions and memories. I wish I had pictures to go with a lot of my stories, but some go back SO far (like 20 plus years!), you will just have to use your imagination.

So for this post I will focus on traditions.

Growing up we had several tradtions. The most memorable (and biggest pain in the butt!) were putting out luminarias, or more accurately, farolitos. For those who are unaware, these are the little brown paper bags, filled with sand, and then a small candle is placed inside. (I am sure somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I know the significance, but could not tell you now.)  The reason this is a pain in the butt, is because my loving and caring mother is a bit of a snob and stickler when it comes to her luminarias (and wouldn't you know, she's raised at least one more luminaria snob). Here are the luminaria rules:

1. Bags must be folded neatly, without tearing. Torn bags are not to be used. (True luminarias have the top of the bag folded down, and this is a true art form!)
2. Bags must be placed in straight lines, and evenly spaced apart. (There was actually a stick we used to ensure even spacing!)
3. The seems of the bags go to the BACK, ALWAYS. That way when lit up, you can not see the shadow across the front of the bag.

These rules sound easy enough, but trust me, they are concrete, and must be followed to the T. I have to admit, though, when followed, the results are beautiful!

Pictures of Christmas Eve Luminaras

Getting ready to measure correct distance 2005

Making sure all seems are to the BACK 2005

Lighting candles 2005

Mom and Dad's House 2004

Marshall preparing luminaras at our house 2006

Marshall preparing luminarias at our house 2007

Our house, Athens, GA 2006

Christmas 2007

Other traditions:

• Posole for Christmas breakfast
• Reading 'Twas The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve, and in later years reading the Christmas story from the bible
• Putting up my mom's Village (which I should say was another undertaking!)
• Opening family Christmas presents on Christmas Eve, and Santa gifts on Christmas morning
• Friends and family Christmas party at mom and dad's house on Christmas Eve (there were years that the boys and I would start kicking people out so we could open gifts)
• Going to our grandparents, Bam and Papa's house on Christmas morning
• Listening to Christmas music, first on Aunt Kathy's record player, then on reel-to-reel tapes, and finally on CDs (favorites around our house on record were Elvis and Cristy Lane, followed by George Strait, Reba McEntire and Alabama on cassette tape)

Looking Forward to the Next BIG Trip

This may actually be the FIRST BIG trip in a while. I am talking BIG like our Honeymoon to Alaska BIG! Even BIGGER than the trips I took to Cancun and Jamaica in 2008. What makes this trip bigger than those, you might ask? Well, the cost, for one thing, will be coming out of my pocket.

Where am I headed on this BIG trip, you might ask? My beautiful little sister has asked me to join her on her first trip abroad! We are headed to Belgium (and planning trips to the Netherlands, Germany and France)! I am so glad my sister is a bit of a procrastinator (I love you kid, admit it already, you are a procrastinator!), because that meant I got involved trying to find her a program that would satisfy her language requirement, so she can finally graduate from college. This program also had to fit her rigorous requirements, and since we were unable to find a Dutch Immersion program on the island of Sint Maarten (which I'm thinking they are missing a key group of Seasonal Affect Disorder people who need to meet language requirements there!), I knew we were looking for something shorter than the requiste semester or longer.

Halleluja for an immersion program in Belgium where she can get 70 hours of study in 1 week! And an even greater HALLELUJA that her school accepted the program and she will only need 4 weeks of classes to satisfy the requirement!

We are still a long way from being ready to leave, but that is okay. We still have a little bit of time. Approximately 4 months! I have started my planning by ordering a set of French Immersion software. I am pretty good with Spanish, and can get by with Italian, but my French is limited to mainly the culinary arts, and certain greetings. Bon Jour, Bon Soir, Au Revoir! (And I even had to look up the last one for the correct spelling.) If my first trip to Belgium was any indication, French is important. It is one of the three (yes THREE) official languages of Belgium, along with Dutch (hence, little sis doing her immersion there) and German. I remember Monique and I trying to order lunch at a Pizza Hut (yes, they have them there, and for a 21 year-old American, it was AWESOME!) and ending up pointing at pictures on the menu. Mind you, Monique speaks French, so yeah, I have my work cut out for me.
This time around, I hope to be more wordly and eat at LOCAL restaurants, not international chains. We will see how the little sister feels about that. Luckily, I now have my 1000 Places To See Before You Die books that I WILL be consulting, so we don't miss a single place. I am really looking forward to this trip. My sister is one of my best friends, and I really don't get to see her enough.

Wish Europe luck, the Tuttle girls are headed your way!

I love to travel! Montreal

Okay, I know I said I would write about Vegas first, but this was a whole new trip for me. I had been to Canada once before, on an Alaskan cruise. We took the White Pass Railroad from the Yukon down to Scagway, and flew out of Vancouver, so this was my first multi-day foray into Canadian life. Make that FRENCH-Canadian!

I was attending the National Tour Association Annual Convention, and I have to say that Steve Hartman (of CBS News fame, and the Convention MC) was right. These people are crazy! But crazy in the best possible way. I had such a good time, and met some really interesting people. I was invited to attend as a Tourism Cares scholarship recipient, and was lucky enough to be joined by three other GWU student, 2 of which are in the same accelerated program as I am. I had met one before, and knew the other through online class discussion rooms.

Our first night involved volunteering at the St. Joseph's Oratory, the largest Basilica in Canada, and absolutely gorgeous. Volunteers helped ready the church for the upcoming holiday season. Some helped, clean, others painted, still more decorated the Christmas trees, wrapped Christmas gifts, and created arts and craft. I decided to delve into my inner Martha Stewart and help make Christmas greetings out of cards. As you can see from the picture, I got more brave with the glue the further I went along. (I made the Merry Christmas! letters.)

St Joseph's Oratory

Volunteering Arts and Crafts

Day 2 started with the Opening Ceremony, hosted by Louisville, KY. I never did go get my very own tube of Kentucky Bourbon Chapstick, darn! A wonderful opening speech by Steve Hartman followed. That guy is FUNNY! So funny, I may just start watching CBS News. The morning was filled with mentoring by DMOs (Destination Marketing Organizations). When I first read who would be mentoring me, I did not even know where the destinations were. My morning mentor was from San Mateo County/Silicon Valley CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau). I knew Silicon Valley was in Northern California, some where, but I could not pinpoint it on a map if required. Turns out San Mateo County lies directly between San Francisco and Monterrey, and I WILL be visiting there someday soon. Come on, there is a HUGE pumpkin patch in the area, as well as a Ritz-Carlton that looks like it may have been built out of the sand. Definitely want to see that!

One of the beavers from the 2010 Winter Olympics

Afternoon appointments were with Destination St. Johns. I was so excited, the Caribbean, yay! Well, apparently there are several St. Johns, two of which are in Canada. The one I was assigned, St. Johns (not to be confused with St. John, in New Brunswick) is in Newfoundland/Labrador. Where, you might ask is Newfoundland/Labrador? well, let me tell you, it's as far east in Canada as you can go, above Nova Scotia and Prince Edwards Island. And apparently St Johns is a beautiful seaside town, where you can see more humpback whales than anywhere else, and icebergs in May and June. The Titanic went down not far off the southern coast of Newfoundland. Interesting history there for you.

That evening we were treated to food and music at an Icebreaker at the Montreal Science Centre. Here they had the popular smoked meat sandwiches for us to try. Very tasty, however, the bread was really soft.

Monday was probably my favorite morning of the program, as we met with industry leaders and had round-table discussions about the future of the industry and where we saw ourselves in the fray. This is also where I had the realization of what I really want to do with my future, and that is priceless. This was also the day that Broadway.com sponsors lunch. We were treated to songs from 13 different Broadway musicals, and got a sneak peak at the new Wonderland and Spiderman plays (two SEPARATE plays). After lunch involved sitting in on "Fast Pitch" where suppliers were able to meet with tour operators for 5 minutes, to pitch their products. That time just flew by in a whirl of business cards and sales.

Monday night, a group of about 14 of us scholarship students went out for dinner at a local Montreal eatery called L'Academie. I believe it was an Italian-inspired restaurant, as pasta was a major part of the menu. After dinner we attended the Tourism Rocks! event, hosted by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, The Nevada Commission on Tourism, and Hard Rock International. It was a 2-floored event, with live music upstairs and a DJ and dance floor downstairs. May I reiterate, these NTA delegates are CRAZY, and know how to have a good time!

Tuesday was our last day in the city, and a few of us had some time before our flights left. We decided to take advantage of the fact that it did not rain after all and tour Old Montreal. Here are some pictures from the tour.

Notre Dame du Sacre Coeur

(the church where Celine Dion got married!)

Waterfront in Old Montreal

King Edward statue

Christ Church

McGill University

Queen Elizabeth Basilica

(next door to our hotel the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth)

Our hotel next to the Queen Elizabeth Basilica

All in all, I had a great trip, Canadians are very nice, and I look forward to touring more of our friendly neighbor to the north.

Great Recipe!

Last week I watched an episode of Rachael Ray, and she made Maple-Walnut Glazed Chicken with Apple-White Cheddar Rice. I made this dinner last night and it was awesome!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

•1 cup walnut halves

•2 tablespoons butter

•1 1/4 cups long grain white rice

•2 1/2 cups chicken stock, divided

•1 Honeycrisp, Gala or Golden Delicious apple, peeled, seeded and chopped

•3/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, packed

•1/4 cup fresh dill, packed

•Salt and coarsely ground black pepper

•1 brick sharp white cheddar cheese (6 ounces), cut into small, 1/4 inch cubes

•1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

•8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

•1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

•1/2 cup dark maple syrup

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 325°F. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and roast until well toasted and fragrant, 10-12 minutes.

In a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the rice and toast for a minute or two. Add 2 cups chicken stock and bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the apple and simmer for 8 minutes.

While the rice cooks, using a food processor, pulse 1/4 cup chicken stock, the parsley, dill and 1/4 teaspoon salt until finely chopped. Stir into the rice during the last minute of cooking. Turn off the heat and let the rice stand, covered, for 1-2 minutes before fluffing with a fork. Transfer to a serving dish and stir in the cheese.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the EVOO, one turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken dry and season liberally with salt and black pepper. Add to the skillet and cook, turning once, until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat in the skillet and add the vinegar. Cook, scraping up the pan drippings, then add the remaining 1/4 cup chicken stock, maple syrup and black pepper to taste. Cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Add the chicken and walnuts and spoon with the sauce. Loosely cover the pan with foil and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve the chicken, sauce and nuts with the rice alongside.

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=3573

I love to travel! Orlando

I have been extremely fortunate to travel, and one of my favorite (new) places to visit is Orlando! Walt Disney World is a travelers (and a foodies!) dream. My September trip included trying new restaurants and photo scavenger hunt for pictures. I needed pictures to complete my scrapbook, and Monique was on a quest to document the accessibility of WDW. (You can read more about Monique's accessibility blogs and about Pompe Disease here.)
My first night in Orlando, Monique and I headed to Downtown Disney, where you do not need park tickets, and can visit the world's LARGEST Disney Store (you know this is a favorite destination of mine!). There is a great sandwich shop at DT Disney, called Earl of Sandwhich, which I LOVE! This first night, however, we headed over to Pleasure Island and Paradiso 37. This is an "American" restaurant, with food from all over North and South America. It was definitely an interesting place, but the jury is still out.

Day two was spent at Universal Studios and Island of Adventures, but we headed back over to Disney for dinner. 'Ohana Restaurant at the Polynesian Resort is INCREDIBLE! Hawaiian food served family style. (Okay, yes, I said trying new restaurants, but I had only eaten at 'Ohana once before, and once is not enough!) This meal starts with a salad with a fuity-vinaigrette, then glazed chicken wings, potstickers, and noodles. The main course is skewered chicken, beef, pork and shrimp. The meal is finished with a bread pudding topped with a banana's foster sauce! YUM.

The grill at 'Ohana

Our next day started at Animal Kingdom. While waiting to meet up with Monique, I had breakfast at a quick service hole-in-the-wall, specializing in coffee and danishes. I had an apple turnover, that I have to say was flaky and moist all at the same time. That was a first, and I was very impressed. Once Monique arrived, it was supposed to be a quick trip of getting pictures. I had not been up to Rafiki's Planet Watch, as of yet, so we took the train up to the conservation area. Definitely a good stop for families with kids. We saw Rafiki and Jiminy Cricket signing autographs. Next stop was to get pictures at Expedition Everest. For those of you unaware, this was WDW's answer to the Matterhorn, at Disneyland. In other words, a ROLLER COASTER. I have riden this before, and it is a fun ride, but it generally takes me some time to work myself up. This particular day, I thought we were just going over there to get pictures, me of the area and the ride, Monique of the sample vehicle.

Expedition Everest

 Little did I know that Monique was in cahoots with the cast member. The two of them start chatting it up about blogging, next thing I know, he has talked us (ME) into going for a ride right then. He gave us a fast pass so we did not  have to wait in line. GOODY. Actually, the ride was fun, and Monique was able to get up and out of the car all by herself! Yay, that means I don't have to ride next time, right? RIGHT? Just kidding, like I said, it is fun.

From Animal Kingdom we headed over to Disney's Hollywood Studios. We had lunch reservations at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. This is a really cool idea! You are on a movie soundstage of the Drive-In Theater, and dine sitting in a car. The food was good, not spectacular, but I am learning about the Disney dining options (the more the meal costs, in general, the better the meal). If for no other reason than the ambiance, you gotta try this restaurant. Oh! Our waiter gave us (glow in the dark, as we later learned) water bottles that said Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater! Thanks Tony! :)

That night we had probably the best meal EVER! Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (which in itself in awesome! I have to stay there at some point.) is an African buffet, with food options from all over the continent.

Zebras, grazing at the Animal Kingdom Lodge's savannah

With Monique's dietary issue (she stays away from sugars, starches, and carbs) we weren't sure what we were going to find, but as the chef walked us around, and walked us through each option, we soon learned that there was plenty for Monique (and picky-at-times-eater me!) to eat. Starting off with 3 types of hummus! Oh my gosh, so good! Move on to Peanut Butter soup. Yes, I said soup, made from peanut butter! I am not even a huge fan of peanut butter, and this soup was DELICIOUS! All kinds of proteins to eat, as well, including pistachio-crusted salmon, so good. Something I loved that Monique was not able to eat, was the mashed potatoes, made with Idaho, sweet and red potatoes, oh my gosh, delish! There were also so many good desserts, but Monique probably got the best. Goat cheese cheesecake with strawberries. Yep, I said goat cheese. It was light, creamy, and tangy. So good.

Boma Buffet

You would think how could we even try to top this meal. We knew better, but had reservations the next day at the Via Napoli, in the Italian Pavilion at Epcot. A brand new restaurants, with wood burning pizza ovens, named after Italian volcanoes. This restaurant was what I was really looking forward to. We started out with the Frito Misto, fried appetizers. I had heard of aracini, fried risotto balls, but had never had them. WOW! It's good that Monique can't have carbs, because I got to eat both of them! For our entrees, Monique ordered a chopped salad, and I ordered a pizza with artichokes. When the food came out, Monique's salad was HUGE, and my pizza looked like it was covered in green beans. I am generally really open-minded, but the artichokes on my pizza were hard to eat. Apparently, they sliced up the outer leaves. I had to send it back. I then ordered the four cheese pizza. A much better fit for my taste. After the frito misto, and about half my pizza, I was stuffed. When Monique realized that my pizza was sauceless, she decided to remove the crust and enjoy the cheese. We will definitely be returning to Via Napoli!

Monique enjoying her creation, Crustless Cheese Pizza

Pizza Ovens

I have to say also that if you are Epcot, you need to go over to the UK Pavilion to the Rose & Crown Pub and try a Snake Bite. This is a mix of cider and ale, and one of the things I miss from living in England. Not so big on the ale? Try and Cider and Black, they add a shot of black currant to the cider. (What I really miss from England is the Snakey B, a Snake Bite, with black currant!)

Enjoying a Snake Bite in the Rose & Crown Pub

We also made it back to DT Disney and had Earl of Sandwich for my last dinner! It was a great trip, and I look forward to my next trip. No date as of yet, but it will be soon!

Next I love travel! city: SIN CITY! Las Vegas for my 30th Birthday!