Sour Cream Chocolate Bit Cake

Shortcut to moist, delicious cake!

6 Tbsp (85g) soft butter or margerine
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp of sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. sour cream
6 oz. ( 170g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix butter with 1c. sugar until blended, then add eggs. Stir flour with baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Then blend with creamed mixture. Fold in sour cream. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Pour in batter. Scatter chips evenly, then sprinkle remaining 1 Tbsp. of sugar. Bake at 350F/180C/gas 4 for about 35 minutes. Do NOT refrigerate (it will explode).

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Baby's First Webpage

Hey everybody, look what I have created!! (^_^)

I made my very first webpage! Since I'm trying to get a position teaching Japanese when we move back to the US, I thought I'd make a Japanese learning webpage to show off a bit and hopefully get myself a job! It's not very complicated, but I feel pretty chuffed. The pictures are all from Okinawa, too!

http://www.geocities.com/kristychibana/

Technologically,

Kristy

Ian Laidlaw ropes in a visa

Eight months and a stack of forms later, we have our visa! Just for the record, Ian ticked the "No" box for the question: "Do any of the following classes apply to you: An alien who seeks to enter the United States to engage in espionage, sabotage, export control violations, terrorist activities, the overthrow of the Government of the United States or other unlawful activity..." Now everyone can give up their suspicions about Ian.

Easter weekend started off with a trip up to Edinburgh for Ian's birthday (Friday). Yes, the flower of his youth is now fading as he has now reached the 30 benchmark. Can you believe he used to look like this? He does look a bit different with a full head of hair, although James hasn't changed a bit...

Note: James is the one in the little yellow top and then in the Ben Folds jumper. Just in case you were confused.

We spent the day on Friday walking around Edinburgh reminicsing about our visit in '05 just after arriving in the U.K. At that point we didn't have much money, no place to live, no jobs in sight, and only knew one person in Leeds. We had just signed over most of our savings to pay for six months of rent on a flat in Leeds (no references, so we had to pay all in advance). Everything was an unknown, and we were mildly freaking out. Now, nearly two years later, it was nice to visit in much different circumstances and get some perspective on our time here.

Friday evening we met up with James and our friends Matt and Jude Tindale for dinner, then down to the pub for a birthday whiskey. We spent the weekend spending quality time hanging out with Matt and Jude down at the seaside and watching "The Mighty Boosh" with James. Also, James took us out to an amazing restaurant called The Witchery where we ate like witches (?) Anyway, it was yum and our very first experience eating at a Michelin-starred restaurant, which we thought was very cool.

On Monday we trained down to London to meet up with ex-Okinawa friends, Phil and Bethany (not ex-friends, we just used to live together in Okinawa) and also our ex-Leeds kiwi buddy, Shaun. Tuesday morning was the exciting visa interview, which actually was pretty boring and not much like an interview at all. Basically, we sat in a big room with a bunch of people waiting for our number to come up periodically so they could ask some standard questions. The staff were nice and friendly, and you could buy potato chips while you waited, so all in all, all three hours of it was a relatively pleasant experience.

Afterwards we headed to Gordon Ramsay's (Gordon Ramsay is like a celebrity cook here) restaurant, Maze, for a little birthday and post-visa celebration. Maze was so cool! It's a kind of posh restaurant with really interesting and unique dishes like "Honey and soy roasted quail with Landes foie gras and spiced pear chutney." One of the most interesting and original things we had was a dish called the BLT: "B.L.T Bacon and onion cream, chilled lettuce velouté, tomato gelée." We even got to tour the kitchen and meet the head chef, Jason Atherton, who wished us well in our move to Chicago and even signed a menu for us. Thus concluded our Edinburgh-London weekend! We had always wanted to eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and this weekend, we got to eat at two! Now we both have stomach-aches...

So Long, Farewell...

So the headliner is... as of next month we will finish our tea and biscuits, say goodbye to the Queen, and pack our bags for another adventure. Yes, we are heading off to the home of Krispy Kreme, Lady Liberty, and "The Hoff," the land of the roaming buffalo, Wee for a Wii contest, and spiky-haired kids in braces eating fast food! We're moving to the good ol' U.S.A.! We are very excited. (^_^)

Last week was my last week of work. It was quite an emotional week trying to finish up everything as well as saying goodbye to the students - we all cried like babies! I've said a lot of goodbyes over the last few years, and I'm starting to appreciate the feeling you feel when you are genuinely sad to leave someone behind. I think it's a good kind of sad to feel out of all ways of feeling sad because it means that the time you have had together has been that good. I'm really thankful for that. Despite the hard times we have had in other ways while we have been here, I'm so glad that I can look back at my work experience and say how good it was and how much I will really miss it.

Of course the students made my last days really special by bringing in loads of food and presents. You really cannot find any kinder, more giving people anywhere; they continually overwhelm me with their genuine love and appreciation. In the end I feel like I am leaving behind amazing people whom I am really proud to call my friends rather than students.

After one of my classes, one of my advanced students invited me back to her house to hang out with her family. In a lot of ways I feel like one of the luckiest people in the UK because I have gotten to do things like this. I have seen sides of life here hidden away that are so rich, I just wish there was some way for people who have any hesitations at all with misunderstood groups like Muslims or non-native English speaking immigrants to be able to experience what I have experienced in getting to know them as face with a name that smiles at me and shares themselves with me. I can't tell you how much I have learned from sitting around the table with a bunch of Muslim housewives; they have really given me a privileged inside view on everything from arranged marriages, growing up as a woman in a Muslim country, making a life in a country that isn't home, family life, loss, faith, and keeping traditions while adapting to new ways of thinking. I've learned so much from all of my students, each one with a unique story and background, some of them coming from places I had never even heard of before coming to the UK. I think the biggest thing I have learned in dealing with so many different kinds people is that every man is just the same, only living in different circumstances. The hopes, dreams, fears, sorrows, and joys are all the same, and are certainly more poignant when shared together as they have with me. This really challenges me to a new level of love for humankind no matter how misunderstood or marginalized a person or group is.

On a lighter note, I had my first Mehndi (Henna tattoo)! Here's a picture of Iram and I right after she applied it!

Learning a wee bit at a time,

Kristy

A New Post! Ahhh!

A number of complaints filed against the management regarding a lack of recent posts have finally managed to cut their way through the bureaucratic process and instigate some action from the sleeping giant. Sorry it's been awhile!

First of all, a bit of a catch-up. We went to our first British wedding this January and even got to help out! Ian rolled some video footage of the wedding for Matt's gran, and I got to play photographer's assistant! We also got to put together one of our slide shows full of hilarious pictures of Matt and Jude. It was so great being a part of the wedding of two people who have been such great friends to us since we've been here in England. (And did you know that British people serve fruitcake at weddings? Me either!)

Here we are celebrating our 2nd anniversary! (Already?) We took a weekend trip down to London to see Les Miserables, which has since sparked many conversations regarding social problems, our faith, and what kind of people we want to be. Good stuff! It's interesting to consider all of these things together in a new way just as we are about to make a big move (oops - more about that later~!) Anyway, we had a great time watching the show, discussing the meaning of life, eating ramen, and visiting the St. Patrick's Day Irish Market! (Just look at the size of that cheese!) Ian also made me a fantastic homemade Ian-style gourmet dinner on our actual anniversary (Monday). What a guy!

I like marriage,

Kristy