What? January is almost over?!

Hello everyone,

Sorry for the long absence!

I never meant to take such a long break away from blogging,

but my second semester at Rice began much like the way horse races begin,

(ready, set, gates open!!)

and it feels a bit like I've been getting dragged along behind the horse for the past 3 weeks or so.

One of the reasons why I feel a bit overwhelmed is the fact that my very first Master's Degree recital here at Rice is coming up!

February 3rd to be exact!

So there has been a lot of these three guys in my life for the past month.

Beethoven                                     Poulenc                                                   Gershwin

I'll write more about the recital soon,

but right now, I feel like I'm going to hyperventilate every time I think about my recital,

so I'm just going to move on to other things that's been happening this month  haha  ;)

This semester, I'm playing in the Rice Chamber Orchestra,

which is a smaller or the two Rice orchestras here,

and it's been such a wonderful experience!

I really enjoyed being in the bigger one last semester, 

but this is a lot more intimate and more chamber music-esq because there are less people involved.

I never used to be this way, but as I get older, I find that I enjoy smaller, more intimate gatherings over larger crowds...  

is that weird?  is that an age thing?

Anyway, another reason I'm really enjoying this concert cycle is because!!!

Ioana and I are stand partners again!!

She was my very first stand partner here at Rice,

and she's just so fun to sit next to  =)

playing with our legs 'crossed' during rehearsal   haha

perhaps we have too much fun during rehearsals?  =p   

Also, we're playing this new piece for percussion and chamber orchestra,

and check out this percussion setup!  

so intense!

I couldn't even tell you what half of these instruments are...

so cool!

And January has also been full of food!!

are you surprised?  haha

 Usually, people enjoy going out to eat at different restaurants,

and I'm not necessarily against that at all,

but if I could pick, (and I usually do get to pick  ;)  haha)

I would pick cooking and eating at home over going out to eat any day!

People who knew me a couple of years ago would be shocked to hear this,

because I was one of those girls who couldn't even make popcorn in the microwave,

(actually, I did almost just burn our house down using the microwave awhile ago.. =/)

but whadayaknow, it turns out that I really enjoy cooking!!

Breakfast is a bit difficult for me because I'm not a big breakfast eater,

and I would rather choose sleep over food in the morning,

but one morning in January,

David and I did end up cooking breakfast together!

on the menu:

Ho dduck!

I've mentioned these before here, and they are usually eaten as desserts,

but we found that they are also good as breakfast!

These were probably the tiniest Ho Dducks I have ever consumed,

but David wanted them bite-sized, and it worked!  ;)   haha

double skillet action!

Then for brunch-ish lunch on one January afternoon,

we made an incredibly Asian table setting.

David and I had made a trip to H Mart and 99 Ranch <-- my first time here!

and so all of the food items were Asian  haha

no complaints here!  ;)

Rice, dumplings, dried seaweed, 2 different kinds of kimchi, tofu stew, and sesame balls 

Amulet and I have also made Enchiladas for the first time this month,

and they were SO good!!!!

It was one of the most labor intensive meals,

and since our kitchen is an 'Experimental Kitchen', 

we didn't know exactly how they would turn out.

We were particularly worried because there have been many a times when the most labor intensive dishes would turn out to be one of the worst recipes we had tried.

However, I am happy to report that these Enchiladas were FABULOUS!

So much so that we're going to make them again sometime soon  =)

And our 'Experimental Kitchen' wouldn't be complete without baking...

so Amulet and I made some White and Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Bread!!

yummmmmm

And these past weeks have been so stressful that ice cream needed to make an appearance.

ahhhhhhh

much better.

 These are actually sorbet, but all I require is that they be sweet and frozen,

 so these worked wonderfully  ;)

And though I did just say that I would much rather eat and drink at home,

it is really nice to go out sometime,

and Amulet's been the best at getting me to leave the apartment  haha

I forget where this was, but yay for margarita night with my two favorites!!

And also, we discovered O My Gogi food truck,

and Amulet and I've been CRAVING these fries ever since we tried them that one fateful night.

love love LOVE these fries..

(though my tummy usually doesn't enjoy them  haha)

so here's to the last week of January!

dear end of January, please be kind,,, though you probably will not be,,,

but that's ok! cuz we've got ice cream!   haha

and I'll try to be better about posting  =)

Happy Thursday!

--Janny