Trading chefs
I spent yesterday with my parents. Mom wanted to cook so I joined her. Mostly we cooked her food but I brought my handy biscotti recipe because she's crazy about it and wanted to have me show her how to do it.
In spite of my mother's cooking prowess, she's not a sweets fan so she's not an avid baker. I picked up baking because the only way to get a cookie in our house was to make it yourself; my mother never really indulges in what I'd consider junk food so you had your choice of a second helping of dinner or whatever you could dig out of the freezer. lol
She teaches me how to cook savory foods of Asian origination. I teach her how to make desserts. I consider it a pretty symbiotic relationship. She and I made har gow, steamed shrimp dumplings that you'd normally find at dim sum. They were a tad salty but very tasty. And mom made duck noodle soup that I'm wild about. I'm pretty much a duck fanatic; I love it but I love it even more when my mom makes it because she'll skim off all the extra fat "floaters." When I was in Vietnam and we ate out they'd never skim any of the fat off the top of soups so it was extra heavy; tasty but very guilt inducing.
Since I spent my day with my parents we chit chatted about invitations and wedding gifts. So I already know what I'm getting come August, but suffice it to say that it's no less special that I know now because...my mother is not the kind of person who thinks long and hard about what you said you liked once; she'll just outright ask you want you want for every holiday and special occasion and get it for you so she knows you'll like it. I don't think I've ever gotten a gift when I'm supposed to nor has it ever been a big surprise. Typically I get my gift way too early. So I'm equally bad about gifting people things in a timely manner but I'm either way early or way late. lol In any case, if you never really get any surprises from your mother you have two choices 1.) you can harbor some useless resentment because your mom isn't like other peoples' moms or 2.) you can realize that she doesn't mean any harm, she doesn't love you any less and that she's doing the best she can to do well by you.
Obviously you can choose to feel however you want, but it's better to not fret over things you can't change. I think that's a good general philosophy to have, wedding planning or otherwise.
So wedding things are going pretty well. Trevor & I have finally agreed on a centerpiece idea and we made a little test run and assembled one to see how it looks. The vision I have isn't entirely accomplished yet, but I think that it looks a little unusual and I'm totally into that. Everyone has candles and/or flowers as centerpieces and I think it's interesting to throw nontraditional ideas out there. I love citrus centerpieces too but I'm not really sure what I'd do with like 20 lbs of limes after the reception is done....make a bunch of key lime pies? Mojitos for all? Sometimes I think I should have been a wedding planner because it'd be fun to play around with these kinds of ideas, but then I think I'd run into some monstrously crazy demanding bride and magic of it all would eventually wear thin.
In spite of my mother's cooking prowess, she's not a sweets fan so she's not an avid baker. I picked up baking because the only way to get a cookie in our house was to make it yourself; my mother never really indulges in what I'd consider junk food so you had your choice of a second helping of dinner or whatever you could dig out of the freezer. lol
She teaches me how to cook savory foods of Asian origination. I teach her how to make desserts. I consider it a pretty symbiotic relationship. She and I made har gow, steamed shrimp dumplings that you'd normally find at dim sum. They were a tad salty but very tasty. And mom made duck noodle soup that I'm wild about. I'm pretty much a duck fanatic; I love it but I love it even more when my mom makes it because she'll skim off all the extra fat "floaters." When I was in Vietnam and we ate out they'd never skim any of the fat off the top of soups so it was extra heavy; tasty but very guilt inducing.
Since I spent my day with my parents we chit chatted about invitations and wedding gifts. So I already know what I'm getting come August, but suffice it to say that it's no less special that I know now because...my mother is not the kind of person who thinks long and hard about what you said you liked once; she'll just outright ask you want you want for every holiday and special occasion and get it for you so she knows you'll like it. I don't think I've ever gotten a gift when I'm supposed to nor has it ever been a big surprise. Typically I get my gift way too early. So I'm equally bad about gifting people things in a timely manner but I'm either way early or way late. lol In any case, if you never really get any surprises from your mother you have two choices 1.) you can harbor some useless resentment because your mom isn't like other peoples' moms or 2.) you can realize that she doesn't mean any harm, she doesn't love you any less and that she's doing the best she can to do well by you.
Obviously you can choose to feel however you want, but it's better to not fret over things you can't change. I think that's a good general philosophy to have, wedding planning or otherwise.
So wedding things are going pretty well. Trevor & I have finally agreed on a centerpiece idea and we made a little test run and assembled one to see how it looks. The vision I have isn't entirely accomplished yet, but I think that it looks a little unusual and I'm totally into that. Everyone has candles and/or flowers as centerpieces and I think it's interesting to throw nontraditional ideas out there. I love citrus centerpieces too but I'm not really sure what I'd do with like 20 lbs of limes after the reception is done....make a bunch of key lime pies? Mojitos for all? Sometimes I think I should have been a wedding planner because it'd be fun to play around with these kinds of ideas, but then I think I'd run into some monstrously crazy demanding bride and magic of it all would eventually wear thin.
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