myretroperspective

Leaving the country for 3 football seasons changed me. I have laughed a couple times this fall when former roommates/teammates from my team in Athens have expressed concern for R in the context of my Florida fandom. I chuckle because living in Asia surrounded by literally millions of people who have no idea what's happening at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium tonight tempered my enthusiasm in a healthy way. Getting up every weekend at 3am to watch the games just was NOT healthy or in my best interest and so I let go of being the ultimate member of the Gator nation. ;) Coming back and making the transition back to the States has been a process and one of the slowest parts has been my love for Gator football coming back to a degree. You see R & I were married the day after the first game of the 2010 season. After honeymooning and moving, we lived out the Fall without a TV. I listened to a few games on the Gainesville AM sports radio iPhone App but I can only think of a couple games...

I've actually spent every 4th of July in the US. Before this year it's consisted mostly of a low key day at my parents' beach condo followed by watching fireworks up and down the shoreline. This year R and I stayed in Atlanta without too much of a plan. We went to the Braves game on Saturday night with 2 others couples from our small group and counted that as our fill of fireworks and Americana. We didn't really have big plans for the actual 4th of July, except for the invite from our next door neighbors. They are this fun engaged couple who rents the house next to us that R and I have been meaning to get to know. About a week ago she told R they were having a party and we were invited. Then a day or two later he told R to please stop by- the festivities would start around noon and end whenever everyone left. There would be food, a keg and beer pong... Not our typical type of party but we want to get to know the neighbors. The next day he told R some people woul...

bok choi in the wok I came home from yoga at the Y just in time to catch the fabulous Florida- UCSB blowout in round 1 of the NCAA tournament. This meant I was a little distracted as far as getting food on the table. Ryan returned from his run famished and when I mentioned we got bok choi in our CSA pack this week he quickly got to work. I'm sure I'll post later (if not several times) about my newfound love for CSA weekly boxes but that's not my current point. We threw some golden rice (from the courtesy member pack from our CSA group) in the ricecooker and he pulled out the wok. Perfectly timed at half time of the game he served up the most amazing spicy chicken, bok choi rice bowl. We had friends bring back local ingredients the last time the visited our part of Asia and those spices have made all the difference. La jiao- which is the hot red peppers and hua jiao which are small kernel type pods that have a numbing effect on your mouth. The combination is incredib...