Martha Stewart likes rap music

I heard her say it with my very own ears AND not just on TV. Live! My good friend Kim got us tickets to be in the Martha Stewart studio audience on Friday in New York City. We drove up to New Jersey Thursday night and were very nicely accommodated by some friends. Armed in our brightest camera friendly sweaters we took the early train the next morning to be at the TV studio by 8:30. While we waited in line we were fed a breakfast of donuts and hot cocoa while Martha Stewart paraphernalia was handed around with order forms. I couldn’t resist and bought a cookbook I would receive after the show. Once inside our purses were searched and our coats checked and the line for the bathroom grew. As we waited Joey, the audience cheerleader, gave us the run down on when to clap, ooohhh, ahhhh and all other important info. There are about 100 studio audience members, meaning 95 women and 5 dudes. We were lucky enough to get seats very close to the front and in the center.
The first guest on the show was Rachel Ray. Apparently Martha had been on the Rachel Ray show recently were she confessed her love of rap music so Rachel showed up to the show with a basket of Eminem CDs and a gangsta rap hat for Martha. It was pretty funny. Then Martha showed Rachel how to make a blackberry apple pie. It looked delicious and just might be included on the menu this Thanksgiving. Next was a rather ugly sewing project followed by a lesson on bulbs and bulb planting. I really liked the gardener, Anna Pavord. She was a delightful English lady who referred to some of the bulbs as looking “like dried up bits of sheep dung.” Watching them plant made me really wish I had a yard. It’s the perfect time for bulb planting, you know. During the commercial breaks rap music was played and Joey, our cheerleader, had the audience up and dancing as he ran around and handed out free stuff. While we didn’t get any of Joey’s goodies, despite our extra enthusiasm, every audience member did walk away with Rachel Ray’s new cook book, Bulb a beautiful picture and gardening book by Anna Pavord, an amaryllis bulb as well as a goody bag of lotions and samples. When the filming was over Martha took a few audience questions but had to run to another promotion. As we left the studio we received all our goodies and purchases and free lunch. It was a great quick trip to the city and so much fun. If you get the chance I’d highly recommend visiting Martha Stewart in NYC.

And now my ode to Martha…

Oh Martha Martha Martha Dear
Your amazing talents we all revere.
From weddings to parties and holiday fun,
Your cutesy crafts are number one.
On the menu you’re a culinary whiz.
You know your food and you know your biz.
But there you’ve made a big slipup,
So the Big House taught you rap, what up?!
Now you’ve more skills then ever before,
Garden tips, crafts, and recipes to adore.
Home-making perfection here we come!
Master chef, crafty crafter and a green thumb!

Apple Picking

I like fall. I can’t say that I love it yet because I still hate the short days and the sad loss of summer (sigh) but since I’ve moved to the East I have learned to appreciate fall. It is simply beautiful out here. Since I moved to DC almost 5 years ago now, I go somewhere and pick apples every Columbus Day. I spend several Columbus Days in upstate New York but this year we stayed a little closer to home. Scott and I had the day off and found a nice farm in rural Virginia with lots of apples to pick. Apparently others had had the same idea and most of the trees had already been picked of those easy to reach apples. So we found ourselves a fruit picker pole. I used it to reach the big apples at the tops of the trees…
Scott used it to fight invisible enemies…

After getting our fill of stayman apples we solicited the help of a tree branch and with my camera on the timer took our picture. Then we gave our fruit picker pole to other pickers and drove to the red and golden delicious apple orchard.

There were no fruit picker poles here so I had to get on Scott’s shoulders to get the good ones. When I was on Scott’s shoulders a woman came by and asked for our camera. She wanted to take a picture of us because we were “so cute.” Now we have a half bushel of apples that need to be made into pies, cakes, muffins, crips and apple sauce! Mmmmmmm. Come on by and have some!

30

It happened. I turned 30. It wasn’t as hard a birthday as I thought it would be because of my wonderful friends, family and husband. Celebrations began a few weeks ago in a hotel in Nashville when my friends the Little Truckers gave me a beautiful Tiffany’s necklace. Love those girls! (more on that trip to come…maybe)

The next celebration took place when over the weekend we had to go up to Pennsylvania for a bridal shower. Scott casually mentioned we were going to dinner and asked me to bring a dress. I wear a dress just about every day so no big deal for me. Well he surprised me by taking me to the Circular Dining room at the Hotel Hershey. It was fabulous! The place was beautiful and the food fantastic. They even wrote Happy Birthday in chocolate for me. It was great. If you visit Hershey, be sure to go.

The day of my birthday I woke up a little sad at the prospect of my lost youth. Sigh. My twenties are over. What have I done?... I felt better when I met my coworker on the walk to the office and he’d bought me a chocolate croissant. Mmmmm. Then I got to work to find my boss out. Woohoo! It’s always a good day in the office when the boss is out. At 1 my sis and nieces brought me a delicious lunch complete with birthday tart and candles. We all sat outside with Tinkerbelle birthday crowns and enjoyed the weather and the food. I love those girls!

After work I took a nap and waited for Scott to get home so we could head over to Bean’s for dinner. When I walked into Bean’s house I was greeted with shouts of SURPRISE as a bunch of friends jumped out of their hiding spots wearing “dirty Mexican” mustaches. It was a muy bien surprise birthday fiesta! A lot of great friends were there including Wilbur. Wilbur was a faithful companion to my roommates and me before I married Scott. We planned so many times to hang and beat him but we just never did. So he stood with fading crepe paper fur on a side table in our living room until my birthday when he was stuffed with candy and hung from a tree in my sister’s backyard. I took a few good whacks at him and so did my nieces but it was Kimi’s husband Joe who knocked Wilbur off the rope and into the neighbors yard. It was a proud ending to our faithful friend.

Overall a great 30th birthday!

Scott will never be allowed to grow a mustache...sick! Neither will Sammy!

Culture Shock

Because one wedding just isn't enough Scott and I had a Cambodian Reception for his family in June. I was able to meet a lot of his friends and relatives and learn so much more about his culture. His mom was very generous in planning everything for the Cambodian Reception and I was more than grateful for her efforts ‘cause lets face it I know nothing about Cambodians. I was told the reception would involve an 8 course dinner and that I’d be wearing several traditional Cambodian outfits and would need to be in California at least 5 days ahead of time so my outfits could be assembled. The more I thought about this the more uncomfortable I got. Sure I’m up for almost anything but I’m also a head taller and 40 lbs heavier than most Cambodian women. I was going to be “that big white girl” that can’t use chopsticks!

When we got to California sure enough I was about a foot taller than Grandma and 6 inches taller than all of Scott’s aunts and even his uncle. They were all very kind and welcomed me into the family with open arms and big smiles. Scott’s relatives have been progressively come to the US for the last 25 years and some speak little to no English. So there was a lot of smiling and nodding on my part. I really had no idea what was going on half the time.

It was decided that I’d wear 3 different outfits the night of the wedding reception. Traditionally Cambodian weddings can last 1 to 3 days and the bride changes clothes like a million times or something. Since I’m white and we’re Mormon we shortened it to a single evening. However, as the bride I had to start getting ready at noon the day of the reception. In Cambodian culture they hire a woman through a Cambodian bridal store to dress the bride and bridesmaids and to do the hair and make up for the bride, bridesmaids, and family of bride and groom. I felt like I had a 5 year supply of hairspray in my hair and years worth of make-up on my face. Then I was dressed. The first outfit I wore to greet the guests was silver. I wore a traditional heavily beaded thick sash on top and a traditional wrapped skirt on bottom along with 10 thick bracelets, 5 on each arm, 2 bulky anklets on each leg, 2 long necklaces, a metal belt with large buckle, an upper arm band, big dangly earrings, and a tiara. I felt like a warrior princess. My coworkers said I looked like a Cambodian Barbie Doll. I greeted all of our guests in this outfit.

The reception began at 6:30. By 7:00 most of the white guests had arrived. By 8 the Cambodians had all come. Scott, his parents and I then marched to the stage and welcomed everyone and announced the food would then be served. Then I was whisked away to change into outfit number 2. This was basically the same as the first outfit but in blue and gold instead, which meant all of the jewelry had to be changed as well. I realize later looking at the wedding photos, that I wasn’t the only one changing. Most of Scott’s aunts had 2 to 3 different dresses they wore that night.

Freshly attired in blue and gold, it was time for Scott and me to collect the money. Cambodians traditionally give money instead of gifts. We provided a stack of envelopes on each table in order to facilitate this. Depending on the crowd at the table we were given different tasks to do in order to receive the money. Many of the older more traditional Cambodians wished us well and gave us a Cambodian blessing and handed us the envelopes. Others made Scott to jump as the tallest person at the table stood on a chair and held the envelops as high as he could. At another table we were required to split a wintergreen lifesaver in half with our teeth. Scott had to drop and do 25 push-ups at his step-brothers’ table. It was an adventure to earn those envelopes of money and well worth the effort.

Once the money had been collected I rushed off again to change; this time into my wedding dress. Scott and I had our “first dance” which led to the evening ending in dancing. I managed to avoid the electric slide, which I had been told to practice, because Scott and I were busy saying good-bye and thank you to our guests. It was a really fun night. Scott’s mom put so much effort it to making everything so nice and we are very grateful for her hard work. While I never imagined I would ever have a wedding quite like this but I’m so glad I did!

Better Late than Never

On the 31st of January Soktheas Scott Lieng asked me to be his wife. After throwing out a few dates and getting all kinds of hassle we decided we just wanted to get married and chose the date of March 27th. This gave me 6 weeks to plan our wedding. It was a VERY busy 6 weeks as I had 2 other weddings to attend in California and Utah. But everything fell into place. I found a great location for a luncheon, a great photographer, flowers and everything I needed. I bought my wedding dress, which fit like a glove, exactly one week before my wedding. There were many small miracles that we were blessed with and few mishaps, but overall it was a perfect day. It rained the day before and the day after but not the day of. We were sealed in the Washington DC temple on March 27, 2009. The ceremony was very small and intimate, just how I wanted it to be. After taking pictures outside the temple we met our friends and family for a luncheon at the National Harbor. It was great to be surrounded by people we love and care about and to receive their well wishes. It was a nice yet casual lunch, which again was just what I wanted. I’m so happy to be married to such an amazing and wonderful man!

Yes, I am still alive

OK I know I know! It's been a long time since I posted. I'm planning on updating and revamping the blog soon. I've just been busy. I got married March 27th and can't believe it's been 2 months already. Scott and I are heading to California for a week for our Cambodian reception June 13th in Long Beach (If you haven't been invited and would like to come let me know. The more white people I have on my side the better ;) Once that is over I'll have some more time on my hands...hopefully. In the mean time here's a little tidbit from my good buddy Carren's blog...

http://mycket.blogspot.com/2009/05/til-we-die-die-story-of-friendship-and.html

Meet Scott

The brown man on the right is Soktheas Scott Lieng. He goes by Scott or a variety of other pet names I’ve given him. He was born in Cambodia and raised in Southern California. He graduated from the Naval Academy, where he played football, in 2004. He’s been all over the world with the Navy and has a lot of great stories. He’s even appeared on Oprah. He’s the most ambitious and hard working man I know. One of my favorite things he has said was in an email yesterday. He said, “Every time I get a I love you from you I glow, not like a girly glow, but a toxic glow like the ninja turtles ooze glow, which is more manly.” This is a perfectly Scott thing to say. He treats me better than I’ve ever been treated and I love him. So I said yes when he asked me to be his wife!

We're just different

Normally I make it a rule not to blog about my relationships. I do have some great dating stories, but those only come out after a few Henry Weinhards rootbeers. However, it has come time to make an exception to my rule. Mostly because all of my time is spent with this guy and I don't know what else to blog about. His name is Scott and he's not the typical guy I date. We're just different and here is why.

1. I grew up in Northern California. He grew up in Southern California.
2. He wants to take me to Singapore, Australia, Italy, etc. I want to take him to the Punkin Chunkin and the Hick Festival.
3. He thinks I should gain a few pounds. I think I should lose a few.
4. His idea of dinner always involves something that lived formerly in the water. My idea is something that grew or lived on land.
5. As a former MMA fighter and college football player he wants to beat everyone up. I run and/or drop to the ground in a fetal position at the first signs of danger.
6. I’ve rarely met a cheese or ice cream I didn’t like. He’s lactose intolerant.
7. He shops at places like Polo and Diesel. I shop at the Target store (as my niece calls it) and TJ Max.
8. My favorite concert was Dolly Parton. His favorite concert was Kanye West.
9. He’s a boy. I’m a girl.
10. He’s Asian. I’m white.