Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

Well, hello friend and reader! It's been uh...six months...since I wrote here. I hope most of you have known to read my food writing blog, Peas On Moss. If not, you should check it out too.

Anyway, 2011 was quite a year.

In January, Josh and I traveled to Hong Kong and volunteered at Mother's Choice. We had a chance to discover my roots and to learn something about the Cantonese culture. It was great fun.

I resumed classes at the end of March and completed the second quarter of the culinary arts program. I also picked up a full time job cooking at Stopsky's Delicatessen, a Jewish restaurant on Mercer Island. Josh resumed working at REI, and he also started working for my dad's business, World Touch Media, in shipping and client management.

I also took an expenses-paid trip to visit the Green Giant Valley in Minnesota and got to connect with family while I was there. Here's a pro shot of my trip and then here's my family. 

When the fall started, I cut my hours back at the restaurant, and I entered 3rd quarter. This is where students are actually responsible for feeding the public (yah, yikes!). We ran a bistro and served traditional dishes, like trout meuniere and steak frites.  That quarter ended the second week of December.

Because I was dedicating myself to school, I had cut back my hours at Stopsky's, and I gave up my shifts there. My chef was very understanding about my availability but needed someone who could cover more hours. At the same time of becoming unemployed, an alumna of the culinary program helped me get into Tom Douglas Restaurants for their holiday catering. I was able to pick up a few shifts at the beginning of December.

I have recently been hired as a culinary research assistant at a lab doing recipe research in Bellevue, WA. I am actually going to be taking time off of school to work, because it's a temporary job working on a (top secret) specific project. It's pretty fun, but it has a steep learning curve. I haven't had to be so precise in my knife skills or scaling (using a scale to measure rather than volume measures) in a long time (since nutrition and chemistry labs). I plan to resume classes once the contract ends.

Josh transferred within REI from the clothing department to Ski and Kayak. Obviously, since it's December, the department is focusing on skiing and snow boarding. He's got his eyes set on a specific set of ski boots and hopes to get some ski trips in this year. We also celebrated Josh's thirtieth birthday this year. In anticipation of turning 30, Josh and close friends conquered Mt. Rainier. Not too shabby!

Josh has continued taking on more responsibilities with World Touch Media. The business has been busy this year, and I'm excited that he gets to work with my dad and brother. It's funny to hear their voices over skype talking about work though!  I hope Josh gets to travel with the company someday, but for now, it's a great organization and has a lot going on. 

We welcomed our first nephew into the Schaub family this year, and he's adorable. No, we won't be adding to the collection in 2012, but Everest has certainly been a wonderful blessing to all the family.

We spent Christmas in Seattle this year, and we were so happy to have cousins from California come up. We had a great time with family this year.  Here's a shot of our little cousin/niece. I am going to turn her into a chef yet! 

I hope you have also had a great year and joyful holiday season. Here's to a strong end to the year and a great start to next year! 

Hehe