kimonos, cupcakes & the keystone state

do you know how hard it is to re-adjust to a work routine after a long x-mas, followed by a four-day weekend just two weeks later? yes, that's right. while many folks in the rest of the country enjoyed a three-day weekend thanks to Martin Luther Ling, i got spoiled by a four-day weekend thanks to Lee-Jackson Day, and, of course, MLK day. haha. all three men would roll in their graves if they knew their holidays shared the same long weekend.

i finally saw Memoirs Of A Geisha. i'd read that it wasn't the biggest box office hit, and knew there had been some negative reviews about how it wasn't completely true to the book, or how some japanese people didn't like it and were offended by the portrayal of their culture. some also criticized the movie's use of chinese instead of japanese actresses. i can't pretend to be a movie critic, so i'll stay out of it except to say that the cinematography was absolutely stunning and the acting itself was excellent. how can you not like michelle yeoh and gong li? i actually haven't read the book, but plan to as soon as my dad finishes it. he's assigning "geisha" to his students this semester, so at my urging, he also saw the movie. (that way he knows key differences between the movie and the book, and the college kids can't fool him when it's time to write their papers).

i also had a huge itch to bake last weekend, and finally got to make the most amazing coconut cupcakes! i knew the recipe would be good, but little did i know how excellent & popular the cupcakes would be! they were gone in no time, and i've been asked to make more. the cream cheese icing recipe was very generous, though, so i had a surplus of frosting. but no worries there--i just made a red velvet cake for my dad and used the icing for that. next time i'll either double the cupcakes, or make half the icing! finally, i baked the last of my autumn pumpkins (and roasted the seeds too)!

what else? OH! i have to go up to pennsylvania next week. you could call it a "business trip" of sorts. but the change of scenery should be nice, esp. b/c i don't typically travel much in january. it's roughly six hours away by car, but driving makes more sense than flying. although i used to frequently pass through the Keystone State en route to massachusetts, i've never been in Nittany Lion territory. so seeing Penn State should be new & fun for me. and hopefully, all goes well while i'm there. of course, no trip up there will be complete w/o a stop at the famed Penn State University Creamery!

other than that, the housing/moving/"where will i be living in six months?" thing is still stressing me out but i'm trying not to think about it too much for now�