Most Productive 2 Hours In the Kitchen...Ever!

Thursday is typically baking night in our house but we were having a little Halloween party so I had to do all my cooking earlier. I have a few occasions coming up that I needed to bake for and it was my turn to make the TV dinner tonight. Here's what I made between 5 and 7pm:

• Cupcakes
• Chocolate-covered strawberries
• Rice Krispie Treats
• Pigs in a blanket
• Green bean casserole
• Grape salad

I had to plan out the order in which to make everything to get the timing of the oven-using just right. And I did have a little help because Sarah washed quite a few dishes for me. I wonder if Rachael Ray is that productive in her kitchen in 2 hours!

Ankle Update

Well, I've been in the boot for just over a week. I go to the doctor next Tuesday. For everyone out there wondering how my ankle is, here ya go. You can see the rainbow of colors that have overtaken my lower extremity and the degree to which the swelling has spread to my toes. The lines are from the wrap that I wear pretty much 24/7 to keep the pain subsided. I know people are trying to be polite when they ask how my foot is but I'm not really sure how to answer. Some days it hurts really bad, sometimes I'm just super mad/annoyed that I have to deal with this, I'm often annoyed that I can't go work out and that I'm going to get all fatso since I can't do any physical activity other than walk lopsided, it's been itching a lot, too, and sometimes I get frustrated that I can't do anything normally: sleep, drive, walk. Do they really want to know all that when they ask? Probably not. So I stick with the answer, "well, it's there and it's a pain." A good summary without going into too much detail. Pretty much my foot is a big pile of grossness. I did use it as a distraction when Caden hurt himself by asking if he wanted to see something gross. He made a face and said "that's purple!" I have learned some new skills like people are more willing to do stuff for you when you're busted up, I can drive pretty well with only my left foot, and I'm a pretty good left-footed hopper. I also learned that taking a shower with all your weight on one foot makes you want to get clean really fast. One plus to this stupid injury is that I get to work on the floor for events at the Assembly Hall until I'm healed. It would be so miraculous if when I go to the doctor she tells me, "Wow, you're healed! Go ahead and walk out of here right now." And I skip out the door with my body intact once again. I guess I would settle for one of the following 1) "Hmm, not quite there yet, one more week in the boot will do it," 2) "All healed, no more boot, just some physical therapy," or 3) "Use the boot for walking to class and such but walk around the house sans boot." Moral of the story: never run in corn mazes, period.

Movie Reflections: High School Musical 3

Friday night was the night of nights...it was the long-awaited premiere of HSM3. I hosted a little pre-party and went to the movie with 8 other people. We were the first in line to enter our theater and get our seats. I could pretty much write a book about how much I love HSM3, but I will spare you and condense it into 10 thoughts...
1) The songs were awesome. I'd downloaded the soundtrack on Tuesday and was rockin' out for 4 days straight. I can't wait to add them to my work out mix when I can go work out again.
2) The choreography was just superb, especially the basketball stuff.
3) Zac Efron is quite attractive. It's so funny to see how scrawny he was in the first movie and how totally buff he is now, wowza. In HSM2 I wasn't a big fan of his solo song at first, but now I think it's my favorite song of that movie. I was super excited to see his solo song in HSM3 and it did not disappoint.
4) Finally Ryan got some real screen time and Sharpay was put on the backburner a little bit. I love her character, but sometimes it's just a little too much.
5) Ok people, Kelsi CANNOT sing! I wanted to gag when she sang her little solo part - ew. However, kudos to the costume/hair people for making her look more normal and not be in the weird hat competition with Ryan.
6) Gabriella - why must she giggle so much? And why does she have to wear such short Cindy Brady-length dresses? There was some seriously inappropriate dress flying up-age in this movie.
7) I'm glad the conflict in this movie didn't have to do with Troy being a jerk and messing everything up; good job.
8) Prom could have been played up a little more. I thought a romance was developing between Ryan and Kelsi, guess not. And I really wanted to make sure Gabriella didn't wear that stupid feathery dress + matching shoes. However, Chad asking Taylor (very publicly) to prom was well-done.
9) New characters. Rocket-Man: a dim-witted, gangly, Troy-wanna-be; but I really liked him! His performance in the "musical" was hilarious. Tiara Gold: pointless with an annoying voice. If they are hoping to base any future HSMs (which I hope are never made, just stop when you're on top) on these characters, well, that just makes me want to cry.
10) I'm glad we finally got to see them put on a musical and I really liked how all the songs were done again but abbreviated and with a twist. Very nice summary of the whole movie.

All in all, I loved this movie more than I thought I would - it fulfilled all my expectations and I am trying to figure out when I can go see it again; I just can't wait til it comes out on DVD. Yes, I know it's super cheesy (but that's how I like my movies) and so unrealistic but that's why I love it. And isn't it nice to escape the real world sometimes and have everything work out perfectly?

Corn Maze - 2, Jenna - 1

So I was getting used to this ankle thing thinking oh it won't be so bad for just a couple weeks. Wrong-o. The doctor's office called this morning and the radiologist looked at my x-rays and said I had a small fracture - ugh! They said it was an avulsion fracture and I had no idea what that was. I googled it and here's what I found out:

"An avulsion fracture occurs when an injury causes a ligament or tendon to tear off (avulse) a small piece of a bone to which it's attached. The injury may be due to direct trauma, such as a hard tackle in football, or indirect trauma, such as an aggressive pivot in soccer or basketball." I think it's really funny that the 'traumas' they described are pretty rough and I fell in a corn maze. Of course, this would only happen to me. So now I have to wear this stupid boot for at least 2 weeks and then I'll go see the podiatrist.

I was trying to look happy to maybe give the impression that I'm enjoying this when, in fact, I'm not. My next challenge is trying to figure out out to drive with two feet - yikes.

So, a score recap: I gave myself 1 point because I had conquered the corn maze about a week earlier with a group of people (and I couldn't let it take me down that hard). The corn maze has 2 points: 1 for the sprain and 1 for the fracture. I never realized how useful ankles were until I didn't have a working one.

Euro Blog - Part 2

I had to do something today while I was immobile:

May 14

Today we got to sleep in a bit which was great for me since I was still adjusting to time being 7 hours ahead. After some cereal, we pretty much got straight to vege-ing out. Chelsea was in agreement with how comfortable I'd said the couch was – seriously the best siesta couch ever. It was great to relax and lounge around after being so tired from my sleep-less flight. Mama came home later and made my favorite food – rollos. Hers are so much better than the ones I try to make and I savored every bite. I was so excited when she brought them out! After lunch Chel and I walked down to the beach, probably my favorite place in the world. Teresa gave me my set of keys so we could come and go as we pleased. It was very empty so we found a nice spot and pulled out Rick Steves so we could do some in-person planning for our trip. It was sad that it wasn't warm enough for swim suits at the beach yet; when I left last year it was sweltering hot but it was pretty mild today. We headed back to the house and watched 'The Sound of Music' in preparation for the Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg that we would be part of in a few days. Teresa told us that its title in Spanish is 'Sonrisas y Lagrimas' which means Smiles and Tears – we thought that was strange. For dinner we had another one of my favorites – croquetas. Teresa took pride in informing Chelsea of the foods I really liked when we ate them. Oh how I had missed this food! My Spanish was still a little weak so it was really nice to have Chelsea there to help me out and hold her own in the speaking department. I think we decided that Teresa didn't know how to say Chelsea so she would always say 'tu prima' which is 'your cousin.' Hey, whatever works, we all knew who she was talking to. Chel really enjoyed taking hot and lengthy showers, a luxury she had to do without in Sevilla. Teresa showed us the bag of cookies and chocolate she packed for us (since she'd already be gone for work by the time us sleepy heads got out of bed) and we went to finalize our suitcases for our trek across Europe that would begin the next day.

May 15

We slept in a bit today, finished packing for our trip and ate. We headed out to the metro to get to the bus to get to the airport – a routine I had down quite well. Chelsea got to see the Gugg as we rode past on the bus. We checked in at the airport and waited around for a while. Oh how I missed the quick security checks in Bilbao. Our flight to Munich was through Palma de Mallorca which is a Spanish island on the East side of the country. Side note: going to Munich was not part of our original plan. However, we had difficulty getting from Bilbao to Salzburg (both airports don’t really have a lot of options) so my friend Elyse suggested doing what her family did: using Munich to get to Salzburg by train. Our flight was due in late so we figured we’d stay the night on German soil and “do something German” before heading off to Salzburg – more on that later. Anyway, we had a bit of a layover in Palma so we played a lot of cards. And cards with 2 people is hard so we played a lot of Speed.

We finally boarded our flight with Air Berlin to Munich. Now let me say one thing about German airlines (Lufthansa and Air Berlin): they love to feed people. No matter how short or long the flight is, they’re always coming around with sandwiches, cookies, juice, or something else amazing. Many times we saved these snacks for a more desperate time. The guys seated in front of us were very rude. They had to recline their seats ALL THE WAY. This would have been ok if 1) they weren’t annoying and 2) they were sleeping – neither of which they were. The seat in front of me was pushed so far back that there was probably less than a foot between my face and his head, way too close, or as I put it “so cerca” (cerca means close, near). Chelsea thought it was hilarious so this became our first catchphrase of the trip (and you have to say it with wide, annoyed eyes). We tried many times to “bump” their seats but apparently they couldn’t feel it (which is surprising because we pounded those seats hard). When it was time to get off the plane, they didn’t even put their seats back in the upright position so I made a big annoyed deal out of climbing out of the row. Ugh.

Now we were in Munich and the next stage was to get to our hostel. We got down to the train area to buy our tickets for the S-Bahn (suburban trains). This process was quite confusing, even when we changed the language to English. We had no idea where in Munich we were going and our directions didn’t direct us on how to buy a ticket. Some man helped us and I think we had issues with paying and it wouldn’t take our money and all this mega confusing stuff. In Chelsea’s words, it was the biggest drag ever. But we got on the train and got off where our directions said. Problem – where we got off was super creepy and the rain and darkness only magnified this creepiness. We continued walking where we thought the directions told us to, and walking fast so we didn’t look lost or American. We finally saw a large red ‘M’ (logo for our hostel) for the Meininger Hostel and we were so relieved! We checked in and put our stuff in our room. Unfortunately, we were the last 2 to arrive in the room and everyone else was asleep so we had to pick beds halfway across the room from each other, but hey, it was only for 1 night.

Internet was available so we split an hour and emailed the fams to check in. Some annoying, ditzy sorority girls were down there drinking straight Vodka (which they thought made them super cool) and getting hit on by these shady guys. We rolled our eyes, went up to our all girls room, and went to sleep.

Corn Maze - 1, Jenna - 0

Last night my small group went to the corn maze at the Reindeer Ranch in Rantoul; fun, right? Having successfully completed the corn maze just last week, I didn't feel a huge need to prove myself. I grouped up with Anne and Natalie which was good because I knew they'd listen to my well thought out plan of action - the benefit of no boys in the group. We headed out and quickly found 2 check points. We then took a turn and heard other people from our group and, not wanting them to see us or how many punches we already had, we turned back and ran. We rounded a corner and I tripped in a divet of sorts, rolled my ankle, and fell down. At first I was thinking, wow, that hurts a lot. They helped me get up and I could bend my ankle and put weight on it. We were doing so well that I hated to quit. Unfortunately this incident was quite embarassing as one of our groups saw us just post-injury. I didn't think it was that bad and I could walk, so we kept going and found 2 more checkpoints. It was here that I was thinking, wow my shoe is kinda tight, maybe I should loosen it. So, I sat down (I was already dirty from falling) and took off my shoe to let my ankle breathe a bit. I reached down to touch my ankle (keep in mind it was dark the whole time) and couldn't feel my ankle bone because it was so swelled up. It was here that we decided to surrender to the corn maze and head back. Anne got me ice and Natalie got me some cider and we sat and waited for the other groups. I really enjoyed seeing everyone's faces when they looked at the giant goose egg forming on my foot. Natalie had to drive my car home and this is what it looked like then:

My ankle bone is in there somewhere... Natalie also pushed me to the bathroom in my computer chair so I wouldn't have to walk. Later I had to go again and it took me 10 minutes...round trip.

I called the doctor this morning and my dad took me. (So I had to cancel my therapy sessions today, which is a huge pain, and won't be going into work) I got x-rays which was pretty exciting for me since I've only ever had my teeth x-rayed - hey, I had to find a bright spot in this ordeal. And I sort of got to see them when the doctor looked at them. Nothing's broken but I'm supposed to ice it, take Ibuprofen, and wear this funky air cast thing:

If I could bend down like that to put it on, I probably wouldn't even need it.

I also might not be free of discomfort in 2 weeks - not what I wanted to hear. Walking isn't too bad once I get going but my left leg is sure going to get strong...or just really sore. So today I'm home relaxing and tomorrow I'll have to take my gimp self to class, that'll be interesting. If you provide free car service and/or like to carry people up and down 3 flights of stairs, let me know (just kidding). Here's what it looks like now, slightly less swelling and it's not all black like it was this morning:


It just looks so lopsided because my ankles are (in typical circumstances) abnormally skinny. The corn maze has won for now but I'm determined to not let it claim me as a victim next year!

Euro Blog - Part 1 (of many)

Infamous travel blogging continues with the first episode of Jenna & Chelsea's Euro Trip 08! My cousin, Chelsea, studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain (southern Spain) for the Spring 08 semester. When she was planning to go, I knew I wanted to go back and see my fam and travel some more so this was the perfect excuse. We bought our plane tickets before she left and the rest of the trip was planned online over the next few months. I left 2 days after graduation and arrived in Spain to meet Chel in Bilbao about 3 days after her program ended. And now, what you've all been waiting for, Episode 1: Chelsea and Jenna Re-unite, Euro style. (And don't worry, there WILL be more)

May 12/13

The Euro journey begins! Natalie kindly drove me to O'Hare for my flight. I enjoyed a Cinnabon while sitting around anxiously before my 7 hour flight. The flight itself was pretty un-eventful. I was seated on the aisle in the middle section and I always feel kind of claustrophobic when I'm not next to the window. This tiny lady was sitting next to me and we hardly spoke except for when she gave me some gum. Maybe my breath smelled bad? And I missed the end of 'Juno' because people apparently take forever to do their business in the bathroom. I seriously waited in line for like 15 minutes. We landed in Dusseldorf, Germany and I was super tired after not having slept much on the plane. So, I found my gate and settled in to read a little bit since I had about 6 hours to wait for my next flight. But soon the tiredness took over so I curled up in a chair clutching my bag for dear life and caught some little cat naps. I was so happy I just had one tote bag as a carry on so it was nice and safe clutched in my arms. Finally it was time to go to Bilbao! As the plane started descending, I looked out my window and saw my beach and I could not wait to set foot in Spain again.

The plane landed and I was so eager to get off! It felt so good to step off the plane into the fresh Spanish air and into familiar surroundings. My flight was a little early and I saw that Chelsea hadn't landed yet. So I freshened up in the bathroom and, shortly after, saw her plane land. Finally she came walking through the doors and barely even saw me. She was ready to set up and wait for me since her flight was due to arrive first. Chelsea looked so Euro with her tights and boots. We hugged like ridiculous Americans for a long time. I helped her get her mega suitcases and we headed through the doors to the other baggage claim for my bags (since they came from America). This lady tried to tell us to go out the other doors but I was like um no those are my two bags going around and around in there. So we grabbed my bags and headed out for a cab.

We got in the cab with all our tons o’ stuff and I directed the driver towards Teresa’s. This cab was had this crazy intense techno music. We were trying so hard not to laugh but we could talk about the weird music in English since I’m pretty sure the cabbie didn’t understand. We got to Teresa’s and began our search for entrance into the building. When I called her a few days earlier, she said she had to work and may not be back by the time we arrived but the doorman would be there and knew we were coming. So, we buzzed her apartment first and just as I was about to go around front to look for Diego (Mr. Doorman), Teresa and Txuko came up the drive. Txuko basically freaked out and actually jumped on me which I have never seen him do. I introduced Chel and Teresa and then she said “Hais comido?” (Have you eaten) and I’d told Chelsea that the first thing she said would have to do with feeding us. We said no, even though I’d eaten a ton because German airlines believe they must feed you every 1.5-2 hours, but I just wanted some of Teresa’s cooking!

We hauled all our stuff upstairs and I was so happy to be home again. I semi-unpacked in my wonderful red room and Chel got settled into German’s old room. Teresa made us some fab chicken and we chatted for a bit. Mostly Chelsea and Teresa chatted because I was super super tired from not sleeping. I couldn’t sleep though because Yoli, German’s lady, and the baby were coming over. So we chilled on the couch for a while til they came. Baby German, aka Ikaitch, is super cute and never really cried. He was also wearing this little lacy dress thing that Chelsea and I found amusing. They all say “cookie cookie” to him to make him smile and it’s really funny.

Me, Ikaitch, and Yoli. (Please take note of his girly dress) A little blurry, but me and Chel with the kid.

A little later Dolores, Teresa’s sister (you may remember her as being present during the ‘Bea loves fire’ afternoon) came over. It was super hard for me to stay awake and be interesting due to the intense lack of sleep. But Dolores was plenty entertaining. She tried to intensely speak English to us despite attempts to assure her that we were both pretty ok with Spanish. When she found out Chel was in Sevilla, she felt the need to show us her Flamenco skills. She demonstrated with narration “coge la manzana, come, y la tira” (pick the apple, eat it, and throw it), it all makes sense when you see it. Then German came by and tried to fix the internet but he was unsuccessful. So Chelsea and I each used the phone briefly to call home so all the padres would know we were alive and together. We were taking some pictures with the baby and Yoli made us say “sexo” and German would laugh each time like a 12 year old boy.

We had an amazing dinner of tortillas de queso, one of my most requested foods. We ate in the dining room a lot with table cloths and such because Teresa loves entertaining. She was also super cute when she told me (in Spanish, obvi) “you’re at home.” She also told Chelsea that I would tell her/show her what to do. We watched ‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ in preparation for our trip to Greece and both fell asleep. Then it was time for bed and it felt sooo good to be sleeping in my own bed again!