Par-tay!

We had our final closing of "Joseph" this weekend. After the show, we went to a friend's house to par-tay! Here are a few pictures from backstage and from the party.



















~Chrissy

Easy Key Lime Pie

Okay, I'm yet to try this recipe. However, my recent Real Simple issue had this recipe so I'm going to give it a whirl. Did I tell you how much I love thee, Real Simple? Here's a recipe for a no-fuss Key Lime pie, just like the one I had down in Key West, Florida! (My best friend Courtney and I were there for one full week of fun in the sun back in 2001!)

Easy Key Lime Pie, Serves 6
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 6oz can of frozen limeade concentrate (not thawed)
1 cup of heavy cream
1 6oz graham cracker piecrust
Zest of 1 lime

Place the condensed milk, limeade concentrate, and cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Beat until fluffy and soft peaks form.
Pour the filling into the piecrust and smooth the top.
Refrigerate until chilled and loosely set, at least 4 hours (and up to overnight).
Sprinkle the pie with zest before serving.

Voila!

On another note, Kevin and I tried something different with our homemade pizza. We love making our own piecrust and baking our pizza on our Pampered Chef pizza stone, however, today it was SOOO hot, we couldn't bear to turn on our oven.

Sooo instead, we decided to cook it on our BBQ! Kev is a fan of charcoal, he doesn't believe in gas grills. And lately, he's been using hickory smoked charcoal wood. So...we decided to cook our pizza a la "wood-fire" grill way on the BBQ. Let me tell you, the pizza turned out just yummy. Perfect crispy crust. We made two pizzas. One with pepperoni and cheese. The 2nd pizza we made with carmelized onions and mushrooms.

Wow, it was dee-licious.

Until next time....

Chrissy :)

Joseph All The Time...

Just wanted to post a few more photos from the show. Hope to see you there!

Chrissy



-"Song of the King"



-"One More Angel In Heaven"

Thanks to my friend Emily for these photos!

And here are two more from backstage. Love these girls!

Go Go Go Joseph!

Go Go Go Joseph! Yes, I'm in this crazy, cheesy musical AGAIN! Can you belive it?

Well, seriously, guess I had so much fun the first time around when I did the show in Virginia, I just HAD to do it again.

Well, this time, I'm performing with POPS, The Pacific Okinawa Players. Our show opens tonight and will be runnning through the month of May. So go out and get your tickets! The show is a lot of fun!

Here is a photo of the crazy cast and crew. We are such hams! :)



And last but not least, here is a photo of some of the girls. This was taken backstage in our dressing room.



Hope to see you at the show.

XOXO, Chrissy

Go forth and eat some pineapple.

Okay, I know you want to hear more about the "new" job at MCCS. I've only been on the job for two days, so I think I'm going to get a full week in before I post something. Sound fair? All I will say is that I'm working as an Audio/Visual Production Assistant. What does this mean exactly?

Well, remember when I was in grad school at BU studying broadcast journalism? Remember how I had to shlep my camera, lights, and sound equipment all over Boston to do reporter stories? Well, essentially I'm doing that again. I'm a "one-man" dog and pony show and will be shooting my own stories, writing them, AND editing. Good times....Anyway, I promise to give more details later. :)

In the meantime, let me share a great recipe I found while organizing my kitchen. My best friend Courtney's bridal shower is at the end of the month and since I'm unable to go, I decided to share this with her as well.... Go out and fire up your grill. Go forth and eat pineapple. Afterall, it's good for you. And here in Okinawa, they are so PLENTIFUL....

Kevin and I received this recipe while taking a cooking class at Whole Foods...Enjoy.

Grilled Pineapple in Orange Blossom Syrup (serves 6)
1/4 cup of orange blossom honey
1 tablesppon of fresh lime juice
1 tsp orange blossom water, optional
1 fresh pineapple
Olive Oil
1/4 cup crushed pistachios for garnish.


Make the syrup: In a bowl, whisk together the honey, lime juice, and optional orange blossom water. Set aside.

While preparing the pineapple, heat the grill or grill pan to medium heat.

Peel and core the pineapple and cut into long, thick strips. Toss the pineapple is a bit of the olive oil. Place the olive oil coated pineapple on the grill about four minutes per side. After removing the pineapple off the grill, place it on a platter and drizzle the orange blossom syrup on top. Sprinkle the crushed pistachios on top. This may be served over ice cream or a pound cake. Yum!

~Chrissy

I'm a working girl now.

Yes, it's true. I am officially a 'working girl.' After waiting months to get a job at the broadcast/Marketing department at MCCS, I have been hired to work in the studio! Guess I'm the new Melanie Griffith.

Will write more later....

XOXOX, Chrissy

Mom's Visit to Okinawa

I apologize for the lapse in posting to the blog. It's been a busy few weeks. I had midterms for my classes with University of Maryland and then my Mom came to visit us in Okinawa. My Mom lived in Okinawa over 30 years ago when she and my father were newly married. They lived on Kadena Air Force base. It was pretty interesting to see Mom's reactions to all the changes. She couldn't believe it was the same place.

The Sunday after Mom arrived was Kevin's 30th birthday so we celebrated by having a small BBQ party at Torii Beach. Kevin wanted a quiet affair, so we had just a few friends. We had beautiful weather, so I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Mom and I went tidepooling, some of the boys played beach volleyball, and the kids (ages from 2 to 12 years old) played in the water. Unfortunately we were having so much fun, I didn't take any pictures. :(

The next day, Mom, Kev, and I went to Nago to visit the Churaumi Aquarium. In honor of Boy's Day, which is a Japanese holiday, there were fish shaped kites on display at Ocean Expo Park. Usually, the Japanese display "carp" for Boy's Day, but since we were at the Aquarium, there were sharks, rays, starfish, and eel shaped kites. Take a look...






Here is a photo of my Mom at the aquarium. I think she enjoyed herself. :)



This is a photo I took of a moray eel at the aquarium. No trip to the aquarium is complete without seeing the moray eels. Kevin was bit by a moray eel several years ago while diving in Hawaii, so now whenever we visit an aquarium, we see the moray eels. We like to joke that the eels really "like" Kevin. Ha!



After the aquarium, we visited a traditional Okinawan village in Ocean Expo Park. In this village, you can see what some of the houses looked like on the island during the Ryukyu kingdom.

Here's a photo of Kevin playing around with a banyan tree. Banyan trees grow well on this island and are often 100 of years old.





This is me posing in front of one of the traditional homes in the Okinawan village. You can see how the floors of the house are tatami mats. You can only imagine how hot it must have been in the summer without any air conditioning!






During the week of Mom's visit we went to Toguchi Beach to enjoy the sunsets. This beach is within walking distance from our house, so Mom said she was jealous that Kev and I could be so close.






The week of Mom's visit was a lot of fun, but it wasn't long enough. Thanks for visiting Mom! Come back and visit us again in Okinawa! Love and miss you already....

XOXOX, Chrissy