Thank You, 2010!

You know that song, "Thank You, India" by Alanis Morrissette where she thanks India for what she learned there? I'd like to do the same for the year 2010. "Thank You, 2010!"

Last New Year's Eve I had just barely moved to Los Angeles, so the year 2010 kind of feels like my 1-year anniversary for living in L.A., even though it's not. This is my first full year in The City of Angels, and it has been a full one. I've gone through a lot of ups and downs, but overall, I seem to have come out on top.

The things I remember about this year. Well, this year my Grandpa and Grandma Butterworth died. That was very sad, but at the same time it makes me very grateful to have such amazing people in my family. They were a solid example of how to be a married couple and how to just be good people in general. Perhaps the greatest blessing that came to me due to my grandparents' death was that we essentially had 2 family reunions on that side of the family this year, which never happens. It was wonderful to reunite with them, because they are all really cool people and we never get to see each other. We all still miss Grandma and Grandpa very much.

2009 was the year that I was reunited with My Long Lost Love, Caleb, but 2010 was the start of our "happily ever after." You see, the fairy tale (or the Hollywood script) usually ends when the couple is reunited, but as we all know, life goes on, and in reality, most of life is like act 2 of the musical "Into the Woods." It was a tough year of discovery for both me and Caleb, but after one whole year, we're still together! And, we still love each other. In many ways he is still the prince I always knew him to be. There have been lots of happy surprises, a few not-so-happy ones that I didn't know if we would make it through, but in the end, I think the essence of what makes him HIM still fits quite nicely with the essence of what makes me ME, and that continues to make life lovely.

This year I met Max. Max is Caleb's son. It was a big deal to meet The Boyfriend's Son. I mean, if things don't work out with a boyfriend, you just move on and get a new one, right? But with a child, a CHILD, you just don't want to mess that up. You want to be dependable and stable for the child. You don't want to ever disappoint them or you might screw them up for life. So, meeting Max has been a big deal. I think being around Max had an added note of importance for me because I don't have any children in my life. Well, I didn't before Max. No nieces, no nephews, no friends around with babies. I had no kids in my life, so all of a sudden having Max around was really different.

Turns out hanging out with a 4-year old all day is exhausting! I have a whole new respect for parents, as well as child care workers, and stay at home moms!??? Game over. You guys get the prize. It's a lot of work. It IS a lot of work, but it can be so fun too. The other day me and Caleb were just tickled as we sat listening to a recording of Max's little voice singing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," and I said to myself as we shared that moment, "Ah, THIS is why people have kids!" Max is a great kid and I'm so lucky to have him in my life. It is a beautiful thing when you love a child and they love you back.

This year I gave up my acting career. And it absolutely was the right thing to do. I'm not sure yet what will fill it's place. Perhaps cooking and gardening, even writing have already filled it's place. I went to see the Broadway touring company of West Side Story with a friend the other night at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. Normally, in the past, I could not help myself but to imagine how I would have played that role, or said that line or done that dance step. But this time I had no pangs of jealousy or desire to be on that stage. Now, I just watch and enjoy. It has been very freeing. I don't beat myself up anymore for not being in a show. I have a busy life. I work a full time job and I have a 4 year old to spend time with 3 days a week. That's enough for me right now.

L.A., The City of Los Angeles, it is a curious place. I have learned in the year that I have been here where I fit in and where I don't. The traffic still sucks here. The climate and the beach are still great. Really, the city has been a character of her own that I have gotten to know. I have learned her streets. I don't need my Thomas Guide map book to get around anymore. In general, I don't even need Google maps. I know my way around. I know where to find good brunch. I know a few fun places to go and I've made a few friends. I understand the place I live a little bit better than I did last year, and that is actually making a big difference in my happiness here.

I know now that you don't live on the east side and try to commute to the west side. It's a commute that has brought me to tears too many times this year. You've got to live near where you work in this city or the traffic will eat you alive. Also, having roommates is a great way to make friends. Otherwise, it will take you a very long time to make close friends here. People do what I call "the L.A. flake out" where they tell you they will meet you somewhere, then they back out at the last minute. It's really not their fault (ok, sometimes it is) but for the most part the traffic is a big deterrent to getting together with people. Once people are home from work, they tend to not want to go out again. Especially after a 2 hour stop & go commute.

As of right now, L.A. is not what I would call "home". I mean, some people come here and love it immediately. I did not. It's a hard place to live unless you have a good reason to be here, like your true love or the entertainment industry. Wait, no, even then it's still a hard place to live, you just have a reason to live in it. If I was to move I would probably go north of LA somewhere, like Santa Barbara or up in the Sequoias, just somewhere outside of this concrete jungle. For now, though, I have found enough little pockets of good that I end up liking it here more than I hate it, and that will do just fine for now.

So, next year. What will next year bring? The first thing that pops into my head is gardening and cooking, writing and sewing. I see a small collection of hobbies in my life that I hope will bring good things to me and the ones I love. I may move to Buffalo, NY this year. It depends on a lot of factors, but I suspect next year's new years eve will be a much snowier one if that is the case. This year I would like to align my career more with my life's goals. It is not my aspiration to be a temp for an investment firm for the rest of my working days. I would like to create a job for myself that fits me better and uses the good things I have to offer the world in a more direct way. Who knows!? Maybe I'll open a waffle shop in Buffalo. Or I'll write a cookbook! Only time will tell! Have a happy new year, folks! May this one bring you what you're wishing for.

Kim

Les Gaufre

Waffles. Delicious, crusty, light-as-air, warm Bruxelles waffles. There is a little nook of a shop in a tiny corner of Salt Lake City, UT called "Bruge." It is run by a man named Pierre (of course), and it is named after his home town in Belgium. They sell traditional Belgian waffles, both Bruxelles style and Liège style. They also sell home made Pomme Frites (French Fries) with your choice of homemade mayonaise to dip them in. Unfortunately, I discovered this little gem right before I moved away from Salt Lake, and now I can only long for it from afar. In an attempt to satisfy my waffle cravings, I have become obsessed with finding a recipe to re-create these waffles. I've tried several, and I have finally found one that does a pretty good job of imitating the Bruxelles style waffle.

I can't help but think, though, that I'm not the only one who would be under the spell of these waffles if they only had the chance to taste them. I want to bring authentic Belgian waffles to the world! I swear, if I could figure out a way to do that, I would be a millionaire.

You see, Bruxelles waffles are not like any waffle you have ever tasted in the U.S. They are inclredibly crispy while at the same time having a delicate tender flake on the inside and big fluffy puffs of air throughout making it terribly light and easy to devour. Not only that, but true Bruxelles waffles are made with yeast which also gives it that wonderful yeast-y flavor you would get from a hot buttered roll or a doughnut. Add fresh whipped cream and strawberries, and these waffles are the bomb, to say the least.

The Liège waffles are a whole different animal altogether. While they still have that yeast-y quality, they are much more dense, as though someone took a handful of dinner roll dough and placed it on the waffle iron. But, instead of just plain delicous buttery dinner roll, they have tossed in handfuls of this special sugar called "pearl sugar." It's sugar that's, well, about the size of a pearl. They stir it into the dough - not batter, dough - they stir it into the dough, and because it's so large it doesn't dissolve. The ensuing reaction with the sugar and the hot waffle iron is a delicious gooey mess. The heat of the iron melts the sugar, leaving you with little carmelized pockets of sugar throughout your dense yeasty waffle.

In Belgium, (so I hear. I've never been there.) they, then, sprinkle them, either kind - Bruxelles or Liège - with powdered sugar and you eat it right out of your hand on a piece of pastry paper. It is traditionally eaten as a dessert-y street food, not for breakfast as we do here in America. Although, the thought of one of them with a mimosa and some bacon on the side is kind of making my mouth water.

There is no place to get these waffles in all of Los Angeles. What is a girl to do, but open a waffle shop?! I promise you if I presented these to the people of Los Angeles, there would be a demand for them. Pierre is from Belgium. He uses his Belgian grandmother's family recipe. How can I compete with that? Well, I shall find a way. I just gotta make the waffles.

You Should Write.

That's what someone told me when I started writing long-winded notes on Facebook. Today was the third time I have heard that bit of advice, so I figured it was time to listen.

I have never fancied myself a writer. I've always considered myself more of a math girl, to be honest. I got consistently good grades in math in school (A's & B's). In English, I always struggled (C's). I liked the clear difinitive answers that math could bring me. English was always ambiguous and subject to interpretation. Plus, there is a kind of practicality in math that I liked. English, being a liberal art, always seemed more on the frivilous side of things, like lace or hot rollers. Sometimes they're nice, but most of the time you don't need them. Math you really need on a daily basis. I think there was a connection to my love of dance and music that drew me to math, as well. They say math is very closely related to music in the brain. Dance is very geometrical, and actually uses numbers quite a bit. If you have 10 dancers on the stage and you need to make a triangle with the star dancer at the point in the front & center, how many rows will you have? And how many dancers will be in each row? See what I mean? Math is practical when you are a dancer.

For many years I did not feel that I could define myself as "A Writer" because I got C's in English in school. I completely judged my talent and ability on my grades. Then, a few years ago I got a job working for the Juvenile Court in Utah. In this job, I had occassion to draft legal documents. This was pretty intimidating at first. I mean, a judge was going to be signing this piece of paper and making it the order of the court! This document was going to change the course of someone's life! But I found that being clear and concise, like you are in geometry proofs, was a very good example of how to write these kinds of things. Also, just using basic common sense helped a lot, too. And the judge actually signed them. It was amazing. I was actually kind of a writer! It felt like I was tricking everyone.

Then, Facebook appeared on the horizon, and now anybody and everybody expresses their opinions to the world. Why not me too? Turns out that when I get to just write whatever the hell I want, I can be pretty funny and clever. I mean, sometimes I'm funny and clever. On good days, when the stars are aligned right. You see, I have always been blessed to have at least one or two very close friends around me that are absolutely hilarious. When you surround yourself with witty, entertaining people it keeps you on your toes. Keeps you thinking fast, it's endless fun, and I think their brilliance rubs off on you a little bit.

So, here I am, ready to write. I hope you enjoy what I have to say. You undoubtedly will get to know my inner circle, The Boyfriend, Caleb and his son, Max, my good friends Christie and Kirt, and the various homeless people that live in my house here in Los Angeles.

A La Prochaine!

Kim