NWR random post venting and baking. Help me Jesus! (tad long)

mrswac58

This is random but i have nobody else to talk about this with.
So my FI is leaving tomorrow to Dallas to work at super bowl for 8 days and I'm stayin home . So tonight he's makin a pot of chilli and ive decided to try making a cookie cake. Never done it before but i love experimenting in the kitchen.I heard that adding a lil mayo to the batter will help it be more moist. I hope it works. 

 I feel bad cuz FI invited his friends over for dinner tonight to hang out  but nobody is coming.They are all related and had a fam affair to attend.  But i told him we will still party alone.lol.

Anyway, Im from la,ca and i kind of sucks bcuz i have a lot of friends and famiy and we spend a lot of time together. If i told them we were cookin and invited them over. They say "what time and what should i bring". So movin here (small town in illinois) without friends or fam  is kind of depressing. Its pretty much just him and his parents cuz they've kind of alienated themselves from the rest of their fam.  Plus they are very different than the people im used to being around . They are very uptight and kind of hard to be around for long periods of time.lol I don't know. I feel like we need to get out more and meet new people so that we can try forming new friendships, stronger ones. I digress.

ANyway, I hope I didnt bring anyone down. lol Just needed to let that out. Feel free to leave advice, encouragement, vents , recipe advice, etc whatever 

cincy2011

Sorry to hear this - I know how it feels to move somewhere new and essentially start over in terms of friends, personal connections, etc.

Do you all belong to a church?  I have always been able to meet people at church by joining small groups, taking Bible study classes, and going to their events.  There may be other couples there that you two can become friends with.

There is the website meetup.com where you can find groups of people with related interests who get together for fun events.  I haven't done any myself, but my girlfriend moved a couple of times for work in the past two years and loves using meetup.

Maybe you can start volunteering somewhere where you can be of help?  This was another way I've met lots of nice people.

If you and FI are within driving distance to a larger city, maybe take a day trip or a weekend getaway to get out of the small town for a little while and take in some culture - great restaurants, museums, plays, etc.

Finally - try to stay as connected to family/friends back home as you can.  Invite people to come out and visit for a few days.  Use Skype and keep up via video chat.  Plan at least 1-2 trips a year back home (if you can swing it financially) so you can keep up those connections. 

Good luck with everything and keep your head up!

mrswac58

Thanks so much chica for the kind words. To answer some of the questions.

My FI has a church home here which we attend regularly. I havent joined yet
because im having a hard time getting used to being there. I was raised baptist and its a non-denom. Though its not the first one ive been too, im just having a really hard time adjusting there. I guess im just not really feelin it and am not feeling like im growing. I am thinking about being more involved there, despite the way i feel personally, for the time being. Luckily FI is great and is willing to visit other churches with me to see if i find a fit.

Ill have to look up that website. Ive been looking into volunteer work here and have found some things im interested in that are acually in my field of work.

Oh yes we def get away from here. We both travel alot for work and pleasure, thank goodness. I try to find cultural things as well to expose him to because there's no culture around his town. Just farms lol. We are starting to go to Chicago more often and we are trying to explore more around here as well. 

Yes Skype has been a God send for me in general. Half of my relationship with FI has been via skype. And my famly and friends have been very supportive. I go home pretty orten to visit. This s actually my 2nd BIG move. I moved to NY for school in '05 and stayed. Bu all in all ,I know God won't put more on me than i can bear. The journey is just real rough sometimes. I'll be ok tho.

Thanks for that. I appreciate it. And my cookie cake is out the oven too.lol

 

eagles347

I'm just popping in. I haven't made a huge move yet so I don't really have any advice to add to Cincy's except to pray that God strengthens your current relationships as well as seeing fit to show you which new people you should open your hearts to.

Now...about that cookie cake...how did it turn out? Mayo...really?

mrswac58

OK. So.. about this here cookie cake. Well...Its good but it didnt turn out quite the way i thought it would. For a few reasons
1. I used wheat flour instead of white(healthier) - delish!!
2.Mayo- just a tablespoon or so.- i know a lot of bakers who use it to help moisture content. esp in cakes. U can replace 1 of your eggs for mayo. I dont know how much tho. The taste cooks out. It was super moist. 
3. Now the big one. We have a new oven and apparently its not level. We found out when i opened the oven and a lot of the dough had moved toward the front. so the middle didnt cook completely. its not doughy still but it aint cooked enough.
Shame!! 

Ima cut the middle section out, break it up and freeze it so i can make choc chip cookie dough ice cream in my new ice cream maker. The rest, we tearin it UP!!!