One Small Step for Marriage One Giant Step for the Kitchens

Marriage is not for everybody, hence the flighty. Marriage is not for the spontaneous at heart. It’s not a flower arrangement. It’s a commitment. A lifetime. It’s a roller coaster ticket to ride so buckle up. Today is our one year mark. One whole glop of a year. I still have a hard time saying, "my husband," without stuttering. It'll take a while for it to stick. The other day I slipped and called him my boyfriend and he abruptly corrected me. Oops. Darn you Freudian!

As marriage is a new culture, so room for improvements are, most of the time, welcome. I remain true to my art of cooking, although portion control has been established. Thus, our passion for hosting dinner parties still lives. My clothing spree is down to an all time low. A nice pat on the back. Frown. As a recovering bulimic takes it slow, hence I have slightly curbed my shoe collection. Heck, I even make the bed! Folks, seriously, please hold your applause until after the speech. Boxing, what can I say? Boxing has positively contributed to every aspect of our lifestyle. Huge fan! As for my cable television and couch intake, that's as sparse as the brain cells jouncing around in my head. On a high note, my complaining is null, but my whining are all kicks and giggles.

In addition, I suffered a blow to my name change from Cadelinia to Kitchen. The origin of that name is still outstanding. My guess is that it used to be Kuchen or Kiechen or some Dutch derivative. As soon as Grandpa landed on American soil they immigrantized it to Kitchen. Anyway, I constantly suffer the constant inquiries, "Is that real? What kinda last name is Kitchen? What is the origin?" If I was Caucasian, I wouldn't be hit with that question. Although a Filipino with a last name after a room where meals are prepared, suspicious! This here Filipino is an imposter! Arrest her, she might be carrying a pipe bomb!

2005 to 2006 Benchmarks:
August 27, 2005 – Consummation Proclamation
September 2005 – First birthday as Mrs. Kitchen
October 2005 – Kitchens first Halloween
November 2005 – Kitchens first Gobble
December 2005 – Purchased and moved into Potrero Hill Home. Kitchens first Christmas.
January 2006 - Boxing work out infatuation begins. First new year as Mrs. Kitchen. Shane’s 34th birthday married.
February 2006 – Urgency to slim waistline, discreetly signed up for Weight Watchers...ssshhh
March 2006 – Sloshed down first black diamond as Mrs. Kitchen
April 2006 – The birth of the idea of Kitchen’s as parents was born. Gulp.
May 2006 - Shane is a General Contractor
June 2006 – First and last hike up Yosemite’s Top of the Falls
July 16, 2006 – First conception attempt
August 27, 2006 – One year

I, Mrs. Kitchen, had a reservation at Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen at the Healdsburg Hotel. Idea was quickly axed subsequent to current husband reviewing the menu. Apparently, it was not breakfast friendly. It was all fluff. I was reeled by the foie beef burger. I couldn't see past it.Foie! Nothing like a nice goose liver.

Instead, we opted for The Fig and the Girl or is it the Girl and the Fig? Prelude to breakfast began with a refreshing glass of fig mimosa and bellini. A split order of the brioche french toast stuffed with whipped cream cheese. The best!!! I had the sausage with the potato pancake red pepper coulis. Blah. My husband, as usual, topped my dish with a breakfast pizza. We wobbled home as thoughts of a nap slowly weaved its way in my thoughts. Napster on my first year anniversary? How appauling! Maybe on year seven!

A flock of friends (the newly engaged Carrs, Colleen and beau hunk, The Bleskaceks, Grundmans, Randall and company) joined us on such a beautiful day. We noshed on barbecue sausages, array of antipasti, and we managed to hydrate on our favorite serum. A game of horseshoe ensued as the women clucked poolside. My chick clucking was followed by a two hour swim in the pool. Did I mention that I was half fish?

Shellie's Proverb: Each laughter is original authentic and can not be fabricated.

We had a dinner reservation which was rescheduled twice to 8pm due to traffic congestion from Glen Ellen back to the city. Ame was simply unpretentious, the food was superb and the service was genuine. Shane finished a cucumber martini in five seconds flat, because it was -in his own words- off the hook! I sipped on an Urban Cougar, a ginger pomegranate cosmopolitan, not really listed as such. Roar. We ordered two items from the sashimi bar along with crispy sweetbread, FOIE terrine, miso black cod, and kurobota pork chop with crispy pork belly. Every bite was followed by a hymn of mouthwatering praise.

Shane. He comes packaged with a wad of idiosyncracies that are like finger nails running down a chalkboard. Such as his constant rebuttle in rap or hip hop lyrics. Or his constant zeal in detail about a grilled peanut butter sandwich he had for breakfast. Finally, his light obsessive compulsive disorder tendencies such as silverware being individually stacked on top of each other and must face due South. Consider that against the weight of any other male overlord and you've got cotton candy!

Top 10 Qualies to Win Any Woman's Heart
1. Loyal, definitely no more than a dog.
2. Spineful quality, but not too much that it get's you into a women's shelter.
3. Fancies your quirks.
4. Finds you attractive despite how fit or fat.
5. Greets you in the morning with an, “I love you,” and closes the day with an, “I love you.”
6. Best friend: shares his daily dallies without your prodding.
7. Honest, will brave the unchartered waters i.e., "that outfit is atrocious."
8. Charming, opens the car door for you.
9. Cleanliness: daily showers, dabbles in you expensive facial wash, but not too much that he's a metrosexual.
10. Compromise, will allow you to scan channels during the commercial break of the Giants game.

Marriage is still fresh and new. We have yet to be sucked into this vacuous great abyss that veterans label the black hole. We have remained true to ourselves. God forbid, we are joined at the hips. On the contrary, he has his rooster time aka golf trips and poker nights. I have my PMS support group it's called Netflix and a glass of Pinot Griggio and the latter the group of cackling inebriated girls night out. It's the only route to go. We are independently cohesive.

It's not the date, the friends, or the meals that made today precious. It's been an outstanding year! It's been action packed full of sweetness. There is not one day that passes that I’m not happier than the day prior. Certainly, we have the occasional bicker which never last more than fifteen minutes, because our disagreements are no more than ludicrous and it always results in laughter. To put in a tiny cute plastic box, we are in love. This has been the word according to Mrs. Kitchen.

Lesson: A loving Grasshopper must learn to hug himself before hugging others.