Two Months Stateside

August 3, 2017 by Mackenzie

Some days it’s hard to believe it’s already been two+ months since leaving Indonesia, other days (really, most days) it feels like I’ve been here for ages.

As you may have expected, I’ve settled in to life in America quite nicely. The first few days and weeks were full of rediscovering the joys of hot showers, diverse food, afternoons spent at the golf course, and spending lots of time with my family. I opened boxes of my old things and suddenly had a whole “new” wardrobe. I taught Spencer and Kenzie the card game that we played so often in Indonesia. I cautiously drove my car, repeating “right, right, right.” And… I interviewed for a job in downtown Seattle.

In April and May, I’d been applying to a dozen + jobs in Seattle trying to have a plan for what I was doing once I got back. I intended to find something short term in Seattle for the summer and then possibly move out to DC come August/September and find a full-time job out there. Well, the week before coming home, I woke up to an email from a marketing and communications firm in Seattle asking for an interview for a research internship I had applied to. I interviewed with them as soon as I got home and knew as soon as I walked out of the interview that I really wanted this opportunity.

I didn’t know anything about market research or public opinion research at the time, but I do have research experience – I did two fairly substantial research projects my senior year at WU and figured I could analyze data and write reports… I heard back pretty quickly and was offered the position!

My fellow intern and new friend, Mila

I’m now eight weeks into my time at PRR and loving every minute of it. I’m on a team with three other brilliant women researchers as well as Bruce (also brilliant but I’m all about the girl power), who leads our department. I help out with every aspect of the research process from editing proposals, programming surveys, and conducting literature reviews, to analyzing data, writing reports, and more. Our clients are generally in the public sector, so we work with a lot of government agencies. We specialize in transportation, urban planning, sustainability, and healthcare, which are generally new fields for me but so interesting once you dig into them!

I never would have thought I’d be solving Seattle’s transportation challenges but… here we are! I have always been a problem solver and someone interested in monitoring and evaluation – plus, I believe strongly in public involvement in policy decision-making… and that’s exactly what I’m doing! Through our surveys, I help to facilitate the public’s involvement in high-level policy issues – like evaluating the public’s attitude towards alternatives to fuel tax so Departments of Transportations across the country can make informed and appropriate decisions for their communities.

After a few weeks of commuting to downtown Seattle from my parent’s house in Lynnwood (1 hour+ each way), I realized several things: it was a long and relatively expensive bus commute; I couldn’t have a social life living in Lynnwood and working in Seattle; Seattle is a totally cool city and I wanted to explore more of it; and I might actually want to call Seattle home for longer than just the summer…

Current roommates, Maddie and Josh and I exploring the Bite of Seattle

So, I found a lovely couple in Queen Anne to move in with for the summer and now live in a fabulous neighborhood, walking distance from the Space Needle, quick hops to some of the coolest neighborhoods Seattle has to offer, with spectacular views of the city and the Puget Sound, and only a 15 minute bus ride to work. Everything has worked out wonderfully and I can assure you I am living my newfound Seattle/American life to the fullest.

The future is still a bit hazy but it’s coming into focus. I will be signing a year-long lease to stay in my apartment and just finished a week of stressful Craigslist roommate searching. Unfortunately, there were too many wonderful people who wanted to live with me and I had such a hard time deciding! But, I’ve chosen a wonderful girl to be my roommate and I think we’ll have a fabulous time over this next year! And I’m working hard every day in the hope that PRR will hire me full time. They have dropped many positive hints so I’m hoping things continue to move in that direction!

All in all, it’s been a wonderful transition and I couldn’t be more excited about the future. Hmu if you’re in/coming through Seattle in the next year!

Mack is Back

August 14, 2016 by Mackenzie

Mack is back.

After seven weeks in the US of A, I’m back in Indonesia, about to begin my second Fulbright grant. I arrived about a week ago and have been spending my days in Jakarta working in the AMINEF office, helping prepare for the arrival of the new ETAs and the upcoming orientation. I’ll be here in Jakarta for two weeks before the new ETAs arrive on the 23rd and then we all depart to our sites on the 24th. I vividly remember the confusion, the exhaustion, and the strangeness of all this last year – we had barely gotten a full night’s sleep before we were shipped off to our site with no language skills, very little idea of what we were doing, and great excitement to finally see the community we would be living in for the next nine months.

Dim Sum with the AMINEF office

This year… is so much easier. Yes, the flight was long and the jet lag was real but the airport was familiar, I could speak to the taxi driver, and my phone worked from the moment we touched down. I know how to dress, I can deal with the heat, and I know what to order at a restaurant. This is just so much easier. Not to say next week will be easy… Jakarta is familiar and comforting, but when I land in Kendari it will be for the first time. I’ll be meeting a whole slew of new people, moving into my ruko (rumah toko = house store ~ more on this once I get there ?), and stressing about what my most conservative outfit is that I’ll wear on my first day at this Islamic school.

Beautiful sunset as we took off from Tokyo to Jakarta

Car Free Day in Jakarta – every Sunday the main thoroughfare in Jakarta is shut down to cars and motorcycles and thousands of people come out to run, walk, bike, and explore.

I obviously posted nothing over the summer. It was a time of relaxation and family, eating great food, and playing a lot of golf. It would have been nice to see a few more friends, and spend a bit longer with those I did get to see, but with my friends spread all over the country now, it’s a hard thing to do!

All of my Indo memories <3

Date night with momma <3

A highlight of my summer occurred right from the start when I went to DC and St. Louis less than 72 hours after getting home from Indonesia. Last year, you may remember when I traveled to DC in June to attend the Pre-Departure Orientation for new Fulbright grantees. It was an incredible week of meeting my cohort and learning about the year ahead. This year, I got to return to the PDO as an alumni. I spoke on a few panels, answered endless questions from the incoming grantees to Indonesia, and spent a lot of time eating, drinking, and sight-seeing my way through DC with the other SETAs (Senior ETAs ~ Returners) and the AMINEF staff who had come all the way from Jakarta.

Speaking on the panel, Living in Southeast Asia

SETAs and the AMINEF team

Meeting with the Indonesia bureau of Voice of America with Rizqi, Astrid, Ceacealia, Kelly and Grace

The incoming Indonesia ETA cohort!

Sightseeing at Renwick Gallery

Indo-bound ladies!

After the PDO, I spent a few extra nights in DC with my bff Martha, who had just moved to DC to start a big-girl job. From there, I went to St. Louis for a few days where I got to see college friends, professors and mentors, and my former coworkers at Taste. It was a fabulous 10 days!

Finally reunited with Martha <3

Catching up after a year apart with Shannon and Abby, my good friends from WU

Catching up after a year apart with Shannon and Abby, my friends from WU

Taste with Abby <3

So much love from both Taste and it’s sister restaurant, Brasserie

Soaking up the sun and the ice cream with Abby in STL!

A second highlight was getting to attend a talk given by Malala. Mom surprised me with tickets to the event when I first came home and gosh, it was such an incredibly inspiring night. As a teacher in international education, in a country with a poor education system, it was so cool to hear directly from Malala and be inspired by her passion and work. If you haven’t read her book yet, I can’t recommend it highly enough! Read it and if you ever get the chance to see her in person, do it – you’re in for an awesome evening.

Highlight of the year!

It was exactly the summer I needed. Lots of family time, lots of good food, and lots of time enjoying the balmy Seattle weather. I completed another million step challenge with mom – and am returning to Indo feeling fit and strong. And now, I’m back in Indonesia where I feel content and at home. I’ve got 11 more days in Jakarta and then it’s off to really start this year!

Already miss this so much!

Spend so much time with this sweet girl this summer :)

Spent so much time with this sweet girl this summer 🙂

The Million Step Challenge: 1 million steps in three months. We did it!

Packing was still a nightmare this time, but it was altogether much, much easier and less stressful! This is some of my pile of Oleh-oleh (gifts and souvenirs) for my friends and students here!

Ate all the berries I could find in the PNW!

Greenlake adventures with my buddy

Golfing with the fam

Found an Indonesian restaurant with Kata, an incoming ETA from Seattle!

Brunch with the fam

Golfing on the 4th of July

What a great summer! Sampai tahun depan Amerika!

Honey Lavender Ice Cream

August 24, 2014 by Mackenzie

One day… ONE DAY until I start my senior year of college! How in the world did that happen? I remember sitting in my dorm room in the spring of my freshman year deciding to start a blog and writing that first post thinking… what would I say? Well, after many iterations I am so proud of what this blog has become! A full-fledged food blog with followers, giveaways, life updates and more! For my family who has followed this blog since the beginning – thank you! And to my new readers, welcome and thanks for reading! I live a crazy, wild, exciting life and I’m thrilled to share it (and what I’m cooking) with you!

I got back to St. Louis on Wednesday and it was been a busy few days of unpacking, organizing, finding odd furniture and lugging it up three flights of stairs, struggling to drill screws into a wall to hang a shelf (how can it be so difficult?!) and now… it’s time to take a break and catch up on email, the blog and get ready for my classes tomorrow!

One of the things I was most excited to return to in St. Louis was my ice cream maker! So it is only fitting that my first post be an ice cream. While my roommate and I were reorganizing our kitchen we found dried lavender and I remembered one of my favorite flavors of ice cream – Honey Lavender. Naturally, I decided to make it and here we go! It is a perfect treat for this horribly hot weather – it has been 100+ degrees the last few days, with high humidity too!

It was a race against the heat as I was trying to take these pictures outside! The ice cream was melting SO FAST in the 100 degree heat!

Honey Lavender Ice Cream

From Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream Cookbook

Ingredients

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon finely ground dried lavender
Pinch of kosher salt

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a whisk, until the sugar and honey dissolve. Just before the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat, cover and let steep for 30 minutes.
Transfer mixture to a shallow pan or a 4 cup measuring cup (my preference because it makes pouring into the ice cream maker much easier). Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, until thoroughly chilled.
When the mixture is very cold (important!!), pour into an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions (note: it may take longer than usual – I’m not sure why but each time I have made it, it takes a long time to reach the right thickness). Transfer to a plastic container and freeze for at least 4 hours.

Notes

It is really important that it is very, very, very cold before you churn it. Be patient and let it sit an extra hour in the fridge before churning it if need be! It will be worth it!

I’ve also joined a giveaway hosted by Juggling Act Mama! Head on over to her page and enter – who wouldn’t want $125 to start the school year!

[Life Update] A DC Summer…

August 12, 2014 by Mackenzie

Well friends, another adventure has come to a close! As you read this, I’m probably on a flight from DC to St. Louis or catching up with my dear roommate after 3 1/2 months apart! I thought I would take a moment to share some of my photos and tell the stories behind some of my experiences – because what a summer this has been! I really didn’t think I could top last summer in Indonesia – but honestly, this summer has come pretty darn close 🙂

I know I have shared a lot of these photos on facebook and instagram over the summer – so I’m sorry if you’ve already seen them! Hopefully I can share a little more behind each photo and give you the big picture of my time in DC! There is also a lot I won’t be sharing to the world over this blog! So if you see me in person – ask me for more stories!!

So… I arrived in DC at the beginning of June – after spending a month in Madagascar (see this post for that update!) The photo below is from my first morning – I went for a run through the National Mall and couldn’t believe I had been in the bush of Madagascar just days before!

I’m proud to say that I became a very consistent runner during my time here! I ran pretty much every other morning, waking up just before 6am to beat the heat and humidity and take in the breathtaking views of the National Mall without the throngs of tourists. According to “my fitness pal” (PS – awesome app), I think I ran 95 miles this summer! Yeah!

I did plenty of exploring – I had quite the bucket list and checked off just about everything! This was day 1 as I was exploring the Hill and trying to figure out where my office was so I wouldn’t be late on my first day of work 😀

Okay, so then I actually started working! Here’s Martha and I working hard! 😀

The next big question you probably have is, what exactly did you do in your internship? Well… a Hill internship is…a Hill internship. There are plenty of hilarious buzzfeed articles – and they are quite accurate! I highly recommend reading this one if you want to laugh. Anyways, I worked 9-6 and every day would answer phone calls from constituents, give tours of the Capitol Building to constituents, do research on policy for staffers, attend briefings and Committee Hearings (I went to some really cool hearings – one on International Violence Against Women, Campus Sexual Assault etc), go to Intern Lectures (with awesome speakers – I have some pics below), and just do whatever anybody asked of me!

Martha and I would accidentally match at least once a week – so awkward since we were always together

I was outside the Supreme Court when the Hobby Lobby Decision was announced – it was insane!

Another fellow intern and I exploring the Capitol Building! Our badges could get us just about anywhere – so this is just off the Senate FloorChuck Todd – Chief White House News Correspondent – one of the Speakers at the Intern Lectures

Fairly typical sight inside the tunnel connecting the Senate office buildings and the Capitol. The press would wait here for Senators to come off the floor and attempt to interview them before they got on the tram back to the office.

Newly elected House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy speaking at the Intern Lecture – he was hilarious!“Puppy Day” at the Capitol – yeah, that was a great day 😀One day we were walking around the Capitol and befriended one of the Capitol Police. He showed us the Press Room off the Senate Floor and so I gave an eloquent speech on… well… yeah.Okay, this was definitely the best intern lecture – I got to hear Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg speak in the Supreme Court! And she called on me to ask a question – it was certainly a highlight of the summer!! I asked her what has been her proudest moment as a Supreme Court Justice and what was the most challenging. She first said “Well, that’s like making me choose which of my four grandchildren is my favorite!” But then said that the US vs. Virginia case (made the military academy accept women) was her proudest. And for the difficult ones, she said “when we’re divided 4-5 and I’m on the 4 side” 😀Weekends were filled with exploring the sights and sounds of DC! First up, the Jefferson Memorial

The White House at dusk – absolutely beautiful.

Martha and I went to the Congressional Women’s Softball Game – a charity softball game with female Members of Congress versus the female Press!

We also went to the Men’s Congressional Game – this one at the Nat’s Stadium!

I flew home for a quick weekend trip to see Spencer graduate from BCS!The 4th of July – Martha and I camped out at the base of the Washington Monument and had a lovely picnic and enjoyed the incredible firework show with THOUSANDS of people!

We went kayaking on the Potomac River one Saturday night – that is one of my favorite memories of this whole summer!

Martha and I attended the Make Progress Conference for Millennials…That was a fairly epic week but you have to ask me for that story in person 🙂They had fantastic speakers like… Vice President Joe Biden
One of my favorite Senators… Elizabeth Warren (Former Speaker of the House Nancy Peloisi and Senator Kristin Gillibrand and many others were also there!)
Went to a National’s Game!

Went up to Arlington National Cemetery… this is the view from General Robert E Lee’s mansion at the top of the hill in the center of the Cemetery

Had to share this – the longest escalator I have ever seen!!!
On one of our last nights – enjoying ice cream on the steps of the Capitol!Met Senator Parry Murray (the other Washington Senator)Got to sit down and talk with Senator Heidi Heitkamp from North Dakorta!
REALLY wish I could have met Senator Elizabeth Warren… but I at least got my book signed! Another beautiful night at a baseball game!Drove up to Baltimore for the day

Met up with Chesna – a woman I worked with at Standard Chartered Bank in Indonesia last summer! It was so fun to see her again!Got to be in the live audience for a news broadcast for the 2014 Africa SummitChesna somehow made some phone calls and got me connected with the Indonesian Ambassador! I got to go out to his (beautiful) residence and have breakfast with him and his family!

And finally, my own Senator, my Boss and a woman I greatly admire and respect – Senator Maria Cantwell. It was an incredible summer and I am so thankful I had the opportunity to come out here and try out this DC life 😀 I loved it and hope that returning to DC is in my near future! So exciting!

Thanks for bearing with me through this long post – hope you enjoyed this snapshot of my summer! I also cooked, baked and blogged a ton! I made…

Blueberry Basil Grilled Cheese

What a fabulous summer!!! And now, you might ask – what’s next? What did you learn? What is your career path? Well, honestly I have no idea. I can tell you that I have many more realistic, exciting options than I did at the beginning of the summer. But we’re not there yet – and I can’t speculate that far out. First – I have to catch a plane to St. Louis in a few hours. Then tomorrow it’s off to Seattle for a week! I’m looking forward to seeing all my friends and family and then jetting back to STL.

This school year is already promising big things! I’ll be working on my thesis, taking 18 credits (of classes I am pumped about), and madly applying to any opportunity I think may be a good fit 😀

But… I’ve got another big announcement! Stay tuned because it’s BIG and I’m SO EXCITED! Subscribe to my blog (see the link on the right near the top of the page) to be one of the first to hear!!!

Blackberry Brownies (+New Website!!)

August 6, 2014 by Mackenzie

What do you think?! How does the new website look?

I am SO excited about the new site. It has been a work in progress over the last month as I decided that I really wanted to grow my blog, my followers, and transform Never Skip Dessert into it’s very own self-hosted website! In the last few weeks I bought the domain (www.neverskipdessertblog.com) and migrated my old site over to this new self-hosted site on Bluehost. I want to thank Katie Clark over at www.clarkscondensed.com for helping me with the migration – she was very helpful and I didn’t have to worry about a thing!

So now that the big process of migrating and setting up the new site is done – I’m ready to begin posting recipes again! If you want to stay up-to-date on what I’m cooking and where I am in the world (lots of changes in the near future!) I’d love for you to subscribe to my site so that you’ll receive an email with each new post. You can also follow Never Skip Dessert on facebook, instagram or twitter! All the links are on the right hand side of the page.

But back to the kitchen… luckily, I have been able to cook a lot lately! It’s fun to have a whole office ready to eat whatever treat I bring in – and last week, it was these blackberry brownies!

It is HOT and HUMID in DC. Ugh. It’s quite miserable during the day but thanks to the underground tunnels connecting all of the Senate office buildings and the Capitol, I am rarely outside in the middle of the day. But one hot, sticky walk back from work I was craving chocolate and thought about how I could incorporate something summary and refreshing into a classic chocolate treat. For whatever reason, I immediately thought of adding blackberries to brownies and thought – wow, now this is an idea I have to try!

I used a recipe I already had on my blog for Salted Caramel Brownies and omitted the salted caramel and instead added fresh blackberries to the batter just before baking – crushing a few to get blackberry juice swirled into the batter. They turned out fantastic – a sweet surprise in every few bites!

My coworkers loved them and actually asked me to bring them again – so I did! I brought them in two days in a row and they were quite the crowd-pleaser!

Try them out and let me know what you think! Also, I would love a comment if you have one on the look of the new site! (Or any glitches if you can find one!)

Blackberry Brownies

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mackenzie (Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Serves: 18

Ingredients

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 6oz (small) package of fresh blackberries, washed

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.
Melt chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl over gently simmering water (double boiler) or melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between. Stir until smooth. Beat in the sugar, then the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and salt. Add flour and mix until combined. Finally, stir in the blackberries (don’t be afraid to crush a few and infuse the batter with blackberry juice)
Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool and then cut into squares and serve!

Notes

PS – if you’re short on time/ingredients, you can also use a store-bought brownie mix and just add blackberries to the batter! But shhh – don’t tell anyone 😀

Summer in DC and Fresh Summer Pasta with Lemon, Chicken and Peas

June 8, 2014 by Mackenzie

What a wild last 2 1/2 months I have had… I think my last recipe post was back during spring break, which is pathetic considering that was back in mid-March. Although I had every intention to continue blogging through the end of the school year, as it seems to happen, school, work, golf and whatever small social life I had got in the way of cooking and writing. As soon as my finals were over, I took off to Madagascar for almost a month! You can read all about my trip here.

I came back from Madagascar, packed up my apartment in St. Louis and moved to DC! I’m interning for Senator Maria Cantwell this summer and am so thrilled to have the opportunity to experience the ins and outs of politics, the bustle of DC in the summer, and have some time to myself to read, write and cook!. I’m living in a house near the Capitol with several other young adults and am looking forward to everything this summer will bring.

Although I have a big kitchen, it’s not exactly fully-stocked with my usual cooking gadgets. Yes, I know I’m spoiled in St. Louis to have an ice cream maker, a crock-pot, a waffle maker, a food processor, and the likes… But this kitchen doesn’t even have a cheese grater! (Found that out while I was in the middle of making this recipe ha!) I also don’t want to buy too many ingredients – spices, oils and such – because I’m only here for ten weeks and will have to fly everything back home. So my recipes are going to be simple this summer. Easy, simple, healthy recipes are what you’ll see in the coming weeks!

And to start – I’m sharing this simple, fresh summer pasta. I made it last week after work – and find it perfect for the hot summer days out here. The lemon juice serves as the main punch of flavor and also as any semblence of a sauce (lemon juice, water and some butter serve as the sauce – so it’s light, fresh, flavorful and incredibly easy to make!) I’ve enjoyed it both hot and cold – hope you enjoy!

Fresh Summer Pasta with Lemon, Chicken and Peas
Recipe adapted from PureWow
Serves 6

1 lb spaghetti noodles
2-3 cups fresh or frozen peas
1 bag fully-cooked chicken strips
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese + more to serve
Juice of one lemon
Salt
2-3 tablespoons freshly chopped mint
Zest of one lemon

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta to al dente, according to package directions. About a minute or two before the pasta is done, add the peas. While pasta is cooking, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and a few pinches of italian seasoning spice and saute for 4-5 minutes.

2. When the pasta is done, ladle out one cup of the liquid and set aside. Drain the remaining liqud through a colander and return the pasta to the pot. Add the heated chicken, butter, grated cheese, and salt to taste. Toss to combine and then add the reserved liquid and the lemon juice. Toss to coat. Add the mint and lemon zest, toss it to combine one last time and serve immediately.

Leftovers can be eaten hot or cold – it’s delicious both ways!

Mackenzie

A Look Back