Holi Festival of Colors 2010

There is no need to travel to India to enjoy a taste of its culture. Right here in Spanish Fork we enjoyed celebrating the coming of Spring with the Holi Festival of Colors. I have not been for two years and it has grown in popularity and intensity since then. For those of you that have no idea what this is, let me explain. Imagine hundreds of young college students crowded together with little bags of brightly colored chalk powder all standing together in front of a pavilion with a live band and a burning statue of a demon . Then there is a count down and at zero the whole sky goes opaque with what looks like the colorful wreckage of gas bomb. It is lots of fun if you stay away from the mosh-pit crowd and it's a great opportunity for picture taking and getting a taste of another culture.

The Krishna temple of Spanish Fork. It's a beautiful area because the temple is up on a hill and the surrounding area is green farmland.

The usual white and pristine temple columns took a blow.

Our group in the infamous "before shot." Unfortunately, I didn't get a group "after shot."

I got sick of the crowd so I wandered around to take pictures. This was a little stand where they sold bags, scarves, and beautiful parasols.

I love the structure of the hindu temple.

Living Legends

Last night we enjoyed the dance performance of the BYU group Living Legends. It is made up of Native American, Polynesian, and Latin American students and they do cultural folk/traditional dances. The performance we saw was unique in that it told the story of the Book of Mormon from a broad native perspective through the dancing and storytelling. I would definitely recommend it to anyone that has the opportunity to see them. The dancing was good, and the music and costumes were amazing!

This was one of my favorite dances and costumes.

This was one of Lamoni's favorites for obvious reasons. It was actually kind of funny when these dancers came on because you would have thought we were at a football game by the level of cheering and applause in the audience. There were obviously a lot of patriotic Mexicans in attendance that night.


There were several Polynesian dances but this traditional dance from Fiji was new to me and it was very fun to watch.


We also enjoyed dances from Alaska, Guatemala, Argentina, Samoa, Paraguay, Hawaii, Tahiti, and several North American dances like the bell dance and the hoop dance (which I love). It was a fun date and I was so glad that we got to go. If only I could dance in these dances too....

Happy Birthday to My Bumsty

(Abby and me, circa: a long time ago. You'd think I'd have some recent pictures, but no)

Today is Abby's birthday and even though it's a bit late in the day I need to give her a birthday tribute. I feel very privileged that my best friend also happens to be my cousin. We joke around nowadays that when we were young, Abby used to follow me around and I never gave her the time of day. We laugh about it now, but I cringe when I think of me as a child because I don't know where I would be without her. She has been a constant source of love and support throughout my rocky road these last few years and I don't think I could ever measure up to her awesomeness. I am lucky to be even a fraction of how intelligent, honest, and loyal she is. Thanks for laughing at my silliness and giving me good advice when I need it. Thanks for hanging out with me and watching movies and eating brownie batter with me when I'm feeling low. Thanks Abby for all the good times over the years and for being the bestest friend I could ask for. Love you and happy birthday!

February Cookery

Made Abby-style mashed potatoes with Abby. Boil potatoes in beef broth then drain and add milk butter and salt, Abby-style. It was so good.

Made Fudgy Brownies with Abby. She was very clever and whipped up a snickers bar frosty to go on top.

Made roast red bell pepper soup. What I thought was going to be easy turned into a long and involved process. My conclusion: you can never be too prepared. And roasting peppers is not to be taken lightly. You MUST do it according to instructions or the peel does not come off properly. And make sure you always have all the parts to your blender. Or just make sure that you have an awesome cousin roomie that has a magic bullet. Also made some homemade french fries, baked in the oven. Wish I had some sweet potatoes to make them with.

Made some other things too but I failed to keep track. More in March!

Books Read in February 2010

5. Night by Elie Wiesel 2/1/10



6. Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt 2/4/10


7. The Penderwicks by Jeane Birdsall 2/20/10


8. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. 2/25/10

Valentine's & President's Day Weekend

I had a pretty good Valentine's Day this year. I kind of liked having it land on a Sunday because that made it feel like we had 3 days of Valentine's Day. Friday night we went out for dinner at Spaghetti Factory and dancing at a ward party.

Saturday I went to Lily Anderson's birthday party and then went to Manda's again for dinner to celebrate Chinese New Year. We ate sticky rice, wontons, lettuce wraps (so good!), and dumplings. Then Lamoni and I went to see The Princess and the Frog at the dollar theater. It was so cute and I absolutely loved it. I have always had a fascination with New Orleans, mostly because New Orleans Square is my favorite part of Disneyland:) Watching that movie was like being in Disneyland for me. Lamoni liked it too except sometimes he couldn't understand what the Cajun firefly was saying. Sometimes neither could I. Lamoni gave me flowers and some beautiful white and gold earrings. They are so me.

Sunday I got up and made my Valentine cards for everyone that I had procrastinated. This is what they looked like:

BE MAYAN

Well, it would have looked like this except our printer wasn't printing in color. So I printed them black and white and colored in some highlights in red. Then I gave everyone the truffles that Abby and I labored over the week before. I couldn't have done it without her:)



I don't know why I chose the wonky looking ones to photograph. But they turned out very delicious. Thanks Abby! Sunday was also Evelyn Joy Stubbs' baby blessing. We went to Sam & Ashley's ward at 2:30 for the blessing then to Grandma Stubbs for food afterwards. It was a grand time.

Sunday night I drove up to Logan to be with Mandy for President's Day. We got off work weeks and weeks ago so that we could do something fun. Sunday night we went to her friends' house to play games and watch a movie. Then Monday morning we left for Lava, ID (about an hour and a half away) and we spent the day in lounging in hot springs and eating in the tiny one street town. It was a fun experience because it was snowing outside but much to hot to stay in the pools for long. So we would sit in the pool, snow gathering on our heads, then hop out and hop back in.

Mandy, Amy, Sarah, Amanda, Katie, Ashley

Amy & Mandy

The silly picture. Everybody failed except Mandy & me.

I only managed to take one picture of the trip; these are taken from Mandy's friend Sarah's camera. I really need to take more pictures.

Iaido

Forget Saturday morning cartoons or sleeping in - Saturday mornings are martial arts mornings. I have been attending a Shotokan Karate class on and off since my freshman year and I absolutely love it. Every week I come home to nurse new bruises for the week then go back for some more. The other students there are so helpful and friendly and our instructor, Noji, is such an inspiration. (we like to refer to him as Mr. Miyagi).

Anyway, there is one student in the class that actually teaches another martial art in the same studio right after our karate class. He has been inviting me and Sam to come to his Iaido class for weeks now so this last Saturday I decided to stick around and see what it is all about. And this is what it is all about:


How cool is this? Iaido is Japanese sword fighting, what you would think of as samurai style. It is very fun and very challenging. My arms have been killing me all week so far. I'm very excited to get started with this (Maddie, you should come do it too...)

Books Read in January 2010

1. Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey 1/14/10

2. Golden by Cameron Dokey, 1/18/10

3. He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo 1/25/10

4. My Life in France by Julia Child 1/29/10

January Cookery

I have been cooking a lot lately. Not very advanced or gourmet but I've been trying a lot of new foods and recipes.

Jan 3 - I had been craving artichokes for a long time and ever since watching Julie & Julia I've wanted to make Julia Child's hollandaise sauce. My verdict: never make that nasty sauce. It's nasty. But the artichokes were good.

Jan 8 - had a weird and sudden hunger for salmon. So, Lamoni made a wonderful baked salmon with lemon and herbs and I made an olive oil, basil, and tomato pasta to go alongside. It was so delicious.

Jan 13 - made Mexican-Style garlic soup. I think I burned the garlic because it tasted...not the best.

Jan 15 - helped make tostadas with Lamoni and his brothers. Except they did most of the actual work. I just helped mash beans and chop stuff.

Jan 18 - I think that I have at long last perfected the portions of my gnocchi recipe. It's not really my recipe but when you're not given any portions to begin with it makes it a little difficult. Anyway, I made a lot of gnocchi and stuck most of it in the freezer. You can never have too much gnocchi. I gave it to Manda and Ivan. Hopefully, Ivan will not think less of me because of it. His mother's gnocchi is legendary.

Jan 22 - made a chayote and garbanzo bean salad. Chayote is a discovery I made in the Mexican markets. It is shaped like a pear but has the texture of an apple and the taste of a cucumber...kind of. The chayote was pretty good but the salad was not that great. I think I have a tendency to put too much garlic in things.

Jan 24 - made shrimp stir fry with Jenny. Not too difficult but pretty tasty and we were able to use leftovers. I guess that is one of the joys of stir fry.

I have also been making corn tortillas from scratch. They are super easy and way more delicious than the kind you by in the store. I've already gone through a whole bag of maseca corn flour (MASECA!). I have yet to see if they hold up in making egg tacos (Dad, Maddie-I'll let you know) Mmm, delicious.

Jan 26 - Abby came over to do laundry and we made a lemon (ish) pie concoction. Graham cracker crust, a can of sweetened condensed milk, and lemon juice. It was delish. I also tried my hand at homemade tortilla chips from homemade tortillas. They were a little thick but tasted pretty good. I also made home made hummus (without a blender!) I probably could have used a recipe though....

Jan 27 - Abby made some delicious "loco coco." It was some good hot chocolate. I'm not sure why it was loco. And I didn't really make it but I figured I'd throw it into this list.

Jan 29 - Abby, Lamoni and I made steamed dumplings and chocolate truffles. The following is a conversation that took place when we walked in the door.
Jenny: "What are you up to?"
Amy: "We going to make Asian dumplings!"
Jenny (with a smirk and a chuckle): "Of course you are. Dumplings."
Amy: "And we're going to make chocolate truffles."
Jenny: "Ah! Now that's what I'm talking about."
Amy (as she is gathering food): "Jenny thinks I cook weird stuff."
Abby: "Amy, you do cook weird stuff. You made garlic soup, remember?"

The dumplings were pretty good, and the truffles were quite good. I think I'll make them again sometime. Perhaps for Valentine's Day gifts? Hmm...

Before the Transformation

Here are a few shots of my room in the before stage.

Eastern Wall

South West Corner

Northern Wall

A much belated Christmas Letter

I wrote this in the beginning of December, mostly to see for myself where I had been this year. I did not really have any intention of posting it but here it is just in case any one was curious.

January

• Started off with classes at BYU, mostly geography and religion. I was living in the Spanish House at BYU campus and working at BYU laundry.

February

• came home for a lengthy vacation and break from school.
  
• Went back to Provo for a few days for Abby's wedding!
  
• I found a job at a Great Harvest Bread Co in Henderson and enjoying selling (and eating!) bread and sandwiches.
  
• Got to borrow an awesome Canon SLR camera and played around with it

March

• Continued working at Great Harvest.
  
• Started taking belly dancing classes in Boulder City.
  
• Had fun going to parks, riding bikes, taking pictures and having fun in the nice Nevada springtime.

April

• wonderful Easter holiday and an awesome Spring Break Family Stay-cation. Made soap one day, cards the next, etc.

May

• enjoyed a visit from Abby and Anthony. We went to Valley and Fire and the Strip.
  
• got a haircut with highlights for the first time. Loved it.
  
• Babysat a lot.
  
• Enjoyed a visit from Mandy and her friend Nicole.
  
• quit Great Harvest in order to work a temporary full time position at the Southern Nevada Water Authority by the lake.

June

• Started off water district job with locking my keys in my car. They were stuck there for 3 days, eluding all the on site mechanics until the janitor got them out.
  
• Met Michael Darino, boyfriend and best friend in the summer.
  
• cousin Stephen came home from his mission to Washington

July

• worked full time, running a muck in the water district warehouse, continuing belly dancing lessons, hanging out with Michael, dancing in the 4th of July parade, enjoying our 4th of July family BBQ.
  
• went to San Diego with Michael and friend Koah Fielding. Had an amazing time and saw a lot over one weekend.

August

• had the privilege of being a bridesmaid in my friend Samantha's wedding. She was married in the Las Vegas Temple and had a ring ceremony afterwards in which Tyler was the ring bearer:)
• SWNA job ended and I packed up to move up to Provo to work.
  
• said goodbye to Michael as he went to teach English in South Korea
• went on an awesome Disneyland trip with Abby, Anthony, Aunt Joy, Grandma S., and Uncle Todd. We were there for a week and stayed right across the street from the Happiest Place on Earth!
  

September

• settled in at new apartment in Provo, living with college friend Leah Leach. Out of 6 girls in the apt, 5 speak Spanish.
  
• enjoyed hanging out with friend Audrey Crandell, going out to eat sushi.
  
• started dating Lamoni Limon again.
  
• went sailing with Uncle Dave and cousin Stephen.
  
• Got a full time job as a receptionist at Novus call center! I answer phones for 8 straight hours.
• locked my keys in my car again. Lamoni got them out.
  

October

• took a trip to South Korea for one week. It was quite the experience and had a lot of fun visiting Michael and his teacher friends.
  
• I turned 21 and had a fabulous birthday in which my mother and sister Madison surprised me with a quick visit. Grandma S treated us to dinner and dessert and then we went to Ikea to get some birthday stuff.
  
• went to Hee-Haw's pumpkin patch and corn maize with Sam, Ashley, Abby, Anthony, and Lamoni.
  
• I was a peacock for Halloween and spent the evening with Lamoni on campus watching a scary movie.

November

• went to the midnight showing of New Moon with Abby, her sister in law Sarah, and two friends CC and Paige. Good times:) (Go Team Jacob!)
  
• Went home for a quick weekend for Sydney's birthday and to see family.
  
• Spent Thanksgiving with Duncan cousins.

December

• locked my keys in my car again. Except really I didn't because when Lamoni was finally able to open the car they were nowhere to be found. turns out I left them in the store Abby and I had been shopping in.
• went home for an excellent Christmas.
  

Books Read in 2009

Conquistador by Buddy Levy

Middleworld by J&P Voelkel


Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznik


Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda


Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier


Pastwatch: Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card


Murder of King Tut by James Patterson


Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner


(no picture)
Aqui y Alla en Yucatan by Alice Dixon Le Plongeon


Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas


Endurance by Alfred Lansing


Scurvy by Stephen R. Brown


Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah


Shug by Jenny Han


The Giver by Lois Lowry


Riptide by Douglas Preston


Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede

Revamping the Room

Abby came over yesterday and we discussed how we are going to revamp my room. We came up with a pretty good plan I think and I'll be posting updates and before and after shots.

Plus...

Jenny, Abby, and I saw Sherlock Holmes and it was very good. Much more "Holmes-y" than I expected and the music (Hans Zimmer) was excellent :)

Where the Wild Things Are....

I finally made it to the dollar theater to see this movie. I was surprised at how very serious and kind of sad it was. I very much enjoyed the book growing up and the actors and costumes were great. But I don't think I'll be letting my children watch it. It was just kind of depressing.

Christmas 2009

Yes, I'm finally put up Christmas pictures. Christmas Eve we did a little nativity scene and Papa read the Christmas story from Luke.

Here is the full cast:
Donkey: Maddie
Mary: Sydney
Joseph: Tyler
Angel: Aubrey

(Do you like Maddie's "donkey ears?")

Tyler/Joseph leading the donkey and Mary into Bethlehem.

She was so happy about being Mary.

Aubrey was a darn cute angel.

Brian had to try on my new jacket. I think it looks better on him to be honest.

Everyone had fun with Sydney present from Santa. She got a pink Barbie jeep complete with radio! It took her a while to get the hang of driving it but she and Aubrey had a lot of fun giving each other rides.

Tyler was itching to get into the driver seat and was quite adept at driving the pink jeep around. Perhaps they could start their own "Pink Jeep" front yard tours.

You know you live in a cold environment when....

you wake up to your alarm early in the morning and you dread going outside to warm up your car, even though you know its going to be worth it. So you hit the snooze and have the most wonderful dream in which you discover that your car clicker has a secret button that turn the car on remotely. So sad that we have to wake up to reality sometimes.