It's OK with the Parks

Hop, skip and jump..

2011-05-17T07:12:00.002-06:00

Hello all!

We've moved to this address:

itsokwiththeparks.blogspot.com

UPDATE YOUR READERS! (all six of you, haha)

Who's your crawdaddy?

2011-05-12T06:36:00.000-06:00

BACKSTORY:

One of the first things that I learned to love about Eric was his adventuresome relationship with food. We'd find ourselves at the grocery store and he would quite easily get distracted by something he had never tried before. If it was particularly intriguing, whatever it was, would make its way into our basket. Did we have any idea how to cook it? Probably not. Perhaps also what made it fun was finding a random foreign youtube video with really awful music and poorly translated subtitles in order to learn how to properly dice and eat a jicama root.

MAIN POINT!:

The other day I was grocery shopping at the local asian market. I found this:

Had to get it, right? I mean who wouldn't want to try this delectable looking ambiguous fruit? She got all dolled up in her leopard print goods, gave herself a vague but but enticing name... I couldn't help but take her home. :) Really, it was rindless chunks of what looked like watermelon only with small sesame seed sized black bugs stuck in white spider web looking flesh. It mildly tasted of melon with a slight crunch. After a little research I've now learned to call it dragonfruit or pitaya. It really looks like this:

When grocery shopping I also like to send him texts at work like this one: "DINNER!"
You could say that we don't discriminate when it comes to food too much. (I didn't buy the pork uteris, I promise.) So when Eric asked if I wanted to attend the crawfish boil sponsored by some company that is trying to woo Eric's employer I said, "Heck, YES!" Sidenote: wooage of energy companies by other companies = completely ridiculous. With this new job I've been learning a lot about definitions, ie. "free lunch." (More on that at some possible future juncture of time) Back to the crustaceans... NEITHER of us had had crawfish before. So, this is what happened:

There is a right way and a plehhhhhhhthora of wrong ways to eat a crawfish. You'll know it's the wrong way when you've crushed the head and its barely intelligent bits are seeping down your hand. To save you from the horror of pretreating the crawdaddy brain out of your favorite shirt, I've included a great youtube video. 1-800-CRAWFISH!

Remember: Twist, twist, pinch and pull. AHHHhh, delicious.

Also, we are still here. There were tornado watches yesterday, but we survived. I don't know if our vegtable garden will if we keep getting THIS kind of rain:

Or this kind of hail:
(May 16th 2010, OKC... it really starts cooking around a minute and a half in, if you can handle all the OMGS)

So much for the cucumbers, right?

Ikea Birthday with a side of fossils

2011-04-21T10:00:00.006-06:00

When we decided we were going to move to Oklahoma City, Eric and I were sitting in the living room at my in-laws researching whether or not all the things we know and loved may also be in OKC, which resulted in this conversation:

E: I WONDER IF IT HAS A COSTCO! Where am I going to get great prices on CHEESE?!
S: DO YOU THINK THERE'S AN IKEA!? How are we going to thriftily furnish our place with modern (stop for a Swedish meatball lunch in the cafe) clean lines?!

(Father-in-law walks in the front door from work)

Doug: Hey guys, how's it going?
Us: Good, were were just talking about places we hope are in Oklahoma City.
Doug: Oh!, I wonder if they have a temple!?

.........

It was a good lesson for Eric and I.

ANNNNYway, for my birthday yesterday, I drove down to Dallas to visit MRS Julie Vest-Getmanenko and her baby boy Nikolai. We pounded that Ikea pavement, because alas you see, OKC does not have an Ikea. Eric and I were punished for our lack of priorities. Haha. We are now card carrying members of Sam's Club because are we ever in Walton country and I now have a three hour cinnamon roll drive. Sheesh. But you know, when you get to spend a day with these people it makes it well worth the trip.

Eric had been gone since Sunday to south Texas for a business trip, but was unexpectedly able to come back last night, so that was a welcome surprise. My geologist gave me business trip birthday fossils, as well as, silpat baking mats, really good books to read and cookbooks with lots of pictures. He kind of knows me some. It's like we are married.

Also, the kitchen is coming along. Cabinets are drying, hardware is next and then a last coat of paint on the wall. Those cabinets... never again. Two coats primer, two coats paint. And when front and back both have to dry, all you feel like is that your life is painting and waiting on cabinets. ...It's rough. Ha.

Everything is OK

2011-04-04T11:18:00.016-06:00

Like our new family picture? Ha. If you must know, the wind DOES sweep across the plains. Pretty sure moving is worthy of a post. Eric's Nana teases him about erasing a hole through the page in her address book. Currently we are in Oklahoma City. (Much more on that later) But, in case your need a refresher, here is a quick review of the last six months... (or just skip it all together and check out our awesome 70s kitchen at the end of this post that I'm working on)

October:

The economy give us the willy nillies and so does the new company Eric was working for despite great promises and high hopes. We had a job but were looking for greater security. Back to job searching.
Eric considers continuing education and getting a PhD. Perhaps more school = better job prospects and competitiveness? Applies to six grad schools. Meets with professors and continues to interview for jobs. Feedback: not enough positions available at this time.

December:

Sarah finishes all course work for B.S. in Behavioral Science. Wahoo!
Eric finds job in PA mudlogging until we hear back from possible grad programs.
We BOTH move to Pennsylvania. No more of this Florida business.

January:

Work on Blue Ridge Summit accent.
Sarah starts looking for a job.
Eric learns what it means to curse like a mudlogger by live on a drill site for a few weeks at a time. :)
Sarah checks the mailbox everyday for acceptance letters.

February:

Sarah makes massive 80th birthday cake for Grandad Fred and finally gets an job interview.
Request of second interview with company in Oklahoma City. (Note: original interview was October 2010. Expansion apparently happens... wishfully ponder a recovering economy.)

February 7th:

8am: Eric interviews for job.
3pm: While running errands Sarah checks the mail at the PO BOX in Blue Ridge Summit. There's a letter. She wants to rip it open. Calls Eric.
3:05pm Eric gets accepted to his first grad school.
3:07pm Sarah does dance in Walmart parking lot.
3:30pm Eric prepares to board flight back to PA. Sarah looks at list and considers what to make for dinner.
3:32pm Eric gets emailed job offer to be Associate Geologist for a Fortune 100 Best Company to Work For.
3:33pm Eric calls wife.
3:34pm Wife cries and buys a pork roast.
3:45pm Husband boards plane and calls it a day.

Remaining February/March Whirlwind:

More acceptance letters come.
Lots of discussion.
Sarah inadvertently eats a stink bug.
Explain to Simon we have decided to move to Oklahoma City.
Quick hurry to visit everyone we planned to have six months to see while temporarily in PA.
Visit Aden and Jaehee in Boston.
Visit Wink and Patti in Richmond.
Visit Barb and Bob in Charlotte.
Pack AGAIN.
MOVE AGAIN.
Arrive in OKC.
Sarah presented at a research conference in CA.
Unpack AGAIN.
Eric started new job.

April looks like:

Sarah officially graduates! (and takes a big breath)
Planting our garden.
Lots of painting.
Sarah job searching.
Learning to be big kids.
Making new friends.
Building a storm shelter...

And there you have it.

I guess you could say things may be calming down for a while now. I certainly hope so. Perhaps I will post a few things from our adventures these past few months. In the meantime I have a lot of work to do in our new place. Eric's parents were so good to us while we lived with them back home in PA. I really couldn't ask for better or more supportive in-laws BUT I love knowing where MY spatula is in MY kitchen. And this is the first project I'm throwing myself into. Proudly aware of our food snobbery, Eric and I spend most of our time here together and it makes me miss our old kitchen. This was the before/after on the old apartment kitchen.

After painting the wall, I realized the cabinets were this weird peachy, pink cream, so I just painted them white. I like a nice white kitchen. And guess what we got here in OKC?

So, besides those fabulous 70's cabinets with the gothic iron hardware, I've got to say, check out that awesome fridge. That was a craigslist find everyone. Frankly the guy felt like giving us a deal because when we priced it later... it was about a third of the original cost. Also, by deal I mean much less than what we would have paid new for a plain definitely smaller option. And let me tell you, Eric and I are appliance EXPERTS now having moved to OK. (Renting and finding bargains = being able to pay off student loans.) Later this week after a special delivery I will post about another appliance adventure.

Lastly, yes I'm painting the cabinets AND the walls in the kitchen... any advice on colors? I'm at a bit of a loss. White dishwasher, black stove, stainless steel fridge seriously complicates things.

Liberty and Holiday Travel

2010-11-22T12:22:00.013-07:00

Yes, this is a total procrastination strategy that I'm employing while here in the library.

Recently there has been a lot of discussion about what it takes to fly these days. I would like to add to the discussion on our blog that two people read. Haha. Why write about it then? Well, I feel like I have an opinion and I'm not very good at expressing it in the condensed form of a tweet or facebook status. So here goes...

As a student I have a really great job that is super flexible. I get paid to drive teenagers who are currently in treatment at a residential facility to local appointments: dentist, gynecologist, podiatrist, court, etc. I've held hands for cavities, pap smears and hang nails. Part of my job also includes taking our clients to the airport for when they go on home visits. I routinely drive to the airport and go through security at least once a week because my job requires I escort them to the gate. Through this lens of frequent security screenings and gate sittings, (yes, I sometimes wake up with the Big Sister alert ringing in my ears about not watching other people's bags) and while I admittedly never actually get on any flights, I feel I can personally comment here with confidence on TSA procedure and how I feel about it.

Just like discussing with a client where they would like to eat after I take them through security I also discuss with them what kind of screening they would prefer. I think people often forget to consider this before actually being confronted with the consequence of forgetting, like in the case of water still being in your water bottle.

I'll only comment here on my experience with Salt Lake City Airport because that is where almost all of my experience comes from. I'm not going to look up what TSA regulation is for the "average" airport because a)I'm too lazy and 2) my comments may not generalize to the "average" flight experience. (I'll address this last point at the end)

Going through SLCA there are signs. Along with the signs that inform you what you can take with you through security, after showing my boarding pass and ID to a TSA agent, I then have a choice which line to go through and at the beginning of the line with the body scanner there is a sign. It shows a picture of a body scan, instructs you how to stand and informs travelers those reviewing the scans cannot physically see you as you go through. I won't discuss the politics of the use of body scans here and you know, I'm not even going to share my own views about them, but I am more than willing to say that if you know how to buy a plane ticket then you are literate enough to read the signs about your options for security measures in order to travel. Be smart and realize you are fully capable of choosing your own adventure: body scan or metal detector. In my opinion, choosing the line for the body scanner, refusing to then be scanned and then saying, "No. I will not comply with a pat down," is the equivalent of saying, "I was too busy to read the sign." We read signs which regulate and prohibit our travel "rights" all the time... speed limits, traffic lights, "click it or ticket", and maybe you know that is another issue entirely, (big brother laws that cite you for not wearing a seat belt) but the point is there is a sign. Read it. If you are worked up over a fine because you were late for a flight and failed to read the sign, went in the body scanner line and then refused to have a "physical pat-down,"... go commiserate with everyone who gets speeding tickets because they were late to an appointment and were too busy to pay attention to the way they were also traveling. What about my travel rights? Do I have the right to expect you to be a responsible traveler? I guess I'm just saying that if you are going to complain about the rules, be responsible enough to read them before you break them, yeah?

While I'm at it, I'm going to take on Ben Franklin. In contrast to his more stately and wise offerings he once apparently said that those "who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." What a judgmental and irresponsible thing to say! Who are you Ben Franklin to tell me how to define my own view of liberty? Does it have to be the same as yours for me to deserve what you consider to be essential? According to you, my political competence not only suggests whether or not I qualify for civil liberty but also my right to personal safety. Doesn't sound very unalienable to me. Also, BF, because you are so wonderfully quotable, and people listen to you, they like to use this quote as a response to invalidate another person's view by telling them they don't deserve whatever their personal definition of liberty is because it is different than their own. See how that works? Don't worry, I'll smile back at your picture when I see it on a bank note, because a) it means I'm holding a hundred dollar bill and 2) you're American just like me and just as on this here blog you can say whatever you want and so can those other people. Doesn't mean I have to like it. Don't get me wrong, I love being American. I love being able to have whatever idiotic and ignorant opinion I wish to ascribe to. Just don't tell me when and whether or not I deserve the choice to decide what that is. I may (or may not) just go out and vote about it. And really that's what I think it should come down to, right?

Here follows a guide to traveling this season:

1) Take an Airborne and use hand sanitizer

2) Wear slip on shoes/boots

3) Wear socks under these shoes/boots... lots of sweaty feet are going to be walking where you are going to

4) You really don't need everything you packed, but I get it. Americans like to have options and I'm no exception.

5) If you are sick and traveling, that bottle of 3oz+ pepto or cough syrup you forgot you had in your bag does not have to go in the trash. TSA may tell you it does but tell them you are sick and need it. You won't get slapped with an $11,000 fine.

6) Educate yourself BEFORE you go to the airport. You said you did in order to purchase your ticket. (Online at least. When was the last time you used a travel agent?)

Here's the list of approved items:
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/holiday.shtm

Advanced Screening procedure overview:
http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/ait/index.shtm

7) If you are in a hurry (or just impatient) LOOK to consider your options and read the signs. Body scan or metal detector? Grandma in a wheel chair with multiple artificial joints or a family of five, (stroller and five dvd players/laptops each for the kids)? You choose your own adventure.

Hopefully you are better at choosing lines than Eric. He has the MOST amazing talent of picking the longest line at the grocery store. Sometimes I have the urge to buy something separate just to race him and win. Haha.

For the record, if you haven't noticed, I'm glad there is someone checking to make sure your aren't wearing a diaper bomb because there really isn't a generalizable flight experience:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/11/22/airports.holiday.travel/index.html?iref=NS1

Other nuggets for consumption:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/16/big-sisters-police-state/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/11/22/snowglobes-pumpkin-pie-tsa-issues-thanksgiving-rules-air-travel/
http://patriotpost.us/opinion/r-emmett-tyrrell/2010/11/18/pat-me-pat-me/
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/22/tsa-chief-worries-over-body-scan-protest/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20022876-503544.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40320562/ns/travel-news/

"Don't touch my junk"

How to write to your representative:
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/letterscongress.htm

How to find out who your representative is:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

$3 Lampshade Redo

2010-09-10T13:45:00.010-06:00

I've had a few summer projects that I have been trying to finish up while we still have good weather weekends. I found this hideous lampshade at DI. It had a 'beautiful' sequiny headband the entire way around the top. I already had some fabric so I picked up some matching grosgrain ribbon and WALLAH!

It now hangs in our kitchen over our table. I'm going to be uploading a kitchen before and after here before too long. So here's a sneak peek with the finished lampshade. It was super easy. Spray glue is a glorious thing. I cut a little two much off the bottom and had to improvise a bottom ring solution because the original no longer fit but ehh, it came out rather well despite my mistake. Otherwise this whole project would have took only half an hour.

Lampshade: $1
Ribbon: $2
Spray Glue: already owned
Fabric: already owned
Ikea fixture: already owned

August Anteloping

2010-08-29T21:20:00.012-06:00

Dear Summer:

You are sneaky. You held such grand promise. Promise of productivity for personal projects. (Holy alliteration.) Promise of gentle warm sun. Promise of plentiful garden harvests. Promise of relaxing vacations.

The girls of 3LW can back me up here: I'm getting a little tired of your broken promises, promises.

I got through not even half of my summer projects. Utah summer sun is SWELTERING. I am sick of looking up recipes for zucchini. Family vacations make me gain weight. Some days you simply left me to a dark cool room, alone, to suck on an otter pop. Your heat drove my dog to sleep on the cool floor of the bathroom, by the toilet, where I would find him looking like an exhausted hungover teenager every morning.

You'd think that after living in Provo for four years I would learn to not be seduced by your awful winter with thoughts of your awful summer. Fall please rescue me. Please stay for more than two weeks this year before there is snow on Timp. Please help me save up my money for the boots that I really want and not spend it on silly things in the meantime. I don't care what Spring says about you, you are my favorite. Winter can have it's "cozy" cheer. Bah-humbug. That's only an euphemism for hermit yourself in your house breathing in cold virus contaminated circulated air. Summer, you make me sweat. I choose when I sweat, not you. Fall. Bring your changing leaves for me to crunch with my flip flops on evening walks when I need a sweater. THAT is cozy. Cozy crunchy. Yeah, bring that. And stay. At least for three weeks this year.

Sincerely,

SP

P.S. I only forgive you on evenings like this:

Or when I'm standing on a mountain and the wind is cooling me off like this:

Or when my eyes go all squinty in your brightness and all I can see is you making my husband look EXTRA special good:

oOOooo, or even both of us at the same time while standing in fabulously warm salty water that's perfect for rock skipping and has an unlimited supply of skippable rocks:

Only then, do I forgive you.

http://picasaweb.google.com/emparks/August2010#

Static cling & name that movie

2010-08-17T20:23:00.006-06:00

A humorously unfortunate mad grab from the laundry basket on the way out the door...

see more Poorly Dressed

Son, you got a panty on your head. sound bite Raising Arizona sound bites

Movie answer: Raising Arizona. (Isssa good one. Go watch it.)

Hail to the Chief

2010-08-16T08:10:00.000-06:00

Broccoli from our garden. The community garden. Broccoli from our community garden that is dutifuly watched over by an old Indian Chief, named Lloyd, who sits in his folding chair in the northeast corner of the plot. Without fail he always happens to slip this in to our conversation with a wink and almost toothless grin when I see him:

C: I was telling my friends from the rez about my garden the other day.

S: Oh, yeah, what did you say?

C: I told them some nice white people gave me some of my land back.

Dairy Scientist

2010-08-11T09:29:00.003-06:00

Back from vacation conclusions:

1. Ate way too much food

2. Eric: "Wisconsin is like Pennsylvania with larger farms."

3. Visiting family is exhausting

4. University of Wisconsin-Madison has an entire building for Geological Science...

5. Chiggers suck

6. New baby cousins make the world go round

7. Poking around in county courthouses for family records is very educational

8. Listening to my grandpa tell stories about what we found... much more hilarious and informative

9. People should talk to their grandparents more

10. Eric is changing his major to dairy science. Blast you delectable, 140 calories a bite, squeakably fresh cheesecurds!

11. It was really bright this day apparently.

Found...

2010-07-09T10:59:00.013-06:00

I was cleaning off my memory card last night and look what I found... our short, short life in Florida together when I would go down to visit Eric. Our last weekend there, when we knew he was moving back to Utah, we figured we might as well squeak in the Everglades. It was a fabulous day. Probably my favorite of all my visits. We found this massive roadside produce stand called, "ROBERT IS HERE." Boiled peanuts, fresh cut pineapple to order, fruit you'd never heard of, avocados the size of my foot, and a fresh honey tasting station with over 20 different flavors. It was the best regional produce stand I have seen outside of PA. Next, we went to the park and were literally less than five feet away from dinosaurs that could have eaten us whole. They were huge!, nuff said.

So, as we are driving away, a few miles down the road there is this crappy sign that says, "Now that you've seen the gators, COME EAT THEM!" I made Eric turn around and this is what we did:

I wish you could have met the guy that made it for us. The place was actually closing, but he said we looked like good touristy people that deserved his special Gator Basket. As he was frying it up he told us how he moved his family out of the Bronx to Florida so his kids would stay out of trouble and get a better education. I wish I had recorded the conversation because it was all in a luscious, thick, NY accent with tales of being shot at, drugs and jailtime, with an endearing Florida ending filled with loud grandkids and a Gator Basket with special sauce.

And yes, it does taste like chicken.

Another Craigslist find...

2010-05-18T14:17:00.007-06:00

Speaking of furniture shopping on Craigslist... have any of you viewed something you previously owned that someone else is now selling? How about the couch you and your spouse made... from particle board and the old cushions of a free sofa? This is actually the second time I've seen this. Haha, they dropped the price.

Craigslist & Roller Derby Girl Boyfriend

2010-05-14T17:18:00.011-06:00

I was gchatting with my friend Bri the other day about Craigslist. She is currently living with her hubster and new peanut for the summer in Chicago and has a really great summer project: Rental Redesign. (Apartment makeover on a $200 budget) You should take a peak at her blog. It involves a lot of Craigslist perusing, deal finding and well, redesigning. I have also been stalking the local online ads getting ready for our latest move to a pet friendly place only a few blocks away. So, instead of discussing the finer points of Craigslist we found ourselves lamenting the apparent lack of common sense some exhibit whilst posting something on the internet. She had found one that read, "Selling Cheap Stuff... won't last long!" While looking for that really great find there's a lot of weeding out that takes place. Weeding is mostly monotonous but at other times richly rewarding when you encounter an ad like this one: (treat yourself with the time to read it)

If vintage skates are your fancy click here.

Better Marriage Blanket...

2010-05-14T09:18:00.005-06:00

Oh, my heaven. Look what I just found. I love how it is marketed to married folk... "You may be stuck with your spouse for life, but you don't have to be to their gas!"

Check out the selling points:

Completely & Quickly Absorbs The Odor Of Flatulence

* A real solution to a very real problem
* Contains the same type of fabric used by the military to protect against chemical weapons
* Even works on top of bed sheets
* Makes a great wedding or anniversary gift too

BWHA! I can just hear the announcer, "Didn't know your were marrying a weapon of mass destruction?" Or can you imagine giving it as a gift? A nice dinner including "Lovey, lets experience the fresh air... we owe it to our marriage of ___ years," glasses tinkling in a toast.

Enjoy the five dollars off coupon!

Taking lunch to work...

2010-05-12T11:05:00.010-06:00

Yes, we are living back in Utah. Well, I never left and Eric is back and no, we are not sad we are no longer going to be living in Boynton Beach. More on that later.

Today I am going to share with you a getting ready for the day conversation with EMP.

EMP: What times are you going to be home today in case someone wants the couch?

Me: 11-2 and after 4:30.

EMP: (yelling as he walks to the kitchen and thinking about lunch...) I'm taking the pasties in to work!

I choked on my milk. Anyone who is from Wisconsin/Michigan knows what a pasty is. The wives of Cornish miners would make these hand held meat/potato/carrot pies for lunch. These tasty little morsels are so good William Shakespeare even wrote about them. In short, I'm from WI and was missing me some pasty from the Dodgeville Bakery. So, I made them for dinner last night:

The punchline translated:

Yet another save by Urban Dictionary and smile brought to you by EMP.

Count down to flush...

2010-01-19T21:31:00.012-07:00

So... we've been busy. Busy = half moving to Florida. Half = the Eric part. I'm currently attending my last semester at UVU and then I get to go join him in May. The holidays I wish had been a little more relaxing and restful. Haha, on both Christmas Day and our anniversary Eric was sick. I spent most of my time packing boxes, boxes, boxes. We figured it would be easier to sell as much of our belongings as possible ($12 four drawer dresser from yard sale, oil paints, kitchen cart, etc.) rather than moving it across the country. Just the renting of the U-haul truck would have been over $2000 not including the gas. I moved into a house in Orem, to save money, where I have my own room and get to play with two dogs: Orion and Pumpkin. Instead of living in a two bedroom apartment I now get to put the extra cash from rent towards monthly trips to visit husband, which I did this past weekend. After driving across the country Eric began work last week and is officially a Hydrogeologist..."BACK OFF MAN! I'm a scientist." Meanwhile, I'm banging out a heavy credit load and living like a hermit in my little room. It's all worth it though when I get to have Sundays like this last one where I got to go on a walk with husband in Delray Beach... he says hello. (Blogger wasn't uploading my vid, so until I get that figured out here is the youtube version)

Oh, and also when I get to go through Chicago/O'hare to use this toilet:

the results are in

2009-11-26T07:38:00.005-07:00

Howdy. We have some real news this time. First of all it's thanksgiving and we're going to eat this:

Also, we're moving here:

I got a job offer as a hydrogeologist for a groundwater and environmental consulting firm in Boca Raton, Florida where it will be my job to help keep nastys like arsenic and chlorinated solvents out of the water systems. We're both pretty excited. We actually both got to fly down and visit the company and the town last week. Our airplane had to be de-iced when we left Salt Lake City but in Boca, the ocean was about 78 degrees and the birds were singing. Also there were a lot of old people.

Florida...

2009-11-15T16:38:00.011-07:00

So, here's the deal...
Depending on an interview coming up this week we may in fact move to what our friend Adam refers to as the wang of the United States:
Eric has been in talks with a company out of Boca Raton for a position as a Hydrogeologist for quite some time now. They had mentioned wanting to fly him down for a second interview and said they would call to schedule the details. Well!, Monday he gets off the phone and looks at me and says, "So do you want to go to Florida next week!?" Immediately the synapses in my brain fire to pictures of sandy beaches and warm breezes only to then fall upon this question that I posed to Eric, "Why do they want ME to come?" So, I called my mom, who by occupation speaks the language of "hiring practices within the big kid career realm" and asked her opinion. After doing so, I realized this company's willingness to fly me across the country has everything to do with wooing us to the high cost of living (80% higher than Provo) that is Boca Raton (hello, $700 quarterly HOA fee) as well as making sure I'm not going to cause any sort of domestic disturbance for one of their potential employees by being a psycho wife that calls her husband at work eighty-four thousand times a day. How will they determine this? Well, they are taking us out to dinner which apparently is my opportunity to convince them I am a non-crazy sort of female... First impressions may help me in this cause so here is where the two people that follow this blog should submit their two cents.

I don't know what to wear.

Eric is no help. Sometimes I'll ask him which high heel to wear with an outfit to church on Sunday and he gives me a lamentable stink face that says, "Why do you even wear those torture devices at all? Also, tall girls are intimidating." I've gone through my closet... this is what I've come up with. Please take your pick and let me know your preference. I no longer live with five girls, with five other closets, and fashion advice in order to make a confident selection.

Things to keep in mind:

1) The difference in weather...
2) Being that it IS Florida, are people more laid back, due to their annual intake of sun resulting in heightened Vitamin D production, such that a business casual dinner is more informal in terms of dress?
3) These people are scientists... not power attorneys, which I'm assuming may mean they prefer practicality over show.
4) I have no idea what restaurant we are going to.
5) Eric will be wearing a tie.
6) We are getting off the plane, stopping at the hotel and then going straight out to dinner.
7) Obviously, I'm overthinking the whole thing.

We fly out on this Thursday the 19th, so take your pick and two cent away!

Almost there.

2009-11-13T17:30:00.002-07:00

I turned in the seceond draft of my thesis today, and it looks like I'll have my thesis defense on December 1st. So if any of you find yourselves lying awake at night wondering whether or not you could use frequency domain electromagnetic induction or shallow high resolution seismic to characterize shallow hydrogeology in arid saline soils, just let me know... I'll send you a copy.

Rodents

2009-11-06T17:04:00.004-07:00

We have rodents. Pet ones, that is. We've had two gerbils for quite a while now, still not dead, thanks to our supurb parenting skills. We just keep giving them all the PVP pipe their liitle teeth can handle and they keep living. We're ready for human babies now.

But now we also have two rats. Yep. We're the weirdos with four rodents. We didn't pay for them though I promise. We got them for free in order to rescue them from a boa constrictor. The rats are actually pretty cool. They sneeze a lot and sniff around.
You may remember earlier this year we made a couch. Well, it was pretty fun to build, but it wasn't terribly comfortable so we sold it on craigslist. Say goodbye to our homemade couch.

Update

2009-10-27T14:04:00.008-06:00

Hey folks. I've been home from India now for almost two months and I'm finally getting around to putting up a few of my pictures. (none of the pictures from earlier posts are actually mine) I entered a photo contest at BYU with a few of my pictures.
Before I get to India though, let me tell you what's been going on. I've been trying to plan out the rest of my life. That's hard. I'm in the process of figuring out where I'm going to work and what I'm going to do for a career now that I'm almost done with my master's degree. So far I've applied to oodles of places and I'm getting close to hearing back from some of them. In the meantime I'm furiously trying to finish my thesis by the end of the week... or sooner!

On to India. I'll just include a few here.

Photo of monks listening to Dalai Lama by Chris Spencer

Days 9, 10 & 11: New Delhi & Leh

2009-08-25T20:27:00.009-06:00

After having missed Eric's phone call on Saturday morning, needless to say I was a little bummed. However, not for long! Later that night I was at a friend's birthday party with Jonathon, karoke at SpoonMe, and I got a call from an unknown number. Unknown=India. Not having talked to him for over a week I was pretty excited. He told me he had had yak cheese for breakfast and that Indians aren't as good with English as much as people say they are. One must adopt an Indian accent to speak with Indians, which in my very ethnocentric American view would seem a bit racist, if I were in the States. How different things are when you simply change the zip code and find instead that you yourself are the minority. Anyway, he is good. He is fantastic actually and perhaps dead on his feet tired from the sound of it.
If there is a time during this trip Eric will feel altitude sickness it was yesterday and today. Sunday, after having woken up in Rishikesh, they ventured back through Haridwar to New Delhi for the night. Then yesterday morning they took a 400 mile plane ride to Leh, way up in the nethermost northern regions of India. Think Pakistani and Indian disputed Kashmir to the west and Tibet to the east and a difference of only 300 miles between the two. Also, from New Delhi to Leh there is a 12,000ft difference in elevation. This is where the altitude sickness meds hopefully came in handy. Eric doesn't like to take medicine if he doesn't have to normally and while packing realized that between the malarial pills, altitude meds, and other various handy remedies, (think calming the bowels of 19 days of foreign fare), he was likely packing more medicine than he had taken his entire life. At the time I thought to myself, "I definitely could never say that! ...Am I a pill popper?" Haha. So, between the flight yesterday and today, the group has been attempting to acclimate themselves to the elevation before doing anything strenuous. This means they've pretty much been chilling around Leh like a bunch of bums, taking in the sights and probably taking much needed naps. Apparently this also means hanging out with the Mayor of Leh, since they were hoping to stay in his guest house if it was available. Again, I'm just reporting on the itinerary I've been given. Perhaps I should have at least looked at it and asked questions before he left? Nah, I'm sure I'll get the nit an grit of it all after he wakes up from brushing off the jet lag upon return, as will all of you.

On a personal note... tonight I attended an AA meeting with the girls at work. For those of you who don't know, I am a courier for a local sub-acute psychiatric treatment center for teenagers with behavioral disorders. Last Monday this meant taking the campus dog, Charlotte, to the vet to get her anal glands "expressed". Charlotte is a bear weighing in at over 170lbs. Imagine me getting that thing in to a van. Today my job meant taking the girls to AA. It keeps me on my toes. As a courier we get lots of one on one time with the clients but rarely moments of deep self reflection. Ex, "Rihanna is a fool. I don't care if he's Chris Brown... nobody should let their man treat them like that." However, tonight quite a few of the girls shared their thoughts, not just in meeting but on the way back as well, ranging from "AA is so boring it makes me want to use!" to "self inventory is what saves me every day. It lets me know I don't have to use, I don't have to be perfect, but that I can take this time for me to take care of myself and progress. Alcoholism is cunning, you know? But, I know it doesn't have to control me, that I don't have to obsess about my next drink, and this is what gives me the opportunity to be myself again. To find myself again." Sometimes it is really great to simply have the opportunity to hear their most honest thoughts, that they would trust me, their staff, and others, who are complete strangers, with those most precious self reflections. At work I get to witness the tremendous amount of work that has to be done for some people to simply survive but I also get to see the amazing potential of the human resolve to carry on, to want something better, to know one's self through learning to love one's self and the courageous people who do it and as well as help facilitate it. Whether it be a therapist, client or fellow alcoholic so much of our opportunity to learn and grow comes through each other, not simply because of one another. That's all for now...

Tomorrow: Leh to Chilling, 11,000ft ASL and first day of fall semester.

Day 8: Rishikesh

2009-08-22T18:10:00.008-06:00

So we've caught up to the present. Still along the Ganga river it looks like. This is the city Eric called from and I missed it. Whoops. It was still good to hear his voice. He sounds well if not a little tired and trepidatious of the "naaaaaasty" bed he was about to sleep on. Haha. Tomorrow: back through Haridwar to New Delhi

Days 6 & 7: Rishiganga & Nandapryag

2009-08-22T17:43:00.007-06:00

I'm realizing that Eric's pictures are probably a better representation of what is going on. There was a lot of deliberation on his part about what to carry the camera equipment in. He bought a brand new pack but in the end decided it was too nice, thus too much of a target, to take with him. Instead he took an old Northface bag he already owned and had seen a Holi Festival of Colors or two so it looked rather beat up. After roaming all over Provo he bought some foam and made a makeshift carrying case inside the Northface hip bag. He was quite proud of himself. Anyway, I'm only going to post a picture from now on of where he might be so as not to steal his thunder on the awesome sites and scenes that are Uttaharkhand.
After staying the night at the hotel in Badrinath the group hiked and camped the Rashiganga valley and Nanda Devi. Again, this area is an approximate guess according to Google Earth. Either way, hauling a 45lb. pack around must be something crazy because in the valleys they are over 10,500ft ASL. I'm wondering if the altitude sickness is setting in yet.

Days 4 & 5: Joshimath and Badrinath

2009-08-22T17:09:00.008-06:00

I'm starting to think that he is likely spending as much time on a bus, or train as he is walking around exploring. Doesn't look like they are quite in the research area yet, but it still seems like there is plenty to see. After leaving Pauri, the next stop is camping in Auli. You have to take this tram to get up there. Elevation: 6200ft ASL.

After camping in Auli there was another bus ride to Joshimath and arriving in Badrinath by lunch. I think it's in Badrinath that there is the temple Eric's friend, Chris, was telling us about. Chris has actually been in India since May working on research for his thesis. From what he told us, you wait in line for hours to walk inside for 5 minutes. Still it must be a pretty awesome place since they scheduled the rest of the day to roam around once they arrived. Can you imagine being on a bus doing those switchbacks?

Days 3 & 4: Haridwar & Pauri

2009-08-22T16:34:00.015-06:00

BYU Geology Department is working with the university in New Delhi for this project and so after staying at their guest house there will be a four hour train ride to Haridwar. Imagine seeing this as you entered the city. Probably beats the pink plastic dinosaur in Vernal, UT.

After lunch in Haridwar they embarked on a tram ride to the top of frontal anticline of MFT. I have no idea what this means, haha. Then there is the ensuing bus ride to Pauri where they stayed in a hotel for the night. Check out those steps.

Days 1 and 2

2009-08-22T16:21:00.006-06:00

After a 14 hour plane ride from SLC to Chicago and New Delhi Eric lands here.

This is an overview of his trip. You can see he is in the northern part of the country so no Taj Mahal pics.

The first week, in purple, he'll be in the state of Uttarakhand. The second leg of the trip, in blue, will be after flying up to Leh. At one point he will be only 15km from the Tibetan border. Google maps didn't show any road names up there or towns. The plot points I used were the names of mountains or valleys in which they will be camping, so I could be off by at least a 100 miles in some locations. Either way it gives us an idea.

Where in the world is...?

2009-08-22T14:36:00.003-06:00

So I don't know why I waited a week to do this but I just thought of it today. I realized I have a very cursory itinerary of where Eric is and thought I would share it all with you. I'm going to start from the beginning so we can all catch up. The pictures included are not those he has sent but some I found online to give us an idea of where he is at.

***** This just in!... I'm an idiot: Eric and I have the same phones and I mistakenly took his this morning when I left the house. He called at 12:07. The only call he's been able to make. He's in a town called Rishikesh and was about to go to sleep on a really nasty bed but had gotten an hour massage for $5. Hopefully he'll call when he wakes up.

So I'm going to do this in different posts so there isn't one huge long one. Enjoy!

Coldplay... I heart.

2009-08-17T11:49:00.004-06:00

Pretty much this will blow your mind.

Also, Eric texted me from New Delhi last night saying that he saw a pooping dog (10 points!) and that he is safe.

Cross that off the list.

2009-07-17T14:46:00.006-06:00

We rode segways. It's been on my list of things to do before I die for quite a while now and I heard that you can rent them at the Thanksgiving Point gardens. The gardens are pretty cool just by themselves, but add a segway and you're going to have a good time... and look like a nerd.

Also, in case you were wondering if Henry and Willis are still alive you can rest easy. We have now managed to keep two mammals alive for a full six months. Here's the proof:

Alive and kicking!

2009-06-27T17:47:00.005-06:00

For those of you not in Utah Eric and I are in fact still alive. This is a "last few months wrap up": As spring semester ended Eric finished the course work for his Masters and now "only" has a thesis to write. First week of May Eric presented at a conference in Death Valley and Johanna and Jonathon got married! We got to see Whitney and Danny in Vegas. We hiked up a slot canyon in Kanaraville and made friends with a rattlesnake. Then my summer semester started. Eric presented at a regional GSA (Geological Society of America) conference at UVU as well as TAed for geology field camp for BYU. After interviewing a schizophrenic I flew home to watch Jonathon graduate High School and turn 18 all on the same day. I got a call with a job offer while at his graduation ceremony working for Heritage School in Provo. I said: ...YES! At the end of the conversation the HR director asked if I wanted to know how much the position paid... (sigh) the desperation of an unemployed student is not hard to miss these days. Haha It's a residential treatment boarding school for teenagers with behavioral disorders. I get to drive kids to and from the airport, to dentist appointments, court dates and to go shopping. It's kind of this amazing feeling to like where I work and also be able to put on a professional resume, instead of bagel shop experience. The same day I started at Heritage Eric had an interview, extended by invitation, here in Provo for a local petroleum exploration company. After applying for over 45+ jobs in four months the following day they offered him the position. Eric Parks: Petroleum Explorer. No better feeling to go from two people unemployed to both getting paychecks within our fields of study in a matter of days. We can't help but feel kind of lucky.

Oh sleep walking dogs...

2009-03-11T10:52:00.002-06:00

This made my morning when Eric showed me this:

Cheese making and EATING!

2009-03-10T09:45:00.010-06:00

On Sunday Eric says, "ooOOOo! Shall I cut the cheese?!" This was followed by a silly Eric laugh and off he went to the living room closet where our two pound wheel of cheddar has been aging for the last month. To see the cheese press Eric made click here. So a month had gone by. He had dutifully flipped the block everyday. It was quite delicious.

In other news the old Casa Dea roommates were back together again in February. This was the crew that was together when I started dating Eric. So much fun to sit around and eat things with friends who have lived with Eric and know how silly he can be.

Robbie: "Have you rescued Eric from being paralyzed after a nap yet?! You know when he is all (Robbie makes a crazed face and gurgling noises in his throat)?"

Me: Ahh yesss, many a time.

Eric: (Looking at Robbie) Rescued? You never rescued me! I woke up and I couldn't move! You walked into the living room and I looked up at you from the couch, trying to get your attention. I was looking right at you!, and cursing at you too. Especially when you just walked away.

Robbie: (Laughs) I thought you were having a seizure.

Eric: (Laughing) So you walked away?!

Good times.

Note: For those of you that don't know Eric does the opposite of sleep walking. When you sleep there is a part of your brain that shuts off movements to your body so you don't act out your dreams. People who have problems with this sleep walk. For some reason, if he takes naps during the day, sometimes his brain will wake up and he can open his eyes but his brain hasn't turned off this mechanism yet so he can't move. This is when I hear loud gurgling noises and have to rush in to the bedroom pounce and shake him. Haha. All in a days work.

For your viewing pleasure...

2009-02-21T18:57:00.007-07:00

There has been a lot of time spent in discussion lately of where our lives are going to take us in the next six months. Recap: Husband finishes classes in April, defends thesis in (insert month), I finish my degree at (insert university) and we live in (insert city) that we move to in (insert month). You get the idea. At present Eric has been looking at currently open positions for hydrogeologists across the country to get a taste for what is going to be available here in the very near future. Today's job posting of interest was one for the state of Maryland. My guilty pleasure as of late has been to hop on craigslist and see what apartments might be available that we could afford. Also, craigslist is just a joy in general and so I had to share this with all of you. When facing uncertainty it's posts like this that brighten my day. Please, please check out the whole post here. Prepare yourself for leopard print carpet, horse shoes, and short shorts wearing mustached barbecuers! Here's a taste:

(Caption reads: "Jacuzzi tub! Jets are ON!!!")

Ice Fishing

2009-02-16T19:11:00.006-07:00

Our President's Day was spent on a couple inches of ice. Eric's list includes ice fishing and good friends of ours invited us to go. We went up to Deer Creek Resevoir and there were lots of people up there camped out on the ice in 20 degree weather, braving the elements for the unlikelihood of a nibble and maybe even a bite. Some of them were right up there with "Grumpy Old Men" in their little fishing shacks. Sadly we didn't catch any fish BUT we got to spend most of the day outside. It felt good to breathe fresh air and not be cooped up inside. We made hot chocolate and ate yummy sandwiches while watching for a bite on our line. The thing I forget about going fishing every time is you really just have to forget you are fishing. Take good friends and good food and you are set.

Eric auguring a fishing hole.

Me making the "it's so fun!," face and wearing five pairs of pants.

Sleep hobbyist

2009-02-11T19:05:00.001-07:00

Cheesemaking

2009-02-06T12:31:00.004-07:00

I have a lot of weird hobbies I guess. The latest one is cheese making. I got a book called Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carrol and tried out the recipe for cheddar. It's really not that hard, it just takes time and attention, but check it out! It's for real cheese! The first one is the pressed cheese wheel drying. The second one is after it was waxed. The third one is the cheese press I built to squeeze out the extra whey. Pretty cool.

Saturday morning wake up call

2009-01-19T22:45:00.005-07:00

Saturday morning I woke up to lots of commotion in the house (Eric rummaging around to find his camera), and the door swinging open and slamming shut. I got up to see what all the fuss was about and upon peering through the blinds I see Eric standing in our backyard in the snow in only his pajamas (shorts and tshirt) and his slippers. Then he runs full speed down the drive way all the while taking pictures. Naturally I put on my coat and scarf and gloves, grabbed his coat and the keys and sleepily ambled out to the car and tracked him down on the sidewalk so we could go chase this balloon that had flown over top of our house. Ahhh wonderful weekend.

Come and get it! Sushi Sunday

2009-01-19T22:40:00.002-07:00

Loved

2009-01-17T14:37:00.003-07:00

The Lititz Pretzel

2009-01-16T15:32:00.003-07:00

Welcome to the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Factory in Lititz, PA. We went while we were home and oh my goodness... super fun. It was Eric and I along with a bunch of grade school kids learning how to roll pretzels. Believe it or not this Lititz Pretzel Bakery is the first of it's kind... ever. Pretzels have a long history... leftovers from making bread were made into soft pretzels by monks who were trying to teach orphan children about prayer. (folded arms of a pretzel) Apparently soft pretzels then became a hot commodity with all those german folk who brought the tradition to PA. Some guy, Julius Sturgis, was working in one such german pretzel bakery in Lititz and tried one of the "burnt pretzels" and thought they were mighty tasty. He thinned down the dough to thinner strips to the bite size snack we have now and took them to his boss thinking he was about to make it big. The boss laughed him out of his office so Sturgis left and started making his own in a bakery he made himself in the back of his house where wife and 14 children also lived. The rest is well pretzel history you might say...

December 28th Post

2009-01-14T18:54:00.004-07:00

Our first year anniversary was a lazy Sunday spent recovering from Audrey and Joe's Brazilian Meat Eating Wedding Feast. I was writing in my journal the other day about reflections of the past year and I realized I get to also evaluate my first year of marriage at the same time. It's kind of silly how much difference a year can make. Conclusion: I am grateful for my husband and our rather wonderfully student lifestyle of the moment. It feels selfish and poor and all sorts of spontaneous fun.

Christmas in PA!

2009-01-14T18:24:00.010-07:00

These puppies pee submissively out of love. We miss Boscoe and Star.
At Blue Ridge Summit with Ginny, Doug, Matthew and Ethan.
My first Blueberry Pie!
Sara and Kyle Risk wedding: six years to the day of their first date. This was a really great weekend that I got to be a part of. I saw so many people from high school that I haven't seen since the night of graduation as well as celebrating in Kyle and Sara's special day.
The boys being silly in their stocking gifts.
Audrey and Joe Anderson wedding: 364 days after ours! Advice for future brides: book a Brazilian restaurant for prime guest gut splitting. I don't ever think I have eaten SO MUCH in my entire life. I lost count at the second round of "...bacon wrapped filet mignon?", which was after seven or eight other skewered meat sword wielding gauchos had come by. What a great weekend this was! Three Parks weddings three Christmas' in a row!

Computer Problems

2008-12-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

Eric here. I tried to turn on my old laptop the other day to see if there was anything on it that I might still use and it wouldn't even boot up. Turns out the hard drive somehow got erased... so I shot it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T13:11:00.009-07:00

No these are not people in line for a soup kitchen at 4 am on a snowy morning.

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving. I did my first turkey! Besides grossly underestimating the cooking time we finished eating at 8, haha. I think my highlight of the evening however was the Pumpkin Chiffon Pie. It doesn't need to be baked, just forgotten about in your fridge until that lovely moment when you remember that is there. It seemed to be a hit. Believe it or not my recipes all came from Oprah's holiday cooking class on Wednesday... haha. You can get the recipes through this link or I'm including the pie one below. We hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving with family and friends. We look forward to seeing most of you in a few short weeks!

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Ingredients:Serves 8

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
2 large eggs , separated, yolks beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin
4 1/2 cups heavy cream , whipped
1 (9-inch) graham cracker crust
Shaved dark chocolate
Combine gelatin, 1/2 cup of sugar, salt, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and nutmeg in a saucepan. Stir in milk, egg yolks and pumpkin. Cook over medium heat until thick. Chill saucepan in refrigerator until partially set—about 1 hour.

In a bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/4 cup of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in 1/2 cup of whipped cream. Fold egg white mixture into filling. Pour filling into pie crust and chill for 1 hour.

Just before serving, top with remaining whipped cream and sprinkle some shaved dark chocolate on top.

Why I love my job...

2008-11-23T22:16:00.004-07:00

This was the backseat of my car on Halloween. Train conductor, the Hulk and Zoro.

Season Opening

2008-11-22T15:00:00.022-07:00

Our neighbors hauled a truckload of snow down from the mountain and had a snow boarding party in our front yard.

This was also the night we went to Muse for Battle of the Bands to see our friend Jake play the drums. He plays for A Band Called Riley if you want to look them up. Don't forget the Big Gulp! :) The last band was late late late getting the stage set up and I will tell you why...

Band name: Hot Parents

Genre: Dance, Techno

Set up: PVC pipe box contsruction with stretched sheet and flood light= shadow dance box!

Favorite lyrics: "No! NO! / Don't touch me there! / That is /my no-no square!"

This band was fun mostly because they didn't take themselves too seriously. For example, the skinny Asian guy on the keyboard and guitar was wearing a black spandex body suit with a painted white face with two small black circles on his cheeks. He had glasses and shaglike hair to go with his black cowboy boots and would randomly go dance behind the PVC-pipe-sheet-dance-screen. Members of the audience were invited to come and dance behind the screen that was behind the band while they played also. Lots of people did. Random and fun.

Also the question of the weekend: To cut or not to cut?

Pilot Valley

2008-11-22T14:01:00.018-07:00

In October Eric, a visiting Hydrogeologist from the Czech Republic named Brutus, and I all packed up a van and ATV's to go the flattest place on earth:

Pilot Valley, NV. Located here:

View Larger Map

The video is of us four wheeling across the most narrow part of those salt flats on the map. We had to locate a few wells on the west side of the valley and collect some electromagnetic conductivity data with the EM equipment BYU had rented which we strapped on the the ATV's with bungee cords. While going across we encountered what looked like the remains of a poor cow, from a nearby ranch, that had got caught on a hot day in the middle of the desert valley. Even though there was a layer of mud under the salt crust it's one of the driest places in summer. Eric's survey area seem to be plagued by dead things haha. We set up a similar study by Utah Lake a few days before this trip located here (dead center):

View Larger Map

We went to check on the wells we had augerred the day before and in the middle of Eric's research site an old geriatric racoon decided to call it quits during the night apparently. It made data collection not the most pleasant experience. Especially when Eric, who is a TA for the 3D Seismic Visualization class, took everyone to the lake for some hands one instruction. By that time the stench of this rotting animal was awful. So awful that the professor told the class he would give extra credit to who ever removed the carcass. These kids better get an A.

Good times being a geologist for a week. SCIENCE! (whew)

2008-11-22T13:39:00.005-07:00

Gerbil love: This morning Eric says, "Marge loves me more than you."

So excited to have kids,... HA!

Provo quilting qualifications...

2008-11-22T13:18:00.007-07:00

Sara's wedding gift and my first quilt! Thanks for being the guinea pig buddy. Haha. Also, quilting for the first time in Provo is perilous. When I would ask questions in many of the quilting fabric supply stores around town, I would get a sideways look followed by this conversation,

Q: Why are you making a quilt?

A: For a wedding gift. It's my first quilt.

Q: Are you married?

A: Yes...?

Q: Where are your kids?

A: Ummm... I don't have any.

Q: And you're making a quilt?

I guess I'm only half qualified.

2008-11-22T11:34:00.006-07:00

Catching up on posts...

I took this quiz a week before the election, and the day after my history professor called Obama a marxist. I remember looking around the classroom to find a stranger who also found this funny and to silently laugh with aaaaannnd there was no one. Haha, the results of this quiz also made me laugh, so of course I had to add this pic from my cell phone that would have been the Nov. 4th post had I written it.

You are a
Social Moderate
(50% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(20% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Democrat

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid
Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

A blogging disgrace

2008-11-21T19:22:00.003-07:00

I feel like this is that moment when you realize you didn't intentionally forget to write in your journal for six months but did, except it's a blog. The slideshow is an album of everything from our last post: shooting Nicole's, Eric's cousin, wedding in June, trips around Utah this summer and fall, photos of food that we've made, our gerbil marge, BYU blue, research on ATV's in Pilot Valley, NV, for Eric's thesis, my first quilt (wedding gift for Miss Sara Buckwalter), Eric's guitar, Eric's sister Martha's family etc. (Raising right hand for Girl Scout's honor): I promise to be a better blogger. More to come...

2008-06-13T11:32:00.025-06:00

I made something yum this week. I have no idea what to call it. Here's the recipe:

Artichoked Peppered Pasta with Chicken (?)

1 can quartered artichoke hearts drained and rinsed

fettuccine (how ever much you want)

1lb chicken

salt and pepper

olive oil

2 cloves garlic minced

1 c chicken stock

1/4 c white wine

2 T butter

1 t basil

salt and pepper

1 tomato diced

1 marinated canned red pepper

Marinate artichokes in a little olive oil. Put on a pot of water to boil and salt the water generously to get the pasta going. Prepare the chicken (breast or thigh) by brushing a grill or cast iron skillet with olive oil and season to your personal liking. I usually salt and pepper both sides and grill. Drizzle olive oil in a large sauce pan on medium heat. Warm garlic for about a minute in the olive oil and add chicken stock, white wine and and butter waiting for each to reach a boil before adding the next. Let the liquid boil off by half allowing it to reduce down to a sauce. Season with basil, salt and pepper to taste after reducing sauce to a simmer. Dice tomato and slice pepper into bite sized pieces, drain off the olive oil from the artichokes and add all three to the mixture. Coat in the sauce stirring well. Remove chicken, when cooked through, from heat and let rest five minutes. Drain pasta and put in a large serving bowl. Slice the chicken into bite sized pieces and incorporate it into the sauce. Pour mixture onto fettuccine in serving bowl and gently toss. Voila!

In other news, Eric and I took a bite of the seductive Apple and bought a Mac. HA! It's great. We walked into the store and after we walked out I had spent my entire summer wages on ONE purchase. A year ago I was unemployed, eating ramen and cheerios and selling my plasma. I don't think I've ever spent that much money at once. I looked at him in horror and said, "Imagine what it will feel like to buy a house." Three months of work to put a five year old, runs for ten minutes, melt your pants off, besides the ridiculously loud fan, laptop into high school graduation present history. It feels good. Eric and I don't have a TV, we usually watch our favorite shows online, so we opted for the 24" to watch movies on. It is gimungous. I was standing in the store asking myself if we were crazy, desperately hoping I wasn't going to have buyer's remorse. So far so good. Get a Mac. They give out free iPods like planned parenthood does condoms.

Our Family! haha

Last weekend we also went on a hike with Aden and Jaehee. The day before I had gone to an intermediate yoga class and I thought my arms and legs were going to drop of my body. Then we went on a four mile hike up American Fork Canyon. Whew! Up at the top there was snow that covered the trail and on the way back we skied down the slopes. Jaehee and I were not equipped with Eric's size 14 shoe skis. We weren't as graceful or adventurist as the boys: we mostly butt scooted and rolled down. I rowed with my walking stick. I almost survived the hike except for the stream I tried to leap across and instead slipped on the rock, broke my fall by breaking my walking stick and rolling over found my right leg dabbling in the stream barely 100 ft from the end of the trail. As the wife of an adventurist geologist I attempt to look like I can handle the outdoors. I thought I could delicately leap across that stream just like I thought I could mountain bike a little elementary trail recently after not riding a bike in almost ten years. The fourth time I fell I found myself upside down in a bush after being unable to find the breaks to slow down whilst descending down a small hill. Why couldn't I find the breaks? In my previous fall, at the top of the hill, I was so out of it and determined to press on that I didn't notice that as I got back on the bike that the front wheel had done a complete 180 degrees and was backwards thus the breaks weren't where I thought they were. ...I make attempts. It makes Eric laugh at least. That's enough for right now I think.

Wednesday we leave for Pennsylvania to take photos for Nicole, Eric's cousin's, wedding. We're excited. Family in PA, the two of us, two cameras, a flash, six lenses and 10 GB. That's a good recipe.

We have jobs.

2008-06-02T19:59:00.002-06:00

Finally. We both have jobs, so now we both get to pay taxes. I've been busy as a teaching assistant for BYU's geology field camp class. We're doing a big mapping project where each of the students is assigned a few square miles out in the mountains west of Utah Lake and they are to make a professional style geologic map. It's actually a lot of work, but its a lot more fun when you're the T.A. and you're getting paid to go hiking in the mountains while helping the students and pushing the occasional boulder off a remote cliff. Meanwhile Sarah is working for a chiropractor. She takes care of a bunch of office stuff like scheduling appointments, doing the insurance claims, developing x-rays of spines, and most importantly-- improving the music selection on the doctors ipod which plays throughout the office. Of course, I'll probably end up paying her a visit if the geologist boulder pushing instinct in me is not soon suppressed.

Kimchi-ed

2008-05-27T15:00:00.002-06:00

I had a job interview today. I got ready, looked professional and with my lucky interviewing bag set forth to gain employment. I thought it went really well until we were about to finish and I was asked, "Do you have a blog?" I answered yes and wanted to add, "Well sort of. It's a sorry excuse of a blog and we started it back in October when we decided to get married and have since in the past 7 months not touched it once which is really not representative of us as a couple because we are fun and adventurist, like good food and to travel and take pictures, and go to school and are busy and well, our blog is a sorry sight, or site." Literally. Indeed my possible future employer may read and enjoy my run on internal dialogue but whether or not I get the job it's high time something gets done around here.

In other news Eric started field camp today, or Geology 410, and I think he is the only TA. It should be interesting what stories he has to tell when he comes home. Being a TA has it's quirks. Last fall I remember him picking me up to go on a sushi date and while we waited for our California, Alaskan, Crispy Spicy Tuna and eel rolls, he pulls out some papers he had been grading for the intro geology class at BYU. For sure he knew the ways into my heart... having previously been an English major it was fun to look at the first efforts of freshman student writing in their first semester which were rife with run on sentences, poor grammar and non-existent sentence structure with the occasional plagiarisms from Wikipedia. Oh to be a TA. We had a good laugh and good sushi. This past weekend we went and took pictures. Eric is teaching my how to become a worthy photography assistant. Haha. It's been educational. I'll include some of our "work." We went over to Aden and Jaehee's for Bulgolgi, yum, and later, made Kimchi. Eric served his mission in Korea and it's good to have a jar or two on hand, especially when it costs half of what a jar at the grocery store would(6.99) to make.

Husband is getting home soon and because I am currently unemployed and doing BYU Independent Study at home while he is out at work this means I get to improve my domestic goddess skills. Time to make dinner. Growing up we would go home to visit Grandma Lil and Grandpa Jake in Dodgeville, WI, and there would be a huge box of pasties waiting for us from the local bakery. I'm attempting to capture the taste of childhood at grandma's house. It's proven a bit elusive. Off to adventures in the kitchen, over and out.

Sunday: taking pictures Center St Provo

Handsome husband

Living room lampshade:

Rainy Saturday: we got monopoly!

Wednesday: Springville Art Museum

Cool water windmill thingy

Tuesday: Trip with Aden to InstaCare for a broken collarbone.

2007-10-17T22:15:00.000-06:00