Park City

So the company Blake works for has a really awesome Christmas party every year. This year it was in Park City. The company pays for a delicious, gourmet dinner, and this year also paid for us to stay a night at the Marriott right off historic Main. The party itself was fun (the open bar made things extra interesting), and the next morning we went to a really good diner called The Eating Establishment. The town itself was SO quite, I've never been up there with so few tourists. Anyhow, these are a few pictures I shot.

Haha, these are both really classic Blake expressions. He even has pictures from when he was little where he's giving the camera these exact expressions!

Look how quaint.

Um....yum....

My eyes look weird, but then again, my right eye is always more tiered than my left...strange....

Why is it the camera always wants to focus on the backgorund and blur me?...thanks a lot, camera.

In the Name of Cinnamon

These were SO yummy and SO easy. I made them last Sunday morning. I'll post the recipe soon.

Christmas Tree Hunting

This is my family's new favorite tradition, Christmas Tree Hunting! For some ridiculously cheap price, like ten bucks, you can buy a Christmas tree tag to go cut down your own tree. Here's some pics from this years Christmas Tree hunt.

We're like little ducks, walking up the mountain single file...This is the tree my parents ended up cutting down....

I get this expression too often....

Our little baby tree. Are we compensating for something?...

This is a really ugly picture my sister snapped when I was trying to explain to her how to zoom/focus the camera... for some reason I like.

The end.

Langston Hughes

This happy looking dude is Langston Hughes. A fantastic African-American poet who lived from 1906-1967. He's very assecible. Anyone could read his poetry, and appreciate/understand it. The most common theme dealt with in his poetry is racism and the African-American identity. I recently read all of his written poetry and fully enjoyed every moment. poets.org has an awesome recording of Hughes reading his poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" which is one of my favorites.

I, Too, Sing American (probably his most popular poem)

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

If you're interested in expanding your knowlege of poets/poetry, Hughes would be an awesome start.

Homework

Have you ever woken up at six in the morning just dying to do homework? Me neither, that's why I'm wondering if I'm sick or something.

This morning I got up, suddenly anxious/excited to write my ten page critical analysis of the recent Tim Burton film Alice in Wonderland. It was a weird emotion...particularly weird because I've already written the paper once but decided last night that I wanted to re-write it. I've felt anxiety plenty of times in regards to homework but never excitement. Maybe this whole "secondary ed" program is rubbing off on me...

What was even weirder is that I wrote the entire thing in one sitting. I already had a bibliography and a few pages of "loose notes" (b/c that's what my professor wanted). Even so, usually it takes a couple tries for me to get it all out, but this time it just flowed. Which leads me to believe that the more you write, the easier it is. Or maybe I should always do a bibliography/"loose notes"/write a cruddy version of the paper I want to write first.

Why am I always so surprised when I actually learn something from school?...

Anyhow, I've also been thinking about the phrase "homework". I don't know about all y'all, but doing homework at home is like trying to read a book while skate boarding. It just doesn't work. There's too many distractions. I think when I'm a teacher I'll call it supplemental-work, or busy-work, or maybe work-you-don't-want-to-do-but-have-to-do-if-you-want-to-pass.

That is all.

Panda Express Orange Chicken! (only better...)

So Blake is a HUGE fan of Panda Express's orange chicken. I've tried many different Orange Chicken recipes, some were good but complex with complex ingredients. This is my favorite, I can make it in thirty minutes, it tastes great and comes out looking awesome. Give it a try!

2lbs boneless, skinless chicken

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Here's the key to easy Orange chicken- Store bought Panda Express Orange Sauce. I've seen it at WalMart, Macey's, and I bought a giant bottle (that'll last forever) at Costco. Making homemade orange sauce usually requires some weird ingredients, time, and usually doesn't taste just right. This saves time, ingredients, and always turns out great. I do feel it's a little spicier than the actual stuff, add some brown sugar if you agree. :)

Step 1-Cut up your chicken in bit size pieces, I cut my the size of quarters. Crack the egg right into the bowl of chicken pieces and blend it up so every piece has some egg.

Step 2-Combine your dry ingredients (I use dried ginger/onion, but you could use fresh just make sure you chop it finely or grate it). Then dump the dry ingredients into you chicken coated with egg. Stir until the chicken's coated. (At this point it'll probably be a clump of chicken and flour coating.)

Step 3-Heat up your oil to 375 degrees. I use an electric wok, but you could use a deep fryer or a regular fry pan. If you don't have a thermometer, put one piece of chicken in the oil, when it bubbles and floats it should be hot enough. Pull your chicken pieces apart and drop them into the hot oil one by one. Don't crowd the pan, I usually do three batches before it's all done. Cook until a light golden brown, 3-4 minutes.

Step 4-Allow the pieces of chicken to drain on a paper towel. Once they're all cooked, pour over some sauce. Allow it to soak for a couple minutes before serving. I like serving mine with white rice and steamed broccoli. I also cut up some green onion over the chicken.

Here's the massacred remnants of our dinner... :)

That is all.

Lake Powell!

LAKE POWELL!!!!!

We had a wonderful time! Wave runners, speed boats, tubing, skiing, hiking...it was fantastic! Here's a few pictures I snapped with the new, freaking awesome camera I got for my birthday (thank you dear).

Here are Emily and Casey, Blake's little Bro and Sis. They were a blast to have around! I love Emily's expression here!

It was early morning when Dell (Blake's dad) wanted to go solum skiing. Blake and I rolled out of bed, jumped in the speed boat, and I'm glad we did! Look how gorgeous the lake looks. I snapped these fantastic pics right as the sun was rising. They were so beautiful (and really show off Dell amazing skiing abilities) I had to include a few.

We hiked quite a distance to a land bridge from our house boat. In the picture below you can see Blake and I taking a snap shot. Below that how small Blake's grandpa looks on top of the cliff we hiked to, he's the little tiny bump at the very tippy top.

It was SO fun. I'm so glad Dell invited us. The houseboat was nice a comfy, the lake warm, the weather perfect...Ah...I'd love to go back right now!

Battle of the Bulge

My husband laughs when I say this, but I'm going to say it anyway. My "Battle of the Bulge" sometimes feels as hopeless as JRR Tolkein pitting a bunch of ignorant Hobbits against all the evil of Mordor, including an army of daemon-like Oarks, an all seeing eye, and a wizard gone wrong. Don't get me wrong, I've had success on diets but do I really want to eat celery and flavorless, cardboard-like, rice snacks for the rest of my life? NO, especially considering the fact that I'm ever so fond of cooking.

Anyhow, lately my battle has become less of a battle and more of a passive resistance...really passive. I've considered going back on one of the plethora of diets I've tried, but I'm really not feeling it. So I've decided to try a different approach. Instead of focusing on losing weight, I'm going to focus on being healthier. Rather than making a temporary diet change that lasts six or seven months, I'm going to attempt to make a lifestyle change. I guess my focus is going to be less of, I want to lose weight, and more of I want to feel good about myself and feel healtier. The following idea isn't something I came up with, actually it's the way a friend of mine (a dietitian) eats. I think I'll give it a try:

1-I can eat what I like, as long as I meet the following criteria:

a. Eat a carbless Breakfast-Since school started I haven't been eating breakfast. This wouldn't be so awful if it weren't for the fact that by lunch time I'm famished and will eat anything I can get my hands on (which is typically something unhealthy). I mostly don't want to resort to bagels and muffins (hence the carbless), I need to find something a little healthier to start my day.

b. Eat five servings of fruit/vegetables a day. If it's eight o'clock at night, and I'm craving something sweet but I've only had two servings of veg for the day I'd better belly up to a nice big bowl of the green stuff! 'Cause I can't eat my ice cream till I've met my daily quota.

c. Drink three 24oz water bottles/day.

2- It's really difficult to find time to workout when I'm at work or school from eight-seven, so I'm going to keep things nice and easy. Continue my three days/week but up my workout time from 20 minutes to 25 minutes and incorporate some weights on my elliptical machine.

So that's it! Bring on the epic battle of the bulge, I'm anxious to see what happens with these few guidelines.

Hide your kids, Hide your wife!

Okay, this is seriously funny. I know at first you'll be like, "Seriously, Lish? This is NOT funny."

Have a little faith. Watch these two youtubes, in this order, and you will laugh.

The first one's a legit new report.

Newsreport ONE

Don't forget to watch this one.

Newsreport Remix

I'd be afraid if I was the guy who broke in...

Narcissistic Walt and Non-Competitive Alisha

Walt Whitman is among the first American poets. It's true, he's pretty much the shiz of poetry, almost every American poet since Whitman can't help but draw from him. Unfortunately, if you read his work, "Song of Myself", it's hard to avoid how much he really adores himself. Annoyingly so. I cannot deny his genius, but can't help but comment that reading "Song of Myself" was somewhat excruciating (seriously Walt? Over a hundred pages of prose dedicated to yourself?...then again, what is a blog if not a overtly lengthy self reflection?).

One phrase did stick out to me. "...battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won" (yup, that's it. Out of a hundred pages I connected with twelve words...not say the rest wasn't interesting, the passage about "twenty eight men bathe by the shore"was an adventure...just not applicable to me). Anyhow, back to analyzing how this phrase affected me. I'm not really a fan of competition. I suppose this originates from my supressed perfectionism that insists I want to be the best or nothing at all. I remember in high school debate I'd be so torn up about getting second place, while my coach and peers were congratulating me, I was contemplating quitting...bizarre! Whitman points out that it doesn't really matter if you win or lose, it's the "spirit of the battle" that teaches you. I would be better off taking chances, pushing aside perfectionism, and delving into the battle (even if it means last place!!) than standing safely ignorant on the sidelines.

What battles am I avoiding now? Couldn't say, but it's something to think about...

Book Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo and The Girl who Played with Fire

Larson Steig

 

Ah...What to say? Well...it's definitely a fascinating murder mystery with a very unexpected twist. I couldn't put it down BUT this is definitely PG13. I won't spoil much to say it deals with women, the way they're treated, and this culminates in a specific character who's a victim of sexual abuse. It's pretty candid about her abuse and extremely descriptive, so if that doesn't appeal to you don't read it! I personally find the feminist theme quite compelling. It also takes place in modern day Sweden which I found equally interesting. Compelling enough that I picked up the second novel in this trilogy,  The Girl Who Played with Fire. I wasn't as impressed by this second novel as the first. The first one's plot revolves around cracking a murder mystery that's several decades old, it's quite unique. It's uniqueness is largely lost on the second novel. It's quite interesting but not as believable or as unique as the first. I'll definitely have to read the third novel (the second novel leaves you hanging!) The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest...I have a feeling it's all about conspiracy theories (shout out to Trevor!).

Random Tid Bit-The author, Steig Larsson is from Sweden and has a unique Swedish view of the world. But even more interesting is that fact that after submitting these three books to the editor he passed away. Given the editor had to work without Larsson's guidance, what we see may or may not be exactly what Larsson intended.

September 2, 201

Wedding Pictures!

Since January Blake and I have been unable to find our wedding picture disc. We tried contacting our photographer (several times), she replied and said she'd send another copy but never did. I was beginning to worry that I'd never see my pictures again....Then a couple weeks ago I was rummaging through a bunch of junk, trying to figure out what to DI when I found a stack of CDs. They were all junky burned ones, I almost tossed it without going through them when a little voice inside my head said, "No, take a minute, look through them." And voila! Here they are!