Bridal Shower

I don't know what my deal is, but that last couple weeks we either haven't done anything interesting enough to blog about or I have forgotten my camera. Ahhh...I need to be better. I haven't written in a week! Well, last night I did indeed forget my camera and I am so mad because it was one of my best friend's bridal showers. My former roommates put it on at their apartment and it was just lovely. They had streamers hanging from the ceiling, and Brooke and Curren's engagement pictures hung up on the wall in a "clothesline fashion" (I have seen the idea on pinterest!) It was just darling. The food was great--chocolate cream cheese cupcakes, vanilla cream puffs with ganache on top, a delicious bacon pasta salad, and veggies of course! My good friend Lauren made the cream puffs (she made them at my own bridal shower last year) and I think I ate five cream puffs total--so good!!

We, of course, played a game in which Brooke had to guess the answers to a bunch of questions that her fiance had already answered. That was fun! And then present-opening began and that was even more fun! Brooke is so easily embarrassed so it was absolutely thrilling watching her open lingerie piece after lingerie piece. Curren is going to oh so happy in a couple months when she actually gets to wear those things! ;)

Well, I am so sad that I didn't take pictures--another memory escaped without pictures. BUT, I was the designated photographer while I was there, so I took plenty of pictures on Brooke's camera. I guess I will just have to steal a few from her!!

Just a few old picture of me and the bride:

I don't know what my deal is, but that last couple weeks we either haven't done anything interesting enough to blog about or I have forgotten my camera. Ahhh...I need to be better. I haven't written in a week! Well, last night I did indeed forget my camera and I am so mad because it was one of my best friend's bridal showers. My former roommates put it on at their apartment and it was just lovely. They had streamers hanging from the ceiling, and Brooke and Curren's engagement pictures hung up on the wall in a "clothesline fashion" (I have seen the idea on pinterest!) It was just darling. The food was great--chocolate cream cheese cupcakes, vanilla cream puffs with ganache on top, a delicious bacon pasta salad, and veggies of course! My good friend Lauren made the cream puffs (she made them at my own bridal shower last year) and I think I ate five cream puffs total--so good!!

We, of course, played a game in which Brooke had to guess the answers to a bunch of questions that her fiance had already answered. That was fun! And then present-opening began and that was even more fun! Brooke is so easily embarrassed so it was absolutely thrilling watching her open lingerie piece after lingerie piece. Curren is going to oh so happy in a couple months when she actually gets to wear those things! ;)

Well, I am so sad that I didn't take pictures--another memory escaped without pictures. BUT, I was the designated photographer while I was there, so I took plenty of pictures on Brooke's camera. I guess I will just have to steal a few from her!!

Homemade Ice Cream

Last night, Alex and I really wanted a milk shake, but we didn't have any ice cream and we couldn't go out and buy some because we already hit our budget for this week (we are going to see Hunger Games tonight!! So excited.) Then I remembered that we have an ice cream maker, and lucky enough...we had all of the ingredients. Hallelujah! I even had some leftover cookie dough in the fridge from last week just waiting to be used! So we whipped that chocolate-chip-whipping-cream-filled- deliciousness right up and it was absolutely delicious!! Jealous much? ;)

leopard (rawr!)

So I bought some new shoes...leopard print vans shoes! Aren't they fun? I think so. But my style can get a little crazy, ya know?

P.S. Mom, I know you're probably thinking these are hideous. It's ok. ;)

Hi Wyatt, I'm your Auntie Maddi!

Dear Wyatt,

Welcome to the world, little man! You did it! My name is Maddi and I'm your new aunt and you are my new nephew--my very first nephew actually! Although I haven't met you yet, I have already heard so much about you--your parents are quite thrilled to have you and I know they love you more than anything already! Probably even more than they ever could have imagined.

Babies are one thing that come into this world instantaneously loved--you don't have to spend time with them after they are born in order to love them. You just do because they are yours. Forever.

No, I haven't met you yet, but I look at your picture and I already love you and your little button nose that is just so cute! I look at your picture and dream about the day that I will get to be a mother and raise a baby just like you.

Well, I hope you are being good for your tired mother who is adjusting to a new life with you! Even if you aren't, I know she doesn't mind. She is just happy to have you and to call you her son. You are in good hands, I promise.

I love you, Wyatt!

-Auntie Maddi

(**that's how we address our aunts in Hawaii, but you can just call me Aunt Maddi, if you want! I won't mind!)

fun.

"Tonight, we are young! So, let's set the world on fire! We can burn brighter than the sun!" -Fun.

The Science Palooza {that's right...be excited!}

This past Saturday, Provo hosted a Science Palooza, in which kids from all over Provo came to enjoy an afternoon fun-filled with science. Kids from BYU, UVU, and other schools (amongst various other adults) volunteered to put together a few booths and explain a little bit about a subject they were interested in: there was a BYU's physics club booth, a dental hygiene club booth, a Microbiology club booth, and lots more. We ended up at the Science Palooza because Alex volunteered to do an Anatomy booth and teach the kids a little bit about the human body. Now, this might sound lame and boring, but lemme tell you...there were tons of kids there!! I mean, hundreds!! The demos and experiments people did were crazy (there was one booth that would make a giant bubble around you, and another where they were shooting little rockets off) and so much fun! Not to mention the various movies, like Megamind, playing experiments for kids to do, and pudding and pieces of pie being passed around. Oh yeah, there was also a scavenger hunt, prizes to be won, and lots of candy!! Everyone loves candy.

We both had a really good time and it was nice to see Alex teaching again. I haven't seen him teach Anatomy since I was taking the class and it really is quite attractive, if I do say so myself. ;)

Happy Sumo + Friends

Yummm...my caterpillar roll.

Jim can't keep his eyes open if the flash is on. Every picture we took was like this. haha

The girls: Holly, Lisa, and me

I made this for dessert: it was so good! Recipe coming soon.

A post shot of us and the McCoys just hanging out.

Happy Sumo is a place that I talk of often because of how much I love it, and luckily on Saturday night, us and a few of our friends decided to go! Granted, we love sushi so anyplace that serves sushi is pretty great! But, this place really is exceptional. I have had a lot of sushi growing up in Hawaii and, while this isn't my favorite sushi place of all time, it is pretty dang good...especially if you are a newbie to it and especially since it is in Utah. (Hmmmm...I don't know how I feel about that).

I realize that not everybody is a huge sushi fan, so the good thing about this place is the variety they give. They have teriyaki chicken bowls, veggie rolls, and they even have a buffalo chicken roll for those of you who are too afraid to try the real stuff. I don't think I would personally ever get that--my favorite it the Caterpillar roll, which has avocado, unagi (eel), and tiny fish eggs on top--it is good for those who try and stay away from fish. Our friend, Jim, who went with us actually got it and said it was pretty good!

Yes, we love sushi, but we love our friends who love sushi just as much as us even more!! Thanks for a great evening!

Spam Musubi

Now, most of you know that I am from Hawaii and that one of my favorite foods is spam musubis. (It's kind of like ghetto sushi.) In Hawaii, they are very popular: people bring them to sporting events, pot lucks, and they even sell them at 7-11! They are absolutely delicious and one of my all time favorite foods. Now for those of you who are thinking, "Ew. Spam is nasty. And seaweed is even nastier!"...well you have to give them a try! Don't judge because I promise that there will be plenty of you who love these!! Quite a few of my friends and my husband like them, so maybe you will too! If you have ever been to L&L Hawaiian Barbecue (they have one here in Provo on Bulldog), they sell them and they are delicious. So try one, why dontcha?

For those of you who have tried them and do like them. Here's how to make them!

Step 1: You will need sticky rice, seaweed (any asian store will carry this), spam, and a spam musubi press. If you don't have a press, which Im assuming most of you don't, then you can use the spam can and it will work just fine! Just cut off the bottom with a knife or scissors. **If you are a fan, you can buy a musubi press on Amazon for about $5.

Step 2: Slice and cook the spam in a skillet on medium to high heat. It is precooked so you can cook it for as long as you want and it won't hurt you. I usually cook it for about five minutes so it gets a little crunchy on the outside.

Step 3: The sea weed usually comes in sheets around the size of a sheet of paper, so you will need to cut the seaweed about the width of a spam can. This will hold everything together. If you don't like seaweed...well...I can't really help you, but I'm telling you it doesn't really taste like anything. :)

Step 4: Place the strip of seaweed on a plate and place you musubi press (or your can) vertically across it.

Step 5: Fill the press or can with rice (about 3/4 of the way up).

Step 6: Place a piece of cooked spam on top.

Step 7: Take the top of the musubi press and squish it down so everything is compact and stuck together. If you didn't do this, all of your rice would fall out of the seaweed as soon as you lifted it.

Step 8: Wrap the seaweed around the spam and rice.

Step 9: In order to make the seaweed stick around the rice and spam, place a small amount of sticky rice on one side of the seaweed and fold the other side on top of it.

Step 10: You are done!! Now go eat it!!

They really are quite easy!! Try 'em! I dare you!

Auditions

Auditions are so fun to watch. Especially good auditions. Especially good, unique auditions. And especially when you are a singer and can appreciate different voices and styles. While I don't watch American Idol anymore (I watch The Voice instead and it's great!), I do like to look up the top ten of the season and watch their auditions. I love watching the first auditions before the contestants have had any coaching and before they make them into this "Hollywood Cookie Cutter Star" where they all look the same. I am always amazed at how much raw talent there is in the world--just in America! It really is amazing! Here are a few of my favorite auditions:

1. Phillip Phillips: ridiculous name, but he is great! His style is right up my alley and I loved watching his perform, especially when he busts out his guitar and sings Thriller. Probably my favorite in the top ten.

2. Heejun Han: This guy is hilarious!! He has a good voice, but he has an even more lovable personality!!

3. Johnny Keyser: This guy is actually not in the top ten, surprisingly, but this song he sings is A-MAY-ZING! He is good looking, a little cocky, and has a great voice! Wow.

Hope you enjoyed those as much as I did!!

The Lucky One

A few weeks ago when I went to see The Vow with some friends, there was a trailer for a Nicholas Sparks book called The Lucky One. After the first few seconds of the trailer, I knew this was going to be a movie that I would want to see...and then when it ended, I knew that I NEEDED to see this movie! It looked so lovey, and notebook-esque, and just so good! My kind of movie exactly.

Then I found out the movie doesn't hit theaters until April 20, 2011 and I just couldn't wait that long, so I decided to read the book beforehand. I checked out the book from the library about a week ago and I am 200 pages into it already and absolutely love it! While I don't have all that much time to sit down and read a book and haven't really since the summer before last, I have somehow managed so squeeze in a few pages here and there and it absolutely wonderful to read a book for pleasure again. (And I just found out that coincidentally my mom is reading this book too. How funny?)

For those of you who haven't seen this trailer yet, you're in for a treat!!

Let me guess, you got chills just as the music started playing? Yeah, me too.