BUNDT

People do amazing things with gorgeous Bundt pans. Tomorrow I'll show you what I've done with mine.

Bundt is the American name for a German coffee cake that is traditionally baked in an elaborate mold with a center tube. This tube conducts extra heat to the middle of the cake, allowing it to bake more evenly.

Currently My Favorite Twins!

Amy & Emily are showing off their Serbian costumes from FolkDance. You've just got to love them!

History Rhymes

Jason Powell has done remarkable work with his "Looking Into the Past" set on Flickr. Using Library of Congress photos, he has gone to where they were taken and posed their images over where the present now stands. It's incredible.


This one is my favorite.

Music is What Feelings Sound Like

NEVER WATCH THIS MOVIE. The End.

Suffice it to say that Dylan had to watch this for a French class, and we saw the whole thing yesterday. Horrified beyond repair, we staggered away from the screen hoping to never speak of it again.Take my word for it; NEVER WATCH THIS MOVIE.

Just Curious

Nothing makes me gag faster than the taste of vinegar. Just the smell is enough to initiate heaving. Today I wiki'd Vinegar to find out what it actually was: "an acidic liquid processed from the fermentation of ethanol in a process that yields it's key ingredient, acetic acid, aka ethanoic acid."

Wait! Vinegar is made by fermenting alcohol? No wonder I can't stand it.

Schlossvaduz, Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein is a tiny country* crammed between Switzerland and Austria. But it's very pretty.

"I Wish For the Nile"

I'm proud to say that I took these photos whilst in a faluka (boat) on the Nile. Sunset on the Nile, Baby. Boo yah.

Willkommen to Berlin

The City Hall in Berlin. Isn't it pretty?

I signed up for a German class today! Das ist gut.

Dance With Someone You Love Today!

Spring Cleaning

If there were just one more day in this weekend, I'd spend it doing this. I even have a clothesline behind my house! Tre chic when you consider the house was built in '42. Huzzah!

Don't Get Mad, Get Plaid!

This post is for Heather & Matt, and Cole who are visiting Disneyland next week.  Wouldn't it be snazzy if they'd dress in tandem and re-create this Disneyland ad from ye olde catalog?

Something Prettier than a Shooting

What was I thinking? I can't have people shooting in the streets be the first thing people see on my blog for the next several days! We need something pretty :) I choose to use Sierra Boggess (who played Ariel in the Little Mermaid on Broadway) with a perfect perfect perfect I'm going to drool if I keep staring Edwardian upswept hairdo. Ah, the beauty of wigs. 

I know it's too late and that you've jumped to a conclusion, but actually no, that isn't a picture of what you think it is. Heaven help us, Andrew Loyd Webber just wrote a sequel to Phantom of the Opera. Get this-- it's set in Coney Island at the turn of the century. CONEY ISLAND? Oh man. "Love Never Dies" is currently at the West End in London, and will hit Broadway this fall. 

But hey--pretty dress!

On the Street Where I Lived

Okay, I lied. I'm posting. But only because I was again struck by something I had to scream about. 

This picture was front page of the New York Times yesterday. I immediately recognized the street as Jericho road, the most direct route from the BYU Jerusalem Center into the Old City of Jerusalem. I've talked to the kids who live behind the white wire gate on the left, and twirled down the street on my way to town-- I walked down this street everyday. I can with certainty tell you that this picture was taken approx. 600 ft away from JCenter property.  Israeli police have barricaded the road now, which is safer for the center, and I've read that starting March 5th students weren't allowed in the Old City (the JC has such good security teams; students are always* safe). 

Why am I screaming? I'll tell you one thing; it has nothing to do with the above picture. It does however have to do with reason #512 of my distate (a mild word chosen merely for politeness) for the current administration, particularly for that woman. Read "Clinton Rebukes Israel on Housing Announcement." The title alone is enough to explain why I'm grinding my teeth, but let me just sum up for those of you who won't bother to read it: with a direct quote from the first article, "Israeli officials say that the Obama administration misread the situation". Let me tell you-- I buy it. 

Israel does not... appreciate... being told what to do. "The Obama administration demanded" was frequently re-worded and reused in both articles. Never fear-- Mrs. Clinton and the Mr. Biden (both who were recently in Jerusalem) assure the press of their “ironclad commitment to Israeli security.” It's just that when they're speaking with the Prime Minister, they complain about Israel's actions and literally spell out what they expect them to do to fix it. Direct quote again: ""On Friday, Mrs. Clinton told the prime minister that the United States expected Israeli officials to take “specific actions”."

But then again-- perhaps the first paragraph of the article really does say it all:

The discord between the United States and Israel over Jewish building in East Jerusalem deepened Tuesday with Israeli officials saying they would reject demands by Washington and expressing anger over the public upbraiding of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the Obama administration.

I repeat-- Israel does not appreciate being told what to do. They will not be instructed in how to manage their affairs, and if it comes to it, they'll tell US officials to take a hike. What was that phrase? Ah yes, "reject demands by Washington." 

It greatly bothers me that the current US administration does not seem to understand this, and that they're trying to pull Israeli strings. They're aggravating the Israeli's and jeopardizing our relationship with them.  I'm NOT happy.

*The students are away on a field trip currently, not anywhere near the current disturbances.  Coincidence? Nope. Students at the JC are always safe.  

"I can slay a dragon--any old week. Easy."

A) Thanks to Heather who gave the priceless gift of wedding photos. Because of you I'll never forget my wedding day or how pretty I looked. I can never repay such kindness. 

B) SCARE: I'm not going to graduate. Just kidding. Actually, the chances of that have been 100% for about two weeks. See, I've been so sick that there was a setback with a class I was taking. Without that class my graduation credits needed (not including this semester) jump from 18, to 37. That's right folks, 37 credits! But after digging for alternative solutions I've determined that it is possible for me to still get a university diploma. 

If Rudy can play for Notre Dame, I can pass 4 history classes (that I'm currently failing) and 8 independent-study German credits before April 27th.  

Come on, it's me! I can learn 2,000 vocabulary words in a language I don't speak in two weeks. Psh!  Gimme something hard-- that's only 143 a day. Yes, I'll still be living at the end of that time; you see, "mostly dead-- is slightly alive." 

C) In order to graduate from BYU (only 11 classes left!) I won't be blogging until you see a picture of me in a cap and gown. Betcha it'll be my Merry Christmas post. :) 

Toodleoo until then. Make sure to enjoy your spring, summer, and fall! 

 

Husband & Wife

22 and I'm falling apart? What am I, fragile?

I have been laid up. On bed rest. Couch-ridden. The list continues with me requiring outside assistance to wash heavy pots & pans, aid in sitting and standing, having to dictate my essay test to a scribe because I couldn't hold a pencil, inability to sit for the length of a tv show without pain pain pain, shooting barbs in my muscles if I tried to roll over in bed, lack of desire to eat and a surging desire to eat all at once, extreme nausea, sensitivity and reaction to medication, and whoops, I meant medications plural. 

Mid-February I tripped up a staircase. My coordination is unmatched!  After trying very, very hard to take it like a man I ended up swallowing my pride and visiting four doctors. Count them! 4. It was against my will, but the husband interceded. What? Like husbands are allowed to care about their wife's health? Psh! He's a bully, I'm telling you. 

Diagnostic:

broken pinkie. right hand. For this I was given a cast that bound my entire hand and was told not to use it to lift, pull, twist, or write with. Typing was out too. Hah! Lovely. 

muscle spasm. AKA back pain from hell. I could neither sit, stand, walk, or lay down even with the assistance of two capable men. Extreme agony with no improvement led to the emergency room! Yay! I experienced an allergic reaction--something called Dilaudid-- and discovered that I'm highly reactive to intravenous medication. 4.5 seconds and my eyes were rolling in my head. And valium too! Wheee. Also, I certain there is no medical procedure I detest more than having my blood pressure measured. If my fingers had retained sensation after turning that shade of plum I would've punched the nurse in the stomach with as much force as my "no, thank you, a wheelchair wouldn't help-- I can't sit down" back would have allowed. Bottom line? Muscle relaxants, Lortab, and a note excusing me from school for a week and a half while I was expected to rest. Operating heavy machinery was out too.  :)

slightly dislocated shoulder. I'm really not kidding. The chiropractor guesses that the impact from fainting in the kitchen after breaking my finger not only encouraged my back injury, but dislocated my shoulder. My wrist, pelvis, and left hip were also out of place. Boy can I milk a good trip up the stairs, eh?

The best part is that I've been bed-resting at home, alone. Dylan has been out of town touring with his folk dance team (I'm so proud of him!) and so I've been on my own. Thank you to Matt & Heather for feeding me and for the massages and driving me to the ER, thanks to Tiffany for washing my dishes, thanks to Joni for lending me Goose Pike & Logan Huntsburger and for the cinnamon rolls, and thanks to satellites that make cell phone communication possible between Mom & Dylan who both insisted over and over and over that I see a chiropractor. YOU WERE BOTH RIGHT, okay? 

Hopefully I'll feel better next week. 

I'm taking this moment to rant, mainly because I've been sitting on the couch so long I watched a whole season of Gilmore Girls in two days (or rather nights--yep, can't sleep either) and Gilmore Girls always fuels my ability to blabbity blabbity blab about something that's been driving me nuts. Blabbity blab about things like, oh gee, I dunno-- coal. What was that thing, ten paragraphs? Honestly, no one will read that! Sorry everybody. I was so disgusted I had to get it out. Apparently my next topic was the state of my health. My apologies if you took the time to read either one of those verbages that veered most verbose.  

Get me a bucket-- this propaganda made me sick.

I have never seen a more repugnant exhibition of propaganda. This slimy piece of media is biased in a most despicable way, giving facts for only one side of information, and hailing "wind" as the savior of energy and degrading coal-- as cheap.

I see no reason why we should not continue to use wind energy. Of course, geo-thermal is more reliable and doesn't kill off endangered bird species like golden eagles, but I don't think that's a logical reason to stop using windmills. Birds die from running into cars and trucks, and we certainly can't outlaw those, now can we? However, coal has two big advantages over wind power: while power harnessed from wind must be channeled into turbines and from thence wired to the things it must energize, coal can be both stored and transported to anywhere in the world. Wind energy from Belgium couldn't be shipped to Brazil, for example. Coal on the other hand, well, you see my point.

One would think that while everyone is trying to become less dependent on oil, and spend money in the process, coal would be celebrated as an alternative energy source. (Much like natural gas.)

Besides-- coal isn't just used for energy. Byproducts of coal are used to make concrete, construction materials, bricks, insulation, wallboard, ceramic tiles, roofing materials, and as a mineral filler for plastics, paint, rubber matting, carpet backing, and asphalt. Can wind do those things too? No. It'd be nifty if it could, but it can't.

Let me tell you some nitpicky facts about coal. Sources listed below.


"Although coal may not be as visible today as it was around 1900, it is even more prevalent as a source of fuel. Coal production has increased by more than 70 percent since 1970."*

"About 56 percent of the electricity used in this country is coal-generated electricity."*

"Certain industries consume large amounts of coal. For example, concrete and paper companies burn coal, and the steel industry uses coke and coal by-products to make steel for bridges, buildings, and automobiles."*

Coal will likely continue to be an important source of electricity generation because it is more abundant and cost-effective than oil and natural gas. Compare these*** energy costs per million British thermal units (Btus):
Coal—$1.20
Natural gas—$4.30
Oil—$4.45

Wait wait wait-- more cost effective? Meaning it's CHEAPER? Well, I guess the scientists that wizzed this chart up think so too. 

One last thing just to keep environmentalists happy; the "EPA's Coalbed Methane Outreach Program seeks to work with coal companies to reduce methane gas emissions associated with coal mining. Since 1990, methane recovered and used productively at coal mines has increased from 13.8 Billion cubic feet to 37.2 Billion cubic feet.*" Oh goody! More useful stuff we get from coal.

If you're still wondering where I stand on this issue, let me clear it up by saying "long live coal!" and that we should be thanking our lucky stars that people still think a resource as precious as coal is "cheap," because the last thing we want is for it to start getting taxed more heavily. Ahem.


***Price comparisons.
*More about coal.


Author's note: I mentioned at the top that I haven't seen worse propaganda, but I've just remembered that I have! Only trust me, you don't even want to get me started on Rachel Carson.