Piece of Cake?

"Somehow, [frosting] I am going to get through to you. And if this is the only way, so be it."


I'm fascinated by frosting-works-of-art. In fact, I like to gawk at cakes. Bakeries should charge me for ogling their wares. Perhaps it is because one of my life's goals is to become a frosting-decorator-extraordinaire.

Be that as it may, I still for the life of me CANNOT make a frosting rose. But soon, yes soon, I will master it. How, you ask? By making cupcakes and frosting each one over and over and over and over and over until I can make it look like SmittenKitchen's. Then I will be Glinda (the bakery edition) and can hold my pastry bag aloft and say to my fear, "you have no power here, begone!"

Okay, yeah, I am totally random. But isn't it wonderful? Ahahahha

Great Read: Percy Jackson

PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS, by Rick Riordan.


THE LIGHTNING THIEF~THE SEA OF MONSTERS~THE TITAN'S CURSE ~THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH

Imagine a cross between Harry Potter and a series of unfortunate events, cram it full of mythology, and you'd have this.

What is it about?

Percy Jackson is a sixth grader suffering from ADHD and dyslexia who discovers that his teachers are not quite...normal. Then he sees the fates knitting socks. In a flashwhirl of events, Percy learns that the Greek gods are currently living on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building, and that his long-lost father is one of the Olympic gods. Because of who his father is, Percy (whose real name is Perseus) is accused of stealing a "divine" artifact of great importance, and to clear his name he undergoes a quest to the underworld. Along the way he meets dozens of characters from Greek mythology.

The books are hillarious! The similies and metaphors are classic. At one point, Percy describing the way monsters smelt said it was "as if a skunk had been living off leftover Mexican food." Great mirth and merriment gained from these books. Furthermore, it helped familiarizing me with the Greek Olympians; my last history quiz required that we know the top 12 gods, and since I'd read these books I didn't even need to study. Take that, academia!

Bahai Gardens, Haifa

These gardens in Israel are holy to the Baha'i religion, whose people revere order and perfection. Four teams of landscapers are constantly present--I know this because I asked. Over 30 specific types of fertilizer are used (seriously) and it takes 8 days to prune one of their "perfectly" shaped trees. It's stunning! Though when I was there I kept wondering when the henchmen were going to appear and start painting the roses red.



(above) I took this picture!

Syrian Children

School Children in Damascus
Did you know that many native Syrians have blue eyes? It's true. Aren't these guys adorable? I love Arab kids, they're SO cute. Maybe I'll adopt one. Hahahha

Tap Dancing On Roller Skates

I'm always surprised to find out how many people have never heard of this--Gene Kelly tap danced on roller skates. It's really cool! And I even like the song he's singing.

YES, Matt and Heather, I like to post youtube vids. Apologies if you find the quantity annoying. The whole point of this blog is so I can share fun stuff. This qualifies. :)

I'm Sick.

I've been sick for almost a week now, but today I'm too sick to even go to school. :( This of course reminds me of (what else?) movie quotes. See if you can name these movies three. Or four...

"Except for a fever, sore throat, and a headache there is nothing much wrong with me."

"I feel terrible."

"This is my ninth sick day this semester, so I'd better make it count, cause if I wanna go for ten I'm gonna have to barf up a lung."

"What, this? Oh, I've had worse than this. ...can't think of any right now, but..."

Movie Classics: GiGi, 1958

"Bad table manners, GiGi have broken more households than infidelity."
"You look like an organ grinder's monkey!"
"It sometimes happens that rather than being married at once... we are married at last."
[Gaston, do you make love all the time?] "Good heavens, no! The only people who make love all the time are liars."

I love this movie; it's so funny!Thoroughly recommended, naturally. It's set in turn of the century Paris, but made in the 50's, so the clothes are not entirely accurate (but nevertheless scrumptious!) and the music is cheesy, but also tongue-in-cheek. It's not your ordinary movie-musical; fast-forward through two of the songs and there's no reason for distaste. You'll love it!

I want to be: A LIBRARIAN

My euphoria that I'll be going to the library later bubbled over and I had to post this. I LOVE libraries.

There have been four great librarians: Evelyn [Carnahan] O'Connell, Marian Paroo, Flynn Carsen, and CONAN. Perhaps someday my name will be among theirs. Then I can use witty phrases like "No harm ever came from reading a book," "You'll find it in Balzac," "What is this, Slap the Librarian Day?" and of course,

"DONCH YU KNOH THE DEWEY DESS-MAL SYSTEHM?"

Smoke Silk Frock

Given half a chance, I would wear this. Isn't it gorgeous? And the color would look so good on me! Ooooh, with deep blue crystal jewelry.... SO pretty.

Two Things

#1-- I have a new favorite pianist, David Lanz. I've listened to a number of his albums now and decided that he wins my allegiance (for now). His melodies are haunting! I especially enjoy "Cristofori's Dream" and "Return to the Heart." "Vesuvius" is also really good.

#2-- I think I may have met a too-tall frog. : )

Mesmerizing

Chris Bliss can jug-gle! WHOA

Oooh, who's the pretty girl?

Halloween at the Jerusalem Center. 

My costumes are usually much more creative, but I had to make do with what I had. I dressed up like a Zombie from Thriller. My make-up was awesome, and I even scared a couple people. Don't I look hot? Hahaha--the sad thing was that I got ready in FIVE MINUTES TOTAL. I just smeared albolene over a ton of mascara and eyeliner, rubbed it all over my face, smudged lipstick under my eyes, covered my lips with foundation and then creased red lines over that.... and put conditioner in my dry hair to make it look greasy/lanky/and frazzled all at the same time. (It smelled really good, like Garnier stuff, and I had people smelling it all night. That was odd cause I looked so frightening.) 

Caleb went as Lawrence of Arabia. I kept teasing him that he looked more like Professor Quirrell from Harry Potter. We took this picture together because we were the two ANES majors at the JC that semester. 

Oxford Dictionary Term 4

This one came as a surprise. Guess what:

Vandal (definition #2): 

a member of a Germanic people that ravaged Gaul, Spain, and North Africa in the 4–5th centuries and sacked Rome in 455.  (Latin) Vandalus, of Germanic origin. 

... it wasn't until the 17th century that the term applied to a destroyer of properties. 

Do you know what this means? I'M A VANDAL! Ahahahhahaha

That looks... intricate

This is a "Sarmation Diadem," found near some place called Novocherkassk (wherever that is... I'm guessing Russia) and now is displayed in the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg (which is definitely in Russia).  We learned about the Sarmatians in my Byzantine history class today, so I thought I'd post something Sarmatian. SAHR-MAY-SHUN... hee hee. I think that's a fun word to say. 

Thinking of Something

Oh wait... it's an orange. I think orange has recently become my new favorite color. I painted my bedroom orange, actually (no, it really does look good, no matter what horrid image you've just pictured) and when I move I'm REALLY going to miss it. It just feels warm. Energetic, outgoing, and tasty! Gotta love an orange. Besides, the OJ Mom gave me this morning was scrumptious. ...truly... *snort*

How To: drop frosting strings

I can't wait to try these! I'm sure it's harder than she makes it look, but I can always practice until I get it. She does poppies at the end too, using this paintbrush thingy. I want to try!

Extra points for anyone who can name what soundtrack the music came from-- I got it instantly-- here's a BIG hint: "I do believe in fairies. I do! I do!"

THIS is why I read books

Audubon's Predecessor + a Nephi Application

It seems people have always been fascinated by birds. For those of you who wish to peek into my aha! moment concerning Book of Mormon history, read on below.

 

This is an Egyptian papyrus document written in coptic script. For those of you wondering what happened to the hieroglyphics, I'll tell you this: they weren't Egypt's only forms of communication. Everything written that was NOT part of public show was done in either Hieratic or Coptic script because they are compacted adjustments from the traditional pictograms of the hieroglyphs-- faster and easier to write, and requiring less space. 

Egyptian was the international language of its day; all foreign correspondence between kings was written in coptic. Educated merchants and scribes across the Middle East used it for international trade. "Laundry lists" and receipts have been found by archaeologists recently attesting to this fact. 

I wore a gleeful grin on my face one day in November when I put two and two together.  Reformed Egyptian? ahem. 

Not only does this writing style take up a smaller amount of space than anything else of its time (way less than Hebrew--trust me!), it also allows for foreign words to be included. And because it was used internationally, in 600 BC it would have been the way to communicate to the largest worldwide audience. If I were Nephi it would TOTALLY make sense to write my record in script. So whether or not Coptic is the "reformed egyptian" we know of, it may very well be close. 

Latest from "Smitten Kitchen" Blog

Chocolate Tart with a...

GINGERSNAP CRUST? 

I can't wait to try something with a gingersnap crust. Any suggestions as to what might taste good with it? Apple pie, perhaps? 

Tonight

After a footwork dance concert with a bunch of people, I had a lovely Saturday evening with a wonderful person; oddly, the same person that I spent last Saturday with. A person I'm always glad to bump into. Anyway. After we drove another girl home to Draper we drove back to Provo and then got hot chocolate at 7 Eleven. It was tasty. 

Behold! The Fanny Pack!

AH! The JCenter fanny pack. How kind it is to stow everything you'll need in it's pick-pocket-protected-pockets, whilst maintaining quick-shekel-accessibility. Not just another fanny pack... THIS is a fashion statement. See? Even all the cool girls wear them.

1st "restrict your remarks to the weather"

Meterologists designate these as "Mammatus clouds." They indicate turbulence in the atmosphere.


Photo taken in Iraq, 2006.

Christmas Around the World

1 RB ! This was my Folk Dance team for Christmas Around the World, BYU's Folk Dance concert for fall semester. We danced to a country song called "Hey, I'm a Country Man" and it was actually pretty good. We represented America (so did PAC when they clogged) but there were also dances for these countries:

CHINA WALES ARMENIA HUNGARY INDIA UKRAINE SCOTLAND MEXICO TURKEY POLAND CANADA IRELAND ISRAEL

Light Pollution

Perhaps this will illuminate your mind (pun intended) as to why Australia, Russia, Alaska, and the Western US are all favorite sites for Astronomical Observation.


Here is NYC, holding the record of worst light pollution in the world, at night. At NIGHT! This is a time-capture photo specifically designed to reveal what is known as sky-glow.

This Adonis of the sky, my darling ORION is shown here at left from dark skies and at right from within the Provo/Orem, UT area. Note the nebula in the sword below his belt, and the yellow shoulder-star is Betelgeuse (beetle-juice) a Red-Giant star.

Two Things

I draw your attention to the bottom right of the artwork and ask you to consider two things.
One, what is that glass thing doing on the floor? Stupid scenery! Nothing that fragile would be on the FLOOR. What is it anyway?
Two, as evidence by this authentic painting, gentlemen of the upper-crust had graceful turn-out. Just look at his foot. See? Proof.
*chuckles*

"Jane Eyre, Sir"

Remember how I said I'd post trailers for all the BBC shows I'm nuts about? In keeping with my promise, here's Jane Eyre. MAN do I love Toby Stephens. I all but stop breathing every time he says "don't go, Jane," or "Devil you will!" or even "thank God nothing worse happened." Ohhhhhh wow this show is great.

BBC-One Trailer for Jane Eyre, episode 1

And a 4min scene to splurge on, if you find an interest... just click twice and a new window will open (for some reason I can't embed it directly).

Oxford Dictionary Term 3

consuetudinary:

adjective [kon-swi-tood-n-ehr-ee]

customary or traditional : the consuetudinary phrase, "see you later."

I read this word in a book today and thought I'd skipped a line. Used my trusty Oxford American Dictionary and *poof* it's actually a word. Surprise! Guess that's what Melissa would call the "college word of the day."

NO KIDDING

They've made a "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" unitard costume.

Galilean Groceries

I love shopping for groceries! Especially with my mother. I love grocery stores so much I even went to one in Galilee (shown here), when I could have been doing other things. Yesterday though I went to five different grocery stores... two of them twice. I think I hit my limit of how many groceries I could stand. : P

That easy, huh? Sheesh.

After that commercial post I realized you might not recognize the khaki wearing wonder-- it's Patrick Wilson! YAY! Need help identifying him? He's Raoul de Changy in Phantom.  You remember--dashing man with the perfect hair and the tenor of a demi-god? Yeah. Him. This is his audition for that movie. Wow. Can he sing? Just maybe...

Lovely Commercial #1

I've watched this old commercial fifteen times in the last three days because it gives me such a radiant glow of inner satisfaction. Watch it! I know you'll love it. Patrick Wilson and Claire Danes! I love these two, especially together... I just watched the movie "Evening," when they play opposite each other; I declare the film to be superb. I had to buy it ($5.25 on Amazon including tax, what a steal!) and I can't wait to show it to Mom when she comes back home. ...rambling... anyway...

Irish Dancer's Hair

Irish dancers MUST HAVE curls. It's actually written into the technique book of styling--I do not jest. But it's ridiculous! They go overboard...not just taking "curls" as they are, but making them huge. Take a gander at these pictures for a website that sells hairpieces.

Yeah, THAT'S realistic. No eight year old has that much hair. Come on!

Blessed

(Picture of my leg a week after it was broken. NO, I am not wearing nylons. That's the real color of my leg after surgery, due to the internal bruising of shoving a titanium rod inside the bone. Believe it or not, it was way more yellow a few days before. Note the contrast of the pink leg next to it.)

Hebrew Bible Theories class today: I hadn't made it into my chair before my teacher Jared Ludlow asked me, "how's your leg?" It always strikes me as odd that people who should have no clue that my leg was broken at all (Dr. Ludlow found out from my parents at church) still remember that it was busted when I often forget it myself.

I had to laugh. I'd just finished an hour and a half of Advanced Irish Dance (phew! what a workout!) and had run across campus from the RB to the kennedy center so I'd be on time to class. How's my leg? he asks. "Oh, it's just fine. I'm on a dance team, " I said with a smile.

Really, I do forget. Trust me, this is a fact I am VERY grateful for. I can't believe how blessed I've been. Sure, I feel a twinge every so often (like in Irish when I'm constantly leaping and bouncing and I can feel the bone-screw near my knee) but generally I'll forget my leg was broken. I fly up the stairs at the speed of roadrunner, oblivious to the memory of having to hop one-footed up each stair individually while grabbing onto the bannister bars to hoist myself up. MAN AM I LUCKY.

The QE II Wedding Gown

Queen Elizabeth II's wedding dress, designed by Norman Hartnell, has a 13 ft train and is embroidered with crystals and pearls. Due to post-war restrictions (married in '47) the pearls were not available in England; instead, a whopping twenty thousand seed pearls were imported from America.


The Queen Mother specifically asked that Hartnell should use an unusually rich, lustrous stiff satin which was made at Lullington Castle. The satin was ideal for the train, but Hartnell thought that the dress required a more supple material of a similar tone. He ordered the similar fabric from the Scottish firm of Winterthur near Dunfermline. Wait for it--this is the best part--complaints arose about a rumour that the Scottish satin was made from 'enemy silk worms', either from Italy or possibly Japan. A telephone call to Dunfermline settled the scandal. Mr. Hartnell was assured the silkworms were from Nationalist China and were not 'enemy silkworms'. Ha! Isn't that awesome?


Oh yeah-- don't forget the picture of the cake. Whoa.

"I could use one of those"

"So tired... that's what happens when you get a science geek for a roommate."
"Actually it's a toga sir."
"I HAVEN'T SLEPT IN EIGHT DAYS!"

Really, I AM very tired. Very tired. A caffeine patch would be welcome. New schedule to adapt to... so tired....

Oh yeah! There are four movie quotes on this post... can you find the one that isn't from Meet the Robinsons and identify what movie it comes from? Come on, Melissa, I'm rooting for you on this one.

Leonard Nimoy's Ballad of Bilbo Baggins

Where did this come from? Best-friend-Joni told me about it but I just didn't understand until I saw it for myself. HOW do things like this come to pass? If you wish to laugh your head off, please avail yourself.

VOTE

Each semester I sign up for more credits than I can handle intending to drop horrible, evil, no good, very bad classes during the first week of school until I reach my range of credit-comfortability. To weigh the pros/cons of the purge I will observe: homework levels, lecture interest, teacher worth, and how-cute-the-guys-sitting-two-rows-over are, before making my final choice. The trouble is I can't decide what to eliminate from my schedule this time, when usually I know long before I walk into the classroom on the first day. 

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. I HAVE SEVEN CLASSES IN ONE DAY, AND I'M HEADING TO THE GYM AT 6 AM. HEAVEN HELP MY POOR ADDLED MIND. 

Please help. Offer advice! Vote on which class seems the most odious to you and I will consider your input when choosing which of the 18 credit hours I've registered for...to kill. (Grayed out courses will NOT under any circumstances be dropped, don't waste your vote on them). I'm sure one or two of the religion classes will vanish--but which?

The Byzantine Empire (HIST 390 R)

Ancient Near Eastern II (HIST 239 R)

Hebrew Bible Studies (ANES 343)

Advanced Irish (DANCE 373R)

Advanced Tap (DANCE 335 R)

1 RB Folk (DANCE 378 R)

Revelations of John (REL A 392R)

Marriage "Prep" (REL C 234) 

Doctrines of the Gospel (REL C 431)

Old Testament II (REL A 302) --Taken it before, but this is from Dr. Parry, my favorite Hebrew prof. 

Jealous?

This is what you're missing. 

Merlin Trailer- BBC One

Best TV show BBC has made yet. SO GOOD! And... Aaron posted links to all of them on the family "secret stash." I highly recommend them.

Crushed and Melted

This sign is outside of Chili's. It's almost tight enough security for BYU's Condo row--they boot permit-less cars within five minutes. I know, I watched it happen. Crushed and Melted reminds me of something. What was it? Oh yeah: "usually leaving it with its carcass dismantled and its innards plucked and... mutilated." Ha! Can anyone name the quote?

Petty? No. Funny? Very.