3.28.2010

Holi Festival of Colors


On Saturday Brett and I went to Holi Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork. Holi is a spring festival that is celebrated by the Hindus and Sikhs. During the festival there are bonfires, music, traditional dancing, and then the throwing of colors. This is definitely the most fun I've ever had celebrating the arrival of spring. Even Brett (who isn't a huge fan of getting messy) had an absolute blast. It was amazing to see the juxtaposition between the Indian architecture of the Krishna Temple and the snow capped rocky mountains.

Here's a video of the fun we had this year! You wouldn't believe how many people were there and how colorful everyone gets.



3.24.2010

My favorite phenoms' road to a new name

So, here I sit. Haley suggested that I write a post on our blog tonight and I accepted. I was contemplating about writing about what will happen to me in nine hours....some random person will yank four teeth from my mouth while I'm not even unconscious! But then I came to my senses and realized that if I don't even want to write about it, even fewer people will want to read about it.

Perhaps what interests me will interest you. hmmmm.?

I've always been entranced by Shania Twain, Faith Hill, and now....Lady Gaga??? Now, let's get something straight, I love country music and old school rock songs. I am not in love with new age type music. So the fact that for some reason I find Lady Gaga's music rather addicting will remain a secret.

So, here is what interests me. These obviously aren't their real names, so how did they stumble into them?

Shania Twain was born Eilleen Regina Edwards but took her Native American stepfather's last name of Twain at the age of 9. When she was 26 she signed a record deal with Mercury records and changed her name to "Shania." It means "I'm on my way" in Ojibwa, the language of her stepfather.

Faith Hill was born and quickly adopted by the Perry family. She was Audrey Faith Perry. Her first marriage was to a man named Daniel Hill and it lasted six years. She kept the last name but always went by "Faith," her middle name.

Our most recent phenom, Lady Gaga was born Stefani Germanotta but her producer compared her voice to that of Freddy Mercury, the lead singer of Queen. Her producer said she would be as popular as Queen's hit song, "Radio Ga Ga." While texting those words to Stefani it was autocorrected to "Lady Gaga" and it became her moniker.

I've always wanted a stage name. Some alius that I could use for either flying under the radar or promoting myself as the next hit sensation. But alas, I have no such name. (Although I'm open to suggestions)

Wordless Wednesday

3.23.2010

Our future babies

On Friday night we had our good friends Matt and Hillary Romney over for a belated St. Patrick's Day dinner.

After we had our fill of root beer and corned beef & cabbage, we decided to wind down in the front room. We got to talking about kids and Mrs. Romney showed us a little game that is supposed to predict how many kids you are going to have along with each child's gender. It is incredibly scientific process and 100% accurate. (Okay I lied about that, it involves a piece of string and a wedding ring.)

She tells me that if it turns in a circle it's a girl, if it moves side to side it's a boy. When the ring goes still, you are done having babies. When Mr. and Mrs. Romney did the test they both had the same number of kids and the same gender! Kinda spookey, but I guess we won't actually know if it was accurate till they have 5 kids. We repeated this test with my Mom and it was 100% accurate (2 boys and a girl). Brett's Mom did the test once at a party and it was right on for their 6 children. It was also right for every other woman in the room.

So I take off my ring and string the piece of yarn through it. Mrs. Romney asks me to hold my left hand straight out with my palm up and my thumb out. Taking the piece of string with the ring in the middle she "dips" the ring three times between my thumb and my pointer finger. Then she holds the string above my palm and we analyze the way it moves.

It moves in a circle which means that child #1 is a GIRL

She stops the ring and makes it still. We go for round two.

She dips the ring "1... 2.... 3..." this time the ring goes side to side. Child #2 is a BOY!

"1...2....3" Child # 3 is a DAUGHTER

"1...2....3" Child #4 is a SON

Onto the next child. "1...2...3..." We watch the ring go side to side then suddenly switch and go to a circle. Hillary gets giddy as she says, "I think that means you'll have twins!"

So pregnancy #5 = TWINS

(Is it totally odd that I got really excited and was smiling like a fool at this point?)

Hillary goes to dip the ring again... "1....2....3..."

She holds it up to my palm and it doesn't move. Looks like we'll stop at 6.

Now it's Brett's turn ... The moment of truth

1...2....3 GIRL
1...2...3 BOY
1...2...3 DAUGHTER
1...2...3 SON
1...2...3 And this time, the ring goes instantly from a circle to side to side. TWINS AGAIN!!!

I was seriously giddy, even though this is a complete wives tale. I was so excited. I was smiling and imagining all of their cute little faces. I was imagining that our oldest daughter would play house with the younger daughter and force one of their brothers to be "daddy". Even though I know this test isn't scientific I was just so happy. Maybe it was just because I felt like I was getting to know my kids even though I don't know them at all yet.

There are times when I wish Brett and I could just get a little sneak peak 10 years into the future so I could see what they all look like, find out who they are, and hug them. I dream about our son ALL the time. But he never tells me his name. Which is a shame because I know in my dream that his name rocks... but when I wake up I never remember it.

Ah well. This blog post isn't to say that I know for sure how many kids I am going to have and in what order, but mostly to say that I just can't wait to meet them. Whether we have all girls or all boys, or five boys and one girl, it doesn't really matter. What will matter is that they will be here and I'll be able to hug them all goodnight.

So hey, you babies in heaven. I love you. Night night, and I'll be hugging each of you soon.

3.22.2010

An evening in the life of a married couple

earlier tonight...

Brett and I went to Albertsons (I guess it's called "A Fresh Market" now).
We bought 6 lemons, 3 potatoes, and 2 lbs of 97% lean ground beef.








We watched The Princess and The Frog, ate enchilada casserole, and held hands...




...it was a good day.




3.21.2010

i love: eShakti Day Dresses













i
love:
eShakti Day Dresses

I stumbled onto this website a few months ago after reading about it in a blog post on c jane enjoy it.

eShakti has the most adorable sun dresses for afordable prices and get this... you can customize the dress before you order it. You can change the neckline, sleeve length, and the hemline. There are several options for each dress.


eShakti is a godsend for us gals who never seem to be able to find that perfect dress that isn't sleeveless, doesn't have a plunging neckline, and doesn't require constant adjustments or layers to stay modest. I often get bored of the Shade and DownEast Basics dresses that have the same cookie cutter "mormon" cut. eShakti has so many different styles and designs to fit every girl's personality.

Spring fever has hit and I am craving about 13 of these dresses. Here are a few more of my faves:


















3.15.2010

The joys of stop-motion music videos...

So can I just tell you how much I LOVE stop-motion films? I seriously just think they are the best. Here are two of my faves.





3.08.2010

14 Signs That Things Are Looking Up

1. I got 2 new jobs!
2. I'm now a substitute teacher at Reagan Academy
3. I'm also the new Girl's Head Coach at Mapleton Junior High
4. I just discovered the amazing awesomeness that is Sunflower Farmers Market
5. Brett got an iPod! (Yeah he's one of the cool kids now)
6. SUNLIGHT
7. The grass seems to get slightly greener every day
8. Glee episodes will be back on air in less than an month
9. I can breathe out of my nose which means my cold is finally clearing up
10. Outdoor track and field is on its way!
11. Coupon clipping
12. SPRING
13. My sub position will be permanent soon! I'm taking over an assistant teaching position for a woman going on maternity leave.
14. I'm married to Brett. Things can't get much better than that.