28 and feelin' great!

Well, so-so.  Which is great to me.  :)

My 28th birthday was pretty awesome.  Paul really took to heart when I said I just wanted to spend some time with him, sans Netflix or iTouch or any other distractions, and do something really fun and memorable together.  The theme for all the gifts and activities was "a trip down memory lane."  Here are the actual gifts:

A juicer, "for all the meals" I make him.  :)

A picture of Beauty and the Beast--not only "my" Disney princess, but also to remember last year's trip to Chicago to see the play!

A sketch of me!  I've been wanting this for FOREVER.  He did a simple, small sketch of the two of us for Valentine's Day one year, but he didn't even draw me with glasses on.  And it was tiny and in a book.  This is framed and going on the wall.  :)  I'm in love with it.

For the activities:

We visited the site of the Indy temple.  It's just a field right now, but it's still cool to go and see the area and imagine what it will look like.  :)  This is also special because I got my endowments out on my birthday two years ago in Nauvoo, and Paul was right there with me.

We went to the children's museum!  I was going to take him for HIS birthday, but the funding just didn't work out.  We also love playing like kids together.  :)  I have SOOOOOOOO many pictures I don't even know where to begin.  I could do a post on each exhibit.  Seriously, I might.  And we both had a BLAST.  But here are a few of the highlights for us (you can find ALL the pictures HERE):

DINOSPHERE!

A real fossilized baby dino in an egg.

Looking up at the glass. :)

The ocean of glass at the base of the glass tower!

SO MANY STAR TREK COSTUMES!

He was so excited, you'd have thought it was HIS birthday!

He even got ME to try one on...but it was a kid's shirt so it didn't quite fit right.  :)

The walk-in kaleidoscope was a favorite of both of ours!

Paul got to be a race car driver.  :)

We "flew" to Egypt.

And made our own cuff bracelets.  :)

I have loved this water clock since I was little and visited the first time.  I seriously want one in my house.

Paul got to "interview" Ryan White as part of the "Power of Children" display.  :)

We were going to visit Caida in the hospital between all this fun and our dinner reservation, but she was released just an hour or so before we could have been there.  Instead, we went downtown and checked out the Borders closing sale.  Paul bought a Star Trek book and I got a mockingjay pin.  :)

We finally, in the tradition of going out on my birthday to eat at fancy restaurants where we can't afford to eat the rest of the year, had dinner at Fogo de Chau.  It's a Brazilian steakhouse in Indy, and it's awesome because not only is there an awesome salad bar and amazing sides, but there are people walking around with endless swords of meat.  You get to eat all you want--we had a little lamb, steak, chicken, steak, pork, and more steak.  (Gotta get your money's worth!)  They also threw in a free birthday cheesecake slice.  I had SUCH a nice time there, and I loved the energy of the place.  I also got SUPER full. :)

That was it!  Such a fun day.  And cake and ice cream tomorrow after church with a few friends to wrap up birthday week.  Thank you, Paul, for putting it all together and making it such a happy memory!

The bad with the good...

I had a GREAT birthday, and I will share pictures in another post later today.  But, like many of my birthdays, it will also be memorable because of a difficult thing that happened.

Not all difficult things are bad, of course, and sometimes they're even downright good, but just hard enough that they feel bad in the moment.  That's how it was on my 18th birthday when our wards split.  I grew up in that ward, and I was already terrified of changes that were soon coming (which also turned out to be wonderful), and the idea that my friends and family would be in different wards was just difficult news to swallow.  Of course, now I see how WONDERFUL it is, but at the time it was like the worst birthday ever.

My fifteenth birthday was pretty awesome, except for the fact that three days earlier my parents announced to us that they were going to divorce.

My 21st birthday, we lost President Bateman at BYU.  He didn't die, he just got replaced.  I loved that guy.  Another not-so-bad-but-still-painful memory.

My 24th birthday, my little brother tried to kill himself in prison.

So, every 3 years, something at least semi-bad (or hard or whatever) has happened.  I thought I broke the streak last year when, on my 27th birthday, I had a fabulous day with nothing to bring it down.

I guess it just forgot that year, so it decided to make up for it.

The good news is, Caida has a real diagnosis from doctors who finally know what's going on in her head.  The bad news is, the diagnosis is CORTICAL DYSPLASIA.  Basically, the dummied-down version of everything I've read, is that when her brain was forming, for some reason it didn't form quite right, and neurons clumped together are misfiring as a result.  This is causing her seizures.  And it usually causes developmental delays (which could be why she still talks like a 4-year-old or why she's so easily distracted). There is no cure.  Anticonvulsant medications are the first road you try, but 70% of kids who have CD are resistant to this.  The only other alternative so far has been brain surgery, in which they remove the affected area of the brain (some kids have an entire hemisphere affected, deep down, but others only have a little spot above some part of the brain that is easy to get to and won't affect them too much...I don't know how much her brain is affected yet).  What a scary thing!  And SOOOOO disheartening for my poor little Caida Waida Potata Head.  That means that she will probably never be able to drive a car.  She will likely continue to have seizures forever (even IF she had surgery, most people still experience them once in a while), and over time the seizures themselves will cause brain damage.  She will get slower and slower in some area of development or another.  It's just not going to be an easy life.

But she's a little girl with a STRONG heart.  And a powerful will.  Brains are such a NEW thing in medicine, really--we're only beginning to understand any of it, and people rewire themselves all the time to compensate. Besides, there is a WIDE range of abilities in children with CD, and I think Caida is really on the higher end of everything.  So I believe that, given enough support and love, she will still have a wonderful life.  Hard, yes.  But wonderful.  And I am personally SOOOOOOOOOO proud to call her my niece.  Without children of our own, our niece and nephew are the kids we love most in the whole wide world, and you don't have to qualify for that love by being perfect in any way.  It's just a given.  :)  So I'm not too worried. 

I am also SOOOOOO grateful for the knowledge I have of the Atonement of Christ and the Resurrection.  I believe in miracles in this life, and I am hoping and praying for one for Caida.  But even if the answer is "no," I still know in my heart that her suffering is only a temporary thing, and that someday we will ALL receive bodies free of pain and imperfections.  What a glorious thing to give me hope and comfort on days like today!

Please send your good thoughts, well-wishes, prayers, or anything POSITIVE our way!  Especially Cerene's, if you know her.  She could use the support and love even more than Caida, I think--mothers always tend to blame themselves even when they don't need to.

For a Successful St. Patty's Day Dinner:

...you need a little ambiance...

...and the proper attire...

...and some gross-looking but really delicious food...

That darn leprechaun!  Got into the homemade honey-butter and turned it GREEN!

...with plenty of leftovers...

...and, of course, you must enjoy your dessert of chocolate gold like you were a child again.

What did I do BEFORE dinner?  ALL DAY LONG?  I worked on this:

I'm about halfway done.  Maybe I'll get "lucky" and get a job next year!

And more celebrating today, because it's my BIRTHDAY!  Pictures to come!

More on Caida

Yesterday at school Caida had another grand mal seizure.  Pretty bad one, actually.  They sent her to the hospital.  At the E.R., the doctors were rather confounded as they really, truly listened to Cerene for the first time, and they decided to take Caida down to Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis (a two-and-a-half-hour drive) via ambulance so that she could get some real, qualified attention.  FINALLY!  Cerene was so grateful that someone actually took her seriously that she cried tears of joy.  It's ridiculous how many doctors think she is exaggerating just because she's a young mom.  (For the record, if anyone knows what Caida is going through, it's Cerene, who also had epilepsy as a child.)

Anyway, I just got word that they're going to do a 24-hour EEG.  That's the latest update.  Paul and I are already headed to Indianapolis tomorrow for my birthday happenings, anyway, so we're grateful that we can hopefully stop by and visit and bring them anything they need.

I sure do hope they figure out what's going on in her head.  I know epilepsy isn't as fatal as, say, cancer, but there have been some bad seizures that have put her life on the line more than once, and I've heard horror stories of children who, in a seizure, hit their heads on something.  Caida, like every child, deserves a life free of unnecessary pain and fear.  She deserves to not have to worry about missing out on important parts of childhood just because her seizures are getting in the way.  She deserves to grow up and pass through all those milestones of life that we all dream of when we're young.  I hope they find a cure for her, or that she'll grow out of them eventually like her mother did.  She brings us sooooooo much happiness.

I mean, c'mon, look at her.  I dare you not to smile.  :)

For posterity: my thoughts on JAPAN

In light of the recent earthquake, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts about my beloved Japan.  I call in "my beloved" even though I have never been there.  My dad, a first-generation member of the Church (sort of), served his mission in Japan, and I grew up hearing stories about the beautiful land and the generous people there.  I loved watching Big Bird in Japan and singing along to all of the songs with my sisters (which we could STILL do if you asked us!).  Dad used to make up stories and phrases that incorporated Japanese words, like the itchy-kneed son and "don't touch my mustache" (p.s. you can hear that in Toy Story II when the guy is on the phone...it's a goofy Americanization of dou itashi mashite, which means "you're welcome" in a more formal Japanese).  :)

Then I grew up into a very teenagery teen, not so much in talking back or rebelling but in wanting to assert my independence and seeking out friends over family.  When it came time to decide what language I wanted to study, I chose French because, well...my best friend was going to take it.  Don't get me wrong, I love the French language a lot and I grew to learn a lot about a very different but equally beautiful land and culture.  But, looking back, if I could do it again I'd pick Japanese.  Not because of the earthquake.  I regretted that much earlier.

It started my last year at BYU when I had a Japanese roommate.  She was studying English at the language center there so we never really communicated much.  She said I had pretty good pronunciation, but I didn't speak often enough for her and I to ever get really well-acquainted.  I insulted her with a nickname that involved kawaii (which means cute--I meant it in a positive way, but I understand now how that could have been insulting for a well-educated late-twenty-something-nurse who was tired of people not taking her seriously here just because she didn't know English).  She still loved me.

After my hip injury that led me away from BYU, but before I was at Purdue, I found a job in a factory here in Lafayette that was Japanese-owned and run.  At this same exact summer, a bunch of friends and I started getting into Asian dramas (one of them had been into them for quite a while but she finally decided to share with the rest of us!).  I absolutely LOVED talking with the Japanese people I worked with, learning new words or phrases that I would hear in later episodes.  I loved even more when I would "discover" a new artist or show and bring it to them and see this wistful look on their faces.  They made CDs for me.  We threw a truly Japanese good-bye party for them when they left.  They called me sensei, which is a title I don't take lightly.  While I don't miss working in the factory, I DO miss the kindness I always felt from them, the willingness they had to teach me (slowly and laboriously), and the encouragement to eventually visit.

I used my tax return that year to buy the Rosetta Stone software for Japanese (although my sister, who actually studied it in college, is borrowing it for the time being).  I had every intention of finishing up my degree and then teaching (maybe English, or maybe just in an English-immersion school) in Japan...then Paul came along and my dream changed.  :)  That's not a bad thing, in spite of what he thinks.  He didn't keep me from anything or hold me back at all.  I just wanted something different after he and I started getting serious and talking about marriage.  But we both (he DID study Japanese in high school) talk often about going to travel/visit/maybe-someday-even-live in Japan when we can afford to travel.  The people and the beauty of the land and the rich history and culture beckon to us in a way that all the other countries on our someday-we'll-get-there list just don't.  Japan is a great example, historically, of adjusting, changing, rising to meet challenges and overcoming obstacles.  I hope that, in the wake of this disaster, that spirit of triumph will stir within the people, and that they can receive of the kindness, gentleness, and generosity that they put out into the world.

Bowling

All the pretty balls lined up and ready to go.

Last night we were able to go bowling with some of Paul's friends from work.  Real bowling is sooooo much harder/different than Wii bowling!  :)  We hadn't actually been bowling in a real bowling alley in a loooooong time...like, since before we were married.  So our scores weren't the best.  In fact, they were kinda laughable.  But we had fun, anyway.  It really only would have been better if it had been COSMIC bowling!

His militant stance.  :)

Paul picks the heaviest ball he can (like his 16-pound ball last night), and he has a great first few frames because heaviness + speed = scared pins that fall down on their own.  But after those first few pins, he has a really hard time not getting gutter balls.  He tried lighter balls, but his fingers got stuck and the balls bounced on the alley once, twice, and into the gutter.  His second best frame was the last one, a granny shot between the legs that he didn't even care about--and got nine pins down on the first try!

I'm so goofy-looking!

Me, on the other hand, I pick the absolute lightest ball I can find that my fingers will even sort of fit into (like my 8-pound ball last night), and I have a terrible first few frames because I'm getting used to the swing of my arm and the angles my throw naturally has.  Then I start to pick up a little in the third or fourth frame, and I get the occasional strike followed by the occasional 4-7 point frame, kinda inconsistent, and all the points are usually from the first throw because I can't aim the ball well enough to actually hit the balls that are left.  And, occasionally, I have an entire gutter frame.  And I always either break a nail or make my knuckles achy.  But my score is more consistent than Paul's, so I usually win by at least 20 points anyway. 

At least we LOOK good.  :)

If it was wii bowling, though--we'd totally have kicked everyone else's trash!  :)

Afterward, Paul spotted this arcade game...

He's actually frighteningly good at shooting things, which is interesting but not surprising since he WAS in the ROTC since his high school days.  It was interesting to see him scope out the enemies, and it's nice to know that he could protect me if he had to, and if we had a gun nearby.  He played this single game for 8 or 9 minutes, which is fascinating because I've never been good at video/arcade games so I didn't even know the games lasted that long!  Hahaha.  I, on the other hand, have this thing about guns that just makes me feel uncomfortable holding one anyway (even water guns sometimes), especially when aiming them at real (or real-looking) people, and so I admired his work...from afar.  :) 

All in all, it was a really fun evening!  It wasn't our typical date night, but that's not a bad thing.  It was fun to get to know some of his coworkers and to see him in his "work face" mode...y'know, some people are a little different depending on what crowd they're around, and to see him cracking jokes with them and his good-natured losing at bowling made me appreciate all he does to be a good leader at work and to provide for us right now.  I'm looking forward to the next get-together!

Why I Blog

I was remembering today about the many, many journals I've had since I was 13.  I have about 7 or 8 volumes--some of them cover a few months (when I'm good at writing), and some of them cover several years (when I'm not).  I not only have the regular journals, but unfinished journals like my Happy Journal (in which I wrote gratitude lists, quotes, things that made me happy that day, etc.), my Body Image Journal (where I wrote foods I ate, exercises, measurements, and feelings about my constant battle with body image), my Patriarchal Blessing Journal (in which I studied about and wrote each line of my patriarchal blessing as part of a scripture study one year), a Scripture Study Journal, and so on and so on.  Now, let me be clear--I love writing.  I was not blessed with a good memory, so I am a person who needs to write things down to remember them--from appointments to experiences and everything in between.  Writing helps me not only record but make sense of my experiences, and it's often a very cathartic experience.  The problem with all of these different journals, however, is that I was compartmentalizing my life and I just don't think you can do that.  I would get so overwhelmed with how much I HAD to write in each journal each day or week that after a few months of excited momentum things just sort of trailed off. 

While I do find typing WAY easier/faster than writing, and therefore blogging is easier than journaling, this blog is really, aside from the truly personal stuff, my solution to all of those problems I mentioned.  I've thought about making different blogs for my crafts or recipes or spiritual stories, etc...  But all of these are facets of who I am.  So sometimes I will share thoughts, memories, quotes, and impressions that have shaped who I am.  Sometimes it will be a travel log.  Sometimes, like lately, I will share crafts and recipes and other hobbies, mostly to give myself something to look forward to and a place to remind myself of the things I love to do.  I don't know how to compartmentalize myself, so I'm not going to try.  This blog shows you, bit by bit, all of me.  And I'm not apologetic about that.  :)

I DO hope, though, that my life will soon enough bring me more to share than just stuff I make or do.

Chimichurri

Just hearing that name makes me think of Mary Poppins (Chim Chim Cheree). :)

I'd never made chimichurri or even tasted it before, but after my black bean burgers I had a TON of fresh parsley and cilantro left over and wasn't sure what to do with it.  I Googled recipes and found some interesting results, but this by far was the most tempting, so I made it!  And LOVED it.

Chimichurri is an Argentinian condiment (it's got quite a kick to it, not in a spicy/hot way but in a garlicky-vinegary-salty way...a little goes a long way, in other words!) that is meant to be put on grilled meats (skirt steak in particular). AND I TOTALLY RECOMMEND THIS, because the flavors are SOOOOOOOOOOO good together! The comments were helpful in tweaking it for what we had on hand, and also I learned that you can dip crusty bread in it (which we also did for dinner) AND make an Argentinian potato salad with it.  Lots of options, even for the vegetarians among us.  So, without further ado, here is the super-easy, super-yummy, super-Celeste-ial chimichurri recipe that I will most definitely be making again!

1 1/2 c. freshly chopped parsley
3/4 c. freshly chopped cilantro (they used oregano in the original, but the comments said some people use cilantro as the base and since I had a ton of it that's what I used)
6-8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 c. oil (I used 1/2 c. olive oil, like the original recipe stated, and 1/2 c. vegetable oil, which isn't as healthy but, according to the comments, is more authentic Argentinian.)
1/4 c. red wine vinegar (but you can use white wine or cider vinegar, too, apparently)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. sea salt (the original said 1 tsp, but I don't like using a lot of salt when I cook)
***
Once the parsley, cilantro, and garlic are finely chopped, mix everything together in a medium-sized bowl and refrigerate (it's best to keep it in there for hours, even overnight).  Return to room temperature before serving.  Serve atop grilled meats (fish, steak, chicken), as a bread/bagel dip, or atop thinly-sliced grilled potatoes.

St. Patty's Day

You may have noticed that my blog isn't all red and lovey-dovey anymore.  :)  Since this holiday is the day before my birthday, I've always loved St. Patrick's Day.  I have several 4-leaf-clover necklaces, and an awesome 5-leaf shamrock-y mega sunglasses (see header above!), but I had no pinch-proof shirts or decorations beyond that!  Slowly but surely I'm working my way up to a holiday stash of decorations, recipes, and clothing (who DOESN'T love dressing the part?)!
Anywho, remember that plain old small clay pot I told you I was going to do something awesome with?  And forgot to reveal?  :)  Well...

I painted them black, then filled them with gold chocolate coins.  We were going to make these little pots of gold into parts of an leprechaun trap for FHE, but between being sick and a few other things that have come up we haven't had FHE since...well, a while.  So I just broke down and bought some rainbow-colored pipe cleaners and turned them into cute, simple decorations/candy dishes.  (I'm thinking I might glue down that rainbow so our dishes will have permanent handles...) 

I made one for each of us, so that we don't have to worry about someone snatching up all the goodies before we do (which just leads me to gorge myself until I'm sick). 

Also, I found this ADORABLE, simple shamrock tree tutorial HERE, and I made my own with what I had on hand.  (I didn't want to spend any money, and I already had one of those unfinished frames from Walmart from forever ago...)  I always have acrylic paints nearby, so not having buttons the "right" color wasn't a problem at all.  :)  However, my button and ribbon collection are quite limited.  I'll definitely be trying another one next year!  Maybe I'll also use scrabble tiles as the letters.  But mine's still not all bad.

I also bought $5 St. Pat's shirts, and stuff to make corned beef and cabbage AND Irish brown bread.  It's going to be a good birthday eve.  :)

Side note: remember that button bouquet that was missing a container?  I bought a ($0.87) salt/pepper shaker and just painted it white with my acrylics. 

I think it's adorable.

Springtime Button Bouquet

I've seen these button bouquets EVERYWHERE and wanted to try my hand at one.  I decided to make a mini one, but I still have nowhere to put it...maybe I'll make a trip to the Dollar Tree later to find a small white vase or candle holder or teacup or something.  Or maybe I'll put them in salt shakers like the tutorial HERE.  Maybe a perfume bottle?  The bottom of a spray bottle?  Suggestions?  Anyway, they are SO cute and SO easy and SO colorful and fun.  :)  But don't take my word for it...

I used a lot of the package...maybe 400-ish buttons.  (I saved some for another spring project I'm working on.)  But my bouquet is REALLY tightly packed, yours doesn't have to be.  As you can see, I also added a few beads on top of some buttons just to give it a little something different.  If I had vintage buttons around, I'd do something more eclectic, but for now, this is perfect for welcoming spring!  We don't have a lot of places to put decorations, really.  :)

I'm hoping to work my way up to something like this for my sister's tossing bouquet at her aquamarine wedding:

I'm linking up HERE.  :)