Carl finds a new hobby...and this one's no mini

One day, while we were driving, Carl said, "I want to go golfing sometime..."

My response was like, "we can go mini-golfing if you like..."

He was almost upset, and said, "No, I want a real golf course..."

And so he did...

Thanks to our friend Louie who took Carl out golfing! Carl is really excited about his new found hobby!

Carl's Birthday Weekend

It has been a tradition that we greet our birthdays at exactly 12 midnight... It doesn't matter what it takes, it has to happen! Before the strike of midnight, we had some visitors to celebrate the tradition. But when it was just the two of us again... it was time to bring out the surprise. While Carl was at work, I baked some banana cupcakes and kept them inside the oven (a place Carl never checks). After dinner, Carl was commissioned to stay inside the workroom while I worked my magic in the kitchen... and so Carl's birthday weekend started with this:

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
topped with semi-sweet chocolate shavings

On the morning of his birthday, we had a BIG BREAKFAST! Carl and I seldom eat breakfast together because he usually packs his breakfast and eating breakfast too early gives me tummy problems, so on most days we have brunch hahaha! But this is CARL's day - and its got to be special!

Birthday Breakfast: Garlic Rice, Bacon, Spam,
and Mushroom Frittata with Cheese and Scallions

If there is one food Carl is willing to travel for, it's a warm serving of Jollibee Spaghetti and Crispy Fried Chicken. Believe me when I say that I have never seen him crave so much for something! But then again, the closest place to get this favorite is a 6-hour drive away from home - in Las Vegas! If it was a weekend, I bet Carl would just pick up the keys and we'll drive to Vegas! So I made my version of Jolly Spaghetti (complete with sweet sauce and hotdogs!) and crispy fried chicken for his birthday lunch!

Birthday Baon: Home-made Jolly Spaghetti Meal :)
PS. It was served on a serving platter we got from Jollibee

For weeks, we have been planning on watching the last installment of the Harry Potter series, and where to have dinner after the movie. Again, we can not say this enough - we are seafood lovers! But we live in a place that is no way close to a coast, and we've never found any good place to satisfy our seafood cravings. So in the end - Carl requested I make dinner myself! And so we bought tilapia and some shrimp from the store - and prepared one awesome seafood dinner!

Birthday Dinner: Garlic Shrimp, Fried Tilapia, Corn on the Cob,
Tomato & Mango Salad, and UNLIMITED Rice

...and we watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows after...
it was a great culmination to an amazing series!

Saturday was gym day, and laundry day, and most importantly TEMPLE DAY! Since the Provo Temple was closed for maintenance, we went to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple and grabbed a burger from Carl's Jr. on our way home...

Sunday was Carl's birthday party... It wasn't a big party - just friends and family... the biggest thing about Carl's party was his CAKE - his BART SIMPSON birthday cake. You see, Carl loves me so much he thinks I can do anything in the kitchen - including baking and decorating molded/sculpted cakes! So high his expectations hahaha!!! So anyway, I went ahead and bought a molded pan from eBay because Wilton has discontinued the Bart Simpson cake pan forever ago. I baked the cake on Sunday morning, cooked the rest of the menu while the cake was baking and cooling, and when everything was cooked, I started frosting the cake (which took forever I ended up missing church).

Happy Birthday Cake!!!

At the end of the day, everyone was full, and everyone was happy - especially Carl. Our friends even brought food!!! We ate and laughed and talked stories... and it was an amazing birthday weekend! Carl definitely had a blast!

HAPPY 27th BIRTHDAY, MY LOVE!

the story behind "One Courageous Day..."

You guys have probably seen the album One Courageous Day in my Facebook page. So here's the story behind the photoshoot...

Early last month, I received an email from BYU's International Services that the Women's Resource Services are  looking for some sort of "models" for their "I am Beautiful Because..." campaign. So basically, you finish the sentence "I am beautiful because..." and if they like your statement, they give you a free photoshoot, and in return they use your headshots and portraits for their campaign (i.e., website, ads, posters, book). It was pretty interesting because, traditionally a person has to be seen first (hence, the term go-see for aspiring models) before they are chosen for a particular job. But for this "gig" they base their decision solely on your perspective about beauty. Actually, the deadline was past due... but they sort of extended it to get more responses. I haven't even heard about the thing until I received the email. So, I responded...

I always believed that true beauty is skin-deep. It is something that transcends Hollywood - that sort of thing. I had my time with the beauty pageants back in the day... it was no way a big time stint, but it makes you feel the pressure of keeping up with appearances and all the superficiality. I have nothing against them though, I still am a follower of pageants, but the part that I always look forward to is the brain picking portion - I mean, what use is your fair skin, long legs, and tiny waist if you don't know anything beyond your beauty regimen or your exercise routine?! After high school, I stopped joining pageants - because I don't meet stricter height requirements and I wanted to focus with school anyway. And I am so glad I did...

I strongly believe being beautiful is a matter of perspective. Mind over matter... Personally, I have had enough people telling me how much weight I have gained since graduating from high school, or since I moved to Hawaii, or since I got married... But I still feel gorgeous you know, with all humility. Because the weight gain is something that I have come to understand as a part of biological make-up, I can only do so much about it. Carl always tells me how much he enjoys hugging me... because there is actually something to hug in me... Whenever he tells me that, I feel very, very special and BEAUTIFUL. One of my pet peeve is tanning/bleaching/whitening. I mean, what is wrong with your color?! Healthy skin is beautiful skin... not pale, not tan. Love your color people - I know I love mine :) There is so much about ourselves that make us beautiful, and it is more than our size or shape or color... it's our soul, our principles, our divine worth...

So a couple weeks ago, I got another email, now from BYU Women's Resource Services, inviting me for a 20-minute photoshoot... I couldn't be happier, and honored :)

The full article about my response and the rest of the photos can be found in the WRS website, and of course in my Facebook album.

Stay beautiful everyone :)

P.S. Brooke Schultz is an awesome photographer, a really nice person. Check out her photo blog and see for yourselves how talented she is

food, fairs, and fireworks

Before I even start talking about what we did for the 4th of July holiday, I am just gonna say how much Carl and I are thankful for America. Carl's been here for eight years now (including his mission), and I have been here for a little over five. Uncle Sam has definitely blessed our lives and the lives of our families, and while being non-citizens have its downsides we are still grateful that we are able to live here and work toward our dreams. It is absolutely a life changing experience to live in the land of free, and the home of the brave! To America, thanks for letting us stay :)

So on to our 4th of July Weekend...

We spent most of our weekend in Provo - at the Freedom Days County Fair. Being there was so reminiscent of strolling through town fairs during fiestas in the Philippines! There was so much food and fun and eye candy!!! We decided to do some food tripping instead of going on the rides. At first I wanted to try one of the rides, but when I learned that 1 ticket costs $5, I decided I'd spend that on food instead. So on the first day we went there (July 2nd), I bought corn on the cob. I know I can make this one at home, but they had a fancy corn roaster, and I haven't had corn on the cob from a street vendor for FIVE LONG YEARS!!! Carl ended up with a Carne Asada Burrito. He said it was really good... Carl's been having an affinity with Mexican food lately. We also tried a non-alcoholic colada, i forgot the flavor but its one of the mango/peach/orange combination.

Reunited with my all-time favorite MAIS!!!

The burrito is almost all gone!
(Thanks for holding my food while I took your picture!)

 After feeding ourselves, we headed to the open field in front of the Provo temple to watch the fireworks. The Stadium of Fire concert was ongoing at the football stadium on the night of July 2nd, but the cheapest ticket was still not affordable, so like many others we just waited for the fireworks from outside, which was probably a better idea viewing-wise. The fireworks were great, but both Carl and I thought we've seen the likes of those before. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful sight!

Happy Independence Day, America!!!

The fair was closed on the 3rd because it was a Sunday, but we came back on the 4th before the day ended to grab some more food!!! It was actually a fun weekend - and after being in the States for quite a while... I think the holiday is starting to grow on us!

a pasta machine and some yummy ravioli

When Carl and I first moved into our apartment here at Wymount, a neighbor was moving out and was getting rid of stuff. Our intention was just to buy their dining table that came with a bench, but when we went to their apartment to pick up the furniture - the lady decided she'll GIVE everything she couldn't take with her - TO US. Apparently, she has accumulated lots of stuff in the last 5 years and it wasn't very practical for her and her family to take all of their things to Indonesia. So there - we "inherited" a couple of things (ala TVA style) from our neighbor. 

This thing is one of them. The lady said somebody gifted her a pasta machine, but she's never used it at all. Me - for the longest time I had wanted to learn how to make my own pasta. I like how the Iron Chefs make pasta... it makes me feel like a pro. I was so excited to finally have one. But sadly, the little equipment sat in storage for almost a year - like the lady who used to own it, I never found the time to make pasta... Until now... Lately, we've been trying to do things we've never done together before... we brainstormed and I suddenly remembered my lonely pasta machine!!! 

So we decided to go Italiano and made ravioli for dinner two Saturdays ago (I know, the post is late). I honestly don't know much about making homemade pasta - so I did a little searching and found a very helpful article and recipe. The recipe called for semolina flour but I know I can use regular flour (my little sister had done it before for one of her classes). We didn't have a mixer too, so I kneaded the dough by hand on my table top. Kneading, rolling out, and cutting the dough was quite a work-out, I must say, but Carl was a very good helper, as you can see! 

Meet Carl, the Sous Chef, rolling out the dough a little
bit before running it on the machine

For the ravioli filling, I decided to just make a basic meat filling. (Now that I know how to make pasta for ravioli, I will have yet to improve my filling recipes!). I originally wanted to make alfredo for the sauce, but I didn't have heavy cream and parmesan cheese on hand... so I just made a mushroom sauce fake-out. It turned out pretty good too!

Beef Ravioli in Creamy Mushroom Sauce

 It was a great dinner and we totally felt great about cooking it together and learning something new!

Well, sometimes you've got to try to sleep outside...

Last Friday, Carl and I went to Hobble Creek Canyon to camp with the ward. We were at the Cherry campground, and we had a beautiful spot right by the creek(ish), good food, good company, and a very interesting cold night :)

Bravo!!! We were able to put up our tent!

The guys played frisbee golf in the woods nearby, and the kids had a blast! We all had navajo tacos for dinner and the men made DESSERTS that were really yummy and sweet - my favorite was the pineapple upside down dutch oven cake! For Carl, I think he got some sugar over load - he made this water bottle rocket!

The infamous "where-did-it-go"
water bottle rocket courtesy of Carl

So basically, they put water inside the water bottles, place it upside down on the launch pad connected to an air pump, and they pump air inside the bottle, and when enough pressure has built up they release the string that keeps the bottle in place, and the water bottle rockets up (and some get wet). And so after much pumping...

Up, up, and away (?) "where did it go?"

As it grew darker and the winds got colder, we decided it was time to build a fire and start talking stories around it. It was cool, I must say. Talking stories around the candle during a power outage in the province is still way cooler, I think ;)

Here's Stuart, our neighbor, telling
a story about "Falling Rock"
- and why we should always WATCH OUT for "him"

Sleeping in a tent is an interesting sleeping situation. This is our second time to go camping as a couple, the first time was at Moab and we had a bigger tent and an air bed and sleeping bags. This time, we had a smaller tent, no air bed or sleeping bags, just a comforter and thick blankets. Oh it was indeed an interesting cold night! And Carl couldn't sleep... he was basically waking up almost every two hours checking if we have visitors. Most Utah camping grounds are Black Bear countries, so Carl was a little bit protective on a girl who might smell so good for bears! As for me, it was an ok sleep though I really wished we had a flatter ground - that was compensated though by the sound of running water - it literally hushes you to sleep.

Who doesn't love the sounds of running water... (sigh)

We woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning in the woods. We started to build a fire again, and soon after the men started making pancakes and eggs and bacon for breakfast. We really enjoyed camping with our ward. Being with nature is a very calming experience (minus the warning about the bears) - we got the chance to unwind and not think about my thesis or about translating mormon.org into 70 languages. It was indeed an experience worth of trying to sleep outside.

"...being a Mother is my true Profession"

This is Nadia, a family therapy educator, and mother of three -  and she loves to cook too! 

"...being a mother is my true profession. Nothing else I could potentially achieve 

in this season of my life will be of more importance to me than raising my family."

When Carl was working on making this video live for mormon.org. he told me Nadia reminded him of me (except that I already know how to cook before we got married). As I watched a preview of this video, I thought... yeah, we have a lot of things in common: education, culture preservation, faith in God, a testimony of the restored gospel, love of family, love of cooking... and i wished i had three children too. Well for that last part, we'll get to that point one of these days hopefully - but even then, I can say right this very moment, that like Nadia - being a mother is my true profession.

reading the Book of Mormon

My 15-year old Book of Mormon

CONFESSION: The last time I committed myself to reading the Book of Mormon from beginning to end was in 2005. In fact, I did it twice. I used to put it (and my journal) under my pillows so that I could be reminded to read it every night. The Lord surely blessed my life with the wonderful gospel insights and inspiration that I got from reading it. After reading it, I could proudly say that I genuinely have my favorite books (Jacob, Mosiah, and 3rd Nephi) and that I have gained my testimony of it. It helped me find a new perspective and look forward to better days....

Mosiah chapters 3 - 5: one of my favorite scripture blocks;

Mosiah 4:26 - share that which you have,

Mosiah 4:27 - work diligently with priorities to succeed

Well, with all the stresses in our life right now (school, work, future plans, etc...), I was inspired to reach out to my old friend, who I think has been reaching out to me for the last couple of years. And as the saying goes, a good friend is cheaper than therapy. One night I shared my testimony to Carl about the Book of Mormon, and the next thing I know I was crying (sorry, emotional...crazy hormones)... But seriously, I felt very strongly that this was what I, We, needed to do. We've tried for the past three years to religiously read the scriptures - one verse a day, one page a day, one chapter a day - but then we get so busy we lose track. So last week we started reading again... and my scriptures are not on the shelf anymore but are on the little folding bedside chair. So far, we've been good. We're hoping (and working on) we'll not lose track this time. I know it will bless our lives and give us direction, as it did to mine when I did before. The scriptures are powerful, and yes, like a good friend, its cheaper than therapy.

Here's a powerful scripture from Jacob Chapter 2 that Carl and I were talking about last night... 

12And now behold, my brethren, this is the word which I declare unto you, that many of you have begun to search for gold, and for silver, and for all manner of precious ^aores, in the which this land, which is a ^bland of promise unto you and to your seed, doth abound most plentifully.

 18But ^abefore ye seek for ^briches, seek ye for the ^ckingdom of God.

19And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to ^ado good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.

Let's get spiritual therapy everyone! :)

Father's Day Date

For our Father's Day Date - Carl and I went to dinner at Bombay House here in Provo. Initially, we wanted to eat at Joe's but it was going to be quite a drive... and so we decided that since we have not tried Indian cuisine yet, we'll give it a shot this time. So we went and Carl had the Chicken Tikka Masala which is a popular chicken dish made of breast meat barbecued in tandoor oven, then cooked with bell pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cream, and spices. I had the Tezpur Pineapple Shrimp which was one of their new menu items. It was a shrimp dish cooked with pineapple, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, coconut cream, and spices. For dessert, we had their homemade mango ice cream!

The food was really good!!! The only weird thing about our date was everything we ordered had the same color profile - ORANGE. Other than that - we enjoyed our food. Carl actually really enjoyed the "spicy" food this time (compared to his very spicy Thai meal at Baan Rao) because he requested for "mild" instead going all the way spicy. 

One thing we realized though - is that as much as we really enjoyed the taste and the quality of Indian food, we are not used to generously SPICED dishes. Maybe it will take some getting used to :)

I wanted to post pictures but they're all in Carl's phone... All in all though, it was an awesome Father's Day Date!

Happy Father's Day Carl... and Papa, and Daddy!

Mama and Papa's trip to the U.S. of A.

So I know Carl and I have been sort of outside the radar. We have not become boring people with no updates, that I can assure you... Still, no excuses... and I will really try to keep this blog updated as often as possible...

After picking them up from SLC Airport, we had dinner at
The Garden at the Joseph Smith Memorial Bldg
in Temple Square

First of all, my parents visited us from the Philippines and we had a blast. It was a good month and a half, and it was truly something Carl and I will cherish forever. It was a great blessing for our family, especially for my parents to be granted tourist visas by the US government. I, personally, am grateful for a wonderful husband who helped our family make it possible to come to America. My parents have never been out of the country, well my dad travels a lot throughout the Philippines as a part of his job but mom pretty much hasn't gone out of town a lot. Their trip was indeed a very much deserved one for both of them, as they have worked pretty much with very limited breaks and time-off for the last 30 years. It was a very tiresome almost 24 hour plane ride, which according to my dad has been the hardest thing he has ever done in his life (that is to sit in a seemingly motionless plane for almost 14 hours from Hong Kong to San Francisco). Nevertheless, both of them beamed with gladness when we picked them up at the Salt Lake City Airport. Though we all knew they were tired from their very long flight, their excitement was stronger than anything else.

Mama and Papa after attending
the Salt Lake Temple

As we did most of the Salt Lake City to-do activities one at a time, I came to better appreciate and understand how much this trip really meant to my parents... and I am glad that Carl was able to know them better as well. Three things my parents wanted to see (and do): visit the Salt Lake Temple, see my school (BYU) and Carl's workplace (Church Headquarters/Riverton Office), and have fun with Carl and I and make sure we were ok (well, ok, yeah my dad wanted to see snow and visit Las Vegas since its only a 6 hour drive - pretty much like travelling from La Union to Manila). Of course, we did other things too - but at the end of their trip, my mom said her favorite activity with Carl and I was visiting temples and doing sessions. My dad, he really liked that part too - but Mr. Explorer that he is - he didn't pinpoint anything in particular and said he loved everything (but I know he was ecstatic about experiencing SNOW up in Alta). We visited temples (number one on my parent's checklist), watched the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, toured BYU (and met with mi propesor who told my mom great things about me I felt embarrassed because really I'm not great - just good haha!), hiked the Y mountain (this proved to be another testament of mi madre's strength!!!), played frisbee and some billiards, did a Kinect sportsfest, danced with Wii Just Dance, took countless pictures in Las Vegas, dined at Jollibee, ate dried fish over and over, and ate and ate some more (you can never beat mi madre's home cooking).

Photo-op with Brigham Young :) in front
of BYU's Smoot (Administration) Bldg

at the Church Headquarters in Temple Square where Carl used to report
for meetings every Thursday (He now works full week at the
Riverton Office Building as part of the mormon.org team)

Finally reaching the "Y" up at the mountain!!!
(FYI - madre has not hiked for the last 35 years)

We played :) (This actually went in and they won!)

We ate lots of these - squid, fish, and TUYO - over and over again!

Up at Alta - Papa was so stoked about "real" snow

Waiting for the dancing water show at the Bellagio in Las Vegas

Jollibee!!! Las Vegas, Nevada

MoTab Sunday for Music and the Spoken Word

Visiting the St. George Utah Temple
(we also visited Draper, Oquirrh Mountain, and of course Provo)

The night before their flight back to the Philippines, we had FHE and I couldn't say a word (actually, I didn't want to say a word 'coz I was feeling really sad and I might just end up balling). I didn't want them to leave, or maybe I was hoping if only we could fly back home with them, or maybe I was hoping if only it was easier for all of us to live closer with each other. I practically left their nest when I was 17, and I have always been comfortable being away... but this time was just different, maybe because I am just in a very critical period in my life where I want them to be very close and accessible for many wonderful reasons (like I could just visit my mom and talk to her the whole day about my worries about having children and such, or visiting for the weekend and be carefree 'coz mama and papa will make the meals and we'll just play frisbee outside and soak every bit of sunshine). I guess we never really appreciate our parents until we're grown-up and we realize how awesome it is to have someone else take care of life's complications for us. But I guess its our turn to take care of those "shoot me now" situations, because they're supposed to have raised us to be able to handle those ourselves. That was pretty much what FHE was about on the eve of their trip back home... and when we finally bid them goodbye at the SLC airport, I was balling in the car (like crazy - you can ask Carl!). Carl and I miss mama and papa a lot. See, my mom made us curtains for our living room and for our master bedroom. Mom's yellow curtains remind me to be happy everyday - and people running in the morning reminds of my dad every single time (too bad he missed the Utah Valley marathon, I bet he would have had a blast). But for now, we got to live in the right here and right now.

Our next goal is to have Mommy and Daddy (Carl's parents) to come and visit. That would be another great opportunity for all of us - with my sisters-in-law Jasmine and ate Ley having not seen them for the last 5 years (and them having not seen/met Keana and Scott, and Ricky, yet). That should be one great family reunion to look forward to!