Me, me, me! …Updates on my life.

Posted: December 13, 2010 | Author: Mika | Filed under: All's Well That Ends Well | 5 Comments

My brain is worn out. You get bullet points instead of a real post today.

I started an independent study class this past weekend (Rel C 393R: Latter-Day Saint Temples). I’ve finished 2 of the 7 lessons. I intend to complete the rest of the lessons in the next few weeks and take the final before we’re very far into this next semester, because…
…I’ll be doing 3 classes on campus instead of 2 as previously planned. Now I’ve got Soc 311 (Contemporary Sociological Theory), Soc 380 (Deviance and Social Control), and WS 222 (Introduction to Women’s Studies). The first is a required core class for the sociology major and the other two each count as electives for a different sociology requirement. The deviance class sounds like it will be interesting – and we’ll be participating as jurors in the law school’s moot court competition, as well as attending some court sessions in SLC. The women’s studies class just fit into my schedule and is supposed to be fairly easy. And, again, I can’t wait for the theory class. Seriously. I eat that stuff up. Weird?
Oh yeah, I’ll be graduating in April 2012 – finally! The Romgi will finish law school at the same time, which is a slightly more impressive accomplishment, but I think that for switching my major 3 or 4 times and having two kids, 10 years to complete a bachelor’s degree is not bad…holy hannah, will it really be 10 years by then?!
I came up with an idea for great Christmas cards. But then I decided maybe it wasn’t such a fabulous idea after all. I started making the cards anyway. About halfway through the stamp I made broke (poor planning), so I had to come up with a new idea. (Alternatively, I could have just gone to the store and bought a new linoleum block, but it’s amazing how little I feel like loading both kids up and carting them around in public. So it wasn’t much of an option in my mind.) That means half of you get the first design and half of you get the replacement design. Just tell me you like yours regardless.
My perfect baby jr slept almost nonstop until she was a month old. Now she enjoys being awake and screaming from about 1-2:30am. Interesting enough, I do not enjoy being awake at that time – maybe because I don’t get to scream. Sometimes fatigue and frustration get the better of me and I do whimper and pout and a little bit sob until it wakes the Romgi up. Then we both get to suffer. True love!
The Bwun is amazing. He’s also a messy guy. Recently he’s started using 3-word sentences, which is probably not a big deal to anyone but the Romgi and I. Pretty cool, though. The Bwun’s most common sentences are “Pa gone school” and “Baby sad eat” (which, if you couldn’t figure them out, mean “Pa is gone at school” and “Baby is sad because she wants to eat,” respectively).
Today was a long day. The Bwun didn’t take a nap, and didn’t take a nap, and didn’t take a nap. But he needed one badly. I sent him with the Romgi to get dinner so that he (the Bwun) would fall asleep in the car. It worked – but it also meant he had a very late nap, and is still awake now, when it’s nearly midnight. Good news: he’s not making much of a mess.
I finished reading an incredible book last week, The Good Women of China. Normally I don’t read much non-fiction, as a single subject seldom captures my attention long enough to read a whole book on it. This was different. Watch for a review later this week.
Now I’m reading one of my Christmas gifts from the Romgi – a collection of Perry Mason stories! The book he got me has The Case of the Sulky Girl, The Case of the Careless Kitten, and The Case of the Fiery Fingers. We’d already watched two of those in season 1 of the tv show, so it’s especially interesting to see how the adaptation differs from the original story.
Fun-size Snickers are the best.
Life with two kids:

Tears of joy.

Persuasion

Posted: December 9, 2010 | Author: Mika | Filed under: Book of Sand | 3 Comments

by Jane Austen

{ 1818 | John Murray | 336 pgs }

I don’t often read romance novels of any sort, even if they are famous. Austen’s stories are so achingly predictable that you know from the instant Mr. Right is introduced as a character that the rest of the book will be spent NOT having him get together with our heroine – until the very end, of course. In fact, with few alterations, I think the story of how the Romgi and I ended up married would make a fantastic Austen plot. But that’s for another time.

In my younger years, I read and loved Pride & Prejudice, but looking back I wonder if perhaps I felt obligated to enjoy it. Maybe part of it was my sense of dreamy romance, which was much stronger at the time. (Another possibility: because I read it at a time when the Romgi and I were NOT getting together, I identified much more with Elizabeth. Hmm.) Truth be told, the only other Austen novel I’ve actually read is Emma, which was so identical to the Gwyneth Paltrow film that I sincerely wanted to stop reading and just go watch the movie. I have seen my share of Austen adaptations, which is why I feel justified in making sweeping judgments about her actual literary works. There’s smugness for you!

At some point, I know I’ve seen part of an adaptation of Persuasion, but I wasn’t paying much attention, and when I started reading the book, I had only an extremely faint idea what the plot would be (outside of the general “how to get Mr. Right” formula). Whether from my low expectations or because the book was truly good, I – shockingly – enjoyed it! Yes, it was somewhat tedious to wade through the chapters of NOT getting together, but I was appeased by my confidence that Anne and Captain Wentworth would at last have their happy ending. Real-life analogy: it’s not so painful now to think of the dramatic breakups and heartaches that the Romgi and I went through, because we’re blissfully married now. Right? (The Romgi, now is a good time to leave a comment in the affirmative.)

Another factor in my enjoyment of the book was Anne’s character. I never felt as though Austen was trying to compel or persuade (tee hee) me to like Anne above any other characters, nor that she (Anne) was simply less boring or stupid than everyone else. Anne came across as a somewhat average woman, which is how I feel most of the time. The plot didn’t involve two supremely attractive and likable characters instantly falling in love and getting married; rather, it was two regular people who were able to make their relationship work. They adored each other as couples ought but never glorified the other in the extreme. Yup, good stuff.

With my happy results from having read Persuasion, I may be daring and try another Austen novel. As I mentioned before, I’ve only read Emma and Pride & Prejudice before. What would you recommend?

Spark Restaurant Lounge – Provo

Posted: December 5, 2010 | Author: Jarom | Filed under: James and the Giant Peach | Leave a comment

Ultimately, I owe this review to Sposita; a few years back she came out to visit us. While here, she took Roni to Spark (or SP^RK if you go by the sign). I was intrigued by Roni’s description of the atmosphere, food and general vibe of the restaurant. A trendy place? that serves non-alcoholic mixed drinks? in Provo?

I knew we just had to go. Last year, we purchased a gift card for Spark during their black friday special; all gift cards were 50% off. This week we were able to use up the last of that gift card, and it was worth it.

In general, Spark is the kind of place you might expect to find in a larger city. The inside is dark, with modern art on the walls, and lights hanging down at varying heights from the tall ceiling. You almost suspect that the place doubles as a moody hangout for overwrought hipsters after a long day of reading Nietzsche and comparing ironic mustache tattoos. But oddly enough, the decor seems to work with the restaurant as a whole.

Spark uses quality ingredients in its food and drinks. This was especially evident in the dessert we ordered. If you do go to spark, I recommend you splurge and get the amano chocolate mousse. The mousse is made from locally produced chocolate and is smooth and rich. Nicely complementing the richness of the chocolate was the homemade hazelnut ice-cream; it was wonderful and creamy. Also included was a bruleed grapefruit. This was perhaps the most surprising part of the dessert. I would never have paired grapefruit with hazelnut ice cream or chocolate mouse, but all of the components worked together in harmony to please your palate.

Presentation is king at Spark. If you want large portions of messy food slopped down on your plate (i’m looking at you Texas Roadhouse), then this is not the pace for you. Each dish I’ve had has been thoughtfully presented with neatness and precision. Don’t expect needless amounts of parsley on you dish here (I’m looking at you IHOP), everything on the plate is meant to contribute to the flavor of the dish. My most recent dish serves to illustrate this point. I ordered the flat iron steak, with cranberry sauce, microgreens and potato croquette. While each individual item was tasty in its own right, it was the combination of all the elements on the plate that really made the dish supreme. The steak was tender and seasoned well, while the microgreens added a mild nuttiness which help to counterbalance the tartness of the cranberry sauce. The croquette helped to add in some textural variety to the dish. That being said, if you run out of one of the elements, the others may seem a bit bland. While the croquette interesting with the steak and other sides, when it was alone, it was a bit bland.

The serving size is not going to be the same as if you went Cheesecake Factory. Don’t expect to leave Spark on a gurney while you desperately try to use that belt-hole-punching attachment on your swiss army knife. The servings are reasonable, and are designed for you to enjoy more than a single course. If you’re not sure you want to drop $10-$15 a course quite yet, then I highly recommend the lunch special. The special changes several time throughout the week (and is announced daily on twitter and facebook), but always includes three courses for $10. The first course is a soup or salad, followed by an entrée and dessert. Wait for a trio that sounds interesting and try spark.

Finally, a word on the drinks. Sparks has non-alcoholic mixed drinks, but again, don’t expect mega-smoothies or chocolate shakes here. The flavors are thoughtful and intriguing. My personal favorite is the mango mojito, which has mango puree, mint and lime. Roni usually favors the berry martini or kiwi martini to quench her thirst. No free refills here, so sip your drink, don’t gulp it down! With multiple courses, you may want to leave the kids at home for both financial and managerial reasons. I’ve seen people bring younger kids, but it usually does not end well. We’ve been known to bring an infant who can sleep through the meal, and that seems to work just fine.

Food Quality: 4
Taste: 4.5
Portion Size: 4
Service: 3.5
Overall Experience: 4
price (per course): $8-18

tl;dr: Give it a try for some creative and flavorful food that is expertly presented.

Spark Restaurant Lounge
86 N University Ave
Provo, UT 84601