Colin's Amazing Brain

Colin is smart. He helps me with my homework, as well as doing his own. This is our latest project.


This is me- blowing a light bulb form, which Colin and I then created the real thing. Here's our movie of trying it out. You can judge for yourself if it was a success or a failure.

Biscotti and Books

I like to make things.

I made biscotti this past week just because I found the most amazing recipe.


I know that biscotti goes with coffee, however, they tasted fantastically delicious with hot chocolate, especially on the past few rainy days there were...

Chocolate and Almond Biscotti
2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
6 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 cup White Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 large Eggs
1 cup Almonds
1/4 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
3/4 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
powdered sugar for dusting

-Whisk the dry ingredients together, set aside
-Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla together, then add eggs
-Then mix in the dry ingredients
-Add almonds and chocolate chips
-Butter and flour the baking sheet
-Make two flattened logs of dough- about 12 inches x 3 inches
-Dust the top with powdered sugar
-Score the top of the logs diagonally about one inch apart

-Bake at 350 Degrees for 35 minutes
-Take out and let cool on a rack for about ten minutes
-Cut along the scored lines and place on same baking sheet, sideways
-Bake for 10 more minutes
-Keep in an air-tight storage container

A couple weeks ago- I made this book. I'm excited mainly because it is an accordion book, and it has a box on the side to hold pens and stuff. I love it. :)

Bye Bye Birdies

Update on our twin birds that were outside our kitchen window-- they are gone...

But not without leaving plenty of presents on our window:

These were a couple days after we realized they were there.

I know the images are dark, but these were taken the day they left--they grew up so fast!

I look out the window every so often to see if they are there... They aren't. However, a few days after they left at like 6:30 in the morning, we woke up to a loud thud on our bedroom window. I looked out, and one of the baby birds had run into it! It was just sitting on the ledge, trying to sort out what had happened. It flew away just fine.

I like to think they got used to our faces watching them and just wanted to come back to say hello. Probably not, but I like to think so.

Amazing Classes

While postponing a bit of long-overdue studying for 2 tests I have coming up before Monday, I've been thinking about teachers that have changed my life. I have had a number of fabulous teachers/classes in my education, and after a dry spell, I can add another teacher/class to my list of life-changing experiences:


1- I loved elementary school. The teacher that I can say has had the biggest impact on my life so far is my 6th grade teacher, Ms. Ford.

I. LOVE. Her.

Love. There are too many ways that she helped me to become who I am to elaborate all of them. Best moment since then: When she came to my wedding reception. I Love Her. So so so much.


2- It wasn't until high school that I had a few more teachers to add- one being Mr. Allred. He had this memory that was A-mazing. My favorite day of class (I still specifically remember this day... it happened twice) was when he explained all the marriages between royalty in Europe- it was phenomenal. He even tried to draw a diagram on the board, but it became so intertwined and complicated it didn't make sense at all... Anyone who was able to take AP World or European History from him can attest he knew EVERYTHING. No kidding.

One thing that amazed me even more was that he could remember your name after meeting you once. Even though I know he could do this with every student he's had, I still love the feeling I have knowing that if I ever run into him again, he would remember me. And be able to remember I'm Amy, not Emily. And that I sat on the front row and colored in a princess coloring book instead of taking notes most of senior year...


3- The next class was AP Art History taught by Mrs. Hughes. My love for art history was born, and has never been tamed since. She was enthusiastic about the most mundane of art periods, and I can remember the first day of class climbing under our desks to draw on newsprint she taped to the bottom of them while we listened to aboriginal/traditional/native american music. All done with the lights off with candles, like they would have done for "real" in cave painting. I also remember crying when I learned about this painting-

The Deposition by Rogier Van Der Weyden

I also cried when I saw it for real in the Prado Museum in Spain...


4- Mr. Frishknecht. My Pre-Calculus and Calculus I teacher. I was lucky to have him two years in a row in high school. He is my favorite math teacher of all time. We listened to Enya and the Tarzan soundtrack every time we took a test or quiz. (It's trained me so much that I can't hear that music and not want to take a math test... or at least think about math...) Mr. Frisch. also looked like Superman- Christopher Reeves. Almost exactly...


5-Now, I add to this very short list- Professor Nelson. Human Development 210, taken Spring Term 2010. I'm not sure if it was the class, the teacher, or the combination of both, but I can confidently say this has class changed my life.


My goal- to be a teacher with the enthusiasm of Professor Nelson, Mr. Frisch, and Mrs. Hughes, while also having the compassion and love for my students as Mr. Allred. In short, I want to be a teacher like Ms. Ford.

Babies

Before anyone gets all excited about Colin and I, the answer is no. Not for a while.

However, several of our friends are having babies-- all of them are beautiful. Specifically, I can think of three right now that I just wish I could just steal from their parents and take home with me. (Exhibit A.)

Sarah -- mother of one of the most beautiful babies -- used to live in our little apartment complex. Before we moved in, when I asked about the ward, all she said was that it made her baby-hungry. I didn't quite understand.

Now I do.

We've lived here almost a year now, and while I wasn't actually keeping track, it seemed like EVERY week there was someone who announced that they were pregnant, or that they were having a boy/girl. EVERY week. (OK, so every week that I was in relief society... which isn't much now that I'm the only pianist for primary...)

I feel as if, in order to fit in, I need to be pregnant. Is it true that you should never give in to peer pressure?

Maybe I do need to steal someone's baby. It will probably be a better birth control than anything...

Art

I have one complaint today: the last, something like, 4 times I've tried to make something for glassblowing, it has failed. There is one more week of classes, and I have to have 9 completed projects for this class.

I have 4.

And two of them are the same assignment.

Did I mention there was only one more week of classes?



On a happy note, I just finished my last paper of the term!!! (there were only 3...) I wrote it about this-




I love this. By Doris Salcedo. Look her up.