I like food...

especially when it is homemade. Last Friday, Blake and I took on the task of making a homemade BBQ chicken pizza, all from scratch. We even made our own dough! After mixing the dough, we went for a quick run in the Smith Fieldhouse on the indoor track and we let our dough rise. We came back STARVING, so instead of being patient and letting the dough get to the right size, we just decided to flatten it out onto the pan.

Blake did the most wonderful job. I was so impressed by his cooking skills. I hopped in the shower real quick while the pizza was baking and came back to a beautifully set table. We DEVOURED our pizza and my oh my it was delicious! Some of the best pizza I've had. Maybe I'm biased, but it was just so incredibly good. I'm craving it right now as I type this at work...

Then we made some delicious great harvest cookies and ate some graham canyon ice cream from the BYU creamery. I think it may be my new favorite ice cream flavor.  Graham cracker ice cream with chocolate covered graham cracker bits. Try it next time you're at the Y. WONDERFUL.

We ended our night by watching The Sandlot. Blake is really good at quoting movies, but The Sandlot is one of his favs. He looooves baseball. We actually didn't even need to watch it, because he can just quote the whole movie. (A little bit of an exaggeration, but not much.) It was a great date.

The Christmas Season

has come and gone. I feel like I've been so busy, or at least I just haven't made any time to blog. So before I forget more details than I already have, let's have a small recap of the last little while.

Jonathan and I drove to South Pasadena for Thanksgiving. It was way too short. Mom made way too much food and I ate too much of it. She had a ridiculous list of food items and insisted on making everything herself. So, it was a long day in the kitchen, but I love bonding with mom over food. She is the greatest cook and I hope to be able to cook delicious feasts like her one day.

One thing I loved doing this December was eating chocolates from my advent calendar with Blake. I can proudly say we never missed a day.

It brought back great memories of my childhood when Jonathan and I couldn't stop ourselves from eating them. Sometimes we would say to each other, "We can eat two today, and we'll just skip tomorrow..." I think we ended up finishing all our chocolates way before Christmas Eve. But we did get some good sibling memories from it. 

Finals began and ended. It's good to have those over with. It's crazy to think that I only have to go through that two more times and then I'll be graduated. 

Blake and I took a little road trip to St. George after finals to visit with Ie Mei and Brad and the rest of the Taylor clan. We ate a delicious dinner on Sunday evening and then played some games. We also brought Vern with us. Vern is Blake's tortoise and the kids were in heaven. They all took turns trying to shove lettuce into his shell and it was an adorable sight to behold. 

This little lady put my heels on and strutted her stuff.

She also twirled around in her princess night gown and told everyone, "I'm the princess!"

Mylee gladly sat on my lap and posed for a picture with us before bedtime.

The next day we woke up bright and early to go over to the Greg and Kristi Taylor's home to help them with their amazing play room. It turns out you don't have to be a kid to enjoy it...or maybe I still am a kid? I don't know, but it is so cool. We helped paint it and as a thank you, we got taken to lunch at Cafe Rio. One of my favorites.

With little time left, Blake and I got started on our journey back to Provo. We stopped to get gas and Blake picked up some treats for us. He came back with some banana creme flavored Reese's because they were on sale. When we opened the package the chocolate was all grainy and old looking. I couldn't get myself to try it, but Blake did! It's no wonder they were only 30 cents. 

We hit a huge storm on our way back and Blake was late for work, but it was a fabulous weekend with family and friends.

Christmas was absolutely wonderful. It is a little bit difficult to fit 26 people into our humble South Pasadena home, but it is definitely worth it if it means I get to be with all my siblings and their little ones. This was the first Christmas we've all been together since Ie Li's wedding, I think, when she obviously had no kids. Now she has three! My oh my how time flies. 

Highlights included having our own nativity scene with the cast comprising of West grandkids and Hippie Hippo,

going to the beach

and running around outdoors and playing baseball.

 Eating is both a blessing and a curse. It's great to have a lot of delicious food to choose from for every meal, except when you decide that it's better to just eat everything.



Mom and Ailee at it again in the kitchen.

But lucky for me, I'm running for my life this semester with Blake!

There is a program through the intramural office that is called "Run for your Life." If you run 150 miles over the semester, you get a t-shirt! So that equates to roughly 10 miles a week. So, as of today, January 15, we have completed 14 miles. We got off to a slow start coming from break, but we'll get there! 

I have lots more to write about, but we'll save it for a different post, since this is technically supposed to be about Christmas. Yay for blogging again!

Last Week

This little girl turned 2. She is my 11th niece/nephew. And I remember that because she was born on 11-11. Except sometimes I'm not a very good aunt and I forget even though that is so easy to remember! So, I know this little post doesn't make up for not calling little Ailee Anne on her birthday, but maybe one day she'll be able to read this and know that I love her so so much.

I love Ailee Anne because she is just the cutest bundle of joy. I love her little raspy laugh and the way she says "uh-huh" when you ask her a question. I love her little waddle and that she calls me Ie Ling when I talk to her on the phone.

She can instantly bring a smile to my face. Thank you Ailee Anne, for being a source of happiness for me. I love you! Happy 2nd Birthday!

I went on a Picnic

with Blake this week. When Ie Li was in town a couple weeks ago, I babysat baby Mi Na at her in-laws' house and noticed that the park across the street had the most beautiful autumn trees. So, ever since then I've wanted to go back. 

Well, we made it happen this week. Blake packed some really funny and cute food:

Menu: PB & J on blueberry bagels, Keebler peanut butter crackers, baby apples,  oatmeal cream pies,  a cosmic brownie, and some milk. (I added some banana muffins to the mix.)

We ate and talked while the sunset.

Then we made our way to the swings, because I LOVE SWINGS. (Sad side note: This swing has disappeared. I hope someone will put it back. I miss it a lot.) It got dark and cold pretty quick so we made our way back toward home where I continued my night at institute. Then Blake and I reunited at the library. There's nothing quite as awesome as the Harold B. Lee Library. 

There's nothing better than picnics, autumn leaves, parks, swings, and the Harold B. Lee library especially when you get to experience all of them on the same day.

Thank you, Blake, for a wonderful evening at the park.

The Best Halloween Ever

When I was a senior in high school I decided to run cross country to stay in shape for soccer. I've never LOVED running, but I do LOVE the feeling that I get after I do run. My sister, Ie Li, was never a runner, but has recently taken it up in the last few years. And my sister, Ie Mei, trained for and completed her first triathlon. How cool are my sisters?! So, I would say that they've been a great inspiration to me and because of their examples, I decided that I wanted to set a similar goal and accomplish it. So, this summer when I was in Virginia, I researched some half-marathons in Utah and found one that gave me sufficient time for training. 

I remember I was supposed to start training on August 9. Why do I remember that? Because that was the day I got my wisdom teeth pulled. I wasn't feeling that bad and even attempted to go, but then my mom scolded me and said that if my body was trying to heal from running that my mouth wouldn't heal. So, because I decided to take my mom's advice and rest that week, I was already a week behind. 

I started training in September in Provo, but hesitated to sign up for the race because I wasn't sure I could really do it. I decided that if I made it through my 8-mile run, I'd sign up. So one Saturday, I woke up and ran 8 miles. When I got home, I signed up for the Halloween Half-Marathon. 

Well, this past weekend, I completed my first half-marathon. I'm not sure I have the words to really express how amazing it was. Friday night I filled up on pasta and was in bed by 10:30. Saturday morning I was up at 5:50 and put on all my running gear and made my way to University Mall to catch the bus up to Aspen Grove. I talked with a girl my age and her two twin cousins that were running. The two cousins were 13. I was so impressed with them. I can't even imagine running 4 miles at that age. 

It was pretty chilly up at the start, but they had a heated tent to keep us warm. We all lined up at the start and then the gun shot went off. I thought to myself, "this is it, i'm really doing this." I put my headphones in and started my run with my awesome "run, girl" playlist and clutched my hand warmers tight as I started my way down the hill. 

It was perfect weather for running and the scenery was beautiful. Most of the time we ran along the Provo River with beautiful autumn trees covering us. I was grateful for the water stations along the way. I think most of all I was grateful for people along the route cheering everyone on. Even though we didn't know each other, it gave me the happiest feeling and kept my legs moving. I am grateful for the little kids who gave me high-fives. It's amazing what the slap of the hand can do when you're running. 

I remember when I passed the Mile 7 sign. I wasn't sure if that meant that I was beginning my seventh mile or I had just finished the seventh mile, so somehow I just decided that it meant that I was starting my seventh mile. I got to Mile 12 thinking I had two more miles to go and was then pleasantly surprised when I got to Mile 13 and realized that I could easily sprint to the end. 

So, with the finish line in sight, I kicked up my legs and crossed the finish line. It was the most amazing feeling. But even greater than the feeling of completing the race, was that of seeing my wonderful friends at the finish line. I'm not sure why, but as soon as I saw them, I started crying. Happy tears, of course. I'm so grateful for wonderful friends who support me in what I do. Thank you, Kylie, Cassie, Jordan, Ben, and Britton. You're the best!

(I was interviewed for and quoted in the Monday, November 1, 2010, edition of the Daily Universe)

My final time was around 2:04 and it was a great day. I was prepared for the race, but definitely not prepared for the soreness after. I'm pretty sure I walked like a grandma for the two days following, but it was all worth it. And a little shoutout to my mom. Thank you for all the lessons you've taught me my whole life, especially:

If there's a will, there's a way.

You can do anything you set your mind to. 

They're true. 

October 16

October 16 is the birthday of two very special people in my life:

1. My dear sister, Ie Mei and

2. My oldest nephew, Jackson.

I think it's so special that my sister had her first child on her birthday. What could be better than that?

Yesterday was their birthday and I just want to say a few things about them.

Ie Mei is one of the kindest people I know. She is so helpful to everyone and has been such a role model to me growing up. I vaguely remember having sleepovers with her in her college dorm when I was four. I remember all the summers I spent with her, watching her cook and sew and thinking that she was the best mom and wife ever and how I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. Well, I'm pretty grown up these days and I still want to be like her. She teaches me so much still and I love her a lot. Happy Birthday, Overflowing Joy, I love you!

And then there's Jackson Jay. Yesterday he turned eleven. ELEVEN!!!!!! I can't believe it. I've spent a lot of time with Jackson Jay. I remember his Elmo phase and his BYU football phase. I remember the first summer I spent with them in Logan and on the car ride back to their house he pointed to the star-shaped decals on my nails and said the word, "dars" (stars). I remember how happy I was when he called me "aunt" for the first time. Jackson, I love being your aunt and love being a part of your life. Happy Birthday. 

OH CANADA

I was doing so well for a while there, but it's now been almost 3 weeks since my last post. I know I have lots of disappointed readers. Ha. Anyway, reasons why I've been busy: school, church, work (yeah! I have a job! That is not the reason for this post, so I'll write about that later), and wedding festivities!

So, a little more than a year ago I was about to start my sophomore year and knew zero Canadians. A year later and I have Canadians as best friends. So, this post is for my dear friend, Cassie (MacLennan) Tremblay. She got engaged in July and I couldn't wait to be a part of planning and shopping. She threw the most lovely bridal shower for our friend, Jennica, so I wanted to do the same for her.

Two weeks ago, Jennica, Kylie, and I threw a bridal shower for Cassie. The food consisted of cake balls, spinach artichoke dip, fruit and dip, and a beautiful punch.

The rest of the evening consisted of games, prizes, presents, and laughs and smiles with friends. 

It was so much fun to put together and I hope Cassie enjoyed it =). 

The next week, Kylie, Payton, and I started our drive to Alberta, Canada at 4 PM on a Thursday. We arrived at 3 AM and boy, was it good to be out of the car. The next day, Kylie and I spent the morning hunting with our friend Ben.

 I must say I'm extremely bad at hunting because 

1. I can't hit anything and

2. it breaks my heart to see lifeless animals. 

After hunting, I ran some errands with Cassie and Ben and then we went over to Kylie's house for family dinner. 

Then it was time for the girls to spend some time together and do some girly things. I painted a total of 82 nails that night, but it was the least I could do for Cassie. 

I also did her makeup for her big day. I think it turned out well. She is stunning, isn't she?

We made our way to the Cardston temple and waited for Mr. and Mrs. Ben Tremblay to exit. 

We took lots of pictures. 

This is the bridal party.

We went to the family dinner and reception. 

I caught the boquet. 

We danced. 

We said goodbye to the happy couple as they ran through our tunnel of sparklers.  

The festivities were fun and beautiful, but seeing them walk out of the temple was the best part. I can't wait to find that special someone who will take me to the temple so we can be married for time and all eternity.