The School of Essential Ingredients

I would recommend this book. I really liked it, even cried in it. The overall theme is how food is related to experiences we have in life and relationships with people. Being a food-lover myself, I identified very much with phrases like "the taste ran through her, full and rich and complicated, dense as a long deep kiss." Some food is really that good, don't you think?

I really loved all the characterization in the book--it followed a bunch of different people's lives and connected them somehow. I especially liked the young mother who had two young children and was struggling with her identity, feeling like she had given up her life for her kids. I also liked Helen and Carl, an older couple who have grown together in their marriage so that they are very much the same and have this way of seeming to be next to each other even when they are on opposite sides of the room. Have you ever known a couple like that? It is so romantic. Carl reminded me of Raimo. I like how when Carl recounts their first dance, she "followed his lead like water." Haha Raimo I will try to be more like that.

Anyway, while experimenting with and eating delicious food, all these people are in the process of finding and re-finding themselves. I may have cried. More than once. This is a book I'd like to read again in 10 or 20 years and see how I have changed.

April Showers

Did I or did I not predict the weather for graduation day in my February 9th post? It has been beautiful and sunny for a few weeks, but today it is thundering and raining so hard! And there is a forecast of snow. I can't believe it. Oh well, not too big of a deal. It'll just make it hard to take pictures! It is really coming down hard right now, but just 3 hours ago Kylie and I were laying out on the lawn trying to get tan. Now the weather is absolutely crazy! And we had just finally started using the scooter again! (which has been giving us problems, by the way) That will just have to wait. Graduation will be fun. I'm mostly excited to go out to lunch!!

Yesterday I officially finished college. I took my last final of my life--sewing. I probably did about B-range work. I'm happy with that. Today I feel a little weird. We woke up and had a dance lesson... and then... went and got my cap and gown... and then.... nothing. I'm at work now... doing... nothing. I have no homework, no final exam looming in the back of my mind. I'm just chillin. It feels nice. What now???

Mormon-haters

Do they really still exist?? Wasn't that just an 1800's/ mob kind of thing? I've never personally met one like this guy. These are two clips of our ballroom group that did a tour last summer in Nauvoo. I'm in one of the long green dresses, the mambo, and the red cha cha and the paso doble in this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk_2PPryyl8&feature=channel
Unfortunately most of it is zoomed in on the unrighteous shanking hips so you can't really see the formations or faces!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrILeZRrfIs
You have to laugh at this guy! It seems he isn't even interested in becoming Christian. I wonder if he's a memeber of some break-off of our church. We always make it a point to have extremely modest clothes. In fact, the ballroom competitions at BYU are the only ones in the world that even have a dress code!!! We get a lot of really unhappy dance professionals who think the code is too modest. SO interesting that we were his target.

My first encounter with anti-Mormonism was when I went to this place to eat in Riverside called the Grove Cafe with some friends. In their library section, there were 3 or 4 shelves devoted to anti-Mormon literature (there were a slew of other religions like Judaism and Catholicism--just tons of anti-lit) and I was shocked. A lot of people who went to that church were some of my good friends. I know that those friends didn't put those books there, but it was just extremely hurtful and shocking to find out they were affiliated with it. Why didn't the church just have some great books about being more like Christ or, heaven forbid, about their own beliefs and gospel truths?? Interesting enough, I read a few paragraphs, and it really twisted a lot of what we believe. Of course, it was based on things we believe, but it was totally incorrect information. Not to mention, there were a lot of things talked about there that are really considered sacred to LDS people. I remember feeling like they'd wrung out my juice and hung me out to dry--they took all the wholesomeness out of everything we believe and then stomped on it for good measure. Anti-literature is something I'll never understand. It's so contrary to the very purpose of religion. Religion is about finding truth, not finding truth by process of elimination of other religions.

Anyway, I've been lucky enough to not have to deal with this too often, but there sure are a lot of people wasting their time out there! Who are they?? I really can't imagine that they are real people. Some of them are kinda crazy. There are always a TON of them outside of the grounds at temple square. Every General Conference (every 6 months) they hold signs, dress up like devils, and shout at us. It's kinda weird... and you know. We really aren't devils! Their dressing up and all that is so interesting--so ineffective in making us what they want us to be: Christian.

If anyone wants to learn about the Mormon church, I hope they would do it by attending our church for themselves. If anything, I think they would find a great spirit of love and peace and truth there. Here's one website (mormon.org) that is run by the church. There might be helpful info there if people have any unanswered questions about us:
http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/

I was really glad that this guy got some footage of us because no video cameras were allowed at the venue!! What a sneaky dude. So I haven't been able to watch it till now! Raimo and I had some great experiences in Nauvoo. We felt we were able to touch a lot of the people in the audiences through a medium other than just church material. We were able to connect with a lot of people, that weren't members of our church, through dance (not to mention it's just really fun to perform!) One of the best things about that trip was it brought together a lot of the religions in Illinois. They are all pretty devoted to their own churches there--yet they could all come together for a less sacred/more secular kind of event. I think that's extremely important in any community!! I was proud to be a part of it.

golden state really is golden

Wish I were living in California at this time of year.
Interesting that exactly one year ago I was feeling exactly the same thing: http://raimolovesjessica.blogspot.com/2009/04/daydreaming.html

Rhythm Final

Raimo decided that for our dance final this semester we would wear our costumes. He has been recruiting other class members all semester to wear theirs too--and today when our teacher walked in, she had the biggest smile on her face. Everyone was warming up with their costumes on and numbers pinned to their back (Jesse's number was my favorite: 24601!) Then we had our final. She video taped all of us because we looked so great and then we all went to Denny's afterward. Marci even joined us for breakfast. Raimo was so excited--it was a fun morning.

Stairs

Someday when I have a house with stairs, I hope they are white with dark wood like this

Today

I am feeling so happy. Nothing can stop me. Actually I have been feeling like this for a little while, but it is especially so today. I woke up and it was pouring rain outside and it had snowed, but that didn't really matter. All I had to say was, "This is the last time I have to get up at 7 and walk to school in any form of precipitation." I had a 3 hour final today in my sewing class, but it went okay because I knew that no matter what happened, I would do pretty well on it and I would never have to go to 3 hour lab ever again! And then Raimo and I practiced (no thoughts of never having to do that again of course, but it went ok). Then a Singers recording, then one last editing assignment (boy am I through with those analysis homeworks!) and one more class in half an hour. The last class I will ever go to at BYU!

It is sort of surreal when I think about it. I am not even sad! I think I have really had a full experience here--I have squashed every possible extracurricular class into my schedule and been going full-steam from dawn to dusk most days. It was great while it lasted, but I am also very excited for a new chapter. I never thought I'd be ready to leave BYU. Part of this might be due to the fact that I haven't taken any time off school since the summer of 2008! I went right through last year-- and it took a toll. I am excited to do things around the apartment, eat at McDonalds less and cook a little bit, spend some time OUTSIDE during daylight--I think I've been inside for like 2 years now. I'm not sure what work I'll be doing. I've looked into a few editing things, but none of them seems like a great fit. I'm not in a rush quite yet. I will start a more serious hunt the week after finals :)

Raimo and I had a great weekend together- still had lots of work and stuff, but we partied too. I planned our Friday night date. We went to Five Guys for burgers, then to Borders to do Raimo's favorite thing=sit and read comic books in their comfy chairs (I read a chic novel that I plan to go back and finish another night), then we went home and made cookies and watched Fame the movie. It was a nice night. We ended up reading for like 2 hours of our date. I have not felt like reading for the last few years of college. I even have some books on my shelf at home that I didn't really want to pick up while in school, but I'm going to really enjoy them this summer!

Have I mentioned excitement for summer? haha

We have a big trip coming up in June and July. We are going to party like rockstars. I have really not had time to think about it, but now that I am, I thinking it's really going to be cool. I'm looking forward to doing weekend trips, just working and dancing at the good old RB.

One of my favorite things right now is my Gloria Estefan mix on Pandora. I love the 90's.

I had a dream last night that I gave birth to twins. I took them home in ziplock baggies because they were so tiny (what?) and then I spent the rest of the dream struggling to carry everything. The babies were suddenly bigger and I just didn't have enough arms. Why do my dreams always have to be so stressful? And I couldn't think of names for them. It was just bothering me throughout the dream. I was sad when I woke up and had no cute twinners!