April Fools!

My wonderful roommate is such a good sport! She has had a rough time since she moved in. She was trying to start a fire one Saturday morning and forgot to open the damper and set off all the smoke alarms (while I was still sleeping), that same day she broke a plate trying to put it away. A few weeks later as she was opening the storm door a gust of wind blew it out of her hand and pulled the hinge completely off the doorframe. A little bit after that I came home to an empty house but the oven and the stove on. I have been teasing her about having something against my house and trying burn it down. Really I think all the studying for the MCAT has just pushed everything else out of her head. So last night she came into my room to inform me that there were some pans soaking in the sink but she promised she would clean everything up before she left in the morning. (I am really not concerned about it - she is probably cleaner than me - but she is paranoid now!) So when I got to work this morning I sent her an email asking if she had remembered to run the disposal before she started the dishwasher because the sink had backed up sometime after she left and there was gunk all over the sink and counter. She immediately emailed back apologizing PROFUSELY and promised to start looking for a new place today because she hadn't even thought to run the disposal and knew I was tired of her ruining my house. I emailed back telling her not to worry and by the way - Happy April Fool's Day. She totally didn't get it! She emailed back saying I was really nice but it was a big deal and she was going to clean the house from top to bottom after work. I had to email her again and tell her again - Happy April Fool's! I'm really glad she finally got it - she was getting ready to start looking at Craig's List for a new place!

Ready for Spring

So, last week was a CRAZY week at work, I had two projects due at the same time that both ended up being more work than we originally planned. After spending my week staying late, going to school, and coming back to work, I was READY for a break! On Saturday my roommate, who has been studying for the MCAT, spent the entire day at her computer taking notes and reading. So basically we both needed a break. So I kidnapped her and took her to the park by my house. We were the only ones there, so we had free reign of the playground and swings! Swinging is a GREAT stress reliever I have decided. Dan was bored, so he met us at the park and we played Frisbee. Of course - after such a beautiful afternoon - what do we get the very next day? SNOW! I love Utah weather! :)

Happy Easter

We had a very...interesting Easter. But it was fun! After dinner we decided to take a walk, what a beautiful day! My sister decided that we needed to have an "Easter Parade" in our "Easter Bonnets" so, she grabbed a bunch of random hats out the coat closet and made us wear them. They were all pretty normal, except for her poor friend that got stuck with the hood from my Russian winter coat, complete with fake green fur. After frightening everyone in the neighborhood, we went back to our house and put on some crazy Russian disco dance music. My sister was showing us all her "dance moves" and got my Grandma to join her - as the video below shows! What a crazy night!

PS - The quality is really bad, sorry, a certain sister of mine has run off to Provo with her camera, my brother's camera, and my mom's camera, so all we had available was a cell phone camera.

Book Tag

My Sister has blog tagged me for the 123 Book Tag. (Sorry it took so long - none of my books at work have 123 pages, and my school book gets renumbered after each section)

Here are the rules:

*Find the book closest to you with at least 123 pages.

*Turn to page 123.

*Find the fifth sentence.

*Post the next 3 sentences.

*Tag 5 people. (Don't have 5 people to tag - Sorry!)

"Paul surely knew what it was to be beaten, to be 'in perils by mine own country men...in the wilderness...among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness...in hunger...in cold' (2 Corinthians 11:24-28).
So it was that while Joseph received remarkable manifestations, along with these came constant vexations. True, there were periodic arrivals of heavenly messengers, but these were cruelly punctuated by the periodic arrivals of earthly mobs." (from "The Promise of Discipleship" by Neal A. Maxwell)

I tag, Jill, Katie, Connie, Claire, and Michele.

Congratulations Jessie!

My friend Jessie got married yesterday and is moving to Minnesota for her husband's schooling. We have been friends since Middle School and as I was sitting in the Temple with all of my friends that I have known for over (gasp) 15 years, I realized how blessed I am to have them. We have always been there for each other. We are all in different places in our lives, and now many are moving away for school and work. But we still love to get together and can stay up all night laughing at absolutely nothing. Out of the eight of us, six were either with her at the Temple or at the ring ceremony afterwards, and the two that weren't there? One is on a mission and the other is living in Wisconsin while her husband is in medical school. It got me wondering if we are the exception to the rule. A lot of people don't get together with their high school friends anymore, let alone middle school friends. So, my question - do you still keep in touch with your old school friends? How often? Has it been harder with your friends in different stages in life, i.e. married, kids, single, divorced?
Congrats Jessie!! I'll miss you!!

Happy International Women's Day!

Happy 8th of March or International Women's Day!

The name of this holiday has always confused me a little - it is called "International" yet I had never even heard of it until I got to Russia, but I do think that it should be International - it is an AWESOME holiday! The holiday is very similar to Mother's Day, but it celebrates all women, without classifying whether they are Mothers or not.

My first celebration of this FANTASTIC holiday was almost a year into my mission. I was serving with a Russian companion, Sister Rysak, and she was adamant that we recognize this important day. We were having a district meeting at our apartment that day and she warned the Elders that they would not be allowed in without flowers for us. So our sweet Elders came bearing not only flowers, but also candy, chocolate, and, our favorite, ties. It was a fabulous day - it really needs to be celebrated here - so wish all the women you know a Happy International Women's Day, flowers and chocolates are appreciated as well!

Showing off the presents from the Elders

Maslenitsa

Maslenitsa is celebrated around Easter every year. This year it is being celebrated the first week of March. In honor of Maslenitsa, I am posting a recipe for Blini (the Russian pancake), I haven't tried this recipe yet, the instructions I got from companions were much simpler, but this is supposed to be the traditional way to make them.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup warm milk
½ tsp honey
1 pkt dry yeast
2 tbl melted butter, cooled
½ cup flour, plus 2 tbl flour
1/4-cup-buckwheat flour
1 pch salt
2 eggs, whisked together
1 potato, cut in half
vegetable oil or butter for frying

Preparation: Combine milk, honey and yeast in a medium bowl. Whisk together and let stand until foamy. Stir in cooled butter. In a separate bowl combine the flours, salt and baking powder. Make an indentation in the center of the dry mixture and stir in liquid mixture, slowly, until blended. Without stirring vigorously, blend in whisked eggs just until combined. Cover and let rise at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in volume.

Cooking: Heat a thick-bottomed skillet (or a blini, crepe, or plett pan) over medium-high heat. Dip the halved potato in oil, or coat with butter and grease the pan lightly (this is the traditional way, a paper towel or oil brush may also be used). Pour some batter in the pan. Some chefs use a special "blini roller" to spread the batter evenly and paper-thin, otherwise, move the pan while pouring to help spread the batter, or make very small bliny, which will be able to spread themselves (use about 1 tbl.). When the blin is golden brown on its underside (should happen in under 1 minute), flip over and brown the other side. Repeat.

My favorite way to eat them is with a little bit of sweetened condensed milk spread on top. It is also great with butter and sugar sprinkled on top. Not very healthy but yummy!!

I found this article about Maslenitsa on the web - I love it when people try to translate from Russian to English - I love laughing to tears! :)

Maslenitsa (Pancake week) is the only purely Russian Holiday that dates back to the pagan times. For seven days Moscow jingles with bells, sings with garmoshkas and glares with gaily-painted dresses. The people are letting the long-annoying winter out and the long-awaited spring in.

The counters in the Maslenitsa town are groaning with various dainties. There are the paunchy samovars with mellow tea, bunches of sweet-scented barankas, nuts and honey pies with different signs: "Whom I love - to those I give", "A present of the sweet-hart is the dearest". Salted foods, various fish, caviar - choose and eat anything however much you like!

But the essential elements, of course, are pancakes (blini). Pankacke is a symbol of sun. It is as round, gold and warm as the sun. Pancakes are served hot with either butter, or sour cream, or caviar, or mushrooms, or sturgeon - to any exquisite taste.

Where else can you take a horse-drawn sledge ride that will take your breath away? Or take a jaunty slip down an enormous ice slope? Or go round on a giant carousel? The Great Maslenitsa will reel you round in a dancing fairy-circle and your feet won't be able to keep still to the sprightly chastooshkas (gaily songs) and byword. Clowns and skomorokhs (histrions) will make you laugh to tears. The show goes on and on in the balagans (Punch-and-Judy shows) and theatres. And those who will not want to be simply a spectator can take part in the masquerade: to dress up beyond recognition or to muffle in a long fur coat and to drink a glass of vodka with a bear.

On the last day of the Great Maslenitsa the feasting and drinking ends up by burning down the scarecrow symbolizing winter thus saying goodbye to winter till the next year.

For the Russians Maslenitsa is like a carnival for the Italians, especially because the initial sense of festivals is the same: the Italian word "carnival" (carne-vale) means "farewell the beef!", and Maslenitsa that precedes the Great Lent, in old time was called "Myasopust" because it was forbidden to eat meat during this week.

The last day of Maslenitsa is called the Forgiveness Day. Everybody ask one another for forgiveness in order to redeem themselves from their sins before the Great Lent. They bow to one another and say, "God will forgive you". Maslenitsa is over and so is the winter giving way to the spring.

Everybody knows what the Russian Soul is! This is prowess, dare-devilry, and, of course, the famous Russian hospitality. Everybody is welcome to Moscow to see the Russian winter off!