My Life and Other Convenient Truths

Budapest, Finally!

2010-08-22T02:01:00.002-07:00

Well, we are here. Actually, we have been here for several days but I have not had the energy to blog. After many many tearful goodbyes, insanely long waits in airports and our first true freakout (of which there will undoubtedly be many more...) we have had a succesful first couple days here in Budapest. I am on a computer at the hostel so I cannot post pictures, I will do that later this afternoon. We have done a lot already, even though we are supposed to be taking it easy. Stay tuned for pictures!!

One Week...

2010-08-10T18:52:00.002-07:00

Well one week and one day. I can barely believe it. I haven't posted in awhile because my days have been filled with packing, planning, thinking and counting days. There aren't that many more to count. We will be in Budapest soon.

Corpse Flower

2010-07-23T12:42:00.003-07:00

Ok, I confess... I've been a bad blogger lately. I missed my own birthday post- though John sort of made up for it by showing the teapot that we painted together. It was a great birthday and this week has been filled with sewing and painting- I am desperately trying to finish several projects that have been sitting idle for awhile. And there is only 3 1/2ish weeks left so...I've been busy and creatively spent.

Though here is my new obsession, as of today.

WARNING: Horticultural nerdiness follows.

Corpse Flowers, aka Amorphophallus Titanum.

These are beautiful, unique, rare and deathly stinky flowers- two of which are currently blooming in the US. One named 'Lois' is blooming at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, while another older plant dubbed 'Perry' is busy doing his stinky thing at the Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota.

Native to the rain forests of Sumatra and growing up to 10 ft tall, this plant emits a corpse-like smell, in hopes of attracting flies and beetles for pollination. The deep purple-red leaf resembles a piece of meat and is the temperature of a human body, deepening the smell and fooling flesh-eating insects. The plants only bloom once or twice in 40 years, and even then just for a few days- a momentous occasion indeed.

For example Lois in Houston is expected to bring in 11,000 visitors today alone (the museum usually only gets about 1,000 visitors on any given weekday), while Perry has his own webcam set up so you can watch him bloom along with watching hordes of people holding their noses, coughing, children exclaiming- "That doesn't smell like a flower, it's so big momma! Why are there lots of flies in here?" - just heard those ones. Lois was coaxed open by a pile of rotting bananas laid nearby and here's the best bit- a couple is getting married at the museum today, stink and all. What an unexpected wedding gift, fun for all!

So while I should be getting ready for our quick trip to Denver this weekend, I'm watching a webcam of a Corpse flower bloom.

The Cooking of Vienna's Empire

2010-07-11T16:11:00.007-07:00

While we were in Vallecito, we came upon a small bookstore called the "Book Shed". It literally was a shed outside an old woman's house, selling used books for $2-$5. We decided to check it out, as much of our vacation was spent reading. Imagine my suprpise to come upon a weathered old cookbook entitled "The Cooking of Vienna's Empire", a Time-Life book published in 1968. I picked it up, hoping to find some Austro-Hungarian recipes. I did. There is a whole chapter with charmingly outdated yet beautiful pictures of Hungary, representing the still Communist regime, though the book is about the cooking of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. So I have taken to calling it, "an out-dated book of out-dated recipes"- that is, the Communist take on Austro-Hungarian cooking. It is fascinating; examining a regime examining a former regime.

I didn't buy it the first time around, choosing a historical fiction novel set in Renaissance Florence instead. Though when night rollled around, I couldn't stop thinking about the faded technicolor photographs; the sweet smell that only old book pages can exude. So in the next few days I obsessed over returning to the Book Shed, (which kept strange hours, naturally) yet finally leaving with my cookbook a mere two days later.

The cookbook is a gem, in perfect shape yet still retaining the qualities of an "old" book. After reading an entire history of Hungarian cooking (which is fascinating by the way, including Gundel, gulyas and paprika) I decided on bacon-dumplings for Sunday dinner. This is actually under the "Austrian Provence" section, yet it sounded too decadent to pass up. The book also provides a lot of information on the former Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and other Communist gems.

Here are some picture I took of the beautiful Hungarian photographs.

The cover, showing some beautiful pastries:

The opening "Hungarian chapter":

Csardas cooking:

"The country fair flourishes in a Socialist land":

Balaton fogas, curved into its traditional shape:

Traditional Hungarian dress:

Gorgeous paprika spread:

The recipes all look delicious...and I am so happy to have a bit of history on my shelf.

Edit:

We have been trying to teach my 7 year old neice a touch of Hungarian. She is just learning to write in English and decided to write on my arm this afternoon:

Gotta love the adorable misspelling: "egen"

Vallecito!

2010-07-10T12:45:00.005-07:00

This past week my family and I went on vacation to beautiful Vallecito lake in Colorado. We rented a cabin that had the most amazing deck overlooking the forest and lake. It was a much needed break from reality. No technology, no TV, just reading, relaxing, drawing and eating. Here are some highlights from the trip:

The beautiful view from our deck, the lake glinting through the trees in the morning sun:

My mom at the end of our "breakfast horse ride", which entails riding horses up a mountain, eating an amazing breakfast cooked by the wranglers in a meadow, and then riding back down:

Mango margaritas at Pura Vida, the local Costa Rican/Mexican restaurant (these were so unbelievably good, we went back for them at least three times...well that and the blackened mahi mahi sandwiches):

The horse ride up the mountain (which unfortunately was ravaged by a huge forest fire in 2002, but is thankfully exploding with aspens now!):

A particularly beautiful view on the way up the mountain, overlooking Vallecito valley. This is actually a little unnerving considering that your horse is the only thing keeping you from toppling thousands of feet down the mountain!:

The kids on the fishing boat that we rented:

John enjoying the "beach" by the lake:

Another view from our cabin:

Ahh Vallecito.. There is no better place to clear your head, relax and mentally prepare for the next few weeks...preparing for Budapest!!

Selena Gomez's "Round & Round"

2010-07-09T11:28:00.004-07:00

Yesterday I was watching the Disney channel with my niece as I often do, trying to tune it out for the most part. But as I looked up to see Selena Gomez's new music video, I was shocked to see that the video was filmed...why, where else but Budapest?? The video opens up on a shot overlooking the city, and then does a strange fast zoom in on Parliament. Upon seeing this I exclaimed "Oh my God, that's Budapest!" No one really believed me since the rest of the video is mostly just close ups of Selena singing and walking down streets. There are some nice brief shots of the Duna, Chain Bridge and Fisherman's Bastion however, but they go by too quickly. The rest of the video was spent wondering why one earth Selena Gomez was shooting a music video in Budapest of all places. And do you really think Disney would foot the bill for one music video abroad? Well, as it turns out, no. She is filming a movie there, so I suppose it was rather convenient to shoot a music video there as well.

Here's the video, for anyone who may be interested:

Though honestly, it's best watched muted...

Lavender in the Village Festival

2010-06-27T16:16:00.017-07:00

So today was an event that we have been looking forward to for many weeks now: The Lavender in the Village Festival. We (John, my Mom and I) were volunteering for the Los Poblanos Organics tent selling produce, memberships, t-shirts etc. This is the program that we get our weekly box of fresh fruits and veggies through, I know I've mentioned it before. So when the opportunity came up to volunteer for them, we thought what we usually do when faced with such a decision- why not? We have been trying to fill our time with interesting events so that it goes by faster (7 1/2 weeks and counting!) but that's a different post altogether...

This festival is an annual event, all about the wonders of lavender (plus a few other fun things). There were a lot of interesting tents- lavender crafts, goat cheese, wildlife/bird rescue, yurt living, massage, henna, a beer garden and live music. We also played with, petted and oohd and ahhd over the most amazing, adorable 1-week-old baby goats.

We went an hour before our shift so that we could look around and participate in some of the festivities. Unfortunately we missed out on the free massages, but we did get to pick our own lavender and check out the yurt. For lunch we had bratwurst (made on the premises) with green chile relish. We sampled and bought red chile raspberry jam (unbelievable, tongue-tingling goodness) and lavender honey goat cheese. This was a "special edition" goat cheese, just for the festival. It's safe to say it is the most interesting, delicious goat cheese I have ever had. It was amazing to see little kids, adults, everyone go crazy over the organic fruits and vegetables. Organic does taste better, and it's great to see people being so enthusiastic about it.

We were working alongside of LPO interns all day, including one guy who is studying in Montreal. We mentioned to one of the other interns (who makes beautiful clay honey pots) that we were moving to Budapest but want to intern on the farm in the meantime. (Why not?) As we were leaving this intern said to us "Well, we'll see you on the farm, or if not- have fun in Budapest", which caused the Montreal guy to stop in his tracks, "Wait, what, Budapest? Are you guys Hungarian?" Us: "No but we speak a little" Him: "Oh well, Viszontlatasra!" Us: "...." We were so flabbergasted that we didn't even ask him why on earth he speaks Hungarian (he's from New Jersey) but it was a great/strange end to our day of hard work. Well- to reward you for reading this novel (is anyone still reading?) here's some visual aid:

Some of the beautiful produce we were peddling:

Yours truly, working the cash box!:

Outside of the yurt, plus a very nice solar oven:

Inside of the yurt:

Me, cutting lavender in the field:

My mom, winning over the crowd:

Lots of lavender hanging to dry:

Bunch of lavender:

John cutting himself some lavender:

John replenishing the carrot supply:

A beautiful crow:

Darling baby goat:

Have you ever heard of Scrapple?

2010-06-21T17:12:00.004-07:00

Well, I hadn't either. But today at our local hangout, one of the waitresses brought back a bag of it from her trip to Pennsylvania. It caused quite a stir among the staff, and it wasn't long before a plate was brought out for us to try. Our waiter googled it and found this from Wikipedia:

"Scrapple (Pennsylvania Dutch) is traditionally a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and flour, often buckwheat flour, and spices. The mush is formed into a semi-solid congealed loaf, and slices of the scrapple are then panfried before serving. Scrapple is typically made of hog offal, such as the head, heart, liver, and other scraps, which are boiled with any bones attached (often the entire head?."

Congealed pork "mush" didn't really sound like anyone's idea of a good meal- the cooks brought out an old pan so as not to "scrapple-up" the restaurant's.

I must admit, the taste wasn't awful- it wasn't particularly good either - but the texture and the appearance was what really took the cake:

Somewhere between cat vomit and a smushed turd. I think I could learn to like it, if I could just blindfold myself while eating it.

Vizum and You're Going WHERE?

2010-06-14T17:37:00.005-07:00

After several weeks of worrying, we got our visas today. I'm so happy to be in possession of our passports again, and they have just become all the more valuable. Having had my passport stolen in the past (which, 5 years later - a month ago - a detective found in a storage unit of a woman arrested for 200+ counts of identity theft) I am always slightly nervous about it- I protect it *slightly* neurotically. And now I have even more reason, due to this official-looking visa:

In other news, I've noticed a funny phenomenon lately. Whether due to not really caring, or faulty knowledge of geography - people can NOT for the life of them remember where it is that we are moving to. Today was a new one from my dentist: "So when are you going to... *looks confused* Belgium?" "Hungary, August 18th" (a date that I repeat what seems like 50 times a day.) We've also heard Turkey, Bucharest, Bulgaria, Bangkok and a myriad of other cities/countries starting with a "B" (i.e. Budapest). This usually happens when the news of our impending move is second-hand, but still, it never ceases to amuse me.

Breadzilla!! Or, Dear God! Did I Add Too Much Yeast?

2010-06-06T17:02:00.008-07:00

After looking through the storage shed (see previous post on opening locks) and finding my journal from this past summer in Provence, I was reminded of something that I will never forget; eating goat cheese fougasse in an open-air market in Aix-en-Provence. I thought it would be nice to recreate this heavenly bread, and so the recipe search began. After many blog/recipe/cooking sites later, I determined that what we had was not fougasse. This was a soft, sweet bread, while fougasse is a hearth-style, crusty and savory bread.

I decided to improvise. Working in a French cafe for a year or so in early college left me with a keen taste of different french breads. I decided that the "fougasse" that we had had was more of a brioche, studded with chunks of creamy, stinky cheese. Coupled with a ripe, juicy peach? Dear God, the thought brings a tear to my eye.

Today I made braided brioche, with Roquefort cheese stuck in the cracks. It was fine at first, but the seemingly over-active yeast made me dub my creation "Breadzilla", as I had visions of the rising beast bursting from my oven onto the unsuspecting city below.

Regardless of how much it rose, it was unbelievable. Certainly different from what I remember tasting beneath the soleil Provencal (but really, could anything ever be that good again?) yet still delicious in its own right.

A truly gorgeous braided brioche, peppered with Roquefort, ready to rise for a second time:

And a shot from the oven monstrosity, ready to rise into oblivion:

And finally, the end product, barely able to squeeze onto a cookie sheet:

Bonus:

Aix market where said "fougasse" was bought and consumed:

The TB Test Saga

2010-06-01T13:16:00.003-07:00

I have been trying to get a TB test since last Thursday. It really shouldn't be this hard. I called several weeks ago to schedule it and was given an appointment on Thursday evening. After having my blood pressure, weight, height and temperature taken (not to mention waiting in the waiting room for 20 minutes) I was told that I could not get the test since no one would be there to check it on Saturday. Ok, receptionist error I suppose. So the nurse told me to come back Friday morning and someone could read it on Monday. It was only later that night that I realized Monday was Memorial day so clearly no one would be there to read it then, either. So I went in on Friday morning and told them about this, and asked if I could come in on Tuesday instead. They were way more confused than the situation warranted and after much calling of the nurses and looking at the computer they realized yes, the nurse had indeed made a mistake.

So they scheduled me for today at 11.

After explaining to the once again very confused receptionist that they told me I only needed to see a nurse to administer the test, we waited. And waited some more. 11:30 rolled around and I decided it would be wise to check in at the front desk on the status of my nurse, in which I was told that they were all running 30 minutes behind schedule.

Finally I was called back after several more minutes and sat in triage while my nurse prepared the needle. She explained to me that there would be a "bubble" in my skin where all the fluid was. She couldn't get the needle in at first, and she asked me if I was alright. She got it in eventually and said "Ok, are you ready?" and I nodded and promptly felt a shower of cold liquid on my inner arm and an "Oops" from the nurse's mouth. She said the bubble had popped, and the liquid shot out the other side. Yum. So I held a cotton ball on my inner arm while she looked for another TB test, consulting another nurse on what gauge needle she should be using. All of this inspired much confidence in me, let me tell ya. So she preps my arm again and puts the needle in, and says in a sing-song voice, "Here comes the BUB-ble!" and I felt my skin expand. I looked over to see a giant fluid-filled pustule on my inner arm. "Huh", I managed to mutter. She assured me the bubble would go away in a matter of hours, so I made sure to take a picture as soon as I was done.

Behold, the bubble, the smaller, failed bubble and my strangely sparkly skin:

Fun stuff.

Trying to Open a Broken Lock As Told By A Seven-Year-Old

2010-05-28T15:42:00.005-07:00

This is a list written while John and I attempted to get the storage shed open upon finding that the key was no longer able to open it. I think it speaks for itself but I especially like numbers 7-8 "think, feel", 15 "look up/ close eyes and whish" and 24, "hi five". This pretty much accurately describes everything we did.

Rain, Sunset, Singing and...Luau??

2010-05-28T12:12:00.003-07:00

Last night my niece had a performance with this little singing group that she belongs to. It was held at the house of the woman who organizes the group. I have never been there before but was told it was way out on the west side (we live in the Northeast heights). Well, after about a 50 minute drive to the far, far west side through the pouring rain, we were distraught and more than a little annoyed when we walked into a packed house: think 100 people in one living room type of packed. The performance was "luau" themed and was supposed to be outside in the backyard. Since it was raining it wasn't really an option, and it was proposed that the performance should be rescheduled to Friday evening. After such a long drive through the rain, this was frustrating to say the least. After the crowd got a little shaken at this suggestion, we decided to wait out the storm. We all set out blankets on whatever bit of carpet we could find; upstairs, downstairs, by couches, in doorways. There was something slightly ironic about drinking through an umbrella straw on a blanket, in a strange living room, in the middle of nowhere, in a giant rainstorm. Yet after the food was gone, the rain thankfully was too. It turned out to be amazing outside with no sun blazing onto us. The performance was cute, even though our niece was only in two of the songs. Since we were on the very edge of the city, beyond the backyard was just desert, nothing else. This combined with the heavy clouds made for the most beautiful sunset!

Albuquerque really does have the most gorgeous sunsets.

Ninja Warrior

2010-05-25T19:59:00.003-07:00

John and I have been doing something very interesting lately. We have been helping a friend from my step-dad's Hapkido class make an audition video for Ninja Warrior! Hopefully once it's done I can show a little sneak-peek of it. If he gets selected, you better believe we will be front row in Japan watching him compete!

Photo credit to g4tv.com

Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage

2010-05-23T18:15:00.003-07:00

After reading many of my American English teaching comrade's accounts of eating Hungarian stuffed cabbage, I decided I should bite the bullet and make some for Sunday dinner. I really should get used to cabbage, even though those crunchy leaves are slightly intimidating to me. I wanted to see if we would like it, and to my absolute delight, it was delicious! I found the recipe online, along with many many variations. Some had sauerkraut, sour cream, or paprika, yet I chose one that I dubbed to be for more "sensitive" pallets since my whole family would be eating it. I have no idea how traditional this recipe is, but it was amazing! Here is the recipe I used, taken from Cooks.com:

HUNGARIAN STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS

8-10 cabbage leaves (lg.)
1/3 c. rice, cook until tender & drain
1 lb. hamburger
Salt & pepper
Pinch of thyme
1 lg. onion, minced
1 egg, beaten
1 c. water (saved from the pot boiled cabbage leaves)
1 c. tomato juice
1 tbsp. meat paste (or bouillon cube)
cornstarch to thicken sauce

Parboil cabbage leaves 5 minutes (just long enough to wilt, save 1 cup water for later). In bowl mix hamburger, salt, pepper, and thyme. Add rice, onion and egg; mix well. Shape into 8 to 10 small rolls and wrap each into a cabbage leaf. Tie securely with string or toothpick. Put in a good sized saucepan. In another saucepan, put tomato juice, water from cabbage leaves, meat paste or bouillon cube, parsley and a little salt. Heat and pour over cabbage rolls. Cover and simmer 1 hour. If desired, thicken slightly with a little cornstarch.

I loved being pleasantly surprised.

Taekwondo for Autism

2010-05-22T13:35:00.005-07:00

For a few weeks now John and I have been participating in an autism-related project. I have been around people with autism and disabilities my whole life, since my Mom is the head of the Southwest Autism Network. They recently put together a "peer-group" activity for adults with autism in which they are able to work side-by-side with people who don't have autism (me and John). This particular project is a Taekwondo class. We all meet at a dance studio every Saturday afternoon and participate in an hour long class, led by Logan, a black belt in Taekwondo. We take turns holding bags so the other can punch, kick and do combinations. It is a great way for the people with autism to get into a routine, follow direction, get a workout, and have fun with peers! It has been so fun, and feels really rewarding at the end of the day.

Here is what the studio looks like:

There are curtains that can be pulled to cover the mirrors in case it proves too distracting, and a "break area" over to the left when things get a little overwhelming. You can also see a board against the wall that has Velcro for pictures showing which step is next, (Bow in, warm up, stretch, punch etc) something that is really helpful for the people with autism.

I couldn't think of a better way to spend our Saturdays, and it feels really amazing to be helping out the autism community!

Sleep?

2010-05-20T22:10:00.003-07:00

I had another fit of Budapest-induced insomnia last night.

Our apartment building:

Credit to Jack and Cathie Holmes

Improptu Snail Funeral

2010-04-11T18:13:00.003-07:00

So a snail in our pond died today. Well actually, judging by the smell, he probably died when I found him floating on Friday, but stuck him back on the side, hoping he still had some life left in him. As per most of my "insignificant" pets, he had a funeral. I made a cross out of sticks and grabbed one of our lillies from inside, and my family and I said some "words" which consisted of my 7 year old neice saying that "I only knew you today, on your death day". It is was pretty funny- as much as a snail death can be... here's his "headstone":

Have you had a snail funeral lately? I slightly suggest it.

Wine Label Spotting

2010-04-04T13:39:00.005-07:00

I have a love for great wine label art and I have been known on occasion to buy the wine with the prettiest label (advertising sucker). My mom found this gem when shopping for wine for our Easter ham dish. Feast your eyes:

I just adore the label. Three legged disembodied head with wings? Well, why not!?

Bonus picture:
Hungarian flag Easter egg!

Makos Kifli, a Birthday Treat!

2010-03-25T08:01:00.009-07:00

Yesterday was John's birthday, and so I decided to make one of his favorite desserts for him: Makos Kifli! These Hungarian cookies are made by wrapping a sour cream butter dough around a ground poppy seed filling. "Makos" means poppy seed, while "Kifli" means crescent. These are most certainly a labor of love, so John's birthday was a perfect occasion to make them! This is the recipe I used (modified slightly) along with some pictures!

Ingredients:

* Dough

1 1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
2 2/3 tbsp sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* Poppy Seed Filling

3/4 cup poppy seed, freshly ground
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp milk
2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl, cream together butter and egg yolks. Add the sour cream and vanilla. Mix in the flour until smooth, gather the dough into a ball. Turn out onto floured surface, and roll into a smooth log. Slice the dough into 24 equal size pieces, rolling each into a ball (about the size of a walnut). Refrigerate while making the filling, it makes the dough much easier to work with. In a saucepan, combine all of the filling ingredients. Over low heat, stir constantly about 5 minutes until mixture thickens slightly. Take off heat and let cool. The filling should be easy to spread, if too thick add a touch more milk. Preheat oven to 350. Flour work surface and roll each ball out one at a time to about 1/16 inch thick. Spread some filling on the inside (one or two spoonfulls) and roll up the edge closest to you, continuing until the it is in a roll shape. Pinch the edges to seal, and curve into a crescent shape. Place on a greased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Continue until all of the Makos Kifli are rolled, and then bake until very lightly browned. Cool, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

The dough, ready to be gathered into a ball:

The dough rolled into a log. Baguette, anyone?:

The dough balls, ready to be refrigerated:

One dough ball rolled out, ready for the filling:

All finished rolling and filling, ready to bake!:

Finally, ready to be devoured!:

Happy Birthday my love!!!

Walking With Dinosaurs- Live!

2010-03-21T09:41:00.007-07:00

While John and I were in Paris last summer, we saw ads in the metro for something called "Walking with Dinosaurs- Live" (though it was in French of course) and we were depressed to see that it was playing just a few days after we left. Not really knowing what it was, we forgot about it until around October, when we saw a commercial on tv for the very same thing, coming to Albuquerque! We quickly alerted my dad, who is a little obsessed with dinosaurs, and we got four tickets for March.

Well, it was last night and it was amazing! Basically the dinosaurs are giant puppets that come out into the arena while the "paleontologist" talks about them, etc etc. Each dinosaur was more amazing and more giant than the one before it! We had such close seats (4th row) that the Brachiosaurus actually reached his neck out over us. The music was great, and when the final giant Mommy T-Rex came out to protect her baby from the Triceratops and Ankylosaurus, my body started coursing with adrenaline. It was slightly embarrassing, because my mind logically knew that it wasn't real...but her roar was so loud and so intense and she was so dang huge that the survival instincts of my cave-men ancestors kicked in!

Here are some not so great pictures (cell phone) but hopefully the point gets across!

The Allosaurus:

The Raptors devouring a corpse next to the humble paleontologist:

The Brachiosauruses (whose heads barely cleared the arena ceiling!):

The amazing yet slightly terrifying T-rex:

The T-rex with her baby:

It was an amazing night. Walking with Dinosaurs Live is touring Europe, the US and Japan as we speak, so go see it!

On a side note, my Mom left for India this morning- Have a great trip Mom!

The Wonder That is Byki- A Review.

2010-03-20T15:23:00.008-07:00

You might not be surprised to know that are no Hungarian lessons offered here in Albuquerque. After realizing this slightly sad fact, I set out on a quest to learn as much as I could on my own before leaving. One of the ways that I have done this is through Byki, a free language learning software, available from their website www.Byki.com. They offer over 70 languages and unlike Rosetta Stone, actually have Hungarian as one of them.

The language is taught through drills using virtual flashcards and if you're lucky, audio and pictures too. Though the software itself does not come with many flash cards, users can submit their own "lists" that are downloadable from the "List Central Community" feature of the website. I have learned many, many useful things such as colors, fruits and vegetables, days of the week, seasons, greetings, etc etc. The only critique that I have is that it does not teach grammar, so I am left with a group of seemingly detached Hungarian nouns in my brain. But that's what books are for, and more recently- Pimsleur's Hungarian Audio Program that has taught the actual speaking part of it.

This is how it works, and what it looks like for those who may be thinking of using it.
This is the first step, where a flashcard is presented with the Hungarian and English word (and sometimes a picture) side by side. If the card has audio, the word will be said to ensure proper pronunciation:

This is the second step, where the Hungarian word is presented and the user must say the English word and later, type it in as I have done here:

Finally, the third step (which is the most difficult- this is where you can tell if you really know the word or not!) in which the English word is presented and the user must spell out the corresponding Hungarian word. Accents are made on the vowels by using the arrow keys after typing said vowel; this scrolls through all of the accent options (and in Hungarian, there are a lot!). I have written in the Hungarian word for "yellow" here:

After an entire "list" has been learned, some fun, triumphant music plays to make you feel good about your accomplishment.

There are many other features as well including, slowing down the speaker's voice (the little turtle icon), and refreshing "stale" words so that they are not forgotten.

I give Byki a 4/5 for ease of use, effectiveness and overall fun. I take off one point for no grammar lessons. And best of all- It's Free! Go try it out!

Hungary News

2010-03-17T14:44:00.004-07:00

A lot of great news has been coming our way lately, and I have finally had the desire to blog it all. So we got our placement, and not only is it in Budapest but it is at the same elementary school! We have also been put into contact with the two very nice teachers whose lives we are essentially taking over and they have given us great advice, as well as sharing with us some photos of our apartment.
And here they are!

The balcony (which I am thrilled to have), the kitchen and the living room. Jack and Cathie have also suggested that we take over Cathie's volunteering at the local animal shelter which is just a few blocks from our apartment. She walks the dogs every so often into the wooded area around the shelter. We are in Ujpest, which is the very northern part of Budapest along the Duna. It has a very interesting history and is quite industrial as far as I can tell, but has a neighborhood feel to it.
Aside from all these great new developments, we have been playing too much WoW, studying some Hungarian and most recently doing some concept art for my Dad and Ann. Time seems to be flying and crawling simultaneously.

Church's Chicken Does Romania

2010-02-25T19:44:00.008-07:00

Today as I was driving the long and lonely road to work I noticed something that has never caught my attention before. Wait- why is Church's Chicken flying the Romanian flag??

I quickly alerted John to the situation, and asked him to look it up. It turns out the Romanian flag has vertical stripes instead of horizontal ones like the flag I witnessed (who can keep all those vertical/horizontal stripes straight anyways??). But to me, it seems close enough to be strange, even uncanny.

See what I mean? That would be like a Japanese grocery store having an upside-down American flag as their logo.

More notable flag look-alikes:

Flag of Hungary vs:

Flag of Italy.

And next:

Flag of Belgium vs:

The Flag of Germany.

How unoriginal are these flag makers?
"Oh I know, let's take this already existing flag and turn it on its side! No one will ever notice!"

Since I'm 99% sure that the country of Romania existed before Church's Chicken (note that pesky 1% of doubt -along with the 349% sarcasm-) Shame on you Church's Chicken.

the last AIIIIRRRBBBEENNNDDEEERRR!!!

2010-02-19T18:38:00.003-07:00

After obsessing over the series Avatar: The Last Airbender to the point of having an "Avatar night" whenever the new Dvds were released, to say that I am excited for the movie is a bit of an understatement. If you have not seen the trailers yet, go to the movie site and watch them- now! We are getting goosebumps over here. Little Aang is amazing, and the trailer even shows him going into the avatar state.
There has been some criticism that all of the cast isn't Asian but I say get over it. We will be first in line to flood the theater on opening night.

An International Order.

2010-02-02T19:57:00.005-07:00

It is my second week of my new job, working at a flower shop. I am a "call-center" person, so I work in an office, not in the flower stores themselves. But today I did, just to give me a feel for what it's like. Today, I was working at a register helping a customer, while my coworker helped a woman who came in to send flowers internationally. I happened to glance over, and where should she be happening to send flowers to? Why, to nowhere else but Hungary of course! I could not believe it, the ONE day that I work in a store, a woman sends flowers to Hungary. What are the odds of that?? She wrote the card message in Hungarian, "Oszinte Resztuetunk. Szeretettel, (insert name) es (insert name)" I figured it means something along the lines of "Sincere (I don't know this bit) . Affectionately, (or lovingly) (name) and (name)" So there you have it, when the world thinks I have forgotten about what's coming up, something pops up to remind me.

Thoughts.

2010-01-29T16:58:00.002-07:00

I have just completed my first week of grueling training at my new job, a local flower shop. I work in the sales department in a small office above the actual flower shop. This week seemed never ending, and now it is over. But it has reminded me of something extremely important and something that I believe in relentlessly: work to live, don't live to work. That's all.

Carrot Legs McGee

2010-01-14T18:36:00.003-07:00

As I believe I have mentioned before, we belong to Los Poblanos organics, a weekly fruit and vegetable box that we pick up at a local book store. They grow and pick it themselves, it's all organic and the taste of the produce is ridiculously amazing. Well this week, I chose this batch of "rainbow carrots" (just different colors) because of this little guy:

LEGS! He is currently roasting in the oven and I can smell his deliciousness. He will be sure to be tasty and two-legged. I tell ya, If you ever need inspiration for a surrealist painting, look no further than your fresh produce. Or is it only me who is inspired by carrots with legs?

New Year, What's Been Going On?

2010-01-14T14:54:00.004-07:00

I can't believe I haven't updated in so long. A lot has happened. Graduation, Christmas, New Years etc. We've been staying relatively busy with our CETP applications (which are being sent out TODAY) and our TEFL course (which I should be doing but the 20 or so tenses of English verbs are currently frightening me away). I have also been working on a new painting. I initially meant to submit it to Spectrum 17 but the deadline is in a week and there is just no way that I will be able to finish. I am submitting my Venus de Milo painting however. Fingers crossed! One of the Christmas present that John and I received was Pimsleur's Hungarian audio CDs. We have been doing a lesson or so every day and can now form real sentences, ask directions, order in restaurants etc. It is a tricky language but extremely fun to speak. Without further ado here is a picture of my newest painting in progress. It is still in the monochromatic underpainting phase.

It is called "Bubbles over Budapest" and I still have a long way to go.

Victory Rolls: A Success!

2009-11-29T14:07:00.003-07:00

This was my first attempt at victory rolls in my hair! I love it and I look like the perfect 40s girl. Ignore the bobby pins, I didn't quite hide them well enough. I have one on the other side, but I thought a closeup was in order. Amazingly adorable if I do say so myself, and not terribly difficult either.

Another Painting Shot.

2009-11-24T13:44:00.003-07:00

Ignore the glare.
Critique was....eh. It started out by my teacher "picking on me" because why would I choose to put a head on the Venus de Milo but not arms? Well, art historian, because the original Venus de Milo has a head. Awkward. Then someone in my class said "It's just a naked chick" which seemed a little rude, but she came up to me after class and said it was a compliment, more of a sarcastic comment toward the teacher. Because yes, she has a head. My teacher of course asked about the long neck, which I was prepared for, I wrote an accompanying paper on all of the artistic decisions I made. So, that's about it.

On a lighter note, I decided to submit a painting to Spectrum 17. I found a call for submissions, and the deadline is January 22nd. I will have all of winter break and a large portion of January to finish it up, but first I need to figure out what I should paint. It wasn't such a great critique.

Painting...Finished!

2009-11-23T19:37:00.005-07:00

Tomorrow is the big day, I will show my painting in front of around 200 people. I am extremely nervous but hey, I finished it! Which is never expected really... But here she is: The picture sucks yet again because my phone camera is awful. That is why is is grainy etc. But the point will get across I hope:

I feel relatively confident about the critique but after having stared at one thing for hours and hours and hours, it is hard for me to judge her objectively. It it sort of a blur to me now. Maybe it will look different in context. Wish me luck!

Painting Progress Part Harom

2009-10-30T20:42:00.002-07:00

So I broke down and did the face today. It was scary but actually went pretty quickly.

Here she is:

I based her on a picture of Jessica Stam, the model. So there you have it.

Painting Progress Part Ketto

2009-10-29T20:04:00.004-07:00

I have been working on my painting a lot in the past few days. I am about done with the body and the fabric parts, even adding cracks and chips as per the original sculpture. I have fallen in love with her. So here are the pictures:

The fabric part of the sculpture. You can see cracks in the leg and a few other places.

The body portion. I still haven't done the face yet, since that is the scariest part.

So what do you think? Good, yes? This is going to be critiqued in front of 200 people. That's pretty intimidating but I think my piece can stand for itself. I still have a lot to do but I am pleased with the progress I have made so far!

Venus de Milo Painting Progress.

2009-10-26T10:19:00.003-07:00

For my Art History class, we have an option instead of doing a 10 page research paper to do an art project (if you are a studio major) and a 2 page paper. I am obviously doing this option and I am using the "Venus de Milo" as my inspiration. The point is to create a piece being informed by a piece that we've talked about in class. So here it is: My modern interpretation of the Venus de Milo (of course it is a painting, not a statue)

The picture is a little poor in quality since it is from my cell phone, but you get the point. I only started working on it yesterday so I am pretty happy with how much of the first layer I completed. More to come!

Sweet Dreams of Budapest

2009-10-25T09:30:00.002-07:00

Last night (or this morning actually) I was dreaming about being in Budapest. It was so amazing, though different than it is in real life of course. There was a giant building shaped like a box of Crayola crayons. We ate amazing food, and I went swimming in the Danube. Only 7 more weeks until we are done with college.

You'd Think I Woulda Done This Sooner...

2009-10-19T16:42:00.002-07:00

So, in preparation for becoming a little Hungarian housewife (not until August but I don't think I can start too early) I have been trying to home cook more meals. Not just assembling but actually cooking. I want to be able to provide for our little ex-pat family, and I want to actually eat real grown up food. Which, in college, we have definitely not been doing.
I was taking a nap today (still trying to fight this flu) and I starting having the worst craving for Tuna Helper. Yeah, I'm not sure what that's about either. We haven't had tuna helper in this house for years, so I thought hey! I'm going to look up a recipe for "homemade" tuna helper.
I rifled through the pantries and found an expired box of Kraft Mac n Cheese so I just threw away the "cheese" packet and kept the noodles. Here's my much modified recipe for "made from scratch TunaHelper":

Ingredients:

1 can of tuna, drained
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup milk (at least)
1 Bay leaf
Salt, Pepper, and Poultry Seasoning to taste
Noodles (8 oz or so)

Boil water and cook the noodles until just done. Remove from heat, drain, put aside. In a skillet, saute the onions with the butter until soft. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to coat. Start adding the milk slowly, until you have the desired thickness. I lost count of how much milk I used, I just eyeballed it. Add lots of pepper and salt and throw in a bay leaf for good measure. Add in the poultry seasoning until it tastes delicious and keep stirring to cook the flavors together. Add more milk if it gets too thick. Remove the bay leaf and add the can of tuna, stirring well. Finally, add the drained noodles and stir until completely mixed into the sauce. Enjoy!

This was so so good. Much better than regular Tuna Helper and probably (maybe?) healthier too. I am definitely adding this dish to my repertoire. When far from home, being able to cook up a delicious hot meal for yourself and your other half is invaluable. Try it!

Sick, and Right in Time for Fall Break.

2009-10-15T16:02:00.003-07:00

Well, the entire household is sick, including John and I. Fevers, Chills, Headaches, Body Aches, Uncontrollable Coughing, I have it all. Taking my H1N1y-ness to school for midterms was no small feat, and now all I can do is lay in bed. These 4 days off are needed, but in a different way than I had first expected.

Halfway There.

2009-10-11T17:10:00.003-07:00

I cannot believe that this semester is basically halfway over. It has gone by quickly, yet I count every day. The household has all fallen ill however, right when I have 3 midterms this week. Arg. Well, I will get through it as I always do. I have had to start thinking about invitations, graduation parties, etc etc. I even made an invite list! I truly cannot believe that I've done it.

Dreams of Sinking Parisian Balloonscapes

2009-10-03T20:46:00.003-07:00

Last night I had a strange dream. I was in Paris, and I had met a Finnish girl there in a haunted house. I remember telling her that I was learning Hungarian, and we talked about how Hungarian and Finnish are somewhat close (at least in the same language family). I asked her how long she had been in Paris. We got to talking about how we had both entered and had been chosen for this raffle, for a chance to ride on this multi-level floating underwater building thing. It was a scientific breakthrough, it was as big as a skyscraper. It was held together with old cars, and the whole thing was made out of inflatable rubber/plastic. I took pictures of it before we went on the first "test dive". This was supposed to make it possible for people to live underwater in the future. So we went underwater, and were theoretically supposed to be avoiding some evil squid monsters. An announcer said that it was going well, and welcome to this exclusive view into new technology. We were lucky to have been chosen in this raffle. The announcer said that this plan was fool-proof, except when someone jumped up and down. It created a shock-wave that flipped me onto my head, like a waterbed. We went through several underwater stations with workers in headsets. The plastic floor was leaking slightly.
Finally, it was time for us to "live" on this unbelievably huge, underwater balloonscape, held together by old cars, all the while trying to avoid the evil squids which would surely pop our underwater inflatable city. Much happened while we were underwater, my Finnish friend became ill and so I bought her black and red eyeliner in the giftshop. Eventually and inevitably, the squids came to pop our city. Water was leaking in, and we were all struggling to evacuate. We were somehow in this giant pool now. I was trying to gather up all of my belongings, and there was an auction going on for all of the items that had been "orphaned" because of the popping city. I was concerned I wouldn't get out, but still couldn't decide on all of the items from my room that I would take. My dolls? My art? My skull collection? How could I leave any of it behind after I had worked so hard to collect it? Finally my Finnish friend told me I could take two trash bags full of items. I grabbed some of my sister's old stuffed animals. I cried and lamented over the furniture and various marionettes that I couldn't fit into my bag.
The inflatable balloonscape finally flipped, and my friend and I, being on the first floor, were now at the bottom of the pool. I swam to the top and remember seeing floating, sleeping people and all of their belongings floating around them.
I awoke with a vague feeling of sorrow, of all of the items that I love but will not be able to take with me to Hungary. I feel guilty, and regretful that some of my collections must stay behind.

An Ambitious Sunday.

2009-09-27T18:48:00.003-07:00

Though ungodly busy with school and an attempt to balance my other non-school related interests, I still have time to cook on Sundays. This is something that will not give. Today was our most ambitious menu to date, and left me feeling tired but satisfied. The menu was as follows:

Appetizer:
Chevre and Baguette
Baba Ganoush

Drink:
Hungarian Bull's Blood Wine

Main Course:
Seasoned Salmon
Apple Chicken Sausages

Side Dishes:
Apple Butternut Squash Risotto with Caramelized Onions
Toasted Squash Seeds with Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Raw Veggie Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Dessert:
Zucchini Bread
Apple Berry Medley topped with Pecan Oat Crunch

Really, who eats this way? My motto in life, I've come to realize is: Simple? No thanks.

Carmelized Onion Flatbread

2009-09-14T15:34:00.005-07:00

After a long and stressful day of classes, I find that having something yummy around really soothes my soul. This was just what I needed. Caramelizing onions is one of those things that takes forever, but the results are well worth it. This is simply a piece of Tandori Naan, topped with melted Gruyere cheese and then smothered with peppery caramelized onions. It was amazing. These little things keep me sane in such stressful times as these!

Egri Bikaver

2009-09-13T15:25:00.004-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I went shopping with my parents at the local Trader Joe's. It was up to me to pick out the red wine, since it is still hot outside, I seem to be the only one in my house drinking it. I decided to look for some Hungarian wine, on the off chance that a store in Albuquerque, New Mexico would have some. Sure enough, on the bottom shelf, tucked in a corner, I came across Bull's Blood wine from Eger. I jumped around elatedly (in my mind at least) at having found a Hungarian wine that I had even heard of! I had read a little blurb about its rich history in my Eyewitness travel book.

The story goes like this: In the 16th century when the Magyars were holding off the Turks (like everyone else at the time) they drank copious amounts of this wine, and rumor spread amongst the Turks that they had added Bull's blood to the wine to keep them fierce and strong.

Great story. Tonight, being Sunday and unofficial wine night, I opened up our first bottle of Hungarian wine, and it is so delicious. I kept the cork to make a necklace out of. My family all tried it as well, and hot weather or not, the Bull's Blood rests sleepily in all of our bellies tonight.

Sweet Nothings

2009-09-08T20:50:00.002-07:00

Apparently last night I was saying Hungarian phrases in my sleep. A half asleep John repeated them back to me. I think I can remember it if I think hard enough. There's nothing quite like sleepy Hungarian phrases muttered in the middle of the night.

New Painting

2009-09-07T14:46:00.003-07:00

Wow, blogging has been a little slow lately...I blame the nine classes that I'm taking. I'm unfortunately not taking Advanced Painting like I had wanted to, so I am filling up my free time with this new painting I started a few days ago. I drew a beautiful sketch so I actually transferred it the proper way (with a grid). So here she is. I just put on the first layer of grisaille (gray underpainting) which will eventually be glazed over with colors to create a more rich and realistic surface. I think I love her.

Nostalgique

2009-08-31T20:06:00.004-07:00

Today as I was trying to braid my hair in the mirror (unsuccessfully I might add) in the old bathroom that used to be me and my sister's in my dad's house, a familiar feeling of nostalgia washed over me. I thought of how many times I had washed up in that bathroom, taken baths as a baby, tried on makeup as a teenager, cried after a bad day. The floor is now partially strewn with my niece's bath toys, the shower curtain has changed, and my stuff no longer crowds the counter top.
Things change in such an interesting way.
I spend a lot of my time being nostalgic or looking towards the future. Longing for times past, remembering songs I listened to or people I knew, places I've been. Fantasizing about where I will be a year from now, what I will be seeing, who I will know, what new experiences will thrill and frustrate me. I desperately hold onto memories, yet reach just at desperately at memories not yet made. I must reconcile the two and live somewhere in the here and now. Oh, who am I kidding. I'm a dreamer.

First Week of School

2009-08-28T13:00:00.003-07:00

Another leaf bug spotted on campus.

My writing has been a little sparse lately, due to it being the first week of school. It's been a lot of waiting, as I have as long as 6 hours between each class. But, that's what happens when it's your last semester and you have no other choice! I briefly thought about staying at UNM one more semester to take Advanced Painting (when I found out you get your own studio) but I decided against it. I am going to work hard to set up a good studio space in our room when we graduate.

We de-installed our show this morning. It went well, even though no one showed up to help.

Musings from Another Time and Place: Chapitre 2

2009-08-23T11:24:00.003-07:00

Chapter 2:
Germany

Age: 21

"We were all bumbling around trying to figure out how the hell to work the machines or get detergent. You get the soap from this wall dispenser when you put in money...We just wanted to find food, so we stumbled into a Turkish cafe..."

Photo taken in a laundromat in Munchen, Germany

Dreams of Underwater Cities

2009-08-22T08:21:00.005-07:00

I had the most beautiful dream last night. It's slipping away so fast, I'm typing as fast as I can to preserve it's beauty.

I was at Eldorado (my old high school) going to a French class. My teacher wasn't there, so we were all just sitting there. A lot of people I knew from high school were there, and this guy started telling me how there is this internet thing going around now saying "Babysan sucks, Sam rules" or "Babysan dumb, Sam smart". It was something really stupid like that. I obviously knew that Sam had done this and he walked by the open classroom right as we were all talking about this. He threatened the guy I was talking to and went to his class, which was up this green mountain. I could see him walking up the path. He was saying all this horrible stuff about me and the guy I was with, and John. And so I finally craned my neck outside and started shouting insults at him. He was saying bad things about my fashion sense, "Black shirts and jeans, which I bought for her? Come on.." (which is so not what I wear...) So he was getting angrier and angrier and he had a helicopter, and he started bringing it around next to the classroom, and the blades started cutting into the room. I fell backwards and thought my head had been cut off, but I was ok. I ran out into these beautiful gardens, where I was trying to find a hiding place with my dad. I kept changing where I was hiding. There were these green houses, and I kept running from one to another, my dad was getting angry. Then this moose saw us, and was threatening to charge. If the moose did this, it would call so much attention to us that Sam would see us for sure. So my dad wanted me to stay still but I just tried to run to the other greenhouse. The moose started charging as my Dad tried to follow me. I said "Jump!" to try and get him from one greenhouse to the other but he got stuck in these ropes. The moose was in the ropes too, and it was wrapping my Dad up. He said "I'm going to die, right here!" And I said "Dad, come on, you aren't going to die." And then the moose came after me. I ran out where there was a stream, and I knew I needed to jump in. But then I saw Sam, he was with someone else, and he was getting in the stream too. So I tried very quietly to float on my back, and swim away from where they were. "Dig Ophelia" by Rasputina was playing. It was terribly appropriate.

Dig Ophelia Consider it dug,
Flower madness and polar bear rug
Here's the water just ankle deep high
Lay back, relax and look up at the sky

Your eyes never close,
Your mind's not at rest
Lay back get waterlogged,
Give us a kiss.

Water spreads the small seed
Water kills the tall weed
Ophelia

Cut the stem and we'll see how you feel,
Floating orchids just aint no big deal,
Never knowing's like knowing too much
Tap the table now here's more bad luck

Your eyes never close,
Your mind's not at rest
Lay back get waterlogged
Give us a kiss.

Water spreads the small seed
and Water kills the tall weed
Ophelia

I figured that I should probably just lay back relax and look up at the sky and so I let the current take me. I hit a water fall/water slide. I tried to relax and just let it take me. When I got to the bottom, there were steps leading down, like there used to be a castle there or something, that had flooded. I had a lantern and kept going deeper and deeper in. The water was chin-deep now, but I kept going. I let myself slip beneath the water, and to my astonishment, I could breathe just fine. I came up above water in disbelief, and submerged myself again just to see if I really could breathe. I could. I saw that there was sort of a room or bar where a lot of people were underwater. I passed some sort of a threshold where "the water went from smooth to soft, and the fish fins became smooth and disappeared" it was terrible poetic. This line kept cycling. When I passed this threshold, I was in this beautiful, sparkling city (more of a town really). Everything was bright and illuminated, palely colorful. I decided to swim into the bar and when I did, a band began to play and the whole room started in on it. I had seen that they just did this for me, so I was concerned that maybe these people were evil. I acted like I was leaving but really just perched myself atop of some underwater trees. Sure enough, as soon as I left, they stopped playing this music and returned to normal, chatting and the like. I was suspicious but tried to shake off these feelings while I was in the trees, overlooking the town.

I got down because I saw things for sale, and I bought something called "A thousand color jacket" Something so bright and illuminated, the locals called it the "Grandeur Defier" (I'm not sure why). I knew that down in this underwater city I could be bright, cast off my black clothes and be illuminated. I was walking and/or swimming around when this woman approached me. Somehow I told her who I was and she just said "oh dear lord" or something and turned away from me. I was afraid that I was bad for them. But then people began to gather and gawk at me. It was revealed who I was and they told me that I was the sole ancestor of all these people. When I crossed the threshold I had entered a place that was stuck in sped up time, generations and generation reproducing while the world outside trudged along dully. I looked around at all of the citizens, trying to see my face in each one of them. I was somewhat of a myth to them, and my arrival was very important. The old woman from before came and gave me a necklace, a vial with sparkling fluid in it. I put it around my neck. She said something along the lines of "Now that will cure your thyroid cancer". I then realized that all of what had happened had led me down here, so I could get this magic vial from my descendants. I marveled at the way life works out sometimes before I thanked them and left, once again crossing the threshold. Things weren't so shimmery anymore, and the fish went from smooth, sparkly and finless, to grey and sad, fins intact. I had a doll now, I don't know why. I think I had bought her in the underwater descendant city. I emerged above water in the gardens again, where I was to fall down a water fall/slide. I knew that something needed to change after this beautiful experience, so I vowed that I would read to my doll every day, who was now alive. We slid together down the falls into the pool below, where my doll needed to administer the sparkling dust from my necklace. How this is done is by blowing into one end of it while pointing it at the person intended for the cure, and the sparkling dust poofs into their face. So my doll had the necklace and she was just about to do it, when something distracted her and she turned, blowing the shimmering powder into the face of a young boy wading in the water nearby. I was in shock, as my one chance at having my thyroid cancer cured, this magic dust destined for me and given to me by hordes of my descendants, was gone. Just like that. I hadn't even known anything was wrong.

So now, what does this one mean? I think this would make an amazing graphic novel... (add one project to my ever-growing list of unfinished business) Anyone else?

Cooking Adventures

2009-08-21T13:19:00.004-07:00

My journey to becoming a self-sufficient-ish housemaker in preparation for Budapest trumps along, day by day. The other night was a surprising bit of culinary genius. I modified a "Simply Recipes" recipe to accommodate what ingredients we had and didn't have. And oh good god was it delicious.

Caramelized Onion Quiche (intrigued yet??)

2 Tbsp olive oil

2-3 Onions (I used white), French cut

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 1/4 cup low fat milk

3 eggs

Pinch nutmeg

1 1/2 cup low fat aged cheddar

No crust on this bad boy. We didn't have any unsalted butter, and well, I just didn't want to expend the energy of making a crust.

The onions take an hour to caramelize. This recipe takes time, but is worth it in the end.

Heat olive oil in large pan over medium heat. Add onions and a bit of salt. Stir occasionally until translucent. Turn heat to medium low and cook another 40 minutes. Once they are browned, add balsamic vinegar to caramelize further, about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese along the bottom of a tart pan (I used a round Pyrex one). Spread the onions over the cheese and add the remaining cheese on top of the onions. In a different bowl, whisk eggs and milk. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour over cheese. Bake for about 40 minutes, until set in center. Yum. Just Yum.

Insomniacs for Hungary

2009-08-21T09:14:00.005-07:00

I had a bout of insomnia last night, after not having one for quite some time. In my mind, I was obsessing over Hungary. This small country wouldn't let me sleep. I was fantasizing, romanticizing, figuring out decorations for our Budapest flat, thinking about students and how I would teach them. I kept going over all of the things that I can say in Hungarian. "Valerie vagyok" "Hogy vagy" "Tanar vagyok. Nem ertem". "Hol van a szarvas?" Hungarian was truly littering my mind. I couldn't shake it. After getting up to go to the bathroom and get some water, I tried to let it go. It worked for awhile.

Photo: Chain Bridge, Budapest by night

Musings from Another Time and Place

2009-08-17T12:40:00.005-07:00

Ever since I have traveled abroad, I have kept journals of my experiences. Some have been better and more frequently updated then others, but still, they exist in some shape or form. I have been trying to get them all together (all the way back to when I was 11) but it has proven to be a bit of a challenge. Through several moves and simply the passage of time, they have been misplaced. Though last weekend, I found my journal from Japan. I was so pleased. I love reading what I thought of things when I saw them, and at what age, and how my perceptions have changed. I would like this to be somewhat of a "blog series", with chapters, in which I take my favorite excerpts out of my travel journals.

Chapter 1:

Japan

Age: 17

"The first night was hard. I suppose I was expecting the transition to be a bit more smooth...My stomach sank and I realized where I was, how incredibly far away I was from anything known and familiar...There's stars on the ceiling here, to make up for the ones in the sky that the lights of Tokyo outshine."

Photo: Taken in a tram car in Hakone Nat'l Park, Japan.

Show Installation

2009-08-15T16:22:00.016-07:00

The postcard for our show, which we got today.

Whew. Today was a long one, spent installing our gallery show. We started at 11 AM and we just got home. It's 5:30 PM! It took so long because not everybody was there to help, and there's just a whole lot to do. The show turned out really really well though. It looks amazing!

This is a small portion of the crap needed to install a show.

The room where said crap is kept. In here you will find paint, pedestals, shelves, glass, projectors, bleach, sponges, nails, staple guns, velcro, levels, measuring tapes and just about anything else you can think of. David brought us a bag of fruit to munch on that you can sort of see peeking out.

The gallery space, more or less. Everyone sort of had their pieces just resting on the wall at this point. Then much (much) rearrangement ensued.

One of the many pow-wows of the afternoon. You can see John fiddling with the projector. This happened a lot today.

Another common sight, everyone holding up the pieces so we can all see how it looks together. We took turns doing this. That black dress is one of my pieces.

After all of the pieces were arranged, measured, nailed, leveled and hung, the lighting began.

I made the entrance sign with stencils and a super king size Sharpie. I think I lost more than a few brain cells doing this. Indira made a sign with all of the artist's names, while Jeff and Quin mounted the title cards and wall texts.

My piece hung, lit very well (Thanks John), with title card and wall text. It looks beautiful!

A picture of the space completed! It looks very polished and nice. Thank God we're done. Which leads me to my next point:

The back of the postcard, showing where and when the show (and reception) is. If you come, there will be food!!!

All in all, this installation was a really great experience. Tiring, yes. Maddening, yes. Totally worth it? Absolutely.

Bread Pudding, Birthday Dinner

2009-08-14T14:26:00.013-07:00

My Dad originally wanted to go to a New Orleans themed restaurant across town for his birthday dinner. The problem is, it went out of business. I had my high school graduation party there, and have very fond memories of it. It was something to appease my longing for New Orleans here in Albuquerque. They had the best bread pudding. So, my Dad instead requested that we make him some chocolate bread pudding for his birthday. I thought we should make an event of it, with Leah, myself and Ann (Grammy) all helping. It was very very fun and it turned out delicious. No recipe for now, as I don't have it, and there will be more than enough pictures to appease your sweet tooth:

My niece Leah cracked the eggs like a pro. She was amazing!

See? Grammy is grating chocolate in the background. We all had "jobs".

Leah then whisked the eggs at a furious pace! Do you see how hard she is concentrating?

This recipe required an obscene amount of bowls, each with its own little concoction. Leah wanted to try her hand at grating the baking chocolate.

She didn't quite have the strength to grate it all before it melted all over her little fingers!

Finally all of the mixtures are combined, and poured over the top of the cubed bread (which I did..).

After baking. It smelled amazing!!!

We also made a bourbon sauce.

Leah got to drink apple juice out of a tiny tiny wine glass, so that we could do a birthday toast. See that ketchup heart on her plate? I made that for her and then she refused to dip her chicken nuggets into it because the heart would be ruined! Too cute.

Cheers! Happy Birthday again, Dad!

Dreams of Hungary...part deux

2009-08-14T09:44:00.003-07:00

Last night I had the most vivid dream of Hungary, one of the most vivid I've ever had in fact. Unfortunately now that I am awake, the details are slipping away.

John and I were in Hungary, and we were doing a homestay in Budapest (I think it was orientation for CETP) and we were paired with a Gypsy family. They lived in this little hovel, that looked like some sort of Turkish harem. They spoke English very well, and they loved us so much and were so curious and fascinated about America. They asked us if we were sad that we were paired with a Gypsy family. I said "No no, in fact I'm so happy that we got to stay with you." Much more happened with them, including wheelchairs, races, and rope bridges.

The fun really started when we were given a Hungarian driver to drop us off in various towns in Hungary. We were speaking with him and I kept doing this thing where whenever I didn't understand someone, I would just start speaking French. They usually spoke French back to me. We drove out of Budapest and the countryside started immediately. There looked to be mountains or hills all around us, but when I looked closer, they were made up of piles of giant vegetables. Potatoes and carrots and everything else you can think of, just gigantic. I grabbed for my camera as a semi-truck drove by hauling an enormous carrot. It was magical and whimsical.

We arrived in a smallish town where the roads were water. Horses swam neck deep in them, pulling carts of people and produce. As we were leaving, there was a sign up ahead about a "mess" meaning there must be an accident or something. I kept thinking it was babies. So it switched over to Ernie driving us in the Passport. He was driving crazy and we eventually "got 10 feet of air" (my exact words) as we flew off the road and crashed. We decided where we were was not safe, so we started walking these penguins/anteaters down the road. They were on leashes. I asked my mom, "Where did we get these anteaters?" She didn't seem to know. There were giant black eggs all over the road that these anteater/penguins had presumably hatched out of.

The leashed creatures led us to their "home" which was sort of an enclosure made up of cardboard boxes, fencing and the like. There were kittens inside. I started taking pictures but a woman came out of a nearby building and starting cursing us in Hungarian. I answered back in French and we sort of became friends. Then as we were leaving this little place, we saw a statue of a giant fist, and a replica of the Sphinx in Egypt.

If anyone is a dream-interpreter, please let me know. It was amazing.

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

2009-08-13T21:01:00.002-07:00

It's my Dad's birthday! This is one of my favorite pictures of me and my dad. We were taking a break on our futons in a Buddhist monastery in Japan. The monks knocked on our doors at 5 AM every morning to watch them chant. No wonder we were tired! I have memories from when I was a little girl of my dad laying like this when he would nap or rest. Like father. like daughter!!! I love you Dad, hope you had a great one!!!

Monsieur Leaf-Bug

2009-08-11T18:24:00.002-07:00

Last night my Mom asked me if I wanted to see a cool bug. Never one to pass up a cool bug sighting, I quickly shouted "Sure! What does it look like?" Mom: "Like a giant leaf with legs." Me: "Is it a leaf bug?" Mom: "What do they look like?" Me: "Like a leaf with legs." So yes, he was a leaf bug, just sitting on the windshield wiper. I thought he was amazing.

Blueberry...Actually Raspberry Muffins

2009-08-10T17:18:00.007-07:00

This really has been the weekend of cooking. I've found that baking actually really relaxes me, and it pleases me when I see people enjoying the food that I have made. Food really does bring people together. So anyways, while I was searching for a new recipe in the low-iodine cookbook, I came across Blueberry Muffins (which lives on the same page as the Oat Bran Applesauce Muffins in the thyca.org low-iodine cookbook). We get an organic box of fruits and veggies every week through Los Poblanos organic farms here in Albuquerque. We pick it up every Monday and have delicious, ripe and in-season produce. Raspberries have been one of the things we've been getting a lot lately. I wanted to use them right away because raspberries are the first to mold in the fridge. So I substituted the blueberries for raspberries in this recipe. They're delicious!

Blueberry (or Raspberry) Muffins

2 egg whites

1 cup water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt (Kosher)

1 cup fresh blueberries (or raspberries)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Beat egg whites. Stir in water and oil. Mix in flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until moistened. Gently fold in berries. Pour batter in the paper-lined muffin pan. Makes 12 muffins.

Contributed by Cathy T.

See something missing in this recipe?? I sure do. How long do you cook them for? I kept an obsessively close eye on them until they started to smell good, puff up, crack and brown. They were cooked perfectly. I think it was around 15-20 minutes.

I cut up the raspberries into fours. They seemed a little large to keep whole in a muffin.

Folding in the chopped raspberries into the batter.

Batter in paper liners before baking.

And after. I peeked inside the wrapper to see if they were done, that's why the front one is a little indecent.

These muffins are delicious and perfect for a low-iodine diet. Make them. Now!

Homemade Tortillas

2009-08-10T16:55:00.008-07:00

Being a native New Mexican, I know a thing or two about tortillas. Growing up, I thought every grocery store in the world carried tortillas. I realize now that I have taken their doughy flat goodness for granted. My life really wouldn't be complete without them. So in preparation for our move to Hungary, I made a batch of homemade tortillas yesterday. I'm going to have to make a batch or so every week in Hungary, so I better get in my practice now! Here's how I did it:

Flour Tortillas

3 cups white flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt (I used Kosher for my sister's low-iodine diet)

5 tbsp vegetable shortening

1 1/4 cup warm water

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Add shortening and knead in with hands. Next add the warm water a little at a time until the dough is soft, not sticky. Knead the dough for a few minutes. Pull off small pieces of the dough to form 12 small balls. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. Heat up nonstick pan over medium heat. Roll out the balls into tortillas on a floured surface. Heat in pan until bubbles form, then flip. They cook up very quickly, only a few seconds on each side.

Dough after kneading, ready for forming. I made a double batch.

After forming 24 small dough balls (Remember I made a double batch). The dough is resting now. Shh...

Rolling out the dough into tortillas. My mom had a tortilla-specific rolling pin that I used.

The aforementioned bubbles. I ended up cooking one in a pan and one straight on the electric burner because I had so many to make. See those finished ones on the plate? You want those little black burn marks. That's what tortillas are all about.

Et Voila. Finished Tortillas. mmm.. I could definately do this every week in Central Europe. Maybe I can bring them to my coworkers and start a tortilla-induced riot? Yeah, I bet I could...

Oat Bran Applesauce Muffins

2009-08-10T16:40:00.005-07:00

Since my sister has to be on a low-iodine diet before her radiation, we have all been scrambling to find things that she can eat. She has never been much of a cook, so we have all been making her things. This muffin recipe is from a low-iodine cookbook that is available as a free PDF on thyca.org. I attempted these first sometime last week, and my sister loved them so much, I made another batch on Saturday!

Oat Bran Applesauce Muffins

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 cups oat bran cereal

1 1/2 cups white flour

1/2 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 Tablespoon baking soda

1/2 Teaspoon salt (Kosher is ok for low-iodine. sea salt and regular is NOT)

4 egg whites

1 cup applesauce, chilled

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Blend together dry ingredients. Add egg whites, chilled applesauce and vegetable oil. Mix well until blended. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Let stand for 10 minutes. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: 12 muffins

Contributed by Elaine J.

These muffins are really easy to make and bake up beautifully. Here's what mine looked like:

Muffins before going into the oven.

Muffins after. They puffed up and browned perfectly!

Rose Petal Beads, In Reality.

2009-08-08T10:27:00.013-07:00

After having a dream about making beads out of rose petals, I thought I would attempt it. John had to do some yardwork for his dad, who happens to have an amazing array of roses blooming in his backyard. So I snipped a few off for myself, and set off on my project.

Rose petal beads were popular in Victorian times, and were mostly used in Christian prayer. I've known about them for a few years now, and am always intrigued by the fact that the beads retain their rosey smell.

I found a few vague tutorials online, so I was more or less winging it. It said what to do but left out important details and the measurements were all wrong. So here is how I did it. Was it a success? I'm not quite sure yet.

These are some of the materials needed. Roses, a mortar and pestle (or blender), some thin cotton fabric, and pins or needles. I chose a variety of colors in my rose petals, but it did not make much of a difference, since they are all ground together.

The petals must then be taken off of the flower, and the small, hard white cuticle cut off. It is at the base of each petal and connects it to the flower itself.

After about an hour or so of grinding. This was really intense work, but I was determined to do it the more authentic way, as opposed to using a blender. I transferred my ground petals into a teacup, for a more direct and intense grind. This worked much better.

Grinding away in the teacup. The mixture had a really nice color at this point, but that was to change quickly...See those little yellow petal chunks? They caused me some problems in this next stage. I was also sort of concerned by the smell, as it was much more leafy than rosy.

After adding water to the mixture, you must heat it in a pan over low heat (be sure not to let it boil or the scent will be destroyed). I didn't know how long or what it was supposed to look like at this point but I wasn't happy with the sort of...cat vomit look it was taking on. I had read that using a cast iron skillet would make the beads black, so I switched over to a small cast iron skillet, hoping to avoid wearing cat vomit beads around my neck.

After switching to a cast iron skillet, the mixture quickly turned an inky black. All except the little yellow pieces. They were resistant to the color-change and so I handpicked out as many pieces as I could. The smell at this point was much improved. They smelled like very fragrant warm roses, and the leafiness was gone. I didn't know how it was supposed to look when it was done, so I just called it done when I became bored of watching it cook.

The excess moisture then must be squeezed out of the mixture. The concoction is placed in a thin cotton fabric, and the water is squeezed out. Using the cast iron skillet made this so much messier, my hands are still stained black.

I then rolled out the mixture into beads and poked them with pins so they could be threaded later. They must be made twice the size as you want them, because they shrink considerably. My mixture wasn't as smooth as I had hoped, and the petals didn't stick together all that well. I hope that when they are dry I can sand and polish them. They look a little like dung rolled up by a dung beetle right now, but they smell amazing. My batch yielded 19 beads, out of about 10 or 12 roses. The recipe I went off of said that 3-4 roses would yield 24 beads. Not true.

This project was fun, messy, therapeutic, gross, and aromatic. All I must do now is wait for them to be dry in a few days and see what I can do to make them smoother. Stay tuned!

The Boot.

2009-08-06T18:23:00.005-07:00

While we were in Germany last summer, I found a boot. We were in the middle of a protest but in search of food in Berlin and it was just sitting there. It enticed me and so I grabbed it, took photos of it, and brought it back over the ocean. The plan was to take it with us everywhere, and take photos of it. "The Traveler's Boot" it was dubbed that night. The problem is, we forgot it in May when we went to France. So...oops. Anyways, the tradition will live in Hungary and beyond (provided I remember).

The boot precariously dangling over the Rhine in Berlin. This is the face of German protest-induced merriment.

The boot with a protest sign. The other side of this sign says "Capitalism is Boring".

The boot made its most prevalent appearances during the protest, but it can also be seen in a German housewarming party, watching the Tour de France, sunbathing in Paris, and eating waffles in Brussels.

Our Little Escape Artist.

2009-08-06T18:08:00.005-07:00

Don't let that cute mug fool you. This is Kitty, otherwise known as Harry Houdini. We had quite a fright today. This photo was taken a few hours after her escapades; if you look hard enough you can still see a little smugness on her face.

So John and I are leaving for Le Peep, to meet up with Leah, G and G. We had been instructed to bring along Leah's "hearty" bear and her "jelly beans" (aka Asthma pills) and a few minutes after leaving the house I realized we had forgotten them. We turned around to get them and pull into the driveway. I see a cat sitting on the side wall, the one bordering the side yard.

I squint my eyes. "Is that Kitty??" John replies "No way, that cat is way too thin to be Kitty." I guess being outside shaves a few pounds off because sure enough, it's Kitty, perched atop the wall, as happy as can be. Now, Kitty is strictly an indoor cat. She has escaped a few times, just to roll around in the driveway. Nothing like this.

So, she immediately jumps down and is meowing happily at us. We sort of crouch down and John tries to grab her. She bolts the other way, around the corner. I tell John to go inside and get the stuff, I'll try to get Kitty back. I turn the corner and she's halfway down the sidewalk, meowing at me. I play along, and act like I'm walking away. She of course follows me. She rolls around in the rocks and tries to rub on a cactus, before jumping up on the same wall. She rolls around up there some more. And I talk to her sweetly while I slowly move towards her. "I'm just going to pet you..I just want to pet you.." "Meow" She lets me pet her and I grab her quickly.

What a booger. She had the time of her life. She must have been out since my Mom left earlier in the morning, because she didn't get by us when we left. Whew. That was a close one. But how could you stay mad at that face??

A Relatively Crafty Saturday.

2009-08-06T15:58:00.007-07:00

This Saturday I was overwhelmed but the sudden urge to craft, to make things. For the most part, I decided to use what I had (and hopefully finish up a lot of my half finished things...). I fixed, assembled, spray painted, gessoed, and more. I can check a few unfinished projects off of my list. I can also add a few more unfinished ones.

An unfinished box that I bought at Hobby Lobby. I'm going to oil paint it and then varnish it, for an amazing one of a kind purse. A work in progress.

A nest I had that I spray painted black. I have since put two black feathers on the underside. All that's left now is to attach it to a hair clip.

A pendant that I've had for about a year, finally put on a chain.

Other miscellaneous unfinished projects.

A crocheted bow that I made out of camel hair yarn that my mom brought me back from India, I just need to add a pin to the back of it.

Two dolls hands that I cut off in a recent sculpture I made, I need to made a sculpey top, paint white, and string on earrings.

Pretty wine corks that I've collected, need to put them on earring hooks.

Finally, A gorgeous filigree "gas mask" that I made in my metal working class. I thought that it is too pretty and I spent too much time sawing all of those little swirlies out that I need to make it useful. I was thinking that I would put it out a comb with some feathers, to wear as a fascinator in my hair.

So there you have it! I've made more work for myself (of course) but it was a good start. Looks like this fall is going to be awesome handmade accessory heavy. I had a dream last night that I was making some rose petal beads. I think I will attempt that this weekend.

The Past Few Days.

2009-08-05T16:28:00.002-07:00

They've been busy. We've been watching Leah, we've really been bonding. She's been so so sweet.

We've been watching movies at night, including "Everything is Illuminated" and "Moulin Rouge". I have a lot of posts to make with pictures, but sewing and Mario have kept me away from the computer. This one will have to be lame.

Surgery.

2009-07-31T14:42:00.004-07:00

This has been some week. Really, I'm not sure I'll ever forget this week. It was filled with highs and lows, tears and laughter, waiting and rushing, frustration and elation, sleep and sleeplessness. It was sort of like life, compiled and spread out over the course of a few days. My sister is one of the strongest people I know, and I never doubted that she would come through this (sort of) unscathed. It isn't over yet, but at least the surgery is. Baby steps.

Portraits of Dead Dogs and Other Waiting Room Sagas

2009-07-31T14:19:00.008-07:00

A hospital waiting room is really something. We spent 15 hours in the hospital on Wednesday, more than half of those hours in the waiting room. It was a hub-bub of activity all day long. I never knew so many people received surgery on Wednesdays.

Somehow I was enlisted to draw a portrait of the receptionists' dead dog. She wanted me to do a lot more, a whole family portrait of dogs and her, but I just did not have the energy. One Scotty portrait was enough.

Having never drawn a dog before (I guess I never really had the need). I was suitably nervous.

Progress shot, after spending an hour or two procrastinating on the eye.

Another progress shot, looking pretty good. Somewhere between these two shots entailed a hospital lunch, a soda, and much obsessing.

Aaaaaand... Done. She absolutely loved it, and said it looked just like him. I was then enlisted to do a portrait of her dead friend with the dead dog, and a few live ones. Oh, and her too. And she is going to pay me! This will be the first "paid commission" I will have ever done. How strange life is. I definitely didn't expect to get a paid art job while waiting for my sister to be out of surgery. But, why not? We'll see how it works out.

The receptionist woman also mentioned that Disney would offer me a job in a heartbeat, as they did with her dead friend (the one who I'm drawing) who had skills like mine. It got me thinking: If I were to be offered a job, working as an artist for Disney in Orlando, would I go? Would I accept getting paid for my art, giving up my dreams of Hungary and travel? The answer, I quickly came to realize, is no. Simply no. This has been what I have wanted for so long. Even a dream job like working for Disney won't derail that.

So there you have it. Not only can I mend your clothes, I can memorialize your dead pet on UNM hospital letterhead paper. Oh, and install a Saran Wrap spiderweb in your home. If you should ever have need for it. Which, really when you think about it, why shouldn't you??

Inflatable Art and the Last Day of Class

2009-07-31T13:52:00.014-07:00

Today was the last day of our 3D Design class. This final inflatable spider was one of the hardest projects that I have ever done! It was fun, sort of. My sewing prowess really came in handy for this. Over all, the spider came out really well, but deflation was our biggest enemy. Here is a pictorial, from start to finish.

This is the setup, before we started melting the seams together with an iron.

Construction. Foil on either side of the plastic insulates it and creates a better seal, as well as protecting it from the bare iron.

What project isn't complete without a casualty?? RIP Alex's heat gun. Sorry Alex! I really did wonder what that smell of melting plastic was...

Spider assembled and complete, just waiting for air. That proved to be the hardest part.

Web installation almost complete. We changed a few of the webs around, and added a few I believe.

Our spider deflating as we speak, but nonetheless installed in a site-specific manner.

Close up of the head. Look at the eyes, Look at the palps and fangs! We added an amazing amount of detail to this little (or uh...big) guy.

A lot of blood, sweat and tears for a few pieces of melted plastic. (There seems to be a lot of that lately...)

Hours and Hours to build and install, and two second to rip down. Sad.

Goodbye Surgery, Happy Birthday Erin!

2009-07-30T15:32:00.002-07:00

My sister's surgery went well. Better than well actually. And apart from having to wait for a room for many many....many hours, she is doing fine. She apparently has the world's most beautiful neck (which we all knew already of course) and the surgeon celebrated its slender, non-fat encased glory.

Happy Birthday Erin! I love you so much.

I have a few more things to post, one about an inflatable spider, one about a receptionist's dead dog's portrait, but since I'm exhausted (both mentally and physically) and they require pictures, I will leave it at that. Fun photos to come soon.

Inflatable Art and Other Trials of Monday

2009-07-27T12:17:00.002-07:00

For a site-specific project, John and I decided to make a giant inflatable rubber duck, and float it in the duck pond at UNM. We cleared this idea with our teacher on Friday. We come in today ready to brainstorm and make a pattern, when I look over and see someone else sketching a duck. Great. We were already seriously irritable, and did not want to give up our idea. John tells them that we cleared it with her on Friday so too bad pick something else. I watched them for awhile and they were all huffy and being ridiculous about it. I decided to just give it up and do something else. I went over to them and said "Have you guys thought of anything else? You can just do the duck" and the girl says, "Actually, we were thinking of doing a guy with a gun shooting your duck" me: "... um...why don't you guys just do the duck it's fine..." BAH! I was about ready to sock her one. and the guy says, "There's nothing that says there can't be two ducks in the duck pond" me: "Whatever. we're doing something different."

So we decide to come up with something else amazing and think of a huge spider/web in the staircase, that forces you to walk in/under it. We sketch it all out, plan everything and tell our teacher. "Uh no they won't let you put anything in the stairs; fire hazard" me: "!%$&^*"
After assaulting the stairway wall a little bit, we decided to put the web on the second floor in this giant skylight, and having the spider wrapping up the Pepsi machine like prey.

Oh yeah, it turns out that they aren't doing a duck anyways. Yeah.

Pictures of the installation process and project to come soon.

A Happy Life

2009-07-25T19:29:00.004-07:00

There are times when I feel unwaveringly happy about life. Just happy. Tonight is one of those times. There are so many things to discover, to experience, to celebrate. There are awful things as well, but why on earth should they be dwelled upon? If you haven't found something to be happy about, then you simply aren't looking hard enough.

Looking at Hungarian blogs, watching Gogol Bordello, also some Ukranian band called Los Colorados. The world is an amazing place. 'Wanderlust King' has become my anthem for life. Eugene Hutz has given me an unbelievable appreciation of the awesome-ness that is the handlebar moustache.

Newest Painting

2009-07-25T12:24:00.005-07:00

This is my newest painting, titled "The Making of a Super-Hero". It is oil on plywood panel. It is going to be in the Johnson Gallery at UNM sometime in August, as part of a group show called "PsychoGeographers, 11 Artists Look at New Mexico" (I think that's what the show is called...). I still think I need to do some more layers, but I'm calling it done for now.

Detail:

A Mending Job, Before and After

2009-07-25T11:40:00.011-07:00

For awhile now, I've been the go-to girl for all things that need mending. So when my mom approached me with a very nice evening gown with holes in its pure silk that she wanted to wear to an event, I put my head down and just...went. After much blood, sweat and tears (well, not really too much), here are the before and after photos.

The holes. Moth eaten? Mouse nibbled? I don't know. Note my fingertips for size. This is 100% pure black silk over a pink shell.

My arsenal. I decided that the holes were too large to just leave them be, so I bought some black sheer material. Although it didn't match perfectly, I was confident that the beading would cover up any irregularities. I matched the beads as closely as I could.

After tediously patching the largest hole. I unraveled a thread from the black sheer fabric, to use as thread. I felt like a little spider weaving a web. It was a little bit cute and inspiring. That wore off. Quickly.

Getting ready to patch the other three holes.

Patches complete.

A little blurry, but you can see the middle beading portion finished, (along with a smaller cluster of beads to cover another hole) in comparison with the original beadwork.

Finished! You can barely tell that it's different.

The moral of this story is, if you have anything that needs mending, send it my way, and for a small fee, you too can look fancy.

Critique and Photo Shoot

2009-07-25T11:25:00.006-07:00

Yesterday was critique day (again...) and a mini-photo shoot session for our work. The lighting utterly failed on my blindingly white girl, and therefore most of the shots are unusable. After one shattered studio light and a little troubleshooting later, I did manage to get a few...

She is sculpted paperclay, with fish lures on the bottom, and fly-tying fluff for a powdery wig look. I originally wanted to use candy, but the fear of hungry ants became too great. Fish lures were a wonderful substitute and look amazing, but they were hard to work with. Slimy and difficult to glue. The critique went over well, one guy said that it looks like something he would get tattooed and that I could definitely sell these, and one girl said she wants it. Just wants it, for her nightstand. Pretty good for a couple days work I'd say.

A soft focus close up of her face against the photo shoot background, the only one that really came out, unfortunately.

Gram 1906-2009

2009-07-25T11:20:00.002-07:00

My great-grandmother died on Tuesday morning. She was 103, which is unbelievable. This photo is she and I when I was around 2 months old. She did many great things, including creating an extensive family tree, which showed our direct relation to Pocahontas. She lived a wonderful long life, and that's an amazing accomplishment in and of itself.

What's On My Reading Desk?

2009-07-24T13:45:00.003-07:00

The Historian: A lovely and "true" account of the great and feared Vlad Tepes, and the people willing to risk their lives to find the truth behind the myth. A little slow-moving, I'm on page 80 or so and I just arrived at the first notable vampire activity.

Eyewitness Travel: Hungary: Pretty straightforward with sections on history, culture, weather, festivals, and everything else you can think of. Sort of a crash-course in all things Magyar. (Magyar=Hungarian)

Can you tell I'm on something of a Central European kick?

Dreams of Hungary

2009-07-23T07:54:00.003-07:00

Last night I dreamt that I was at the teaching orientation in Hungary. We were in the forest, staying in little cabins. Everyone was smoking peyote. This is the second dream that I have had about being in the Hungarian forest. I woke up with a tummy ache.

I know it's still a year off, but in my mind, I'm already there.

Fall Fashion

2009-07-22T16:54:00.004-07:00

Since John and I have been taking an obscene amount of summer classes, we haven't really had much vacation to speak of. (Well, except that whole boondoggle in France...) International travel aside, we've been up to our noses in school work since the beginning of June. We only have a week and a half left before our real summer starts...all 3 weeks of it. I have decided to fill up those weeks with sewing my fall wardrobe. I have been getting very inspired after looking at some Japanese blogs, Haute Doll, and the new Gothic and Lolita Bible. This photo is slightly fashion-related, and will have to suffice until I find the cord for my digital camera.

Back to Black

2009-07-18T19:44:00.002-07:00

For awhile now, I think I've been having somewhat of an identity crisis. Unsure of myself, where my life is headed, decisions I've made. I've tried to pinpoint the reason that I am feeling this way. A few days ago, I discovered the culprit. Yes, I have to look no further than my own head to discern the reason for my discomfort. It's my blonde mop of hair. While looking back, dying my hair blonde may have seemed like a good idea, I never quite got it to the state that would have made me happy (ultra-platinum edgy blonde). I just don't feel like myself anymore. So that's it, my hair will be black again, my bangs will be short, and I will hopefully be feeling Val-ish again.
I also found a handful of dress designs in 'Haute Doll' magazine that I'm going to base my fall wardrobe after. I will need to adjust them to people-size first of course. My three weeks off after my 3D design class is over will be spent sewing like a mad woman.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-07-17T06:40:00.004-07:00

Today is my birthday! I am 22! Last year on my birthday I was in Germany, and taking a road trip to Brussels. John had been up sick all night, and I had sprained my ankle. Still, it was a birthday I will never forget. I wonder where I will be when I turn 23?

(by the way, check out that amazing ninja turtles cake...)

Why Hungary?

2009-07-16T19:33:00.003-07:00

A lot of people have been asking me lately, "Why Hungary?" Well, my laziness sometimes prompts me to reply "Why not Hungary?" But of course that isn't what anyone wants to hear. So here it is. Val, why on earth did you choose Hungary? Well, the answer is that while on the job hunt I found a program called CETP- Central European Teaching Program. I wanted to teach in Europe at some point, and the EU is making it harder and harder for Americans to do so. Basically it is getting to the point where it is now or never. They can hire Brits to teach English with little to no paperwork, while Americans have to have a visa, jump through hoops, have money, jump through more hoops, etc etc. It's so much easier to hire a British person.

Sooo, what does all this have to do with me? and with Hungary? Hungary was inducted into the EU in 2004 I believe. Things aren't quite as straightened out there as they should be. They are still using their national currency, the Hungarian Forint, not the Euro. There are many other inconsistencies to be ironed out, so therefore it is still possible for Americans to get teaching jobs there, and it is made even easier through CETP. They make contact with the school, find you a place to live, take you to immigration, etc etc.

So there you have it. That's why.

(By the way, tomorrow is my birthday!)

Dreams of Egypt

2009-07-16T07:19:00.004-07:00

Last night I dreamt that I was in Egypt. It was somewhat like India as well, but mostly Egypt. It was tropical and there were animals everywhere jumping out of a river that we were driving over. We ran over some of them. Then, we went to see the Pharoah's tomb, inside one of the pyramids. We had to buy tickets and they gave us stickers for entry. The pyramids were amazing. I was speaking French with everyone, and they understood me. I just had to speak with a purrrsian accent (said just like that). I faintly remember the scent of urine.

I woke up feeling refreshed and curious, that is until I realized we didn't have enough money for parking...

(photo taken by my mom in India)

Impressions of the Past

2009-07-14T15:29:00.004-07:00

I have been thinking about the past a lot lately. Maybe this is because I have been looking through old photo albums, or recent changes in my life and those that I love, or the fact that I am graduating college in 5 short months. Probably all three combined. This is an old photo of me that I love, it was taken while I was having coffee at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans.

It seems to me a moment of perfect serenity, the soft warm light filtering in through the windows, the people all chattering around me. I can almost smell the chickory coffee and feel the warmth of freshly baked beignets.

Visions of Distant Lands

2009-07-13T17:17:00.016-07:00

While technically I really should have started this blog a long time ago given all the traveling I have done, my laziness and/or presumed lack of time prevented me from doing so. So here is some of what I would have been posting about, if I had been on the ball. This is what me and mine have been up to for the past 4 years, what about you?

Eating and drinking, and ocassionally posing for photographs in Parisian cafes...

Viewing bones in underground tunnels in Paris...

Dangling our Boots over the Mediterranean...

Leaping through the Schloss Dyck Royal Gardens...

Protesting in Berlin...

Pondering German architecture...

Feeling small in the Roman forums...

and munching lucky black eggs in Japan...

Granted, I have been doing other things too, but all of these pictures lumped together makes it look like I'm a jet-setter! /endhistorylesson

My Blog Christening

2009-07-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

So, here I am. My first blog post. I'm starting this mainly as an outlet; things in my life are changing quite quickly. It is terrifying, emotional, exciting and surreal. Now you can be in on the roller coaster.