Dowler Happenings

A new beginning

2010-01-05T16:26:00.003-07:00

Hey! It's been awhile and it's already a new year. Can you believe that it's 2010? I can't. Well, I just read my last post about Daniel's new job and I am going to add on to it with this one. Daniel is no longer going to be working for QuicKutz because he got back into BYU! Ever since we got back from Korea we ran into so many obstacles to continue Daniel's education. It started out with some shocking rejections from universities we had applied for (ones we were sure we were going to get accepted to). After waiting and hearing back from all of them we had to change course. Daniel still wanted to do a PhD in Economics so we just had to find a different road to get there. Daniel finally decided on trying to get a Masters in Mathematics. We found that BYU was the best option for us. Since Daniel had gotten a minor in mathematics he was only two classes shy of being fully prepared for the workload in the masters program. That's where we ran into some more problems. Had it been a couple of years ago, it would have been much easier to get back into BYU as a post-baccalaureate student but now BYU is experiencing it's highest numbers of all time for undergraduate students and they did not want to let Daniel in. This was disappointing since Daniel had spoken with a couple of professors in the math department and they were confident that he would be able to get in and take those two remaining classes.

Well, meantime we needed to get a job. We were thinking that maybe we would have to work for awhile and then try and get in to school a little later or something. First, Daniel worked with a gardening company as a field rep. going to the different Home Depots and Lowes from Ft. Union down to Provo checking that all products were in stock and properly displayed. He built different displays and made a few waves with the company with some of his creative ideas. He then got a job offer from QuicKutz to work in international sales. Not only did this job offer a much higher salary but it was working in more of what Daniel had studied in school so far. Plus, he had a chance to work with people using Spanish and possibly Korean. We took the risk and took the job with QuicKutz. Not too long after that the company ran into some major problems and Daniel actually was laid off....for two days. During those two days Daniel worked really hard trying to find a way to get back into BYU. Thanks to some friends he was able to work with a professor closely who sits on the graduate studies committee for the math department and was able to get admissions to seriously consider Daniel's case. Did I tell you he was laid off for two days? We thought he was laid off for good at that point but the company called him back and told him they wanted him back. After all the stuff with the university Daniel told them that he would come back and work but he might be starting back at school. QuicKutz told him it was fine, they just needed him. After the holidays we found out that admissions had reviewed his case and accepted him as a post-baccalaureate student for winter semester! We both were sooooo happy! We were so worried about what we were going to do and how we were going to get to our end goal. So now, Daniel is a BYU student again taking those two classes that he needed to get to grad school. If he does well, he has a better than good chance of getting into the Math graduate school.

Phew!.....

We had a wonderful Christmas. We were able to do a few things for other people that really brought the true meaning of Christmas to my heart and I really hope that Maya felt it as well. I got to see the wonder and joy of Christmas through Maya's and Vivi's eyes. And we spent it with family and it was great. During the Christmas holidays Daniel's mom and sister and brother-in-law moved back down to New Mexico. We will definitely miss them but we know that it was the best thing for them. We rang in the new year with my parents and I found out that I am actually only 22...according to the Wii Fit Plus. Ha!

With Daniel back in school and us a step closer to our academic goal, I feel like this year is going to be a great one. I heard on the radio the announcer talking about taking some time out to think about the past year and what you have accomplished and then writing down what you want to do for this new year. I think I am going to take a pen a paper and write down some of the things I want to make happen this year. I feel so much motivation and hope!

New Job!

2009-11-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Today Daniel started his new job! Since this past March (after we got back home from Korea) he's been working with Central Garden and Pet as a field rep. working the Home Depots and Lowes from Provo up to Ft. Union in Salt Lake. It's been a good job, it was way flexible so that he could keep studying for the Math GRE and prepare to get back into school and it paid pretty well. Well, just a few weeks ago his uncle who is the CEO of QuicKutz (a paper crafts/scrapbooking company located here in Utah) gave him a heads-up on a new job position that was opening up. QuicKutz is hoping to expand more internationally and they needed another International Sales representative. They're in some Spanish-speaking countries, like Mexico, yet they don't have anyone that can speak Spanish and they hope to get into the Korean market sometime soon and may need someone who can speak Korean. The pay is much better and it is full-time. So after some thought we decided that this would be a great job for Daniel to take. The only thing we are worried about is getting back into school. That is our ultimate goal and we hope that this job doesn't pose too much of an obstacle to that.

Kudos to you, honey!

Things about me you probably didn't know

2009-11-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is really weird!!! I posted this a long time ago, but I could never figure out why I couldn't see it on my blog...yet a few people commented on it.... I guess blogger was having problems and it was posted in May according to blogger...so I am posting it again.

This is actually supposed to be 101+1 things about me but I couldn't think of that many things! So, I put down as many as I can think of.

The idea for this post I stole from my friend AnnMarie, who in turn stole it from someone else. She had a lot of interesting things that I had no idea about her and I thought it would be fun to think about me for awhile and try to surprise you all. I might cheat and add some stuff about our family too. Here goes:

1. * I've never had a cavity in my life. Not even a hint of one. I chalk it up to good teeth genes.

2. I used to be a book snob. For some reason I thought that I should just read the classics or the best of world literature instead of popular literature. In fact, I held off reading Harry Potter for a couple of years because of it. Now I know better.

3. Because of #2 I now routinely check the NY Times bestseller's list to see what contemporary novels are out and popular.

4. I absolutely love the color red. I also think that I look pretty good in that color.

5. I have this pair of ralph lauren plaid shorts from my senior year of high school. I love those shorts. I keep them in hopes that one day I will fit in them again. I don't know how many times I have packed and unpacked those shorts. I go through this little sad routine of holding them longingly, sighing, and replacing them back in their place. Sad, I know.

6. Daniel and I settle small arguments by consulting wikipedia or the internet in general. Stuff like where tomatoes really come from, if the phrase is "splittin' image" or "spittin' image," or what the religious makeup of the island of Samoa is (all real topics we've disagreed on). And FYI tomatoes originally come from South America, specifically Peru, the phrase is "spittin' image," and Roughly 98% of Samoans are Christians, divided among many different churches, including: Congregationalist 35.5%, Roman Catholic 19.6%, Methodist 15%, Latter-day Saints 12.7%, Samoan Assemblies of God 10.6%, Seventh-day Adventist 3.5%, Worship Centre 1.3%, unspecified 0.8% (2001 census) (taken from wikipedia).

7. When I was little I honestly thought I was half mentally retarded. I think it must have been that I saw in the mirror this round face with almond-shaped eyes and at that time I had no sense of different ethnicities and that I was half Asian.

8. I Have to read something while in the bathroom. A lot of times I forget to take in some literature and I end up reading whatever is in the medicine cabinet. I think I must have read the back of my deodorant stick at least 10 times.

9. I love to dance and perform in front of people but I hate talking in front of people

10. I love to cook and try out new recipes. I also love to cook for other people. There is something gratifying about preparing a meal for others and having them like it.

11. With that said, I didn't know how to cook (or even take care of myself, for that matter) until after I got married. For the first little while, Daniel did a lot of cooking. I just never did any of that kind of stuff growing up, my mom did it all.

12. I hit the snooze button over and over and over again, it's my husband's biggest pet peeve. It's because the night before I have these grand hopes of getting up early but when the morning rolls around, I am just too tired to wake up with the first ring.

13. As weird as it may sound, I like to smell the insides of books. Not the cheap trade paperbacks though, they always just smell like cheap paper. The older the book, the better they smell. *sniff* .....oh yeah....

14. When it comes to stubble and beards there is a fine line between ruggedly handsome and just plain unkempt. If done right, beards are very sexy.

15. I hate when people make overarching stereotypes of others because of a few bad apples. When I grew up in Utah, I was Catholic (which if you didn't know, is a minority in happy valley) and I used to hear a lot of them when people learned I was Catholic.

16. I've always wanted to write a book and add my ideas and thoughts to the endless sea of the printed page.

17. One of the things I love about Christmas is the smell of wrapping paper and tape. My job growing up was to wrap all the presents for friends and family.

18. I LOVE the smell of coffee its a very nostalgic smell for me. I also secretly love Haagan daz coffee ice cream.

19. I hate when people unfairly judge other people. Big pet peeve #1

20. I hate when people say a food is bad without trying it. Big pet peeve #2. Drives me nuts.

21. I gave birth to my second daughter naturally and am now an advocate of natural birth. I think it's great that there are pain meds to help when things get really difficult and to each her own. I just noticed a significant difference in the way I felt between having baby #1 and baby#2.

22.If I could do my undergrad over again I would pick a different major. This is kind of sad to say. I enjoyed doing linguistics but now that I think over my education, I feel like I didn't make the best choices.

23. I think the kitchen is the most important feature to consider when buying or renting a home. In fact I hope that one day we can build our own home and then I will be able to design the kitchen the way I want.

24. I love baby toes.

25. I really like to play word and logic games.

26. I was a vegetarian for 5 years. I can't remember why I started to be a vegetarian. I think it all stemmed from not wanting clogged arteries and also eating a bad pork steak once. But I stayed fast and true to my the vegetarian lifestyle for all those years. And, I have to admit, I was the most healthiest I had ever been in my life.

27. When Daniel and I got the National Geographic magazine there was always a fight to get to it first. We've done everything from racing to it to hiding it from the other person until we could read it.

28. I am a very very jealous person. Something I am not really proud of.

29. I think it's weird when Daniel says my name. He's called me by pet names for so long that when he says my first name, it sounds...weird.

30. I dread when people mispronounce my name, it started from all of my teachers mispronouncing my name the first day of class. It always makes me wince a little.

31. When I had my first daughter I was actually secretly disappointed that she didn't look anything like me. Not that I think I am the best looking, but that a daughter should look something like her mother.

32. So I was secretly overjoyed when my second daughter came out looking more like me.

33. I truly believe that God made me prone to gain weight so that I wouldn't be such a glutton when it comes to food and be more conscious of what I eat

34. I still remember the sweet thing Daniel told me the first morning of being married even though I am sure he has long forgotten. "I dreamt there was an angel laying beside me and I woke up and there you were."

35. I want to have the kind of home where my girls want to bring their friends around to hang out and where their friends want to come.

36. I always play the devil's advocate in a conversation. I think it stems from this deep-seeded belief in defending the underdog.

37. I believe that some dreams really do tell us things.

38. Daniel and I share a passion for traveling and especially trying different foods together.

39. I love road trips I could drive anywhere as long as the air conditioning and heater are working in the car.

39. I love long hot showers. It's a time for me to really unwind and relax.

40. One of the biggest regrets I have is that I didn't learn Korean and Spanish fluently when I was a child. My parents both speak those languages but I never picked it up.

41. With that said, I have been given the tools to be a fluent speaker of those languages....especially sounding close to a native speaker.

42. I am one of the most forgetful people on the planet according to Daniel (and everyone else in my family).

43. I am the worst when it comes to turning in books on time to the library. I don't know why, but I am always at least a day late with my books. I had this HUGE fine at the BYU library once....but I am not going to say how much it was. It's too embarrassing.

44. My all-time favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip.

45. I really love exercising, especially dancing, even though it doesn't really show.

46. I truly believe that it's never too late to learn something new. And I think that learning should be a life-long pursuit.

47. Crisp, fall mornings are one of my favorite things. I love the cool air and the smell of freshly fallen leaves.

48. I am an incredibly stubborn person. I only realized it after I got married to another incredibly stubborn person. It's really amazing how much you learn about yourself when you live with someone else.

49. My favorite sport is tennis.

50. I wish that at this very moment, I was somewhere else traveling with my family.

* I WAS cavity free until a couple of weeks ago. I found out I had the first 3 cavities of my life!

Wow, this list is a lot shorter than I thought it was. oh well. Tell me what you think.

Disappointing Healthcare

2009-09-29T08:06:00.005-06:00

I don't know much about the healthcare debates that have been rocking our country but I definitely want to know more especially after what Daniel got told this not too long ago. Here's the story:

For about 1 1/2 to 2 months Daniel has had this sore on his upper gum that started out as what seemed to be a common canker sore. Because I thought it was a canker sore (or maybe something stuck in his gum pocket) I didn't rush to make the needed dentist appointments for the family. Well, it kept growing and irritating Daniel more and more (I know, I'm such a bad wife) that finally after a month or so, I made the appointment. We found out it was a growth on the gum that definitely needed to be cut off and biopsied (just in case it was something serious). The dentist referred us to an oral surgeon who he knew took medicaid (that is what we are on...actually, we're on PCN, but it's a type of medicaid). Daniel made the appointment with the oral surgeon for a consultation. There, they checked the growth out and made a course of action. But, they weren't sure if medicaid covered that kind of dental work. The lady in the office told Daniel that she would check on it and that they could go ahead and make an appointment and when they found out if the surgery was covered they could either keep the appointment or work something else out, since they were SO busy. She told Daniel that the soonest they could work on him was the middle of October.

Well we waited a few days and the lady finally got back to us. Unfortunately, medicaid doesn't cover that kind of surgery. We would have to pay the costs ($300 for the doctor's office and $200 more dollars for the biopsy) out of pocket. What could we do? Daniel definitely needed that growth cut out...it was only getting bigger and more irritated. So he told her that he would go ahead and get the surgery and just pay out of pocket. *Now, here is the whole point of this post* She then told him that she could move up his appointment to the Friday of that week (it was a Tuesday by that point). Daniel was a bit perplexed, didn't you say that the office was busy and full until the middle of October? He asked her that exact question and you know what she told us? She explained that since he would be paying out of pocket they could get him in right away. They only see medicaid patients once a month because they don't make as much money off of them. Daniel and I couldn't believe she just outright said that.

Daniel wasn't as surprised as I was.......he could tell you all the reasons why healthcare sucks these days. But, I was shocked. I was shocked that making money seems more important to them then treating and caring for patients.

Well, Daniel got that growth cut out---a procedure that took all of 10 minutes--- this last Friday ( 9/25/09) and now we are waiting on the biopsy information.

Crazy, huh?

How we almost got SCAMMED

2009-09-29T07:33:00.006-06:00

The last few weeks Daniel and I have been on the look out for a new car (we found one! pics on later post). About a week ago on KSL.com I thought I found an unbelievable deal on 2008 Volkswagon Passat. The original listing said it was for only $4,500 in Salt Lake City. Of course, I replied to that listing right away! The email the guy sent me explained in great depth why he was selling it so cheap....his mother has breast cancer and he is in need of fast cash to help pay for the surgery, the car is actually in New York and he's in Canada, and he explained that we will use eBay motors as an escrow service where they will hold the payment for the car until we receive it and approve and then only then will he receive payment. At the time I thought it sounded like a good idea since he was claiming to use a reputable company like eBay motors to watch over the account and guarantee the shipping. Plus, he sent a ton of believable photos of the car along with the email. Daniel on the other-hand was a bit more suspicious. I continued corresponding with the guy asking him questions about shipping and things and was pretty set on getting this car. We gave him our shipping address and he supposedly gave that to eBay motors to open an account for us. I received an "official" eBay motors email (in my spam mail) detailing how we were to send the payment. The email looked all official and eBay-like to me and it said we were to use Western Union to send the initial deposit of $1750 to some David guy who was to be our eBay motors agent. This made Daniel even more suspicious and he did some reading on the official eBay motors website. Well, this is where we KNEW that this was a big scam. According to eBay motors there are a lot of scams out there claiming to use eBay motors. EBay motors never uses Western Union or Money Gram in their money dealings and they never act as an escrow service for their sellers, ever.

I was totally bummed, it was a total scam! But the bad thing was that I wanted it to be true so badly and I wanted to trust this guy so much that at the point where we read all of this info on eBay motors I was still giving this guy excuses. I told Daniel maybe he wasn't from the US and was using eBay incorrectly, but that it was still legitimate. Or maybe eBay motors makes some exceptions or something. Daniel finally looked at me and said, "honey, this guy is trying to take our money and hurt our family....do you want to try and trust him and let him do that?"

So Daniel wrote him an email back telling him off and that was that. I had always heard that there were tons of scams all over the online classified ads, but this was the first time I actually encountered one. Well, interestingly enough as I was looking some more on KSL and on craigslist, I found two more scam ads. They were just ads that sounded like a good deal and I emailed them about it. Then I got the same kind of story "oh, the car is in Washington or Illinois and I am trying to get money to pay for my taxes so my house doesn't get taken by the bank and I will ship the car to you if you pay me this...." This time I just emailed them back telling them "no thanks."

Have any of you guys run into scams like this?

A whole load of pictures

2009-09-24T14:19:00.008-06:00

A whole bunch of random pictures of Maya and Vivi and of our camping trip up the Uintahs. Enjoy:) (Summer and Fall 2009)

Ok, so I wasn't going to type a lot, and I'm not, but these require some explanation. Maya has gotten into this thing of "posing" for the camera. Here are some shots of her "posing"

Ok, now for some pictures of us up in the Uintahs.

Campfire photos:

Down at Trial Lake. Daniel got a pontoon boat and we took it for a spin:

Back at camp:

Here's some pictures of Vivi "posing"

5 months

2009-08-13T12:36:00.006-06:00

Vivi, you are 5 months already! Where has the time gone? You are growing so much I can hardly keep up! First I have to say that you love your big sister! You two are as different as can be, but you love to watch her run around and you love to giggle with her even if you don't know what she's laughing about. I know that down the road there will be differences in opinions and tears shed, but I hope you will remember how much you love one another always.

You've hit so many milestones this past month. You started eating solid foods (cereals) and you kind of liked that. Though you prefer to nurse with mom. Sometimes it seems as if you like to bite the spoon and feel the mushy food in your mouth more than you actually like to eat it. You have two cute little teeth that you got rather early. You are a champion roller. In fact, when left on the ground that is all you like to do! You roll back and forth all day long.

You found your voice and you love to make your opinions known with a myriad of cute squeals, grunts, and giggles. You also love to put everything you can into your mouth. Sometimes I am not quick enough and you already have a piece of paper in your mouth. You especially love to chew on rubber lizards. He never really had a chance, did he?

You're a really laid back baby but you have a quick temper. You love those around you the most and are wary of strange new faces. You're definitely a momma's girl which means I get to lug all 15 pounds of you around for most of the day.

But, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you.

Flaming Gorge

2009-08-05T13:56:00.002-06:00

A couple of weekends ago we took a trip to Flaming Gorge in my parents' sweet new 5th wheel trailer. It was so nice to be able to sleep in comfort with 2 young kids in tow. It was also nice to visit the beautiful gorge. As we were driving through the Sheep Creek geological loop and again when we were looking down at the gorge from the Red Canyon Lodge visitor's center I couldn't help but think about what a beautiful country we live in. That trip I was taken by the immense rock formations that tell a story of millions of years in every bend and twist of its crevices and peaks. God's creations are truly magnificent....just wanted to share that with you all.

Humpty Dump

2009-08-05T13:01:00.006-06:00

Me: Maya, what if Humpty Dumpty fell on a hot frying pan on the stove?

Maya: (long pause) he would crack and then he would cook. He would be a cooked Humpty Dump and then we can eat him!

Maya keeps me laughing just about every day now. She says some pretty clever things. Just lately, she's been really into nursery rhymes (thanks to grandma) and she's got a couple of them almost fully memorized. It's also really fun to tell her stories (besides just reading them to her from books). It's amazing how much she understands now. Last night I told her a famous folk tale from Korea about two brothers and magic pumpkins. What else is she up to? She's starting to be a lot more interested in letters and what the letters spell out. She'll ask me what does this say and things like that. She's also starting to understand that each letter makes a sound and we've been practicing sounds together. She's growing so fast!

Sisters

2009-06-27T00:37:00.006-06:00

I never had one but I am glad that these two have each other. When I was pregnant with Vivi, I was so worried about how Maya was going to take everything. I've read so many stories of older siblings doing horrible things because of jealousy or reverting back to their baby days. Would Maya know that we love her? How would she react to the new baby? I am blessed. Maya is the best older sister anyone could ask for. She plays with Vivi, she helps me out with Vivi, and most of all she loves Vivi. There are moments of jealousy but mostly she shows it by trying to get the attention back on her (e.g singing louder, being more obnoxious...etc.). The neat thing now is that Vivi is starting to pay a lot of attention to Maya. She watches her when she plays and when she sings and a lot of the time she has a big smile on her face.

Yay for sisters!

Hunt for the Elusive Grayling...over at last.

2009-06-26T20:26:00.012-06:00

would you like a fish?

The summer before we left for Korea we just about camped ourselves silly. On one trip up to the Uintahs we were out to find the elusive artic grayling. Well folks, we finally found 'em! (after 2 years...)

Well, I guess Daniel found and caught them. I was technically at home asleep in my bed when Daniel snuck out this morning on an impromptu trip up the Uintahs after his grayling obsession.

The grayling has an awesome dorsal fin! I guess it lost some of its purple hue on the trip home in the icebox.

The others Daniel caught:
I guess now we're on the look out for a good grayling recipe....when we find one I'll let you know.

Summer Fun

2009-06-26T19:39:00.010-06:00

Yesterday I was reminded of what summer should be like. Hot sunny days, cooler pleasant nights, best friends, and lots of fun. We had the neighbor kids over to have fun in the kiddie pool and, of course, popsicles!

Here's a picture of Maya and her best friend, Keri, from next door.
Cute, eh? I didn't actually get any pictures of them in action...I was too afraid to get shot with streams of water from the pool. They had fun watering our lawn and our trees.
Here's another picture of them off to more mischief next door:
I did get some pictures of Vivi in the pool, though

Needless to say we'll have the pool up again real soon.

Some Sunshine

2009-06-02T12:17:00.002-06:00

Creative Culinarian

2009-05-20T22:03:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to let you all know that I finally got my food blog up and running. I don't know why I am doing another blog...I barely can keep up with the ones I have. This one though is a little more personal, it's my own little recipe box. I like to try out a lot of different recipes and I want a way to keep track of the ones I tried and liked. I also run into a lot of interesting facts about food that I would like to write down too. You are all more than welcome to visit and try out the things I am trying out and give me some feedback on what worked for you. You can find the link for it under "Our other blogs" on the right-hand side of the page.

Spring Routine

2009-05-19T13:45:00.003-06:00

After having two kids my body is......well, not in its best shape. Actually, it's done horrors to itself and since the weather has been getting nicer and the inevitable trip to the pool is coming soon I decided to get my butt back into shape. What was formerly called just the Orem Recreational Center (now the Orem Fitness Center) has a great schedule of aerobic classes that they offer all year. I LOVE aerobic classes. Sounds cheesy, probably is cheesy, I know. But I am not really good at keeping myself motivated enough to get a good enough workout on my own on a treadmill or elliptical machine. I do much better when I am in a room full of people and an instructor watching and pushing me. The same goes with taking independent study classes versus regular classes in college. When no one is watching, I am a quitter....sad, but true. Anyway, I am on my second week of classes and still going strong! What do they say about habit forming/breaking? If you can do it or not do it for two weeks than it becomes a habit...? On Mondays and Wednesdays I do step aerobics and pilates, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I do kickboxing and yoga, and on Saturdays I do yoga and an awesome latin dancing class called Zumba. I get Fridays off. Exercising has been really great. Not only do I get all the physical benefits of regular exercise but I also get some time for myself. I love spending the day with Vivi and Maya but I need some "me" time too. Well, maybe since I through this little bit of knowledge out into the blog-o-sphere it will be extra incentive to keep it up...I mean you guys are probably going to ask me about it sometime and I would like to say that I am still going strong and a little closer to my health and weight loss goals.

Innocence

2009-05-18T23:45:00.002-06:00

The other evening, while I was changing Vivi's diaper, she turned her head toward me and smiled. This wasn't her first smile (she's been smiling for awhile now), but I was particularly caught off guard by its frank innocence. As I finished putting on her diaper she kept gazing into my face and smiling. I couldn't help but think of how babies come into this world full of trust. They have to...they have no choice but to put their full trust into those whose job it is to care for them. How horrible it would be to abuse that trust. As I picked her up I started to think about the children in the world who aren't taken care of; the ones who are abandoned and neglected, abused and exploited. I think that crushing a child's innocence is probably the worst crime human beings can commit.

I hope that I can continue to love and care for my babies. They (and all the children in this world) deserve at least that.

Last Day at QuicKutz

2007-09-22T06:20:00.000-06:00

(By Daniel)

My last day at work was actually about a month ago, but moving to the other side of the world has kept us pretty busy, so I am only getting to writing about it now. QuicKutz is a scrap-booking company for which I worked for about 5 years while going to BYU. I worked in the tool department, quality assurance, and fulfillment during that time, so I got to know lots of great people there. On my last day, I brought the camera with me so that I could remember people. I thought that the pictures came out really well, so I'm putting them up for everyone to see. I guess if someone doesn't like their picture I don't have to worry because I'm too far away for them to come after me. Take a look for yourself. This first one is Marriner breaking plates.

Next is Stacey and Kris, my supervisors.

These next two are of the sanding room (where we took the rough edges off of metal dies). This was my favorite place in the world and I miss it dearly (yeah?). Chani is the one smiling in the back.

Here we have Brad in the sanding room. Great guy, but he doesn't know a thing about sports--he actually thinks Utah has a good football team.

And here is Christine.

Here is Jackie; in the breaking room we referred
to her as the mean one.

The next two are of Crystal and Steven. I must have been very lucky to have caught Steven at work--it is a rather rare occurrence.

This is Mo: she was having a good day
until I pointed the camera at her.

Nona was gracious enough to let me take a picture, but she didn't share her pudding.
(I actually didn't ask her for any and she probably would have shared had I asked)

Winding down, we have Chris in shipping, where he is supposed to be (not snatching CDs from the breaking room).

And there's TJ; ladies, you'll have to wait till he gets back from his mission. Has he found out where he is going by the way?

Last of all there's . . . Me!

(I was acting like I was working)
I hope that everyone has been respecting my employee of the month parking space rules this past month.

Seriously, I had a great time working at QuicKutz. Anytime you spend that much time in one place, it can get boring, so I am glad that I had some good people to work with. I hope no one is too upset about that Utah comment, or their photo for that matter. I just wanted to get Brad going. I actually root for Utah when they aren't playing BYU. If anyone is upset about their picture . . . tough; I did the best I could, and I think you look spectacular.

(disclaimer: sorry to those whose picture that I didn't get. I tried to get as many people as I could. Perhaps you are happy that I didn't embarrass you online)

An End and a new Beginning

2007-09-13T21:08:00.001-06:00

Hey everyone. Sorry it has a been a long time since our last post and I know that many of you are wondering about how Seoul, South Korea is. Well, it is wonderful. But maybe we should start from the beginning...or should I say the end...or the end of the beginning...

The last week in Provo was really very stressful and hectic for us. Because storage units were almost none existent at the time, all our moving plans were pushed back until the last week. But, we finally got all of our junk out of there and the place clean the day before we were supposed to leave for Seoul. We had a few delays on our trip. We left San Francisco for Incheon about 4 hours later then planned because there was some problem with the the plane's auxiliary power. Anyhow, we made it Seoul. We were greeted at the airport by my uncles and a big van to carry all of our bags. (6 from us and 2 from my mom.)

Things have been hectic for us here as well, since we needed to find an apartment, get Daniel ready for his classes at Seoul National University, learn the subway and bus system, get a cell phone (they are called hand phones here), get the internet, open a Korean bank account, and all the necessary supplies to start living on our own in a foreign country. But, despite the hardships of these past 2 weeks, we really like it here in Seoul. On one of our walks we took around our apartment complex, Daniel and I discussed how the nightlife in Seoul is very different than that of Washington DC. It feels much safer here to be out at night. There are so many people out and about (I think it is because Korean people like don't go to bed until after 1:00 in the morning), shopping, and eating, going to noraebangs, etc. It is a very vibrant city!

I did set up a new blog site for our experience in Korea. The new site is www.dowlerseoul.wordpress.com I will be blogging on that site from now on until we get back to the USA and then I will resume our old blog. I need to figure out some things on Wordpress though, so the site might be changing a lot each time you visit. So, this is a new beginning for us....wow. It is finally here. I thought that we would never get to Korea, and here we are....

We really miss all of you guys and we want to definitely stay in touch! Thanks so much for all of you who helped us move out of our apartment in Provo! See you guys later!

A little knowledge

2007-08-06T14:40:00.000-06:00

The other day, I ran into this book at Costco:
Everyone Poops, written by Japanese author Taro Gomi, is a humorous biological children's book about a very natural process that everyone does: poop. I couldn't help myself, so I read it. It is really rather charming and cute. At Costco, you can buy this book as a set with The Holes in Your Nose, The Gas we Pass, and All About Scabs. I enjoyed it because Maya is learning to potty train right now and I don't pass (no pun intended!) a day in which I explain what we are supposed to do in the bathroom. I really think that I will go back and buy that set.... for Maya of course. ;)

It is done

2007-08-06T14:27:00.000-06:00

I just finished the 7th book in the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling and it was really good. I came into the book with mixed feelings. I started the 7th book later than most people, since I wanted to read through the 5th and 6th books in their entirety before I began the 7th. Then because of that, I went to watch the 5th Harry Potter movie. I was sorely disappointed. Note to self: do not watch the movie right after finishing the book. Anyway, I was curious and read some reviews about the 7th book. A lot of people really liked it and a lot of people really didn't like it. There were a lot of criticisms about the book and the lack of developed characters. But, I for one, believe it was well done. Albeit, there were some odd parts, but this is J.K Rowling's story, not mine.

I read this article online about the Atheistic leanings of the Harry Potter story (thanks to a friend), but did anyone else find the ending had a lot of Christian symbolism in it?

Innocence

2007-07-30T10:41:00.000-06:00

Each child with their unwavering curiosity and bold truthfulness can only be described as innocent. Just the other day, Maya shocked me yet again (I have recently been shocked by her ability to form complete sentences and a whole slew of "innocent" misdeeds). She likes to play at the kitchen sink and "wash" things. Well as she was doing that one evening, I sat down at our dining table to make a note of all the things that would be needed for our upcoming camping trip. I looked up lost in thought, and vaguely noticed Maya crawling off of the chair by the sink. I barely noticed her walking over to me with purpose, and I definitely didn't notice that her little hands were concealing something until it was too late. She looked at the notepad I was writing on, took a quick glance at me, and before I knew it, she poured a cupful of water onto the table. I was quick enough to save the paper at least. I was so shocked. This was definitely a calculated act towards me. But it was not out of malicious intent. Only out of her curiosity to see what would happen and how I would react. *sigh* ahhh...the innocence of childhood.

Four years is not nearly long enough

2007-07-19T16:20:00.000-06:00

Two days ago Daniel's little sister, Hana, got engaged to her longtime sweetheart, Benji. That night, they came over to our apartment to announce the news we all knew was inevitable. As they were recounting the story and showing us the beautiful ring, I couldn't help but let my mind wander. It was taken back four years to the night when Daniel and I had gotten engaged. As Hana couldn't help smiling, I remember that I too, was all smiles as I knew that I was going to marry the most wonderful man. A cell phone ring brought my thoughts back to the present and I saw Daniel sitting there talking with his future brother-in-law. I saw a man who is smart and capable and who loves me with all of his heart, and more if he could. My eyes shifted back to the happy engaged couple and as I saw them snuggle and looking into each other's eyes with anticipated excitement, I knew that the love between Daniel and I had grown.

As I look at our Maya or as I feel the comfort of just being near Daniel I know that our love has matured. We have grown together as we faced both the good times and the bad, we've grown closer and more aware of each other and we have fallen even deeper in love with each other's better self. You see, we were once like Hana and Benji, excited and feeling like we could never love this person more than now. But, because of a miracle, we love each other even more, and I know that that love will grow even more, and I thank God over and over for that.

Happy Anniversary Daniel!

and Congratulations Hana and Benji! I hope that you will find as much love and fulfillment as we have found in being together!

A Realization

2007-06-20T12:16:00.000-06:00

Disclaimer: This post may contain offensive material to some, so read at your own risk.
Disclaimer 2: When I talk about "sushi" I am only referring to the maki, futomaki,and nigiri types (the more well-known). I realize that sushi is the coverall term for many different types.

I have realized that for the past 5 or so years, I have basically lied to myself. I have let my own self pride cloud my vision, and what's worse I have hurt others around me.....until I saw this:
I ran into this little cartoon from "toothpaste for dinner" awhile ago and it started me thinking. Do I really love sushi as much as I claim to other people that I do? Or do I tell them that sushi is the best, only to fit their (and my) stereotype of what an Asian should like to eat? Or is it because I am known to like unusual foods (sushi being an unusual food)? Whatever the reason may have been, when I first ate sushi (when I was 12, in Korea) and found that it was not bad, that it was actually good, I felt proud of myself that I had yet another exotic food to add to my expanding repertoire. Sushi became an invaluable tool to me as it became more and more popular here in the United States. In conversations about weird foods, I could wield sushi and fell my opponents as I proved to them that I was the most "well ate" person in the group. As time passed sushi morphed from a food that I had eaten and thought good, to one of the best kept secrets of Asian cuisine. My speech slowly became praises and odes to those little rolls of rice, fish, and seaweed. I even scoffed at people who had decided to turn up their noses at sushi (and fish in general) before they even tried it. NOTE: I firmly believe that you should try the food before you go around saying it's disgusting. But, I wasn't being honest. Though I did like sushi, I didn't like it as much as I lead on. I actually like kimbap (the Korean version of sushi) better. I had eaten kimbap all my life and I find the unique combination of seasoned vegetables, egg, and sometimes cooked meat and fish a lot more satisfying to the palate then it's Japanese counterpart. Cooked fish has a lot more flavor then raw fish, trust me. Plus, you don't get to eat kimchi with your sushi at a sushi house, unlike eating it with kimbap.

What I do like about sushi:

1. Aesthetically pleasing. They are little masterpieces!
2. Texture of raw fish. My favorite sushi, is nigiri sushi (the little rice logs with a piece of raw fish laying on top). I really enjoy the texture of the raw fish more than the actual taste.
3. The whole sushi eating experience...very Japanese.
4. The Inari sushi. Fried tofu, stuffed with seasoned rice...yum^^

What I don't like about sushi:

1. Much blander than its Korean cousin, the kimbap.
2. Too expensive. I don't like shelling out $14 for 4 pieces of rather small sushi(and I don't care how rare the fish is).
3. I never feel that my hunger is completely satisfied.
4. Accidentally putting too much wasabi in my soy sauce.

So after coming to my new found realization and liberation, I often wonder why so many other people claim that they absolutely love sushi and must live with it or die. One reason could be that they are Japanese and feel it a national duty to love sushi (or they really do love their native foods :)), another reason could be that some people are somewhat faking it like me, just to be in the "in" crowd of exotic food eaters. Either way, there are a lot of other seafood options that are much more tasty then sushi.

ok, so if you don't take my word for it, let us go to a more scientific source....

In the April 2007 edition of National Geographic the cover displayed a dead swordfish caught in some trawling nets with the headline "Saving the Sea's Bounty." The article talked about how we are basically depleting fish populations by over fishing. One of the examples the article uses is that of the majestic blue-fin tuna. There used to be vast migrations of enormous schools of these fish but now they can hardly be seen anymore due to over fishing. The reason: the buttery undersides which are in popular demand in sushi bars all over the world. Now, I wholly agree that we need to have fish as part of our regular diet, but this is ridiculous! Fish have like a million eggs each time they spawn (albeit, most get eaten by predators), but we are eating them faster than they can reproduce! It is a reality that they could be fished into extinction. Why? Because too many Europeans and Americans are crazy for sushi.

Whether the craze is real or just a fake (as my post had been talking about) it is sad to see the fish populations depleted. Not only do the fish pay the price, but so do all the millions of fisherman and woman in third world countries. Ok, enough with my environmentalist kick that I am on.

Anyway, if you are tempted to try sushi, by all means go for it. It is good, but come over to my house and I will make you some kimbap ;)

Good Summer Lovin' (thus far)

2007-06-14T15:24:00.000-06:00

So, just as I promised I am back to post up some pics of the other things we have been up to this summer! Because of our awesome new digital camera we have a ton of pictures. I picked just a few and made collages for your enjoyment (hopefully :))

1. Graduation:
Daniel and I both graduated this April with our Bachelors degrees from Brigham Young University. I got my bachelors of arts in Linguistics with a minor in Editing and Daniel got his bachelors of arts in International Relations with a minor in Math (smarty pants!) We were so happy to be done....for now.

We had lots of support from family and friends, we are so truly blessed! Here are some pics of the family at our family barbecue to celebrate our graduation. We didn't get pics of everyone but we want everyone who was there to know that we love all of you! Daniel's dad, aunt, and dad's girlfriend, Kathy came up from New Mexico for our graduation. Two of my aunts came down from Salt Lake also to celebrate with us. Daniel also had an aunt and uncle come to the barbecue as well. And the farthest traveler? My cousin from Korea. He flew in from Korea that week to see our graduation and also to study English here at UVSC (actually that was the main reason, but he came in time for my graduation).

2. Hogle Zoo:
Our poor Maya, her second birthday fell right on finals week and we weren't able to do a lot to celebrate. So at our family barbecue we celebrated Maya's birthday along with our graduation (she even got her own little cake). We later took her up to Hogle zoo with Hana and my cousin from Korea, Young Shin, and my mother-in-law. I think that Maya liked the giraffes the best. In the pics, check out the huge iguana above Daniel and Maya, and also the white alligator (there are only 10 in the whole world!)

3. Belliston Family Reunion:
Over the Memorial day weekend we got to attend the annual Belliston Family Reunion. This year the reunion focused on Daniel's grandpa's 75th birthday. We spent Saturday down in Nephi visiting all the important places where he and their grandma grew up. We had a wonderful picnic in the park, and dinner back in Provo. Then on Sunday we all met at Uncle Carl and Aunt Michelle's new house for a wonderful lunch.

4. Visa and Passport pictures:
At the end of August we are leaving for Seoul, South Korea for 16 months. Daniel received a Fulbright Grant to do economic and political research there. Well, since we found out the news, we have been working hard to get all the necessary preparations taken care of. That meant we had to take lots of passport and visa pictures. My mom and dad also needed to get their passports renewed. So here we are. Would you issue us a visa to enter your country?

5. Random Pictures:
Here are a couple of collages of just some random pics that we took. Location: Utah Lake, Daddy's B-day party (my parent's house), Rock Canyon trailhead, Temple Square, and just here at home.

On the Hunt for the Elusive Grayling

2007-06-11T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone, sorry it has taken me so long to post. Since my last post so many things have happened that it is almost overwhelming to talk about. So for this post I will only talk about our camping and fishing trip and I will just post pics later for the other things we did.

This weekend Daniel, Maya, and I went up to the Uintas for a family camping and fishing trip. Daniel is on the hunt for the elusive grayling. This is a fish that he wants to catch. One of a few that he hasn't caught yet. Being the avid fisherman that he is, he searched and studied long and hard where he could actually catch these fish. He found that there are a few lakes up in the Uintas, past Heber City and Kamas, where there are grayling along with brook trout, another fish he has yet to catch. So Thursday night we made preparations and we left Friday, right after Daniel got home from work. We drove right up to the Uinta national forest and we couldn't believe how beautiful the scenery was. We also saw a ton of wildlife as we drove. We saw like a million mule deer (so many that we were afraid that we would hit one of them), yellow-bellied marmots, and my favorite--sandhill cranes.

here are just two pics of the sandhill cranes (and their babies) that Daniel took--for your sanity and mine^^

We found an awesome campground right on one of the many lakes on the Mirror Lake Highway. We camped right on Trial lake. It was absolutely gorgeous! We got there around 7:30pm. Just up from us was another campground on yet another lake, Washington Lake. Just up from that campground was the Crystal Lake Trailhead where we went hiking the next day.

here are some pics of the campground we stayed at:

and yes, I helped put our tent up! Here are some more pics of our night at Trial Lake:

We built a fire (well, Daniel built it) and enjoyed a nice rugged meal of tinfoil dinners. Basically, I made two mini meatloafs, placed them on tope of sliced potatoes, and topped them with thickly sliced onions. We enjoyed these with some sliced frenchbread and grapes that we borught with us as well. It was delicious especially after all our travelling and setting up camp. Here are some pics of the food and Maya and I patiently waiting for them to be done.

It was really fun to enjoy nature together. The only thing was that after the sun went down, it was so dang cold. Besides our sleeping bags we brought 3 big blankets to help keep us warm through the night. Daniel and I were both worried that Maya wouldn't sleep at all. She tends to not sleep if she is overly excited or scared. But to our surprise she was the first one asleep once we got her all tucked into her sleeping bag. She was way excited at first to be in the tent. She was jumping all over the place and screaming out of sheer joy! I wonder what the other campers thought :) I told Daniel not to wake me up until after the sun had come out and the place started to warm up. Funny story: so I woke up thinking it was pretty late in the morning since it was light out. Maya was still snoring away and I thought that Daniel had gone out and started the fire. I got up and looked over to where he was sleeping and all I saw was his sleeping bag folded in half (or so I thought). So I commenced getting ready so that I could help him outside and get breakfast started. Then all of the sudden his sleeping bag started to move and I totally freaked out. He was still inside his bag just all curled up and he had cinched up the hood of his bag (he has a really nice mummy bag) so I couldn't see him. He looked at his phone and it ended up being only 5:30 am! He made fun of me and how he thought that he would have to drag me out of my bag and carry me to the car.

So we had a nice breakfast of eggs, potatoes, and ham and we packed up all our stuff ready to go hiking and fishing that day.

Like I said we went to the Crystal Lake trailhead where you could take a few different trails depending on which lake you wanted to go to. Daniel was on the hunt for grayling so he planned that we would go to Marjorie Lake whose trail forked off of the main trail to Long Lake and some others.

here we are starting off on our hike (we had to bribe Maya with licorice for her to follow us):

The hike was absolutely gorgeous. It is like the first part of the Timpanooki trail up TImpanogos. There was still snow in the shaded areas. After a while we came to the fork where we needed to take another trail to get to Marjorie Lake. After taking it we found out that we were the first ones to take this trail since it snowed (and maybe since they opened the trails!). We came to a point where there was so much snow that we couldn't see the trail anymore. But we kept on hiking. Daniel was sure that we could find it (he had a topographical map, so we knew the direction we needed to head). Well we came to a small lake that we thought was Marjorie, but upon looking at the map we realized that we had to hike further. So away we went, not knowing where the trail was exactly, only thinking it was closeby. Well, after about 2 hours and not finding the lake, we determined that we were a bit lost and needed to find the trail again. What an adventure. To tell you all the truth, I was a bit worried, especially since we had Maya. But Daniel knew what he was doing and he eventually found the trail and Marjorie Lake (or so we thought)!

here are some pics of the scenery and us lost:

After we got to what we thought was Marjorie Lake we rested for lunch then commenced fishing. We all wanted Daniel to catch a grayling so that all that wondering off trail would have been worth it. At first the fishing was slow. Nothing seemed to be biting. But, Daniel is a true fisherman, and through some careful observation and a few chanced coincedences, he figured out how he could catch (a lot) of the brook trout he seemed to be seeing a lot of. After he caught his third brook trout I began to wonder how we were going to catch the prized grayling. It seemed that the Brook Trout enjoyed staying close to the shores of the lake, maybe the grayling liked the middle of the lake which could only be accessed by boat. But we enjoyed the fishing immensely. I got so many bites and finally I caught my first book trout! I also caught another one and we had it all the way up to the bank but as Daniel was trying to grab it, it fell back into the lake and swam away. Lucky day. We caught 7 brook trout total (me:1, Daniel:6). It definitely was so much fun. Maya also had a blast running around picking up assorted rocks and tossing them into the lake. She also got a kick out of the huge black ants that were there.

here are some pics of us at "Marjorie Lake":

some pics of the brook trout:

So what about the grayling, you ask. Well, After Daniel had caught his third fish and while I was fishing, he was wandering around with Maya and saw a sign. The sign said that we were at Long Lake! That's right. We never made it to Marjorie or it's prized grayling. That explains why we were only catching Brook Trout (the only fish in Long Lake are Brook). Daniel told me about this discovery as we were packing to leave for our hike back. We both had a long laugh and commenced back for our car. Needless to say our hike back was a lot shorter since we didn't have to wander aimlessly for 2 hours. We were definitely sore, sunburned, and tired, but we had a blast.

I guess the grayling will have to wait for next time.

Facing my Fears

2007-05-09T11:58:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the second day of the water aerobics class that I think I am going to participate in this summer. For those of you who don't know, I am very weary of swimming. I don't know where my fear came from. My parents enjoy swimming, and when I was little I remember swimming at Seven Peaks. But since I have gotten older I have had this aversion to swimming pools, ponds, lakes, oceans....

I always feel disoriented when I am swimming since I have to take my contacts off because of the chlorine. So I can't even see anything. Well, I decided that water aerobics would be fun and the class description said that the class is done in the shallow pool. I can just stand up if I need to in the shallow pool right?

Well, anyway the first class was on Monday. I was nervous the whole time, but it was really fun. The interesting thing is that you don't feel exhausted while you are doing the aerobics in the pool, but when you get out of the pool that is when your muscles feel it. Before the class started I asked the instructor whether this was ok for someone like me (someone who doesn't know how to swim and who is paranoid of drowning in 3 1/2 ft. of water). She said I would be fine since I could stand up if I fall over--it is funny how everyone says that to me! She said I could stay by the side and hold on till I feel more comfortable to venture into the middle of the pool. So there I was in a class full of pregnant ladies doing something that I am terrified to do. I decided to go back on Tuesday for my second day. I felt scared and anxious as I entered the pool, but I quickly started to feel more comfortable. I was even able to let go of the wall and really get a full workout! The class is about 90% pregnant. From the barely pregnant to the really pregnant. 8% have had at least one child before, and the remaining 2% are at least married. It is really fun and a very sociable class.

Ok, I know above I said that I don't know why I am so afraid of water. But I do recall one experience that probably contributed to my paranoia (if not caused it altogether). When I was in Junior high my mom enrolled me into a swimming class at the Orem Recreational Center. It was a one-on-one class. The first class I worked on learning to float on my back. Then we progressed to the "dead man's float." That's right, that is what she called it. Basically, she wanted me to feel comfortable floating face down (like how you find dead bodies in a body of water--hence the name). She showed me how to do it and she helped me by holding my stomach up as I tried. It came time for me to do it on my own. I was still a bit nervous. She would count and then at the count of three I was supposed to fall face forward into the water. Well, the first couple of countdowns I wimped out and she had to start another countdown for me. I admit, she was probably getting frustrated that I wouldn't just do it. So, finally at the count of three she just pushed me face down into the water. It is at this point in my story that I would like to tell you yet another story. My dad had told me when I was younger how he learned how to swim. There weren't swimming lessons when he was a young boy. His cousins took him to a lake and threw him in. It was either he learned how to swim pretty quickly, or he drowned. I am still not sure if I completely believe this story, but whether or not YOU believe it is besides the point......I don't learn this way. So when the instructor just pushed me in, I started to drown. she of course pulled me up by my straps and I sheepishly finished the lesson. As soon as I saw my mom I promptly told her that that was my last lesson....EVER!

Since then I would go into a pool , but I would never completely enjoy myself. I have always been afraid to really go out and swim around.

So with all of this said I would like to posts some pics of Maya swimming at the Comfort Inn swimming pool with Daniel and Daniel's dad when they (his dad, his aunt, and his dad's girlfiriend) came up to Utah for our graduation. As you have probably figured out I am the one holding the camera and taking the pictures....outside of the pool.

Pablo and Dinner Ideas

2007-05-04T22:10:00.000-06:00

Pablo is the newest member of the Dowler family. He is a green anole (or American Chameleon) that inhabits the ten gallon tank in our living room. We first had gotten two Cuban Tree Frogs as a belated birthday gift to Daniel from his mom. She chose to get him a small animal because he loves them and because it would be interesting for Maya. The frogs didn't do well. We had named them Miguel and Sapo and Sapo died not too long after we had bought him. Miguel was doing really well until recently when he stopped eating. We had to force feed him--which involves a credit card and me shoving a cricket into his pryed open mouth. He died a couple of days ago. After Sapo's death we had decided that we should get an anole since Daniel had had some when he was young and Miguel needed a tank mate. We named him Pablo and he has done very well. Maya absolutely loves him. She loves when we take him out (and we have confirmation that he is male--he displayed acts of male agression like doing push-ups when he encountered himself at a mirror in one of his outings) she insists that we put him on her arm and she loves to walk around with him there.

Now for the dinner ideas portion. I was making dinner and I thought that it would be cool to post up every once in a while some ideas that I have for dinner. So I wanted to post up a quick meal that any of you can make.

Spaghetti alla ceci (with homeade garlic bread and salad)

the recipe:
a can of garbanzo beans
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
crushed red pepper flakes (however you like it)
italian seasoning (thyme and oregano)
ground black pepper
spaghetti
14 oz can crushed tomatoes
olive oil
approx. 1/2 c. chicken broth
chopped up onions and/or mushrooms

You want to use a skillet or deep pan for the sauce. Heat some olive oil in the pan on medium heat (about 2 tbsp.) with the garlic and the crushed red pepper flakes. Let the garlic release its fragrance.
Here, you can add the onions or mushrooms or you can just skip these all together.
Meanwhile drain the garbanzo beans and grind them up in a small food processor, add this to the oil and garlic. Next add the italian seasoning (about 1 tbsp. or however much you like). Add the chicken broth and let it cook for about 3 minutes. When the liquid starts to evaporate add the crushed tomatoes. Add the ground black pepper to your taste. let it cook for another minute or so. During all of this you can start to heat up the water to cook your spaghetti.

Also, you can make the garlic bread at this time and preheat the oven to cook the bread. Also, this is a good time to get your salad together.

When you add the spaghetti into the water go ahead and stick your bread into the oven. Set your table.

when the pasta is done you can either add the pasta to the sauce or the sauce to the drained pasta or just ladle the sauce over the plated pasta. Top with grated parmesan and enjoy!

Our dinner that we had tonight!

And proof that it actually was ok.....

Some tips:

1. Try washing the dishes as you are cooking. This really lightens the load of dishes after dinner.
2. If you can spare 5 minutes after your meal, go ahead and do the dishes then.
3. I use a lot of garlic when I cook. So, I mince up a bunch of garlic cloves ahead of time and keep them in a small glass jar in the fridge. This saves a lot of time. Sometimes I even make enough that I have an extra bag in the freezer ready for me when I run out of the fridge supply.
4. If you wash fruits ahead of time then you don't have to bother about washing them when you want to eat them, especially if you don't have a lot of time. This goes for herbs as well. However, do not wash any type of berries ahead of time (for some reason they go bad faster).
5. For those with kids, I usually will dish out Maya's portion before I am completely ready to have dinner. That way her food is completely cooled down and we can all enjoy dinner together.

There are really a lot of things you can do to save time while cooking dinner. We really can eat healthy and have good meals even though we may be working or having homework to do.

Bon Apetit!!!

Some great news

2007-05-03T20:50:00.000-06:00

Holy cow, I was accosted on the comments page of my own blog! I was told that I needed to post on our new and exciting news and also to get more pics up since we got a really cool digital camera for one of our graduation gifts. And with that said, I will have to post on graduation next time and include at least some of the millions of pictures taken those couple of days.

So to the exciting news.......

Daniel got a letter two days ago telling him that he was chosen to receive the Fulbright Scholarship Grant for research in South Korea. We had already made plans that he was going to apply for economics jobs and we were going to do that for two years and then head off to grad school. But then the letter came and we were given an opportunity of a lifetime. The first thing that came to both of our minds was the speech given by Dick Cheney at the university commencement(and I don't care if you think that he just has a speech writer do it, cause it was good and very thoughtful). He himself had a life that was different than what he had planned for himself. He told us that opportunities come and when they do take them. So we did, we decided that Korea was the best thing for us (even though it will set us back almost a year) and now we are trying to get things filled out and taken care of for our trip. The cool thing is that all of my mother's family is in Seoul, South Korea, where we'll be, so there will be a support system there for us. Just a note on my mom's family-- they are awesome! You may not see them for 10 years but they always treat you as though they have always been with you.

Daniel's research project is on the Peace and Prosperity Policy South Korea has with North Korea and its ties (or maybe effects) on/with the next presidential elections that are going to be held in 2008. We also found out yesterday that he was also given a grant on top of the Fulbright to study Korean at one of the universities there in Seoul. I am really proud of him. The Fulbright is a very prestigious award and he has definitely worked so hard to get where he is. As for me, I think the plan is that I am going to tutor English as a private tutor. According to my family, there are a lot of people willing to pay a lot of money to have an English tutor. I also will be working on my Korean. It is not very good at all right now and I am hoping that with 10 months of living there and having to speak Korean, I will finally pick it up completely.

I am just so excited! I have been to Seoul twice and I really want to take Daniel there. Plus, we will be staying long enough that we can plan on taking trips to different places like Pusan or Cheju island. And there is nothing that can beat Korean food. I love Korean food, perhaps because I was raised on it. It is spicy and delicious and I love that Korean food has strong and pungent flavors. Nothing is ever bland there.

Anyway, we will keep you updated and hopefully I will post up about graduation next time!

God Bless!

Honey

2007-04-09T19:42:00.000-06:00

You know you do it.

Those wishy-washy words have and do escape your mouth more than you would like to think.

Daniel and I do it.

Pet names.

Yes, we do have pet names. I never thought that those types of words, in that type of voice would actually escape my lips so smoothly. I don't know how many times I have rolled my eyes when I have seen couples uttering those controversial utterances in public. The worst is when they do it in "that" voice.

Daniel and I have done what most couples probably do (I think) and "experiment" with different names to call each other. I mean, you have to feel good about the name you choose, and most importantly your significant other needs to feel good about it too before you sentence... I mean, before you bestow that name upon them for the rest of your lives. We did this sort of switch up where we would use a certain name for awhile. Then, it would change. I honestly think we have come upon our preferred, and maybe permanent alias. I am sure you are wondering what it is.

Honey. Yes, it is Honey. I do throw in a "sweetie" now and then, just to shake things up a bit. Honey. Sounds pretty nice and it rolls off so easily. "Honey, can you get me a diaper?" or "Honey, thanks for doing the dishes" sounds pretty good. Interestingly enough my parents have the same pet name for each other. So when we see my parents there is a lot of "honeying" going on.

See, I can handle becoming one of "those" couples and using "honey" even in public. I can take not hearing my own name for long periods of time (it sometimes sounds weird when Daniel actually uses my name). But, I think it is totally weird when my own daughter calls me that. Yes, Maya has caught on, and now refers to both her parents as "honey." "Honey, sit down!" "Honey, Nemo on!" When Maya wants something she calls us honey. There is still potential in getting her out of this habit before it actually becomes something somewhat serious. At least she hasn't completely abandoned the more traditional "daddy" and "oh-mah" (korean for mom).

I have to admit it makes me laugh when I hear her calling Daniel from her room "Honey! honey!" then she comes running out, grabs his hands and pulls him to her room.

I wonder if I sound like that.

The "Good News" of Easter

2007-04-08T11:29:00.000-06:00

Today the tomb was found empty. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James had come to where the tomb was and found the stone rolled away. They looked inside and did not see the body of Jesus where it was laid. Inside they saw an angel (or two depending on which gospel you read). The angel tells them the good news, that Jesus is not here, but that he is risen. The angel asks them if they remembered when Jesus had told them that he was to be crucified and that he will rise on the third day. Then they remembered all that Jesus had told them. They ran and told the apostles.

Jesus is risen today! This day is the greatest day and the greatest news to all of us. Because Jesus overcame death we have overcome it as well, and we can have eternal life. Isn't this the "Good News" of the Lord? As I write this post to you I can't even explain the wondersful feelings that are inside. TOday is truly a day to celebrate. My hope for you is that you and your families can feel God's love as I do today. Jesus is the Christ and He lives!

The tendency for us is to have this day pass and we resume normal things in our lives. But I hope that we can dedicate ourselves more fully to our Lord and to keep this "Good News" within our hearts always. That we can always remember His sacrifice and His triumph. That we can share this spirit and this wonderful news to all of those people who may not know it yet or who may have forgotten. That we can instill this knowledge of God's unconditional love to our children. Christian churches today celebrate the Risen Lord, but the Easter celebration does not end today. It lives on through our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

For Christians, the week following Easter Sunday is Easter Week. Also the Easter Season or Eastertide goes all the way until Pentecost (50 days total).

Happy Easter everyone!

Holy Saturday

2007-04-07T11:04:00.000-06:00

Hey, as our series on Easter and Holy Week continue, today we celebrate Holy Saturday. This is the day where we remember Christ being entombed. Many Christians wait in anticipation for the resurrection of Jesus. This site I was looking at called the Women for Faith says, "It is a day of suspense between two worlds, that of darkness, sin and death, and that of the Resurrection and the restoration of the Light of the World. For this reason no divine services are held until the Easter Vigil at night. This day between Good Friday and Easter Day makes present to us the end of one world and the complete newness of the era of salvation inaugurated by the Resurrection of Christ." I think that this sums up Holy Saturday pretty good. The Easter Vigil is a time for rejoicing.

In my last post I talked about traditions. Do you ever wonder why people always buy new clothes for Easter. Every Easter growing up I got a new dress to wear on Easter Sunday. I do the same for Maya. Just last week I went and bought her a new dress to specifically wear for Easter Sunday. Come to find out, this tradition of buying new clothes for Easter has some deep Christian roots. In the Catholic Church catechumens (again, I would link this if I could) or those who are to be baptized, are baptized on the Easter Vigil, which is Holy Saturday. Today, potential converts to the church spend the whole year learning the doctrines and customs of the church through the RCIA program and then they are baptized on the Easter Vigil . A long time ago, this was also the case. But the catechumens were given a new set of white clothing to be baptized in. This all symbolizes the convert's dyeing wih Christ and being brought up in a new life with Christ. This is where the clothes tradition comes from....and we thought that it was the stores fault that we always buy new clothes for Easter.

Last night, our family had fun dying eggs and baking bread for Easter. I took some pics of my bread making for you guys to see. Again, I hope that you have a wonderful and beautiful Easter!

God Bless!
The dough in two ropes:

The dough twisted:

In a wreath shape:

With the traditional Greek red eggs(still raw):

All finished:

Some of the eggs we colored (Maya had a blast coloring eggs and smashing a couple:

Good Friday

2007-04-06T07:47:00.000-06:00

Today is Good Friday, the second day of the Easter Triduum. The Easter Triduum is the three holy days where Catholics (and other Christians) celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just to show how important these days are here is a quote from Vatican II Council: "Christ redeemed us all and gave perfect glory to God principally through his paschal mystery: dying he destroyed our death and rising he restored our life. Therefore the Easter Triduum of the passion and resurrection of Christ is the culmination of the entire liturgical year."

Today is the second day, Good Friday. So if Christ was crucified on Good Friday, why is it called "good"? On wikipedia they say it is a peculiarity of the English language. Like how "Good bye" came from "God be with you," Good Friday started out as God's friday. Either way, today is a very important day for most Christians around the world. There are some different practices, but since I really only know about Catholicism, I will just mention thei practices here. 3pm is the time traditionally marked as when Christ died. Mass is held at that time, but there is no procession or consecration of the Host and Wine at this Mass. Consecration was done on Holy Thursday. The bells are not rung and there is a more solemn feel of this Mass. Usually before Mass they will have the Stations of the Cross (if I could link this I would give you a link--but you could look this up on wikipedia or something if your interested) where the Passion of Jesus is reflected upon by prayers and stuff. Again, after Mass, people leave in silence instead of the usual procession and singing. Good Friday is a day of fast for Catholics. They are asked to attend the Mass services and/or stay at home with family. Usually Catholics will abstain from things like the t.v and radio to keep the solemnity of this occasion and to better reflect on what has happened on this day. This observance continues until the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. It is on this day that Christians remember that God has died so that we might live!

Fasting is different in the Catholic church. The fast requirement is that you are allowed one "large" meal which is smaller than your regular meals. You are also allowed two smaller meals that when combined are smaller than the "large" meal.

I hope that today we can reflect on Christ's sacrifice for us, maybe read the scriptures and pray. How marvelous this season truly is, we are waiting in anticipation for the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

God bless you guys today!

Easter Continued: Holy Thursday

2007-04-05T11:06:00.000-06:00

Continuing with Holy Week, today is the observance of Holy Thursday. Today Christians celebrate the Last Supper before the death of Christ on Good Friday. Holy Thursday (also known as Maundy Thursday) commemorates 3 things: the washing of the Apostles' feet, the Eucharist (Communion, Sacrament) instituted by Christ, and the betrayal of Judas Iscariot. Services are held in the evenings and there is a washing of feet ceremony along with another reading of the Passion of our Lord.

A really neat tradition is baking of the Easter bread for Easter Sunday. In Europe they bake Easter bread on Holy Thrusday so it will be ready for the following Sunday. The bread is usually a yeasty egg bread. In the Greek tradition whole dyed eggs are baked with the bread. They are usually colored red which symbolizes the blood of Christ. The egg itself symbolizes new life. The bread can be braided in a wreath shape or left as a braided rope. They also make Byzantine crosses with the a little of the dough that is baked on top of the loaf. It is really a neat, beautiful, and delicious tradition. That is why I decided I was going to try it out this Easter. But instead of baking the bread today (which is the tradition), I am going to bake it on Friday. Daniel and I thought it would be fun and appropriate to color eggs, bake bread, assemble Easter baskets for our families, and read the story of our Savior's death on Friday evening. I will have to take pictures of our bread making and egg dyeing and post them up soon.

So I have been thinking about some things, prompted by some stories Daniel told me and here is one of my thoughts:
It is funny, I think that some people get really caught up with the fact that the major Christian holidays (Christmas and Easter) have so many pagan starts and traditions woven into them. While that is true, I don't believe that we need to stop celebrating them because of some thought that we might be doing pagan things. An example is the eggs on Easter. To the ancients, eggs symbolized a regeneration (which happens in the spring time) and fertility. That symbol of the egg has been adopted by Chrisitians to also symbolize a new life, but a new life in Christ. Symbols are really only symbols when we believe them to symbolize whatever they are symbolizing --ok, sorry for that sentence, but I don't know how to say it in another way.:)
Ok, so the point I am trying to make is that symbols can change and we don't have to get caught up in the fact that the Easter Bunny was a pagan symbol for fertilty or that the date for Christmas really was the commemoration of some sun god(emphasis on "was"). What we have is what those holidays mean to us and how we can draw closer to our Savior during those times. Now, we also don't need to make the Easter bunny central to what Easter means to us. We don't have to follow what the stores say should be emphasized for Easter or Christmas. We really can make our own traditions. when I thought about all of this, I looked back onto my childhood and what my family emphasized for those holidays. Yes, we had the gift-giving and the egg hunts, but we also had the church services we went to, focus on Lent and other Holy times and days, and time with family. Daniel's family always read the story of Christ's birth on Christmas, or Christmas Eve. Daniel and I have been adopting this tradition for Christmas and Easter which has a lot of meaning for us. These traditions and meanings that came from our families really shaped us and carried us through till now. It is really neat how most of us are new families with a small child or children on the way, and we have the opportunity to set or carry on traditions for our families today.

It is really hard especially with school and work and other obligations, but I hope that we can all really set some fun and meaningful traditions for our families (whether for these important holidays, or other things) while we are young and starting out, it only gets harder the more we wait.

Hey, I have an idea, maybe we can all post on some favorite traditions we have from our families or that we just developed, it would be fun to read, I'm sure.

Some thoughts for Easter-- Palm Sunday

2007-04-02T08:26:00.000-06:00

Hey guys! It has been a really long time since I last posted. I think almost 40 days. First of all, our computer (well, the one we are borrowing from my sister-in-law) had its hard drive fail. We finally got that fixed, and then school has been crazy scary!

There are so many things that we have to catch up on but I wanted to post first, and formost, on how special this week really is. I came across this quote by John Duncan (he is either, a congressman, a politician for British Columbia, a Harvard math teacher, or an art guy-- all according to Google search) "Never in the Universe of God did there take place such things as took place that week on earth." This week Christians all over the world are celebrating in anticipation for the Glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is what Chrisitianity is all about-- Christ rose from the tomb fulfilling all that He came here for. His teachings, His sacrifice in the garden and His death on the cross were all real and important, especially since Christ defeated death and rose the third day on Easter. I can't express how truly amazing this is. Christ lives and He lives for us!

In lieu of this great season (of course General Conference was watched) I attended Mass in American Fork at the St. Peter's Church on Sunday. Catholics and others, celebrated Palm Sunday yesterday. There is a really neat tradition that they have where all the parish gathers outside of the church. We met underneath a small pavilion that the church owns. There we are given palm leaves and missal books to be able to follow the Passion of Christ, which is done during Mass. The Father begins Mass outside. He does a special blessing on the palm leaves and us and then we follow in a big procession singing praises as we enter into the church. For the Gospel readings during Mass, the Passion of Christ (the time of Christ's entry into Jerusalem until his death on Calgary) is read. In this parish the part of Christ was read by the Father, the narrator was read by the Deacon, the other parts such as Peter, Pilate, etc. were read by a lecturer, and the crowd parts were read by the congregation. It was so neat to be able to focus on this very important story. Mass continued as normal.

Holy week extends from Palm Sunday until Easter. In between, Mass is held on Thursday (to commemorate the Last Supper), Good Friday (to commemorate His death), on Saturday (there is a vigil), and then on Sunday to celebrate His Resurrection. I really hope that I can attend some of these masses. I encourage you guys, wherever you may be, to find a Catholic church (orthodox, Anglican...) and find out when these Masses will be and attend one. It is quite an experience and it will help you focus on the importance of this week.

You know I have felt so very blessed especially now during this season. My birthday happens to fall in Holy Week (it is today!) which hardly happens. I don't know what it is, but I feel the need to pay extra attention and care. How great it is to celebrate and commemorate God's greatest gift to mankind and the greatest miracle ever!

Well, I hope I haven't bore you, I just wanted to share some thoughts and remind you guys of this special time. I hope you are all doing well!

Ash Wednesday

2007-02-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, our computer is down at home and I am at the library after my grueling aerobics session this morning, so this post will have to be quick. For all of you who are interested in other religions, today is Ash Wednesday for the Roman Catholic church. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of lent where faithful Catholics across the globe fast and pray for 40 days in anticipation for the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will keep you posted when we get down to Passion Week where the church remembers Jesus' Triumphal return into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), the Last Supper (Holy Thursday), the Crucifixion (Good Friday), and of course Easter!

On Ash Wednesday Catholics receive ashes on their forward when the Father makes the mark of the cross on it (it mostly looks like a blob--but it is supposed to be a small cross). This is part helps Catholics to remember where we came from (Adam came from the dust of the ground) and where we will return (to dust we shall return).

I hope that we can remember what an important season this truly is!

God bless you guys!

Valentine's Day-- A Little History

2007-02-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope that today has been filled with love, just like it has been for me. I got this email from a good friend of mine and I thought that I would share this with you on Valentine's. It is a history of Valentine's day and a little info on St. Valentine.
I also wanted to remind all of you of the One who has loved each and every one of us with a perfect love John 3:16. Let us remember God and Jesus Christ as we go to share our love with our family, friends, and other fellow human beings. For God has made all of this possible, to be able to love and cherish those around us! I love you guys and I always pray and hope that you will have the strength and insight you need to continue on the paths that all of you have chosen for yourselves! Share your love today!

The email:
http://www.intellmktg.com/im/inlove/val_hist.htm

http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintv06.htm

Please check out the links they are interesting and the stories are good too!

Superstar, Free Pancakes, and a Tribute to Randomness

2007-02-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for responding to the question about free-will and God's omniscience. It is a big question in the philosophy of religion and a question that many people struggle with. Just in short, I agree with you all. God knows everything, He knows all the possibilities and He knows us better than we know ourselves. Yet, miraculously, we have agency to help us learn and to grow and to come unto Him.

This past Saturday night, I got to go see the Broadway play Jesus Christ Superstar with my mom. We got tickets for the 8:00pm show up in Kingsbury Hall (Universtiy of Utah). Besides the show being great, I got to spend some real quality time with my mom. We just talked and talked and talked. I know some of you may cringe at the title of this show, but it is definitely worth seeing. It is a powerful rendition of the last days of Christ's life. The main characters are Jesus, and Judas. Interestingly, all of Christs teachings are seen through the eyes of Judas and the play displays implications for our lives today. I looked up the story online and I came across a portion of a term paper written for a course at the American Baptist Seminary. Hopefully, you will check out the link and read more about this play. Judas was the most intriguing character. He was so full of turmoil and truly represented each of us as we struggle to live and love Jesus Christ. The music was amazing. All of this is set to a rock music setting, which takes you off guard cause it seems so opposite to the story itself (the Passion of Christ), but the music was powerful.

After the play my mom and I decided we wanted to grab something to eat (almost 11:00pm!). We decided that pancakes and french toast sounded good and decided to head to IHOP. Our conscience got to us, so we decided to invite my dad to go with us (he absolutely loves breakfast--I got my affinity for breakfast fares from him). We would have called Daniel and told him to bring him and Maya also, but Maya was already asleep. It was like old time with my parents-- just me, a plate of french toast and eggs, and some good company! We got to talk about our (Daniel and I) future plans with school and other stuff. It was really nice.

For anyone of you who are just as crazy about breakfast as me, IHOP is serving free pancakes all day on February 20th! It is to celebrate National Pancake day. It goes from 7am to 10pm on Tuesday February 20th which happens to be the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the start of the Lenten Season of fast and prayer in preparation for Easter and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I ended up getting home around 1am. I was so tired but it was so worth it!

Random pics of Maya

Maya is my little smarty pants!
Maya showing leg ....Maya with Grandpa Dowler

Two Very Important Dates!

2007-01-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from Daniel's ice-fishing trip. This is the white bass he caught!

There are many important dates in my life. Such as Maya's birthday, our wedding anniversary etc. This past week Two very important dates have come and gone. The first date was Sunday January 28, 2007, Daniel's birthday. That's right, he turned 26 this past weekend. We celebrated on Saturday by taking him to the BYU-Air Force game at the Marriot Center. Then I made dinner for everyone at our place and ended with cake and ice-cream, of course. I was just thinking about how important to me this date was. I mean, Daniel was born on this day. This is going to sound pretty funny, but thanks to his mom and dad, I was able to meet and marry the most wonderful and silly guy in the whole world!

The second very important date was Monday January 29, 2007. My mom and dad celebrated their "silver" anniversary (25 years!). I can't believe it has been that long, but I am so proud and happy for them. Some of you may not know, but just a couple of years ago, my parents had their marriage blessed by the Catholic Church. It was something they had wanted to do, but just didn't get to it. I was very happy for them because that was something I had wanted for them since the time I knew that it was important to have your marriage through the Church. Now they can fully participate in the worship and they have grown closer as a couple. This date is very important. Again, this is going to sound silly, but I wouldn't be here if they hadn't gotten married. I am thankful for them and I love them!

Now with all those cheesy shout-outs out of the way, I ran into this Far Side comic. I thought it was interesting in light of the philosophy of religion class I had last semester. I wanted to post this up and see what you all think. Does God have specific and exhaustive foreknowledge? And how do we reconcile that with human free will? Tell me what you guys think!

Workouts and Cold Ice

2007-01-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

So, I just finished a week of some intense butt-kicking. Before the semester started, I signed up for an aerobics class (non-credit, open to public) offered by BYU. This of course to do some justice to the New Year's resolutions we all make, but never keep. For all of you who know me, I am not really an early bird, but I wake up at *gasp* 4:50 am to make it to my 6 am class. Now, there really is hope in this world. :) It is pretty intense, we do a combination of different aerobic routines such as kickboxing, dance, step, etc. and we also mix in circuit training, pilates, and weight training. I am pretty proud of myself. I also feel a lot happier and surprisingly, I have a lot more energy to deal with my other personal trainer, Maya. I would highly recommend doing some physical activity to all of my family and friends out there (baby, or not). Seriously, it really does wonders when you are active.

This past Saturday, Daniel got to go ice-fishing with a friend from work. They both headed out early Saturday and met at Utah lake to do some male-bonding over cold ice. Daniel is an avid fisherman, so when he heard that people were catching fish out there by the bucket fulls, he just couldn't contain himself. They spent the whole morning and early afternoon fishing for white bass (7am-2:30pm). He got some pictures, but when you have to use a camera that still requires you to go get the pics developed before you can even see them, it makes it really hard to get pics on our blog for you to see fast enough. Oh well, I will get them up at a later post. Daniel told me that the ice was 12in. thick and it was pretty cold out there on the lake. He caught an impresssive 13 1/4" white bass, unfortunately the fish were all fished out, cause that was it. A guy fishing by them gave Daniel the three that he caught, so Daniel came home with four great fish. Way to go, honey! We saved one for my fish-loving mom, and the other three we ate for dinner that night. It was great!

I think some explanations are in hand for the little comic and fish pics attached to this post. The comic comes from Toothpaste for Dinner a great online comic I found. I am going to try and add the link to our blog so you can check it out for yourself. They are all pretty clean, some comics can get a little crude, so watch out! Anyways, when I saw this comic it reminded me of how sensitive women get about their bodies. All I have to say is be glad that you are not grape-shaped. Ha! The fish, more specifically, a white bass, is not our own picture, I got it off the web so that you guys could see how cool and beautiful white bass are. The one with the osprey catching a white bass is on there because, well, it was cool.

Awesome Opportunities!

2007-01-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

So the semester has started and we are back into the daily grind. Daniel has a full schedule of math (yuck...) and economics. I am taking a couple of classes, one to finish my degree. So far things are going ok. There hasn't been any major accidents and we are all intact. So, we are doing pretty good.

I have a really cool class that I just have to tell about. The final capstone class of the editing major is Editing for Publication. In this class we become real interns for BYU Studies, a real publication of Brigham Young University. Our class is rather small so we work as an editing team. We are in charge of a book that is going to be published. Each member of the team is in charge of an article that was written and presented at an earlier conference about belief and meaning in religious art (right up my alley!). The cool thing is that we act as real editors, not just practicing editors, but real ones. We have to get in contact with the author, write official letters, do detailed source checking, and make decisions on the overall design of the book's layout! I even had to sign a confidentiality contract promising not to share anything of what I am editing (sorry guys). But on top of it all we get our name in the masthead of the book and we get a free copy of it! I'm thinking that this is going to be great to show to future employers.....

2007-01-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

Here it is! The long awaited blog site for the Dowlers. This is my first official post (some patience please) and I think some introductions are at hand. My accomplice in crime, and blissful wedding life, is Daniel Dowler. He is currently attending Brigham Young University (Go Cougars!) majoring in International Relations with an emphasis in political economy and minoring in Math...phew! He loves long walks....no really, more like long hikes, fishing, and playing sports. He's from New Mexico so he loves that green chile and he's the bestest friend a girl could have.

Next is little miss Maya, a.k.a. the Munch. She is 20 months old and loves to read and eat. She is majoring in the Terrible Two's and minoring in Toddler Cuteness and she really is the "cute one."

Finally, last, but not least, the author of this new blog site (me) Marquita. I am also attending Brigham Young University majoring in Linguistics and minoring in Editing. Now with that said, I know some of you readers will probably read through my posts just picking out grammatical mistakes and errors in puncuation just because I am minoring in editing. Minoring, not majoring....:) But, feel free to comment on any issues you deem necessary, even if they include my obsessive use of comma splices (let's just see you try). My interests include religion (theology, world religions, history), archaelogical stuff, print publishing, cooking, and learning Korean. My job titles would include mom, student, chef extraordinaire, and a searcher of truth.

Now with introductions out of the way, I think we should explain the purpose of this blog. We really hope that we can keep in touch with our friends and family all over the country and the world. We hope that we can share a little piece of our lives and the love we have for this life and our Savior with everyone. I hope to make you smile, make you think, and get some much needed therapy with writing what's on my mind and what's happening to our family.

Enjoy!