Author: Faith

One Year Older?

We made it! After an epic journey consisting of two international flights (Salt Lake to Tokyo and then Tokyo to Pusan) we arrived in Korea. For the most part E did pretty well. There were a few hours in the middle of the SLC to Tokyo flight where he kind of lost it because he was exhausted but couldn’t fall asleep. But for the most part he held it together remarkably well. And then he slept from Tokyo to Pusan.

The funny thing about our flight over here is that my 30th birthday kind of got swallowed up by the international dateline. We left the U.S. on the morning of my birthday but it was late at night the next day when we arrived in Korea. So…maybe I’m still technically 29? (Just kidding…I actually have no problem with being 30.) I feel remarkably blessed in my life and I’m looking forward to my thirties.

We crammed in a quick birthday celebration before we left. I made a dairy-free chocolate pie which went over well (E couldn’t wait until we got back from Vegas so he had a few slices early).


This is one of the richest dairy-free desserts I’ve had (Thanks to my friend Jenn for recommending it) and I definitely think it’s worth trying if you have dairy-limitations. The idea of using tofu can be kind of off-putting but I added some orange extract and it tasted like a chocolate orange–yum!

Vegas, baby, Vegas!

Sorry for being MIA lately. We got back from Vegas early Monday morning and ever since then I’ve been rushing around like mad trying to wrap things up for our trip to Korea. It doesn’t help that my monthly reports for work are due before before we leave so I had to spent about 6 hours yesterday on them. BUT, that’s not what this post is about.

This was the first time N and I had gone away together without E and it was so much fun. I’ll leave it to N to discuss in detail the concerts we went to but I will say that for me the highlight of the festival was seeing Belle and Sebastian play. Stuart Murdock was ADORABLE and the show was great.

Belle and Sebastian

The two other things I wanted to do besides going to the shows were to sleep in and eat some great food. I had mixed success with sleeping in (due to my pregnant bladder and some vague anxiety about E being okay/the upcoming Korea trip) but got the chance to take a few naps which was great. But the food, well, the food was delicious.

One of our goals for this trip was to go back to Lotus of Siam which has the reputation of being one of the best Thai restaurants in the country. They specialize in northern Thai cuisine and have an extensive menu. We had been before and really enjoyed it and this time was just as good.

Pregnant me ready to eat some Thai food!

Nam Sod Salad

Crispy duck with Chu-Chee sauce (by far my favorite thing–SO good.)

If you like Thai food I’d definitely recommend checking out this place the next time you’re in Vegas. It’s fairly well-known (When we were there Mac McCaughan from Superchunk was at the table next to us.) and pretty busy so you have to make a reservation at least a day before. The restaurant’s located in a dicey Asian strip mall but the food is fantastic and reasonably priced.

In 12 Hours

In less than 12 hours N and I will be touching down in Las Vegas. We had wanted to go to this music festival (The line-up is amazing: Belle and Sebastian! Pavement! Superchunk! etc…) but the tickets sold out in under 2 minutes when they went on sale. But on Monday the festival released a few more tickets and N snagged two of them. So we booked a flight, hotel, and car and now we’re on our way.

I’m looking forward to seeing the bands but being the unhip pregnant lady I am I might be looking forward to 1) sleeping in and 2) eating delicious food just as much.

This weekend is also my church’s general conference. In Utah it’s broadcast on tv so we’ll tape it on the DVR and will probably catch the sessions on Sunday online at the hotel. I’m looking forward to sleeping in and then watching conference from the comfort of a kid-free hotel room.

I’ll have pictures and a report next week. I hope you have a great weekend!

Going on a Train Ride

I’ve had a vague urge to cram in some fun outings for E before the weather turns cold and we’re stuck inside for months. Hence visiting the state fair two weeks ago and taking a ride on the Heber Valley Railroad this last Saturday.

We went on the 90-minute ride and E loved it. It was a lot more crowded than last time we went and we couldn’t get seats in the open car. So we sat in one of the restored cars and E had a blast craning his head out the window like a dog in a pickup truck. (We insisted on keeping a firm grip on his pants which annoyed him to no end.)

The whole outing was a bit of a production (it takes almost an hour to drive up the canyon to the train station and then home again) but it was fun. I don’t know if we’ll go again next year since since you have to buy 3 year-olds their own tickets and the cost adds up quickly.

N and I haven’t been out on a date in a while so that evening we got a sitter and went to dinner and to see The Town. I was pretty wiped out from our train adventure and was worried I’d fall asleep during the movie but once it started I forgot how tired I was. It was well-paced and in general the cast was very good.

Uncle David

My older brother David lives in Omaha so we don’t get to see him that often. But luckily he was in SLC on business earlier this week so we got together at my sister Jan’s house and stuffed our faces with Korean food and caught up.


When I was little I thought he was the coolest ever. While his fashion sense has changed a bit since then he’s still pretty awesome.

Gadgets: Canon PowerShot S95

I’ve only ever had one digital camera: the trusty 1st generation Canon EOS Digital Rebel that N surprised me with for Christmas 2004. Before that I shot film.

The digital rebel (and the awesome lens N gave me last Christmas) are usually all I need when I want to take pictures. But sometimes I end up leaving my Rebel at home just because it’s pretty bulky and heavy with the lens attached. It would be nice to have a camera that fit easily in my purse. But there wasn’t really a point-and-shoot camera that seemed worth buying–until now.

I am kind of drooling over the Canon PowerShot S95*, an update of last year’s PowerShot S90. It has a fast 2.0 lens (great for taking photos in low light), a good sensor, a decent zoom, and–most impressive to me–a manual mode and the ability to shoot in RAW format. AND it can also shoot stereo HD video. Not bad for something you can slip in your pocket.

Because of all the features it’s pretty pricey for a point-and-shoot camera–enough so that it’s out of my price range. But I think it’s great that someone made a point-and-shoot camera with some dSLR features that you can really dig into.

*These are Amazon Affiliate links.

State Fair

I took a stab at freshening up my template over the weekend. I mostly wanted the main column to be a bit wider for posting photos. I’m still tinkering, but we’ll see.

N and I took E to the state fair on Saturday. We crammed in all the hits: petting livestock, looking at folk art, going on rides, and eating fair food (a Navajo taco, a smoked turkey leg, fresh cut french fries, and Hawaiian pulled pork).

E’s favorite part were the rides. He especially loved the Ferris wheel. We were only there for about two hours but by the end he was pooped. He fell asleep within minutes of being buckled in his car seat.

Giggles

I was pretty zonked last night and decided to try and get to bed a little earlier than usual (i.e. before 11pm). But then I stayed up for forty minutes lying in bed with N talking about baby names.

After a while the serious suggestions (Beatrice, Ada, Alice, Faith Jr. {N’s idea}, etc…) dissolved into silliness. N’s most memorable suggestion? Faith Condoleezza Rice-a-Roni, JUNIOR.

Maybe you had to be there, but man I love that he makes me laugh everyday.