New Blog

If you want to see some wedding pictures then head over to my new blog:

www.scottandcecilie.blogspot.com

(I'm hoping that with 2 of us we can keep the blog better updated...)

Nowruz (Persian New Year)

Scott's roommate, Amir, is from Iran and they celebrated the new year a few weekends ago, March 20. They have their party according to the vernal equinox so it's at the same time all over the world. This year it was at 10:30am PST but next year it will be at 4:30pm PST, the next 10:30pm PST, and the next 4:30am PST. I really like celebrating it all at the same time but I'm not sure how I feel about a 4:30AM party. (Actually I am sure, I wouldn't be able to stay awake.) They also have a beautifully decorated table with all sort of symbolic decorations. It's beautiful:
And what's a part without food?
The week following Iranian New Year we went to a celebration for Cambodian New Year. The party was awesome and we got to catch up with a friend from my childhood. It was wonderful. Celebrating the new year in spring makes me think that everyone knows something we don't. We celebrate a new beginning in the dead of winter when the 2 most depressing months are still ahead of us. I think that #1 I like celebrating a new year in spring when the world is renewing itself and #2 I like the early morning party.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to ourselves! Scott turned 26 on March 8th and I turned 26 on March 9th. Isn't that cute?! Actually, it works to my disadvantage. Last year we were newly dating (still in the awkward stage) and Scott waited to get me anything until he could evaluate my gift. He didn't want to go too big or too small so he waited. As usual, I couldn't get it all together on his birthday so I gave him stuff on mine. Fast forward to this year: same thing. I couldn't get it together on his birthday so he got it on mine. I think next year we'll SCHEDULE to celebrate his birthday on the 9th and mine on the 10th. (Or I could always just convince myself that his birthday is on the 7th...) At least my parent's could get it together and make us a delicious red velvet cake. Yum!

June 26, 2010

Really?!?!?!?!?

This morning I was in too much of a rush to write about yesterday but now I'm back to tell you all how it happened. Scott made Valentine's Day perfect. He brought me beautiful flowers when he and my roommate's boyfriend came over to make us a breakfast of German pancakes, strawberry sauce, and bacon. I'm sure it was delicious. (Sadly I've been feeling sick lately and after my first bit I was worried I might throw up so I just laid on the couch and watch the rest of breakfast.) After skipping most of church, a nap, and cold shower I was feeling much better. We went to a beach just west of us where we've been a few times. There we dined on some chocolate covered strawberries he made and also some chocolate almonds. He knows me so well! He gave me a big black box to open and inside was more chocolate and another smaller box. When I opened the smaller box there was the beautiful ring and he asked me if I wanted to be his wife. After I said yes he told me how much he loves me, etc. For the rest of the sunset I would randomly say "Really?" just to make sure it wasn't a joke. I can't believe it! He makes my life complete. We've planned next to nothing so far but perhaps we'll seal the deal in the end of June in Utah. Really?!?!?!

YES!

Happy Passing Quals to Scott!

To celebrate passing quals Scott took a few of us out for Ethiopian food in San Francisco. As my family thinks I'm allergic to food, it was quite the experience. They served us a huge plate of food on a pancake type bread. We then dove in with our own pieces of the bread and ate some delicious food. Part of the meal was vegetarian and the other part had meat. I think all of us would agree that Ethiopians eat some pretty tasety food. Here's a before-ish picture:


And an after picture:


Congratulations Scott!

He So Smart!!

Scott had to take a qualifying exam in order to be a PhD candidate. The pass rate for Stanford hovers just below 50% so it's kind of a big deal. Many hours and even more late nights were spent cramming for subjects he may or may not be tested on. Needless to say, he felt a little pressure to put on a good show. HE DID! Now, as he told me this afternoon, "I can spend all my time on Cecilie!" Who's excited?

And I'm back...

So I was making great progress on my blog until Thanksgiving. I planned to update it the Monday after but my dad had other plans. At work that day he had a massive heart attack that almost killed him. Thankfully his co-workers knew CPR and saved his life. He spent a week on a ventilator because his lungs were full of fluid and then another week in the hospital to see what to do next so this won't happen again. Turns out: his heart is very healthy except for one small blockage right near the electrical conduction. That blockage caused his heart to go into vfib (vibrate) instead of normal sinus rhythm (pumping). Basically his heart wasn't doing anything during the episode and he should have died. People who have vfib not in a hospital have less than a 5% chance of survival. The fact that he survived and has no damage at all is more than a miracle, it's a gift from God. He's been home ever since but will start back at work on Monday. Needless to say, I've had other things on my mind that blogging. One of the many blessings during this last while was that all of my siblings could come out for New Year's. Only one sister was supposed to come but my other sister and brother decided to come out as well and it was such a blast. We did all the typical family fun things: eat, play games, play RockBand, eat, set up a BB gun range in the backyard, eat, jump on the trampoline, take family pictures, eat. It was so awesome.The Bain Family 2010
Dad, Mom, Jenny, Macey, Eric, Maren, Jake, Rushton, Melissa
Cecilie, Caleb, Parker, LauraHow proud do my parents look? Are they not the cutest grandbabies ever?This is one of my favorite pictures from the break!
Maren LOVED being jumped on the trampoline but she's a little too flexible to do it without some help. It was so fun.
Parker could think of nothing else but being jumped on the trampoline. Maybe next time we can jump him to the moon...
Who do you think is having the most fun in this picture? I'll give you a clue: they're 4 and full of mishev.
No I do not live in the country but I guess this is what happens when too many boys are bored.
Orange peels anyone?And the sweetest little baby ever. She loved to lay on the floor and laugh. It was adorable. Tune in throughout to week as I update you on other adventures I've had lately...

Whiskey Chicken

Eric, my brother, was in town this weekend and treated everyone to dinner at Claim Jumper. It was a nice treat especially since we could order everything our hearts desired. Going to restaurants is stressful for me since I'm a fairly picky eater and I usually can't decide what to eat. When the waiter came around I quickly decided on Whiskey Chicken. It looked delicious and I love BBQ sauce. The plate came and instead of BBQ sauce I had apples marinated in whiskey as my sauce. Apparently Whiskey Chicken doesn't mean Whiskey River BBQ sauce Chicken. Next time I go out to eat I think I'll read the entire description and not just assume that it will be what I want.

When's the last time you visited the dentist? I went yesterday and I'm still feeling it. It's been a while since I slobbered all over myself while eating dinner; good thing I was alone. Although I work in the OR and deal with shots, etc daily it's still different to have those things aimed at me. Sadly enough, the fun has only just begun. I'm going back soon for a root canal and new bridge placement. Sad day. Until then, I'll nurse my bruised lip and missing tooth.

Fish Tremble When They Hear My Name!

Last Saturday Scott and I went fishing with a friend of his from school. We went off a really long pier in Pacifica and it was super fun. It was incredibly foggy driving over but once we dropped to ocean level the fog lifted and it was beautiful. We had so much fun but only caught things that had to go back. I guess the crab season doesn't really begin until this week so we had to throw back the crabs we caught. It was still so awesome though.

The pier we went fishing off.


A crab that Scott had to throw back, minus a leg. Scott wasn't holding it far enough back so the crab tried to pinch his fingers. When Scott dropped the crab a leg fell off. Woops!
(Good luck Sebastian! I hope you find Ariel.)

This is my idea of fishing. Sleeping works out best for the group anyway,
it's about the only way I sit still and stay quiet!

(PS Anyone know how to make the photo rotate so I don't have to put sideways ones up again?)

Halloween Celebration

In April Scott and I dyed Easter eggs with Rachel and Westin. It was a fun disaster. We waited until the last minute to buy the supplies and then drove to 3 stores to get everything. Once we started it was almost 10 and we quickly got bored. (Scott was happy to have egg salad sandwiches for the next week though.) For Halloween we decided to do better. We bought the pumpkins in advance and even got a book full of patterns to carve. Everything went great until we started to work. If you've never used a pattern before be warned: they're hard and a LOT of work.
Scott chose the hardest pattern but also probably had the best turnout. He spent almost 3 hours to get his haunted house just right. I chose a much easier pattern and it turned out alright.

Rachel carved a spider but Westin decided to make his own pattern and ended up with a scary Jack-o-lantern.

In order of appearance: Rachel, Westin, Scott, Cecilie
And here's our pimpkins! (I realize I spelled that incorrectly but it's too funny to edit.) Hope you had a spooky Halloween!

ABCs

So I just spoke to my brother's kids and we had an awesome time on the phone. While 'speaking' to my niece Maren, age 2, I started singing the ABCs for her. The next thing I know: Maren (2), Caleb (4), and Parker (5) are all taking turns laughing while I sing to them. It was hilarious to hear them laugh so hard. However, do you think it's a reflection on my ability to carry a tune?

One Fine Day

I went to the grand opening of a shoe store tonight and saw Michelle Pfeiffer there. It was basically life changing. She came out of a back room, walked by me and never looked back. I think I'm one step closer to the American Dream of fame and fortune. My friend works in the shoe store and said that Michelle is a 'regular'. I'm thinking that I'll shop there more often. Now, it's time to watch her and George Clooney in One Fine Day; I can reminisce of when I almost talked to her in a shoe store...

P.S. Hannah, next time you see her can you tell her how fabulous she was in Stardust? I love that movie even more.

A Foggy Day in the City

This weekend was the Blue Angels airshow in San Francisco so Scott and I went out on the Golden Gate Bridge to feel the vibrations as they flew over. We got there about 30 minutes early, saw them fly by twice, waited another 30 minutes, and then left. Apparently it was too foggy for the big show. I'm surprised that the show was cancelled because of fog; it's always foggy in SF. Whatever. We met up with Scott's old traveling buddy Mike and went to dinner and ice cream. It was really fun. I love living near the City where I can go in for an afternoon, have a good time, and then drive back to my quiet neighborhood.

Can I live in the closet?

So the lovely Jess and I went to Stanford yesterday to visit the even lovelier Lauren, Jenn, Victoria, and Rebekah. They invited us to eat dinner at their house but we had to go last night though since their chef doesn't work Tuesdays. (Yes, you read that right, they're in college and have a chef.) So they live in a house with about 40 other girls and it looks so cool. Dinner was tasty and we ate in a dining hall that made me feel like I should sing for my food or something. I wished I had a camp counselor and cheer to go along with the lasagna. Afterward we got the grand tour. There are 3 levels, a computer room, piano, chef, fully stocked fridge, M&Ms (my personal favorite), and basically anything else you can imagine. Oh yeah, they don't even have to pay for laundry! Their rooms are enormous too! The top picture was taken in one of the many closets. Seriously? Where did I go wrong in choosing to go to another university? I seriously missed out on the sorority lifestyle. Maybe I should go back for a masters...

How many women does it take...

to fill a car with gas? Three: one to bring the gas, another to hold the tank open, and a third to 'supervise'. So I was at my parent's house, dinking around on Facebook, when my mom called to say she was on the off ramp of the freeway and out of gas. I rushed to our small canister in the backyard only to find it empty and then hurried on to buy some gas before saving my mom. Once I got to her car she informed me that the gas tank door wouldn't open. (Mind you, it had just been fixed for $300 last month.) We both tried a few tricks before my mom stuck some scissors in the door crack while I pressed the button: SUCCESS!! The hard part being done, I held up the gas canister and started pouring. No good. There's a little door just at the mouth of the tank and the nozzle on the canister wasn't long enough to open that door. How do you fix that? At first I thought if I just shoved the canister in farther then it'd work. No such luck. Instead, my mom held the scissors against the door while I poured the gas in slowly. It was pretty difficult to get the gas to go in at the correct angle and flow because we were both laughing so hard. How hard can it possibly be to get some gas in the car? As for the supervisor, my grandma kept the front seat warm and was sure to check continually that my mom knew where she was. Hilarious.

Grandma Lee got married!

This weekend I went to Utah with Scott for his grandma's wedding. We had a blast. She met a nice old man in the retirement center and decided that being friends just wasn't enough. We had such a fun time at the wedding Friday night and the party didn't stop until we landed back in California on Sunday evening.
Before the wedding we went on a beautiful hike in Little Cottonwood Canyon:


On Saturday we went to Snowbird and participated in Oktoberfest by going on the zip line and taking the tram to the top of the Hidden Peak. :Saturday night we went salsa dancing with Scott's sister but we looked painfully out of place. She's a natural and has all the moves but Scott and I looked like we belonged at a high school football game instead and I'm not sure our moves did much to convince otherwise. It was so much fun though. Sunday we went to church, visited Grandmas and sisters. Thanks to the Lee's for such a great time and congrats to Grandma on the wedding!

Livin' in the South

This is a special post for my sister Laura. She's moving to Georgia today so that she can do a dietetics internship and be a real registered dietitian. I read the paper during breaks at work and I loved this story. I hope you packed your riot gear. Good luck. (I'm not sure how copyright works but this was over the Associated Press on 8/25/2009):

MARION, Ala. - Two Alabama families that had been fighting for years turned their feud into a full-scale riot Monday outside a small-town city hall, with up to 150 screaming people hurling tire irons and wielding baseball bats. Eight people were arrested, and at least four were hurt, Trooper John Reese said. Two were taken to hospitals. The town's police chief was hit in the head with a crowbar but was OK.

The two- or three-year-old feud apparently prompted a fight earlier in the day at a high school, after a window was shot out of a home Sunday night. Then, "all hell broke loose" later in the day, said Sgt. Carlton Hogue of the Perry County Sheriff's Department.

"It was a full-scale riot is what it was," said Tony Long, mayor of the town of 3,300 about 85 miles west of Montgomery.

Hogue said the rioters were "throwing jack irons, throwing tire irons, anything they could get their hands on." Some people carried baseball bats and brooms.

Reese said two people were arrested at the high school during the initial disturbance. Relatives of the people who were arrested followed officers to police headquarters at city hall, and then the melee erupted.

Six more people were arrested at city hall, Reese said, and police called in reinforcements from surrounding cities. Some officers wore riot gear, and many planned to stay overnight to help maintain order.

The mayor said he wasn't sure what sparked the fracas.

"Everybody's trying to point the finger at everybody," he said.

Judson College, a church-affiliated women's school with about 300 students in downtown Marion, issued an alert asking students to stay out of the downtown area for 24 hours as a precaution.