Girls Night and Gourmet Grub

Brian went out of town to Minnesota on business this last week and left me home alone to fend for myself for 5 whole days! I had the company of the pups but my nights mostly consisted of a book/movie and a Lean Cuisine.

So Wednesday, my girl Courtney came over to relieve me of my boredom and loneliness for a fancy schmancy homemade gourmet dinner. A celebration was in order: for her upcoming and much anticipated graduation day next week. So excited and proud of that girl! But because she has had her head stuck in books, we hadn't seen each other in over a month. Unacceptable.

So we popped a couple bottles of wine, and exploded with a months worth of gabbing while we made dinner. We made a mushroom marsala with chicken over a bed of creamy polenta. Yum! The picture doesn't do it justice, but it turned out beautifully.

After dinner, we must've had a burst of confidence, enough to attempt making a chocolate souffle from scratch (having never made or even tasted one before.) I was surprised they were so easy to make! I was worried about whipping the egg whites into soft, then stiff peaks. No electric mixer in my my kitchen, we whipped it old school. It took the strength of both of our right arms but we nailed it!

Stiff Peaks!! We were way more excited than was necessary. Haha

20 minutes later we popped these babies out of the oven. I pretended to know what I was doing based on what I recently saw on Masterchef. I broke into the center of the souffle with a spoon and it came out clean. Definitely a fan of souffles now, but I don't think I'll ever be able to justify paying for one in a restaurant. Both of them cost about $6 to make (including the cost of both ramekins.)

Bailey update:
We went back to the vet on Wednesday because she still had the crazy eyes. They looked a little better but the bulging didn't go down and they seemed to be bothering her more than before. Doc gave us some prescription eye drops, and her eyes are already showing improvement 2 days later. She's beginning to look normal again!

I have to admit I think I'll miss the crazy eyes a little bit. I had a good laugh each time she looked up at me with her big eyes that looked like she was looking right and left at the same time, the opposite of cross-eyed. I am a terrible terrible person.

Hypochondriacs Anonymous

Hello, my name is Heather, and I'm a hypochondriac.

In the last few days, I've noticed that Bailey's eyeballs have become unusually large. Like they may pop right out of her head at any moment. I mentioned it to Brian, who initially didn't see a difference and deduced that I was crazy. (It's not uncommon for him to be found absolutely right in these cases.) But the other night, Brian agreed that Bailey's eyes did seem to be bulging out of her sockets.

Bailey a couple weeks ago and now

Never having seen or heard of this happening to a dog (or anything for that matter), I headed straight to Google where I came across several terrifying articles explaining "What to Do if Your Dog's Eye Pops Out of the Socket" and about how any trauma can put pressure on the ocular nerve sometimes causing blindness. PetMD is not my friend.

After reading enough of these articles to severely freak myself out, I took poor bug-eyed Bailey to the after-hours emergency vet. We piled in the car, exploded through the doors, sniffed every possible surface of the waiting room, peed on the floor, tackled the nurse, and then finally saw the doctor. He said it looked like nothing to worry about, that it's probably just allergies and some Benedryl and eye drops should take care of the inflammation. *Phew*

It was a long drive home; I drove, feeling sheepish yet relieved, and Brian smiled smugly in the passenger seat. Completely understanding as always, he is so great about easing my worries and anxiety. He puts up with my crazy so well. Poor guy will probably run for the hills before it comes time to talk about kids.

I'm so glad that Bailey's goofy looking face isn't worrisome to anyone but me; here's hoping the Benedryl and eye drops do the trick before she looks like this:

Festival of Colors

This Easter Brian and I went to the Holi Festival of Colors. Holi takes place at a Hindu Temple in Spanish Fork, UT (about an hour South of Salt Lake City.) It's so funny when I see pictures of this temple on Pinterest, labeled as being somewhere in India. It really does look authentic, but it's sitting on a farm in the middle of nowhere, Utah.

The festival of colors announces the arrival of spring and the passing of winter. It's a celebration to mark the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, and kindness over cruelty. The colors, when thrown, represent oneness and brotherhood with all humanity: a lesson of spiritual and social harmony. There are tens of thousands of people that attend each year. Even though there are so many people everywhere, the event somehow maintains its peaceful message.

I went to the Festival of Colors for the first time about 4 years ago. Back then, it was only twice a day that they would throw the colors, and there were much more people at once. Now, they throw the colors every two hours because there are so many people that come. They've got organized parking now, vendors, security, etc. The Festival of Colors is kindof a big deal.

So basically, this is what happens:

This is us before the madness, so fresh and so clean.

Everyone gathers together in the anticipation of the count down, then the colors are all thrown in the air, and you're engulfed in a cloud of what combines to become a purple dust (by the way, the colors are scented... like roses). It's fantastic. 

After the dust settles....

We are a colorful couple. We got another packet of colors on the way back to the car. Guess what color.
Totally worth the drive, and the crowds, and the purple stuff that stays in your nose and ears for days on end. (Oh yea, blowing your nose is great fun after this.)

The fun didn't end in Spanish Fork. Bailey helped me do laundry when we got home. I found a packet with a little bit of of purple colors left in my pocket and we had a festival all our own. Awwww. She is such a trooper.