LDS Art Competition

Well, Friday was the big day!  We went up to Salt Lake for the awards ceremony and gallery opening of the LDS International Art Competition....  That I had a piece in!  (ok, I'm done shamelessly bragging now)

It was such a fun night- my parents came into town and a bunch of family came up for the opening.  It was amazing to see the people who won awards- their art was seriously incredible.

The opening was so packed we could hardly walk around, but I personally think that made it more fun.  The atmosphere was perfect-  all the artists who could attend-many coming from different countries- were standing by their pieces so you could go and discuss their work with them.  The museum tour guides were going around interviewing artists to find special stories and insight to add to the tours they'll give all summer.  A pianist played a grand piano in the middle of everything and there was a beautiful table of the most amazing hors devours.  It felt so official!  I'm definitely hoping this won't be a once in a lifetime experience- I'm already dreaming about the next competition.  And trying to convince everyone I know to enter in the next show- definitely worth the effort!

To see all the artwork check out https://history.lds.org/viewer/voting/event/9th-art-comp?lang=eng. (I can't figure out how to get a link directly to my quilt... can you?  If so, could you leave a comment with that link?  I'd appreciate it!) Voting for the visitor's choice award is open online and at the museum, so be sure to vote for your favorite one!

Remember how I put so much effort into my wording?  Well, they totally butchered it.  Sad.  :(  But it was still cool to see my name on my own plaque!

Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream

Well, our 6 week non-fat, low-carb, vegan diet trial is over.  Actually, it ended after just 4 weeks.  Getting progressively weaker as the weeks went on was my first sign that this diet wasn't actually making me feel better. Losing feeling in my legs during a session of physical therapy and then hardly being able to walk for the rest of the day was the last; that was the day we decided the trial was over.  Oh the things doctors think will make me feel better! (in the doctor's defense, I do have POTS which is basically just chronically weird circulation so the side effects weren't really that surprising)

It was an interesting month.  One that I definitely don't want to try again, but we picked up a few tips and recipes that we'll definitely be keeping around.  Here is our favorite-

  Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream

Serves 2

1/2 C almond milk (I'm sure good old cow milk would work well too)
1 T cocoa powder (splurging for the Ghirardelli cocoa is seriously worth it on this recipe)
4 dates, pitted
1 1/2 C dark sweet frozen cherries

Blend milk and dates in blender until there are no big date chunks.  Add cocoa and cherries, blend until smooth.  So good!  We also like it with frozen raspberries or frozen bananas.