MAY 7: Roast Leg of Lamb
I was feeling really ambitious on this holiday. Okay, maybe not ambitious enough to Roast an entire Leg of Lamb, because where do you even get that? But I did decide to cook. I went to the butcher after work (who knew there's a real butcher's shop in Springville: Springville Meat Co.?) and bought lamb shanks.
I seared the lamb shanks and then made a red wine balsamic reduction.
MAY 8: Have A Coke Day
To start off Have a Coke Day I'm going to share with you an anecdote I wrote back in September when BYU, for the first time in over 60 years, started selling caffeinated Cokes on campus:
Here's the picture of me from that day:
For Have A Coke Day I bought Cokes for my friends and I, since I was having them over for dinner. I also drank Coke at work. I had a table with 15 construction worker guys, and when I told them in was Have A Coke Day they all got various types of Coke for their drinks!
MAY 9: Sleepover Day
For Sleepover Day I slept over at my parents house. It was really fun and also pretty convenient since my mom and I were going to my cousin's wedding together the next morning.
MAY 10: Shrimp Day
For Shrimp Day my parents and I stopped at Reams on our way home to buy shrimp. The only shrimp they had that wasn't the frozen bags was raw, so I went home and cooked it. I ended up being glad the shrimp was raw, because it was super delicious having it freshly cooked.
MAY 11: Eat What You Want Day
For Eat What You Want Day I had JCW's onion rings for dinner, because why not?
MAY 12: Train Day
I worked a double on Nation Train Day, which was super convenient because my section for both of my shifts that day happened to be in the Trolley Car. Here's a picture of the cute restaurant I work at:
MAY 13: Mother's Day
Jessica, Rocky, and I slept at my parent's house Saturday night so that we were there in the morning for Mother's Day. We got up and made my mom a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and waffles. It was Rocky's birthday as well, so I also made him a birthday cake. After breakfast we played lawn games. Jessica and Rocky then went up to his parent's and my mom and I went and visited my Grandma Harward. Then I helped my dad build a shed for my mom. After we went to dinner and visited my Grandma Mansfield.
I adore my mom and she deserves the world, so it was great to have a day in honor of her.
I've kind of been a slacker with my blog posts since school got out, but I promise I'll still get them out and still keep celebrating holidays! As I write this post I'm at the end of May and I haven't missed a day yet, so I'm still going strong.
I was feeling really ambitious on this holiday. Okay, maybe not ambitious enough to Roast an entire Leg of Lamb, because where do you even get that? But I did decide to cook. I went to the butcher after work (who knew there's a real butcher's shop in Springville: Springville Meat Co.?) and bought lamb shanks.
I seared the lamb shanks and then made a red wine balsamic reduction.
I cooked the lamb shanks in my dutch oven in the reduction for about two hours. Here's a picture of them right before they went in to the oven:
While the shanks were cooking I made creamy mashed potatoes and walnut roasted brussel sprouts. All in all, I felt like the result was delicious! Especially since I was cooking with a meat I'd never worked with before.
To start off Have a Coke Day I'm going to share with you an anecdote I wrote back in September when BYU, for the first time in over 60 years, started selling caffeinated Cokes on campus:
My alarm went off at 7:00 AM on the morning of September 21, 2017, and I groaned at the abysmal thought of waking up on such an unremarkable Thursday to be at my 8:00 AM lab. I laid in bed a few minutes longer, wondering how I would get through such a long day on campus when I was so tired. Already relishing in the thought of the nap I would take when I got home at 6 PM I got ready and took the dreary walk to the JFSB. I entered the empty sewing lab and spent the next solitary hour in silence, entering grades for the samples the students had turned in. Time for lecture came and I grabbed my phone and some pumpkin spice cheerios and walked over to the classroom across the hall. The sleepy yawns of students at their first class of the day filled the room as Sister Merrill set up the PowerPoint for the lecture. I glanced at my phone and saw something that would make this uneventful Thursday into a day I would never forget. One of my Facebook friends had shared an article announcing that BYU would now be selling caffeinated sodas on campus. Now, to put this in context, BYU has not sold caffeinated sodas on campus since the 1950’s. The past few years especially, the cry for caffeination on campus has grown louder. After President Uchtdorf gave a talk mentioning drinking an unnamed caffeinated beverage the lack thereof on campus seemed almost funny. I could barely contain my excitement at this remarkable event and as soon as we moved back into the lab I announced to my class this shocking change. As soon as my lunch break came around I headed to Pendulum Court with high hopes of that sweet taste of Coca-Cola. The real kind, not the off-putting caffeine free stuff that had always been sold on campus. But alas, Pendulum Court had obviously not got the memo because their case was full of the red and gold cans signaling it was caffeine free. I ate my lunch quickly, trying to drown the bitter disappointment with the sweet taste of BYU Creamery chocolate milk. But I could not give up the hunt so easily. Having a Coke on this day was no longer a craving, I would be part of something historical. And so I continued my search in the Twilight Zone. Now to a BYU student the Twilight Zone is more than a TV show, it is the answer to hunger, headaches, and many other student needs as it is the name of the convenience store in the corner of the Wilkinson Student Center. I hurried on my hunt for caffeinated Coke, only stopping for some free candy at the Study Abroad fair. But no, candy would not hold me long – I needed the real stuff. The good stuff: Coca-Cola. I ran to the back of the store, where they kept the drinks, only to see a hurriedly made sign stating: “CAFFEINE. Today’s announcement came as a surprise to us, but we are pleased to announce that we too will be able to carry caffeinated drinks from Coke. It will take us a week or two to get it in, but it is coming! J” The smiley face at the end was just mockery. The announcement I read on Facebook said that the Coke would be sold today, but all hope was not lost. I still had one more place to go. The source of the commotion: the Cougareat. I brushed the horrid thought aside that it might be sold out from high demand and moved onward. I emerged from the depths of the BYU Bookstore and into the familiar sights and smells of BYU’s own food court. And there it was. Cases and cases. Displays all over. The silver of Diet, the black of Zero, and there, the iconic red of Coke. Not any gold in sight. Pure, caffeinated Coca-Cola. I eagerly grabbed the first one I saw and bounded over the the cashier. She rang me up, and, with a meaningful look in her eye handed me the receipt and said “You’ll want to keep this. It’s a day to remember.” I pocketed the receipt and walked out into the sunshine, ice cold Coke in hand, and took that first, unforgettable swig. With the sugary goodness running through my veins, I knew that I no longer I had worry about getting through the day: I had the glorious, artificial energy that comes from caffeine.
Here's the picture of me from that day:
For Have A Coke Day I bought Cokes for my friends and I, since I was having them over for dinner. I also drank Coke at work. I had a table with 15 construction worker guys, and when I told them in was Have A Coke Day they all got various types of Coke for their drinks!
MAY 9: Sleepover Day
For Sleepover Day I slept over at my parents house. It was really fun and also pretty convenient since my mom and I were going to my cousin's wedding together the next morning.
MAY 10: Shrimp Day
For Shrimp Day my parents and I stopped at Reams on our way home to buy shrimp. The only shrimp they had that wasn't the frozen bags was raw, so I went home and cooked it. I ended up being glad the shrimp was raw, because it was super delicious having it freshly cooked.
MAY 11: Eat What You Want Day
For Eat What You Want Day I had JCW's onion rings for dinner, because why not?
MAY 12: Train Day
I worked a double on Nation Train Day, which was super convenient because my section for both of my shifts that day happened to be in the Trolley Car. Here's a picture of the cute restaurant I work at:
MAY 13: Mother's Day
Jessica, Rocky, and I slept at my parent's house Saturday night so that we were there in the morning for Mother's Day. We got up and made my mom a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and waffles. It was Rocky's birthday as well, so I also made him a birthday cake. After breakfast we played lawn games. Jessica and Rocky then went up to his parent's and my mom and I went and visited my Grandma Harward. Then I helped my dad build a shed for my mom. After we went to dinner and visited my Grandma Mansfield.
I adore my mom and she deserves the world, so it was great to have a day in honor of her.
......................................................................................
I've kind of been a slacker with my blog posts since school got out, but I promise I'll still get them out and still keep celebrating holidays! As I write this post I'm at the end of May and I haven't missed a day yet, so I'm still going strong.
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