Skull and Crossbones concert

Come to my concert! It's tonight (Friday) night, 7:30, at the Riverton City building on Redwood Road at 12830. We are playing lots of fun pirate-esque music- some familiar, some less familiar but still wonderful. Tickets are $7.50 or $20 for a family. I have a few 'buy 1 get 1 free' coupons, so let me know if you'd like one of those.

It really should be a good concert and the trombone section will be particularly outstanding, as always. Definitely worth hearing....

Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.

I wish I was the genius who wrote this, but I am not that cool. I am, however, just cool enough to think it is fabulous. Original found here.

Literary Rules

Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.

It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat)

Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.

Be more or less specific.

Remarks in brackets (however relevant) are (usually) (but not always) unnecessary.

Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.

No sentence fragments.

Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.

Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.

One should NEVER generalize.

Comparisons are as bad as clichés.

Don't use no double negatives.

Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

One-word sentences? Eliminate.

Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

The passive voice is to be ignored.

Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.

Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.

Kill all exclamation points!!!

Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.

Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas.

Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.

Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.

Puns are for children, not groan readers.

Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.

Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.

Who needs rhetorical questions?

Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

Apples and more apples

Earlier this week we (me and Tyler + Becca and crew) had the opportunity to pick apples. Yay! We love apples and the many things that you can make with them, and free apples are the tastiest. Unsure of exactly how many we were going to be able to get, we loaded up the cars with buckets and headed to American Fork.

When we pulled up to the house and started unloading buckets I was feeling embarrassed at how presumptuous we looked with all our buckets- there was no way we could possibly fill that many. Umm. I was wrong. No need to be embarrassed. We filled 14 big buckets and 3 boxes in just over an hour. And we left at least that many on the trees. It was pretty incredible. Maybe someday I'll be cool enough to have trees like that. I think it helped that the lady is a beekeeper and had thousands and thousands of little tiny indentured pollinators.

If only we had stopped to think about the ramifications of picking that many apples. Picking them is easy. Canning them is not quite so simple. 2 days into the process and we think that we've hit the halfway point. Yikes. We are out of bottles, which is a problem- an easily rectifiable one. The less easily solved is our distinct lack of energy and enthusiasm.

Although we are totally exhausted, few things are as rewarding as the hours spent canning. The literal fruits of our labor are lined up in row after row of glistening bottles, practically winking at us and telling us that we'll be thankful later on, when we get to enjoy them throughout the year. I love looking at the shelves in my food storage room filling up and knowing that it's because of my hard work.

Enjoy while I work on a real post

Maybe summer isn't so awful, afterall?

Summer is probably my least favorite season- I don't handle the heat very well. But if we could do this 4 times a week, I think I could be a very happy girl...

More pictures here.

Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches
Eggplant
Red onions
Good bread (we use 'Country French Bread' from the Harmon's bakery)
Tomatoes (real ones from your garden- they have to be good!)
Arugula or other bitter greens
Aioli (recipe follows)
Fresh herbs, minced (basil, rosemary, parsley, oregano or anything you happen to have)
good olive oil, for drizzling
fresh mozzarella (optional)

Slice eggplant into 1/2" rounds. Salt them and set them on paper towels for an hour or so to draw out some of the liquid.
Grill red onions until soft-ish. Grill eggplant until tender. Grill bread slices.
Assemble sandwiches- generously slather bread with aioli, layer eggplant, onions, tomatoes, herbs, mozzarella (if using), and arugula. Drizzle with olive oil and add top piece of bread. Enjoy thoroughly!

Aioli
2/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup peanut or canola oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 egg yolks
4 tsp. lemon juice
kosher salt
Mix both oils together in a bowl with a spout.
Put garlic, egg yolks, and lemon juice in a food processor and pulse until it's fairly smooth
With the machine running, add the oil in a very slow, thin, steady stream. The mixture should be the consistency of mayonnaise (as that's exactly what we're making). Season with salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors meld.

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 lbs sweet potatoes
Olive oil
Grind all spices together with a mortar and pestle or an electric spice grinder.
Scrub sweet potatoes and slice into fry size pieces.
Toss potatoes with olive oil and spice mixture.
Roast at 425 for 20 minutes then turn them over and keep cooking until they are as crisp as you'd like, (but be warned that they will never be totally crisp- they have a lot more moisture than regular fries).

If you don't want spicy fries, just toss potatoes with olive oil and salt and roast.

These are awesome dipped in the aioli!

This meal is best enjoyed on a warm summer evening with the people you love the most.

Finished

Stephy and I walked out of the store with our books at 12:30 last night. I read for 5 hours, begrudgingly slept for a few hours, then woke up and read for another 1 1/2 hours. Good times. Good book...

THE Party

A few weeks ago, on a lovely afternoon spent with the in-laws, two very important things were decided. 1) The new village in Daybreak is not nearly as charming as the first two, but that everybody needs to move here (the house across the street from me is for sale- come be my neighbor!). And, 2) There ought to be some sort of large celebration when Tyler's siblings come to town.
Hrmmm. Let me think on that one.. Celebration=party. Party=Andrea's favorite thing
ever. Andrea's favorite thing to do+5 birthdays within a month+a mother-in-law kind enough to turn over control and let me go crazy= Bliss! I think I needed something like this to get me out of my funk and back into my groove. (Beware the groove!)
So, once I got done with my niece Chloe's 5th birthday paper doll party (see Becca's blog, since I forgot my camera), it was full steam ahead on THE Party planning-as opposed to 'the party'. A much needed distinction when you are planning more than one party at a time.
I had a pretty good idea of what I was going for with THE Party, so I was able to start making things early-ish. I made pinwheels and sprouted wheatgrass for centerpieces and decor. I made my first cake balls (inspired by Bakerella's cupcake pops), made paper umbrellas (which I totally forgot to take and can't seem to find anywhere?!?!) with Becca and Steve's help, and did all sorts of other crazy things..
I think my in-laws thought I was totally crazy when we started bringing things inside, but I hope that they still like me enough to not have me committed...

I had to borrow my mom's car to transport everything to the party. Hazel, Chloe and Calvin were pretty impressed...

The party favors, all lined up in a row. The containers were filled with chocolate raisins to anchor the cake balls.

The dining room set up, with favors and wheatgrass and pinwheels, oh my!

One of the birthday cakes- I don't know if this was the lemon or the chocolate, but it doesn't really matter... They both looked pretty cute, I thought. Tyler was a saint and baked and rolled fondant like a champ.

Pinwheels!

The lemonade bar. Lavender, mango, plain, mint and blueberry.

Mango lemonade. Very tasty stuff.

Mint lemonade. Also very tasty stuff.

Uncle David playing the clothespin drop game. By the end of the night Megan, Tyler and I were all tied for the high score- 7 out of 10 clothespins.

Ian attacking the pinata.

Randy wearing the pinata.

I love Bingo. I love it WAY more than I ought to.

And so, THE Party was a success. I had so much fun putting everything together and it seemed like people were enjoying themselves. Thanks, Barbara, for letting me do this one! Happy birthday to all of us!

I'll leave you with just one last picture. This is Scotty, rockin' it mandolin style...

I love the Muppets!!!!!

Beaker does Beethoven


Sousa never sounded better!


The Swedish Chef, Animal and Beaker sing.

The written word...

Tyler and I lived downtown when we first got married and one of my favorite things about that was being so close to the big library. And the farmers market, but this post is about books, not produce... We used to make frequent trips to the library and I was a reading fiend. When we moved to our apartment in South Jordan we were no where near a library and I kind of forgot that I like to read. I still read, but not with the vigor that I had before, and I seemed to only read things from my personal collection. Over and over and over. And the Harry Potter books as they came out. I read those.

An exciting thing happened last week. I went to the library with my sisters and nieces and nephews and got a new card, since mine had long ago disappeared. And I checked out books. And then I read them. (You may think that last part is a given, but I can't be the only person has had the problem of bringing home a book or a movie and then not getting around to it, right?) And I liked it.

I'd like to keep track of what I've read each month, just so that I can look back and remember. So here is the list from the past month or so...

Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse. Again. It's pathetic how many times I've read these, but they are my current favorite feel good and bath tub books. I first picked them up less than a year ago, but I have read them each at least 9 times.

Book of a Thousand Days and Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. Mom checked these out and sent them up my way. They are just sweet, heart warming little books. They're the kind of books that make you happy and optimistic.

My Life in France by Julia Child. A cute neighbor said she thought of me when she read it, so she brought it over for me to read. It was a fun read, talking about learning to cook, throwing dinner parties, writing her cookbooks, her husband and her love of all things French. I hadn't realized before just how tall she was- she was 6'2". I may have an inch on her, but she must have had it pretty rough back then..

The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan. A nice read, very much like her other books. I enjoyed it but probably wouldn't read it again.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I loved this one! It's her story of growing up dirt poor, moving all over the country with her brilliant and drunk father, highly eccentric mother, and her siblings. I highly recommend this one.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I realize that I am about 5 years late on reading this, but oh well.. There is a reason it is such a popular book- it's thoroughly delightful. I enjoyed it.

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman. Becca checked this out from the library. Before she was halfway through she had ordered multiple copies of it on Amazon- it's that good. It's pretty much the most delightful thing I've ever read. It's a series of essays about books, words and language. She writes about compulsive proof reading, sesquipedalians, reading aloud and marrying libraries together (5 years and one child after getting married, they decide they are ready for this level of intimacy). I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Sell out

I really need to post some of our Bermuda pictures, but they are all on Tyler's computer and he, unlike me, has to leave the house to go to work and he takes his computer with him. The nerve! So, instead of pictures of pink sand beaches and tales of snorkeling and collecting sea glass in island bliss, you get random anecdotes about my 14 sister. Who just happens to be completely darling (when she chooses to) and totally OCD (she can't help that part, I guess).

Mom and I were out running many errands yesterday, one of which was picking Tasha up from school. She got in the car and promptly told Mom that she had to drive very fast because her bladder was going to explode. Apparently she has a fear of public bathrooms and refuses to use them and instead suffers for hours at school. Why? I don't get it. (Maybe it was the time that the two of us walked into the men's room at Wingers. I was in the one stall and she was waiting her turn when a man walked in. She was pretty dang embarrassed. I hid in the stall, waiting until he was gone to make my escape, but another man walked in and I was still stuck in there and I eventually made it out, but not without a very awkward conversation at the sink. Maybe I understand her issue a little bit, although I got right back on the proverbial horse and use the bathroom at Harmon's that very same night!) Anyway, Tasha was yelling at the red lights and was pretty miserable. Unfortunately for her, Mom and I still had to stop at the craft store before we could consider our errands complete. I told her that they had a bathroom that she could use and that there was a 90% chance that she would live to tell about it. As we entered the store, I pointed her in the right direction and wished her the best of luck.

Many minutes later I ran into her near the yarn department, where she was playing with a purple bouncy ball with fringe all over it. I inquired after the condition of her bladder and she told me that she walked into the bathroom and right back out. She just couldn't do it. And that her bladder was really not too pleased with her. I laughed. Eventually we found Mom and were about ready to check out. Tasha really, really, really wanted us to buy the ball- now named Martha- for her and it was then that we spotted an opportunity for growth. (see: bribery) We told her that she could have the ball if she used the bathroom, and that there was no other way that she could get that ball. One fleeting look of terror crossed her face, then she looked at Martha and gave her (it?) a squeeze, and she marched off, determined. Mom had to go with her to guard the door to make sure that she would have total and complete privacy, but she did it. I am so proud!

So, for the bargain price of $7.99 (minus 40% because we had a coupon) Tasha has conquered a corner of her OCD-ness. Forget years of counseling and expensive medications- Tasha can use a public restroom because of a bouncy ball.

Two thousand stinkin' eight.....

I object. Mightily. Once again, I am sick. I didn't feel great on Saturday and then I spent Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and most of today in bed. I skipped Easter dinner! The Resurrection Potatoes! I missed them! I was not there to make the "Sauce o' Gold" for the ham- instead I was in bed with a fever and a migraine. Grrrrr. I mock my husband one little time for having a man cold and the universe mocks me back. I have spent the better part of this year sick- significantly sick- and I am tired of it. I am calling a truce. I invoke the 'I've already filled my sick days quota for the year' rule and declare the rest of 2008 disease free. Any questions?

In other news, ummm, we're going to Bermuda? Soon? As in, we leave tomorrow? Huh? It's rather unfortunate how incongruous this is with the first paragraph of this post, but I really meant it when I called 2008 stinky. It has not been kind! But, lest you be too concerned for me, I am on the mend and fully intend to enjoy myself thoroughly. We are taking a red-eye flight to New York tomorrow night and get to spend all day Friday and Saturday morning playing in the city. Tyler has never been (a 30 minute cab ride from the airport to the pier in October does not count) and it's been several years since I've been, so it should be fun. We plan to spend the day at the Met and will try to get lottery tickets to Wicked that evening.
(Mary- will you send some of your New York luck our way? Thanks so much....) If we don't get those we'll find another show to see. I'm rather excited....

So, our plane leaves in 27 hours. It might be time to start thinking about packing. Ciao!

B-b-b-blow me to Bermuda!

Once upon a time I had an aunt who I liked a lot but did not spend much time with. She left me a message on my phone one night saying that I should call her. So, being the responsible person that I am, I called her. She asked if I wanted to go to Bermuda. I said nothing. I was very confused, you see. She then elaborated and explained that her family was going on a cruise to Bermuda because they know a lady who got them a fantastic deal. Unfortunately her oldest son (who is my age) and his wife are not able to go, so they have an extra cabin and would we like it? She figured that given my lack of a structured job I would be able to take time away from work, and she hoped that Tyler could swing it with his job. I was concerned, thinking that Tyler had only been working at his job for 2 weeks and it would be difficult to suddenly take a week+ off, so I enumerated the potential problems to my aunt and promised to think about it. The aunt then said that there would not be much time to think- they had to have the name changes in immediately (within 24 hours) and that the cruise leaves in exactly one month. No pressure, right?

Well, incredibly enough, the school quarter will have ended and Tyler will be in the middle of his 3 week break, so he would not need to take any time off. We both already have passports and the price is so cheap that we had a hard time saying no. Such a hard time, that we didn't say no. We are going to Bermuda!! We fly to New York on the 27th of March and board the ship- Holland America's Noordam- on the 29th, where we will spend 7 nights in an oceanview room. We will spend 4 full days in port, so we will get to explore the area a fair bit and hopefully have some grand adventures. One of my cousins gets off his mission (in Greece) on the 25th and then goes on a cruise the 29th. Holy culture shock, Batman!

Ordinarily I spend months pining for a vacation, trying to convince Tyler that we need one (it's more like we need the promise of one- a date to look forward to), then many more months shopping around, comparing prices, learning about all the must-see places and the cool tours and things that are available. I get obsessed. Now I only have 24 days to fit 6 months worth of obsession into.

And with that, I'm off to peruse cruisecritic.com

Of plagues, peacocks and parties...

Well, the infamous 'man-cold' is now known as 'The Plague' at our house. (You must say it like that, FYI. It is not the plague. It is The Plague) I spent most of January doing a rather good impression of a grub. I was totally useless and am only now starting to feel better. Beware The Plague! Stay away from The Plague!!!

Right smack dab in the middle of my misery, my little sister Esta (Stephy, if you must get technical on me..) had a birthday. She had been having a rough couple of months, so, being the cutest and tallest sister ever, I decided to throw her a party. These plans were made before The Plague, and if the invites hadn't been sent out already, I probably would have canceled. But, the party must go on! Fortunately I had 2 days of being not quite as dead as I had been, a saintly mother who slaved for a day to help me cook, a birthday girl who didn't mind scrubbing my floor, and a husband whose office declared the day of the party a snow day, so he (in all of his luckiness) got to stay and be my lackey.

Esta and I decided on peacocks and tapas as the party themes, figuring peacock feather would look fabulous in my teal dining room and tapas would be fun because I've never cooked Spanish food and I've only had it once. In Canada. Riiight. So, I made a great big cake, we cooked and cleaned like crazy people, and the party was a great success. The end.






Oh! Did you want to see pictures? Fine. But let me tell you the menu first.

Green salad
Assorted olives and marinated peppers
Machego cheese and quince paste on baguette
Tortilla with chorizo sausage
Roasted potatoes with spicy tomato sauce and aioli
Moorish chicken kebabs
Spanish meatballs
Garlic shrimp
Tomato and mozzarella tart
Sherried mushroom empanadas
Sangria
and Chocolate cake

Yum. It was all so tasty! I was extraordinarily pleased with everything and I think Stephy and her friends really did have a good time.

And now, pictures.
The people. Where are the people?

Please note the peacock in the chandelier. You may roll your eyes only after you admit that it's the coolest thing you've ever seen.

The foods, in all of their glory.


The tortilla (a potato and egg, and in this case sausage omelette), sherried mushroom empanadas, tomato tart and garlic shrimp.

Ahoy! I made aoili! All by myself!

The very large cake. Serious adventures making that, bu I was very pleased with it in the end.

A cool shot of my Tony the Tiger shopping list, with a cake blocking some of it. Sorry 'bout that.
I think people had fun. I really, really hope they did. It was a very fun party to throw, and Esta is the coolest for letting me do it. Happy birthday Esta-olomew!

Man cold, part 2

Remember how I mocked Tyler about his man-cold? Well, it sure showed me! He has spent a full week in bed being thoroughly miserable and then was kind enough to share it with me. Hopefully my variation will be less awful...

I have been playing (the trombone, for those not in the know) in the Riverton Community Orchestra and the Riverton Jazz Band for the past few months. Before this, I hadn't really played in years- 6 years, to be precise. My chops are completely shot and my wrists barely survive each week, but it is still so fun.

We just got music for our next concert and I think it is so cool! Our concert is on March 15th, so the conductor decided that we ought to play 15 marches. Gah! If it were 15 Sousa pieces I would probably impale myself on a piccolo rather than perform, but it looks like there will only be 1 Sousa. We've actually got some amazingly cool charts. Mars, from The Planets (Holst), March of the Marionettes (Gounod), March to the Scaffold (Berlioz), March to the Cathedral (Wagner), the Grand March from Aida (Verdi), Pomp and Circumstance (Elgar), and lots of others. I am delighted to be playing so many standards- it makes me feel like a musician again..

In other news, holy adventures Batman. We are closing Twin Peaks down, so trying to figure all that out is an adventure. The plan is to move Any Horrible Occasion into our basement- I'm loving the potential commute! Tyler is on the job hunt, so we'll see where he ends up. And I am in the thick of party planning- this time it's Stephy's birthday party. I'll be sure to post pictures of the event...

Okay. I'm going back to being a miserable slug. Dang man cold!

A story about a boy, a lego, and a cake.

This is my baby brother Gus. He just had a birthday and is now 11 years old and is, obviously, very excited about it.
Gus, like many little boys, likes to play with swords, cars, video games, and legos.

When it came time for his party, it seemed like a good idea to make a birthday cake that he would enjoy, so I decided to do a lego cake because what could possibly be cooler than that, right? Cake is good. Legos are good. Therefore, all legos are cake. Er, something.
I started with a double batch of my favorite 'Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake', baked in 9" square pans. I crumb coated and frosted with highly yummy rich chocolate frosting.


Then I got to play with legos- actually rolled fondant cut 1” by whatever length happened to fit and look good.

Before too, too long, the whole thing was covered but I needed to add the bumps on top to complete the look.

It took longer than I had anticipated- there were a whole bunch of little dot things to apply- but eventually the lego cake was finished.

After much ooh-ing and ahh-ing, we lit the swirly candles, sang, and ate.

Apparently they liked it!

This might as well be Tyler.....

If you don't laugh at this, you must not know any men.



Poor mrface. He has a man-cold. It's tragic, really. Just ask him, but ask him later because he is sleeping now, will be wallowing a little later and plans to whine all evening.

New year, new blog, new chances

Hi all. I'm going to try this blogging thing again- this time on blogger. Feel free to kick me if I don't post often enough to satiate your yearnings for my witty banter and amusing anecdotes. Just be warned- I have very long legs and can kick back!

In all serious, though, it's a new year and I am feeling it more profoundly than I ever have before. I have never before felt such a desire or a need for the clean slate that 2008 brings. 07 was rough! It will be interesting to see what insanity is in store for me this year- hopefully it will include Any Horrible Occasion taking off and a baby. Those are the goals.

One of the things I hope to get out of this blog is to have a record of the books I read and of the parties/cakes/crafts I do. I'm such a dope that I forget about them far too easily and it would be nice to have a running list of books I want to read. I suppose if I want to keep track of cakes and parties I will have to post pictures of them, so that's a good thing for you (theoretical) readers and a challenge for me, as I'm really, really bad at taking pictures...

Happy New Year to all!

Andrea