Dear you...

Dear Smiths,

I hate you. Today, I hate you.

I woke up this morning looking forward very much to a delicious bowl of oatmeal. In fact, I went to bed last night looking forward very much to my morning ritual of Quaker Cinnamon Oatmeal. Alas, when I went to my cupboard, I found my box empty. (Jury is still out on whether or not I was the one who finished off the box...) Off to the grocery store I went, tummy growling, with plans to buy 5 boxes of oatmeal so I don't have to face this problem for the rest of the summer.

At the store I gathered milk and bananas, the opening acts in the grand morning oatmeal extravaganza. I turned onto the breakfast aisle, quickly scanned the shelf. My stomach sank.

YOU WERE ALL OUT OF CINNAMON FLAVORED OATMEAL..... AGAIN!
Can't you take a hint? Or a supply chain class?? Isn't the fact that you're ALWAYS running low on this particular product a big flashing light telling you to stock more of it? And isn't the fact that you always have banana bread flavor on the shelf a sign that nobody likes the nasty chemical-engineered smell of microwaved banana in the morning? And hasn't anyone told you that if you cook the Maple & Brown Sugar flavored oatmeal you will smell like maple syrup for the rest of the day and even get kicked out of small study rooms because of it?

I want you to know I was so discouraged on this particular day by your lack of concern for my breakfast well-being that I went home, got back in bed, and slept til lunch.

Unhappily yours,
Me.


P.S. Dear Anthro,

Thank you for providing me with my New Favorite Dress. The NFD worked great at graduation and all the various festivities of that day (and weekend, lets be honest... who doesn't repeat a good outfit for church?). The NFD is so comfortable and cute and made me feel better about spending a total of 6 years in Provo before I will graduate. And about saying goodbye to all my friends who managed to finish college in a more reasonable amount of time. Thank you.

Permanently and Unwaveringly yours,
Me.

Courtney's done! And off to Portland KPMG

Chris Nixon (Boston buddy) off to NorCal Deloitte

KHill, me, Courtney. Go forth to serve.

Other great dresses. Thanks again Anthro.

Me and Whitney. Seven years in school (but not a doctor...)

Chase & Miriam's wedding.

Blog Book!

I was browsing through someone's blog and found this info. When everyone is ready to transfer their blog into a book (maybe once a year?) here is a good way to do it!

You can go to Blurb.com and download their software for free. It automatically uploads your entire blog so you can then arrange it all into a book. For a 160-page soft cover book it cost $42 including shipping. So cute! Although maybe shutterfly can also do it? I didn't check that.



Just wanted to pass this along!

What I'm working on for finals...

It's an interesting assignment.

Many graduates enter the world of work without even understanding the fact that they are specific somebodies, much less knowing the kinds of competencies and motivations with which they have been endowed. The tragedy of not knowing is awesome. Ignorant of who they are, most graduates are doomed to spend too much of their lives in work for which they are poorly suited. Self-knowledge is critical to effectively managing your career.

Answer the following questions about yourself:

Who am I? What do I stand for? What do I do well? Where do I get my confidence from? What motivates me? What am I passionate about? What are four words I would use to describe myself? How do I add value to others? to a company? to the world around me?

Thank you Uncle Sam!

As some of you know, I am studying Tax Accounting in school. From January through April we have the opportunity to volunteer in the VITA lab (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) to help people complete their taxes. And just because I want to solidify my nerd-dom, I will admit that I love it!!

In addition to all the strangers in the VITA lab, I got to taxes for 5 of my friends this year which was so much fun. Some of them even had slightly complicated taxes with taxable scholarships, capital gains, IRA contributions, student loan interest, child tax credits, home mortgage interest aka itemized deductions, etc. It all just gets me excited.

Ok I'm not THAT lame but I do enjoy it. To me taxes and forms are like a puzzle, a challenge, a new song to pass off on guitar hero - it's all good. I'm sure I'll sing a different song when I'm working tons of hours during busy season like Steve just finished. For now, I'll enjoy helping my friends get tax refunds.

This year Uncle Sam will return to me over $1200! (Although it is always nice to get money back, it actually means I have given the government an interest-free loan for the last year which is not good. It would be better to owe money but whatever...) In the end I'll only pay $261 of income tax (which actually all went to Massachusetts, none to the fed) which puts me in the 2% tax bracket. Love it!

Back to reality

So, vacation #1 of Spring/Summer 2008 is now over. In fact it came to a screeching halt; after landing at the airport on Monday afternoon I had to drive straight to school where I met with my group and worked on our project til 10pm. Boo. And everyday since then has been just as busy. I haven't even gone over to see June's new standing/dancing trick yet! Which means I'm busy because recently I've been over there on an almost daily basis... (sorry!)

On Sunday, the last day of our trip, Courtney and I drove up PCH to go to Duke's Brunch Buffet. It was amazing! We sat at a booth by the window with a great view of the ocean right outside. It was so delightful! There was a wedding brunch going on in the restaurant at the same time and we had some great people watching moments. I've seriously never seen a woman wearing so much pink blush and blue eyeshadow, and at her bridal luncheon! A very different vibe than Zack's rehearsal dinner at Dukes a few years ago.


For church we joined Kristen at the Santa Monica 3rd ward. There we tons of people there and it definitely seemed like a fun place to be. Of course, Sunday School and Relief Society was a two-hour, combined men and women meeting about marriage! Of course.

On Sunday evening we stopped at Trader Joe's for Courtney to buy some sauces and things to bring back to Provo. I wanted to find the Pirate Cannon Balls Ana (or Jack?) had introduced us to when we visited the in San Francisco. Those things are delicious and a whole enormous bag only has 400 calories! (Which is good, because then if you accidently look down and realize you've mindlessly munched down 1/2 the bag, you've only done 200 calories of damage!) Unfortunately, they were nowhere to be found! Apparently they don't sell Pirate's Booty anymore either, instead they have their own Trader Joe's brand of it. What a let down.

Overall it was a great trip! And I was happy to come back to Provo. Nothing like a good weekend away to help you miss the comforts of your own space.

Zack, about Roscoes... of course it's a landmark, and very well known, so people like to go there. But I'm not sure that it's a must-see. The waffles are indeed amazing! They have almost a cinnamon taste to them, but I don't really want to know what else they put in there to make them taste so good. And some of the sides I tried were tasty as well. But fried chicken? I just don't get it. I can't help but know as I'm eating it that I'm eating chicken skin, which is so gross! So I don't know. If you like fried chicken, dipping it in syrup at Roscoe's seems to be a delightful.

And about posting everyday, there's no way I can do that! If nothing else, I just don't have anything to say. So my goal isn't everyday, but more frequently than once a month with a loose target of every other day. I didn't want to tell anyone, because now if I don't reach it I'm letting everyone down, not just myself! Oh whatever...

Fun in the sun

As I'm looking back over the photos to decide what to write about, it appears that all we have done here is eat. That really is not the case, but no one would know it from the documenting we have done. I guess when you're on a trip eating does become one of the central things to do, but really, is that all we do? Anyway...

Friday morning we hit up Lucky Boy for the world's best breakfast burritos before the beach. (Side note -- I've been going there since high school and yet somehow overlooked the fact that you there are more options than just bacon or sausage burrito. You can also choose ham! Good thing I finally read the menu..)

We spent Friday at Manhattan Beach, followed by a brief trip through Old Town. I really wanted to take Courtney to Melting Pot just for the cheese and chocolate but we were still dressed in our beachy-hobo-ish attire. So she popped into H&M then made a quick change on the street, in front of Tiffany's.

Friday night we met up with Kristin and her date at the Dodger vs. Red Sox game.

Saturday was again spent at Manhattan beach. Such a beautiful, warm day. It's much easier to be happy about life's complications when you're sitting in the sun don't you think? After our play time was over, we headed to the infamous Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles (why not right?). It's a strange combination but their waffles are actually very good.

The Wiley's have been so nice to let us stay with them! They have a beautiful home and it's been so fun to be in La Canada. It makes the driving very easy because I know my way around pretty well.

Mmmm...

Day one of trip to CA (henceforth known as Base Tan Weekend):

Today I had frozen yogurt twice.

First at the Salt Lake Airport (as my breakfast, it had fruit in it so that counts right?) then again after dinner at my dearly beloved Penguin's in La Canada.

I love vacation.

30 things in the last 30 days...

1. Monday, January 28 - I completed my full personal financial analysis of the last two years, partially in preparation for doing my taxes. This involved lots of spreadsheets and lots of staying up til 3am organizing transactions. I also created a complete budget and decided to start living by it to prove to myself that I actually can live on a budget instead of just thinking and saying I can.
2. Tuesday, January 29 - Skip class to curl my hair. What?
3. Everyday – Miss Guitar Hero… The Wiley xbox is out of commission. I haven’t played in weeks.
   
   
4. Saturday, February 2 – Go with friends up to the Park City Freestyle International ski show. So fun! SO cold.
   
   
5. Sunday, February 3 – Attended Super Bowl party. My contribution was spinach artichoke dip, pot stickers (thank you for your recipe IeLi), baked beans, and sour cream and onion chicken bites.
6. Monday, February 4 - Rock climbing at the Quarry with Sarah’s family. I LOVE rock climbing. I’m not very brave so I don’t always like going to the top, and I’m not an adrenaline-seeking-thrill person, but I love trips to the Quarry.
7. Thursday, February 7 – I was asked out by a complete stranger while walking home from school carrying a tray of cinnamon rolls.
   
   I had to give a How-To presentation for my corporate communication class, so I chose cinnamon rolls. I had a tray leftover after handing out samples. I was walking home later that day, all dressed up in business professional dress, carrying a million books and bags. This nice guy walking near me stopped and asked if I wanted some help. I accepted and offered him a cinnamon roll when we got to my car. He asked me to go to dinner with him the following Friday. In any other city but Provo this should have creeped me out but I figured why not so I went! Crazy huh. This kind of stuff so doesn’t happen to me normally.
   
   
8. Friday, Feb 9-Saturday, Feb 10 -- DC visit! I was lucky enough to join Zack, Mom & Dad in visiting Steve and IeLi for Stephen’s baby blessing! It was a quick trip, but so much fun. I had a great time watching little Mei Li walk around and play and chat and laugh. She brings so much joy to the room. Steve and Ie Li live on the cutest street! I could definitely live in DC.
   
9. Saturday, Feb 10 -- Lost my favorite $5 pashmina grey scarf from Paris. I’m not sure when it actually happened, but it is no longer with me. RIP.
   
   
10. Feb 13-22 – Took midterms. This reminded me I am actually in school and should probably spend more time on that area of my life.
11. Wednesday, Feb 13 - Oliver’s CPK birthday party. Always a treat to go out to dinner all together. It was fun to have mom & dad in town as well.
12. Thursday, Feb 14 – Made some Valentine’s bouquets. A friend of mine wanted to give flowers to his girlfriend but wanted to be super cheap about it. I offered to help him buy flowers at the wholesaler. Then 3 of his friends wanted in too. It was fun, but definitely a case of saying yes to too many things. I think the arrangements turned out nicely, very untraditional which was the idea.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
13. Thursday, Feb 14 - Received several Valentine’s bouquets. From different people. I may have a problem on my hands…
    
    
    
    
14. Thursday, Feb 14 -- Made a fantastic Valentine’s meal. I have gone crazy over this website Pioneer Woman Cooks. I love that woman’s blog and this cooking website is an offshoot from it. She had step-by-step photo instructions for each recipe. It’s amazing and gave me the courage to try a Roasted Beef Tenderloin. I’m not known as great when it comes to cooking steak but with her help it was a total success! The steak was accompanied by Twice Baked Potatoes, Olive Cheese Bread, Veggies, Gravy, and Hot Fudge Cake (recipe from Annee’s realtor). Way too much food but such a success!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
15. Feb 1-26 – Watched almost 2 full seasons of Grey’s Anatomy. I finally caved in and started watching it. I’m aiming to finish just before the April 25^th return of the show.
16. Saturday, Feb 16 -- Fell in love with Sarah’s popcorn maker. This machine makes the process so lovely. It’s been added to the must-have list.
    
    
17. Monday, Feb 18 – Wednesday, Feb 20 – Park city visiting. Not my best skiing days but fun nonetheless.
    
    
18. Everyday – Gym time. It’s been a good month as far as that goes!
19. Wednesday, Feb 20 -- See a guy flagrantly cheating in the testing center worse than I’ve ever seen. A great internal debate followed about whether I should say something. In the end I did…
20. Thursday, Feb 21 -- Ballet West’s Cinderella with Sarah. It was an enchanted evening!
    
    
    
21. Thursday, Feb 21 – Decide I hate living on a budget.
22. Friday, Feb 22 -- Spend 3 hours fixing my TV. This involved many tools, screws, instruction manuals, and calls for help. In the end, I got the lamp changed and the TV is back in working order.
23. Friday, Feb 22 – Find out my IT band is hurt/tight/damaged. My trainer helped me diagnose the nagging pain on the outside of my knee. Rest, foam rolling and improved stretching is to follow.
24. Friday, Feb 22 – Finally make bran muffins! I needed a good running-out-the-door breakfast option. I have this super healthy recipe that required a trip to whole foods for the ingredients. Turns out they’re not too bad!
25. Saturday, Feb 23 -- Tubing at Soldier Hollow! I love this place. We had a good time (as my sunglass tan clearly showed for the rest of the week).
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
26. Thursday, Feb 21 & Saturday Feb 23 – Got to have a Hires Big H veggie burger!
27. Saturday, Feb 23 – Attended a Golden Birthday party! We love any excuse to dress to a theme.
    
28. Sunday, Feb 24 - Got my visiting teaching done! Isn’t it great to check that off?
29. Monday, Feb 25 - Threw out everything in my cupboard with High Fructose Corn Syrup. Did you know how bad this stuff is for your body? Sadly, it meant parting with my beloved Frosted Mini Wheats (ingredient #2-sugar, #3-HFCS, wow!).
30. Tuesday, Feb 26 – Finally updated my blog.

Saturday morning breakfast delight!

One of my favorite things to do a Saturday morning is go to brunch with my friends. At a close second to going out is taking my time in the kitchen making a big, delicious, homemade breakfast. I have fond family memories involving breakfasts. I can remember many weekends when we would all gather for a late-morning meal, which is still a big part of our annual Beach Week gatherings.

Some of my favorite meals are breakfast burritos-Lucky Boy style, crepes, cinnamon crunch french toast, spinach and tomato omelettes, ham egg and cheese croissant sandwiches, buttermilk pancakes, etc.

It really doesn't happen that often, and it certainly happened more when I was cooking for Ken on a daily basis. But this morning I decided to break out the waffle iron and make myself a delicious treat.

I am posting about it because I have the most fantastic Buttermilk Pancake/Waffle recipe that I must share with you all. I've done extensive research surrounding pancakes. I've tried dozens of recipes, every one I could find, even paying to get access to Village Inn's pancake recipe. The one I am sharing is the result of all this research. The recipe comes from Elaine Frame which means its been refined to perfection. The pancakes come out fluffy and flavorful. I can't say enough good things about it.

So here it is! The same recipe can be used to make pancakes or waffles. Give it a try..

Buttermilk Pancakes & Waffles

2 c. flour
2 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
1/4 c. butter, melted

Combine the dry ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together until moist. It'll still be thick and a little lumpy. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes giving the buttermilk and baking soda time to mix and react. It'll be a little bubbly and frothy when the time is up. The recipes makes quite a few pancakes but I find they're still good when you freeze and reheat them.



***The buttermilk I like to use best comes from the BYU Creamery, but it's only sold in 4 cups containers so I have a bit leftover. If you find yourself in the same situation, here's a great way to use it up!!

Texas Sheet Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 cup margarine
1 cup water
1/4-1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine dry ingredients. Melt margarine in a medium saucepan. Add cocoa and water and bring to a boil. Add melted cocoa mixture to the flour mixture and beat well. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Pour into a greased and floured 11x17 jelly roll pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Ice with Chocolate Fudge Frosting.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting
1 stick margarine
1/4 cup milk
3 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1 lb. powdered sugar

Combine 1/2 cup margarine, 1/4 cup milk and 3 T. cocoa in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 1 pound powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat well. Add additional powdered sugar if necessary to make a creamy frosting.

Park City - A Love-Hate Relationship

This year I decided to get a season pass to Park City ski resort. Last winter I had one at Sundance which was great. It’s very close and convenient and I could pop up there in about 20 minutes. So after proving to myself that I would actually use a season pass, I went all in again this winter.

I have had a love-hate relationship with Park City over the last 5 years. First of all, I don’t like going places that require an hour long car ride. I know it’s weird and hard to understand but I even avoid trips up to SLC. One would think I would love to get out of Provo and into a bigger city with more things to do and see but it usually ends up being more of a hassle than it’s ever worth. If I have to make an excursion up to Salt Lake I usually treat it like a “pack a lunch we’re going to be gone all day” sort of thing. Or I’ll bribe myself to head up there by promising to stop for a Hires Big H veggie burger. (SO DELICIOUS) Anyway..

If SLC is too far, Park City has been way too far. I am quite a fan of the Sundance Film Festival and have attended each year I’ve been in college. In the beginning I used to see the films in PC which, I believe, is where my hate for the city began. During those 10 days of the festival, that city is a mad house. There is no parking anywhere, stupid people cover the streets, it’s freezing cold and dark, 4-wheel drive is always needed, it’s a mess. I’ve had my car towed several times from various PC parking lots, each costing over $200 just because they think they can charge that much. After my first couple terrible experiences with the film festival in PC, I only see movies at the Sundance Screening Room (best kept secret of the festival) or the various SLC theatres.

All that said, I decided to give the city another chance this winter. Saturday I went up skiing with Courtney. It was a great time—perfect weather, great snow, not too many people, etc. We met up with Charlotte who lives at the edge of the resort parking lot (which means we can park so conveniently at her apartment complex and warm up after we’re done).

I ran into Christine while on the mountain too. It was a great day overall. The film festival starts Thursday and I might brave the madness of the city one more time for a film or two. I’ll let you know how it goes.

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Here are some quick photos...

Note the nice Yule Log we have burning on the TV screen. Crackles and all.

Here is where we ate dinner Christmas Eve - The Goring Hotel.

Searching through Harrods for signs of Christmas
Dinner Christmas night at Angus Steak House in Leicester Square - one of the very few places open.

So there's a little preview! I will post pictures of other family Christmas events soon. :-)