pajama party

get it right

Dear Brand New Canon Camera,

I've only known you a few hours, but I think I love you. Compared to my ex- an awful deck-of-cards thin silver mockery of a camera- you are like going from a cold shower to a bubble bath with candles and smelly soap with Coldplay playing quietly in the background. Mmmm bubble bath. Anyway, you're amazing. Will you go steady with me?

Love,

Mandy

What do you think of my first subjects? Avery is sleeping or I would have made her my guinea pig. ...Okay, so I'm SO not a pro. Oh well.

wolf parade

Okay, I'm not (completely) insane, but this video is awesome. I can't wait for this movie!!
PS Check Edward's super cute jealous face when Jake is giving Bella her birthday present! Eeee

ma coeur s'ouvre a toi

Happy 27th Birthday Klayton! Je t'aime plus que ma propre vie.

bibbity bobbity boo

traveled half the world to say

Despite an icky cold and feeling a wee bit ridiculous (Who am I kidding? We're nerds and we're proud.), I went down to Syracuse, Utah with Ashley and Nathan early Saturday morning and we traversed the Edward and Jacob face corn maze. It was pretty amazing. Once we started using the map it was incredible how they really did carve every single detail of their faces into two gigantic corn fields! It's nice to know that someone out there loves Twilight in all of its silly glory as much as we do. Either that or they know that they can get people like us to travel three hours at 7am on a Saturday and pay $8 to come and see Edward in corn. It was so fun and afterward we made ourselves sick eating yummy fries and shakes at Iceberg in Bountiful. The drive to and from UT went by so quickly. It turns out that great friends and a silly road trip makes for a great Saturday.

undisclosed desires

In a few days I'm driving down to Syracuse, Utah with her (and a few other Tietjlers) to do thisbecause we're just that nerdy/awesome/willing to pay for anything Twilight-related. Oooh yeah.

PS Like my basement laundry room (see first pic)? I recently updated it to include a poster I got from this book. I love him. Not like Darcy and Edward... but close. Of course HE

eclipses them all. Like his new glasses?? Me too.

wicked and divine

My mom flew in from Vegas for the weekend and we had such a great time!! Starting when she unpacked her luggage (I think she brought a pair of socks and a toothbrush for herself- the rest of her bag was filled to the brim with presents for Avery!! It must be nice to be the only grandchild.) on Thursday night. It was so good having her around.

I made Cranberry Orange Scones on Friday morning, then we went mad shopping (my dad was at home in Vegas with a bag of frozen chicken fingers and no Wingers sauce!! He was all out! Can you imagine?? Don't worry- mom brought him home a suitcase full.) until Klayton got off of work at 3:30. All day Friday the weather would be sunny but cold then we'd come out of a store and it'd be raining cats and dogs then we'd come out of the mall to snow... Idaho was not showing off very well for my poor mom who kept repeating over and over "WHYYY do you live here!?!?!" I didn't have an answer for her on such a junky day, either. Anyway, Friday night we drove down to Lava Hot Springs just south of Pocatello for a little swimming/soaking. It was awesome! Avery got to swim and show off her mad skills to Grandma and we all had a great time. Afterward we found a cozy little diner way too late for dinner but we ate it anyway and it was perfect.

Saturday Klayton ditched work and we hit the Harvest Fest with Mandy and Troy and the kiddos! We were there for hours! It was so fun (sorry- no pics). Then after Avery's nap we drove around to a couple of pumpkin patch/barn/places in town and went crazy with Fall cuteness overload. Avery had a blast picking out pumpkins and running around with Rocky. We had dinner at the Snake Bite, one of my favorite local restaurants, and came home to watch some cheesy LDS movies (think CTR version of the pink Pride and Prejudice among others).

Sunday I taught the Gospel Doctrine lesson and we came home from church to an amazing flank steak (my mom is a super amazing cook) and some sweet squash for dinner (and some BBC Sense and Sensibility for entertainment) before we ran to the airport and said goodbye. I had the most amazing weekend with my mama (Avery balled when she left and has asked for Grandma just shy of a bazillion times since last night) and I love her so very much. Thanks for a great time, mom!!

heart warming

SOUP! I have been obsessed with it since the weather turned bleak a couple of weeks ago!! I make pots and pots of it and still can't get enough. I am seeking professional help (Klayton gave me an ultimatum- Find other recipes [you know, for those lame, SOLID foods] or he was going to take away my ladle! *GASP* I know- harsh.) Anyway, I have tried the good, bad and ugly, so I thought I'd share my favorite recipes so far.

Ina Garten's Cheddar Corn Chowder. Oh. My. Goodness. Rich and creamy and hearty and delicious- this soup hits the spot on wintery days for sure. I rendered a couple of pounds of bacon when I made this and keep it in a tupperware in the fridge- Klayton loves to sprinkle his with lots of crispy bacon pieces. Who wouldn't?

Ina's Lentil Sausage Soup. If you think that this doesn't sound like your family's cup of tea (Or soup, rather.), then, I'm sorry, but you don't know yourselves very well. This is the best soup I've ever made/had by far!! Yummy, fall apart in your mouth lentils with carrots, celery and scrumptious sausage (I guess we're red-meat lovers. No offense, Chicken.). SO good I'm going to make it again really soon (This one didn't count in the whole "Stop making soup or else" thing.).

And just in case you've never made your own chicken stock before, DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!!! It's easy to do- just throw a few things into a big pot and let her simmer on down. But the flavor is unparalleled and you don't have to worry about sodium levels and junk from canned stock. I roast whole chickens for Klayton pretty often, and when I'm done carving them up I freezer-bag up the bones and save them for stock! Here's my stock recipe:

2 or 3 (depending on how big your pot is) raw or cooked chicken carcasses, coarse chopped with wings and neck

4 carrots, peeled and coarse chopped

2-3 ribs celery, coarse chopped

2 med. yellow onions, quartered

1 large bay leaf

3-5 sprigs thyme

Cold water to cover chicken bones by 2 inches

Put it all together in an uncovered pot, bring to boil, reduce to low and simmer 1 and a half to 2 hours. Cool slightly, strain stock and chill. Remove chilled fat from top of stock. Refrigerate, freeze or use at will.

A few more soup tips: If you are making soup for a crowd/party, go ahead and make it the day before. The longer most soups sit, the better they taste! Also... ummm... be sure to blow on your soup if it's hot, therefore minimizing tongue burns. Err... yeah.

Okay, so I'm not an expert, I'm just hoping that by sharing this someone will catch soup-making fever and tell me that I'm not alone in this world. Then I won't be embarrased to admit that I have many more soups to make- including a whole line of squash soups like this one and this one. And you can tell me about your soup conquests. Then we can all join hands and stand up together. And we will be not ashamed.

I went too far, didn't I? Oh well. Happy Soup Season!!

nerd alert

Guess what I'm going as this Halloween?
Yes, that's right. Me- in high school.

I saw this Muse shirt in a store window this weekend and had to have it. I know, I'm an idiot, but I love them so... Yeah. This was the result. Yesterday when I got dressed in the morning I looked in the mirror and laughed. This is pretty much how I dressed (substitute Muse for Dashboard Confessional or Saves the Day or Ben Kweller- I'm so cool and Emo) every day of high school. So... I'm a masochist I guess and thought I'd take a picture to show the world. What a nerd.