happy birthday!

happy birthday, aaron! i can't believe how old you are and that i'm about to follow. you're fabulous and wonderful and loads of fun. i'm so happy you're in my life.

if you can't tell, he's the darling on the left.

oh, and note the post date. i back dated cause his birthday was over a week ago. sorry...

midnight in paris

last night aaron and i saw this movie. and loved it.


i'm picky about my movies. and i'm so not a rom-com girl. but this fit the bill.


it's really quite delightful. and clean. loaded with cameos, in unexpected places.


go see it. it might help to brush up on your 1920's literature/art history to fully enjoy the movie. just a tip.


we saw it at an indie theater so you might have to search around.

swamp people

last night we discovered the show, swamp people, on netflix. what a find. the premise involves families who make their living hunting in the Louisiana swamps, spotlighting alligator season.

the characters are awesome. you know they're real because you can't script this stuff. the alligators are crazy. quality viewing. my two favorite quotes of the night?

~speaking of shooting an alligator.."you ain't might not never get another chance"
(3 negatives. a negative X a negative X a negative = a negative, people. this is grammatically correct.)
~referring to a large alligator.."thas there a tree shaka"

i found out this morning that season 2 is currently on the history channel. best news all day.

problem

i left my phone charger in utah last week.
solution?
until it is mailed to me, i'll use my car charger.
problem?
i never drive the car and aaron doesn't get home until late.
solution?
i woke up at 5 this morning, grabbed my pillow and a blanket, walked out to the car in all my morning glory, plugged the phone in and slept for 30 more minutes in the back seat of the car.

i give my neighbors plenty of reasons to wonder.

recipe time

i often receive those recipe chain emails that request me to whip a recipe off the top of my head to a stranger.

i've never participated. i'm completely intimidated by them. i over think it. and under think it. suddenly my palms are sweaty and i can't recall a recipe off the top of my head. so i do nothing.

this time i have something. a small offering and an apology to all who have ever sent me an email like that and i dropped the ball.

i make banana bread often in our house. about once a week. aaron is picky about the condition of his bananas and unless he eats roughly 5 in 2 days, they're suddenly past his prime and on the fast track to bread.

'banana bread?' you say. i can hear your sigh. you already have 5 of these recipes. they're everywhere, right? but, wait. this recipe is different. it's from my beloved baking illustrated. and it's the first recipe in the book. super special. delicious. easy. and, i have made it so many times that i can proudly recite it from the top of my head.

banana bread

1 1/4 C roughly chopped walnuts (not walnuts, chopped. big difference)
2 C flour
3/4 C sugar
3/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt

3 ripe bananas, mashed well
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 C plain yogurt (i use non-fat)
6 T melted butter, cooled
1 t vanilla

*heat oven to 350.
*spread chopped walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in oven for 5-10 minutes. once they start to brown and you can smell em, they're done. let cool.
*while the walnuts are roasting, melt the butter. put in the fridge to cool.
*wisk flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and walnuts in a large bowl.
*with a wooden spoon or spatula, mix bananas, eggs, yogurt, cooled butter and vanilla.
*gently add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined.
*butter and flour your pan(s). the recipe calls for a 9 in loaf pan, but i've also used 3 minis just fine. i used a pastry brush to get all the left over goodness from the butter bowl to grease my pans.
*bake at 350 for 55-60 mins. i find this bread to be very moist so i turn the temperature down just a bit (330 ish?) about 40 mins through so the tops don't brown too much.
*let rest in the pan for five minutes then turn onto cooling racks. (i was greedy once and didn't let it rest. suddenly i had 2 loves. top half in my hands, bottom half in the pan. not cool.)

not much beats the taste of this bread with a bit of butter while still warm. i love giving the minis as gifts or eating a whole one while standing at the kitchen counter. your call.

enjoy!!

a thought

i'm listening to the mormon channel at work right now. it provides much needed solace.

the current program is 'conversations', where sheri dew is interviewing elaine dalton.

regarding running, elaine told a story where she and her husband were running and she fell behind while going up a hill. frustrated and discouraged, she called out to her husband that she was turning around and going back to the car. he ran down to her and said, 'elaine, you never turn back while going up a hill; i'll run with you'.

you never turn back while going up a hill.

i like that.
i hope to apply it to my life.

countdown

it's may. do you know what that means?

we go to yosemite next month. oh boy. come to mama. to put it mildly, i'm excited.

it's the highlight of my summer.

in honor of the countdown to camping, i'm posting a video aaron took upon finishing our climb to half dome 2 years ago.

i was not thrilled to be videotaped.

i was not thrilled to be conscious.

i spoke softly. you'll need to turn the volume up.

enjoy.

royal wedding!

i did it. i awoke at 1245am to make a breakfast treat then met J to watch the royal wedding. we watched it on a BIG screen. then went back home and got ready for work.
here's our picture. remember the time while viewing the photograph. we were tired.

btw, loved the wedding. it was wonderful to see a wedding given so much fanfare. weddings are important. and i loved her dress. not just in a fashion sense, but because it was so modest. not exactly temple ready, but a big step in that direction and i'm excited it will spawn designs to follow suit. i hope my yw were watching!!

naturalist

ever the environmentalist, i discovered aaron's method for drying clothes one day as i returned home. so clever.