just for you, MM'dear.

Long time, no post, eh? Well, I'll have you know that in my internet absence, my reality has been going on pretty strongly. Like every day. I don't know how it does it, but it does. 


*First fun fact: I've eaten about 3-5 grilled cheese sandwiches in the past week. 
*Fun Fact #2: I got pooped on my a bird Tuesday. No, you did not read that wrong. I was walking under a bunch of trees when a wind picked up. I thought I felt a surprisingly heavy leaf on my head so I touched the spot where it hit. After I took my hand away, I realized that there was some liquid on my hand. I innocently looked around on my clothes and bags to find the source of the new goo. And then the candle above my head was lit. I quickly sent my hand back up to my hood, I was thankfully wearing one, and felt the culprit. At first I was a little perturbed. Then I realized that hardly anyone gets pooped right on the head by a bird. Think about it. It takes good aim and quite a bit of luck to get in on a bird poopin' and it was my lucky day. It was also my friend's lucky day who agreed to scrape off the poop with a leaf. 
*Last fun fact: I feel like I'm Peter Pan. Not the girl who plays the boy, but everyone in the audience knows she's a girl. No, I just feel like I never want to grow up. And I think it might be possible. With my chosen career, I get to explore and play every day. With my friends, well, I don't want to offend any of them so they get to choose if they are the Lost Boys (even if they contain no male parts) or Wendy, Michael, and John. But I know what they'll pick. 

one fine day off.

I sincerely apologize to all of those who truly have missed my blogging in the recent past. If I could pay you all a nickel for every time that happened, I would probably be out a couple of nickels. But I have some pretty pictures to show you! So just sit back, relax, and wish you were eating some of this food in the pictures like me. Because it is good. Real good. 

It is Autumn. My most definite favorite season of the whole entire year. Go outside and smell the air. I promise it smells better during this season. 

Plus, who doesn't love to stomp on crunchy leaves?

For the past while, I've become incredibly interested in cooking. This is my first attempt at making applesauce. And it is good. I'm eating it as I type, actually. You want the recipe (because you should)? Here you go. 

I also made The Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls today. You give me a day off and I promise goodness will follow. Unlike that mouse and his cookie.....

the omnivore's dilemma.

Once upon a time, I went shopping at Target. My family was going on a trip for the weekend and I was picking up some necessary foodstuffs. I headed over to the hot dog section, because, let's be honest, you can't sit around a campfire without roasting some weenies. Well, I was on a special hot dog mission: to find the cheapest Angus Beef Franks. Let me tell you a little secret....THESE HOT DOGS ARE DA BOMB. As in eighth grade slang, da bomb. So delicious. Anyway, I had found my target and reached to take one package out of one of those obnoxious springy slot columns. That contraption was not letting me get those franks if had any say in it. I grabbed with one hand. Tried the other. Gave up and yanked on the package with both hands, abandoning any self dignity I had right in the middle of the meat section. If ever there was a time that the world was trying to tell me to not eat hot dogs, this was it. But by sheer will power, I won those hot dogs. That springy slot column only stood a slight chance, but it lost. 


And those weenies were good. 

anniversary.

I know you've probably run into a slew of 9/11 talking today, and frankly, the past week or so. Maybe you don't want to hear it here. Maybe you should find another webpage? I'm not going to rattle off my story of where I was when I heard about it (being driven to junior high, on the overpass, 7th grade), but I think it's important for everyone to remember.


To remember the humanity that sprang forth from that fateful day. 


Not everyone gets a chance in their life to be a hero. That day, many people became heroes in their own right. They gave their shoulder for a stranger to lean on while trying to manage getting through the enormous clouds of dust. They handed someone a cloth to breathe through. They let someone go ahead of them down the stairs which gave them a few more seconds to get out before the collapse. 


Many things went into the planning and execution of 9/11. Many things, both desirable and appalling, came out. I'd like to remember the examples of human capability to love and to help. 


There is a beautiful memorial that opened today. The website can be found here. Please visit. Take a moment and remember.  

of tomatoes and school days.

It happened. I became a senior. For the third time. Third, you ask? Yes. Once in high school and twice in college. Ok, so "technically" this is referred to as being a Super Senior, or I can say that I've been a senior three times. Actually, Super Senior gives me license to wear a cape so maybe we'll stick with that one.....


Anywho -  school has been going for a week here at the Grand Ol' University of Utah. It's been awesome and way too hot for me. The AC in my car makes my engine run funny so I get to ride with my windows down every day. I also get to experience a waterfall of sweat down my back every day. Please, curb your jealousy. I have to admit...the night before school started I couldn't sleep. Call it anxiety, excitement, insomnia, crazed conversations with myself in my head, or what have you, I couldn't sleep. So I went upstairs and read a cooking textbook that my friend so graciously let me have (she needed the newer version...Love for College Textbooks!). I stopped reading after I got to the veal discussion/butchering section. If you have any questions about this process, please, feel free to use Wikipedia because I don't want to answer anything. 


And now for a completely different note: A few weeks ago I was leaving work. I got in my car. I had left my windows slightly open because you never know if the outside air will be any cooler than the inside air. Truth be told, I think they're about the same nowadays.....Then I found a tomato on the floor of the passenger side. Yes, my friends, a tomato. So I looked at it with curious fascination and threw it out my still semi-rolled down window. I proceeded to drive home. No more than 5 minutes go by and a smaller tomato rolls out from underneath my passenger seat. Please don't go telling Fox News or anything, but I do believe I have come upon a tomato-growing car. Keep in mind that this growing process takes roughly 12 years for it to come to fruition, so I wouldn't recommend buying a car to get produce in over a decade. But if you happen to want to make salsa this weekend, give me a call. 

homage to horses.

the moral of a wondering mind.

Have you ever thought to yourself "Hmm, I wonder if (insert some semi-unfortunate event) ever happens?" I have. Many a time. Usually I create situations in my head that are so fantastical there is absolutely no way that they could ever come to life. No worries on my part, until now. I started a new job not too long ago and wondered about a semi-unfortunate event happening. In the two and some change months that have passed since my hiring, I have never witnessed the event. Then doomsday, I mean Friday, came. It was crowded. It was hot. I was in a tight place between a cooler and two people, attempting to squeeze in just one more creme brulee. And then I stood up. 


Before I knew it I was covered in soup. 140+ degree soup. Then I had to stay at work for another 3 hours. 


Please, for all that's good, holy, and delicious, keep wondering thoughts at bay or else you'll find yourself covered in soup (or some other metaphorical gunk).