quote of the day

i think we're at the point in our relationship that sports bras should be considered lingerie
- mor

los yeans (aka denim)

in high school and well into my college days, i had a fantastic pair of jeans. they were lightweight, light wash, button fly jeans from...wait for it...abercrombie. i know. don't judge me. i'm sure we've all had that one pair of jeans that no matter how old or tattered they got, you just couldn't relinquish them. these abercrombies were mine. until they died. or rather, until i stupidly changed a flat tire while wearing them. at least they held out until the new tire was on before they split in the crotch. that would have been embarrassing, changing a tire while the passersby got a peek of my scandalous underthings. (i'm sure they were scandalous even if i don't remember precisely HOW scandalous.)
moving right along...

i split one of my favorite pairs of jeans yesterday. i was just droppin' it like it's hot (because it IS!) squatting down to pick up some of finn's toys and rrrip! right at the bum-leg line. no chance of salvaging these long and leans, no sirreebob. (question : does gap even still make long and leans? not that i'm so much lean anymore, but i've still got the long covered.) i'm down to a pair of wide-leg (how old school am i?) trouser jeans and a pair of dark wash with buttoned back pockets. you must obviously see that i am in desperate need of new jeans/yeans/denim. and this is where you come in : where on earth do i buy great fitting, great quality, great on the wallet jeans? i've always had an affinity for gap jeans. however, i'm willing to shop outside my gap comfort zone. if needs be. won't you be so kind and help a gal out?

as far as the title goes...

we have a friend, javy, from spain. he once upon a time told one of our other friends, "i like your yacket." translation : i like your jacket. anytime we can change out the j for a y, we try to do so. aaand our friends patrick and rodney never EVER called blue jeans blue jeans; they were always denim. mostly because the pants they wore (and probably still wear) were (and probably still are) more expensive than your average jeans. these boys were rockin' $150 denim waaay before it was the cool thing to do.

phamily fotos

my awesome quasi-in-law lucy (with david in tow) took some amazing family pictures for us a couple weeks ago. here are my favorites...

hobble creek was a bit chilly but gorgeous. and don't mind finn's wardrobe change; he was running after david  and fell face-first into a nice spot of mud.

ps dear family, prints will be mailed out forthwith. and by forthwith i mean sometime in the near(ish) future. mmkay? mmkay.

scrumptious

you should probably go make this. like now. or 5min ago. because it is pretty much some of the most fantastic chickens you will ever stuff into your gob. for serious.

ps make sure you reserve some of the marinade to slap on your rice and veggies. deeeeelish!

buried

i really just want to put something else up on ye olde bloggy so you (ahem, i) don't have to look at it everytime you (AHEM i) open up safari. i mean, how depressing to read someone else's depressing news. am i right? of course i'm right. esp when so many of my friends are announcing their happy pregnancy news. makes me look (and feel) like a jerk. i would never begrudge anyone's happiness even when going through my own trials. their happiness is just as much my happiness because i am sincerely and completely happy for them. not to mention the cute babes that are born to these dear friends.
in other news, we took finn to the dentist yesterday and let's just say it could have gone worse. if lightning had struck us on the way to the car afterwards. he was terrible. he screamed and cried while the dental asst brushed his teeth; he screamed and cried and thrashed while the dental assts took his xrays; and he screamed and cried and thrashed and gagged while dr howell counted his teeth. it was pretty much just awesome. dr h considered the visit a success though because...NO cavities! although he does have a chipped front incisor and an extended upper frenulum. those are beside the point. our little boy who has not liked brushing his teeth and who has liked eating his candies and drinking his chocky milk has no cavities. wahoo! proof we are doing something correctly as parents. allow me a quick pat on the back before i have to go put some scoobs on my bottomless child and he decides to make a peep on my carpet. peace!

now commencing my pity party, everyone's invited.

(just so you don't get the wrong idea, this isn't something i want to talk about. just ask mor. however, this is something i need to get out. this means i won't be taking sympathy calls or texts. because this ISN'T something i want to TALK about.)
hey guess what...i'm NOT pregnant. (don't you love the tone of this pity party so far? i know, right. you're SOOO happy you stopped by. i won't blame you if you don't stick around. i'd get the frick outta here if i could.) now, in some instances, this would be great news; in MY particular case : NOT great news. allow me to clarify (is that necessary? maybe for a couple of you? okay) : i would like to be pregnant. and not just because i'm REALLY TIRED of people TELLING me it's time for another one. thank you for assuming that it's by choice. each time i hear that, my uterus shrivels up a tiny bit. (it's practically microscopic at this point. perhaps that's our problem!)
honestly though (have you doubted my honesty in this post?) i want to be pregnant. more than anything in the world i want to be pregnant. i want mor to be a daddy again. (he's a great daddy. have i said that before? he's fantastic.) i want to share finn with a little brother or sister. do you know what an amazing big brother he'll be? i do. a kind, gentle, loving big brother. it makes my heart hurt. it aches in its yearning for a new baby. a strong, healthy, beautiful new baby. to snuggle and hug and kiss and sing silly songs to and rock to sleep. to feel their sweet little breaths and touch their soft pink skin. to love immensely and immeasurably. i've asked for as much before. is it too much to ask for again?

meanwhile, back in utah...

...this was happening at our ughpt...

absolutely everything from our kitchen and bath/laundry room (minus the toilet; that got to stay put in the bathroom) heaped up into our living room, and everything from our living room heaped up into finn's room. all for the sake of new tile in the kitchen, bath/laundry room and entry. good thing mor had/got to work almost the entire time we were gone. too bad, once finn and i were back, it was still another 3days before everything was back where it belonged. do you know how awesome it is to try and entertain a 2yr old in your bedroom with no tv or movies or toys? it's pretty awesome. and by awesome i mean miserable. silver lining (because i'm a glass-half-full kinda gal--ha!) : our dishwasher rolls to the sink much easier and the tan tile looks better than our old pink flowery linoleum, even if the grout lines aren't straight and the floor isn't level. (what? i'm dave myers' daughter; you should have known there would also be a glass-half-empty sentiment too. love ya, pops!)

and then in indiana...

my miss em was baptized. surrounded by a multitude of family and friends. glowing in her gorgeous white dress. and guess what. i cried. again. as i said the closing prayer. i would have been embarrassed if e hadn't paved the way during the opening prayer. we are a lucky LUCKY family. to have so many to share these wonderful occasions with, to love and laugh with, to know that we are forever together. because of the gospel. because the amazing children in our family are examples to us everyday of who and what and how we need to be. thank you, emerson, for being an example to me and to uncle morgan and most importantly to finners. we couldn't be more proud of you or love you more.

once upon a time in washington (state)...

...my coopy got baptized. and i cried. because i was so overcome by...everything : the little chubby baby i used to rock and snuggle to sleep is growing up so fast, all of my family was together for the first time in a long time, the spirit testified to me that this gospel we live and love is true and everlasting. and i'm still crying. because my nieces and nephews are all growing up so fast, my family is scattered around the country and the spirit is again testifying to me that this gospel is true. what a wonderful occasion to gather together and celebrate cooper's decision to be baptized, to take upon him the name of christ and live his life the way christ and heavenly father would have him live it. it sounds like quite a lot for a "little" boy to do, doesn't it? but, if there is one "little" boy out there who can do it and understands what it all means, it's my coopy. i love you to the moon, coop.

and for just becauses

he was most concerned that not all the pieces were wipe (translation : white)

give him a few more tries and i think we'll have ourselves a genius

who am i kidding? this kid's proven he's a genius a thousand times over plus some

(i live my life)

not that we don't have TONS of things going on in our lives right now (i mean, i've ran the dishwasher 3x this week already and it's all packed and ready for another go-round tomorrow; i know excitement, kids), but i just cannot get myself in the mood to blog anything. (aren't you SO excited you're reading this?) maybe it's because i was at our going-out-of-business borders store and saw that bristol palin has a book published, her life so far memoir. (i almost gagged and walked out of the bookstore before spending my customary hour inside.) or maybe it's because i feel like i do the same. stupid. things everyday. (i'm not calling mothering finn "stupid." you're stupid to assume that.) or maybe it's because i really feel like i have no friends i can just call up to come over. (thanks for having a job, schizzer. and bethie, you for having to become an attorney. who needs the likes of you two around anyway? answer : MEEEEE!!! I DO!!!!! sigh) or maybe it's because i just realized we're coming up on two years of living in the the ughpt and there is still no apparent end to that situation in sight. (although, i actually do like this place. it helps that we've had some of our new neighbors comment on how "spacious" it is. we do have like 5sf more than them, so...) hopefully now that football is back in full swing, i'll get that hitch in my giddyup that we've all been waiting for. (i cannot possibly tell you how FREAKING EXCITED i was when all i could find on our 12 espn channels was football this and football that. FOOTBALL'S BACK, BABY! did ya hear the good great wonderful miraculous news?!)

and also please pick up on the title of this post. (i think i gave you enough clues throughout to not have to ask about it.)

two words : under warranty

two more words : 55in tv (that counts as two words since i smooshed the 55 and in together, see?)
lots more words : about 2wks ago, we noticed some small red streaks through the picture of our tv. as the week wore on, the streaks got worse. and worse. and worse. until each streak (and there were about 5) was about 3in long and usually showed up right in the middle of david bromstad's lovely forehead. anyway...we finally figured we needed to do something about this. we busted out our tv warranty papers and, tada! still had  a few months left on our 4yr warranty. HAllelujah! mor dialed those guys right up and explained the problem we were having and set up a time for the repairman to come the following week to take a look. when he got here (smelling of some of the worst stale smoke this side of my late grandma jeanne), he informed me of two things : 1) our tv needed an entire new "panel" (whatever that means, but he said it in a very serious tone) and 2) the ambiguous warranty people usually didn't want to shell out the money to put a new panel in an old tv. if we didn't hear from him or the warranty people within a week, we should call him. so, we wait a week and a day before we hear anything. our warranty people tell us that no, as a matter of fact they don't want to pay for a new panel in our old and decrepit tv. INSTEAD, we are to head on over to best buy and pick out a brand new tv. two things though : 1) the tv we got had to be priced no more than what we paid initially, way back when flat screen tvs were ex-pen-sive and 2) we would have to pay the cost of a new warranty. that we can do, buddy.
long story short : i sent mor off with our almost 4yr old 47in toshiba and he returned with our brand new never-been-opened (our old tv was the display model) 55in toshiba with wifi and netflix/youtube/pandora capabilities. woohoo doggies!!!
moral of the story : always splurge for the warranty.
now if you'll excuse me, i've got to go watch a life-size hippo destroy a life-size croc on animal planet. i'm as a giddy as a schoolgirl, i tell ya!

oh and the box the tv came in was over 6ft long. for serious.

good day, great people

alicen (and baby tyson?), rachel and madison, ashley and montgomery, kerrie and memphis, me and finners, trish and sam, ethan

and now without the babies, kind of (thanks finn!)

in paradise

these shoes made my day...

via here

he likes it when i call him big papa*

better late than never, eh hawley? happy (belated blog) fathers' day to the most handsomest man and most wonderfulest dad i know. i kinda like you.

*i don't believe i've ever actually referred to him as "big papa," although he did mistakenly refer to me (while VERY pregnant with finners) as "big mama." i'm slowly forgiving him for that grievous error.

gay paris!

just for kicks and giggles (because we all should know how not likely it is that this would ever really happen to little ol' me), i entered this giveaway. i mean seriously. full airfare for two and hotel accommodations in the city of light, or la ville-lumiere to all my mon* cheri amours? yes, please!

thanks be to chels for sharing.

*"my mon" redundant? mais oui! butofcourse.

a mothers' day story, several weeks later

mor : so...what do you want for mothers' day?
me : um...i already told you. multiple times.
mor : okay, then REMIND me what you want.
me : "bossypants."
mor : are those like the pajama jeans? where do i buy them?
and scene.
that 15sec conversation was the best mothers' day present i could never have thought to ask for. thanks, babe.

definitely a keeper

uta antique/vintage bus
from tp car show
21 may 2011

coupons

i took a page out of tlc's "extreme couponing" book and tried my hand at it today. not to the scale that those crazies coupon, but for a first real go-round i didn't do too shabby.
our local grocery store was running an ad : buy 10 smart ones frozen meals, get them for $1.38 each. it would have been nice if they had the ones we like in stock. however, i remembered hearing that walmart recently changed (for the better) their coupon policy. i crossed my fingers that their price matching policy is also up to snuff. lucky for me, it is. even better than up to snuff, actually; customer service told me i didn't even have to buy 10 to get the $1.38 price. how awesome is that?! answer : pretty awesome. on top of all this, i had two coupons : $5 off any 12 and $4 off any 10, or $9 off any 22. sooo...

 $1.38

x 22

$30.36

- $9.00

$21.36

÷ 22
97¢

did you follow all that math i did right there? 97¢ for a meal? i can handle that. now, if i can just find the patience to sit for longer than 10min at a time to do the real couponing thing.

to all the girls i've loved before

happy mothers day to the ladies i love more than life itself - mom, may and e - you are my best friends and greatest examples. to be even half the women and mothers you are would make me twice the woman and mother i am. thank you for letting me call you my own.

101

the dogs in our neighborhood have banded together to participate in their own sort of twilight bark. except, instead of doing it at night, they're howling their hearts out in the middle of the afternoon. very reminiscent of 101 dalmatians, wouldn't you say? there was a lot of ruff-ruff-raooooooing going on while i was partaking of the sunshine and our 70degree (!!!) weather today. and i rather enjoyed it. they sounded exactly like the colonel, all old and forlorn yet determined at the same time.

and the winner is...

i know you are all waiting with bated breath, wondering which pair of sneaks now grace these delicate pies. (ahem, feet not dessert.)

aren't they fantastic? pretty sure they were the winners of the readers' poll. had to order them all the way from slc, and don't worry that it took them a week to get here. they missed the big day by 3. whole. days.

(that's okay though. i got to have breakfast with some great friends, spend the day with my two favorite fellas and just relax.) they look fabulous on my feet and are the perfect blend of casual and comfy. highly recommended to anyone in the market for new zaps.

long time, no blahg

yeah, yeah, so it's been awhile. i get it. i just haven't been in the mood. i figure it's better to not blog than to blog about nothing or apathetically. i'd ask if you agree, but i don't really care. (get it? ha!)
sooo...



...



...



...are you ever bored or lonely or just wish you were anywhere other than where you are? well, that's been me the last few weeks. everyone in our ughpts are moving to start their grown-up lives--buying houses, starting careers--and here we sit, twiddling our thumbs and waiting on something, anything to happen. just waiting. and waiting. until who knows when or for what. *sigh in the meantime, i'm going to try to focus on what i KNOW we're waiting on : the bub's birthday (in 2wks!?!?), the singers' baby, whit and brian's sealing, coop's baptism, em's baptism with lots of other birthdays, holidays and anniversaries peppered in.
hmm, whaddya know? i'm already feeling better about things.

wicious and punzel

i don't want to pretend that i'm becoming any sort of foodie, please understand this. that being said, i have two more recipes to share that are mmm-azing. no lie. and so SO simple : 4 ingredients in one, 7 in the other. easy peasy. and wicious, in finn-speak. (that's delicious, to all of you non-finn-speakers.)
first up...

polynesian grilled chicken

(courtesy of pona sitake)

4-6 chicken breasts

preferably thawed and with the fat cut off, although morgan (and those polys) don't see the point in this

also, boneless/skinless goes without saying

1large bottle reduced sodium soy sauce

2c brown sugar

2tbsp minced garlic

WHISK together soy sauce, brown sugar and garlic in large bowl. pour mixture into gallon-sized plastic zip bag. place chicken breasts in bag and seal. make sure chicken is well-covered by marinade. place bag in large bowl and set in fridge to marinate.

MARINATE chicken for at least 4hrs, overnight if possible.

GRILL chicken breasts until fully cooked.

and...

cashew rice pilaf

1/4c butter

1/3c small onion, finely chopped

(i loathe chopping onions, so i used the dried chopped, which worked just fine)

1c uncooked long grain rice

2c chicken broth

1/2tsp salt

1/2c cashews, roughly chopped

1/4c fresh parsley, finely chopped

(the recipe doesn't specify, but i used flat leaf because it's prettier than the regular curly stuff)

MELT butter in large saucepan. add onion and saute until soft, stirring frequently. add rice and stir until all rice is coated. stir in broth and bring to a boil.

COVER and reduce heat to low, simmering until all liquid is absorbed, approx 25min.

FLUFF rice with fork and stir in cashews and parsley.

seriously, this was a delicious meal. the flavors of the chicken and the rice worked really well together. well, der, that's why i paired them up. honestly though, next time you have this stuff hanging out in your fridge and pantry, give it a go. you won't regret it. unless you don't invite me over for dinner. in which case you will pay. oh yes, you will pay.

now if you'll excuse me, i've got some 'punzel to watch and some corns to eat. (ahem, translation : "tangled" and popcorns. you're welcome.)

recipe exchange

i'm all about trying new foods. okay not really. however, i AM all about new recipes with familiar ingredients. so, when i came across this in one of our red plum ads, i couldn't not try it out. i think it is delicious and a very nice change from my normal go-to hamburger recipes (baked spaghetti, meatloaf, stroganoff, ghetto tacos etc). it's super easy, and you probably have almost all the ingredients on-hand. (i didn't, but that's because we subsist on frozen chicken nuggets and boxed mac and cheese most days.) also, it is still just as good four days later. (i have a husband who has a severe aversion to eating leftovers, which sometimes makes me have a severe aversion to him. just sayin'.)

greek-style skillet supper

(why does any recipe with the word "supper" in it make me think of rachael ray?)

prep time : 5min - easy peasy

cook time : 25min

makes 6 servings

(perhaps i should have read this before throwing everything together for just the two of us.)

1lb ground beef

1/2c chopped onion

2tsp oregano leaves

1tsp ground cinnamon

1/2tsp garlic powder

1-14.5oz can beef broth

(i keep beef bullion handy, so i just made up about 1 3/4c of broth.)

1-14.5oz can diced tomatoes, UNdrained

2tbsp tomato paste*

1 1/2c or 12oz uncooked penne pasta

1 1/2c frozen spinach leaves, thawed

(i could only find frozen spinach in a 10oz package, so that's what i used.)

3/4c crumbled feta cheese, divided

COOK ground beef and onion in large skillet until cooked through. drain fat. add oregano, cinnamon, garlic powder; mix well.

STIR in broth, tomatoes, tomato paste. bring to boil. stir in pasta. reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 10min or until pasta is NEARLY tender. stir in spinach and 1/2c feta. cover and cook 5min more or until pasta is tender.

SPRINKLE remaining feta over top and serve.

credit here for pic and recipe

i'm telling you, mine looked exactly like that there above. exactly. ahem. anyway...

here's your job : send me your favorite recipe. i don't care if it's breakfast, lunch or dinner, dessert or appetizer (although, let me be honest in saying i have no real need for appetizers at this stage in life; i'm only entertaining an almost 2yr old all day long, not having lavish dinner parties on the weekends). whatever you love making and LOOOVE eating, send it my way. and if you don't have my email address, leave me the longest comment ever made by humans. i don't mind.

ps if you don't have my email address, does that mean you're some creeper who's stalking my blog hoping for glimpses of my kid? that's just pervy. or is it just that we aren't "email friends" (whatever that means)? it doesn't matter to me if you've got a great recipe. just being curious.

pps don't send me a chocolate chip cookie recipe, because you should know by now that i know how to make the world's best ccc.

*i also might need something to do with the rest of the tomato paste. do you think finn would notice if i tried mixing it into his sippy cup with his milk?

kick it

which kicks do i need for my birfday next week? let us consider the options and come up with a winner.

i kind of dig the orange on these

these with white laces, not black

as you can see, i've at least narrowed it down to the style i want (the onitsuka tiger ultimate 81 by asics, fyi). i just cannot decide on a color. please keep in mind what a weirdo i can be about having the color of my clothes and the color of my shoes "go" together. and also that the top two are currently unavailable in my size, which means my birthday gift would be more like an anniversary gift. ready? set go!

california love

we spent last week down in mor's old stomping grounds. it was a lot of fun and just the right thing to recharge our winter-worn batteries. we ate more than our fair share of porto's (mmm...chocolate croissants, meat pies, potato balls...mmm), stuffed ourselves full of my all-time favorite roscoe's (mmm...fried chicken and waffles and the most amazing mac and cheese EVER...mmm), visited little mor's favorite pony rides, rode two different trains 3 different times, enjoyed the warm sunshine and outdoors, got accosted by potheads trying to usher us into their dispensaries in venice, froze our tootsies off attempting to have a beach day in manhattan, celebrated james' bday with a laked-out nacho party etc etc etc. now for the pics...
@ travel town

enjoying his freedom (from being held, sitting in his stroller or holding someone's hand)

"e" for every time you ask me to look at the camera i'm going to do the opposite

riding the train, ride-riding the train

tender family portrait

@ the famous phillipe's

gloria, gma zola, katie, mor, finners and yours truly 

@ manhattan beach

we stayed long enough for finn to feel the sand between his toes then skedaddled
it was FREEzing!

 @ the pasadena roscoe's

my favorite place to eat, hands down

@ the griffith park pony and train rides

(sporting his muscle beach-flexing arnold tee)
and looking adorable riding the wagon wheel ponies

making sure the saddle is on nice and tight 

day 2 @ griffith park

riding the hairiest pony known to mankind

holding on with both hands, keeping that pony in line

 @ the carousel

not a great picture of the kid, i know, but the best pic i've taken in a LONG time

 @ the la zoo

explaining the finer points of a waterfall to aunt hill

watching the ocelot with papa

brushing the goats with aunt claire 

the cute koala

tempting the silverbacks with some popcorn

he is huge!

from rachelle's pov

chugging aunt chelle's watey
it was much tastier than mom's pink lemonade

this chartreuse color was working for him
he looked so handsome and grown up

thanks for lunch, schiz!

too funny to not share

mor took this a couple weeks ago, and i've been debating since then whether i should share it here. so, here we are. (and just disregard the part where he spits out the sausage link and then shoves right back in his gob. blech!) enjoy!

suppatime! from valeri h on Vimeo.

all thanks to jimmer

living this close to my beliked alma mater, we get to see jimmer-mania firsthand. and let me tell you, i LOVE it! and he really is all "they" say he is. (those ambiguous they people again.) a while ago, some girl got a bee in her bonnet about how much attention mr fredette was getting and tried to horn in on it. so, she wrote a letter to the pape...

Letter: Idol worship

Mon, 02/07/2011 - 21:02

I can’t walk across campus without hearing Jimmer Fredette’s name a dozen times. His name comes up everywhere: in class, at work, during lunch …  really, people? Cut it out with the Jimmer worship. Last time I checked, idol worship was very much frowned upon in the scriptures.

Don’t you have a life to live? Then quit wasting it in front of the TV or in lines at the Marriott Center.

At the very least, stop trying to convert those of us who don’t follow BYU sports and don’t care that baseball and badminton are two different things. Pushing basketball on us isn’t going to make us like it any better.

I’m not blaming Jimmer for all this; was it Nephi’s fault in the Book of Mormon when his brothers worshiped him? As far as I’m concerned, Jimmer is perfectly free to live his dreams. If he reaches his goals and lives his dreams, more power to him. I would like the same courtesy from his fans: let me live my own dreams in peace, even if they don’t include ever sitting in the Marriott Center screaming my brains out.

Michelle Peralta
Apple Valley, Calif.

while this letter in and of itself is simply amazing,  it's got nothing on what happened later on facebook...

• 

• Jimmer never said it would be easy, he just said it would be worth it.
• For the record... She compared Jimmer to Nephi.... who's taking it too far??
• 
• Michelle you called the basketbal arena on BYU campus the Marriott Center but its actually been renamed The House that Jimmer Built
• 
• I noticed in your letter that you accidentally forgot to capitalize some of your pronouns when you referred to The Jimmer. I am sure that He doesn't appreciate that.
• 
• Jimmer once played Michelle in a game of Connect-4, Jimmer won of course...in 3 moves.
• Jimmer Fredette can speak French... In Russian.

not that i'm one to enjoy admitting faults (my own at least; i'm all about admitting those of others), but everyone can take things too far at times. in either/both directions. this letter and the subsequent comments are prime examples. all thanks to jimmer. love that guy.

*i do not condone any use of improper grammar. thank you.