Help Me, Honda! Save the Drive-In Movie!

I think it had something to do with my head cold, but when I stumbled upon Honda's Save the Drive In project I got all weepy.

I love drive-in movies. There's one in Mount Pleasant (the Basin Drive In), which Super and I are quite taken with. It's only an hour drive alongside sweeping landscapes to movie perfection. The family friendly, communal gathering is unlike any other. And it's cheaper than seeing a movie in the normal theater (in most cases), which moves the drive in high on our list. Even in our little car, it's a lovely set up.

In a few days, drive in theaters who have not switched to digital projectors will be shut down. It costs about $80,000 to convert, and that's far more than most of these theaters have. By voting in the Save the Drive In project, you can help at least one theatre stay open. Check out the video below, and then go to projectdrivein.com today to vote and find out more about what you can do.

The Necessity of Cheerleaders

When I think of cheerleaders, I think of a girl from my high school I didn’t know very well and the day she broke her nose. During a cheer practice in the gym, she fell when someone was supposed to catch her, shattering the tiny bones in her face, and spilling a lot of blood on the wood floor—according to whoever passed the story along to me in the hallway between class. I felt so bad for her and even worse for the person who didn’t catch her.

Ironic how that’s the image that comes to mind. Not pompoms or perky ponytails. Just someone else’s pain and the obvious truth that my body and I were never meant to do backflips. Nope. I am no acrobat. (I left that up to my best friend, who was such a gymnast that the boys at school called her Xena, after the one and only warrior princess.)

But I think I’m a great cheerleader. I decided that after my last shift at the Family Support and Treatment Center, where I work as a house parent in the crisis nursery.

When the other kids realized I’m too slow to make tag fun, they went inside leaving Nate (name changed) and I out on the playground. Though Nate doesn’t really notice, I’ve known him since he was four. Our friendship goes back to my early days of volunteering in the nursery. Now he’s six, and I still don’t know much about his past other than that he was adopted out of the system. This kind of info wasn’t really important to me though when I sat down on the grass, and he picked up a basketball.

I don’t think he made a shot until about the fifth try. But when he did, I clapped and shouted, and Nate smiled in the way he always does: with more sweetness than you can believe. A few more failed attempts, and then point number two. I repeated the cheering, and he repeated the smile. And on we went like that. I thought he’d get bored sometime soon, but when he had made the eighteenth basket, I reminded him that he was almost to twenty. He realized how close he was, “Oh yeah! Eighteen, nineteen, twenty!” Soon he scored that nineteen and the twenty, and I cheered and clapped each victory. All the way to thirty-one.

He declared a time-out and sat down on my patch of grass to discuss the events. He was very satisfied with the score. I was mostly surprised by it. Nate has always been resilient and patient, so I take no credit for that. But I was astounded that a little cheering kept him going for so long. Having someone tick off the victories and minimize the mistakes turned a few baskets into thirty-one.

In the haze of summer shade and the quiet of a nearly empty playground, I realized I am great at this cheerleading thing. It’s less messy than I realized, and I think I could do it forever.

Awesome Easy Pasta Recipe

Allow me to suggest something for your meal planner: this creamy artichoke pasta.

No matter what the prep time says, every meal takes me at least an hour to make. However, this one was really quick, and I actually had everything on hand for the most part. And it was surprisingly delicious.

You'll need artichokes. (All the cool kids love artichokes.) And I'm newly committed to using purple onions in everything. They are lovely.

I didn't have quite enough cottage cheese, and I had no sour cream. So I threw in some heavy cream, which never hurts. If you make it, let me know how the texture comes out with the cottage cheese and the sour cream.

Happy Fourth of July!

I'd like to take a time-out from cake to wish you a happy Fourth of July. I really like this holiday for many reasons.

I should probably be celebrating by saying something meaningful or at least posting pictures of my handsome Marine brother. But there are celebrations calling and buttermilk syrup to be made. (Why do I have buttermilk on hand, you ask? It has less to do with syrup and more to do with me finally having ingredients for Super's cake!)

So, I give you three of my favorite Fourth videos. The first, one my co-worker and I used to sing at work.
The second, from the musical 1776, which I love deeply. Mr. Feeny is my John Adams. And this man is so much my Ben Franklin, I can't even remember the actor's name.

And the third from the West Wing, which is self-explanatory and makes me cry every time.

God bless America; my brother, who stands up for it; Mrs. Thompson, who taught me to love it; and Aaron Sorkin, who made me less worried about how it all runs.

My Valentine's Gift to You

For reading my blog, I'd love to give you something great. So here's something. These are some of my favorite words on marriage from one of my favorite bands, Chasing Owls. The video's not the most exciting thing ever, but the lyrics and the sounds—splendid.



"Walk with me between the mast and rigging. Walk with me to tell me what you're thinking. For I've watched you at the start, and I'll watch you 'til the end. That is her right now—your only friend."

I love everything about this song but mostly it's the idea of seeing others in love, believing in them, and doing as it says in the song: "Tell me that it's love, and I'll tell you that's enough. And I myself will push you down the river."

I can think of at least one couple I'd love to push down the river (ten points if you can find a post about it on here), one I have (except I don't take much credit for it), and several who work on pushing me (here and here [I need to write more about these people, obviously.]).

The Best Things from My Birthday Month

1. Snow on the orchards, not on the roads. Sun everywhere.

2. I took a trip to JoAnn by myself. All the things I needed were on sale and in stock. But the best thing? Three very happy ladies surrounding me in line as well as two very happy children. Their kindness and smiles were infectious and warm. May their new years be blessed.

3. My mom made me buttermilk syrup and pancakes. I told her we're not allowed to worry about the effects of corn syrup on my birthday.

4. My brother and I laughed at Mormon memes and the Hey Girl tumbler.

5. Getting wished happy birthday by Super twice—once on New York time and once on Utah time. Super and I share the same birthday! Wild, I know. It's pretty much worked wonders for making my birthday a much more enjoyable day.

6. My grandpa giving me "hamburger money."

7. Getting a birthday text from my cousin Nan in the middle of the night.

8. Having our sink filled with pink water from the red velvet cake my mom made.

9. Watching Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs with my family.

10. My dad's perfect hexagonal wrapping job.

11. My brother coming to say good night when he got home in the middle of the night.

12. Hearing Super remind me how much he loves me and truly feeling loved by a wonderful man. 

13. Lunch with Elisabeth and her gift of a dinosaur sandwich maker.

14. Dinner with my good friend Jamie. If you ever think, gee I want to go to Tucanos, but I don't want to come back with a zero balance in my bank account, try Braza Express! Slightly more authentic Brazilian food for nearly a third of the price. It is very, very yummy, and there's a great atmosphere about the place with really nice people putting your food together.

15. A party with my friends! Sitting around chatting was a truly sweet moment for me. There was also lots of great food. I invented something that worked out for once! Well, first I tried to make brownies in muffin top pans, which is possible but didn't work that well for me. So then I crushed those brownies into chunks, added sliced strawberries, and a dollop of this great buttercream frosting (the best buttercream frosting ever). It was lovely.

We also made Brazilian lemonade using a bottle of Minute Maid strawberry lemonade and a can of sweetened condensed milk. It was a bit too sweet, but the color was gorgeous.

It's Cold, Because I Know That

Salt Lake and Provo have been experiencing cold temperatures the likes of which we haven't seen in years. I'm qualified to say that, unlike most everyone in Provo, because I've lived here for 24 years. Usually I get really annoyed with all comments on how each year's winter seems to be stacking up to the previous winters, but this time, when I hear people complain that it's unusually cold, I agree.

As unscientific as this sounds, it hit me just how cold it's been when I walked out of work into seventeen degree weather and felt warm by comparison. So weird.

In good news, it means 'tis the season to share what I believe is the greatest video available on all of YouTube. All of it. Really. Please share this post and video with your friends who don't know about the Canadian Border Patrol.

A Quote Preserved

About this time last year, I was hanging out with this young, fashionable, and lovely lady named Bekah:

Not sure what's happening here.

About this time this year, some people thought the world would have ended. I never bought into that scene, but I've been collecting some good jokes about it in my head.

Bekah's wins first prize, for its overall awesomeness and editor appeal:

"Apoc-ellipsis, the dot dot dots of the universe."

Runners up? "Get busy or die Mayan." And the advertising gimmick of the local personal injury lawyers: "Were the Mayans right? Get your will today! No payments until after Dec. 21!" The logic of this claim baffles me.

Also, you can see one of Bekah's photographs of F. Scott Fitzgerald's house in my Stowaway article here.

Spanish Fork Christmas: Just as Good as I Remember

The month is rapidly dwindling down to January (though it feels slightly less rapid after that Mayan thingy). There are still so many great Christmas things we'd like to do!

Luckily, we got this one great one in: the Spanish Fork Festival of Lights! My family and I went to this when I was young. Of the twenty or so years the festival has been going, I attended within the first five or so. I worried I'd be disappointed with the display as an adult, especially since I thought the lights at Thanksgiving Point were lame.

But not so my dears. No lameness here! The Festival was perfectly thrilling and festive. Go while there's still some semblance of snow!

Here's the info. Happy light-loving!

A Tribute to Jane Austen

Yesterday, Jane Austen—dearly beloved by many—had a birthday (shout hooray!). I wish I could fully describe all of my feelings about Jane Austen in words, but I'd rather tickle your senses with videos, pictures, and at least one story over the next month or so.

First, a video: Jane Austen Fight Club. My birthday gift to you and Jane. If we didn't have Jane Austen, we'd never have this video, and that would be a true loss to society.

Explore, dream, discover with Stowaway magazine

Last winter semester, I worked editing Stowaway magazine with a whole staff of awesome people. I think our issue turned out splendidly. This really is a great travel magazine for those who want a view of the world without the price or experience of tourism. The articles have lots of tips on how to really dig into the sands, the foods, and the thrill of a place.

You can find my articles on pages fifteen and twenty-three and my editing everywhere. I'm also a big fan of the articles on cooking with quinoa, kayaking the Bahamas, finding your roots, and working on organic farms—all great traveling ideas, except the quinoa; it's just tasty.

There's lots more where that came from. Other issues available at stowawaymag.com/

108 for Jake

***Pardon the delay. Midterms ended weeks ago. How embarrassing!***
This semester, my filmmaker has turned into a economic-theory-wielding scholar as well. Three mid-level economics classes means a nightmare of a midterm week in any country's currency. But he handled it with grace and fortitude. He even walked out happy, albeit hungry, from the test that took him (and most of his classmates) four and a half hours.

To celebrate, I took nearly 108 oreos, crunched some into a chocolate cake, whipped another third into a no-bake cheesecake, rolled the rest into truffles, and coated the whole sha-bang in chocolate ganache (a fine ending to any party in your mouth, I believe).

When I first saw the recipe for this cake, I thought no one should ever make it. But then I found myself searching for an event that would justify such a cake. Luckily, Super's midterm marathon was just that.

Once grades came back, we found out he definitely deserved this cake too. All A grades, including the top score in his entire class.

He documented the cake making with these photos. Credit for my genie pants goes to Jenny and her Jerusalem trip; credit for my fantastic Fictionist shirt goes to Fictionist and to James.

Want to make your own 108 oreo cake? Here it is.

Snape + Science = The Ladies

This video has definitely affected my levels of happiness and my speech patterns in a positive way. It's raw, it's uncut, it's Snape doing science.

I give it to you as a post-black Friday gift. You're welcome.

Bang!

The fantastic people I used to work with made this lovely video about Sounds to Astound, the acoustics  outreach club at BYU. They put on an awesome and free show with fire, science, and a crowd of cute kids (usually). I've really enjoyed going. It's a great way to teach your kids about sound, fill up your family night with love, or decide if your date is science-savvy enough to marry.

So, check out the video, and make your free reservation for November 26 or 30 here.

Where I Was Left

It was the last final before Christmas. That semester was one of those that I really didn't think I'd make it through. In three months, I'd been through a brief mysterious illness brought on by the terror of committing myself to a country called India. I had changed my mind and experienced every degree of soul-rocking doubt. When I sat down to take my last test, I believe I was signed up to go to India, but for the number of times I changed my mind, it could have easily been the other way around. Either way, I felt dark as the lead I began putting down one bubble at a time. Three hours later, I hit the last bubble, answered the question, and read these words from a gracious humanities teacher who loved art for everything it says:

"I leave you now in the best place I can: Auguste Rodin, the Hand of God."

Taking this birthday of Rodin's, I would like to also place you in that merciful state of contemplating this sculpture: the Hand of God.




Photo: kaitlin.marie

A Smattering of Storm Stories

There are many bright stories coming out of this recent storm. Truth be told I've read very few, which is why these three odd ones stick out to me. I know none of them really capture what people have been going through, so don't think me insensitive. They've just been tossing around in my head nonetheless.

These two are my favorites, in terms of imagery and dedication.

From Juli Olson, of Long Island, New York: "We all went outside and began working, some of us bailing in the driveway and some of us building a dam of branches with leaves across the driveway. (Who decided that having a driveway that goes down to a basement garage was a good idea in this neighborhood anyway?) Brittyn was the force behind the dam and it was working, keeping the flow from pooling in our driveway, but it didn't take long for us to realize this was a different scenario from last year's Irene. I have a clear image by the eerie light of the full moon somehow reflecting under the clouds of Brittyn up to her waist in water in the middle of the street as the water was rising." More here.

From the Times: "As hurricane-driven waters surged into New York University research buildings in Kips Bay, on the East Side of Manhattan, investigators in New York and around the world jumped on the phone to offer assistance — executing a reverse Noah’s ark operation, to rescue lab animals and other assets from a flooding vessel." More here. I also love the last line of this one.

And the one that made me sad (mind you, I've read few): the loss of the boardwalk where I took this picture.

Superhero love

There are so many superhero movies these days, and I'm tempted to say that I'm sick of them. I'm not actually though. I'm still enjoying them along with the rest of the world.

Here's something I am sick of though: the idea that to save the world we must do something big,something flashy, something newsworthy, something death-defying. Let me explain why.

For the summer, for the summer

Yesterday, I spent the lunch hour on my favorite bench in all of BYU (it has taken me five years to choose one) listening to a live performance by the Lovecapades, which was happening across campus.

It was a moment that felt like summer. My mac and cheese tasted gross, but my feet were warm on the pavement, the breeze moved the branches of my shade tree about, and my skirt fluttered. The moment only got better when the Lovecapades began playing a cover of this old, old song from my childhood. It's a silly one (actually, it's downright ridiculous), but it's one that brings back summers long since gone and pays tribute to the 80s and 90s.

Enjoy.




The Lovecapades also favored us with a cover of "Read My Mind" by the Killers, a song which is truly great in all seasons of weather and life. Take a listen to this to cleanse your palette.



To hear some real Lovecapades and download their album, check out this link.

My Debt to Spongebob and SG-1

Between the hours of 1:30 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. this past week, I've seen ships destroyed, a wrongly accused man, alien abductions, a drug that makes you hate your neighbor, an army of brave men slaughtered, one good-looking psychiatrist, and the joyous return of that same psychiatrist—only as his usual anthropologist self, but with amnesia.

No, these have not been my early morning hour dreams. Rather, I've been watching the television show Stargate SG-1 with my brother, Shawn. On Sunday, we sent him off to become a marine.

Read more here.

Shawn's the one who looks most like a marine

Bless you, Black Keys

Is it more surprising that Pat has rainbow drums or that Johnny Depp plays the guitar?

The Black Keys - Gold on the Ceiling featuring Johnny Depp (Live) - Music - More Music Videos