Merry Christmas Music

Here's my Christmas gift to you: an old Fictionist Christmas song from the archives (well, sort of). It remains one of my favorite things to listen to at Christmas. I think because it's one of the few Christmas songs that talks about Christ's birth while also dealing with the listener's relationship to Him in the present. At the time it came out, the idea of not being "confounded" was the perfect word choice to tug at my heart.

Merry Christmas. Thank you, everyone, for reading my blog. I thoroughly enjoy having you all drop in. Here's to another good year of writing and sharing.

My Latest Hipster-esque Addiction

This addiction of mine is dangerous. I'm tempted to throw all my money at it.

In a way I'm just following the crowd. Luckily, it's a crowd led by innovative students in the BYU Kickstarter class. Check out my post about their sweet new products, which got me hooked on crowdfunding in the first place.

Top Kickstarter products on my Christmas list? Definitely the Delight Bulb planter with its invigorating color and the sleek Linear Calendar.  

Super, on the other hand, thinks Playsets—not from BYU but stunning nonetheless—might be the next coolest thing in gaming. It only has eight more hours left. Don't let the crowd leave you behind.

Halloween: The New Happy Holiday

This Halloween holiday keeps growing on me more every year.

(Let's think about that statement literally for a second . . . Great Halloween costume? Possibly.)

I don't do scary, but I'm finding ways of making this season my own. Last Saturday, we threw my idea of a perfect Halloween party. The elements? Good food and great television. Yes, folks. We watched all the scary episodes of Psych and, as tradition demands, my favorite scary episode of Boy Meets World. It's a winning combination.

In case you need your own lineup for tonight, here are the Psych episodes that made my list. (You might notice the absence of "Scary Sherry" and "Tuesday the 17th." Confession: they're too scary for me. Don't judge.)

• 2:16 Shawn (and Gus) of the Dead
• 3:1 Ghosts
• 4:8 Let's Get Hairy
• 5:11 In Plain Fright
• 6:3 This Episode Sucks
• 6:11 Heeeeere's Lassie
• 6:14 Autopsy Turvy

And as for the good food, I made these caramel apples after I sanded the apples down with actual sandpaper. Turns out, this is key to a great caramel apple.

If there's time tonight, we'll also be celebrating with a batch of these soft pretzels.

And since it's also Throwback Thursday, here we are two years ago. Beauty and the Banana.

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.

I Believe in Chacos

Yesterday, my Chacos came out. Here's to the next eight months.

The world just got so much brighter. So long coldest winter. Thanks for being good to me.

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.

"One More Sleep 'Til Christmas": Branches, Hard-won Wreaths, and Words to Warm Your Heart By

I've been wanting to share some of our holiday pictures. There was mucho decorating going on this year, compared to the meager decorating of years past. I'm proud of my effort, which was largely multiplied by the efforts of Super's roommates.

Our Christmas branch, as Brother Joseph calls it, was saved from the dumpster just a few days before everyone left town for break. You'll notice the rocks and clamp at the bottom of the tree. This lovely setup was engineered custom for our tree. It's holding up marvelously. Isn't he so cute? I find it really funny how Charlie Brown's Christmas makes it okay to have a sparse looking tree. Just call it a Charlie Brown tree, and you can get away with anything.

My family's tree is pleasantly plump. No Charlie Brown for us. We do however have a strand of green, red, and white lights that is ancient. It plays the first ten seconds of every Christmas carol known to man, and I love it (including its repeating carols that chirp out) more than any other decoration.

I ventured out at the opening of Trader Joe's in Salt Lake. Sadly, I found nothing I was that excited about except this lovely, lovely wreath. It was well worth all the elbowing and crowding going on in the place.

May you all have a very warm and bright Christmas. I'll send you my well wishes with one of my favorite scriptures from Peter that doubles as my own testimony of Christ:

"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts."

-2 Peter 1:16-19

No Christmas is complete without all or at least some of this; the words are there for singing because you know you want to.