meg

new adventures...all the time.

2011-01-15T13:18:00.000-08:00

So, my life changes from day to day. I was in Switzerland for the Holidays with Nathan and it was soooo nice. Now I am back in Mesa with Anne and fam until Nathan graduates in May. Yes, May! I am sooo excited. Finally, we will be able to live together permanently and not just for 3 month stints at a time (due to Swiss immigration law). Nathan is already beginning the process of looking for a job. It is kind of exciting. He is really excited to be done with school, he's been in some kind of college or internship for the last 10 years and he is really ready to be done with it all and just work doing what he loves...architecture. We have no idea where we'll be living by the end of this year. We are kind of hoping Nathan gets a job in Switzerland. It's a nice place to live and there are some great architecture offices. Plus the earning potential here is at least double what is in the US. So, Switzerland is our #1 choice. Then there are some offices in Paris or London that he is looking at as well and then maybe even stateside in New York, Boston or Seattle. It's pretty certain we'll be living in some big city somewhere.

In the meantime, I am hanging out with my sister Anne and her family, failing at finding temporary employment and having a lot of fun. Anne and I started a new blog called Wearing Walmart. We decided that we wanted to share with the world the hilarity of Walmart fashion and other odds and ends. Now, not everything at Walmart is all that bad, but sometimes it is really bad and funny. So, if you want to see some really embarrasing pictures of Anne and I, check it out. We've also been maintaing our vintage clothing store on Etsy called Fashion Redemption. My teenage nieces are the models and they do a fantastic job.

Anyway, here is a sweet little pic of Anne and I from our new website. Enjoy!

my husband and future father of my children

2010-06-20T23:27:00.001-07:00

My Nathan is going to make an amazing father someday. Not only is he the cutest guy EVER, he is smart, talented, kind, patient and just a good hearted person. I love this guy. You can just see the goodness beaming out of that kind face!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY (& Future Father's Day)!

Hey ya'll

2010-05-17T02:52:00.000-07:00

Been busy. Nate is in his final stretch of grad school and I am here in Mesa with my sister and her family. Sadly, try as I did, Switzerland would not let my student husband have me, his wife there. So, since I can't have a visa to live in Switzerland I am making the best of it and earning some money in the meantime.

My sister and I have started a vintage clothing store on Etsy. She has been wanting to do this for a long time, and since I am only working part time, we'd figure we'd give it a go. We have TONS and TONS of amazing things. My teenage nieces are acting as our models and we're having a blast.

I got a few items posted on our store tonight and we started a blog.

check it out:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/fashionredemption

and our blog here:

http://fashionredemptionvintage.blogspot.com/

Church Groundbreaking and a Snow Storm

2010-03-09T11:06:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday was the groundbreaking for our new Chapel in Wettswil, Switzerland. Our ward currently meets in an office building that houses a business school here in Zürich. It has actually been really convenient for us since we are about a 10 minute walk from our apartment. Anyway, back to the groundbreaking. We woke up on Saturday morning, opened our apartment curtains and were shocked at the snow storm. Just the week earlier, things had started warming up and blossoms had started to appear on bushes and trees. So, needless to say we were shocked at the sea of white before us. The new chapel groundbreaking was at 10 that morning and we were not sure if it would still happen considering the abysmal weather. There was at least five inches of fresh snow on the ground that hadn't been cleared and we thought the chances of things going as planned were small. Even still, we got no email or phone call confirming a cancellation, and we were up for the adventure, so we headed out. Besides, Nathan was in charge of the cleanup after the ceremony, so just in case we thought we better go.

One nice thing about the amazing trains here in Switzerland is that they run in any weather. So, we boarded our train for the twenty minute ride to Wettswil. The snow was so heavy and continued to get worse as we headed for our destination. There was a total whiteout. We could barely see 30 feet out our passenger train windows and thought for sure that no one would dare drive outside in this weather. And, indeed we saw very few cars on the road.

When we got off the train at our destination in Wettswil it was another 5 minute walk to the future building site. We laughed almost the entire way as we were getting pummeled with snow (despite our umbrella) and the level of it had risen to what appeared to be about a foot. We thought there was no way anyone would have show up.

But of course, we were wrong. As you can see from the pictures below. The event still happened. They had a microphone, chairs, and a table set up. The talks were given, the groundbreaking happened and refreshments were eaten in a parking garage nearby.

We all agreed that perhaps the Lord made this a day that none of us would forget.

Yeah, well the ground was pretty hard that day and the digging did not go very deep!

Nathan's on the Internet!

2010-02-15T05:39:00.000-08:00

Oh My Goodness Gracious TOMATO SAUCE!

2010-02-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

Some of you may already be privy to the fact that Nathan and I eat a mostly plant based vegan diet. We aren't crazy strict about it, so we don't limit ourselves by saying that "I'll never eat cheese again" or "a burger will never again grace my lips". We just don't take it to extremes. On a day to day basis we only buy and eat vegan, but when we are invited to a friend's for dinner or go out to a restaurant, we allow ourselves to splurge a bit. And once in a while we will make something decadent.

I recently made something very decadent. You may not think of tomato sauce as decadent, but believe me, five tablespoons of butter later - it's way decadent for Nathan and I. I love cooking and trying new recipes. I have several food blogs that I follow regularly and pick out something new to try from them once in a while.

I was reading the Smitten Kitchen blog recently when I came across Deb's recipe for tomato sauce with butter and onions. Her description of this tomato sauce was too enticing, I had to try it. Note the following from her blog:

I could no longer resist this sauce, and frankly, I don’t know why I even tried to: food bloggers obsess over it, and they’re not a bad lot to base a recipe selection upon. Adam of Amateur Gourmet fell for it five years ago. Molly at Orangette raved about it over two years ago, with a bonus approval marking from Luisa at Wednesday Chef. Then Rachel Eats fawned over it too, and Rachel, you see, she lives in Rome right now — I want to be in Rome right now — Rome, where you can get authentic, perfect tomato sauce a zillion places every single day. And yet she stayed in and made this one. That sealed the deal.

The crazy thing about this sauce is the simplicity of the ingredients. Canned tomatoes, one onion, and 70 grams of butter. How simple, right? It's perfection. The flavor was amazing. You don't need cheese on it, or herbs and spices - nada. Nathan and I finished the whole pot. We even used the cool spiraly pasta noodles in her photograph. Get those, they're great.

Read her whole post here to get the recipe. Make this tonight. You will not regret it.

I am going to try this with vegan butter just to see how it is. I'm not sure about how it'll go, but if it's great I will let you know, then I will be eating this a lot more often.

En guete!

Must Read!

2010-02-06T09:03:00.000-08:00

Wow, I am on a roll, huh? Posting again, I know, I just can't be stopped.

Well, I just finished reading a FANTASTIC book and I wanted to recommend it. It is the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

The story takes place immediately following WWII on the British Island of Guernsey. The book concentrates on events that happened during the German occupation of the Island during the war and after. This book is historical fiction, so you learn a lot about actual events that took place and the characters in the book are funny, witty and the writing is just completely delightful. You will want to curl up next to a warm fire with hot cocoa and not stop reading.

Anyway, so that is my book recommend.

Anyone have one for me?

Just a note - I don't recommend books too lightly. This one is really quality, and there is nothing in here you would uncomfortable reading out loud to your mother. :).

Update on Life, Christmas etc.

2010-02-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's been a really long time since I've blogged. It's not that my life isn't totally exciting (haha), I am just lazy...what can I say.

Well. In October I went back to America for a few months. I stayed with my parents in Missouri. Worked a bit there. Then I went to my dear friends wedding in Utah. It was so fun. I got together with my college roommates, Lisse, Becca and Ashley for the event. We spent a couple days together. It was a great reunion. Then went and saw my big sister in Arizona. Then back to Switzerland. Just in time to be with my Nate for the holidays.

I am still here in Zurich with Nate. We had a great holiday, and then he hit the books hard to get ready for his exams. He just passed his first one today. Nathan, if you don't already know, is working on his masters in Architecture at the ETH here in Zurich. He's a smart kid, I'll tell you what.

I am enjoying being back here in Switzerland. The scenery is beautiful, the chocolate is good, and most of all I like being with Nate.

While Nathan studies, I read, write articles, crochet, research good recipes on the internet. I just made some really yummy whole wheat bread. The recipe is HUGE, it made about 5 loaves. We have been enjoying eating that, especially for toast. The Swiss have good bread, especially pastry, but they don't have really good bread for toasting and sandwiches. It's strange, they sell "American Toast" - the only sliced somewhat dense bread. I'll take a picture to show you all sometime.

Here are some photos

Ashley and Spencer (snuck these from her FB page - thanks ash)

The next day the girls and I went to lunch at the Lion House, then saw the Temple Square lights, followed by a viewing of the Joseph Smith movie at the Legacy Theatre. And to top it off, we went to the Pie for the BEST pizza in Utah (our college favorite, always worth the trip to SLC).

Back home for Christmas. My leprechaun/Amish husband and I decorated a tree. A family in the ward was kind enough to lend us this little one.

We spent Christmas Eve with the Ringger family in Basel. They use REAL lights on the tree. It was amazing. Marcus is holding a giant torch thing that lights the candles. Christmas Eve is the big event in Switzerland. It is the night they have their big dinner, singing, and open gifts. We had so much fun at their house. They prepared an exquisite 5 course dinner, we sang traditional Christmas hymns (in German of course) and then we went to a Christmas Mass to hear choir music. Nathan and I headed back to Zurich that night to spend Christmas day at our own home.

Us on Christmas morning. Looking really good.

Nathan in Basel. I love the street decorations here during the holidays. This old street had trees lining both sides of the street. So lovely.

Nathan painting my nails. He got me polish for Christmas. Have I mentioned he is the best husband?

We had a serious Skip-Bo tournament. Lasted days. We still need to finish. Thanks to Nathan's mom and family for sending this card game along with many other gifts in the mail.

Go See It!

2009-09-18T04:24:00.000-07:00

On Monday Nathan and I went to go see this movie.Just like everything in Switzerland it was expensive. Monday is the cheap day...just twelve francs as opposed to the usual 17 francs. Oh, and don't let me forget to mention that there is no matinee price. Goodness gracious.

Well, it was so worth it. I laughed and laughed and laughed...and Nathan loved it too. Meryl Streep is so good as Julia Child, it was so fun to watch.

Anyway, highly recommended by me.

Picnic at the Ringger's

2009-09-08T04:24:00.000-07:00

Friday before last, the Ringger family in Basel invited us for a picnic/BBQ at their home. The Ringgers are a really wonderful family here in Switzerland that Nathan got to know while he was working for Herzog and deMueron in Basel. He was in their ward and he considers them his Swiss family. They are really generous people and invite us over to their house every fast Sunday for dinner and Nathan practices with the family band. The family band performed at this picnic and at the end of the evening they surprised us with a with a wedding cake. A lot of friends from the ward showed up to the picnic as well and they gave us a huge basketful of food that everyone had donated towards. We stayed late playing games, watching a movie and then spent the night and took the train home the next morning.

The band warming up

Set up in the backyard. The weather was amazing that day.

Cutting the cake

Many thanks to the Ringger family!

101 Cookbooks = Amazingness and BEST Garlic Bread EVER!

2009-08-17T01:42:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have heard of the website 101 Cookbooks. If not, you MUST check it out. It is Heidi Swanson's recipe journal where she posts all her favorite recipes. She cooks with whole, natural foods mostly vegetarian.

Last night Nathan and I had pasta for dinner and I made her recipe for garlic bread and it was amazing, no joke. I know, it's just garlic bread, how amazing can it be? Just trust me, this is incredible stuff. It is garlic bread with a twist of lemon and it is absolute perfection. I never would of thought of it before, but even Nathan said it was the best he'd had and wished we had made even more. So, try it and let me know if brings tears to your eyes, like it did mine.

I altered the recipe slightly by using just whole wheat country bread we had already and used a more healthy plant based margarine instead of butter. I also added a bit of lemon juice to the butter/garlic mixture before spreading it on the bread.

Here is the recipe from her website:

My Dad's Garlic Bread

The size of your baguette will determine how much butter and garlic you'll use. My dad uses roughly one head of garlic for each stick of butter.

1 loaf artisan French bread or wide baguette
1 - 2 heads of garlic
1 - 2 sticks of unsalted butter
1 bunch of chives (optional)
zest of one lemon (optional)

As told to me by my father. Slice that loaf of bread right up the middle so you have two halves (he uses his serrated knife for this). Now set them on their backs, cut side up. Mince the garlic or push it through one of those crushers - either way is fine. Now add it to the butter you should be melting in a small saucepan.

(This is where he got really animated). Now take a basting brush (or any brush for that matter - pastry, etc) and start slathering the garlic butter all across that bread. Really go for it, let it soak in. He then says to me, "heck, sometimes I even pour it on." (At which point I can't help but think that my mom would be mortified). Make sure you get all those garlic chunks evenly distributed. Now sometimes my dad makes a garlic bread in advance and freezes it (don't ask). If you are going to freeze the bread for later, this is when you do it - you don't want to bake, then freeze.

He recommends the 'double-bake' as he calls it. This is when you bake at a standard temperature (350 degrees) for 10 to 15 minutes to heat the bread (particularly if it is coming out of the freezer), and then brown it off for color under the broiler for a minute or two.

When the bread is finished broiling let it cool for a minute or two. This is when I sprinkle with the lemon zest and chives (and to be honest, I sprinkle a bit of zest on the bread before it goes in the oven too because I like that roasted lemon flavor alongside the garlic.) Slice and serve.

We LOVE Bern!

2009-08-13T01:37:00.001-07:00

The Swiss Temple is located in Bern. It is the capital of Switzerland and a really beautiful city. It takes us about an hour by train to get to the temple and it costs about $90 round trip (can we say expensive!) for the two of us, so we made a day out if last month (as we'll probably do again this month).

Here we are inside the Mormon Home Shop - It's got church books, PLUS an assortment of American treats hard to find here in Switzerland, like root beer, Reeses, Oreos etc. I didn't endulge as I'm still pretty satisfied trying all the local Swiss sweet goodness.

The shop is located right across the street from the temple.

As is obvious, you can see Bern is really stunning. All of downtown looks pretty much like this. Row buildings made with grayish tan brick. The bottoms of the buildings have these archways and they are lined with shops...all nicely shaded.

This is the Berner Münster, Cathedral of St. Vincent. We took a walk around inside, and there was some serious organ playing going on.

Aare river and my husband...lookingcute as usual.

I just have to point out these cellar doors. They are all over the city. Some of them are open to the public and used as shops or some of them lead down to restaurants. Pretty neat feature I think.

Last but certainly not least, I will introduce you to Berner Haselnuss Lebkuchen.

An incredible cake local to Bern. These little cake cookie type things are made with a base of hazelnut paste (not unlike marzipan) and are sweetened with honey. They have a really dense chewy consistensy, not too sweet, and absolutely divine. And they always are made in bear molds...because of course...it's Bern.

IKEA ADVENTURES!

2009-07-30T04:34:00.000-07:00

Nathan and I spent some quality time at IKEA upon arriving in Switzerland. We were tired of sleeping on the twin bed and my clothes were pretty disheveled in my suitcases. So we ventured over to the IKEA in Dietikon to get a new bed and some shelves.

To my great delight, they had real Swedes playing some music. Only in Switzerland...or maybe Sweden.

Nathan driving our rental van, it was a Ford.

We took another trip to IKEA a couple days later, and apparently lingered too long inside shopping and missed the bus to the train station. We had to walk about an hour to the train station so we could get home. We weren't the only ones that missed it, there were a couple guys we made friends with on the walk to the train station. That is Alex behind Nathan. I discovered on this trip that young Europeans like to find out how we Americans feel about Obama. He's a pretty popular topic here. It kind of makes me laugh to see them wearing Obama shirts, like they even voted. ha.

Nathan sleeping in our new bed. He really was sleeping.

Our bed makes into a lovely couch.

My clothes!

Our fancy light nathan craftily hung on the ceiling for us.

We even have a fan now that totally helps with the summer heat, since we have no air conditioning. We like our little student house and I am starting to feel at home in this little place.

The Honeymoon

2009-07-27T12:25:00.001-07:00

We spent the two days after our wedding in Nauvoo checking out the sites. We even got to spend a little quality time with the fam. Every honeymooner's dream right? Hhaaha, we did have fun and figured it was time well spent especially considering we were getting ready to leave the USA for a while.

Nathan getting into the rope making process with Aly and Mya

Grandpa and Gunnar

The whole gang

We had a real surprise waiting for us in Switzerland. The YSAers decorated our apartment for us. It was a real honeymoon pad...they even made a special lasagna dinner for us.

Honeymoon suite for sure...twin bed and all!

MARRIED!

2009-07-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

Nathan and I were sealed last month in the Nauvoo, Illinois temple. It was so beautiful and so great to have so many of our friends and family there.

Just leaving the temple here.

My beautiful nieces and nephew.

Our hair is terrible! It was such a windy afternoon. We were glad that it stopped raining while we were in the temple though.

We had some amazing entertainment at the reception.

Gunnar even surprised us all and sang a song with Zoe, we loved it!

We ended the day with a pioneer trek...how Mormon of us;)

Thanks to my brother Andy for all the great photos!

It's been a while...hey, I've been busy, promise.

2009-02-27T20:39:00.000-08:00

So, it has absolutely been ages since I've blogged. What I've been up to...

- Super busy at work. At my job I do something called electronic discovery. It's very exciting, I work on three computers processing forensic data, so lawyers can "discover" things in electronic data.

- I've been crocheting a new project

- Doing some photography.

- Snow in Nashville!

- I've been to NYC and Switzerland.

Nathan and I in Basel on the Rhine

Scariest baby eating statue/fountain in Bern

Temple in Bern

In Zurich, men playing giant chess, of course...what else?

- AND, I've been dating this amazing guy Nathan

I'll try to be better, now I have some emails and phone calls to return. :)

John Denver, I'm Disturbed

2008-11-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

Country Roads is a fantastic song, but could they have chosen a more awkward looking photo for the album cover? I think not.

I spotted this...

2008-10-28T23:03:00.000-07:00

in the international foods section at Kroger.

Could they have given this product a less appetizing name?

Red Velvet is SCARY!

2008-10-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

Ever since I saw Steel Magnolias I have been wary of red velvet cake. In the film they make a cake shaped to look like an armadillo and it is made of red velvet cake. So, it looks like the bloody insides of the animal...sick!

So, now I really can't ever bring myself to eat the stuff. What flavor is red velvet anyway? Is it just red dye? I don't get it.

tag, you're it!

2008-10-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

So, Erin tagged me to post seven random facts about myself. I feel inspired today to post seven random facts about myself in relation to the cooling weather.

1) I prefer mittens over gloves...any winters day.

2) I don't really love the winter. It lasts too long, I think it should end after Christmas.

4) I am wearing socks to work this week for the first time this season.

5) The first time I lived in the snow (that I remember - lived in WA til I was 2) was in Provo, UT, attending BYU. I was so freaked out that on the first day it snowed I wore 2 pairs of pants and two jackets. I was so hot...in the literal sense of the word...obviously.

6) My favorite holidays happen during the Fall and Winter...Thanksgiving and Christmas. They are wonderful because I love spending my time thinking about and being with the people I love.

okay, so number seven is completely random

7) Somewhere out there is a picture of me wearing depends and a t-shirt...that's it.

Yes, I saw this at Target THIS very week...

2008-09-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

Do you think we are getting a little ahead of ourselves?

So, Nashville is out of gasoline.

2008-09-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

Since Friday....

I am fortunate to drive a diesel (apparently nobody else does), besides I walk to work.

I especially liked the people making political statements...that shirt is priceless. I am not sure how voting for Obama is going to help us get more gas right now. So, it wasn't the hurricane that is causing our shortage...it is the Republicans? Maybe I am missing something?

If you don't, you should

2008-09-18T21:25:00.001-07:00

For the past couple years I have been a fan of the radio show "This American Life"

If you don't already listen, you should. Each week they have a free broadcast (you can subscribe on iTunes). There is a theme to each show and they talk about pretty much every subject you could imagine from breakups to racism to the recent mortgage crisis to working in a diner (one of my recent favorites was a story of two girls switched at birth...crazy...true). I love it because these are real life situations and the storytelling is phenomenal. I look forward to the new episode each week and I have found some favorites on their internet archive of past episodes (you can listen for free).

"This American Life" has a television series that I have yet to see, but I will as soon as the DVD comes out.

why?!

2008-09-10T21:13:00.000-07:00

I was about to open a new bottle of my face wash and the top wouldn't unscrew. I swear it's happened to me before. Am I missing something?...I am twisting it in the right direction, you know the way the arrow points. This has been the bane of my existence for the last couple of days....until tonight I realized that I hadn't taken out my bathroom trash...the top off the old one works just fine....ha! Take that Johnson & Johnson!

Mouse Print

2008-09-05T22:06:00.000-07:00

Has anyone else noticed the shrinking containers at the grocery store?

Mouse Print is a great resource to find out exactly how and on what we are getting less of for our money.

The above cereal boxes for example appear the same from the front but one contains less. Sneaky.

Me at 3

2008-09-03T16:20:00.001-07:00

My dad just sent this to me. This picture has always made me laugh. I am pretty sure there was never a kid with larger cheeks.

Seriously?

2008-08-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

The Wake n' Bacon alarm clock.

Now you can eat greasy bacon in the comfort of your own sheets. Yikes.

what's the dif?

2008-08-04T20:27:00.001-07:00

The most random thing occurred at work today. We ordered some binding coils and covers for a project. Today we received those coils and covers packed with POPCORN. No, not that boring tasteless white plastic stuff, but the corny yellow and buttery stuff.
I refused to eat it, but the guys had no problem eating it right up. Quote from a coworker, "Tastes just like the theater." Wow. I love my office.

She and Him

2008-07-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

So, tonight I went and saw the She and Him concert with M.Ward and Zooey Deschanel. It was amazing. Zooey has an incredible voice and the concert was way fun. I was right up front and my camera battery was dead, so I don't have pictures for you. One thing I oddly noticed was that Zooey has the most amazing skin. It is white and creamy looking. It is too bad that people think they have to tan their skin to death in order to look beautiful. Anyway, Zooey was adorable, has an amazing voice, and I love how expressive her face is. M. Ward was great too, pretty amazing guitar player I must say. So, if they are coming to a town near you...I recommend it.

Why Accents?

2008-07-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

Why do people randomly say single words in a sentence with an accent? It is such a funny thing to me. I was out to dinner with some friends last night and I was deciding what type of pasta to order. My friend Kelly dared me to order my dinner with an accent. So, I did. When the server came I ordered pasta with (my best impression of an Italian accent) ARRABBIATA sauce. Unbelievably I kept a straight face.

Got Chiggers?

2008-07-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

I do!

Andy and I were doing a photo shoot at a lake this week. The scenery was gorgeous and green. Perfect breeding ground for pesty little chiggers. We didn't wear bug repellant...OOPs. Chiggers bite and leave a wound similar to a mosquito bite...but it is worse.

The welts didn't show up until the following morning and I was covered in them...about 60-70 bites. Strange thing about chiggers is they bite you where your skin is the thinnest and clothes fit you the tightest. So I don't have any bites where my skin was exposed. But my thighs, hips, back of the knee and stomach are covered. And, the welts last up to two weeks. It is taking all my strength to resist itching these nasty things so that I don't leave scars on my skin. Go here to learn more about chiggers. (p.s. I am making my prettiest face possible for you in these pics)

My Home - Room With a View

2008-07-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

I currently live in downtown Nashville. I have never lived in a city before and I am really enjoying the experience. These are some pictures I took from my apartment balcony.

This is our amazing couch that Andy bought for us after he signed his record deal. We are working on breaking it in still.
We have an old church next door (I do live on Church Street).

I can actually see my office building from my room. I love walking to work everyday.

I got this artwork at the local Thrift Smart. It was only a dollar, and it is an original signed by the artist. I don't know who Laura Upton is but I love looking at it and wondering who she is. She obviously loved her home and her dog.

This is my happy home!

Mike Rowe on QVC

2008-06-27T23:12:00.001-07:00

Many of you are probably unaware that I love the show Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel and my affinity for the host Mike Rowe. Apparently he had a stint on QVC. This made me laugh out loud.

Quilting

2008-06-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have gotten into quilting. I really love it. I am very much a beginner, but I am learning. Some people have made fun of me for getting into a hobby like this at my age, but really, it just means I'll be that much better when I'm 70.

My first quilt is a crochet afghan. It took forever, it is actually pretty large. I used a multi color yarn in fall colors and bordered it in a dark green. It is a really simple single stitch crochet. My main goal was to keep the edges even, and it is pretty even, luckily.

Below is the quilt I am currently working on. I got the idea here from Martha Stewart.com. Again a very simple hand quilted blanket. Simple in that there are not lots of pieces or squares. I am hand quilting around each flower group. Very time consuming I must say. I will show pictures when I finish...probably another month. I am finishing the edges with an aqua blue ric rak and an aqua green border around the edge (hard to see but matches the dots on the reverse).

The quilt stand has been a life saver.

Going Dutch

2008-06-13T23:43:00.000-07:00

Last night I was sitting in my apartment with some friends discussing a myriad of things. The issue of dating and who pays on dates came up. One couple had the opinion that the man should always pay. The other couple agreed somewhat that the man should pay only until the relationship is exclusive. I disagree.

On the first date whomever asked the other on the date should pay. If the man asks the woman he should pay for the date and vice versa. I understand that it is customary for the man to pay on dates if he is asking and courting a woman. This is simply customary. But why is it important for the man to cover all expenses all of the time when you are both are working equally hard for your money? You both want to be together, eat together and watch movies together. So, both parties are equally enjoying these benefits but only one is taking the financial burden. It seems unfair and frankly, old fashioned. Free things are nice of course but it does not make it right for one person bear the entire responsibility of paying for dates. Why is it that women feel insulted by the idea that they should pay for their own date sometimes?

I realize it is not completely reasonable that a couple will split costs fifty fifty 100% of the time. However, who pays for dates should be based on factors that MAKE SENSE and not on some antiquated idea that a man has to pay because he is male.

quote - Napoleon Bonaparte

2008-06-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of people would die for Him.

It is odd...isn't it?

2008-06-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

It seems strange that it costs more to make a penny now than a penny is worth. And, it costs 7 1/2 cents to make a nickel. There are actually groups out there that are trying to eliminate pennies completely. That makes me sad. While I often find them annoying when I have too many floating around in my wallet, I would hate to see them gone forever. I like pennies. I may even love them. Wouldn't you miss them too?

quote - Being Grateful Will Make Us Happy

2008-06-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

"Mercies and blessings come in different forms--sometimes as hard things. Yet the Lord said, 'Thou shalt thank the Lord in all things' (D&C 59:7). All things means just that: good things, difficult things--not just some things. He has commanded us to be grateful because He knows being grateful will make us happy. This is another great evidence of His love."

- Bonnie D. Parkin

food - Double Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

2008-05-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

This is some of the most decadent and delicious banana bread I have ever had and it is a very simple recipe. Thanks to my sis Anne for passing it along.

Recipe as follows:

1 box Betty Crocker Pound Cake Mix - add eggs and milk as directed on box or make it dairy free by using soy milk and egg replacer

2/3 cup Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder (it is the best!)

5 smashed ripe bananas (I put mine in a gallon size zip lock bag and squish)

1 bag semisweet chocolate chips

Bake according to box directions (makes 2 regular loaves).

I have made it several times now and it comes out perfect every time.

I wrapped one as a gift to give to a friend. I love the aluminum baking tins from the grocery store and they come with great lids. I just wrapped the base with gift wrap and tied with a wide satin ribbon. People enjoy it with or without gift wrap just the same though! I get requests for the recipe when I make it so here it is for you all to enjoy!

song of the day - Bowerbirds

2008-05-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

I heard this group on NPR's All Songs Considered. They are from North Carolina. I love the accordion! And yes, I listen to NPR everyday.

The album is Hymns for a Dark Horse.

download the song Hooves by Bower Birds - FREE!!

a wave back in time? North Korea

2008-05-24T02:59:00.000-07:00

Somehow this film crew got into North Korea. Nobody gets in there. You won't see North Korea like this anywhere else. The mystery is unveiled here. Watch VBS.tv's Vice Guide to North Korea. This is well worth your time.

Present.

2008-05-24T02:58:00.000-07:00

I am joining the blog world...again. I have listed some friends blogs I look at regularly. If you are not there then I obviously don't know you have a blog and I want to read it and add it to my blog roll! Let me know! Love, Meg