An Examined Life

Taemin's ugly formalware for MORP

2011-04-13T08:58:00.001-07:00

Now that I'm on spring break, I thought I would take the time and update what is happening.
Taemin was invited to MORP and needed ugly formalware. His date's group decided on ugly blue, so off to Savers we went. This was on Thursday night and Friday was the dance, so you can see that I didn't have a lot of time to look or sew anything, but I' proud of the adjustments I made to what we found in the short time I had!

We found a polyester coat in a steel blue (80's?) from Sears. I actually really liked it and suggested he wear it to church. We found a really cool plaid tie that matched well. Anyway, we also found a pair of Levi brushed corduroy jeans that matched the color of the jacket. Next, we found a tuxedo shirt and a pair of patent-leather shoes. Can you believe that we found all this stuff in one store and that it fit him? We couldn't find a bow tie, but we found a crazy print tie that was wide.

We took all this home and started the alterations. First, the tux shirt had no buttons, only holes for studs, so I bought some small rounded buttons on a shank and sewed them on over the opposing button hole. These worked out well and looked like a stud.

The cuffs were French and we had no cuff links, so again, I improvised. I decided to sew two buttons, shanks together to give enough space to place the cuffs between, but I couldn't figure out how to do that and keep them apart. Kevin suggested that I use a straw in between. I worked out great! After all, it is for only one night!

Finally, the bow tie. I took apart the funky tie we bought and downloaded a pattern from Martha Stewart and cut out a bow tie from it. I think it really looked great, although I wish I had made it longer. My copier doesn't enlarge, so I had to hand draw the pattern and didn't make the part around the neck long enough, but it worked okay.

So here he is in all his James Bond glory --

I don't know how "ugly" it is, but it certainly is not in fashion today. Too bad I couldn't find the pale green polyester tuxes and ruffled shirts my groomsmen wore at my wedding reception in 1975!

TaeMin's Christmas Quilt

2011-03-05T14:40:00.000-08:00

Since I made all my kids quilts for last Christmas, I thought I ought to make one for our rent-a-boy this year. I really like the way Graham's shirt quilt turned out and I still had a lot of fabric left over, so I made a split nine to TK. It's an easy quilt to make and I wanted the men's shirt idea to carry over to Korea when he goes home.

A quilt that I made a while ago but haven't posted 'cuz I'm a lazy butt!

2011-02-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

This is a quilt I made for Kevin last year for his birthday. He picked out the fabric and I used an idea from Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting. I didn't have a pattern, so I made it up as I went. This created many problems since this was one of the first quilts I made and I didn't really know what I was doing. I bought fabric, but didn't know how much I needed. I had 18 different prints here and I just stitched the strips until I had it long enough and wide enough and when I ran out of fabric and couldn't buy any more, I pieced some of the outer triangles.

This is the awesome orange fabric that inspired my adding orange to the pallet. I loved this pattern so much that I bought the whole bolt. Now I just need an idea for how I will use the rest of it.

My cousin quilted this with an arcing pattern in a variegated thread that turned out to be very close. Kevin didn't like it because it made the quilt less lofty and stiffer. So he doesn't use it. He bought a down throw instead. This is the hardest quilt I have made to date, and I use it all the time.

A Forgotten Quilt

2010-06-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

Since I have been such a slacker in updating my blog, I have missed several important events in my life. The two most important will be posted in future blogs, but right now I want to share another quilt I made with my sister, Melanie, for our sister, Allison. Allison lives in Missouri and, therefore, misses out on all the fun Melanie and I have together, so we decided to work together on this quilt for her birthday. I had already purchased the fabrics for some future quilt and we saw a snowball quilt at our favorite quilt shop, American Quilting, and decided to try that one out. Well, I won't go into the gory details about our tandem quilting fiasco, but just let me say, Allison, you better LOVE this quilt!! It was a lot harder and more time consuming than we ever anticipated and we had a deadline which made it harder. Here is the quilt. We called it "Oh, Well!" after our Mom's favorite saying when things don't go as planned -- a phrase I am learning to use more in my life.

Here is Baby Allison, the proud owner of "Oh, Well!" quilt.

Baby Quilts

2010-06-26T12:08:00.001-07:00

I have made two baby quilts this year, not counting the one I sewed for Dani's aunt's baby. This one was not intended to be a baby quilt. My daughter, Marin suggested that I would be lovely to have a quilt made on off-white and white fabric. Although we chose a different quilt for her birthday, I kept the the off-white/white idea in mind as I shopped for fabric. I was at Home Fabrics and their back wall is stacked with inexpensive (cheap) cotton fabrics. There were several in this color scheme that looked good. I just bought several with no plan for a quilt. When Honey's birthday approached and I didn't have a good idea for a gift, I whipped out the whites and made a strip quilt in a zigzag pattern. He was underwhelmed, but at least he had a gift from the heart. It was really too short for him. I showed it to Dani and she mentioned how perfect it would be in her baby's room. Viola! It became hers!This picture shows the pattern the best although the quilt is not finished here.

This is it finished and washed. Quilts look better after they have been washed.

Here is the quilt I originally planned for Graham. I wanted to try a pinwheel design because it seemed easy and worked with the fabrics I chose. I wanted to use men's dress shirts as the fabric. I picked up quite a few at Saver's on their 1/2 price days or when they are $1. I chose blues and whites. For the border I used a man's pajama bottom, and the back is a sheet. Basically this is a recycled fabric quilt.
Because there were so many triangles, I had Joanna (my fabulous cousin quilter) do a swirl in each pinwheel and swirls around the border. The swirls in the pinwheels give the illusion that they are turning. Here is a picture of the back that shows the quilting better:

Here is a picture of the back that shows the quilting better:

This quilt only used one long sleeve of each shirt, and one leg of the pajama pant.

T-shirt shrug

2010-06-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

I am always on the lookout for ways to use old clothing in new ways. I am also on the look out for ways to make clothing modest. Here is a cool way to use an old (or new) T-shirt to cover your shoulders.

See T Shirt Shrug and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep

Another Couple of Quilts

2010-03-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

Here are three quilts that I made not as Christmas gifts. This first one was for Rachel's wedding. It is really the first one I designed and the second one I made. I found the fabric at The Cotton Shop and bought the bundle. Then I found a split nine patch online that seemed to be easy and looked difficult. After the hexagon patches in Dani's niece's quilt, I knew that I needed something a little easier. It as a risk to pick out fabric to someone. I really liked how it turned out. I love the colors and the pattern was fun to create. There are many configurations to make yours unique. I quilted it myself on my sewing machine by simply stitching in the ditch.

Christmas quilts are done!

2010-01-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

These have taken awhile to get quilted, but I think I can add all the quilts I have made this year. I started in August with Rachels's quilt and then worked on Dani's aunt's baby quilt. Then for Christmas made a quilt for Marin, Chelsey, and Dani.

This is the one I made for Dani's cousin. Dani picked out the pattern, Merry-Go-Round, and the fabrics from Moda. She got too busy with school and work to finish it, so I took it on since I'm finished with my graduate program and now have lots of time.;) It was a lot harder than I thought since you had to get the points to match in the center, but I think it turned out really well considering it was really my second quilt.

This is the one I made for Dani. She had so much left over fabric from the baby quilt that I thought I would just use it up for her. I knew she liked the fabric since she picked it out. I knew that it would be a surprise, too. I used a simple pattern called Broken Rail Fence since we had already sewn the strips together. I really like how it turned out. I quilted this one myself. I stitch around the inside of each block except the brown ones. I had planned on using a cool template to machine stitch a pattern on those, but I am lousy with the free-motion foot, so i gave it up.

This is the one I made for Marin. It's called Falling Leaves. It is the first quilt where I used applique. Wow, was that time consuming since I had appliqued all the leaves on! My cousing Joanna quilted it using a shadow quilting pattern around the leaves and a leaf pattern on the border. I think it turned out better than I expected since we really changed the original pattern. So cute!

This is Chelsey's. After spending many hours going through patterns and fabrics, she saw this one on the wall at American Quilting. It was a quilt called Ashley's Journey from a book called Piece of Pie. The fabrics are a Moda Sweetwater design called Authentic. It was an easy quilt to cut and piece since the blocks are large and the pieces are only three sizes. The only difficulty was placing them so there were never too many black next to each other, etc. I don't think I did such a good job of that! Joanna quilted an overall floral pattern to reflect the flowers in the quilt.

I really have the quilting bug now, thank to Melanie! That's what sisters are for! I have purchased so many fabrics on sale, that I have about four more quilts to make. Now that Dani and Ryne are giving my a grandchild, I will be making some baby quilts!

The 50s Bedroom

2009-12-31T14:38:00.000-08:00

If one were to understand the sleeping arrangements of the couples in 1950s, one would think they all slept in separate twin beds. Since I was born in the 50s, I knew that wasn't so. The only married people I knew that slept in twin beds were my Grandma Terry and her husband. I thought it was odd, but not so much until I knew what sex was. I don't think they were having that much of it. They were married much later in life after they had both lost their spouses.

My parents slept in the same bed, and how! I would walk into their bedroom only to find them wrapped up together. That's how I though married people slept until I got married myself to someone who didn't like to be touched while he was sleeping, and we slept in a king-sized bed, so he had plenty of room! But that's another story. Back to the 50's.....

All couples on TV slept in twin beds until the Bradys, but that wasn't until 1969. Ward andJune Cleaver, Rob and Laura Petrie, and Jim and Margaret Anderson all slept in twin beds. I find it ironic that even Lucy and Ricky Ricardo didn't sleep in the same bed and they were married in real life!

One of my students recently wrote that it was common for couples in the 50's to sleep in separate beds. I questioned that and did some research. I found that many couples in the 50s slept in twin beds as do many today. In fact, according to ask.com fully 1/3 of married couples sleep separately, either in separate beds or in separate rooms. I have to admit, that I am one of them. I never thought I would sleep away from my husband considering how I was raised and my problems with cuddling with my first hubby, but that is how it has ended up and I'm glad about it. My husband is a snorer and has restless leg syndrome, added to his insomnia which gets him up at 3 or 4 on the morning. I hardly ever got a good night's sleep!

Now I sleep alone in our queen-sized bed and love it! I can stay up and read as late as I want, don't have to share the covers, and the bed is easily made the next day. He visits regularly for our romantic rendezvous and he stays to cuddle for awhile, but eventually he leaves for his own bed -- a recliner in the living room!

Nylons

2009-12-28T10:50:00.000-08:00

One of the rites of passage for me was getting to wear nylons. I was in the 7th grade when I noticed a girl my age whom I admired walking to church. Her legs were so smooth. At first I thought it was because she shaved her legs, but then I noticed how her legs were all the same tan color. Then I realized she was wearing NYLONS!

This was in 1968, before pantyhose were invented, when to wear nylons meant to wear a garter belt. Now most of you have no idea what a garter belt is. Well, I take that back. If you have shopped at Victoria's Secret or other places that sell sexy lingerie, you have seen a garter belt, but let me tell you -- that was not what we were wearing!

I finally got to wear nylons in 7th grade, which meant I had to shave my legs. I was really grown up! The problem with wearing nylons in the 60's was that our skirtss were so short that your garters were always showing.

Thanks heavens, pantyhose was invented shortly after. Now we could were our skirts as short as we wanted, without being immodest! ;)

Nylons have fallen out of favor in the last few years. At least in Utah. We would rather go bare legged than wear them. I didn't realize this had happened until after my mother pass away, my father offered my sister and I her nylons. We looked at each other and said that we didn't wear nylons.

The Christmas Spirit

2009-12-26T07:46:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Spirit

Christmas symbols -- NOT!

2009-12-20T16:12:00.000-08:00

At this time of year, it is important to remember why we celebrate Christmas. If you look around at the images of Christmas, you would be hard put to find anything about the birth of Christ. Even slogans in advertising avoid using Merry Christmas, preferring the secular Happy Holidays instead. Try finding Christmas cards with images of the nativity. Very difficult indeed. Christ has been left out of Christmas and supplanted with more popular images of Santa Claus, reindeer, snowmen, decorated pine trees, candy canes, and of course, presents.

One of the worst places to search for Christmas is the radio. Every famous vocalist, whether Christian or not (even Jews, ie. Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond) want to cash in on the huge Christmas music market, but few songs are about Christ's birth. Doing a simple Google of search of top Christmas songs proves my point. #1 White Christmas, #2 The Chipmunk Song, #3 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, #4 I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, #5 Jingle Bell Rock, #6 The Christmas Song, #7 Snoopy's Christmas, #8 Here Comes Santa Claus, and finally the first real Christmas Song, #9 Little Drummer Boy. The next one (Do You Hear What I Hear) doesn't appear until #30, and Silent Night at #75.

Finally, I'm peeved that Christmas has cooped everything that has to do with winter. Some of my favorite songs are only played at Christmas, but they have nothing to do with Christmas or Santa Claus. What does Winter Wonderland or Marshmallow World have to do with Christmas, and why do people give me a funny look when I sing them in January? Why can't Frosty the Snowman be sung while making a snowman in February?

It's ironic that American society refuses to celebrate Christmas with the essential elements of the holiday and then sticks in elements that have nothing to do with the holiday. I have taken my personal stand by sending Christmas cards with pictures of the nativity only. I put snowmen on my porch in January. I hate to give up on some of the songs of the season, but I prefer to listen to Mormon Tabernacle choir and Amy Grant Christmas songs. I tell people Happy Christmas and hope they aren't offended. I don't live in a community with Jews, but I dated one in high school and was never offended when one would wish me a Happy Hanuka. They are sending out good wishes. Who could be offended by that?

Christ gave mankind the greatest gift we could ever hope to have -- eternal salvation. Let's give him the honor He deserves at this time of celebration.

More to Dislike about Disney

2009-11-29T18:34:00.000-08:00

I have been having serious issues with Disney's films for the sexist views of women and racist views of minorities they portray. But that is for another blog. Since I have a forum for my views (high school teacher), I have shared them with my students. I know that it might be considered a crime for disillusioning kids of their childhood delusions, however, many are able to see the reality and share their own new understandings. Some even point out problems I didn't notice before.
Elizabeth Harrison sent me an email with the following video. What do you think about Disney now?

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Christmas Quilts

2009-11-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in quite a long time, but I think I am back, at least for a while.

I'm working on a couple of quilts for Christmas and have pieced their tops and today I am sandwiching everything and quilting. I' going to attempt it myself again, but I wanted something a little more challenging than stitching in the ditch. I found and awesome blog for free motion quilting, so I will share the one I'm trying for this quilt. I will do this on a much larger scale so it won't take so much time.

Check out her blog! She has some really amazing patterns and videos to show you how to make them.

Graduate Diploma

2009-09-09T12:38:00.000-07:00

Here is the fruit of my labor for the past two years. I have been contemplating what this all means and have determined that for me it represents courage -- the courage to step into the unknown and into a world I didn't think I belonged. I still feel inadequate to be in the academic world, which is why a Doctorate is probably not on my horizon. But this is concrete evidence that I entered that world and succeeded. I now feel justified to teach what I teach.

The Quilt Show

2009-08-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

My sister, stepmother and niece attended the Annual Quilt Show at the Springville Art Museum. This is the second year I've attended and come away feeling unworthy to quilt yet inspired to try my best. These quilts are really works of art and some quilters really see themselves as artists and their designs could be hung in my house as a work of art, not just a quilt. The following are "paintings" done with fabric.

This is a detail from the quilt above to show you the fabric details.

Here us another by the same artist.

A detail from the above quilt.

This is my favorite of the "painting" quilts.

Of course, there were amazing traditional quilts, too. Here are some of my favorites.

This one won "Best in Show" and deserved it! I've included a d detail. Such tiny blocks!

This was a fun Christmas quilt, with a detail.

This was my favorite:

Here is a close-up view.

Cool music video -- Her Morning Elegance / Oren Lavie

2009-05-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

Granny Square Baby Blanket

2009-04-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

I'm back to crocheting after a brief stint with knitting. Crocheting is easier to do watching TV, which is the only time right now I have to do it. This is my first try at granny squares, and I love them. Talk about mindless activity! Although granny squares are made of bright colors, I thought I would try them with pastels for a baby blanket for my niece Aubrey's new baby girl. I like how it turned out. I made it square, well, 'cuz they are granny SQUARES. I guess I should have had my sister make the blanket since she is the GRANNY! :)

When Spring gives you a foot of snow, go snow-shoeing!

2009-04-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

I looked out my window and what did I see? Not popcorn popping on my apricot tree, but a foot of snow covering all my daffodils and tulips and pulling out three evergreens in my front yard!

The Magic of Epsom Salts

2009-04-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

I have begun beginning ballet classes and one of my biggest concerns, besides how I would look in a leotard and tights, is soreness. I have chronic lactic acid problems that are at some times debilitating. But I have discovered Epsom salts in a hot bath, and I have felt great! Not only are my muscles not extremely sore, but I feel happy! Here are the reasons from ezinearticles.com:

Epsom Salts are named for the mineral rich waters of Epsom, England, where they were known at least as far back as Shakespeare's day. When bathing, the magnesium sulfate (Epsom Salts) is absorbed through the skin and is an inexpensive and natural way to reduce stress, treat skin problems, and draw toxins from the body.

This has been a long time remedy natural remedy for a number of ailments. An Epsom Salts bath is known to relieve aching limbs, muscle strain and back pain. In addition, it has been known to heal cuts, reduce soreness from childbirth and relieves colds and congestion. Furthermore, Epsom Salts will flush toxins and heavy metals from the body.

Epsom Salts is a natural stress reliever too. Stress drains the body of magnesium. An Epsom Salts bath absorbs magnesium into our body thus helping to relieve stress. The magnesium helps to produce adequate amounts of serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that creates a feeling of calm and relaxation.

It has many uses, as an all body exfoliate to remove dead skin cells and promote circulation, as a foot soaking agent to smooth, relax and refreshes your feet and neutralize odors, and as a facial exfoliate.
Below are some easy skin care recipes using Epsom Salts. The cost is minimal yet very beneficial for your skin.

Just Like the Spa!
 Massage a handful of Epsom Salts mixed with 1-tablespoon bath oil or olive oil and rub all over wet skin to cleanse exfoliate and soften the rough spots! Rinse well. Note recommended on freshly shaved legs.

Easy Facial Cleanser:
Mix 1/2 Tsp of Epsom Salts into cleansing cream for a deep-pore cleansing. Massage on skin. Rinse with cool water. Pat dry.

Epsom Salts Detox Bath Recipe
1 Cup Epsom Salts  1 handful sea Salts  2 Tablespoons bath oil
Pour the ingredients into the tub while the tub is filling.

Epsom Salts has wonderful properties and uses that are beneficial to the mind, body, and soul. In addition, the cost of a box of Epsom Salts is so minimal compared to all the fancy packaged skin care products, that you can indulge yourself as much as you like.

For those people that suffer from high blood pressure, heart problems, or diabetes, you should consult your doctor prior to using an Epsom Salts bath. Additionally, the information provided above is not intended to replace the care or advice of a physician if you suffer from skin disorders, severe stress or anxiety, or other health problems.

Billy Mumy

2009-04-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

My sister's blog about Lost in Space reminded me about my childhood crush on Billy Mumy who played Will Robinson on the show. He was also in the movie Rascal, about a boy and his raccoon. I vividly remember seeing him on the big movie poster and wanting it so badly I asked the manager if I could have it after the run of the movie. He told me that he had to send it back to the distributor. I am amazed at my boldness at as a 7th grader!

Bill Mumy is still around as an actor and musician. I just saw him in a rerun of Crossing Jordan.

Autistic Team Winner

2009-03-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

I missed this when it first aired. Here it is again in case you did too.

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

"McElwain, who is autistic, was back in his role as an all-around motivator on the eve of a sectional semifinal game Tuesday night — handing out water bottles, dispensing tips, helping run drills. Two weeks earlier, he suited up for a game and delivered a jaw-dropping performance.

In his team’s final home game of the season, McElwain entered with four minutes to go. It was his first and only appearance for the Athena varsity team in this Rochester suburb. The 5-foot-6 manager hit six 3-point shots and a 2-pointer and was carried off the court on his teammates’ shoulders.

His triumph was captured on a student video that made the rounds of the television networks. The school was besieged with calls and e-mails from parents of children who have autism, a little-understood developmental disorder.

“We have an obligation as a society to find a way to include people with different abilities,” said the school’s athletic director, Randolph Hutto, whose 12-year-old son, Joshua, is autistic. “This, hopefully, will help open doors for some people, or open some eyes.”

McElwain, who didn’t begin talking until he was 5, still lacks social skills but has learned to cope well in his teens, said his special-education teacher, Diane Maddock.

“He might talk a little loud, laugh a little too long or not be able the read the body language or even the tone of voice of a person, but it’s not a big difficulty,” Maddock said. “If you call him on it, he will acknowledge it, say ’OK, you’re right, I shouldn’t have said that or laughed when I laughed.”’

“This couldn’t happen to a nicer kid,” she added.

Considered too small to make the junior varsity, McElwain signed on as manager, then took up the same role with the varsity to stay near the sport he loves. Amazed at his dedication, coach Jim Johnson had him suit up for the home finale. There was no guarantee he would play — Athena was battling for a division title — but he got in when the Trojans opened a large lead.

“It was like a big old bucket and I was just hitting them like they were free throws,” McElwain said. “I just felt relaxed.”

The coach couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“He’s been my right-hand man, he’s there every day and just getting him the opportunity to suit up was emotional enough for me,” he said. “For him to come in and seize the moment like he did was certainly more than I ever expected. I was an emotional wreck.”

Associated Press updated 3:52 p.m. MT, Thurs., March. 2, 2006

In Memory: Kat Mikolasy

2009-03-09T09:15:00.001-07:00

I am so saddened by the tragic death of one of my students. Kat was such a vivacious girl, full of fun and creativity. She kept 8th period full of laughs, but was a good student as well.

2007 Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Edition

2009-03-06T09:25:00.000-08:00

Jeana Rock starring as Bella on Twilight

2009-03-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

A Day of Faith

2009-02-17T20:27:00.000-08:00

Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.

Cupcakes

2009-02-05T16:07:00.000-08:00

I want to compile a gallery of cute cupcakes that are fairly simple, yet attention-getting. The one above simply uses curls from pink chocolate. Martha Stewart has several pages of cupcakes for kids -- one for every month of the year.
Here you go!

Matt Hill

2009-01-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

My cousin Matt Hill passed away yesterday from a short, but serious bout with testicular cancer. He was diagnosed around New Year's Day, but by then the cancer had invaded his liver, lungs and brain.

He had a positive attitude until the end as evidenced by his blog titled Matt's Spectacular Testacular Cancer Blog. He was such a talent man with a gift for drama and song. His students at Scottsdale Community College will sorely miss him.

Sadly, he was diagnosed with cancer just days before he was to be sealed to his wife, Liz, for time and all eternity. Such is the irony of life.

Matt leaves a giant hole in our lives.

Brian Stokes Mitchell

2008-12-14T13:03:00.000-08:00

My husband calls him my desktop lover because I had a picture of Brian Stokes Mitchell on my laptop to greet me with his cheery (read sexy!) smile. I have since abandoned the picture out of respect for Kevin, but that has not stopped me from having the hots for Mr. Mitchell. I just saw him perform again with the MoTab and thought I must blog about this guy. I feel a little silly swooning over a singer at my age, but I guess my heart's not stopped yet. He has replaced Johnny Mathis as my all-time favorite singer. Mitchell's voice is every bit as good and he doesn't look contorted while he sings.

A serendipitous moment happened a couple of weeks ago when I watched a rerun of Crossing Jordon and who should be guest starring? Yes, our aforementioned babe! And talk about typecasting! He played a high-powered lawyer who ties to seduce Jordan. He can try to seduce me anytime!

Watch Mitchell perform "Laura."

Yearbook Yourself

2008-09-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

My lovely daughter-in-law, Dani, showed me some crazy photos of her and my cute son Ryne on his birthday. They were so funny because they were the faces of Dani and Ryne but the hairdos from bad old yearbook pictures.

Create your own to she who you would have fit in the senior class of 19?? at yearbookyourself.com

These pictures of mine are an attempt to see what I would look like as a boy. Does Ryne look like me? Also I wanted to see what I would look like with very short hair.

The last one is my very favorite husband, Kevin. Look how sharp he is in 1956!

My Life as a Grad Student

2008-07-20T16:03:00.000-07:00

I have noticed that the past few blogs have been about baking, which I find fascinating because I didn't realize I had time for baking, or for arranging flowers. I have finished a baby quilt as well which goes to show you that you can and will fit pleasure into your life even when you are incredibly busy.

A couple of years ago I got a postcard in my mailbox at school about a new graduate program at BYU. It was not addressed to me, so I don't know who put it in my box. The program was a Masters in Media Education. I had been teaching media literacy for a couple of years without having taken a class in media, so I was very interested. I went through the application process and got accepted last February. The program started in August and it has been one of the hardest things I have done. Here are the hard things:

I have had to write more papers than I care to imagine! I also found out that I am not such a great writer. This has been a bitter pill to swallow since I teach a college writing class. Each one of my papers were a labor, really. It was like giving birth! I felt like I opened my brain and poured out everything I had in it and when it was done, I flapped my lips like an idiot!
I realized that I'm not as smart as I thought I was. Compared to most people, I felt like I was in the top 80%. But the competition is tough in grad school. I realized that the members of my cohort could think much deeper than I could. It was a humbling experience, but made me think deeper and broader.
I have never read so much non-fiction in my life. Granted, most of the reading was pretty interesting, but some of it was a stretch to apply in my life outside this particular class. That doesn't give you much motivation. With all the reading and the writing i have had to do, I have never sat on my butt for so long in my life. Sometimes I feel that my brain will explode or shut down because of some critical error.
My life revolves around BYU. It's practically all I think about and all I talk about. I feel sorry for my family who patiently listens to me complain and explain about school.

Lard crust and Dixie Pie

2008-07-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

I have the best recicpe for lard crust! I have tried many recipes, even one today where I had to mix everything in a ziplock bag, but it took an hour to make the crust. However, I keep coming back to my old standby. Many of you know that lard crusts are flakier and more flavorful that ones made with shortening. In fact, the old recipe for McDonald's French fries that we loved so much included frying potatoes in lard. But the health food patrol got them, and now their fries taste like everyone else's. Well, my recipe for great, never-fail lard pie crust is Pillsbury's refrigerated pie crust in your dairy case. It is made with lard, is ready when you are, and takes no time at all! If you know a better recipe, please share it.

One of my favorites pies is Dixie pie. I first encountered it when I worked at Tippin's Pie and Restaurant in Oklahoma City (sadly, out of business). It is a nut pie fabuloso! I have made this several times for family and it's always a hit. Here is the recipe:

Dixie Pie

1 stick margarine, softened
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp bourbon (you can leave that out, if you wish, but I wouldn't!)
1/2 c. All purpose flour
1 c chopped walnuts (you can use pecans if you like or if you have someone in the family who is allergic to walnuts.)
l c semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 9" unbaked pie shell (preferably lard)

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a unbaked pie shell. Bake 350 for 1 hr.

I serve mine with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side, or even better, in a bowl with cream.

flower arrangements from my garden

2008-07-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

I love creating flower arrangements from what I have blooming in my garden at the time. Lately, I have been creating monochromatic ones. Here are a couple that I arranged on June 28th.

This one was created using yellow roses, yarrow, variegated euonymus, hosta, and cress blossoms.

I love purple flowers! I have several in my yard and one whole garden devoted to them. This arrangement has pincushion flower, lavender, juniper, spirea, purple sage blossoms, and kale.

Paperbag Carmel Popcorn

2008-07-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

One of my good friends in my book group, Vickie Fawcett, made this delight for one of our discussions. I love it for these reasons:
* I usually have all the ingredients on hand
* It is quick to make (about 5 minutes)
* it is unusually delicious!

Here is the recipe:

2 bags of popped buttered microwave popcorn

In a saucepan bring to boil 1 stick of butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 c. light corn syrup, 1/2 tsp. baking soda.
Pour this sauce over the popcorn in a paper grocery bag sprayed with PAM. Fold down the top of the bag and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Shake the bag and nuke for 30 secs. Shake and nuke for an additional 30 secs. Pour onto a cookie sheet to cool. That's it!

Google Brain Implants

2008-06-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

I love Google! I really mean I am addicted to Google or any kind of search engine, although Google is my preferred searcher. I find it astounding that we can search for information by typing in words on our computer. I remember having to go to the library and searching in encyclopedias or books for what I needed to know. If I couldn't find it there, tough! Now if I have a question, I run to my laptop and google it (google is in the dictionary as a verb.) When I am not by a computer, I keep a list of things to look up when I am. When I drive in my car arguing about something with Kevin, I wish I had Google implanted in my brain. Enquiring minds want to know and they want to know NOW! (and I want to be right).

I am not alone in this thinking. Here is an article in the Atlantic Magazine called "Is Google Making us Stupid" that I could have written. http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google
Author Nicholas Carr reminds of what HAL, the malfunctioning computer from 2001: a Space Odyssey, says before he goes down.

"'Dave, my mind is going,' HAL says, forlornly. 'I can feel it. I can feel it.' I can feel it, too. Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell—but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think."

Has Google changed the way we think? I think so, but my purpose in this blog is not to respond to Carr's article, which I hope you'll read on your own. My purpose is to discuss the ramifications of the influence Google has made. I won't say that I couldn't live without it because I have. It is like living without a cell phone or a garage door opener or a microwave oven. I could live without it, but wouldn't want to. The convenience is inexpressible.

The young adult novel, Feed, by M.T. Anderson warns us of the potential for abuse if I get my wish. Everyone has a computer implant which connects everyone to a computer with a program similar to the program Amazon uses that tracks your views and purchases and makes recommendations
I agree, but they way it has changed the amount of information we have. I recently did research for hours in the library -- not looking through books and journals and writing note cards -- but googling quotes and phrases, and cutting and pasting them into a computer document. I will never go back to the "old way" no matter what they say about Google.

Lemon Jello Cake

2008-06-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

I'm sharing this recipe because it is one of my family's favorites and it was one of my late mother's best. She was a great cook and I have tried to keep her tradition.

This is a lovely dessert for spring and summer. A comparable taste would be Lemon Cooler cookies.

Here is the recipe:

Prepare 1 sm. box of lemon Jello with 1 c. boiling water. Let cool.
Mix 1 box lemon cake mix with 3/4 c. vegetable oil add 4 eggs one at a time.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.

Make icing. 2 c. powdered sugar and 1/3 c. lemon juice.
Poke holes all over the cake with toothpick. Pour icing over cake and spread.

Born in 1955

2008-06-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

I was born in 1955 along with my husband Kevin. We have been astounded to notice so many famous (and infamous) people born in the same year. Why this is, I don't know. But here is a list of some of them:
Alfred E. Newman
Arsenio Hall
Bill Gates
Barbara Kingsolver
Bill Condon
Bill Nye
Bill Paxton
Billy Bob Thornton
Bo Derek
Bruce Willis
Chow Yun Fat
Dana Carvey
Debra Winger
Disneyland
Dodi al-Fayed
Eddie Van Halen
Ellen Barkin
Gary Sinise
Greg Norman
Howie Mandel
Iman
Jane Kaczmarek
Jeff Daniels
Jerry Seinfeld
John Hinckley, Jr.
John Grisham
Judy Davis
Julie Hagerty
Kelsey Grammer
Kevin Costner
Maria Shriver
Mark David Chapman
Margaux Hemingway
Mike Huckabee
Nicholas Sarkorsy (Pres. of France)
Olga Korbeu
Peter Galleger
Ray Liotta
Reba McIntire
Rhonda Byrne
Rick Hilton
Rosanne Cash
Rowan Atkinson
Rita Rudner
Steve Jobs
Terry Nichols
Tim Berners-Lee
Tom Bodet
Warren Jeffs
Whoopi Goldberg
Willam Dafoe
Yo-Yo Ma