Berry Red and Dark

Doing the previous tag reminded me of a night last year in D.C. when Mike, Dannii, Jess and I went to my favorite French place, Le Pain Quotidian, for the first time. It's one of my favorite memories from DC.

"Pouring a small pitcher of pure, Belgian, dark chocolate into the steaming cup of frothy milk produced a delight in me I can't explain. As did the sharp sweetness of the berry tart nestled in an almond crust. We devoured it with relish--our four forks carving and crumbling the saucer-sized dessert--our cheeks growing red with new warmth. In the pictures we took, the chocolate cups and tart look haloed, emanating their own light. After the inexplicable sadness of the previous night--Mike holding me until I quieted--the sweet warmness feels healing. I keep whispering to Mike, "This is what I've needed...I didn't realize...this is what I've needed."

It sounds ridiculous to say that a few bites of tart and a small cup of hot chocolate filled whatever was void in me, but I can't put away the deep sense of joy it evoked--the deep crimson of the berries, the creamy vanilla custard, the almond crust (i press my fingers to the crumbs and lick), the dark bitter of the frothy milk. But the richness of it, the communal blessing of partaking together--all leaning in, our eyes closing with every bite--filled some unknown cracks in my heart. Whatever sadness (or steadying hormones or universal conspiracy or...) seems to take from me, the world seems able to give back--berry red and dark--the beauty of the bite still lingering on the tongue--the suffused pink cheeks and ear tips of friends drawn close. I can hardly bear the fullness of it."

Tagged Twice

It's been over a month since I last posted. Lame, I know. I have been planning and putting on a Post-Election Conference (whose lovely, but inordinately large floral centerpieces are now standing like ruffled, magenta sentinels in front of our window). I have been in San Diego for a blissful week, stuffing my face with good things, witnessing the "Sham Slam" at Sea World, getting family pics done, and cruising around the town on Karen's shiny red Vesper (oh, I have such love). And now, after the madness, I have been virtually poked in the behind, impelled to speak, by Holly and Dannii. So, I speak.

Danni's Tag

8 Favorite TV shows (we don't have cable, so we only watch the Office with any kind of regularity)

• The Office
• Pushing Daisies
• ANTM (I know, I just can't stay away...)
• Chuck (recently introduced this last weekend)
• Lost (oh, the addiction)
• Freaks and Geeks (only one season, but excellent)
• Friends (watching it for the first time)
• Seinfeld
  

8 Favorite Restaurants

• Le Pain Quotidian (a little French joint in Georgetown that won my heart with the Belgian hot chocolate, the berry tarts, and the crusty bread)
• The falafel joint by my apartment in Madrid. I ate there almost every day.
  
• Thai Ruby. Or as Mike calls it, "the rubs," which really confused me while we were dating. To what shady establishment are you taking me? Can't get enough of the house special, C4, and the pad thai. Don't start me on the mango sticky rice.
• Carrabas. Chicken Bryan. Unlimited Bread and spices. Sausage lentil soup. Mmm. hmmm.
• The Bombay House. Sweet mother of naan. And coconut kurma. And saag. yes, please.
• Mazza. Middle Eastern place up in Sugar House. Hummus, baba gounoush, lentils. Oh, sigh.
• De Mai. Kind of a hole in the wall, but I crave their miso soup and tiger rolls.
  
• Mike's Pastries in the North End (Boston). The cannolis of my heart.
  

8 things that happened yesterday (December 1)

• Mike and I went swimming at the community center. Our new plan for better health. Swim cap and goggles included.
  
• I worked. All three jobs in one day.
  
• I gave a lecture on the Canterbury Tales, during which I said, "On their first encounter, Nicholas the clerk simply grabs Alison by the crotch, manifesting the courtly love tradition stripped of its veil of decorum to reveal bawdy, ribald desire." Not surprisingly, when I said, "crotch," I blushed crimson. I could not think of a better word.
  
• I searched for recipes to make this week. Shrimp Linguine. Pumpkin Curry Soup. Eggplant Parmesan. Yaki Soba. Lemon Chicken and potatoes.
  
• I made a shopping list for Mike. Broken down into categories. Even though he hates it, he went anyway.
  
• I watered my ever-burgeoning basil plant. Bless sunflower market and their $5 herbs.
  
• I called my grandparents in Montana.
  
• I ate the most succulent Valencia orange that we smuggled back from CA.

8 things I'm looking forward to

• Christmas break!!! We get to see both sides of the family.
  
• Training my nephew, Jed, to love me.
  
• Having only 2 jobs next semester
• Getting our first Christmas tree
• Having my own garden
• Finding out where Mike will go to law school
• Going to Europe with Mike
• Reading for pleasure again

8 things I love about fall

• The crisp cool
• The changing leaves (I miss Boston)
• Feeling cozy reading on the couch while it blusters outside
• Wool pants and boots (leather, not wool)
  
• Hot cho-cho
• Farmers Markets
• All of the holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving
• Apple Crisp

8 things on my wish list

• A trip abroad
• A collection of all of Wallace Stegnor's works
  
• A Cast-Iron pan
• A music stand (and time to practice)
• Shoes, always shoes
• A presentable signature (I still don't have Bunnell down)
• A new car for Mike
• A new Mac-Book Pro (oh, I lust)

8 people I tag:

• Anyone who wants to do it.

Holly's Tag

7 quirky things about me

• I can't stop claiming Boston as home, even though I have now been living/going to school in Utah for about seven years and my parents moved to Indiana about three years ago. I still say, "they just moved." Don't expect me to stop anytime soon either.
  
• I obsessively compulsively pick the little fuzz balls off of my sweaters until I have created large, fluffy piles. We call them pee-wees at my house. Could not say why.
  
• The women in my family can all do this very creepy little girl's voice. Sometimes we communicate that way. It freaks Mike out. He think she (yes, she has a name: Emmaline) sounds like Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter.
• Things have to be locked. The house. My car. I feel unsafe otherwise. This is antithetical to the Bunnell approach which is to tacitly invite predators to take their best shot. Maybe collect some insurance on that car.
  
• I like bitter things. Dark dark chocolate. Bitter herbal teas. Biting yogurt. Mike calls all of this stuff, "witchy poo." Especially my teas (which are very tasty, by the way).
  
• I hate the sound of alarms going off. When we first moved to Utah, I was so stressed about getting up that I could not sleep if I set my own alarm. I'm slowly getting over it.
• I secretly love celeb goss. Not enough to buy it. But enough to take long hard looks at the trashy headlines at the grocery store.
  

I tag anyone interested.

Mike's Blogging Debut: The Election

I have yet to blog, but I feel the election is important enough that I should throw it a bone, and, as a preamble, let me just say I am an independent, I think there is a lot of good on both sides of the aisle.

When working in D.C., I did a lot of editing for my boss who worked part-time as a political science professor for American University. I helped him with a book that he was writing that evaluated the US presidents from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush. Through the course of his research, he developed criteria for making political decisions that I found rather impressive, so much so that I have adopted his criteria for my own. It is as follows...

When choosing a president, evaluate each of these factors. Character, Policy, Politics, and Vision. While these inevitably overlap with one another, for me it help to look at them separately.

1. Character- Is the person honest and forthright.

Fo For me, I would be more comfortable with Jimmy Carter as president (who I feel was a good guy, but save camp David, did not leave a particularly notable legacy) compared to Richard Nixon or Bill Clinton, who have both proven less than honest.

I feel Obama is the stronger candidate in this regard. I think that to some degree you have to follow your gut in making this evaluation. I also take careful stock of each of the candidates' spouses. I feel much more comfortable with Michelle than Cindy. In addition, I think who each chose for his running mate is revealing. Truthfully I think both candidates are good, honest men; however, I lean towards Obama because of the way he has conducted himself in debates and been forthright about the issues.

Policy- What are the policies the candidate will push, especially foreign policy issues? How do they align with the policies I want to see realized?

This was the hardest decision for me; there are so many issues and some are much more salient than others. I strongly side with McCain on same-sex marriage, and abortion (with the circumstantial exceptions of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother). Likewise I agree with conservative judicial theory and would want to support a president that nominates conservative judges. I agree with both on issues of torture. On foreign policy issues, I tend to favor Obama. I feel he was one of the few politicians with the foresight to realize invading Iraq was premature at best. And now, I feel the time has come to withdraw troops, and I am pacified knowing General Powell feels the same way. I also side with Obama on some economic issues. I feel we have an obligation to take care of our poor. Sure there are those who take advantage of the system and the system is far from perfect, but I still maintain that it is a society's responsible to take care of the poor. Likewise on education, I think anyone who wants to should have the opportunity to go to college. I took out Pell Grants and I felt incredibly thankful for the opportunity and hope it such opportunities can be extended to more people. Needless to say, I feel torn as I evaluate the candidate on issues of policy. Because we have to be decisive on these issues, in the end I lean toward McCain’s policies.

3. Politics- How do they get the job done? Can they work with both sides?

Senator Hatch (the reddest of Republicans), told us during a group seminar that the best politician in the United States is without question Bill Clinton. He explained that Clinton worked with both sides the same way Ronald Regan did, and that in many ways his administration was much easier to work with than the current Bush administration.

I tend to favor Obama on this subject. I think he has the potential to be a great diplomat in a way that John McCain doesn’t. His tact and capacity for critical reasoning could serve us well, especially in the Middle East and Korea. I think he is a better communicator and in negotiation that is paramount.

4. Vision- where does he/she see the country going? What is the ideal America?

I admit I don’t know enough about either candidate to say definitively that they have x view of what America should be (Yes, I will be doing more research before I go to the polls). But I do know that both seek to create a unified America, which is a vision worth supporting.

Regardless of what happens, I will support the man in office. Nothing can damage an administration like the lack of support we have seen for the current one. When he steps into the office, he is my president and I feel he needs our support and prayers more than ever.

Now all you jive turkies get out there and vote!

Stupid, Raunchy Romans....

Last night, I decided to show a Time/Life documentary on the Roman Empire to my Humanities 201 class. On Tuesday, I picked it up from our department library, read the sleeve jacket (nodding my head approvingly), and watched a segment on Pompeii to make sure it was interesting and historically relevant. Come class time, I popped that sucker in for my 35 bright-eyed students, and waited for educational enlightenment to distill upon us all like dew from heaven. Only 10 minutes or so into the presentation, a frazzled, fluffy-haired English scholar appeared to discuss the bloody gladiatorial contests that occurred in the Colosseum. After a series of astonishing and violent facts, he then explicated how the gladiators were considered the most virile of men and were often given nick-names describing their "manly" abilities, i.e "Netter of Young Ladies," and "Bedroom Conqueror," etc. He continued, "In fact, the word gladius, which forms the root of the word gladiator, means sword or penis. Thus, the successful gladiator wielded himself, effectively, as an erect penis." I blush even writing it. Imagine me in the back, slinking down lower and lower in my seat as I watched this, as an authority figure, with 35 BYU students. Now, I'm just as apt as the next to discuss phallic symbols or the parallels of sex and violence in popular culture, but the man said #&%*@ *%$@^, for the love! "A fluke," I thought to myself, "it couldn't possibly get worse than phallic gladiators"......and then came Pompeii.

Now, if you'll remember, Pompeii was violently destroyed and paradoxically preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E. Consequently, we have a remarkable archaeological record of Roman daily life, preserved for centuries beneath 20 feet of ash. Of all the varied and interesting daily life occurrences the Time/Life people could have chosen to explore, they chose the brothels. Brothels!!! Luckily (to the scarring of my students and, frankly, me), the wrath of Vesuvius preserved frescoes vividly depicting the "specialty" of each whore, as depicted enticingly above each "stall." Not one image, but several passed on the screen, all in an instant, not even enough time for me to run from the back screaming for them to avert their innocent eyes. "Are they actually showing?......?.....Oh, my ......Yep...I ....Oh....What are they doing?......Oh......OH!.......gross, really really gross." I have nothing else to say other than that I traumatized my sweet children for life by exposing them to Roman fresco porn. Stupid, raunchy Romans. What a fine educator I've turned out to be....

pressing my ear

Last night, Mike and I finished watching the Planet Earth series produced by the BBC. Brilliant. Each episode astonished us with its gorgeous cinematography and the most interesting and varied animals and environments. The final disc includes documentaries on conservancy and the complex issues associated with this movement. One of the main problems highlighted was the issue of conquering both world hunger and the needless and irresponsible depletion of world resources. More to point, how can we expend monies saving the whales when members of our own species die of hunger and disease? How do we save both simultaneously, as we must? And how do we as individuals make a difference, faithfully fulfill the stewardship we've been given? After watching it, I was tempted to run into the darkness and lie face down in the dewy grass, pressing my ear through the green blades to listen for the earth's great heartbeat through the depths of stone and pressed rock. Just to make sure. Or wrap my arms around a thick, arching tree trunk and listen to it breathe its silent sighs.

The Lake

As you will see in these pictures, Alana slept for a good portion of the day. We all took turns being cuddled.

Emily not looking natural, but looking above the water, at least.

In contrast to Mike, jumping...

and flipping

Oh My...

Mike has been walking around our house moaning, "butt cheeks, oh, my butt cheeks," for the past two days. Luckily, he managed to keep this lament to himself during Primary. Who knows what kind of chaos may have ensued in our 12-year old class. After hours of slicing through and lurching over the water of Deer Creek on a wake board Saturday, the man's bottom is taking its revenge. I stared at him from the back of the boat, simultaneously terrified and amazed at the ease with which he flipped, jumped, and spun through air and water. He's like a fish. A flying fish. This is in stark contrast to me, whose goal it was to get up. Just get up. Out of the water. On the board. All without face-planting or incurring serious injury. I did. Miraculously. On my first try and several times there after. Did I stay up? No. Nope. But I arose out of the water like a less-graceful nymph, straining to stay balanced while careening through the whip and splash of the wake like Hellespont. I would have respected myself more if I had screamed less. Pictures forthcoming.

The New Mrs. Ruddick

The Deja got married! It was so lovely to meet up with old friends and revel in Deja's happy event.

The Power of Rock

A few weeks ago, we were lucky enough to have Elise and Brad and their adorable children staying with us. At first, it was only going to be for a few days, much to my chagrin; however, Brad ended up having an emergency appendectomy, which extended their stay by about a week. I was not pleased that Brad had to go through the grueling surgery (and grueling it was....it took double the time they said it would and the surgeon said he'd never seen worse), but I was glad to keep them a little bit longer. During their visit, Mike and Claire became fast friends.

At first she was hesitant...

but she inched closer...

and began to strum a little bit...

until she was rocking out...

and totally exhausted.

Eggplant Parmesan and Pizza Dough

For Elise.

Eggplant Parmesan

1 firm eggplant, thinly sliced long-wise
12 Roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
1/3 cup sliced, fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 T Olive Oil, divided
1 t salt
8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 t Italian spices

1. Combine 6 T olive oil (may require more) with 1 t. of Italian spice blend. Baste the sliced eggplant on both sides with the mixture. Grill eggplant until tender.
2. In a medium-sized pan, heat 2 T olive oil and 2 minced garlic cloves at medium heat until garlic is fragrant. Add 12 diced and deseeded tomatoes (should be about 6-7 cups) and 1 t salt. Simmer until the tomatoes are soft (about 15 minutes). Add basil and remove from heat.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
4. In a baking dish, place a thin layer of marinara on bottom. Then fold the eggplant vertically in a zig zag pattern, placing a slice of fresh mozzarella, a pinch of Parmesan, and a spoonful of tomato mixture in each fold. Stack the eggplant accordions in rows.
5. Once the baking dish is full, place remaining marinara, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese on top.
6. Bake for about 3o minutes or until juices are bubbling.

Recipe courtesy of Kendall, who, I believe, learned it in Paris from some gourmet chefs. Of course.

Pizza Dough

1 1/4 t. yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1 1/2 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 t. salt

(figure one batch per person)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add flour and salt mixture and mix until it forms a ball. Knead the dough on lightly floured surface for 10 minutes, or until it is elastic. Cover dough with kitchen towel and let rise for 2 hours. Punch down dough and work out bubbles. Let rise for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone in place one hour before cooking. Divide dough and make into desired pizza size, add marinara (recipe above works or use bottled) and toppings. Cook in oven on pizza stone for 5-7 minutes.

No More Knee-Highs!

Yesterday was my last day of work up at the Church office building. Yes, my friends, there will be no more knee-highs and ankle-length black polyester skirts worn to work (a highly attractive get up that caused a man walking by me and Sara on the street one day to exclaim, "Mmmmmmmmmmm mmm mmmmm MMMM... I lovvvvveee Mormon women!"). I will miss my co-workers, and my ten minute walks around Temple Square checking out all of the brides and their grooms (who, for some unknown reason sometimes choose to wear very special attire: a white tux with tails, white cowboy boots, and a metallic, shiny, blue bowtie....really?), and I will miss being able to sleep on my way to work. I start a new job today. Wish me luck....

That's Disappointing....

I fell asleep on the bus to work this morning. When I woke up, I thought I was on my way home from work. Too bad I couldn't have slept through the whole day and been returned home in one seamless motion.

The Graduate....Three Months Ago....

So, Mike graduated! Three months ago! (I dropped and busted our camera at graduation, so it took some doing to get the photos off of it....). He finished his course work back last fall, but didn't feel a particular need to participate in the pomp and circumstance. Once we realized that it's an important rite of passage, that we could lure family down for the event, AND take some days off of work, we were sold. Many thanks to all the family that came!

Aunt Becky and Grandpa Carruth

Grandma and Grandpa Taylor

The Bunnell clan

Katie and Mike

The conquering hero

The whole pahty

Jayson, Victoria, Mike, Nate, Alana
Mike and Karen

Three Hours

Last night I left Mike alone for three hours while I went to Deja's bridal shower. When I came home I found:

1. Mike watching his surf video. Couldn't say how many times he'd watched it. Whimpering after waves.

2. A pan of piping hot brownies. Surprisingly untouched. Waiting for me to indulge.

3. The bat signal shaved into his chest. His chest hair (no coincidence in his opinion) naturally grows in a bat signal pattern. He brought the bat to life. He showed me while humming the batman theme, arching his eyebrow with significance.

4. A bowl of hot, savory spaghetti waiting to fill my belly.

5. The laundry and the dishes done, the house spotless.

The one that surprised me the least was the bat signal.

Slithering...

Mike and I have started taking long strolls in the evenings before we hunker down into our feathery cocoon for sleep. The sun has generally set and its last rays gleam just barely over the western mountains, leaving us in the cool, purple haze of dusk. The other night as we were coming around the home stretch, I stopped dead in my tracks. In our path lay a large snake, still as sin, watching us. Mike, oblivious to my sudden stop, continued walking into the fiend's deadly lair. With a flick of his slick tongue, the snake revealed his lurking, causing Mike to yelp, run 20 feet into the road and hunker down into a kung-fu chopping stance. I remained still, then ran like a banshee around the slithering beastie. Mike later asked me why I didn't care to mention the fact that a serpent, nay, Satan himself, lay in our path. I have no idea. Perhaps I was hovering in the breath of metamorphosis: prey or huntress. I told Mike that I was talking to the snake in parseltongue about vacating the premises or suffering the cruel crush of his mighty blows. We felt skittish the rest of the walk home. Every branch, crack in the sidewalk, or stir in the bushes nearly revealed a legion of slithering villains surreptitiously plotting our deaths (we've watched too many utube videos of animals the size of Back Street Boys being swallowed whole). As my protector, Mike gallantly walked on the side of the wilderness, sending his beady glare and his Crocodile Dundee animal charm into the darkness to inspire proper fear in their chill, death-like hearts. The beasts stayed at bay, whispering along the edges, and we returned safe and unscathed to our apartment.

It really was bright

Michael took these at Clarie's reception. I like that you can see him bent down low and aiming in the reflection of my J Lo glasses. Most of the time, it's better that we don't know what we look like in sunglasses...unless you're Mike and get mistaken for a celeb all the time...

Love, true love....

Two weekends ago my cousin, one Claire Stanfill, married the handsome and dashing Joel Wagstaff. Such a lovely couple! The whole fam flew in for the event and my immediate family (+Amanda and Clark's girlfriend, Kelsie) had a weekend slumber party at our house (read: two bedroom apartment with a couple of couches), minus M&V&Jedmaster who stayed with V's fam (we had plenty of room! And our carpet is so fuzzy and sofft...still they remained unmoved). Here are a few pics with more forthcoming....

Happy Anniversary!

Mike and I celebrated our first anniversary this last weekend. We made it. One whole year. It's like we're experts now. Seasoned masters. Yo-Yo Mas of matrimony. Or maybe not. It's odd how you feel like you've been together forever, but a year really isn't that long. And people are still calling you "newly weds," when you feel like you're finally part of the club. Nope. Denied. Maybe when we start having progeny....

This last year has been wonderful. Mike really is an amazing husband and I love him more than when we started. Over the weekend, he stealthily sent me flowers at work (the most gorgeous lilies I have ever seen), we went to an amazing dinner at the Chef's Table (I used the wrong dang spoon for the sorbet....uncouth woman), got massages (I have to say, I was dreading getting a man masseuse, which I did...he had a mustache), ate some more, went on walks, went to see Iron Man with Pete and Meagan (they're more newlywed then us...so it's all good), and then crashed on Sunday (Mike was zonked out on muscle relaxer for his back and I had a wicked headache...so romantic).

To conclude: I'm glad I waited around long enough to find Mike. He's my favorite.

Carlsbad Crew

Just thought I would post a picture from Bruce and Sabrina's wedding in San Diego about a month ago. The guys in the picture (left to right Johnny B, Bruce, my hubby and Jimmy) are Mike's closest friends from highschool (and now). I'm the only one not from California (loser!). The wedding was beautiful and we had a lovely time staying with Mike's family. Hopefully more pictures are forthcoming....(as I totally ganked this from Holly's blog)...

That waterfall sure sounds perty...

Jimmy and Holly invited us up to SLC to go on a wee hike Saturday afternoon. Revved up for an exciting outdoor adventure, we packed delish deli sandwiches, meltingly moist cookies, and some bottled beveregation and headed out for the trail. The internet trail description said it was "moderate," which we translated to "easy if you're not wusses." Turns out that--two aching backs and 1 set of bad knees combined with killer switch-backs and vertical ascents (90 degrees! or something) with the added delight of kamikaze caterpillars dive-bombing from the trees en mass--left us to conclude, "Welp, that waterfall sure sounds like a winner....time to go settle Catan*." For the parts of the trail we did do, the weather was beautiful (sunny with a tantalizing breeze) and the scenery divine. After some additional physical therapy we'll be back to conquer the mountain and actually get a visual of the falls....

*Don't judge us.

Couches

We have couches. New ones. Brown, shiny ones. No more stained futon with a rash of broken slats that made people feel like their prodigious, unwieldy weight had caused a drastic sinking in the flesh of the futon. I keep walking by them feeling how adult an apartment with couches must be...I keep walking by them to check if they are still there, peeping around the corner to make sure they are not plotting escape in our absence. We can't stop sitting on them, for seconds only, then standing, then sitting, each time declaring "not bad...not bad..."

Easing the hours...upon hours...upon hours

Given that I sit in front of a computer for 8 hours every day without stirring (people don't even know if I'm alive or dead back here), I've had to find something other than my work to keep me conscious.

May I recommend:

www.thislife.org (Streaming of This American Life programs with Ira Glass. I've listened to every episode. All 10+ years worth...)

www.radiodiaries.com (This was a great find. The stories produced by this program are both international and national and are quite raw and honest and I'm in love with them.)

www.gutenberg.org (These are books that are now part of the public domain that have been recorded by volunteers. You can listen to them all day long for free. So far I've listend to Lady Susan (an Austen before unknown to me), J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, which had me weeping for having grown up, and now I'm listening to Tristan and Iseult, of which I've heard better versions/translations, but I like the reader.)

Stuffed Peppers

Mike and I made these for dinner last night (using green peppers rather than red) and they were delicious. We also had sautéed green beans tossed with minced garlic, olive oil and lemon zest and they were a nice, tart compliment to the savory sausage in the pepper stuffing. I have been obsessed with finding recipes on epicurious.com and have enjoyed everything I've made from the site.

Stuffed Peppers Servings: Serves 8.
Bon Appétit May 1999
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (about 1 large)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
4 medium-size red bell peppers (each about 4 to 6 ounces), halved lengthwise, seeded Fresh rosemary sprigs
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix first 9 ingredients in large bowl until well blended. Fill pepper halves with sausage mixture, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Arrange in 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.) Bake peppers uncovered until tops are browned and thermometer inserted into filling registers 165°F., about 1 hour. Transfer peppers to platter. Garnish with rosemary sprigs and serve.

Storm

Last night I thought the storm would burst in through our bedroom window. In my semi-conscious state I heard its howlings push through the long sloping glass crack, leaving us starring into the gnashing maw of God's fury. In my dreams I saw a sky full of revolting stars throwing themselves streaming through a black sky--trails of soft screams--and a lightening glow growing in the east. The earth's tortured death throes. I tossed and turned all night hoping to wake M, to feel his wrapping arms promise safety. But he didn't stir. This morning he said he didn't even hear the storm.

The Boy with the Squeaky Shoes

Vanessa and Jed visited a few weeks ago, and Mike and I were shocked to find that Jed had become a little man since we'd last seen him. He's walking now, squeaking with every step (He has these rad red shoes that squeak--Grandpa Taylor wanted to know how he got little mice in there), and his face is more mature. He talks a little (I trained him diligently to say Auntie Em, no luck yet) and he clearly understands much of what is going on. We miss Michael, Vanessa and Jed! We want them back!

Uncle Mike and Jed--a sweet pat on the cheeks

Grandma Taylor, Jed and Nessa


Mike took this one and it is my fav.

General Conference 2008

We had a picnic after the Sunday afternoon session and it was lovely. Of course, Clark brought enough apples and oranges to feed a nation, but at least we avoided all forms of scurvy.

Just a few more...

These are from the same trip to St. George mentioned below. I am completely in love with Elise's little munchkins. If you could see Claire, you would see she is the perfect cabbage patch doll. And Grace, who, bless her soul, came running into my arms when we arrived...I couldn't resist putting this one in. She had been playing in this little community water park and after she got out we wrapped her into a Grace burrito. She argued that she wasn't for eating, but a few nibbles to the fingers proved otherwise...