Castle

School has begun again for me but Ezra is still enjoying some time off. Our neighbors went out of town recently and won’t be back till the end of the month. That’s totally fine, except when the internet died. We share, and they have the router so if something happens, they typically take care of it. Thankfully they were cool with our landlord letting us in to reset the router, and it’s all good now! Once the internet was back up I looked at my school stuff and freaked out thinking I had a paper due in two days. I absolutely panicked, thinking, how can I have a paper due on the fourth day of class?! Why is no one else flipping out about this? Then I realized the date was September 24th, not August 24th. Immensely relieved, my heart rate went back to normal and everything was cool the rest of the evening.

This past week Ezra and I have discovered a new TV show… Castle! Neither of us are really TV people. We don’t have any type of TV subscription, and we can’t even get over the air channels because our TV is too old. We DO however have an amazing blu-ray player that connects wirelessly to the internet, so when we “watch TV” it’s all through the internet on either our computer or the blu-ray player. Thus far we’ve made it through season 2, episode 8 of Castle, and we’ll probably watch some more tonight.

I recently was given the mystery collection at the Library to manage, so I’ve been trying to dig into that genre as much as I can. I’m in the midst of reading a couple mystery books, and watching Castle is a blast because it fits so well. I’ve read Frozen Heat and really enjoyed it, but didn’t realize that it was related to a TV show.

If you’re unaware, in the show, the main character is Richard Castle who is supposed to be a famous mystery writer. He follows around a New York detective for inspiration for a new series he’s writing. As a promotional tool, they’ve actually had “Richard Castle’s” books written. The real author is a complete secret, and everything is attributed to Richard Castle, who is just a fictional character. It’s really clever, and I love it!

That’s the main excitement for this week. Until next time!

Lovin' the Garden!

Look who was slow on getting the blog post up this week!

Last week was a nice and slow. On Memorial Day we went to the Rec Center and worked out for a while, went grocery shopping, and then came home.

We saw this when leaving the rec center. Made me happy.

Ezra worked on cleaning and selling some of his old toys on eBay, and I read. Later in the evening I ended up making a soufflé which turned out… okay. Clearly I need some practice. It tasted great! But it collapsed spectacularly. I’ll try again in the future. Really, I just wanted to call myself “soufflé girl.” (If you get that reference, you win.)

My Hot Chocolate Soufflés!

The rest of the week was pretty low key and nothing very exciting happened. We registered for the Freedom Run 5k on July 4th. As city employees, we got a pretty amazing discount that I couldn’t pass up. This will be my first race since my marathon a year ago and my second race ever. I’m excited and am easing back in to running pretty quickly.

My garden looks amazing! The peas are shooting up and blooming, my spinach is ready to eat, I just got a cherry tomato plant in the ground this week as well as 5 squash plants (my mom is probably amazed because she knows how much I love squash). Really, I just wanted a spaghetti squash plant but when I went to get one they were out, except for a variety pack. They ended up selling me the variety pack for the price the single spaghetti squash would have been. So now I have not only spaghetti squash, but also two pink banana squash, honey bear squash, and summer squash. I think I’m going to have to learn to cook squash in a way I like.

Pink Banana Squash! One on each end of the bench.

Honey Bear Squash

Summer Squash

Spaghetti Squash!

Some of my peas.

My lovely little cherry tomato plant.

Spinach!

That’s it for this week!

Food experiments and such

I made a random pizza crust out of chicken, flax and an egg, plus some spices for dinner last week and her is the recipe from http://yourlighterside.com/2012/02/easy-pizza-crust/

1 packed cup cooked, minced chicken breast

1 cup packed mozzarella, shredded (we used 1 egg and 1/4 cup flax seed meal instead)

1 Tbsp parsley, dried (I think it was too much, a tsp or 2 would probably be fine, depends on thickness of crust)

1tsp basil

1/2 tsp onion powder (we didn't have any, still turned out good)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

(Replace cheese with the flax and egg)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Process chicken and cheese together. Mixture will resemble a meal/thick, dense crumb consistency.
3. Press chicken/cheese mixture on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
4. Top with parsley, basil, onion and garlic powder.
5. Bake for 12 minutes.
6. Let cool for five minutes.
7. Top with sauce, cheese, and then toppings.
8. Bake for 6-8 minutes more, or until toppings are melted.
9. Let cool for five minutes.
10. Slice and serve.

Makes an entire 12-14″ pizza.

Allison then made a crust straight from chicken, she used a mallet to flatten it then cook it up.... She took out all her anger from me leaving the office messy while finding things to sell on eBay

Allison and I went to the Rec Center again, I kinda just rock climbed the whole time... and I got a flapper.  It's healed since, but secretly... I really like the look of my hands taped up after climbing, shhh don't tell

This past week I was also asked to do some drawings at the library for a display about the author Brandon Sanderson.  I'm a big fan and really like his writing style.  I don't read much fantasy or sci-fi (I don't READ that much when it come to novels, actually) but I do love sci-fi and fantasy.  I'm more of a visual guy and like my comics and graphic novels... and cartoons.... love me a good animation.

So, these pictures aren't the best to show off my drawings, but I like how the display turned out and even threw in a few original ideas based off the "chalklings" in his book illustrated by Ben McSweeny

I would love to have a shot at adapting one of his books into a comic...

Preferably The Alloy of Law, I love that one

He is coming to the Provo Library June 3rd at 7pm, free tickets may or may not still be available at the Library reference desk, and there is a standby line the night of, just sayin.

While out for a Sunday stroll, we came across this house with a vehicle with an attached snow-plow (not that unusual in Utah).... I started to point it out to Allison, and mid-sentence I stopped myself and changed topic to Ronald McDonald waving from behind the plow.... It was odd, but one of those things that make you happy that you saw it.

Not that much new has happened in the past week, but we have been busy.  Allison is racing through books like no other before she starts classes up again in a few weeks and I am mid-way through my Digital Illustration class.  We will be having a small art show in the HFAC on BYU campus sometime this summer... I think it will be my third that I have been in on campus. I'll keep you posted as it gets closer.

Digital Woes or: How I learned to stop worrying and embrace first world problems

This is a semi conclusion to last weeks post from Allison.

This has been one of those weeks that as it is happening you feel frustrated, confused and all-together lost.... AS IT IS HAPPENING.... after the fact, it becomes ridiculous and silly and almost un-eventful.

Allison and I both had cell phone issues recently.  She mentioned her's last week and her new one came in sooner than expected, which rightfully distracted her from her papers for awhile. But she ultimately finished her papers and felt good about how they turned out.  She loves her freedom for the next couple of weeks but wasn't exactly knowing what to do with all her extra free time that suddenly appeared.  Luckily, being a librarian, she found books to read. Her phone on the other hand caused her to buy her first ever app so that she could easily transfer over data and such from her old phone.  Not having the soft keys respond to touch was causing her much misery. Everything in the end worked out fine, and she is happier now with her new phone.

We had a few good days with no real troubles, but then my phone had some issues on Sunday, the screen went pixelated and couldn't work properly.  Now, I enter into the land of the troubled phone.  I had to get a replacement phone and lost all my texts and a few other things, but it is kinda nice and refreshing to have a clean phone that runs smoother and has a battery that lasts longer. It is funny how much we rely on modern technology.  There are so many things that 5 years ago we didn't have to worry about and now for a fair number of us, say 55%, have a smartphone and somewhere around 87% of us have a cell phone in general.  These numbers keep growing and so does our dependence on technology.

Don't get me wrong, I love where we are heading in terms of technology and the future looks bright. If I was better at math I would have stayed an engineer instead of focusing on art, I still dabble in technology and making things though.  I just can't wait until we get hover boards and holograms. Simpler days weren't that long ago. Back when I had to worry about weather or not my mom made corn for dinner or if I was going to be able to earn enough money painting fences to buy a new video game and a new bunch of comic books. Ah, the good old days when I used to record tv shows with my vhs player... now we have the internet and channels broadcast their shows and save them online, and I have a job where I get regular money every two weeks, and a phone that is faster and more reliable than my computer was when I was in high school.

Last Saturday our car randomly shut off at a stop light on the way home.  It has never done that before, We had to push it into a parking lot and then called Allison's dad.  While talking to him we tried turning it back on and it did start up.  It hasn't done it again and we are hoping that it won't again.

Dark Days

As I put off homework, I thought it would be a good use of my time to write this week’s blog post.

There really isn’t a lot to say about this past week. The library had an author event (Pitch Black: Dark Days Tour) on Wednesday that I helped with. I was Kiersten White’s signing assistant and got to know her a little. We both graduated from BYU with a BA in English, so that gave us something in common to talk about.

The authors answering questions during the Dark Days Tour in the Provo Library ballroom.

Library staff at the event with our awesome Dark Days t-shirts.  I'm second from the left, not counting the guy walking in the door.

I also signed us up to attend the last taping of Studio C, which is this coming Wednesday. I’m excited to say that we’ve made it to exactly one half of all the season 2 tapings. We’ve gone to every single 9:30pm show. So, if you watch Studio C, odds are that every other sketch you see will have Ezra and me laughing in the background.

The last bit of interesting fluff from this week is that we had a staff book club meeting on Saturday. We read The Round House by Louise Erdrich. As of Friday morning we only had 47% of the book read according to my Kindle. By 10pm we had finished. I read the whole book out loud to Ezra, which was a little odd at times. There was a lot of editing on my part. It was fun though. The next book we’re reading is Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. I’m pretty excited about it and can hardly wait to get started.

Until next week!

Late Post

Superbowl Sunday is over and ... Yeah didn't watch it. But this post is late, which is my usual habit for the weeks that I post.  There are so many things that I can keep up on  and yet there are tons that I always forget about or don't put up there as a priority.  Sorry to you our loyal followers, you are a mighty 9 people.

Classes are up and rolling without a hitch for both Allison and I.  She of course is doing great, and I am putting both my feet into the mix and getting As on my quizzes and tests so far.  Here's to a great semester.

I've had this open on my computer since Sunday and it is now Friday night, Allison will tell you on Sunday about our date today I'm sure.  A lot has been keeping us busy.  We watched all 10 episodes of Taken, the Sci-Fi original series from the early 2000s before they changed their name to Sy-Fy....  anyway, it was good and kept you interested.  Before that we were watching Boy Meets World, and finished all 7 seasons in a few months.  Now Allison will start reading the Provo Library Staff Book Club book to me as I draw.  I'm not much of a reader and I tend to like listening to novels more than reading them.  So this little arrangement we've got set up works well for me, hopefully her voice holds out so that she can get through The Round House by Louise Erdrich.  Which, bytheway, every time I hear the title I think of the martial arts move called a roundhouse kick. But that's probably just me.  We'll let you know how it is.

Peace, and enjoy the Lightning snow.

The Great Purge

This week seemed to go by in a blur.  Not much excitement happened around here that we can remember.  We are on the 6th season of Boy Meets World now waiting for the new series to start.

I started to make the purge of my childhood. It has been a long time coming and I am now at a point in my life where I can arise from the dust (of my childhood), and be men (man, I'm only one after all .  My mom moved over Christmas time and it gave me a chance to go home and get the remainder of my stuff, now I am slowly working at selling it on eBay and through other sources.  It is nice to have it all under one roof for the time being, but a bit in the way....  Ok, lets face it, a huge burden to our living space.  As I sort through it, it tends to get strewn across the floor and tables, and couch... But on the plus side we were able to get the lovesac situated in a manner most befitting for the face of Boe.

I was able to finally take my bike out this past week too.  It was cold and I couldn't feel my toes for most of Friday, but it was worth it to feel the freedom of personal transportation again.

Allison sat at a desk really really board for upwards of 6 hours on Saturday helping with the Family Literacy Symposium at the Provo Library.  Shannon Hale was the guest speaker.

Allison pointed out last week that I'm not one to curl up with a book, that is mostly true, I don't do it very often, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it.  I just feel that when I'm in a long book that takes many hours to read, I could be using my time differently, like drawing or building something.  But I do get lost in art books frequently.

Allison starts up her real classes later this week and I am still working on mine. I will be stating to post more of my art on my art blog soon so go check that out too... http://ezrads.blogspot.com/

Hooray for Black Friday!

We had a really fun Thanksgiving with Ezra’s sister, Casey, and her family in Salt Lake City. We had dinner with them on Thanksgiving and stayed the night so we could go Black Friday shopping in Salt Lake. We hit up Target (Vacuume! Kindle!), RC Willey (Blu-ray player!), Best Buy (DVDs!), Kohl’s (Clothes!) and Old Navy (More clothes!).

I ran another 10 miler last Monday, and tomorrow I have to do 13 miles. I might die.

I’ve been having fun playing with my new kindle as I learn about and use eBooks. I used to be firmly against eBooks but after learning about them at the library I’ve really wanted to use them more, and now I am. I feel like I’m doing research for work, as well as reading for pleasure. I still love my physical books, but really, eBooks are awesome.

We’ve begun pulling out Christmas decorations. I pulled my tree out and decorated it with my many ornaments. The poor tree is loaded, but I feel like the tree represents my life… and now our life. At the very top of the tree is the “Our first Christmas” ornament my mom bought us. Our stockings are hung over the fireplace, and other random decorations are out. We also had a bit of snow today… ‘tis the season!

Friday evening the library had an Author Link event with Christopher Paolini. He gave a 45ish minute presentation about himself and writing, then signed books. I was able to get his newest book personalized and signed, as well as Eragon signed. I've never met such a major author so that was kind of cool.

Ezra officially has his application for the illustration program in and now we play the waiting game. He pulled an all nighter to get his portfolio done and ready, yet he seemed conscious when I saw him the next morning and throughout the day, which I thought was weird. He completely crashed the following night though and he's pretty much caught up on sleep now.We should hear back about the program before the end of the year. We've got our fingers crossed.

Saturday evening after work Ezra and I went to a BYU ballet performance. It was a really fun date (especially since we haven’t been on one for a while), and we got Costa Vida afterwards. Overall, a successful evening I think.

I drafted our first family Christmas letter today. I’m going to let it sit for a bit so I can make any other modifications with fresh eyes. It was kind of fun, thinking back over the past year and all the things that have happened. It’s strange to think that so many major events happened in the space of just one year. I can’t wait to get Christmas cards out and start that tradition. It’s one that daunts my mom every year, and I’m ready to go through the same stress, making sure the major events have been included so that people know what we’re up to.

I can’t wait to get started on and see what I’ll accomplish this coming week. It’s going to be a good one!

Afterthought: If you use facebook at all, Ezra and I have a really good friend who is in a contest. If she wins, she will get her children's book story idea published. Please support her and her story. It's a really fun read. Follow this link, and all you have to do to vote is "like" her story. Please vote and help her out, this is an amazing opportunity.

Welcome!

The most astonishing words came out of Ezra’s mouth the other day.

 “I want to start a blog,” he said.

“About what?” I asked.

“Us,” he said.

Confession: I love stalking my married friends and reading their blogs. For a while I’ve toyed with the idea of making our own, but I didn’t want to be at it alone. Now that I’ve got the Mr. on board (and he thinks it’s his idea!), I think we’re ready to start.

The Mr. (Ezra): From Washington. Studying art at BYU. Served a two year, full time LDS mission in Indonesia. Works 40 hours a week between the PCL (Provo City Library) and the HBLL (Harold B Lee Library). Enjoys drawing, rock climbing, and building things.

The Mrs. (Allison): From Oregon. Graduated from BYU with a BA in English. Studied abroad in England for a summer term. Works +30 hours a week at the PCL. Enjoys reading, writing, and doing wifey things (though I’ve discovered I’m a terrible housekeeper… working on that).

As a couple:

*Nerf gun wars and sword fights. I hope our neighbors don’t hate us.

*We love Doctor Who, so much in fact that the TARDIS was the top of our cake at our Washington reception.

The TARDIS, bike tire, book

wedding cake, designed by Darby Harris!

*We’re okay with sitting, staring at each other and making faces.

*We love our little home here but it has a lot of quirks, such as the refrigerator that we’re defrosting again (3^rd time) tonight, the bathroom that has no ventilation, the front door that sticks, and the humidity that likes to migrate to the bedroom and warp the books in there.

*We talk to and play with our stuffed animals as though they were our children.

*The Mr. is a furnace and the Mrs. is a block of ice. Together we’re a normal temperature.

*We love rain and miss the wet and green northwest.

Stay tuned!