New Computer

Steph and I are awesome. Mostly because we haven't updated our blog in a while. I won't lie - it's mostly because our lives are boring. Both my sisters have awesome stories to tell from their lives (mostly because their kids are hilarious), and my in-laws also always seem to have something note-worthy. Steph and I, on the other hand, don't have a whole ton going on. There are funny stories at work all the time, but for me to tell most of them to the general public, I'd need a written authorization to release information signed by the patient. School is long and dull. I'm sure you all want to hear about that too.

Steph and I did have to buy a new computer last week. It was one of the most pleasant experiences of my life. First our lap-top stopped recognizing that it was recieving power. Then, to continue the coolness, the motherboard died. We got a new computer so we could continue our four online classes. But the computer we bought doesn't have a wirelass card. So we bought a wireless adapter. It wouldn't work with Windows 7 unless it had an update. I almost yelled at the tech woman in India that I spoke to about it. "I CAN'T INSTALL ANY OF THOSE UPDATES UNLESS I CAN CONNECT TO THE INTERNET!!!" I was very pleased with myself when I didn't raise my voice. We currently have a 25 foot ethernet cord running along the edge of our room. It's lovely. I think everyone should decorate like this.

Apology

One more thing. We haven't been on our blog in a while, and therefore hadn't heard the weirdness on the music section! GA! Remember that terrible word I mentioned earlier tonight... or I guess it's last night now... Well it was there. Steph and I are TERRIBLY sorry if you heard that. We'll work on getting Muse on there instead of crap like that.

MUSE

Well. It's been a long time since Steph and I had a blog post. To be honest, it's been bothering me. But at the same time, we've been VERY busy. Between school, work, and everything in between, we just haven't had time to update or blog. (And you'd think there wouldn't be that much in between because we live so close to work... but you'd be wrong.) There have been a few things that seemed like it would be appropriate to write in a blog. But today came the one thing that I am willing to stay up a little late for to tell the world about.

Stephanie and I just barely got home. We left work at 5:00 PM and ran some quick errands before setting off for West Valley. If you know me, then chances are, you know I hate driving in Salt Lake City. But this time it was almost all freeway travel. There are only a few things that will get me to drive in Salt Lake - and this was most certainly one of them. We pulled into the E Center - which it seemed like everyone else on the road was doing the same. I made sure I had my tickets ready. On the way, a road sign said there was a winter storm from 4:00 to 9:00 Tuesday. Steph and I would later realize that the sign was talking about tonight. It was only raining when we got out of the car. We hurried up the steps, past a long time of people, and inside. We found our seats (with a little difficulty) and waited. The lights went dark. My heart raced. I'd been waiting for four months for this moment. People cheered. And Silversun Pickups took the stage.

They were terrible. Stephanie described the lead-singer best when she said he sounds like the "flat-top" girl at the end of the first Ghostbusters movie. Their mix was really bad too. Then the lead singer began to talk to us. It was riddled with the "F" word. I cannot describe my deep and passionate hatred of that word. I was sickened by his ignorance of such a base, foul, and degrading thing. If I had come to see them, I would have left then and there. But they soon were done and things went back to normal. We sat for some time... I regretted having not brought in the camera. After about twenty minutes, the lights dimmed once more. The cheers of the crowd were incredible. I cheered too. I was too excited.

There were three pillars that looked like skyscrapers. The lights started to come on in the windows. Then they morphed into people walking up the stairs. Then the people started to fall down. The music grew louder and louder. The crescendo was echoed by the crowd in anticipation. Then the music hit. The cloth surrounding the towers fell and inside the towers were three of the greatest musicians I have ever come across: Muse.

Matthew Bellamy (center), Christopher Wolstenholme (left) and Dominic Howard (right) have offically entertained Stephanie and I until our ears are ringing, voices are gone, and legs are sore. They started the concert with the new song "Uprising" followed by "Resistance." I think everyone in the world is sick of both of these songs because they play them so much on the radio. Stephanie and I refused to listen to them on the radio - or on our ipods specifically so we wouldn't fall into this category.

I must explain - for those of you who don't know - Muse is one of the best bands out there because they are classically trained. If you don't believe me, listen to "Butterflies and Hurricanes." They know how to make the music give you the chills and feed emotion. Their music is very energetic and their live performance was BY FAR one of the most enjoyable things I've ever been able to watch. However, if you are new to Muse, you must understand that their music can get rather political. So you have to be prepared to hear about a few political issues. But even then, the music is awesome. I think I officially lost my voice when I heard a specific interlude. It is on their album and so I knew what was coming next. It was a song called Hysteria. DANG! I've never heard a bass player do anything like that. And it was so much better live. Normally you can't say that about bands - but you can about Muse.

In short it was awesome. The drive home was death because the parking lot reminded me of a certain hot place frozen over... and the drive home was slow because of the snow. But I'd do it all again. But I may not be able to hear you for the next week if you try and talk to me.

Every now and again...

...I actually do check other people's blogs and edit my own!

Tonight is what Doug and my friend Mandy call a "chi" night. Doug is out of the apartment doing his usual Friday night thing, and I am home alone. With the bird, which I guess means I am not alone per se. Anyway, a vast array of opportunities to "do stuff" has presented itself to me. In about 10 minutes, I will start to harrass the parakeet by practicing the oboe, followed by some intense homework-doing and all-out Christmas gift-wrapping. Woot. But seriously, it is nice sometimes to have these moments, these "chi nights", when I just get to do stuff. I keep threatening to post pictures on this thing- that might even happen tonight! Who knows!

November Already?!

So, October ended on an anticlimactic note- my sympathies to poor Doug, Martha and Matt. I helped my folks in the yard on Saturday afternoon and ended up being severely allergic to something *ahem* in their yard. I *ahemed* b/c Dad thinks I was bit by a spider, but I am pretty sure I am allergic to the hyacinth bulbs I stuck in the ground for them. That meant that I spent Halloween evening zoned out on Benadryl. AWESOME! When we came home I went straight to bed- poor, cute Doug having been gipped out of a good, scary Halloween stayed up late to watch "So I Married An Axe Murderer". That's pretty spooky, right? Now I have to decide what to do w/ the 2 extra pumpkins we never carved. There's always pie..... At least we dressed up- Doug was bird flu, and I was swine flu. A picture is forth-coming.

Saturday, Dad cut up a whole bunch of pieces of wood for me to paint and decorate my apartment with. It might be kinda nerdy, but I went to Enrichment in September (back when it was called Enrichment), and we painted a whole bunch of little blocks and put vinyl letters on them with inspiring mottos, and it was so nice that I've decided I could stand to do a little more of that. :) I'm excited- I will probably be heading over there tomorrow for more. I love my dad-how nice of him to donate some of the better pieces of his stockpile to my rare craft experiments.

By far my favorite parts of this weekend were hanging out with family and friends- especially adorable little nieces and nephews. We left the camera at work (we have some pictures from the C-med party that need posting there), but as soon as I get it back I will be adding to this blog. I'm sad I didn't get a chance to take pics of the Brady & Peterson munchkins, but it was good to hang out with them.

And now to stop procrastinating and start the dishes....maybe... GO PHILLIES!!!!

The Ultimate Bran Muffins

Ok, so a while back I went online and was looking for some good recipes, and I came across this bran muffin recipe on foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com. YUM! Whole grains are really good for us and I am trying to be a good kid and make sure Doug and I get our share of the good stuff. I've been making these and freezing them once or twice a month for the past 6 or 7 months. It was so funny b/c the other day I was at the grocery store and I decided to get festive and buy a few Halloween muffin cups. The girl at the register was really happy and social and asked if I was making cupcakes. :) I told her it was just another way to jazz up my bran muffins- the truth is out. heh heh heh
This morning, about the only things that sounded good to me were a couple of thawed, reheated bran muffins and a pot of peppermint herbal tea (with honey- best thing I know for being sick). Yum! I'll probably wash that all down with some cough syrup here in a bit.

A note- bran is something you can find at every grocery store but the boxed stuff is expensive. There's a store close to my house that has bulk bins of grains and nuts and flours. I found buying my bran there saved me a ton of money. Hopefully there is something like that near you.

The basic recipe for the muffins is quite good but I like to add stuff to it. Here it is:

Not Your Typical Bran Muffins

(Preheat oven to 375 degrees)

2 c. wheat bran
1 c. oat bran
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Mix the above in a large bowl and set aside. At this point I also sometimes add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves- whatever- to taste. :) Sometimes just adding alittle spice makes the muffins taste like gingerbread or a spice cake.

In a smaller bowl, combine the following and mix well:
2/3 c. milk
2/3 c. plain lowfat yogurt
1/3 c. canola oil
1/3 c. molasses
1/3 c. honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

***At this point, I vary the recipe depending on my mood. You can add 1 to 1 1/2 cups fruit (blueberries, bananas, etc.) to the wet ingredients or you can even change the basic recipe by substituting some of the oil w/ applesauce or one of the eggs w/ two egg whites. I find that while that cuts down a bit of the fat content, it also can make these already moist muffins even more moist- almost like a cake. You can also use 2/3 honey or 2/3 molasses instead of 1/3 cup of both. My most recent adventure with this recipe involved adding 1 cup shredded carrot and a little less than 1/2 cup raisins, which with a little added spice made my muffins positively scrumptious and much like carrot cake. Carrot cake w/ gusto. :) Just a sidenote- don't make your muffins too scrumptious or you might forget that they are chock full of fiber.
Another yummy-sounding variation that I found on that same blog was a cranberry orange bran muffin, where you replace the milk with orange juice and omit the vanilla, and then add 1 c. dried cranberries and some orange zest.***

Ok, after that tangent, now you combine the wet and dry ingredients in the large bowl. Mix with a spoon or rubber spatula until just mixed. Bake 20 to 25 minutes- may need a little longer (28-30 minutes) if you added fruit. I always use the toothpick test anyway, just to be safe. Cool in pan 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on cooling rack. Store in airtight container for a few days or freeze. Makes 24 regular-sized muffins.

And there you have it. Apparently we are out of cough syrup, so I am off to the store and signing off for now.

The Plague

So, there's been something nasty going around the office, and people have been dropping like flies. Today, it is my turn. I feel like some sort of alien life form has crawled into my chest to incubate and no amount of coughing is going to fix this. Do I sound like Doug? :)

I have noticed a pattern in my life- it turns out the only time I ever post on the blog is when I am home sick from work. I've used all kinds of rationale to explain that one, but I think it comes down to the fact that I just haven't been very dedicated to any online pursuits (including my class- I am dreadfully behind). Last night I cleaned out 1100 unread messages from my inbox- 1050 of those were junk emails from retailers. I also ventured onto Facebook for the first time in MONTHS. It was good to be able to contact people again. I'm really bad at that kind of thing. So, one of my new resolutions is to be more accessible online and off.