The Blink of an Eye

We dropped in at our friend's house in Midway last New Year's Eve.  Our friend is a film maker and sometimes goes nuts with taking film and photos.  He was on a roll that night, and took a bunch of photos of Millie and Simon.

A couple of days ago, he sent Brent a link to a commercial he had made and told him to watch for something he'd like.  Brent watched it about 4 times and couldn't figure out the puzzle.  He had to e-mail film-maker-friend back to get a tip.  He said there was a picture of Millie in it.  Well, Brent found the 1 second shot and forgot to tell me about it.

After conference, we didn't get the TVs turned off right away, and suddenly Brent started freaking out saying watch, watch, watch, it's SteveO's commercial, then hollered, "There's Millie."  I missed it.  Didn't see her.  But thanks to youtube, we can see it all we want.

Millie is at exactly 14 seconds.  She's with the blue stuffed animals.  At 15 seconds, she's gone.  You'll miss her if you blink.

Marching

I don't think I ever truly appreciated the work and effort that goes into a marching band.  And I guess I always thought the uniforms were, well, unfashionable.  That is until my own son put one on.  Handsome as can be.  I love him in that uniform.

Summer band practice was several weeks at the school from 7:30am until noon.  This was in preparation for summer parades.

I was surprised when Simon decided to join Fall Marching Band.  This is commitment.  Two solid weeks, every day from 8am until 4pm in the scorching hot August weather, in a big field with zero shade.  Then after-school practices once school started.  Still hot outside.

But the result is impressive.  This was their 1st performance just for families.

Way to go 120 kids in Timpview Marching Band

Fruits and Flies

This time of year, I frequent the Spanish Fork Farmers Market most Saturdays.  Along with my purchases come the pesky fruit flies.  They say to keep your produce in the refrigerator to eliminate them.  But peaches and pears ripen nicely on the counter, not in the fridge.  You can buy fruit fly traps online, but this little gadget works perfectly and costs nothing.  Two-cup jar, chunks of fruit, scrap paper, and tape.  Those flies go down the paper cone, then they try to get out up the sides of the jar.  But it is sealed shut with tape.

I keep two of these going.  One is in the freezer killing flies (humanely as possible), and the other is on the counter catching them.  I swap them out 2 or 3 times before cleaning out the jars, getting fresh fruit, and making new paper cones.

A side note about farmers markets.  I've tried to support the Provo farmers market.  But I don't like the parking, I don't like the crowds, and I don't really like all the craft booths.

Spanish Fork is just the right size and just the right kind of stuff - some local honey, homemade bread, and all the rest is produce.  I have gone to the BYU Stadium farmers market a couple of times - Thursdays 3-8pm.  It is a good midweek option and has good parking.  There are a few craft booths, but it is so small, that getting my produce is quick and easy.

Back before we turned our lives upside down with the bike shop, Brent and I used to go to Spanish Fork together almost every Saturday.  The kids were still sleeping, and it was just our little outing.  Maybe those memories keep me going back there.  Alone.

Rainbows

Millie and I admired this little beauty the other day as we were driving home.

This was taken about 17 years ago before most the homes existed on the hill above our house.

This is my most favorite singer/songwriter singing the Rainbow Connection.  Although I haven't listened to Jason much in the last year or even two, there was a time when I was nearly obsessed with him.  I love it when he makes mistakes, like in this little video - he handles it with good humor.

Thieves

Story 1
A few days before church, Brent had purchased some treats for his Sunday School class.  He forgot to bring them to church, and I had to run home for something anyway, so I was to bring them back with me.  When I arrived, his classroom was dark and empty.  I looked outside for a minute, but couldn't find them.  So, I taped a full piece of paper marked "FOR BRENT HULME" on the outside of the knotted grocery bag and left it carefully on the classroom table.  When I found Brent, about 30 minutes later, I told him I left the snacks there.  He went to get them, and the whole package of cookies had been eaten, and all the suckers were gone except for some wrappers.  I know, kids will be kids.  It wasn't a big loss.   But when something is clearly marked with someone's name, this is stealing.  And it is wrong.  And they should be ashamed.

Story 2
Oli has been trying to sell his bicycle thru KSL Classifieds so that he can buy a new one.  Tom Packer wanted the bike, sight unseen.  He also asked Oli if he gave him an extra $50, could he give that money to the movers who would be picking up the bike.  Didn't seem like a big deal.  A few days later, Tom sent a check for $1700.  The price of the bicycle was $425.  Tom had sent an e-mail with the address where the extra money should be sent.  I took the check to the bank thinking that well, if it clears, then we're okay.  I briefly told the teller that I was worried about the check clearing, and he reminded me that actually, I'd get the cash today, but that it wouldn't officially "clear" for a couple of days.  The teller said it definitely sounded like fraud, especially since the guy wanted the excess money sent immediately through Western Union.  He asked if I could wait about 10 or 15 minutes and he'd see if his manager could verify the legitimacy of the account.  I waited.  No such account number existed.  That was close.  I sent Mr. Tom Packer a nasty e-mail.  Told him to get a real job - an honest job.  Told him my bank is sending his phony check to their security department.  Told him I'm glad we have our bike and our money.  I wonder how many others have fallen into his trap and went so far as to lose their money.  Sad.

Clean-Out-The-Fridge Pizza

There was nothing to fix for dinner.  Seriously nothing.  I thought I could whip up a pizza pretty quickly.  But I only had about 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese.  Then I remembered I had a small hunk of pepper-jack cheese.  That could be tasty.  Then I began pulling out all the cheeses in my fridge.  The supply of cheese scraps seemed to be endless.  Some moldy, some I had no idea what type it was, most were not your typical pizza cheese.  

So, why not shred them all up and mix 'em all together?  I ended up using 10 kinds cheese:

Mexican blend

Mozzarella

Pepperjack

Gruyere

Mizithra

Carmelized onion cheddar (From Trader Joes - yummiest stuff ever!)

Parmesan

Jarlsberg

And a couple hunks I couldn't identify - probably repeats of the others

Thai pizza was sounding really good.  I haven't made that in years.  No Thai peanut sauce in the fridge, so I found an easy recipe from the California Pizza Kitchen.  I didn't have all the ingredients for the sauce, but I had enough to wing-it.  I will definitely make this sauce again - it was delicious.

Plopped a couple frozen chicken breasts in the oven, mixed up a quick batch of dough, then began pulling out assorted items from the vegetable drawer.  I had to throw away quite a few in the process.  This was all I had to work with - a good half of a zucchini, 1/8 of a red pepper, 2 green onions, a small handful of carrots, and a few barely edible mushrooms.

 I had two of these babies ready to go in the oven.

Fresh cilantro and cucumber topped this after it was cooked.  Fresh cucumber on a hot pizza is amazing.  I wished I had had more.

Even the kids gobbled this up.

My cheese drawer is so empty now.

I Love Babies

And I really miss this one.  This is Liam, my great-nephew - grand-nephew?  My niece's baby.  We had so much fun with this 4-week-old bundle as they stopped in for a few days while moving across the country.   I couldn't resist that soft fuzzy head.

Here's another cute one that I got to meet at Lake Powell.  He's an adorable busy body.  Those eyes...

Haven't met these ones, either.  First set of twins on my side of the family.  Those cheeks look delicious.  I love their names, Ruby and Norah.

And lastly, baby Ella wins the prize for the most hair EVER on my side of the family.  She's with her Grandpa, my brother.  I can't wait to snuzzle her, too.

Another one is due on Millie's birthday.  And another was just announced a few days ago.

I love babies.  However, I am grateful to get a full night's sleep almost every single night at this point in my life.