See you in 18!

Well, the time has come. Visit me at my new blog:

sisterbroekhuijsen.blogspot.com

As much as it pains me to say it, there will probably be a distinct lack of MJ, Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek, and Harry Potter references for the next 18 months. I'll do what I can, but I've gotta be appropriate!!

At this new blog, you can hear how I'm doing as I first go through an intense training session for 3 weeks in the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC) and then head out to either Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, or Connecticut for the remainder of my mission.

If you are a faithful reader of malfunctions & musings, then you're probably a close friend. I'd love to hear from you! Contact info will be both on my facebook and this new blog.

I'll return here in March of 2013 and probably explode with Mika/Kitten/Baking posts. So get excited for that.

The Mysterious Ticking Noise...

... is my heart beating out of my ribcage for one Mr. Severus Snape.

My love for Severus is as deep as the Chamber of Secrets, as intense as the Forbidden Forest, and as exciting as the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

He is loyal as a house elf, and intimidating, but sweet like a hippogriff.

Snape is my favorite character in all of literature. Not exaggerating. I usually don't go for the bad guy, but he can turn my heart to butterbeer. Alan Rickman is a favorite actor of mine, and the combination is golden. I think Snape is one of the best cast characters in all of HP movie world.

Tomorrow morning at 6:00 am my family and I are trekking out to watch the 8th movie.

***SPOILER ALERT***

I'm planning on crying so hard that my eyeballs fall out of their sockets -- it may be gruesome.

It's not really the fact that Snape dies that makes me so sad. It's the REALIZATIONS that hit you like a kick in the chest from a centaur. Why didn't we listen to Dumbledore? Of COURSE Snape could be trusted! And worst of all we learn why he was so mean to Harry! Oh the love he had. It means that when he was asked to teach Harry occlumency, it was torturous because he had to look into those green eyes...

SOBBING.

Let's just say that when you read through the first six books after learning what is revealed in the seventh, it unveils a whole new world of crying potential.

Not everything that Snape did was kind - but we learn that everything was motivated by love and loyalty.

He was so, so brave. I think we can all learn from his example.



I will never forget the day I was introduced to Rowling's masterpiece -- it was in Mr. Beckstrand's class, in 2nd grade. He read us the first book and I was hooked.

Since then, I have turned to the books for escape and have found life lessons.

Pottermania is the greatest worldwide phenomenon of my lifetime. More substantial than Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga, more timeless than Pokémon, and just plain better than Twilight.

I'll be proud to tell my children that I grew up with Harry, Ron and Hermione. I ached with anticipation for new books, I went to midnight movie premieres, and I fell in love with the entire wizarding world. I may have even been slightly disappointed when my 11th birthday came and went without any sign of an owl.

But do you know what the best part is?

It's TIMELESS

People are discovering these books all the time! I'm so excited to introduce the next generation to Harry and Hermione. To teach them of friendship, adventure, and loyalty. 

To teach them the power of love.

So, bloggerworld, join with me in a celebration! 

You should all read my friend Britt's tribute to the boy here. 

And then tell me, would naming a child Severus forever brand him the son of a nerd?

Is this real life?

I may have messed up the words to the Pledge of Allegiance. I'm sorry, America! I promise I am loyal!

Mystery

Hey all - I have a big announcement!

In case you haven't heard... I'm going on a MISSION!

It's a weird, long story but it sufficeth me to say (can you tell I've been reading my BOM?) that it hit me literally overnight, it's all happening very fast, and I'm super duper excited!

Now the exciting business... the WHEN and the WHERE!

I'm leaving August 31st which means that Andrew and I could come home within weeks or even days of each other!

Here are some clues for the where...

Got it? Good.

Extreme Cake Disaster: Melissa Edition

I like to think of myself as a fairly proficient baker. I like baking. I bake a lot. One time, called, "For My Birthday" I made 430 cookies:

(Pictured: less than half of 430 cookies)

THEREFORE - when I found a recipe for CINNAMON ROLL CAKE online today - I knew I wanted to make it, and I thought it would be easy-peasy.

Step 0 - prepare the pan: line jellyroll pan with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray. What? Parchment paper? Stupid. And unnecessary. There is nothing that parchment paper can do that Pam alone can't.

Step 1 - beat together cream cheese, sugar, and cinnamon until smooth, then beat in an egg and spread into a jellyroll pan. Done. It was easy-peasy. I am such a master.

Step 2 - beat 3 eggs until fluffy. With my beautiful Kitchen Aid hand mixer, this step was simple, and only took about two minutes.

Step 3 - gradually add sugar and beat until stiffened. Okay, done. Again, my hand mixer is a beauty.

Step 4 - add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. *Yawning* This is SO not challenging for an olympic gold medalist like me.

Step 4 - add 1/3 cup water and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. Okay - add 1 1/3 cups water and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. Mix. Hmmm... this seems pretty watery, even for a cake batter. Re-read recipe. &*%^. That would explain THAT.

START OVER.

Repeat steps 1-4 like a champ. Smooth sailing McGee (<--- Not a phrase)

Step 5 - pour batter over cinnamon mixture and bake until cake bounces back. Yep - I could do this in my sleep.

Step 6 - invert cake onto cookie sheet. Trying, trying, trying. Phlump. Okay perhaps in this ONE scenario, parchment paper would have been helpful.

Step 6.5 - repair the crumbly mess and attempt to give it some semblance of a cake shape.

Step 7 - cut into 5 strips and roll up into a tight roll. Everything is going fine... hmm... this is very tall and not very wide.

Step 7.5 - realize that you should have cut the five strips lengthwise instead of vertically. (yes, this requires an entire half-step - my ego was very bruised at this point, okay??)

Step 8 - make the glaze - stir together 1 cup powdered sugar with 4-5 tsp milk and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. Okay mix in 4-5 tablespoons of milk. Again, watery. Check recipe... Aw crap. Add a ton more powdered sugar and hope that it can be remedied. Still pretty wet - that's okay because we're just going to drizzle.

Step 9 - drizzle. Watch all the "glaze" get soaked up into the cake because it is 90% milk.

Step 10 - let the wave of shame wash over you. Feel as though you're being baptized into the Church of Horrible Bakers

Ha - just kidding. I didn't feel THAT bad about it. In fact, I just called my ma and we laughed about it, and realized that maybe I haven't learned as much about baking as I thought I had in my 21 years.

The worst part about the whole experience? The cake didn't even taste good. I'm not actually blaming that part on me, though. It was a weirdy sponge cake, and who likes those? No one. It was like a glorified Little Debbie Cake that had been sitting on the dusty shelf at a dimly lit grocery store for four and a half years. And when I say "glorified" I mean "slightly worse than."

So there you have it. Lessons learned?

Don't try to read a recipe once and then just go for it without referring back. 

Once you've committed the above mistake, don't repeat it. 

Just because it looks good in the picture doesn't mean it will taste good 

Just because you think you're a good baker (bakess? bakeress?) doesn't mean you are.

For your viewing pleasure:

How the cake should have turned out:

How mine turned out:

YUM!

I suppose the note I left for my roommates says it all, "You are all welcome to have some of this cake, however, it doesn't taste good. Consider yourself warned."

Nimoy Poetry Week Day 7

Final Day of LNPW! I'd like to thank everyone for the support they've given me throughout these past few... days.

I think I'll leave you with something inspirational rather than sad or gentle (which are my other favorites!)

Oh - and one more picture for good measure:

What a dashing young man!

If all the deeds of man

Were grains of sand

And if all those grains

Of sand were deposited

On a balance scale

If one side of the sale

Were the deeds

Which ennoble humanity

And the other side weighed

The deeds which degrade

The individual

Would you not

Count it as a blessing

To be given the choice

Each day

To drop a few grains

On the side of decency?

Nimoy Poetry Week Day 6

My love is a garden

You are the sun

When you shine
On my garden
It grows

You feed it
With your smile

You warm it
With your heart

You bless it
With your being

When my friends say
My, you have a
Beautiful garden

I look at you
And smile

Nimoy Poetry Week Day 5

I have known you
For a thousand years
In other times and other worlds

I have known your heart
Your mind and your very soul

We have traveled separately
Through endless space and time
To be together here

I have always known
That it would come to pass

I have watched and waited

I could enter a crowded room
And in an instant
Know that this was not
The time nor the place

And now...
Today...
I hear a sound...
And I know...
I sense your presence...
And I know...

Nimoy Poetry Week Day 4

A Precious Lesson

There is a great pleasure
     In wanting

The object of desire
     Seems so perfect
          So useful
          So necessary
You wonder how you
     Ever got along without it
And you know that you must
     Have it now

     Closets full of neglected
          Once-desired objects
          Tell me that
               It was the wanting
               That was important
            
               I have learned
                     A precious lesson

               I have learned
                    To want
                         What I have

Nimoy Poetry Week Day 3

In the desert
     I learned about heat

In the snow
     I learned about cold

When you left
    I learned about lonely

Nimoy Poetry Week Day 2

You and I

In my heart is the seed of the tree

Which will be me

Nourished by understanding

Warmed by friends

Fed by loved ones

Matured by wisdom

Tempered by tears...

Searching for me

I wander

Through a house of mirrors

I see a myriad of images

But none are mine

Only distorted reflections

Of a stranger

Someone I've met

But don't really know

I cry out my name

But the hollow echo that responds

Tells me I must wait

It is not yet time

And then...

One day in the spring of my life

The buds and the blossoms appear

I am alive

I am here

I have joined the earth

Like a tide pool...

Filled by the mist

And the great waves

Giving of myself

To the air and the earth

Living at peace

With the sun and moon

Cousin to the fog and rain

The melody is simple

And the words are sweet

I am

I am ready

I am ready to give

I am ready to give and to receive

I am ready to give and to receive love...

Kick off - Leonard Nimoy week

Hello friendlies!

I have decided that the whole world / the 9 people that read this blog needs/need to know of the wonder known as Leonard Nimoy the poet.

I have selected 7 of my favorite LN (not an okay acronym)  poems to share with you and have them programmed to post so you don't have to worry about me flaking.

Please do enjoy - my love for him is overwhelming my entire universe.

A Lifetime of Love

I am an incurable romantic

I believe in hope, dreams, and decency

I believe in love

Tenderness and kindness

I believe in mankind

I believe in goodness

Mercy and charity

I believe in a universal spirit

I believe in casting bread 

Upon the waters

I am awed by the snow-capped mountains

By the vastness of the oceans

     I am moved by a couple

     Of any age - holding hands

     As they walk through city streets

A living creature in pain

Makes me shudder with sorrow

A seagull's cry fills me 

With a sense of mystery

     A river or stream

     Can move me to tears

     A lake nestling in a valley

     Can bring me peace

Epic Dream

Yes, epic. Epic is a word that is often used not according to its dictionary definition, but meaning "cool" or "sweet". In this case, it's a mixture of a heroic tale and some cool and sweet moments.


I had this dream last night - woke up - and retold it to myself in the shower, just so I wouldn't forget the story. I did a pretty good job, though I'm sure there were more details than I was able to hold onto.


Please do enjoy:


Julia (my roommate and fellow ABBA cover band member) and I were hanging out, talking about Jimmy Fallon and how dreamy he is, and Brian Williams (or Bri-Why, as Jimmy calls him) overheard us. He told us that I should get on Jimmy's show, and then take a phone call from him (Bri-Why) in the middle of the interview, and that then he would tell a joke and it would be hilarious. Like, we'd be punking Jimmy Fallon! It doesn't make much sense, but it was perfectly logical at the time (of course - that's how all my dreams are). We told him that we couldn't afford to fly to New York for a day, oh, and how exactly were we supposed to convince Jimmy that I was an acceptable guest? Just in the past two weeks he's had on Alec Baldwin, Ziggy Marley, Edie Falco, Tina Fey, Whoopie Goldberg, Aretha Franklin, and Elmo. ELMO!! I don't think a 21 year old BYU student is going to bring in the ratings. Bri-Wi assured us that he could work some NBC black magic and get me on, and that he would pay for flights for Julia and me. So we got to New York and Bri-Why had set up a chance for me with Jimmy. I just had to "act funny." Oh great, no pressure there, right? So I'm hanging out with him at some restaurant or bar, and I made a really terrible pun. I've tried with all my brain muscles to remember what the pun was, but I just can't. I just remember it had something to do with milk, because after Jimmy stopped sincerely chuckling (what a compliment! Even dream Melissa knew that that was a milestone in my comedy career) I was trying to be all cool and I said,


"Yeah, just call me 'Milk Girl!' That'll, like, be my THING!"

What? Oh gosh. The cheesiness factor is shooting through the roof, here. But that must be what he looks for in women I MEAN guests, because he booked me on the show! My dream took place today, Thursday, so Julia and I must have been hanging out with Brian WIlliams in the wee hours of the morning because I was in the show that was taped in NY at 10:00 a.m. NEW YORK TIME. Once again, it doesn't make any sense, I know. But nevertheless I was on the show! I wore a very little dress and tried to act classy and like this was no big deal for me. Just another day in my terribly exciting life. I leaned in on the desk and was a bit flirtay with Mr. Fallon. Inappropriate, I know. He's married, I KNOW. But I couldn't help it!! He was just too much for me.

Look - I'm tanner than Selena Gomez!

I don't remember if the punk'd moment ever went down. If not, I'm sorry, Brian Williams - I owe you $800. But all of the sudden we (Jimmy and his crew, Julia, and me) were all in the parking garage/lot at my condo complex in Provo. The garage is below the building, and then there's a little parking lot that kindof slants up on the sides. Apparently dream Melissa decided this must have been an arena of some sort. It started out as a Transformers fight. Everyone got their car and turned it into a Transformer (because that's totally a thing that all cars can do, didn't you know?) and then they fight! Punching, spinning, crunching - it was good, clean fun. Of COURSE Jimmy won because he could afford a stretch-hummer! My baby Subaru Outback fought like a champ, though. The best part about these transformer fights? After you were done with the fight, you could just transform them back into car form, and it would be as good as new! No dings, no scratches, no missing doors. It was sortof like how in Animorphs, you could morph back into your human self and not have any of the damage that was done to your bear/osprey/gorilla/wolf/tiger self, you know? No? No one else remembers reading those books? Fine.

So we were having a jolly time with our Transformer fights, and then all of the sudden we realized that all of the other car owners were zombies. Yup - so we went into survival mode. Jimmy was surprisingly great, and quite the protector. I always assumed he was kindof a pansy... at least based on how he handles weird animals (<--- please PLEASE do click on that hyperlink - it's hilarious. I've seen it like 12 times and it still makes me crack up). Anyway, Jimmy destroyed the zombies and saved the day. Then he was ready to go pool-hopping in Provo with his wife (because that's what I would want to do if I were Jimmy Fallon). We exchanged polite cheek air kisses (you know what I'm talking about, but I don't know the actual word for them) and he went on his merry way. Eventually I realized that I had missed my O-Chem recitation - oh no! - but I quickly decided it had been worth it.

I woke up feeling so pleased with myself that I had managed to stay so chill throughout the whole experience. I am so cool.

I guess the moral of the story is that if you ever need someone to tell you a milk-related pun, it's like, my THING.

So cute it's sick

I'm not gonna lie - I spend way too much time and energy on the internet adoring small, fuzzy animals. They are just so cute! I can't even stand it sometimes.


On Ugly Betty one time, she mentioned her favorite website, www.socuteitssick.com. While that's not an actual website, it should be. 


I just thought  I'd show you a cute video I stumbled upon tonight. You might think it's a lame thing to post on a blog, but you know what? It's a pretty great representation of my current life (except that I am also back in school...).


Please enjoy this: http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6456561/baby-red-pandas-frolicking-in-the-snow


With a URL like that, you know you're gonna love it! Also I love the caption: "This video is what made Al Gore want to stop Global Warming."

Egg-citing Easter!

Inspired by Jen's post a couple years ago, my mother decided that this year, we were going to do all natural dyes, and that we'd all get creative and come up with our own ideas.

Let's take a visual journey through our family's newest hippy tradition.

Boiling grass - that should turn green, right?

Wrong. Boiled grass turns dark-pee color.

Oh well, maybe wrapping an egg in some grass will transfer some green.

Purple cabbage & vinegar! (first I scribbled on it with a bar of beeswax - nature's crayon)

Then I decided to just take some already boiled eggs and decorate them with natural/edible things. This one was decorated with pink Christmas cactus flowers and some daffodil petals

I have another idea - let's smear MUSTARD. Mustard is natural, right?

After boiling eggs in things and rubbing eggs in other things, I switched it up and went with texture. This little beauty is my MJ egg (cause it don't matter if you're black or white). Honey is the adhesive and then it was gingerly rolled in black and white sesame seeds.

These are my final products. From left to right: purple cabbage w/ beeswax, mustard, sesame seeds, onion skins (not pictured above), flower smash, and grass leaves boiled in pee-colored grass juice.

These are my mom's final products - she was very creative too! Left to right: sun-dried tomato (yields less than exciting results), turmeric, beet juice (you'd think it'd be brighter, right??), red vanilla herbal tea, red cabbage, and cayenne pepper in the middle.

This one is just hilarious to me - it shows my brothers' creations. Clockwise from the top left: some crazy concoction that even Joshua can't remember the contents of, ketchup, blended orange, grass, reconstituted chili powder, more grass, and raspberries.

Here's something you may not know: leaving a boiled egg in a mostly-vinegar suspension for 9 hours can do some funky things. For example, this grass egg done by Joshua turned into a soft, nasty mess. It looks like a wrinkly snake egg! When he cut into it just for fun (obviously we would never make him eat it) the whole thing writhed and squished. Imagine cutting a really soggy/mushy grape. It was kindof like that, but worse.
Totally gross and awesome.

Any tips and/or suggestions for us for next year?

Mamma Mia

Tonight, my wonderful roommate, Julia, and I channeled the wonder of ABBA and performed at a talent show.

Please do enjoy some pictures of our costumes. Many thanks to DI (and a disgusting costume shop for Jules' wig).

Please note the denim clogs

Could we be any more precious?

Step aside ANTM - WE are going to be the ones on the cover of Vogue Italia!

Aside from some microphone issues completely outside of our control, the performance went well. That's not a huge accomplishment though because when you think about it - with outfits like this, it would have been hard to fail.

It's that time again

I have reached a milestone in my life. That's right - I finished my first box of checks. One box lasted me almost 5 years. Pretty impressive, no? I really started flying through them this past year because the utilities are in my name.

So the time has come for me to order new checks. I'm an expressive and sentimental lady so I want my checks to say something about me.

Unfortunately I am also a very indecisive lady.

So I come to you, asking for help. Unlike my previous people's choice awards, I will actually buy some checks. So you can feel like your vote is actually important.

I have narrowed my decision down to 13 candidates. They are all things that I love (or at least think are nice-looking) and you should really be proud that there aren't any cartoon kittens. "Restraint, Melissa. Restraint"

The following are listed in no particular order - please vote for your top couple of favorites in the comments.

#1 - Animal Prints

#2 - Fantasia

#3 - Planets

#4 - Tao Simplicity

#5 - Tulips

#6 - Critters

#7 - Periodic Table

#8 - In the Wild

#9 - Retro Squares

#10 - Exotic Aquarium

#11 - Colorful Lights

#12 - Safari Wildlife

#13 - Michael Jackson

Alright now - be a good blogger citizen and vote Vote VOTE!

Loveliest of Days

Today, April 6, 2011 shall go down in history as the day that Melissa Renée had the most delightful afternoon of all time.

After a trip to DI (a sure sign of good things to come) I quickly grabbed a book and a jacket and headed out for adventure. After concluding that you can't drive up into Rock Canyon (WHY did I think I could??) I settled for more familiar territory and made my way into Provo Canyon. I headed straight to my favorite picnic area (Nunn's Park) and sat down on a terrifically disgusting picnic bench.

I faced the hot trying-to-be-warm April sun and let it beat down barely reach my face.

I zipped up the hoodie to the nerdy tip top.

I flicked a spider away with a twig

I (even more nerdily) pulled the hood over my head.

I cracked open my book.

I flicked the spider away with the twig (again).


and then it happened:



Leonard Nimoy changed my life.

That's right. Leonard Nimoy. The guy who played Spock in the Star Trek the Original Series. I bet you didn't know he wrote poetry. I bet you didn't know I am in love with that poetry. I bet you didn't know that when I say I am in love with it - I'm not exaggerating.

About a year ago I managed to get a copy of one of his poetry books We Are All Children Searching for Love through inter-library loan. That's right - my school with 600 million books on its library shelves didn't have my sweet Leonard's humble prose, and I had to get it from some community college in Colorado. Crazy. But I got it, and I read it, and I loved it, and I gave it back, and I missed it.

For Christmas this past year my angel parents got me not only WAACSFL (lame acronym) but another volume, You & I. It was basically the only thing on my Christmas list and let me tell you, my reaction was about what you'd expect - squealing, screaming, crying, hyperventilating - the works (especially because the copy of You & I is SIGNED BY LEONARD NIMOY HIMSELF! Be jealous that your parents have never given you something that means as much to you as this means to me).

I read them all quickly when I got them and loved every second. They are delightfully cheesy, but really simple and sweet. For a while in January I would pick one to read to my roommate right before we'd go to sleep. A closing devotional, if you will.

Today as I read them aloud to myself, slowly, accompanied by a swift river only yards away, I concluded that he is a great philosopher.

And so am I, by extension. A philosophical person, that is, because I sought out nature and even dealt with that tricky spider so I could read and revel in Mr. Spock's majestic words. I thought about myself, about my relationships with other people, and about my mark on society. I thought about what I believe, and what I know, and how and who I want to be.

And I marveled at the power of language.

I was suddenly overcome with gratitude. Perhaps my gratitude manifested itself in the form of tears. How thankful I was that Leonard Nimoy had decided to capture the feelings he experienced, and that he had executed it so gracefully. As he wrote, he probably didn't guess that 28 years later a bright-eyed 20 year old mormon girl would be so affected by what he (a 52 year old Jewish man) had to say, but I was. I felt his sadness at being abandoned, related to his trepidation about interrupting some grand timeline with the words, "I love you," and truly rejoiced with him as he blossomed into a Spring of self-awareness.

When it became too cold, and the spider too creepily persistent, I retreated to my warm car (thank you, greenhouse effect!). I reclined the seat back all the way and took one of the greatest, most satisfying 40-minute naps of my life. I was warm, I was content, I was wonderfully aware.

I believe I would do well to repeat this afternoon soon.

Thank you, Mother

Every day I discover more great things about my mother.

Tonight I had to send her an e-mail thanking her for recognizing the inner-klutz in me, and never making me take a ballet class.

Though I probably would have given THIS girl a self-esteem boost!

So, SO cute. Enjoy

Clubs

If I was going to start/join a club, it would probably be one of these:

People who always have to spell their last name out for people.

People who still don't have a smart phone.

People who like baby cats more than baby human beings.

People who genuinely don't like High School Musical.

People who will make it through 4 years at BYU without getting married (ha!)

People who think monkeys are creepy.

People who have had romantic feelings toward men who are older than their fathers.

People who have never been skiing or snowboarding or even on a ski lift.

People who would rather sit at home and crochet than go out and party.

People who stress out about not stressing out.

People who go to BYU who don't worship Jimmer (though they've heard he's nice).

People who will not have their Bachelors Degrees by the time they turn 22.

People who like Justin Bieber but feel guilty about it but still like him.

People who don't understand the inner-workings of molecular biology.

People who once had a chinchilla but sold it because he was nocturnal and humans are not.

People who don't know (and refuse to learn) how to take a quick shower.

People who feel it's their duty to single-handedly bring 70's music back into popularity.

People who have perfect vision but lied to their mothers as children to get glasses because they thought it would make them look cooler. (PWHPVLTMCGGBTTWMTLC)

People who prefer manual transmissions to automatic

People who believe that once a dog reaches a certain size it is no longer a dog, but a rodent.

People who have had crushes on at least 3 people who later came out of the closet.

People who just spent a lot of time writing a mediocre blog post.

Nugget #2

Remember how I love to learn things and then teach them to you?

Today is a vocabulary edition.

Students, do you know how the word "snarky" came to fruition?

It is a combination of "snide" and "remark"! How great! I never knew.

Be snarky and have a good day.

Pi(e)

via

Yesterday, as I'm sure you're aware, was the delightful holiday known as Pi Day. If you do not understand why March 14 is an appropriate day to celebrate that incredible number, slap yourself.

Moving on.

Can I just tell you why I love Pi Day so much? I will tell you, no matter how you just answered that question. I love Pi Day because it is a day to celebrate delicious food AND geekdom! Could there be a better combination? I don't suppose so.

We had some people over last night and told math jokes and ate thousands of pounds of pie. (am I the greatest FHE leader or WHAT!?)

I made (with a lot of crust assistance from my dear mother) four kinds of pie:

Tollhouse Pie

Coconut Cream Pie

Pecan Pie

Keylime Pie

They were all new adventures in baking for me, except for the keylime. It is so easy-peasy, and is one I have been making for a while now.

Beloved friends and readers and casual blog stalkers: how did YOU celebrate?

Salty Sweet

I like salty and sweet together oh so very much.

I also like Jimmy Fallon, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

What do those two facts have in common? Oh nothing...

except that I LOVE Ben & Jerry's newest ice cream flavor....

Do you want to hear what's in it? Of course you do. Let me tell you. Or better yet, read what I type in Isaiah Mustafa's voice (because that just makes everything better)

It all starts out with some creamy, decadent, fair-trade certified vanilla ice cream. Next - a match made in heaven: fudge-covered potato chip clusters. A salty caramel ribbon ties it all together in this indulgent masterpiece.

Okay, so it's now obvious that I will never write for Hallmark (or Ben and Jerry's). But still - Yum!

Actually, the fact that it tastes great is really just a bonus.

Would I have bought this ice cream even if it sounded gross?

Did I, in fact, rush to the store and buy this the day after this came out JUST because it had Jimmy Fallon's face on it?

Does that mean I'm a sucker for celebrity-endorsed products?

Have I already eaten the entire pint?

That would be a resounding, unashamed YES.

So please - give it a try. Or at the very least, watch this adorable video of Jimmy unveiling the new flavor:

Photo via

Overlooked

Everyone likes puppies and chicks and kittens. Well, everyone who has a soul, that is.

But do you know what often gets overlooked? Baby rhinos. That's right. They're actually super adorable.

Don't believe me? See for yourself (or as LeVar Burton would say, "You don't have to take MY word for it")

Convinced? Of course you are.

I don't know whether it's their sweet, hornless face-nubs and pig ears or the fact that they look like baby dinosaurs (Land Before Time, anyone?). But these little guys just get to me. In a good way.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go spend 3 1/2 hours looking at YouTube videos of baby rhinos. Ahem.

Photos via: I did a google image search for "baby rhino." Seriously. These were all on the first page.

Goodbyes are the WORST!

Baby brother left this morning.

I've been crying about it since Saturday night.

Ignore me in the background - it's a good shot of Andrew

Curbside drop off at the MTC sounds cruel, but it's actually probably better than the more dramatic alternative (I've had nightmares of the dreaded "Missionaries exit to the left, everyone else to the right" scenario).

I miss him. I feel dramatically, violently sad about the prospects of coming home to a house without him in it.

BUT I have to be thankful. I know this is good for him. I know our family will be blessed. I know there are Russians out there who need him more than I do. I know that in the grand scheme of things, two years is a trivial amount of time.

Still, I cry. I'm crying.

Exactly how long am I allowed to mourn his absence before it becomes pathetic?