Thursday, March 31, 2011

The cutest thing I've seen all day.

If you don't find this utterly adorable, you may not have a pulse.



Videos of niece J never fail.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

I just hope someone tells me.

Last night, cousin Bec, in true cousin Bec form, sent me an email with a link to a set of obscure pictures that made me laugh so hard I started convulsing. Harry agreed. These pictures are golden.

They're from an album entitled "Basset Hounds, Running."








It makes me a little worried. When I'm really REALLY old and wrinkly, with maximum face jowls, would someone dare take a picture of me, mid-run? And post it to the internet?

I just hope that if I develop jowls comparable to a basset hound, someone would tell me. So that I could make sure there were no cameras within a 6 mile radius of me if I ever decide to go on a jog. Leave me and my old lady jowls off the internet.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Twenty-six is:

  • The number of miles in a marathon rounded down (26 miles and 385 yards)
  • The number of episodes in a television program each year
  • The age at which males can no longer be drafted in the United States
  • The number of red cards and black cards in a normal deck
  • The number of Cantons of Switzerland
  • The largest number of Oscars awarded to one person (Walt Disney)
  • The number of bones in the normal human foot and ankle

But even more tantalizing is the fact that today, friends, my man is 26 years old!






In honor of this momentous occasion in history, I'm assigning every of the 26 alphabet letters a very Harry quality.

A- Always is very manly
B- Blue eyed babe
C- Chef, specializing in all things tasty
D- Dances like Michael Jackson
E- Effortlessly manly
F- Foxy (read: fox-ay)
G- Genuine
H- Humble
I- Incredibly manly
J- Jazzy sense of style (J was hard for me, don't judge- hey! Judge! J!)
K- Keen wit
L- Loves reading for hours on end
M- Manly
N- Next in line to the British throne if something like a billion people in line before him were to abdicate
O- Often is manly
P- Pole-vaulter AND piano master (douple Ps! What what!)
Q- Quick learner- he even sews better than I do
R- Rock climber
S- Singer/songwriter
T- Totally manly
U- Understands women alarmingly well
V- Very manly
W- Wood-working carpentry expert
X- XXVI is 26 in Roman numerals, and he is 26.
Y- Yoga master
Z- Zebra-like sense of survival

Happy birthday to my favorite Harry. In the words of Bob Schneider, "I used up all my good luck the day I ran into you."

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

And now a lightning round of

Name That Expression.

Found these on my computer. They were taken by Cam on Thanksgiving.


My best guesses are "numb lips from an invasive route canal" or "undercover genius fugitive."

This one... I'm still struggling to put a name on.

Weekend of love: Addendum I

I went to Smash Burger with two of my sisters-in-law (is that the right way to say it? Grammar police? Help me. I know there are English majors reading this) to try the burgers and fries that everyone has been raving about (including my parents, who are NOT burger people). As we were standing in line, wouldn't you know? Being in star-studded Las Vegas I shouldn't have been surprised. Tim Allen was standing behind us in line with a buddy. He was wearing sunglasses inside and trying to keep a low profile, so our group of Reynoldsies didn't bother him.

However, a myriad of the most annoying things I could do just came shooting through my brain. Things like walking up to Tim Allen and saying:

1) (after placing a closed fist over my heart) "Commandah, nevah give up, nevaaaaaah surrendah."
2) "So, what was it like working with Jonathan Taylor Thomas? 15 years ago?"
3) "So, do you think your recent film 'Old Dogs' is one that will stand the test of time?"
4) (my favorite) Just give a really loud "Uhhhhhhhhhh-eh!"-- the famous grunt-noise from the show "Home Improvement" opening credits. I begged Annie or Sarah to do it. We all chickened out. Next time, Tim Allen, I won't be so shy.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Asian Food Invasion

Let's rewind time about seven years.



Picture an 18-year-old me, living in the dorms at BYU, having a nice dinner with some freshman year buddies in the legendary Cannon Center. This was a special night, because there was a stir-fry theme going on, and there were stations set up with frying pans, burners, various meats, veggies, and noodles for us college kids to combine and fry and flavor.

My friends and I chowed down, feeling like we belonged on Iron Chef.

Fast forward five hours.

I'd been lying on my bed in the fetal position ever since dinner, fighting a wicked disturbance in my innards. My roommate got a hold of 2 of our guy friends to give me a blessing. Shortly thereafter, I ran up to my dorm room and... the stir fry... er, relocated. Into my trash can.

From then on I had a very rocky relationship with Asian food (which rules out an awful lot of good things). The smell of soy sauce made me queasy. The words "sweet and sour" made my stomach (and buttocks) clench. A sizzling wok had the propensity to blur my vision and make my knees wobbly.

Fast forward two and a half years.

Harry Reynolds asked me out.

The night of our date, I was hiding a 100 degree fever and bronchitis behind many many ml of Dayquil. My roommates knew about the crush I had on Harry, and knew only a trip to the emergency room would be sufficient for me to call off this date. They rallied and surprised me with a box of Dayquil, a bottle of orange juice, and a new tube of lip gloss (which I still own!).

The restaurant we pulled up to was Bangkok Grill, and I swallowed my first bite of Massaman Curry and was hooked (and I knew I really liked Harry).

This date has gone down in the history books as the best date of all time.

Fast forward four years.

I gave him this for Christmas this past year. To enable my Thai food addiction. I think it's wise to give Christmas presents to my spouse that enable my own addictions (that's why I "give" him bridge mix from time to time- and yes, he's an excellent sharer).



And already we've enjoyed Thai Beef Salad, Thai Beef Soup, and today the list grows with our two recent Asian culinary adventures.

Thai Green Curry with Chicken:









and a little Chinese dish called Stir-Fried Beef and Broccoli with Oyster Sauce:







Recipes can be found here(Green Curry) and here(Beef and Broccoli).

I've been using an app/website lately called MyFitnessPal. I'm on the brink of obsession. It not only tracks the calories you eat and burn throughout the day, for FREE, but it has a recipe calorie calculator as well. I think it's always kind of nice to have an idea of what you're putting in your mouth, so here are the nutrition facts for these recipes, if you're interested:

Green Curry:

(Serves 4)

Calories: 628
Fat: 25 g
Carbs: 58 g
Protein: 41 g

Beef and Broccoli:

(Serves 4)

Calories: 493
Fat: 30 g
Carbs: 25 g
Protein: 36 g

Stating the obvious: No, these are not "light" or "low calorie/carb/fat." By any stretch of the imagination. Just know that the servings are huge, so you can usually halve them pretty easily. Trust me-- every bite is worth it.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Weekend of love

This last weekend, Hal's brother Dan got hitched!



Dan and Aja (Danja, for those of you who are prone to abbreviation) had one of the most beautiful wedding ceremonies I've ever attended. I wanted to take video of the whole weekend and edit it together later. But then I remembered that when you're hanging out with family and catching up with people you rarely get to see, taking video falls by the wayside.

The wedding was beautiful. Aja is an incredible woman. I love it when you meet a couple and know that they were made for each other. My amazing SIL snapped some shots of the beautiful couple. She snaps a lot of amazing photos. For a few shots of the beautiful wedding day, go here. To see more of her amazing photos, mosey on over here.

Mazel tov to the happy couple!

I even made myself a skirt for the occasion! With the help of my Mom, I put together this little diddy two days before. It was a quick and simple design, and was done without a pattern! Here's a photo booth shot of my outfit- sent to my mom for her omnicient-seamstress-approval.



Not nearly the most amazing skirt I've ever worn, but I really enjoyed it! I'm getting the itch all over again to sew more clothing.

Lastly, the day after the wedding I snuck away to my sister E's house to see her newest addition to the family. Baby I is so adorable! He's sweet and quiet and little, and let me hold him from the minute I walked in the door.



All in all, I recommend a weekend like this.