Park City

So the company Blake works for has a really awesome Christmas party every year. This year it was in Park City. The company pays for a delicious, gourmet dinner, and this year also paid for us to stay a night at the Marriott right off historic Main. The party itself was fun (the open bar made things extra interesting), and the next morning we went to a really good diner called The Eating Establishment. The town itself was SO quite, I've never been up there with so few tourists. Anyhow, these are a few pictures I shot.

Haha, these are both really classic Blake expressions. He even has pictures from when he was little where he's giving the camera these exact expressions!

Look how quaint.

Um....yum....

My eyes look weird, but then again, my right eye is always more tiered than my left...strange....

Why is it the camera always wants to focus on the backgorund and blur me?...thanks a lot, camera.

In the Name of Cinnamon

These were SO yummy and SO easy. I made them last Sunday morning. I'll post the recipe soon.

Christmas Tree Hunting

This is my family's new favorite tradition, Christmas Tree Hunting! For some ridiculously cheap price, like ten bucks, you can buy a Christmas tree tag to go cut down your own tree. Here's some pics from this years Christmas Tree hunt.

We're like little ducks, walking up the mountain single file...This is the tree my parents ended up cutting down....

I get this expression too often....

Our little baby tree. Are we compensating for something?...

This is a really ugly picture my sister snapped when I was trying to explain to her how to zoom/focus the camera... for some reason I like.

The end.

Langston Hughes

This happy looking dude is Langston Hughes. A fantastic African-American poet who lived from 1906-1967. He's very assecible. Anyone could read his poetry, and appreciate/understand it. The most common theme dealt with in his poetry is racism and the African-American identity. I recently read all of his written poetry and fully enjoyed every moment. poets.org has an awesome recording of Hughes reading his poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" which is one of my favorites.

I, Too, Sing American (probably his most popular poem)

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

If you're interested in expanding your knowlege of poets/poetry, Hughes would be an awesome start.

Homework

Have you ever woken up at six in the morning just dying to do homework? Me neither, that's why I'm wondering if I'm sick or something.

This morning I got up, suddenly anxious/excited to write my ten page critical analysis of the recent Tim Burton film Alice in Wonderland. It was a weird emotion...particularly weird because I've already written the paper once but decided last night that I wanted to re-write it. I've felt anxiety plenty of times in regards to homework but never excitement. Maybe this whole "secondary ed" program is rubbing off on me...

What was even weirder is that I wrote the entire thing in one sitting. I already had a bibliography and a few pages of "loose notes" (b/c that's what my professor wanted). Even so, usually it takes a couple tries for me to get it all out, but this time it just flowed. Which leads me to believe that the more you write, the easier it is. Or maybe I should always do a bibliography/"loose notes"/write a cruddy version of the paper I want to write first.

Why am I always so surprised when I actually learn something from school?...

Anyhow, I've also been thinking about the phrase "homework". I don't know about all y'all, but doing homework at home is like trying to read a book while skate boarding. It just doesn't work. There's too many distractions. I think when I'm a teacher I'll call it supplemental-work, or busy-work, or maybe work-you-don't-want-to-do-but-have-to-do-if-you-want-to-pass.

That is all.

Panda Express Orange Chicken! (only better...)

So Blake is a HUGE fan of Panda Express's orange chicken. I've tried many different Orange Chicken recipes, some were good but complex with complex ingredients. This is my favorite, I can make it in thirty minutes, it tastes great and comes out looking awesome. Give it a try!

2lbs boneless, skinless chicken

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Here's the key to easy Orange chicken- Store bought Panda Express Orange Sauce. I've seen it at WalMart, Macey's, and I bought a giant bottle (that'll last forever) at Costco. Making homemade orange sauce usually requires some weird ingredients, time, and usually doesn't taste just right. This saves time, ingredients, and always turns out great. I do feel it's a little spicier than the actual stuff, add some brown sugar if you agree. :)

Step 1-Cut up your chicken in bit size pieces, I cut my the size of quarters. Crack the egg right into the bowl of chicken pieces and blend it up so every piece has some egg.

Step 2-Combine your dry ingredients (I use dried ginger/onion, but you could use fresh just make sure you chop it finely or grate it). Then dump the dry ingredients into you chicken coated with egg. Stir until the chicken's coated. (At this point it'll probably be a clump of chicken and flour coating.)

Step 3-Heat up your oil to 375 degrees. I use an electric wok, but you could use a deep fryer or a regular fry pan. If you don't have a thermometer, put one piece of chicken in the oil, when it bubbles and floats it should be hot enough. Pull your chicken pieces apart and drop them into the hot oil one by one. Don't crowd the pan, I usually do three batches before it's all done. Cook until a light golden brown, 3-4 minutes.

Step 4-Allow the pieces of chicken to drain on a paper towel. Once they're all cooked, pour over some sauce. Allow it to soak for a couple minutes before serving. I like serving mine with white rice and steamed broccoli. I also cut up some green onion over the chicken.

Here's the massacred remnants of our dinner... :)

That is all.

Lake Powell!

LAKE POWELL!!!!!

We had a wonderful time! Wave runners, speed boats, tubing, skiing, hiking...it was fantastic! Here's a few pictures I snapped with the new, freaking awesome camera I got for my birthday (thank you dear).

Here are Emily and Casey, Blake's little Bro and Sis. They were a blast to have around! I love Emily's expression here!

It was early morning when Dell (Blake's dad) wanted to go solum skiing. Blake and I rolled out of bed, jumped in the speed boat, and I'm glad we did! Look how gorgeous the lake looks. I snapped these fantastic pics right as the sun was rising. They were so beautiful (and really show off Dell amazing skiing abilities) I had to include a few.

We hiked quite a distance to a land bridge from our house boat. In the picture below you can see Blake and I taking a snap shot. Below that how small Blake's grandpa looks on top of the cliff we hiked to, he's the little tiny bump at the very tippy top.

It was SO fun. I'm so glad Dell invited us. The houseboat was nice a comfy, the lake warm, the weather perfect...Ah...I'd love to go back right now!