Flowers & Boyz

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This is what I see each time I leave and come home. After religiously watering, fertilizing, deadheading, and debugging my flowers, they are finally blog-worthy.

But anyway...

Last night I took Hylan to see my Boyz. After patiently waiting through a singing contest that doubled as the opening act, the men of the night came out blazing and serenaded us to some of their most popular hits like "End of the Road," "On Bended Knee," "Water Runs Dry," and "The Color of Love,"as well as other classic Motown songs like "Ain't Nothing like the Real Thing," "War," "Money, (That's What I Want)," and "Just My Imagination." "Doing a little East Coast swing," they began and ended the night with "Motownphilly," making this East Coaster proud of her roots. Shawn is still my favorite. What a great night!

I'm pretty much the giddiest little kid when it comes to stuff like this. Here is me clutching my "golden ticket."

The Scera Shell is a fun outdoor venue. We took a blanket and pillows and played with some Uno cards (Spit and War--that's for you, Amy, although Spit was hard to play as we were on an incline).

Sometimes it's hard to get Hylan to smile, but then I showed him his picture and he started laughing, so I quickly snapped a couple more pictures mid-laugh.


I have an old digital camera that takes decent snap shots, but the dark picture is the best I got from the actual concert. The next two pictures were taken off the web, but it's pretty much what our concert looked like.

The Boyz seemed genuinely thrilled with the 5,000 + capacity crowd and Wanya even commented about how great Orem, Utah was saying, "we'll definitely be coming back here." Even though they may have been mere flatteries to get the crowd to scream louder, if they make good on their promise, I want front row seats so they can touch my hand and give me a rose during a romantic ballad. Haha! :) Hylan is secure; he won't get jealous.

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Oh, and did you notice Hylan shaved and got a haircut? All in the same weekend too! I must have been really good last week, or lucky, or something. So fresh and so clean. Lovin' it!

Peaches, Pretzels, & Pizza, etc.

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First, here is a funny video clip of various family members back home (sigh) playing a balloon popping game. My Mom has the highlight at the end. It's a must see. http://hatuhite.blogspot.com/2008/08/birthdays-and-some-laughs.html#links

Yesterday, my sister and I got together with the intention of making peach pies. We bought some fresh peaches from the Red Barn, but they were too firm to be made into pies that day, so we ended up making homemade soft pretzels and pizza. Here are some highlights.

Sometimes when babies are contenting themselves by playing on the kitchen table, it's easier to let them play while we work.

We made some fabulous pizzeria pizzas. Madeleine took a nap during the dough rise. Annie loved her pizza.

If you weren't aware, Pennsylvania is the pretzel capital of the world. We were just getting back to our roots by making these, and they turned out so delicious. Madeleine loved her pizza, click on the image to see her face.

My sister hosted this event...she sure has lovely "Uba Tuba" granite in her kitchen (wink and a nudge to Hylan). I thought Annie was so cute lounging on the carpet.

Earlier this past week, I decided to invent my own healthy muffin recipe because I had two overripe bananas. The end result was surprisingly delicious. This is what I came up with.

I remembered to take a picture for the blog after I'd already snacked on several of these straight from the oven.

Emily’s Healthy Banana Orange Cornbread Muffins
Created 8/20/08

1/2 cup whole grain yellow corn meal

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup flaxseed meal (I just grind my flaxseeds in my Magic Bullet)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg
1 tablespoon butter, melted

¼ cup vegetable oil
2 small bananas pureed
1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons orange extract

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients:
1/2 cup whole grain yellow corn meal

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

¼ cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients:

1 egg
1 tablespoon butter, melted

¼ cup vegetable oil
2 small bananas, pureed
1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons orange extract

Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray (like Pam for Baking, etc.). Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Do not overmix. Using a #40 scoop, divide the batter evenly among 12 muffin compartments. These muffins will be smallish in size. Or, double scoop and make six large muffins. Bake 5-8 minutes (longer if doubled). They shouldn't take long and your nose will tell you when they are done. Stick a toothpick in to be sure. When it comes out cleanly, they are finished.

Serve warm with honey butter!

On Blogging

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You know, I don’t flatter myself to think that many people read this blog. I mean, I read a lot of blogs because it’s fun to keep up on the events of others. It’s kind of like watching a reality show, except your reading it and it’s usually about people you know. I don’t know that my life is all that interesting to anyone else except myself and maybe a few family members or friends. I mean, let’s be honest, I have to gently (or sometimes forcefully) coax Hylan to read what is supposed to be our blog. So to those of you who may stumble upon my blog, and perhaps even care enough to read it, because you know either me or Hylan, here some of my thoughts on the subject.

Naturally, one wouldn’t lay out all of their personal information on their blog. Once and awhile it seems appropriate to share life’s happenings tactfully, but I know in large measure, I myself leave the pessimism to my personal journal. Most of the time, it’s just not necessary or even productive to read my rants and frustration about particular circumstances, or to read about the days when everything in life is distorted by shades of blue.

I do still feel however, that I’m completely real in my blogs. Most of the time, blogs are upbeat and fun, so it’s a pretty good bet that they are written in a good mood. I don’t really know exactly what people want to read, and aren’t we all taught in any good writing class to write to our audience? Since the only audience I’m 100% sure of is me, then I guess I write for me, or at least I write about things that are interesting to me however random or silly they may truly be.

I don’t know that I have a point. Just keep blogging, because I enjoy reading blogs. Whether it’s personal, anecdotal, pictorial, or simply entertaining, keep ‘em coming. And if perchance you have a blog that I am not aware of, please do inform me and I’d be happy to post a link and visit your blog too.

And also, since I know that pictures make for a more enjoyable blog experience. Here are some memories.




A random montage of memories from 2004-2007 in chronological order...and some cute lion cubs.

Why Emily is Ecstatic

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Lists are easy to read, so I think I'll blog another list.

8.) I got Nature Valley Granola Bars and Fiber One Bars for just $1.00 a box at Smith's this week. Yes, one dollar. And I didn't even have to use a coupon. They are normally around $3.50 per box.

7.) Michael Phelps, gold medals, olympic/world records--need I say more?

6.) Nastia and Shawn finished 1, 2 in the women's gymnastics all-around.

5.) After my sister asked her three year-old daughter if she remembered seeing her new baby brother's picture (from a sonogram), she replied, "it was too abstract for me." Too funny.

4.) I've realized if I would have grown taller and grown up in Southern California, I would have been a beach volleyball player...Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are so much fun to watch!

3.) Team USA Men's 400 IM and Lezak's amazing finish to beat the Frenchies! (I still love the French--I cried for the guy who got 3rd in the men's gymnastics all-around.)

2.) Today is my Grandma's birthday! Happy 85th!!!! :) :)

1.) And the absolute number one reason to be ecstatic and the impetus for this blog is...drum roll please...I just bought tickets for the BOYZ II MEN concert at the Scera Center! Ever since I was 10 years old and "Motownphilly" was released, this has been my favorite male group. I'm so excited they are still going at it (sans Mike, the deep bass--he had to quit due to back pain issues) and that they are coming to little old Orem, UT. I remember once they were performing in Philly when I was teenager, and all I wanted was to go to that concert...so many years later and I finally get my chance!!! I'll be sure to blog about it after August 28th!

Not to mention, Alicia Keys and So You Think You Can Dance are coming to Salt Lake in September. Could I be any happier? If only I had tickets to these concerts too. It's my three favorite dream concerts all in the course of a month. Omigosh! Anyone want to lend me a couple hundred dollars? Hylan? Anybody? :)