New Compy

And she shall be christened Greta. And Greta shall be her name.

Look how good of a photographer Greta is:

Much brighter, and much less grainy than my Mac. So it looks like Greta is starting out well. I guess I'll keep her around.

25 While 25

I'm turning 25 today. A quarter of a century. When I look back at the years past... it's been SO long! Suddenly, dying at 75 doesn't seem all bad. That allows for a nice long life, doesn't it?

And I've already accomplished so much. I'm so grateful for the life that I've been blessed with so far. I've been to Europe. Twice! I've been to New York! I've been skydiving and ran a marathon. I bought a brand new car (stupid...) and paid it off! I graduated from high school and university. I was a cheerleader...(what?) I've been a bridesmaid 8 times! I've gained 8 new incredible family members. I won the excellency plaque for French (merci beaucoup), won 2nd place in the 5th grade Spelling Bee (or was it 4th grade?), graduated from seminary and institute, and won a dictionary for the leadership award in 6th grade (again, what?). I've been to countless concerts and movies, seen operas and broadway shows, and have watched long TV series' from beginning to end.

I've been such a lucky girl! How can I even top the last 25 years?! I guess finally starting my own family will be a pretty big deal, huh...? So I have that to look forward to. In the meantime, here's a list of my 25 While 25. I'll check in with you next year in hopes of having this list all checked off!

1. Crochet a full-size scarf
2. Make homemade popsicles
3. Do a juice cleanse
4. Run the Ragnar or a triathlon
5. Receive my endowment
6. Make a pie crust that doesn't suck
7. Visit four new destinations
8. Be the asker for a date
9. Make a successful lasagna
10. Get muhamara at Mazza again
11. Celebrate the Winter Solstice
12. Get a New Year's kiss
13. Make origami out of map paper
14. Learn calligraphy
15. Go karaoking
16. Paint five pictures
17. Get in the 140's
18. Buy a new record player
19. Make a Tolman family cookbook
20. Climb Mt. Olympus again
21. Replace laptop time with reading time more often
22. Make my own vanilla extract
23. Wear red lipstick outside of a costume situation and don't feel silly
24. Play piano for one hour per week
25. Go on a dishcrawl

(P.S. I'm not superstitious at all, but when I was typing this list, I originally completely forgot to type the number 13. Weird?)

Vacation Music Memories

I love The A.V. Club's AVQ&A series. This week's question really got old vacation memories flowing.

My parents were incredible at making sure we got at least one road-trip vacation a year, always somewhere warm. Trips were made to Lake Powell, St. George, Mesquite, Anaheim, San Jose... As long as we were heading South, my parents were happy. And music was a key element to those trips. My dad is a fond listener to Arrow 103.5 or any classic rock station. That love transferred to his kids, particularly me. And Mom listens to nearly everything, but especially FM 100, and Top 40's stations. However, once we reached the edge of Nephi or thereabouts, the radio stations would be gone, and the huge book of CD's would be pulled out.
One of the favorites was Bob Seger's Greatest Hits album. I remember one night of off-road driving in the old Suburban, Like a Rock tuned on the CD player, and Dad driving over unpaved and rocky ground.
Mom is a big Sarah Brightman fan, and Phantom of the Opera was often played. I grew a love for that musical from a very young age because of my Mom's love for it.
The family could all agree to Disney soundtracks as well. There were many trips singing along to The Little Mermaid (my brother now impresses women by knowing the entirety of Part of Your World), and The Lion King (Dad once said that his children should plan on singing The Circle of Life at his funeral).

Road trips with friends carried a very different sound track. I joined Kristin on a family trip to the Preston Rodeo, where we listened to Destiny's Child and the Dixie Chicks over headphones and sang along in two-part harmony (her poor parents...)
Trips with Jami, Katie, and Lynsie would always include a little Kelly Clarkson, some Disney hits, and a I Want to Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston.
Driving with my sisters, our favorites included 'Nsync and Backstreet Boys throwbacks, Cyndi Lauper, and 80's pop hits; whereas, drives with my brother are a bit more enlightening with music by whatever new and incredible band he has to show me at the time.

It truly is inspiring to hear any of those songs play, whether from my ipod, the radio, grocery story, etc., and immediately be taken back into the seat of a car, scenery rushing past the windows and spending time with people I love with every part of my heart.

Pad Thai Noodles-Two ways

On my drive home a couple days ago, I stopped by the Southeast Market to get some pad thai noodles and cilantro. (side note: the Southeast Market's cilantro was the same price as Smith's and about triple the amount! Awesome.) I had a serious craving for comfort food and a little spice, and what better way than noodles and chili-garlic sauce?! I found this recipe for Vietnamese Noodle Salad a week or so prior and was dying to try it. Perfect.

I changed mine up a bit, using pad thai noodles instead of the rice noodles. I also julienned some zucchini and orange bell pepper instead of the cucumber, used LOTS of cilantro instead of mint, and topped it with chopped peanuts. And it was the perfect summer comfort salad! Yum!

For today's dinner, I had half the pad thai noodles (undressed) that needed to be used, plus some leftover barbecued beef from Sunday's dinner. So I thought, beef pad thai!

I sliced up a red bell pepper, some onion, and garlic and sauteed it for a bit. Then I added a little water, chili-garlic sauce, peanut butter (in lieu of chopped peanuts on top), and soy sauce to the pan, as well as my barbecued beef. The noodles were throw in next and mixed all together. Then a little lime juice and cilantro topped it off.

Result: so delicious! I was worried the barbecue sauce in the beef would throw off the pad thai flavor, but it gave the noodles a lot of depth. I'm rather proud of my new recipe.

It doesn't look very pretty, but promise, it tastes good.

Moral of the story: next time you want comfort food, think pad thai noodles!

My Burning House

I'm endlessly fascinated and in love with The Burning House. Ever since I saw the website, I've been pondering and wondering what I'd truly want in those moments of fear and panic. To be really honest, I'd probably run out of the house without a single thing in my arms.

But if I had just those precious seconds to think, this is what I'd grab:

My purse, which has all the essentials: chapstick, money and ID, camera, and, most importantly, my iPod!

My phone (this is an emergency and I'll be needing that list of contacts),

glasses (particularly if this fire is at night. I need to see!),

travel journal (endlessly more valuable to me than my daily journal),

scriptures that I've had since age 8.

My computer, which holds 5 years of pictures and lots of music.

Now, if I had a good full minute, rather than seconds, to grab something, here's what would be added:

Various personal journals; a gifted scarf from Italy; Floopy, the dog/bear my mom bought me before I moved away for college; and a box of travel memorabilia and maps that cannot be replaced.

There you have it. The absolute essentials.

But now in the category of Things-I'd-Be-Devastated-About-Losing, But-Will-Have-Lost-Nonetheless:

My record collection and tiny child's record player; my globe.

My lovely Stevie-Nicks-like skirt mentioned in a previous post; two vintage dresses and a vintage coat that are irreplaceable and fit me perfectly.

My first (recent) painting of which I'm rather fond.

Pearl earrings and necklace from my parents.

And in the category of I-Hope-I'll-See-It-and-Grab-It-As-I-Flee-My-Room:

My ratty, holey childhood blankie. So many memories.

Lastly, in category of Probably-Most-Expensive-Item-I-Own-and-Would-Be-Pissed-to-Have-to-Replace:

My mouth guard I wear at night to aid in reducing my bruxism, racking in at $200.

And the things I've seen just while writing this post that I realized I'd also be completely sad to lose: my Sistine Chapel print from Rome, my travel bag with pins and buttons from various vacations, sweet cards and thank you notes from friends and family, my dad's old Book of Mormon, my This is Paris book and best of Europe book...

Man, this list could just go on and on!