Yesterday I biked and….

Yesterday I got cold sitting in my lonesome kitchen, so I ventured outside for the company of warmth. I laid in my hammock for an extended period of time and rested my head on the ever-so-black pillow, soaking up the sun and tidbits of Hamlet. Sammy came to visit me because Kodiak wasn't around to push his covetous nose between Sammy and me. I ate dinner on the porch with my dad and talked of grown-up things, like the prominent sound of Justin Bieber echoing across the river and literary works. I went on a golf cart ride.

And just after dark I snuggled against the brick to collect any remaining heat from the day and play Surfacer, the infamous game. I'm an addict, somewhat, and I don't even know why… I beat this free version every time, yet I continue to play and weirder yet, find satisfaction in doing so. I crawled into my parents' bed around midnight and jokingly told them I was going to sleep there with them. But I was kind of serious, because I hadn't put clean sheets on my bed yet and my thought-of-mattress was less than inviting. I left at 1:00 AM and settled for Skyler's spare bed, which is always prepared for me. Today I plan on keeping a similar schedule with a little more Hamlet.

Martha Stewart has taught me so much.

1. 1. 

      Seriously, I worship marthastewart.com. Her website is close to flawless. This summer when I am feeling crafty (mostly just hungry) I quickly jump on her website and find numerous ideas/recipes to satisfy my needs. And I'm aware that I am painting myself matronly, but I truly just love cooking and have had more time this summer. So far I've made pasta with goat cheese and roasted asparagus, baked pasta with tomatoes and parmesan, but I added some chicken for protein, and gruyere cheese, basil, and olives for more flavor. But one of our family favorite's was pear dumplings. It was a two day process, and I didn't exactly follow the recipe, (I used Martinelli's instead of white wine… I don't think it really "cooks" out) but the pears were well worth the work and so yummy to eat. I just keep adding to my recipe book.
      
      

      Poached Pears: Ingredients

      • • 2 bottles dry white wine
        • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus the peel of 2 lemons
        • 2 cups granulated sugar
        • 2 cinnamon sticks
        • 1 vanilla bean, halved and seeded
        • 5 large or 8 small pears, peeled

      • For The Crust

        • Pate Brisee, rolled to 1/8 inch, chilled

      • For Finishing

        • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
        • 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
        • 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
        • 1 egg, beaten with 2 teaspoons water for glaze
        • Fine sanding sugar, optional

      Directions

      1. Poach the pears: Combine white wine, lemon juice and peel, granulated sugar, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla bean and seeds in medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add the pears, lowering the heat, and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until pears are tender. If necessary, turn the pears very gently by rotating the stems with your fingertips so that they cook evenly. Remove the pears to a bowl, bring the poaching liquid to rapid boil, and reduce by half. Pour the syrup over the pears and refrigerate, covered, for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

      2. Assemble the dumplings: Roll out the pastry to a thickness of no more than 1/8 inch. Using a sharp paring knife or pastry wheel, cut dough into triangles (using the pear as a guide for the size). Cut as many leaf shapes as possible from the pastry scraps, and use the back of a paring knife to make the vein markings. Keep the pastry chilled on parchment-lined baking sheets until ready to use.

      3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside. Remove pears from poaching syrup and pat dry. Reduce syrup to about a cup for serving. Using a Parisian scoop, core each piece of fruit carefully, starting from the bottom to within 3/4 inch of the top; take care to leave the stem intact. Fill each fruit with some of the cinnamon-sugar mixture and dot with butter. Invert each pear onto the center of the triangle of pastry. Lightly brush edges of dough with egg wash. Bring the edges of the pastry together and pinch to seal. Garnish the dumplings as desired by pasting the leaves on with egg wash. Lightly brush each dumpling with egg wash and, if desired, sprinkle with sanding sugar. Place the dumplings on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill until ready to bake.

      4. Cover stems with a small piece of parchment-lined foil. Bake in upper third of oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool slightly, about 15 to 20 minutes. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of reduced syrup around the base of each pear. Serve warm.

         1. 

            
            
            
            *Skyler designed the aluminum tops for the pear-steams

            

            Two day process…. so worth it.
            
            

Summer school like I failed a class.

WELCOME HOME DAVID CONLEY

WELCOME HOME ALLISON

SANTORINI CALDERA

But I didn’t fail a class. I just want to get ahead in my educational pursuits; rather I don’t want to fall behind with the decision to venture to London this fall. But signing up for summer classes has been a much more difficult experience than needed, somewhat self-imposed… I live by ratemyprofessor.com, and spend/waste so much time reading about my would-have-been-professor-if-he-were-a-bit-better. Today I had at least ten tabs open in safari as I navigated myself through pages of ratings, comments, and even the occasional chili pepper. I’ll eventually figure it out. And hopefully before next Monday.

ps the pictures above have mostly nothing to do with my concerns for summer school… Just a few pictures of my life as of late.

I love this.

I think I'd really like to join the LPGA. I've missed this and can't wait to get back to golfing. I am still awful and am a happy girl if I can just avoid a sand trap, but I love participating in a "gentlemen's sport…" Is that weird? try it.

A Poem for the Sabbath

I LOVE BIKE RIDES THE MOST.

The rain sheds my tears,

because I can't do it for myself.

And when it's not raining…

water still leaks when compelled by the wind.

So sometimes I can't see…

I'm blinded by the sun, the cement slab,

the wind, the rain, the dust,

and even the man in spandex,

but only sometimes,

because I won't let him lead forever.

But when I'm blinded I feel. I feel the sun.

I feel the wind, the rain, the dust,

and I know I'm riding.

Sleepovers are for College.

Sleepovers weren't allowed in my house growing up. My mom believed that nothing good happened at sleepovers, so we stayed in the comforts of our own bed. I remember intently listening to last October's general conference surprised by Larry R. Lawrence's talked, titled: "Courageous Parenting". I still think my mom wrote/helped write this talk. Elder Lawrence said, "May I express my personal warning about a practice that is common in many cultures. I am referring to sleepovers, or spending the night at the home of a friend. As a bishop I discovered that too many youth violated the Word of Wisdom or the law of chastity for the first time as part of a sleepover." So I never really reminisced in any would-have-been experiences throughout middle school/high school, but Mallory Peterson and I figured we needed to end the school year with my first-ever-soon-to-be-annual sleepover at the dorms.

We had one night to caught up on everything we missed… so what did we do?… Logically we hit up the BYU creamery for the essentials, transferred a traffic cone, bought most E.L. Fudge products available at the nearest Smith's, indulged in Princess fruit snacks, made a goofy scavenger hunt that logically led to my parents' mailbox, bought some hardcore tattoos, parked outside Liberty Square for….. way too long, wrote a few poems (the real rhyming kind), laughed about lots of super funny things (and some not-so-funny things), sat on my bed, attempted to watch a movie, and slept (maybe). Sleepovers are for college. :)

*Picture above resembles my tattoo that I have yet to use. I just get a thrill from opening the cardboard flap that reveals my surprise tattoo. (actual use of the tattoo after that point is optional). :)

"Many malt beverages contain alcohol. Please read the label."

Andrew Michael Conley.

The chemistry majors?… I feel like it's a tradition of sorts, but the boys wanted to put me on the outside of this picture, so it'd be easier to crop me out of the photo in case I changed my major… Needless to say I snuck myself in right where I belonged. :)

Andrew Michael Conley. BYU graduate. Chemistry major. Business minor. 2011.

After finals I rushed to the commencement exercises in the Marriott Center to support Andrew in his graduation, the beginning of a two day event. Leslie talked on the phone with Andrew while he was walking in to the Marriott Center, so we could visually follow him to his seat from across the way. They recognized all the graduates, giving the master's and doctoral graduates special recognition, which weirdly embedded a strong(er) desire to get my masters/PhD. Besides the "hooding" ceremony slash the "hood" itself, they seemed to enjoy a substantial amount of perks (best seats/receiving more flower leis etc). Elder Scott spoke (how cool is that), and I oddly got emotional (this is very odd for anyone that knows me), but I just felt so blessed to be at BYU, and I was overcome by Andrew's accomplishment. He is the first child in our family to graduate from BYU, and Elder Scott's words spoke directly to me as a student attending this beautiful university. Andrew was one of 15 chemistry graduates this April.

In a brief "interview" with Andrew via facetime I learned a little bit about his experience at BYU. Andrew suggested that I look up some quotes by Abraham Lincoln or Winston Churchill-"someone who people wouldn't know who said it, but they'd know it wasn't me," in the words of Andrew. (He learned how to utilize his resources/the internet in college). Both Honest Abe and Prime-minister Churchill had worthwhile quotes for the occasion. The first from Churchill, "Difficulties mastered are opportunities won," and the second from Mr. President, " All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother".

Was it worth it Andrew? …silence… "On a scale of one to seven, with one being worth it, it was a negative one." This gave me hope, only being a sophomore in the same major. Andrew said that he "loves BYU," and his only advice for me was to, "change [my] major," with a slight laugh… His favorite class was physics 123, which I will have the privilege/torture to take next year. Andrew became very familiar with the Benson building throughout his stay at Brigham Young University, and we even spent time together studying in the fishbowl (although my favorite place to study is the fourth floor conference room). I look up to Andrew as an example and mentor. Whatever he decides to do I know he'll do it well and be of great service! :)