my life in audio

Lately, I've been measuring time by audio segments. 1 audio book = 1.5 weeks worth of my commute to work. 1 episode of This American Life = 1 work out. 1 General Conference talk = 1 morning routine. What I've been listening to lately:

For spiritual enlightenment: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1864&tid=2

For laughter: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/favorites.aspx

For wisdom: http://www.nathanielphilbrick.com/mayflower/index.html

Regular Hummus

I've really struggled with making a plain-'ol regular hummus. The proportions always seem just a little off. Well, I've found if I follow this recipe exactly that my hummus turns out great! Which is fantastic given that I like to eat a lot of hummus and that I can make it for 1/4 of the price in the store.

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 to 4 tablespoons broth (I call it the juice) from the chickpeas

2 to 3 tablespoons sesame tahini

Blend in a food processor until smooth.

falafel rhymes with waffle

Falafel may rhyme with waffle, but I assure you they are not distant cousins. Here's a super easy and tasty BAKED falafel recipe that I've adapted from this recipe on the Food Network. Eat with a pita, some veggies, and hummus.

Ingredients:

• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and patted dry
• 1/2 small onion, roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, about a handful

Directions:

Combine all falafel ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse mixture until coarsely ground. Transfer to a bowl or container and refrigerate, covered, for several hours.

Form the falafel mixture into balls about the size of walnuts and press to flatten.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees until golden. Turn them at 15 minutes to ensure they cook evenly.

A day in Fredericksburg

We drove down to Fredericksburg for Labor Day to check out the town. Turns out, I love the place. We strolled through antique stores and past old churches. We enjoyed colonial history, civil war battlefields (my first...now I am a true Virginian!), and ate at great local restaurants.

The home of Mary, mother of George Washington.

ramblings for a friday afternoon

I had anticipated writing this post in the quiet of the afternoon (on my day off!) in my sweats on my bed. I am in my sweats (check), sitting on my bed (check), but I have yet to experience the quiet I had so dreamed of. My Pandora station* is competing with my neighbor's Latino rap and guess who's winning. Ah, such is life.

Yesterday I saw both the sunrise and the sunset on the Potomac River! I found this fantastic new marsh trail on my run in the morning that winds through the trees, past a marsh, and opens up with a perfect view of a boat marina, a beautiful bridge, and a variety of wildlife.

In the evening, my boyfriend (Gasp! This must be serious if he's making it on my blog!) and I took a sunset boat tour from the Alexandria harbor to Georgetown. AND...might I add that the weather was in the upper 60s? We had this great view of the planes taking off from the National Airport.

These are some pictures from the evening sunset...the sunrise is documented only in my mind =)

* As per your interest, the pandora station I am listening to is Maya Beiser--a cellist who does some pretty cool stuff.

Lake Superior and other things I like about Minnesota

There are a lot of things to like about Minnesota. I recently visited Duluth, Minnesota for the first time--a darling little town on Lake Superior.

I couldn't decide between these light house pics, so you get all of them.

In Minnesota, polar bears like this one chillax in zoos.

And, finally, the real reason I visit Minnesota (and the part I like most): To see my darling sister and her (all-grown-up) baby.

calling all audio books

I am in the market for a long list of entertaining audio books*. Know of any good ones?

*Excluding Harry Potter which I thoroughly enjoy, but just recently completed.

shiny new blog

Ok, so it looks the same. That's because the only thing that changed was the url! Thanks for making the switch to my new blog =)

REMINDER: Blog URL Change

Just a reminder: I am changing my blog url to tammyindc@blogspot.com on Sunday August 9 so either:

1. change your link OR

2. type tammyindc.blogspot.com to access my new address.

Go ahead and save these changes now because I won't make any more posts between now and then.

Runner's Tip

I prefer to run outside, but one of the downsides of running outside is that you never really know how far you go. A friend showed me this fantastic site where you can map out your route and figure out the mileage. I've been spending my time looking back at old running routes and figuring out just how many miles I used to run.

(Be sure to check out the "instructions" page...it is a little tricky to figure out how to get started.)

Sunrise over Rehobath Beach

It took some talking into, but I was persuaded to join my dear friends for an early morning to watch the sunrise over Rehobath, Delaware this weekend. The sunrise was beautiful and serene (and greatly enhanced by our snack of choice: strawberry fruit snacks). In contrast to my experience growing up going to beaches on the Gulf Coast, this beach was heavenly...no jellyfish getting washed up on the shore, no icky seaweed getting stuck between your legs, and cool refreshing water for swimming.

Family Fun

Last week my immediate family got together to enjoy good weather, good food, and good company. My mom found a charming lake house which snugly fit us all and proved to be a great home base for us during the week. I loved spending time with all my little nieces and nephews (9 in total) who made me laugh, and proved to be fantastic company.

One of the days we went to a nearby county fair and we all ordered food from the vendors. I got a BBQ sandwich that desprately needed some sort of sauce. I noticed my nephew's ketchup and swiped some of his. He said to me, "Don't! You're gonna clean me out!" He's four.

The Fam.

Our lake home (for the week).

Our family flag.

My Cousin's Wedding

My dear cousin tied the knot earlier this month to a fine young man she met at BYU. Here are a few pictures.

The bridesmaids...(we're all cousins!)

The Draper Utah Temple.

I "caught" the bouquet.

My beautiful mom and me.

Happy Camper

My dad used to periodically ask me, "Are you a happy camper?" wanting to know if I was generally satisfied with my (suburban) life. Of course the answer was always yes, but a few weeks ago during the 4th weekend I genuinely felt like a happy camper...for reals.

A few pics from our remote, nearly cellphone reception-less cabin.

The cabin. My brother helped build this. Isn't she pretty?

My nephew romping around in the forest.

I loved the cedars.

The neighbor's fence.

We were just around the corner from majestic Cedar Breaks National Forest.

blog url change...2 weeks notice

Dear Readers,

There aren't many of you, in fact I could probably personally call the majority of you and let you know that I am making a blog address change. But, just in case, I thought I'd let announce the big news here on my blog. I am changing the url of my blog to tammyindc.blogspot.com (provided it's still available--don't go stealing this address, now you hear!) in 2 weeks. That means on Friday August 7 when you click on your lovely google reader or your friend's link that you've been relying on for the entire existence of my blog, it suddenly won't work. For some of you, this may be a good thing...a chance to clean up those google reader subscriptions you haven't had the chance to take off the list (76 unread and counting...you get the point), but for others of you who rely on my semi-regular postings trying to figure out where I've been and where I may be going in the upcoming months, but never quite sure what I am actually doing with my life because it doesn't make it on this blog (you'll have to get in touch with me using other means to find out) then, the message "Sorry, the blog you were looking for does not exist" may come as a bit of a shock. Anyway, here's my two weeks notice.

Sincerely,

Tammy

Recap: Changing my blog url to tammyindc.blogspot.com on August 7.

Zion National Park

101 degrees. Sheer cliffs. Hiking. Deep blue skies. I couldn't have been happier.

If I were a flower, I'd want to live in Park City

Miss Park City Peony. I am somewhat obsessed with peonies right now, and this one is rather charming. I hardly even knew they existed until about a month ago. And...now I am hooked.

Isn't this a beautiful poppy? I have never seen one so large. From tip to tip it was about the size of my whole hand stretched out.

I saw this patch of thistles and said to my mom,"I want these at my wedding." Ok, so not your average bridal bouquet flower, but they are quite majestic, don't you think? =)

Jefferson's Monticello

Yesterday we took a road trip down to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. In the morning it was foggy and raining. But, in the afternoon it cleared up, and we got this:

The area is just gorgeous--on top of a mountain with rolling hills all around all covered with deep green forests. The home itself is fantastic, inspired by Jefferson's love of all things French.

The gate to the small cemetery on Jefferson's property and also the site where he is buried.

These cabbages in Jefferson's garden were huge and beautiful!

This butterfly just decided to pose for me.

.

Baked Oatmeal Goodness

I stole this recipe from my sister, who got it from a friend. Basically it's incredible. I've been looking for a cheaper, tasty breakfast option. (It just so happens that my favorite cereal is $4 a box...and that's not even a big box.) So, this is my attempt to curb the cravings for the expensive stuff, and so far it's working! Enjoy.

If you don't have bran just skip it and if you don't have steel-cut oats, (they are tasty) just add 1/4 reg oats.

2 1/2 c. regular rolled oats
1/4 c. oat bran
1/4 c. steel-cut oats
2 t. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups milk
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 c. cooking oil
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 cups fresh or dried fruit, chopped (strawberries, blueberries, apples, peaches, bananas, raisins, craisins, whatever)

In large bowl stir together rolled oats through cinnamon; set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together milk through sugars. Add to oat mixture, stirring until combined. Turn into lightly greased casserole pan or souffle dish.
Bake uncovered, for 20 at 400. Stir mixture. Gently fold in fruit (or don't do fruit at all). Bake for 15 more minutes or until top is lightly browned.
Serve warm with yogurt, milk, or cream. (l love it with cream!)

Philly: AAM 2009

In the beginning of May I attended the Annual Association of Museums (AAM) Annual Meeting in Philly. Last year, when I attended the conference in Colorado I knew no one...not a soul in the wider museum field. This year, I was happy to find that I ran into quite a few friends and that I've made over the past year.

Heidi and I had the privilege of presenting our research from BYU at the conference.

A few Philadelphia sights:

LOVE sculpture.

Benjamin Franklin's grave site.

City Hall at Night.