A voice of reason

This morning I was almost late to class because I had to finish reading my friend Hannah's latest post on Literally Darling. It seems to be a fairly popular blog so I feel quite honored to know one of its writers. As I was reading this morning, and as I've read her stories in the past, I reflected on how Hannah and I became friends.

It somehow happened on Twitter. I'm not even sure exactly how we got to talking but we did. I was starting my sophomore year; Hannah was starting her senior year. The first time we met in person was in front of Sugar and Spice in the Cougareat. And we had an awesome lunch. We talked missionary friends, Harry Potter, roommates, dating lives and I'm pretty sure about faith/belief. It was the first of many lunch dates.

Then Hannah graduated from BYU and went off to Maryland and Washington DC, which is basically where all of her wildest dreams came true. At least, that's how I tell the story to my friends when I'm explaining who Hannah is. (It's an exaggeration of sorts but also totally true.) She started working at a really neat place. She reconnected with her childhood sweetheart and soon after they got engaged. They're happily married and go to bed early and do things like watch The West Wing/Friday Night Lights/The Wire instead of going out on weekends.

I was lucky enough to have a friend who knew Hannah's (now) husband so I got the chance to road trip with him, his girlfriend at the time and two of his roommates to her wedding reception. Here's 1, 2, 3, 4 posts about that trip.) It was a blast, the road trip and the reception. I probably talked to Hannah for all of three minutes that day but it was just amazing to be there. We met on Twitter and suddenly I was celebrating her marriage. My favorite part of that night, besides the delicious food of which I ate so much, was Hannah's wedding toast. She posted it on her blog about a month after the wedding and hasn't posted anything since. I loved hearing that story then and I love reading it now. It's just so Hannah.

The point to this whole post is just to say that some times you have friends who you don't get to spend nearly enough time with in person but who still affect your life in profound ways. Hannah was an incredible voice of reason while my boys were serving missions. That's probably her biggest claim to fame in my life thus far. Talking with her about that time was amazing. Now that my boys have been back a while and Hannah lives on the east coast and I'm still in Provo, we still find plenty to talk about though. The last time we actually saw each other, I'm pretty sure, was at her wedding.

Our conversations aren't usually very long and they happen almost exclusively over Twitter, email, text messages and the occasional Snapchat. I send her pictures of the mountains and LaVell Edwards Stadium and she can hardly handle it. These conversations almost exclusively include me saying, "I MISS YOU," and her replying, "I MISS YOU TOO. MOVE TO DC." She's ready and willing to jump back into my life whenever I need her to, armed with the advice only a BYU graduate and Harry Potter junkie could provide. She usually articulates quite eloquent responses to my queries and worries, yet still ending with phrases like, "Whatevs. I say go for it." She is nothing but encouraging on every front. I'm pretty sure she believes in my ability to get married soon more than I do.

Everyone reading this is probably wondering why I didn't write Hannah a personal email saying all of this stuff. And I'm not sure why I didn't. As I hurried to campus this morning, I just knew it had to be blogged. I like to think that everyone has a friend like Hannah in their lives. Or I at least hope that everyone has a friend like Hannah. Because people certainly deserve that kind of friend.

So thank you, Hannah, for being perhaps my most hilarious, kind and encouraging voice of reason.

Anna Does Sorted: Sweet potato & spinach curry

This recipe was a super spontaneous one. I needed dinner, wanted to do a Sorted recipe but also wanted to use up some ingredients. The main thing I had in the kitchen to use was sweet potato. I've been on quite the sweet potato kick lately. The cool thing about this recipe was I somehow had everything I needed for it, except the spinach but I'm not very fond of it anyway so no harm no foul. Watching the video for this one was a nice surprise on account of how it's "old school" Sorted. They filmed this one over 2 years ago!

 

I usually don't have naan just sitting in my cupboard so I improvised with tortillas instead. That worked well enough. My favorite part of this dish was definitely the yogurt-based dip. So tasty! And a perfect complement to the kick of the curry. The other curry I made from Sorted isn't a spicy kind so this was a nice change; not that this one was all that spicy but in comparison it was much stronger. This was super quick to make as well. Once again, the most difficult part was chopping the sweet potato and onions because A) crappy knives and B) my eyes are super sensitive to onions. (I sure do hate onions.)

I'm definitely interested in adding in more things to this curry beyond just onions and sweet potato. I guess I could start by actually including spinach but I'd prefer other vegetables or maybe some chicken. Having actual naan will be the next step as well. I imagine Sorted has a naan recipe just waiting for me to discover. (And indeed it does, featured with the naan bread pizza recipe. Yum.)

My next recipe will definitely be the tandoori chicken burger, though. Hopefully I can get that one done before going to Yellowstone this weekend. I'm thinking of taking Sorted along on the camping trip by making the smokey BBQ beans and jacket. Camping food is some of my favorite, so look forward to a post on some of the things we make!

And speaking of more personal things beyond my cooking as of late, I'm now a college graduate. Or mostly. I still have a couple classes for fall but I did walk in the graduation ceremonies this past weekend. I'm still feeling pretty accomplished.

Last YouTube video I watched: Human bungee slingshot

From New York to Utah to Wisconsin to Utah

In the 5 or so weeks (now more since I keep forgetting about this post) I've been "home" from New York, I've done a lot of stuff. So here's a summary of it.

Flights I've taken: 6

Meals eaten at Chick-Fil-A: 4.

Recipes cooked from Sorted Food: 5. The pizza swirls are by far my favorite thing I've tried.

Meals/snacks cooked by Badger: 3. Possibly more.

Visits to Yogurtland: 2.

Games of Spaceteam played: Too many to count already.

Wedding receptions I attended: 1. But it was the best wedding reception I've ever been to. #camgelaforever

People we explained the mick-mack scale to: More than 3 but less than 7.

Seasons of LOST I've watched: 3 1/2 and counting.

Pieces I've written for the Universe: 2. (The first on binge watching TV and the second on the importance of mentors)

Snapchats Kelly has sent me of her dogs: At least 5. Probably more.

Letters Margaret and I have both sent to/received from each other: Around 6.

Boating trips I've been on. 0, sadly. But I did enjoy a good rope swing.

Times Becca, Ryan and I were slightly to moderately terrified while climbing down Bridal Veil Falls as rocks slipped out from under us: A fair few.

Pages I've designed for The Universe: 4.

New movies I've seen: 2. Monsters University and Great Gatsby.

Costco runs Becca and I have made: 1. It's the start of something great.

Times I've watched Wreck It Ralph: 3.

Awesome Seven Peaks visits: 2.

Games of Wii Bowling Peter and I have played: Probably around 10.

Games of Wii Bowling I've won: I'm pretty sure it's 2 but he will vehemently disagree.
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All in all it has been a crazy summer. It's hard to believe that next week I'll be walking for graduation. And then the week after that Becca and I want to embark on an awesome little camping trip. And then it will almost be time for my final semester at BYU to begin. Where did the last four years go?

Last YouTube video I watched: Vlogumentary trailer (If you only ever watch one video I post, please make it this one. Expect a post solely dedicated to that trailer within the next few days.)

The BYU equivalent of spring break

Since we don't get spring break at BYU, I've decided that General Conference weekend is what we get instead. We get to sit on our couches for hours on Saturday and Sunday, spending time with friends and eating delicious snacks. That's as close to a break as we get here in Utah.

This morning Becca and I went to the Lava Lounge and got a free pancake breakfast! Our friends were nice enough to treat us to that while we watching the morning session of conference. It was great to be spread across all of the couches there with friends enjoying all the talks.

For lunch we all went to Chick-Fil-A and then to the park for a picnic! It was a bit windy so we didn't stay long but it was nice to be outside nonetheless. It's turned into a kind of tradition to have Chick-Fil-A picnics on the Saturday of conference. When we got back to the Lava Lounge after eating, Becca, Ryan, Ben and I ended up crowding around Becca's tablet watching N*SYNC music videos. I hardly know how that happened but it did. All four of us were crammed on, like, three couch cushions so that was fun.

Within minutes of the beginning of the afternoon session of talks, Ryan, who was to Becca's right, and Ben, who was to my left, had managed to get closer to us than they already had been and eventually put their heads on our shoulders. (Ben on mine and Ryan on Becca's.) Usually when you think of heads leaning on shoulders, it's the girls putting their heads onto guys' shoulders, right? Well, not at the Lava Lounge; at the Lava Lounge anything goes when it comes to shoulder leaning. At one point Becca and I made eye contact over both the boys' heads and smiled so big and laughed silently for a few minutes. It might sound strange to say but we both feel quite blessed to have these friends in our lives who are so comfortable with us and with each other that they'll drop their heads on our shoulders without a moment's notice or without even asking if it's all right to do: everyone just knows it is. They're our boys, through and through, the kind of friends that define my time at BYU.

After all that was said and done, Becca and I went grocery shopping (wearing our matching Keens) and made enchiladas for dinner! They were super delicious. We're basically unstoppable food-wise when we make something together.

Batman: hero of Gotham City and pencil giver

So Batman is in this video. And more importantly, so am I.



But really. If any BYU students need a pencil, stop by room 152 of the Brimhall (aka the newsroom) and get an awesome neon pencil.