office party!!!!!

Another year, another office Christmas Party!, this year held at Squatter's which had some great food. The party was a blast with white elephant exchange (classic) and a killer game of Deal or No Deal where my team won $60 each! Thanks for the great party M&B!

The bosses and me.

A fab meetup with my old co-worker Jewelz at Thaifoon's the next night. love you jewelz!

the tradition of cheer lives on

I stayed an extra week out West to go to Kate's Regional Cheer Competition where they were trying for their bid to Nationals and they got it! Kandis choreographed the routine which was awesome, I designed the shirts for the fans, it turned into a whole Olson affair. My mom ordered a shirt for all of us, even Kurt was feeling proud in his "Skyline Cheer" shirt. I can't wait to go to Nationals again now. GO GRIZZ!

Awesome Tosses
Dancing
Kate on the right in both stunts (flyer)
The FAM
KateO's Squad
This girl....
The Head Cheerleader Streak - 4 in a row. Thanks for the genes mom! lol

thanksgiving in utah

We had a great party of 23 for Thanksgiving this year at my Grandpa Earl's. We had a majority of the Olson Family all there - (Olson meaning my dad's whole side) The day was enjoyed by parades, football, eating, movies, and more eating.

Reading books all day. Kenedee found a new friend.
The newest second cousins.
Steve's brother Brett joined us up from school in Provo.
The newly engaged Kurt and Paige.
Grandpa with his three kids.
the kids end of the table
the parent end of the table

the gathering

Everyone safely arrived thanksgiving eve in SLC for a big soiree at my aunt's house where my Uncle Lew hosted a fab meal. It was great to be together and see everyone. I love the blessing of family.

b-y-boo

So the game was the worst, but we had a good time anyways at our friends, the Howell's house, for the rival game. One winning Ute family, five other losing Cougar fams.

red snack of choice

I am testing you Martha Stewart. I saw you do this on your show today and happened to have a pomegranate sitting on my counter so I got up and tried it myself. Conclusion: Martha is a genius (well supposedly she learned this from an Indian man so he's the real genius...his name unknown). So now I must share this great trick:
HOW TO REMOVE SEEDS FROM A POMEGRANATE
(seriously you will never retrieve seeds another way again)

Score the peel, meaning slightly cut the surface of the pomegranate into quarters. Then stick the knife in slight at the top to help start to split the pomegranate open.
Pull the two halves apart with both hands. Do not cut open with knife.
Do it over a bowl to catch any loose seeds. Now you have two halves.
Repeat again with the halves. Pull apart so you have 4 quarters.
Now, take one quarter in your hand and grab a wooden spoon, hold over a bowl and smack the pomegranate pretty firmly and the seeds should just start falling into the bowl. Don't be scared, hit it.
You shouldn't have to use your hands to pick out the seeds. Just smack until all of them just fall out, like magic ;)
Now you should have a bowl full of seeds and four cavernous pomegranate quarters.
I hope you thought it was as easy as I did, this definitely beats picking all the seeds out by hand.
YAH for a bowl of seeds to snack...YUM, just look at that juicy capsule.

heck yes

Midnight Showing of Twilight with some girlfriends. Go vampires!

can you guess...

...what this is?

friends for a moment

I don't know why I notice bugs but I do, especially colorful ones. (maybe because there are a lot of them in GA) The previous bug I photographed was on my car window one day. This bug was basking in the sunlight on my front door when I got home from church. It made me smile. hello red bug.

urban cowboy

Steve and me hit up an Indie Craft Fair downtown ATL on Saturday and delightfully came across this fab graffiti where we were parking...along with this urban horse. Not seeing the horses after getting out of the car Steve says, " it stinks like a farm." I told him to turn around and this first image is what we saw. He loved it. I think the horse loves his graffiti home.



The Craft Experience in a photography studio warehouse

totally southern

This is the first ALL southern meal I think I've ever made. I decided to be a 'belle' this past weekend and made Chinese Teriyaki Spareribs, Martha's Mac, and Creamed Spinach. They were all delicious. I had never made ribs before so I was a bit intimidated but they turned out great. Get daring and try them, are you drooling yet?


Ingredients

* 2 racks pork spareribs, 4 pounds each, trimmed of excess fat
* 1/2 cup Chinese five-spice powder
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, for garnish
* Chopped fresh cilantro leaves and green onion, for garnish

Teriyaki Glaze:

* 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
* 1 cup grapefruit juice
* 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
* 1/4 cup ketchup
* 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1 fresh red chile
* 2 garlic cloves, smashed
* 2-inch piece fresh ginger, whacked open with the flat side of a knife

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Rub the ribs all over with the five-spice powder; season generously with salt and pepper. Arrange the ribs in a single layer in a roasting pan and slow-roast for 2 1/2 hours.

To prepare the teriyaki glaze: Meanwhile, in a pot, combine the soy sauce, grapefruit juice, hoisin sauce, ketchup, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, chile, garlic, and ginger over medium heat. Bring to a slow simmer and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 20 minutes.

In the last 30 minutes of cooking, baste the ribs with the teriyaki sauce. When they are done, the pork will pull away from the bone and you will see about 1/2-inch of bone showing. Just before you're ready to eat, baste the ribs with the teriyaki sauce again and stick them under the broiler for 5 to 8 minutes to make the spareribs a nice crusty brown. (Keep a close eye on these guys - ribs go from perfectly crisp to perfectly burnt seconds.) Separate the ribs with a cleaver or sharp knife, pile them on a platter, and pour on the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, chopped cilantro, and green onion before serving.

a mild fascination with the body

Bodies: the Exhibit was back here in Atlanta and Steve and me were excited to go check it out. I have to say this was more incredible than I had even imagined. The fine detail and description of all the different forms and functions of the body were cool to see in live form vs. a text book. My favorite parts were the vascular room, the nerve system, and fetal room. If this comes to your city, we'd highly recommend it. These are just a few pics I grabbed off google showing some highlights of what we saw. And to people that believe in evolution? This just all happened by chance? yeah right.

whatever martha!

This is a straight plug for a new show on FLN called "Whatever, Martha." I love the Martha Stewart Show and heard about this show and checked it out. It's hosted by Alexis Stewart, Martha's daughter, and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt, Alexis Stewart's cohost on the Martha Stewart Radio show Whatever. Making use of old episodes of Martha Stewart Living, the two poke fun of Martha's unfortunate outfits, anal retentive tendencies, and more. I have watched a few episodes and catch myself laughing outloud. It's all the stuff you're thinking when you watch her show... but you can't argue she still has great ideas.

winter songs

My friend Emily posted about this CD on her blog and I fell in love with it immediately. It's new Christmas tunes with some of my favorite artists. I went and bought it right away on iTunes. It has been so fun listening to it so I had to share it with all you lovers of cool unique indie artists. I suggest you see if it is to your liking and you'll have something new to add to your holiday collection. Listen and find out more here.

we've cast

Now we must wait...in the meantime check out this video ›››