Ode to Pop

My Pop celebrated his birthday this week. On his day of presents and cake, I recognize more than ever that he’s the true gift. He does so much for our family and never asks a thing in return. So I’d like to take a minute and honor this special man with a blog post.

• My Pop is the life of the party. He’s always pulling silly antics and making us laugh.


• My Pop is the worst and the best partner to have in a game of Pictionary. His drawings are almost always unrecognizable, which makes winning hard, but the belly-hurting laughter that ensues is better than winning anyway.


• My Pop is handsome. In his younger days, he was often compared to JFK, though our family all agrees that Pop had him beat.

• My Pop is a fix-all handy man. Just the other day he fixed multiple problems on my car in a few short hours and saved me hundreds of dollars. And cars aren’t the only thing he can fix. He’s a master electrician, a smart carpenter, a wiz constructer, and he puts Joe’s plumbing skills to shame.
  
• My Pop values an education and has instilled that value in me. During my school years, he was always there encouraging me to do my best, constantly stressing how important what I was doing actually was, even when I didn’t want to see it that way.
  
• My Pop is a tree hugger. Okay, maybe not in the traditional sense, but he does love the outdoors. He lives to spend his summers in the Colorado Mountains, riding motorcycles, fishing, hiking, biking and soaking up the pure joy of it all.

• My Pop always makes us laugh. ALWAYS!
  

• My Pop has a knack for fixing old cars. Right now he’s working on his 1958 Ford Fairlane Retractable Hardtop Convertible. And he’s doing a great job with it. He also fixed up his old International pickup to look like new.

• My Pop loves his family and sacrificed SO much to give us a great life. And his family loves him!
  


• My Pop has a way with animals. Every family pet always loved spending their time with him and he with them. (This includes is granddogs.)
  

• My Pop valued playtime. I have many a fond memory of playing with him as a kid. He was my best salon customer (he even let me paint his nails), my favorite sledding partner, my best Pick-Up Sticks competitor, and an easy-to-please customer at “Megan’s Place” (my restaurant).
  
• My Pop is a sharp shooter!
  
• My Pop cleans up real nice.
  


• My Pop does ALL of the driving when we go on family roadtrips, stopping when and where we want to stop, showing us extra cool things and places along the way, and making it an easy trip for all of us.
  




• My Pop has a love for photography and never misses a photo op. I’m happy to say that he’s passed this passion on to me.
  

• My Pop is a fierce badminton player…sometimes a little too fierce.
  


• My Pop never cared when I’d clepto his electric razor to shave my legs as a girl.
  
• My Pop knows how to make a mean wienie-roasting fire.

• My Pop makes this world a happier place, and I’m so proud to be his daughter.
  Happy Birthday Poppy. I love you!

Quick, easy AND free?!?!

Do you know what photo-album scrapbooking (PAS) is all about? I didn’t, but I do now. Simple Scrapbooks (the fun magazine I work for) is about to release its newest special issue, Quick & Easy Photo Albums, which is all about this very topic. This happens to be an issue I worked long and hard on, along with the rest of the Simple team, so I’m very excited to see it hit the store shelves.

If you don’t know, this approach to memory preserving is almost like scrapbooking baby steps, because you create mini journaling cards and photo mats that you then slip inside photo-album sleeves along with your pictures. As the title suggests, this approach is generally easier than the regular approach, making it a wonderful starting point. It’s also an excellent way to do something with the piles of photos we all have.

Since the issue is out next week (Nov. 11), I wanted to give you a little sneak peek. This is an album Simple Scrapbooks founding editor Stacy Julian created for the issue. Isn’t it cute?


And this is one that the super talented Elizabeth Dillow created for the issue. In it, she spotlights things she does well (recipes she makes, beautiful gardens she grows, etc.) Notice how she uses both traditional sized photo sleeves and wallet sized. Clever, eh?

And guess what?! Even yours truly has an album in this issue. You’ll have to get the issue to see it, but I can tell you that it’s a craft portfolio, and I think it’s something all of my creative friends will find useful.

So, if you have the chance, please check out this SIP. Not only have I designed a few things for it(including my craft portfolio and some supporting visuals), but I’ve also written and edited a lot of it, making it near and dear to my heart.

To celebrate the release of this issue, I'm going to give two copies of it away, along with two fantastic albums! Just leave a comment on my blog between now and next Friday, November 14 and I will randomly select two winners to receive a Grace Photo Scrap Album from K&Company (pictured below) and a new magazine.

Your comment can be anything photo related (things you like about PAS, your goal of giving this approach a try, your favorite thing about taking photos, your favorite camera, anything!) I’ll announce my winners on my blog next Saturday, November 15. So let the commenting begin!

Cheers!
Megan

P.S. If you hurry, you can still participate in this week's design challenge on the Simple Studio blog. It's all about photo-album scrapbooking, and it includes an awesome giveaway. Check it out!

Some Post Halloween Fun

Okay, I know Halloween is over, but I couldn’t resist sharing my punkin cards with you. It is one of the many things I was going to post before Halloween, but my stinky computer virus interfered with my otherwise flawless plan.

Since this card doesn’t actually say “Happy Halloween” (on the outside, at least), I figure it can be used for any fall occasion. Know someone with a November birthday? Why not send them a cute punkin greeting? Plan on visiting someone for Thanksgiving? How about thanking your hostess with a note in a punkin?

This card is quick and easy to create, so I suggest you give it a try, whether you make it this year or save it for a Halloween greeting next year. All you need is orange cardstock, ribbon and/or ric rac, buttons and, of course, a little bling.

Nummy for the tummy...and the right brain

Food and crafts in one book? Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it isn’t. Instead, it’s Paper Crafts Gourmet, the newest book release from my friends at Paper Crafts magazine.

This is actually one of the final projects I worked on with the Paper Crafts team, so it has an extra special place in my heart. Or maybe it fills that space because my cute Mommy has a recipe for her Simply Swiss Steak in it. Or, quite possibly, it’s because I designed a party ensemble using my favorite Polaroid camera for one of the included dishes. Or, perhaps it hits that feel-good spot for me because it’s food and crafts, two of my favorite things. No matter how you slice it, this is a must-have to add to your Christmas list.

Want to know a yummy secret? Since I was on the PC staff at the time this book was created, I had the delicious task of taste testing ALL of the recipes before they were selected. Getting paid to eat? Awesome. So, you have my word, and the word of the PC editors, that these dishes are delish!

One such tasty recipe: Cheesy Garlic Drop Biscuits, from the always-adorable Alisa Bangerter. This is a good one to rely on if you’re short on time, because there is no rolling or cutting. Great with soups, stews and salads, you should definitely add this to your box o’ bread recipes.

INGREDIENTS
2 c. flour2 tbsp. granulated sugar4 tsp. baking powder1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder1/2 tsp. salt2/3 c. butter or margarine1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese1 1/4 c. milkChives (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Mix together dry ingredients. Cut in butter with pastry cutter until mixture is fine. Add cheese and mix well. Add milk and stir until just moistened. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Sprinkle top with chopped dried or fresh chives if desired. Bake at 400 degrees for approx. 15 minutes.

Once you’ve made these nummy biscuits, why not give a few as a nice fall gift. Wrap ‘em up in a basket and add a fun tag. Since people are celebrating Halloween all weekend, this is something you could do today.

Enjoy Halloween Tag
Designer: Alisa Bangerter

SUPPLIES: Cardstock: (ivory) Dye ink: (Black) Stewart Superior Corp.; (Summer Sun) Stampin’ Up! Specialty ink: (Mango Lemonade color wash) Stewart Superior Corp. Color medium: (black chalk) Craf-T Products Accents: (black brads) Making Memories; (chipboard bat, moon) Melissa Frances Fibers: (black striped ribbon) Pebbles Inc. Font: (Black Family) http://www.dafont.com/ Adhesive: (foam tape) Finished size: 3" x 4 1/2"

1 Make tag from cardstock. 2 Crumple tag and smooth out. Spray edges with color wash; let dry. Apply chalk. 3 Ink chipboard moon; let dry. Chalk edges and adhere. 4 Ink chipboard bat; let dry. Adhere with foam tape. 5 Print sentiment on cardstock; trim and tear edges. Chalk edges and adhere with foam tape. Attach brads. Attach ribbon with brad.

In addition to my Ma’s Swiss Steak and Alisa’s scrumptious biscuits, this book is full of recipes for main dishes, breads, snacks, drinks, and appetizers, and every recipe is accompanied by a paper-craft idea or two. Check out PC’s website for more info and to order your copy. Trust me, your tummy will thank you!

Along Came a Spider

Legend has it, if you see a spider on Halloween you’re actually seeing the spirit of a dead relative. Well, our live-in black widow came out for a visit yesterday––a rare occurrence. Who do you suppose it was?

There were more than spiders to see this year. Everything from a first-hand look inside the Utah State Prison and cartoonland to freaky candy, fun kids and dressed up pups. This was definitely a Day of the Dead to remember.

To start this and every Halloween off right, I always buy some Frankenberry, Count Chocolate and Boo Berry cereal (Yum!) and, of course, a fine assortment of tasty treats––Peeps (they have Cocoa Cat Peeps this year – awesome!), and these cool vampire teeth with gummy tongues.
Nuuummmy...gummy tongues!

The celebration of Fright Night wouldn’t be complete without a costume party or two. Cor and I transformed into Homer and Marge and made a visit to the Opel Mansion for a hauntingly good time.

Marge: Mmmm...Homie, stop scratching your ear.

Homer: Doh!

The festivities continued at the office where I work. It happens to be very near the state prison, so we (the Simple Scrapbooks and Digital Scrapbooking magazines) turned our area of the building into a satellite office for the rowdiest of cons. Welcome to Die-Cut Row!

We were locked up behind bars, while the Warden watched from a safe distance. Our gang was made up of "One-Eyelet" Hoeppner (me), "Scrappie" Smedley (Wendy), "Crop Killa" Jolley (Carolyn), "Point-n-Shoot" Barney (Marin), "Scan Artist" Willden (Jenny), "Rhinestone Robber" Wozab (Jen), and Warden Martin (Jennafer).

How's this for fun: I won a costume in both outfits. Simple and Digi won first place at work, and I won a super cute prize for being Marge at the Opel party. Talk about fun bragging rights!

Naturally, the pups had to join in the fun. With Cor and I dressed as inmates, Kiss decided he had better put on his K9 costume and keep us in line. And Jack added the “o-lantern” to his name.

I busted outta the clink at work, only to find the K9 unit waiting for me. Dang it all!

What a sweet little pup. He definitely lives up to his name.

And what’s Halloween without carved pumpkins? Every year, my family gathers at my parents’ house for a little knife fun. Here’s what we came up with this year.
In a matter of minutes, Cor drew super cool flames on his pumpkin with a pen and carved it to look like a meteor. What a talented science nerd he is.

I cheated and used one of those patterns to create my hootie design.

The end result: A meteor that cast awesome shadows; a creepy scarecrow, complete with a cool top (Mom's); a creeeepy skeleton (Pop's); and my menacing bird.

To wrap things up, Cor and I went to a costume party at the Snowbird ski resort, where his family has a time share. Look at these cute little ghouls and boy.

Funny story: My nieces told me they were going as gangsters (before they were dressed up), so I taught them a few gangsta moves (gang signs, greetings, sayings, etc.). Well, as you can see, they were gangstERS, not gangstAS. Oh well, Alex still looks tough flashing that "westside" sign. LOL!

A hauntingly good time was had by all this year! What did you do to celebrate? Come one, I dare ya to tell me. Bwa hahahahahahaha!

Muwa ha ha ha ha ha!

Happy Halloween you freaky ghouls and goblins! Hope your fright night is full of good times and tassty treats!

Calling in Sick

There's a virus running wild in my home that is bringing everything to a stop. No Facebook updates, no MySpace messaging, no e-mail maintenance, and, possibly saddest of all, no blog posts. Yes, my laptop is sick, and Cory and I don't know how to make it feel better. We've tried orange juice, we've applied wet washcloths, we've even rubbed it with salve, and nothing. Poor, sick little computer.

So, if you haven't noticed by now, the blog posting is going to have to take a small break, which is so sad, because I have lots of yummy things to say right now, but I just can't bring myself to use Cory's computer. I'm typing this on his 'puter, and it's no fun at all. The man doesn't even have Word. What?! No Word? No spellcheck? How on earth can I, the world's WORST speller (yes, I know I'm an editor), write blog posts without spellcheck? Plus, what's a blog without photos? And he's without photo-editing software. Good golly, man! For being a computer nerd, you sure are behind the times!

So, please stay tuned. I'll be back as soon as my laptop starts feeling better (or when it dies). Until then, enjoy this festive time of year, you crazy boys and ghouls!

Meeting Good in the Neighborhood

Nine years ago today, I met my now husband Cory. Actually, let’s back up a titch. I knew of him before this day, but it wasn’t until Oct. 19, 1999 that we had our first conversation. It’s an amusing little tale, so I thought I’d share it with you.

I was working at Crapplebee’s as a hostess at the time. Cor had come in many times, but it was all I could do to open the door for him. For whatever reason, I forgot how to form sentences whenever he would enter the building.

One chilly Oct. evening, I was working the parking lot. No, Applebee’s didn’t run a side “entertainment” biz. Instead, they would have one of the hostess man the parking lot whenever a concert or event was taking place at the big arena next door. Didn’t want any concertgoers taking up the parking spots.

My manager always found a way of picking on me and making my life hard – as if being a Crapplebee’s hostess and going to college wasn’t hard enough – and this night was no exception. He chose to play a little prank and told me that the “new policy” was for employees to put on the bumblebee uniform when working the lot. Ummm…OK.

So, being the compliant employee that I was, I went out back to get it (yes, it was outback in the shed by the dumpsters, probably housing possums or something!), and it’s this NASTY bee costume that looks like it’s 20 years old. I put the filthy thing on – the head weighed more than I did at the time – and headed out to the lot.

The longer I stood out there, putting the smack down on anyone who dared enter the lot without the intention of dining, the more I had people yelling, honking and, finally, flipping me off. It was that flipped bird that did it for me. I tore that oversized bee head off and finished out the night with it sitting at my feet. (All the while, all of the employees are inside laughing it up that I put it on to begin with. Of course, there was no bee policy. I was just mental.)

Turns out, that rude, bird-flipping teen was actually an angel sent from Heaven. Why? Because moments after I ripped that head off, another car pulled in…Cory’s car. Thank goodness he didn’t come before and see me in that stupid, dirty head with bobbling antennas.

Wow! I did a Google search for the Applebee's Bee, and I actually found an image of it. This is what that stupid thing looked like. See what I mean about the size of its mellon?

This time I had to muster up the courage to talk to him, because I had to tell him the rules of the lot, and I’m so glad that I did. We ended up talking for a while, until my stupid-ass manager decided it would be funny (because he knew I was IN LOVE with this customer) to hop in his car and pull up behind Cor, who was still sitting in the Crapplebees driveway talking to me. My manager held down his horn and told Cor to get out of the way. That was it; off Cor went. Ooohhh, I was so mad.

After he had officially ruined my life (I was 18 at the time, so it felt that way), Steve told me I was done with lot duty for the night, and he drove off.

I made my way back inside, my head hanging low, and a jumbo bee head under one arm. Then…a familiar sports car rumble. Yes…he was back. Cor pulled up along side me and asked me out. We went right inside, saddled up the bar and had dinner. It was our first date, and boy was it nice (even if it was Crapplebee’s). We dated for six years after that before we finally tied the knot. And every year since that night nine years ago, we’ve gone back to that Crapplebee’s for a special anniversary dinner (Cor has the steak and I have the Oriental Chicken Salad, no almonds, extra dressing)…and not once have we encountered a bee buzzing around their lot. For all I know, the Board of Health told them to burn that thing!

Happy anniversary, Bear!
Love,
Your Bee

Tag, I'm It!

Guess what?! Brandy Jesperson gave me my first blog tag. (I've been tagged a couple of times since, so I'm a little behind, but I will get caught up eventually - sorry Ronee and Lain.) I'm going to start things off with Brandy's fun picture game.

Here's how it works. I typped the answers to the following questions in Google and searched the images that came up as results. I then selected one image for each answer from the first three pages of results. Let's see how I did.

1. First Name: Megan - Naturally the super sexy Megan Fox came up first. Is anyone really surprised?

2. Last Name: Hoeppner - This was the very first image. Kinda creepy, eh?

3. Age: 27 - Yes, I've officially entered my late twenties. Eep!

4. Place I'd Like to Visit: England - Cheerio!

5. Favorite Vacation Spot: NYC - So much to see and do. Oh, the shopping. The glorious shopping!

6. First Job: I worked in a Snow Shack when I was 15. Talk about a sweet gig.

7. Past Pet: My sweet, black neen (cat), Gumdrop. Rest in peace, cute kitty.

8. Favorite Treat: Girl Scout Cookies, specifically the Samoas.

9. Favorite Food: Until I married Cory, my favorite food was Spaghetti O's, mainly because it was one of the few things I knew how to make. Now Cor makes me lots of yummy treats.

10. Bad Habit: Shopping too much. It gets a little out of control.

11. College Major: Communications

12. Mood Right Now: I'm a bit frazzled - too much to do and not enough time.

1, 2, 3...Not it! You know who is? Sabina, Cath, Emily, Bobby, and Stefanie. It's your turn to give it a try. Have fun!

Fried Green...Pickles?

Have you heard of fried pickles? Cory and I had lunch at Ruth’s Diner, where these were on the menu. Of course we had to order ‘em, and boy were we glad we did. YUM!

BTW, Ruth’s Diner is the second oldest eating establishment in UT. It’s up Emigration Canyon. If you’re ever in the area, you should pay it a visit. There’s a reason it’s still around today.

OK, back to the pickles. Cor liked the pickles so much that he decided to recreate the dish at home. He found a recipe for them on foodnetwork.com, he hit the grocery store for the ingredients (and a deep fryer), and he let the cooking begin.

Cor can't set foot in the kitchen without two pups at his heels. Despite those pleading eyes, they really are fed on a regular basis.

First things first, the pickle spears. He bought JUMBO ones, so he started by cutting those in half – hotdog ways (long) not hamburger ways (wide).

Once all of the picks were cut, he absorbed the extra moisture, a little tip he picked up online.

Use paper towels to absorb that pick juice.

PAUSE: How strange is this? I’m sitting here, writing this blog, when Cor walks in and turns on the Travel Channel. What’s on? A show about tasty friend foods, which included a big segment about friend pickles. Straaaaange!

On to the egg wash. Mix the goods (milk, eggs, lemon pepper, dill weed, and pickle juice) in a bowl. This is the liquid you dip the picks in before coating them.

Whisk the wet ingredients together, like so.

After the egg wash comes the hand wash. Cor, my germ-phobe hubby, literally washes his hands at least a half-dozen times in the process of preparing ANYTHING.

Let’s talk breading. The bulk of this is made up of cornmeal, which Cor wasn’t crazy about. The next time he makes this recipe, he wants to use more flour and less cornmeal. Something to consider if you’re gonna try this one.


Time to cover those picks. Dip ‘em in egg wash, roll ‘em in breading, and put them on a wax-paper covered pan for chillin’. Chill for 30 minutes before frying.

Wash, bread, repeat.

And fry those puppies up. Warm up your oil (we used canola oil) to 350 degrees, and dip those picks for 3-4 minutes. Once fried, put ‘em on a plate to cool for a few minutes. They get HOT in the middle. Then serve with dippin’ sauce – we whipped up some tasty fry sass (mixture of mayo, ketchup and just a touch of relish).

RECIPE
Egg Wash
2 cups milk
2 eggs
Pinch of lemon pepper
Pinch of dill weed
Pickle Juice

Breading
2 ½ cups cornmeal
1 ½ cups flour
½ cup lemon pepper
½ cup dill weed
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons garlic salt
Pinch cayenne pepper (We left this out for me. I don’t like the spice.)

And, of course, dill pickle spears (24)
TIP
Ideas for modifying/improving the recipe from Cor’s kitchen (things he’s going to try the next time he makes these):

1. Less cornmeal, more flour (or no cornmeal, all flour).
2. Less dill (at least cut the dill in half for the breading).
3. Use plenty of pickle juice in the egg wash.
4. This recipe makes lots o’ picks. Cor cut it in half, and it still made too many picks for two people (easily 16). Consider this when preparing.
5. We dipped in fry sass, but you can also try ranch dressing.
6. Don’t breath in the lemon pepper. It hurts.
7. Using a deep fryer will make your kitchen stink!
8. But boy are the picks good! (Cor says that they were only “OK,” but I say that they were “good,” so there!)

Like Tip #6 says, hold your breath when working with lemon pepper. Ouch!

Enjoy!