Montana and Famous Dave's

A few weeks ago Joe and I headed to Montana for the wedding of a family friend. It was only a 7 hour drive and his family was going to be there, so we made the trip. We had a great time. The wedding was beautiful. The weather was perfect. The hotel was VERY nice. The family was fantastic as always. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me most of the time. But I did have it with  me to document this lovely eatery.

(Sorry for the blur.)

Yes that is a Pig BBQing ribs. Oh yes. Famous Dave's was everything you want in a BBQ joint and more. The restaurant was complete with antler chandeliers, deer and moose heads mounted on the walls, and other hunter-esque decor. Oh, and the tables each had a whole role of paper towels just to make sure you didn't make too much of a mess. 

(Mother-in-law Gloria, Sis-in-law Julie, and her sometimes-boyfriend Luke.)

The menu had ribs of almost every kind and variety of sauces to compliment them. My favorite was Devil's Spit. Doesn't the sound of that just make your mouth water? 

Don't forget the wet naps. I especially enjoyed the sayings on each one.

All sarcasm aside, the ribs were really good and I really liked my corn bread. I would go there again. 

It was a great weekend with family and friends. I had never been to Montana before and I have to say, it was great!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

We never seem to be able to finish all out bananas before they ripen too much. I only like bananas if they have a little green on them and Joe won't eat them if there is any brown. So, I am always looking for good recipes for ripe bananas. This muffin recipe is just yummy. The muffins are light and not too sweet, just how I like them.

1/2 c. vegetable shortening

1 c. sugar

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

3 large very ripe bananas

1tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2/3 c. mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar. Add 1 tbsp flour to the mixture. Beat eggs in one at a time. 

2. In a separate bowl mash the bananas to a soft pulp.

3. Set aside 1/2 c.  flour. Add the remaining flour and the banana pulp to the creamed mixture, mixing it in bit by bit.

4. In a separate bowl, stir in the reserved 1/2 c. flour with the salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the chocolate chips, tossing to coat.

5. Stir together the dry and creamed mixture. Pour the batter into well-greased muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Nutrition facts: Calories 304, Fat 13g, Protein 4g, Carbs 45 g, Cholesterol 31 mg, Sodium 235 mg

Founders Day Dinner

At the start of every semester, the law school puts on a grand dinner in downtown Salt Lake to commemorate the founding of the law school. Prominent attorneys from all over the region come (Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder Christofferson as well as many members of the Utah Supreme Court for example). The  school also gives awards to distinguished alumni. The school gives the law students the $45 meal for $15. So, it's a great excuse to dress up and feel like real fancy lawyers for an evening.

Here's our table. Unfortunately the girl who took the picture failed to focus it so it is fuzzy. But as you can see, the food was fantastic!

Here's some of my favorite classmates: Jennifer Rajan, Kandis Bryant, Heidi Moss, and Lauren Shaw. 

Some of my other favorites: Camille Borg, Lornalie Merideth, Rachel LeCheminat and her husband Casey.

And here we are! Don't Joe and I just look so professional?

Just so you know, it wasn't all about the food (although Joe might argue otherwise). I found the speaker's remarks really interesting. Chief Justice Christine Durham of the Utah Supreme Court spoke on the quality of our elected judges and the recipient of the distinguished alumni award spoke of her struggles in being a woman attorney in the 1970s when she graduated from law school. Overall, I really enjoyed the whole evening!

Sometimes Law School is Like High School.

At times I feel like I am right back in high school (except the homework is harder and all the students are over achievers).

Take this week for example. We had the Law School Student Body Association Opening Social. This consisted of free pizza for all who attended (we get WAY too much pizza), all the student body leadership dressed up as make shift super heroes (think thrift store leotards) and a hoola-hoop contest between the faculty and students. It reminds be of spirit week at my old high school. I'm sure that we seriously scared all the first years. The truth is, it was fun. Where else can you get footage of your Constitutional Law professor's hoola-hoop skills?

Professor Anderson-Jones is on the right with the pink hoola-hoop. The funny thing is, after this, she proceeded in lawyerly fashion to argue why should should win anyway, as she continued to hoola-hoop. She is one of my most favorite professors, I have to say.

It's a Great Day to Celebrate . . .

. . . Grandma Harris! This birthday girl has graced this world with her kindness, service, and beauty for 78 years!

Happy Birthday Grandma! I love you!

Back to School.

That's right. The school year has started again and I find my self spending endless hours in the library reading from black and white pages already. I'm taking:

Civil Rights

Wills & Estates

Evidence

The First Amendment

Basic Mediation

Overall, I'm pretty happy. My professors seem really great and I feel like I have a better grasp of things. At least I think I have a better idea of what I am supposed to be doing. The fact that I don't have any class on Fridays may have something to do with my optimism. All I can say is that it is WAY better being a second year than a first year. 

This picture of my study group (some of my very favorite people, you know) was taken last April after our last final. Don't we all just look so tired and ecstatic to be over for the year? Just imagine how we'll look at graduation!

Daa da da da daaaa daaaa....

After four years of hard work, my dear sister Allie and brother-in-law Chris graduated from BYU!

We headed to the Marriot Center to watch the first day of festivities.

Cecily and Nathan kept themselves entertained as we waited for all the grads to come in.

My proud parents. Isn't my mother just beautiful?!

The next day we went to the Fine Arts graduation and got so see them walk the stage.

Chris graduated magna cum laude and Allie graduated cum laude. They are top of their class!

Now these two have moved to New York city where Chris is in a Masters/Ph.D. program at Columbia and Allie is getting her Masters in Art History from NYU. I am so proud of them. They have worked so hard and deserves those degrees! Joe and I will sure miss them! 

There's a Ute in our house.

Joseph Flager: Graduate student.

That's right, Joe got into grad school! He'll be getting his Masters of Accounting (MACC) from the University of Utah. He's doing the part-time program. So he is still working full-time for the police department (Did I mention that he got hired on a permanent basis which means he got a raise and full benefits? YES!) He is taking two classes a semester, but with all the work that entails, that means he doesn't get home until 10 pm Tuesday through Friday. He will graduate in the spring of 2012, so we will graduate at the same time!

I am so proud of my sweet husband.

This is what happens . . .

. . . when you spill your breakfast on your laptop. You have to call the Dell people and have them replace your motherboard. (THANK GOODNESS for my AMAZING warranty!) The technician came to my house and took my laptop completely apart to clean it and replace the motherboard. Once I saw how he had to take it apart, I questioned whether it would ever work properly again. But, it works fine! However, I never want this to happen to my laptop again.

Moral of the story: Don't eat while at your computer--especially not cold cereal. There is nothing more gross than your keys sticking because there is milk in your keyboard! 

Restaurant Review: Mayan Adventure

Joe and I headed to the Mayan for dinner a few weeks ago. I had heard about it from several different people while I've lived in Utah and thought it was about time I checked it out for myself.

The interior adventure decor was fantastic. I loved the antique feel of the lobby. But, we were surprised at how EMPTY it was. We were there on a Friday night and we were the ONLY people in the lobby. On the positive side, that meant that we only had to wait 3 minutes to get a table.

We found out why people were scarce. The food was TERRIBLE! I couldn't even finish my enchiladas. Joe and I are big Mexican food fans and were really disappointed that this didn't measure up. The meat was dry and had no flavor. Everything else was just greasy. We didn't even take home our leftovers. :(

Although the food was a disappointment, the entertainment was great. We really enjoyed watching all the divers jump from the HIGH cliffs into the pool below. They were really talented! 

I can't imagine jumping and doing FLIPS from that high a height. However, the show didn't make up for the disappointment of the food. We probably won't go back. :(