The Improv, At Provo

Maestro Show, March 2011

"Whose Line Is it Anyway?" is going down as one of the top three most influential TV shows of my childhood. At ten years old,  I remember tuning in religiously to watch the transformation of these seemingly ordinary men into gods of comedy using only their imaginations and guts.

It struck me as such a strange and beautiful thing to do: to *willingly* go on stage without any preconceived idea of what you would be doing but only the vague goal of being funny. The thought would make mere mortals quiver.

No question I wanted to be just like them, but during my more insecure years, I wouldn't have admitted it.  It seemed to me like the only thing scarier than going on stage and being expected to make people laugh would be declaring my desire to do exactly that.  "Hi. My name's Ruthy and I think I am funny enough to deserve your attention." Just about stained my pants thinking of it.

Prop Show, April 2011. Photo by Jason Hansen

For that reason, I have to give thanks to my big brother David for pioneering the way for me and making it seem possible. By joining BYU's Improv comedy club, Laugh Out Loud,  while he was going to BYU, he awakened a glimmer of hope in me. "Hey--we're cut from the same cloth," I began to think "If he can do improv comedy well, maybe I can do it passably."

So, last November I finally mustered the moxy to start participating in the club, and I was surprised with two things: first off, that it was even more fun than it looked on TV. It made me feel all of the exhilaration and long-awaited fulfillment of an ADD six year old on Christmas morning.

Prop show, April 2011. Photo by Jason Hansen

I can only speak for myself, but to me, improv comedy was the thing I had unknowingly been missing for so long. I'm not being melodramatic when I say that it was very much like falling in love - right down to the sweaty palms, racing heart, and the sense of being impassioned, emboldened, and alive.

The other thing that surprised me about this whole improv comedy business was how quickly I began to receive positive feedback from the club leadership and  actually be cast in shows. Like. To perform. For real people. Who paid to be there.

The members of the club have given me much-needed criticism as well. With their help, I hope that I'm continuing to get better. For the past few moths, I've loved practicing with my new friends every Thursday evening. And that's arguably the best part of the whole deal: just getting to know and play with some truly  hilarious people. I feel like a more interesting person just for spending time in the same room as these talents.

Anyway, last night was a particularly good night for me. I was cast in our annual Audience Appreciation Show, and lucky enough to have some good friends attend the show to support me. To be honest, it wasn't the best performance of my life. Overall the show was good--not great, and I know I'm largely to blame.

The thing that made the evening wonderful, was that after the show, the club leadership somehow saw fit to invite me to join Laugh Out Loud as an official, permanent cast member (or "Player" as they call it).

If there's one thing I can't get enough of it's validation. So thanks, Laugh Out Loud, for making me feel great and teaching me so much. I hope to prove worthy of it.

And now for a few photos by the hilarious Jason Hansen: 

(By the way, the other two most influential shows of my childhood were The Simpsons and Ren and Stimpy. Honorable mentions: Scooby Doo and Animaniacs.)

Armless Baby is so, so futile.

Some days I feel like an armless baby on a dirty carpeted floor. I'm not sad because my rattle is missing or because my bottle is empty -- I'm sad because everything I want is complete and beautiful and immediately in front of me and entirely out of reach.

My warm bottle is there, but I have no hope of getting it anywhere near my mouth. My teddy bear cries for love but I am unable to comfort him. I can't even swat flies away from my stupid baby face or suck my thumb.

I have no thumb. And my dirty diaper is quickly forming a rash on my delicate, white, stinky bottom.

Anyway, today is not one of those days. Today, I feel like I have all the baby arms in the world, but I still thought I would finish and post this illustration that I started yesterday when I was feeling a little less armful.

French-Food-and-Film-Opinionated. We're so effin' sophisticated.

This might've been a decent photo if I'd have taken three steps to the left. Drat.

On a recent rainy weekend, we took a day trip to Park City, Utah to catch the tail end of the Park City Film and Music Festival.

Attending the very end of the festival worked out nicely for us for a few reasons.  Firstly,  all of the films had already been shown once, and the winners had been selected. So, we only had to choose among the winning films in each category. This mitigated the risk of getting stuck in a 3-hour artistic docu-drama exposing the seedy underbelly of the ball-point pen industry, or what have you.*

Secondly, the hardcore filmsters had already come and gone at the first round of screenings, so the venues were quiet and the crowds sparse. And, lastly - the underwhelming crowd left the concession stand with tons of extra popcorn, which was handed out for free. Score.

*Not that those films don't have their place. It's just that their place doesn't often coincide with my ideal weekend.

So, we let the real film appreciators sift through the chaff for us and they came up with this enjoyable film as the winner of the Fiction/Drama category:

It's written, directed, and starring, Kevin Foster, an accomplished stuntman who's made his first venture into writing, directing and acting (and pretty successfully for a debut). 

Who knows if this film will ever make it to a screen or internet database near you, but if it does, I'd recommend checking it out.  It's much more lighthearted and original than the IMDB synopsis makes it out to be.

While walking down historic Main Street afterward, we passed what I recognized as one of the few restaurants in Utah with escargot on the menu. As part of our ongoing quest to try exotic foods at every opportunity, we had to  stop in.  It happened to be 4:58pm when we were seated, so we were just in time for the half-off happy hour. Our escargot was a reasonable $9 instead of $18. Serendipity!

Historic Main Street, Park City, Utah

Escargot Tart, Bistro 412

Lamb/Feta Pizza, Bistro 412


Ryan reacts to his first ever taste of buttery garlicy snaily delight:  

Gift-giving for the discerning wellfare recipient.

Just thought I'd share a few ideas for gift-giving on a budget (because I love giving gifts and hate spending money). Forgive me if any of this seems atrociously obvious.

If even one person discovers one thing that hadn't thought of before, I'll say my job was done.

Greeting Cards:

If you're like me, you have a shoebox of birthday/wedding/graduation/thank you cards from years past. Someone less pack-rattish than me might have discarded them by now, but no. I've always held onto them for no real purpose.

I'm not that sentimental and I had no intention of ever re-reading their oft-groan-worthy messages. But it seemed rude to simply through them away.

Until I discovered this solution:

Turn your old greeting cards into a frankenstein of holiday sentiments.

Whenever I find myself in need of a card for a gift, I look through my shoebox of options, pick one out and before I do anything to it, I read it again and remember the person who gave it to me. Aw. How nice.

Then, I snap a digital image of the front and inside (there's a folder on my hard drive marked "greeting card archive") and after that, I don't feel guilty repurposing the card. The message is saved forever if I should ever want to read the note again, and now this card can live again.

I often cut the cards in half, and reuse just the front of the card. Somtimes the design of the card is such that the front can be reattached to a new back of card-stock seamlessly, or you can attach it with ribbon or rivets for extra awesomeness.

Also, I sometimes repurpose embellishments like ribbons and beads into new cards as well. Who knows. A glue stick and scissors are all it takes and it's much quicker than making your own greeting cards from scratch.

Wrapping:

Resourceful gift-wrapping can be more than just saving and reusing bows and paper. I dream up ways to reuse all kinds of materials.

I've been known to use jars, baskets, canvas totes, tinfoil, pillow cases, cardboard tubes, and scraps of cloth as gift-packaging when I was out of boxes and wrapping paper. People think you're being crafty or something, but really, you just wrapped their gift in whatever you could find laying around. Double score.

Stretch the limits of acceptable stuffing and covering.  I've  had great sucess with: newspaper, butcher paper, sack-cloth, easter-grass, and tulle.

Here's a present I wrapped with a recycled gift bag, a gift-tag made from what was previously a thank-you card, and for tissue paper I used the plastic mesh that some onions came in:

  

Showers (Bridal/Baby):

I get invited to a LOT of baby and bridal showers. Like, a whole ton.

Maybe it's because I live in Provo and almost everyone I know is married/engaged, young, and of child-bearing age. Maybe it's because the world is conspiring to make me fat on pink and blue cupcakes, but whatever the reason, I find myself constantly attending showers. And buying $30 gifts for every one can add up quick. Here are my go-to gifts for the semi-aquainted-friendly-person-who-I-don't-want-to-snub-but-don't-exactly-want-to-spend-a-fortune-on:

#1) Used books. Not exactly on the top of every lady's registery, I know, but I've had great success and been genuinely thanked (and re-thanked later on) for giving books by respected authors on pregnancy, parenting and marriage-prep (for the bride-to-be). Most ladies say they don't have as much literature on parenting as they want (especially with a first child) and a handy reference book can be just the thing.

Used book stores or amazon.com (if you're the planning-ahead type) usually have a whole pile of like-new books for cheap cheap cheap.

#2) Handmade gifts:

- Pacifer Clip (these have gone over great at recent baby showers). Here's an easy tutorial for a no-sew version.
- Diaper Cake (super easy, super cheap)  
- This Wash-cloth doll requires minimal sewing.
-  Frilly Apron (for brides) - look up a tutorial online. It's pretty simple sewing.

Food:

I'm not sure why people don't more often give food as a gift. At least to me. I can never get enough edible presents. It's tough to get more bang for your gift buck than with food.

Here are a couple of my favorite recipes that are good for boxing, jarring, shipping and gifting:

Vanilla Melting Moments. Photo credit: Cookbookqueen.blogspot.com.

Vanilla Melting Moments  (By Rachel Allen: Favorite Foods at home)

Biscuits:175g self raising flour
125g cornstarch
50g powdered sugar
225g butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla Butter Cream:50g butter, softened
125g powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 160 C/ (325 F) Gas mark 3. Place the flour, cornflour and icing sugar in a food processor and whizz briefly to mix. Add the butter and vanilla and whizz until it comes together (a minute or two, I do it slowly). Roll into 40 small balls the size of a large marble. Place trays on (no need to grease or line) and flatten down a bit with a fork. Bake for 10-15 minutes until still very pale in colour but, slightly firm. Remove carefully and cool on a wire rack.

Keep the same bowl in the processor and whizz the ingredients for the butter cream until they come together. Sandwich the biscuits with the butter cream. Makes 20.

Sweet Onion Jam (great for appetizers, sandwhiches, crackers, cheese, etc)

Adapted from Rachel Allen's Bake. 

30g butter
3 lbs onions, peeled and sliced
275 golden caster sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground back pepper
200 ml. balsamic vinegar
500 ml. red wine.

Melt the butter in a large pan and add onions, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 40 minutes over a gentle heat. (If you are concerned about getting all of the alcohol out of the wine, you may add it after the first  15 minutes of the onions cooking). Otherwise, add the wine and balsamic vinegar after 40 minutes and stirr occasionally until the mixture is slightly thick.

You're looking for a syrupy consistency. The jam will thicken as it cools. Place in sterilized jars, seal and label.

lastly: Infused Olive Oil:

Ingredients

• 6 leaves fresh basil
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 sprigs fresh oregano
• 1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

Put them in a pretty bottle and let them steep for day or two before sending. Done!

More food gift ideas from foodandwine.com 

Graduation! Easter!

What a busy, fun weekend!

Ryan's parents and younger brother came down from Olympia to be here for Ryan's graduation. We got to spend some time with grandparents, dye some easter eggs, do a little shopping, and of course, make hot cross buns for Easter (a Ryan and Ruthy Stapleton tradition three years strong). 

He graduated Cum Laude from BYU which means that he was in the top 10% of his graduating class. No small feat! 

Dying Easter Eggs with friends (Note: Angry Bird and Scottish Plaid)

Office Easter egg hunt. 

One thing I'll especially remember about this weekend is the generosity of Ryan's parents to buy him the graduation gift of two new suits, which I'm sure will come in handy for law school and beyond. 

He looked great in both of them before they were even tailored, so I can't wait to go pick them up and make him parade around the house for me.  (His current set of suits are all pre-mission and have at least one stain or tear each, so these were a well-timed gift). 

When driving to be fitted for his new suits, Ryan and I had a little disagreement as to the location of the Men's Wearhouse. He wanted to make it a bet, and turns out I was right, so he got to buy me two new pairs of shoes: 

Hot Cross Buns

 Saying "So Long!" to ward friends since the ward boundaries have been redrawn.

Shaun got Ryan some pocket squares for his new suits. What a sweetie.

From the Archives: University Orchestra Performances

A week or two after my first date with Ryan, before we had really become an item, he invited me to his BYU University Orchestra concert. I considered skipping it to play hard-to-get, but I'm so glad I finally decided to attend.

He was the second-chair french horn that year, and he played this iconic solo beautifully (2:21 through 3:01 in this video):



I've been to four of these orchestra concerts of his now, and none has been as great as the first.  It was well-rehearsed, dynamic-- I would even say it was moving. And, it showed me a side of Ryan I hadn't seen yet, and which I happened to love!

Based on the kids I knew in high school,  I always thought horn players were weird (and to be fair, they really were). No doubt, Ryan was one of those weird kids too. Good thing everyone grows up, myself included. My view of brass players has matured somewhat, but I do still get a giggle out of watching someone contort their face around a horn's mouthpiece and blow like mad (C'mon! It's just so silly!)

From attending these performances and watching (or listening to) Ryan prepare for each one, I've learned just how freaking cool the french horn is.  It's such a different animal; it's like some amphibian evolutionary cousin to the brass instruments. I mean, it definitely shares DNA but it's distinct enough to be disqualified from brass bands. That mellow tone! That fancy twisty tubing! They're so awesome I just want to eat ice cream out of a french horn like it were a waffle cone.

Someone please make that happen for me.

Anyway, after the performance, I came to the lobby to  congratulate him and eat some stale cookies. I was impressed by the sight of him in a tuxedo and briefly thought, "Not bad. I guess that's what he'll look like on his wedding day."

I had planned on walking home, but he was excited that I had decided to come and eager to give me a ride home. His car smelled lingeringly of Domino's pizza (ah, the jobs we do in college), which kind of made the moment less serene, but more memorable.

Here are a couple of clips from the 2009 and 2010 concerts. (Parents and grandparents reading this blog are the only ones expected to watch these videos. Everyone else is off the hook.)

Spring 2009, Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain: See if you can hear his buried horn solo at 2:22.



For the record, Ryan's performances have been consistently stellar, and only improving over his music minor career. But between the the introduction of graduate student directors, and the orchestra becoming a "walk-on" ensemble in 2008, there's been a gradual decline in overall quality every year since 2007.


By 2010, even a rookie like me could detect a few mistakes in the strings and woodwinds (the horns of course, can do no wrong). If nothing else, the 2010 rendition of The Sorcerer's Apprentice this took me back to my Fantasia-watching days:  



Now that Ryan is graduating, I'm going to miss his annual orchestra performances. Oh well. Onwards and upwards!

"The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play." -Arnold Toynbee

"I need a new job." By Exploding Dog.

With a tear in my eye and a pep in my step I'm saying goodbye to my current employment as an Executive/Marketing Assistant (read: Office Nanny).

It's been real, guys. But honestly:

You underpaid and overworked me. Getting to work with some really cool people mostly made up for that shortcoming (the free pizza and candy helped too).

But, constantly praising me and handing out warm fuzzies only gets you so far; I need to shake that money maker.

If I'd gotten that raise you promised me six months ago, I wouldn't have even considered leaving, but then of course, I might not have tried this new, shinier doorknob (which opened into a new, shinier job).

So, no hard feelings. All things considered, you're one of the best employers I've had, but I've met a younger, prettier hen. One who has both eyes and clean feathers. And none of that crusty mucus on her beak (you should really get that checked out). This rooster's moving on.

I've accepted a full-time Graphic Design position with benefits and a salary, and the opportunity to actually do something that interests me. So, if that doesn't make me a grown up, I don't know what will.

Hasta la pasta, Babies.