It All Started With THE BIG BANG!

I'm totally exhausted today.

Why?

Because last night I went to a taping of The Big Bang Theory and then hung out with the cast after the taping.

And by hang out with, I mean hang out near. Like 2 feet near - so still awesome for shy little me.

But I did get to meet a couple of the cast members! Which was beyond AWESOME!

This is me with Kunal Nayyar , aka Raj Koothrappali

and this is my boss, Victoria, with Jim Parsons, aka Sheldon Cooper- the funniest guy on TV right now. Still think he should have won the Emmy. Cheaters. Whatever. I'm over it. Kinda.

Can I just say how super duper nice both of these guys were? Cameras and picture taking was totally not allowed (thus the fuzzy pictures from the contraband blackberry)- but they were totally cool with posing with us.


But this was all at the end of the night. I skipped ahead, because, well, that was the most exciting part!


The evening starts out with the audience being "warmed up" by the screening of another Big Bang episode. In this case, we were shown the episode that will run next Monday. First people to ever see it. I feel special. Wahoooo! And, btw, you should totally tune in on Monday night because it is a really funny episode! But aren't they all?


Next, these big screens are pulled away to reveal the sets and the cast is introduced. We get to watch as they all get into place, all the technical stuff is worked out, and a million things that I don't understand goes on.


This is when it is cool.


This is my favorite part of screenings.



While everything is getting set up, you get to see the characters getting ready and into their role. Wolowitz paces back and forth- a lot. Sheldon stares straight ahead going over his lines in his head. Leonard plays air guitar to the music. And Raj is kinda laid back and chats it up with the crew. It's so interesting how they all have a different process and really gives you insight into their personalities.


Shooting starts and for the next 3 hours they shoot, and reshoot, and shoot some more. It can be tiring. It can be redundant. It can get old. But the good thing about The Big Bang Theory (as opposed to the Two and a Half Men taping I went to last year) is that they change up the dialogue a bit each time. It keeps it fresh and funny for us. And now I can't wait to see the episode air and see which shots they chose to air. I also can't wait to see if you can hear me! If they choose one particular Green Lantern Oath reciting scene, you will hear my group cheering! GO Green Lantern! Wooo!


So after a LOOOOONG but interesting 3 hours, the taping was finally over. After wrapping, if you are a cool VIP like moi (stop laughing), you get to go down on the stage to mingle with the cast and crew.


If you dare.


Which I didn't.


Damn my shyness!


For a while we stood awkwardly around talking amongst ourselves and walking around the sets. This was still really cool and not something you get to do every day. Just being there and seeing everyone (including guest star Danica McKellar -Wonder Year's Winnie) would have been enough for me. Luckily I have an awesome (and daring!) boss who was dead-set on getting her picture taken with Sheldon and hooked me up with a photo with Raj- who I sheepishly told was my favorite when I got to meet him. I'm such a nerd! Good thing it is totally acceptable on that particular set!

After seeing Penny running around in adorable and silly 80's work out attire that was her ping pong tournament outfit (not a costume for the show!), and watching part of the ping pong tournament held after every week's taping, we giddily left the set.

But not before injuring the Executive Producer of the show. Oops!

Reason #38 why you should move to LA is that for the first few that just MOVE HERE ALREADY, I will take you to tapings with me. This is a limited time offer and only applies to those who move here ASAP. As interesting as these tapings are, I did mention the 3 HOURS of shooting and reshooting, right? Oh and in very uncomfortable chairs and an MC that has the unfortunate job of keeping the audience pumped up and annoyed beyond all hell with him. I will soon become jaded and bored of meeting celebs, so the tapings will no longer be worth it. Better hurry!

Tonights Gonna Be A Good Night

This video by a bunch of students in Quebec is amazing! It was all done in one take. Try to find some time to watch the entire thing!




I thought it was appropriate to post this today, since I am pretty sure tonight IS gonna be a good night. I am going to a taping of one of my favorite shows on TV right now, The Big Bang Theory. I'm excited and will hopefully have stories for you later this week.

Fall Foodie Part 5- Soup That is Mmmmm Mmmmm Better

When the temperatures start to get chilly and dip below the 70's, nothing is better than some hot soup to keep you warm.

We made our favorite this last week- Tomato Soup with Pancetta

I got the recipe from one of my Giada De Laurentiis cookbooks, and it is super easy and wonderful!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 ounces pancetta, chopped (you can use bacon if you can't find pancetta)
1 small onion, chopped
3 (3/4-inch-thick) slices rustic rye bread (each about 5 3/4 by 3 3/4 inches), cubed
6 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions
Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until crisp and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the bread and toss to coat with the pan drippings. Saute until the bread is crisp and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes, basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend, about 10 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper.

Stir the mascarpone and sour cream in a small bowl to blend. Ladle the soup into bowls. Spoon a dollop of the mascarpone mixture atop the soup and serve. (We actually skip this part)

Then I make grilled cheeses sammies to go along with the soup. I use rustic bread and mozzarella cheese, and then Michael likes to add a little prosciutto for protein.

It is the perfect comfort food for a chilly fall night!

Trajan's New Favorite Game...

Grab whatever toy Hadrian is playing with ...

and run like hell
Oh and he thinks he is HI-LARIOUS!

He doesn't do it to be mean, he just LOVES it when Hadrian chases after him. He grabs the toy and then runs behind one of the couches waiting silently to figure out which way Hadrian is coming. Then he jets out the other direction and a chase ensues. It is pretty hilarious. But don't tell Hadrian I said that, he doesn't like that he has to keep an eye on Trajan at all times.
So between this game and Trajan's teething they are going through toys pretty fast. I picked up these cute toys at Cost Plus World Market.
He he. Bite me.

They can destroy these $2 toys all they want, as long as they don't destroy my coffee table

Ahem

TRAJAN

Cells and Cows

As I was sitting on the couch this morning, enjoying my first peppermint mocha of the season and flipping through my hundred-thousand (but not BBC and still bitter about that) channels I came across one of those infomercials for this 'Golden Age of Country' collection. It reminded me of something really funny that happened to me last week, so I am going to share....

Now that my parents live 3 hours away from Salt Lake it is a bit challenging getting back and forth from the airport. On Monday both of my parents had to work, so my Grandpa and Grandma Merkley were awesome enough to drive me out to Salt Lake to the airport.

My Grandma and I sat in the back seat chatting, while my Grandpa was driving in the front with his old-school twangy country music blaring. All of a sudden there is a loud 'RING RING'. Although it is not my usual ring tone, I reach for my cell because, well, whose else could it be?

I am reaching for my phone when the twangy country music fades and my grandpa (who happens to be driving, remember) reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a cell phone. My eyes get huge and my mouth drops open...

"Hey pardner what are you up to today?... Oh I spent the weekend gettin' the cows down from the mountain. I am goin' back up cause a few are missin' "

and so on and so forth.

With my eyes still wide and mouth gaping open I turn to my Grandma like "What? The?" She just shakes her head and says "Oh your Grandpa and his cell phone"

It was so surreal. So funny. My 79 year old cowboy grandpa, driving down the highway, talking on his cell phone about getting the cows down off the mountain and putting them in the corral.

It was so cute that I just giggled.

Can you imagine this guy driving around on a cell phone?

(I stole this photo from Ashley, I think it is just such a great picture)

The First Encounter

Monday afternoon I brought Trajan home to meet his new brother, Hadrian.


Following this moment came the snarls, and growls, and snaps. Oh my.

I have been naive and stupid. I figured if you took one sweet, good natured angel and put him together with another sweet, good natured angel you would get two sweet, good natured angel BFFs and rainbows and hugs. Instead I get frustration and snips and snaps.

My sweet little Hadrian is a bully, yo!

He has figured out that Trajan can't jump up on the couches or bed, so Hadrian jumps up and stands on the edge looking down at Trajan like "neener neener neener you can't get up here"

And in all of Hadrian's three and a half years I have only heard him snarl twice, but oh don't worry he has made up for the past three years in the past three days. Snap, Snap, Snap!

Poor Trajan- he absolutely worships Hadrian.

He follows him around, puts up with the snaps, lets Hadrian have whatever toy or food he wants, and is Hadrian's little shadow. Only Hadrian doesn't think he needs a shadow. Hadrian thinks he needs left the hell alone. I tried to convince Hadrian that they have loads in common and should be BFFs. They are both sweet. They both love me. They both love to play chase. They both love their ears rubbed. They both love to pull the guts out of every toy they can get their paws on. They both LU-UUUV food.

But NO, he doesn't believe me. He says he will never be friends with that little ball of spaz. He just looks at me like "whatever Mom, just keep him calm ok? and make the humping STOP" I'm working on that part, Bud.

But then there are moments....moments when Hadrian playfully chases Trajan through the house and ends the romp with a big wet kiss for Trajan. Moments when I have hope that they will someday be the little buddies I imagined.

And then a snap usually follows shortly after.

A Crazy Halloween

My family thinks they are fun and everyone else is boring.

I say we are crazy and everyone else is just normal.

Autumn and I showing our true colors.

With all this crazy in my family tree, I knew I would have a blast when I found out I got to spend Halloween in Utah with them.

How often do twenty-somethings go trick-or-treating? How often are the people opening their door to find these twenty-somethings trick-or-treating totally not surprised?

Trick-or-Treating at Grandma's

How cute does Makall look?

We did take kiddies with us, you know, as an excuse for being twenty-something and trick-or-treating. Lucky is showing us how she shoots her webs!

Ladybug Lexie and Spiderman Lucky

But hey, how can we not have turned out like this? Look at our role models...

My Uncle Terel and Aunt Julie

My Aunt Julie's Marilyn Monroe Witch pumpkin...How cool is that?!?!

And this cave woman? My Aunt Lisa aka Ms. March 2000 B.C.

I had so much fun on Halloween...I am thinking I have to go back next year!