Buck & Megs: Official

Yup, we're an item.

Recipe: Potatoes O'Bukran

This is an recipe I developed from my mother's own method for frying up spuds when I was just a lad. It's provided me much sustenance over the years. I therefore submit it for your own culinary enjoyment.

First you need to get yourself 8-12 spuds (potatoes) and wash them. Some folks like to peel the skin off, but I like to keep it on for a hardier food product. Poke each tater (potato) with a fork repeatedly so it won't blow up in your microwave. Place the potatoes and nuke (microwave) them for about 10-12 minutes. Remove potatoes and let them cool ever-so-slightly--they're freaking hot. Cube the cooked potatoes into fairly robust pieces. In a saucepan, sautee about half a cube of butter until it's all melted. Then add the cut-up potatoes and cook them on a medium heat. Initially, stir the potatoes around in order for them to absorb the melted butter. Then let them brown and stir them only occasionally. You can add a dash of salt and pepper if you wish, but I'm of Irish stock and I like the original potato taste. Once many facets on the potato chunks are a golden brown and almost to the cusp on burning is when you must remove the spuds from the stove. Serve promptly with ridiculous amounts of ketchup. Buen provecho!

El matrimonio del milenio

Well, Joseph and Maren got engaged last week. This coming from the man who could barely talk about holding hands with her just a few months ago? Only a Muhlestein... I'm sorry if I appear to be having a hard time with this. I'm just not ready to give up little Joseph and all of his associated innocence...

The Taters That Won't Die

When I went home last weekend I discovered that we still have canned flake potatoes in our food storage from Grandma Cora's house. They may be 40 years old, but they're still good eatin'. If these spuds are good enough to get you through a Soviet nuclear attack, they're good enough for me, dangit.

The Hitchin' Post II

As I promised, here are some more photos from Amy's wedding. The veritable cream of the crop--and by that I mean most of the ones I am in.

Yes, the watch bling made it to the sealing.

This is arguably the blurriest photo of me ever taken at a wedding luncheon...

Yes, Melanie was nine months pregnant. But she still could limbo with the best of 'em. Granted, it was mostly because she's 5'1"...

Yeah, we trashed their car. Yes, I will take credit for what is written on the bumper. Biblical innuendo is legal innuendo at a Mormon wedding, okay?

This is how we Stoddards roll-- smashing the cake in your spouse's face! I know I'm not going to let my wife off the hook...

Mark and I played bartenders in the tiki hut at the reception. Every now and then I'd offer folks a mango Mai Tai but I found no takers.

Right when the reception ended was when the clouds appeared and the wind kicked up. Our stint mixing drinks ceased.

I caught the garter. Will I be the next one to get married? Yes, yes I will. Because if Mark beats me and I'm not married by 26 it's time for a Russian mail-order bride...

This Dinosaur Is Dumb

Props to my cousin Tyler for making this piece of genius flash video known to my universe...

Baby Emma

You can't get enough of her! That is, until she gets baby acne...

Mikey Brown

It's good to have you here at BYU square pegging it in a round hole, Mike. Best of luck partying this year!

Rachel, Einstein, and The Bomb

Only the National Atomic Museum could create a love triangle as strange as this one!

El beso del siglo

They did it. They finally did it. Our little Joseph and Maren sure are growin' up good...

Nota: Por causa del enojo de Maren tuve que cambiar la foto...

Albuquirky

This summer I worked in the state of New Mexico and was privy to its eclectic population and landscape. I therefore bring you a compilation of the very essence of the Duke City and its glory.

The pinnacle of New Mexican lawn art: a beer keg!

They're not called speed bumps in New Mexico, they're called "speed humps." Why? I don't know. Nevertheless, everytime I saw one of these signs I couldn't help but remember that freakishly catchy Black Eyed Peas song...

Sometimes New Mexico was pretty hard to differentiate from old school Mexico...

There were, however, some amazing sunsets over the desert horizon.

This is Rudy. He's a friendly Christian homosexual who got tipsy (actually, he was pretty plastered) while grocery shopping and asked me for a ride home because some black folks were chasing him. He fell flat on his back when he exited my Subaru, but it was still my good turn for the day.

Not even the proper spelling and grammar of curse words are needed in Albuquerque! Notice the exclamation point in between the o and u in you...

Bud Light and Budweiser... pick your brew!

Just one of many Meximullet sightings at the several local Wal-Mart locations...

One Sunday Joseph and I hit up a megachurch--Legacy Church. It wasn't as loud and sensational as its bronze dome would dictate, but it was still fun. Besides, we got a free mug for being first-time parishoners!

Yeah... Che Guevara was really a uniter in the name of peace... How can people be so blatantly ignorant and dumb? The joke's on you, New Mexico peaceniks. With all of the bases and defense contractor labs, your state does more per capita for our military than almost any other state in the nation.

The brightest spot on the blight of ABQ is by far the temple there. Thank goodness they didn't go for an adobe architectural style...

Crikey, I'm Dead!

Steve Irwin's gone to meet the Big Wallaby in the Sky, mate! I'm sorry, Tote, your hero has fallen.

The Protagonist of Guitar

My brother got Guitar Hero a couple weeks ago, and I am officially hooked. Not only is it more fun than DDR, but I have more natural talent for it than most video games--after two days the medium setting is no problem. The soundtrack has a terrific variety of classics (i.e., Hendrix's "Spanish Castle Magic") and new favorites (Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out"). I'll bring it down to Provo one of these weeks, kids. Ya gotta try it!

Mi Patria

Hearing about Mim's mission call made me pine for Ecuador. It also made me realize that I have nothing about Ecuador on my blog at all. I'll get around to a major mission photo compilation one of these days, but for now I leave you with one of my favorite mission images/moments. The baptism of the Familia Espinoza-Giler on Dec. 26, 2002 in the ocean near Bahia de Caraquez Ecuador. The branch met in a local rented building and had no font and thus was one of two branches where it was legal to baptize in the sea. One of the most amazing experiences of my life--only to be exceeded by the sealing of this family in the Guayaquil temple 15 months later.

L-R: Elders Stoddard and Martinez, Blanca, Fredi, Yuri, Fredi Jr., Tatiana, and Presidente Calderon.