No, not a baby.
My KitchenAid came today!!! I want SO much to spend the night baking away making cookies and bread and all sorts of other goodies. But alas, I must do my visiting teaching and homework. Sometimes I really hate being a responsible adult.
The truth is, I really want to go home and sleep and THEN do a bunch of baking. My throat started hurting on Saturday night (thank heavens for pellet ice at work!) and now my head is all fuzzy. Thank you, OTC Claritin, for not helping me one bit with allergies this year. Actually, it's probably a cold since David has had one for about a week now and he loves to cough on things. :D Yay for us. Guess it's time to start taking Vitamin C.
That reminds me. When I was little (around 4 or 5 maybe) Shauna and I found the Vitamin C bottle at her house in her parent's bathroom. (Remember this, Shauna?) Yeah, um, we ate the whole bottle between the two of us. All I remember after that is being sick in the middle of the night and puking up orange foam. Gross. Don't worry, I won't be doing that again any time soon. Besides, they make Vitamin C in other flavors now. Like lemon and lime. Not sure why I felt the need to expound on that.
Anyway ... I came to work without makeup on this morning. SCARE - Y. Lots of people looked at me funny. A few people asked if I was feeling okay. Yeah. I just look like death warmed over because I didn't put on my face. Thanks for asking. Thanks for wanting to know why I look more awful than I usually do. Whatever. The reason I didn't wear it (since I normally won't go out in public without it!) is that my right eye, for whatever stupid reason, would NOT curl OR hold mascara this morning. I tried two different curlers and four different mascaras. Ridiculous. Why can't someone invent a permanent "paint" for lashes that you can apply yourself again after they grow back in from falling out? There would be serious money in that people. That way, you'd always have "mascara" on and all you'd have to do is attempt to curl them or whatever it is you do with them. Total time saver. Just sayin'.
And now I can't even look down without my nose running all over the place. Time to start bonding with the Puffs Extra with lotion. That new arrival might as well have been a baby for as good as I feel right now ....
3/29/11
3/25/11
K is for ...
K-een
I-deal
T-errific
C-lassy
H-andy
E-xcellent
N-ifty
A-wesome
I-ncredible
D-andy
And it's mine!!!
Well, next week it will be mine anyway. My friend, Linda, is always sharing delicious recipes with me. Her most recent one was for homemade wheat bread sweetened with honey. She made me a loaf and brought it in to work today. It is heaven! I'm so excited to take it home and share it with Mom and Dad. The texture is so not wheat bread. It's soft and chewy, but has no grainy feel to it. Plus, there's not much of a bread "taste", unlike some wheat breads where all you can taste is the wheat.
She shared the recipe with me a couple of days ago. They ground their own wheat for the bread. Very homemaker-ish, eh? Yeah, well, Mom bought a wheat grinder a while back and we haven't really used it. And we have like a bazillion pounds of wheat of all kinds of varieties in our food storage. What better way to use it and learn how to grind the wheat at the same time?
What prompted the KitchenAid purchase then? Well, the recipe said to use a bread machine with a dough hook. Uh, yeah. Don't have one of those. Well, I do. Kind of. I have a hand mixer that has served me well for years. It has a dough hook, but not one that could manage making actual wheat bread. I've been pricing KitchenAid's for almost a year now. I found this exact one for a steal (like highway robbery) on (where else?) Amazon. And with my good ol' Prime Membership I could put it on my Amazon card and not pay interest for six months. So I did it. And now Mom and I (yes, Mom, you) are going to learn to make homemade whole wheat bread after we learn how to grind our massive amounts of wheat. Fun, huh? I'm so excited about it! And I hope we don't end up baking bricks instead of loaves because then maybe we could share loaves with others like Linda shared with me.
The "rationalizer" and "justifier" in me also noted last night that learning to grind wheat and bake bread would definitely qualify for some sort of Young Women's project in my Personal Progress. Sweet! Heck, I might earn that medallion after all.
I-deal
T-errific
C-lassy
H-andy
E-xcellent
N-ifty
A-wesome
I-ncredible
D-andy
And it's mine!!!
 | |
| KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer, White |
She shared the recipe with me a couple of days ago. They ground their own wheat for the bread. Very homemaker-ish, eh? Yeah, well, Mom bought a wheat grinder a while back and we haven't really used it. And we have like a bazillion pounds of wheat of all kinds of varieties in our food storage. What better way to use it and learn how to grind the wheat at the same time?
What prompted the KitchenAid purchase then? Well, the recipe said to use a bread machine with a dough hook. Uh, yeah. Don't have one of those. Well, I do. Kind of. I have a hand mixer that has served me well for years. It has a dough hook, but not one that could manage making actual wheat bread. I've been pricing KitchenAid's for almost a year now. I found this exact one for a steal (like highway robbery) on (where else?) Amazon. And with my good ol' Prime Membership I could put it on my Amazon card and not pay interest for six months. So I did it. And now Mom and I (yes, Mom, you) are going to learn to make homemade whole wheat bread after we learn how to grind our massive amounts of wheat. Fun, huh? I'm so excited about it! And I hope we don't end up baking bricks instead of loaves because then maybe we could share loaves with others like Linda shared with me.
The "rationalizer" and "justifier" in me also noted last night that learning to grind wheat and bake bread would definitely qualify for some sort of Young Women's project in my Personal Progress. Sweet! Heck, I might earn that medallion after all.
3/21/11
Confession Time
The first counselor in our Bishopric came to visit on Saturday and extended a calling to me as the second counselor in our ward Young Women Presidency. I confess, my stomach hit the floor and I felt like puking. Callings usually aren't that scary, but this one, well, this one does more than scare me.
Confession: I hated going to Young Women's when I was a young girl. Ages 12-18 are awkward anyway, but Young Women's was a whole different ball of wax. Don't get me wrong ~ I loved attending church and hearing testimonies of others my age. But that was about the extent of it.
I didn't enjoy the activities every week, got tired of the gossip and girl talk, and looked forward to Relief Society from the time I was about 14. Why was it so awful? Ummmmmm.
Confession: The one and only year I went to girl's camp I was puked on in the middle of the night. We'd had chicken and biscuits (which I still can't eat) the night before and the girl on the bunk above me got sick. My hair was totally matted down in vomit, my pillow and sleeping bag were covered, and some of it even got into my bag of "treats." Bad, right? It gets worse. The only showers we had were cold showers ~ EXCEPT for the showers in the leaders cabin. They were warm. The leaders said I needed to shower in the girl's showers. Well, I refused to wash puke out of my hair in cold water. Had I needed a quick "spit bath" the cold water would have sufficed. No way was I washing a full head of thick and uber long hair in freezing cold mountain water. So, I left it in all day. The smell got so bad the leaders finally offered up their showers to wash my hair so the camp didn't have to smell me anymore. The worst part was having other girls tease me about being a "whimp" for not washing my hair in the freezing cold water (and by freezing, I really mean freezing ~ I still get chills just thinking about how cold that water was). I was also referred to as "The girl that got puked on", so that was especially fun. (We had just moved about six months prior to girl's camp, so I didn't know anyone except the girls in my ward.) Call me ridiculous, but that was a terrible experience. I never went back to girl's camp. And I still don't look forward to it now, even as a leader. Dirt and I are NOT friends.
To add to that, I worked really hard to receive my Young Womanhood medallion. For my last project, I did something based on the value of knowledge. It had something to do with music, but was a stretch from my normal play the piano or violin. I had my interview with the bishop (a new bishop, by the way) and he said everything looked great. My mom signed off on everything saying I did what I said I did to complete the project and the bishop said to get the Young Women President's signature and the medallion was mine. I met with the president. She refused to sign my book saying that my final project was "too easy." I spent over the minimum number of hours on it and did all that was required, but because it had something to do with music and I was "musically inclined" she determined that the project wasn't difficult enough for me. She didn't take into consideration the fact that I was the ONLY young woman in our Laurel class who attended school AND worked a more than part-time job at my dad's dry cleaning business. Whatever. I came home, threw the Personal Progress book in the garbage can and never looked back. The following week at church I went into Relief Society with my mom. That was the end of attending Young Women for me!
Stupid? Maybe. Childish? Maybe. Do I regret it? Absolutely not. I was so happy to be out of that program. It was a HUGE relief to be with adult women that didn't gossip and could care less who was dating who or whatever it was the young women talked about. But, here I am again! Mom said maybe I've been called now because some of the girls in Young Women feel much the same way I did. Maybe I'm there to help them learn from their experience and get something positive out of it. Or to help them see that things eventually get better and not to worry so much about right now. And maybe it's so I can finally "earn" that medallion and wear it proudly around my neck. Maybe. I don't know why the Lord calls us when and where He does. I just know we have to do our best, work hard, and take with us what we've learned from the experience. The girls in our ward will end up teaching me more than I can ever teach them. And I know they are excited to have me spend time with them every Sunday and during the week. They've already told me so, and that makes me think maybe things won't be as bad as they were when I was a young Beehive.
Confession: I'm still extremely nervous about this calling. And every time I think about it I still feel like puking.
Confession: I hated going to Young Women's when I was a young girl. Ages 12-18 are awkward anyway, but Young Women's was a whole different ball of wax. Don't get me wrong ~ I loved attending church and hearing testimonies of others my age. But that was about the extent of it.
I didn't enjoy the activities every week, got tired of the gossip and girl talk, and looked forward to Relief Society from the time I was about 14. Why was it so awful? Ummmmmm.
Confession: The one and only year I went to girl's camp I was puked on in the middle of the night. We'd had chicken and biscuits (which I still can't eat) the night before and the girl on the bunk above me got sick. My hair was totally matted down in vomit, my pillow and sleeping bag were covered, and some of it even got into my bag of "treats." Bad, right? It gets worse. The only showers we had were cold showers ~ EXCEPT for the showers in the leaders cabin. They were warm. The leaders said I needed to shower in the girl's showers. Well, I refused to wash puke out of my hair in cold water. Had I needed a quick "spit bath" the cold water would have sufficed. No way was I washing a full head of thick and uber long hair in freezing cold mountain water. So, I left it in all day. The smell got so bad the leaders finally offered up their showers to wash my hair so the camp didn't have to smell me anymore. The worst part was having other girls tease me about being a "whimp" for not washing my hair in the freezing cold water (and by freezing, I really mean freezing ~ I still get chills just thinking about how cold that water was). I was also referred to as "The girl that got puked on", so that was especially fun. (We had just moved about six months prior to girl's camp, so I didn't know anyone except the girls in my ward.) Call me ridiculous, but that was a terrible experience. I never went back to girl's camp. And I still don't look forward to it now, even as a leader. Dirt and I are NOT friends.
To add to that, I worked really hard to receive my Young Womanhood medallion. For my last project, I did something based on the value of knowledge. It had something to do with music, but was a stretch from my normal play the piano or violin. I had my interview with the bishop (a new bishop, by the way) and he said everything looked great. My mom signed off on everything saying I did what I said I did to complete the project and the bishop said to get the Young Women President's signature and the medallion was mine. I met with the president. She refused to sign my book saying that my final project was "too easy." I spent over the minimum number of hours on it and did all that was required, but because it had something to do with music and I was "musically inclined" she determined that the project wasn't difficult enough for me. She didn't take into consideration the fact that I was the ONLY young woman in our Laurel class who attended school AND worked a more than part-time job at my dad's dry cleaning business. Whatever. I came home, threw the Personal Progress book in the garbage can and never looked back. The following week at church I went into Relief Society with my mom. That was the end of attending Young Women for me!
Stupid? Maybe. Childish? Maybe. Do I regret it? Absolutely not. I was so happy to be out of that program. It was a HUGE relief to be with adult women that didn't gossip and could care less who was dating who or whatever it was the young women talked about. But, here I am again! Mom said maybe I've been called now because some of the girls in Young Women feel much the same way I did. Maybe I'm there to help them learn from their experience and get something positive out of it. Or to help them see that things eventually get better and not to worry so much about right now. And maybe it's so I can finally "earn" that medallion and wear it proudly around my neck. Maybe. I don't know why the Lord calls us when and where He does. I just know we have to do our best, work hard, and take with us what we've learned from the experience. The girls in our ward will end up teaching me more than I can ever teach them. And I know they are excited to have me spend time with them every Sunday and during the week. They've already told me so, and that makes me think maybe things won't be as bad as they were when I was a young Beehive.
Confession: I'm still extremely nervous about this calling. And every time I think about it I still feel like puking.
3/18/11
Is it too early to start a count down?
Not for the New Year. For May. Is it too early?
That's really only two months away. That's not too far, right? Will time go by more slowly if I start counting down days? Like watching water boil?
I'm headed to DC in May. SO excited. Among other feelings. There's a little trepidation. Not enough to keep me from going, but still some exists.
Reasons? Well, one is that I have a layover in Chicago. A naive white girl from small town America in Chicago alone. Hm. Just makes me think a bit. Luckily, I don't have to leave the airport. My longest layover is only about 90 minutes, and that's on the way home when (I hope) I'm dead tired and can't do anything more than walk from one gate to another.
Second reason: I haven't flown since like 2007. So what, right? Yeah, well, since 2007 I've also lost 230 pounds. There is still this huge fear that I'll have to ask for a seat belt extension. Or that I'll "bother" the person next to me. I'm flying Southwest. They do not have large seats. It's just a little bit scary.
Third reason: Staying with friends is great! Only, I don't want to overstay my welcome. Hopefully, I won't drive Shauna batty and get kicked out before it's time to go home. It would be a real drag not to spend as much time with her as possible.
Fourth reason: My parents and Bear. Need I say more? I'm gonna miss the three of them more than I could ever say. What if they forget me while I'm gone? Or realize how much they love not having me around? Sad. Too depressing to think about.
Fifth reason: I can't think of one right now, but I'm sure it exists.
On a much more different, but just as happy, note I bought a new (to me) car. Instead of driving this little baby (which I have LOVED)
I now drive this sweet ride:
Yes, I know it's the "same" car. But it's not. Really, it's not. And as much as I loved the old Honda, I love the new Honda just as much. Maybe more. (Could I actually love a car more? Hm.) Anyway, I really like the tinted windows, the color, the leather interior, heated seats, sunroof, and overall ride. (You just can't beat a Honda, and I don't care what anyone says otherwise.) It's a sporty little go-getter and the two days I've had it have been heaven.
Too bad I don't have the vacation time to drive to DC ....
That's really only two months away. That's not too far, right? Will time go by more slowly if I start counting down days? Like watching water boil?
I'm headed to DC in May. SO excited. Among other feelings. There's a little trepidation. Not enough to keep me from going, but still some exists.
Reasons? Well, one is that I have a layover in Chicago. A naive white girl from small town America in Chicago alone. Hm. Just makes me think a bit. Luckily, I don't have to leave the airport. My longest layover is only about 90 minutes, and that's on the way home when (I hope) I'm dead tired and can't do anything more than walk from one gate to another.
Second reason: I haven't flown since like 2007. So what, right? Yeah, well, since 2007 I've also lost 230 pounds. There is still this huge fear that I'll have to ask for a seat belt extension. Or that I'll "bother" the person next to me. I'm flying Southwest. They do not have large seats. It's just a little bit scary.
Third reason: Staying with friends is great! Only, I don't want to overstay my welcome. Hopefully, I won't drive Shauna batty and get kicked out before it's time to go home. It would be a real drag not to spend as much time with her as possible.
Fourth reason: My parents and Bear. Need I say more? I'm gonna miss the three of them more than I could ever say. What if they forget me while I'm gone? Or realize how much they love not having me around? Sad. Too depressing to think about.
Fifth reason: I can't think of one right now, but I'm sure it exists.
On a much more different, but just as happy, note I bought a new (to me) car. Instead of driving this little baby (which I have LOVED)
 |
| Not a photo from the dealer .... |
Yes, I know it's the "same" car. But it's not. Really, it's not. And as much as I loved the old Honda, I love the new Honda just as much. Maybe more. (Could I actually love a car more? Hm.) Anyway, I really like the tinted windows, the color, the leather interior, heated seats, sunroof, and overall ride. (You just can't beat a Honda, and I don't care what anyone says otherwise.) It's a sporty little go-getter and the two days I've had it have been heaven.
Too bad I don't have the vacation time to drive to DC ....
3/11/11
Call me Gumby
I said something to a "younger" person the other day about feeling like Gumby. They looked at me like I was crazy. Gumby wasn't that long ago, was it? I don't really remember anything about it, but at least I know what it (he) is. As a reference for those who don't know what I'm talking about, this is Gumby:
The point is that you can pull him in whatever direction you want. He stretches to impossible limits without flinching. And that is how I feel.
My new job is great. I really like it. It's interesting to see a different end of the donation process. I like working on my own and doing my own thing. The music can blare from my speakers and nobody cares. People actually stop by and stay to talk for a minute every once in a while. I have a nice view of campus through a big window. That means I have a lot of sunshine - huge plus!
The reason I feel like Gumby? Well, transition begets more transition. My jobs were split between two people, so I have to train two people. That means my head is barely floating above water on my new job while I train others to do my former job. I knew it was coming, but I didn't know how much it was going to take out of me! Luckily for me, they are both fast learners. It will be nice once everyone is settled again. Maybe then I can stop being Gumby and actually do some seriously needed organizing of my new job. Now, if I could just figure out a way to chat with Linda more everything would be perfect!
Random tidbit of the day: I quite like a watermelon flavored Jolly Rancher sucker now and then.
Random questions of the day: Why do people hear warnings about a tsunami, hurricane, tornado, or tidal wave and not heed them? Do they really think they can outrun, outlast, or outwhit mother nature?
Fact: I despise Daylight Saving Time. And it's not "savings", it's saving. For real. It's coming around again this weekend and I'm so annoyed about losing that hour for the next eight (yes, folks, count 'em) months. Arizona and Hawaii are the two smartest states in the Union.
I'm ready for a nap. Or a long weekend. Or both. Or just no homework. I could handle that.
My new job is great. I really like it. It's interesting to see a different end of the donation process. I like working on my own and doing my own thing. The music can blare from my speakers and nobody cares. People actually stop by and stay to talk for a minute every once in a while. I have a nice view of campus through a big window. That means I have a lot of sunshine - huge plus!
The reason I feel like Gumby? Well, transition begets more transition. My jobs were split between two people, so I have to train two people. That means my head is barely floating above water on my new job while I train others to do my former job. I knew it was coming, but I didn't know how much it was going to take out of me! Luckily for me, they are both fast learners. It will be nice once everyone is settled again. Maybe then I can stop being Gumby and actually do some seriously needed organizing of my new job. Now, if I could just figure out a way to chat with Linda more everything would be perfect!
Random tidbit of the day: I quite like a watermelon flavored Jolly Rancher sucker now and then.
Random questions of the day: Why do people hear warnings about a tsunami, hurricane, tornado, or tidal wave and not heed them? Do they really think they can outrun, outlast, or outwhit mother nature?
Fact: I despise Daylight Saving Time. And it's not "savings", it's saving. For real. It's coming around again this weekend and I'm so annoyed about losing that hour for the next eight (yes, folks, count 'em) months. Arizona and Hawaii are the two smartest states in the Union.
I'm ready for a nap. Or a long weekend. Or both. Or just no homework. I could handle that.
3/4/11
Honor
There has been a lot of talk lately about Brandon Davies. He is a BYU basketball player that was dismissed/suspended from the team because he violated BYU's Honor Code. The big question has been what did he do to deserve the dismissal? My question in reply: Does it really matter what he did?
I don't know the situation, so I can't comment on Brandon's actions, but this is what I feel. Honor is tied directly to integrity. Integrity is doing what you know to be right even when nobody is watching (in other words, even when it's not necessary to prove you did what was right). Whatever Brandon did, he lost his honor. He signed a contract (a "code"); he promised his coaches, his teammates, and his friends that he would abide by that contract. He promised to abide by certain rules, but he didn't keep his end of the contract.
Because of his actions he must now face the consequences. Unfortunately, so must his coaches and teammates. He left behind him a morally deflated group of individuals who thought more of him and expected more of him than he gave. He literally gave up his honor for something of less value. Was it worth it?
The whole thing has made me think about my life and my choices. Have I ever given up my honor for something of less value? Have I ever traded in my integrity for far less than it was worth? Have I ever been so selfish as to minimize others by choosing something that was easy or fun or exciting or different? If so, I better start repenting now because as far as I'm concerned throwing your honor out the window is like saying you know more than God. And I don't care who you are, you don't know more than the God that created you.
The honorable thing would have been to walk away from whatever temptation was in the way. The honorable thing would have been to hold your values, your morals as one of the most important things you own. For Brandon's sake, and the sake of his friends and all those he has disappointed, I hope he learns quickly what it means to be a man of honor.
And next time, if there is a next time, just stick with what you know is right regardless of what is being thrown in your face. After all, you can take your honor with you to the next life. If you don't have your honor to take with you what have you really got?
I don't know the situation, so I can't comment on Brandon's actions, but this is what I feel. Honor is tied directly to integrity. Integrity is doing what you know to be right even when nobody is watching (in other words, even when it's not necessary to prove you did what was right). Whatever Brandon did, he lost his honor. He signed a contract (a "code"); he promised his coaches, his teammates, and his friends that he would abide by that contract. He promised to abide by certain rules, but he didn't keep his end of the contract.
Because of his actions he must now face the consequences. Unfortunately, so must his coaches and teammates. He left behind him a morally deflated group of individuals who thought more of him and expected more of him than he gave. He literally gave up his honor for something of less value. Was it worth it?
The whole thing has made me think about my life and my choices. Have I ever given up my honor for something of less value? Have I ever traded in my integrity for far less than it was worth? Have I ever been so selfish as to minimize others by choosing something that was easy or fun or exciting or different? If so, I better start repenting now because as far as I'm concerned throwing your honor out the window is like saying you know more than God. And I don't care who you are, you don't know more than the God that created you.
The honorable thing would have been to walk away from whatever temptation was in the way. The honorable thing would have been to hold your values, your morals as one of the most important things you own. For Brandon's sake, and the sake of his friends and all those he has disappointed, I hope he learns quickly what it means to be a man of honor.
And next time, if there is a next time, just stick with what you know is right regardless of what is being thrown in your face. After all, you can take your honor with you to the next life. If you don't have your honor to take with you what have you really got?
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