Who Would You Meet and Why?

I find that some of my most lasting memories are ones where I somehow embarrassed myself. Do you find that's true, or is it just me? Like, I remember all these random conversations just because I said something dumb in them. I remember so many times when my parents corrected me and I felt stupid about it, even though I know that the times they were supportive and forgiving were far more frequent then the times they scolded me.

Or I can't stand to listen to "I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis because I once wrote out all the lyrics to give to a boy I was "going out with" (we were 12, by the way) then dumped him the next day when I got no response. That still makes me feel so stupid. I hate that song. Doug Howard, if you're out there, I'm sorry. I was 12, though, so I should get some slack, right? Not from myself. I still blush and feel ridiculous just hearing that song. Here it is in case you don't know what I'm referencing:



And I think about these episodes a lot. Try to redo them, I guess. Like, the one I really want to talk about today -- it was senior year. AP English. Probably the first week of class, and we'd been given the assignment to interview a classmate and prepare a presentation to give to the class about that person. Our teacher gave us all the same 5 questions to ask each other.

One of the questions was a pretty classic, cliche type question that you often get asked: If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

At the time, I just couldn't think of anyone at all. I was pretty shy, and I couldn't imagine myself having a conversation with anyone famous. I mean, what would I say?

So, at the time, drawing a blank, I said Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay. Yeah I know. Lame, huh? And what's lamer is that I still feel stupid about that. I mean, this was 9 years ago and I know, I know, nobody cared who I would hypothetically meet. But I still feel like I should have--and could have--come up with something a little more meaningful. You know, like one of my grandfathers who passed away before I was born. Or I don't know... Gandhi.

I think about that a lot, though. And I have realized that who my 17-year-old self really wanted to meet, living or dead, was the prophet Joseph Smith. I would say Jesus Christ, but I don't think my 17-year-old self was really ready to meet Jesus. But Joseph Smith . . . now I could have learned a lot from him. I was having a lot of doubts about the church, which I eventually figured out, but getting a read on the boy prophet would have been awesome. That would have been a much better answer.

Definitely more true than "Chris Martin". I mean, honestly, I'd have nothing to say to that guy except, "Your album Parachutes replaced REM's Automatic for the People as my go-to album when I'm in a teenage angsty mood." And I don't think he'd really care to hear that, anyway. And I'd have nothing really to ask him, either. It's not like I was really a big fan or anything. I just really liked that album. It's pretty weird that I still think about that and think dumb dumb dumb, huh?

Now, I definitely have a better answer to that question. I have lots of answers to that question, in fact. I'd love to meet the aforementioned grandfathers. I'd love to meet my mom and dad 30 years ago (come on, that would be cool). I'd love to meet Paul (New Testament guy) - you know, get some clarification on some of those epistles. I'd love to meet a peasant from the middle ages - find out what life was like there and then. I'd love to meet Joseph Smith, and that is true.

What about you? Who would you meet and why? And if it's Chris Martin, well, I promise not to think you're dumb.

Come What May and Love It -- A Printable for You

It seems like there have been a lot of things happening around me lately reminding me that life is hard. Life is really, really, really, really hard. Not mine, mind you, but there are tragedies occurring in the lives of those I love. There is sickness and disease. There are hard decisions being faced. There is sadness and regret and uncertainty. There are bad things happening to some really, truly good people.

But this one little phrase keeps coming back to me--one that I heard in LDS General Conference way back in October of 2008. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin spoke about overcoming adversity. He gave four very specific suggestions for dealing with difficult situations: learn to laugh, seek an eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation, and trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. His talk has stuck with me, though--and will continue to stick with me my whole life--simply because of one phrase. When life becomes difficult and you have to "[drink] deeply from the cup of disappointment, sorrow,  and loss" he said: come what may, and love it. 

Tutorial Tuesday: A Birthday Bunting

When we were kids, my sisters and I loved -- I mean love, love, love, love, loved -- to make birthday banners. And not just for birthdays, no no. Welcome Home! banners. We Love You! banners. We Want More Allowance! banners. (Ok, I may have made that last one up, but it would have been a great idea.)

We had a dot matrix printer - you know the kind where the pages of paper are all connected, so the banners are lovely but you can ruin your school report if you don't rip carefully enough? Yeah, one of these babies:

image found here

A Cow Says Moo: A Magnet Story

On Saturday, James made the dangerous decision to say "No" -- when I asked him if he would mind if I went shopping at a fabric store for a little while. :) I got some adorable new fabric to make into cuffs, as well as more adorable fabric to make into a bunting (tune in for that tutorial tomorrow). Then, well, he said he didn't mind, so instead of coming straight home after I left the fabric store, I figured I'd swing by Hobby Lobby -- since it was on the way home and all. <Insert devious grin>

Yeah, like that. :) But I had pure intentions, see. I wanted to go to Hobby Lobby because I really really really wanted to make these magnets for Isaac. (Have I mentioned that Jessica from Utah County Mom is a genius?) Of course, while at Hobby Lobby, I picked up a ton of other things, but that's beside the point. Isaac loves his magnets and that's all that matters.

Best part? Isaac now knows that a cow says "Moo." And if you ask him to find the cow, he'll run to the fridge, grab the cow magnet, and come running back yelling "Moo mooo mooo moo moo mooo." Entertainment for parents and child alike.

So, thanks Jessica for the idea! Now I just have to make the magnetic board! Jessica, you are going to kill my budget if you keep posting all these awesome ideas. :P

What about you guys? Anything fun this weekend? Do anything devious?

*Oh, and speaking of Utah County Mom, Jessica's got a giveaway going on right now - open until tomorrow! - for tickets to the Living Planet Aquarium. If you're a local, go enter to win a fun trip to see the fishes.*

Food Storage Friday: A Helpful Site Change

So, I thought it might be a good idea to put all the recipe cards I've created in a central place. You may have noticed a new button at the top of the blog. Right there next to "Home" and "Favorite Blogs," there's now a button for "Recipe Cards." So now you don't have to go slogging through all my posts to find a recipe card for your bag meals. They're all there. I'll keep updating it, too, as I add more recipe cards to the repertoire.

In other food-related news, this week I decided to do something a little crazy. I usually make a one-week meal plan and then go buy everything I need for those meals. One week at a time, that's how I did things. Well, after reading a lot about meal planning, trying to get some new ideas, I decided to try planning an entire month's worth of meals. I know - exciting!

Man... I Feel Like a Woman?

So, I've been reading again. This time I picked up Why Gender Matters by Leonard Sax--the same author of Boys Adrift. This book was written before Boys Adrift, and it tried to focus on physiological differences between the sexes (you know, besides the obvious). For instance, did you know that girls, from infancy, have better hearing than boys? Next time you think a boy is ignoring you, maybe the truth is he can't hear you.

Awesome Blog Alert: Utah County Mom

So, my cousin-in-law (? That's weird. Let's go with friend) friend, Jessica, is this incredibly talented woman. She makes the most beautiful, cool, creative things. And she's just really savvy - like, always knows where to get a good deal, or where to go to entertain small children, or what to do on a rainy day. And now, thanks to popular request, she has started a blog to share all of her awesome adventures.

 

It's called Utah County Mom, and even though she's just started , she has tons of awesome posts.

Edified

When we were growing up, we used to make fun of my dad for how he would casually toss out these (what we felt were) obscure vocabulary words expecting us to completely understand what he was talking about. I clearly remember my dad telling me not to "get all apoplectic", for example. Once I learned what apoplectic meant, I was simultaneously offended that  he would call me that, and thrilled that I had a new, impressive word to add to my growing arsenal.

My dad was always doing that - making me feel intelligent by teaching me something new. (He was also always doing weird things like asking me how I felt about taxidermy in order to start a conversation. me: "What do you mean, like - in general? or as a career choice?" Dad: "Just what do you think about taxidermy?" But that's a post for another day.) The reason I bring this up is because I remember very clearly a word my dad took pains to teach us growing up. He gathered us all together for a family home evening to teach us all the meaning of the word edify.

KP Photography Orchard Photo Shoot - Giveaway

So, I know this totally talented photographer. I've told you about her before. Well, she also happens to be a pretty generous woman. She's doing a giveaway right now, offering a free orchard photo shoot. Whoever wins this is crazy lucky--and heck yeah, I'm hoping it's me! But maybe it will be you. Head over to her facebook page to enter. All you have to do is share news of the giveaway on facebook or on your blog or twitter or all three. So here's hoping I win - or you do :)

Food Storage Friday: Pancakes 2.0

Well, we've had an interesting week. This is what has been going on around here:

Isaac and I had a lot of fun watching the men with the various types of saws hacking away at our trees. Hopefully we will have a lot fewer apricots and apples than last year, but at the same time a lot better. :)

I did manage to tear our eyes away from the window for a little while this morning in order to try again on the whole wheat pancakes. I really wanted to figure out what went wrong last time - and guess what? I totally figured it out. I was trying to modify the food storage recipe to a fresh foods recipe (I don't have any powdered eggs, yet) and I totally misunderestimated (yep, I said it) the amount of eggs I would need. For some reason I thought 3 tablespoons of powdered egg would be just one fresh egg. Wrong.