What's Cookin' Good Lookin'?

A big thank you to my lovely friend Michelle for this question:

If you could have any career other than your current one, what would it be and why?

What an interesting thing to think about. When I was a child I threw around a lot of ideas of what I wanted to be. I could be a teacher like my mom, a marine biologist (I never quite realized that I'd have to move somewhere not landlocked for that one), a writer, or any other number of things. The one thing I always came back to, however was nursing. Nursing is what I was made to do.

Now that I'm an adult I wonder what other things I might be suited for. I could cut hair, run an in-home daycare, be a stay-at-home mom (I've been told that this is a full-time job, and I believe it!), do anything I want, really.

However, I think if I could be anything in the world I'd be a chef. I would love to be able to create things in the kitchen, to not have to use a recipe, to just know what flavors work well together. I wish I had the creativity to invent new things, flavors, and food combinations. It would be so amazing to have my own restaurant, or even be the head chef in a restaurant.

I love to cook, and I love to experiment, but if I could get paid for it that would be fabulous. Then, I would take that love of cooking (and the fabulous ability) and become the next food network star. I could be the next Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, or Rachel Ray.

In all reality I'm probably much more likely to end up on "Worst Cooks In America" than anything, but a girl can dream, right?

Faith Building Experiences

When I was growing up I was always taught that if I was able to serve in the church, I should be willing to serve in the church. I was taught to never turn down a calling, even if I didn't want it.

Just over a year ago I was called to be the primary chorister in my ward. The calling scared me, and that told me that I definitely needed to accept. I said yes and began a serious roller coaster ride.

This calling pushed me in ways I never thought it would. I was forced to be more organized than I ever had been. I had to prepare in advance, think of good ideas to keep the kids entertained but still teach the kids the songs.

I was incredibly excited when they released the program theme for 2010: I Know That My Savior Lives. Amazing! Immediately I thought of probably 20 songs that I wanted to teach the kids, and then I heard the theme song for the year. It was beautiful! I taught it to my primary and teared up every time I heard those little ones bear testimony through song. "Yes!" I though, "This is my year."

And then today the bishop pulled me aside before singing time. Turns out our ward is reorganizing the entire primary, and all of the leadership is being released... myself included. A few people were being put back in, but not me.

I have never before cried when I was released for a calling. Today, I can't seem to stop the flow of tears. I will miss my primary so much. I will miss hearing them bear testimony through song. I will miss seeing their faces light up when the message of the song hits home.

So, for now, I will have faith that Heavenly Father has something else in store for me. Another calling will come that will stretch me, make me grow, and challenge me in new ways. I will miss my primary, but good things can, and will, come from whatever new opportunity presents itself next.

But I'm still going to cry.

I Love My Cousins!

It's that time again... time to start answering your questions. (If you still want to ask me one go here for the instructions) Thanks to my cousin Andrew for this little beauty:

On a scale of 1-10 how amazingly amazing are your cousins, and which one would you trade places with for a day?

I have some pretty fantastically, awesomely, amazingly amazing cousins. On a scale of 1-10, I would probably go with about a 12. I am very lucky to actually know my cousins and consider them some of my best friends. On my mom's side of the family there are 19 of us that range in age from 29 to three. I'm the third oldest, so a lot of my cousins are younger, but I still have a good relationship with them. I even lived with one of my cousins for awhile.

Anyway, I had a really difficult time deciding which cousin I would trade places with. We're all so different and doing such different things in our lives that it was hard to choose.

Would I be Greg, who spends his life in front of an audience (an audience of third graders most of the time...)?

Would I be Pete, who is going on a Mexican Riviera cruise next week?

Would I be Liza, the little one with a big personality?

Would I be Josie, the extremely athletic tomboy?

Would I be Haley, the only 16-year-old I know that speaks Latin?

Would I be Andrew and experience fraternity life for a day?

Then it came to me... I would trade places with Jake.

Jake is 18 (I think), incredibly sweet, loves his family, and has pretty severe Down Syndrome. Why would I trade places with Jake? Let me tell you:

~He always has a smile on his face.

~His family is right there with him, every step of the way. No matter what is going on, he always has a sibling there to help him through it, hold his hand, or offer words of encouragement.

~He's bald. How great would it be to always know what your hair is going to look like?

~The simple things make him the happiest. He loves Harry Potter, Parent Trap, and Herbie.

~Chili. Yeah, I want to see what it's like to love chili as much as Jake does.

~I want to know what the world looks like from Jake's point of view. I want to see what he sees, think what he thinks, and feel what he feels. I want to know what it feels like to communicate with other people the way Jake does.
~He has the ability to make anyone around him smile.
~The sweet, sweet innocence that he carries with him. He never offends, hurts feelings, or is passive-aggressive. Everyone is his friend. He doesn't care who you are, he'll give you a hug if you need it.

So there you have it: the reasons why I would be Jake for a day.

Every Girl Needs Pearls!

Hey everyone, I'm still waiting for a few more questions to roll in, so be sure to check out my last blog post. In the meantime: here's a little project I've been working on. I've seen these around and fell in love with them, so I took a few supplies I had lying around, bought some pearls, and made myself one. (Don't worry, I'll give you step by step instructions so you can make yourself one, too.)Isn't it pretty?

The supplies:

~A piece of fishnet stocking or nylon about 1.5" x 8"
~Some pearls or beads (I used cream pearls)
~Two pieces of ribbon, whatever length you'd like.

What you do:1. Tie a knot in one end. Place a bead inside and tie a tight knot on the other side of the pearl.

2. Repeat with as many beads as you would like. I was making a short necklace so I only used 9. Double knot at the end.
3. Hot glue a piece of ribbon into the remaining stocking at each end of the beads.I didn't like the raw edges after I glued in the ribbon, so I used the leftover lace from the top of the stocking and made a flower for one side, and wrapped it around the other side. I secured both with hot glue.

The whole thing cost less than $5 and was super simple to make. I look forward to wearing it!
P.S.~I got the initial instructions for this at Get Craftin' (who is also doing a jewelry giveaway right now!).

Who's Up For Round Two?

So, awhile back I played a fun little "Getting to Know Me" blog game. Since I'm feeling a little low on bloggable material right now I thought I'd revive the game.

So, here are the rules:
1. You ask me a question. In return, I'll devote a whole blog post to answering your question.
2. You can ask me anything you like, but please keep in mind the others that read my blog (for example: my mother, people that stumble across me from Mormon Mommy Blogs, etc).
3. Be creative! Challenge me, make me think, stretch, grow. If it is a mundane question, I'll still give it the consideration as the others. Keep in mind how much more fun it is for me to write, and you to read, if the question is humorous, thought-provoking, or unusual.
4. Leave your question in a comment on this particular blog post. I'll answer the questions as they roll in.

Let the games begin!

I Can't, I'm Allergic

It's true, I really am allergic.

I used to tan with the best of them. I spent summers running around with no sunscreen, peeling off my sunburned skin, and enjoying the tan underneath. Let's be honest, I was pretty much skin cancer in the making. Anyway, I was generally baked a nice golden-brown. And I never even had to use a tanning bed. And then I turned 20.

While in St. George this weekend (a wedding, some family time, and a baby blessing. Oh my!) I spent a little time relaxing on the patio between events. I plugged in my ipod headphones, grabbed a book, and basked in the warmth.

That's when the trouble always starts. Every year I forget that the sun and I no longer get along. That lovely golden, glowing orb was my best friend all spring, summer, and fall. Now it's my worst enemy. If I spend more than about 5 minutes in direct sunlight I break out in a lovely allergic rash.

My upper arms and my chest turn red, bust out in little bumps, and itch like mad for days on end. I began to wonder if there was any respite from my ailment. I did a little research, and lo and behold, it actually is a real condition. It's called Polymorphous Light Eruption, or PMLE for short. (You can read about it here if you're curious).

So, back to my original story: somewhere in the midst of white weddings, lots of food, and seeing baby Jenna blessed, I got attacked by the sun.

I guess it could be worse... it hit my mom for the first time on her honeymoon in Mazatlan.

Life Unplugged

I've received a lot of good feedback about our e-free week. I've had several people tell me that they want to try it, I've been asked throughout the week how it was going, and I managed to do the most important thing: I reconnected with Curious George.

Let me quickly give you a little background into what the day-to-day is like in our house. I work three 12-hour shifts a week. Two of these are at night, and one is from 11 am to 11 pm. This works pretty well for us, because Curious George generally works from 4 am to 1 pm. So, generally speaking, I spend a lot of time at home alone during the day. This is traditionally my peak internet usage time. However, I would usually leave it open in the background, just in case.

Anyway, this week I can't believe how much I accomplished. I pieced and sewed (completely, from start to tied and finished) 2 baby quilts. I had a great time learning how to make fabric flowers and experimenting with different fabrics pairings. And I started working on my soon-to-be china hutch. My phone rang a lot more than I was used to, because people couldn't just shoot me an email or facebook message. It was nice to actually hear some voices. I also did some serious reading.

As for my marriage: we actually talked. It was more than just he occasional "Mmm-hmmm" or "Sure." We spent some time together doing things we both enjoy. I spent a lot less time being angry, annoyed, or bugged by little things. Our house stayed cleaner, we both got more sleep, and we enjoyed some quality time with friends and family.

We also set down some new ground rules for the internet:
1. When I'm home alone my time online is limited to 2 hours. (I know, that seems like a lot, but I'm taking baby steps)
2. When we're home together the internet is turned off unless we're looking at something together.
3. Any purchases I want to make, I have to see if I can buy it in the store first.

And now a few highlights from the past week:
1. I was featured on Mormon Mommy Blogs. You can check it out here.
2. Our tax return came. Hooray!
3. We decided to stay put in our apartment for awhile. We'd love to buy a place, but I think we're in a good place for now.
4. A (wretched) dinner at Chili's (but the company was great) and some fabulous bowling at Sue Rich. I actually beat Curious George by 20 points.
5. A phone call (and a very sweet letter) from Hawaii letting us know that Elder Hatch would be safe from the tsunami.

All in all, a great week. How was yours?