No matter how you look at it, Owen is now one year old (and hopefully wiser too). I can't believe he's twenty-five already! It really isn't old, but there was once a time in my life that it seemed very far off. I guess I'll be there before I know it!
We celebrated a day early with friends and family, eating out at Chili's and then coming home and eating some of this
It's heaven on a plate, I promise. I would have taken pictures of ours, but my rechargeable camera batteries bit the dust (I really need a camera with a battery pack) and the dessert was gone before I could get new ones. This is our second time making this recipe and it still has some kinks to work out before it's perfect. Here's the original in case you're looking for a carb overload anytime soon.
If you've been wondering where I've been, I can explain. It's all Stephenie Meyer's fault. I finally caught the bug and read the Twilight Saga (all 2,444 pages in under two weeks). I couldn't put it down. Now, I'm not saying it was the best series I've ever read, because it's not. It was, however, a very intriguing story that leaves one wanting more. So, yes, I loved the books, and now I'm finished. I'm happy to be done, but sad that it's all over at the same time. Oh well, at least now I can get my life back and hopefully get some back-blogging done too!
When my sister, Alicia, was serving as a full-time missionary, my dad searched high and low to find a toy camel for the halfway mark of her mission (hump day). Today is my parent's mission hump day, so the camel is back in play. I considered sending the little guy to Africa so my parents could have a little chuckle, but decided against it since then they'd just have one more thing to bring home in August. So, a picture will have to suffice.
I would like to thank you for making Cheerios. Having them around makes both my baby and I happy.
She must think they taste delicious because she just eats them up all day long. She's even developed a knack for finding the leftovers that she tossed off her highchair, that I obviously missed. Plus, they give her some autonomy, which she loves.
I love them because she's able to feed herself, and not create a huge mess with it...enough said.
I've always found phrases like Pro-Choice and Pro-Life to be interesting. Leave it to political correctness to make good things seem bad and vice versa. For the record, I'm Pro-Life, which if you think about it would technically make me Anti-Choice, wouldn't it? But nobody in our PC minded culture would admit that. Good thing too because I'm not Anti-Choice, I just feel that the choice has already happened. A baby coming is the obvious consequence of such a choice, and that is a consequence that should remain, regardless of what anyone says about other choices.
But really, this is all beside the point. What I really mean to talk about is Christmas in all it's commercialized glory.
I am NOT Anti-Christmas; I'm Pro-Thanksgiving.
You see, every year, immediately following Halloween, I see people all over decorating their homes...for Christmas. I see lights not just up on the roofs, but blazing brightly night after night. Some neighbors have their indoor decor up and ready to go even. And, I suppose this is their right, but, if I'm not mistaken, there is a holiday smooshed somewhere in between Halloween and Christmas. What was it again?....
Ahh, yes. I remember now...I believe it's called Thanksgiving!
I love Thanksgiving. I love the family time, the food (mainly pie), the break from school, the pie, Black Friday shopping, playing games and wasting time, oh and did I mention I love pie? It truly is a grand holiday. But even more than these superficial traditions, I love that it is a time to pause our lives, reflect on our many blessings and show gratitude to our Father in Heaven by remembering these things.
So, while I may love Christmas, (I really do. But it has its own time and place.) I try my best to remember this often forgotten holiday too.
Although you might expect it to, this post has nothing to do with graduation (although I am very excited for that too). It does, however, have everything to do with the book series, Fablehaven.
Typically, I don't read for pleasure much while I'm in school; I have a tendency to not do my homework because I'm busy reading. But after Owen whipped through the first Fablehaven book, then quickly devoured the second and third, he started begging me to read them so we could have discussions about them together. I continued to shoot him down using the "I'm in school. I don't have time." excuse, but he kept on and I eventually gave in.
I'm glad I did. Not only are they amazing books, (A great story. Well written. The works.) but reading Fablehaven was also a welcome break from school every now and again. I highly recommend the series. If you enjoy fantasy at all, you will not be let down. I just finished the third book tonight and unfortunately, now I have to wait until April for the fourth book's release. Now I'm on to the Twilight series...(Think I can read the first book, Twilight, before Friday when the movie comes out?!)
Once upon a time Owen and I went on frequent, and many times expensive, dates...then we got married. We soon realized that we could not be quite so frivolous with our money or we'd be poorer than dirt. It was about this time that we started getting really creative.
We've been on many a "Walmart-date" (walking around Walmart, talking to your neighbors who are also on Walmart dates and looking at items that we don't need or can't afford) and also many home dates (these range from watching a movie, to playing board/card games, making "gourmet" meals and desserts, etc.) We still love to do all of the above, but every once in a while we like to splurge and do a "real" date.
Now that Owen works as a server, he often brings change home from work. We're putting this change to good use in the Date Jar. Once the jar is full, we get to take it to the bank and trade our coins for cash (although I suppose we could just take the jar and pay people in all change...hehe, wouldn't that be funny?!) to go on a HOT date with. We're just about there!
Wow! I don't know what happened during October, but I feel like I completely missed it. Okay, I really do know what happened (school and a professor with ridiculous expectations) but that's beside the point. I'm just now realizing that it is November...almost halfway through November.
Now, don't get me wrong, I write the date all the time and subconsciously I've known it was November. But it's just now sinking in.
In less than two weeks I'll be finished with my senior practicum (my time in the public schools) and be enjoying my Thanksgiving break. And in less than five weeks, this semester will be over entirely and I'll be packing my bags for a Carolina Christmas. I'd better not blink or I'll miss that too!
A couple weeks ago, my sister, Alicia, warned me the semester would pick up speed soon. I assured her that this was the slowest moving semester of my life and I had serious doubts that it would change. Funny thing, I feel like it should be still be the middle of October, which is when this conversation took place. I guess she was right! In any case, I'm looking forward to Christmas break when I can catch my breath (and hopefully some sleep too) for two weeks before student teaching!
There's just something about this crisp time of year that makes me crave all things autumn, especially pumpkin. I haven't always been this way. No, there once was a time that the only way I could gag down a slice of pumpkin pie was to smother it with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Not so anymore. These days I go out of my way to make pumpkin part of every meal -- breakfast and dessert.
What? Were you expecting me to say "breakfast, lunch and dinner?" HA! I actually do have a recipe or two for pumpkin soup and dinner-type pumpkin dishes, but I have yet to try them (I'm scared that I'll hate it and be annoyed that I wasted my time on something so, uh...exotic. Yes, exotic.)
Anyway, back to breakfast and dessert. Here's two of our recent creations. Let's see if you can figure out which one we ate for breakfast and which was the treat.
Okay, so it probably wasn't really too difficult to figure out. But hey, let's be honest, if it's okay to eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast on occasion, shouldn't pumpkin rolls be fair game too? I'm just sayin'...
It's been less than three days since the announcement came that Proposition 8 passed in California. Since then, gay rights activists have come together to protest against the LDS Church in California and Utah. The protesters have graffitied Church property and in California have forced a temporary closure of the Los Angeles Temple (the members can't get through the angry people).
Now, I realize this is something that has been prophesied of since ancient times. I know these things have to happen to bring about the Second Coming; things have to get worse before they'll get better. Things are definitely getting worse. Yet, even with my knowledge of The Plan, it still brings sadness to my heart to see so many people confused and spiritually lost.
I like to eat small portions. Now, I'm not talking about eating small quantities. Nope, I eat way more than I should, I just overeat little by little.
For example, tonight we had pizza for dinner. Without fail, I always grab the smallest pieces I can find. I had two small pieces instead of one normal size piece. In reality, it is the same and I know this, but for some reason it makes me feel better to eat the small pieces.
After dinner I had a bowl of ice cream. Owen scooped it and put it in a normal cereal bowl. I felt guilty eating it. It was no bigger than the amount I usually get when I have ice cream, but I always scoop it into a little bowl.
Is this normal? Do you rationalize bad eating habits in completely irrational ways too?
Waking up this morning knowing Barack Obama was the new president was a sad moment for me. Waking up to find snow outside took me to a whole new level of cranky and depressed.
Now, I'm really not that down about Obama being elected (or the snow either). It is sad to see, but I'm not really worried about it either. Sure, our nation is now headed in a very dangerous direction. But honestly, it's slowly been moving that way anyhow; the final vote is evidence of this change that has creeped in among our people. So, I'd be lying if I said I didn't see this coming. I did. But that still doesn't make me feel better about the situation.
The one comfort I do have is that this marks another step closer to The Second Coming of our Savior. I know the Lord's hand is in ALL things. Things will work out; one way or another.
As for Proposition 8, it looks like it is going to pass by a small margin. Yay for one good thing coming out of this election!
With voting commencing tomorrow, I figured I still had a little time left for persuasion. I typically leave my political opinion off our blog, but this election feels too important to say nothing.
First on my list, Proposition 8.
I think that the most important thing on the table this November is Proposition 8. I am not a resident of California, so I cannot vote on this issue, but I can voice my opinion to those who can vote there. So, please, please, please vote 'yes' on Proposition 8.
And those who are ignorant enough to think this won't affect the entire nation are sorely mistaken. The outcome of this vote will effect all of us. (You, your children, grandchildren and all of society.) Once a law is enacted in one state it can be used in legislation and/or as leverage in a lawsuit in other states. The impact of this not passing is scary for me to think about.
This video highlights the main points of the proposition and is kind of cute too, so I hope you'll take a couple minutes to watch it.
The other thing I have avoided thus far, but also feel strongly about, is our choices for presidential candidates. The strong possibility that Barack Obama will become our next president is a frightening concept to me. I'm not saying I really care for John McCain either though. All I know is that Obama has far too many socialist ideas for me to be comfortable entrusting him with my vote of confidence.
I was born and raised in a capitalism-minded home in a capitalism-based nation. I whole-heartedly believe that the principles of independence and self-reliance are what grant us true freedom. The role of government is not to ensure everyone gets equality. The role of government is to provide us with the liberties in the constitution are granted fairly...fairly, not equally.
Obama seems to think otherwise and frankly, I want no part in it. His philosophies seem strikingly similar to someone else we are warned against in the scriptures and from modern-day prophets...Satan. In 2 Nephi 28:21 we are told, "And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell." I see this happening, do you? Satan is subtle and cunning...so is Obama. Sweet words and promises of bright days ahead sound great, but they are spoken to lead us away into "carnal security" and truly are leading us (as a nation) "carefully down to hell".
Here's yet another video, this one with words from Presidents Thomas S. Monson, Ezra Taft Benson and Gordon B. Hinckley. It is a warning for our time. Pay particular attention to what President Benson has to say about socialism in our time.
So, I beg you, when you go out to vote, consider these things and make a wise choice.
Picking costumes for Halloween this year turned out to be more problematic than I would have liked. Originally, the plan was to go as Ron (Owen) Hermione (me) and Crookshanks - Hermione's cat (Miriam).
A couple weeks ago, we finally accepted the fact that this just wasn't going to happen. We were having slim luck finding costume pieces at the local thrift shops and I've been far too busy to whip anything up. So, we were on to plan B -- creating costumes using things we had at home.
I thought maybe we'd be able to scrounge up some overalls and go as a scarecrow family. No luck there. Then I figured, at least, we sould buy Miriam a costume so she was dressed up for her first Halloween and we'd all just go as unrelated characters. This thought led to this
Bill Gates, watch out! Just kidding. But seriously, I think he plays this part a bit too well.
And of course, what nerd costume would be complete without a "kick me!" sign taped to the back? We were just going for quick, easy and cheap. Plus, since Owen had to work a server shift Halloween night, having a cool (not the awesome-type, the temperature-type) costume to wear was a nice bonus.
At least we had the cutest ducky ever to tote around. Although, she was none too impressed with the hood.
She tried and tried to get it off by herself, to no avail. Even after I gave in and helped, she was still mad because I was trying to get her hold still so I could take pictures. In the end, this was the best I could get. At least it shows off the cute tail. Oh, and if you're wondering about my costume...I went as myself. Original, I know. It was enough headache to get the other two ready to go, let alone try to figure out something for me to be too. There's always next year! But, as a side note, I now know why my mom sent me out as a witch year after year. I don't blame her one bit!
Photo Courtesy of Allrecipes.com
