Someone's in the kitchen . . .

My three most recent adventures in the kitchen. . .

1)I made a chocolate cake for Don and Dustin's Over the Hill Party. Dustin requested a sheet cake like I had made previously, so I pulled out that recipe book. It was a really good recipe, but it makes a HUGE cake, so I decided to try the recipe on the facing page since it was pretty similar. The recipe book was the one we got from Nauvoo; all the contributors were the senior sister missionaries. How appropriate that this recipe was entititled "Husband Catching Cake." (I'll be sure to let Sis. Brown know if it works! =) It turned out really good; could've been a little more moist, and it was pretty dense, but it tasted rill good. The trick to this one was buttermilk. Did you know you can create buttermilk by combining vinegar and milk and letting it sit for a while?

2)For our fireside tomorrow night, I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. My roommate taught me this recipe . ..1 spice cake mix, 1 can of pumpkin, 1 bag of chocolate chips. 350 degrees, 10 minutes, and you've created a masterpiece. Thanks, Kari!! =)

3)Our council is having a potluck breakfast-for-dinner tomorrow. I volunteered to bring cinnamon rolls because I wanted to try my friend Aubrey's recipe. You use frozen bread dough; follow the instructions for the quick rise, roll it into strips, smother with butter and cinnamon sugar (and nuts if you want), roll it up and bake for a few minutes. Top with cream cheese frosting, and you've got melt-in-your mouth goodness.

I've officially found another favorite place of mine . . .=)

The Missionary Generation Gap

Most of you know that I'm currently working on my mission papers. It's so easy to work on them via the online recommendation system! My bishop opened my account for my on Sunday, all my forms have been filled out so far, and I have all my doctor's appointments scheduled in the next few days. Yahoo!

And, you probably also know that Mom is working on her mission papers, too. Here's a couple of significant differences in our approaches to the online system . . .

1)The Personal Health History Form contains 48 questions regarding personal health. I answered in the affirmative on 5 of them, and it was easy things. I wear corrective lenses. I get mild headaches sometimes, I faint sometimes . . .blah blah blah. Mom? Yeah . . .ask her how many things she had to answer affirmative on! For every thing you answer affirmative on, you have to elaborate in depth on the Additional Health History Form. Think about it . . .wouldn't you be a little overwhelmed to fill out those forms and visit with your doctor if you were as broken as Mom? Good luck with that one! =)

2) There's an option to attach a photo online. I called Mom tonight to ask her about some mission stuff (isn't that what we always talk about these days anyway?!), and I told her that I uploaded a cute photo. In an authentic incredulous voice, she asked, "How'd you do that?!" "I took a picture and uploaded it . . ." "Do I know how to do that? I just saw the word 'upload' and skipped over that part because I didn't know what it meant!" Oh mother, learning how to upload a photo should be the least of your worries! =)

So, folks, I've included my cute uploaded picture. If you look closely enough, you can see my iodine stain on my left cheek. Okay, so it's really the remaining bruising from my wisdom teeth extractions, but Heidi says it looks like iodine. I probably should have waited a few weeks to start my mission papers. I knew I would get right on them and fill them out and schedule my appointments as quickly as I could. If I had started later, I would've had less wait time before I can submit my papers in early April. Oh well . ..I just have to keep telling myself not to pull up the online recommendation system every day. It gets me too excited to focus on anything else that I need to do. Oh, and mom . .. I fully expect you to make a blog post about your adventures with your mission papers! =)

Optimism Moment

You know why I love having a shallow sink? Because when the dishes pile up, and I eventually get around to them (meaning I actually have 10 minutes of time to do them!), it really is alot fewer dishes than it seems like it should be. What a good feeling.

Spiritual Gems, Week 1

My ward started a new study program. Every week, we have a topic to study in our personal sctipure study for at least an half an hour a day. At the conclusion of every week, on Monday at FHE, we discuss what we've learned throughout the week. I love this program; the ward is united in a common cause, and it's a good way to direct my personal study.
This week's topic was faith and hope. I loved studying about hope. To me, hope is the optimism and peace that comes from righteous living. Hope is a strong sense of trust in the future. As I studied faith, though, I felt it was more applicable to me . ..especially this week.
Remember my last post about my friend at the Testing Center? At the end of the school week, nothing was looking hopeful for him. It seemed most likely that he would have to drop the course, and that he'd be known on his honor record as a cheater. I was sad for him, but there really wasn't anything I could do. As I was studying my scriptures shortly after the incident, I came across this familiar passage: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1). I hoped that things would work out well with my friend's situation. And the evidence seen (the scratch paper) was not what my hoped was centered on; it was the evidence not seen. He was honest in his dealings, I knew, and I had faith that it would all work out. And on an eternal scheme . .. not a big deal. So, I quit worrying about it.
How cool was it then, when he told me on Monday that after he and the teacher talked to Linda at the TC, they let it go? Pretty rad in my book. He, of course, was thrilled. =) So was I. I suppose faith has this way of letting things work out when you least expect it . . .=)

Scratch that . . .

I took a test tonight. I did really really well, and I felt good about it. When I got there, they were all out of copies of the test, so I waited around for a while. I tried studying, but I ended up checking out a couple of tests. Finally, I started and took my test up in the break room upstairs. I came out unscathed about 2 and a half hours later.
I sent a celebratory text to a friend of mine at 10:05 - knowing that by then, we'd both be done with the test. He called me back, asking if I just got back from the TC. I said yes, and then he told me some sad news.
He was accused of cheating on that test at the Testing Center.
Yeah, bad news indeed. Here's what he told me what happened. He was getting his test, and he asked if they had any extra scratch paper. "Yeah, there's some in the bin." So he goes to the bin, grabs a sheet and makes an immediate outline for the essays on our test. Two hours later after he's taken the multiple choice portion and made good progress on his essay, the proctor notices that his scratch paper has the wrong stamp. She pulls him out, and they talk to the supervisor. Because of the way we deal with scratch paper at the TC, it seems that the only logical conclusion would be that he brought it in from elsewhere with notes already written on it.
So, he called me explaining this to me, wondering what he could do to remedy the situation. The only thing I know to do is talk to the teacher. Now, I don't know how much of a stickler Dr. Johnson is, or how he would even react to this situation. My friend asked me to come with him when he talks to the teacher, but really I can only say one thing. I can explain the process of stamping and putting out scratch paper.
Here's what I can't do:
-I can't convince fellow employees or even our teacher that this friend did not cheat. As much as I believe it to be true, because of my loyalties to my job, logically it would make sense that he brought in the paper. But because of my loyalties to him as a friend, I know he would never do that sort of thing.
-I can't retell the story. I wasn't there. He might not be telling me the truth. And even if I was on that shift, I don't know if I wouldn't have been able to change the situation.
Is it possible to believe him and trust the integrity of the Testing Center at the same time? Yeah, this puts me in a weird situation. Advice, anyone?

Random Rambling #5

53. I'm pretty sure I get stress headaches. They come at the end of a really long day when I've tried to pack it full with things to do on my to-do list. They seem to be compounded when things out of my control don't work out. Like compressed files on the computer or a slow internet connection. I think I clench my teeth, too.
54. The other day I made frogeye salad for my dinner group. Too bad there wasn't a warning on the recipe that told me to use the biggest bowl possible to mix it all in. Being my smart self, I used my biggest mixing bowl . .. but it was STILL overflowing! And it called for an entire bag of small marshmallows. I'm serving it tonight, so the whole process of making it better be worth it.
55. I have three flavors of ice cream in my freezer.
56. I watched Spencer the weatherman on the news today.
57. I also watched part of The View talkshow where they interviewed a family with 18 children. Yup. All natural births, and all under the age of 21 (with two sets of twins), and all names start with the letter J. That. is. ridiculous! It makes Mom's combined 6 years of pregnancy look like nothing. I almost feel bad for all the kids because in order to stay out of debt, they have to buy second-hand things; they even make their own laundry soap to save money. Wow. If their public appearances are anything like the Blake family, then I can only imagine what sort of spectacle they put on! And the hosts asked the parents, "Is this the last one, or are there more?" "I'm all for more, if the Lord says so," responds the mom. Yeah, she must be super righteous or something because I'm pretty sure she and her husband are trying to single-handedly fulfill the commandment to "multiply and replenish the earth."
58. My email account is loading something, so I'm taking this time to relieve stress. I need to stop thinking about everything that I have to do in the next few months because I could quite possibly die on the spot.
59. I just spent a good chunk of the last hour trying to download the supplemental music files from my music history class. They were compressed files sent through some website, which basically means that it's incredibly difficult to download them on my personal computer, either through email or my jump drive. So, I pretty much give up on that account, which means that it's one more thing to add on my list "Go to library and listen to pieces enough to be able to recognize them on my test next week."
60. UUUUGGHH!
61. There. I relieved some more stress, although I don't know how much it helped. My headache is still here. And I still have one more class, preparing dinner for my dinner group, and a paper that I need to work on. Oh, such is life.
62. Craziness never ends. But this post does.
63. Hey, I got the files to work!! Now, on to the next item of business . . .literally, an item of busy-ness. Tune in later for a post when my head isn't pounding. Perhaps the next post will be more profound, funny, or logical.
64. Most likely, it won't be. =)

Sister Chronicles, Part 2

In my ward, our Relief Society changes every semester. Last semester I had the opportunity to serve as the Secretary in my RS, and I came to know the sisters so much better than I would have otherwise. Not only did I know what apartments they lived in or where they were from or what their calling was, or other secretarial info, but I got to know them as actual sisters, it seemed. I was especially touched by many many comments they would make in our RS meetings; through those comments I learned to love them better and understand perhaps just a bit more about each one of them. Remember those things that we'd do in Young Womens where you make a list of all the good qualities about everyone else? Well, we did something like that, except this time, we spoke them out loud. On the last Sunday that we all met together, we sat in a giant circle so we could all see each other, and we went around taking time to focus on each person. It was amazing what I learned about each sister by what other sisters had observed of her. What an inredible and Spirit-filled meeting that was! Our president had tape recorded the whole meeting without our prior knowledge, and later that day, we as a presidency typed up all that was said about each person and put it on a nice card as a Christmas gift.

I love Relief Society.