Roomie Reunion!

Two years ago I lived with these lovely ladies:

We were pretty much BFFs and we enjoyed many adventures together.

Eventually, we all went our separate ways. Ashley got married, and Lauren headed off to an internship out of state (and scored an awesome job when she was done.)

But we all came back together for an important occasion last year:

Last night, we all got together for the first time in over a year!!! 

It was amazing to see these girls. They were really sweet to drive all the way down to Provo to visit. We enjoyed dinner at California Pizza Kitchen (and we had the world's most awesome server too!) Then we wandered around the mall and did the whole girl shopping thing. I found this gem (isn't it cute?):

Hahaha, okay, no, I didn't buy it. I admit it, I like pink fluffy things, but even I could recognize that this was a bit much (although, it is kinda cute, isn't it?) I knew Lori would freak out if she thought I'd bought it-she tries to steer me away from pink fluffy things in my fashion choices-so naturally I sent her this pic. Sad thing is, though, my phone wouldn't let me text it, and she doesn't have internet access until Monday. Hopefully she'll get to see it soon so she can fully appreciate its beauty! :D

Artwork and Chivalry

So... I was sitting at my desk working on something on my computer, and playing with a pen in my free hand. My leg started itching and without thinking, I tried to scratch at it with my pen.

I didn't realize the cap was off the pen. And when I finished scratching, I started tracing random patterns on my leg.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Ha. Then, a couple minutes later, I had a little experience to remind me chivalry isn't dead. :) I am packing up my things to move out of my apartment and back home for summer term. I had a trash bag of junk I'd cleaned out of my room and my kitchen cupboard. It was heavy. Heavy enough that I couldn't carry just by the string, I had to hug it to myself and sort of stumble along.

I opened the door of my apartment to discover two guys and a girl from my ward hanging out. One of them immediately stepped forward and took the bag from me (he said it wasn't even heavy at all!) and carried it to the dumpster for me. It was a little thing, but it made me smile. :)

Dorky moment

So when I turned 23 this year, I officially passed the median age of marriage for women in the state of Utah. Just one of those random facts I've picked up from my classes out here. It made for some good jokes in the grad lab about my "old maid" status-in fact, I've heard a couple girls out here call "23" the official age of old maidenhood because you pass the median.

Well, guess what! I was reading the Daily Universe today and discovered, the age of marriage in Utah has risen over the last few years. As of 2008, the median age for women was 24 and for men was 26! I'm not an old maid after all! :D

Haha, I promise I don't take these numbers too seriously. No one else do that, either. Marriage happens when it's supposed to happen! As long as you're doing your best, you will be fine.

But... I will admit that I am a little bit relieved. :) I wanted to share the good word with all my other "old maid" and "old man" friends... we're actually doing better than we thought!

Granddaddy

My grandfather passed away this evening at 7 p.m. My father was with him at the time. He says that Granddaddy went peacefully.

Of course I am sad and I will miss him a lot, but I also feel very at peace. I know that everything is going to be okay. I know that he is happy where he is now. He isn't really gone, just in a different place. I know he still loves us and he doesn't want us to be sad. That is a very powerful feeling right now that I can't seem to shake, and I know it comes from a heavenly source.

Still, our family would appreciate your continued prayers at this time. Thank you so much! I know that many of you have been praying for us and I know that it's helped us a lot.

I love my Granddaddy very much! I am grateful to know that we are part of a forever family, and we will be together again someday.

Hard day

My family is going through a bit of a hard time right now. My grandfather is on his deathbed. He could pass away at any time.

I've been very lucky. I have never lost a grandparent before. I have very little experience with death.

I am going to miss my granddaddy so much! But I know he has lived a good life, and I know when he dies, his spirit will live on. He will go to paradise, where he will be young and healthy and happy again. That's a big comfort to me, knowing that this isn't really the end. I know too that families can be together forever. Even when he has left this life, he will still my grandfather, and someday when I die I'll be reunited with him and all of my other family members.

Please, keep my family in your prayers for the next few days. It will help us a lot as we get through this.

Humility

Today I was asked to speak in church on humility. Since several of you asked if you could read my talk, I thought it would easiest to post it here. :)

Today I have been asked to speak on humility. True to the Faith tells us that “to be humble is to recognize gratefully our dependence on the Lord—to understand that we have constant need for His support.  Humility is an acknowledgment that our talents and abilities are gifts from God.” King Benjamin teaches this principle in Mosiah 4:11, when he teaches: “And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have^atasted of his love, and have received a ^bremission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own ^cnothingness, and his ^dgoodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of ^ehumility, ^fcalling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing ^gsteadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.”

As a child, I did not understand the concept of humility. I thought that humility meant believing we were of little worth. It wasn’t until I was older that I understood that humility does not mean pondering our worthlessness; rather, in my many ways it helps us understand our great worth. By acknowledging our dependence on God, we come to greater understand all that He does for us, and the great love He has for us as His children. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has taught, “Some suppose that humility is about beating ourselves up. Humility does not mean convincing ourselves that we are worthless, meaningless, or of little value. Nor does it mean denying or withholding the talents God has given us. We don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves. It comes as we go about our work with an attitude of serving God and our fellowman.” We should remember the example the Savior has set for us. At the end of His mortal life, the Savior took the time to humbly wash His disciples’ feet. He told them: “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him” (John 13:14–16).

While I misunderstood humility to mean acknowledging a lack of worth, the word is sometimes misunderstood in other ways. Some would view humility as a weakness, an undesirable character trait.  Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Seventy has said, “it should come as no surprise that, in the estimation of some, humility ranks quite low on the scale of desirable character traits. Popular books have been written in recent years on integrity, common sense, civility, and a host of other virtues, but apparently there is little market for humility. Obviously, in these coarsening times when we are taught the art of negotiating by intimidation, and assertiveness has become a byword of the business world, those seeking to become humble will be a small and overlooked but critically important minority.”

It is important that we remember that humility “is not a sign of weakness, timidity, or fear; it is an indication that we know where our true strength lies (True to the Faith).”  The Lord has told us, in Ether 12: 27, “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their^aweakness. I ^bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my ^cgrace is sufficient for all men that ^dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make ^eweak things become strong unto them.” Recognizing our dependence on God and Christ can bring us courage and confidence. In Alma 26:12, Ammon tells us “Yea, I know that I am ^anothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will ^bnot boast of myself, but I will ^cboast of my God, for in his ^dstrength I can do all ^ethings”. By humbling ourselves before God, we receive greater strength and power than we could ever have on our own.

Bishop Richard C. Edgley has noted that “In the kingdom of God, greatness begins with humility and submissiveness. These companion virtues are the first critical steps to opening the doors to the blessings of God and the power of the priesthood. It matters not who we are or how lofty our credentials appear. Humility and submissiveness to the Lord, coupled with a grateful heart, are our strength and our hope.” He goes on to say that “Humbly submitting our will to the Father brings us the empowerment of God—the power of humility. It is the power to meet life’s adversities, the power of peace, the power of hope, the power of a heart throbbing with a love for and testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ, even the power of redemption.” Far from being weakness, humility gives us power to do the things upon the earth that Christ would have us do. President Uchtdorf has noted that while “Pride is a switch that turns off priesthood power. Humility is a switch that turns it on.” Elder Bruce R. McConkie said that “All progress in spiritual things is conditioned upon the prior attainment of humility.”

All that we have and all that we are comes from the Father. Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said that: "The submission of one's will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God's altar. The many other things we 'give,' . . . are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God's will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!" Giving our will to the Lord is one way we can show true gratitude for all that He has done for us.

Jesus Christ is the best example of humility. Although He lived a perfect life, He always acknowledged that His strength came because of His Father. In John 5:30, He said “I can of mine own self do nothing… I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” In the Garden of Gethsemane, as He prepared to suffer for the sins of the world, the Savior said, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”  In speaking of Christ’s Atonement, Elder Marlin K. Jensen has said that “the greatest act of courage and love in the history of mankind—Christ’s atoning sacrifice—was also the greatest act of humility and submissiveness.”

What can we do to develop humility in our own lives? The Savior has told us that “Whosoever therefore shall ^ahumble himself as this little ^bchild, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18: 4.)” From this verse we learn that to become humble, we must become as a child. What does it mean to become as a child?  In Mosiah 3:19, King Benjamin taught: “For the ^anatural ^bman is an ^cenemy to God, and has been from the ^dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he ^eyields to the enticings of the Holy ^fSpirit, and ^gputteth off the ^hnatural man and becometh a ⁱsaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a ^jchild, ^ksubmissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.” These are the qualities we should seek to develop within ourselves if we want to be truly humble.

A key to developing humility is to avoid pride. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has described pride as “a sin of comparison, for though it usually begins with ‘Look how wonderful I am and what great things I have done,’ it always seems to end with ‘Therefore, I am better than you.’” Elder Dallin H. Oaks has taught: “Those who engage in self-congratulation over a supposed strength have lost the protection of humility and are vulnerable to Satan’s using that strength to produce their downfall. In contrast, if we are humble and teachable, hearkening to the commandments of God, the counsel of his leaders, and the promptings of his Spirit, we can be guided in how to use our spiritual gifts, our accomplishments, and all of our other strengths for righteousness.”

Bishop Edgley shares a story that exemplifies humility, particularly in regards to hearkening to the counsel of our church leaders. “A story is told of an encounter between the Prophet Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. In the presence of a rather large group of brethren, the Prophet severely chastised Brother Brigham for some failing in his duty. Everyone, I suppose somewhat stunned, waited to see what Brigham’s response would be. After all, Brigham, who later became known as the Lion of the Lord, was no shrinking violet by any means. Brigham slowly rose to his feet, and in words that truly reflected his character and his humility, he simply bowed his head and said, “Joseph, what do you want me to do?” The story goes that sobbing, Joseph ran from the podium, threw his arms around Brigham, and said in effect, “You passed, Brother Brigham, you passed” (see Truman G. Madsen, “Hugh B. Brown—Youthful Veteran,” New Era, Apr. 1976, 16).”

As we seek to follow the Savior’s example and become more humble, I know that we will be brought closer to God. We will be empowered by our humility to do the things that God has required of us. Humility is not weakness, but rather a strength, and it will help shape us into who our Father wants us to be. I testify of these things, and I close in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Adventures in Cooking! Part 1

My roomie Cassie is basically a gourmet chef. Really. You give her a food from any country in the world, no matter if she hasn't heard of it before in her life, and she can find a recipe online and whip up something that's amazing. I'm always complimenting her on this and telling her how much I wish I could be that way.

"You can be, Shelece," she always says, "You just have to try!"

So I'm at the grocery store today, trying to come up with something interesting to have for dinner, when I pass the display of artichokes. They are on sale, $1.99 a piece. I have no idea if this is really cheaper than normal. What I do know is I ate an artichoke once. My best friend had me over some time in middle school and that's what was served. From what I understood, artichokes are a delicacy, and this was a special treat.

$1.99 for a delicacy is a good deal... right? Sure! I pick one up and plop it in my cart. Never mind that I have no idea how to cook one. I can figure something out! I remember vaguely that the artichoke I ate was served with some kind of sauce. I debate calling up my best friend (STILL my BFF after all these years! :) to ask, but saying, "Hey, remember when we were like 14 and we ate artichokes one time?" seems a little bit goofy to me. So instead, I text my dear sister Shauna and ask her to google what sorts of sauces artichokes are served with.

Shauna is a gem. She knows me and my random brain well enough that she didn't ask any questions, she just goes to the task at hand. Unfortunately, it turns out there are about a bazillion different sauces people use. We don't reach any solid conclusions.

So I come home with my prize.

I read up online about how to boil it. Apparently, artichokes float. So you have to pin them down while you boil them. The website I looked at recommended using a smaller pot lid to do this. I get the artichoke and the water in the pot, I get out a smaller lid, and then I realize...

the artichoke is too big for the pot.

It's not floating, it's touching bottom. Okay, time for a bigger pot!

The website says to add salt to the water. Another website recommends adding a garlic clove to add flavor. I compromise and add a generous helping of garlic powder and salt. That's basically the same thing, right? Apparently artichokes are done when you can cut the stem easily with a sharp knife. A little vague, but okay.

Now what?

I find a website where someone recommends melted butter or mayo as a dip for the artichoke. I have butter! Some websites recommend adding spices to the butter for flavor. I don't have any of the spices, so I add more garlic powder. Someone said garlic was good with this stuff!

I decide to fry up some meat to eat with this too, since one vegetable seems like a smallish meal. That's when I discover the reason the freezer door didn't shut properly when I put away my groceries. We keep my George Foreman grill on top of the fridge, and I managed to slam the power cord inside the freezer. I don't know enough about science to know if this will impact the grill negatively in any way. But I plug it in... it works out.

I have to google how to eat an artichoke, but I figure it out, and you know what? It's pretty good! :D Except I forgot you can't actually eat most of it. When I consider how much I actually got to eat I'm not sure it was worth the $2.

Oh well. You gotta have a little adventure now and then in life, right? :) Aren't you glad I caught every exciting detail of that experience? ;)