3 things

I have decided to tell three things about my life recently. I am still deciding what they are. By the end of the post, there will be three!

1. I went to Hawaii for Thanksgiving!!!! It was so much fun!

We got to go to the temple, which was rededicated the day we arrived. I think we did as much as humanly possible in one week in Hawaii. Maybe not, but we did a lot!

2. I learned that on power cables that have fuses in the pug, the plug will have the type of fuse needed written right there where it's easy to see. I learned this after I went to Radioshack 3 times to get a fuse that worked. But now our Christmas tree shines brightly and without fear of overheating or blowing a fuse!

3. I saw Harry Potter 7a, or whatever they're calling it these days, and I really liked it. This surprised me. I've been ambivalent about most of the previous movies.

FHE 2.0

So this week we split into our FHE groups, finally. It was a bit messy. There are four large groups for the whole ward, and four leaders for each group, in an attempt for them not to get too burned out planning activities every week. Each group was supposed to get to know/entertain people from about 7:15 till 8:00, when we would all share dessert together. I expected two groups to succeed with flying colors, and two to have varying levels of fail. This happened, but it was not the groups I expected. My star-studded cast of four totally awesome group leaders didn't last more than 20 minutes! They were supposed to set the example for everyone else. Sadly, the one I expected to have the most problems did have the most problems.

My quiet but steadfast lonely group leader was stellar, going above and beyond what I expected of him, and keeping the largest contained group of young single adults entertained so long that I had to come looking for them to tell them dessert was served. Finally, the group I was in. It's amazing how you can influence things to keep rolling when you're there acting slightly too enthusiastic and strong-willed to be denied. This group succeeded because I added a little certainty to the very uncertain group leaders. So there you have it. I am not sure how my group leaders will fare in coming days, but so far things are going ok!

FHE, my reward for complaining

I learned on Sunday that my new calling was a curse muttered at me the last time I voiced my opinion about activities. My good friend, the former FHE co-chair, placed said curse upon me. Now I am at a loss. What do I do? How do I help these people to like FHE when I barely like it. Here are my thoughts (based on my previous complaints):

1. Start on time
2. Don't go over an hour
3. Always have food
4. Spiritual thoughts should be no more than 2 minutes, gospel lessons no more than 20

Ok. This is what I've got so far. Now, what ideas do I have to actually keep the masses entertained and coming back for more? So far...pumpkin carving?

Concerts in the Park!

Tonight I went to a concert in Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City. She & Him! But first we had to find a good spot and wait. We played my new (from a thrift store) travel Scrabble and I lost spectacularly. Maybe my sister Glarcy will play with me now that she realizes that she can cream me. We also had a little picnic while we played. I made Jello. I love how it jiggles.

Finally, the opening band came on, the Dum Dum Girls. They weren't exactly my thing, so I read some Jeeves while I waited for the main attraction. When the Dum Dum Girls stopped singing, the guy in charge stood up and listed every business in the greater Salt Lake area and several of their employees as a thanks. Finally, She and Him! It was really fun, although we almost got trampled! Oh well. Zooey Deschanel was fun to see. I liked watching her bounce around with her tambourine. Once she got tired, one of her backup singers did the jumping and tambourine banging. Eventually, the smell of peoples' alcohol was and the jostling became unbearable. She sang some of my favorite songs, especially "Black Hole."

Twelve-step programs

They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. Maybe that's my difficulty. I can see that I have a condition, a situation. Most of me thinks it's not really a big problem, though. Yesterday I bought 5 books from Savers. I am excited to read them. I already started The World is Flat. I weeded out 3 or 4 other interesting looking books just on principle. Mostly because my mom was with me and asked where I was going to keep all these books. Luckily my cousin was there and asked for one I was going to buy but had already read. I decided to share the joy.

So. Do I start attending Book Buyers Anonymous? I just don't ever see how more books can be a bad thing. Even in Texas, when I realized that I would have to cart all those heavy things back to Utah, I considered the difficulties and bought books anyway.

Lesson 13: The Priesthood

I just got asked to teach the Relief Society lesson on Sunday. It's last minute, and the education counselor apologized, but I totally understand. Sometimes teachers bow out last minute. Anyway, I am really excited because I have enjoyed teaching RS in the past. I am also a little nervous because it's been a while since I've taught. So here's the lesson.

Anyone who has any thoughts, experiences, ideas on how a lesson on the priesthood from the Gospel Principles manual can be taught to a bunch of young single adult sisters is welcome to share. Nay, invited; beseeched!

I can see blue sky when it's raining.

Seriously.

It happened yesterday.

I was floating down the Provo river in an inflatable kayak, minding my own business, recovering from capsizing just minutes earlier (I don't recommend this; it was so cold I couldn't breathe), when suddenly I felt some water droplets. I thought at first that it was from my oar splashing in and out of the water but then my friend yelled that it was raining. I looked around and I could see drops hitting the water around me. I looked up to blue skies and one tiny, wispy, white cloud. The raindrops didn't even look like they were coming from the cloud. I watched as they came down, and it looked like they were forming right out of the air. It was awesome.

The only man in the room

I did many fun things last week, and, had I written them down earlier, I would have remembered some good stories to tell. As it is, I have a few. Tuesday last week I went with some friends to Spiral Jetty! It was so much fun and so interesting. Every time I have gone it has been different. This time the jetty and the land it sits on were completely dry. The water didn't even really come near. We had to walk out a ways to get to the water. The water was very shallow for quite a ways (to be expected in the GSL, where the whole lake is shallow), but it was separated, almost into pools, by raised lines of mud. Sticking out of the mud were gypsum crystals, which looked pretty surreal. All in all, we had a wonderfully salty, wet good time. Afterwards, we hiked a little hike at Golden Spike National Park, and saw a little gopher snake, which was awesome and a black widow spider, which was not so awesome.

A couple of days later, I was at a wedding reception where the parents of the bride wanted everyone to open the bottles of sparkling cider to have a toast. Nobody could open their bottles, and nobody had any tools to open their bottles. At our table, I pulled out my Swiss Army Knife and we opened our bottle. People noticed what we were doing and asked to borrow the knife. Soon the knife was passed around the whole room. I was shocked. I was the only man in the room!

Finally, tonight Jessi and I made churros from a mix. They were very tasty, but not as good as from a restaurant. We are now committed to perfecting our churro making skills.

Richard Peck, Richard Peck, Richard Peck!

As a collector of Newberry award winners, I have definitelly picked out my favorites over the years. At or very near the top of that list is A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck. Because of that one that I loved, I have read several others of his books. I have become a big fan (even though the books are a bit below my age bracket), and thus was very excited when my sister told me he was coming to town and her friend who works at the library that hosted him had reserved us some seats!

Afterward my sister commented, "I wish I had a transcript of his whole speech. It was like reading CS Lewis. You want to take time to study every line. Every line was thought out and penned beforehand, you can tell." She was right. Listening to him talk was a feast for the ears. He had a lot to say about education and families, mentioning that if schools seem like they are failing, families have already failed. He's a big advocate of reading to very young children. He said that too many people come up with excuses like they're too busy, or the kid is too hyperactive; "I wanted to be hyperactive, but my mother wouldn't let me."

All in all, it was great, although, he did manage to get in a dig about me not having a job. During his speech he talked about what makes a good story and mentioned that moving home after graduating college is not cool.

Ego Boost

I like ego boosts. I like them a lot.

So this morning I have been working on sewing an apron for my mom to give her friend for her birthday (pictures to come later). As I was sewing, one of my mom's piano students' younger sisters came wandering in. Her mother grabbed her and answered her questions about who I am, then told me what her daughter said, "She's even beautiful, mom."

This tells me a lot of things, the first being that kids really have no sense of attractive. I was wearing my pajamas, hadn't washed my face, hadn't put in my contacts (so I was wearing my glasses), and definitelly hadn't touched my hair. And yet, I still felt pretty good about myself.

Foods

Lately I am really enjoying my once a week cooking assignment. It has led me to believe that I would be quite happy as a housewife. Hear that all potential husbands?!? I like to cook foods and stay home and such! Take note!

Anyway, I have cooked two things lately that I really liked. Interestingly, one is very vegetarian, while one is as un-vegetarian as you can get! The first is black bean burgers, and they were yummy! I ate them with the salsa that my roommate and I made up.

1 can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chiles)
1 green onion
1 small garlic clove
small handful of fresh cilantro
half a lime

*Drain the Rotel and chop everything up in an electric chopper, except the lime. Squeeze the lime juice into the completed salsa, add maybe a little salt, and enjoy!



The other recipe is a direct result of watching Julie and Julia. My mom wanted to make something special for her dinner on Friday, so she thought she might like to try Boeuf Bourguignon. I got to try making it Tuesday so she could know if it would be good. We found pdf's of the recipe on this website. Turns out to be a winner. It's a beef stew, and it tastes pretty awesome. We ate it according to the directions on the recipe, with boiled potatoes and steamed peas. It is just so meaty and good.