My year in Review: 2010

January

~Spent a weekend playing in Midway, Utah. Saw some ice castles:

~Took a trip to NYC with my sister Jeanie and my niece Tori.
We loved seeing Wicked

Phantomand Mary Poppins on Broadway!

Along with all the sites of New York.

We partied at Madame Tussauds

We wore ourselves out!

~Went to a pirate-themed restaurant for my friend’s birthday
party...we sang karaoke, played games, and ate pizza.
So fun!

~Celebrated my birthday at Buca di Beppo
and with a movie at the Gateway

February

~Saw Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Hale Center Theater
in Orem…what a fun show!
~I was called to serve as a missionary in my LDS ward

March

~Went to Legally Blonde at the Capitol Theatre – not how
I remembered it when I saw it on Broadway but still well done
~Saw Michael Bublé in concert
after the show I bought a plane ticket to Costa Rica.
It was a great night!

April

~Attended my mission reunion (Argentina BAS!) and loved seeing my President and his wife
~Completed a Family History Class in my ward to learn about New Family Search

May

~Moved home and rented my condo to a friend and her husband
~I made cheese fondue for the first time for a fondue party
with friends. The food was yummy and the party was so fun!
~Learned what open enrollment for Medicaid
was all about…I worked a lot!

June

~Played in Costa Rica at waterfalls

beaches
jungles
and flew across the jungle like superman!It was an absolutely amazing adventure!

July

~Discovered I picked up a skin parasite in Costa Rica

~Saw Carrie Underwood at the Stadium of Fire
~Hiked to Stewart Falls with friends
~Saw The Wedding Singer at the Hale Center Theater,
my friend Adam did a great job in the show!
~Braved Usana to see Tim McGraw
and Lady Antebellum in concert!
~Had fun in Salt Lake with Susannah and Katrina at the
Planetarium and the Cheesecake Factory

~Went to a Pioneer Day pancake breakfast with my ward

August

~Had fun in Logan, Utah at my family reunion
~Went to the Salt Lake temple with my sister Mandy
~Spent a fun day with friends playing at Lagoon.
It poured at first and my plastic bag poncho kept me mostly dry.
Then the day cleared and we had lots of fun!
~Had fun at a ward activity playing games from the Minute to Win It TV show
~Did more hiking...I love my Chacos!
~Made an Argentine dinner of empanadas and pasta frola for a ward missionary activity

~Endured a steady cloud of dust and mingled with riff raff to see the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in concert (I won the tickets from a local radio station) at the SLC county fair with Jeanie, Susannah and her niece. It was a fun show!

September

~Toured Nauvoo, Illinois and Kirtland, Ohio.

I had fun seeing LDS church history sites with my parents
~Spent a fun weekend at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival
~Went on a roadtrip to St George! with Amy, Aubrey, Susannah, Danny, Chris, Kevin, Celeste, Brittany and Hannah.
We saw Crazy for You at Tuacahn and just had fun

(Aaron couldn't go with us, he was replaced with a Big Hunk bar)

October

~Tore a ligament in my foot
(thanks to a brief moment of stupidity on a treadmill)
~Loved seeing La Bohème at the Capitol Theatre
~Dressed as a nerd herder (from the TV show Chuck) and had fun at 3 different Halloween parties!
(Chris stole my costume idea..haha!)

November

~Completed my first year working for
the Utah Department of Health with Medicaid
~Had challenges with several home repairs and car problems
~Moved back to my condo after coordinating the installation of my new tub.
It turned out so nice!
~Graduated from allergy shots after 4 years!
~Saw Les Misérables in concert...it was recorded live in London
and presented by Fathom events
~Saw the new Harry Potter movie at an early showing thanks to
my awesome dentist who I won tickets from!
~Went to a chili cook off with my ward
~Sang a duet, Star Bright, in sacrament meeting
with a lady that is in the ward choir with me

December

~Had to get a new furnace and water heater
~Enjoyed seeing the Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art
~Hosted a Gingerbread and hot chocolate party
which turned out to be a lot of fun
~Loved being in the Conference Center for the
First Presidency Christmas Devotional
~Participated in a Special Stake Conference with
Elder M. Russell Ballard
~Loved seeing the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas concert as they performed with David Archuleta. Enjoyed seeing the lights on Temple Square.
(no, I didn't take this beautiful pic...I found it online)
~Had a Merry Christmas with my family!
~Wrote this blog post and yes, I included a few borrowed pics
(Thanks Susannah!) but I did take most of them.

That's been some of what's happened this year.
Now it's time to party and welcome the start of 2011!

Gingerbread Cut Out Cookies

This is a family favorite and they taste great warm. When they're completely cooled it's also fun to decorate them with vanilla frosting and your favorite candy. Yum!

Stir together:
2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Cream together:
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c molasses
1 egg yolk

Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Blend well. Dough will be very stiff. Divide in half and roll out, cut desired shapes, and place on cookie sheet to bake. Sprinkle lightly with sugar to make the surface pretty (this is optional, especially if you plan to frost them). Bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes. Don't over bake them!
Makes 2 dozen cookies.

The Master's Hand

On Friday this past week I went to the BYU MOA to see the Carl Bloch exhibit. It is amazing and so beautiful! Everyone should go see the exhibit. It will only be here through May 2011 so don't wait too long. You might not recognize Carl Bloch's name but if you are Christian then I'm sure you will recognize his work. For example:

Christ Healing the Sick at Bethesda

The exhibit has five of Bloch's eight altar pieces that hang in different churches throughout Denmark and Sweden. The altar piece is usually the centerpiece to a church. They are very large and the subject matter is sacred due to their placement above the altars where people take communion. For this exhibit BYU curators tried to create a setting that is similar to the churches where the altar paintings come from. Here is one of my favorite paintings from the exhibit:

Christ and Child

I also really like this one of Thomas.
There is so much depicted in this one painting!

Doubting Thomas

I pulled the pieces I posted here from the Hope Gallery. You can see Bloch's paintings, sketches, altar paintings, and more at this online gallery. Even better, click here today to reserve your free tickets to go see this beautiful exhibit for yourself.

An added bonus to the BYU exhibit is that you can rent an iPad for $3 (yep, you read that right!) so you can listen to information about the paintings while you sit and enjoy looking at them. The iPad has interactive activities that include panoramas where you can see the churches that house Carl Bloch paintings. For those of you that aren't able to come to the exhibit, click here to see some of the panoramas from the iPad tour.

Wouldn't it be loverly?

Lots of choc'lates for me to eat,

Lots of bubbles and lots of 'eat.
Warm face, warm 'ands, warm feet,
Aow, wouldn't it be loverly?

Ok, so I modified the song to fit my new bathtub, or at least what I think about my new tub. These lyrics came to mind as I tried it out tonight (now I bet you'll be singing it too...hehe).
It's finally done and everything is working! I'm glad I took my time deciding. It's so worth it!

Here is a before picture

Sadly I couldn't find a before before picture when the walls were green and the tub was totally mauve **shudder**. This picture gives you the idea of the attempts I made to make it look better (yes, that's peeling paint).

Now, here is the after picture!

I love it! On these cold nights we're having
I can sit and enjoy the heat of a bubble bath.
Maybe I'll be a little less stressed out now too.

I testify of Jesus Christ

Painting by: Greg Olsen

I know I wrote about the power of music just a few days ago but I love music! Tonight I went to choir practice in preparation for our Stake Conference coming up in December. One of the songs we're singing I heard for the first time a few weeks ago when the choir started practicing. It's titled I Testify of Jesus Christ. The lyrics are so powerful and the music is beautiful! You can go here and click the 'audio preview' for a taste of what it's like. Here are the lyrics to this amazing song:

I testify of Jesus Christ, my Lord, my King omnipotent.
Who framed the worlds
and scattered stars throughout the firmament.
Who from the dust of earth formed man and
gave us breath that we might move.
And gave us laws to serve our God and live with Him in love.

I testify of Jesus Christ, my God, my unseen comforter.
For I have sought Him oft through prayer
and found Him waiting there.
I have not touched His wounded hands
nor yet beheld His holy face.
But I have felt His love for me and heard His gentle voice.

I testify of Jesus Christ, Beloved Savior, Precious friend.
Who suffered death and hell's abyss to ransom me from sin.
Who came when demons sought my soul
and banished them with sword of light.
And when despair would steal my hope,
His presence stilled the night.

When with all flesh my eyes shall see
my blessed Savior face to face.
My witness then shall not exceed the truth I know this day.
For God has written Jesus' name
with pen of flame upon my soul.
And how can I but testify of Jesus Christ my Lord?

Text by John Pearson
Music by Janice Kapp Perry

Silver Sound of Music

When griping grief the heart doth wound,

and the doleful dumps the mind oppresses,

then music with her silver sound,

with speedy help doth lend redress.

~

William Shakespeare

~

I found this quote in a magazine this week and loved it! It comes from Romeo and Juliet. I've read the play but didn't remember this line. I've always loved music. I believe the power of good music can really help bring peace and much needed relief.

I know it has helped me in many ways!

Fall Fun

This week I had fun playing in the leaves
with my niece and nephew.

It brought back a lot of memories. At the house we lived in until I was 11 there was a big maple tree in the front yard. I spent many hours in that tree. There was also a large walnut tree. So when the leaves would drop in the fall we would have huge piles in the front yard. We used to make "leaf houses" and play in them for hours. We also used to give each other rides in the wheelbarrow so it was fun to see the kids doing that too.

My niece wanted me to bury her in the leaves.
Don't you love that smile!
When the time came to clean up the leaves we had to put them in bags. The best part (as the kids discovered this week) was sitting on the bag to squish the leaves in. So fun!

I found this picture of me with my sisters in our old front yard.

I was almost 3 in this picture (I'm on the left).
I also used to climb up the light pole you see in the background
on the left but that's a story for another day.

The Oak Tree

Tonight Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke for the CES fireside. One thing that stood out to me was when he said that if we look around at the world there is so much turmoil but that we still have so many reasons to optimistic and happy! The truths found in the gospel of Jesus Christ help give us a strong foundation that nothing can break if we hold strong and endure to the end. I know I'm not saying it like he did but it really affected me as he spoke about getting back to the basics of the gospel. I liked the poem he used to illustrate his point and I wanted to share it here:

The Oak Tree
by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr

A mighty wind blew night and day
It stole the oak tree's leaves away
Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark
Until the oak was tired and stark

But still the oak tree held its ground
While other trees fell all around
The weary wind gave up and spoke.
How can you still be standing Oak?

The oak tree said, I know that you
Can break each branch of mine in two
Carry every leaf away
Shake my limbs, and make me sway

But I have roots stretched in the earth
Growing stronger since my birth
You'll never touch them, for you see
They are the deepest part of me

Until today, I wasn't sure
Of just how much I could endure
But now I've found, with thanks to you
I'm stronger than I ever knew

A piece of work

So, I haven't blogged about my job for a while. That's mostly because it's pretty uneventful. I have some funny moments though. I spend a lot of my time on the phone so I try to come up with different ways to ask for people when I call them such as: is Mr. Smith available, is Jane there, can I talked with Sue (just to name a few). Anyway, the other day this was my conversation:

me: Is Mr. Smith available?
him: This is Mr. available!

Ha! It made me laugh. He acted embarrassed though when he found out who I was.

So it just goes to show that maybe you shouldn't make jokes

until you know who you're talking to.

A Night at the Opera

Last night I went to the Capitol Theatre with a friend to see La Bohème. I can explain it in one word...amazing! We felt artsy sitting and listening to the opera. Our seats were fantastic too! (Thanks to my amazingly talented cousin who was in the show and got us the tix!) We were close enough to the stage to see the facial expressions of the performers! Italian opera is amazing just by itself but this show has a little of everything...comedy, romance, drama, and tragedy. Click here to read more about the story. La Bohème was great and the music by Giacomo Puccini was so beautifully performed!

Fantastic Fall

I love fall! I love the colors, pumpkins, Halloween, cooler sweater weather, and everything else that comes with this time of year. I also found a new favorite...coconut oatmeal! Yep, you read that right. Oatmeal is a great way to start your day on a cool morning. I eat oatmeal several times a week but this last week I discovered a new way to fix it. I had some extra coconut milk from a Thai dish I tried with quinoa (which wasn't too bad but I don't plan to make it again). I usually fix my oatmeal (the real stuff, not instant!) with vanilla yogurt and cinnamon so I decided to pour on a little coconut milk for extra flavor. Yum! It's been a great way to use the rest of the coconut milk...too bad the milk has too much fat to make it a regular menu item. So, I'll save it for a treat once in a while. Anyway, that's my random post about fall and oatmeal. Here's a fun cartoon I found too. Enjoy!

Faith Reborn: The Saints in Ukraine

I love general conference weekend! I know they broadcast videos in between sessions but I don't usually watch them. Today I got sucked in to the presentation about the Kyiv temple and the saints in Ukraine. You can watch the video online at this link BYUtv - Faith Reborn: The Saints in Ukraine. It's worth taking the time to watch. It's the story of these faithful people. It tells how the temple was first announced 12 years ago in 1998, it took 4 years to obtain property and another 5 years to obtain a building permit. Construction didn't start until 2007 and it took 3 years to complete. The temple district takes in 9 countries that are former Soviet nations.
The broadcast also shows the cultural celebration the people put on for President Thomas S. Monson when he went to Ukraine for the temple dedication. You'll even get to see a short clip of President Monson opening the celebration by playing a short song on the piano! It's obvious these people have such a strong testimony of the gospel. It's wonderful to see how the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is literally spreading like wildfire through the county. The missionaries told how they had well over 1000 referrals from the temple open house and as they are visiting those people one of their first questions is "How can I be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? I want to feel the way I did in your temple all the time!" Take time to watch this. It's beautiful and you might need a box of kleenex, I did.

In this Together

This was our Relief Society hand out today.
I really liked the quote.
It's a good reminder so I thought I'd share it here.

Do you have a mountain of Zucchini?

If you do have zucchini growing wild in your garden you might want to try this recipe which has become a family favorite. It's a semi-healthy dessert (or at least we like to pretend that it is) because of the whole wheat flour, eggs, milk, and zucchini it has in it. It's easy and yummy!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
1/2 c margarine
1/2 c oil
1 3/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 c grated zucchini
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 c white flour (can use all wheat flour if you want to, the white gives it a little lighter texture)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c sour milk (add 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice to milk, let stand 5 minutes before adding to batter)
1/3 - 1/2 c cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Mix together cocoa and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients and mix well, then mix dough for 2 minutes. Pour into greased and floured 9x13 pan.

Make a topping of 3/4 cup each of chocolate chips, brown sugar, and chopped nuts (nuts optional). It's also good with coconut. Sprinkle over the top of the cake batter and bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes.