Eggplant is Actually Good

This is for my friends that are from cold areas. Specifically the Gustafson's and Crystal (I consider Michigan to be basically the same level of freezing as Minnesota, my dear). Hopefully you can read this, because I laughed hard when I saw it.


So, I've been attempting to cook some of the things in my cookbook that I've never tried before. A couple of weeks ago I was flipping through the veggie section when I saw it: Ratatouille. What?! I have the recipe for Ratatouille?! How is it possible that I've had it this long and haven't realized it? I took a look at it, expecting it to be (despite the movie's definition of it being a "peasant dish") some ridiculously complicated french cuisine. BUT NO!! It's incredibly easy. And a new challenge presented itself: it is made with eggplant. Despite having lived on this earth for 28 and a half years, I have never a) purchased an eggplant b) cooked an eggplant c) eaten eggplant. So while I was doing my grocery shopping I boldly went over to the veggie section and (tried to pretend I wasn't reading the label beneath as to how to pick out a good eggplant while I) picked one. And it was a beautiful eggplant, if I do say so myself. There's something about buying a purple vegetable that makes you happier inside.

Anyhow, it was a success. Ratatouille, it turns out, is just a whole bunch of vegetables (eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, green bell pepper, and fresh garlic) mixed together and cooked in a frying pan. My roommate had some too, and she liked it. Plus, here's a little tip from Betty Crocker herself: you can puree leftover ratatouille and put it on top of crackers and french bread for a snack or lunch. I haven't tried that yet though, but when I do I'll let you know how it tastes.

PUZZling and PUZZling

You know how when the Grinch took all the presents from Who-ville and got to the top of the mountain, he stopped and heard all the Whos come out of their house, hoping to hear them crying but instead they all started singing despite the fact that he had stolen all their who-hash--you know how he stood there "PUZZling and PUZZLing" about why they were singing when he had stolen Christmas? That's how I've felt this whole week about pretty much everything--I've been puzzling and puzzling about it. I've been puzzling over my clients at LDS, trying to figure out how to best help them, puzzling about whether I'm pushing some of them too hard. I've been puzzling about what to do with my life after school. Yesterday I spent three hours at the library puzzling over a research project that I'm trying to prepare for my research class for NEXT semester, puzzling out if the inventory I'm trying to make is even feasible. Even at church today I was feeling puzzled about the members of my ward and why some of them act the way they do. Humanity is just puzzling, and it's all been pressing on me this week.

A couple of weeks ago I was over at a friends' house and she invited me to go with her to these stables to help her friend bring a horse out of it's trailer and get it set up in one of the stables. When we got there I realized that they keep the fairgrounds open pretty much all the time, so this morning I went on a little drive and stopped by the fairgrounds to pet the horses. I've never really interacted with horses. I rode one once, for about 10-15 minutes, but we were on a trip with the kids I worked with. One horse, four people, so we each got just a little time to ride. Anyhow, the horses at the stable are really beautiful. This morning I was wishing I had one of those horse brushes, because some of the horses were covered with hay or mud from their stall. An elderly fellow showed up, and he voiced what I had been thinking. "There aren't many places where you can go and just smell the horses." He said he used to ride horses, up in the mountains near Logan. I imagined him to be an Americanized Jim Craig, riding down the side of a mountain when everyone else stops at the cliff. "I don't ride anymore. Now I just like to come here and smell them." Funny man.

Organize Yourselves

Do you ever have a thought that won't leave you alone? And you're not sure why, exactly, but the thought is persistent and you know you just can't ignore it? I'm not talking about disturbing mental-disorder-type thoughts. I know enough about them to know that it's not those. I'm talking about persistent still-small-voice-thoughts that aren't just a little guidance in what to do in the moment. Instead, it's talking about something that you should pursue for at least the next while, either until you're done with it (and it'll let you know when you're done) or for pretty much the rest of your life...the rest of eternity.

I can't remember if I've written about this, because it's been on my mind for--I can't even tell you how long, months at least. So please forgive me if I have and I've forgotten, and I'm boring you. I keep feeling this inherent need to "organize myself." No joke. That scripture "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing" has just been kind of burning in my mind. I'm not even really sure what I'm supposed to "organize myself" in, so I've slowly but surely been trying to attack every aspect of my life that needs organizing. And, it's not like I'm the most disorganized person ever. My room is generally in some sort of order (though Val and other past roommates might be able to nail exactly where I'm lacking). But now that I'm working on "organizing myself," I'm pretty sure that my new roommates think I have some sort of OCD disorder with all the cleaning I'm trying to do. But I digress.

I've attacked my books, organizing and even--trying--to catalog them. I bought new drawers for my crafty things. I've thrown a ton of stuff away, and given another ton of stuff to DI. I separated out my household things and my holiday decorations and my outdoorsy things. I've been working on figuring out my finances and getting them in some semblance of order. I cleaned out my file boxes, separated one for my social work things, and created about twenty binders or so on every topic that I need in order to be an effective social worker. I ordered the Ensign (the true mark of an adult, I decided, is to have your own Ensign) and yesterday found a holder to put the past copies in, so they're easily accessible. I've even been working on some beginnings of food storage.

There are still a lot of things that I need to "organize"; but even though I've been working on this for several months, I still feel that small, persistent need to follow the counsel of the Lord.

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;

"That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord; that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord; that your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hands unto the Most High."

~D&C 88:119-120


So, I tend to think of it this way: We don't really know what the Lord has in store for us, but He does. And now that, week by week, I'm slowly getting closer to finishing graduate school, I keep asking in my prayers what step I should take next. And that's usually the answer that I get: "Organize yourself; prepare every needful thing." So, I still don't know what's around the corner of my bend in the road. But I'll be darned if I'm not organized and ready to take it on. =]

The Parent

"Children aren't happy with nothing to ignore,
And that's what parents were created for."
~Ogden Nash

(Oddly enough, my parents actually used to recite
Ogden Nash to us, mostly as they were herding us off to bed)

So, let me preface this by saying that, in ten years of attending religion classes, including five years at BYU, I had somehow managed not to take Marriage Prep. Not sure how that happened. Anyhow, I felt like I should take it this semester, and I ended up with probably the best institute teacher I've ever had. He's been married 17 years and has 10 kids, so he pretty much knows what he's talking about. Anyhow, we were talking in class on Monday about the divine roles of men and women (which, in and of itself, was amazing), and in order to preface this he showed us a few clips. And so, I share them with you, for you viewing pleasure.

You absolutely must go to this link. I think when I have kids I'll just play this for them, and then I won't have to say the actual phrases. I'll just carry a little tape recorder and fast forward to the part I need.

The Mom Song


Dads, here's one for you all:

A Little bit Rowdy

A String of Thoughts

So, you know how people have those defining moments in their lives where something happened that made them doubt, or wonder about, the existence of God? I had one of those the other day. Now, let me start off by saying: Don't worry. My testimony is still completely strong. I have not fallen away from the church or the gospel due to this experience. And if I had, it would really be a pathetic excuse to not believe in God--and I would have to laugh at myself every day for it's ridiculousness. I just thought it was humorous that this "string of thought" would even occur to me.

Anyhow, it all started when I was flossing my teeth before bed. I was standing in the bathroom and flossing and it occurred to me that floss was an incredible invention. I mean, who ever would have thought that running string between your teeth and gums would be so healthy for your teeth, right?...

Next thought: You know, teeth are a really important organ. There are so many people in the world that lose their teeth because we just don't know how to take care of them. And when you don't take care of them, they cause a lot of health problems that aren't easily solved...

Thought number Three: If teeth are so essential to our well-being, why wasn't the manner of taking care of them revealed from God? I mean, if you don't have your teeth, you really don't have much. You can barely eat. Shouldn't that have been one of the things listed in the Word of Wisdom? Don't drink hot drinks, keep your body healthy, and take care of your teeth in such and such a way? And, for that matter, why wouldn't it have been something revealed to Adam and Eve? "Hey, Adam, here's how you take those grains of wheat and smash them up to something I like to call "flour." Then you take this recipe and make "bread." Oh, and by the way, when your done grab some thin stuff that you used to make twine and run it between each of your pearly whites. You'll live an extra two hundred years if you do that."

And, I have to say, the problem perplexed me. But, in the end, I suppose that caring for our teeth is just another challenge that we have in learning how to take care of our mortal bodies. I'm not going to lie, though. I'm really happy that I live in a time of Floss.