Say Cheese!

When it comes to baking, I have a tendency to go through phases. I’ll have periods of time when I’m focused on a certain category of baked goods and I’ll explore lots of different varieties within that category. A year and a half ago I spent months working to perfect an eggless coconut layer cake. Last summer we ate pie of all varieties for several months. My shutdown binge watching of The Great British Baking Show led me to a ciabatta bread phase last year. In the fall, the focus was pumpkin. I’ve also had phases focused on cookies, quick breads, and cakes. You get the idea. My current phase is cheesecake. It’s definitely not something I can bake and eat every week (although it’s delicious, it is not exactly a health food), but I’m planning on experimenting with several different flavors and recipes over the next few months.  I’m particularly proud of how pretty this week’s experiment looks. When it both looks and tastes great, I feel like I’m well on my way to being a domestic goddess. 😉 Now I just need to garner some rockin’ food photography skills…

 

A Literal Gag Gift

As you may recall, Matthew gave Daniel some strawberry flavored saxophone reeds for Christmas. Being the good brother that he is, Daniel actually gave them a try. This is how he feels about them:

 

If They Could Talk to the Animals

After being encouraged to stay home last spring and summer and having everything closed so that even when we could go out there was no where to go as well as switching to a traditional school calendar for the first time in her life which means no periodic three-week vacations, Malia has been feeling pretty darn stir crazy. (How’s that for a run on sentence? 😜) Luckily for her, Kevin has had a bit of cabin fever as well and Matthew is always ready for an adventure. Add to that some unseasonably warm winter weather and today was a perfect time for all of them to get the heck out of Dodge for a while. The destination was the petting zoo at Gardner Village. The biggest reason for the destination was the opportunity to ride the ponies, but the other wildlife was an added perk. Malia can now say that she has been hugged by an emu. The kangaroo pocket on Matthew’s hoodie was a cozy retreat for a little bunny. It was sunny and warm. There were smiles all around. Outings have been few and far between in the past while and it was good for half of my little crew to get out into the world for a little while.

 

‘Tis Sweet to Sing

You may recall that I was invited to participate in a multicultural choir that was scheduled to sing for general conference last April. You may also recall that the world tumbled into chaos and completely shut down three weeks before that specific conference. It was one of many events cancelled and was one of my own personal disappointments. But the choir was tentatively rescheduled to sing for conference in October, so I was hopeful. As we all know, the world situation had not improved by October and general conference was once again an all-virtual event with no live music. Once that passed, the hopes that the choir would be rescheduled seemed to vanish and I resigned myself to that fact. After how many things my children had lost though, my own disappointment over this seemed small indeed.

In mid-October, I received an unexpected email. Those who had been asked to sing with the multicultural choir were invited to participate in a virtual choir. It was for an internal project, one that would not be broadcast but would be viewed by upper church leadership. Our children were also invited to participate if they desired to do so. I, of course, was thrilled to be able to do something, to sing for something, even if it was all alone in my basement. Nathan and Malia were also excited about the project and jumped on the bandwagon. We learned the songs and then spent a morning doing all the recording. It was something different, a break in the normal COVID routine, and a most welcome one. We submitted our finished files and I figured that was the end of it.

Apparently, the church leaders who viewed the virtual choir recordings were happy with how they turned out because last month, I got another email asking for permission to use some of those recordings in an upcoming worldwide broadcast. I sent permission for both Nathan and I (it was the one song Malia didn’t learn and record) and then as requested, kept my silence.

This evening there was a worldwide devotional for young adults. The virtual choir recording was one of the musical numbers. Nathan was at work during the broadcast, but his social network started contacting him as soon as they recognized his happy, singing face. I am so glad that it was a positive thing for Nathan. It was neat for me to be a part of something like that, but I am far more pleased that Nathan was able to be a part of it. He has lost so much in the past year and I wish that I could give it all back to him. I can’t, of course, but I’m grateful I was able to be a part of giving him this one small thing. Although nothing can replace the feeling of singing with a real, flesh and blood choir, the current modified way of doing things still gave us an opportunity to participate in something real, to share our talents and contribute to what I hope was a spiritual experience for people the world over.

The Lord has blessed my family and I abundantly in terms of musical talent and while my opportunities to share that talent currently seem very small indeed, I’m grateful for the chance to come together with so many others to share our testimonies and love of the Lord through our talents. It was a reminder to me that even though we all feel isolated by this pandemic, we are actually all in this together. Even though we are still physically separated in so many ways, we can still reach out to one another and connect in meaningful ways, sharing our love and supporting those all around us. It reminds me of a song, one that seems fairly on point for our current world situation. It may seem cheesy, but sometimes I think that truth can be found in unexpected places.

Just One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
All it takes is One Voice,
Singing so they hear what's on your mind,
And when you look around you'll find
There's more than

One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
Joining with your One Voice,
Each and every note another octave,
Hands are joined and fears unlocked,
If only

One Voice
Would start it on its own,
We need just One Voice facing the unknown,
And that One Voice would never be alone
It takes that One Voice.
Would never be alone
It takes that One Voice.

 

 

One Year Older and Wiser Too

As of yesterday, I am another year older, although in some ways I feel like the past year has aged me a decade or two. Mental state notwithstanding, I really am older one year further along my road of life. We didn’t have a big celebration or anything, but Kev and I did go out to dinner. It was nice since eating out has been a rarity in the past year. I decided I wanted cheesecake for my birthday treat and while Kev offered to buy it for me, I opted to make my own. That is the only way Matthew and Malia can have cheesecake and I have been feeling in need of a new focus for my tendency towards recipe experimentation, so it seemed like a perfect solution. I did, however, make two cheesecakes-one small dairy free one and one full sized, full dairy version. I considered a variety of flavors and finally settled on strawberry lemonade. Yum! I baked the cakes on Friday to give them plenty of time to set up and for the flavors to blend so I wouldn’t spend the entirety of my birthday standing in the kitchen. In fact, I don’t think I spent any time standing in the kitchen. It was a nice break!

Early yesterday morning, Kev snuck out and had some beautiful roses and a balloon bouquet for me when I got up. Nathan went to work yesterday morning, leaving before the first balloons arrived, so he got another bunch. I ended up with a big mass of balloons and it was so great! After our dinner, Kev and I went home to share cheesecake with the kids. It was tasty and pretty too. 😉
 

 

I mentioned previously that I feel like I’ve aged more than a year in the past circuit of the sun. It’s not my body that feels older, although the body warranty definitely lapses at forty. I feel like I’ve aged a lot in experience and knowledge. The past year has been a wild ride for all of us and in that time, I think I’ve learned a lot. In general, I feel calmer and more at peace despite the chaos in the world around us. We are always taught that joy and peace come through living the gospel and I have seen that blessing in my life in the past year. As my understanding has increased and I have become more fully converted, I have been blessed with a greater sense of calm. So the long as the short of it is the fact that I’m older and wiser. I hope that in the coming year I can continue to progress in faith and knowledge, although not having a world in chaos as a catalyst would be a most welcome boon.

Home with the Range

When we moved into this house a dozen years ago, there was an electric glass top range. Never having used a glass top range, I had no idea how much I was going to hate it. And when I say hated it, I mean with a fiery, blinding passion. There were near cussing sessions every day. But we were house poor at the time and couldn’t do anything about it, so I had to suck it up and make it work. A year later, the item at the top of my tax refund wish list was a different range. A gas one. I did all kinds of research, decided which features mattered and which did not, and decided on an option that was in our price range. I sold the glass top one on KSL for $150. Someone felt like they got a rippin’ deal. They probably did. I just wanted that hunk of frustration out of my house. And then I settled in with my new gas range and never looked back.

That range has been a workhorse for me for years. It has cooked, baked, and canned with nary a hitch. And then about a year ago, one of the burners wouldn’t light consistently. The striker was working, and the gas was flowing, but the fire struggled to appear. We researched and worked the problem (finding out in the process that the striker was not an easily replaceable part) and finally replaced one small part. Then it would light, but for some reason, the burner was only about 30% as hot as it had been. And nothing we could do seemed to make a difference. Over time, we just stopped using that burner because it was not hot enough to cook anything in a timely fashion. But we did just fine with the three remaining burners, so things were ok.

A few weeks ago, another of the burners would not light. This time the gas was flowing but the striker was not striking, which was not good news due to the lack of an easily replaceable part. There was a lot going on and it only happened once, so I honestly forgot about it. But last week it happened again. And while I can work with three functioning burners, two is not doable, so talks began about a new range. COVID has affected the availability of many products due to decreases in manufacturing speed due to shutdowns and staff reductions, inability to get raw materials, etc. We have been trying to buy a freezer for-e-ver (seriously, we paid for one last May and have yet to receive it) so we are fully aware that actually getting our hands on a new range could take a serious amount of time. With that in mind, we felt like we had to hustle to order a new one. All my research buying the first gas range worked in my favor and taking into consideration some of the new available features, we decided on a model and with the salesman’s assurance that there was one in the warehouse (which is like a miracle right now), we bought it on our first shopping trip. The delivery date was set for today, five days after purchase. We honestly didn’t expect it to arrive. But guess what? It did. We were a little bit stunned and a whole lot relieved.

Now I have a shiny new stove. All the burners work. An additional perk is the fact that it is a convection oven. I’m super excited about that. I’m a bread baker and I’ve learned some new tips from my binge watching of “The Great British Baking Show,” so I’m anxious to get some loaves in there and see what it can do. Convection is also supposed to yield more even results when baking on two racks at once so I’m planning to experiment with that as well. I might be able to bake cookies in half the time and stick to my high standards of cookie excellence. I fully intend to work this range just as hard as I did the last one. Hopefully it will perform just as well as the last one.

Moving Forward with Faith

If nothing else, 2020 was a reminder that we are strengthened in adversity. That whole concept of the refiner’s fire came into sharp focus last year. As I was studying D&C 1:12 this week, the Spirit helped me make another connection. The Lord is constantly preparing us for the second coming, and adversity is part of that preparation. (D&C 136:31) This life is a test. If things were always easy, we would not need to work, to learn, to grow. And we need to work, learn and grow in order to become the people the Lord wants us to be. If we want to be worthy of the glory the Lord has in store for us, we need to rise up to the challenges he gives us.

This connection gives me a greater appreciation and understanding of how the challenges this past year has brought are truly a sign of the times. The Lord is stepping up our preparation so we will be ready. Are we rising up to meet the challenge or are we hiding away and waiting for easier times to return? There may not be easier times until all things are fulfilled. And if we don’t meet the challenges with faith, will we be worthy of the glory of living with our Savior in Zion?

These thoughts make me want to work harder, to endure more cheerfully, and to strive daily to become a little bit more like the Savior. And I believe the Lord has given me the personal insights I need to be able to do so. Last year my focus was on simplifying. That went pretty well for me until about mid-March. And then the world changed. One of my stress responses is to plan, to make lists, to create stuff, to distract myself with artificial busyness. And I’m a pro at it. I’m so good, in fact, that by October, I was reaching burnout. Something had to change.

As I have turned to the Lord for direction over the past few months, he has led me on a journey, one of self-discovery and understanding, one whose ultimate destination is finding joy in all circumstances. Last year I was working to simplify. This year the Lord has given me the rest of the equation:

Simplify + Prioritize + Balance = Joy

Simplify: Don’t Needlessly Complicate Things. I’m a pro at making things harder than they really need to be. I often take what should be a simple, straightforward task and work to make it ever more complex until the whole project becomes a monstrosity of epic proportions. It’s like teaching a relief society lesson. Sometimes we think that if we don’t have stellar visuals, a video presentation, a special musical number and a beautiful handout we haven’t prepared a great lesson. But that’s not true. The sisters won’t remember which pictures are displayed or what song they heard. And the handout that took hours to create will most likely hit the garbage can the next time they clean out their purses. But what they will remember is the Spirit they felt and what it taught them. So simplifying is to help me toss all the extraneous frills and focus on what really matters.

Prioritize: Good, Better, Best. In general conference in October 2007, Dallin H. Oakes gave a talk entitled “Good, Better, Best.” It is one of those talks that really struck a chord with me. It helped me look at my life and how I was spending my time in a different way. Since then, it has become one of my spiritual yardsticks in terms of deciding how to spend my time. There are times when there are just not enough hours in the day to complete all the items on my to-do list and looking at my list through the “good, better, best” lens helps me decide where to focus my effort. Some days I end up feeling sorry for myself due to a lack of time to spend on hobbies or whatever and reminding myself that I’m making a better or best choice helps me set aside my selfish tendencies and focus on what is most important. Don’t get me wrong. Hobbies and taking time for myself are a vital part of my own mental health. I just need to balance that with the other important things in my life. And that actually brings us to the next part of the equation.

Balance: Spiritual, Emotional, Intellectual, Social. The new children and youth program is designed to help the younger generation become more like the Savior in all areas of their life. But the benefits of doing so extend far beyond the age of eighteen. I need to have balance in my life as well. If all I do is clean the house, I get cranky because I miss out on playing board games with my family. But if all I do is play games or read a book, I get cranky because my house is a mess. And if I don’t take time to exercise, I’m cranky because my body is achy. It’s all about giving time to all the various aspects of my life without focusing on one to the neglect of the others.

Joy: The end goal of my little equation is joy. Not simply pleasure or fun, but the real joy that comes from living the gospel. Because that is the point, isn’t it? “Men are that they might have joy.” (2 Nephi 2:25) The Lord wants us to be happy. And we can be happy regardless of our circumstances. I’m not naïve enough to think that life won’t have its sorrows, but even when we feel sorrow we can be filled with the hope and joy that comes from truly knowing that this life is not an exercise in futility. There is a point. There is a goal. And that goal is a glorious eternal life with our heavenly parents, our divine older brother, and our loved ones.

This year I’m going to focus on this simple equation that is designed to bring me joy. And I’m going to actively try to see the positive and joyful things amidst the turmoil of the last days. Not everything that leads to joy is huge and life altering either. I often find myself saying that those little things are dumb because they are small and seemingly insignificant. Kevin has actually started calling me on it because if something brings me joy, it is worthy of having a place in my life. So I’m going to keep buying flowers every week because having a beautiful bouquet on the table makes me happy. And I’m going to keep reading books that makes me laugh and cry in all the right places. Even little things can be a ray of light in my day-to-day life.

All these things, big and small, are part of living with greater faith and allowing the Lord to work in my life. And I believe that if I can learn to live my life with greater faith and trust in the Lord, I will find more true joy. And more joy will help me have greater hope for good things to come. And all these things will strengthen me so I am better able to face adversity in the future for it will surely come.