Mmmmm

It's always after I've finished a great meal that I realize I should have taken a picture of it to post.

Here's what we had for dinner today:

Baked breaded pork chops--pork chops dipped in a mixture of egg, milk, seasoned salt and pepper, then dredged in panko and baked at 450 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Baked yams

Green salad with tomatoes

Fresh green beans sauteed with bacon, yellow onion and mushrooms

I love that it looked beautiful and colorful as well as tasted delicious.

Gratitude

One of the perks to being in the Primary is preparing Sharing Times. The theme for November is "My Faith in Jesus Christ Blesses My Life. I am Thankful for My Blessings". It's been a great reminder to me, after being so mopey earlier in the month, to count my blessings. Actually, the process of counting those blessings was part of the "therapy" I used to get over the little crummy patch I felt I was in and on with my life.

From the November issue of Friend magazine:

From “Give Thanks in All Things,” Ensign, May 2003, 95–97.

What should I be thankful for in my life?
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shares some of his thoughts on this subject.
• We have so much for which to give thanks. First and foremost, we are thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ.
• We give thanks for the revealed truths that provide a standard against which to measure all things.
• We give thanks for commandments. They are directions away from pitfalls, and they are invitations to blessings.
• We should even give thanks for our afflictions because they turn our hearts to God and give us opportunities to prepare for what God would have us become.
• Let us give thanks for what we are and for the circumstances God has given us for our personal journey through mortality.

Yay for Wonderful Sisters!

My last posting now looks overwrought to me. You know, it's not like my house burnt down or my husband left me or I was diagnosed with a horrible disease. Things that really were getting me down were really just me not performing to expectations and a run of things not turning out well. Overall, I have been experiencing a big loss of confidence in myself, which is starting to turn around. Thank goodness! I hate feeling like I totally suck.

I'm a lot tougher on myself than anyone else is on me, so when I make a mistake I totally beat myself up. There's a definite vein of drama queen running through me, sad to say.

Anyway, this is all part of life.

In very exciting news, my sister Karen is arriving today for a Thanksgiving visit! My sisters are the funnest people to hang out with. (Dayna, this means you need to come and see us soon.) All morning, I've been atwitter, knowing that two of my most favorite people ever, Rowdy and Kiki, will be there when I get home today. I wish that I didn't have to work today and Friday. Yay for wonderful sisters!!!

Getting Clobbered

You know how sometimes you find yourself going through a patch where it seems like you're just getting clobbered by life? I have felt like that the last few weeks. Someone told me once that those periods are usually indicative that you've reached a new level of experience and ability in your life, and it's sometimes painful.

One thing that has helped me through is this scripture from the Book of Mormon:

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27)

I have faith that these weakness that have been pointed out to me, sometimes rudely, will become strengths. It's sucky, though, to have to get beat up like this.

Service Project

This morning, Rowdy and I went with a group of about 75 people from our stake to help clean up two yards that were burned out by Jamul (that's ha-mool for you non-SDans). Luckily for these homeowners, their homes were not damaged, but there were acres of charred land around them.

The whole thing took only about three hours, with everyone working together. Pres. McWhorter of the stake presidency said that one of the homeowners called the newpaper and said, "They said that they were going to bring a couple of people out to help, but they brought an army!" She was very impressed.

I wish that I had gotten some pictures of us. We were totally grubby from the soot. It was good, hard work though, and it felt good to help out.

In other news, Rowdy is now employed as a radiation specialist at UCSD! It sounds like it's going to be good experience.

Worst.Trip.Ever

For my latest jaunt across country, I decided to fly in Economy, or as I like to call it, steerage. The reasons for this seemed reasonable at the time:

1) A ridiculous amount of money was extracted from me for the privilege of being grilled for an hour and a half on my chosen profession, so it seemed prudent not to pull out the stops as far as travel was concerned. Round-trip to Louisville, KY, was only $200, after all. You can’t beat those prices.
2) I recently flew not just across the country but all the way to Europe in steerage and survived. Somehow, I don’t think that the kids would have been too understanding if Rowdy and I had been sitting (more like lying down in our nice, convertible chairs) in First or even Business class while they contorted in the back of the plane. And no way would I have bought five First Class tickets!!
3) Sometimes First Class is barely more than a larger seat and only one seat companion. It hardly seemed worth it.

But now, sitting here in a cramped seat, having paid $7 for a small salad consisting of a “grilled” chicken breast, five pecans, six mandarin orange sections and some green-leaf lettuce, I am reconsidering the validity of my prior arguments for frugality.

So, maybe I wouldn’t be getting a hot fudge sundae in First Class on a domestic flight, but I’d be able to curl up in my seat. The overweight, elderly female in the seat in front of me wouldn’t cause me momentary concern that her seat back would, at any minute, be in my lap. The knees of the tall gentleman behind me wouldn’t be in my back. I wouldn’t have to stand in line with seven other people who were also waiting to use the bathroom.

And, as this was a business trip, I would have been able to write this off! Argh. Rowdy and I will just have to fly Business class when we go to Hawaii in January. The money we save on our condo will pay for it. (Thanks, Terry!)

UPDATE: I wrote this on the plane to kill time. Right before the plane landed, I knew there was something very, very wrong going on inside of me. I just made it to the bathroom in time to be majorly sick. Majorly. Rowdy's at a motorcycle course until tomorrow, so I had to take a shuttle home. I missed my scheduled shuttle because I had to go back into the airport and be sick again. Thank goodness I made it home without getting sick in the van.

Anyway, whine whine boo hoo poor me, but the point is that I have food poisoning. From that $7 salad on the plane!!! Arrrrggghhhhh!!!