Speedy

Spanning the Globe

Perhaps it's just pent-up demand, since we were not able to go on any big trips for a couple of years, but we are planning two very exciting trips between now and the end of the year. Our dream has always been to visit all seven continents.  We have been missing South America, Australia and Antarctica. 

It seems that, in order to properly visit Antarctica, it takes three weeks and lots and lots of money.  That one will be on hold, then.

In October, we are planning a trip to Peru to see the Nazca Lines, then off to Iguassu Falls on the border of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. 

December will be New Zealand and Australia.  Maybe we'll see some Hobbits!  Or maybe my favorite Kiwi singer, Neil Finn.

Ch-Ch-Changes

Why the name and layout change?  Frankly, I was kind of bored with my blog.  I started it five years ago to keep Rowdy up to date on the old homestead while he was in Iraq.  Then it was to share with family and friends.  Then it was...just boring. 

I have no illusions about the marketability of a personal blog my life's goings on.  Still, it would be nice to have a more interesting blog.  Sigh. 

Last week, I started a second blog, The Feeling is Mutual, that will be a forum for my experiences with and ideas about being an LDS Young Women's leader.  I hope that it will stimulate my creative juices as far as blogwriting is concerned.  I also hope that people will comment with their insights and experiences.  My greatest fear is that I will not be able to articulate my thoughts well and come off as some kind of a nitwit.  Well, I am a nitwit in some ways, but I don't want to end up being that kind  of a nitwit.

So, we'll see how things go!  I appreciate the people who have already read my new blog and left comments.  Feel free to suggest discussion topics.

Sunset at Black's Beach

While I'm figuring out what I want to do with my blog, here are some pictures of tonight's sunset from the paragliding port at Torrey Pines.

I Love Dance!

Going to a barre class taught by a real ballet teacher at a real dance school has made me nostalgic for the old days when my body was much better at arranging itself into the appropriate positions.  And I've been thinking about favorite dance performances I have witnessed. 

The New York City Ballet's Nutcracker--c'mon...the best Nutcraker anywhere.  The sets, the choreography, the costumes.  Love, love, love it.  No other company's Nutcracker comes close.

David Parsons in Caught--I saw this in Charleston at the Gailliard Auditorium when I was in med school.  MIND BLOWING!  Really, just amazing.  Here it is:



Jose Greco and Friends Flamenco company--Seen with my parents at the Capitol Theater in Austin, TX.  Oh.My.Goodness.  So, so, so incredible.

Perfect Summer Dinner

Carne asada burritos with grilled corn.  I made the tortillas myself.  Thanks, Dinner:  A Love Story!  I may never use store-bought tortillas again.  Dessert was homemade (home-constructed, really) ice cream sandwiches with molasses cookies and peach ice cream.

Faith > Fear

 

Five or six weeks ago, I was sitting in for our YW president in Bishop's Youth Council, when the bishop asked me to stay after for a couple of minutes so he could discuss something with me.  My heart sank, because I knew right then he was going to call me to be the YW president.  All of the reasons why I thought I couldn't do it raced through my mind--I have a busy job!  Sometimes I'm on call and I miss things!  That was never a problem when I was Primary president, but YW is a very time-intenstive job.  It wasn't so bad being a counselor in the YW presidency, but I can't say that I was particularly tearing it up in my calling.  And what about camp?!?  Camp is a critical part of the Young Women's experience, and there was no way that I would be able to get a week off in the summer to go.  Besides, I never went when I was a Young Woman.  Camping and I are...not friends.

So the bishop and I sat down, and he said, "I would like to call you to be Young Women's president in the next few weeks", and all I could say was, "But I can't go to camp!"  He said that I wouldn't have to go, and even as he said it, I knew that all of my excuses were just excuses, and that I needed to go forward with faith.  

Our YW president was away of vacation for three weeks, so I kept things under my hat as best I could.  Of course, I did blab to some people, including my husband, that the call was coming.  I prayed and thought and prayed and went to the temple and read my scriptures and prayed some more about who to call for my board and what the girls needed. 

 

There were plenty of nightmares in which I was a total failure at my calling, or at least felt like one.  As the weeks progressed, it was hard to keep positive.  I think that Satan wants so much for us to fail with our youth that he tries to get leaders to doubt themselves and forget that, who Heavenly Father calls, he qualifies.

Today, I and all of my board were sustained, and all but one (who is out of town) were set apart.  Now I feel so much more power.  I have an amazing board--like, really amazing.  If I told you who all is on my board, you'd think that it was a rock star convention.  Okay, maybe you'd have to be in our ward to know most of these people, but really, I am so excited to work with these women, and so excited to keep serving our Young Women.   We have small, but great, group of girls.

My New Favorite Blog

 

My friend, Melissa Zimmerman, mentioned her cousin's blog and new book on Facebook.  I love memoirs and food and memoirs about food, so I decided to check it out.  Jenny Rosenstrach's Dinner:  A Love Story blog and new book are now my new favorites.

Book blurb from the blog:

Dinner: A Love Story is a cookbook/memoir that covers all the things that can happen at the family dinner table during all stages of a family’s life. That means it covers the Just-Moved-in-Together Stage, the Just-Married Stage, the New Parent Stage, the Bonafide All-Parties-Present-and-Eating Stage.  It contains nearly 120 recipes (favorites from this blog as well as brand new soon-to-be favorites) and over 50 color photographs. It is a book for anyone reaching a milestone — moving in together, getting married, having a baby — as well as anyone who thinks that ending the day with a shared meal is, well…just about the best way to end a day.

The blog is the daily (or semi-daily) chronicle of what's going on in her kitchen and life.  Tonight, I am making homemade tortillas for the first time from her recipe.  My Kindle copy of her book is liberally bookmarked with recipes I'm going to try.

Check it out!

Okay, So...

I didn't make it for the Whole30.  I made it for 15 days, which I guess is not a small accomplishment.  My body really does better with more carbs than just fruit and vegetables, apparently.  I did lose six pounds, which was good.  Four came back for a week or so, but now they're gone again.