So you know when you have so much to write about that you don't even know where to start? Yeah. That's me right now. One thing at a time. I want to write about thriftiness and how my mom is the queen of it.
Story #1: I have a favorite pair of shoes. They are gold and silver flats. They go with any outfit whether casual or formal. They're comfortable and cute. Sadly they were getting worn and even I was admitting that they needed to be retired. I got home from work a few days after that and Mom had been to Goodwill. She came home with a new pair of those exact shoes. In my size. New. From Goodwill.
Story #2: At my house is a book from the library with descriptions of a bunch of beautiful "Portland walks". On the weekend we, the family, ventured out for one of these aforesaid Portland walks. After walking in the West Hills (and seeing GORGEOUS houses) we were all pretty thirsty. There was no water in the car and although Mom, Dad and I could have toughed it out, when an 8 year old is thirsty...there's no waiting for the 30 minute car ride home. Being in a very typical downtown Portland neighborhood, we saw an organic grocery store. "Let's go buy some lemonade from that store," said Mom. We walked through the automatic doors and what to our delight was waiting on the other side? Free lemonade samples.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
First day of school, I mean, work
The Lord has given me not one, but two part time jobs. That equals one full time job but with more variety. Today was my first day of Job #1. I'm working in a vault. Yes. A vault. It's a company that owns all the washers and dryers in Oregon and southern Washington (ie laundromats, apartment complexes, etc). My job is to count the quarters. Well, I pour the quarters into a machine to get counted then I do some paperwork and stuff. You wanna know how many quarters I processed on my first day? About $25,000's worth. In quarters. That's 100,000 quarters.
"What did you learn?" you ask. I learned that (collectively) quarters are extremely heavy. I learned there is an American Samoa quarter. And I learned that working at Gringotts WOULD be ridiculously awesome. But I'm glad I'm not a goblin.
During the 12 o'clock lunch hour I got my lunch out of the fridge. There were about 6 other people in the lunch room. Some of them had Subway. Some of them had spaghetti and meatballs. Some of them had canned chili. And there I was: the new girl with her sack lunch. PBJ sandwich, carrots, apple and zucchini bread. I felt like a kid on their first day of first grade. Maybe second grade. I don't know if those people had ever even heard of a paper bag.
I listened to my favorite Pandora station while working and that made all the difference. (Sigh.) Good music just makes everything wonderful. So to sum it all up, I had a great first day in spite of feeling a little out of place when it came to lunch.
I think the moral to working at this place is going to be that every little bit counts. A quarter doesn't seem like that much. But get a bunch and you might just have thousands of dollars. On a spiritual note, it's important to do the little things everyday like pray and read scriptures because those little daily things equal unmeasurable amount of spiritual strength.
"What did you learn?" you ask. I learned that (collectively) quarters are extremely heavy. I learned there is an American Samoa quarter. And I learned that working at Gringotts WOULD be ridiculously awesome. But I'm glad I'm not a goblin.
During the 12 o'clock lunch hour I got my lunch out of the fridge. There were about 6 other people in the lunch room. Some of them had Subway. Some of them had spaghetti and meatballs. Some of them had canned chili. And there I was: the new girl with her sack lunch. PBJ sandwich, carrots, apple and zucchini bread. I felt like a kid on their first day of first grade. Maybe second grade. I don't know if those people had ever even heard of a paper bag.
I listened to my favorite Pandora station while working and that made all the difference. (Sigh.) Good music just makes everything wonderful. So to sum it all up, I had a great first day in spite of feeling a little out of place when it came to lunch.
I think the moral to working at this place is going to be that every little bit counts. A quarter doesn't seem like that much. But get a bunch and you might just have thousands of dollars. On a spiritual note, it's important to do the little things everyday like pray and read scriptures because those little daily things equal unmeasurable amount of spiritual strength.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Inspiration
Yesterday, something beautiful happened. I felt inspired to made dinner. This is a big deal. Mom said we had a lot of chicken, so I cracked the cookbook to the poultry section and picked out Easy Chicken Enchiladas. I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship between me and cooking. In about 30 minutes the timer will ring and out comes my homemade bread :)
"Emily? Cooking?" you might think. "From whence did this transformation occur?" I'm a huge believer in the scripture that says it is by small means that great things are brought to pass. The small means for me was that my sister (who I look up to so much and is my best friend) shared a little tidbit about cooking that made it easier for her. She said it's easier to cook when you get out all the ingredients first. Look at the recipe and set out everything you're going to need: ingredients, measuring cups/spoons and obviously the recipe. My biggest qualm with cooking before was that it was such a hassle to do a step and then look for more stuff. "Oops, I actually DON'T have any eggs. Wish I would've known that before I started." Now that that problem is solved, I feel a long standing barrier has been broken down. I actually WANT to cook. I'm excited to try new foods and explore which recipes I like best. So a big THANK YOU to Celeste for sharing a seemingly insignificant thing with me that led to being inspired.
"By small and simple things are great things brought to pass."
Alma 37:6
"Emily? Cooking?" you might think. "From whence did this transformation occur?" I'm a huge believer in the scripture that says it is by small means that great things are brought to pass. The small means for me was that my sister (who I look up to so much and is my best friend) shared a little tidbit about cooking that made it easier for her. She said it's easier to cook when you get out all the ingredients first. Look at the recipe and set out everything you're going to need: ingredients, measuring cups/spoons and obviously the recipe. My biggest qualm with cooking before was that it was such a hassle to do a step and then look for more stuff. "Oops, I actually DON'T have any eggs. Wish I would've known that before I started." Now that that problem is solved, I feel a long standing barrier has been broken down. I actually WANT to cook. I'm excited to try new foods and explore which recipes I like best. So a big THANK YOU to Celeste for sharing a seemingly insignificant thing with me that led to being inspired.
"By small and simple things are great things brought to pass."
Alma 37:6
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Food
As any blood relative of mine can attest, food is an important aspect of Mower life. Yesterday and today I have taken some time to peruse through the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. What an inspiration! The recipes are varied and exciting and not intimidating and sound amazing. So I have decided to have the dream of being a good cook someday. I have never even hoped this up to this point in my life because I didn't think it was possible. But this cookbook is just so user friendly. I'm excited about it.
In contrast with that food inspiration, let me share with you an experience I had tonight.
I went to a YSA (young single adult) activity tonight that was patterned after the Amazing Race. I was put on a team with 2 boys. The first task? Consume a HUGE bowl of Ramen. Now, when I say bowl, what I really mean is like a punch bowl. I asked the lady who made it how many packets of Ramen she used for each team. "9." N-I-N-E ridiculous, disgusting, slimy, unhealthy and retarded packets of Ramen that Bradley, David and I had to eat. UG. I am still feeling disgusting. I never ever want to eat Ramen again. Ever. I didn't want to let my teammates down and I didn't want to look like a wimp next to the boys so I definitely pulled my share. By the end I was literally gaging at least 4 times before I could swallow one bite of noodles. Yeah. Disgusting. I know.
Then I wondered, "Why does Ramen exist?"
I don't have an answer.
All I know is that someday I want to be a good cook...and never eat Ramen.
In contrast with that food inspiration, let me share with you an experience I had tonight.
I went to a YSA (young single adult) activity tonight that was patterned after the Amazing Race. I was put on a team with 2 boys. The first task? Consume a HUGE bowl of Ramen. Now, when I say bowl, what I really mean is like a punch bowl. I asked the lady who made it how many packets of Ramen she used for each team. "9." N-I-N-E ridiculous, disgusting, slimy, unhealthy and retarded packets of Ramen that Bradley, David and I had to eat. UG. I am still feeling disgusting. I never ever want to eat Ramen again. Ever. I didn't want to let my teammates down and I didn't want to look like a wimp next to the boys so I definitely pulled my share. By the end I was literally gaging at least 4 times before I could swallow one bite of noodles. Yeah. Disgusting. I know.
Then I wondered, "Why does Ramen exist?"
I don't have an answer.
All I know is that someday I want to be a good cook...and never eat Ramen.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Unlocking your potential
The company I have been working for is moving and we're packing everything up. I came across a little box that said, "Keynote quotes: unlocking your potential." Wow! This must be pretty powerful stuff! I thought. Here's one of the first quotes I read:
"There is such a thing as giving up too soon. You can always get one more spoonful of juice out of a grapefruit."
Um, did that just come from the same little box that wanted to unlock my potential? OK, I do agree with the first sentence. Of COURSE there is such a thing as giving up too soon. Like the time I was in my gym clothes, walked to the gym, took one look at the treadmill and went back home. That's giving up too soon. I'll admit it. But I disagree that you can ALWAYS get one more spoonful of juice out of a grapefruit. It's simply not true. There is only so much juice a grapefruit can contain and I don't care how long you stay at it and don't give up, there just ain't no more juice!
Of course I can see what the quote is getting at and that it's trying to help me unlock my potential of never giving up but I think they could've done a LOT better. If I were an inspirational quote writer I would probably just say, "Never give up." Short, sweet and powerful. Why throw in random metaphors that aren't true? Just say what you mean people. It's much simpler.
Other favorite quotes from this little box:
"Each day, silently affirm that you are the type of person with whom you would want to spend the rest of your life." (Confused? I was.)
"Children are to be treated gently. They are like snowflakes- unique, but only here for a while." (...and then they melt away.... How is this unlocking my potential?!)
I think I'll just stick with the scriptures to unlock my potential.
"There is such a thing as giving up too soon. You can always get one more spoonful of juice out of a grapefruit."
Um, did that just come from the same little box that wanted to unlock my potential? OK, I do agree with the first sentence. Of COURSE there is such a thing as giving up too soon. Like the time I was in my gym clothes, walked to the gym, took one look at the treadmill and went back home. That's giving up too soon. I'll admit it. But I disagree that you can ALWAYS get one more spoonful of juice out of a grapefruit. It's simply not true. There is only so much juice a grapefruit can contain and I don't care how long you stay at it and don't give up, there just ain't no more juice!
Of course I can see what the quote is getting at and that it's trying to help me unlock my potential of never giving up but I think they could've done a LOT better. If I were an inspirational quote writer I would probably just say, "Never give up." Short, sweet and powerful. Why throw in random metaphors that aren't true? Just say what you mean people. It's much simpler.
Other favorite quotes from this little box:
"Each day, silently affirm that you are the type of person with whom you would want to spend the rest of your life." (Confused? I was.)
"Children are to be treated gently. They are like snowflakes- unique, but only here for a while." (...and then they melt away.... How is this unlocking my potential?!)
I think I'll just stick with the scriptures to unlock my potential.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Breaking the stereotype
Usually Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day, an omen of ill will. Some people probably carry garlic in their purse or walk backwards ever 5th step. Well this past Friday the 13th was anything but unlucky. It was one of the most wonderful days ever. Lazel, my best friend, got married and I had the honor of being a bridesmaid. I love helping brides on their big day. I love it when there is a frantic moment and I can help calm the bride's nerves. It's a day of compliments where I just keeping telling the bride how beautiful she is.
Lazel and I were able to share very special moments together like when I helped her change into her wedding dress. There were many people getting married the same day so it was quite a miracle when Lazel and I were the only ones in the Bride's Room. It was definitely a crowning moment of our friendship. What a blessing that I could share her special day with her and actually be with her in the temple. Marriage is such a sanctified and wonderful thing. I'm just so happy Lazel and Hadji got married in Portland so I could be there.
Oh and the reception? Delectable food. Three different kinds of wraps, crescent rolls with chicken salad, pasta salad, broccoli salad, fruit salad, a chocolate fondue fountain with pineapple, strawberries and marshmallows AND to top it all off: deluxe cupcakes. Phew. Needless to say I stuffed myself beyond full. Then while we were all cleaning up, Katy, Heidi, David and I took spoons to the chocolate fondue fountain. No joke. Can we say sugar high? It was a great end to a spectacular day.
Lazel and I were able to share very special moments together like when I helped her change into her wedding dress. There were many people getting married the same day so it was quite a miracle when Lazel and I were the only ones in the Bride's Room. It was definitely a crowning moment of our friendship. What a blessing that I could share her special day with her and actually be with her in the temple. Marriage is such a sanctified and wonderful thing. I'm just so happy Lazel and Hadji got married in Portland so I could be there.
Oh and the reception? Delectable food. Three different kinds of wraps, crescent rolls with chicken salad, pasta salad, broccoli salad, fruit salad, a chocolate fondue fountain with pineapple, strawberries and marshmallows AND to top it all off: deluxe cupcakes. Phew. Needless to say I stuffed myself beyond full. Then while we were all cleaning up, Katy, Heidi, David and I took spoons to the chocolate fondue fountain. No joke. Can we say sugar high? It was a great end to a spectacular day.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Forever changed
I will always remember today. The first line of one of my favorite Primary songs is "I love to see the temple; I'm going there someday." All of my life I have sung that song. Well, today is that 'someday.' I am entering into the Lord's Holy House to make sacred covenants that I will be obedient to Him and serve Him my whole life. I love the Lord. He is boundlessly merciful to me. That's why I want to serve a mission. God has blessed me beyond belief; my best way of showing gratitude to Him is to dedicate myself to His complete service for 18 months of my life. Peace IS possible in this world when we put our trust in God, acknowledging that He is in control and knows what's best for us. In the end, good will triumph over evil. And I want to be among His troops, fighting for the right and helping others do the same.
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