.::still blinking::.

I teach the young women in my ward. Two weeks ago I was asked to teach a lesson called, “Reach Out to Others.”

It was so bad. I could not on good conscience give that lesson. To begin with there was a story about two dogs, who came across a cat and did not play with it, next a turtle and did not play with it, and finally a rabbit and they played with it. It just did not make sense to me. How do I relate a story about animals to girls between the ages of 12 and 18. It was stupid and childish and I did not think they would even listen to it.

Next, I was supposed to read the following scriptures to the girls.

Luke 15:8-10

Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one apiece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

What? Everyone who is LDS is not a sinner, and everyone who is not Mormon is a sinner? I could not teach that. I did not think this was the appropriate use of this scripture. I thought that this was about people who had the gospel and fell away and then came back.

Next, it wanted me to read the following situations to the girls.

Ask the young women to discuss what might be done to help a class member become a participating member of the Church. Emphasize that feeling and showing real concern is important. Present the following situations to the young women and have them solve the problems:

1. You meet a less-active classmate in a store. You want to show her that you are interested in her. What do you do?

2. You invite a less-active friend to class. She hesitates before giving an answer. Then she says that maybe she’ll come sometime. What could you do?

3. You invite a less-active friend to your Young Women class. She says she does not want to go and have people stare at her because she is attending church. What should you do and say?

4. You encourage a less-active member to attend class, and she replies that she does not like the meetings. What would you do?

5. You ask a less-active member to class and she says no. What could you do?

I could not do this. I did not like labeling people who are not LDS as less-active. I did not want them to think they were better than anyone. I don’t think that they are. I think that we all have divine light in us whether we are LDS or not.

Luckily, I found a Young Women’s Manual Resource guide on the web. It links toconferencee talks and other things that are to be used to help enhance the lesson. In this case, I taught this instead of the lesson. For real, read this. It is called the, “The Doctrine of Inclusion.” This was so much better and to the good point of what this lesson was trying to teach.

I called several of the girls and leaders and had them in class tell about a time someone had been kind to them and the influence that it had had on their lives.

I shared the following experience about my college roommates.

When I went to college, there were six girls in my apartment. There were four girls who had gone to elementary, junior high, and high school together. The other two were me and a girl from New Jersey. The four that had grown up together could have easily just stayed their own little group of friends. They did not need more friends, but they included us in everything anyway.

When they had friends from home come and visit them, they took us along on their adventures. When they went home for the weekend they would take us with them. They just included us and took care of us like they had known us their entire lives.

They did not need me, but I needed them,desperately. I was going through my life at home falling apart. I needed their stability and friendship badly.

I lived with these girls the next year also, and then they all started getting married and such. When I got married I moved in next door to Lori, one of these original roommates. I have looked up to her for so long now, like eight years. She was my friend and loved me no matter what.

Our apartments faced each other and we would stand in the doorways and talk forever about everything. Eventually, I started noticing what a good person she was and I started to see how having the gospel in her life was helping her to be a good person. She taught me so much about faith and prayer. But I don’t think that I would have been open to her teaching me, if she had not been my good friend first.

That is what I wanted to teach these girls. That we need to be friends with everyone. And when we are friends with people and they see that things are ok in our lives then they will want to find out why.

I had them read the story of the Good Samaritan, which teaches us to love ALL men and take care of those around us.

I had them read Article of Faith 11
“We claim the privilege of worshipping All Mighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all me the same privilege, let them worship how, where or what they may.”

Meaning that as LDS women we worship God, but also because we are LDS women we allow everyone to worship as they may.

I have a friend, Luke, who I have know for about eight years. He has always let everyone know that he is going to be a Catholic priest. He has gone to Washington D.C. to study at Catholic University of America. He then went to Rome to study at the Vatican. He has been in Africa for a year helping kids who were born with AIDS. Now he is trying to start a school for kids who need help.

He is not the same as me and yet we are both serving God and trying to be good people in our own way.

I quoted from the talk I linked to above. “For the most part, the people in your neighborhood who are not LDS are good, honorable people-every bit as good and honorable as we strive to be. They care about their friends and families, just like we do. They want to make the world a better place, just like we do. They are kind loving and generous, just like we seek to be.”

To finish I had them read, John 13:34-35
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Isn’t that really the point that I should be teaching. Don’t be heavy handed about your faith. If people see something in you and want to know about it, let them know. But don’t slap people with something they don’t believe in. Let them know that you love them no matter what.

I am going to hell for not teaching what was in the manual and for writing about it here I am going to be ex-ed.

Last night for dinner we had a banana split from here. I begged jj to let us go there again tonight for the same heavenly confection. He said no. So instead, we had Coconut Curry Tofu.

It was beyond good. I think that I will make it every week for a while. And it makes a lot.

Coconut Curry Tofu
2 bunches green onions
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 cups soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoon chili paste
1 14 ounce can coconut milk
1 pound firm tofu, cut into cubes
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
4 ounce fresh mushrooms chopped
4 cups chopped bok choy

1. Do all the chopping of vegetables first.
2. In large skillet over medium heat, mix coconut milk, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, brown sugar, curry powder, ginger and chili paste. Bring to a boil.
3. Stir tofu, tomatoes, yellow peppers, mushrooms and finely chopped green onions into the skillet. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in basil & bok choy. Season with salt and remaining soy sauce. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender but crisp.
4. Serve with rice.

I did not have ginger, so I used nutmeg. I used that chili paste with the chicken picture on the bottle. If you make this with tofu, get it from Wild Oats. It was so good, I have had it from other places and theirs was the best. But you could make it with chicken or anything else you wanted to use. I used a red bell pepper and canned mushrooms. To cut up bok choy you do it just like celery that you would use in chow mein or stew or something.

Try this though and if you don’t want to make it, call me and I will make it for you.

Yum.

Also, I made this wedding announcement today for no one in particular. The flowers are from pictures that jj and I took while on a walk last Sunday. Natural habitat is so pretty.

Tonight we put the kid to bed at 8ish and around 9ish he was screaming bloody murder. So I went to see what was going on and he had one of his little legs stuck in the slats of his crib and could not get himself out. He was so sad. So I tried to get him out and I could not do it either. So I yelled for jj and he did not come and I kept trying. I really could not get him out though and I started to try taking the front of the crib off and I yelled for jj again, he did not come. Finally, somehow, the kid just got himself loose and I picked him up and we went and yelled at dad. Grrrr. Sometimes the deaf make me so angry.

I am not a vegan, although I have posted a vegan link on the right side of this site. I am in favor of all good and healthy food. I find this Vegan Lunch Box website inspiring.

I ran in the Step Rock Run 5k on Saturday. It was part of Herriman Town Days, and because my mom works for them, I am often tempted to participate in their activities. I also design for them, as I have said before, so I like to see what my designs look like in real life and not just on my computer.

Anway, I ran the 5k in 28ish minutes and was 5th place out of all the women, and 2nd in my age division. I was amazed. I got a medal. I am so proud. I don’t know how many people ran it, but I could not have done any better. For like the last mile there were no women in front of me to pass.

Go me!

I read today on a friends blog that she is censoring her blog. It makes me sad, because I like her sarcastic take on life and I don’t want it to change.

However, I have been thinking a lot about this lately also. I don’t want to offend anyone who doesn’t deserve it. I am going to go back through my post and delete things I am worried will hurt other people.

I am sad that some of this will be gone, but it is probably better that way. You probably won’t even notice that I have done anything, I just thought that you should know.

Some people like to get burned.

If I had never heard about fire and someone mentioned it, I would check books out from the library and research it online. I would learn that fire is hot, and it can burn. If people told me that it was hot and burned I would listen to them. Especially if lots of people, who had my best interest at heart, told me. I would listen.

Some people stand and smile nicely when they are told that fire can hurt them and then turn and jump in. They have to learn for themselves, no matter the consequence.

I don’t get it.

Today, I destroyed my only bra today. Well, the only bra that fits properly. It is one that I have had since high school. If you had seen it, you would not have known it was that old. It was in great shape. Probably because I bought it and promptly grew out of it.

I have been a B/C cup most of my life, well I have been trying to be a C. I have liked that size. It is just enough, I feel. Not to big, not to small, just enough to be proud. This bra that I destroyed was a B cup, and it was beautiful in a lacy and pretty kind of way, not a I want to reveal it all way.

So, today as I was doing laundry I threw it in with everything else. I always wash them, but then I pull them out and let them air dry. However, when I went to get my clothes out of the washer, I found that I had thrown the arm hole around the agitator and all my clothes were nice and waded up on one side of the washer. I got all that I could out of the tight little ball of clothing. When I could get not more I had to go and get the scissors and cut it to pieces. It was wound that tightly. Sad.

So, I have been wearing my wash day bra all day today. I don’t know what the point of wearing it . It is the next closest one to fitting that I have, but I do not even come close to filling it. When jj got home we went to Target on a quick bra replacement mission. I went and picked out a bunch of B cup bras. Surely, if my C cup wash day bra was to big then a B will fit. Wrong was I. I was so ashamed. I tried on all the B bras that I had, the push up padded ones kind of fit. But I was horrified to find out that I was an A Cup!! I, the mother of a child, the one who has been proud of her bosom most of her life, looked down and realized that my lovely nursing cleavage was completely gone and that I did not fit into B cups.

I went back out of the dressing room with my tail between my legs and forced myself to find some A cups that would maybe make me not look even more like a 14-year old child. I tried on all the A cups and realized they were made for children who had not born children. I could not get my saggy boobs to even come close to staying in those perky things.

So I went for the mega push-em-up push-em-up way up B cup. When you look at me on Sunday and see them and think they don’t look that bad. Remember that most of that lovely shape is made by a bra that was filled with foam and held in shape by a metal form fitting cage. They are not mine.

Here are my measurements:
Two flat and saggy pancakes.
One hanging out stomach, as in it hangs out next to me on the bed.
One big bottom, I think this is where my bosoms have gone, they have just migrated south for the rest of my life.

Here are about a million pictures to load and bog down your browser. I am considering Flickr or Picassa. I have not made any decisions yet though.

I just made these wedding announcement for a couple. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent. But I really thought they were cute.

Variation on a theme.

Somosas, they are delightful little pockets of cauliflower, carrots, onions and curry wrapped in phyllo dough; homade roll and a Clif Nectar bar, they are so good; yogurt and frozen blueberries; carrots and celery.

Stuffed green bell pepper; devils food chocolate pudding and frozen raspberries; Macadamia nuts and some gross thing from Hawaii that jj loves; spinach salad with Italian dressing on the side.

Chicken vino bianco (from The Olive Garden); carrots and celery; yogurt and frozen blueberries; cantaloupe.

Steamed rice; Shrimp and veggie chow mien for the rice; nectar bar (yum); pudding and raspberries.

Chicken Cesar wrap from Wingers; pudding and raspberries; pear slices; spinach salad.

I made this for dinner one night. I only cook really well like once or twice a week and I always plan to pre-made or eat out nights into the week. These are from one of the nights I cooked. Salmon skewers on a bed of couscous, grilled zucchini, and lettuce. It was really good, but way to much zucchini was made.

Gentry also likes to watch me cook and he has picked up my habit for organizing food. He has placed our potatoes in the cup holders of the cooler.

This is Gentry kissing his only cousin Lillie.

Don’t some people give you a revolting feeling, like the thought of a paper cut in your eye.