lets hope

“Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.”
― John Barrymore

as a man thinketh, so is he...

if that scripture is the literal truth, then i am a violent murderer. or murderess. i guess it doesnt matter. i seriously want to kill someone. someone specific. i was able to plan the details down to the disposal of his body. why do we do what we do to each other? i know that there are plenty of women who are completely selfish and cruel and do evil things, but on this post, i will be talking about selfish and cruel men. i visit teach a woman whose husband has huge addiction issues. like most addicts, he blames everyone but himself. a half a dozen kids didnt slow him down. she is at the end of her rope. she talks about suicide because she just cant handle it anymore. they have been married for 15 years and she has sought the counsel of 5 different bishops. our bishop is number 6. he calls this guy in and now he is mad at HER. typical addict behavior, but still.
i just keep wondering if things are really getting worse or if it just seems that way because i have access to more information about people in the ward. if i wasnt in the rs presidency, i would probably never hear about most of this stuff. its really disheartening and makes me wonder if getting married is really worth it. is that a logical thought process or simply the adversary effectively distracting me from a worthy goal?

i am so going to be COOKING!

i just got the pioneer woman cooks and LET ME TELL YOU, i am going to be cooking up a storm. i am not even half way through browsing the book and there are at least six recipes i am going to try. since i am on a dating hiatus, i am seeing that cooking will be the replacement activity. that and upping my workouts to off set all the taste testing.

burdens

"We all face dangers and hardships, But
there will be 'angels round about you, to bear you up' (D&C 84:88).
They will sustain us as we carry our earthly burdens. Often in our lives,
those angels are the people around us, the people who love us, those who
allow themselves to be instruments in the Lord's
hands.
"President Spencer W. Kimball said, 'God does notice us,
and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he
meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the
kingdom'

Susan W. Tanner, "All Things Shall Work Together for Your Good," Ensign, May 2004, 106)

cooking de ja vu

i am having major blog dejavu. i am making some delicious potato soup and thought i would write up another smc cooks post, but i kept thinking i had done it before. i went to look at previous posts, but couldnt find anything, so here goes...

Copycat Black Angus Baked Potato Soup

6 cups milk
2/3 c flour
2/3 c butter
6 large baked potatoes, cut into cubes
10 slices cooked bacon
1 3/4 c shredded cheese(just about any yellow cheese would work)
8 oz sour cream
chopped green onions to taste(i use 3-4)
1/2 tbs black pepper
1/2 tbs white pepper
3/4 tbs salt(i recommend kosher salt)

melt butter, then add flour to make a roux stir as it cooks for about 1 min.
add milk, once heated through add
cubed potatoes
onion
cheese
sour cream
bacon
salt
pepper
i usually will garnish with a little extra bacon, onions, and sour cream.
this is really a delicious soup and this is the best time of year for this warm your tummy goodness!
i am making bread to go with it, but this recipe is new to me, so i will report on it later. it looks yummy. will see if it tastes as good as it looks.

safety and security

"At . . . moments of crisis and challenge, some choose to abandon
faith just at the time when it most needs to be embraced. Prayer is ignored
at the very hour when it needs to be intensified. Virtue is carelessly
tossed aside when it needs to be cherished. God is forsaken in the
all-too-human yet mistaken fear that He has forsaken us.

"The truth is that our only safety, our only security, our only
hope is to hold fast to that which is good. As the mists of darkness gather
around us, we are only lost if we choose to let go of the iron rod, which
is the word of God."

David S. Baxter, "Faith, Service, Constancy," Ensign, Nov. 2006,

cute video

had cmc top 20 countdown on as background noise while i was doing some cooking and saturday house cleaning. i have heard this song on the radio and its not one of my favorites, but the video turned me around. i dont think i will change the station anymore when it comes on the radio.when they show the 80's transformation, i laughed out loud. i lived through those clothes. that hair. those dance moves.