Comfort Quote

Today I was looking through my scriptures and found this old piece of paper with some of my favorite words on it.  This quote was given to me by a dear friend when I was a senior in high school and I think that it is relevant to everyone (though at some times it is more relevant than others).  It was written by Suzan Lake, my "secret weapon" and one of the best teachers of all time.  

"Never mistake aloneness for loneliness.  In order to grow, you need time away, away from the noises of the world, friends, comfort, and all distractions to find what is important and fulfilling.  These alone moments build character and show the level of patience you are willing to endure to find the Spirit and wrestle with thoughts that tell you you aren't worth anything or you can't do it right.

When you are lonely, you are saying, 'I don't have much meaning in my life.  Someone come and make me happy.  I am unwilling to give because I am feeling sorry for myself.  You, world and all the people I know, are responsible for entertaining me and proving to me that I am worthwhile.'

Change these moments of loneliness into ones of aloneness.  Alone, and all by yourself, do as the Savior taught you to do: serve.  This takes courage and sacrifice of your self-centeredness.  Endure being alone to find that you are loved and have love to give.  That decision made in your heart will bring a glow to you that will attract others to you.  You won't be lonely because you will have yourself, those you give to, and the Savior guiding you through."

Thanks, Suz.

Happy News

I am getting married.

Okay, just kidding.  I'm not.

But I really do have some happy news.  Most of you know that I spent a good portion of the last year of my life working at a treatment center for teenage girls.  It was one of the happiest times of my life but I had to leave because my health wasn't allowing me to work the rigorous schedule anymore.  Well, I still hear from the girls every once in a while and today I got got an invitation from one of the girls who "transitioned" (or, essentially, graduated), from the program.  It was in invitation to her BAPTISM.  I am so excited.  I just had to say something about it!

Moab, Arches, Potash, Beyond.

We went to Moab this weekend and stayed at a campsite called Goldbar.  The boys biked Slickrock while we explored/hiked/rock climbed Friday and we hiked the Fiery Furnace as a group on Saturday.  It was a lot of fun.  Here are some pictures.

Thanks again, Bob.

Robert Marshall is a pretty funny guy.  He is also very wise.  But today he was being really really funny.  He said some things that I thought I should share with you.

"That's when The Gods kick back and eat their grapes and say, 'Good job.  That world is gonna be okay.'"

"Get prepared to spend your life being annoyed with yourself."

Both of these quotes came up while he was critiquing some pretty bad paintings from our class.  The first was talking about some of the very few good things going on in front of us.

Moab Invitational

So, this weekend should be a good one because we are going camping in Moab.  We were originally going to camp in Lake Powell, but there was a little too much fuss about not having a boat for Rachel and I to handle.  So, we changed the location to avoid said murmuring.

I made a funny little note to inform the boys of tentative plans:

MOAB TRIP

5/30/08-5/31/08

Dear Benny, Grandpa, Pablo, and Baloo:

       Congratulations!  You have been chosen to participate in this weekend's camping trip.  You have demonstrated a level of accomplishment that indicates you could excel in the wilderness.  We urge you to now redouble your efforts in order to realize your potential as wild men.  Being chosen to go on this trip does not automatically ensure a good time, nor does it guarantee your survival skills will improve.  We encourage you to work closely with the girls in K11 and each other as you work toward being crowned "Kings of the Wild".

       Please note that in order to participate in this weekend's activities you must complete the following tasks:

1) Calculate the total number of male specimens planning to attend this event.  Get this number to Missy & Rachel ASAP.

2) Collaborate amongst yourselves to formulate plans for breakfast and lunch (for the decided amount of people) for Saturday, May 31, 2008.

3) Take inventory of your camping gear.  Do you need a tent?  For how many people?  Let us know NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY EVENING (May 28, 2008).

4) If you want to do other activities (mountain biking, fishing, etc.), pack your own supplies.

5) Meet at K11 at 8:00 am the morning of Friday, May 30, 2008.  We can check into our campsite at 12:00 noon.

6) You guys are cool.

       The girls in K11 are in charge of Friday's lunch and dinner and will provide snacks to munch on throughout the trip.  It is possible that a car will be leaving later on Friday if you are interested.  Our group will be leaving the Moab area Saturday night.  The campsite will cost $55 and be split between 8-10 people depending on the number of people coming.  We will divide up the total as soon as we know who will be joining us.

       Once again, congratulations and we look forward to seeing your continued development.

Sincerely,

Missy Johnson

Liaison for K11

Fun Weekend :)

This weekend was super fun!  We went camping out by Grantsville (WHY didn't I know about that area?  It has some of the best campsites I have been to in a while), and set up our tents along a beautiful little stream.  It was so much fun.  We tried to go fishing but It didn't really work because Aaron somehow managed to forget his pole and I didn't have Beesh's reel.  We shot guns and hiked and ate.  It was definitely memorable.  Here are some pictures:

Fun, right?  Here are a few things from this weekend that are notable/worth mentioning:

1) I shot a truck.  Awkward.

2) Rachel and I woke up at 5 am (I'll admit that it's a little earlier than we usually do while camping, but not much), and of course everyone and their dog was still asleep.  So, what did we do?  We hiked to the top of the nearest mountain, took some pictures, and went back to our campsite.  Nobody was awake yet.

3) When we got back to the campsite we found an axe and started throwing it at trees trying to see if we could make it stick.  Nobody succeeded, but a Smart Water was definitely in line for anyone who did.  Aaron finally came out after we had been doing this for quite a while (we are easily entertained).

4) Tonight "the boys" cooked us steak dinner with grilled corn on the cob.  Um...so good!  They lost a bet last week (we were playing Set and absolutely slaughtered them so they owed us).  Anyway, I want to grill corn for the rest of my life instead of boiling it.

5) It was just a happy and fun weekend.  AND I get to go to the cabin tomorrow.  I can't wait!

Please Make This For Someone You Love

So Rachel and I made our first cheesecake the other day.  It was amazing.  I'm so serious.  I think everyone needs to make this cheesecake (especially Becca, because when I was telling Tyler about it on the phone the other day he was drueling).

BLACKBERRY CHEESECAKE

Crust:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup butter

1 tbs cinnamon

Filling:

3 (8 0z) packages cream cheese

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

Topping:

3/4 cups sour cream

3 tbs sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 jar blackberry jam

2 little box things of fresh blackberries

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325* F.  Combine crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and (melted) butter.  Press onto the bottom of a springform pan.  Whip cream cheese.  Add eggs, one at a time, whipping after each addition.  Gradually add sugar and whip.  Pour over crust.  Bake for 45 minutes (we put the pan on a cookie sheet with about 1/2 inch of water.  It helps retain moisture so that the cake doesn't crack [that would be ugly]).  Whip sour cream, sugar, and vanilla.  Pour on top of baked cake and bake for 10 more minutes.  Remove and chill for at least 6 hours.  When ready to serve, mash one box of blackberries.  Heat jam and add mushy berries and pour over the top.  Then you can make it pretty with the whole berries.  And yes, I called them mushy.

Anyway, friends, this is a recipe you seriously must try.  Not that I really got to eat it.  But trust me, when I figure out a gluten-free crust, I will eat an entire cake on my own.  Until that time I will just have to dabble in the memory of the amazing filling and berries.