Christmas Greeting

Muppet Christmas Song

Someday...

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about someday, someday I want to or someday I am going to… I even added a list of somedays to the side of my blog. After doing so, I kept thinking about someday, and I have decided that there are two types of somedays. The first, things that we want to do, but find ourselves procrastinating. What a dreadful word! I hate when I find myself procrastinating. We all do it, but that is no excuse. The second: opportunities we have not yet had. So, what are the reasons for this not yet having? Well, usually it is a lack of resources such as time, money, means, etc. On occasion the reason we have not accomplished certain goals is a combination of these two.

My incomplete list of somedays found on the side of this blog {Which is subject to change as I think of more things or decide there is something else I’d rather do instead.} is primarily a list of skills I want to acquire or places I want to visit. These are all good things that I really want to do, but I have another list of somedays. Before I share this list I want to point out that it may appear to be a list of complaints. I do not mean this to be such, merely another list of opportunities that I look forward to someday having. Someday I want to have a home to manage and time to manage it. I want to do laundry because it is in the hamper, not because I need something to wear tomorrow, or because I have to do laundry now as I will not be home long enough to do it for days. I want to find the bottom of the laundry hamper every time I do laundry. I want to have time to iron everything before I hang it in the closet. I want to be home early enough in the day to fix a meal that takes longer than thirty minutes, and set a table that compliments such a meal. I want to have a menu in mind when I go grocery shopping. I want to develop {or just revise Martha Stewart’s to suit my needs…} and follow a schedule of checklists: clean daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and seasonally. Maybe I am crazy, but I like to read and study about the days when keeping a home was both a full time job that was respected and an art. I realize that even those I know who have the opportunity to manage a home do not have the time to do all of these things as I find them described in my books. The mother with the newborn baby or the mother who is running her children to ballet and soccer does not find the bottom of her hamper and does not have the time to cook elaborate meals every day. And I realize that this is a list of tasks that become just as mundane as any other tasks that have to be accomplished on a routine basis. It is work, after all. But this second incomplete list is of a few things that are important to me. Maybe if I were more organized, I could live this way now… I just don’t feel like I have the time. I do not want to sound ungrateful for the opportunities I have had, and do have. I am grateful to have a good job that eats up so many hours of my day. It is what will allow me to eventually buy a home to manage. And hopefully someday I will have the opportunity to have someone remind me I made this blog post!

This I Believe...

At church I am in the Young Women’s organization as a teacher of the 12-13 year olds. Recently, everyone in Young Women's was asked to write a “This I Believe” statement. What is this statement? My sister-in-law got the idea from a friend who had each of her girls write a statement “based off of a 1950s radio series hosted by acclaimed journalist, Edward R. Murrow, which was revived by NPR in 2005.”(Stacey’s Blog) I appreciate having had this opportunity to reflect and compose a statement of my beliefs. Here is mine:

Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, love me and know me individually.

Heavenly Father has a custom-tailored plan designed especially for me. He knows my strengths and He knows my weaknesses. He wants to teach me how to be like Him so that I can be worthy to return to live with Him. He knows the desires of my heart, and He wants to bless me with my righteous desires. He will do so according to His plan. He wants me to find joy and happiness in this life.

Heavenly Father has blessed me with knowledge that this is so. My Father in Heaven has blessed me with this understanding as I have looked to see His hand in my life. When I look to see His hand, I discover how He has blessed me.

Heavenly Father has blessed me with a family that loves me and sacrifices for me, and He has blessed me with the opportunity to have this family forever. He has blessed me with parents who love Him and serve Him in their stewardship as parents, as well as in their church callings. They serve with everything they have. He has blessed me with siblings who have watched over and defended me. He has provided me with two more sisters and another brother, through the marriages of my siblings, who strive to live as they know they should. He has provided me with nieces and a nephew who comfort me and fill my life with their sweet smiles. He has blessed me with Grandparents who think of me and pray for me. He has provided me with uncles, aunts and cousins who care for me. In my family, I am abundantly blessed.

Heavenly Father has blessed me with church membership. He has blessed me with living prophets to lead and guide me. He has blessed me with the scriptures where I can turn to study and ponder His words and the words of His prophets. He has blessed me with the opportunity to kneel in prayer so I can counsel with Him daily. He has blessed me with men in my life, both in my family and many of my close associates, who respect and honor their opportunity to bear the priesthood and to serve others with it. He has blessed me with special experiences that witness the truth of the gospel and show His love for me. He has blessed me with the opportunity to attend the temple and receive further knowledge in His holy house.

Heavenly Father has also blessed me by sending me here to live in this wonderful country where we have so many freedoms. He has surrounded me with precious friendships that strengthen and build my testimony as well as friendships that provide support in times when I have been far away from my family. He has blessed me with many opportunities to see qualities in others that I want to develop. He has blessed me with opportunities to serve so I can learn to love His children as He does. He has blessed me with opportunities to learn both at school and through life’s experiences. He has blessed me with challenges to help me grow in strength and in faith. He has blessed me with many successes, in spite of previous failures. Heavenly Father has even blessed me in my failures for they have humbled me and made me more teachable and more willing to submit to His will. He has blessed me in my efforts as I strive to live as I know I should. He has blessed me with understanding; with opportunities to see His hand in my life.

Most importantly, Heavenly Father blessed me by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to live a life of perfect example. His Son is my perfect example of humility, of strength, of kindness, of meekness, of justice, of mercy, of patience, of charity, of sacrifice, and of love. This perfect Son bled from every pore in the Garden of Gethsemane so He could know all of my pains, my sufferings, my sicknesses, and my sorrows. He did this so He could succor me with His perfect love. Jesus Christ bled and died so I could be blessed with the opportunity to repent and overcome my weaknesses. He bled, died, and lives again so it would be possible for me to become worthy to one day return and live in Heavenly Father’s presence.

This I believe… I am known and loved by my Father in Heaven and by His Son, Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father has blessed me with everything that I am and everything that I have. He desires to bless me through the atonement with all He has promised, if I am persistent in my efforts to live as I know I should and if I am patient. As I live according to His commandments, I will find joy and happiness.

Shades of Pemberley

This last week the house was empty except for Peter and me. Since I struggle with learning new things where there is an audience, I decided to pick something from my three page hand written {one page typed in the smallest font with two columns} list of “needed improvements to self” complied last January that, due to the nature of the task, an audience is usually unavoidable when acquiring. Peter, dear furry friend, does not count, at least as a music connoisseur or critic. I decided to turn to the piano for my entertainment instead of the TV in those mini moments of downtime such as when I was waiting for my dinner to finish baking and again at that time of the night when it is too early to go to bed, even for me. I was inspired to get out my sheet music from the movie Pride and Prejudice (2005) after talking with my cousin Stephanie. Using the method to gage the difficulty of a song taught to me by my Mom {If the page is primarily black, it is hard.}, I selected the song with the least amount of black as well as the fewest sharps and flats. {Too bad the last page has six flats, but I can do it.} It happened to be my favorite song from the movie titled The Living Sculptures of Pemberley. I have to thank my Mom for teaching me to love the piano. I still remember listening to her play at night after she had tucked us all in bed. And she tried to get me to play when I was younger, too, but I was stubborn, surprise. Thankfully there is such a thing as a violin. It worked much better. And it helped that after two weeks of private lessons with the sweetest orchestra teacher ever I joined the second violin section of the Junior High School orchestra. I love a challenge. And of course all of the private lessons with additional teachers had to have helped significantly, too! Thanks to the foundation in music provided by my Mom and Dad, I can be pleased with my progress this week. Though for now, it is probably best that I am content to be a practice room performer. Especially since there are too many grand pauses while I try to determine what that next note to be played by the left hand is supposed to be. Ah, the woes of a violinist attempting the piano… silly bass clef. But if I relearn the bass clef, maybe there will be a cello in my future? Hum, that would be fun! Then again, maybe I should just worry about the piano for now… yes!

I have had The Living Sculptures of Pemberley running through my head all week. This, of course makes me think of my favorite part of the whole movie, the scene in which said song is featured. {Sorry Jane Austen… your story is wonderful, and the movie was well filmed, but…} I absolutely love the marble sculpture {no, not Darcy} of the girl with the veil over her face. I have to confess that when I rewind any portion of that movie it is this scene only… to see that sculpture again. So I looked the sculpture up online {I refuse to Bing, who would “Bing” when you can Google? Wow that sounds a bit Mr. Elton-ish. Not my role model, but I guess I can be a bit ridiculous, too.} Here is what I discovered: It is the Veiled Vestal Virgin by Raffaele Monti, Marble, 1847. It was commissioned by the sixth Duke of Devonshire. And a little more information if you are interested: [Raffaele Monti: (1818-1881) was born in Milan, Italy. He studied under his father the noted sculptor Gaetano Matteo Monti. By way of Vienna and Milan, he came to London in 1848, and settled there. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, and Monti soon earned recognition for his piece for the Duke of Devonshire, the "Veiled Vestal." A bust based on this work, cast in Parian porcelain by Copeland, was issued in 1861 by the Crystal Palace Art Union. Monti produced sculptures working in marble, but he also created in metals, porcelain, marble and remained active in the applied arts. (Wikipedia)] [Vestial virgins: In Ancient Rome, the vestal virgins were the virgin holy female priestesses of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. Their primary task was to maintain the sacred fire of Vesta. The vestal duty brought great honor and afforded greater privileges to women who served in that role. They were the only female priests within the Roman religious system. Their tasks included the maintenance of the fire sacred to Vesta, the goddess of the hearth and home, collecting water from a sacred spring, preparation of food used in rituals and caring for sacred objects in the temple's sanctuary. (Wikipedia) {What I do not understand is why they were ‘unmarried’ when they kept the hearth and home for Rome… unless of course, the Romans feared the results of having more than one hen in the hen house.}] [William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire: (21 May 1790 – 18 January 1858), styled Marquess[sic] of Hartington until 1811, was a British peer, courtier and Whig politician. Known as the "Bachelor Duke", he was Lord Chamberlain of the Household between 1827 and 1828 and again between 1830 and 1834. (Wikipedia)]

I think it is funny that the former Lord Chamberlain of the Household would commission a sculpture of a Vestial priestess.

These photographs, though lovely, of the Vestial priestess do not give quite the same effect as the video, but they will have to suffice until I can get to Chatsworth to see her in person:

Santa Parade

Yesterday I went to the Santa Parade with Stacey, Madilyn, Emma and Garrett. It was cold, but fun! It was fun to see the bands and the old tractors. Madilyn and Emma loved the princesses and the carriage. I think Stacey was with me... the bands were the best!

{Ok, Stacey... Here is yet another post about something I went to with you, but I have no photo of you. Yes, your kiddos are cute, but so are you. I think I owe you an enitre post... can I take your picture sometime?}

City of Angels

I went to Scott and Gale's wedding in Los Angeles.

It was beautiful.

What wonderful people they are.

And it was fun to visit the Los Angeles Temple.

It, too, was beautiful.

Such a wonderful day!

Oh, Christmas Tree

Here are a few pictures for this year's tree hunt:

Twice Baked Brownies?

Each month I try to take a little something to book group. I love an excuse to eat a treat, don't you? This month since we read Christmas stories I thought it would be fun to bake mint brownies. What can be more Christmas-y than mint; after all it is what makes candy canes! Or is that the sugar? Either way I was covered. So I stopped by the store on my way home from work and picked up a brownie mix, canned frosting (I know, I never do this, but...) and some peppermint patties. I hurry home; turn on the oven and start mixing. Then I chopped up the peppermint patties and mix them in too. Yum. Put the brownies in the oven and wait... After they have been in the correct amount of time according to the box, I check them with a toothpick one inch from the edge as directed. They did not seem done, so I put them back in the oven. Wait. Check them again. Good to go. I pull them out and put them on a cooling rack. Fix dinner, get ready, time to frost the brownies. I open the can of frosting and dump a huge glob right in the middle of the brownies and start to spread it. Much to my chagrin I discover that the entire center of the brownies is still raw. In my frustration, I stirred the whole mess up into this distasteful looking paste of cooked brownie, raw brownie, gooey mint chunks, and frosting in preparation for the dump into the garbage. Then I looked up at the clock. With only four minutes until time to be to Karah's, I grab the rest of the peppermint patties, dumped them in a Christmas bowl and leave the disgusting mess right where it sat on the counter. {And I had been frustrated that I had not thought to put crushed candy canes on top as a garnish until too late... silly me.} Book group was lovely. Then I returned home... and decided to toss the brownie mess back into the oven. About thirty minutes later I took them out and sat them on the counter. This morning I got up and tried one for breakfast. {The rest of my breakfast was super healthy, I promise!} Not as bad as I thought. The edges were a bit overdone, they were a bit too rich, they were not pretty to look at, but all things considered still a decent chocolate mint fix. However, I do not see myself making them again. I really think twice baked is for potatoes. And next time I make mint brownies I will just make sure they "really" are done before I take them out to cool, like the many other times I have made them. Silly one inch from the edge test...