Turning Twenty Pattern

Mom introduced me to the Turning Twenty Pattern. I just can't seem to get my fill of quilting, piecing and creating! It's like I have been starving all my life and someone finally handed me a plate! I wake up in the morning and think about piecing quilts. This one I started the day before coming home from Thanksgiving break. It's ready to be sewn and loved. I like this pattern because after cutting the fabric, it comes together so fast! Love it! Love it!

Go faster!

The other day I was out Christmas shopping and I was pulling through a shopping area where lots of stores were joined together. I was stopped at a sign that resembled a stop sign right outside Kohl's that had snow covering the S-T-O-P part of the sign. In the snow, someone used their finger to write "Go Faster". Oh, how that made me laugh!

Christmas Jars

I just finished a really good book called Christmas Jars. I gave it to someone in the recent passed Christmas. I have never read it until today. It is really good. If you have not had a chance to read it, do. It's an easy read, 150 or so pages that are only about 1/4 if that of a regular size page. It was an enjoyable story. Definitely a uplifting story line. Now I am reading the Second Kingdom and the Crown book titled Come Unto Me. I originally thought there were only two books in this series. I was elated to see there is a third book! I am so ecstatic!

Recent Good Book

I am currently reading a good book I'd like to share with you. The title is "Letters to Emily". The story line is about a man who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's who writes letters to his seven year old granddaughter. It's an uplifting book with cute twists and unexpected turns. If you want just an enjoyable read, find this book.

I have recently fallen in love with family history. It's fun to think we are able to help someone who, first isn't here, secondly, who cannot help themselves. I haven't done a lot, but what I have done proves to be fascination. I sawa quote not too long ago that said:

Family History:

First, curiosity

Then hobby

Next, a passion

Lastly, an addiction

I'm beginning to agree...

First off, I have two posts that I added today. You HAVE to read the one just below this one. It'll make you smile. Well, at least it made me smile.
Anyway-my ward had the opportunity to clean the Salt Lake City Temple last night. We met to clean at 9:45 pm. (I was tired when we started. That's my bedtime!) We vacuumed many rooms and dusted. It was quite a task! You never know how big a room is until you clean it. I have heard that angels dust the lights. Well, I met those angels last night. That was quite an experience.

You Know When...

One of my co-workers came in my classroom the other day and told me what happened to her that day. One of the little boys in her room is known for his stories. No one could have prepared me for this one! She said this little boy came in from recess and said how he gets beat up every day at recess. My co-worker, Lisa, tried to get some details about who it was that did it. The boy would answer, "Um, I really don't know." How can you not see the person who is beating you up? Other boys chimed in, "Yeah, he was beat up." When Lisa inquired who it was, one said "I couldn't really see him. I was watching from afar." What fifth grader says "afar"? Anyway, one other boy said, "Yeah I saw him fly back after getting hit" but he couldn't say who did it. The original boy, the one who gets beat up everyday, said "Well, I fell on my elbows. You know when you fall on your elbows, you don't remember anything." When Lisa told me this, I could hardly contain my laughter! It gets even better. Lisa went on to say not only did the boy say this, he got on the floor and demonstrated how falling on your elbows looks...first one elbow, then the other, lastly you legs go straight up in the air together. Be careful folks, we have a new medical condition on our hands. Don't fall back on your elbows, you could get a serious dose of amnesia!

I LOVE FALL!

I have many reasons why I love fall:

the sound of crunching leaves
smell of the crisp autum air
the beautiful colors of fall: oranges, yellows, golds, browns, cinnamon, reds etc.
kids excitement for halloween (kids including my older sister Angela...you would have thought SHE was born on Halloween and not my Dad!)
the taste of pumpkin

My roommate made a pumpkin soup that I still need to get the recipe for. I did make pumpkin bars the other day that turned out really tasty. Try these out:

Pumpkin Pie Dessert Squares

1 pckg yellow cake mix
1/2 c butter melted
3 C pumpkin
2/3 c milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 t. ginger and 1/2 t. cloves)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c butter softened

Grease bottom 13"x9" pan. Preheat oven to 350. Remove 1 cup of cake mix and set aside. Combine rest of cake mix, 1/2 c melted butter and 1 egg. Press into bottom of pan. Combine pumpkin pie filling, pumpkin pie spice, 2 eggs, and milk in bowl and mix. Pour over crust in bottom of pan. Combine the cake mix that you set aside, 1/4 c. softened butter and cinnamon. Sprinkle over filling. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Cut into squares. Top with whipped cream, ice cream or plain.

I had to cook mine closer to an hour because the pumpkin wasn't done. One way to avoid this is to warm the pumpkin in a sauce pan before putting it in the crust. It's amazing!!

An Artist Eye...or just my eyes...

My rommates and I went to celebrate someone's birthday in our old ward. It was her 30th and it was a huge party. There were lots of people in a small house eating a lovely bread bowl dinner her parents prepared. It was interesting standing in line. My rommate handed me a plate and a napkin. I looked at both. The plate had a green edge with a green and white square pattern around the edge. The napkin had cute lettering wishing happy birthday. I looked at the edge of the plate and the napkin and said out loud how the combination would make a cute card. My rommates began to laugh a bit and said how they never look at a napkin and think card making. They said I had an artists eye. That might be true but I have the memory the size of a mustard seed. I forgot to bring the napkin home with me to transfer to a card!

Symbols of Utah

Utah state bird: California gull (Cali gull for Utah-anyone else find that strange?)
State song: Utah, This is the Place
Utah State flower: Sego lily
Utah State tree: Blue Spruce
Utah State plant and major annoyance to the residents: Goat Head Thorns

I have never seen so many goat head thorns in my life!! I live in an adorable house, have great roommates and a wonderful job, but the shrubbery here is a serious thorn in my side...and feet, and hands, and legs...

It's seriously not uncommon for me to step on a goat head in my house. I pick them out of the carpet frequently. I stepped on two last night in my room, one in the kitchen a few days ago, one on the stairs etc. That is only this week. I have stepped on many in my room over the course of the months I have lived here. I know my shoes aren't tracking them in. I can't figure it out!

The other day I was getting dirt from the yard for a project for my kids. I was wearing my sandals from Jerusalem and was trying to be careful because I knew they were all over in the yard. I was walking back on the driveway and knew in an instant I had stuff on the bottom of my shoes. Little did I know the ENTIRE bottoms of my shoes were nothing but goat head thorns. In fact, I had to find the edge of the driveway to scrape my shoes on to get them off. I wasn't about to get my fingers involved. I already found one in the dirt and my finger throbbed loudly to remind me!
That made me worried about the dirt I wanted to use for my kids. I sifted through the dirt before the kids used it and found none. Luckily, the kids only found one and didn't get stuck by it at all.

My big question is HOW IN THE WORLD DO THEY GET IN MY HOUSE WHEN I STAY AWAY FROM THE EDGE OF THE LAWN WHERE I KNOW THEY ARE THERE? My conclusion is this: we have a thorn mouse who comes and desposits these painful friends as though they grow in my carpet. Seriously.... he has been inequivecably uninvited and is rudely being disowned.

Are you as WISE as a fifth grader?

There is a tv show if you are smarter than a fifth grader. I would like to pose if we are wiser than a fifth grader. One student in my class today said I looked happy and asked why. I told her I just was today, not sure why. She then responded with a phrase I had to write down and share with those who read my blog. She said "You don't have to have a reason to be happy. You do have to have a reason to be sad." That is so true. I have been pondering that all day. We have the good news of the Gospel. We have our lives free to choose what we do with them. I don't have any addictions to abusive substances or actions. I have an education and am not stopping right there. The sun was shining and I have a good job. You don't have to have a reason to be happy-but I do. You do have to have a reason to be sad-but choose not to be because we do have the choice to live otherwise. So, are we as wise as this fifth grader? I sure learned I have a lot to learn from my class.

What is time...

During Relief Society, it is common to introduce and welcome the new sisters and visitors to the ward. This last Sunday was no different. What was different was the amount of new people and visitors that did come. It was crazy! We had people from all over the USA, and even some visitors from Australia and Canada. The strange part was to hear two people introduce themselves as new members of the ward. I recognized both of them. One was a sister from one of my wards back at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg. The other was from the ward I just moved out of in Sandy. It was an interesting experience to think about how the past can quickly become part of the present. Just because someone was once in my ward didn't mean I wouldn't see them again several years later. It reminded me that time doesn't exist for the Lord the way we see it. Past, present and future are as one. I certainly felt that was true last Sunday with my recent past, long ago past and present came colliding together.

Bread and Memories

I have had a very productive Saturday. I got up early and went to work to get lesson plans done for next week. I came home and cleaned house, started laundry then started making bread. While I was reading the directions, I read I needed to put the bread in a warm place covered with a clean towel. This took me back to when we were having Cousin's Week at our house. Katrina and Kelsey were over. Mom had started making bread and put it in the sun. We found out in a funny way where she put the bread to rise. As Kelsey was running out the back door, she stepped on something she wasn't expecting. Mom had put the bowl with the bread dough on the back steps to rise in the sun. There was a foot print of Kelsey's right in the middle of the bowl! Didn't need to knead that one too much!

All I have to say is "Seriously?"

School started August 17, 2009. What a good year this will be. After the first day of school I was relieved. The kids were great, the team I get to work with are wonderful,a curriculum to teach from, the administration is supportive...everything that I didn't have last year. Amazing! I got up Tuesday morning to go to work....swollen glands, sore throat, headache, achy everything, and nasty runny nose. I've been battling that since Tuesday, going to bed by 9, Vitamin C, Airborne, water and all of that business. School started, so did all the sickness that I experienced majority of last year. All I do to respond is shake my head and say "seriously?!". I hope my immune system toughens up each year. This is too early to be starting already. :)

... with an order of humble pie on the side

Do you ever feel like you came to a drive up window and said "I'd like an order of a big new experience" and have the voice on the other end say "...that comes with a big slice of humble pie for free!"? I sure have the past little while. I am looking forward to a year a lot more successful than last year, but am unsure of my grounding to begin. It's been amazing to work with this new team. They have been incredible. The principal emailed me a few days ago just to check on me and to see if there was anything I needed. This was sure different. I have been to more trainings and been given more useful advice than last year. This year, unlike last year, I actually can listen and see where I can impliment it in my room. I know the kids are going to be different than last year for several reasons...age being a big one. These kids are new to each other. This class hasn't ever been together before. I look forward to training them to be "Miss Christensen's class" and not just any fifth grade class. Yahoo!

::To Melvin::

I do not know who you are or how you got this website. I do not want you advertising on my blog. Delete my address from any listings you have. Please do not comment on here again.

Summit

I had an incredible weekend. I attended a Young Single Adult Conference called Summit. All singles in the region were invited to come. It started Friday night with a Luau. They had several Polynesian groups perform. There was traditional dancing and music. This, of course, made me so excited!! Then there was a dance afterward. Saturday was full of workshops. They offered classes ranging from determining the guidance of the Spirit in choosing an eternal companion to finance. I attended two classes in the morning. One was called Holy Envy by Michael Wilcox, an Institute professor at the U. He spoke about being firmly planted in the gospel but finding the truth in other religions. He used the compass as an analogy. The compass (the ones you use in math... not the cordinal directions one) has two legs. One is firmly planted while the other can be extended. I have always been intrigued with religions of the world, and this just made me want to learn more. The next class I attended was a finance class. I was reminded of the promises listed in the scriptures of monetary blessings if we are obedient. The two classes in the afternoon that I attended were on setting goals and the last one was a speaker who had his wife, unborn child and two living children killed in a car accident leaving him with two sons. It was amazing to listen to his journey to forgiveness and healing. I really hope the Lord never asks me to sacrifice something of that nature, but I can see there is a purpose in all things. He is in control. Tonight I went to a fireside of a woman named Jane Clayson Johnson. She wasn't married until she was 36. She was an extremely successful business woman and journalist. She was on the Today show for awhile and the Early Morning show. She was an inspiration to me. This woman spent 18 years being a single adult and did so much good. It helped me to see there was a purpose to all things and the Lord was in charge. My time table is not His time table. Of this I am grateful. I have recently discovered a peaceful acceptance and quiet gratitude for still being single to learn certain lessons now and not later. There are times where I am lonely, but I recognize I am not the person I want to be yet when meeting someone. I have learned things recently that I would not want to learn before getting married. How grateful I am for an all knowing and loving Heavenly Father Who saw my needs being filled another way than what I thought I needed. I just hope to be patient and learn what He needs me to learn. I am so thankful for the perspective the Gospel gives me in my life. I heard a quote today I'd like to share. I don't remember who said it but it says, "The gospel of Jesus Christ is not insurance to prevent pain. It is a resource against (or to deal with) pain." I agree with this statement. What an incredible weekend this was for me and I see that the Lord directed others to teach me things He needed me to understand at this time.

2 Blocks Shy

A little update on my quilt: I have two blocks to create and then I will be ready to sew all the blocks together. It looks so good!! Now, I am in the market for borders. I am excited because I know exactly what I would like for borders. I want 10 inches of borders, which will be comprised of 3-5 different borders stacked on each other. The first border will be a white background, the second will be a red background and it will be smaller than the other two. The red will be just an accent. The last one will be a black background. I can't believe it is almost done!

Easy Tortelini Sausage and Edamame

Here's a real recipe for you Ang!

Easy Tortellini with Edamame and Smoked Sausage
By Short Order Mom
www.family.go.com

Hands-On Time: 30 minutes
Ready In: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings Ingredients
1 pound frozen cheese tortellini (I used cheese ravioli- it was cheaper)
1 cup shelled edamame*
1 cup diced red pepper
1 pound smoked sausage
1/2 cup Italian dressing
Directions
Set 6 quarts of salted water to boil in a large pot.
Meanwhile, chop red pepper and slice the smoked sausage into 1/4 inch-thick rounds.
Stir-fry red pepper and sausage together until heated through -- about 5 minutes.
Add tortellini to boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.
Add edamame to water and boil for another 2 minutes. Drain tortellini and edamame well.
Toss everything together with the Italian dressing and heat through one final time.

As with any pasta dish, it makes a lot. I would drain the oil from the smoked sausage next time. It was pretty oily especially after adding the italian dressing.

Go Figure...

I went on a hike with Jen and a few other friends in Capital Reef. This area is about an hour and half outside of Richfield. This hike was so much fun. It was a total of 5-6 miles. 4-5 miles of it was walking in a river. It was really hot that day, but it was so much cooler because we were hiking in water. At one point, we were sitting eating lunch and could hear the voices of a big group of people up the canyon where we had come. We all noticed the sound and someone said "It sounds like we have a group coming behind us." We sure did. This group came walking down the canyon and we courteously said hello. Then someone yelled "Hey Aimee!" It was a group of people fromy my old ward and one of my current roommates. I had no idea she was coming down this direction that weekend. What a small world! You've got to be careful-you don't know when your little get away in the middle of Capital Reef several miles down a river bed hike will be a place where you will run into a big group of people you know!