Time of Need

I have a test coming up this weekend in my American Epidemic class. I'm really not too worried about it. I'm very familiar with all the material we've been covering in class, have learned it previously in other classes, so hopefully I can do as well as I think I should.

However, I have a chemistry test in about two weeks and my mind shrivels at the thought of preparing for and taking another chemistry exam. 

As I was sitting in Stake Conference yesterday, one speaker shared a quote from a general authority, and it made me think twice about my attitude towards chemistry.

“When your time of need arrives, your time for preparation is over.”

I let the words sink in. I silently scolded myself for being so lackadaisical about my preparations for the exams. I do take the time to look over the review sheets, and I do all of my homework, but that is where my preparation ends. I enter the testing center with a small sliver of confidence and ten minutes into the test, that sliver has splintered into nothingness. My time of need arrives, and I desperately need more time to prepare.

So! I have decided that for this upcoming test, I am going to start preparing today. I am going to look at the review sheet earlier than the day before the test, and I am going to make sure that I completely understand every single concept and how it could be applied to different situations in the ever-so-confusing world of chemistry. 

There are other areas of my life that this can apply to. Maybe I need to be better prepared for someday becoming a mother, or a tragedy with a family member, or a health problem. But the one thing that comes to my mind most of all is being prepared for the Second Coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.
When our time of need arrives, when we need all the spiritual drops of oil in our lamps that we can get, our time of preparation is over. We need to have done the work and the preparation before we need it. Then, when our time of need arrives, it will be a beautiful day.

My Triple Chocolate Cookies

I am the new Ward Music Chair Person for our married student ward. This last Sunday I held Ward Choir Practice and decided that I should bake some cookies for the wonderful people who come to ward choir. So! I made my triple chocolate cookies.

When I was about 15 years old I decided to experiment with baking cookies, and came up with this recipe for triple chocolate cookies that I have tweaked and changed until I think it's just perfect. 

I've decided to share it.  

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup cocoa

2.5 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

                           Milk & white chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until slightly fluffy. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Add chocolate chips and white chocolate chips to desired amount. I usually add about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of each. Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes. 

And that's it! It's a really simple recipe, but absolutely delicious! One of Derek's favorite modifications is to, instead of adding the white chocolate chips, chop up Peanut Butter M&Ms and add those to the cookies. It's delicious!

The recipe can be a little temperamental... guess that's evidence that I am no professional creator of recipes. The dough should be a really nice texture, however sometimes it gets crumbly. If you just work it with your hands, it should turn out fine.

Enjoy with a tall glass of milk!

October 19, 2011

A year ago today my sweet Grandmother passed away. She is still someone that I think about all the time, and I will always remember her quiet laugh and gentle manner.  I wrote this post a year ago in memory of my Grandma.

A Legacy

My Already Frustrating Morning

On Saturday mornings I get out of bed at 8:30 am and brush my teeth. I pull my hair up into a pony tail, put on my exercise clothes, and head out the door looking forward to my Pilates class. This morning was no different.

The exercise pants that I wear every time I go to the Hart to work out are capri length, stretchy black pants. I have worn them every time. 

I parked the car and walked into the Hart, up the stairs, and to the locker room. I approached the counter.

"Hi, can I get a medium shirt please?" I asked very kindly.

The girl looked at me and gave kind of a I-feel-so-bad-for-you smile."No. I'm sorry," she said. "We're going to have to ask you to go home and change. President Clark has asked us not to wear capris or shorts on campus." 

I got confused, looked at the paper she was pointing to, and said, "But I have worn these pants every time I have come to work out and no one has ever said anything before. They're on the poster of approved exercise clothes and I drove here specifically to work out. Is there any way you can give me a shirt? I'll take a warning or something, but my class starts in two minutes."

She kind of laughed. "No, I'm sorry. But you have to go home and change and then come back."

I got angry. "I don't think you understand, I live 10 minutes away and my class is starting now. If I go home, change, come back, get a shirt, change back into my current apparel, and get to my class there will only be 10 minutes left of it."

My plea fell on deaf ears. The only reply I got was, "You have to go home and change before you can get clothing."

I stared at her, amazed at her inability to compromise with me considering I had never heard of this "rule that has been in place for a year now". And I've been going to the Hart at least once a week in the Spring, and four times a week this semester. 

If the scene had played out the way I imagined it, I would have told her how "Ridiculous it is that you can't understand my situation and give me a break just this once. Plus! It's not like I chose to wear these pants so that after I'm done exercising I can walk all around campus breaking the Honor Code. And in all honesty, I really don't think that President Clark would object to this. I drove here. From my home. Ten minutes away from campus. I'm not going to wear jeans and a t-shirt just so that I can change into my exercise clothes right when I get here! That is ridiculous! You are one of those people that makes everyone think that BYU-I is a crazy, strict, awful school. Have a great day."

But instead, I just turned around and walked out. Walked back down the stairs, out the door, and to my car. My Saturday morning was ruined, and it was only 9:04 am. 

Minuet of the Insomniac

I feel like insomnia drives to me the edge of a cliff and just before I'm about to fall off and completely lose it, the rational side of me takes the wheel and steers me to safety. My mind goes through these circles of thought that lead me nowhere but right back where I was when I started: awake and irritated. 

A minuet, by definition, is a social dance from France for two people. Well let me tell you, I dance my own kind of minuet when I cannot seem to fall asleep at night. I feel like there are two different people inside of me.
First - A person who is determined to keep my mind running through different thoughts over and over again, until I am so far past the point of falling asleep that it drives me mad.

Second - A rational person who knows that sleep is necessary for me to function tomorrow in my 7:45 am chemistry class. A rational person who tries to calm my mind down by picturing bright red numbers scrolling by on an imaginary theater screen. 

These two states of mental stability fluctuate back and forth within my mind, and I like to call it the "Minuet of the Insomniac." It's a cute little dance in 3/4 rhythm that eventually makes me so crazy, that I end up looking just as frightening as the poor woman in this cartoon on the right.

Now, I don't really have insomnia. I just have an incredibly fragile and volatile body clock. Once I get on a schedule I have to stay on it or else this happens. I end up awake at 1:00 am while Derek snoozes away beside me. I end up writing a blog post that most likely will be read by no one.

And I end up making ridiculous analogies between an 18th century social dance and my frustration at my lack of sleep. 

Sleep. I need sleep.

Chemistry & Dinner

I'm sitting on the couch studying for my upcoming chemistry exam. It makes me want to get up, start screaming and bang my head against the wall. 

But sadly, I can't.

Anyways, I've put myself on a schedule to get through the review sheet my professor posted and hopefully I will take it either Friday night or Saturday morning. 

And while I'm sitting here studying for chemistry, my husband who has made dinner the past couple nights is in the kitchen whippin' up some dinner. 

I love him.

Our Totally Awesome Halloween FHE

My parents sent us and The Carson's a fun Halloween package! We were sent supplies to make a very fun and cute Halloween decoration. I love crafts! I may not be that fantastic at them, but I think they're a lot of fun and they make me feel productive.

So today Derek and I went and picked our paint colors, came home, did homework, ate dinner, and then got to work!

We decided to put a base coat of black down on the wooden blocks, then once it dried to put on a coat of Crackle.

The Crackle makes it so that when you put the top coat on, it will look aged and the black will come through in little "crackles" to the top. Sorry, that was dumb, but I couldn't think of any other way to say it.

After the crackle dried to the point that it felt a little sticky, we painted the top coats. Derek's looks the best out of all of them because he has much more patience with these types of things than I do. I just want to start the project, go through everything quickly, and have it turn out perfectly!

Sadly, that's not how it works.

But! I still think it looks absolutely adorable.

Derek did this one.

And the finished product with the adorable kitchen towel that was part of our Halloween gift.

Thanks Mom and Dad Thetford for the fun surprise!