I once wrote a poem that began, "Patience is a virtue I fear I don't possess." That was several years ago, but I'm not sure how far I've come since then. For instance, when I drop Megan off at the high school (just across the street from the little road which leads to the church) after Seminary. Today, a car stopped in front of me to let off a student...and the girl just kind of stood there in the road, as if she was figuring out what to do next. Then, she sauntered leisurely across the road. There isn't really urgency for me to get home now that Ken takes Jonathan to the airport, but that California girl in me hasn't completely shed it's impatience. I wanted to roll down my window and yell, "The Zombie Apocalypse is coming! Run for your lives!" to try and get her to move! I repressed the urge and - eventually - she made her way to the opposite side of the street, but really.
Ken decided tonight to take us all to dinner (we need to stop that) because we hadn't celebrated my birthday as a family. I was happy with how my birthday had turned out with the great trip and all, but how do you say "no" to loving reasoning, such as it was? So we drove to Lawton to go to a place called "The Santa Fe Cattle Company." It was really a fun place; the decor made me chuckle every time I turned around. The foyer area, before entering the main restaurant, included in it's decorations the rear ends of a deer and a raccoon. That was funny enough, but when you went inside, you got the other side of the animals, decorated in competing OU & OSU gear. Wires were strung across the ceiling and stuffed pigeons sat there. The hugest ceiling fan I've ever seen - the blades were longer than I am tall - rotated slowly. A stuffed bandit armadillo was being chased by a cowboy armadillo outfitted with a tiny black hat and holster. Part of the fun, too, was peanuts in the shell, the inedible part therewith ending up on the floor.
The food was pretty good, too. You can imagine, their specialty is steak, but they had ribs and fajitas too. I ordered a nice glass of raspberry lemonade (not too sweet), but they had flavors in strawberry, peach, and mango as well. I think only Analiese had chicken (she's a chicken fingers/strips aficionado), Ken had a steak, I had sirloin tips prepared like a fajita, but without the tortilla and a sweet potato with cinnamon butter (Oooh!). Jonathan, per his norm, ordered the biggest, baddest hamburger he could find, loaded with bacon, cheese, fried onions, fried jalapeños, pickles, and fresh red onion, plus some roasted potatoes with onion and peppers. It was good food, and very filling, but Ken insisted we - just this once - get dessert to make up for the fact that I hadn't had a birthday cake. His actual words were, "I hope they have chocolate cake on the dessert menu for my wife's birthday." I rejoined that Who was the chocolate cake for??? You know Ken & chocolate. And I actually ordered the only thing that didn't have chocolate on it, banana cheesecake stuffed tortillas with caramel sauce. Yeah, that sounds good, doesn't it? But I didn't eat it until long after we were home. Too full!
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
I've been meditating lately, working on trying to reduce stress and inflammation levels. In Hank Smith's talk at TOFW, he had listed 10 things that science noted that happy people do. One was meditation. Check - I'd just started a couple of weeks ago. The second was that they spend at least 20 minutes outside (not in a car, but with the sky overhead) daily. So today I combined the two. I meditated outside for at least twenty minutes. I put myself in the shade of my big pecan tree (cooler) and let the breeze and sound of chirping birds wash over me. It was really nice.
Elder Scott died today. That's three Apostles to pass away this year. Now, not to be flippant about the death of a man of God, but when Ken came to the livingroom to say he'd read on Facebook that Elder Scott had died, Jonathan scoffed skeptically that we shouldn't believe everything we see on Facebook. I knew Elder Scott had been frail and ill, lately, so it wasn't a shock or surprise. And the devil within me said wickedly to my son that if I found it announced at least five times on Facebook, would he consider it credible? So, I looked it up. One, two, three, four, five...eight...eleven! One was from Mary Ellen Edmunds, one of the TOFW speakers, as was Brad Wilcox! And then there was the Church's Facebook page and the Mormon newsroom. Can we believe it now, Jonathan? He did not find me amusing. Ken did.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Seminary started with the kids noticing the gap in the Apostles - again. Elder Scott's family and friends are in our prayers, as is the prophet and those who will be called to fill the vacancies in the Apostleship. A lot of lives are going to change very soon!
Apparently the church grounds are a sanctuary for wildlife. I've seen our little cottontail friend on the lawn many mornings and, this evening as I was picking up Analiese from YW, I saw a little froggie. Maybe 2 inches long. Very tiny. Cute.
Thursday, September, 24, 2015
Jonathan convinced me to take him to Lawton today so he could go to Institute. That's okay, I needed to get some stuff from Hobby Lobby (more poster stickies because I have to redo the pictures of the Apostles above the chalkboard) and Sam's Club (normal stuff + DP for the Rabbit Club and the Chili Cookoff next week). I tell you, skunks are stupid. I saw at least ten smooshed on the road going toward Lawton. Rabbits are smarter, I've only every seen ONE dead one by the side of the road. When Analiese and I were driving to and from Texas last week, it was dead 'dillos. Who can say?
I DID see a live skunk today, too. Driving towards the Stake Center (where Institute was being held), I saw a skunk lumber (they are not graceful creatures) over the road, onto the sidewalk, and into the parking lot of an auto dealership. I wonder, how do they get skunk smell off of a car? Hard to sell stinky cars!
Friday, September 25, 2015
I spent most of my day today working on a cake. Yep, a lot of time. And not just any cake, but a Pina Colada Tres Leches cake for the Latino party at the church tonight. It started with me cutting and finely chopping a fresh pineapple - what a mess! Next time, I'd use crushed pineapple; let them do all the work! It was one of those cakes: splitting the yolks from the whites, putting the whites in all foamy later - it made for a light cake. But no so fast! After baking and cooling, then I had to poke it all over (get rid of excess frustration) and pour the three leches - Coconut milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk with flavorings (No, I did not use rum. Just rum extract. Really!) over the cake and let it sit for THREE HOURS to soak in. That probably took most of my day, so I really wasn't that busy with the cake in the afternoon.
No, my afternoon was busy with my daughter, planning out the YW activity she's in charge of this Wednesday. They're having a Spa Night and thank goodness for Pinterest! The more ideas we found, the more excited we got...it's going to be a fun night!
Speaking of nights, the fun was going to begin at the church soon. So it was time to take the cake out of the fridge and whip up some whipping cream to frost the cake. Now, I can make yummy desserts, but I am not one to make pretty cakes. But I had some pieces of pineapple left over, some maraschino cherries, and some toasted coconut flakes (did you know you can buy them like that at the store? Sweet!) which I strewed all over the whipped cream. And then I made it less pretty by cutting a piece out of it to leave at home for hubby. He was working...he deserved a piece, too!
The party was announced to start at six. Well, count in Mormon Standard Time and Hispanic Standard Time, and you'd be lucky if it started by seven! We got there at 6:15, and about a quarter to seven, we started. They had decorated the room with Mexican and Chilean decor (two different sisters in charge, two different countries). The food was diverse, too, bringing back mission memories. Sister Box's enchiladas reminded me of my Mexican comp, Hermana Felix, and hers. The rice with the vegetables was just like I'd have many times over at members' homes. And the horchata! Can't have a party without it! I was in love! We also brought a couple bottles of Senorial Sangria (grape soda) from Mexico, which we also love, but I only had eyes for horchata. It was that same Hna. Felix who introduced me to that!
After dinner, there were musical presentations (the Chilean sister's mother was visiting from Chile and played and sang some Chilean songs), a pinata (Oh, the chaos!), and then dancing. Because, it can't be a Latino party without dancing! That was what Analiese looked forward to all day and was not disappointed. Little Miss Perpetual Motion loves to dance! Are you surprised?
We went home a little later, tired but happy, and with a plate of food for Ken. It has a Chilean empanada on it. He always talks about empanadas from his mission. I wonder what he'll think of it?
Saturday, September 26, 2015
I woke up, looked at the clock, and panicked. "Ken, it's 9:15! We have to get up for church!" He mumbled something about it being Saturday, not Sunday, and rolled over. Ooops. Sorry, honey.
After that great start, I got the kids through Devotional and on to their chores so that I could get to work on this week's Seminary lessons. Friday was my big focus as I planned for our special General Conference preview. This is going to be a special/unusual conference, and I want the kids prepped, eager, and ready for it. I ran across (Thanks again, Pinterest) some really great conference ideas, so I'm excited.
Dinner made Jonathan happy. I don't make it often, but he loves Tater Tot casserole. Analiese and I stuck him with the dishes, though, as we went off to General Women's Conference at the church. Sure, we could watch it at home, but it's more fun (and there's goodies) with the sisters.
I don't know why, but my two Seminary girls wanted to sit next to me. On the other side of me, of course. Analiese had one side for herself. But it warmed my heart that they wanted to be with me. I'm not just that pesky, persistent teacher. Got the message girls: I love you, too.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Normal church day today, but we had to hurry home so that Analiese and I could get over to WOSC for the 4H Awards Reception there. Analiese was recognized in three clubs (Rabbit, Sewing & Food Science) and received an outstanding award for the Rabbit Club.
No comments:
Post a Comment