Monday, June 21, 2010
Quick update
Just a quick FYI: Finals are over (and there was much rejoicing!), and the wedding was perfection incarnate. I have never been to/part of a smoother production. It was wonderful, especially because it was also the biggest one I have ever been to, with 250 people. The wedding cake (4 teirs=264 servings, close to 80 pounds of confection), had only about 30 servings left, which is a miracle in and of itself. The first two layers (10 inch and 12 inch, respectively) were cut, served and demolished in a record 15 minutes because cake provider E, boyfirend M, and myself became cake serving demons. I was very grateful for the entire crew, the DJ, and how much Heavenly Father blesses us with what we earnestly pray for. It was a great party, and a fantastic weekend.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Hi-diddly-weddings-ho
Hi ho hi ho weddings away! In a recent tally of existence, it seems that my life has been taken over by two things: preparations for finals, and weddings. LOTS of weddings. After helping out with a wedding in March and one in May, I have graduated to full blown strawboss-hood. In just under two weeks, I get to take on a big wedding reception as the main person in charge. I am really excited about this! It’s the kind of situation where I figuratively crack my knuckles and say “Bring it ON!” The main stress about this is that it is directly after finals week. I have finals M-Th, and then wedding stuff on Friday and Saturday. It’s going to be a crazy busy week, but I look forward to being able to help a couple that I love very much.
That is one part of the wedding-y-ness in my life. Another couple that I love dearly is getting married in July. I have been aquanted with the bride for two years, and very close friends with the groom for a year. He and I saw each other through some of the nastiest, bottom-of-the-barrel, romance mill emotion that has come into our respective lives. That he is marrying an incredible woman who treats him like the amazing man he is, makes me extremely happy. I love happy endings! Life will not be easy for them to begin with, but I have seen what they are capable of dealing with, and they will be guided through it. I count it a high honor that I have been asked to help as these people that I care for deeply begin their lives together.
That is one part of the wedding-y-ness in my life. Another couple that I love dearly is getting married in July. I have been aquanted with the bride for two years, and very close friends with the groom for a year. He and I saw each other through some of the nastiest, bottom-of-the-barrel, romance mill emotion that has come into our respective lives. That he is marrying an incredible woman who treats him like the amazing man he is, makes me extremely happy. I love happy endings! Life will not be easy for them to begin with, but I have seen what they are capable of dealing with, and they will be guided through it. I count it a high honor that I have been asked to help as these people that I care for deeply begin their lives together.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Hippie-dom!
It has been driven home to me recently that I am such a hippie! And I love it! Case in point: At age 20, I am attending massage therapy school to learn both something I am gifted at and also a marketable skill so I can afford to learn about my some other passions. Things like home birth/breastfeeding/midwifery and related topics, acupuncture, herbalism, self-sufficiency, gardening, food storage, pottery, spa treatments, biology, relaxation, meditation, health by choice not chance, nutrition, communication, people, geology, and taking care of what God has given me. Just to name a few.
I would love to learn how to knit/crochet more than the scarves and beanie hats I know right now. I want to experiment with making my own bread out of more than just wheat flour. There are lots of different types of flour (oat, corn, bean, nut, and buckwheat all spring to mind) that could make all sorts of interesting types of bread.
There are so many things to learn about! Right now, I am reading a book about the facts of modern obstetrics (Pushed, by Jennifer Block). On my reading to-do list is “The Widow Cliquot,” which is about the woman who wrested control of her late husband’s champagne company in the early 19th century and became such a pivitol figure that she is known as “La Veuve” or “The Widow” in France today. Also on the list are “Saying no to vaccines” and “Fashion since 1900.”There is also one about the uses for human cadavers that I want to find. Eclectic? Without a doubt. Bizarre? Possibly, depending on how conventional your personal opinions are. Fascinating? Absolutely. I love learning about all sorts of crazy stuff. That is why I am here!
More importantly, I want to help people understand how much potential they have and how to use it. I want to be the kind of person people automatically trust. To borrow a quote by someone I can’t remember, I want to “live in such a way that people who do not know God come to know Him because they know me.”
I would love to learn how to knit/crochet more than the scarves and beanie hats I know right now. I want to experiment with making my own bread out of more than just wheat flour. There are lots of different types of flour (oat, corn, bean, nut, and buckwheat all spring to mind) that could make all sorts of interesting types of bread.
There are so many things to learn about! Right now, I am reading a book about the facts of modern obstetrics (Pushed, by Jennifer Block). On my reading to-do list is “The Widow Cliquot,” which is about the woman who wrested control of her late husband’s champagne company in the early 19th century and became such a pivitol figure that she is known as “La Veuve” or “The Widow” in France today. Also on the list are “Saying no to vaccines” and “Fashion since 1900.”There is also one about the uses for human cadavers that I want to find. Eclectic? Without a doubt. Bizarre? Possibly, depending on how conventional your personal opinions are. Fascinating? Absolutely. I love learning about all sorts of crazy stuff. That is why I am here!
More importantly, I want to help people understand how much potential they have and how to use it. I want to be the kind of person people automatically trust. To borrow a quote by someone I can’t remember, I want to “live in such a way that people who do not know God come to know Him because they know me.”
Monday, May 3, 2010
It's not about ME!
I have been pondering about things like opinions, youth, optimism, idealism, passion for life, and acceptance. For instance, one could say that I am an innocent, stupid-in-love 20 year young idealist and I have no idea what life is about or how hard it can be. That is a fair point. I am all of those things. As my return argument, I would say: Why is that a bad thing? Isn’t the beauty of youth our optimism? I firmly believe that if we knew at 20 what we know at 80, no one would want to live that long. Or go through all of that. Being young is all about not knowing that you can’t do the impossible.
On a related token, yes, I am an idealist. I have no desire to settle for “whatever floats down the river of life.” Eww, yuck! I think often about having a strong, loving marriage in the future. I imagine laughter, lots of learning, self sufficiency, commitment, and yes, happiness. I think about continuing my education to become an herbalist, a midwife, a homeopathic/naturopathic doctor, and lots of other things. I see myself going back to Italy, and everywhere else. I do not think it is a silly thing to know what you want in life. If you don’t know, how will you work towards it? Heavenly Father put us on Earth to gain experience. And also, “…Men are that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25) Yes, life can be hard. Yes, there will be times when we wonder if it is really worth it. I confidently believe that it IS worth going through all the bad to get to the good.
The two things we get to take with us when we die are knowledge and relationships. If that is not incentive to work on those things, I do not know what is! I have my mental weak spots (mathematics and physics, anyone?) but I am also pulling a 3.9 GPA in my college courses at the moment. I know I am intelligent and I learn fairly easily. The more knowledge I gain in mortality, the better off I will be in the eternities. Relationships (family, friends, spouse or significant other, etc) can be the most joyful, rewarding experiences that we have, or the cause of the most pain and anguish. I am a gung-ho advocate for good communication, frequent loving words and actions, selfLESSness, and forgiveness. It is possible to have functional, loving relationships if we are just willing to work for them. My motto has become “It’s not about ME! It’s about you.”
On a related token, yes, I am an idealist. I have no desire to settle for “whatever floats down the river of life.” Eww, yuck! I think often about having a strong, loving marriage in the future. I imagine laughter, lots of learning, self sufficiency, commitment, and yes, happiness. I think about continuing my education to become an herbalist, a midwife, a homeopathic/naturopathic doctor, and lots of other things. I see myself going back to Italy, and everywhere else. I do not think it is a silly thing to know what you want in life. If you don’t know, how will you work towards it? Heavenly Father put us on Earth to gain experience. And also, “…Men are that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25) Yes, life can be hard. Yes, there will be times when we wonder if it is really worth it. I confidently believe that it IS worth going through all the bad to get to the good.
The two things we get to take with us when we die are knowledge and relationships. If that is not incentive to work on those things, I do not know what is! I have my mental weak spots (mathematics and physics, anyone?) but I am also pulling a 3.9 GPA in my college courses at the moment. I know I am intelligent and I learn fairly easily. The more knowledge I gain in mortality, the better off I will be in the eternities. Relationships (family, friends, spouse or significant other, etc) can be the most joyful, rewarding experiences that we have, or the cause of the most pain and anguish. I am a gung-ho advocate for good communication, frequent loving words and actions, selfLESSness, and forgiveness. It is possible to have functional, loving relationships if we are just willing to work for them. My motto has become “It’s not about ME! It’s about you.”
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Still more rambling
This is going to be a bit of a ramble-y post, detailing some of the things that have been happening and going through my head recently.
For starters, I am beginning to realize that stalking is much more of a commonality in the media than I had previously thought. For example: Twilight, The Phantom of the Opera, and this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_ILDFp5DGA are all prime examples of that. *insert disturbed noises and shuddering right here* Much as I may love the first two, the fact remains: STALKERS!
Next topic of randomosity: My kiniseology (the study of muscles and movement) class is AMAZING! And it is really challenging, too. In the course of the next 8 weeks, I will learn 500+ muscles, as well as their function, origins, and insertions. But it’s fantastically interesting, and I look forward to it every week. However, Clinical Massage is my heart-baby. I LOVE massage therapy. And the more I learn about it, the more I love it. Each time we learn new techniques or routines, I think about how to customize it for the various people I know. For instance, someone who is 5”2’ and built like a toothpick is probably going to want lighter pressure and different strokes than a 6”5’ construction worker. I love how each massage is as unique as the people involved in giving and receiving it. I love the inherant trust that as a massage therapist, people give to me. I try to live my entire life, not just the time that I am in class, as a person who deserves that trust. The more I learn, the more I want to continue learning and the more I want to be a better person so I can contribute to society as a whole.
Lastly, it has been brought home to me that life is meant to be lived IN the moment, and regardless of what the future holds, enjoy what you have when you have it! As of a year ago, I would have been crushed and bewildered had I known where I am today. I don’t know where I will be in a year, but that is ok. I will enjoy where I am right now, and deal with tomorrow when it happens.
For starters, I am beginning to realize that stalking is much more of a commonality in the media than I had previously thought. For example: Twilight, The Phantom of the Opera, and this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_ILDFp5DGA are all prime examples of that. *insert disturbed noises and shuddering right here* Much as I may love the first two, the fact remains: STALKERS!
Next topic of randomosity: My kiniseology (the study of muscles and movement) class is AMAZING! And it is really challenging, too. In the course of the next 8 weeks, I will learn 500+ muscles, as well as their function, origins, and insertions. But it’s fantastically interesting, and I look forward to it every week. However, Clinical Massage is my heart-baby. I LOVE massage therapy. And the more I learn about it, the more I love it. Each time we learn new techniques or routines, I think about how to customize it for the various people I know. For instance, someone who is 5”2’ and built like a toothpick is probably going to want lighter pressure and different strokes than a 6”5’ construction worker. I love how each massage is as unique as the people involved in giving and receiving it. I love the inherant trust that as a massage therapist, people give to me. I try to live my entire life, not just the time that I am in class, as a person who deserves that trust. The more I learn, the more I want to continue learning and the more I want to be a better person so I can contribute to society as a whole.
Lastly, it has been brought home to me that life is meant to be lived IN the moment, and regardless of what the future holds, enjoy what you have when you have it! As of a year ago, I would have been crushed and bewildered had I known where I am today. I don’t know where I will be in a year, but that is ok. I will enjoy where I am right now, and deal with tomorrow when it happens.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Rachael's Recipes and More!
Hot diggety dog, peeps! I wasn’t going to make another recipe post this soon, but fun things have happened. One is blackberry lemonade, one is Mistborn, and one is Caro Emerald. What are these wonders, you ask? All in good time, my friends.
Blackberry lemonade
Make a simple syrup out of equal parts sugar and lemon juice (for example, ½ C. sugar to ½ C. juice)
Add an equal (another ½ C.) amount of berry juice (I buy bags of mixed berries from Aldi for about $2.50, thaw in the microwave, and strain the pulp until I get enough juice for whatever I need)
I also added the juice of one orange, but you don’t have to. To serve, chill the syrup and dilute to taste. It’s very cool if you add two or three frozen berries to garnish, and it tastes oh so yummy!
Next awesome thing: Mistborn. This is the first book of a trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, professor of creative writing at Brigham Young University. I read Mistborn, and was promptly sucked into a very absorbing world with human, believable characters and many and varied plot twists. If you like books that make you gasp, put your hands over your eyes, and stay up way too late reading, FIND THESE BOOKS! They are worth the effort to follow all the intricacies. I have started the second one (The Well of Ascension) and can hardly put it down.
And then last but certainly not least: Caro Emerald. First and foremost, know this: I do not like 99.9% of jazz. But I LOVE this singer! I was introduced to her awesomeness yesterday morning, and have listened to most of her songs that Youtube has up. Multiple times. Every day. She is SO GOOD! Just so you don’t have to take the time to look her up, here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74LXx0wSqMI&playnext_from=TL&videos=SRGxTkknNZQ I would not suggest watching the video if immodesty bothers you (shots in a swimming pool and the like), but the song is fabbity fab fab on many different levels. I love finding random things that bring me joy. I owe the last two to my favoritest Robzilla, so here is credit to the maestro of randomness.
Blackberry lemonade
Make a simple syrup out of equal parts sugar and lemon juice (for example, ½ C. sugar to ½ C. juice)
Add an equal (another ½ C.) amount of berry juice (I buy bags of mixed berries from Aldi for about $2.50, thaw in the microwave, and strain the pulp until I get enough juice for whatever I need)
I also added the juice of one orange, but you don’t have to. To serve, chill the syrup and dilute to taste. It’s very cool if you add two or three frozen berries to garnish, and it tastes oh so yummy!
Next awesome thing: Mistborn. This is the first book of a trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, professor of creative writing at Brigham Young University. I read Mistborn, and was promptly sucked into a very absorbing world with human, believable characters and many and varied plot twists. If you like books that make you gasp, put your hands over your eyes, and stay up way too late reading, FIND THESE BOOKS! They are worth the effort to follow all the intricacies. I have started the second one (The Well of Ascension) and can hardly put it down.
And then last but certainly not least: Caro Emerald. First and foremost, know this: I do not like 99.9% of jazz. But I LOVE this singer! I was introduced to her awesomeness yesterday morning, and have listened to most of her songs that Youtube has up. Multiple times. Every day. She is SO GOOD! Just so you don’t have to take the time to look her up, here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74LXx0wSqMI&playnext_from=TL&videos=SRGxTkknNZQ I would not suggest watching the video if immodesty bothers you (shots in a swimming pool and the like), but the song is fabbity fab fab on many different levels. I love finding random things that bring me joy. I owe the last two to my favoritest Robzilla, so here is credit to the maestro of randomness.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Rachael's Recipes
You know how I talk about food all the time? Thanks to my executive decision, I will now start posting some of my favorite foods under the tagline “Rachael’s Recipes” (catchy, isn’t it?) Without further ado, I give you “Crack Cookies” (disclaimer: no illegal ingredients are used in these cookies; you just think there are, because you CAN’T STOP EATING THEM!)
¾ C. butter or margarine
2 TBS to ½ C peanut butter (according to preference)
1 ¾ C flour
1 C packed brown sugar
½ C white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
Cloves and cinnamon to taste (optional)
2 C rolled oats
½ package each: butterscotch ships, chocolate chips, M&Ms
Cream butter. Add sugar, half of flour, and mix. Add all ingredients except for chips and oatmeal. Beat together, add remaining ingredients. Bake at 375 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!
¾ C. butter or margarine
2 TBS to ½ C peanut butter (according to preference)
1 ¾ C flour
1 C packed brown sugar
½ C white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
Cloves and cinnamon to taste (optional)
2 C rolled oats
½ package each: butterscotch ships, chocolate chips, M&Ms
Cream butter. Add sugar, half of flour, and mix. Add all ingredients except for chips and oatmeal. Beat together, add remaining ingredients. Bake at 375 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!
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