No really - Biblical significance

I've been struggling with motivation lately, and it's been catching up with me. I know I need to do better, but I just haven't made myself do it.

Today I had one of those a-ha moments during church. Someone said

When much is given much is expected

My world stopped for a moment.

I'm sure you've all heard it as many times as I have. You can find the passage both in Luke 12:48 and D&C 82:3:

For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required.

I have an incredible employer. My work place has its own set of office politics, and I don't necessarily "fit in" with most of the people in my work group, but the company itself really is a great one.

My 10th anniversary with CH2M HILL was in September. When I started there in September 2000, I had been working for another environmental consultant and I was able to reduce my work week to 3 days, increase my pay rate by 26% AND work 20 hours per week and while still receiving insurance benefits (it does cost more than if you work full time, but it's still a great thing!)

My workload has varied over these past 10 years, and I'm currently doing things that I absolutely love doing. I'm working from home most of the time, and I've met and worked with people from all over the country. I get to be at home when my boys walk out the door for school in the morning. Most days I'm here when they return. I get to volunteer at school, attend school events, pick my boys up when they need me, and most of all I really get to be HERE where I want to be.

I didn't get to this point all on my own. Sitting there today in church I got it. I've been given much, and I need to act accordingly.





 
 

Is That Legal?

I've been trying to jazz up our menu lately, and I thought I had a fabulous idea for this evening's dinner. Years ago I remember having cinnamon roll french toast at some random breakfast place. It was divine. Haven't had anything like that since, and I wanted to make something similar for my guys tonight.

I swung into Dunford Bakers to pick up apple fritters. They didn't have any today, so I got the last 3 cherry fritters and a few pershings.


Dunford Bakers Pershing

I cut these bad boys in half (think glazed hamburger bun), dipped the halves in the egg mix, and grilled them up.

I also made some divine buttermilk syrup (see recipe below) and we sat down to eat.

Evan had taken a couple of bites, and he said

Mom? How many calories do you think are in this?!

You know it's bad when your children are concerned about their caloric intake. Good news is that no one (including me) could eat more than one slice. That was one rich, delectable mouth full!

Griffin concluded our dinner conversation with

Mom? Do they let you feed your kids stuff like this? Can they take you to prison for feeding us doughnuts for dinner?

And for your viewing pleasure... Here is the nutritional information on the pershings.

Buttermilk Syrup
1 1/2 c sugar
3/4 c buttermilk
1/2 c butter
2 T corn syrup
1 t baking soda
2 T vanilla

Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a pan. Bring to a boil. Cook for 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

Oh YUM!!!



That Girl's Quilt Along

Because I just don't have enough to fill my day, I've decided to join a Quilt Along. The directions were to use one charm pack (Martinique), one coordinating solid, and one neutral solid. So - this is what I went with:

That Girl---That Quilt - Quilt Along Week 1

Adventure Follow-Up

I called and cancelled my Bromacleans subscription.
Never went to whatever website they were promoting, but I cancelled my acess to that too.
Got my 10-day Bromacleans sample, but am completely afraid of using any of it. I don't know what it's supposed to do or what's in it. Apparently it's a 3 pill a day deal, and I really dislike those.
Never got the $100 Walmart Gift Card.
Got to teach my boys what a scam smells like.

It's All About the Adventure - Right?

A couple of nights ago Carson got a text saying that he'd won a $100 Walmart gift card for visiting a website. We called the number provided and were told that we would receive a 10-day free sample of BromaCleanse - some kind of weight loss stuff (and isn't that the least informative website? What is the stuff? What's in it? What does it do? Do you see any links?). AND we'd receive the $100 Walmart card after calling a 1-866 number the following morning to confirm that we'd talked to Harry Hernandez.

Now here's the deal. Harry Hernandez spoke of two separate products. One that's $29.95 per month - I think that one is for website access. The other was $79.95 and is for a 30-day supply of BromaCleanse. Both would be automatically charged to my account (isn't that convenient) unless I called to cancel my subscription. Huh.

I was told that we'd be charged $3.34 for shipping and handling and that I needed to call the 1-866 number the following morning because not very many people actually won the gift card. We went ahead with the order - any $100 before Christmas is great - right?.

I had a gift card with about 4 bucks and change still on it. Hello - I'm not completely naive.

So - now I just need to call another 1-866 number within 10 days to cancel my subscription if I'm not completely satisfied. Now here are my questions:

1. 10 days from when? The day we made the call? The day they shipped the product? The day we received the product? The day we actually took the product - which I'm thinking may be some kind of diarhea inducing pill, and who would really want that?
2. Are those 10 days calendar days or business days?
3. What are the two separate charges? Do I need website access? I don't think I'm going to be going to your website to figure out why I can't get away from my porcelain goddess for more than 10 minutes at a time - I'm fairly sure I'd quit taking the product and then head to my nearest ER if that didn't fix things.
4. Why did the $3.34 show up in two separate charges? I've got one for $1.56 to DETXHLTH in Salt Lake City and one for $1.78 to CLEANDIET in Riverton.

I'm supposed to get my 10-day sample in 5-7 business days. The gift card is supposed to show up in 3-5 business days. Will they figure out that they can't charge additional $ to that gift card, or have they figured that out already and I'm wasting time trying to figure out if I can get around the scam?

Now Haunting Etsy

I finally did it! I've opened an Etsy shop. You can visit me here.

What if...

The last time I posted was September 25, which would have been my dad's 65th birthday; BUT today is October 4, and it's been 34 years since he died. That's a lot of time.

I've been feeling a bit of competition for Jon's time lately because I love to talk to the man, but so do his sons. I love to hear him tell me that I need to chill out. I love to gross out our boys by kissing in the kitchen. I love to joke around with him. I love having inside secrets. I love to watch him stop what he's doing and make sure that whichever niece is in the room knows that she is his most favorite.

I know that my dad loved to spend time with me. I know that he had a sense of humor. I remember one night when he got home from work a little bit late. I remember hanging on his arm while his hand was in his coat pocket and reaching into the pocket to pull out what he said he got for me. It was a piece of paper. Turns out that it was a speeding ticket, and he told me he got it so that I'd know what one looked like.

My dad died the Monday after General Conference, and my mom said that he decided to stay home from church with me & Cory that last Sunday. I guess that they didn't watch conference on TV or listen to it on the radio then. I don't have any idea what we did that day, but I like to think that he went to sleep content following his last day on earth.

There are a lot of things that would have been different for me if he'd been around. I have to wonder

• Would I have been nearly as boy insane (that's right, not just boy crazy) if he'd been here?
• Was I just seeking male attention?
• Would I know more about cars and what makes them hum?
• Would I have shot a gun other than at the birds eating my grandma's raspberries?
• How often would I talk to him on the phone?
• Would I know his LDS conversion story?
• What would he have been like as a grandpa?
• Where would we have lived?
• Would I still have gone to Utah State and met and married Jon?
• Would he have put Jon through the wringer?
• Would I have been better at basketball because he practiced with me?

I am blessed with an incredible father-in-law and stepdad. Both of these men have taught me many things. I'm grateful for the relationship I have with both of them, for the understanding they offer and for the pearls of wisdom even when I think I don't need it. I'm grateful for the experiences they give me. I'm humbled by the times they do little things that only matter to me.

So - I guess tonight I'm meandering between pity party and gratitude. Kind of a somber place to be.