Two Inches

Sack Lunch

Dearest Readers,

I am taking a poll.  This Sunday our choir is meeting to practice after stake conference, and we are all supposed to bring a sack lunch to randomly trade with someone else.

So, in your opinion, what makes the perfect sack lunch?

Thanks!

My Super Busy, Important Day

I was planning on sleeping in, but my brain had other ideas.  It was thinking "Today is Monday. Darcy should be at work."  So it woke me up in time to go to work.

And then I stayed in bed for  two  more hours.

And then I ate breakfast.

And paid my phone bill.

And took out the garbage.

You can see how exciting this day was turning out to be.

Then I conned a friend into climbing further up H mountain with me.  We made it to the second of four peaks.  Eventually I will get to the last one, which I guess is a big deal, because there's a journal there that everyone who makes it to the top signs.

I still don't know the name of the mountain.

Then I came home and rested my noodly knees.

And took a picture of the fat man resting on the lawn of the apartments.  I wouldn't make fun of him, except he took his shirt off.  So obviously he wanted me to laugh at him.

And counted light bulbs and made a shopping list.

Because dang.  No food.

And went shopping and stood in the light bulb aisle for ten minutes trying to match the light bulbs I'd taken out to the light bulbs in the aisle.  Because for some reason, there are different kinds of light bulbs in every room in my apartment.

And then I came home and dug around the bottom of my car for the little nose piece that fell off my Oaks a week ago.  Yay!  I found it!

And then I had french toast.  Because I could.

The end.

A Beautiful Day

Today my cousin David Rowley was married.  It's been a gray, misty day all day, and I love it.  I wouldn't like it for always, but gray misty days are peaceful and romantic and very...clean.  

David and Becky were married in the Draper Temple, which I'd never been to before, and as neither of them are from there, I was uncertain why they'd chosen to be married in that temple.

I left earlier in the morning so that I wouldn't have to rush.  I hate rushing to the temple.  It never puts me in the right spirit.  But because I left early, I got there early, and I had some time to walk around the grounds.  The temple is nestled in a beautiful spot at the base of the mountains.  The grounds were simple and pretty.  

After I'd circled the temple, I went in and was directed to the marriage waiting room, where my aunt Joyce was already waiting.

LDS weddings are different from most other people's weddings.  There's not a lot of fanfare.  The ceremony itself takes less than five minutes.  It is in a beautiful room with mirrors that reflect to eternity and chairs that seat all of your loved ones.

This particular sealing room was apparently the biggest sealing room in the entire church, able to seat at least 70 people.  The room was nearly full.

David and Becky could hardly stop smiling, and I remember the genuinely joyful, excited expressions on their faces.  David could hardly contain himself.  I have been to a handful of temple weddings, but for some reason, this one was one of the most beautiful to me.  My heart was there.  I knew they were in the right place.  I knew it was what I wanted as well.

7 Reasons to Vote

I was talking with some friends last night about the current presidential campaign, and it came out that one of them wasn't currently registered to vote.

Sometimes things happen.  Sometimes you move, and you don't have time to register before the election occurs. Sometimes you feel like you're not educated enough to vote responsibly. But this post is my plug to get you all to vote, regardless of your political persuasion. Doubtless you will be hearing it again.

1. You live in the USA (most of you).  You have the right to vote.  Use it.
2. The Church counsels us to vote and to vote responsibly, and to vote according to our conscience. That's wise counsel.
3. History, both religious and world, shows that when people become complacent about their rights, they begin to lose them.  It's a little late to begin fighting for your freedom when you've already lost it.  Vote.
4. If you feel like you're not educated enough to vote, get educated.  A lot of great causes can lose out because good people are lazy.  Vote.
5. Don't be lazy.  Don't just not vote because your show is on tonight or because you can't find a stamp or because you need to get some laundry done.  Recognize that the issues or people you are voting on are important and that, as a citizen of the U.S., who has benefited from decades of people fighting for your freedom, it is your responsibility to take half an hour or an hour and vote. Do it.
6. It's a myth that your vote doesn't count.  Even when you are part of a population that overwhelmingly votes opposite of what you do, the fact that you cast your vote means that you exercised your right to do so, and that you have the right to speak up when things are going south.  If you don't vote, you have no say.
7. I enjoyed this article, which talked about how, despite the current excitement over O's support of gay marriage, more states are actually voting against it, and that we should hang in there and not always be swayed by what the media tells us. However hopeless your particular cause may seem, it's still important to stand up for it. Even if you lose, at least you can know that you did what you could, and you voted according to your conscience.

Stockpiling

I remember back in the 80s, my mom had a particular style of sweater that she bought 3 of.  One white, one lavender, and one peach.  My dad made fun of her.  But she argued that she knew she liked the sweater, she knew it would wear out, and that she wanted to make sure that she'd have it for a while.  

I should be stockpiling my black Rocket Dog flats, because I know there will never be a better black flat.

 

And I should have stockpile Shopko's Bottled Emotions Crazy perfume when I had the chance. But I didn't know they were discontiuning the line.

 

If they were discontinuing a particular kind of food, that would be another question.   While there are many foods I love, there are few things that "you just can't get anywhere else."  Most of the things I buy, I could probably make on my own, and the reason I buy them is because I don't want to put in the effort to buy them.

And if I stockpiled food, it would probably be because I liked it a lot, and if I liked it a lot, I'd probably eat it really fast, which would put me back at ground zero.

But if I was going to stockpile something, it would probably be Chocolate Apothecary raspberry truffles, even though their label is lousy.

What would (do) you stockpile?

ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I'm not sure if it's the pain meds or life, but I'm tired.  I'm sitting here, looking at my clock, thinking "I have precisely two hours and four minutes till I can go home and sleep."

Except I have visiting teaching tonight.

And then guess what? Make it or Break It is in its third season.  That's one of those shows that is really immature and I shouldn't like...but I do.

Man, I'm tired.

But I have pseudo homemade bread at home.  I'm excited.  I can mostly eat it.

And Russanne, you didn't write about Gettysburg.  Whyyyyyyyyy?  That is one of my favorite places ever.

I spent half the morning highlighting scriptures in a Book of Mormon that I may or may not give to someone.  On the one hand, it's about the best thing I could give them (anyone, that is).  And it's true.  On the other hand, I always hesitate to give people Books of Mormon because I don't want them to think that I only like them because I want to convert them, or that I'm giving them a BoM because they're heathens, or that we can't be friends if they say no.  Anyhow.  At least I'm one step closer.

You know what I'm looking forward to?  The Scottish Festival.  And the Allsop family reunion. And the demolition derby.  And then later Glacier National Park.  You have to have things to look forward to.  

I'm also looking forward to my birthday.  It is officially less than a month away, which means I can start talking about it now.  Last year I posted it on facebook and invited a bunch of friends to dinner, and it ended up being way more hassle than it was (almost) worth, even though I enjoyed it with the friends who came.

This year I think I'm going to have a couple smaller celebrations with fewer people.

And I have to do something the week before, because, lameness of lameness, my birthday is on Father's Day this year, which means that people will be off celebrating with their husbands and fathers, totally forgetting that it's MY BIRTHDAY.  You can celebrate fathers any old day of the year.

Which is another good reason I believe in celebrating one's birthday the entire birthday month. 

I need to get a pedicure so I can get all the crusty, dry skin scraped off my heels.  Unless anyone else has any suggestions?  It's just what happens in the summer time when I go barefoot so often (or nearly barefoot, with sandals).

Anyhow...guess that's all I've got for now.  Entertaining comments are welcome...they might get me through the next two hours.  :)

Feeling a Lil' Bloggy

Here are some thoughts on gay marriage from a friend at work.  (It's not just me.)

Math is Fun!

I've been working on some stuff that talks about teaching math in new and interesting ways...basically in ways that I was never taught.  Math was something to be endured, and the day I passed my last math class was one of the happiest days of my life.

"Math" and "fun" don't really go in the same sentence together, but here are a few things you could try if you're going to attempt it anyway.

 

1. Use the history of math to engage students in mathematical principles.

Pythagoras and his girlfriend Luna enjoyed going to the gladiator games on the weekends.

That is, until Luna saw Fibonacci at one of the fights, and fell head over heels for him.  This is reportedly the occasion that inspired Pythagoras's famous theorem.

 

2. Use real-world problems to show that math applies to real life.

Darcy's wisdom teeth food stock includes 5 strawberry popsicles, 4 chocolate puddings, 1 butterscotch, and 1 vanilla pudding, 1 pan of  lasagna, and 1 half-full container of vanilla ice cream leftover from when KB came over.  How many days till Darcy can eat real food again? Please, no imaginary numbers.

3. Use technology to show students that math can be creative and fun.

If you have a class of 25 students, each with a laser pointer, how long will it take them to drive 17 cats crazy?  Round your answer to the nearest tenth.

 

Okay, fine, maybe math can be fun.

Tomato Products: Getting it Right

I witnessed a tragic event last Friday.  I was at my sister's house with her family and my brother and his wife, Belinda.  We were eating chicken tacos, or what the rest of the world calls taquitos. It's one of my family's favorite dishes.

When we make chicken tacos, we always make up a big bowl of guacamole and have lots of salsa on hand as well.  To my utter horror, though, my neice Kathryn requested ketchup to go with her tacos.

Ketchup!  Clearly, her parents have failed her.  Or they have not yet schooled her in the finer points of matching the right tomato product with the right foods.

Ketchup does NOT go on Mexican food.  Period.  As Kathryn has not yet reached the age of accountability, we can excuse her gross error, but to be sure that it wouldn't happen again in the future, I made exaggerated groaning sounds and told her how disappointed I was.

For those of you who have made the same mistake of using the wrong tomato product for the wrong food, here is a short guide.  Heaven help you if I ever see you using the wrong tomato product.

Ketchup:  Really, in most instances, there are few foods that you can use ketchup on that barbecue sauce wouldn't be better.  Acceptable ketchup foods include hash browns, scrambled eggs, tater tots, and hot dogs.  But as I said, barbecue sauce is generally better.

Barbecue sauce:  Hamburgers, hot dogs, basically any kind of grilled meat, french fries.

Marinara sauce:  Pasta.  It is a SIN to put ketchup on pasta.  Don't do it.  Marinara sauce is much more robust and flavorful and has more tasty herbs and spices.  Ketchup is just tomatoes and sugar.

Salsa:  Salsa or enchilada sauce are the only kinds of tomato products that you should be putting on your Mexican food.  Ever.  Words that come to mind when I see people using ketchup on Mexican food?  Plebeian.  Pansy.  Hick.  Don't ever do it, people, it's just wrong.  It actually makes me want to cry when I'm at a Mexican restaurant or even at the dinner table, and someone requests ketchup for their burrito or taco.  I want to apologize for them or pretend I don't know them.  It's just so sad.  It's fine if you can't handle spicy salsa; go for the mild if you have to.  But never, EVER, put ketchup on Mexican food.

There you go. 

On the Cross

I saw this picture on Thursday when I was reading an article about Romney and the (LDS) priesthood:

I thought it was funny.  The article itself seemed to be a fairly unbiased, though bare-boned, representation of the LDS lay priesthood, but the picture itself failed as a representation of LDS faith.  Can anyone tell me why?

Yep.  The image of the cross in the background.  I'm not sure where Romney was when this picture was taken, but it wasn't in an LDS church building or temple.

Though many Christians use the cross as a symbol of their faith, you won't find a cross anywhere in LDS architecture, decoration, or jewelry.  You will find representations of Jesus on the cross in some art, but you'll be unlikely to find it as the central focus in any chapel.

Crosses, are, for many faiths, a symbol of their belief in and commitment to Christ.  I respect that. Today's post is a reaction to the image above, and my thoughts on how the image of the cross relates to my own faith.   

Jesus wasn't the only one who ever died on a cross.  When he was crucified, there were two other men being crucified with him.  The cross was a common means of execution, used in Rome and other places (including Japan...weird).  Hundreds, if not thousands of people died on a cross. 

Also, the cross was just how Jesus died.  It was public.  It was excruciating.  But as far as Jesus' mission on earth is concerned, it was all over before he ever reached the cross.  It was in the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus bled from every pore and atoned for our sins, making the ultimate sacrifice for us.

To me, that's what's key here.  Yes, Jesus Christ died on the cross.  But it was his perfect life that allowed him to make the sacrifice that would at once overcome spiritual and physical death.  The cross is just a symbol of physical death.  Jesus overcame physical death, so we can be resurrected, but, more importantly, he overcame spiritual death so that, through repentance, we can return to live with our Heavenly Father and gain exaltation.

But if not the cross, then what?  What emblem can be used to exemplify faith in Jesus Christ? Here's what Elder Dallin H. Oaks, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said in one of his conference addresses:

Prior to the rededication of one of our temples, a Christian minister asked President Gordon B. Hinkley why it did not contain any representation of the cross, the most common symbol of the Christian faith.  President Hinckley replied that the symbols of our Christian faith are "the lives of our people."  Truly our lives of service and sacrifice are the most appropriate expressions of our commitment to serve the Master and our fellow men.

I like President Hinckley's response to the minister.  Christ gave his life for us, and in return, we can give our own lives to him.