Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Best Book in Ages: To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S Monson


I loved this book. This is one of the best books I have read (especially recently). It is inspiring and filled with amazing stories, great poetry, and hilarious anecdotes. Furthermore, it is a testimony of Jesus Christ and His servent, Thomas S Monson, who I know in my head and in my heart to be a real prophet of God.

The final portion of the book covers some of the truths he has taught--
*"When God speaks and man obeys, that man will always be right"
*"Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies"
*"Decisions determine destiny"
*"When you are on the Lord's errand, you are entitled to the Lord's help"
*"Your decision to think right, choose right, and do right will rarely if ever be the easiest course to follow"
*"You do not find the happy life--you make it"
*"The power to lead is the power to mislead, and the power to mislead is the power to destroy"
*"Good habits...are the soul's muscles; the more you use them, the stronger they grow"
*"Life is like a candid camera; it does not wait for you to pose"
*"The door of history turns on small hinges, and so do people's lives"
*"As we look heavenward, we inevitably learn our responsibility to reach outward"

Mom and Dad are both reading it now and they have both commented on how great it is to me individually.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Happy Presidents Day!



Talk segment given by historian David McCullough at BYU (2005). McCullough wrote the award winning biography John Adams.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Two Easy AND Delicious Recipes

1. Sweet N' Sour Chicken

*my apologies for not having a picture of this recipes. I refuse to make food without a pic or a good recommendation. So I give this a 4.2 stars recommendation.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1 C (roughly one jar) apricot jam
1/2 C dried onions
1 C Italian Dressing ( I prefer Kraft's Zesty fat free Italian dressing)
1 Bell pepper (preferably green, yellow, or orange)sliced
1 can chunked pineapple
Half an onion sliced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix jam, onions, and dressing together. Slice raw chicken into small chunks. Pour half the dressing mixture over the chicken. Cook for 15 minutes. Add sliced bell peppers, sliced onion, and full can of pineapple (no juice) and the rest of the dressing. Cook for another 15 minutes.

Serving size: 6

2. Beef & Mushroom Lasagna



Ingredients:
1 can Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/4 C milk
1 lb. ground beef
2 C Prego Fresh Mushroom Italian Sauce
9 cooked lasagna noddles (wheat is great!)
1 C shredded Italian-blend or mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Stir soup and milk in a small bowl until smooth.
2. Cook beef in skillet over medium-high heat until well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off fat. Stir in Sauce.
3. Layer 1/2 beef mixture, three noodles, and 1 cup soup mixture in 2-qt. shallow baking dish. Top with 3 more noodles,remaining beef mixture, remaining noodles and remaining soup mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover baking dish.
4. Bake 30 mins. or until hot. Uncover baking dish.

Serving size: 6

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Who needs school when you've got the Bahamas?

So. At long, long last the newlyweds are posting (applause). Thank you Elise for the gentle nudge to let the family know what we've been up to - which, in a little more than two months of marriage, is a lot! Here follows the main business of the last month and a half:

- Will is taking more than 17 credits, and is studying his brains out. Math, science, and Russian - he is busy busy busy. Except, of course, when certain distractions arise (i.e. the call of the netflix free trial).

- Kristen is very busy as well, as she is currently writing her honors thesis on Women Writers in 16th Century France, and studying for the GRE (grad school exam), as well as putting in her application for the French Masters Program at BYU. Fingers crossed that all goes well!

But enough about school. We just got back from a cruise a couple of weeks ago! We skipped the first week of classes (and freezing temperatures) to go with Kristen's family on a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas, and then spend the rest of the week in Orlando going to (drum roll please)...HARRY POTTER LAND, the Kennedy Space Center, and DisneyWorld. Yes, we are living proof that dreams do come true. It was an incredible vacation, and we loved every bit, even if we had to spend the next two weeks frantically making up missed school work. Totally worth it!

Will in his snorkeling gear in the Bahamas. We saw a shipwreck and some jellyfish (whoever said January wasn't jellyfish season lied)...!



Here we are on the cruise ship, about ready to get off in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. In the background you can see the huge Atlantis hotel. That's right; we went to the lost city.



Nassau. A SWEET horse and carriage. The city was dirty, crowded with cruising tourists, and surrounded by the most beautiful blue waters you've ever seen. Best part of the day was when Will found a HUGE conch shell for only $3. It's now on display in our bathroom.



Will searching for live conch shells in Cococay, the other island that we went to, while being camera-stalked by Kristen:



HARRY POTTER LAND!!! Will and Kristen in front of the crimson Hogwarts Express (can't you just see the excitement on our gleaming faces???).



Just hanging out in the Boar's Head in Hogsmeade drinking up our fair share of butterbeer. Mmm...



Here we are in front of Cinderella's castle at Disneyworld, wearing our "Happily Ever After" pins they gave us! Though Disneyland was awesome, both of us agreed that Disneyland takes the cake...but it was still a great day.



Now that a super fancy honeymoon, cruise, and theme park frenzy are behind us, we are the most spoiled newlyweds in history. But don't worry - now it's back to the regular grind for us.