Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

1 cup butter (melted)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips

Cream melted butter and sugars. Add other stuff. Bake at 350 for 10 min.

This recipe is traditional, but it really makes the best cookies-- much better than the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip package. My sister KaRynn got it from her friend Jessica.

Highlights from Mission Emails

So I went to a going away party for some girls in my ward who are leaving on missions and got thinking about my mission. So I decided to read some of the old emails I wrote as a missionary-- and got caught up reading for over an hour. Here are some of the highlights:

March 5, 2007

The elders here are crazy-- great, but crazy. Elder Tonkin (from Capetown) who has been on mission for 9 weeks and Elder Dolder (from Washington) who has been out 6 months. On Tuesday night, they made some ginger beer. They live with a member, Sister Pearlman, and we were at her house for supper. So they split the costs 50/50 with Sister Pearlman and made 20 liters of the stuff. It's supposed to be like rootbeer, except ginger flavored. (I've had it before (not homemade) and it's really good.) Anyway, you make it with yeast and let it bubble for about 2-4 days and then bottle it and refridgerate it. If you let it sit for like a week, it actually does turn into real beer, so you have to be careful. Anyway, it's about 36 degrees celcius on average in their boarding (around 90 degrees F-- I don't know conversions.. I just know celcius). So after 2 days, Elder Tonkin took a sip and it was already alcoholic!!!! LOL. Elder Dolder said it smelled like beer in their boarding for two days! And, the most appaling part is that instead of throwing it out, they gave it all to Sister Pearlman, who took it to work to give out to peopl!!!! LOL! I was shocked! So they elders are running the brewery here in Berea!


August 14, 2006

I think it was the day we began contacting, last week, we got a call from Pres. Hill with a referral (Sharon De Beer). We taught her last monday and it went extremely well. We've been praying for her and I've been feeling good about her. But then she canceled our appt. on Saturday, which was disappointing. She said she would still come to church though and Pres. Hill was picking her up (She doesn't have a car.) SO, she came to Stake Conference yesterday (we had a satellite broadcast from Salt Lake with Pres.Monson, Elder Nelson, Sister Lant, and Elder Snow) and really enjoyed it. She told me as we sat down before the conference, "I was speaking with Garrith (Pres. Hill) as we were driving here and he told me about the rules you follow in your Church. I do drink, but I can give that up. And I drink coffee, but I think if I quit that now and just drink regular tea to ease off the caffine for a few days... I can go to only Rooibos (Mormon-approved tea)." She also said things like, "So how do you join the Chruch" and "when do you have baptisms?" LOL! I love those questions! So we showed her the baptismal font and introduced her to the members.

Then, last night, we visited her. She had not only read everything we asked her to, but also 1Nephi 1-4 and she had done the questions in the back of the pamphlet!!! We comitted her to baptism and she set a date for herself for October 7th because she wanted to be baptised around her birthday. It's a little far, but not too far away. She has had an extermely hard life.... been severely abused, and has lived a life of poverty. But things are going really good for her now and only going to get better. She works grinding plastic in this big machine all day and loves it (shows you want she's been forced to do for work in the past considering the job is wonderful to her). When we told Pres. Hill's dad, Brother Bob that we were going to commit her to baptism last night, he started to cry. He's the one that asked us to talk to her initially at a funeral she was at. He is so sweet. He knows how much she needs the gospel in her life.

It's amazing how quickly things change. The Lord really is in charge. It's been such a mercy to be part of Sharon's conversion in the gospel... and there are so many out there just like her.... ready to hear and just need the invitation.

Oh Drano, ho, ho!

So I have an interesting problem. My kitchen sink is blocked. Both of them. And even though I knew this, I started the dishwasher. :-)

No, the sink did not overflow, thank goodness. But they both filled to within 1 inch of the brim, floating onions and all. So, I went to the store to buy some Drano. When I got back, the water was about 1 cm lower.

Directions: Pour 1/2 bottle of DRANO MAX GEL slowly into drain. (For tough clogs, pour in entire bottle.) (A bottle that cost 5 bucks!) Allow to work for 15 minutes (30 minutes for tough clogs). Flush with hot water. Repeat steps if necessary. (Another bottle? I only bought one)

But how can I pour this stuff into the sink with half a foot of standing water? I can just see myself now: pitcher in hand, bailing out the water ....and carrying it to my bathtub. Nasty. Well maybe by morning, I'll be able to at least see the drain. Wish me luck.

Some Facts about Payson

So I was doing a little research about the town I'm going to be teaching in, and this is what I found out (directly quoted from wikipedia):

• The population was 12,716 at the 2000 census.
• The median income for a household in the city was $43,539, and the median income for a family was $47,491.
• It is where most of the 1984 hit movie 'Footloose' was filmed. (Hmmm....)
  
• Payson was originally named Peteetneet, after a Ute Indian chief who lived near Payson's current location. However, the pioneering residents decided to change the name to Payson, after James Pace, due to the fact that no one out side of Payson knew how to spell or say Peteetneet. (LOL!)

I have to say these facts make Payson all the more endearing!

Merry Christmas

I love Christmas! I love the lights, the Christmas trees, and Silk Egg Nog, and Christmas hymns, and I'm so excited to be with family soon!

www.joytoeveryone.com

Faith

I feel like I can't have a blog about the goodness and beauty in my life without talking about my faith. As most of my friends know, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's always been an important, and thus visible, part of my life. However, I have not always made an effort to share my beliefs, perhaps because I sometimes take them for granted.

The truth is, my membership in the Church is the greatest blessing of my life. It has filled my life with love, friendship, nurturing, faith, hope, peace, light, and grace. Because of the Church, I grew up in a community of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who were not related to me, but loved me like family. I learned to read, interpret, and apply scripture to my life; to thirst for light and knowledge. I learned to pray, to forgive, to serve, to set goals. I learned how to be a better sister, daughter, friend. Most importantly, I developed a relationship with God.

Like most church-goers, my faith makes me who I am. So, I want to share some basic information about my church (and, thus, about me):

Facts

• “Mormon” is a nickname for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sometimes members of the Church are called “Mormons,” “Latter-day Saints,” or “LDS.” The term “Saint” means “member" (not the same as the Catholics use of the word "Saint").
  
• Church was restored in 1830 in upstate New York with Joseph Smith as its first prophet and president. Today the Church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, with President Thomas S. Monson as the current prophet.
• The are over 13 million members worldwide, with more members outside the U.S. than in.
• Many members of the Church volunteer (at their own expense) to serve 18 mo.-2 year missions worldwide. I served a mission in Durban, South Africa, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life!
• Church members are geographically organized into congregations called "wards." Each ward is led by a bishop, a volunteer ward member who leads and counsels the rest of the ward. Usually about 8-10 wards make up a stake, which is a larger geographical location led by a stake president, another volunteer from a local ward.
  
• The Church has the largest women's organization in the world called The Relief Society. Organized in 1842, the Relief Society focuses on helping women develop physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually and helping the poor and needy in the community.

Faith

• I believe that God is the Father of our spirits, that we lived with Him before we were born on the earth and that He loves every single one us with unconditional love.
  
• God wants us to be happy and to succeed in this life. He also wants us to return to live with Him after we die. This is why, from the beginning of the world, He has chosen prophets to teach us commandments so that we may know how to live with love and integrity. However, God knew that we would not be perfect, and so he provided a Savior.
  
• I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, and the Messiah prophesied about the Old Testament. He paid the price for all our sin through his death and suffering. Because of this, we can change and learn from our mistakes without being condemned by them.
• I believe the original church that Jesus Christ established when He lived in Jerusalem was lost and has been restored again--through the prophet Joseph Smith. With this restoration also came the priesthood, or the authority given to man to act in the name of God, apostles and a prophet, as well as all necessary ordinances of salvation (baptism, etc.).
  
• I believe in the importance and power of the word of God or scripture. I study the Bible as well as Book of Mormon, which is another testament of the ministry and divinity of Christ.
• I believe in on-going revelation. God speaks today just as much as He did in ancient times. I believe that I can receive personal revelation from God regarding my life through prayer. I pray, and God gives me answers through ideas in my mind and feelings in my heart that come through the power of the Holy Ghost. I also believe that God continues to speak to a prophet, President Monson, who can receive revelation for the whole world.
  

Well, for now, I will have to stop there. This is a very brief, incomplete explanation of my beliefs, but I hope it gives you an idea of why I am so grateful for my faith. For more information about my church, you can visit: www.mormon.org

Things I love

- leaves that cover the grass and sidewalk so thick you can't see anything but yellow
- the smell of oil paint
- Julianne's pumpkin bread
- my furry slippers
- the African quilt my mom made me
- 13 year olds-- yes, true confession!
- wassail (3 parts apple juice, 1 part orange juice, 7-12 cloves, heated on the stove)
- hot, hot showers
- heated seats
- the Provo temple
- Bryan's halloween costume: he was a nerd vampire (hiked up jeans, a cape, vampire teeth, googly eye glasses, and he said he almost put a calculator in his pocket-- LOL!)
- spice doughnuts
- butternut squash
- The Book of Mormon
- Lola and Bandit
- hanging out with my cousins

Some Good Laughs from Billy Collins

Flames

By Billy Collins

Smokey the Bear heads
into the autumn woods
with a red can of gasoline
and a box of wooden matches.

His ranger's hat is cocked
at a disturbing angle.

His brown fur gleams
under the high sun
as his paws, the size
of catcher's mitts,
crackle into the distance.

He is sick of dispensing
warnings to the careless,
the half-wit camper,
the dumbbell hiker.

He is going to show them
how a professional does it.

Another reason why I don't keep a gun in the house

By Billy Collins

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton

while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.

Passive Voice Vomit

So I found this in the Writing Fellows office the other day and laughed so hard, I had to share it. This is what passive voice does to "Eight Days a Week" by the Beatles:

Oh, your love is needed by me babe,
The truth is known by you,
Hope my love is needed by you girl,
Just like you're needed by me.
I should be held by you.
I should be loved by you.
I should be held by you.
I should be loved by you.
Nothing but love is what I'm given,
Eight days a week!

It's so awful I can hardly stand it!!!

My PaysoN Boys

Teaching in Payson, UT is more of a cultural experience for me than I expected. I realized this while trying to memorize the names of my students. Here are the names of 15 of the 25 boys in 5th period:

Caiden
Cayden
Jaden
Hagen
Braiden
Jordan
Jorgan
Jansen
Devin
Ashton
Gatlan
Gaven
Ruben
Ryan
Aaron

Whew! Try to say that 10 times fast!

It's so bizarre. They all end in N.