Improvement

"God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me." ~Author unknown, variation of an excerpt from "The Serenity Prayer" by Reinhold Neibuhr

What a great statement! I'm the only one who knows how much work I really need [it's a lot!] and I am the only one who can really execute that change. No matter how much I wish someone else would [pick one:] get moving, work harder, be nicer, have more fun etc., I am the only one that I can change. Moreover, my job concerning others is just as stated above: to accept them and to love them.

And now I should excuse myself to get to work. On myself.

[the above pics make it clear who really needs improvement, right?! ha!]

Still Here

Uncharacteristically quiet for a week [really? it's been a week? how can that be?!] but still here and still laughing at this one.

Windblown and Shiny

My Natalie tagged me -- [she knows I seldom respond to tags - mostly I ignore them and they go away] but I admired her bravery at posting her pre-bedtime pic so I went ahead today and took one as soon as I read her post.

And I thought I looked OK . Nope.

Windblown and shiny, that's me. Ack.

Spring has Sprung!

"Spring is nature's way of saying, 'let's party!' " ~Robin Williams

That's exactly how this beautiful time of year is making me feel. The sun is warm, the roses in my front yard are blooming [actually they never stopped blooming, not even in the middle of the winter], my little redbud tree in the back yard is covered with purple flowers, there is popcorn popping on every apricot tree in sight, and I even have red strawberries happening in the back yard. And best of all, the bluebonnets are back, poking their little purple heads up all over the place. Making me smile. A lot.

Time for a party!

Age

Whenever there is a day that I feel old, tired, have aching knees and want to 'take things easier', I am reminded of what George Bernard Shaw said on that subject:

"The joy in life is to be used for a purpose. I want to be used up when I die."

Me too. So I turn to Miss Maya for her reminder: "You're not old, Grandma! You're new."

And I feel better. Because I too want to be busy, busy, busy till I'm all used up. And I've got a long way to go yet.

Scripture

The great reformer Martin Luther once held up a Bible and said, "This is the scriptures." He then held up a hymnal and said , "And this is how we remember it."

Judging from what I remember from my time in Primary [and it was a long time ago!] as a child, that's a true statement. What I remember are the songs. And the principles taught by those songs. That's why I love the calling as Primary chorister. Once learned, those songs will stay with the children forever. And judging from the songs we've learned in Primary over the past few years, that's a wonderful thing for them.

I once heard someone say that the Primary chorister is Primary's gospel doctrine teacher. And I agree. Wholeheartedly.

So I'm hoping that maybe someday I'll get to be the Primary chorister again!! For now, I'm so grateful for our creative, funny, spiritual Primary Gospel Doctrine teacher.

Thanks, Joan!

It Seems Anyone can Win a Bake-Off!

This past Saturday, our ward participated in the Crop Walk. It's a community effort, but our ward likes to do something fun to go along with it. This year, they sponsored a bake-off and everyone was invited to bring their favorite breakfast baked item for participants in the walk to share. Now, the first thing that has to be said is that I am not a baker. Not at all.

But Natalie was on the committee that helped organize the event, and she was afraid there wouldn't be much participation and asked that I bring something. Anything. Her suggestion was Monkey Bread. Which I love and is easy and yummy, but hardly bake-off material.

Anyhow, I made Monkey Bread. And when I came back from the walk, I was greeted by a Primary child who was so excited to let me know that my Monkey Bread had taken second place in the bake-off. Which just goes to show, anyone can win. And look at my cool apron!!

Here's the 'prize-winning' recipe:

Monkey Bread

3 cans refrigerator biscuits (cheapest you can find!)
sugar/cinnamon mixture (to your own taste)

Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces, and roll in the cinnamon'sugar mixture. Drop pieces into a buttered (Pam works great) bundt pan.

In a pan on the stove: bring to a boil 1/2 c. white sugar, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 3/4 c. butter. You can add nuts and/or raisins but we don't like them so I never do. Pour this mixture over the biscuits.

Bake at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes. I find that 35 minutes is usually about right. You just want to make sure the insides of the biscuits are not still gooey. Cool slightly, run a knife around the edges of the bundt pan, and dump onto a serving plate. Make sure you have plenty of room as the butter/sugar will drip down around on the bottom. To eat, just pull off lumps from the roll. Yummy!!

You can get the biscuits ready in the pan earlier in the day or the night before. Just cover and refrigerate. When ready to bake, just add the sugar and butter mixture.

How to be Right

For Family Home Evening each week, Mark and I sit down together and watch a Conference talk. We are nearly to the end of this last General Conference - which makes it clear that it's almost time for another set of talks! I am excited that it's coming up so quickly.

It's interesting to see Pres. Monson as the prophet -- because it's so clear that he is. He's always been a favorite of mine but now he is acting and speaking as our prophet. Pres. Monson is full of inspiration and wisdom and this little quote is one of my favorites - it's a short little statement of fact that, if we could remember it, would probably change many of our lives.
"Remember that ofttimes the wisdom of God appears as foolishness to men, but the greatest single lesson we can learn in mortality is that when God speaks and a man obeys, that man will always be right." ~Thomas S. Monson

Since I'm someone who likes to be right, I'd better start listening.