General Conference

I love reading the Ensign. There are few things I look forward to more. My favorite is the conference talks. I like General Conference weekend, but the time I most grow is when I am able to read and study the talks. I learn so much more that I didn't hear when I was listening to it. Over the many General Conference's (and I'm sure many of you can relate), I have noticed that I take the most from President Deiter F. Uchtdorf's talks. I'm sure everyone has a favorite they like to listen to. I feel like he talks to my soul the most, that he relates to me the most. I was reading the conference talk from April titled "Waiting on the Road to Damascus" and I found a new favorite quote:

"The truth is, those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come to know Him. They will personally receive a divine portrait of the Master, although it most often comes in the form of a puzzle-one piece at a time. Each individual piece may not be easily recognizable by itself; it may not be clear how it relates to the whole. Each piece helps us to see the big picture a little more clearly. Eventually, after enough pieces have been put together, we recognize the grand beauty of it all. Then, looking back on our experience, we see that the Savior has indeed come to be with us-not all at once but quietly, gently, almost unnoticed."

Tired little Monkey

This has never happened to me before. I guess there's a first for everything and there must have been too much Easter candy or something! :)

Happy Easter Everyone!

Trying to stay on track...

So, I've lost my camera. It is VERY frustrating because I wanted to post pictures of my BEAUTIFUL Valentine's Dinner!!! I think that one of my lovely children have gotten their hands on it and run off with it somewhere. So, the plan is that I will make my gourmet dinner for the week tomorrow night, but if I don't find my camera, it will be Friday. I want to post pictures of my wonderful meals along with the commentary. I'm also not very impressed with my book that I got from Amazon...I'm thinking of sending it back. I think I will just look online for recipes and build my own menu. The menu for this weeks gourmet cooking lesson (for myself):

Green Salad with Lemon Herb dressing
Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken
Twice Baked Parmesan Potatoes
Fresh Baked Bread (I can't believe I'm actually going to try bread; the only thing I have a really hard time with)
Brazed Cucumbers
Orange Creamsicle cupcakes

Inspiration and Motivation

I am a perfectionist. I always have been. Ask my mother. ;) I'm never happy with the things I do, I always see something that can be tweaked, some way that I can do it better the next time. I'm far too critical of myself. But....I think most women are. I was doing my nightly scripture study and came across this quote by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, and if you're at all like me, maybe it will help you too.

"Let me cite a hypothetical example of a dear sister in any ward, the one who has perfect children who never cause a disturbance in church. She is the one working on her 20th generation in her family history, keeps an immaculate home, has memorized the book of Mark, and makes wool sweaters for the orphaned children in Romania. No disrespect, of course, intended for any of these worthy goals. Now, when you get tempted to throw your hands in the air and give up because of this dear sister, please remember you're not competing with her any more than I'm competing with the members of the Quorum of the Twelve in the 50-yard dash. The only thing you need to worry about is striving to be the best you can be. And how do you do that? You keep your eye on the goals that matter most in life, and you move towards them step by step."