Thought Thursday turned Recipe Wednesday

Natalie and Allison cleaned our fridge out and re-organized it.
they kept opening it up to look at it because they thought it was pretty. haha

here it is. in all it's cleanliness.

meet Glen. We made pie tonight. 

we're kind of cool like that.

then i made oriental salad. mom makes it all the time, but i never have in college yet. 

here is the recipe-

1 head of cabbage chopped fairly fine.
1 package of romen noodles crushed up
6 green onions
1/3 cup oil
1/3 vinegar
1/3 sugar
1 chicken top romen seasoning packet

combine oil and vinegar and sugar and top romen chicken seasoning together
pour over cabbage and green onions and top romen noodles. stir, and eat. :D

there was extra pie crust so he baked it with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top. 

final product. looks good, no?

Recipe Wednesday turned Thought Thursday + pictures

My grandma sent this to me. I liked it.

Take time to think-it is the source of power.

take time to read-it is the foundation of wisdom

take time to play-it is the secret of staying young. 

take time to be quiet-it is the moment to seek God.

take time to be aware-it is the opportunity to help others.

take time to love and be loved-it is God's greatest gift.

take time to laugh-it is the music of the soul.

take time to be friendly-it is the road to happiness.

take time to dream-it is what the future is made of.

take time to pray-it is the greatest power on earth. 

our quote wall is growing 

i want to do this with the license plate!

i made guacamole. well, technically i guess Glen made {smooshed} it.

the start of my light for 3D design

bread bowl and soup at ward Halloween party

picture i printed today in darkroom.

another one

someone i know got this announcement in he mail, and i
 love the time of the reception! 6:05-8:20?? random!

cowboy corner in my room is growing. :D

ignore the stuff on her arm. it was wet and made a weird design.

another one. i really liked them all.

a new sign in the photo room. gotta love it!

have a most excellent night!

xoxo

-Bri

Recipe Wednesday turned Thought Thursday

So yesterday was too busy to make anything. so i made mac & cheese. for those of you who don't know this, this is my favorite breakfast food. yes, breakfast. I love soups and leftovers and anything non-breakfast for breakfast. If i'm going to have breakfast food, it'll most likely be for dinner. I know, i'm weird. no need to tell me this.

So i made jambalaya- for 2 reasons. 1-because i needed me some spicy southern food. and 2-because i told my friend, Garin, that i would make him something sometime. only all of the food i cook would kill him. Cause he's deathly allergic to milk. So. this proposed some serious problems. did you know that margarine even has butter in it?? i did not. anyways, the other day i was thinking about making jambalaya and a light bulb went off in my head. jambalaya has zero milk. :D i had a polska cheese sausage that i usually use and had to go buy one that didn't have the cheese, but other than that this was a little easier to do than i thought it would. Don't get me wrong, i was still highly paranoid and kinda freaked out because i didn't want to kill the kid on accident. I'm pretty sure if i had to cook for him full time i'd get stomach ulcers from the stress. geez. haha. Although he assures me that it won't be scary after the first few times. i think he just wants me to keep making him food.... :P

anyways. jambalaya is not too hard to make. mainly you just need the right spices and you'll be fine.

here's the simplest way-

use a package of zatarans jambalaya seasoning and add rice. {the smaller amount you use, the spicier it is. and then dress it up with more peppers and some chili powder and Polska sausage and chicken and tony sacher's creole seasoning, or shrimp, or if you are lucky and can find them, CRAWFISH! mmmm. Love that water creature. One day, i'm going to go crawfish hunting again and then have a huge crawfish boil and eat those things till my lips burn so bad from all the spicy spices! The worst part is your fingers have the spices in them for days and every time you wipe your eyes they feel like they're on fire. anyways... i need to stop talking about crawfish because i want to cry that you can't get them here.

I should have taken a picture before we ate and cleared
off the table. but alas, i am not doing so hot at taking as
many snap shot pictures of my life this year. :'(

i made cornbread too. which Garin couldn't eat because the mix said "may contain milk"....

Jambalaya. it's one of my favorite things. I want to make a king cake again. because those are my favorite things in all the world. but, they kind of take a good 6-8 hours of work. so, next time i make them, instead of making 2, i'm making at least 4. at least.

So there is southern food Recipe Wednesday on a Thursday.

Thought Thursday +fun too

I'm in the photo lab at this moment. My film is taking a bath for 20 minutes longer and I don't have enough time to start anything new before i have to head to my class.
so that leaves me to blog. And after all, it is Thought Thursday.

 In general conference there was a talk titled "Love her Mother" by Sister Dalton

she said, “The most important thing a father can do for his daughter is to love her mother.”


"Within a few weeks our three sons will have given their baby daughters a name and a blessing. I hope this will be the first of many priesthood blessings they receive from their fathers, because in the world in which they will grow up, they will need those blessings. Your daughter will cherish the priesthood and determine in her heart that this is what she wants in her future home and family."


I think this quote is so true. You can read her whole talk here.

In institute yesterday the lesson was all about Christ and women. I've never had a lesson like it before. There are some pretty cool stories that I had heard before, but never have thought about in the same way.

My institute teacher said a few things to the girls in the class that really stood out to me.

The first one was something like- Girls, you base too much of what you think your personal worth is based on what the gentlemen think of you. you have an instinct inside of you that needs a guys attention and love. While the world tells you, you don't need them, you do. Guys-because you know this, make sure you help them feel like the daughters of God that they are. And you guys need the girls just as much as they need you.

self-do i do this? ummm... i think i do? {the whole self worth based on dumb boys}. Not nearly as much as some girls, but this is kind of a natural thing. I feel like I'm confident and I always say "who even needs guys anyway?". Maybe i should not say that anymore....? Let's be honest, i now that's not true. But gee whilackers that would make my life easier right now. *sighs*

Also, the first 2 people that Christ appeared to after he was resurrected were women. I did not ever think of those stories in that way. I thought that was interesting considering he could have appeared to his apostles first.

On Sunday, we got a book all about the Relief Society and all the women in the church are supposed to read it. He read a couple paragraphs from it and it sounds pretty cool. I'll add that to my LONG list of "things to do" list. There's a problem though. For every one item i get crossed off, it seems 3 items are added. It'll work out, it always does.

side note/question- i wish there was an equivalent for the word "guys" in feminine form. Because girl sounds really little, but women sounds like an old lady and young women sounds like high school/puberty age . Boy sounds little, man sounds really old, young man sounds high school... but the male also has the word "guy" to use. Which sounds perfect in a lot of contexts. And granted, the word guy sometimes is a unisex word, there still is not a word equivalent to "guy" for the female personage. plus, sometimes i feel like a male when people refer to me as a "guy". just kidding, i don't. haha Maybe i'll start using the word "gal". My grandma calls me and my girl-friends that all the time. hmm....

Well, my film is done bathing. Now i get to go add "bubble bath" {photo flo}

until next time-- think of me becoming even paler in the darkroom while you all get to go out and have romantic picnics because the weather is near perfect {slightly chilly but who cares if you have someone to keep warm with}. One day I'm going to buy a cute checkered blanket and a wooden picnic basket and am going to sit under a big maple tree and have a picnic with a really attractive guy/man while the leaves fall down on us. Then maybe we'll kiss. And i am soo adding this to my kissing list now. I'm such a hopeless one. haha. :D

xoXOxoXO
Bri

Thought Thursday- I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

 I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Click here, and follow along with the lyrics provided on the screen. It's a little jazzed up, but still good!

My church is getting a lot of media attention right now because of Mitt Romney's presidential candidacy and Jon Huntsman's too.

Also, watch this video. I love Elder Holland, he always tells it how it is and has such a powerful testimony.

"... I am deeply hurt when I am called anything but a Christian. ... The thing that defines me is my love of God, my commitment to Christ, my Christianity. ... What is different about Mormons, and why would anybody say you're not a Christian?

The two most distinguishing characteristics that come to mind that would separate us from other institutional religions, including institutional Christianity, are these: One is our view of the godhead. We believe that God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Ghost are three separate, distinct individuals. ... The other is priesthood authority: ... the right to speak and act in the name of God. ... One of these foundational pieces [of Mormonism] ... is the restoration of the holy priesthood, whereby actual authority is conveyed from heaven to us on earth to perform this ordinance; "us" being the Latter-day Saints." -Jeffrey R. Holland

I feel as if I should share what I believe.

I know with all my heart that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and another testament of Jesus Christ. I know that it was written for the people of this time and that if we read it and apply its principals that we will be happy. It can give us guidance in a time where the world is confused and help us to return to live with our Heavenly Father.

I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. That no matter what anyone says he saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ in the sacred grove that morning. He translated the Book of Mormon and restored the fullness of the gospel to the earth again. I know that the gospel will never be taken from the earth again and will be spread throughout the whole world.

I know the priesthood to be the power of God given to worthy men. I can feels its power and it has created SO many miracles in my life. I know I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for the power of priesthood blessings. I am extremely grateful for a wonderful dad that honors his priesthood and will give me a fathers blessing of comfort to me whenever I need him to. 

I know that Christ suffered for my many sins. I know that because of his atonement I am able to be forgiven and that I can have him for a best friend and an older brother. I know that he hears my prayers and helps me through my roughest of times and understands everything that I have gone through and everything I will go through. I am so grateful for him.

I know that families are forever. That the ordinances in the temple seal us together forever. That when I find the love of my life it won't be "till death do you part", but "for time and all eternity" because of the sealing power in the sacred temples. What a great blessing this is and such a comfort to me! To know that when someone dies it isn't the end and I will see them again. I don't know how people can get through the death of a loved one when they do not know of this eternal truth.

I know that Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet today. That he guides this church in the way that my Heavenly Father knows is best. I know that when I follow his teachings I will be a happier person and that i will receive blessings for it.

I know that I am a daughter of God. That he is my Father and that he loved me enough to send me to this Earth to receive a body so I could return to live with him some day. I love him and cannot wait to return to his presence. 

This church is true. The blessings I receive from it and the principles taught by it have made my life wonderful. I'm not perfect but through this church and Jesus Christ I can be.

I say these things humbly today, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I hope that any of you have read this will find out for yourself if what i say is true. I know that the missionaries would be so happy and willing to teach you and if you listen, and find out for yourself, you will be the happiest you've ever been.

visit this website to find out more information.

Thought Thursday-Logan Temple

So... I kind of really stink at thought thursdays. I'm ashamed of myself. ;)

I really liked the one of the salt lake temple like this so I did my own.
I'm going to print this out, matt it, and frame it. It'll go on our
wall of religiousness. :D

yesterday was so wonderful. I took some time out for myself and did the most relaxing thing that I could do. no, not a bubble bath, I went and took pictures. And on the Logan temple grounds. It was off and on raining but didn't rain at all while i was at the temple. it was so perfect. I had a very nice time. I shot for more than 2 hours of different places around the temple. My life is so content sometimes. I just have to take more time out to enjoy it sometimes. Sometimes I just get way to caught up in being busy and going crazy with school that I forget to relax.  Anyways, here are some pictures. And I think I just might want to get married in this temple one day.

Thought Thursday: A niece for Brianna :D

Sorry about this being on Friday.... i had a million and a half things going on yesterday. Not kidding. it was probably the busiest day of my entire semester thus far. Do you want to know what i did? 

Well after school i stayed for a few hours in the studio. but guess what. when i go to rewind my film it didn't rewind. wanna know why? because the film never got unwound. so the entire time i was shooting, none of the film was getting exposed. joy. I think the world is out to get me when it comes to photography. i never seem to have much luck with things working out the first time. 

then, I did Betsy a favor and went on a blind date doubling with her and another kid. he's a wonderful son of God.... but i think i'm for sure done with blind dates now. i haven had 3, and all 3 have been extremely awkward guys. 

Then i spun around in cirlces while leaving a message for Taylor. to Which i got a text from him saying, "hey i'm at work, in your message you sounded drunk, are you okay?" haha. yeah Taylor, i was just spinning around in circles. NBD. 

then i worked on my project for 3 d design. it is ridiculously time consuming. just saying.

then i went on a walk and had a nice talk with my friend Cameron. To which i went to powder Puff football with Betsy Allison Garin Eric and myself. to which i came home and decided to go to bed. 

there were no breaks in between any of the above things. none. 

so do you remember how ash and i have a name that we both want to use for our first born son? If ash has a boy first then she gets the name. SO, I will be praying for her to have all girls till i get married and have a boy first. {if you could all pray with me it'd be appreciated}

My vote is cast as it being a girl. Go vote. {on the right hand side} and she's going to have red, curly hair with blue eyes and would look adorable as a kindergartener with glasses. :D 

Melissa Q and I were at walmart the other night and i went and looked at the baby clothes and was awwing over all the little new born stuff. I don't think there has ever been anyone that has wanted Ash to have a baby more than I. Seriously, since she graduated high school i've been telling her she needed to get married and have a niece for me. 

Ashleigh wants a boy. I think Nathan said he wants a girl though. If it's a boy, no matter what they name him, Q, Em, and I are calling him Bill. get it, because of their last name? Who can say that they have a theme song? My nephew will, that's who. 

to my future niece {or nephew}- the start of 100 things you need to know about your mommy is here. Some of these will be serious, others will just be random things you should know.

1- your mom is the most beautiful girl there ever was. inside and out. 

don't you agree??

and in other news, i have a new place to add to my kissing list- On a sail boat. :D 

you remember my kissing list right? if not here it is.

Thought Thursday-Womanhood

sometimes i feel like i'm one of those domestic goddesses. Like everything that Mormon women are known for or stereo typed with i kinda do.... for instance-

• i cook
• i decorate
• i like crafts and creativity
• i'm a photographer
• i want lots {well in the world's eyes, not mormon culture} of kids
• i want to be a homemaker and not have a huge career after I get married and have kids

i think mormon women are most known for their homemaking. And i can already see that when i have my own home i will be just the same...heck, i only have an apartment and i already do this!

I'm pretty sure that 70% of mormon housewives are self proclaimed "photographers". which kinda drives me nuts. And for the record, i Loved photography and wanted to be a photographer long before i ever made the connection to this fact. haha

i want to be a stay at home mom. This is what the LDS church teaches is best for the family. And i've never had a problem with this. I think it sounds perfect, actually.

and i cook too. basically, i was made to be a mormon women.

many cultures outside the LDS faith find a lot of those things archaic.

But i don't.

Yes, maybe it's "old fashioned"

but i don't care.

I've never had a problem with it.

I know that men and women have different roles in the church and in this world. I've never felt left out because I can't hold the priesthood. I feel blessed because instead, i have the gift to one day become a mother. Which in my humble opinion is super awesome!

here are some quotes that i really like on womanhood and motherhood.

“During my professional career as a doctor of medicine, I was occasionally asked why I chose to do that difficult work. I responded with my opinion that the highest and noblest work in this life is that of a mother. Since that option was not available to me, I thought that caring for the sick might come close. I tried to care for my patients as compassionately and competently as Mother cared for me.

Many years ago the First Presidency issued a statement that has had a profound and lasting influence upon me. “Motherhood,” they wrote, “is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels.

Because mothers are essential to God’s great plan of happiness, their sacred work is opposed by Satan, who would destroy the family and demean the worth of women.” -Russell M. Nelson.

The family is the basic unit of society and is ordained of God. It is through the family,

that children progress best and ultimately find happiness eternally.

"...one of the greatest things a father can do for his children is to love their mother." -Howard W. Hunter.

"Sisters, we love you. We pray for you. Be strong and of good courage. You are truly

royal spirit daughters of Almighty God. You are princesses, destined to become queens. Your

own wondrous story has already begun. Your 'once upon a time' is now."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf. from one of my all time favorite talks.

"Of all the creations of the Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring than a lovely

daughter of God who walks in virtue with an understanding of why she should do so, who honors and

respects her body as a thing sacred and divine, who cultivates her mind and constantly enlarges the

horizon of her understanding, who nurtures her spirit with everlasting truth" Gordon B. Hinckley

I have a testimony of my divine right as a women. It's a gift and blessing. It's not holding me back from anything; it's helping me become more. I'm grateful for my dad, Dean, and grandpas, for being such great examples of how a daughter of God should be treated by their husbands. I'm also grateful for my mom and grandmas for teaching me what a mom should be and about the special gifts women have.

Thought Thursday- Standing as a witness

My very first thought thursday! are you peoples excited??

This first week of school has made me realize how much i have to stand up for what i believe. from the ages 12-18.5 i repeated what is known as the "young women's theme".

We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him.

We will "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things,

and in all places" as we strive to live

the Young Women values, which are:

Faith

Divine Nature

Individual Worth

Knowledge

Choice and Accountability

Good Works

Integrity and

Virtue.

We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values,

we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants,

receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.

So when thinking about what to write about today, standing as a witness came to mind immediately. I was in my first day of English 2010 and we had to debate some issues because it's a persuasive essay writing class. My professor took the side, in every issue we debated, that goes against what the {LDS} church teaches. I know that everyone has different views and beliefs. that's fine. He told us that for every issue we write a paper on we will not get to choose which side we write about. That's fine if it's an issue that doesn't matter like "i phone vs droid" or "batman vs spiderman" but if it's making me write about something that i know to be morally wrong like pro abortion or pro gay marriage then i care. I know that it's "just a paper in a class" but would that be "standing as a witness"? I was taught to stand up for what I believe in and i'm learning that it's not nearly as easily done as it is said.

second item. Being an art major, i run into photography, drawings and paintings, that i do not feel comfortable with. I was happy to find that because of a series of extremely inappropriate photographs taken by this one guy last semester in a photo class, this paragraph was put into my syllabusses/syllabi {however you may say/spell the multiple of syllabus} "pornography will not be tolerated". All because {mainly the girls} put up a big stink about them. So, standing as a witness can make changes.

my first semester of college i was in a drawing I class and we had to draw nude models. I've never understood why a model just can't put on a swimsuit. Anyways, i seriously didn't want to do it, but my professor gave us little say in the matter. At 18, i was extremely panicked at the thought of seeing a nude male anatomy. Not that i'm okay with it now still. I said, not kidding, at least 20 prayers that morning that i wouldn't remember any of the drawing session and i don't. Honest to goodness. Looking back on the situation, i wish that i would have been more brave to say i wouldn't do it. If this ever happens to be something i have to encounter again as an art major {i don't think it will because i'm done with drawing and painting} i will not attend the class period.

Mosiah 18:9 "Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life"

I believe those that do choose to stand up for what they believe in will be blessed. Although hard, i know that my testimony of this grows every time i make the choice to stand as a witness of Jesus Christ.