Visiting Teaching!

Last post tonight, I promise. Last post for a while, actually, as work will be picking up again soon.

So another thing that happened while I was in Denver--I was asked to be president of the ladies organization (called Relief Society) in my local congregation. I've had a good amount of time to think about the responsibility on my shoulders. In accepting, I've agreed to serve as an example of trying to live according to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I've agreed to be a ready friend to every single woman in our congregation--to those who do come every week, as well as to those I've never met. I've agreed to help shoulder their burdens and to do all I can to help them. Essentially, I've agreed to walk in the footsteps of my hero and Savior.

One of the ways that I get to help make sure that the sisters are cared for is to visit a handful of them each month and to share or teach them a lesson. It's a system of watching over each other and making sure that our needs are met; it's known as "visiting teaching." I love it, because it's a chance for me to visit sisters that maybe I never would have met otherwise; it's a chance for me to build trust with these sisters and to learn what I can do to help them. It's a chance to learn to love people I may have not even known for a month. 

I wish I had more time, so I could visit every sister in our congregation. Since I don't have quite enough time for that each week or even each month, I love that the sisters in our congregation were all assigned visiting teachers so they can each find out how the other sisters are doing, and let me and others know how the branch can help need their needs. 

I respect all religions and I am grateful that we may choose to follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that our Savior love each of us which is why He died for us--to help us come back to Him, and to help us through the many struggles we will be facing throughout our lives. I know that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are both the word of God, and I know that when I put into practice the principles they teach, I am happier, more relaxed and much more at peace. I love that I have been able to grow up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and learn more and more about my Savior. 

And I love being able to share the gospel with the sisters that I visit teach.

Harry Potter!

Opening night. In 3D.

When it ended, I got about 3 hours of sleep, then staggered into work.

I was disappointed by the first half of Harry Potter VII, so I had reservations about seeing the second half; I had really big reservations about seeing it opening night, since I wouldn't have any time to recuperate. But the night was a blast, thanks to the fantastic company, a well-made production, and some very large, caffeinated sodas. Very large sodas. At a fairly crucial scene, I had to run across the lobby to the restroom, then run back to the theater, because I couldn't wait any longer. I hope I at least amused the theater employees who were lounging around.

Mud Run!

Around the middle of May, I got an email at work requesting a response from those interested in running on the firm's team for the Camp Pendleton Mud Run. I furiously dashed off an email expressing my exuberant interest and then waited with baited breath for a reply. For about five minutes. Then I looked up the mud run and realized that it was a 10K. And I had signed up for it with only three weeks notice. Ohhh crap.

I had fair confidence in my ability to do a 5K, but I had never run that much in my life. Plus, the team from our office competes with the team(s) from the San Diego office each year, so that was extra pressure to not drag down the team with my presence. Still, I'd wanted to do a mud run for the last couple years. So my self-interest held out over my concern for the good of the team and I didn't quit, like I was tempted to do.

I managed to train a little for the run, but I was definitely one of the slower people in the whole race pack. But I got muddy, and nasty, and disgusting, and exhausted...and had one of the best days of my year.

My friend Alejandra and I, after the race

The morning of the race, one of our team members unfortunately couldn't make it--so we almost got disqualified. But another coworker who happened to be awake at 7:00 am was able to save the day--he drove down to Camp Pendleton with no advance notice or training, and joined us behind the starting line about ten minutes before the race officially started. And, of course, he was one of the first on our team to finish.

Chris, our hero of the day

That was a day of many firsts for me: first 10K, first timed race, first mud run, first time in a communal shower...oh what a day, oh what a day.

Denver!

Just under a month ago, I flew to Denver to see the one and only Sadie Lee (well, the only one I know. That has red hair, anyway). Sadie and I have had some pretty awesome experiences together--we were roommates during the Timpanogas Lemonade Stand which we both attended. We rocked the 80s scene

What were the 80s were really all about? Total Eclipse of the Heart pretty much says it all.

Together we celebrated our last first day of school, and our first last day of school. But she went east, and I went west, and we both ended up in cool places where we spent the first few months just scrambling to figure out life and make friends. A few months ago, we decided it was time for a reunion--so at the end of June I fled the state of CA and visited her in Denver.

We sang, we danced, we laughed, I probably cried at some point...and we definitely played the piano.

Scattered around the 16th Street Mall in Denver are several pianos. They're painted in crazy patterns, and definitely aren't in tune--but they're a fun combination of art and self-entertainment. Ms. Lee entertained me with the piece she played above...and then she played a piece upside down. She was upside down, that is. And I do have a picture of it, but she'd kill me if I posted it (those interested in seeing for themselves may send me $5 and a SASE).

We also explored Red Rock, and the Red Rock Ampitheatre. A few highlights there:

Walking where Igor Stravinsky walked

People watching at its finest

Red heads in their natural habitat

Finding Pride Rock

I learned  a few new games while I was out there--one was called Crud. It's the equivalent of Horse, but involving a billiards table. That game resulted in more than a few scrapes and bruises. We had to keep the eight ball moving on the table, but sometimes that meant running to a different side of the table. And because everyone else wanted you to lose a point, they would block you from getting where you wanted to go--and sometimes just block you from moving altogether.

The other game I learned was an old game...Signs. At first, I was scared that this would be like most games of Signs where I absolutely dread getting caught and being in the middle. In fact I thought it was going to be even worse than normal signs--because we were playing signs in pairs. It sounded like a recipe for disaster. But it ended up being awesome. Sadie and her partner started off in the middle, and their sterling example of teamwork must have inspired us all.

How do you play Signs in pairs? Well, first you pair up. Half the ward was at a giant casual group date that evening, so we were all set there. Next, you pick a sign that you and your partner can do together, like so:

Signs may involve contact, or may just involve awesome
gestures from bygone generations

Then, of course, you have to pass the sign. Together. To a pair who will receive your sign. Together. And a couple in the middle, looking to see who has the sign. Together. 

I think that Team Signs was a success because the group knew each other fairly well (except for me) and because we'd had a rousing game of Crud before we played...thereby breaking down any inhibitions against such awkward things as giving each other high fives, or other such frightening physical contact. But having someone else looking to receive the sign definitely made it fun--having to communicate with your teammate in an incognito manner added a new dimension to the game--and my favorite part was having someone else help me when we were "it", in the middle. I hate that part...oh how I hate it. 

Other highlights of the trip included 

• The location of Sadie's house. She lives near a prison...and hers is the first house you'd pass if you happened to be escaping the prison. That gave me a little thrill some nights.
• Bunny rabbits! I felt like I was experiencing the Curse of the Were-Rabbit...except, of course, without the were-rabbit. They would come out of nowhere, lazily hop across their chosen path, and then disappear again.
• Despicable Me. Saw it for the first time, and thought it was awesome.
• Focaccia and Ciabatta baking extravaganza. We got excited about Italian breads, and started making focaccia...and since we were going to be up anyway, and we had a movie going anyway, we decided to get fancy and make ciabatta also. They were delicious. Kudos to Sadie and her Bosch.
• Two naps a day. I blame it on the altitude (Denver being the Mile High city and all)...but really I was probably just exhausted anyway and feeling extra lazy.
• Widespread panic at Red Rock. Err, Widespread Panic, that is. We didn't see their show but Sadie was telling me that there would be widespread panic at Red Rock that day, and my first thought was, how do you even schedule that? 
• Eating at SAME cafe. The idea is that you order a meal and then pay what you feel is a fair price. If you don't have money, you can volunteer for an hour to earn a meal. 

Altogether, an awesome, awesome trip. Special thanks to Sadie for putting up with my naps, my one-track mind, and all my talking. She's a quiet girl, you see, so I fear I may have overwhelmed her :)

Dolphins!

I had an adventurous 4th of July weekend. Our firm gives us four-day weekends for certain holidays, and Independence Day is one of those holidays. So I was all set to enjoy a full weekend of relaxation--until I got invited to count inventory on the Friday of that weekend. But what I missed out on that day, I made up for on Independence day.

My dad will often go sailing, and on this particular weekend, he was planning to journey out to Santa Cruz Island, which is one of the channel islands off our coast (The island is the one with the "B" balloon. Just in case you were wondering.)

We left early in the morning, met up with three of my dad's friends and their three respective daughters, and headed for the sea. Along the way we said hi to some of the locals,

picked up some traveling companions:

and eventually arrived at our destination:

I know, we probably could've picked a prettier destination. But we wanted to do some kayaking, and I wasn't quite ready for this trip yet.

A few kayaking tours were taking place around the island, and my dad and I just happened to show up when the groups were going through a few different caves. As a result, we explored several sea caves that didn't look like they existed. We also found some on our own (mostly as we were looking for the ones we went through the first time). Here's a fun arch we found:

Photo courtesy of these guys

The island had a pretty cool visitor's center; part of it was a replica of the type of ranch house that was on the island when it was used for raising livestock. Not many people come to the island, so the center wasn't staffed, but it was equipped with motion sensors, and the center came to life when a visitor walks through the door.

I think my favorite souvenir from the trip was my wet suit tan. While I did make sure to put sun block on my feet, I guess I didn't reapply as needed. I have a distinct line by my ankles that shows exactly where the wetsuit stopped and where the sunburn started. Seeing as I'm going into hibernation again as of this week, I doubt I'll be anywhere sunny for the rest of the summer. I didn't achieve my flip-flop tan this summer, but I guess I'll settle for this--a semi-permanent memory of an awesome day with my dad and the dolphins.

Add caption

When we came back from the island, though, the adventure didn't end. While hauling the boat out of the water, we heard a CRUNCH SCRAAAAAAAAAPE type noise. The trailer that holds the boat ended up breaking at a fairly critical point on the main shaft.

After my dad and his friend scratched their heads (and all us daughters stood looking useless...especially me with my camera), someone suggested they make a splint for the trailer. Luckily, they were able to find wood and webbing (something similar to it, anyway) and jimmy-rig a splint that held long enough to bring the trailer back to the boat yard.

Good thing they were there...if I were in charge of the trailer, I'd probably still be down at the harbor wondering what to do. Three weeks later.

S'mores!

Over the last few months, I've had the chance to play with food a little. In order to encourage socializing at church, a friend of mine* decided to start bringing treats--so people could munch on something after church, and mingle. This activity is inventively called munch & mingle (where do people come up with these names?). Somehow I got roped into being the sous-chef for this project--and it's been fun. We've made forays into the realms of orange rolls (and strawberry rolls), pretzels, cream puffs, and the occasional cop-out cookie; but about a month ago was the pièce de résistance. S'mores.

No, wait, you don't understand!

So, we did buy the chocolate. But we made these marshmallows and these graham crackers.

And they ended up looking like this:

And yes, that is a moose. Who may have been nibbled on.

It was a messy project (I think marshmallow goo ended up in a few random places around my kitchen...and on my clothes...and in my hair) but the marshmallows weren't very much work. I did get to see my Kitchenaid beat the marshmallow cream for 12 minutes, on high. That was an impressive sight. (I'm sorry...I'm a total geek. I don't think anyone else gets excited about seeing their mixer work that much.)

The graham crackers were very delicate in dough form, but with a little coaching from one of my cooking mentors** (pictured below) the task of rolling the dough and transferring them to the pan became easier.

*Names have been avoided to protect the guilty. We will call this person A. Wong, or Alex W. for short.
**Those dark marks on her arms are temporary tattoos. No children were bruised in the making of these crackers.

Bloggapalooza!

Warning: I haven't blogged in a few months. Some cool things have happened since then. You may experience blog post overload in the next few minutes.

You have been warned.