Amazing Rescue!

I have to admit that three months ago, when the news broke about Chilean miners being found alive but half a mile down, the first thing I thought was "They're dead".  I had no hope for the poor men and was sure the media vultures would have a heyday as they reported the miners dying one by one, far from their loved ones.

Fast forward to tonight when I sat with tears in my eyes and watched the amazing rescue unfold. I've never been so glad to be proven wrong!

One thing does bother me. From the few statements of the miners and their families you get a glimpse into how much their faith in God helped to pull them through this ordeal.  Sadly but predictably, the US media is doing all they can to filter out these "religious" aspects of the story.  No wonder the world sees America as a godless country.  That brings tears to my eyes also.

But forget the media and let's say thank you to the men and women who worked so tirelessly to bring the miners home and to the Lord for his hand in the rescue.  Gracias Senor!

A Month of Hideous Fun

Here it comes - our favorite month of the year. Except for December, of course. And July. Can't live without July. And maybe April. But where was I?
OH YES!  Halloween Month.  Might as well call it Halloween Month, since we'll start decorating tomorrow and won't stop until the ghouls come out on the 31st.

But more on this subject in the coming days.  Today I wanted to mention two things:

1) L. Tom Perry Tie Alert!!
We love watching each conference to see which tie L. Tom Perry will be wearing.  He's always on the cutting edge of sartorial fashion as far as I'm concerned.  I'll never forget the pale pink tie he wore one Easter.  Stunning!

I only caught a glimpse of Saturday's tie as they showed the apostles walking out - seemed to be baby blue.
But today's tie was a real winner.  Pale gold with dark squares. Very Distinguished!

2) The demise of BOB
I was so sad to come back to my blog list after a summer away and find that Kim P. had closed the Binge On Books blog. I always enjoyed that blog - both the content and the writing.  I even contributed to it once of twice myself, although sadly not enough to help her keep it alive.  I'm glad she's still writing her Ex Libris Lady blog. You've got me as a life long reader, Kim!

Now, back to scrounging the fridge in the hopes of a nourishing Post Conference Nosh.

The Great Clothing Coverup

No, it's not the name of the newest fashion house based murder mystery, it's my annoyance at not being able to readily find clothing that a modest girl can wear. Why should be have to fight this battle?  I'm used to never being able to find pants that will fit someone six feet tall.  I'm also used to there being no cute shoes produced that are larger than a 10.  But when I can't find a shirt that isn't sleeveless or a skirt that doesn't stop at mid thigh, well that's when I get mad.

What's a girl supposed to do in this situation?
You know quite well - layering.  We all do it, and frankly I'm tired of it.  I have a closet full of tank tops and cardigans for making regular shirts and dresses presentable.

The other day I was trolling my friends on Facebook (I sometimes do look at Facebook, although that's another story) and ran across a girl I knew from when I was in Young Womens.  Her daughter had won Homecoming Princess (or Prom Queen or whatever they call those things now days) and pictures of her with her date were posted. The girl is lovely. The dress was a very pretty lavender georgette - halter top.  What's a girl to do? Well this girl had worn what appeared to be a white teeshirt under the gown.  YIKES!!! It wasn't a good combination.  Did not go with the tiara AT ALL.

Every so often I slum it and go to Nordstroms Rack.  They no longer have cute clothes in my size *sigh* but they at least have shoes over size 10.  I was shocked and flabbergasted when the first thing I saw as we entered the store was a cute, MODEST cocktail dress.  NO KIDDING!  (Sorry, I'll lay off the capitol letters now.)

Take a look:

Sorry for the bad exposure.  That's what happens when you try to sneak a picture with an iPhone.  I don't know why Nordstrom's store security would care if I took a picture of a dress, but I was feeling very sneaky about snapping the shot. Weird, no?

But isn't the dress sweet! Who would believe that clothing manufacturers knew how to make sleeves?!?
Sadly, I didn't get the name of the designer. I'd send her flowers.  Truly.

I did run across a fun web site that feature modest, wearable clothing.  It's also got a funky name, which only makes it more appealing. See what you think!
http://www.shabbyapple.com

PW comes to Beaverton!

I'm a huge fan of the Pioneer Woman blog. Photography, Cooking, Homeschooling and wonderful accounts of meeting Mr. Right - how could a blog go wrong with content like that?

I even bought PW's cookbook as a Christmas gift for my mother.  (Who left it here, supposedly by accident, so I've been enjoying it all by myself!)

If you haven't seen this cookbook, you must check it out.  Scrumptious recipes and even better photographs, all bound together by PW's wit, which makes a great sauce.


Today PW announced her Spring Book tour and she's coming here!
Not just Portland, here - Beaverton, here!

Monday, April 19, 2010, 6:00 pm
Powell's Bookstore at Cedar Hills Crossing

I'm not a huge Powell's fan (they're so snooty) but I'll brave the snubs of their staff for the chance to get my book autographed by Ree Drummond herself.  This will actually be a moment of some import.  The last time I stood in line to get an autograph it for Henry Kissinger.

Anyone want to come? We can swap biscuit recipes while we stand in line.

A Family Home Evening Idea for Passover

Or should that be "A Passover Idea for Family Home Evening"?
Probably the later, but I was afraid that people would be scared off by the early use of the word Passover, and I'd NEVER get your attention.

Either way, here's a wonderful video on how to make a delicious and easy unleavened bread. It's a great way to have fun with the kids and teach them about a holiday that held special meaning for the Saviour and thus for all of us.

Mark Bittman's Olive Oil Matzo (Sardinian style)

I have to admit to a love for matzo. So good in so many ways - the best of which is Matzo Ball soup. But I also like to eat it plain, with a thin, thin coat of good mayonnaise and a bit of kosher salt. (Must be kosher salt - not for the kosher, but for the granularity). So crunchy, so satisfying.

Manga!
Oops. I should say Nosh!

And Good Passover to you. :)

Bad Sports

Are you as fed up with the examples of bad sportsmanship that were churned out at this Olympics?

Perhaps this go-round wasn't any worse than other Olympic years, but I actually sat down and watch a good chunk of these Olympics and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

To start off, I wanted to board a train, hop off at Pacific Coliseum and personally flick Plushenko on the ear for his descent into bad sportsmanship. What a way to end a brilliant career - to become the whiny baby. "But I did a Quad! They promised me!"

Right. I forgot. First rule of skating is "Come out of Retirement because your Country is hard up for Talent, and the World will grovel at your feet". Second rule is - "You get to make up the rules". Strange, I thought it was "Land your jumps gracefully, instead of having to hang on to every one of them, and the judges will reward you with points."

Just in case you think I'm being anti-Russian and pro-American here, let me pull out my next complaint - the American Women's ski team debacle.

Jeeze Louise, girls! Get a grip!
I went back and forth about who I felt was being slighted, but finally I just tossed both Vonn and Mancuso out the back door. Mancuso's histronics when she had to do her run again and then failed miserably were something I expect to see in Nursery, not in a sporting competition.

Finally, there was Team USA today, taking the silver in Hockey.
Have you ever seen such bitterly disappointed faces? Such hang-dog expressions. Such woe and self-flagellation for the camera! Oh golly, we got silver. Boo hoo!
Suck it up boys! Smile and move on.

OK, maybe I'm being hard on people, but I did see so many GREAT examples of sportsmanship, that these bad ones really stuck in my craw.

Did you catch the Four Man Bob Sled event? The leaders would stand in the winning area, jumping around and happy, and as they were knocked out of contention they didn't tear their numbers off or sob - no, they smiled, waved to the crowd stepped aside for the winners.

How about the Ariel Ski Jump competition? There was this cool little reception spot at the bottom of the hill, with big waterproof beanbag chairs for the top three leaders. When a new guy bumped someone off the leader board, the loser immediately congratulated the winner, shook hands and left with a wave to the crowd.

Then there was the Men's Nordic Combined event. I found the whole thing amazing.
The conditions went from pretty good to downright poor during the second run of the ski jump. The leaders suddenly found themselves turning in awful jumps simply because of the wind and snow. This meant they were docked time and had to start up to a full minute behind their competitors in the cross country portion of the competition.

You didn't see any of these athletes whining or demanding a new jump, even though the group with the awful times included some of the best jumpers in the world. Nope, they just ponied up and did their job.

Now that is being a good sport.

I competed in several beauty pageants during high school and college. At the close of the competition everyone stands on stage and the Master of Ceremonies reads off the winners names with lots of drama. When this happens you face the audience, head held high, and put on your biggest smile, no matter what happens.

I always seemed to get Second Runner Up, so I know how it feels to have your heart sink right down into your three inch high heels when your name is called as a runner up and you suddenly know that you lost. But even in pageants, sportsmanship is the rule.

You don't fall down on the stage and beat your fists against the red carpet. You don't tear up the bouquet you've been handed and stomp off stage. You don't argue that your rousing rendition of "The Boy Stood On The Burning Deck" should trump her keyboard fusion of Jazz and Mozart. That's not how it's done. You keep smiling, no matter what, and then you give your heartfelt congratulations to the winner, even if you really, really hate that ugly purple dress she's wearing.

Admittedly, being a good sport sometimes means biting your tongue and putting on an act. But that's what being adult and civilized is about - not giving into your childish emotions, and learning to accept downturns with grace. That's a tough life lesson, but one that we need to teach our children, early on, and one that we should recognize and reward whenever we see it. It's too bad that the biggest Olympic athletes can't be bothered to help us teach this.

A gold in Sportsmanship? Not such a bad idea.
Even beauty pageants select a good sport to be crowned Miss Congeniality, and that's not an honor to be taken lightly.

I'm in Lights!

My entry to the Hopefully Mormon blog was posted!
:D

I'm not telling which one it is, but I'm absurdly proud just now.