Impossible Feats

Something we discussed with our students during NSO was the definition of "impossible."  What does it mean if something is impossible?  Here are my thoughts:

1) I like to quote Audrey Hepburn on this one and say that first off, nothing is impossible.  Even the word says "I'M POSSIBLE."
2) 100 years ago, there were several things that were impossible that we know are entirely possible today.  Traveling to the moon, communicating with anyone no matter you are, internet, even the technological advances made on automobiles.  My favorite example of this: Jules Verne.  When he wrote 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, none of what he recorded was possible.  Today, we have lost the luster and magic of Verne's publication because it is entirely possible and no one gives it a second thought (well, maybe a second or third thought for the giant squid ...).
3) To me, impossible means that no one has done it yet.  No one has tried hard enough yet.  No one has been committed enough to accomplish their goals yet.  If you really want to do something, the fact that no one has done it before isn't going to stop you.  The fact that there will be naysayers and people who tell you it's impossible should never stop you from achieving your wildest dreams.

Some "Impossible" Feats Throughout History:
- September 3, 1783: The Americans defeated the British in the Revolutionary War
- 1870: Siegfried Marcus propels the first "car" by means of gasoline
- March 10, 1876: Alexander Graham Bell completes the first clear telephone call
- December 17, 1903: The Wright Brothers powered and sustained human flight
- December 21, 1906: Reginald Fessenden completes the first audio radio broadcast
- July 21, 1969: Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon
- April 3, 1973: Martin Cooper makes the first call on a handheld mobile phone
- 1982: The concept of "the internet" was introduced

Who's to say what's impossible and who's to say you can't do it?  As far as I'm concerned, when there's a true, determined, persevering, and undeterred will, there is always a way.  Find that way.  Find the way to do what's never been done.

The Teacher Learns More and Other Service Stories

This weekend was probably the best weekend since coming back to Provo.  (I challenge someone to try to top it.)  I volunteered a few months ago to be a Y-Group leader for Summer New Student Orientation (NSO).  This past weekend, I put on my blinding yellow T-shirt and walked over to campus to meet the 20 freshmen which I would be introducing to campus, along with my two other leaders, Bryan and Lizy, and the freshmen peer mentor, Lyz.

Red 1; aka Group Red Thunder

It was honestly the most amazing experience.  I learned more about myself, my goals, and what I needed to do than our students did, I'm sure.  We attended Education in Zion, which is awesome.  If you haven't ever gone, go.  Now.  My favorite character was Lorenzo Snow; There are two paintings in the gallery facing each other which Lorenzo talks about.  The first is a picture of the Kirtland, Ohio temple entitled "The Temple, A Holy School" and the second is a picture of Brigham Young Academy (now the Provo Library) entitled "The School, A Temple of Learning".  Just the connection between those two paintings was enough to make me stop and think. Truth is truth, no matter what the source, and we value and uphold truth.  So many people sacrificed to bring forth both the temple and BYA (now BYU) and each is sacred and holds a special place in my heart.

Something which we discussed with our students was the definition of success.  How do we measure success?  What is your definition of success?  Someone said "Getting all A's."  Okay.  So if we apply that standard to the rest of the world, 90% of the population is the opposite of success: failure.  That's pretty dismal and depressing.  If we define success as becoming president/ruler of a country, 99% of the world is a failure.  So what is success and how do we find it?  Here are my thoughts:

1. You can't measure yourself against anyone else except yourself.  Each person has different strengths, weaknesses, and talents.  We're not all meant to succeed in the same way, otherwise we'd all have nice cars, nice houses, and plenty of money to last.  Besides, you can only succeed at being you.  You can't succeed at being your neighbor because they're better at being them than you are, just like you are better at being you than anyone else is.
2. You decide what is means for you to succeed.  If succeeding to you is owning a mobile home and flipping burgers at the local Mickey D's, than I hope you achieve that dream and live it to it's fullest.
3. If you give anything less than your all, if you are not committed to your success, if you don't give it your best shot 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, then you will fail.  Success does not require your attention or your best; it demands it.  

To me, at this point in my life, success would be three things:  finish college, open my own business, and get married (not necessarily in that order).  If I am not committed to finishing college, then I won't.  If I am not committed to opening my own bakery and shutting down all my competitors, then I will have wasted my time and I won't accomplish anything.  If I don't really want to get married, then I won't try and I won't find the right fish.

I'll save some other points from our discussion for other posts ;] They were good points and we had some good discussions (at least I thought we did).

The best part of the BYU Incoming Freshman Class of 2012 and their amazing Peer Mentor and Y-Group Leaders

I know I had an awesome NSO experience and I can't wait until next summer to do it again!! I hope my students also enjoyed it and got more than free lunch and a campus tour out of our service towards them. :]

Sickly Summer

After returning from my grand vacation adventures, today

I was sick. *achoo!*

And half a box of tissues of later,

And after HOURS 

of catching up on my favorite TV series,

I finally realized I should update my blog.

Turkey Enchiladas

(I made these for my roommates yesterday, and even the Asian was a big fan!)

Bare Necessities:

• 1 pound ground turkey breast (make sure to get the breast- it's better for you than regular ground turkey because there's no rib meat)
• 1 can green chili enchilada sauce
• 1 can red enchilada sauce
• Taco seasoning 1 Tablespoon
• Fajita seasoning  2 Tablepsoons, divided
• Onion powder (or real onions ... onion powder is much cheaper and accomplishes the same task)
• Mushrooms, diced- however many you want, depending on how much you like mushrooms.  I used four big caps
• Tortillas, whatever kind you prefer
• Cheddar Cheese, (or Colby Jack works great, too)
• Mild/Hot Taco Sauce, depending on your preference

Weapons of Choice:

• Crock Pot
• 9x13 casserole pan, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray

Method of Operations:

1. Combine both cans of enchilada sauces, taco seasoning, and one Tablespoon of the fajita seasoning in a crock pot.  Add the turkey and mix well.  Cook on low for about 4-5 hours.
2. Add diced mushrooms, onion powder, and the rest of the fajita seasoning and cook on high for about 30 more minutes.
3. When the turkey mixture is done, grab a plate and put on tortilla on it.  Using a slotted spoon, place one scoop of turkey down the middle of the tortilla in a line.  Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon or two of cheese on top of the turkey.  Fold one half of the tortilla over the turkey, making sure the turkey stays in the middle.  Fold the other side of the tortilla over and under.  Carefully lift the enchilada so none of the turkey spills out and place it in the casserole dish, short-ways.  Repeat with the rest of the tortillas or until the turkey is gone, or you have no more room in the casserole dish.  Whichever comes first ;] My turkey lasted for about 10 enchiladas.
4. Pour a light drizzle of taco sauce over the whole dish of enchiladas.  Sprinkle with cheese, making sure each enchilada receives a good amount.  If desired, you may also spread the leftover juices from the crockpot on top.
5. Place in the oven and bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes, or until the edges of the tortillas begin to brown.
6. Serve with sour cream, salsa, guacamole, and/or whatever captures your fancy. :]

No picture this week :[ You'll just have to use your imagination!

Pompously Circumstantial

So with much anticipation, nail biting, and excitement ... Aaron graduated ... FINALLY.  The entire reason for my trip home is now complete (which means I'll be heading back soon ...).

I was excited to discover that two of my three freshmen from senior year were the salutatorian and valedictorian!!  Hurray!!! So proud of them!!

The Sal was awarded her medal

The Val spoke.

The PCHS graduating class of 2012
Congrats, guys!

Apparently, when people graduate, we take lots of pictures ... but I didn't want to TOTALLY bombard you ... so here are a few of the important and priceless ones.

Everyone's attitude going in to graduation ... you can tell who's excited to be there and who's not ... 

Congratulations to all the graduates!!!

The proud (and relieved) parents

And because I've bored you with graduation pictures, I reward you with a sweet treat!!  These are our traditional graduation cupcakes which we make every year!

All you need are:

Reese's Minis

Chocolate Covered Grahams/Cookies (they have to be rectangular)

Fruit Roll-Ups

Chocolate Frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes (Made and Frosted!)

Unwrap the Reese's Minis.  Put frosting on the bottom of a Reese's Mini and put the Mini on the cupcake upside down.  Cut the Fruit Roll Up in Half long ways and in half short ways.  Make slits in one end of each square and then roll it up to look like a tassel.  Put frosting in the end without the slits and stick it to the top of the chocolate covered graham.  Put the graham on top of the Reese's and voila!!  Graduation Cupcakes :]

Celebrate Good Times

Aaron graduated from Seminary!

The proud Parental Units

The Whole Fam-Fam!

So we decided to celebrate!

Homemade Double Decker Cookie Cake by Yours Truly

Ice Cream, Root Beer Floats, Cookie Cake, and Pink Lemonade = The Celebration of Champions

High School Graduation Tonight ....

... May the force be with us.

Avengers Assemble

Midnight showing of avengers=

Big purse to sneak in drinks +

Playing catch phrase in the theater for an hour and a half +

Drinking Powerade all day +

Only getting two hours of sleep before an 8 hour day at work +

Shawarma =

AWESOME

Seriously, they should stop now because it can't be topped.  Ever.  By anything.

It's THE best.

V is for Vegas and W is for Weddings

A wedding?  I love weddings!

And in Vegas, nonetheless.

Two of my favorite peoples, starting their new life together <3

Aren't they purty :]

G and D, I love you guys.  I know you'll be very happy together and this marriage thing will work out for both of you.  G, it's still hard to think that you're not coming back to live with me, but I'll get used to the idea, eventually.  D, I know you love her and I'm glad that if she had to move, it was to marry you.  That being said, you know I'm a country gal and I take care of the things I love and you better be nice to her or you'll have me to answer to.  And you both better keep in touch!

Love you, Gigi.

"Now you're my whole world." -Brad Paisley

Their reception was so cute!  Cookies and Milk were the entree of choice.

Cookies are small circles of love. (especially if they're made of chocolate ...)

10 different kinds, including bride's favorite and groom's favorite
(Chocolate Chip, Homemade Oreos, Snickerdoodles, Pecan Delights, Chocolate Crinkles, Oatmeal Raisin, Cinnamon Chip, Gingersnaps, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and Sugar)

We go together like cookies and milk.

Strawberry, chocolate (not pictured ...) , and plain

  And they went a little country.

A most excellent way to spend the week-end, in my opinion.