Sushi Night

 

While grocery shopping one day, I had mentioned that I would like to learn to make sushi. Chad remembered this and brought me a sushi making kit and cookbook for Christmas. I finally got to use it to make dinner yesterday. 

This book has some unconventional recipes (hotdog and kimchi sushi, for example) which is good because I have some picky eaters in my family. I landed on chicken and cucumber sushi. 

This was in some ways a harder process than I had imagined and in some ways easier. The kit I was given has what they call a sushi bazooka. All I had t do was load rice on each side, add the chicken and cucumber, close it up, and shoot it onto the nori sheet. That already made it easier than I had anticipated. However, I didn't read the instructions, I just looked at the pictures the first time. This means I didn't fill it enough and shot it the wrong way on the sheet. I ended up having to spread out the stuff and rolling it like I would have had I not had this tool. The next time I still didn't have enough stuff in it, so it rolled weird. The next two attempts were much better.

Sushi was fun to make and tasty. My pickiest kid even ate two pieces, and my other kid ate all but the nori of three. (They are 19 and 21 and still very picky.)

New Case

 

About 8 or 9 years ago, Chad's brother gave me his old Kindle as long as I promised to use it. At the time, he often upgraded his electronics each time a new model came out and would give the previous one to a family member. I was more than happy to take this one. I got it with a black leather case that I never fully liked, but it was nice enough that I didn't search for anything else. 

A few months ago, the case started falling apart. One of the magnets even came out. At this point I decided I wanted a new one that was not only not falling apart. I wanted a pretty one. As I looked for one, I found there were not many options because apparently this model of Kindle was only sold that one year. I eventually found two that I liked and put them on my wishlist. 

When Christmas came around, I didn't get either case. However, I was given a gift card from Chad's mom. I used the gift card to buy the case I liked the most, and I love it. It is pretty, works great, and isn't falling apart.

I will have this Kindle as long as it keeps working. I know and understand that this case may wear out before the Kindle dies, and I may have to be creative about how to deal with it at that time, but I'm ok with that. For now, I will enjoy this pretty case. 

Jill

Yesterday, I found out that the baby I bounced and rocked when I was about 16 or 17 is now a grown woman with a baby and has been in my ward for about a month or two. How did I find out this was the same girl? Her mom, one of my favorite people from that time of my life, was visiting and found me in the chapel. I was go excited that I had to hold back the tears! 

Jill is one of the most influential people from my teenage years. She was one of my youth leaders for a few years and was there for me and my sister when my mom and brother died. I always thought she was so glamorous and cool because she was beautiful, wore high heels (even when pregnant) and was the only mom I knew who worked outside the home. She was also kind, thoughtful, and loved us unconditionally. She never judged me for having parents that were separated then divorced. She let me be when I needed it. I loved her so much that when Eric was little, we brought him to meet her when we took him out for Halloween. Of all of the youth leaders I had growing up, I would say she and Amy were the best. 

Now, her daughter is in my ward, and I get to see Jill more often! I may seem weird to still have heroes like this, but she is one of the people that made me who I am today. I owe a lot to this amazing woman! 

Bread Bowls and Memories

 

When I was in high school, I hung out with my brother here and there. (He was really a great brother!) One of the places he would take me was Perkins where I would order a salad in a bread bowl sitting in the smoking section, and we would talk and laugh and enjoy being friends and siblings. 

How 1990s is that memory? We used to be able to buy soups, salads, pastas, and more in bread bowls. That was before people were afraid of bread. We also used to have smoking and nonsmoking sections in restaurants in which there was either an accordion curtain, half wall, or just a sign between sections. If I was eating with Anthony, we were always in the smoking section. (Apparently, we didn't realize or care that it wasn't good for my asthma.) this of course was before we learned how dangerous secondhand smoke was for us. Also, Anthony died in 1996. He didn't live to see these things go away. 

While making my weekly sourdough batch, I thought of my brother, Perkins, and those bread bowls and decided that I would make bread bowls with broccoli cheese soup this week. I found a recipe online for the bread bowls and searched my recipe books for the broccoli cheese chowder that I love and waited patiently for Friday to come. 

Finally, that day came, and I got to make this meal I was looking forward to. I started making the bread bowls around 2pm (luckily work was slow) and carefully followed each step of the recipe. They were smaller than I expected, but that was a good thing because I can no longer eat like I did in high school. Then, I made the soup. As soon as it was all done, we sat down and put it all together. This was one of the best meals I have had in a long time! I will definitely be making it again. 

2025 Reading Goal

 At the beginning of 2024, I set a goal to read 6 books through the year. Little did I know, I would  end up in a self-help deep dive. Between nonfiction and fiction reading, I achieved my goal by the middle of the year and upped my goal to 10. As I spent at least 10 minutes a day on self-help, read my fiction series when I went to bed, and found other moments to read here and there, I finished the year having read 14 books. I know this isn't a lot to some people, but it's significant to me. 

This year, my goal is to finish at least 15 books. I think I can go over that goal, but I will be happy to have read more than last year. Right now, I am working on three books: Fast Like a Girl, Garters and Gargoyles, and Standing for Something. My bag of books has 7 more books in it that I will finish by the end of the year. I also have books here and there around the house that I read a few chapters from for classes but didn't finish that I will pick up and books in my Kindle that I will start when I finish my fiction book to get me to and past my goal. 

I have the goal of not buying any new books this year unless I have read everything I have that I haven't read. I don't think I will be buying any new books. Although, there is a possibility that I will get a library card...

KFC Bowl Knockoff

 

First of all, I need to give credit where credit is due. I got this idea from Aggressive Tutorials on TikTok. Noel and I both saw the video, and thought it would be interesting to try. She didn't want to make it her night of cooking, so I did. 

To start off, I made mashed potatoes. My family prefers real potatoes over the flakes. That's easy enough. I just washed and cut potatoes and boiled them until they were so soft that they were almost falling apart. Then, I put them in the stand mixer with milk and butter and mixed them while working on everything else. 

Then, I put the chicken nuggets in the air fryer.

While waiting for those, I mixed two packets of brown gravy. (She did two types of gravy, but this is what my family likes.)

While that simmered, I opened a can of corn, drained it, and put it in a bowl in the microwave. 

Once everything was heated up or cooked, I put it all out on the table along with some shredded cheese for my family to build their own "bowls." (I sat out plates instead of bowls.)

Each person built up what they wanted. I think it was a success and will be trying it again. Maybe next time I will make it with baked potatoes. That sounds delicious! 

No New Subscriptions

One of our no buy rules is "no new subscriptions." This is kind of hard this time of year because there are a lot of apps trying to get our business for the new year. A podcast that I listen to has print outs and stuff to follow along with the scripture study with a yearly subscription, there are crafting apps with yearly subscriptions, etc. It feels like everywhere I turn, there is another subscription looming in my face with the promise of making my life better or easier in some way. 

Here's the thing, though. I know me. I would sign up for the app, do whatever program for 2 or 3 months, and abandon said program. I'm a joiner, but I'm not great with the follow through. Hence the rule. 

I know this rule has already saved me money. The temptation to join a new flashy whatever will dissipate eventually. In the meantime, this is hard. 

Celebrating Eric

Eric's birthday was last week. He came over for pizza (his choice for birthday dinner), presents, and monkey bread (his choice for dessert). I love this kid and love celebrating special occasions with him. I love watching him continue to grow mentally and emotionally. He amazes me on a regular basis. I am so blessed to be his mom.

Noel took pictures this time around because my phone had died.

Tonight, Eric and I went out for our yearly Mom and Eric day. Given several choices of things to do, he chose dinner at Fat Shack, a strange restaurant that serves very odd sandwiches. He loves this place but hasn't been there since moving back to our part of town. We had weird food and good conversation. It's nice that he still wants to spend this kind of quality time with me.

Bowling with the Family

In the past, we had a tradition of going to a movie as a family for New Year's Day. It has had to change here and there for a few reasons. This year, it looked different because we couldn't all agree on a movie. Instead, we chose to go bowling. Since Eric and Noel both had to work on the 1st, we chose to go New Year's Eve. I don't know if everyone had fun, but I do know that I love any chance I get to be with all of my kids. I hope they never feel too old to hang out with Mom. 

Dinner Calendar

 

At some point over the past 10 years or so (I don't remember when), I decided that I would use a wall calendar for meal planning and to write down things that need to be picked up the next time we go to the store. For my family, this has been the best solution for meal and grocery planning. 

For a while, we used promotional calendars I would get at work. Then, we would just try to find one we liked. We have had a good variety of calendars over the years. 

This year, I chose an obscure holiday of the day. It's been fun to look at each day to see what obscure thing could be celebrated that day. 

January 2025 Bullet Journal

I am determined to make this month more productive than last month. I won't be disobey trying to make Christmas magical for my adult children, and I hopefully won't be so sick that I land in the ER with asthma issues. I will, however, be working daily on my goals. I have made spreads in my bullet journal to do this. 

First, I have a page that lists my goals of the month and has a tracker to mark off the days that I have completed them:

Then, I have my Miracle morning tracker. On the opposite page is my affirmation for the month. 

Next is my "no spend" tracker. I could be more of a low spend type thing, but Chad and I came up with rules that we both agreed on that we feel will lead us in a better financial path. 

My next spread is for cleaning. This of course is the bare minimum. I hope that everyone else will pitch in. We'll see. 

The only other tracker that I am using is one I made last month for the book that I want to finish and implement what I have learned soon. 

I will be keeping track of my hobbies without a tracker, and the conference talks are being marked in the book. 

Be Still

 About 4 months ago, Chad and I went to the temple and prayed for guidance on what to do with our professional lives. After doing an endowment session, we sat and prayed and soaked in the peace of the Celestial Room. As we did so, I go the impression to "be still." The longer we sat there, the stronger the feeling was that I just needed to be still. 

We drove home talking about our impressions. He seemed to be given a clear answer, but I was quite confused about what I felt I was being told to do. What did "be still" mean? As I contemplated it over the next few days, I decided to lean into it and try to figure it out. I even bought stickers with a scripture about being still on them. I began to think that it meant that I didn't need to do anything other than support my husband in his endeavors. I had been going to school for quite a while, and he had supported me for so long. Maybe it was his turn to shine. As time went on, I think I became more chaotic in some ways rather than still and supportive. 

Fast forward to last night. I was reading, annotating, and highlighting a General Conference talk that I had chosen at random from my General Conference Addresses: Journal Edition book from the most recent conference. The talk it landed on when I opened it was, "Seek Him with all Your Heart" by Bishop L. Todd Budge. The theme I picked up on from it was the importance of being still. THIS WAS THE ANSWER I WAS LOOKING FOR! It had been right here in a talked given in October. How did I not catch that months ago? 

In this talk he has many nuggets that stuck out to me. First of all, he quoted President Nelson saying in 2021, "...quiet time is sacred time - time that will facilitate personal revelation and instill peace." He later points out, "The gospel of Jesus Christ gives us opportunities to return to Him often. These opportunities include daily prayers, scripture study, the sacrament ordinance, the Sabbath day, and temple worship...what may be needed is not necessarily more time but more awareness of and focus on God during the times we already set aside for Him." The final nugget that stood out to me was, "As we concentrate our hearts and minds on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost, we will have greater clarity about what is most needful, develop deeper compassion, and find rest and strength in Him."

I don't need to just do nothing. I don't need to sit back and support my husband. I need to be still as I develop a deeper relationship with my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. As I do so, I will have more clarity in my life and receive answers to my questions. I need to let go of the chaos and lean further into the light available to me through the gospel.

Hello 2025

Going into is honestly a bit scary. I have no idea what the future brings. All I know is I need more direction in my life. My hope is that by tweaking a few things, it will be one of my best years. 

This year, Chad and I will be working harder on our finances. We will be doing a no spend year (more to come on that). As we do so, we will work harder on paying off debt and building some sort of homestead on our kettle plot of land. I'm hoping this bring us closer together.

My crafting will have a new theme. This will be the gear of gifts. I will be making gifts for friends and family throughout the year. This will save money and break down my yarn stash a bit. I am already working on Eric's birthday present. I will for sure blog about this as I go as well as recap last year's theme, the year of the sweater, in future posts. 

I hope to finish my degree this year, but this is a very scary thing for me. All I have left is my internship unless I get procrastinate too long. Then, I will have to take a few more classes as well. I really want this to be done. I am just not good at being around new people and searching for something like this is terrifying. 

I will continue to work on my faith journey this year. I love that prayer and scripture reading have become a part of my morning routine. I want to incorporate General Confidence talks and regular "Come, Follow Me" study as well. My hope is to also make it to the temple at least once a month outside of our twice a month shift as ordinance workers. I am at a point in my life where I crave spiritual guidance. The more I learn about the Lord and His plan, the more I want to develop my relationship with Him. I hope I am in a better spot by the end of the year than I am now as I continue to grow my faith and knowledge. 

It is scary going into a new year. I hope that these goals will give me the direction and discipline I need in my life.