A Little Inspiration...

I have been called to be the 2nd Counselor in the Relief Society Presidency and this week I am taking on the responsibility of decorating the board at the front of the classroom.  I have spent the morning on Pinterest looking for great quotes.  These are the ones that I am gravitating towards and I can see a theme there.  These quotes make me happy and make me want to be better, so I thought I'd post them here as well.

 This one I made for my Facebook banner.  I love this quote from Gordon B. Hinckley.

Going Private

I've decided to make the blog private.  It's something I've been thinking about for a while now.  I might just make a new blog and separate family from food.  Anyways, if you want an invite, leave me your email either here or on FB or email it to me.

Dumpling Dinner Party

Some friends and I got together for a Dumpling Dinner Party.  I got the idea because I saw something like it on Food Network where a group of friends got together and made all kinds of different dumplings.  It looked like so much fun and I had a few friends who were willing to try out the idea with me.  It was a success and we all had a good time and got try new foods.  This is what we made....

I made Banh Bao, it's a Vietnamese steamed bun with a pork filling, Chinese Sausage, and a slice of hard boiled egg.

 My friend Kelli made a Dumpling Soup with carmelized onions and bacon and potatoes and dumplings.

I also made Wonton Soup, my mothers recipe.  It was a tasty treat that everyone seemed to enjoy.

Angela made Gnocchi from scratch.  It was so yummy, it tasted like a thick noodle which I love.  She served it with Spaghetti Sauce.

I made some Ebelskivers with my fancy Ebelskiver pan.  It's a Danish dish, basically just a filled pancake ball. I filled mine with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Katie made the most AMAZING Apple Dumplings.  They were sinfully delicious.

It's good to have good friends.  I'm glad they were willing to try out my silly idea of a Dumpling Dinner Party.

Valentine

For Valentine's Day Bret and I went on a date.  ALONE.  Which we don't do very often at all.  We dropped our kids off at my friends house who lives in St. George.  It was sweet of her to be willing to spend her Valentine's day watching my kids along with her own.  Then Bret and I headed to Red Lobster because my very generous brother gave us a $100 gift card for Christmas and we've been saving it for a special occasion. Also, Bret had never eaten there before.  I remember my mom taking me once when I was in Hawaii and then having an awesome family take me and my companion there on my mission.  Because of our huge gift card we decided we would order whatever we wanted, which is different for us because we are usually very price-conscious.  We started with an appetizer, fried calamari rings with fried vegetables.  Who knew fried broccoli could taste so delicious?  We also had mozzarella sticks.

(I didn't think to bring a camera so these are all pictures I found on the internet that resembled what we ate.)

Then we had their house salad...

 With the most amazing Cheddar Bay Biscuits.  They literally melt in your mouth because they are so buttery.

Bret and I were laughing because we already started to feel full.  But then it was time for the main course.  I ordered the Steak Lobster-and-Shrimp Oscar.  We thought that one of us might as well order something with lobster in it since Bret has never had it before.  He tried a bite and thought it was good.  I thought it was a pretty tasty meal.  

Bret ordered the Wood-Grilled Peppercorn Sirloin and Shrimp.  I tasted his shrimp and his was really good too.  It had a nice spicy flavor to it.  I was impressed that Bret was able to polish off his meal.  The waiter was about to take his plate but stopped when he saw that Bret was still scraping up the last of his mashed potatoes.  

Then it was time for dessert.  YES.  DESSERT.  Bret ordered the Warm Chocolate Chip Lava Cookie.  I told him I would just have a bite but it was so tasty I ended up having several bites.  We also got another one to go to give to my friend for watching our kids.

Bret and I sure tried our darnedest to rack up a bill but when it came back the total was only $67.  Bret and I had a good laugh because this was the most expensive meal the two of us have ever had together.  It was fun to be able to splurge.  Our waiter was awesome so we left him a good tip too.  He wrapped up the rest of my dinner to go since I couldn't finish it and when I asked for another biscuit to bring to my kids he brought me a full bag of them.  

Bret and I left and while we were in the parking lot walking to our car he took my hand.  He doesn't do that very often so I enjoyed every second of it.  Then he opened my car door for me.  Must just be something in the air on Valentine's day to make him be a little extra sweet.  I appreciated it.

My husband is a practical man, and I honestly love that about him.  He is not mushy, he does not write me love ballads or spend loads of money on flowers and gifts to show his love for me.  He is kind, and affectionate, and washes the dishes to show me that he loves me.  He is my perfect Valentine.

Rice, Rice Baby

I meant to post this a while back but here goes.

I love rice.  So much so that I buy it in bulk.  You know, those huge, ginormous 20 lb bags of rice?  You know what I'm talking about.  In fact,  you might even have one of those in your food storage.  If so, why don't you go run and pick one up.  Just hold it in your arms.  It's okay, I'll wait right here while you do it......

Did you do it?  Did you go lift it up in your arms?  Those are heavy, right?  WELL THAT'S HOW MUCH WEIGHT I'VE LOST!  Booyah.

Rice, rice, baby!

xoxo

PS. As of today I've actually lost 22 lbs.  :)

Balance

Do you ever have times in your life where you just feel like everything is balanced and good? I feel that way right now. I haven't felt this way in years.

Physical

I have been running 3-4 times a week. This may not be much to others but to me this has been a change in my life. I have spent the last few years being very sedentary. It feels good to be up and moving, which of course is a big part of my weight loss success.

Spiritual

I have not been the best scripture studier over the years. Right now while serving in Young Womens I am attempting to do the personal progress program with the girls, especially since I

never finished it when I was a young woman. Part of the program is reading the Book of Mormon in its entirety. I am trying to get it done before I move into another ward in November when we can move into our new house. This means I am covering several chapters a day, every day. Reading it this way has helped me to not only notice the spiritually uplifting verses here and there but to also remember the story line and the people in the scriptures, their family situations and their struggles against opposition and who is trying to kill them at the moment. It has reignited my love of the Book of Mormon and reconnected me to the wonderful people in the past who stood for truth and righteousness.

Educational

When I was in school, I really enjoyed it. I love to learn. But there is no more school for me, which I'm kind of glad about too. However, I have found joy in teaching! Over the past year we have been doing a great preschool program for Kien. Miss Rebecca wanted to start up a free one where she invited kids from the neighborhood to participate. She taught the class and the parents took turns hosting and providing the snacks. I really got into it and helped out and had fun with it. I even took a couple turns teaching. We covered the entire alphabet and our numbers 1-10. Then Miss Rebecca had a baby and needed a break from teaching. So I stepped up and offered to do a section on ZOOLOGY! Is that a little too much for 3 and 4 year olds??? We had a class on Fish and then yesterday we had a class on Amphibians. It has been so much fun and I am enjoying finding creative outlets that I can share with Kien and his buddies.

I have also had so much fun teaching things to the Young Women on Mutual night. Here are some things I've taught them:

• Cooking Vietnamese Egg Rolls
• Cake Decorating
• Hula Dancing
• Self Defense
• Next Week: Knitting baby hats for NICU

I am going to brag a little bit right here... After realizing all the skills and talents I could pass onto the Young Women, I've been able to recognize how awesome I am. Haha.... It has just made me recognize that I have valuable and unique talents. Which makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Emotional

I have a good life. I have a good family. I am so thankful for my husband, Bret, and my wonderful children, Kien and Ellie. They are the people who most often put smiles on my face. I don't know why but lately Bret has made more of an effort to compliment my cooking. I appreciate that. He has also given me support and encouragement with me trying to lose weight. He is always willing to watch the kids while I go do what I need to do (except on Saturday mornings, that is his basketball time and NOTHING can interfere with it).

Kien is getting funnier and funnier with his questions and naive logic. The other day he was looking at Ellie and asked me "Mom, where'd we get this baby from?"

I said "Well she grew in my belly but Heavenly Father gave her to us."

He thought about that for a moment then asked, "Heavenly Father was at the hospital?"

So. Cute.

Ellie... *sigh*. She is the sweetest and most precious little lady. She is happiest after waking up from a long sleep. And she sleeps A LOT. All night long, usually about 10-11 hours and then two 2-hour long naps during the day. I love it. She loves to play with Kien in her room with all their toys. She loves to follow him around but if he gets rough she won't take his gruff and she will fight back! She loves baths. She loves her pink fuzzy blanket that Grandma Thulan gave to her. I think it has become her security blanket. She is full of smiles and laughs and cute little noises.

Speaking of which, I hear her calling me from her crib so I am off.

I just wanted to record this, that everything is good and balanced in my life right now. And I love it.

Smaller Jeans

About a year ago there was an Enrichment night for Relief Society where someone spoke to us about being more organized. She gave great tips on how to get the clutter out of your life. Something she said about clothes was that if you haven't worn it in the past year then get rid of it. She said if you're holding onto clothes that don't fit because you keep telling yourself that you're going to lose weight, to just toss them out. She said that most likely you will not lose the weight and never fit those clothes again.

I thought about that and I didn't like it. So I didn't listen to her.

This week I have pulled out the pants that have been too small for me to wear and now they fit me. I am so happy about that. Not only do I have more pants but it makes me feel good that I can wear them again.

I have now lost 15 lbs. :)