Attempts at being Healthy

This is late in being posted but I did get around to it eventually. Lately Andrew and I have been trying to eat healthier which really is fun! It helps to get a basket from Bountiful Baskets. If you haven't heard of it before, google it. It's probably the best thing Andrew and I have done for both our finances and health so far. See my healthy attempts at breakfast and dinner? Thank you grandma for the wonderful meat and bread. It made a great sandwich. I really want to learn how you made it. Did you use a crockpot? Andrew loved it too.

Apartment Updates

It's not as boring as it sounds, I promise! First: remember how we had no chairs for the table? False! We picked up the barstools Grandma Cherrie and Grandpa Dave gave us and they work perfectly. So one problem solved. Thank you guys!

Second, Andrew and I have become first class inventors. I give you the garbage lift! (Okay, so I need to work on the name . . . but I'll keep thinking.)

In case you don't understand what exactly we did here, I will now brag about our ingenuity. We live (or rather I will live) in the attic of this old house. It's actually really nice, but one of the annoyances we've found is having to go up and down the stairs to take the garbage out. Okay, really it shouldn't be a problem right? I bet even going down the stairs we would walk less than some of you to your garbage can. NONETHELESS! We have fixed this by putting a small hole in the lid of the garbage can, screwing in a little hook, and tying a really cool knot (Andrew is actually very proud of this part. He found the knot on the internet and taught himself how to do it) thus attaching the lovely bright orange rope to our balcony. Now all we have to do is pull on the rope from our balcony and drop the trash down. Perfect!

Doing the Impossible

So I meant to post this yesterday, but due to working so hard (as will be explained in this post) I had no time to put it up. Yesterday, I did 48 tubes of MONTTIA. So what, you say? Let me explain that normally 24 takes a full day to do. And even that's considered good for a lab assistant. I didn't realize how good till a different professor started training their lab assistant and they're only doing 8 a day. Now, I restate: yesterday I did 48 tubes.

Why, you ask, would someone seek to do so much? Normally I wouldn't. However, yesterday my coworker informed me that he had already maxed out his hours for the week and would need to go home early thus leaving his tubes undone. Well, I couldn't have that. That would set us behind a day, and I may or may not *shifty eyes* be looking forward to being done with the MONTTIA. Thus I turned on the Hooked on Classics (listen to it and you'll see why I picked it) and taught myself to be ambidextrous.

Thus I accomplished the impossible by pipetting with both hands at once. *bows* I know, I know my ingenuity (and humility) are endless. Need to do twice the work in the same amount of time? The answer is obvious: give yourself twice the hands. My left hand is just as steady as my right hand now with a pipette, but it wears out a lot faster. Anyway, I needed to share my accomplishment. And as an after note, I should add that I did not compromise our data at all with my speedy work. I only worked as fast as I knew I could do safely. Boom baby. Kenzie wins.

Success! A lunch.

So maybe I shouldn't feel nearly as proud of this afternoon as I do, but today I made an edible meal. Drum roll please . . . . Mac and Cheese! Yes, I know something every five year old knows how to make - but understand that in this new apartment cooking is a new challenge. I swear the apartment should have come with a warning label: "Warning: Living here may inspire fierce bouts of creativity and/or ingenuity." Somehow I have only two pots (both of which were slightly too small to make the Mac and Cheese), no caulender, and no dishing spoon. Solution: Less water to make the mac and cheese fit in the pot, using a tiny strainer (as in one for a cup) to dump out the water, and a measuring cup for a dishing spoon. Despite smelling a little weird, the Mac and Cheese tasted good. We did add salt, pepper, and garlic, but that's irrelevant. Still not sure why the smell though.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we have no table. Well we have a fold out table but no chairs so it's pretty useless right now. Solution:

The linoleum by the front door as a table and sitting on the squishy carpet. Hey, it works.

Oh by the way, the drink is the yummy lemonade from Costco - however this time I let some frozen raspberries sit in it all night. Andrew, sweetheart that he is, said that it tasted really good, but next time I'm going to add more powder. It had a sour, water downed taste to me. Although success: it did taste like raspberries (which are only the berries of the gods.)

Slowly progressing meal wise don't you say?

Scriptures: Insight on Joy, Faith, and Science

So today for family scriptures and prayer we were reading in 2 Nephi - good chapter. It's one where Lehi is talking to his sons. And I thought of one of my favorite scriptures: verse 25 -  "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." This is my bad day scripture. Whenever I'm feeling like a sourpuss (which if you ask my family is more often than I'd like to admit), this scripture reminds me that Heavenly Father didn't send us here on earth to be miserable. We're supposed to be happy. It's like a commandment! Anyway, maybe that'll perk your day up too.

Also there was this other verse that got me thinking: verse 13 - "And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away."

This is a common argument in our world right now - there is no God thus I can do whatever I want. But I think they stop with there is no God. Because of science people think they can explain away how the world is made. For me, science builds my testimony. As I learn about all of the complicated workings of the world around me I can't help but think that God is amazing! My God not only understands all of the laws of nature but uses them to build. My God knows more than we know now, can explain things we can't, and understands the intricacies of the things we do. My God uses the laws of nature to create. And to me, this is amazing. Anyway, just my thought. I wish I could say I came up with all of this on my own, but Dad was the one who sparked this thought. However, this really is my testimony. Science is a basic building block of my faith.

Have a good day! Remember, you're here to be happy!

Cool or Nerdy?

So today I caught a ride with dad to work instead of taking the car. On one hand I felt super cool riding the motorcycle and passing cars. On the other hand, the helmet and the goggles (sunglasses in disguise) were way too big for me and made me feel a little nerdy. Why nerdy? Not sure. Here's a super cool picture I took of our shadows as we drove. (Don't worry, I held the phone super carefully.)

You know, on second thought I'm going to have to say "cool". Definitely cool.

Failure of the Easy Meal

So, in an earlier post I offhandedly mentioned that although heating up frozen dinners was easy, I wanted to do so much more. Turns out heating up frozen dinners can be surprisingly difficult. Drum roll . . . Yes I (we) managed to burn the frozen pizza tonight. It turns out that our tiny oven heats stuff up a lot faster than the writers of box instructions anticipated. Six minutes still to go on the timer, we pulled out some charcole with spaghetti sauce.

Ok it wasn't quite that bad, but the bottom definitely had some deep black bits. We ate it anyway. I mean seriously - engaged and college students? No way we're throwing out food. We just washed it all down with some good lemon aid from Costco and all was well. Perhaps I should learn how to do frozen dinners before I progress to actually cooking. I'm sure my kitchen-talented sister will get quite a laugh out of this.

Photos of Us

Andrew's dad is brilliant with the camera. His special talent is capturing those candid moments but he's been kind enough to do some photos of me and Andrew for "engagement" photos. Here are some of my favorites. These are new and were taken at the new City Creek Mall in Salt Lake (yes there is a waterfall in the mall!)

Science: Lab Work

So during the summer, I've been working as a lab assistant for the professor I normally TA for doing DNA extractions. It makes me feel super smart to be handling all of this expensive equipment and chemicals. Unfortunately, it really is just that. As of yet, I don't understand most of what I'm doing. Oh don't get me wrong, I've got the processes down. The pipette technique is second nature and I know every step of the protocol for both Monttia and Calceolaria perfectly. I've even helped run the DNA tests afterward, but really I have no idea how to read and interpret the DNA smears that come out. (Although honestly watching them glow orange is SUPER cool.) I feel like smacking my forehead because I know I learned about this stuff in MMBIO 240 but true to typical student nature, I've already forgot most of it. I could recite to you half asleep every step of the protocol with the exact amounts and little tips for getting stuff right, but I couldn't tell you for the life of me what each chemical is used for. The professor is nice and stops to explain it to me - when he's around. Which to be honest is almost never. If I were to be more honest about my job, I'd say I'm a personal assistant. As soon as I finish the Monttia in here, I'll move up to herbarium and start cataloguing some stuff for him. Really I'm just the hands to finish the work he has absolutely no time to do. It's a good job, but despite how smart I sound I really feel like an idiot. Someday I'll sit down and google the stuff I work with and find out exactly what I'm doing . . . Nah. I'll just blog instead. :)

Photos of work:

Thoughts on Love

So being in love, totally changes my world. Not to say my world wasn't great before. But now - well it's like fireworks every moment. Lots of things changed. Now I pay attention to people's rings and love songs are no longer sappy objects that need to be skipped. And lately, I actively search for cute quotes about love. Here are some of my favorites:

Yup. Love: the sugar to my life.

He Truly Loves Us

Click for the talk

Quote 1: "their missionary experience could be applied as a template for nurturing others throughout the rest of their lives. As this army of righteous disciples return from their missions to the many countries across the earth, they are becoming key contributors in the work of establishing the Church."

Thought: Andrew can be a powerful force if he applies everything he learned on his mission. He's a great example of this. For instance, he has a super strong habit of prayer that he picked up from his mission. I'm not nearly as good at it as he is and hope to pick it up from him. I know that I have to be open to changing for that to happen.

Quote 2: "Awakening the desire to know enables our spiritual capacities to hear the voice of heaven."

Thought: The first step in receiving revelation is to want it.

Quote 3: "To love the Lord is not just counsel; it is not just well-wishing. It is a commandment. … Love of God is the root of all virtue, of all goodness, of all strength of character, of all fidelity to do right"

Thought: How can I develop a strong love for God? Gratitude is one step I know. I think obedience is another way to develop it. I think familiarity - developed through prayer and scriptures - is important.

Quote 4: "How much I thought I loved her on that day, but I had only begun to see the vision of love."

Thought: If Andrew and I nurture our love and live a righteous marriage our love can only grow.

Quote 5: "The feeling of love from our Heavenly Father is like a gravitational pull from heaven. As we remove the distractions that pull us toward the world and exercise our agency to seek Him, we open our hearts to a celestial force which draws us toward Him. "

Thought: Do I feel that gravitational pull toward Heaven? How strong is it?

Converted to His Gospel through His Church

Click for the talk

I loved this talk. I hadn't ever thought of it before, but it's true. The church and the gospel are not the same thing. But they are very very closely related and help each other. The purpose of the church is to help us assimilate the gospel.

Quote 1: "Some have come to think of activity in the Church as the ultimate goal. Therein lies a danger. It is possible to be active in the Church and less active in the gospel. Let me stress: activity in the Church is a highly desirable goal; however, it is insufficient. Activity in the Church is an outward indication of our spiritual desire."

Thought: I can't get complacent and start to think that just because I attend church each week that I am an active member of the church. There are so many things in my life that measure my activity that cannot be marked down on an attendance chart.

Quote 2: "By contrast, the things of the gospel are usually less visible and more difficult to measure, but they are of greater eternal importance. For example, how much faith do we really have? How repentant are we? How meaningful are the ordinances in our lives? How focused are we on our covenants?"

Thought: I want to keep these questions around and ask myself them periodically. Where do I stand? It's not something that can really be measured quantitatively but it's important to stop and check yourself. I don't want to get complacent again and forget to be progressing.

Quote 3: "1. Deepen our understanding of Deity. 2. Focus on the ordinances and covenants. 3. Unite the gospel with the Church."

Thought: These are three areas I can work on. I like it when people put things in numbers for me. I know I'm not supposed to turn everything into To-Do lists, but it makes it easier for me to manage in my brain and put it into context.

Quote 4: "As we come to each meeting prepared to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118), the Holy Spirit will be our teacher. If we come to be entertained, we often will be disappointed. President Spencer W. Kimball was once asked, “What do you do when you find yourself in a boring sacrament meeting?” His response: “I don’t know. I’ve never been in one”

Thought: There was a hidden message for me here. If I'm not enjoying church, perhaps my heart's in the wrong place. We should go to church joyfully because we go to show we love the Lord and want to do what we says. We go because we want to learn and we want to teach. Do not expect to be taught and entertained by the speakers. If you go with your heart in the right place, you will be taught by the spirit.

Teaching Our Children to Understand

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Quote 1: "Teaching our children to understand is more than just imparting information. It’s helping our children get the doctrine into their hearts in a way that it becomes part of their very being and is reflected in their attitudes and behavior throughout their lives."

Thought: Is the gospel of Jesus Christ in my heart? Is it reflected in my actions? Do I understand it - not just know it?

And a Little Child Shall Lead Them

Click for the talk

Quote 1: "Now I do know what President Kimball meant."

Thought: But I don't. What did President Kimball mean? Did that boy grow up into someone important? Or does it just have to do with the topic of the talk?

Quote 2: "At night, when I pull the covers over me, I offer a prayer for those who have no warm bed to go to."

Thought: I should add this to my prayers. I don't want to do vain repetitions, but I think as I develop gratitude and empathy this will automatically be added often to my prayers.

Quote 3: “Children are an heritage of the Lord: and … happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them.”

Thought: I love little children. Andrew and I want to give ourselves a little time to get established and then I will take on the duties of Mother. I cannot wait. It will be difficult but it is a duty that Andrew and I know we will have great joy in. Children are wonderful!

Quote 4: "Husbands and wives should understand that their first calling—from which they will never be released—is to one another and then to their children."

Thought: The most important calling we can have is to be a Mother or Father. This has added meaning for me. Since I did not get the opportunity to serve a mission, I comfort myself by remembering that being a mother is like be a full time missionary for a lifetime. The schedule will be similar, I'll have a companion (granted one I got to choose), and I will be teaching the missionary discussion a LOT. Eventually I get to see my investigators baptized and go through the temple. It is a lifetime missionary calling to a specific and small group of people. The only things I'll miss, is meeting new cultures, languages, and people. Somehow, I'll have to fulfill the yearning desire some other way. But the burning desire I've had to serve a mission for my God can be fulfilled by being a mother.

Quote 5: "There are many things about living the gospel of Jesus Christ that cannot be measured by that which is counted or charted in records of attendance. We busy ourselves with buildings and budgets and programs and procedures. In so doing, it is possible to overlook the very spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Thought: Remember, the gospel of Jesus Christ is not a To-Do list. It's a journey - a pathway. Do I get so caught up trying to do everything I know I'm supposed to, that I don't assimilate the godlike characteristics that those things are supposed to teach?

As We Gather Once Again

 Click for the talk

Quote 1: "Should there be changes which need to be made in your life, may you find the incentive and the courage to do so as you listen to the inspired words which will be spoken. May each of us resolve anew to live so that we are worthy sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father."

Thought: I hadn't thought about it before, but making changes in your life require courage. I would add persistence and a continual change of heart. I love the courage bit though. I want to be courageous!

Quote 2: "We come together as one, speaking many languages, living in many lands, but all of one faith and one doctrine and one purpose."

Thought: This sounds an awful lot like one of the definitions of Zion. Are we on our way to this? Can we really bring ourselves to be of one mind and one heart to have peace and form Zion on earth?

Quote 3: "There is much that is difficult and challenging in the world today, my brothers and sisters, but there is also much that is good and uplifting. As we declare in our thirteenth article of faith, “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” May we ever continue to do so."

Thought: Even as the world goes downhill, there are many things we can find in the world that are beautiful and spiritual. Which do I seek out?

The Garden!

So here's my first garden. To be honest, this will be the first time I've gardened without my mom - who by the way has lot of fun growing LOT of plants. Watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, tomatoes, peppers, corn, mint, onions, cilantro, etc. You name it. Her house has a huge garden, an herb garden, vineyard, orchard, and hopefully someday a set of berry boxes. I've just grown up with the weeding and constant planting chores. Along with it, the fresh peas and salsa. Needless to say, I'm excited to start my own garden.

My first garden includes:

Rosemary, cantaloupe, strawberries, green onions, spinach, tomatoes, geraniums, and pansies.

My tomato plant:

My rows of spinach and green onion. If you look in the bottom right corner you can see me taking the photo with my iPhone. ;)

My flowers and strawberries.

And finally the rosemary and cantaloupe.

Hopefully I don't kill it all, but I'm going to try VERY hard to give them everything they need.

Stop to Smell the Roses

Down the corner from my new apartment, there are a few huge rose buses. A few days ago we had a light shower and I just had to stop and take some pictures of the beautiful flowers. It made me late to work, but you know what they say - stop to smell the roses! In fact, on my way home from work it was still raining so I ran right up to the flowers and stuck my nose in them. It made the elderly gentleman passing me laugh.

Let me share the beauty:

That Elusive Dinner

I'm not even married yet, and I'm worrying about finding time and the skill to make a family dinner. Ok, so it's not that hard to microwave the frozen dinners . . . but I really want to do much more than that. The bigger thing is I want to do it every night. Slightly daunting but today I found a website that really sounds like it'll help and at Women's Conference I got a bunch of ideas that I think will make it fun and possible.
I recommend checking out this site: Dinner: A Love Story She is just brilliant. I think she's even coming out with a cookbook, but for now I just love her site. Later, I'll post the things I learned at Women's Conference on this topic.