Lightning Strikes

It's only appropriate that I blog about Harry Potter.  It's all the rage you know.  I feel like my generation should be the Harry Potter generation.  We grew up with him.  I remember when I was so young that waiting until midnight for the next book was kind of a hard wait without falling asleep.  I was introduced to HP around 2nd grade when we started reading the first one aloud in class.  Slowly but surely I was converted and became a fan.  My brothers and I would have competitions to see who could read the books the fastest.  When a new one came out we each had a certain amount of time we were allotted before it was someone else's turn to read.  I think we bought two copies of the last few books so we wouldn't argue as much about who's turn it was.

I am also a huge fan of the movies.  I know that whatever they do can't do the books justice but all things considered I think they've done one heck of a job with them.  I haven't been disappointed in a single one!!  Part of the movies success has come from the fact that all of the main characters (besides Dumbledore) have remained the same.  We've watched them grow up.  During the last one I was noticing how Ginny is taller than Harry and it made me laugh.  But the producers wouldn't have known that was going to happen when they were cast.  I'm glad Harry's kind of a short guy who's nothing special.  It's Harry Potter.

I love the messages of the books, their intricacies, the characters you fall in love with, the cliffhangers, the blindsides, the backstabbing, the forgiveness, and everything about them.  J.K. Rowling may be richer than the Queen of England and I say "rock on!"  She deserves it.  Her idea created not just some one-hit-wonder but a phenomenon that has lasted a generation.  I'm asking for the books for my wedding.  My children will be forced to read them and then they'll love them on their own.

It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.  ~J.K. Rowling, "The Mirror of Erised," Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Chitty Chitty BANG BANG (like fireworks)

The fourth of July really is one of my favorite holidays.  It's a good thing this past weekend was amazing!  On Saturday (the 2nd) I went to Driggs, ID with a bunch of friends for all of their festivities.  Last year I went as well although I was part of the festivities.  I even met Glenn Beck!

Spring 2010

He spoke again this year and we had the hot seats in the house!  Thankfully some friends got there before us and snagged front row seats.  How kind of them!  We were so close we could see him walking around his trailer before his turn on stage.  The band was excellent again (although not quite as good when I was in it :P). 

Part of the group.

America the Beautiful

This was by far the best fireworks show I've ever been to.  The fireworks were accompanied by patriotic songs and every once in a while they had images and videos playing on the screens which helped create an overall experience and not just a lot of loud BOOMs.

On Sunday, Blake and I went to dinner at his old Seminary teacher's in-laws house about 30 minutes from Rexburg.  It was great to 1) Get out of Rexburg for an afternoon 2) Be at a real house with kids families and 3) Eat an actual meal that I didn't have to cook.

Blake and I

My new friend Allie

And if a great weekend wasn't enough, the school decided we all deserved a break since we'd been working so hard and gave us Monday off as well!!  The day started with the Rexburg Parade.

That night we went down to Idaho Falls because they have one of the top ranked fireworks shows in the US.  That place was packed, let me tell you.  After the show it took us 2 hours to get home when it normally takes 30 minutes.  The show was nice, although I prefer the Driggs one.  Before the show I worked on some homework (lame, I know), and just had fun with my friends.  A few of the guys even serenaded us with some patriotic tunes.  I liked them so much I asked them to do a musical number in church in a few weeks....muahahaha.

And that, my friends, is why I love the fourth of July.  You get to listen to patriotic music, hang out with friends, eat good food, and have a day off of school.  Not to mention, honor all of the men and women who have given their life for this country.  They put their lives at risk for me and I am extremely grateful.

I don't know if you've seen the commercials for the new show on TLC where they bring soldiers home to surprise their families but even the previews for it make me tear up.  I can't wait to see the show on Monday but I'm bringing a box of Puffs with me to the couch because I know I'll let a few wet ones escape.

What a Loverly Day for a Nap!

Today was beautiful outside and my class got out 20 minutes early.  The logical thing to do?  Take a nap!  Now, this could not be just any nap.  I didn't have time to go home so I found a quiet little spot in the gardens and sprawled right out on the grass.  It was quite refreshing!!

I even had my camera with me so I documented my new nap spot and will never forget it!  The sun was beating on my legs and, for the record, I resisted the urge to roll up my pants and get some sun on their pale whiteness.  I can honestly say I abide by the honor code...even during nap time!!

The "Typical" College Student Dinner

It's Friday night and all across the United States college students are feasting on Kraft Macaroni and Cheese from a bright blue box.  

I'm in my 5th semester at BYUI and I have only eaten ONE of those boxes (well the content in the box...I've never actually eaten a box).  My first semester I took a cooking class and learned a ton of new, scrumdiddlyumptious recipes and one of my favorites is Honey Pork and Peppers.  It's so good, I thought I would share it with my favorite people....my faithful blog followers.  So next time you're craving Mac 'n' Cheese just remember there are so many better things out there to eat :)

1. Brown 1.5 lbs of pork (cut into 1" cubes) in a large skillet.

2. Combine 1 pkg brown gravy mix, 1 cup water, 1 cup honey, 3 tbsp cornstarch, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp ginger and 1/8 tsp garlic powder in a separate bowl.

3. Pour mixture into skillet with pork.  Cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes...stirring occasionally.

4. Cut 1 green pepper and 1 red pepper into 1 inch squares.  Cut 1 medium onion into wedges.

5. Check to make sure meat is cooked thoroughly.

6. Add peppers and onion to skillet and cook for 5-7 more minutes.

BAM!!!  There you have my favorite dinner!  Easy, huh?  If you really want to eat it plain by all means, go for it.  But it's most likely guaranteed better served over rice.  Brown rice if you want to be slightly healthy.

Cheating at a School with an Honor Code

Cheating is a pretty harsh word.  I'd like to prefer "outsmarting."  What was I supposed to do?!  They just decided this semester to save a certain amount of seats in the culinary classes for culinary minors.  Makes sense, right?  Well the problem is that I'm not a culinary minor...I'm a culinary cluster.  Clusters at BYUI are like half-minors.  Mine are culinary arts and food & nutrition.  Because of my cluster I need the classes just as much as the minors, but I couldn't sign up for the class even though there were more than half the seats left.  So what do I do?  I march right up to the advising office and declare myself a culinary minor.  By the time I got back to my apartment I could register for Baking 131.  I think I'll just keep the minor until I have to apply for graduation in a few semesters....  

Tandem for Two

Yesterday I went on my very first tandem bicycle ride and it was a blast!!  I wish there was a video (besides my video in heaven of course) of us trying to get the bike going the first time.  I'm sure it was quite a laughing matter.  We managed to ride the bike all the way up the Rexburg hill and then into the great nothingness fields outside the city.  On one street I saw six "slug bugs" in the space of about five minutes.  Good thing I don't punch hard or Blake might have a bruise on his arm. 

On our way back to Rexburg we biked though a bunch of neighborhoods and went right by a family out playing badminton in their yard.  As we were passing the dad yelled at us asking if we wanted to challenge them...of course we flipped a u-ey and accepted the offer!  Needless to say, we creamed them.  I found out one of the little girl's names was Abigail and before we left I told her she better live up to her name.  Her dad then said "oh she does!"  I have no idea what that means....

Using google earth we calculated that we biked approximately 18 miles.  That's pretty good for being almost the only physical activity I've done all semester and not even breaking a sweat.

Potential

Isn't it interesting when you can see potential in people when to the world they don't have much potential?  I gave a tour today to 10 boys from the JCC (Juvenile Correction Center) in Rexburg.  I don't know their stories or backgrounds.  I have no idea what they did to be sentenced to time there, away from their homes (all over Idaho).  I don't know how long they've been there or how long they have to stay.  All I know, is that it was one of the best tours I've taken this semester.  Those boys were well behaved.  They asked great questions.  They hung onto every word I said.  They even laughed at my jokes!  I could hear some of them talking about how they wanted to come here someday and I hope with all my heart that they will be able to!  And if they can't come to BYUI I hope they have the chance to go on to college and change the world for the better.  They are so young and I hope the counselors and teachers at the JCC are encouraging them to become bigger and better men who respect the world they live in and the people around them.

Do I live up to my full potential?  Probably most definitely not.  And that's on my good days!  I would venture to say that most people, if not all, don't live up to their FULL potential.  I believe that we just limit ourselves and what we think we can accomplish to what's comfortable and easy for us.  It's kind of sad if you really think about all that we're capable of doing and yet throw away because of peer pressure, fear, societal limits or a multitude of other things.  Maybe we should all try a little harder to be a little better.  HERE is a link to an address entitled "Your Divine Heritage" by Robert C. Oaks.  It's pretty awesome.  Check it out.   

If you tilt your head 35 degrees to the right, this picture will scream POTENTIAL to you.