forget not to...

 Twice annually the LDS church hosts a General Conference. At these meetings, the prophet and other leaders of the church share inspired talks about all sorts of gospel topics. They are enlightening and uplifting. Lately, I've bee trying to read one of these talks per day. It's something that has helped me feel more in tune with the Spirit and focused on the things that matter most. 

Yesterday I reread President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk called, "Forget Me Not." The talk is from the October 2011 General Women's Meeting that just preceded the weekend of General Conference. It has always been a favorite, but yesterday was kind of a perfect day to look it over again as there were a few of the messages that exactly fit what I've been feeling lately.

In the talk, President Uchtdorf describe the tiny "forget me not" flower that is often over-looked in favor of the larger blossoms in the garden. He then outlines five things that women often forget to focus on in the hustle and bustle of life. There are two that stuck out for me.

Forget not to be patient with yourself.

and 

Forget not to be happy now.

Patience. This is not my strong suit. I've always been {and probably always will be to some degree} the type of person who likes to check things off her very literal list. If you give me a task, I will do it to the very best of my ability, but I will also complete it well before the due date because it legitimately stresses me out to wait. I want it done as soon as possible. I'm the same way once I set my mind to a goal...like reading a book a week and reviewing on a blog {or something like that haha.} But, that goal has just not been doable for the last couple of months. I could list all the reasons why, but at the end of the day it just hasn't been happening. It's still something I strive for, but after I read this yesterday I decided not to let it bother me so much. I'm consistently reading and reviewing at the pace that lets me enjoy the reading rather than have it feel like work. 

And that's okay.

I"m generally a happy person. I know I live a very blessed life and am so grateful for it. I'm also a serial day-dreamer. I'm always looking ahead of me to the potential happiness that could come. Before Trager got into pharmacy school and we knew what we were doing with our lives, I would spend at least an hour a day in my head dreaming of what would come when we knew our plan. Once we heard back about Idaho the happiness came!! But almost as quickly as the happiness and relief that flooded me with the news of pharmacy school, bigger dreams came with it. We now have a deadline of when our inconsistent "student life" will end and our more stable " real life" will begin.

Then I remember that right now, today is real life and it is just as sweet and happy as my life can always be if I will just let it. President Uchtdorf said in his talk, "...if we spend our days waiting for fabulous roses, we could miss the beauty and wonder of the tiny forget-me-nots that are all around us." He is so very right! I have all the tools for happiness today...I've just got to start using them! If I can be a little more present and a little less urgent to move forward, I will be better at seeing the happy tender mercies of my day to day. This is the current #1 goal. Be happy now.   

I figured {hoped} I'm not the only one who could relate to this sweet talk. I highly recommend reading it here. 

Pride and Prejudice review to come later this week... 

curry chicken salad!

The summer after my senior year of high school I took a job as a nanny for a little boy named Gage. His parents were in the business of reining horses and their home was just a few yards from the barns. Each day after hours of playing with "hopper boppers" {frogs} and swimming in the kiddie pool in the backyard we would all gather together for lunch. It was here that I was first introduced to my very favorite chicken salad recipe! Gage's Nana would make it and we would eat on toasted bread. In full disclosure I usually had two! They are that good!! 

I've been craving this recipe for weeks now and finally took the time last night to make it again. It's really an easy recipe, but it takes a minute to cut up the veggies and the water chestnuts...worth it! I had it in lettuce wraps for lunch today and that's when I decide I had to share! 

Since having it that summer I've made a few tweaks to it, but the bones of this recipe come from Nana and Heidi Arvidson, two really awesome ladies!

Curry Chicken Salad:

2 cups shredded chicken

1/2 cup chopped pineapples well drained

5 oz water chestnuts drained + sliced

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

3/4 teaspoon salt

1-2 teaspoons curry powder {depends on how strong you want it...I usually do at least 1 1/2 teaspoons}

3/4 cup light Miracle Whip

1/3 cup red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped celery {mine is usually more like 1/3 cup because celery is not my favorite}

Mix it all together +chill {I think it tastes best if it can chill over night}

And that's it! It's good in lettuce wraps, on crackers, or some yummy toasted bread like I had that summer. 

^^^Again, food pics are not my forte!^^^

Hope you enjoy them! I think it's the perfect way to welcome the warmer weather!! :)

What I'm Listening To: April

1. Be Be Your Love...Rachel Yamagata

2. Forrest Gump Suite...Alan Silvestri

3. Girl Crush...Little Big Town

4. Think Of You...A Fine Frenzy

5. Gentle On My Mind...The Band Perry 

6. Can't Help Falling In Love...Ingrid Michaelson

7. Heartland...George Strait {and Son}

That last one is currently making me cry anytime I hear it. Okahoma is the "heartland" for me and I'll be sad to leave it behind!

celebrating with the whettens!

Now that the news is out about Idaho I can tell you about celebrating with some really, really fun people last weekend! Casey and Ann Whetten are some of our nearest and dearest friends. It was Casey who instigated the brief love affair with law school that I mentioned in the last post. We really got to know them for the first time last August when they invited us over for dinner and we've been close ever since. Casey had just finished law school at the time and was starting a job as a patent attorney. Trager and Casey would spend lots of time talking over law school and all the things that come with it. Meanwhile Ann and I would paint our nails and watch Harry Potter and solve all the worlds problems...because that's what you do with your girlfriends, right??

Although law school wasn't where we ended up, these friends have really helped us in all our pursuits.
We think they're pretty wonderful :)

It doesn't hurt that we're a little more than obsessed with their little girl, Hallie {or Hallie-bear if Trager's talking about her...yes, it's as cute as it sounds!}

 

^^^Hi, my name is Hallie and I'm so cute it hurts!^^^

 

Do you see what I mean?! She's absolutely killing me with the little hand pop in the first picture. I have her sweet mama to thank for the smooch pic...she's was giving me little bird peck kisses and Ann happened to catch it with her lightning quick picture taking abilities! We spent the evening in the city at Republic {a little pub with yummy food and a really cool vibe.} It was kind of weird to sit at the table celebrating the fact that we know our next step! I honestly keep having these *pinch me, is this real life?!* moments. I'm not mad about it :)

One of the reasons we are sad about leaving Oklahoma is because of gems like the Whettens. Over the last year we've developed such great friendships with so many people, but like Ann said,

 "That's why there are things like FaceTime!!" 

Again, just solving all the world's problems!

 ^^^1,2,3...jump!! Anyone else play this game?^^^

Here's to a summer of fun outings like this and lots of future FaceTime calls!! 

And thanks to Casey and Ann for celebrating with us!