Megan's Corner

An Interesting Parable About Work and A Free Ride

2011-12-30T05:24:00.000-08:00

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan". All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A.... (substituting grades for dollars - something closer to home and more readily understood by all).

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F. As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed. It could not be any simpler than that.

Remember, there is a test coming up - the 2012 elections.

Five statements to seriously consider:

You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.
What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!
When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

Family History Photo CD Tin

2011-07-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last 4 hours working on a family history photo tin. It's a project I'm preparing for my family reunion/campout this coming weekend - and I've got to make 35 kits. I've actually prepared this type of project for another family reunion I did a few years ago and it went over so well, I offered to do it for the Schaub family this year.

In case you're interested, this is a small 4 generation accordion photo album. My dad helped me with the family group sheet and collecting all the photos. Fortunately I was born into a family that likes to take photographs and we've been doing it for generations. Probably one of the most enjoyable parts of this project was going through old (as in 1800s) family photos - it's interesting to see how prevalent some genetic traits are.

Here is a little tutorial if you'd like to make you're own CD Photo Album. I've also created an instruction sheet with supplies and dimensions. You can download it here - CD Photo Accordion Album Instructions.

Here are the general supplies:

The instruction sheet will give you the dimensions of everything. First, cut three strips of cardstock each at least 5 inches wide. I'd recommend using 12x12 cardstock so you can get at least 2 strips out of it; however, if you want to you can use 8 1/2"x11", but you'll only get 1 strip out of each sheet. Fold the strips at 4.25" (again check out the instruction sheet for details).

Here the strips are folded, and you can see where you'll need to glue them together. You'll need to attach (glue sticks work great) square "A" to square "A" and square "B" to square "B" making sure that each square is 4.25" tall.

Then you just add your photos and decorate with paper. I try to stay away from any embellishments that will add bulk (i.e. - pop dots, brads, flowers, etc) because the album is going to have to fit into a CD tin and with too many puffy embellishments the tin will look like an over stuffed suitcase. Make sure that you do NOT decorate the top and bottom squares. The bottom square will be adhered to the inside of the tin and the top square will have your "cover page". Also make sure you check regularly to ensure that your photos are all going in in the right direction.

To adhere the album to the tin you will have to use glue dots -- these are the only things "powerful" enough to hold the paper to the metal.

Pretty simple and straight forward. Here are a few photos of the finished album.

You should make a tin of your own. They're a very simple way to share family history and they make great gifts.

Hot, hot, and hot brought to by the letter S

2011-07-04T08:58:00.000-07:00

I'm really having fun with the 365 A Photo A Day. I'm looking for opportunities to record life. My skills still need improving, but it's coming along. Rather than bore you with a daily photo log, I think I'll just share with you the highlights of my life.

Saturday, June 25 - Crop Day
You probably realize by now that I like to scrapbook. It is a creative outlet for me that does not require a computer (which I desperately crave). I started a scrapbook group about 7 years ago called the East Valley Scrapbook Guild and have met some wonderful women through it. We get together about once a month to crop. The Saturday before last my sister was able to join us. The time always flies too quickly when I'm cropping with friends. I did take time out to snap a few photos.

The other big news from this past week has been the temperature. For my friends who live in AZ, you experienced it first hand...it was stinkin' HOT this week. On Wednesday, June 29th it was really weird because it also rained. So it was 110 degrees outside and raining. Don't believe me, check it out...

Friday's letter of the day was brought to us by my 2 year old niece....

The letter S.

This past Saturday, July 2nd my youngest brother and his wife moved from far, far, far east Mesa (ASU housing) to Kingman. Did I mention it was a record breakingly hot...again, my obsession with the thermometer...

Yes, that thermometer is reading 119 degrees, and I should probably tell you that the thermometer itself is outside under the shaded patio. So that was 119 degrees under the shade. AAGGHH!!!!!

So, my dad, brothers, and brother-in-law loaded everything up very early in the morning - can you imagine how much fun it is to load up a moving van with 4 engineers and a physical therapist (doesn't that sound like the start of a joke). And then they all rolled out for a 4 hour drive to Kingman.

My sister and I rolled in behind them and spent 2 1/2 hours cleaning their old house for them...yes, that's love! I wouldn't say that we had fun, but we definitely worked up a sweat. Now I normally try to avoid sharing picture of myself but I'm actually going to post one. AND, it's a horrible picture of me because I have no make-up on, i'm wearing my workout clothes, and i've just spent 2 1/2 hours sweating and cursing over an old kitchen floor. Tada...

And the only reason I had my picture taken was because it was the condition under which my sister would allow me to take her picture.

OK, for a recap of my Sunday, July 3rd photos you'll need to head over to my food Blog - A Feast For the Senses, because Sunday's pictures were of my 3-ingredient-roast-that-will-knock-your-socks-off.

AND, last but not least, HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!! I'll be celebrating today with family. I'm grateful to be an AMERICAN and deeply grateful for the men and women who helped establish this country and continue to sacrifice so that I may enjoy the blessings of liberty and freedom.

Green, Sweetness, and Heat

2011-06-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

What do these three things have in common? Well, they were the three themes of my 365 Photos this first part of the week. I took some great pictures today, but I'll wait till tomorrow to share those, as it is getting late and I want to write more about them.

So Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday...Monday, I finally got around to plucking enough basil leaves from my basil plant to make a batch of pesto. This was my first real harvest. I've been growing this basil for months, and there just never seemed to be enough leaves for me to go picking enough to make pesto.

Monday, June 20th was the day and I combined the basil with some spinach to make a wonderfully delicious pesto. I tossed it with angel hair pasta, some feta and peas and enjoyed a DELICIOUS dinner. Check it out...

Tuesday, June 21st was an extremely busy day. However, in between running back and forth to work I was able to spend about an hour with my niece, just holding her while she napped. What a great way to unwind. I did eventually leave to go back to work, and just before I left I snapped this picture of her waking up.

And Wednesday, June 22nd was the first day of Summer, or at least it felt like it. Oh my goodness was it hot!!! And I've got the picture to prove it.

Yes, the picture on the left was taken in my car and the picture on the right was taken at home and the thermometer is underneath the shaded patio. Seeeeeee, it's HOT!

Come back tomorrow to see my tale of the ladybugs, you won't want to miss it.

Ready, Set, SHOOT! - First week of 365

2011-06-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

So I've been successful so far...for all 3 days. :) It's been something that I've really had to be conscious about. I've already found that I actually have to keep my camera out. One of the impediments to taking photos has been the inconvenience of getting my camera down from the closet in my bedroom. I was just too darn lazy to go and get it when a photo opportunity arose. Now I just keep it out on my desk and it's easy to grab.

So here are a few of the photos from my first week. And it's obvious that I've got a lot of improving to do!

Friday, June 17, 2011 -- I took the theme "Purple" and looked around for something to match the theme. I appreciated having a theme to inspire me otherwise I'd be looking around for the normal things I take pictures of, and I've got way too many pictures of the normal.

Anyways, my niece was over and playing with the fridge-magnet alphabet letters.

And it's officially summer because we've had more than 5 days in a row of 100+ degree temperatures. The munchkins were over to go swimming on Friday. (nothing to do with purple but loved his expression)

Saturday, June 18, 2011 - A CRAZY day. I was going from 6:30am - 10:30pm, non-stop. My nephew was baptized on Saturday, so it was definitely worth a few pictures. I learned on Saturday, that there is a time and a place for taking pictures. After the baptism we all went over to my brothers house for lunch and it was just so darn crowded that it wasn't really practical to whip out the camera. Besides that I was hungry and so I chose a plate of food over my camera. :)

Here's my brother with his son.

They barely stood still long enough for me to take there picture. Can you tell which ones are brothers?

The little girls stayed still longer, but weren't any happier to get their picture taken.

This was my favorite photo of the day - my parents.

Sunday, June 19, 2011 - Today was Father's Day. I have the best father in the whole world. He has been and will continue to be my hero! This evening we had a family dinner to celebrate Dad. I made a delicious roast and we had along with it a few of dad's favorites.

My youngest brother and my dad.

One of my dad's favorite desserts - german chocolate cake. I even made the frosting from scratch and boy, oh, boy what a difference. It was delicious.

365-days of photographs -- DAY 1

2011-06-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

So I've been thinking about setting some goals to improve my skills. Some times I feel like I dabble in a bunch of things, but really haven't become an expert at any of them. Sooooo, I decided that the only way to become an expert at anything is to practice.

Practicing photography, a skill I would like to vastly improve upon, means that I have to take more pictures. And hopefully, as I analyze what I take, how I take it, and then refer frequently to the experts, I can improve upon this skill.

This in mind, I've decided to take the 365 challenge. I am setting a goal to take at least 1 photo a day for 365 days. I would prefer that this is a "good" photo, but any photo will do. My goal is also to share them with you. I'm not saying that I will be blogging once a day for 365 days, but at least a few times a week in order to share with you what I've captured.

I found out more about this 365 challenge from the "CaptureYour365" website. They explain this whole "thing" so well...

365 is about your life. It is about capturing, documenting, and preserving all that is important to us. People come to this project for so many different reasons, with so many different motivations.

I thought about starting this off as a New Year's resolution, but who cares when I start this goal. Whether I start today or on January 1st it will still be 365 days and I need to get over my tendency to procrastinate (another one of those improvements I need more practice with). I'm also hoping this will end up being a good photo-journal of my life, not just the "events' but the day-to-day living.

So today marks the start of my 365 - A Photo A Day Project. And my first photo is

The soda cans sitting on my desk right now. I'm in love with the Black Cherry Fresca. I know, not necessarily a monumental work of art, but it's late and I'm ready to go to bed. I'll shoot a better subject tomorrow.

Gourmet food truck lunch - First Friday with Phoenix Street Food

2011-06-03T20:47:00.000-07:00


Sunshine and Spices- tacos and samosa

I'm a self-proclaimed foodie. Not only do I enjoy cooking and baking, but I'm always looking for new and interesting places to eat. I've been watching EatStreet on Cooking channel and lamenting the fact that I never see any good food trucks around Phoenix. I do see the occasional roach-coach, but what they serves doesn't count as "gourmet food".

In my search for food trucks in Phoenix I came across First Friday and event in Phoenix, held, of course, on the first Friday of the month. During lunch a bunch of "gourmet food" trucks gather to offer lunch for the hungry masses. Phoenix Street Food helps to get the word out about all the vendors. Jack pot!!!

I actually took today off of work, not just for the Phoenix Street Food lunch (but mostly). I needed a break and today seemed like the perfect day to take it.

Kiki, her two youngest and my mom joined me for a little field trip into downtown Phoenix. The weather really wasn't too bad. It's June, in phoenix, so we were expecting it to be at least a little warm. Finding the Phoenix Street Food location wasn't too difficult. All the trucks were at the southeast corner of 1st Street and McKinley in downtown Phoenix.

A covered parking area was converted into an outdoor eatery complete with misters and outdoor air conditioning units. Fortunately we got there early enough that we got our food before the rush of people arrived. By the time we left, the place was packed.

We had one rule - we all had to order our meals from somewhere different. This way we were able to try several different things. Of course I took a bunch of pictures. You'll have to check out my pictures and read to the captions to see what I thought of the food.

Bottom line...loved the food at the Phoenix Street Food event. If you get the chance, check it out.

AZ Desert Botanical Garden

2011-04-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

Last week a good friend of mine invited me to join her for a visit to the AZ Desert Botanical Garden. Sara is an amazing photographer and I was so excited to be able to go out with a semi-professional and get some tips & tricks. And the bonus was a visit to the Desert Botanical Garden.

This time of year the garden is in FULL bloom. All the flowers, trees and cacti are blossoming, the colors are magnificent. The best lighting for outdoor photography is around dusk just as the sun is just starting to go down (at least in my humble opinion). Fortunately the weather was absolutely PERFECT -- temperatures in the low 80s with a slight breeze.

I had soooo much fun practicing my photography and I couldn't have asked for better subjects -- they stayed still longer than my nieces and nephews. Here are a few of the highlights of the evening

I'm definitely going to do this again.

Worse than moving in July in Arizona

2011-04-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

At the end of February I drove up to Rexburg, Idaho to help my sister and her family move into a temporary rental. She and her husband were fortunate enough to sell their home relatively quickly (at least in today's current market). They are planning on moving down to Arizona and are waiting until the kids are done with school. I offered to help with the moving and cleaning.

I really enjoyed the 17 hour drive, other than the whiteout conditions that existed between Logan, Utah and Rexburg, ID. I actually look forward to some nice relaxing me time - plug in a good book on tape and the time goes by in a blink of an eye.

My sister had already packed up most of the house. I just helped to do the final boxing and then the cleaning. It was the two of us and a 3200 sq ft. home. We worked like dogs, but we GOT IT DONE!

However, the most impressive part of the move was all the help they got from the ward to actually haul all of their stuff from one house to the other. Check it out...

And I have come to one conclusion after the entire experience...THERE IS ONLY ONE THING WORSE THAN MOVING, IN ARIZONA, IN JULY. THAT WOULD BE MOVING, IN FEBRUARY, IN REXBURG, ID. It was sooooo stinkin' cold! The high on the day we moved was 17 degrees, everything was covered in snow and ice. It was so cold that it was painful to run out side with things to load into the car.

** Note to self and others: Don't move in winter in Idaho or summer in Arizona.

Despite all the work to move, I made time to play with Kiki and the kids:

I'll be so happy when they all move down to Arizona...hopefully before it gets too hot.

Still looking

2011-03-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

I'm still looking for Mr. Right. A friend posted this and I snagged it because it is a great description of what I'm looking for...

"Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep... wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you're just as pretty without makeup on. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky his is to have you.... The one who turns to his friends and says, 'that's her.'”

And can take me to the Temple.

Confession Time

2011-03-03T19:09:00.000-08:00

My name is Megan and I have a problem...with water bottles and cups in my room. Really, it's just not right. I can't help it. I just drink a lot of water. I always have a water bottle with me, or a cup. I take it with me to my room and then set it down while I'm doing stuff, or just before I go to bed. Then the next day I get a new water bottle or new cup and the vicious cycle starts all over again. Before I know it, my desk looks like this...

I don't think there's a cure.

Stinkin' Cute Signs

2011-02-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

My super cute cousin is getting married this week. I was her first babysitter...I'm just sayin' Anyways, I offered to put together some cute signs for her reception. Just scrapbooked signs for the food table, and then larger signs for the designated food "areas". Check 'em out...

Thanks to Susan and her lovely vinyl machine. I think they turned out pretty cute.

A food post because of my dad

2011-02-20T19:21:00.000-08:00

This is a food post, which I would normally save for my food blog - Cre8ToEat; however, this is mostly a blog about how awesome my dad is.

I, in some fit of insanity, offered to cook teriyaki chicken for the ward luau which was scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 19th. Mostly I offered because I can't stand bad teriyaki chicken. I also offered to make some Hawaiian style salad dressing. Agghh!!!

So this last week was crazy busy (way crazier than usually). I've been working late every night. I bought 8 giant bags of chicken thighs from Costco on Thursday and stuck them in the fridge at home (thankgoodness for the extra fridge in the garage). Friday after work and before my RS Presidents meeting and before all my VT sisters were coming over for game night I went shopping for teri-marinade ingredients. Had my meeting, had my fun VT friends come over. We played games until 10:30pm at which point I chased them all home.

This is where my dad flies in with his super cape. My dad helped me make marinade and get all 160 pieces of chicken de-iced, and into the marinade. We're were up until midnight. I went to bed with cold stiff fingers.

The next morning at 7:30am, we got up and played an hour of Wii fit - he kicked my butt at golf and hula-hooping. Then he fired up the grill and the two of us spent the next 3 1/2 hours grilling chicken. I know that had my dad not helped me I would have been in tears, and only half-way done, by lunch time.

My dad ROCKS!!!! I bought him a Chipotle bowl for lunch to thank him.

By the way, everyone at the ward party LOVED the chicken.

Same old, same old

2011-02-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

OK - so here's an update on my life

Work is moving along, doing a lot of web designing, some graphic design, campaign analyzing, and sitting in meetings (guess which is the least productive part of my day)
Still staying busy with my calling as Relief Society president. In fact, I just reached my one-year mark, Yahoo! I've experienced a whole lot of growth this past year, some of it less painful then other parts.
Hey, good news...just paid off my car! I bought my Hyundai Santa Fe brand new in February of 2005. Other than a few dings (because of its amazing super power of invisibility - I'll have to tell you more about that another time), it's been a wonderful car, and now I expect to have several more years of wonderfulness (without having to make monthly payments on it).

I have really been trying to do more cooking and baking. Last year I just kind of put it all on hiatus while I figured out how to do my new calling and so this year I'm tackling cooking and baking with a vengence. I've been experimenting with backing bread. If you haven't recently, you should stop over at my food blog and check it out.

Tomatoes and Peel

2011-01-19T15:48:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note...you remember those tomato plants I've been babying, waiting for the "big harvest". Well, it was TODAY!!

The difference between these fresh home-grown tomatoes and the things you buy at the store is HUGE! These actually taste like tomatoes!

And you may have noticed they are sitting on my new pizza peel which I'll be using as I explore Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day -- head on over to my food blog to read about my newest adventure in baking.

Insanity Never Ends - Just making it clear...

2011-01-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

My life, like many of you, is filled from morning till evening with "stuff"! Lately, I'm up at 4am doing "stuff" before work, working during the day, and then doing more "stuff" at night until it's time to crash at about 9:30pm. Most of it's really good "stuff" -- taking photos of family weddings and parties, having RS meetings, cleaning the church, scrapbook night with the girls, dinner with friends, Visiting Teaching appointments, Temple sessions, babysitting of nieces and nephews, etc., etc., etc.

Bear with my while I clear up one quick point for many of my friends, and many others who I don't even know, but who perhaps have single friends or family members.

Just because a person is single, and doesn't have a family, doesn't mean they have extra time on their hands...I'm just saying!

Being single for as long as I have, I've run across a lot of people who automatically make the assumption, "Oh, you don't have a family, so you should have time to do..." I have been blessed by the Lord in many ways in my life. Unfortunately, as yet, I have not been blessed with a husband or children of my own. However, this does not mean I am sitting at home twiddling my thumbs waiting for that blessing to come around. I'm striving to be "anxiously engaged" and so that means that my time is very valuable, as is everyones. I'm just trying to make the most of the time I've been given and hope that you are time.

*tap* *tap* *Is anyone listening?*

Enjoying the Fruits of My Labor

2011-01-07T20:36:00.000-08:00

I partook of the fruits of my labors today...literally. I've been babying a couple of tomato plants that I started from seed last August. You're probably saying, "why in the world would you start tomato plants so late in the season?" I know, i know, but I just couldn't resist. We had a Relief Society enrichment class taught on container gardening and I brought home a bunch of tomato seeds in those peat soil pellets (the photo at the left was taken September 1st). I couldn't just toss them, they had potential!

I've been babying them along since August. Not all of the original plants survived, but 4 of them did. I put two plants in each of two pots. One pot has 2 Early Girl tomato plants and one pot has 2 Sweet 100 tomato plants. A few weeks ago the night time temperatures really started to drop so I loaded up my pots into a red flyer wagon and wheeled the plants into the garage. During the day, I wheel them out to the yard so they can soak up the sun, and then they retire for the evening in the comfy garage. They're rather pampered plants, and this is perhaps the reason it has taken them so long to come to fruition.

Anyways, my efforts paid off today. I harvested my first tomatoes...notice that was the plural of tomato. I harvested not one but TWO sweet 100 tomatoes. Behold, the plant from which I harvested my bounty.

Here are the perfect little sweet 100's which are about to be harvested.

And here I am swooping in to pluck them from the vine.

Unfortunately there are no pictures of me popping them into my mouth, but I can report they were delicious.

Now I'm just waiting for these beauties to ripen.

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-24T20:01:00.000-08:00

This evening we had the family together for our traditional Christmas Eve celebration. We have pizza every Christmas Eve. I'm not sure when this tradition started. We've done it as far back as I can remember.

Then I put together our evening program around the reading of the Christmas story. We took turns reading and then stopped to sing Christmas carols in between the readings. It was probably my favorite part of the night.

After that the mayhem ensued as the munchkins opened up their presents.

However, I want to remember that the best part of the evening was listening to my family sing Silent Night around me, as I was playing the piano.

I wish you and your family a very beautiful Christmas. I leave you with these very poignant words:

Christmas is not a day or a season, but a condition of heart and mind.
If we love our neighbors as ourselves;
if in our riches we are poor in spirit and in our poverty we are rich in grace;
if our charity vaunteth not itself, but suffereth long and is kind;
if when our brother asks for a loaf, we give ourselves instead;if each day dawns in opportunity and sets in achievement, however small—
then every day is Christ’s day and Christmas is always near.

In Charles L. Wallis, ed., Words of Life (1966), 33

When I grow up I want to be like G'ma J

2010-12-06T20:08:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I went to Houston, TX for work. I stayed with my G'ma J while I was there. I love my Grandma.

She is a beautiful woman who has taught me about service - service to your fellow man and service to God. Someday I want to grow up to be like my Grandma.

The Wisemen’s Gifts of Faith and Dedication

2010-12-05T09:12:00.000-08:00

“Now when Jesus was bon in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wisemen from the east, to Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:1) For these wisemen had been preparing and study, and watching for the signs that would herald the birth of the King of the Jews, the Savior Jesus Christ. “And they did watch steadfastly…that they might know that their faith had not been vain” (3 Nephi 1:8)

These men, lead by the Spirit, dedicated their lives to learning and understanding the prophecies surrounding the coming of the King of the Jews – “Behold the days com, saith the Lord; that I will raise unto David a righteous Brand, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth” (Jeremiah 23:10). We do not read of any heavenly messengers that manifested the truthfulness of these teachings to the wisemen. But we have to believe that the truthfulness was made manifest to them in the same manner in which we know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the King of the Jews, and the Savior of all mankind, through the still, small voice that is the Spirit.

Having been enlightened by the Spirit these magi did what was required, they dedicated their lives to following the Savior, both spiritually and physically. They followed the truths of the scriptures and prophets, they followed the promptings of the Spirit, and they sought the Savior.

“Saying, where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.” (Matt. 2:2)

The three wisemen laid at the feet of the young Savior of the World, not only gifts of frankincense , gold, and myrrh, but gifts of faith and dedication.

The will of the Lord, became their will. Their gift of unconditional faith and a dedication to following through on the truths, which came to them as a result of their faith, were laid at the feet of a “young child” who was Jesus Christ. Our gifts of faith and dedication may also bring us to the feet of the Savior.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, “the submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!” (Neal A. Maxwell, Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father, October 1995).

May our faith and dedication to the Savior lead us to aligning our will with His will. Then our gifts of faith and dedication will return blessings 100 fold. May we be like the wisemen, “press[ing] forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God…feasting upon the word of Christ and endure to the end” (2 Nephi 31:20) to hear our Father in Heaven say “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matt. 25:21).

Wish Everybody Could Have This Type of Welcome

2010-12-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

I wish everyone could feel this welcome everywhere they went...

Depth makes for better vacations photos - a trip down memory lane

2010-11-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine recently returned from a beautiful multi-country tour - Egypt, Greece, Italy, etc. She also happens to be an AMAZING photographer. I absolutely loved looking through all of her photos. I realized that one of the key differences between good vacation photos and AMAZING vacation photos is depth.

Sara is wonderful at taking pictures of the city skyline of Jerusalem, but even better are the narrow alley ways of Venice, and even better are all the masks on the vendor's cart in Milan. The variety in depth really brings more humanity to the photographs. Rather than just taking all vacations photos from 20 feet away (you know how it goes..."Everyone line up I want to take a picture"...*snap*...), get in close, look for textures and variations in light, look for high contrasts in colors. And then those types of photos, coupled with the cityscapes make for a richer story of your vacation.

Thanks, Sara, for the lesson!

Here are a few of my favorites from my trip in 2005 to Italy...I've had a serious camera upgrade since then and have a few new tricks up my sleeve. Now all I need is another trip to Italy.

The Coliseum in Rome.
A column outside the Pantheon.
Grapes from a vineyard in Tuscany.

Beuoooootiful lasagna in Sienne.
And here's one for the "20ft" album - Pompeii.

Aunt Megan's Annual Halloween Party - 1st Installment

2010-10-31T10:21:00.001-07:00

So last Friday was Aunt Megan's Annual Halloween Party. I believe it was the 6th year I've done this. As I was frantically running around trying to get things out and directing the fun, I didn't get to take any pictures. Fortunately, I'm part of a "picture-taking" family and so my brother Jeff snapped away for me. He's supposed to come over tonight and bring all the pictures so I'll have to post them in the 2nd installment.

Till then, you can watch the magic show. For the entertainment portion of our evening I invited the kids to each prepare a magic trick to share. They loved performing and we had a blast watching them perform. Check out the video...

Happy Halloween - Did you know...

2010-10-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Big Beark Lake, CA - A Perfect Vacation

2010-10-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

I just got back yesterday from a perfectly relaxing vacation. I went with two of my good friends, Susan and Sharon, up to Big Bear Lake, CA. My parents swapped for a time-share condo on the lake. And when I say "on the lake", I mean right on the edge of the lake. You'll see a picture of the sunrise in the album below and it was taken from the balcony of our condo.

I spent 3 days relaxing in gorgeous surroundings. The most strenuous part of the entire trip was the last hour driving into the lake along the windiest road I have ever been on. I don't get car sick, but that road pert-near drove me to it.

We read, played games, watched movies and tv, went on a boat trip, did some shopping and went out to eat a few times. I took a walk along the lake edge and got a few great pictures. Over all the vacation was perfect and exactly what I needed.

I would highly recommend Big Bear Lake, CA for those looking to get away, especially from the AZ heat. Most days the high was about 72 to 74 degrees and it got cold at night. The town has a cute little shopping district with small boutiques, etc. It kind of reminded me of a very small version of Jackson Hole, WY.

However, the one big disappointment we had was the food. We only had one good meal out, while we were there. Fortunately we had a condo so we did a lot of fixing meals for ourselves, but we did try a few of the local places that were suggested. The only decent food we had was at Sweet Basil, delicious! I would stay far away from Teddy Bear's and Village Pizza.

Anyways, it is nice to be home sleeping in my own bed, but I'm desperately missing the cooler temperatures. I've posted a few of my pictures below.

Happy Birthday, Twins!

2010-10-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

Today is the twins's brithday! They turn 30 something! They're still 3 years old to me.They have always been fun and game for most anything. As adults they have become responsible and caring men.
I just have a hard time thinking of them as being old enough to have families, responsible jobs, or drive cars.

Love you both!!

Much needed VT

2010-09-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

I have wonderful visiting teachers. They are consistent and caring. I really need good visiting teachers right now in my life. Tonight one of them stopped by for a visit. It was so good to sit and talk about real things, important things, not stuff that doesn't really matter in the long run. I am grateful for amazing women, the Visiting Teaching program of the Relief Society, and good friends. I don't know what I'd do without them!

It's that time of year...

2010-09-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

I realized that I haven't posted in a while. In my head, it's not post worthy if I don't have a photo to go with it...I'd better change my thinking because I haven't had time to drag out my camera very often recently.

So my favorite holiday is fast approaching - HALLOWEEN! I've started thinking about what I want to do for Aunt Megan's Annual Halloween Party. The invitations will have to go out soon.

Last year I delivered candy in coffins:

So I'm going to have to come up with something good this year. I got my Martha Stewart Halloween magazine this week, so I've started to dog-ear the pages with great ideas. She's got an awesome wreath that I'm going to have to make (I looked all over her website for a picture of it and I can't find one to share with you). Its a grapevine wreath, spray painted black. Then she took a bunch of rubber snakes, spray painted them black and then twined them through the wreath. Hang on your door with a big black bow. It looks wonderful!

Last year the spooky dinner took back seat to the games. We had worms in a bun...

I'm going to have to give the menu you some more thought. My biggest challenge is that I have some very picky eaters that come to my party. I have been thinking about a Harry Potter themed party, but I'll probably hold off another year until more of the kids have read the books.

As far as the games, last year we did some ghost bowling, which was a ton of fun. I'm going to have to come up with something else. It's kind of nice that the kids are getting a little bit older so the games can require a bit more thought.
If you have any suggestions for my halloween party, I'd love to hear them!!!!!

My daily work life explained by Scott Adams

2010-09-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

G'ma Schaub's Funeral - Part 1

2010-09-10T06:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a week since my Grandma Dellola Schaub's funeral. G'ma Schaub passed away on Monday, August 30, 2010. Her health has been waning since her husband, Art Schaub, passed away in July of 2009. I'm sad that Grandma Schaub is no longer with us, but I'm very very happy that she is back with Grandpa Schaub.

I've been remiss in not posting funeral pictures. I don't have much time this morning, but I thought I'd put just a few pictures up at least and I'll post the rest, and my account of the funeral, later.

We had Grandma's funeral service on the evening of Thursday, September 2nd and the graveside service the morning of Friday, September 3rd.

My sister, Kiki, and cousin Natalie.

Tricia, Andrea, and Aunt Char
Cousins - Felix, Marjorie's husband (sorry I forgot his name), Marjorie, Connie and Uncle Ken.
The Goodwin family - Jeana, Aunt Char, Denise and Troy

My mom, Aunt Donna and sister Kiki.
My dad, on the left, and all of his siblings -- Ben, Clarence, Jan, Char, Ken -- at the graveside of their mother.

Black River Fishing Video

2010-08-21T22:38:00.000-07:00

I put together this fun video with fishing highlights from our recent family camping trip.

The Whole Family Together

2010-07-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

It was kind of like herding a bunch of wild cats, but we got a family photo. My sister and her family are down from ID for a visit. And since it's been a few years since we took a family photo, we just couldn't pass up this opportunity.

The Whole Dennis Schaub Family

Girls Getaway in Flagstaff

2010-07-05T21:04:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine has a house on a golf course in Flagstaff. The deck off the back of her house over looking the San Francisco Peeks may be one of my most favorite places on earth.
Two weekends ago several of my friends and I went up and spent the weekend at Marie's house. What started out as my card club (there are 5 of us) blossomed into 10 women getting away for a fun filled weekend. Fortunately Marie had enough room for everyone.

So Friday after work we piled into our various cars and drove 2 hours north. And the temperature dropped by 20 degrees...yahoo!!!! Friday night we went out for dinner -- Olive Garden, where their grill was broken so they could only do sautee'd and baked dishes, hmmm. And then it was late night chatting on the gorgeous deck while we watched the practically full moon cross the sky.

At this point I must mention Marie's deck chairs. She has two of the MOST COMFORTABLE deck chairs I've ever had the privileged of sitting in. They are SOOOOOO comfortable and they have nice big ottomans to go with them. They contribute to the overall appeal of Marie's deck.

Saturday was Craft Day...all day. My card group - Serena, Rhonda, Camilla, Elizabeth and I - brought up our "anything-but-a-card-craft" and spent most of the day assembling, embellishing, cropping, decorating and in general just having a great time. All the other ladies just kicked back and relaxed.

Saturday night it was dinner down town and then back to the house for games.

Sunday morning I engaged in my favorite activity...about 6:30am I dragged a blanket outside with me, onto Marie's deck. The air was still crisp and cold. I snuggled up on one of the FABULOUS deck chairs with the last of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book and read and read and read. I was in heaven!! I was out there for a good 2 1/2 hours. I really could have been out there all day.Eventually we did have to leave :(. I can't wait till next time.

The passing of a dear possession

2010-06-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

Today was a sad day for me...my Fossil watch died. I got this particular watch the year I got home from my mission - 1998. I've worn this watch almost daily - mixing it up with its gold counterpart -- for the past 12 years.

I love Fossil watches. I've owned only Fossil watches since I got my first Fossil when I was about 12. They are the best darn watches around. They last forever and they're just plain cool.

So in my search for solace and a new watch I came across a Fossil watch giveaway...Yahoo!!! So in order to get an additional chance in the drawing they ask you to blog/tweet about it. So here is the link to the Creature Comfort Blog where they are having a drawing for a free Fossil Watch.

Creature Comforts

Keep your fingers crossed that I win an Analog Silver Satin Dial Watch from Fossil, because I really, really, really need it!

Memorial Day - Veterans in my Family

2010-05-30T22:33:00.001-07:00

In the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln: “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to … bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who has borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan—to do all which may achieve … a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” (Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865.)

I am blessed with a strong heritage of patriotism. Many of my family members have put there lives on the line that we may enjoy the freedoms of this great nation. Thank you to ALL of the men and women, and their families, who make such selfless sacrifices for each one of us. God Bless America!

My father graduated from the Naval Academy and served on the submarine USS Theodore Roosevelt.

My Grandpa Schaub flew on over 70 missions in a bomber during WWII. He's the handsome one, third from the left.
My Grandpa Johnson was in the Navy during WWII. He passed away last June and was honored at his funeral by the Veterans organization.
My brother-in-law joined the Army to finish his medical training - he's a physical therapist. He was then called to the front-lines in Iraq where he was stationed in Baghdad for 9 months in 2007.
My cousin was in the Army and served in Iraq for over a year in 2003-2004.I am grateful for the sacrifice made by my family members.

Happy Memorial Day!

My computer died

2010-05-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

So last week my computer died. Apparently I got a virus. Don't ask me how or when or from where. I don't remember downloading or opening anything I shouldn't have. It was fading on me about 2 weeks ago. I got nervous and updated my virus software, it scanned, and everything seemed to be going ok.

False sense of security.

A week ago, Thursday, I got the true black-screen-of-death. Not to be confused with the blue-screen-of-death. This was soooo much worse. If you get the blue-screen-of-death your computer is just mostly-dead...and the only thing left to do is go through his pockets and look for loose change....heheheheh

*sorry couldn't resist*

Anyway, back to my story, the black screen means NOTHING is happening. It means your computer is GONE, it's not even trying to start itself.

I didn't panic. I just picked up the phone and put out the call to my own personal Geek Squad...otherwise known as my brothers. My first brother says "don't bother taking it to anyone, they just charge you as much as it would cost to buy a new computer and all they'll do is reformat your hard drive" -- good bit of advice for all of you out there -- "just say goodbye to anything you had on your computer and reformat your hard-drive".

Good advice, but how do you reformat a hard drive??? This lead me to calling my second brother (he's actually the 3rd in line of 4), and I pleaded for help. Saturday my brother spent 6 hours with me helping reformat my hard-drive, upgrading my memory, reinstalling my operating system, and installing protection software.

Man do I owe him BIG TIME!

So you're probably asking, "Well what about all that stuff on your computer? Aren't you just sick that you lost it all?!?!?". I'm not and I'll tell you why...For the past 2 years I've been working off of an external hard-drive I got from Costco for about $80, and transferred all of my files to it. I save EVERYTHING to that hard drive. At the first sign of problems 2 weeks ago, I unattached it. Everything on it is safe and sound. The only true casualties to this debacle were my bookmarks for my browser and my iTunes music. iTunes will let me access/download all the music I have purchased from them. However, I've lost all the music from CD's that I had uploaded. I went from over a 1,000 songs to about 200. Fortunately, all the music is still on my iPod and seems to be permanently there.

I figure I got off lucky. The moral of this story -- BACK-UP, BACK-UP, BACK-UP and invest in an external hard-drive.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

I don't need a special day in May to remind me how wonderful my mother is. I'm constantly reminded as she selflessly serves her children, as much today as she has for the past 36 years. I have the best mom in the world!

Swagger Wagon - My New Favorite Video

2010-05-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

I love this video and sorry Kiki, but it totally reminds me of you...but I will say that you need a little more SWAGGER in your wagon.

You Might Be A Red Neck...microburst

2010-05-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

Today was a little different as far as Sunday goes. I had stake conference so I was able to enjoy a leisurely Sunday with no extra meetings.

I must preface my tale with a little weather report. We've been experiencing an unusual amount wind - wind mind you, not breezes. Not just today either, but for the past several days. It is rather unusual and it has been pretty intense at times. So today was a windy day.

Now back to my story...I was sitting downstairs watching TV and I hear this load rushing, grumbling noise coming from outside (and it was VERY loud), from what would be behind the chimney. What immediately popped into my head was how all those "red-necks" on tv always say that they hear what sounded like a train coming towards their house and then next thing they knew "a terr-nado come swipped my trailer clean off its foundation."

I yelled to my mom who was up in the kitchen, "Mom, I think there's a twister or something outside." We both ran to the large window in the dining room because it has a better view of the backyard.I can see all the trees and bushes just blowing like crazy and then I see our flatbed,toy hauling trailer which is parked on the side of the yard picked up and dragged across the backyard. Flipping over the top of that trailer is our tarp awning which normally covers the camper trailer, and it's being tossed end-over-end across the yard. After a few seconds things settled down. My mom kept saying, "that must have been a dust-devil," which we do occasionally see here in AZ. But I was pretty sure it was more than a dust-devil.

We went out back to see if anything was damaged. Come to find out that the pop-up camper trailer, which was hidden around the side of the house, behind the chimney, had been dragged around the side of the house and was now partly in the grass. It had taken a corner out of the cable box. Then, when the flatbed-trailer was dragged across the yard it took out the ladder to the playhouse. AND, several slats from the side-yard fence were torn off. And that was just in the back-yard. After we moved the camping-trailer back around, I grabbed my camera and got a few shots.

The red circle is where the trailer was originally parked. The wind didn't just push it over to its new location. I actually saw it bounce its way over there.
This is after I moved the trailer back to it's original location. The square it where the backend of the trailer ended up. It scraped along the side of the house and put a small dent in the back of the trailer. And in case you've never pushed one of these camper-trailers, THEY WEIGH A TON!

I circled the where the fence slats went missing and drew a line along the tire skid marks where you can see the trailer had been dragged.

After surveying the damage out back, we went to the front yard. Of course our poor tree in the front yard lost a few limbs. In fact as I was taking this picture, the wind was still blowing and you can see a small branch is falling off to the left.Fortunately for us, no one was parked in the driveway. If they had been, this is what could have happened to them...tree limbs right through the window.

So all in all in were very lucky, but it did make from some interesting Sunday afternoon excitement.

A Good Clean Move

2010-05-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

So I helped a friend move into her new home this morning. It was actually the easiest move I've ever helped with.

My biggest nightmare when I hear someone ask, "Can you help me move?" is showing up to help and the person hasn't even started to pack. AGGHH!!! I just want to turn around and leave and say "call me when you're really ready to move."

Definitely not the case today. It took 3 of us (interesting how NONE of the priesthood showed up to help) about 15 minutes to load things in to 3 cars. Her roommates brothers came and loaded up a bed and dresser in to the back of their truck and we hauled everything over to my friend's new house and unloaded in 15 minutes.

That's my kind of move. It also inspired me to go home and clean my room.

Have a great Saturday!

Wickedly Good Italian Food - Recipe for Bolognese

2010-04-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

So Tuesday the cooking-bug hit me and I whipped up some Bolognese sauce to put over homemade pasta...DELICIOUS! I posted the recipe and pictures on my food blog. Head on over and check it out.

A Feast for the Senses - Bolognese Sauce

Cowboy Dinner at the Old-Folks Home

2010-04-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

I wish I had pictures to go with this post, cuz they would be adorable. I went with my mother tonight to have dinner with my grandma. She is currently living at this fantastic assisted-care facility in northeast Mesa. Tonight was their special "Family & Friends Cowboy Dinner" night. We took grandma downstairs to the dinning room which was filled with people in checkered shirts and cowboy hats. Boy did those people know how to get in the spirit of things. There was enough "bling" there to rival what I saw at the Houston Rodeo.

To top it off, the dinner was better than any barbecue that I had in Houston (not counting my Uncle Reed's grilling). They had these great ribs and their baked beans were pretty darn good. I had fun watching people dance in the isles and all the visitors and residents really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I was impressed by the fact that most of the employees new all the residents by name. My grandma had something interesting to tell me about most every person that walked, scooted, or rolled by.

I had a wonderful evening and made another wonderful memory with my grandma.

It's coming...ready or not!

2010-04-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

It hit 93 degrees today and it's only the beginning. Summer is COMING! And that means bathing suit season is just around the corner...ready or not!

Hiccup help

2010-04-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

I just got the hiccups...really bad. So I decided to Google "cure for hiccups". Here are some of the answers I got.

Water and Knife Method

Fill up a glass of water and get a butter knife.
Put the knife, blade up, into the glass.
Drink the water with the blade pressing on your forehead until it is all gone.

Holding your breath

Take a deep breath.
Hold for as long as you can.
Exhale slowly.

Open your mouth

Open your mouth and keep it open for a couple of minutes.
If you feel the need to swallow, do so, but try to keep your lips apart when you do.

Water Method

Fill a glass full with water.
Drink all the water without stopping.
Hold your breath and close your nose with your fingers.

Gulp

Make sure you are not wearing anything tight around your chest. If you are, loosen it.
Keep gulping every few seconds, especially when you feel a hiccup might be coming. A couple of hiccups might escape, but with continuous gulping, hiccups should be gone within 3 minutes.

Looking at an object

Divert your attention towards any object.
Keep concentrating on the object.
While concentrating, think hiccups are okay. Hiccups are not harmful. You can overcome them soon.

So what do you do to cure hiccups? *hiccup*

Back from Sabbatical With New Flower

2010-04-15T19:46:00.001-07:00

So it would seem that I've returned from my month long sabbatical. It's not that I haven't had anything to blog about, it's almost the opposite in fact. I have had too much happening and not even a minute of time to sit down and blog, literally. From the moment I wake up (I trying to get back on the 4:30am work out schedule - not going exactly as I had hoped, *sigh*) until the moment my head hits the pillow (somewhere between 9:30pm and 10:00pm) I'm going -- work, RS, RS, friends, and more RS (it sure would be nice to fit some dating in there *huge sigh*). Besides, after spending 8-10 hours a day at work on the computer, I'm always hard pressed to want to turn it on when I get home.

HOWEVER, I need to blog for me -- my personal record, and to connect with the outside world, through something other than Facebook *another big sigh*.

Anywhoooo, last Saturday my friend Jacque and her mother taught Susan and I how to make these FAAAABULOUS flowers which can be worn in your hair, on your shirt, on your purse, attached to a necklace, basically any where you need a little dazzle. They were super simple to make and are super cute. All you need is synthetic fabric, a candle, needle and thread, a button, and some felt for the back. I can't wait to make more. Here's my first flower. It's roughly 3.5inx3.5in and has an alligator clip on the back.

I took several shots of the flower, some with my camera on a tripod and others just holding the camera

A Whirlwind Trip to Houston

2010-03-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

Here are the highlights...

went to Houston, TX with my brother Jeff and his wife Ellie.
visited my Grandma Johnson who is completing chemo, and is in remission(Yahoo!!!). Last year she was diagnosed with hodgkins lymphoma.
played cards, made cards, and ate, and ate, and ate.
also visited with my Aunt Andi, Uncle Reed, cousins Jeff, Joe, and Linnea - and ate and ate and ate.
went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo - saw some bull riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, and a some Blake shelton - and had mediocre barbeque, but amazing deep fried oreos.
went to church with G'ma, had family dinner with cousin Mark and his wife Jennifer and their fun kids.
played more cards, and a hilarious round of "Catch Phrase" with the family
flew back to AZ.

...I'll post more pictures later. I've got to run off and meet friends for dinner at Murphy's Law.

Mardi Gras!

2010-02-16T19:52:00.000-08:00

I love Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It was one of my favorite vacations and I remember it fondly this time every year. Someday I WILL return for some bignets and beads...you can read my walk down memory lane in my Mardi Gras post from last year...

"Laissez les bon temps rouler!"

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2010-02-15T09:31:00.000-08:00

Today is a very important day in my personal history. I don't know where I'd be without this event that occurred on Feb. 15th. It's probably a day that everyone should have marked on their calendar. Today Debra Elaine Schaub (formerly known as Johnson) was born, and I won't tell you how many years ago. Suffice it to say, you'd never guess her age by how fabulous she looks and the busy schedule she keeps -- I can't keep up with her.

I also have to say that I have the best mom in the ENTIRE world! She is absolutely amazing. The mother of 6 children, grandmother to 13 grandkids. She went back to school as an adult, earned her degree and got a teaching certificate. Decided she likes kids enough that she is now a 3rd grade teacher. It seems that her goal in life has always been to help as many people as possible. She always puts the needs of others before herself.

She has more talent in her little finger than I have in my whole body. It would probably take an entire post to list all of Debbie Schaub's talents and accomplishments:

she decorates cakes (as in professional wedding cakes).
she bakes like a professional - my favorite smell in the whole entire world is her homemade rolls just coming out the oven.
she's a fabulous chef and loves trying new cuisines and this is definitely where my love of trying new foods stems from
she can sew anything. growing up, my dolls had the very best wardrobes of all the kids I knew. my sister and I occasionally got talked into matching outfits too. she's still whipping out amazing projects and finds time to help teach me a thing or too.
she can paint beautifully. growing up she pretty much painted everything that wasn't nailed down. our house was filled with beautiful pieces of tole-painting.
she also plays the piano and the ukulele -- my mom has filled our home with music through out the years and instilled in each of her children and love and respect for the power of music

Beyond all of these temporal gifts my mother has faith and charity unlike anyone else I know. She truly exemplifies these Christ like characteristics. For these traits and so many other things, I am truly blessed to call her mother.

I love you, mom! Happy Birthday!My mom and her amazing mother, Geri Johnson. Thanks, G'ma, for having such an AWESOME daughter!

My mom and my equally amazing sister, Kiki. The three of us slipped away a couple years ago to Orlando, Florida, for a girls weekend of scrapbooking and playing at Epcot Center. We had a blast!
Mom with Kaylie and Audrey, doing a little minature golfing.
Mom and dad on the night mom graduated from ASU. GO MOM!
Mom with Jacob, out for a special birthday lunch.
An interesting fact about my mom and I...my mom actually helped welcome me into the mission field in San Fernando, CA. She and my aunts happened to be in CA the day I traveled from the MTC to San Fernando to start my mission. She and my aunts were there at the airport with President & Sister Snow to welcome me to the mission field.

Patriotic Retirement Plan -- How to fix the economy

2010-02-10T06:41:00.000-08:00

There recently was an article in the St. Petersburg Fl. Times. The Business Section asked readers for ideas on: "How Would You Fix the Economy?"
I think this guy nailed it!
_____

Dear Mr. President,

Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan. You can call it the "Patriotic Retirement Plan":

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $ 2 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

They MUST retire. Forty million job openings. Unemployment fixed.
They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered. Auto Industry fixed.
They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage. Housing Crisis fixed.

It can't get any easier than that!!

P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress pay their taxes. Mr. President, while you're at it, make Congress retire on Social Security and Medicare. I'll bet both programs would be fixed pronto!

I Don't Do Ups!

2010-02-08T21:07:00.000-08:00

One of my very, very favorite comedians is John Pinette - it's probably because I can relate to a lot of what he talks about. This routine he does about getting in shape makes me split my sides, cuz it's exactly how I feel about exercising...I Don't Do Ups! Enjoy...

New Church Calling - Relief Society President

2010-02-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

So I got a new calling in church last Sunday. First, I have to tell you that I've been a Gospel Doctrine Teacher since June of last year, and I LOVED it. I only had to teach every other week, so preparing lessons was something I really looked forward to. There was soooo much I learned this last year and my testimony really grew.

When the Bishop asked to see me two weeks ago, I really wasn't expecting a change. Since he's fairly new, I thought it was a "get-to-know-you" kind of interview...It wasn't.

Last Sunday I was sustained as the East Relief Society President (because of the size - people and geography -- of our ward, we actually have 2 Relief Societies). My counselors are Kristi Jackson, Sheila Towle, and Robin Hakes.

This has been a humbling experience. Interestingly enough, I was still scheduled to teach Sunday School last week and the lesson was on the Prophet Enoch. When the Lord calls Enoch to serve, this is his response (Moses 6:31-32):

31 And when Enoch had heard these words, he bowed himself to the earth, before the Lord, and spake before the Lord, saying: Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hateme; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?

32 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good.

I know EXACTLY how Enoch felt...except for the "lad" part. :) However, the Lord called me so, as long as I put forth the effort, He'll qualify me. But any extra prayers you send my way would be greatly appreciated.

Happy Birthday, Zackery!

2010-01-31T08:58:00.000-08:00

Today is my nephew's 7th birthday. I'll have to tell you that I'm a little concerned. He promised me several years ago that he wouldn't grow up and now he is breaking his promise. I desperately miss his adorable chubby cheeks. Now he is becoming a young man, with strong intelligence, and a loving heart.

Please indulge me as I reminisce about those squishable-adorable-kissable-long-lost cheeks.

So long squishable-adorable-kissable-long-lost-cheeks. Happy Birthday amazing young man!

I love you!

Here's To You

2010-01-28T19:21:00.000-08:00

Everyone deserves flowers...Here's to you. May you have a beautiful day!

First 2010 Card Club Meeting

2010-01-23T13:31:00.000-08:00

So I have a bunch of friends who like to craft like I do (surprise, surprise, surprise). Several decided last year to get together once a month and do a card kit exchange. Deal is, you make a card, then you make several "card kits" which include everything you need to make your card. We get together once a month swap card kits, and then work on putting them together while we visit, talk, and snack. I really look forward to these nights.

Anyways, last night was our first meeting of 2010. Other then catching up a bunch, finding out about Rhonda's cute new hound dog named, Beauregard Walker McGraw (isn't that just the best name for a southern hound dog), and going over who's getting married that we know, we did manage to get some stinkin' cute projects done. Here they are:Can you guess which one was my card that I shared?

Back to my roots - Scrapbooking

2010-01-18T19:45:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful day...no work, rainy weather, amazing lunch with a friend, and a bit of scrapbooking. Almost the perfect day. I decided to get back to my roots and do some scrapbooking since I had the day off. It's honestly been several months since I've done any scrapbooking and I've recently take a bunch of really cute pictures that are just screamin' to be scrapbooked. So here's what I did today...

Jake Shimabukuro - MASTER ukulele

2010-01-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

I went to a concert last night of a ukulele master - Jake Shimabukuro. He plays this instrument in a manner unlike any you could imagine. It is absolutely amazing to watch him perform. I would recommend his concert to everyone, regardless of whether or not you're a fan of the ukulele. If you like music, you'll love Jake Shimabukuro. His performance was awe inspiring. Here's his best known clip from YouTube...

I'd recommend checking out more of his performances on YouTube. You can also learn more about him from his website Jake Shimabukuro .

It was an unforgettable evening with an unforgettable musician.

Is the "Gay Rights" Movement a Civil Rights Movement?

2010-01-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine forwarded me the article below. It made me think. I actually took the time to read it and I hope you will to. She shared a few other personal points, I completely agree with. I too know personally individuals who consider themselves gay. They are very good people and I care deeply for them. I believe that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. I also believe that we are each given burdens to carry throughout mortality. Some are heavier and more outwardly apparent then others. However, we are not left alone to carry those burdens.

This article from United Families International, for me, helped to clarify what for many has become a murky topic -- "Gay Rights". Those who perpetuate this dogma would have you believe that homosexuality is an inalienable right, a factor of genetic predisposition for which individuals are being discriminated against. This is not true. It is a choice.

I encourage you to read this article and give it some thought.

Is the "Gay Rights" Movement a Civil Rights Movement?
January 12, 2010

You've heard the arguments. "Homosexuals are an oppressed minority just like racial minorities or women." "The gay rights movement is the new civil rights movement." "Homophobia is equivalent to racism and sexism."

Renditions of this argument are everywhere, particularly in the debate over same-sex marriage. The Washington, D. C. city council passed legislation last month that legalizes same-sex marriage. Traditional marriage supporters began paying for ads on the side of city buses. The ads were very simple: the image of two wedding bands overlaid with the words, "Let the People Vote on Marriage." That's it. Two non-descript wedding bands and the statement, "Let the People Vote on Marriage."

The Washington LGBT community went into an uproar. Bloggers and same-sex marriage advocacy groups have condemned the ads as hate speech and some have even demanded that the ads be removed.

Why are they so upset?

The ads are discriminatory, they claim. They attempt to deny an underprivileged minority a basic civil right. From their perspective, it is the same as denying racial minorities or women the right to vote. They claim the whole debate is a pure and simple civil rights matter. Those who oppose same-sex marriage might as well be opposing the abolition of slavery.

This argument, however, is not only intellectually dishonest, but part of a long term strategy to normalize homosexual behavior.

Discrimination vs. distinction

To reduce all forms of discrimination-racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, or any other -ism-into one group is grossly dishonest and creates serious problems. Discrimination (in the classical sense means to distinguish and judge) plays a necessary and central role in any society. Problems arise only when those judgments are based on faulty, incorrect, or non-existent distinctions. In the case of racism, for example, past discrimination was based on the non-existent distinction between people of different skin color, wherein most people today readily accept that color truly is only skin deep.

To say that homosexuality is equivalent to race is to likewise assert that there is no true distinction between heterosexuals and homosexuals. This is patently false. As Shelby Steele of the Wall Street Journal eloquently explains, "[T]here is a profound difference between homosexuality and heterosexuality. In the former, sexual and romantic desire is focused on the same sex, in the latter on the opposite sex. Natural procreation is possible only for heterosexuals, a fact of nature that obligates their sexuality to no less a responsibility than the perpetuation of the species. Unlike racial difference, these two sexual orientations are profoundly-not innocuously-different. Racism projects a false difference in order to exploit. Homophobia is a reactive prejudice against a true and firm difference that already exists."

Arguments demanding that the LGBT rights movement be treated as the new civil rights movement seek to erase this profound and necessary distinction. However, discrimination against homosexuality is not faulty or incorrect, but rather based on a notable distinction necessary for the perpetuation of a healthy society.

Homosexuality is not a civil right

Homosexuality, as a behavior, is not a civil right, as it does not fulfill the criteria required to establish homosexuals as a protected group under civil rights legislation. In order to achieve such protection, the trait that distinguishes a group as a minority must be inherited, innate, or immutable. Social science research indicates homosexuality does not meet any of these criteria.

Below is a brief overview of this research. For a more in-depth review of the essential arguments and research for engaging in a dialogue on homosexual behavior, you can view UFI's Guide to Family Issues: Sexual Orientation.

Homosexuality is not genetic

There is no conclusive or compelling empirical evidence showing any absolute biological, genetic, or hormonal causation for homosexuality. A small percentage of the population may have a predisposition toward homosexual feelings, but this does not mean such people engage in homosexual behavior as a result of genetic causation. Predisposition toward something does not mean that it is inevitable or that such a predisposition cannot or should not be resisted and overcome.

Homosexuality is not innate

What a person does (behavior) should never be equated with who a person is. No human being can or should be reduced to his or her sexual impulses. Impulses cannot compel behavior or identities without a person's consent.

Additionally, current evidence suggests that environmental, familial, and personal external influences contribute significantly to the development of homosexual tendencies. Seventy years of therapeutic counseling and case studies show a remarkable consistency concerning the origins of the homosexual impulse as an uncompleted gender identity seeking after its own sex to replace what was not fully developed in childhood.

Homosexuality is changeable

Reputable studies and decades of successful treatment show that homosexual behavior can be changed. Thousands of former homosexuals testify to this possibility. According to Positive Alternatives to Homosexuality (PATH), a coalition of organizations committed to helping those wanting to change same-sex attraction, "In more than 50 years of research, including 48 studies . . . there are data and published accounts documenting easily more than 3,000 cases of change from homosexual to heterosexual attraction, identity and functioning." You can view an overview of those studies here.

Many LGBT advocates cite the decision made by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 1973 to remove homosexuality from its list of disorders as proof that homosexuality is natural and unchangeable. However, the decision to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) was made only after APA leaders and members had endured several years of intense political pressure and disruptive lobbying efforts by militant homosexual activist groups. Even pro-homosexual psychiatric professionals will admit that the APA's decision was purely political, not scientific.

Homosexuality is defined by behaviors that are destructive to individuals and to society

Homosexuality is defined and distinguished by risky behaviors that are proven to be destructive to individuals and to society. The most serious consequence of the homosexual lifestyle is exposure to HIV/AIDS and other STDs. Evidence indicates that 50 percent of men who have sex with men will eventually become HIV positive or infected with another potentially fatal sexually transmitted disease.

Research also indicates that homosexuality is tied to significant increases in drug and alcohol abuse and mental or emotional health disorders. One study found that men with same-sex partners were 6.5 times as likely as heterosexual men to have attempted suicide, and a separate study demonstrated that homosexuals are almost three times more likely to suffer major depression and generalized anxiety disorder.

Rates of domestic violence are also dramatically higher among same-sex couples, particularly lesbian couples. One survey of over a thousand lesbians found that more than half reported being verbally, emotionally, psychologically, or physically abused by their female partner.

Research shows that there is no reduction in the rate of suicide, mental illness, substance abuse, alcoholism, and domestic violence in areas where homosexuality is more widely accepted, proving that the high rate of emotional trauma in homosexuals is not induced by society, but rather, is the result of deviant sexual behavior that negatively impacts emotional and physical health. The same list of negative consequences attached to any other behavior would inspire broad societal efforts to prevent and discourage that behavior.

Conclusion

Homosexuality is not a civil right. Social science is still on the side of the family. Our goal at UFI is to make this research and these facts available to you. A great place to access this information is through our Guides to Family Issues. The guides help you break down the arguments and provide all of the evidence necessary to help you share this powerful truth: traditional marriage and strong families promise the best future for individuals, communities, and nations.
Those of us who support traditional marriage and family cannot afford to let this and similar misconceptions take further root in our culture.

My newest project - A hat

2010-01-09T09:51:00.000-08:00

So while visiting my sister Kiki in the frozen-tundra-of-the-north (a.k.a. - Idaho) we had to limit our activities to those things which could be done in doors, thus I learned to crochet. I decided that I had to have a hat to match my adorable neice Karlie.

Kiki had made the hat and so she taught me how to crochet, my first project was an adult sized hat, for those cold mornings in AZ.

I worked on it on my bus trip from Rexburg to Salt Lake and finished it up this week. So rather than show you my big head in it I got Justin's kids to model it for me.

Sunday School

2010-01-03T08:49:00.000-08:00

So I've been teaching Sunday School in my single adult ward since June of 2009. It is a fabulous calling that has forced me to delve into the scriptures more. Just what I needed. It's a stretch getting up every other Sunday in front of amazing people and pretending like I know what I'm talking about. I figure that I'm always safe if I just stick to the scriptures and the words of the prophets. Needless to say I've been learning a ton and have felt my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ grow.

Today's lesson is from Moses 1. The topic is "For behold, this is my work and my glory -- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39). I am grateful for continued revelation and the Spirit which confirms to me how much my Heavenly Father truly loves me. Despite the vastness of His creations, He knows me individually, loves me completely, and wants the absolute best for me, to ultimately have me return to live with Him.

What a great Sunday!

New Years Resolutions

2010-01-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

"New Year's Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual." -- Mark Twain

Megan's New Year's Resolutions

Weight - lose some of it
Money - save more of it
Men - find some of them
Spirituality - get more of it

I've got to start somewhere. Good luck with your New Year's Resolutions.

Happy New Year - Highlights from 2009

2010-01-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday season. I just got back yesterday from spending 6 days in Rexburg, ID with my sister Kiki and her family. The visit was fantastic and it went by entirely too quickly. However, I can say that today I'm thoroughly enjoying sitting at home with the windows open because it is 68 degrees outside.

I was thinking about how quickly 2009 went by, and all of the momentous occasions of this past year I wanted to capture a few of the highlights for my own sake, but you're welcome to check them out.

January

went on a business trip to Clearwater, FL; stayed in a totally spooky haunted hotel called the Belleview Biltmore

February

my roommate from Ricks College (1992-1994) Diana Slack/McInelly came out from Nebraska and stopped for a visit.

another business trip, this time to Myrtle Beach, FL where I had the best seafood dinner I've ever eaten (and that's saying a lot because I hate seafood and try never to eat it).

(my coworkers from Pinnacle that went to the conference with me - btw I designed the company banners for our "booth")

March

garage sale - didn't sell much but always enjoy putting out our junk

April

some friends and I went out to Disneyland in CA and had a blast!

May

the last time I went out for Pizza with Grandpa Schaub; my G'ma and G'pa Schaub had a long standing tradition of Peter Piper Pizza ever single Thursday night, anyone was welcome to join them. May was the last time I had pizza with Gpa Schaub (sorry the picture is blurry, but it is precious to me)

Baby Karlie is born on May 25th and I and my sister-in-law Ellie drive up with our niece Kaylie to visit the Weichers Family and see the new baby.

June

On June 13, 2009, Gordon Grant Johnson, my maternal-grandfather, died after battling cancer for months. My family went out to Spring, Texas for the funeral on June 19, 2009.

me and my Grandma Johnson

On June 26, 2009, Arthur Lee Schaub, my paternal-grandfather, died. We had his funeral on June 30th.

(my dad and all of his siblings, and his mother at their father's funeral)

July

July 4th competed in my first Sprint Triathlon - the JCC Scottsdale Firecracker Sprint Triathlon, and finished.

Schaub family campout at Woods Canyon Lake on the Mogollon Rim. The Weichers family drove down to join us.

August

My company moved me to a new office building just down the street from our old building. Along with a new cubicle I got a new title "Marketing Programs Manager" - someday I'll get a paycheck that matches my hoity-toity title, till then I'm just grateful for a job. Here's my "mug-shot" for my new employee badge.

Also had a big personal move as well, due to some changes in my roommate situation and a desire to get my finances in order, I decided to move back with my parents. It was a difficult decision to make, but it was the right one. My family is wonderful and supportive and I am enjoying time spent with my parents.

September

apparently a quiet month, cuz I can't find any good pictures

October

Dad and I hiked the Grand Canyon's Indian Garden trail in one day, the weekend before my birthday. Yahoo!!!!

Auntie Megan had her annual Halloween party again

My Grandma Johnson was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma a form of cancer, and begins chemo.

November

A little dutchoven cooking with some friends.

Thanksgiving with family was pretty low-key this year. I spent much of it chasing after Kara trying to get a picture (aka -hit a moving target).

Baby Adam Schaub was born to my brother Justin and his wife Rachel on November 30th.

December

My great-uncle John and great-aunt Amy came from Branson, Missouri to visit us for a week. My Uncle John is extremely musically talented and has been a Hawaiian music performer for most of his entire life. My auntie Amy is a wonderful hula dancer.

This past Christmas I spent time in Rexburg visiting my sister Kiki and her family.

I have been extremely blessed this past year. Though there have been many trials, and challenges faced by myself and my family, we have been richly blessed. I am grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who has given me an abundance of support, love, strength, learning experiences, growth opportunities, beautiful memories, and peaceful moments of reflection. I pray that 2010 will bring all of us a year filled with peace and love.

Idaho -- brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

2009-12-30T12:06:00.000-08:00

I've been in Rexburg, Idaho since Christmas day visiting my sister, her husband, and 4 kids. I LOVE visiting with my family, but this cold is for the birds. Day after Christmas it got to a whopping 8 degrees. Today it was positively balmy at 22 degrees, and snowed for the first time.

However, we spend 99.9% of our time in doors playing. Fortunately Kiki has a FULL basement, very very large with 3 bedrooms and a bath. So there is plenty of space for everyone.

My favorite part of the trip so far has been squishing my niece Karlie's chubby thighs, and I've been doing it a lot. They are completely impossible to resist. She smiles at you, waves her hands, and then flashes her thighs and the next thing you know you're picking her up and squishing her.

I'll be headed home on Thursday and I'll be taking tons of pictures and wonderful memories with me.

Twilight Years

2009-12-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

Twilight Years from Tom on Vimeo.

My cousin Jen lived in NYC for several years and became friends with many very talented people who are in the "industry" -- she being a very talented person herself. Several of those friends from the single's ward put this little spoof together and did an AMAZING job. I love the premise. I will admit freely to being a Twilight fan and yes I am also in my Twilight Years.

Nothing better than a smile

2009-12-10T05:05:00.000-08:00

Sunday night we had a birthday dinner for my dad...Happy Birthday, Dad! So I was taking random video and I got a great clip of my otherwise, very serious little niece smiling. Enjoy!

Have a happy day!

What are you thankful for?

2009-12-05T09:29:00.000-08:00

I found this video today while preparing for my Sunday School lesson. It is wonderful and thought provoking. There are so many things that I am thankful for, today I am thankful for the opportunity to teach Sunday School. What about you?

Better Than Shopping

2009-12-01T05:01:00.000-08:00

I'll admit to hitting 2 stories on Black Friday - Target and JoAnn's. But I didn't get to the first store until quarter 8am.

Rather then helping boost the economy my family and I headed out to the desert for a little R&R ATV style. Me, my dad, my mom, sister-in-law Ellie, friend Susan, and cousin Maka joined up with my Uncle Clarence and his family out at Queen Valley for some outdoor enjoyment. The weather has finally turned cool enough that it is perfect for ATV riding, lounging, game playing, and eating -- eating being the most important activity.
Here are some of the highlights...

Susan heading out for a ride.

Maka's turn.
My cousin John's baby, Kadence, obviously had fun.
Kandice, Beth and Kadence.
My dad and his brother Clarence.
Here's the whole Clarence Schaub family. BTW -- It just so happened to be Kelley's birthday!
Playing some games - Maka, Ellie, and mom.

New Baby Boy Schaub

2009-11-30T06:51:00.000-08:00

My brother Justin and his beautiful wife Rachel had a baby boy yesterday. To hear how it went and to see some cute pictures, check out their blog...

schaubfam.blogspot.com

Dutchoven Cookout at Usery Park

2009-11-17T05:34:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday some friends and I went out to Usery Park in northeast Mesa to do a bit of dutchoven cooking. There's just something about cooking in cast iron over an outdoor fire that makes the food taste better. This time I made chili and baked some cornbread. I had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone and always enjoy perfecting my skills over the old campfire. I dragged along my favorite dutchoven cooking partner, my dad. Here are the pics...BTW I'll be posting recipes and more pics on my food site later.

PS -- Jasmine the dog will be featured in a Mighty Dog commercial during the Dog Show which always follows the Macy's Day parade on Thanksgiving Day. To see how she became famous, check out her blog -- And all that Jaz...

Happy Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T19:11:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for the legacy of service and patriotism I have been blessed with. My ancestors have fought in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and most recently the war in Iraq. Family members who have sacrificed so much for me and every other American who daily enjoys freedom and safety as citizens of the United States of America.

Thank you to the men and women, and their devoted friends and family, who continue to serve for our country.

Happy Veteran's Day!

My brother-in-law Jared served in Iraq.

My dad was an officer in the US Navy.

My Great-Uncle James A. got shot down in Vietnam.
My Grandpa Johnson served in the US Navy.

My Grandpa Schaub was a radio operator and door-gunner in this bomber in the South Pacific during WWII for over 15 months.
And my uncle Ken was a Marine at the same time by dad was in the Navy and his son Michael Schaub served for over a year in Iraq.

THANK YOU!

Aunt Megan's Annual Halloween Party - Highlights

2009-11-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

It was a blast! This year's Aunt Megan's Annual Halloween Party was great -- great food, great kids, great costumes, and great fun. If I do say so myself. Here are some of the photo highlights.

M&M Dark Chocolate Halloween Movie Game

2009-10-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

Couple years back my brother Ryan and I found this online game posted by M&M. Each Halloween I go looking for it because it's a lot of fun, and it's a challenge to see how much I remember from the previous year.

The game consists of trying to identify horror movies by a single illustration. M&M has ingeniously created a fully illustrated scene that hides about 50 different horror movie titles. Some of them are obvious (picture of a bunch of lambs wearing ear-muffs = Silence of the Lamb), others not so obvious. Part of the challenge is the fact that I've probably only seen about 10% of the movies -- I hate scary movies. But I do know the titles of most of the movies, the rest I just have to guess at based on the image and then cheat by Googling.

The first time I tried it it took me almost 3 hours to get them, and I had to solicit a ton of help from other people. One of the nice things about the game is you can pause it and come back to it another day. The last time I tried it I think I got just under 50 minutes.The above picture is just a screen shot of the game. You really should try it. It's a lot of fun. Just click on the picture above and it will take you to the game.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween's Parties of the Past

2009-10-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about the Halloween parties I've had in the past, so that lead me to browsing through old photos. I decided to share with you some of the highlights of Aunt Megan's Annual Halloween Party from the past 4 years.

2005 Each year we have the doughnut eating game.
2006

2007
2008
(Not a lot of pictures last year, I was just barely recovered from the flu and so I couldn't do much more than sit on the couch and watch the action unfold.)

The Clone Wars were popular last year.

I'm really looking forward to this years party. We'll be having a "Witch Hunt" a little "Pumpkin Bowling" or course the Doughnute Game. And for Dinner...

Halloween - Halloween - My Favorite Time of Year

2009-10-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

I Love Halloween!

I really, really do! Who doesn't love a holiday where people give out free candy and you get to dress-up anyway you want, call it a costume, and wear it around all day and have people tell you how "Spectacular" you look. :)

I'm getting ready for my Annual Aunt Megan's Halloween Party, next Wednesday. And I decided I wanted another excuse to try some more Halloween recipes, and get more mileage out of my decorations, so I'm throwing a little Visiting Teacher "Gouhl's Night Out" with ghoulish desserts next week as well.

Here are the invitations to the Annual Aunt Megan Halloween Party:
I made little paper coffins, filled them with gold coins and skulls and pumpkin candy, and wrote the invite inside of the lid. The coffin was super easy to make. I got the pattern from Martha Stewart. Here's the coffin pattern. It would be totally cute with double-sided paper, maybe next year.

Then I found this awesome recipe for cinnamon candy popcorn - ya know that stuff the Harry & David's makes called Moose Munch that tastes wickedly good but they charge ya like $8 for a quarter-cup. Well, while cruising my favorite recipe photo site (admit it, you eat with your eyes first, if there isn't a great picture with the recipe you won't try it) Taste Spotting, I saw a recipe for the popcorn. The "Our Best Bites" site calls it "Cinnamon Carmel Corn with Pecans and White Chocolate" -- I call it freakin' delicious. So rather than post the recipe, I'm going to send you on over to Our Best Bites and just show you the pictures of the finished popcorn that I made today. I won't tell you the bowl is not empty, cuz it's not...I swear! ;)

I did add a small Halloween flair -- just before I drizzled the white chocolate on the cooled popcorn I tossed in Halloween m&m's and I also drizzled semi-sweet chocolate along with the white chocolate. Strictly for aesthetic reasons! ;)

2009-10-09T12:39:00.001-07:00

How to Win A Nobel Prize in 12 Days or Less. Obama did it. Why can't you?

Posted using ShareThis

Survived the "Long Climb"

2009-10-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

About 3 weeks ago my dad and I were watching some travel show on the Grand Canyon. My dad is a frequent hiker of the Grand Canyon (1-2 times a year) and we ended of having the following conversation:

Dad: "Megan, when was the last time you hiked the Grand Canyon."

Megan: "It would have to be when I was about 13, so that was XX years ago." ;)

Dad: "Do you think you would like to do it again?"

Megan: "Sure, someday."

Dad: "How about we go hike to Indian Gardens over conference weekend."

Megan: "OK."

Aggghhhh!!!!!

So I busted my butt for 2 1/2 weeks on the stair climber at the gym and I learned one thing...IT DOESN"T WORK!

Nothing prepares you for a 3,000 ft climb, for 4.5 mile (one way, so 9 miles round trip), at 7,889 feet above sea level. Certainly not the the stupid stair climber at the gym!

Nevertheless, I had a great time with my dad. We drove up Friday after work, put up the tent trailer at the Mather's Campground.

Saturday we started the hike down into the Canyon at 7:30am. It took us about 3 hours to get down to Indian Gardens. We had lunch there while I dangled my feet in the creek. Then we hiked out at about 11:30am. We reached the top at 5:20pm.

I know, I know, we took forever getting out. That was because of me. I had to stop about every 20 feet to suck wind. After about a 1 mile I sounded like a child's squeaky toy due to the altitude + asthma. My father was the epitome of patience and kindness and stuck with me through it all, through the three-year old and his parents passing us by (no kidding), and the old Chinese couple passing us by, and even the girl in flip-flop sandles passing us by.

However, I persevered and have the pictures to prove it.

I CAN DO HARD THINGS!

Tender Mercies of the Lord

2009-09-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

Our family was the recipient of a miracle this week. My Grandma Johnson, who recently lost her husband to cancer, fell ill. After some tests, we were told she had pancreatic cancer and had a few weeks to a few months to live. I can not tell you what emotional pain that brought us. More tests were ordered, and we began to prepare for the worst.

Last Sunday, we all decided to fast for G'ma. Around dinner time my brother Reed and his wife Jamie brought their kids over to my parents house for Sunday dinner. They had told their kids about G'ma's, or as they call her "tutu"'s, condition. My eight year old nephew came down stairs to sit by me on the couch.

"Aunt Megan, guess what."
"What, Ethan?"
"My tutu has cancer, just like Papa did. We fasted and prayed for her today so she will get better and not die like papa did."
"That's wonderful Ethan. I know Heavenly Father will hear our prayers and bless Tutu."
"I know."
The faith of a child is humbling.

On Thursday, my mom and all of her siblings met in Houston to be with their mother as she underwent more tests. Thursday afternoon I received a text from my mother...
"Amazing answer to prayers!! It is not pancreatic cancer it is lymphoma which is highly treatable. Yeah!"

"Faith is a principal of action and of power." -- Elder Kevin W. Pearson

Now our prayers are that Tutu will be healed.

Not Your Ordinary Talent

2009-09-16T17:36:00.001-07:00

I love examples of people taking their talents and excelling at them -- whatever they may be. Check out these amazing girls, with super duper talent. They are 4th-8th graders from Ohio, they are called The Firecrackers. The video takes about 7 minutes, but it just gets better and better until the end. This performance takes place at my dad old Alma Mater -- the US Naval Academy.

A Moment of Silence

2009-09-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

One of the things I distinctly remember from September 11, 2001, was the silence that prevailed everywhere I went that day. From leaving my house after watching the tragedy unfold on the TV and the silence that filled my car as I tried to absorb what I had just seen. To the silence that filled the empty BYU Anthropology Department as I sat with Evie in front of an old TV in our lobby. To the day of silence in the sky as planes across the country were grounded in fear. And to the silence as people across the country bowed their heads in sorrow and respect for the thousands of lives which were tragically cut short that day.

There are no words that can adequately console, depict, or convey the emotions of that day. Silence is our response. A moment of silence to pray, reflect, appreciate, and love.

Yesterday, I witnessed the silence at the Tempe Town Lakes 9/11 Memorial -- 1 flag for each person lost to the terrorist attack of 9/11. On each flag was a card with a person's name, age, location of death, and a bit about them. Last year there was a picture of the person. Pictures don't tell you much about the life of an individual. This year's cards, made each person more real.

Like Raymond R. York...

Raymond R. York

Age: 45

Raymond R. York spent nearly two decades fighting blazes and loving the New York Fire Department when a shoulder injury 18 months ago forced him into light duty.But on Tuesday he learned of the attack from a television crew that was doing a story on the Fire Zone, he jumped onto a nearby fire truck and headed downtown. After traffic held him up, he hitched a ride on an ambulance and reached the Fire Departments command post at the Trade Center.

Lest we forget that there were children who were killed in this terrorist attack, flags representing children had teddy bears placed with them. This bear was for 3 year old Dana Falkenber who was on AA Flight 77 with her sister and parents.
There are hundreds, and hundreds more who have left family members behind. In remembering the tragedy as a whole let us not forget the individuals. Each one had a story, a story which tragically ended on 9/11/01.

For each and every one of them, and their family members, I offer up this moment of silence.

The longest work day ever

2009-09-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

Today was the longest work day ever in recorded history. It went by soooooooo slowly and seemed to stretch on f-o-r-e-v-e-r! You know those days when you didn't actually finish any one thing, just seemed to tackle a bunch of little tasks.

Fortunately someone took pity on me and brought in some cookies from Costco around 3pm. They were a life saver. After two of them I was able to go back to work, slightly revived.

It's amazing what chocolate chips can do for a person.

A Plethora of Perfectly Palate Pleasing Peaches

2009-09-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

64 lbs of peaches. That's what I had to work with this morning. It made for a daunting but delicious task. So with a day off of work for Labor Day, I rolled up my sleeves -- or in this case busted out the extra fans cause I knew it was going to be steamy -- and got to work.
The set-up...It pays to be organized.

I had to peel all the peaches. First you cut an "x" in the bottom of each peach. Then you boil them for about 3-4 minutes.

Then you put the peach in to an ice bath.

After that, the skin just slips right off of them.

I love the vibrant color of the peeled peaches. Next, to make the jam, I mashed them all up.

The mashed up fruit went into a pot with cinnamon, pectin, lemon juice, and more sugar than any human should consume in a lifetime.

Then it all got boiled together for a little while. After it was done cooking, I poured the jam into sterilized jars.

Then I sealed them up with a steam bath. I used my Grandma Schaub's steamer. Rather than sealing the jars by putting them into boiling water, there is this nifty steamer thing that sits on your burner. It does the exact same job but with 1/4 the amount of water. You can kind of see it in the right side of this picture (it's the silver dome). I've already put dibs on it.

So here is the final fruits of my labor. Today I made....
Peach-Cinnamon Jam

Sinfully sweet peach syrup. Can you just imagine this luscious syrup on some peacan waffles, or peach pancakes with cool-whip or poured over vanilla ice cream. The possibilities are endless!

We also made 3 Peach pies, and peachsauce (like cinnamon applesauce only with peaches). I also ended up freezing a couple gallon bags of just plain sliced peaches and even left a half of flat of peaches alone, for consumption all by themselves. It all turned out absolutely perfect. I love peaches. And I'll be spreading the joy in the next few days.

I'll post the recipes on my food blog....later.

PS -- A HUGE thank you goes out to Susan who helped me peel, photograph, and pie.

Slowman's Ironman

2009-09-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

I'm getting back into training. I fell of the wagon for about a month. But I'm still planning on doing the Thanksgiving Day Sprint Triatholon and so it's back to work I go. It would seem that I'm not alone. A sister in my RS just mentioned that several ladies in our RS wanted to participate in what she calls the "Lazyman's Ironman". It essentially consists of doing all three evens in an ironman, with the regular distances of an ironman, only you do it over a 30-day period. This didn't sound like "lazyman's" anything to me. So instead I'm calling it the Slowman's Ironman.

Anyway, you're all welcome to join me. You have 30-days to complete the "Ironman" race. You simply track each day that you do something, the distance that you did. We were given a like checksheet to mark off our progress. Being the anal-excel-obsessed person that I am, I created my own tracker on excel with formulas and everything. Here it is and you're welcome to use it:
Slowman's Ironman Tracker

You don't have to do something everyday, but unless you want to be doing "death-bed-repentance" the last week, and trying your best to complete a real ironman, I'd suggest setting up a schedule and being regular. Right now, I'm sticking to 4 days a week. As I get closer to race time, I'll bump it up to 5 days a week.

So, join me! Anyone can do it, honestly!

From tri family racing

Priceless

2009-09-02T07:25:00.000-07:00

Soup Kitchen - Priceless

Recently Michelle Obama went to serve food to the homeless at a government funded soup kitchen.

Cost of a bowl of soup at homeless shelter: $0.00
Having Michelle Obama serve you soup: $0.00
Snapping a picture of a homeless person who is receiving a government funded meal while taking a picture of the First Lady using his $400 Blackberry cell phone: Priceless

Once again, our tax dollars, under this President's administration, at work.

Life Happens

2009-09-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

So life has been happening. That's my excuse for not posting in a while. I'll be sure to take some time out to smell the roses and update my blog real soon. Don't think I forgot about you...it's just that life happened. I hope it's happening for you too.

My company is looking for teachers

2009-08-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Pinnacle Education is seeking online high school instructors. We are hiring certified teachers of science, math, and Spanish as well as all other subject areas. Instructors would be working from our new virtual learning center located in Tempe, AZ. If you are looking for a great opportunity, in a dynamic work environment, please contact Marcus Campisi, Director of Instructional Operations mcampisi@pin-ed.comwith your resume/cv.

PS -- If you know of any teachers, please send them my way. I will forward their resumes on to Marcus. I actually get credit for referring people. :) :) Thanks!!!

Positive Affirmations

2009-08-19T21:40:00.001-07:00

I've been asked to take some photos as the wedding of a good family friend/cousin. In fact I used to babysitt little Tricia -- tomorrow she's getting married. I warned Tricia's mom, Andrea, that I was a TOTAL amateur and they would get what they paid for with me. Fortunately they have a professional taking the formal picture, so I'm not the ONLY source of tangible memories for this mementos day. Nevertheless, I'm a little concerned that I won't be any good.

So in an effort to remind myself , "I can do hard things!", I went back looking through some of the photos that I've taken this past year. I was reminded that for every 100 photos I take (and I'm not exaggerating there) I get one really good picture that I feel has "thick description" (see anthropologist Clifford Gertz).

I wanted to post a few of my photos that speak to me:

My cousin Troy's daughter, Claire

Caught this one weekend while out riding ATVs
My Grandpa Schaub playing cards.
My mother at her father's funeral.
Can you feel it?

A Refuge from the Storm

2009-08-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

I've spent the morning preparing to teach Sunday School. The Lesson is "Building the Kingdom of God" and it focuses on the trials endured by the early saints as they established Nauvoo and the blessings they received as they faithfully endured to the end. Of course all the lessons they learned have direct application in our lives today.

Anyway, one of the topics to be covered is "The Lord Always Prepares a Place For His Saints". We will discuss how the Lord's Church is a refuge in the storm of life. I found this great quote from Elder David B. Haight (Ensign November 1990,59):

The moment we step into the house of the Lord, the atmosphere changes from the worldly to the heavenly, where respite from the normal activities of life is found, and where peace of mind and spirit is received. It is refuge from the ills of life and a protection from the temptations that are contrary to our spiritual well-being. We are told that 'he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come' (D&C 59:23).

This is why I go to church each Sunday. I need the peace and rejuvenation that find there.

May your Sabbath be filled with peace.

New recipes

2009-08-15T12:39:00.000-07:00

I posted 1 of my very favorite recipes for my Aunt Jan's homemade Salsa and a new recipe I came up with this week for some fresh Raspberry Muffins (delicious). Check'em out on my food blog... Joy in Creating -- http://cre8toeat.blogspot.com/.

Megan's Reality Show

2009-08-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

So if I had a t.v. crew following me around all day filming "Megan's Reality Show", this is what you would have seen:

my eyes popping open at 3:59am, cuz for some weird reason I usually wake up about 1-2 minutes before my alarm goes off. I guess its a defense mechanism, cuz the sound of my obnoxious alarm really grates on my nerves and so I wake up before it goes off so I can turn it off before I have to hear it. I usually wake up every morning humming some crazy tune. This morning it was "Walking After You" by the Foo Fighters (don't ask).
I throw on some clothes and head over to gym -- check out the eye-candy (yes, this is one of the reasons I go to the gym sooooo stickin' early) -- get on the treadmill and sweat my way through Week 3 of the "Couch Potato to 5K" podcast (it's great!). I'm too lazy to stay and do upper body strength training like I should, so I just cool down and then head home -- I'll make up for it tomorrow, *wink-wink-nudge-nudge*
Go home, shower, get ready for work, spend too much time watching HGTV so I don't get to leave the house as early as I was shooting for (but decided I will NEVER do a room in burgandy -- what were they thinking!). I avoid using Southern, cuz they're doing construction. Instead it's stop-and-go along Baseline all the way to work. I spend most of my time in the car getting worked up while I listed to talk radio.
Get to work by quarter after 7am. Spend the morning frantically trying to pull together an RFP response with a deadline of 2pm. Also had to get everyone to sign a birthday card for my boss, cuz his birthday is tomorrow; head over to the new office building and help surprise the boss with a small birthday party. Rush back to the main district office to finish submitting the RFP response, work on getting out a company newsletter to the students -- of course run into all kinds of snafuuuus. Have a crazy afternoon of answering emails, questions, complaints, "but-what-about-me"'s from employees after I sent out a few company wide emails about newly established protocols...WHY IS IT THAT EVERYONE IN THE WORLD THINGS THAT THEY ARE THE EXCEPTION? hmmmm!!!!
Finally, after spending most of my day running back and forth between my office and my co-worker, Gabe's desk. I finally packed up my stuff and head home a little after 4pm.
Fight my way through traffic in 104degrees weather. Thank my lucky stars for air conditioning as I sit at a traffic light looking at the poor women melting in the car next to me sitting with her windows down flapping her hands near her face. I don't feel too bad because I paid my dues...I drove "Clarence" my trusty 1988 Nissan Pick-up for 3 years without airconditioning.
Once I got home, I did some laundry, some dishes, talked to my mom on the phone about her first-day as a new 3rd grade teacher.
I made pork chops with chunky apple raisin savory glaze and a baked potato on the side -- I need a husband to make dinner for.
And then I'm ending the day with some Facebook time, an update to my blog, and a little blog surfing for new craft stuff.
The last scene of my day would be me getting ready for bed, reading some in preparation for my Sunday School lesson this Sunday, saying my prayers and then....my favorite time of the day...I crawl into my bed, turn off the lights, and go right to sleep.

I wonder what kind of sound track my day deserves? May be I'll wake up humming it tomorrow morning.
GOOD NIGHT!

Americans are not an angry mob

2009-08-08T11:58:00.001-07:00

I'm sick to death of the President and Congress painting dissenting Americans with the brush of irrationality. They claim that if an American does not agree with their faulty health plan proposal, they are trying to insight riots and are fighting against the greater good. This is absolutely wrong!

The Bill of Right, Amendment I
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the fress exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

a⋅bridge -- verb (used with object), a⋅bridged, a⋅bridg⋅ing : to deprive; cut off.

Mr. President is now asking you to snitch on your neighbors...he wants you to report any "fishy" information that you may receive or see related to the health care reform he is proposing. The following is taken straight from the "The White House" blog, which is controlled by the White House:
" There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

I'm sorry this sounds like someone is trying to "cut-off" someone else's freedom of speech -- it won't be long before we see some carefully propagandized new laws

This article, and the subsequent comments, really describe how frustrated I am by this travesty called "health-care reform".

Mr. President, Americans are not an 'angry mob' | Washington Examiner

Another great example of the truth behind the Democratic propaganda....

If you object to the government takeover of your health care, please write your legislative representatives. If you don't object, do nothing.

Schaub Family Campout this weekend

2009-08-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a biannual Schaub Family Campout at Woods Canyon Lake atop the Mogollon Rim in AZ. It was really fun especially since my sister Kiki drove down with her kids to join us. I finally got to hold baby Karlie -- and she was worth the wait. Here are some of the photo highlights.

Obama's Health Care destruction

2009-07-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

I have refrained from delving into the political debate regarding this subject, because I get just too darn upset. But I can not resist anymore. I read this article and thought that it was pertinent. Please read!

Democrats Committing Political Suicide with Massive Overreach

By Dick Morris | 07/22/09 | 12:09 AM EDT |

Latest national commentaries

If the Democrats obey Obama's commands and pass health-care reform legislation by the August recess, they will be committing partisan suicide, akin to lemmings going over the cliff en masse.

Obama's insistence that we completely make over our health-care system -- and that we do it two weeks after the first bill was marked up in the first committee -- is too arrogant by half. It smacks of the same kind of overreaching as doomed FDR's second term in 1937 after his landslide victory in 1936, when he proposed to pack the Supreme Court to reverse their anti-New Deal rulings.

Americans are increasingly turning against his program, in any case. The Washington Post poll has public approval of the plan below 50 percent, and Rasmussen has it trailing in approval 46 percent to 49 percent. Doubts are mounting. For Obama to ride roughshod over their concerns about a matter so intimate will be too much for them to take.

What is the rush? Americans will ask. The bill is not even slated to take effect until next year! We passed the stimulus package, they will note, in a similar rush during the first week of his presidency only to see it fall flat amid administration reinventions of history. Now, spokespeople for Obama opine that the package was never intended to have much effect this year.

How, voters will ask, can we cover 50 million new people without any new doctors or nurses? The answer is to ration health care, with the U.S. government deciding who will get hip and knee replacements, heart bypass surgery and all manner of medical treatments. And what does rationing mean? It means that the elderly will be denied care, which they can now get whenever they want it.

The Obama plan effectively repeals Medicare. It puts a Federal Health Board between the elderly and their doctors. The board will instruct public and private insurance carriers on what procedures are to be approved, at what cost and for what patients. The bulk of this rationing will, of course, fall on the elderly. We will have to revisit the idea that the elderly have, in the words of former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm, "a duty to die."

The more word gets around about what the bill contemplates, the firmer opposition is going to become. That's why Obama wants to push it through now, while he still has some popularity left.

And, if the bill passes, then what? The howls of protest from the elderly the first time they are denied health care will be something to behold. It will become evident that immigrants -- legal and not -- are being given the health care now reserved for the elderly, and the anger will be enormous and instant.

Most Americans are not sick and don't use medical facilities frequently. But the elderly are in constant touch with their doctors and medical providers. The curtailment of that access will become immediately apparent -- in more than enough time for the 2010 elections.

There are some votes that live on and on. They don't go away. People remember. From the time Bush Sr. passed the Kuwait resolution for military action against Saddam Hussein until Bush Jr.'s Iraq War began to go south in 2004, the gold standard for an appropriate attitude on national defense and security policy was how one voted on the Kuwait war resolution.

Clinton chose Al Gore for his ticket in 1992 largely based on his vote in favor of the invasion. It sent a signal that Gore and he were "new kinds of Democrats." This health care vote is a matter of similar consequence, and the impact of this vote will last long and linger for years.

Randomness

2009-07-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

I have the greatest dad in the world. Among other things, he helped me clean out my rented storage unit yesterday at 6am (when it was only 96 degrees). He is always willing to help, and never complains. I think, because I'm single, I rely upon him much more than my other siblings, and he offers his service with a smile. I am sooooooo grateful for him.

Speaking of cleaning out my crap...I think that I have finally reached the time where I can give-up my college stuff. I've been hanging on to hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of pounds of material related to my graduate work. I have binders and binders and files and books all with material related to Great Basin studies, subsistence strategies, mobility patterns, Freemont activities in southern Utah, and floral and faunal analysis of subterranean pits. I've just been unable to get rid of it, because it represents such a HUGE (emphasis on HUGE) portion of my life. I put blood, sweat, tears, and prayer in to the two years I spent working on my Master's degree. I just couldn't bear to part with any portion of it.

However, yesterday as I was lugging around the giant bins of school stuff, for the 4th time (I've had to move them 4 times since I graduated), I finally accepted that there was no earthly reason why I should continue to lug this stuff around. I'm pretty sure at this point in my life I'm not going to go back and get a phD. However, should this change, everything I'm dragging around with me can be found in a library, somewhere. None of it is original work.

SOOO, big epiphany time (drum roll please)...I will be dumping all my archaeology/grad school stuff. BUT WAIT, lest we get too carried away, I will be hanging on to all of my original research, and all of the books I bought -- I haven't received any blows to the head that would completely alter my personality. I am still a hoarder of books.

With this new edict, I should be able to purge at least 150 lbs of junk for my collection. Now I just have to tackle the mission stuff. Do you think 10 years is long enough?

Random Archaeology Pictures

Clovis artifacts from the Gault Site, TX. I worked at the Gualt site during my last year of undergraduate school.
Because of the clay in which all the materials were embedded, we had to wet screen all the soil removed from the excavation pits at the Gault site. Here my crew is taking their turn at the screen...Katie, Rob and our crew chief ??? I built up some serious arm muscles that summer from lifting the buckets filled with water and clay up on to the screens, not to mention some serious bruises on my thigh because the buckets had to make a pit stop there on the way up to the chest high screens.

During my final year of grad school I went back for a few weeks to work at Kay's Cabin, a site in Goshen Valley, UT where I had worked as an undergraduate. It was a Fremont site with two pit structures that we excavated. Here I am taking F1 Notes (a record of all activity on the site) and logging artifact bags.
My best-friend at BYU, Sarah Baer, and I went through the whole program together. Here, she and I are creating a profile map of the end of this vent shaft.I can say that I desperately miss archaeological field work -- the discovery, the attention to detail, and feeling of success and accomplishment that I had when I looked back to see what I had done. However, I don't miss working outside during the months of June, July and August, nor the black crickets, nor sleeping in a tent for months and only having two showers a week. :)

Vote for Jasmine!

2009-07-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

My friend CJ's super cute dog is in the top 10 of Mighty Dog's Amazing Dog contest. She needs your vote to win. Check out Jasmine's amazing tricks and head over to Mighty Dog to vote for Jasmine!

Vote for Jasmine!

A True Hero - Irena Sendler

2009-07-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

I was forwarded an email about this remarkable women. I was so impressed I did a little research and found that the tales of her heroism and charity were true.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

"But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever, and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him." Moroni 7:47

Irena Sendler

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irena_Sendler)
Irena sympathized with Jews from childhood. Her great-grandfather had been deported to Siberia by Czarist Russia. Her physician father had died in 1917 of typhus contracted while treating Jewish patients. She opposed the ghetto-bench system that existed at some prewar Polish universities, and because of this she was suspended for three years from Warsaw University.

World War II

During the German occupation of Poland, Sendler lived in Warsaw (prior to that, she had lived in Otwock and Tarczyn while working for urban Social Welfare departments). As early as 1939, when the Germans invaded Poland, she began aiding Jews. She and her helpers created over 3,000 false documents to help Jewish families, prior to joining the organized Żegota resistance and the children's division. Helping Jews was very risky—in German-occupied Poland, all household members risked death if they were found to be hiding Jews, a more severe punishment than in other occupied European countries.

In December 1942 the newly created Żegota (the Council to Aid Jews) nominated her (by her cover name Jolanta to head its children's section. As an employee of the Social Welfare Department, she had a special permit to enter the Warsaw Ghetto to check for signs of typhus, something the Nazis feared would spread beyond the Ghetto. During these visits, she wore a Star of David as a sign of solidarity with the Jewish people and so as not to call attention to herself.

She cooperated with the Children's Section of the Municipal Administration, linked with the RGO (Central Welfare Council), a Polish relief organization that was tolerated under German supervision. She organized the smuggling of Jewish children out of the Ghetto, carrying them out in boxes, suitcases and trolleys.Irena also smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box that she carried with her. She also had a dog in the back of her truck that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the noises of the kids that she would smuggle out. Under the pretext of conducting inspections of sanitary conditions during a typhoid outbreak, Sendler visited the Ghetto and smuggled out babies and small children in ambulances and trams, sometimes disguising them as packages. She also used the old courthouse at the edge of the Warsaw Ghetto (still standing) as one of the main routes for smuggling out children.

The children were placed with Polish families, the Warsaw orphanage of the Sisters of the Family of Mary, or Roman Catholic convents such as the Little Sister Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary Conceived Immaculate at Turkowice and Chotomów. Some children were smuggled to priests in parish rectories. She hid lists of their names in jars in order to keep track of their original and new identities. Żegota assured the children that, when the war was over, they would be returned to Jewish relatives.

In 1943 Sendler was arrested by the Gestapo, severely tortured, and sentenced to death. Żegota saved her by bribing German guards on the way to her execution. She was left in the woods, unconscious and with broken arms and legs. She was listed on public bulletin boards as among those executed. For the remainder of the war, she lived in hiding, but continued her work for the Jewish children. After the war, she dug up the jars containing the children's identities and attempted to find the children and return them to their parents. However, almost all of their parents had been killed at the Treblinka extermination camp or had gone missing otherwise.

In 2007 Irena Sendler was nominated for a Nobel Peace Award. In 2007 the Award did not go to Irena Sendler, it went to Al Gore for his work on Global Warming. Truly one of the greatest injustices on record.

I did it! My first sprint-triathlon.

2009-07-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

I only have this sorry little picture of my race number with my tennis shoes that I took tonight. I knew that I couldn't go to bed (yes, it's only 8pm and I'm getting ready to go to bed) without recording something about this day. Fortunately or unfortunately, I didn't have a camera with me today so I was unable to record anything with it. However, if I did have a camera this is what I would have taken pictures of at my first sprint-triathlon race:

My Transition Space
I set my bike on the bike rack with the approximately 200 other bikes and set up a blue clean-sheet about 2 feet wide by 3 feet tall on the ground to the left of my bike. On it I folded my towel, placed my running shoes (precisely unlaced) and in each shoe was my sock with baby powder in it. Above my shoes were my bike helmet and riding gloves and sun glasses. And at the top was my backpack and an almost empty bottle of water (NOTE TO SELF: bring more water bottles next time).

The Cool Smooth Water of the Pool and It's 10 Lanes at 5AM
The race took place at the Jewish Community Center in Scottsdale, AZ. Their pool was cool and beautiful. It's amazing how much longer the lanes looked than the lanes I had been training in. At 7:16AM as I was in the water at the start of the first lane I heard, "One, two, three. Go" and I pushed off from the wall in an underwater glide to start my first sprint-triathlon race.

The Timing Pads
We wore timing chips around our ankles and so I had to make sure and cross the timing pad after I climbed out of the pool to run to the transition area and then once again after I returned from biking 9.5miles to transition into the 2 mile run. The final timing pad was under the finish line.

The Sea of Athletes Milling Around the Bike Racks
As I mentioned earlier there were about 200 adults and about 30 children competing in today's sprint-triathlon. The children ran first in their own modified race (there were kids there who could totally whip me). The gamut of athletes ranged from truly, full-time professional triathletes and ironman runners to people like me and there were as many women as there were men. It was amazing to see all the expensive equipment, special tri-suits, and toned bodies and then there was me. However, we all endured the same trials and ultimately we all crossed the same finish line.

Me Crossing the Finish Line
I did it! In fact as I was completing the final 1/4 mile of the run (mostly walk on my part) I actually got a little chocked up. I've busted my butt to do this and I did it. I kept thinking to myself , "I can do hard things." I think that may be my new life's mantra.

I CAN DO HARD THINGS.

If you don't believe me, I'll show you my number.

BTW: final "unofficial" race time 1hr 24min.

God Lives At the Post Office

2009-07-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

This is one of the kindest things I've ever experienced. I have no way to know who sent it, but there is a beautiful soul working in the "dead letter office file" of the US postal service. Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her. You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith
_________________________________

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith , ' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

_____________________________________

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven.

Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.

Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.

By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God

Arthur Lee Schaub - 10 Oct 1918-26 Jun 2009

2009-06-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa Schaub passed away Friday night, June 26th. He was 90 years old. His passing was bitter-sweet. I'm terribly sad to have him gone. However, his quality of life in the past month had deteriorated so significantly that I hated to watch him suffer.

I love my grandpa. He has always been such a strong example of dedication, hard work, personal integrity, commitment, and unconditional love. He flew on a bomber during WWII, and always had such respect and love for his country. Grandpa Schaub was also a wonderful example of a dedicated priesthood holder. Eveytime I have ever met anyone from their old Phoenix ward they almost always say the same thing, "Your grandfather was my bishop and he was one of the best bishops I've ever had."

I'll always remember the "buzzzzzzz" he would do to each baby in our family, as he waved his finger around till it came for a landing on your tickle spots. Or the way he rolled his dice, swiftly and decisively (the same way he approached his golf balls).And more than anything, I will remember my Grandpa Schaub every time I sit down to play a game of cards.Grandpa Schaub will be sorely missed.

The future is here.

2009-06-24T13:25:00.001-07:00

I'm back...

2009-06-22T10:04:00.000-07:00

I got back from Houston Saturday night. It was a great experience. I took tons of pictures that I'll have to post later cuz my internet at home is down (I had to call in the geek squad for help -- i.e. - Ryan's coming over tonight to take a look at it).

Meanwhile...I've succumbed to social pressure. I know I can't believe it either. Actually it's more because of work. Anyways, I'm now on Twitter. So if you want to follow me on Twitter (not that anyone would actually need to know what I'm doing, because I promise, I'm really not that interesting), I'm at @meganschaub . If you don't know what twitter is, check out their website, they have a great little intro video. I'd love to know if anyone else out there that I know is Twittering. So shout out if you are.

Gordon Grant Johnson, my grandpa

2009-06-14T10:05:00.001-07:00

My grandpa, Gordon Grant Johnson, passed away Friday night. He has been very ill, due to cancer and old age and has been in the hospital for almost two months, I think he was 83. Though his passing brings much sorrow to my family, it also brings with it peace. I love my Grandpa Johnson and will miss him greatly.

I will miss his great love for all things musical. He played the violin and the harmonica and could probably pick up most other instruments. He instilled that love of music in his children, a love that has trickled down to me.

I will miss his love of adventure. Grandpa Johnson loved to go places and see new things, especially after reading about them -- this is a picture of Grandpa with my mom (his eldest daughter) at Kartchner Caverns here in southern AZ about 2 years ago. Even when I was little, whenever I would visit my grandparents in Maryland, they would plan exciting trips for us. With them I have traveled up and down the East Coast and seen amazing things.

Grandpa Johnson also loved spending time with his family, even if it meant being dragged out into the middle of the AZ desert. Here he is in 2006 with us riding ATV -- he was content just sitting in the shade under a tree with grandma.

I'm going to miss him very much, but know that he is in a much better place. It is times like these that I am reminded again how grateful I am for the Plan of Salvation and the role that my Savior Jesus Christ plays in that Plan. That because of the sacrifice of the Savior, and because of the blessings of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ - namely the priesthood power, the saving ordinance of the temple, and personal covenants we make with our Heavenly Father -- we can be together as a family throughout all eternity. I am truly blessed.

Thursday, my brothers and mom and dad and I will be flying out to attend the funeral on Friday. I was just thinking that the menu for Friday's activities should be interesting. Usually when my mom's family gets together there is a luau (because my Grandma Johnson is Hawaiian). However, my Grandpa Johnson does not like Hawaiian food -- no exceptions! So it will be interesting to see what is served. I'm voting for good ol' hamburgers and hotdogs. Grandpa Johnson would have loved that. :)