Finding Balance

I listened to a great question and answer session yesterday online from Sister Julie B. Beck, General Relief Society (women's organization) for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have been seeking to find more balance as a mother, here are a few of the points (paraphrased, ideas that I gathered from what she said) that really hit a chord with me:

• Expectations (I would add, often unrealistic) we have for ourselves make life harder for us
• The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the key to finding balance
• Spend some time in the scriptures each day. Consistent time in the scriptures is the key. I love that she shared she doesn't necessarily set a certain amount of time or program for her study, that it varied from day to day, sometimes it was just a few minutes but she made sure everyday she was in the scriptures.
• Prayer
• She gives a great analogy of her mother-in-law who worked different work shifts in hard physical labor. She said as mothers we cannot work all 3 shifts, 2.5 maybe, but we need down time as well. S
• he said as a mother, the most important shift of the day is the afternoon shift because that is when all the children are coming home and they are needy. That is when you need to be "on call" at the "top of your game". I often start to lose steam and get distracted, especially when dinner prep time hits. This was a good reminder for me to be at the crossroads, as President David O. McKay has said.
• What you focus on is what you get. Wow! I need to reevaluate what my focus and time are being spent on because sometimes I am frustrated with myself and the direction life is going but if I'm not focusing on the best, most important things no wonder I'm feeling discontent and displeased.
• As we focus on what matters most, the unimportant melts away. 
• we will never be able to catch up! :) invest in things that are most important. It is often hard for me to determine how to spend time and get "everything" done but that's not possible, some things will need to go undone and hopefully I can learn to let that be the things that actually don't "need" to get done.
• She shared a very heartfelt, emotional story about her daughter asking why it took her mom a few weeks to come help after she'd had a baby. Sister Beck she did not remember what she had that was so pressing that she could not come to her daughter sooner, but that she knows she was doing the best she could at that time.
• Without the Holy Ghost you can't prioritize at all.
• look for opportunities to do things in tandem, I liked that suggestion (cleaning out closet with her granddaughters). priorities--focus on essentials.

Assemble a cold-weather car kit

My dad sent me this is an email (not sure the source) and I'm trying to keep up with email clutter but thought the information was important to record somewhere...I have a few of these in my car but I need to add a few more things to be more prepared.

If you are likely to be driving on desolate, rural roads or areas prone to snow and ice, it is recommended that you carry a cold-weather car kit. In this kit, you should pack the following items:

• Coat (in case you have to walk), blanket, gloves and warm clothes
• Paper towels
• High-energy, non-perishable food and water, or sports drinks
• Flashlight, flares, and a first-aid kit
• Bag of abrasive material for traction, such as sand, salt or non-clumping kitty litter
• Snow brush and scraper
• Snow shovel
• Working and fully-charged cell phone to call for help

By following these tips, you will be less likely to have problems during the winter.

Pumpkin Bread

During law school my husband had what he and his friends called "Happy Wednesday" where they would each take turns bringing food to share. One of his friends, Ruth Checketts, brought this. Chris, of course, adapted the recipe some, and it is phenomenal! A must-have each fall (last year he didn't make it once and I was sad, so this year I've made it once, so at least we've had our annual batch!)

3 cups sugar
1 cup oil (Chris does 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup butter)
4 large eggs, beaten
1 (16 oz) can pumpkin*
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice (Chris does 1 1/2 tsp)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
2 tsp salt
2/3 cup water*
1/4 tsp cayenne (Chris added)
1 tsp vanilla (Chris added)

Combine sugar, oil, eggs; add pumpkin. Sift dry ingredients [I never do...]. Add to first mixture. Add water. Pour into 3-4 loaf pans (or 6 mini loaf pans). Bake approximately 1 hour. If doing 6 mini loaves, cook on cookie sheet; may overflow. [Though it did not when I did it recently, may depend on how much batter you actually end up with.]

*When I made this recently it tasted great but the baked consistency was a bit soft and did not hold together as well as I would have liked. Our best guess is we had medium eggs and maybe should have done less water. When I mentioned water in the recipe, Chris was surprised, so we need to look for a more recent copy of his modifications because he thinks he may leave the water out completely but use more pumpkin. So you may have to experiment with that a little!

Pumpkin Chocoate Chip Cookies

I probably need to find a different  recipe (or continue adapting it) since these don't turn out quite how I'd like. But in the meantime, here's the recipe I've used so far. It's from this site:

1/2 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts(walnuts or pecans)
1 cup chocolate chips 

Cream margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, pumpkin, and vanilla. Mix and sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add to creamed mixture; mix well. Add chopped nuts & chocolate chips; mix thoroughly. Drop by teaspoons onto well-greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets while warm and cool on racks. Makes 3 1/2 to 4 dozen cookies. This recipe can be doubled.

Jenny's notes/changes:
I would probably try it with butter to see if I like that better. It for sure need more than 1/2 cup pumpkin, I need to experiment with this next time but I think I'll try at least 1 cup total next time (may have to adjust flour, etc if add this extra moisture). As it's written they aren't really pumpkin-y like I want them to be! It also may need a bit more flour, start with only 1 T. extra though. It is a fairly soft batter, less "dough-like" than regular chocolate chip cookies and needs to be more soft for the cookies to turn out moist and more spread out (if you add too much flour they will be little mounds). Also be careful not to overmix or they become more chewy and aren't as light and soft. Also it can be hard to tell when they are done because of the pumpkin coloring so just watch close. I have noticed the cookies start to puff up when they are done.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

This is my favorite thing to serve at parties.

1 15 oz can or 14 oz jar artichoke hearts (not marinated), chopped
1 12 oz box or 10 oz bag spinach, thawed (I haven't tried fresh or fresh I've frozen but I will next time and report back)
1 cup mayonaise
1 cup sour cream
1-2 cups Parmesan cheese (to taste; I've never been sure whether this is the grated "real" parmesan or the bottled stuff...I use the grated bagged kind from Costco)
1 small can green chiles
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped (to taste; I use the bottled Christopher Ranch minced garlic)

Squeeze water out of thawed spinach. Mix all ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve on Club crackers or tortilla chips (veggies, whatever). Can bake directly in crock pot dish in oven, then place in crock pot on warm for serving.