Do you ever get the feeling that you are not needed?

I have had this feeling for quite some time when it comes to my work. I guess it was mostly due to being rather slow and having little to work on. As the months have gone by, the feeling has gotten stronger. I began to wonder how much longer would I be employed, should I be looking elsewhere, what is going to happen?

A week ago was a milestone for me at work. I celebrated my 3 year anniversary at Tahitian Noni. I can't believe how much I have seen and done while I was with them. I have visited South America, Europe, Asia and seen more of the US. I have been an international designer! Wow, I never thought I would be able to say that prior to this job.

Last Saturday I heard a rumor that intensified my feelings of not being needed. I was at the summer party when one of my coworkers told me that the decision had been made to close all the offices in the US with the exception of Provo. WHAT? All my hard work is going to be non existent? On Tuesday the announcement came that the Cafe's would all be closed with the exception of Provo and Tokyo. The last day for the corporate staff is Oct. 1st. This was confirmation that the rumors were true and my days are likely numbered as well. So, the big question of the day is WHEN?

I have started to put my feelers out and looking for a new place to work. I am hoping that I will get some things in the pipeline before I get my pink slip...which could be as early as this Friday, pay day.

It sure has been a fun ride!

Freezer jam - Reading is required

Well, it has been a few weeks since Michelle and I created the memory that she described so wonderfully on the memory post. We made strawberry freezer jam or so we attempted. Let me just say the taste is wonderful and the memory of the creation is great. The term jam, well that has to be used a little loosely when it comes to the final product. Our freezer jam is more the consistency of syrup. Lets just say it is probably wise to read the tips prior to making something new. The tip that we did not read was, do not double the recipe as it will not set correctly. Hmmm...great tip! Michelle shared that tip with me a few days later. Who would have thought that you had to mix batches separately? For those who are wondering toast with strawberry syrup is really good just a little messy and is not recommended for a rush out the door breakfast on the go...unless you like a sticky mess on steering wheel, clothes etc. No, I have not tried this...because I discovered the dripping mess prior to leaving the kitchen. WHEW!

The following week I received some apricots from my neighbor. I was thrilled as I wanted to make apricot jam. I had found my box of pectin the day prior so, I went home from work ready to start. I had all the apricots cut and ready to go when I noticed my box of pectin said sugarless pectin. Well, I had never noticed that there were different kinds of pectin prior to this moment. Reading the directions I discovered that I needed apple juice or white grape juice instead of sugar. I of course did not have either on hand. So, being the versatile canner that I am I decided I wouldn't make freezer jam I would just simply can the jam. I pulled out my canning cook book and was ready to go. Oops, I had not lemon juice. So, I called my neighbor and borrowed her lemon juice...thank goodness for neighbors who answer their door during FHE. Everything was going great until it was time for the jam to set and start to gel....this stage never came for my jam. I had to go to the troubleshooting section to see what the problem was. Apparently, ripe fruit doesn't have as much natural pectin. So, you should use 1/4 fruit that is a bit under ripe and this well help your jam to set. I also found out that you should use exact amounts...so my extra cup of fruit wasn't a great idea. So, my apricot jam became apricot syrup. I bottled it and canned it. It is really quite yummy on pancakes and I am going to try and use it in my pork chop recipe that calls for apricot jam...because I am sure it will still work.

I guess what I have learned from this experience is that reading is required when making freezer jam. You should follow the instructions exactly, if you want jam.

Olympic Fever

I don't know what it is exactly about the Olympics...But I am always excited when they are on. I love to watch these amazing athletes perform their respective sport and achieve greatness. I love to see the world records broken. I love it when they achieve the impossible! I love to see the USA on the podium recieveing their medals. I even get sad when I see someone from another country fall off their apparatus or miss their dive.

I had been looking forward to the games beginning for weeks. I don't know if you caught the opening ceremony, HOLY COW it was amazing! The Chinese put on quite the show, yes the spent 100's of billions of dollars to do it, but it was stunning. The performers performed with exactness and precision and left me in Awe. If you didn't see it you can watch this 9 minute video that shows some of the highlights. http://ofwlayf.com/watch-2008-beijing-olympics-opening-ceremony-video-streaming-online-high-resolution-images/
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will find a video. When you see the columns that move up and down in waves and forming pictures, I thought wow that is a sophisticated computer program. At the very end of that part of the show the tops of the columns open up and people jump out...I could not believe the timing that they had to have to perform that number. Then the Tai Chi instructors performed their number and again I was stunned.

My favorite part that I have seen so far was when the mens swimming relay team beat France for the gold medal. France had been talking smack and saying they were going to smash the USA. It was sweet to see the cocky Frenchman have to swallow his words as he was the one to lose the race by .08 seconds.

Go USA!

Mission Journal

I decided that I was going to make a mission journal for Tiffani. This was a great excuse for me to use my Zutter. It is pretty much the coolest mission journal EVER! It is somewhat of a scrapbook/journal/planner. I hope that she likes it!

I decided that a missionary needs to have several things in their journal. They need to have a place to store some of their treasured momentos, and address book for the wonderful people they meet, a place to remember important dates, and words of encouragement.

So, I began the journal with a map of Urugay...she can mark on there where she has been. Then I included pages for her to write why she wanted to go on a mission, what she thought of her call and her goals for her mission. I figured this could give her encouragement during those rough times.

I also included a place for her to record her MTC district, her companions and areas.

Some of her journal pages have scriptures and quotes. I gathered her parents favorites and included them.

At the end I included two talks that she could refer to. One was from Elder Haight talking about the spiritual adventure of a mission. The other was from Elder Faust titled, "What I wanted my son to know when he left for his mission."

There are pages with pockets and cute paper clips where she can store or attach pictures, letters or whatever is meaningful to her.

Memory

Tag your it!

Here is a fun little game... leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time or a long time, anything that you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It is pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. On your mark... get set... blog those memories!

I can't wait to see what you all choose!!!

Why we should eat more M&Ms

On Wednesday night we had an AMAZING enrichment activity. We had the Pantry Secrets people come and teach us how to make bread. www.pantrysecrets.net

Their recipe, which is amazing, incluldes an ingredient that I had never heard of...liquid lecithin. She of course wanted to make us more confident in using this ingredient. She explained that Lecithin helps with your memory, helps with weight lose and is in all sorts of products including M&Ms. So there you have it one of the gems that I learned in this class...EAT MORE M&MS it will not only help you lose weight but improve your memory!

Seriously, I am going to start making homemade bread. I know what you are thinking...that is too much work, it takes way too long. But, this recipe is not only amazingly good but it is amazingly simple and takes an hour from start to baked bread. It makes four loaves of bread so you can cut it in half if you would like. It is great dough for rolls, pizza crust, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, main dish meals in a braid, scones, tortillas etc.

10 1/2 cups white BREAD FLOUR ( do not use all purpose flour)
1/2 cup sugar (can be honey, molasses, brown or white sugar)
1 TBSP salt
3 rounded TBSP saf-instant yeast (can buy in grocery stores and emergency essentials)
3 TBSP liquid lecithin* (can buy in health food stores)
4 cups HOT tap water (add small amounts more if needed)
Mix dry ingredients. Add lecithin and water. Mix for 1 minute and check consistency, 5 minutes if mixing by hand. If dough is too dry, add more water. If dough is too moist, add more flour. You do want the dough fairly sticky. Mix for 5 minutes, 10 minutes if by hand. (do not add water or flour to the dough after it has finished mixing.) Spray counter and pans with Pam. Shape loaves and cover with a dish toel. Let raise 25 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
*Squeeze or pour approx. 3 tablespoons, size of a quarter, directly into the bowl. Do not measure as it is super sticky and will not come off of your tablespoon.

This recipe ends up costing you about 25 cents a loaf of bread.