Missionary Monday

Mondays have never been my favorite day of the week,

but they sure have improved since having a brother and a niece in the mission field.

 

Monday is the day Brett and Shemaina send their emails out to family,

hence the day I get to be uplifted by their testimonies and experiences.

I love reading about their areas, their companions,

their investigators, their wards, their baptisms,

not to mention the general highs and lows of the mission.

 

Regardless of what is happening or how they're feeling, however,

the strength of their conviction that this is the Lord's work
shines through every email.

I walk away from those emails wanting to be a better person.

It has become precisely the kind of inspiration
I desperately need on a Monday morning.

 

Hooray for missionaries!



Elder Jory in Chile

Irma Jory Miller, originally Brazil-bound, in Detroit

Please Read

Pick-me-up Lasagna

I've had a bum knee since last week, and it's made me feel pretty bummed in general.  If you know me, you know how much I love my workouts, so the thought of living without that critical piece of my happiness puzzle has been, well, a bummer.  I'm hoping for the best, but as old as I'm getting and as much as I've hammered my body with running and kickboxing and body pump and yoga and cycling (not to mention step aerobics in college and sports growing up), I also need to be realistic.

Anyway, I felt a little down this four-day weekend and neglected just about every domestic duty I possibly could.  Instead, I watched Australian Open tennis and Downton Abbey and plenty of other TV, limped around to Saturday activities, and loafed around for most of Sunday and Monday.  Today meant time to do something, though.  And tonight meant time to cook a real meal.  I made this recipe, one I haven't made in a few years, and remembered why I liked it.

Vegetables, vegetables, vegetables.

I think I counted five different ones in this recipe.
These are the times I heart my food processor!

From my all-time favorite vegetarian cookbook.

(I'm sure I've shared others from here.)

 

It's called "Lighter Lasagna,"

although after I added some extra cheese

and served it with a LOT of garlic bread,

I'm pretty sure it wasn't any lighter at all.

 

We keep it real and call it Vegetarian Lasagna.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cubed zucchini  I diced everything to fool the kids (remember: FOOD PROCESSOR)
• 1 cup cubed bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes  I used canned
• 4 cups sliced mushrooms (about 12 oz) I dice about half that for my family of shroom haters
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup dry red wine or red juice
• 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 10 ounces fresh spinach, rinsed
• 2 cups low-fat cottage cheese  I used ricotta, the leftover ingredient impetus for this entire meal
• 1 cup grated low-fat mozzarella  I used more
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 1/2 cups prepared tomato sauce
• 1 pound uncooked lasagna noodles

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, salt, and wine in a saucepan, bring to a boil, cover, and then simmer on low heat for about 10 mins, until all of the veggies are tender and juicy. Stir in the basil and set aside.
3. Cover and cook the spinach on high heat in just the water clinging to the leaves for 3 mins, until wilted but still bright green. (I use the microwave.) Drain and chop coarsely. Combine with the cottage cheese, mozzarella, and Parmesan and set aside.
4. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce evenly on the bottom of a 3-inch-deep nonreactivce 8 by 12-inch baking dish. Layer with 5 or 6 noodles, 1 generous cup of undrained veggies, and 1 cup of the spinach-cheese mixture. Continue making layers in this fashion until all ingredients are used up.
5. Cover tightly with foil (spray inside of foil with Pam to avoid sticking) and bake until the noodles are tender, about 60 mins. Let sit at least 10 mins before cutting.

Drought, Drought, Go Away

Or maybe we should sing, "Rain, rain, come today." 

 

The bad news?

California is experiencing a severe drought.

Dry lawns and five-minute showers are on their way,

something Stephen not-so-fondly remembers from the late eighties,

if we don't get some much-needed rainfall soon. 

Water rationing will be no fun.

 

Our stake fasted a few weeks ago

as we all continue to pray and pray for moisture.

2013 was the driest year on record

since they started keeping records of that kind of thing.

 

And while things look fairly normal in these parts,

minus a general lack of green in the hills,

other bay area regions have changed.

Dramatically.

 



Reservoirs and lakes are at their lowest

Way below normal levels

Parks and preserves are at their driest

Hidden gems like ditched cars and abandoned towns are popping up at the bottom of lakes

At 9,000 feet, this mountain peak should be covered in snow

 

 

The sorta good news?

We get to enjoy some freakishly warm January weather.

Warm afternoon weather I should say.

Playing at the park,

riding bikes,

eating shaved ice,

playing basketball

and soccer

and bocce ball

and Frisbee

and foursquare

consist of this week's after-school activities.

I feel guilty enjoying it, though, since we so desperately need not-warm weather.

New Year's Quote

“The greatest revolution of our generation

is the discovery that human beings,

by changing the inner attitudes of their minds,

can change the outer aspect of their lives." 

 

William James

Flicks I pick

I saw and LOVED these movies this weekend:

Saving Mr. Banks

A true story about Walt Disney

and the musical Sherman Brothers
 

trying to convince P. L. Travers
 

to sell Disney the rights to her beloved book, Mary Poppins.

The personal backstory to the author's life

makes up a powerful portion of the movie.

 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
 

A story about hard-working, albeit humdrum, Walter

whose imagination

takes him places

that his own life never would

until something changes in the office

and adventure calls.

A Laugh a Day

At this phase of my life,
this comic strip often speaks to me:
 

 

 

 

This one has been on our fridge for months

 

So true!

 

And these two for December:

 

Yes

 

This was today's.  The kids didn't get it.