Pistachio Cheesecake Is Really Ridiculously Good

Cheesecake Factory has added yet another option to its seemingly endless list of cheesecakes. When the waiter described their new Pistachio Cheesecake, it sounded intriguing and I couldn't resist trying it. It didn't supplant Tuxedo Cheesecake as my all-time favorite (let's face it--what could?) but it was still pretty dang dreamy.

Identity Theft Warning Light's Flashing Madly

I joined Facebook today. I want to go hide under the bed now. The thing asked me for my birthdate, my email address, my hometown, and a few other things I don't want random strangers reading. I don't keep my blogs private, but I don't exactly post my mother's maiden name on them, either. As soon as my Facebook account was established, I hid basically all identifying info except my name, schools, and general location.

As if the sign-up process wasn't harrowing enough, once I logged in the thing told me every person I know who's got a Facebook account, and asked if I want to invite everyone I know who doesn't have one (um . . . no). Then it opened a profile page with a dizzying array of stuff whose purpose still escapes me. Within thirty seconds, two people I'd contacted and one person I hadn't became my friends and MORE stuff began appearing on my page. If I could type from a fetal position, I would so be curled up on the floor right now.

This must be how my tech-challenged mom felt when I asked her to attach a document to an email a few years ago.

I will confess that it's been fun to see what a few old friends are up to, but as I looked at their accounts two things became abundantly clear to me: 1) Many people spend a country ton of time on this social networking site, and 2) I probably won't. Blogs are more my speed and I barely have time to keep up with them, so I don't think I'll do much more than check in with Facebook every now and then.

Exploding the "No Leisure Time" Myth

I often lament that I don’t have time to study all the things I want to learn. Today I realized that I actually do have leisure time, but I choose to use it on other things. Nearly every day I spend some time blogging or reading things online (some educational, some frivolous), and I spend literally hours a week writing in my journal (what else would you expect from a history major?). Instead of wishing for more spare time I need to evaluate how I spend what I’ve got and then make any needed changes based on what activities are most important to me.

Perhaps that seems obvious, but I think it demonstrates an important principle. When I say, “I never have time to do X,” I feel powerless. When I say, “I choose to do X instead of Y because X is more important to me,” I feel that I am directing my life in accordance with my principles. I like that much better than victimhood.

Garden Junkies of the World, Unite!

At the Earth Day Festival on Saturday, one of the booths focused on a local family who are trying to be as self-reliant and eco-friendly as possible. They've installed solar panels, eliminated all possible electrical appliances (except the fridge and TV), and—most appealing of all to me—they produce thousands of pounds of produce a year on their scant one-fifth acre of land. While their bike-powered blender is a little more eco than I'm prepared to go, I am curious to learn more about their gardening techniques.

For future reference, of course . . .

One Answer To The Vine Question

A couple posts back I said I didn't understand how to tap into the Savior's power in my life. Since then I've been praying a lot to learn about that, and I expected to receive some sort of logical, intellectual answer. The Lord had other plans.

It was my turn to teach a lesson in Young Women today, and going into it I was very nervous. I have a firm grasp of Church doctrine, but I struggle to explain it in ways that twelve-year-old girls will connect with. My students listen politely, but often with glazed expressions indicating that every word I utter is sailing right past them.

As I prepared this week's lesson I made a conscious and prayerful effort to make it more interactive. Going into it today, I knew my plan was better than usual, but I also knew that my limited teaching skills alone wouldn't be enough to deliver it effectively. I needed help. Lots of it. I prayed earnestly and often for the Spirit's guidance, then I went to class trusting that the God who called me to this assignment would help me fulfill it.

He didn't let me down. The lesson was by no means spectacular, but the girls stayed engaged throughout and there was an atmosphere of cheerful peace rather than the awkwardness I have become far too familiar with. I have rarely been so keenly aware of the difference between clumsily struggling to do something on my own, and smoothly and cheerfully doing it with the Lord's help. Doing it on your own is like trying to eat a frozen pizza that is only halfway thawed--it's hard and not nearly as enjoyable as it would be if you followed the Maker's instructions.

Circling back to the vine analogy, today I learned one way that connecting to the Savior blesses our lives. We ask the Father for help, but He allows His Son, Who knows us so well and has experienced everything we face, to give us the blessings we need. Today when I recognized that I couldn't teach effectively on my own and pled for divine help to make up the difference, Christ knew exactly what I needed and blessed me beyond my expectations. This morning I believed He could help me; now in a small way I know it.

Being Adventurous, In A Small Way

It really doesn't take much to make something an adventure. Joy and I took the light rail to Pasadena's annual Earth Day festival today, and somehow the mere fact that we were doing something we'd never done before made it kind of exciting. Even taking the train instead of our car made it a little different from the norm, and therefore a little more fun. Ah the simple pleasure, no?

A Confused Branch on the Vine

A couple posts back, my friend Cathy shared something she gleaned from Corrie ten Boom's A Hiding Place. Corrie was in a WWII concentration camp, and in Cathy's words "she realized that it wasn't important if she was a positive force (though she needed to be)--the only importance was in bringing people closer to the Savior so that he could be the positive force. She was only the conductor and he was the electrical force."

So very often I forget that. I try to do it all myself, forgetting that I can't do it alone, and that I shouldn't because there is a much better and more effective way. In the Bible Christ compares us to branches on a vine, able to grow and bloom when we are connected to Him, but doomed to be a withered shadow of our potential if we separate from Him.

I think I struggle to remember and apply this principle because I don't understand it. I trust the Savior and I do my best to apply his teachings, but I don't yet have the vision of how this one is supposed to work. I think I need to go give this some serious thought.

I suspect it's actual a fairly simple principle, and once I finally grasp it I will sit back and say, "Oh . . . duh." I also suspect that I'm already living the principle to some extent, but not seeing it in those terms. Even if that's the case, I think I could be doing better.