Smell of Homemade Bread

A few years into collage I was visiting one of my previous roommates one evening. When I walked in the house was filled with the smell of fresh homemade bread; my friend was just waiting for her bread maker to finish up the last few minutes of baking. I loved the idea of a bread maker. Over the years I occasionally made fresh homemade whole wheat bread by hand; it's a lot of work and time, but always worth the sacrifice. I received a bread maker as a gift from my parents this past year for Christmas but I didn't actually receive it until the beginning of this month. (It's a long story). I was excited when I received my bread maker (or should I say found it on a distant neighbors front porch). I went right to work, first reading the instructions and learning how to use the machine and reviewing all the different options it has. I decided upon what my first bread machine loaf would be....

Whole Wheat Walnut Cinnamon Raisin Bread

It didn't quite turn out in a loaf shape. I think the dough was a little bit too stiff to spread out in the baking pan before it was cooked, so it turned out in an odd shape. With that in mind I tried a second time.

Rosemary French Bread

Now that is more like it! This loaf came out perfect. I added just a little bit more water than it called for during the mixing cycle and then when it was on the rise cycle I checked to make sure the dough had spread out in the pan. I loved the taste of the Walnut Cinnamon Raisin loaf and the softness/moistness of the Rosemary French Bread.

I also made dough for a hummus vegetarian pizza I made. The dough turned out perfect and I couldn't ask for a better pizza crust.

I am not sure what I'll try next. The bread machine not only makes breads but doughs for various other uses, and jams, etc. Maybe I'll attempt my own homemade jams this summer. I love taking a few minutes to dump a few simple ingredients into a bread pan and then having the aroma of freshly baked homemade bread fill the house!

May Challenge: Success (and still learning)

"Reach for the Stars!"

Throughout my life I have had dreams, desires, and wishes to do certain things or to go certain places - some of which I have fulfilled, but many still to be accomplished. Over the last several years I have gained an ambition in life and my dreams have become alive to me. And within the last 8 months or so I have aggressively pursued my life-career dreams as I have finally discovered what I truly want to do.

Following your dream is something that I have become a huge advocate of recently. No matter what age you are everybody has dreams, desires, and wishes of things they would like to do or accomplish, but so many of us just put them on the shelf and leave them at that - just dreams - often finding excuses to justify why it will remain only a dream. "If only this" ... "If only that" The list is endless.

As I have shared with others my dreams and the accomplishment of my dreams several people have asked me variations of this question, "Where do your dreams come from and how do you know how to reach them?" I have thought a lot about this question and I have found a few keys things that I believe are essential in answering that question. It is my attempt to share those things with you here.

About a year ago I listened to a motivational speaker who said something that has stuck with me. He said, "Brick walls are only there for a reason - they let us prove how badly we want things." I think it is safe to say that a lot of people don't see the whole picture when it comes to dreams. They only see the dream itself, but they miss the whole journey of getting to that dream, which is what makes reaching the dream worth it!

If I wanted to stand on the top of Mount Everest, I could pay for a helicopter ride up to the top or I could take the necessary steps needed to climb to the top. Sure, one is a lot easier and less time consuming than the other, but which one is more of an accomplishment and brings the most lasting satisfaction? This can be applied to almost every dream, desire, or wish we have because there will always be an easy way around it. I have found that it is the work, sweat, and time of the journey that brings the most learning, growth, and satisfaction of reaching my dreams.

It's a different experience when you feel the freedom of working hard to pay off your debts verses having them paid for you by somebody else. It is a different experience when you grow a garden and enjoy the fruits of your labor verses going to the grocery store and purchasing the food. It's a different experience when you push yourself beyond your capabilities and knowledge verses saying you can't do it without even trying. Everybody can reach their dreams. The question is, how bad do you really want it?

Believe In Yourself

This is one of the most, if not foremost, important keys to have in reaching your dreams. You don't even need a dream to believe in yourself. If you simply believe in yourself that you can accomplish something great - whatever it might be - in your eyes, then you're ready to begin the journey! There is a quote painted on my living room wall taken from the movie, 'Eygpt' that says, "There can be miracles when you believe."

Have A Purpose

I have found that if there is no purpose behind reaching your dream, it will most likely not happen. Having a purpose gives one the drive, motivation, and determination to reach their dream(s). For instance, when I ran the Teton Dam Half Marathon I didn't do it for the sake of doing it or for the bragging rights, but I had a personal purpose/cause that I ran those 13.2 miles. That cause got me to the finish line.

Stick With It & Never Lose Sight

The dream determines the amount of time needed to invest into it. No matter how long it might take to reach the dream one must be dedicated to every step of the way. Sometimes in this busy, crazy, and fast-paced world we tend to want or even expect our dreams to come true overnight. It doesn't happen like that. Remember, it was the turtle that won the race - not the hare.

We must never lose sight of the end goal or the dream. Currently I am getting into shape/training for a triathlon this coming summer. I have been working out Monday-Saturday for the past two weeks and see or feel little results from it. It can be discouraging but I have to keep the proper perspective and know that my body won't magically be changed to the state/condition I want it to be in. But thinking ahead a few months from now my body will be in a lot better condition than it is now if I keep working at it every day. Being in shape for the triathlon will definitely pay off in the end.

Don't Be Afraid

FEEL THE FEAR & DO IT ANYWAY! Achieving your dream(s) is challenging. We will question ourselves and wonder if we really want to go after that dream. Nothing worthwhile is easy. Fear takes away believing in yourself. The journey to our dreams will be filled with overcoming fears, the unknown, learning new things, opening new doors and opportunities, stretching our limits, and rising to the challenges before us. At times we will want to shrink away, make excuses, or throw the towel in all together. Don't do it. It's the challenges we face in our journey that allow us to blossom.

Work Hard

Your dreams don't have to be something big or outlandish. Start simple and let your dreams grow. Never let yourself slip into getting by the easy way. It's not worth it and you'll be disappointed. As said before, nothing worthwhile is easy. I think you'll be amazing by how much you will grow and how much more alive you become. You will begin to seek for challenges and be so much more open to trying new things all the time!

Now....


*Note: There are dreams out there that are not within reason or adhere to certain laws, boundaries, and limitations. I only refer to those dreams which are reasonable and achievable within the realms of unalterable laws, boundaries, and limitations in all aspects. (In other words, please don't go jump off a building in an attempt to fly).

Unequal Equalibrium

When I was around the age of 10 or 11 my youngest brother, Ben and I had a contest to see who could spin around in a circle the longest. I don't remember who won the contest but I do remember that the time we spun around was greater than 10 minutes long. I also remember that after I couldn't spin any longer I laid on the ground holding my stomach as the room continued to spin around me for a very long time. I had a very similar experience like this today at the Cannery.

As a child, when living with my Grandma and Grandpa Gillmore, my Grandpa worked at the cannery and would bring home on occasion the large empty tin cans. He'd help us punch holes in either side, thread a string through them, and then use them as stilts. Besides just have fun walking around 8 inches taller, we'd often have races against each other on them. This simple tin can was a hit! But I never once did go to the cannery that he worked at. Today was the first time I had ever stepped foot into a cannery.

I have been wanting to go for a really long time, but was always quite intimidated by it because I had no idea how it all worked. When the sign up sheet went around a few weeks ago in Relief Society I let my intimidation get the best of me and I passed it right on by. Later I expressed my desire to go to the cannery to my roommate Krissy and she also said she was interested in going as well. It so happened that both our schedules worked out for us to go.

We showed up at the cannery this afternoon at the appointed time, both clueless. With nobody around we kind of guessed where we were supposed to go and what we were supposed to do. Finally somebody saw us and could tell we were a bit confused and directed to another part of the building where we were supposed to be. We went through the doors to the other part of the building and entered the production room. We stood around, again clueless until a kind gentleman saw us and had pity on us. He further directed us as to what we needed to do. Finally after getting all geared up in our hairnet, latex gloves, and plastic apron we were put to work on the Chicken Noodle Soup assembly line.

I was placed on a flate rotating table that had in the center of it a mixed pile of frozen carrots, celery, and chicken. Around the edge of this rotating table were round holes where 8oz tin cans were lined up beneath each hole. My job was to scoop a little more than 1/2 cup of the frozen mixture and place it in every third can. My two other fellow scoopers filled the other two cans I skipped. 1-2-3-pour. 1-2-3-pour. Pretty easy, no problem...until a couple minutes passed.

It was like I was jolted back in time to the spinning contest I had with my brother, but I wasn't the one spinning. I had to use all effort to not tip over from being dizzy. You would think after doing this for 4 hours your body would get used to the spinning. Nope. And even when the table stopped spinning it looked like and felt like it was spinning but in the other direction. It was really trippy. I didn't dare let go of that table once it stopped spinning until I was certain I wouldn't fall over. It didn't take me long for my equalibrium to balance itself out again. I am grateful that I didn't get the queasy, stomach-twisting feeling like I did in the spinning contest.

Besides the trippy dizzy experience, serving at the cannery was a fun experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the next time my ward has the opportunity to go and help out. It definitely was a learning experience as well. It was pretty amazing to go back into the warehouse section of the cannery and see all of the other packaged/canned food they had already done.

Another intimidating challenge crossed off my list. Sign me up again!

Big Milestone

It began on February 23, 2009. With a number of little milestones behind me I still had yet one more big milestone to pass. After almost two months my hard work paid off on April 15, 2009. I passed my National Registry EMT-B Exam certifying me to be an EMT-B anywhere in the United States.


I am ecstatic, yet it seems so surreal to me still! I would have never dreamed of getting to where I am now in the short amount of time that I did. My training is definitely not over, but has become a lifelong training of learning and gaining new skills and experience. I am excited to put what I learned into practice to help other people in need.

Current Certifications/Trainings

EMT-B
Wilderness EMT
Medical Person in Charge
Wilderness First Responder
Whitewater Rescue Technician
Fire Fighter I Training
First Aid
CPR

No matter what age you are, everybody still dreams. Go after your dreams! The road might be long and it might be difficult, but there are rest stops along the way and the destination is more than you ever dreamed it would be. And even if you don't fully reach your dreams, the journey is worth every step because that is what molds you.

"It's not the destination that is important, it's the journey"

in⋅tim⋅i⋅date – verb:

to make timid; fill with fear; the feeling of discouragement in the face of someone's superior fame or wealth or status etc.

I can't remember a time in recent years where I felt as intimidated as I did when I entered the classroom for the orientation of a 3-day Whitewater Rescue course and saw more than a dozen of middle-aged men sitting around the tables, creating a U-shape, filling the room. As much as I tried to mask the fear in my eyes it could have easily been cut with a knife it was so thick. Taking a seat and trying to avoid eye contact with anybody I learned that the majority of the men present were river guides from Solitude Float Trips in the Grand Teton National Park. The other men that made up the remainder of the group were two fire fighters and four BYU-Idaho Recreation faculty members. I was the ONLY girl and the ONLY person with basically no experience on whitewater.

I began to wonder, "Why am I here?" "Do I really need to take this course?" "Will this course really help or make a difference in my future desired profession?" "Will I even use these skills?" "Could I get a full refund if I dropped out tonight?" . . . "I don't want to be the one who impeeds everybody else's learning because of my lack of experience." "I am sure everybody already knows the basics of whitewater rescue and are looking for more advance techniques but won't be able to because of me..."

My mind was reeling. I seriously contemplated excusing myself from this course. Despite the intimidation that was weighing on my chest like a ton of bricks causing the labored pounding of my heart to echo in my ears, I held strong; 3 days strong. And I don't regret one minute of it.

Most members of my team that I worked the closest with during the course. I am on the left fully decked out in my wetsuit that amazingly kept me warm in near freezing water temperatures.

The gang rigging up a Z-Drag to pull an entrapped kayak out of the water. Note the snow in the background; we had received several inches days before the course began.

The next two days on the river were extremely educational as they were filled with an in-depth look at reading water, recognizing and avoiding hazards, quick rescue techniques, boat-based rescues, dealing with boat wraps and entrapments, technical rescue systems, and a varity of practical scenarios. Not only did I learn many valuable skill and techniques, but I gained a new confidence in myself with this additional life-saving knowledge that has allowed me to be that much more prepared in the case of a white/swift water emergency.

I am grateful for the patience of my fellow classmates as well as their desire for me to learn and succeed right along next to them. I am grateful for my instructors from Montana River Guides who were able to meet the needs and educational desires of everybody despite what level of training they previously had. And I am grateful for all the encouragement and support I received from others which gave me the additional courage to face my fears and do it anyway!

One Day of Permission

There is only ONE day a year that I have permission to pull pranks without getting in trouble. I take advantage of this day as much as I can! This year was no different; I had a hay-day. Everybody who found out about the pranks I had up my sleeve all said the same thing, "Poor Krissy." Yes, poor Krissy is right. To no fault of her own (except her choosing to live under the same roof as me) was the target of the majority of my pranks. Here's how it went down, prank by prank:

1. Vinegar in Krissy's nalgene bottle: I ended up doing this twice because I wasn't sure if my first attempt worked. In Krissy's own words to my first attempt, "I didn't drink the water, I SPIT IT OUT!" Unfortunately I got a little too vinegar happy the second time in which Krissy detected it immediately after unscrewing the top, BUT she was out of a nalgene bottle to drink from while at school all day long.

2. Food coloring in Krissy's washer fluid: I give myself a pat on the back for how smooth I was with this prank. Not knowing if we had washer fluid in the garage or not, but knowing that Krissy organized it while I was gone, I asked Krissy if we had any. We both went out to the garage and found it. I then asked, "I'm filling up the washer fluid in my truck, would you like me to put some in yours a well?" BINGO! As her back was turned out came the food coloring. Smoooooth. (She still hasn't discovered her altered washer fluid color yet).

3. Surran wrap over the toilet seat: Classic prank I know, but I've never done it before. I thought I'd give it a shot. It back-fired. After coming home from school she was quite cautious due to the two vinegar incidents - cautious enough to see the surran wrap over the toilet. She took it off, relieved herself, and then put it back in to try and get me to fall for my own prank. Not so much.

4. Surran wrap on her Conditioner and Shampoo bottles: I unscrewed the tops of her conditioner and shampoo bottles and put a double layer of surran wrap over the hole, then screwed the tops back on. She hasn't discovered this yet because....well....she hasn't showered since that morning.

5. Frozen toothbrushes: I took her toothbrushes (yes, that is plural because she has several) and put them in a cup full of water and stuck it in the freezer. I was not home when she went to bed and so I sent her a text telling her to look in the freezer before going to bed. She apparently had tried to go into my room to search for her toothbrushes (but I had locked it) and then remembered that she had one more toothbrush that I happened to miss.

6. Short sheeted her bed: Another successful prank. Her only comment on this prank the next morning was, "Good thing I'm already short!"

7. Exhaust pipe: This is one of my all-time favorite pranks. It works everytime! Krissy was nervous about me doing something else to her car and so she made sure she locked it. Right after I asked if she had a potato. She willingly and without question gave one to me. I cut a hole in the middle, stuck a whistle into the hole, went into the garage and shoved the potato into her exhaust pipe. She didn't use her car until the next morning when she left for class. I was in the kitchen when she left and as she drove off I could hear the sweet music of that whistle blowing. I was on the floor laughing! Later I asked her how her car was and her reply, "What did you do to it!?! It makes a weird whistling sound now!"

8. Squirter: I put a rubber band around the squirter in the kitchen sink and aimed it just right so when Krissy turned on the water it would be a direct hit, no fail. She still won't admit that she was tagged by the water, but there is no way around it. She kept the rubber band on the squirter to try to get me to fall for this prank as well, but again...not so much.

Other pranks to another person:

1. Exhaust pipe: I put a balloon over my friend's exhaust pipe. In effect the balloon was to fill up with exhaust and then pop to simulate a tire popping. It failed miserably.

2. Shredded paper: I was going to put shredded paper into the vents of the car, but the vents were doubled layered - vents horizontal and then vents vertical. I couldn't get the vents off or put the shredded paper into the vents. I ended up stuffing the shredded paper between the ceiling of the car and the visor, so when the visor was pulled down all the shredded paper would fall out. This was a success!

3. Vinegar in the water bottles that were in the car

4. Food coloring in the washer fluid

I had a lot more ideas written down on a piece of paper that I wanted to do but I didn't have enough prep time the day before to get everything ready to go through with them. All in all I had a great time with the pranks that I did. It is still fun because some of them haven't been discovered yet and so it has been an ongoing thing, which makes it all the more entertaining.

Whoever created and established April 1st and April Fools Day....THANKS!