Sunshine!

Today I was kinda in my own world, walking out of the Provo temple, and I realized how warm and beautiful it was, and I could feel the sun warming my back as I walked past the blooming tulips.  What a wonderful feeling, and then of course since I was walking out of the temple, it was the perfect moment.

If you ever are trying to explain to a child what the Savior feels like, just take him outside on a warm and sunny day and let the light and warmth and joy of the sun captivate him!

Gushers and Frisbee--a GREAT combo

M trying not-so-hard to hide from the camera. Haha

Notice how the guys are all involved there in the middle...and the girls end up just hanging out on the sidelines after a while of never getting passed the frisbee. I dont understand guys...haha

My roommate K and B...M's brother!  Who do you think is older? 

And last but certainly not least one of my FAVORITE EFY co counselors. She was really excited to be here. Especially since she was all dressed cute because she was expecting to hang out with a crush afterwards. haha! Normally she'd be all over that field...but tonight, well, not so much ha! 

Who ever made up the dating rules in Provo, anyway???

I have found myself in a dating conundrum the last few weeks, as I am sure most of you saw from previous posts.  This was basically the situation--I started dating this guy, and getting to know him, enjoying his company and such, and then he asks me if I would like to be exclusive after about 5 or 6 dates.  I tell him I think its too early to talk about being exclusive, after all, that is a pretty big step and the relationship has to be on pretty dang solid ground for that.  He says he will wait for me.
Well, another date goes by, and I soon realize that because he is so READY to be exclusive and I feel like it still pretty early on, and I am getting the feeling that he is losing hope after a week because I wasn't giving him the OK....so I tell him that maybe we just shouldn't go on more dates, as obviously it was causing him a lot of pain to simply be "dating" and not "exclusive/boyfriend/girlfriend" status.

I do not think that I am wrong, honestly, because who ever said that two people have to be exclusive after 5 or 6 dates?  And by putting an ultimatum on someone, like "well, I don't know how many more dates I can go on with you without being exclusive", all that happens is a building resentment AND undue pressure.  I don't think this whole idea of being exclusive should happen until you are both pretty serious about each other....and I would think that if someone enjoys the other person's company, and if the relationship is a healthy friendship, there shouldn't be that prevalent fear underlying their behaviors that causes them to try to control the situation of the other person by forcing a commitment on them so early on.  This is the mindset that is dangerous in Provo, and all it leads to is unbalanced relationships and undue pressures--and then come the Daily Universe articles on what is wrong with guys and/or girls, accompanied by men posting flyers for used engagement rings on the bottom floor of the Wilk.

*(authors note, just to let you know, this guy really is a great, great guy.  Otherwise I wouldn't have gone on so many dates with him.  Amazing standards, humble, good sense of humor.....So please don't think badly of him.  Just had to throw that out there.) 

I agree with Elder Oaks in that 'hanging out' is not good, because you don't get to know someone in groups of people.  But Elder Oaks never gave a time limit on exclusivity, he merely said that we should be pairing off.  Now if it gets to be ridiculous, like going on dates for 6 or 7 months or something without talk of exclusiveness, well that is another story.  But I see nothing wrong with 3 or 4 months, especially if you hardly knew the person beforehand.

There, I have said my peace.

Jambalaya! Yum!

OH DELISH.....

And incredibly SPICY! Shaun taught me how to make this one, and boy is it soooo good!!! And so easy! :) I made it for my roommates this week, and though we were almost crying from the heat of it, we couldn't stop eating it!

Jambalaya

By Shaun Gustufson

This is a recipe taught to me by a good friend from the military. This is quite possible my favorite dish ever. Nice and spicy, flavorful. MMMM!

Ingredients:

1 Family Sized Can Tomato Soup
1 Pkg. Hillshire Farms Smoked Beef Sausage (you have to get this kind)
1/2 lb. Chicken breasts or thighs (de-boned, yo)
1 Large Yellow Onion
1 Large Green Bell Pepper
Tony Cachere’s Cajun Seasoning
1 Small (Or LARGE) bottle Tabasco sauce.

Rice for serving the food over!

DIRECTIONS:

1. First, prepare all the veggies and meats. Slice up the Sausage, and cube the chicken. Set aside. Take half of the Onion and half of the bell pepper, and mince those bad boys up. With the other halves, slice them into strips and set them aside.
2. In a nice big pot, (or crockpot, if you’re the slowcookin’ type) empty out the tomato soup, a can of water, and the minced vegetables. Bring this to a boil, then lower it to simmer.
3. One at a time, Fryup the chicken and the sausage. Add some of the Cajun seasoning for flavor, and brown the suckas. When each is done, toss it into the pot. It’s good.
4. Now, you have two options. If you’re in a hurry, you can just let it cook for half an hour on a higher heat, and throw the left over veggies in during the last 5 minutes. The way I like to do, is slow cook it for a couple HOURS (Makes it thick and yummy). In the last 20 minutes, I’ll throw in the left over veggies.
5. Regardless to your methods, throw in the bottle of hot sauce, and add the Cajun flavor to taste.
6. Serve over nice fresh rice. It’s the best way, trust me. Enjoy, and realize one GOOD thing comes from the south.