Good Advice

Peter: Mom, always remember this: don't throw bowling balls.

A Floor You Could Eat Off Of

A few weeks ago I decided I wanted lasagna. Last week I picked-up an industrial sized container of cottage cheese from Costco to make my dream a reality. Yesterday I decided that tonight would be the night.

Have you heard of the Pioneer Woman? Among other things, she comes up with sinfully delicious recipes. When Phoebe was born a friend brought us lasagna she had made using Pioneer Woman's recipe. It was incredible. It's actually called The Best Lasagna. Ever. I haven't made any other lasagna recipe since.

I began the process this morning during breakfast. I defrosted meat, grated cheese, located ingredients. The task continued after Peter went to school and Phoebe was down for her nap. While I was cooking I ironed (yes, I'm a little shocked too), made a batch of bread, cleaned the kitchen, and chatted with the repairman that put a new faucet in our kitchen sink.

By the time I finished building the lasagna I felt wildly productive. I covered the 9x13 glass pan in aluminum foil and carried it to the fridge. I opened the door to slide the meal in.

And then I dropped it.

The good news is that Pyrex doesn't break so easily and the pan remained in one piece.

The bad news is that the lasagna did not.

I included my feet to show the size of the spill.

Due to the slippery nature of the noodles, we lost the majority of the top layer, almost like the upper tier decided to jump right off. I stood in the cold of the open fridge door staring at my day's work, on the floor. I plopped myself down to see what could be salvaged. I was able to scoop unscathed cheesy-meat off of lasagna noodles that had sacrificed themselves. The still-there repairman said something that was meant to be a positive spin on the fiasco, but I have no real idea what he was talking about.

This is after I scooped up the still-edible stuff, which means this is everything I threw away.

I do have a sense of humor about the whole thing. True, I had a moment when the dish first slipped from my grasp and crashed to the ground when I thought I might cry, but mostly I handled it well. I'm glad that I didn't follow through with the urge I had had earlier to invite friends over for dinner.

"Hi, we're so glad you're here. Have some floor-casserole!"

It still tasted good.

The Day Where I Checked Everything Off My London List

Remember that time I went to Europe and then said I'd have many blog posts about it but never did? Time to fix that.

You'd think that a group full of MBAs would have strong opinions about what to see and do while in London.

You'd be wrong.

When one of the Professors in charge asked what everyone wanted to spend our time doing, they said they where happy to do whatever. I was not so go-with-the-flow (shocking, I know). I rattled off my list of things I wanted to accomplish during our five days there. And then we set to doing them.

See Big Ben: check.

Visit and tour Westminster Abbey: check. This was a major highlight of the trip for me. I loved it.

See a show in the West End (aka bigger than Broadway): check. We paid £10 each for standing room only "seats". I had never seen Les Mis and I can tell you my two biggest observations: 

1. the staging is amazing, truly remarkable that no one falls off the rotating stage during entrances and exits
2. that is one very, very, long show, especially when you're completely jet-lagged and standing.

But it was still awesome.

I was pretty exhausted by this point and had done all but one of the things on my list. The hotel was calling my name, but one of the professors took it upon himself to help me check off the last item on my list. While on our quest through London we passed by St. Paul's Cathedral (which was breathtaking) and the Occupy London movement camped-out by the London Stock Exchange. That was... interesting.

We finally found the last item on my must-see list.

See Shakespeare's Globe: check. We were too late for a tour, but I did get to go in and use the bathroom, so that's something, right? Also, by this point I was tired of smiling for pictures, so I started making silly faces instead.

And that's how being loud and pushy helped me to do everything I wanted to do in London. In one day.

Take a Picture, It Lasts Longer

We had family pictures taken last week at a place called FotoFly. They did a great job, especially considering that Phoebe was very grumpy the whole time. Peter and Cooper loved it, but Phoebe was having none of it. And yet, the two photographers working with us got her to smile a few times and, even better, they caught it on camera.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Sending Her Into the World

Phoebe had her first day of Nursery yesterday. According to Bryan (I was subbing in Primary and couldn't go with her) she had a grand time. I asked her about it when we got home and she was quite chatty. Then I pulled out the camera and she got evasive.

The Explanation for My Absence

Remember back when I wrote about the spouses association, MBASA? Well, I had a rough go of it at first. My fear of the organization grew once I started attending meetings. So many well dressed, completely done-up, blinged-out women left me feeling out of place.

And then I found the Book Club. And then the Writer's Group.

They are my people. They feed my soul.

My experience has been much better since I stopped letting the fancy girls scare me. I discovered over the last semester that there were many other women that felt like I did. An idea came to me that I couldn't shake, "What if I ran for President for next year and worked to bring these women together, fancy and normal alike?"

A week ago Thursday I submitted my official letter-of-intent to run for office. I campaigned all week long. That meant going door to door and meeting people. There was one other girl running for President and I saw her out doing the same thing I was last Saturday morning. I noticed that she was leaving handouts at the doors where no one was home. I made the choice to only leave something if I talked to them; nothing would be left at an unopened door. My purpose in knocking doors was to get to know people, and a paper stuffed in a door handle wouldn't accomplish that.

Wednesday was speech night. I struggled all week with what I should say. I knew what my goals as President would be, but I couldn't settle on the right way to say them. Wednesday morning and afternoon I talked with two different women that had had a horrible year with MBASA. Their experiences had mirrored my own before I found the Book Lovers. Inspiration struck. Here's the speech I gave, minus the joke I started with that died on the floor.

I’m going to tell you about MBASA. It’s a fantastic group of intelligent and talented people that are willing to teach each other and learn from each other. You are an amazing support system. I’ve seen how quickly you guys jump to answer pleas for help on the Google group.

But there are two MBASAs. In the second MBASA the members come to the same inspiring activities, and when the meeting is over they turn to those near them to talk. And everyone else has already started talking to other people. The members of this MBASA go home wishing they hadn’t come at all.

I know this second MBASA exists because you've told me. I know it exists because I've experienced both versions. 

We need to have only one MBASA. 

The poet Edwin Markham perfectly explained my feelings when he wrote:
He drew a circle that shut me out
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout
But love and I had wit to win
We drew a circle that took him in 

I want to draw a circle that includes every member of MBASA. It sounds like I’m saying I want world peace. It’s one of those lofty, unattainable goals, right? 

Here’s how we're going do it. 

I will draw a circle around everyone by personally getting to know each of you.  Over the last week I’ve spent time in your homes and your doorways, talking. I’ve loved campaigning because I’ve gotten to know you so much better. And by getting to know you, we'll learn what your real needs are and we'll build our activities around those.  

I will do it by redefining and reorganizing the committees and making sure that the goals of the committees are in line with the goals of our members. Your goals. 

I will draw a circle by taking the existing MBASA Alumni Facebook page and turning it into a real network. Our spouses have an Alumni network to find jobs. We should have one in place too so that when we go to those jobs, there are already people excited to know us and help us.

But I can't do it alone.

Help me draw that circle. Tomorrow when the email is sent, open up the link, and vote Margot for President. 

Thank you.

Several people told me afterward that they agreed with what I had said and they were glad to know they weren't the only one that felt that way. I was the only one who didn't stand at the podium in the corner and read my speech. I delivered mine from the middle of the room, not looking at my paper but rather into the eyes of the women who came to listen.

The voting took place via electronic survey yesterday and the results came in today.

I lost.

It's been a day of shifting emotions. I did this whole crazy running for President thing in large part because that's what the Holy Ghost kept pushing me to do. I met and got to know so many people and I loved it. I wonder if the people I met that felt shut out of MBASA are the reason I was supposed to run. I still have an opportunity to serve in some capacity, if the new Presidency will let me, so maybe I'll still have the chance to accomplish some of those goals.

Now I guess I'll go back to my normal, non-campaigning life. Hey, maybe next week I'll even blog...

The Elements

Does it seem like I've fallen off the face of the planet with my lack of blogging? I assure you, I am still earth-bound. I've had a lot of stuff going on, good stuff, just busy stuff. I have a vacation post waiting for a final edit, so for now I'll give you something Peter told me yesterday. I can't think of what prompted it, but he said it after dinner.

Peter: (very serious) Mom, did you know the earth is made of two things, nature and beauty. And electronics.

The First Abbey and the Circus

*For the record, I started this post on Thursday, but because Bryan was out of town (yes, again) I didn't get  to finish it on-time. But I'm still posting it to Thursday.

We left for London the evening of Thursday, February 16. Because of different time zones, we didn't arrive until Friday around noon. The MIND THE GAP picture I posted was the very first picture we took in London. Most of the group (MBA students, a few undergrads, and one other spouse) went as a large, suitcase toting group from Heathrow Airport to Paddington Station to our stop at Kilburn Park.

When we got to our hotel one of the Professors in charge met us and, once we had dropped off our luggage, led us on a walk to the closest tourist stop. Bryan and I were the only people in the group that knew the significance of Abbey Road.

And that made us feel old.

Then it was a short Tube ride to Piccadilly Circus. The lights and population were very reminiscent of Times Square. The whole group went to a Chinese restaurant where we discovered that in London you get yelled at for ordering tap water. Also for not having a big enough bill. And we had to specify tap water, not still or sparkling bottled water.

After dinner the group split and we headed down to see Big Ben (which I've already posted a picture of) and the London Eye in all their nighttime glory. It was interesting to contrast the people-packed streets of Piccadilly Circus with the nearly deserted walkways near Big Ben. That must be a daytime destination for most people.

During dinner I had started to feel funny, but, due to a lack of a few key symptoms, I didn't figure out what it was until we were walking around the dark form of Westminster Abbey. I was having a migraine. It wasn't surprising considering how little I had slept on the plane and that we had been going basically non-stop since we'd landed several hours before. I told Bryan we needed to head back because I had left all the medicine in our hotel room. I didn't make that mistake again.

When my vision freaked out during the subway ride back I was especially thankful that I wasn't by myself. The thought of navigating in an unknown city without the ability to see faces or focus on anything was frightening.

My night ended with a blessing from Bryan. I was asleep within minutes.

Giggles

We interrupt the travelogue in process (which I meant to write more of on Friday, but a combination of jet-lag and Bryan being out of town got the better of me) to bring you news of Cooper's first talk in Primary.

His topic was to speak about the living prophet. The assignment had been stuck in my front door (which we rarely use), so I didn't even see it until Wednesday. It was Saturday night before we went over his talk. I prepped him that he would climb up the steps of the podium and talk into the microphone in front of all the kids. He seemed fine with the process. And though he didn't have the short talk memorized, he was willing to repeat what I said.

On Sunday morning I thought about Peter's first talk. I remembered how darling he was and how he'd memorized it and then how he was so completely terrified that no words came out of his mouth when the moment to deliver the address came.

It turns out it was good I had reviewed that particular memory.

When the time came, I joined Cooper up at the podium. I handed him the picture of the First Presidency (President Monson must have been a popular topic on Sunday because there were no individual pictures of him) and prompted him with his first line. He grabbed the mic in both hands, smiled at the Primary children, and took a deep breath.

And then he giggled.

And that's what he did for the rest of his tenure at the front. I finally altered each line from his talk so it would be in the form of a question. He nodded, smiling and giggling, at each question I asked. It just occurred to me that his Sunbeam teacher might not even know he can talk because he gets so shy sometimes. At the conclusion Cooper sat down, pleased that his first talk was over.

Now, when Peter refused to speak during his first talk, I was heartbroken. I knew he could do so much more than he was doing. But because I had been through that experience, my expectations with Cooper were different. Instead of being mad or sad, my reaction was more of a, "Oh well, hopefully next time he'll use words."

That either means I've become a more relaxed and reasonable mom, or it means I've become a lazy mom. I'm not sure which it is...

The Story Behind the Story

Once upon a time there was an MBA student who was Minoring in International Business. The program required that he go on a school trip to another country. Because his second language was Portuguese, he and his wife decided that between the Europe trip and the China trip, Europe was a better fit.

This student went to the first information meeting for the trip and learned that spouses were invited to come. He liked the idea and called home to ask his wife to pray about going on the trip with him.

She laughed.

In her mind there were several roadblocks of practicality between her and Europe. One was money. They were unemployed students, how on earth would they fund the trip for one person, let alone two? Reasons two, three, and four were very cute little people who needed someone to take care of them. While the prospect of the trip was inviting, the reality of it felt out of reach.

But she said she would pray about it.

That night she knelt by her bed and laid out her train of thought. She had studied it out in her mind and had come to the conclusion that while it would be totally awesome, she didn't think it was a good idea. She waited for confirmation that yes, this was a crazy idea.

It didn't come.

No, the answer she got was that she should go. She wasn't given the how or the why, just that she needed to go with her MBA student on a ten-day trip to London and Paris.

The MBA student had already called his sweet, patient, and kind mother and asked if she would either fly out from her home to help his wife during his ten-day absence, or if she would take over the small-child duties so both husband and wife could go on the trip. She said yes.

Reasons two, three, and four were suddenly take care of.

The day after she had gotten the answer that she should go, the wife was talking on the phone to her grandma. During the course of the conversation, the wife told of the MBA student's upcoming trip and of the laughable and improbable idea that she should accompany him. The grandma listened, then inquired about the details of the trip. When? Where? How much? The wife answered the questions and the grandma agreed that the wife should go.

And then the grandma offered to pay for the wife's trip.

The wife was speechless. She thanked, and then promptly refused. That was too much. But the grandma persisted. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, she said. And she talked about how much the wife needed a break. The wife knew that was true.

She finally agreed.

Reason number one was erased from the list of roadblocks.

So it was the generosity of a mother-in-law and a grandmother that made this picture (and many more like it) possible.