Sunday, October 14, 2012

Salsa Chicken

I was perusing Pinterest this week and came across this Salsa Chicken recipe.  I made it for dinner on Saturday and it was a HIT!!  I even made my own taco seasoning from her site.  We added corn on top and served it over rice.  Easy, creamy, and yummy slow cooker recipe- I just stuck two chicken breasts in frozen and cooked it for six hours on low, then shredded the chicken in the Kitchenaid (best thing ever!) and added the sour cream.  Alex appropriately called it "light Mexican" and it was just really, really yummy!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Updated 'Projects' Post

http://melindaelizabeth.blogspot.com/2012/01/projects.html

This post has been updated with newer pictures.

If you want to order a scarf for you or a friend, please let me know!  (Prices will likely be in the $15-$20 range.)

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Mothers

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts."

Washington Irving

Monday, April 2, 2012

Dog talk

You think she's trying to tell me something?


Today Belly got up from the couch and calmly went to the door. She usually freaks out when she wants out. This morning she stood on me until I got out of bed.

This was just hilarious and I think she is the greatest dog in the world. I hope my kids turn out to be as sweet as she is!

Friday, March 30, 2012

Lessons from OZ

I found this paper I did for my Young Ambassador culture class today.  We had to sum up our experience in Australia.  Reading it today brought back a lot of great memories of wonderful people.  It also reminded me of how important it is to behave as the Savior would have us behave toward everyone we meet.  I just thought I'd share it.  It's a little long, but I still believe every word of it.


    Ever since I can remember, I've had a fascination with Australia.  I watched every Travel Channel exclusive on Australia that I could find, would go crazy over the wallabies at the zoo, and so forth.  Going there far surpassed my wildest dreams.  This assignment, itself, isn't hard, but the idea of trying to condense my experience in Australia into compact ideas and words is.  I hope that I will be able to share my feelings appropriately.   
    After our culture class, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I’d encounter on tour.  The realization that I had no idea what to expect from Australia and our tour hit me the minute we arrived.  So what did I learn on tour in Australia? 
    I learned about charity from our first host family.  The father built their house himself, and he and his wife ran a business.  Two of their three children were active in the Church, but their oldest son had decided he wasn't interested in it.  The love they had for this boy was incredible.  I think he knew how much his family loved him, and was very respectful and kind, even though he didn't look like one who would be.  The whole family was hilarious and the kids were fascinated that we'd never had Vegemite or Milo and we didn't know the Aussie celebrities, but especially that we'd never had Tim Tam slams!  My first experience was a great one.  They were a great example of charity to us and each other.
    I found that charity was a huge theme of the people I met on tour.  Not limited to members of the Church, the Speaker of the Queensland Parliament was incredibly kind.  What an incredible opportunity we had!  I was amazed that Pam's relatives would be so kind to provide all of those meat pies for lunch that day, first of all.  Then, to have the Speaker schedule us in for ten minutes and stay with us for a half hour was priceless.  I was so grateful for what he said to us about music, and I knew that the positive atmosphere in the room meant that we were helping to set a good example for these political leaders.  I also met a sister in the Parliament House who said that they loved Americans and that we were welcome any time.  It was humbling to not only be representing the Church, but America as well.  I feel that we did it very well. 
    The family that Dani and I stayed with in Sydney was from Taiwan.  They were some of the most innately good people that I have met.  They were so kind to us, and fed us extremely well!  They brought us flowers after our performance because they thought it would make us happy!  It reminded me just how international the Church is. 
    I learned to rely on the Lord.  It was hard for me to believe how much I loved the firesides.  Each one was incredible in its own way.  The Spirit in each was almost tangible.  I got so many comments on how people were touched and felt the Spirit really strongly.  I know that it was nothing we did of ourselves, but it was amazing to be a part of.  There were many days when I didn't know how I could get any energy or give any more.  But when we are in the service of others, the Lord fills us with whatever we need, and it happened every day that I needed it.  The same was needed for the shows as well.  I knew I could rely on the Lord for anything.  There was a performance that I was having such bad allergies that I could not sing.  But I had faith enough to open my mouth, and trust that He would fill it.  It was one of my best shows.       
    I learned humility.  Being able to perform at the workshops was a humbling experience.  These kids were looking at us like experts.  I know that I looked at YA’s that way when I was young.  It made me want to solidify my craft and be the best I could so that I could feel confident in what I was portraying to the kids.
    Performing our show was so interesting with all of the different crowds and venues.  There were so many grateful people in our audiences.  They were amazed at both the quality of the show and the fact that we'd come perform for them.  One day, Nikki told me that her host mom was looking for me, so I got off the bus to see her.  With tears in her eyes, and assuring me that she never cries, she told me that she was just "a simple country girl" and had never heard anything like Phantom.  She was just amazed and grateful!  It was a great moment for me.              
    It was the little things that were incredible, too.  The time when we got to sing for the missionaries at their Zone Conference was so filling, and just what I needed.  It seems that whenever we do the Lord's work, He, in turn, gives us just what we need to be sustained.  There were countless times that this happened.  It was almost daily.
    I learned that we need to be the best we can be, always.  We never know who is watching.  I played Mary in Savior of the World for three years at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.  I was definitely watched at that time as a representative of the Church.  We never knew who was around us, wherever we were, and had to be the best examples that we could be.  Well, one night, after the fireside, I had a woman and her daughter come up to me and asked if I was Mary!  I couldn't have been more shocked.  There I was, half way around the world, with blonde instead of dark hair, no less, and someone recognized me.  It reminded me that people are always watching us as members of the Church.  As performers, we sometimes may not be the best examples, as performers tend to be a little crazy, loud and sometimes just plain obnoxious.  We need to be extra careful to be the kind of representatives that BYU and the Church would want us to be.  I was grateful that, in that moment, I wasn't goofing off or being rowdy. 
    I learned that I was there for a reason.  Daily, I was given affirmations that I was meant to be there in Australia at that particular time, with that particular group of Young Ambassadors.  I knew that the Lord was mindful of me and my needs. 
    I learned that we were there to strengthen the members, not just the friends of other faiths that we made.  The King family were our last billits in Melbourne.  Becca Schwartz and I received an email from David, the father a little while after we left.  In it, he said, "...being a typically far too laid back Australian I held no great expectations for the weekend other than an opportunity to assist your visit. And yet by your departure on the Monday morning we were completely enthralled and uplifted from our time shared together. Both in the way you touched the children and the manner in which your personalities lit up our home.  You are both a credit to your families and to BYU, and we are all the better for now calling you our friends."
    The opportunities we were given were unbelievable.  I was able to go to a country that I've always loved and meet people that changed me.  And by some miracle, I got to change them, too, however insignificant my part may have been.  I was placed in situations that were outside my comfort zone but still was able to do my job.  What did I learn in Australia?  I learned about myself, that I can do anything with the Lord's help.  I learned that the power of the Priesthood is absolutely real, through the healing power of blessings.  I learned that I can relate to and become friends with all kinds of people from all walks of life.  It's easy to love everyone when I was in the practice of it, when I didn't even think about it.  I learned to let my guard down and let people in.  The Australian people were very open to us, who we were and why we were there, and I felt their innate goodness.  I learned how powerful the Spirit is and how essential it is that we have it with us always, because I never knew when I would come in contact with someone who would need to be filled.  
    I was definitely changed in Australia.  I know it sounds cheesy, but it couldn't be more true.  I learned incredible amounts about myself, life, and the others around me.  I will always remember the people I met there and the experiences I had.  Australia will stay with me and be in everything I do forever!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Every time...

I get sick nearly every time I go on vacation.  I can count on one hand the number of times I haven't gotten sick.  Alex was feeling sniffly last week and I pounded him with everything we had so he wouldn't get sick during his midterms.  It worked.

Well, Sunday night I went to bed happy as a clam, and Monday morning I woke up with a scratchy throat...and it just felt like there was something in my eye all day that I couldn't get out.  6:30 pm rolls around and I'm telling my mom about my eye- when it hits me.  Pink eye.  I know what it feels like and this is definitely it.  By the end of the night I can barely open my eye.  Next morning, it's sealed shut from gunk.  Angie drove me to the instacare in Walnut Creek.  The doc said it was just an infection- not full blown pink eye, but gave me antibiotics.  Eye started getting better, throat got worse.

Yesterday, my eye was even better, throat was even worse.  Couldn't sleep well because my house was so darn hot and I couldn't breathe.  Today, even worse!  Dayquil and Sudafed helped slightly, but I'm still icky.

The worst part is that tomorrow we leave for Disneyland.  I really, really hope I get better soon.  I will already look really great because I can't put eye makeup on my infected eye, and I don't want to be the party pooper and miss out on our really fun vacation!!  Oh well.  I will survive.

But if I'm sick for Hawaii in December...so help me...

Friday, March 16, 2012

Tale of woe...and incredible beauty

Last Saturday was Romeo and Juliet.  Once again, SF Ballet did not disappoint!  There were 4 casts and we saw these lovelies perform R&J- Maria Kochetkova & Joan Boada.

Maria was a little floating sprite on the stage.  She was flawless. 

My favorite was this "balcony scene" dance.  It was beautiful and romantic and I can't say enough about the entire thing.  I'm so excited that Alex takes me on such amazing dates.  (He's so good to me!)

                           Maria Kochetkova & Joan Boada in Tomasson's Romeo & Juliet; Photo © Erik Tomasson

I can hardly wait for Don Quixote!  

Here's your quote for the day.

"For ages, happiness has been represented as a huge precious stone, impossible to find, which people seek for hopelessly.  It is not so; happiness is a mosaic, composed of a thousand little stones, which separately and of themselves have little value, but which, united with art, form a graceful design."

Mme. De Girardin

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Amelia

"Adventure is worthwhile."
-Amelia Earhart

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

keep going

"A big shot is a little shot that kept shooting."
-anon

Monday, March 5, 2012

Believe

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
-Buddha

Interesting.  I will agree with this one.  We should make our own decisions about what we believe.  And once we do, we should stick to them.  We need our own testimonies.  We are told to find out for ourselves.  And once we have one, we need to nurture it and care for it to help it grow.

Also, we also shouldn't assume that people haven't made their own decisions. 

There was a girl in school who seemed to love to go against everything "BYU normal."  She played devil's advocate for everything.  She spoke out all the time, making comments that would irk me to no end.  She was married, but would always talk about how she wouldn't take her husband's name because society expected her to.  She was so bugged that people in her wards would automatically call them "Brother and Sister So-and-so," and just assume she had taken her husband's name.  That's just how 'those people' are...right?   

This may seem silly, but I was really hurt by her words over a year and a half.  Though I was never brave enough to express my feelings to her, I really, really wanted to stand up to her and say that I did not take Alex's name because society made me.  I actually thought about it for a long time.  I didn't like the name DeBirk particularly.  I really liked Melinda Lockwood.  I am the last of the Lockwood line.  I'm a proud Lockwood!  How would I ever be a DeBirk? 

Alex never pressured me.  He never assumed I would change my name.  He did, however, sweetly tell me his feelings about his name, and what my taking his name would mean to him.  I softened.  I thought about it some more.  I made my own decision.  I became a DeBirk.  It didn't change the core of who I was, but it did bind me together with Alex.  In the end, I was happy to add his name to my own, his life to my life.

This is probably a silly example, but it did mean a lot to me.  I'm not a sheep.  I make my own decisions.  I decided to keep the honor code that I signed at BYU.  I agreed to do something, to live certain ways and wear certain things.  I agreed to do it, and I did.  Keeping my word doesn't mean that I don't have a brain of my own.  I think keeping your word is a pretty good thing.  (And if you don't want to live it, you don't have to go to BYU.)

Tangents again, sorry.  Being cooped up in California will do that do you, I guess. 

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Troubles

Don't let your troubles get you down- unless it's down on your knees.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

storms

"The storm also beats on the house that is built on the rock."
-Anonymous

How true this is.  We all need to remember this.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Smile

"A smile is a light in the window of the soul indicating that the heart is at home."
-Anonymous

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Happy March

Wow!  I can't believe it is March already.  Our glorious February weather is dead and gone right now.  It is pouring rain and freezing cold outside, and I'm a weather wimp now.

A few things.  Two or three years ago, my lovely sister put together 365 quotes or positive thoughts and gave me a box.  She didn't have time to cut them up and put them into the box, but I knew I had time.  Well, I finally did cut them up yesterday.  I figured that I needed a little positivity at least once a day, and I know that some of my friends could use that as well, so I've decided to post the quote here.  I may or may not feel inclined to comment on it,  but I hope that if you have some "good fruit" to share, you will! 

Today's thought is:


"It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt

Wow.  I hadn't read that until I was typing it.  I think I needed this today.  I am definitely the person that won't do something if there is a chance of failure.  I'm terrified of failure.  

I have to say something about the Randy Bott situation.  I read the articles about what he said in class.  I hesitate, because I wasn't there, don't know the context of his words, or if that was really what he said.  I think people are very quick to judge, and very, very sensitive about everything.  Social networking is very detrimental, in my opinion.  We shouldn't care what people are doing or thinking every moment of every day.  I certainly don't.  We become so obsessed with other people, or what other people say about us, or to us on our walls, that we become self-centered in the most basic way.  Our lives revolve around us.  That sounds silly, but our leaders are constantly telling us to serve others, to get outside of ourselves.  I grew up with Brother Bott in my stake presidency.  He is one of the best, most decent human beings I've ever met.  He cares so much about the youth and is an excellent teacher.  He walks the walk and talks the talk.  I stand by him.  My heart aches for him right now.  The truth is that we don't know why blacks couldn't hold the priesthood.  Period.  That's OK.  We REALLY don't have to know everything.  Brother Bott was expressing his opinion to his class, as all teachers do.  This has been blown way out of proportion.  Whatever happened to making our own decisions?  Someone should be able to express their opinion without being told by the country that they are evil or a bad person.  (Free speech, folks!)  I would hope that we would more readily show charity and thoughtfulness, discussing civilly what we believe, making our own informed decisions, and not spread all of this bad fruit around.  

I've been thinking a lot about this lately.  I apologize for being so long winded.  

I'm going to focus on the good today.  It is raining, but that means the world will be cleaner and more healthy when it stops.  I can deal.  I have an amazing husband who supports me, laughs with me, and respects me.  I have the cutest dog who snuggles her heart out.  I have a great family and wonderful friends.  I know that good wins over evil.  We can do hard things.  We can fail and still be ok.  We can fail and still be good.  We can win and still be humble.  Let's walk a little more like the Savior would have us walk today, and see where He leads us.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Jillian. I will kill you.

Maybe this post should be "Jillian.  You will kill me." 

I used to never have to worry about exercise or diet- I was the skinniest thing in the room.  Always.  Then one day, about 7 months into my marriage, I was putting on a costume for Les Miserables.  It didn't fit.  I am pretty sure they had to let my dress out twice after that.

Fast forward 4 years or so.  Still having the same problem.  I'll finally buy clothes that fit.  A month later, they, too, will be tight.  Everyone says "You aren't fat." But I don't fit anymore.  And I don't like what I see in the mirror.

So I finally got so sick of looking at pictures of me that I hated and not fitting into my clothes and looking at my body getting bigger and bigger that I ordered Jillian Michaels' 30-day Shred from Netflix.

Started yesterday.  Thought I was going to collapse, throw up, DIE, or all three. 

Woke up today and can hardly walk across the room.  Had to choreograph a little "76 Trombones" and the marching and jumping are killing me a little bit.

I can do it.

I can do it.

I will!

Now I just have to stand up...

Saturday, February 11, 2012

"Unnecessary"

I was introduced to an amazing blog this week.  It's called The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks and Alex and I have spent much time this week being thoroughly entertained by it.

I hope you will love it as much as I do...and try not to think about how "English" skills no emportence ANYMORE.

Seriously.

Alex's friend, Jeff Harris, is even featured in a post!

Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Everything was beautiful at the ballet

Alex and I are the proud owners of season tickets to the San Fransisco Ballet.

Let me tell you... we LOVE it.  Like... a lot.

The Nutcracker was beautiful, so we ended up getting tickets for the three story ballets this season, and went to our first last Saturday.



It was called 'Onegin' and we were mesmerized- by the costumes, the scenic design, the choreography, the passion in the dancing... everything.  I wish there were more pictures online of the set and costumes.  If you skip to :40 in the video, you can get an idea of the scale of the set.  I can't say enough about it!

Monday, January 9, 2012

2011 Catch-up

Here is a (brief...or not) summary of our 2011.  It was quite a year, and I did a rotten job of documenting it... but here we go!

FEBRUARY
Valentine's Day... the perfect note on the sweetest bouquet.  I'm quite aware of how blessed I am.


I sang here for President's Day.

We went to some really cool ice castles in Midway.
MARCH

Went to the Chabot Space Center with Angie and Jim during our trip to Cali to visit Stanford/Berkeley.

Alex and Jim (they have the same birthday!)

Melinda and Angie!

Angie, trapped on the moon.  Don't you hate it when that happens?

One of my favorite pictures of Alex...ever.
We loved Stanford's campus- but...
Alex chose Berkeley!
Alex also attended the Holi festival (Festival of Colors) in Spanish Fork.


APRIL
After 8 long years... we graduated!!
Parents were proud.
(It was really early...I'm not crying.)  See that GORGEOUS lei?  My dad performed some miracles, and, thanks to some lovely Costco employees, got it for me just in time for:
Me to pray in convocation.  I think I said we were really excited to be done two or three times.
We were surprised with a serious graduation present: a brand new car!!!
Went to La Caille to celebrate!  We want to live here.

Went to NYC as the stage manager for New York Showcase with the MDT seniors.   Heather joined us.
(Best scones EVER.  Worth the price of the plane ticket.)

May

Alex went hiking in southern Utah with his friends Brenton, Jeff and Stu.
I'm pretty sure I was still in New York.  Or sleeping.

June
Cross-country drive #1.  Found this little house in Denver and fell in love.  It is 4 stories.

Kudos to the person who named this place.  Very assertive.
Independence, MO Visitor's Center.
Adam-ondi-Ahman


The gorgeous B&B we stayed in!  The Inn on Crescent Lake in Missouri. 

It's a real lake.  Alex looks great in that life vest!


JULY

Spent our summer in Nauvoo.  (Thanks to Logan Bradford for the picture!)


Ate at the Ivy, of course.


AUGUST

Went to Boston and Palmyra with the family.

President Christianson (mission and fmr. stake pres.) gave us a tour of the Sacred Grove.

Alvin's tree

They learned a lot at the Grandon printing press

BYU blue at the Peter Whitmer home where the Church was organized.
The Mayflower II
Went to see Natural Bridge State Park in Massachusetts 
It was really cool.  We had a personal tour!
The Berkshires.  It was so beautiful!

The top of Mt. Greylock
Went to Saratoga National Park

Mom and I went to "America's Stonehenge" which was actually pretty cool.

Boston brownstones.  I loved Boston.

Boston Public Garden.  Gorgeous.

At the Public Garden

A carriage ride around Boston, courtesy of Dad


We even got a free tour of Edith Wharton's home.

It is huge.

Tanglewood!  The highlight of the trip.  Look at that property!!

Seeing John Williams conduct the Boston Pops!

Mom and Dad loved Film Night, too!
September

We moved here!  This is our little apartment in northern California.
Annabelle was reunited with her dad after the long car ride with mom.
Went to my first baseball game.  (Go Giants!)

October


Angie and I got creative!  We put up these lovely curtains...

And got some great lamps from IKEA...

And we built this beauty all by ourselves.

Here is Angie, hard at work!

We celebrated Food Day at Berkeley with Angie.

Annabelle made her movie debut!
She was a little wiggle worm, but very cute.



November

We had our very own 'baking day.'  We are awesome pepperkakor makers!

Went to the Santa Cruz boardwalk!

It was a super fun day with Jim, Angie, Jon, and Brittany!

Emily got married!  A good round of Perfect Wedding and Martinelli's was needed!

I had a concert in the Tabernacle.  (That's me and George Dyer.)


December


We celebrated Mikolas with the Hoffmans!  Amazing, amazing meal.

Went to the San Fransico Ballet with Angie and Jim to see my first professional ballet...

The Nutcracker!  It was amazing!

Lots to do in San Francisco!

Belly got a Christmas haircut.

Came home to Utah for Christmas.  Glorious break!
We also celebrated our 4th Anniversary!  (This pic isn't from that night... I just liked it.)