Part of the reason I have been absent from the blogging world for a while is because I've been busy with some other things. And, truth be told, I don't love blogging! But I've given myself some projects in the last little while in an attempt to follow the counsel here:
I loved the talk that this video is taken from, but only recently started to more fully appreciate its significance and the value in following this specific counsel. So I thought I would share here some of the things that have kept me from blogging and that have helped me feel a greater sense of purpose, value, and accomplishment in the last few months.
Project #1:
I love to cook. I love to find new recipes and try them. I saw the movie "Julie and Julia" and while I didn't love it, it half-tempted me to get Julia Child's famous "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cookbook and try a new recipe every week. My regimen isn't quite so organized as that, but I am trying new recipes all the time and I love it! Some of them turn out and some of them...well...are edible. I still haven't mastered the art of not only making but presenting the food. The pictures may not be beautiful (or even appetizing), but the samples here have tasted great! I haven't been taking pictures of everything I've made, but among some of the recipes are fruit nachos (pictured here), homemade pizzas, skillet pastas, Asian chicken salad, homemade Oreos, coconut syrup with whole wheat waffles, French toast, and pancakes, and lots more!
Project #2:
I rarely watch TV, but when I do, it's usually HGTv. My favorite show: Colorsplash. The designer is obviously very talented, but is the only one that I know of on any of the shows that leaves an original piece of his artwork in the room that he decorates, custom-made for the particular room. On one episode, he painted nine wooden boxes that I LOVED, and so I thought, "those can't be THAT hard. I bet I can make them," forgetting that all of the work that is done in one episode isn't SHOWN in one episode, and actually takes longer than the twenty minutes of screentime the show actually gets. So somewhat naively I went to the local craft store looking for wooden boxes to paint and then hang on the wall. By about the fifth craft store I went to (and after a lot of strange looks as I tried to describe my project to employees in hopes of getting some help), I realized that they ALSO don't show the carpenter cutting, nailing, and sanding the wood to MAKE the boxes that Mr. Bromstad paints. So I made a couple of phone calls to my brother-in-law, and a trip to Home Depot (I love the smell of that store, but boy do I feel like a dummy as soon as I walk through the doors! I feel like there is some kind of radar for people who have no business being there - ME - and it is automatically apparent to everyone there that I'm going to need some extra help), thinking with a few cuts and a few nails I'd be good to go and ready to paint.
Ahem...I should give a very special thanks to my brother-in-law Jim here for stepping in and helping me out - when he saw that the wood I originally chose was wrong for the project that I had only described to him, he took it upon himself to go back to Home Depot and get the right wood and start cutting. We spent a night or two out in the carport sawing and nailing, spackling and sanding. The boxes turned out to be perfect - exactly what I had pictured in my mind but couldn't find anywhere. Jim is GOOD! A special thanks to my sister Bethany, too, for putting up with my project and all of the time it consumed! After all of their work and service, I felt some extra pressure to really make this look good......
Here is somewhat of a step-by-step photo documentation of the process AFTER all of the sawing, nailing, spackling, and sanding. Not to mention the wild-goose chase to find the wood in the first place!
The pictures didn't turn out as bright as I would have liked, but hopefully this gives you an idea of the final product. Our couches are a berry red and all of the wood furniture is black, which is why I chose the colors that I did. It was a fun project and I love to paint, but I think it will be a while before I ever attempt to do anything like unto David Bromstad's work!
Project #3:Although I don't love moving, I do like decorating and I do like the idea of having new surroundings. I have decided that I could spend all day home-making - doing things to make it more beautiful and welcoming, more cozy and comfortable, but I don't think that is what President Uchtdorf intended with his counsel. I do enjoy it, though, and so I used the opportunity of moving into a new apartment to create some things for our new home. (By the way, if you've never been to Hobby Lobby, I highly recommend it! Great deals and a ton of nice but affordable stuff!) Here are just a couple: 
Seeing all of these things by themselves doesn't give you a good idea of what it all looks like in the room, but these are just a couple of the projects I've been working on in our house. Add to these the kitchen, a headboard and footboard makeover, and a bedroom still in the works. None of these things matter and I won't be taking any of them with me, I know (no matter how much work Jim put into making those boxes :) but I have felt as I have worked on them a greater sense of connection with and appreciation for, as President Uchtdorf puts it, 'the most creative Being in the universe.' I think that, more than anything else, was the purpose of his counsel.
