Pita Pizza

Sara and I made Pita Pizzas tonight for dinner. We bought some whole wheat pitas a while ago, and kind of forgot about them, so we've been trying to use them up before they completely dry out. (Left - me spreading my homemade pizza sauce on our pitas for pizza).
We've made Pita sandwiches, we made pizza one time before, and used them for burritos. Tonight we decided to make pizzas. I made the pizza sauce (and it turned out superb, might I add?) So in the first picture here, you see me spreading my secret sauce on the pitas.
After the sauce, we added cheddar cheese, cubed chicken, black olives, and mandarin oranges. We used mandarin oranges because Sara and I both like pineapple on our pizza, but we didn't have any pineapple, so we decided to try mandarin oranges. (Right - Sara cutting the mandarin oranges for our pizzas. If you notice, she is talking on the phone while cutting . . .) Its not too bad, but pineapple is much better. I think that mandarin oranges are just too sweet for pizza.
Anyway, it was really good. Its kind of funny because I didn't used to cook, meaning both that I didn't like to cook and that I had no idea how to cook without a recipe. Though I wouldn't say that I love to cook, I don't mind it now and I've discovered that I hate to cook with recipes. I usually will look up a recipe for something to get ideas on what to put in something, but I never measure, and I tend to experiment with spices. I never used to be like that before. I really don't know where it all came from.
But anyway, now when I get ready for dinner, I decide what I want to have and then I figure out how to do it with what we have. Its kind of nice to be able to improvise. (Left - the finished pizza) I made pumpkin cobbler a couple of weeks ago (I'm not brave enough to bake without a recipe since I don't understand how all the elements work together) but was missing some of the spices. Instead, I used what I had, and it turned out really tasty. That has helped me to build my confidence it making substitutions in baking if I need to.
Oh, and HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY!!

Русская экскурсия

Today was an awesome day. I went with BYU's Slavic Club to Salt Lake City to go to a Russian market. We ended up going to a couple of places. (Left - Collin inside Lubochka Cafe) The first place is an international store just off of state st. in Salt Lake (just above 3300 S). There I found гречка (grechka=buck wheat)! I was really excited, so I got some. I also found a falafel mix. I was pretty excited about that. In addition, I bought some borscht spices and сушки (sushki - a snack food that is somewhere between a cookie and a pretzel, they're pretty good).
It was pretty small, but they still had some good things. From there we went to a place called Luybochka, a Russian cafe near 900 W on 3300 S. We ate lunch there where I got borscht and vareniki. It was really good. I also got vareniki to go and some spices for plov. (Right - Ryan) It was nice because we ordered in Russian and talked in Russian most of the time we were there. It was almost like being in Russia again. I really enjoyed it. Plus, I got some Russian food out of the bargain!!!

Tyler pouring our peach juice

Me with my borscht and Russian bread

Revelation

I've been taking a class this semester from Brother Draper (my religion professor from Jerusalem) about the Book of Revelation. I've always been interested in Revelation, probably because it deals so much with the last days/end times, so when I had the opportunity to take it, I thought, why not?
Anyway, I've been learning a lot and it all makes me really think. Sometimes it makes me worried, but that just makes me want to do better. Today we talked a little about those who will be spared when the destroying angels come. In chapter 7, it tells us that those who bear the seal will be saved, but what does that really mean? How do we become one of those sealed ones? The answer is simple, but not easy. Besides entering into covenants with God, we have to be worthy of those covenants. Our worthiness relates directly to the state of our hearts. As it says in Psalm 24:3-4, "Who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart." We learn in the Doctrine and Covenants (97:21) that the pure in heart are Zion.
For a long time members of the church have been trying to build Zion. But what does that really mean? The word "zion" means citadel, or fortress. Zion is a place of protection. Zion is what will keep us safe when no other place in the world will be able to do so. But Zion is more than that. As already mentioned, it is the pure in heart, it is the people who love others and care about others.
This is where it kind of gets scary. In chapter 6 (I think) of Revelations, the temple is measured. This measuring is a protection, what is measured will be spared. But part of the temple is NOT measured: the court. As Brother Draper so aptly put it, "Proximity is not enough!" If we are CLOSE to righteousness, that is not enough, we have to enter in! But what if you think you've entered in, and you really haven't? Think of the parable of the 10 virgins. All of the virgins were waiting for the bridegroom, but only 5 were really ready. I'm sure when they first began, the 5 unwise virgins thought they were prepared, but in the end they weren't.
So how can we be sure that we aren't just standing in the court? I'm sure there are a lot of things that we need to be doing, but Zion is what ensures our safety; we need to build Zion! The devil is really trying hard to keep Zion from being built, and to do that he is fighting purity and love. He is trying to get people to love THINGS rather than love PEOPLE (and for many, it seems to be working). He is attacking morality, virtue, and modesty. And there, too, it often seems that he is winning. But that does not mean he will win over us. We don't have to let him win, we can't let him win!
These are just some thoughts that I had after my class this morning, and I thought I would share it with you. Don't freak out. I'm not an end of days fanatic, it just interests me. And I am very grateful that we have time to become better people, because I know that I'm not quite there yet.

BYUSA

I voted in the BYUSA (BYU Student Association) elections for the first time today. Its kind of ironic because I have been at BYU for going on 7 years now and the first time I've voted is the only time that the results will have no effect on me whatsoever. But then again, I don't remember them ever advertising BYUSA elections before. Now, why did I vote in the elections, you may ask? Well, I didn't vote because I felt strongly about a particular pair of candidates. In fact, I couldn't tell you a single thing from any of the campaigns. No, I voted because as I was walking into the WSC today, I was told that if I voted, I would get a free t-shirt. I would do almost anything for a free t-shirt. I've donated blood, I've helped clean out a store room, I've spent an hour being deaf, and now I've voted in an election that has absolutely nothing to do with me. It wasn't even a particularly dazzling t-shirt, but why not vote? I also got a pin and some candy. With all that, it made the couple of minutes which it took, worth my time.

Being sick is not fun

I think that is the understatement of the century. Have you ever seen the movie Click with Adam Sandler? There is a part in that movie where he fast forwards past his illness, and he still gets his stuff done! Sometimes I really wish there was a remote control that would allow me to fast forward past being sick, because it really is the worst. Still, it gives me the opportunity to stay in bed and get cute pictures of my cat! In this one I was kind of taking a nap today (I felt horrible today, though not as bad as on Friday) when Gizmo started sticking his paws under my blanket. I thought he was attacking something, but apparently he was making some kind of burrow. He then proceeded to curl up under the edge of my blanket for a really long time! It was amusing. In the second one, I lifted up the end so you could see his hiding place a little better.