No Eggshells Here

Too often we are scared of eggshells.
Get out of my bread! Get out of the scrambled eggs! ...

I have learned of another place in which they do not belong.
Friendships. No eggshells please! Get out among friends!

No one likes the attempt of eggshell walking.
They aren't very sturdy.
If eggshells are in friendships, then those become lots less sturdy too.
In life we find friends who maybe didnt even know they gave us eggshells to try.

When those shells break, it is sad, very sad.
However, when you find a friend who hates eggshells too,
then we all shout WAHOOOO!
I'm lucky to have some of those precious friends.
I have found,
one of the most beautiful phrases in life can be phrased differently than you ever thought.

When I make a mistake, and I think "I'm sorry" and my eyes start to shed a tear,
It's nice to hear a friend say, "No Eggshells Here"
-Sammy Grace :)




"The simple but observable fact is that the more you love, the more you are able to love"
-Dr. Joyce Brothers



"To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure teh betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I need a Hero!

Ok, so if you haven't noticed, my blog isn't deleted yet. I was like in the 90 percentage range of decision making to delete this blog, but the percentage has gone down. We'll just see what happens...

The title of this post has to do with a thought that came to me last night. I personally actually dont need a hero, because I know who my hero is.

However, working in the movie theater business gets a smidge tiring when (almost) every single movie in some form or another has a hero, a villain, a damsel in distress, and a happy ending. I'm losing my umph for watching movies because my predictions are becoming scarily more accurate. Last night my mind ventured into why, why is there a need, a dream, a hope for that one special hero that will come and save everyone and we wont have any troubles anymore? Why do our minds create and connect with story after story about that one man, the one man with magical powers, the one who has something none of us has? Then I'm thinking it was the spirit that helped me to know the answer.

IT'S BECAUSE: the reason we are all here on this planet is because way way way back in the day we chose to follow Christ. Satan presented a plan, and Christ presented a plan that was in line with our Heavenly Father's purposes and we all chose the...dare I say...the hero route. Now the last thing I want to do is make Christ's life and mission and His sacrifice seem a smaller ordeal, I don't want to really compare Him to the silly heros we watch in movies. But, it's understandable why we connect with that thought pattern so easily, because we always have! Our spirits remember choosing the path that would create a way for all of us to return to our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ is the one, the Only Begotten Son, He did save us from physical death, and gave us a choice so that if we choose Him we can be saved from a spiritual death also. He is our Savior, our Redeemer, and our Perfect Example. He is, in a sense, my hero. He died for me- and for all of us. He suffered for pains, temptations, sicknesses, sins, and basically for all the bad/hard stuff we would ever go through. No one else can do that. No one else. I'm glad that I know the truth. I'm glad I know who the real hero is for all of us. I am thankful that Heavenly Father is teaching me everyday--even though too many times I don't listen. I'm a work in progress though, and I'm never gonna stop tryin.

Those were my thoughts, this is a good reason to have a blog. Life's crazy right now, and it's good that I sit down and write at some point. Although I really miss the pen and paper for a journal... i'm a much faster typer.

I think...

I'm gonna delete my blog. It's moments away, but its gonna be a messy break up cuz theres things about the blogging world that i do like. its a long story, a long explanation, and it will probably be my next post, i'm just preparing you for the sad day when sammy says bye to blogging. (because i'm sure you're all dying to read about my life....cough cough sarcasm cough cough)

but i might as well give y'all a last run down of how life's going before i peace out forever.

building a house, yes we are. the basement is in and framed, and the main floor will be framed next week, and the garage is also getting poured next week. am i a little overwhelmed? duh.

still not done with school? i am not done yet, but hopefully by the end of this year i will have my associates degree in something. wish me luck.

prego? negative. and not for a while folks.

dream job? where am i headed with my life? well, my dream job would be to be a seminary teacher. i'm a loooooong ways away from that, but one day i hope to become that.

still married? yes. for some reason in the first year of marriage (at least i hope this happened to you folks or else everyone and their dog just thinks colten and i wont work out) people keep asking colten and i, "so do ya still love each other?" isn't that weird to ask people straight up how their marriage is going at any stage of the game? i think it is...maybe thats just me tho. just sayin- i dont go around asking people who have been married for 20 years, "so do you still love each other?" and i certainly dont ask old couples the same question. maybe i should tho....

still working at the ole cinemas? yep. could talk about THAT subject forever but i wont.

excited to go to school in the fall? yes. excited to move into a house this fall? yes. overwhelmed? yes. thankful? yes. beyond measure. stressed tho? yes. but one of these days i'll learn not to sweat the small stuff, and to trust more in the Lord. it's a life long process- and thats just the way it is.

KOLOB

This was actually up where Colten proposed, i think just before he did?

These are last summer's photos, but we didn't take any for our first trip this year, but that's cuz it was a work trip i'll tell you what. haha. Colten and Kelby had to put up tons of fence, and Kathie and I attacked the cabin, mice tend to reside there over the winter no matter how good they close it up, so we have to clean everything up, but now its all clean and ready for all summer long! I love Kolob. I don't think I went up there once while Colten was gone though, I didn't really have anyone to go with, and its not the same without Colten. It's a beautiful place no matter what though, and I can't wait to spend weekends up at the cabin with my hubby!

In other news, the work on the house is officially beginning today folks. Today! Colten is going to begin the digging/whatever to get our lot ready. I'm excited!

Ticked

positivity leaving for 2 seconds...





i'm pretty sure a denny's employee jacked my phone. my brand new phone. my brand new smart phone that i was having so much fun with. i need to get over it, and i'm almost there, but i'm still bugged and resisting the urge to just drive over there and search all of their things till i find it. i went to verizon though and put it on the 'lost or stolen' list and so they can never use the phone, they could try and sell it though so i'm keeping my eyes open on ksl or craigslist to find it.



ok bringing positivity back...


our house plans are finished. and they are going through the city and should be reviewed on wednesday and hopefully pass the requirements. :) i'm excited! it will be good. good good.

relay for life was this weekend, and i sang at it, but i'm not sure if it sounded good or not because of the wind and idk the music was really loud but i think it went ok...

we went to vegas and listened to an older couple that colten knew on his mission give their non-homecoming talk/homecoming talk and they were an awesome couple, colten loves them and i can easily see why.

well, this is whats happening in the iverson home. sorry no pics. have a good day. watch your phones so they dont get stoled.

Honey Oat Bread Recipe

I don't have pics, but just trust me on this- this is yummmmmy bread. It's gone before there's time for pictures! It's quoted by my brother-in-law to be "unreal" and my sister-in-law as "delicious" I can promise you, you won't regret trying this out. This is the bread that I make regularly. I love it, Colten loves it, and I haven't found anyone yet who hasn't thoroughly enjoyed it.

And it's easy.

Start out with about 5 cups of flour, though you might use about 7 cups altogether
Sift the flour! even if it says presifted, i sift it anyway
2 eggs
3 Tbls of soy lecithin OR dough enhancer (can be found at leavitts kitchen center) both work
1 cup oats
1/2 cup of honey (darker the honey, darker the bread will look)
2 Tbls of veg. oil
1 Tbls of salt
2 active dry yeast packets, or about 41/2 tsp of yeast if going out of a jar
2 1/2 cups warm water (actual recipe calls for 2 1/3 cups...i've done both it worked each time)
1 tablespoon sugar

I hope i don't make this sound too complicated, because its truly easy. if it were hard i wouldn't make it as often as i do, and i don't have a breadmaker.

First, get your water, it needs to be warm. my sister Jenny taught me the best trick or explanation for just how warm, "it's the right temperature when it the water doesn't feel like it's pinching your skin" ---that is the truth, test it with your pinky, there is a change in temperature where the water stops pinching. just make sure its not too hot. then add the sugar into the water, and the yeast. Stir with a spoon every once in a while to "proof?" it i think its called...

Then, sift the first 5 cups of flour mixed with the dough enhancer/soy lecithin into a big bowl. And throw everything else in there! What I do with the eggs- i crack the first one into the bowl, but the second one i crack into a separate bowl, whisk it, and use most of it for the bread, but I save a enough to brush the top of the dough right before it goes into the oven to help it look brown and beautiful when it comes out.

Once the yeast is ready, and added to the other ingredients, mix all together until it becomes hard to mix--then dump onto a counter that has flour (lots) on it and start playing with it! or kneading it--for technical terms. it starts out feeling like its not gonna turn into real dough, but just keep adding flour, getting your hands dirty, and kneading that dough like your life depends on it... when it feels a lot more sturdy, put it in a clean bowl and let it rise for around 45 min, it might rise fast, if it isnt then just give it time. (mine rose for an hour yesterday or more and was still grand)

Then punch it down and knead again! add flour obviously to make it less sticky, but you wont need as much flour this time. (if its really sticky, keep adding flour, I've never added too much flour and i've added a lot before) when its ready, separate into 2 or 3 loaves. i usually do 2 big loaves, but this is a alot of dough and would be fine for 3 medium sized loaves. Put in greased bread pans, and let rise a second time for 30-40 min, (this is a good time to preheat oven and leave the pans on top of the oven so they will rise even better) and then stick in the oven at 325 for 50-60 min. top of bread will look done a little sooner so make sure and go the full 50 at least because the browning created by the eggwash can be a tad deceiving.

I hope this didn't sound too crazy- it takes time, but I like it because I can start the recipe, then go do something else while it rises, come back and finish. I've experimented with this bread a couple times and it seems pretty fool proof. the texture has come out slightly different as I've changed the recipe, but I believe i've got it pretty much perfected. it's super delicious. just the sound of Honey Oat bread makes most of us go, "ooooo..... aaaaahhhhh" so for fun just try it out and see if ya like it.:)
Also- I usually make the full recipe and wrap one loaf in tinfoil and put it in the freezer, its still good when we thaw it out and use it. I'm not sure how long it would last in there...cuz we use it pretty quick, but I'd say it freezes pretty well.

Today.

Today is, what i like to joke as, housewife day. why? because i get to feel like a housewife a little bit more than usual. Today i do not have to work. Today i do not have school. Today i will make bread (because i haven't made it in a couple weeks now and we don't buy it so we've just been lacking) and i have decided to try my first attempt at homemade chicken noodle soup. Today i will have dinner prepared by the time my hubby is home. (i think...) Today i will not change from pajamas to regular clothes because i do not need to. Today i will be doing a lot of dishes. Today i will vacuum, clean the bathroom, wash our sheets, and do loads of laundry that are currently piled on the floor. Why all today you ask? because at my job, I do the scheduling for about 30 people, and yet I still ended up needing to work for the next seven days. Some double shifts, some late nights, and some making $ is in store starting tomorrow. So today is a precious day. a special day. Here I come bread- chicken noodle soup- and empty sink- although you three do not exist yet i am going to create you! yay!

I might leave the house for one thing, because today is pay day...and thats just uplifting no matter who ya are or where ya from.