Preserving the Serengeti

Right now I am on board with an organization trying to stop the building of a commercial highway through the northern part of the Serengeti—the only wild life park on earth untouched by commercialism, unaltered for millions of years. This highway is being built to increase the productivity/sales of cell phone batteries that are a commodity in Tanzania; bought in high amounts by the Chinese. The outcome of building this road going through the Northern part of the Serengeti (where the greatest migrations occur) is disastrous. Not only will hundreds of trucks going through this natural habitat, daily, put more animals in harms way, illegal poaching is surely to increase, allowing easier access to the animals.

The Frankfurt Zoological Society also made the statement:

"We sincerely believe that the road will have disastrous effects on the entire ecosystem. The northern parts of the Serengeti and the adjacent Masai Mara are critical for the wildebeest and zebra migration during the dry season, as it is the only permanent year-round water source for these herds. Recent calculations show that if wildebeest were to be cut off from these critical dry season areas, the population would likely decline from 1.3 million animals to about 200,000 (meaning a collapse to far less than a quarter of its current population and most likely the end of the great

migration)."

The petition is not to stop the building of the road, it is to reroute it south, going under and around the Serengeti.

You can read more about it here:

http://www.savetheserengeti.org/issues/stop-the-serengeti-highway/#ixzz19VrWwdRX

You can also become a member on facebook, and you can sign a petition to stop the building of the highway here:

http://www.change.org/petitions/view/stop_the_serengeti_highway

This petition will be sent to Tanzanian as well as American officials supporting the building of this highway.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would take a moment to get involved by either joining the watch, making a donation, or signing the petition. Let's remember that we have the obligation to take care of this beautiful world in which we live, which includes conserving the home of millions of animals and plant life that not only make this earth beautiful but help our ecosystem thrive.

Christmas Lessons

What a wonderful Christmas this turned out to be. Christmas morning I woke to probably the best, most cherished Christmas gift I could have received, which was a thoughtful, heartfelt letter from my mother to all of her children:

Just a Christmas Hello to everyone of my children:

I love each one of you so much. You have each taught me so much in my life; I have truly been blest with the best and brightest children, except maybe for your children which you have been blest with, or the children around you.

I have really been touched this year thinking about our Savior and his birth and his knowledge of each of us and his love and concern for each of us. I know many times in my life I would never make it without that knowledge and faith. I know this to be true, and I know this is true thru the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the church which teaches these things. We are so blest to have the Prophet and leaders to lead and guide us as they are directed by our Savior. I learned a long time ago that if I put my trust in my Savior, and do all I can do, He will and does take care of the rest. That brings such peace to my life, no matter what is going on.

I pray that this year you will all make it a priority to strengthen yourselves and your families and do all you can do to live up to this scripture: “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.” Being prepared means so many things, in so many areas of life, but most of all I think being spiritually strong is of utmost importance. I pray that you each will take stock of where you are and where you want to be a year from now and then go forward with a plan, strength, and faith.

I always enjoyed when we would sit around and I would ask you each questions like: what do you want to be when you grow up? If you could do anything in your life what would it be? If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? If you could live in any period of time what would it be? etc. Then put these questions in an envelope and put them away until the end of the year, and then let each of you see them and see if your next answers would change. Those of you that have children old enough, this is always enlightening for your children.

I hope you all have a great Christmas. Love your families and give all that I can’t see hugs and kisses from me.

Mom

Poor Mike found me in tears when he came in to our room to say Merry Christmas to me, no doubt wondering what was could possibly be the matter. I was overcome with so many emotions of love for my mother, and for my family. This letter came after Christmas Eve when previous emotions had been building inside after Mike happened upon some of my families old Christmas videos. It is crazy to think how much time has passed and that we were once that young, all living under the same roof. How I miss those years! So, needless to say, by the time I got my mothers letter I could no longer contain my emotions.

I am so grateful for my mothers strength, for her testimony, and for the love she has for her children. She has always been one to keep the "eternal" in perspective no matter the trials she has endured. I will always be grateful for her example to us all; she may not have materialized her thoughts/feelings through words until now, but she has always been an example of these things in the way she has lived her life.

My mother said something in her letter that rang so true to me about the scripture "if you are prepared ye shall not fear," after Mike and I experienced, I would say, a "life changing Christmas Eve." Both of us consistently try and change, to work on our weaknesses, to grow and develop into our "better selves," on a daily basis (luckily both of us have it in our personalities to always strive to be better even when we continue to fail), but this Christmas Eve a deeper desire stirred within us both.

We decided to watch the movie "On the Lords Errand", a biography of President Thomas S. Monson. First, I must say what an inspiring documentary this is! The wonderful life this man has led should truly be an example for all the world to emulate. Watching this together led us to have so many rich and meaningful epiphanies which spawned an hour long conversation about the necessity of living better lives; lives wherein we can listen, follow, and value, the promptings of the spirit. How short and fleeting this life is. Having lived 30 years of it the reality is that perhaps I have another 60 years to go; how pertinent it is to do the most with the time that is given to us. It is so easy to get bombarded with the things of the world; the things society deems necessary in order to be successful, beautiful, prosperous, etc.; when in reality NONE of those things have any significant value. Being of the religious faith that I am, I believe that there is more to this life than just living, just getting by, just filling our life with things that bring instant gratification. There is purpose to our existence on earth: to build character, to serve and uplift others, to edify our lives with valuable things, to build up Gods kingdom, and to prepare to meet Him again one day. It is a sobering thought to know that all of the worldly accumulations I have made throughout my 30 years of living will have no value when I die. The Lord isn't going to greet me on the other side and say, "tell me how financially successful you were on earth," "share with me all of the things you accumulated," "tell me what kind of TV programs you watched and what you learned from them?" If those are the only things I have filled my life with, the conversation I will have with my Savior will inevitably be a brief one.

Thankfully there is a new tomorrow, and that the Savior grants us so many opportunities to change. The most beautiful thing President Monson said in his biography was that change takes place one step at a time. Being overwhelmed with the process of revamping your entire life in order to live a better one is not going to get you anywhere. As Mike and I proactively set in motion immediately upon ending our conversation, setting goals you know you can achieve and starting to work on them till they actually become part of your way of living is how change is not only achieved but can have a lasting effect.

I truly believe that if we use this life to prepare ourselves, to learn all that we can, to reshape our characters, to help others, to serve Him more diligently, there is nothing we shall fear. I am so grateful for the atonement. I am grateful to be Christian, to know of Christ and to believe in something greater than myself, something greater than the things the world consistently projects on us. I am grateful to have a husband that has the same values I do; how much easier and more beautiful marriage is when you are on one path.

I also wanted to make mention that this Christmas was special being able to converse with family. It was so wonderful to be able to see Mikes brother, Jeff, on his mission (he got to call and converse with us via skype). We love Jeff! It was so neat to hear about all of his experiences and how much he is growing and developing into the person he wants to be. We are so proud of him and pray for him daily!

Some of our highlights during the holiday:

Christmas Eve Breakfast:

Christmas Dinner:

Rollerblading; enjoying the gorgeous sunny weather in AZ:

Opening Gifts:

Nika climbed up in the top of our tree to retrieve her present in the middle of the night. Mike found her in the midst of taring the wrapping paper open. I have no idea how she knew that one was for her.

We met up and had dinner with one of Mikes good friends, Mike and his wife from FL. They were in town visiting her family. There is nothing that can replace good, quality friends!

Christmas Memories

I can't express ENOUGH how much I LOVE this time of year. I don't know what it is, maybe it's the kid in me anticipating all of the wonderful family traditions I was raised with and being able to indulge in them each year. I love the food, the Christmas goodies my mom would make and put in tin Christmas cans for us to munch on throughout the week; sledding and tubing (sometimes connecting the tube to the back of our four wheeler and having my brothers pull me and my sisters around the yard); listening to Christmas classics—for our family it was Mannheim Steamroller, Kenny Rogers, and Dolly Parton; playing our family white elephant gift exchange (someone always ended up with a really disgusting present like a dead fish); decorating the Christmas tree; being mesmerized as a kid by the villages my mom would set up under the tree each year; reading The Christmas Story; singing carols; putting out my mothers nativity set; decorating our house with Christmas lights; and my favorite has to be laying in bed with my sisters Christmas Eve, talking till the wee hours of the morning anticipating what "Santa" brought us, then sneaking upstairs before everyone else got up, grabbing our stockings and taking them back to bed with us to explore everything inside. . . such wonderful memories I cherish this time of year no matter how old I get, or how far away we all are.

I am so grateful for family, for wonderful friends, good health, a loving husband, lasting traditions, the knowledge of my Savior and the ability to commemorate the true meaning of Christmas, which is his birth, life, and ministry upon this earth. There is so much to be grateful for and so much each of us can give. May all of you have a very Merry Christmas, and may next year be filled with hope, rejuvenation, and happiness.

I made a playlist of a few of the songs we'd listen to this time of year that I love so much! They remind me of my family, especially my mother.

Gourmet BLT

I was craving a BLT and came across this version and BOY did I fall in love with it! If you want a gourmet BLT this is your recipe. I made this with cut up potato's that I home fried and seasoned with cajun and garlic salt—YUM!

Bart's Ultimate BLT

Yield: Makes 1 sandwich

Ingredients
2 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick slices of artisan levain or sourdough bread
2 tablespoons Basil Aioli
3 pieces applewood-smoked thick-cut bacon, cooked
1 ripe medium tomato, sliced
1/3 cup loosely packed arugula leaves
2 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
Salt and pepper

Preparation
1. Spread one side of each piece of bread with basil aioli. Stack one piece with bacon, tomato slices, arugula leaves, and fresh mozzarella slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with second slice of aioli-laden bread. Eat with gusto.

Basil Aioli

Yield: Makes 1 cup
Ingredients
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup canola oil
2 egg yolks
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon each dried mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper
Preparation
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Dunk basil leaves into the boiling water for 20 seconds. Drain and squeeze out as much excess water as possible.

2. In a blender, whirl blanched basil leaves with olive and canola oils. Empty into a measuring cup or small pitcher and reserve.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Whisk in a drop of the basil oil; continue adding drops of oil, whisking until mixture thickens to a mayonnaise-like consistency. Continuing to whisk, pour in remaining basil oil in a very thin stream. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Sunny Skillet Breakfast with Pecan Sugared Bacon

Mike and I LOVE breakfast for dinner! I found this recipe and all I can say is that my mouth waters thinking about it. It is so savory and sweet—the perfect combination of flavors!

Sunny Skillet Breakfast

Soaking the shredded potatoes in cold water keeps them from turning gray before cooking. It also rinses off some of the starch. Drain and pat them dry, so they won't stick to the cast-iron skillet.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Stand: 5 minutes
Yield: Makes 6 servings

Ingredients
3 (8-oz.) baking potatoes, peeled and shredded (about 3 cups firmly packed)*
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, pressed
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
6 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Place shredded potatoes in a large bowl; add cold water to cover. Let stand 5 minutes; drain and pat dry.

2. Melt butter with oil in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add bell pepper and onion, and sauté 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in shredded potatoes and 1/2 tsp. salt; cook, stirring often, 10 minutes or until potatoes are golden and tender.

3. Remove from heat. Make 6 indentations in potato mixture, using back of a spoon. Break 1 egg into each indentation. Sprinkle eggs with pepper and remaining 1/4 tsp. salt.

4. Bake at 350° for 12 to 14 minutes or until eggs are set. Serve immediately.

*3 cups firmly packed frozen shredded potatoes may be substituted, omitting Step 1.

Pecan Sugared Bacon

Prep: 15 min., Bake: 25 min., Stand: 5 min.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Ingredients
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped pecans
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
12 thick-cut bacon slices

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Process pecans in a food processor 20 seconds or until finely chopped. Stir together pecans, brown sugar, and pepper.

2. Place half of bacon in a single layer on a lightly greased wire rack in an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Repeat procedure with remaining bacon, placing on another lightly greased wire rack in a second foil-lined baking sheet. Press pecan mixture on top of bacon slices, coating well.

3. Bake at 400° for 22 to 25 minutes or until browned and crisp. Let stand 5 minutes.

Baby Beckham

I haven't written too much about my pregnancy, so I figured I'd write a little about my experience.

First thing I have come to learn is that every pregnancy is different. No matter how much advice you get from people, your pregnancy will inevitably vary from others experience because you are unique and your baby's going to be unique. I am grateful that I have such an awesome Dr. who doesn't simply place me in a "pregnancy category", rather he gives me feedback that is beneficial and specific for me. Instead of walking around thinking I am abnormal or getting worried cause I am not having the same pregnancy symptoms as others said I would, I can rest assured that my little man is doing what he needs to do to develop and grow, and that my body is doing what it needs to in order to properly house his little body.

Other things I didn't realize being pregnant:

1) That my boobs would or COULD get any bigger. The Dr. told me that as I nursed they would only increase in size. HOW? HOW? HOW? I just don't think it is possible. I am going to have to get my bras custom made here pretty soon.

2) How bad my breasts would KILL the first months of pregnancy.

3) How my little belly would all of a sudden pop over night. One day it was flat, the next day my little bambino decided to show just how much he's growing.

4) That I still fit into my jeans! YEAH! I know it won't last long, but I have been going strong for five months now and I rejoice in that!

5) That I can still workout nearly as much I regularly do. I am still going strong at 1 1/2-2 hours a day! WOOT WOOT! I love staying active! It is such a mental lifesaver.

6) That my nails and hair would grow at such a rapid pace during pregnancy.

7) That I would dream of food, food, and more food. Thankfully I let my dreams satisfy those cravings 90% of the time. I try not to give in to all of the food I am craving; I just don't hold the belief that it is healthy unless I am craving the yummy stuff like veges. I am not exempt however of giving in; I think this past week of eating out constantly along with the holiday munchies has finally caught up to me.

8) That I would be so in love with the ultrasound pictures of my little man; I am just mesmerized by him. I could watch him all day long when I go in to get my ultrasounds.

9) That I don't have a lot of strange food cravings. The things I crave the most are salty things. I love olives and pickles. The only food I have consistently craved since the beginning of my pregnancy is potato—any and all consistencies: fries, baked, mashed, etc. YUM! I also crave vegetables.

10) That I would feel my little man move as much as I do at this point in my pregnancy. The little guy knows when mommy's sleeping and loves to kick me to let me know he's not sleeping and neither should I be!

11) That my belly button would stick out as far as it does! Funniest thing to see when I gaze at my baby bump each day.

12) That Palmers Stretch Mark cream would really work; at least it has so far. Use it every day and nothing yet!

13) That I would feel so good being pregnant. The first few months I was really nauseous but I never threw up. And then I had way bad stomach pains (due to my gluten intolerance). The past few months I have had a few headaches and now I am pretty tired each day, but other than that I am doing so good with this pregnancy.

A few updates on the little guy:

He's a bit underweight right now, at 10 oz, but the Dr. assured us that this is perfectly normal considering both our body types. He said he'd most likely be a small baby. From the ultrasound pictures he looks like he has long bones so we are thinking he will be as tall if not a few inches taller than his daddy. The Dr. said I had his "favorite kind of placenta", whatever that means! :) And that everything looked so good—mom and baby were super healthy and strong. Right now my due date is scheduled to be around the first of May; we shall see if he decides to come early or late.

Oh, and the biggest news of all: we have decided on his name (drum roll please) . . .

BECKHAM (and no we didn't name him after the soccer player).

Here's my baby bump at 5 months; he's gettin bigger everyday!

Nika can't wait for Beckham to come so she can have someone to play with!

White Chocolate Popcorn

Another yummy treat was this Gold Dusted White Chocolate Popcorn (what a yummy Holiday treat to have with some Pumpkin Cider right???)



Prep: 10 min., Stand: 15 min. We adapted this recipe from one on the Jolly Time Popcorn Web site (www.jollytime.com) called Glitterrazzi Popcorn. Find the edible gold dust at cake or party supply stores.

Yield: Makes 10 cups

Ingredients
1 (3.3-oz.) bag butter-flavored microwave popcorn, popped (I made mine homemade, on the stove)
1 cup salted mixed nuts
1 cup dried cranberries
1 (12-oz.) package white chocolate morsels
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Edible gold dust


Preparation

1. Place popcorn in a large bowl, discarding unpopped kernels. Stir in nuts and cranberries.

2. Microwave white chocolate morsels in a 2-cup glass measuring cup at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. Pour over popcorn mixture, stirring until evenly coated.

3. Spread mixture in a 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Sprinkle evenly with cinnamon. Let stand 15 minutes or until chocolate hardens. Sprinkle with gold dust. Break into pieces; serve immediately, or store in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Week O' Fun

This past week has been, needless to say, busy, busy, busy; I took a three hour nap today to finally catch up on some sleep :). I LOVE sleeping now that I am pregnant; I only wish I would MAKE myself take naps everyday but I always seem to keep myself to busy to nap.

Continuing with a previous post regarding last Saturday when my mom was in town:

We had Dave, Kimber, the kidos, and my mom over to our place and feasted on a scrumptious dinner before heading to Goodyear Baseball park to enjoy some local festivities.

They brought in 40 tons of snow. Only in AZ!

Make shift ice-skating rink

YUMMY Mister Softee Softserve

Sunday we went to church with Dave, Kimber, and mom at Dave and Kimbers ward and then we had a yummy roast beef dinner to celebrate Mike birthday. We ended the evening playing a game of dominos.

Mike felt EXTRA special as Kimber used her special china for this occasion :).




Playing games on the tramp





I did a back flip which was probably not the best idea!

Cracking the egg, poor Dave!

Monday was a Mikes 27th birthday and I tried to make him feel as special as possible on this wonderful day. He was treated to a yummy breakfast of carmel pecan sticky buns, scrambled eggs, brown sugared pecan bacon, and orange julius. After breakfast he got to open a few gifts: black dress pants, a black dress shirt, and two ties.

Then he was treated to a massage before we got ready to go get pedicures. I am glad we can enjoy such things together as pedicures—so fun! After our pedis he got to open another gift: a Christmas CD. In the afternoon we caught a matinee—"Unstoppable" with Denzel Washington.

I have to admit that I have never sweat so bad in a movie; it was packed with non-stop action. After the movie he got to open another gift: a new wallet (it was time for an upgrade from his high school wallet). We finished the evening with dinner at Cheesecake Factory and one more gift that was, for me, the gift of all gifts: a book I put together of letters he had written to his family over the course of two years of his life. These were priceless letters that have come to mean so much to him and many ways define who he is today. Being a writer I thought it was the best gift anyone could receive—a part of your own history bound in a book.

Tuesday mom came with Mike and I to our Dr. appt and was able to see the ultrasound of our little guy. It was incredible to see how much he has grown and how active he is. He gave a thumbs up to his dad, letting him know he's on track with his development and excited to come into our life. He was also sucking his thumb quite a bit. The Dr. reviewed the results with us: he is super healthy, although a bit underweight, 10oz at 1 week shy of 5 months, which the Dr. said was perfectly fine because we have to expect him to be a small little healthy guy like his mom and dad. We were so happy with the good news that he is on track, doing well, developing perfectly; I really couldn't ask for anything else.

After, mom and I went shopping for material for my little mans blanket and a few slings I wanted to make to carry him in. This project took longer than I thought so we didn't get around to sewing much.

Wednesday Mike and I took mom to Scottsdale. We walked around the ginormous mall (found my Christmas pjs) and then took the trolly on a tour of the town. Scottsdale is awesome! I love all the shopping, great restaurants, and activities they have. It is nice to live so close so we can enjoy everything it has to offer at our convenience. They have an artwalk every Thursday evening that we want to hit up one of these weeks. It is so nice to live in such nice weather and to have so many outdoor activities going on in the winter time, what a first for both of us, I LOVE it.

Wed. evening we met up with Dave and Kimber at Westgate, by our house, and had a really nice dinner at The Yard House. I devoured the yummiest burger I think I have ever had— a surf and turf burger with the best hamburger, lobster, grilled asparagus, and a tomato, swiss sauce. YUM!

Thursday mom and I got my little mans blanket done—oh my I can't even describe how much I am in love with these colors (red, gray, off-white) we decided on—so elegant! I am not into the whole baby material/decor. I wanted something modern, unique, and that fit Mike and I and our taste. It turned out better than I could have hoped! I am so excited to decorate his nursery, I have everything planned out; I want to start right now!

By the end of Thursday I was exhausted and feeling a bit under the weather, but that didn't stop us, we met up with Dave and Kimber and the kids for dinner at Rubios (first time I tried their fish tacos and I have to say I am in love), and then we drove to the Mesa Temple to see the beautiful Christmas lights and nativities.

It was so much fun having mom here; I miss her already. I am glad she has two kids to visit now in AZ; hopefully she gets to come visit more often :).