Things that have made me happy lately

If this doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit, I'm not sure what will.  I'm slightly jealous of my friend Lisa who got to be part of this production, so cool!

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As many of you know, my latest calling at church is working with the young women (teen girls ages 12-18).  I've spent a lot of time pondering the different things I want these girls to know.  Things that perhaps I was insecure about and didn't know at their age.  In a world that is ever increasing obsessed with looks, I saw the following quote on a blog this morning and I loved it.  Along with the wonderful doctrine from the Young Women theme, I also want these girls to understand this.  (You can find the whole article this quote came from here.)

You Don't Have to Be Pretty. You don't owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend/spouse/partner, not to your co-workers, especially not to random men on the street. You don't owe it to your mother, you don't owe it to your children, you don't owe it to civilization in general. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked "female".

I'm not saying that you SHOULDN'T be pretty if you want to. (You don't owe UN-prettiness to feminism, in other words.) Pretty is pleasant, and fun, and satisfying, and makes people smile, often even at you. But in the hierarchy of importance, pretty stands several rungs down from happy, is way below healthy, and if done as a penance, or an obligation, can be so far away from independent that you may have to squint really hard to see it in the haze.

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Now for a cute story.  Yesterday, I was talking to my sis-in-law JanaRae (love her!) on the phone.  She told me the day before my little nephew was trying to figure where Janni and Danny lived.  He was disappointed when he found it was further than his 5-year-old mind thought, because he wanted to come over and visit us.  Aww, so sweet.

Super R, I hope you get to visit me soon.

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Lastly, remember awhile back when I was lamenting about how I was in a rut with what to make for dinner.  Who knew that question could be so stressful?  Usually when this question can't be answered, Danny "cooks" dinner and picks up some take out.  Anyway this recipe, turkey burgers with mango chutney, was recommended to me by Talena.  Both Danny and I both loved them, so good.  Plus, it is healthier than your regular burger, or so they say.

The turkey burger!  Image from eatwell.com

Danny and I weren't as fancy schmancy and used regular buns instead of whole wheat baguette.  I also melted a slice of provolone cheese on each burger, which probably made it less healthy, but honestly, everything is better with a little cheese.  That is my motto when it comes to cooking.  We also used regular burger fixings.  Delicious.