Garlic-Tomato Pasta with Peas

**Unless otherwise stated, I take NO credit for the creation of these recipes! I can cook, but I'm not usually inclined to experiment on my own!**

Garlic-Tomato Pasta with Peas

I found this recipe in Food Network Magazine

kosher salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

3 tbsp. tomato paste

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

10 oz. angel hair pasta

1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped, plus more for topping

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until the edges start to turn golden, about 1 min. Add the tomato paste to the skillet and cook, stirring, 1 min. Add the red pepper flakes, then add 1 1/2 cups of the boiling water, stir to dissolve the tomato paste. Simmer until reduced by half, about 5 min, adding the peas halfway through. Season with salt.

Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until softened but not cooked through, 2-4 min. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain. Add the pasta to the skillet along with the basil; toss over medium heat, adding more of the reserved cooking water if needed, until the pasta is al dente. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 cup parmesan. Top each serving with basil and the remaining parmesan.

THE VERDICT: This stuff was AMAZING. Next time I think we're going to skip the red pepper flakes since it was a bit too spicy for my taste, and Jake wasn't a huge fan of how many peas were in the pasta so we might cut back on those a bit as well. It didn't last us very long, so if you have a household of more than 2 people I highly recommend doubling the recipe!

Mom's Visit and Finals Week

This week was a busy one! Monday after Jake got off of work we went over to my friend Anna's apartment to help her load her car with all of her stuff for leaving Rexburg. Being the graceful person that I am, I managed to trip while carrying her ironing board...and broke the toenail on my big toe pretty far down. My toe started bleeding, but once we got home and I bandaged it all up things were fine. Jake called me Gimpy for the rest of the evening since I was hobbling around the house like a little old lady. My husband is SO hilarious.

Monday evening my mom arrived! She was in Utah to take one of my brothers to a baseball camp at BYU, and drove up to spend a few days with Jake and I. It was so nice to see her and spend time with her, and to show her our little apartment in person! She definitely spoiled us: she brought us supplies from Costco, took us to dinner in Idaho Falls at Texas Roadhouse, and shopping afterwards. She had to leave early Wednesday morning to head back down to Provo, but it was good to see her for the short amount of time that we could!

Thursday morning before taking Jake to work, I dropped off my last final exam on campus! It felt so good to officially be done with the semester, even though I know I'm going to miss having classes for the next few weeks. I'll have lots of time to catch up on some fun reading, though!

On Friday Jake and I cut some of the watermelon my mom brought up for us, and it was SO GOOD. Neither of us had had watermelon in a while, and it was a fun summer treat!

I spent my weekend relaxing at home while Jake worked, and it's definitely going to be another adjustment staying busy while he's gone all day...school and homework were great time killers. On Sunday my typical post-finals/end of the semester cold finally hit, so unfortunately I wasn't able to go to church.

This Week's Spiritual Thought

I found this quote on Pinterest today, and I thought it was super awesome. Our failures will fade away (like a bruise) if we use the Atonement properly and let Christ take away our sins. What's especially great about this analogy is that sometimes once a bruise has faded, we can still feel the pain from it. And while our sins fade away, we can sometimes still feel that pain--and use it to learn from our mistakes.

My Favorite Quotes

These are just a select few of my favorite quotes--I have quite a few, since I'm a lover of words haha. Want to see more? Here's a link to my Pinterest page for quotes.

June Scrapbooking Pages

Want to see more scrapbooking pages from previous months? Check them out here!

May Scrapbooking Pages

Want to see more scrapbooking pages from previous months? Check them out here!

Sisters, You Don't Have to Serve

"Really? No mission? Oh."

I cannot tell you how many times I've gotten that reaction from people at church or up here at BYU-Idaho when they meet Jake and I. Jake served a mission, and I didn't. And apparently that makes me a bad person, because I didn't spend 18 months in a state/country that isn't my own, preaching the gospel. And now that I'm married, it's "too late."

There's a lot of pressure within the church right now for women to serve a mission before marriage. It used to be that serving a mission was something girls did if they weren't married by the time they hit 21, or a rare few who decided to serve before that point and made sure not to seriously date anyone so they wouldn't get "tied down" before they could hit the field. If a girl hits 19 and isn't engaged, people start to wonder why she isn't turning in her papers and heading out into the world to preach the gospel.

This is one of those things that can cause people to become inactive, because the line between the culture of the church and the gospel is blurred. But newsflash, people: a mission is not a requirement, or even highly recommended, for sisters. And I don't mean that to sound sexist, since boys are "required" to serve if they can. But women don't have that same obligation.

The gospel is perfect, the people aren't. I cannot say that phrase enough. 

To quote this article on LDS Living entitled "Do Sisters Feel Pressure to Serve Missions?":

"Occasionally I would see these girls pressured by other Relief Society sisters or even brethren in the ward, but no matter where the pressure came from, the pressure was never productive. Little phrases like, 'Have you thought about serving?' were well intentioned, but they actually made some sisters feel as if they were required to go-which wasn't true."

If you're about to judge a girl for choosing not to serve a mission, or even for deciding not to go after she's received her call (and maybe she's getting married instead), think about this: do you really want a missionary in the field that isn't 100% dedicated to serving and sharing the gospel? 

I've heard countless stories of elders going into the field and not really wanting to be there, but serving because they felt outside pressure to do so. Jake had several experiences like this in his mission of trying to train companions who were unenthusiastically out in the field. And it drove him CRAZY! Can you imagine what that would be like for investigators or inactive members meeting with the missionaries, and unable to see the love for the gospel in the eyes of the elders (or sisters) they're speaking with?

Unwilling missionaries can, in my opinion, hinder the progress of the gospel more than help it.

Don't serve unless you want to. If you want to, GREAT! Amazing! Wonderful! Thank you for doing so. And I truly mean that; my dad is a convert so if it wasn't for the missionaries I would not be who I am today.

To all those sisters out there who are choosing to serve missions, I applaud you. And to all those who are choosing not to serve, I applaud you as well, and send you a fist bump of compassion and understanding for all those who look at you out of the corner of their eyes, who ask you why you aren't filling out your papers with mock concern for your well-being; who are judging and believing that you have a weaker testimony than those who have chosen to serve.

More Homework and Exciting News

This week started off amazingly because I received some incredibly exciting news (no, I'm not pregnant). An article that I wrote and sent to Celestial Shine Magazine is going to be published! Celestial Shine is a magazine for LDS Young Women that has articles on everything from fashion and beauty to increasing your testimony. I contacted the editor-in-chief at the beginning of this month and explained that I was interested in writing an article for them, and asked if they had any topics they were looking for in upcoming issues. One of the topics happened to be "making genealogy exciting." Anyone that knows me well knows that this is a big passion of mine, so I took the topic and wrote like a madwoman! I sent them my finished article last week and was in AGONY waiting to hear back, and on Monday I received the email that made my whole week. I'm not sure what issue my article will be published in, but stay tuned for more details!

On Tuesday after a long day of classes, Jake picked me up from campus (he worked Tuesday night) and when I opened the car door, on my seat was a bouquet of beautiful flowers. It was so unexpected and sweet, and made the long day seem not to terrible after all. I sure do love my husband :) I spent Tuesday evening working on a research paper while Jake was at work. SUPER fun.

On Wednesday everything was going according to the usual plan...until late that afternoon when Jake's phone started buzzing with a weather warning: we had a tornado warning in Rexburg! Right after he turned off the alert, our power started flickering on and off. We lost and regained power more than 5 times in just 10 minutes! It was CRAZY! We looked outside to see what was happening, and it just looked really windy and stormy; not as intimidating as I would have thought "tornado weather" should look. The storm passed after a little less than an hour, and we never actually had a tornado, but it was pretty crazy! Stuff like that definitely doesn't happen in Southern California.

This past weekend was spent studying for finals and working on projects, since the semester officially ends this coming Thursday! I've loved pretty much all of my classes this semester and really learned a lot, but it's been a LOT to handle in one go. Academically I only took 14 credits, but because of all the work that's been required for my "lab work" class (ED 361), it's felt more like 18, which is a HUGE load for one semester. Only a few more left and I'll graduate, though!

This Week's Spiritual Thought

This week I've been thinking a lot about ways that I can implement gospel principles in the classroom once I'm a "real" teacher in ways that won't be too blunt, or get me into trouble. And I've come to the conclusion that the best (and also probably most obvious way) to teach my students about Christ is through my actions, and through the love I show them. In the education department here at BYU-Idaho, we start learning the school's tenants of teaching in our first class. Tenant #1 is "It's about them." I've been thinking about that a lot lately, and about how while my lesson plans and classroom management methods need to be educational and appropriately planned out and organized, I need to make sure that the central theme in my classroom is love for my students.

Homework for Days

This week can be summed up in one word: homework. Jake and I are getting close to the end of our semester, so we've both been busy working on projects, writing papers, and creating presentations. It's been an intense week!

On Tuesday, Jake and I did our monthly grocery shopping. Normally these trips cost us around $100-$150, but apparently it was our lucky day because it was only $55! I kept double checking my list and making sure we had everything, and we didn't forget to buy anything, so somehow my meal planning for this week was really well done! Hopefully this becomes a more regular thing, because I'd definitely love to save more money on a monthly basis!

Saturday was a day filled with homework, no surprises there. Jake had to work the whole day so I had a quiet house to work in, and I was able to accomplish quite a bit! That night when Jake got home from work, we were relaxing at home when I saw one of my friends post on Twitter "someone please bring me ice cream" and I thought well, ok! I asked what flavor and got her address, and we dropped off some ice cream for her. It was a small act of service for us to do, but she was so grateful for it that it made Jake and I feel awesome! Service is a great bonding activity for us :)

This Week's Spiritual Thought

Today in sacrament meeting I was reading in Psalms again, and read chapter 139. Verses 1-18 really struck me, and I've copied them below so anyone interested can read them easily. I love Psalms because the language is so beautiful, and reading these verses about how God knows each of us individually in such poetic language was awesome.

1 O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.

 2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

 3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

 4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.

 5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

 7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

 11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

 12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

 13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

 14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

 15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

 16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

 17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

 18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

Seasonal Joys

I'm trying to take pleasure in the little things more often, so I've compiled a list of things that make me happy during each season of the year. Enjoy!

Winter

hot chocolate

snow

watching loved ones open the Christmas presents I gave them

boots

scarves

Spring

flowers

rain

gardening

picnics

Summer

beach trips

popsicles

BBQs

Fall

chocolate chip pumpkin muffins

leaves turning colors

blankets

apple cider

Thanksgiving

What are some things that you enjoy during certain times of the year?

July is Here!

What a model

This week was a HOT one in Rexburg. It's been around 95 every day, so being outside hasn't exactly been pleasant. Thank goodness for AC or Jake and I would have melted!

Monday Jake and I finished cleaning out our old apartment, in preparation for the clean check our management would be doing the following day. We got checked out and we're officially completely done with our old crappy complex! That evening Jake decided he wanted to try on a pair of my yoga pants, just to see what they were like. I have never laughed so hard in my life! He wore them for a while too, since apparently he found them comfortable. It was hilarious.

Wednesday was my last day of teaching the CSI Unit at Rigby Middle School, and I'm pretty relieved to have that over with as well. Teaching that many small children, especially when most of them are rambunctious boys, has not been easy for me. It was a learning experience and a test of my patience, but I'm thankful to be done! Next week I start my final unit; called "DIY: Make A Scene" where we'll be creating scenery, props and costuming for a Shakespeare play.

On Friday there were no classes up on campus, but Jake still had to work so I relaxed around the house for a while. I watched some TV, did homework, and scrapbooked a bit. My friend Anna asked if I wanted to go to Idaho Falls with her, and of course I said yes! (Idaho Falls is the closest real shopping we have to Rexburg, and it's about an hour away.) Anna picked me up and we went to Target, and did a bit more shopping around at some other stores before we headed back home. It wasn't a long trip but it was so nice to get out of Rexburg for a little while, especially since it wasn't a planned trip! Impromptu adventures are one of my new favorite things! And it's also nice to hang out with some girlfriends once in a while, which isn't something I get to do very often anymore since everyone gets so busy it's hard to plan times to get together.

Saturday was Independence Day! Jake had to work until the store closed in the late afternoon, but once he got home we got ready to head out to a BBQ hosted by the owner of the pizza place Jake works at and some other families in their neighborhood. At one point one of the fathers hosting the BBQ was running around dousing people with buckets of water or ice, and he got one woman who was standing over her baby in a stroller...and managed to COMPLETELY soaked the baby as well! That poor little girl screamed her head off. It was so funny and sad at the same time; I felt awful for laughing but I couldn't help it. We spent a while at the BBQ before we got too exhausted from a busy week and poor Jake from working a long day, so we went home to watch the fireworks from our apartment.

This Week's Spiritual Thought

This week was obviously focused a lot on the blessings we have because we live in this country, and have the freedoms that we do. At church today it was testimony meeting, so people were sharing their testimonies about the amazing blessings we have, experiences that have strengthened their knowledge of the church's truth, etc. At the beginning of the meeting our bishop opened it by sharing his own testimony, and he brought up a fact that I hadn't thought about for a while. We are incredibly blessed not only to live in the United States, but to live here at this time. We were chosen to live during this time and in this country for a very specific reason. It was a really awesome thing to think about!