Broiled Parmesan Tilipia

Tilapia is my favourite fish.  It has fanastic flavour without being too fishy-- because we all know seafood tastes best when it doesn't taste like seafood, right? It's also a very quick and easy recipe, but tastes like you put a whole lot of work into it.

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia

• 1/4 c Parmesan cheese
• 2 T butter, softened
• 2 T mayonnaise
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1/8 t dried basil
• 1/8 t ground black pepper
• 1/4 t onion powder
• 2 6oz tilapia fillets

Place your oven rack in the highest position, and preheat to a broil. Grease a broiling pan.
Stir together the cheese, butter, mayonnaise, and lemon juice.  Add basil, pepper, and onion powder.
Place fillets in a single layer on the broiling pan.  Broil for 2 minutes.  Flip and broil for another 2 minutes.  Spoon mixture onto the fish and broil for another two minutes, or until fish flakes with a fork and topping is slightly browned. Do not overcook!

The happiest calling of all.

This last Sunday I got a new church calling in my ward!  I am now... The Young Women secretary!  For anyone who is wondering what the heck I'm talking about, that means that I have been asked to help with the 12-18 year old girls who are in my church congregation.  I'll be in charge of the record keeping items, as well as helping to organize mid-week activities and teach Sunday lessons now and then.

When I was asked if I would be willing to do this, I exclaimed quite enthusiastically and had a really dumb, happy look on my face.

Bishop: We would like to call you as the Young Women secretary.

Me: Oh, yeah! That's like my dream calling!
Bishop: ...so is that a yes?

I had an amazing experience in YW.  I credit that to an awesome group of girls, as well as absolutely fantastic leaders.  I lucked out and had a relatively small group of girls who also loved adventurous and outdoorsy things, were freaking hilarious, and got along pretty well (as far as I know!).  Our leaders were equally fun, adventurous, wise, and inspiring.

Because of this, I'm both excited and nervous.  I know how great YW can be, but also how crucial.  It's a really important time of life for those girls, and having a good example and companionship from those around them can make a big difference.  The other intimidating part is that there are 46 girls in my ward. That's HUGE compared to the, what, 15 that my ward had.  I'm also not very good with names and faces.  One time I took a university compiled facial recognition test and I failed miserably. The test told me that I might have an actual cognitive disability with recognizing faces. So there you go. It's going to be tough trying to keep up with everything and everyone, but thankfully I will have the Lord's help in discerning their needs and learning what I need to!

I hope that I can help give these girls a positive experience in YW. If I can do even half as well as my leaders did, I'll be satisfied.  Fortunately I was in there only 4 years ago, so maybe I can get my brain to flashback to those years and remember what it was I needed to hear back then, and share it with them.  Maybe I can also bring the joy of Screaming Ninjas and Snipe Hunting to these lovely girls.

I'm pretty sure one of them ran into a glass door shortly after this picture.

We were supposed to do something cultured. So we decided to wear togas and do art...

...but then this happened.

"...I'm peeing"

And running downhill made us laugh so hard Michelle totally bit it.

**If any of you are embarrassed by these pictures, too bad, because you should know that I have 10x worse on my old laptop but I'm too lazy to go find it.

Nannyish

I'm employed!
This week I started a nanny position with two different families.  M-F I work in the mornings with a 3yo boy and a 5yo girl.  The girl really likes art projects and playing make believe games. The boy goes with what his sister wants to do, but if it's just the two of us we play on the swing set and throw balls for the dog.
I'm with the other family just once or twice a week in the afternoons.  They have four kids, but I just stay with the younger two while the older brothers are in school and mom runs errands.  I can see why mom prefers to have someone stay with them at home while she goes out.  They're 2.5yo twin boys and they have boundless energy and mischief going on.  They totally egg each other on and seem to plan their trouble together.  They're pretty easygoing, though.  One boy was born without one ear and the other has partial hearing loss, so their mom said that she thinks half the time they can't hear you and the other half of the time they ignore you, haha.  I play with them for an hour, then they go down for a nap and I just read and watch TV for the rest of the time. Pretty easy gig! They also have a dog who keeps me company and plays fetch/naps with his head on my lap.

Not going to lie, I was really excited when I found out that both families have big dogs I can play with, too.  The moms were both saying "oh, I hope they don't both you- just put them outside if they do".  Actually, I'm pretty sure being able to have vicarious dog ownership is the biggest perk of the job.

Two grand years.

I've been married to this guy:

...for two years!

For our anniversary, Sam worked all day and I ran errands all day. Yippee! But right after Sam was done work we went to the Mount Timpanogos Temple to do a sealing session.  This is the temple that we were sealed in 2 years ago, so it was just perfect. For those who don't know, we did sealings for other couples who were married civally but had not been sealed for time and all eternity before dying.  We act in proxy for them, and then they are able to accept or reject the ordinance as they wish.  But I must say- the spirit was so strong as we worked in the temple that day.  I think there are a few more happy families who have been reunited. 

Sam's pretty darn awesome.
I like being his pillow for naps, and vice versa.

I love that he takes care of me.

This EXACT thing went down when I threw out my back.

Artistic rendition courtesy of Megan

I enjoy the fact that he appreciates the weird stuff I do. For example,  I hid under a nearby desk for over 30 minutes waiting to see if he would find me.  He didn't. Even with the text picture I sent him.

 

I love that he is such a hard worker. Not only at WORK, but at home and church too. This boy is going places.

A great deal of credit also goes to him for getting me done with school. I had some really hard semesters that crossed over with some really hard times, and he completely got me through it and made me believe in myself.

I love this wonderful family that I now get to be a part of.  My family sure loves him too (Uncle Sam-I-am)

He HATES costumes, but he will even humor me so long as I look sillier than he does. Which I always do.

He is so supportive me me and my goals and interests.  Him coming and supporting me with my races means the world to me.  Sometimes the exact thing you need to push through the last mile of a marathon is knowing that somebody is expecting you at the finish line (and will hold you up when you're pretty sure you're about to die). 

We sometimes go do fun awesome things:

And sometimes we just act like hobos:

But pretty much, he's my best friend, and he's awesomesauce.

Bryce Canyon Half Marathon

Back near the end of June I got to pace a half marathon down in southern Utah.  Sam came with me and we camped out in our tent for the night. The next day was very, very rainy so we didn't end up going hiking or anything like we had planned, but it was still a fun little weekend trip.

 

This race could have been really hot, so I'm glad for the rain.  It was quite a lot of steep downhill, which made pacing a lot slower than usual hard on the knees, though.

I think that this lovely lady portrays pretty well how soggy it was:

The views were really great. I carried my camera with me and tried to take pictures, but they came out very blurry from rain on the lens + bouncy running.  Here's what it looks like when it's sunny and you're standing still:

Overall, it was a fun little race in a great location. 

Hobbler Half Marathon

A few weekends ago I ran the Hobbler Half Marathon.  It's down by Springville, and I went in thinking it was the same course as the Hobble Creek Half Marathon that I ran last year.
JOKES ON ME!
This course was way more difficult than the one I ran before, even mentally compensating for the drastic downturn my running skills have taken.  It was still a pretty run; just different than I had expected.
It was pretty well organized, but I probably won't do this one again.  The course was just decent and there are other races I enjoy more (and plenty I haven't tried yet!).
Since I had not anticipated a PR by any means, I decided to just run by feel and try to enjoy it. I didn't take my GPS watch or keep track of mile splits.  That left me with a time just a minute faster than the AF half, with a 2:03.  I had been hoping to get back down to sub-2, but that wasn't happening on this course (or with the lack of training).

Anyway, not my best or most fun race, but I guess it was better than pounding the pavement around town.

American Fork Canyon HM: Round 2

I was originally supposed to be the 1:50 pacer for a recent local half marathon.  However, because of my various injuries I didn’t feel comfortable having others rely on my ability and I gave my spot away. Come the day before the race, I had gone to help with the race packets for the pacers and saw my name on one of the bibs- that bib that somebody else would be using. I was really bummed about it, but knew that there would be other races.

That evening around 9pm I was on facebook when a notification popped up from the pace group I’m in.  {Julia} had an extra spot for the race, and was willing to give it away so that it got used! I messaged her right away, and with that, I had a spot back.

QUADS OF DOOM

I rushed to find all of my running stuff and got to bed.  The next morning I met up with her and got my bib!  I wasn’t even sure that I could still run a half, since I hadn’t run farther than 7 miles in about 3 months, with the last long run (14mi) being the one to push my injuries over the top.  I just wanted to finish the race, even if I had to walk most of the way.  I had no idea how it was going to go.

This race is a fundraiser for families who can’ afford cancer treatment. Every dime of the race fees go to the families.  The sponsors cover all of the costs.  

I had a thyroid tumor that was discovered in 2007, right before my senior year of high school.  I had surgery to remove the tumor and half of my thyroid.  I’m very blessed that I had a tumor that tends to stay localized for a long time, and that we caught it early enough for it to not have spread or become malignant.  I have a big  scar on my neck, but I’m tumor free!  

About halfway through the race I knew I was just a bit behind the 1:55 pacer. I had to go to the bathroom and was in a pretty brutal line, so once I set off again I wasn’t sure what my time was.  I had chosen not to wear a watch, because if I had worn one I would have been stressing over how much slower I’ve gotten.  I didn’t see another pacer for the rest of the race, and I forgot to look at the clock when I crossed the finish line.  I grabbed some free food and my medal, and started walking back to the car.  When I got in I estimated that I had gotten somewhere between 2 and 2:10, which is way better than I had expected.  It was by no means a PR (in fact, it's over 20 minutes slower than my best time), but it was a beautiful race for a wonderful cause. I checked later, and I ended up getting a 2:04. That's a lot better than not being able to finish. (In case you’re wondering, I did pay for the original bib, and I made a donation for the second :)

This race was just what I needed to remind me how much I enjoy running.  It’s really annoying being so much slower and having to put in so much more effort, but remembering what I blast I have at races is helping me get back at it.