Then & Now

Graduate school has definitely been an adjustment, but after getting my undergrad 2,000 miles away from home, I am definitely enjoying home. Today I decided to do a "now and then" post...where I will attempt to compare my life as an undergrad in UT to life as a grad student back at home.

THEN I lived a block away from campus and walked to and from school everyday. I used to leave for campus ten minutes before class started, come home during breaks, and walk home when my day was all finished. When I wanted to workout or participate in an event on campus, I would text a friend and walk over. But, whenever I wanted to go home (real home in NC), I had to get a $300-$500 plane ticket, and spend a day on airplanes and in airports in order to do so.

NOW I commute to school four days a week, which is roughly equivalent to 9 hours, 350 miles, and $40 dollars worth of gas every (just in case you were wondering). For the most part, I drive to school, go to class, and come home. I don't do much at all on campus, and spend my free time at/around home. A friend from my graduate cohort told me jokingly that I spent around the same amount of time driving as she spends working as a graduate assistant. Now I find myself thinking about the money I could be making while I drive, haha. As a little related side-note, I will share a newly developed wish of mine. Last week I drove to campus 5 days, and on Thursday I didn't have time to grab lunch. So when classes were finished, I stopped by Chick-fil-a for chicken nuggets and a diet lemonade (delicious). When I hit the highway, I imagined how sweet my life would be if I could put my car on autopilot, and take a nice nap after eating Chick-fil-a on the ride home. Maybe one day in the future, commuting graduate students will enjoy that beautiful luxury :) But, in all honesty, I actually don't mind the drive 90% of the time. Sure, there are days when the drive seems to take foreeeeever, and I haven't hit wintertime yet--but I'm pretty lucky to have nice, scenic drive to and from school. I have found ways to make driving more productive too. I started listening to a General Conference Talk on my way to school (usually followed by thinking/quiet time), and then began rotating the music and NPR stations on the way home. If I can figure out how to free up a little space on my iPhone,  I plan to download a few audiobooks or podcasts in the future. I do a lot of thinking, listening, singing, and talking back to the liberal radio broadcasters while I drive...which can be pretty productive after all.

Okay, moving on. THEN the academic focus was on tests and GPA. NOW the focus is on clinical application.  After 7 weeks in the SLP program, I am finally beginning to appreciate the type of learning that happens in grad school. First off, I absolutely love that my time and effort is no longer spent cramming for exams. Let me say that again because it sounds so good. I LOVE that cramming for exams is no longer the focus of my education.  Instead, there are lots of projects, application activities, and discussions. It's this whole new mindset, where I am thinking about how I will apply the things I am learning when I become a professional. Sometimes I think to myself, "What if a client asks a question about this topic, and I don't know what I am doing?" Needless to say, I am a lot more motivated to listen to lecture. This semester is all classes, but every semester after this one will include clinical placements--finishing with a 12 credit internship. So the clinical application will only become more real with more time.

Continuing with the comparison/contrast.

THEN I enjoyed weekend dance parties, live BYU football, late nights with my roomies, and a student ward. NOW I am loving YSA activities, BYU football from the couch, hanging out with the family, and a family ward.

I want to take a minute to say that Provo is seriously one of a kind when it comes to college life. Due to the fact that the 30,000 students attending BYU agree to live by the Honor Code, students are able to live life as a college student without being constantly surrounded by alcohol, drugs, sex, etc. Although you can find all of those things if you look hard enough, you do have to look for them as opposed to being bombarded with them in the traditional college setting. Students at BYU choose for themselves to attend college in this type of environment, and monitor themselves when it comes to keeping the standards.The Princeton Review even deemed BYU the nation's most 'Stone Cold Sober' University for the 16th year in a row. The Honor Code (and the environment it creates at BYU) was one of the main reasons I chose to attend, and I am so grateful for my experience. I am all about good clean fun! It was nice to have a few years where I was completely surrounded with people that believed the same things that I did. THEN, as a result of the Honor Code, I had a blast in Provo with a lot of amazing friends without worrying about getting myself into risky and/or uncomfortable situations.

 Dance parties were my favorite (especially around Halloween, as you can see to the right), and when the weekends roll around, I still miss getting ready and heading out with my Provo girlies. I had the best roommates at BYU, and my best friends today are those same roomies from freshman year. I loved our chats, movie nights, random puppet shows, stoplight dancing, doughnut dumpster diving, and on and on.  Last of all, because of the large amount of LDS students in the Provo area, our wards (congregations) were made up completely of students (aside from the bishopric), and that was the coolest experience.

Oh, and there's nothing quite like a live BYU football game in LaVelle Edwards Stadium!

NOW, I am getting used to a new group of buddies.  It's great to be back with the friends I grew up with in church youth. We've all gone different ways over the past few years, but I love the group we are getting together. I look forward to attending institute (weekly scripture study), regional activities, pool parties, and so on. We are geographically a lot more spread out than my buddies in Provo, but there's something special about banding together as LDS members in the South. We had a great summer, and there are quite a few activities coming up.

 

NOW, there are 23 girls in my graduate cohort, and I am  getting to know a few of the girls really well. I am really liking our 'table', group snacks, group work, and library study time. They keep me laughing!

It's also great to be back at home with my parents and two younger sisters. I missed out on a few years of family time when I was out at school, and it's nice to be around for birthdays, holidays, shopping trips, and nightly dinners again. My dad's side of the family is also really big, so I couldn't be happier to see them all a lot more regularly (especially for family get-togethers at El Paso Mexican Restaurant).

So NC is going quite well. It's also pretty nice to have my old room back, and a free laundry machine down the hall. And watching BYU football from a cozy couch with my dad and sisters is pretty good too. We even had a kickoff party for the first game of the season. My dad played football for BYU, so he is a lifelong, true blue FAN!



I am back in my family ward now, and I am currently serving with the youth. I am the 1st Counselor in the Young Women's Presidency, and it's the best. I loved the Young Women's program when I was in it, and I love being part of it again. They are so much fun! The Sunday lessons and Wednesday night activities keep me busy and involved, and I learn so much from the girls all the time. I was a little nervous about it at first because I am not much older than a lot of the girls, but it's going great. And being closer to them in age is actually one of the biggest blessings, because we connect with each other on a really special level.


THEN I worked at the most AMAZING place as student employee, and NOW I am starting to substitute teach. My last year at BYU, I landed the perfect on-campus job at the Education In Zion Gallery. EIZ is basically a gallery that beautifully combines art and history to showcase the history of Education in the LDS church as well as the history of Brigham Young University. I worked at the info desk, gave tours, led weekly programs, and had awesome coworkers. One of my favorite parts of the job was my view from the desk at sunset.

NOW I am attempting to work as a substitute teacher. I have all of my paperwork in, and now I am just waiting to get called to sub. I can really only work Fridays because of my school (and driving) schedule, but a little extra money will be greatly appreciated.

There are also a few commonalities that I have noticed among my life THEN and NOW. Both BYU and my current school are surrounded by mountains (just very different kinds). Textbooks are just as expensive in graduate school as they were in undergrad. I still classify myself as a poor college student...(thank goodness for student loans and lots of help from my parents). I still have great friends and family that make up a big part of my life, and I did then.

And with that, I am finished with my "now and then" entry. I could think of lots more, but I this is a good place to stop (I'm afraid you're already bored to tears, haha). It's easy to wish for what you had, and look forward to what will be, but I am trying every day to enjoy the 'right now'. I think that if we don't enjoy today, we will spend all of our lives being unhappy with where we are--always waiting for the next phase to begin. I know that I don't want to live that way. No matter where I am, I will always look for the good in the 'now' while being happy I had such a wonderful 'then'. Cheers to the changes that come along with grad school!

NOW and THEN I was/am definitely busy, happy, and blessed.  

It's Fall Ya'll!

It's been quite a while since my last post, grad school is keeping me busy! 

But Fall is finally here, and I could not be happier! Every time a new season rolls around I find myself saying, "I just love (insert season here), it's my favorite time of the year!" I guess that's because just as one season ends, I am totally and completely ready for the next one to begin. A wonderful Creator knew just what we needed down here on earth :) 

So with September winding down, my sisters and I decided to officially kick-off the season of bonfires, BYU football, pumpkins and colored leaves by sprucing up our fall decorations. 

At BYU, I absolutely LOVED decorating my little apartment for each of the holidays throughout the year. My freshman year, my family mailed me a package of Halloween dish towels, candy dishes, window clings, and a little battery operated Jack-O-Lantern--and I was hooked! I loved making paper crafts for Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter--I love them all! Most of the time I enlisted my lovely roommates, and we had a lot of fun making our apartment cozy and festive for whatever holiday we were celebrating. 

Looking back, my Mom has always had a way of making each holiday fun and special, and I can see now that I acquired my affinity for holiday decorating from her. With my discovery of Pinterest sophomore year of college, the possibilities became endless! So little by little, I DIY-ed, re-purposed, clearance-shopped, and collected my way to my own little set of decorations. Now that I am back home, I haven't been cured of the 'Pinterest bug', and with two sisters who love Pinterest (as much or more than I do), we were pumped for a crafting day. 

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Saturday morning, we headed straight for our local A.C Moore, and a rainy Saturday created quite the crowd. We settled on making fall topiaries for the mantle, cereal-box mummies, and a wreath for the front door. The grapevine wreaths were sold out, but we found everything else that we needed and headed home to let the crafting begin!

First we tackled the topiaries. I found the image below with accompanying directions on the blog Crafts 'n Coffee.The trees on this blog followed a 'candy corn' theme, and were stacked with buttons (super cute). 

 

Using the above blog for a foundation, we decided to put our own little spin on the project.

We left two topiaries flat on the mantle, and raised one on a candle stand that we already owned. We made the tops of the topiaries into points (instead of leaving them flat and stacking buttons on top), and coordinated the colors with our living room rather than sticking to the candy corn theme. The white fall-ish garland that you see in the photo was also found at A.C. Moore (Originally $20 a strand, but on sale for 50% off). We also purchased four little orange berry stems ($0.50 each) to add into the garland for a little extra color. Last of all, we dug up a few candles from the storage room. In the end we created a brand new, custom look for the living room mantle for just under $20. 

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  Next we moved on to the mummy cereal boxes, which turned out to be SUPER cute and easy to make. If you have little kids, this would be a great project for them to help out with. I saw pictures of this project all over Pinterest, so we created our own based on the pictures we saw. 

All you need is a cereal box, match box, or cracker box (or all three, which is what we used), white crepe paper, tape/glue, and googly eyes. We also covered the boxes in white computer paper to make sure that the colors of the boxes didn't shine through. Just wrap up the boxes with the crepe paper and  stick on a pair of cute little googly eyes. 

Wouldn't it be precious to make a mummy for each member of the family??? I also think that different sized googly eyes would be a lot of fun too. 

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The last project was my first completely original creation, so let me know what you think! I love to do homemake-y stuff, but usually modify ideas that I have already seen. This last craft however, was all mine. I wanted to use mason jars for something, but didn't want the mess/wait time of painting, and didn't like the cheap look of wrapping the jars in paper...and with that, my idea was born...

Introducing "Halloween Jar Heads"

 Although you can modify your materials based on what you would like to make, here's what we used:

 

• Clean, empty mason jars with lids. As you can see, we used a variety of sizes.
• Food coloring
• Water
• Card Stock (or construction paper)
• Scissors (we used our Cricut to cut out most of the small shapes, but scissors work too)
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Green pipe cleaners, ribbon, a pencil, or any other materials to make "accessories" for your 'Halloween Jar Heads'

Alrighty, here we go!

After finding clean jars (with lids), drop 1 drop of food coloring into the jar and fill to the rim with water. If you are mixing 2 or more food colors (such as red and blue to make purple), you may want to add 1 drop of each, fill with water, and then pour out water and re-add new water until you get a color that is nice and bright. Basically, a little food coloring goes a LONG way. 

As a lovely side note, another 'first' occurred for me during this project when I finished working with the food coloring and managed NOT to get any on my fingers :) Success? Um, yes.

Okay, next step...

 

After filling the jars, tightly screw on the lids. For the pumpkin Jar Head, I added a curled pipe cleaner (to create the curl, I wrapped it around a pencil) and green ribbon around the rim to create the "vine". For Frankenstein, I measured around the rim with a piece of black card stock a cut a jagged pattern with scissors around the top of the strip of paper for hair, and then glued it around the rim.  

And onto more accessories...

 

My sister Kate created the "Mad Scientist" Jar Head, and my littlest sister Jen designed the Witch. I didn't take pictures of all of the accessory steps, but for the Mad Scientist's hair, Kate cut slits in a strip of paper, ruffled them up, and glued it around the rim. 

For the witch, Jen cut out a circle with the Cricut, and rolled a small piece of paper into a cone shape. She then glued the cone to the paper circle,  and attached it onto the top of the jar. To spruce it up a little, she glued on little paper shapes. I think glitter would also be a great addition to the witch's hat. 

Frank was my favorite :)

To create the 'bolts' in Frank's neck, I rolled two, 2'' pieces of black construction paper tightly around a pencil and then glued one to either side of his neck. 

For the eyes, nose, and mouth, we just used basic shapes from the Cricut and assembled them with hot glue. If I were at college (and without a Cricut), I would have traced shapes on paper because I am definitely type-A...and I love for things to be perfectly symmetric. But do what works for you, even stickers could be a great and simple way to create faces on the Jar Heads.

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Aren't they all cute? I hope that you have as much fun making them as we did. Good luck creating your own Halloween Jar Heads! Let me know if you have any questions, I'd love to see what ya'll come up with!

PS--Add a strand of white Christmas lights and dim the lights for the full effect. In our house we love fall, and basically any excuse to put up a few decorations :)

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Happy 25th Anniversary Mom & Dad

On July 19, 1988 my parents were married in the Washington D.C. (Latter Day Saint) Temple for time and all eternity. This temple is pictured to the left. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we believe that families can be together forever through the proper authority. Families are the cornerstone of our Faith. I am so grateful that my parents valued their marriage enough to make it eternal, and I look forward to making the same commitment to my future sweetheart. Chances are, you've seen an LDS temple somewhere in the world, as their are currently 170 LDS temples in operation, under construction, or that have been announced. Before LDS temples are dedicated, they are open for public tours for a brief time. If you know of a temple that is currently under construction, take the opportunity to visit it during the open house--you won't regret it.  Click here to learn more about LDS Temples.

Yesterday my parents celebrated 25 years of marriage, and my sisters and I wanted to do something special for the occasion.We decided to pool our resources and hold a "reception" for parents to attend after they returned from dinner. Although we could have invited friends and family, we decided to include only the members of our immediate family (my parents usually prefer it that way). The three of us make a great team, and the older we get the more we are able to do!

A few days ago we took a trip to Mighty Dollar, and discovered what an AMAZING little gem that little store truly is. The paper goods, pastry holders, and the "Just Married" banner were just a few of the treasures we found there. 

We decided to create a dessert bar, and used my parents' original wedding colors as the theme. We collected wedding pictures and family pictures from around the house to scatter around the kitchen. And hung a string of Christmas lights and blue tool above the "Just Married" banner that's hanging over the window sill. We dug up the candles and lace tablecloth from the storage room, and the desserts were the last piece of the puzzle.

After scouring pinterest, personal recipes, and the internet in general, my sister Katie narrowed down several recipes for the "reception". 

1) Wedding Cake. 

We used Aunt Zondra's "secret family recipe" for the cake. Maybe one day I will spill the beans...but it's not likely ;) Just know that a "Zondra Cake" is the best cake you will ever eat. Our mom requested the cake, but she had no idea that we had a whole evening planned to go along with it. The silver "25" was the most expensive item of the night, ringing up at $14 from AC Moore. Luckily, we applied a 40% off coupon, which brought the price down quite a bit. And the white cake topper was saved from my parents' original wedding cake, which made for a nostalgic addition to the whole theme of the night. 

2) Sangria (nonalcoholic).

You can see the punch bowl full of sangria in a couple of the pictures I've posted. Several years ago in a high school Spanish class, I was introduced to Sangria and I fell in love. Below is the recipe we used. It's best if you can let the concoction set in the fridge for at least 24 hours, but we didn't have the time and it still tasted great. We created our own combo for the Sangria this time.

Ingredients

• 4 cups of apple juice
• 2 cups orange juice
• 4 cups of grape juice
• 2 whole orange
• 1 fuji apple
• 2 limes
• 2 lemons

Directions:

Combine the juices into a large pitcher or punch bowl. Thinly slice the apple, oranges, limes, and lemons and float them in the pitcher/punch bowl. Voila! You're all done :) If you would like to add a little carbonation to the Sangria, a little gingerale or sprite does the trick.

3) Coconut Macaroons. 

This is one of my mom's all-time favorite treats, so we couldn't leave it out. Here's the website where we found the recipe, but I included it below just to make it a little easier on all of ya'll (you're welcome). Also, the little papers that the macaroons are sitting in are from Mighty Dollar, and they are actually "Wilson" brand :)

Ingredients

• (3) large egg whites
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• (1) 14-ounce package sweetened shredded coconut (about 5 cups)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
2. Vigorously whisk together the egg whites, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl until glossy, foamy, and the sugar is mostly almost dissolved. Fold in the coconut, stirring until evenly combined.
3. Using a small ice cream scoop, drop the batter in mounds (about 2 tablespoons each) 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through, until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes; let cool completely. The macaroons will keep for up to 5 days at room temperature in an airtight container.

4. Homemade McDonald's Strawberry Cream Pies

This summer my dad heard about McDonald's strawberry cream pies, and they are pretty much amazing. Think about McDonald's apple pies, and then think of something 1000X yummier...and that's a strawberry cream pie. They are warm and gooey and cream cheesy...MMM! We combined online recipes with the taste of the McDonald's delicacy and we struck gold. 

  Ingredients

• 1 package of puff pastry (found near the pie crusts in the freezer section of the grocery store)
• Strawberry jam
• 1 package of cream cheese

Directions
1. Cut the puff pastry into 3'' x 5'' rectangles (approximately)
2. Place pastry rectangles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (leaving 1''-2'' between pastry)
3. Spread the cream cheese on half of the pastry, and then
add a layer of the strawberry jam on top of the cream cheese.
4. Fold the non-jam/cream cheese covered half of the pastry over the side that is covered with jam and cream cheese. Cut a small slit in the top of the pastry to allow for venting
5. Bake according to the directions on the puff pastry package.

5. Colored French Macaroons

My sister Kate found this recipe so that we could add a little 'something blue' to the dessert bar. They are light and a little crunchy, and oh so delicious. Original recipe found here. Katie added a little blue food coloring to the cookies and the filling. She used left over icing from the "Zondra Cake", but a simple butter cream icing or even a store bought can of whipped frosting would be quite yummy too.

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites
• 6 tablespoons superfine sugar
• 1 cup finely ground almonds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely ground almonds
• 1 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 320 degrees F (160 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
2. Whisk egg whites in a clean metal mixing bowl until thick, about 5 minutes; whisk the superfine sugar into the egg whites until thick, glossy, and the mixture holds stiff peaks, 5 to 8 more minutes. Place a sieve over the bowl containing egg whites and sieve both amounts of almond meal and confectioners' sugar into the egg white mixture. Gently fold the almond meal and confectioners' sugar into the egg whites, retaining as much air as possible.
3. Separate the meringue into separate bowls to flavor and color, if desired. Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a 3/8-inch tip. Pipe 1-inch disks of meringue onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
4. Let the cookies stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes to form a thin skin. Pick up the baking sheets and let drop from several inches above the work surface to adhere cookies to the baking sheets.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until tops are dry, about 15 minutes; let cool completely on the baking sheets before peeling off the parchment paper.

 6.Peaches and Cream Spiced Cream Puffs

 I discovered this recipe while taking a cooking class at BYU. Cream puffs can be a little tricky to make, and they are also a little time consuming...but they are quite delicious! This was the only recipe that I was in charge of, my sisters took care of the rest. Kate is quite the chef, and Jen does a great job too :)
Ingredients: 

   Puff Pastry

• 1/2 cup margerine
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/6 tsp. ginger
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup water
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 eggs

   
     Filling

• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons peach preserves
• 1/2 tsp. almond exract

Directions (puff pastry):

1. In a medium saucepan, combine margarine, water, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Bring to a boil.
2. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook until a ball forms that won't separate 
3. Remove from heat, cool for 10 minutes
4. Add eggs one at a time, stirring with a sturdy wooden spoon until smooth after each addition. The dough will be very thick and difficult to stir. 
5. Drop heaping tablespoons, 3'' apart, onto a greased baking sheet
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes, until golden brown. Remove puffs to a cooling rack. Turn off oven.
7. Let puffs cool in the turned-off oven for 10 minutes (this will help dry them out)
8. When cool, cut 1/4 off the top of each puff. Scoop out any soft dough inside.

Directions (filling)

1. Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form (5-7 minutes on high speed should do the trick). Gradually add 1/4 cup powered sugar.
2. Add the cream cheese, almond extract, and peach preserves. Continue blending until smooth.
3. Fill each cream puff with peach filling mixture, replace tops and sprinkle with powdered sugar (for this occasion, we sprinkled them with caramel ice cream topping).

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Before Mom and Dad left, Kate placed a "reception" invitation above the visor in the car. When they got home, Jen created an 80s station on Pandora, and the fun began. The sun was just setting, so the whole kitchen looked beautiful. We were super proud with the way that everything turned out, and I think that Mom and Dad were genuinely surprised and flattered. Again, I just have to say that I am so grateful for the wonderful example that my parents have set for me and my sisters. Marriage and family are so important, and in a world that is quickly turning away from both--it's great to have wonderful parents to remind me what marriage and family are supposed to be.

Cheers to another 25 happy years of marriage for my parents!

About Me

Hey there! My name is Mindy! Born and raised in rural North Carolina, I recently returned to my southern roots after graduating from Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. I received a Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders, moved back home, and got accepted to Master's program in Speech Pathology beginning Fall of 2013. The transition from life in a town of  more than 50,000 predominately LDS college students, back to life in a small town as a commuting graduate student is full of surprises and challenges that I am coming to embrace.

It is so good to be home! My family, friends, beliefs, and education define me. Part of a big extended family, and raised in the Latter Day Saint Faith, I feel grounded in the person I am today. I am also the oldest of three girls in my family, so I am so happy to be back in the house with my both of my closest buddies. Although my other best friends live across the country (one unintended consequence of attending college 2,000 miles away from home), and I have a Bachelor's--friends and school are also still a major part of my life.

I like to stay busy, so even when I have down time, you will find me reading a good book, organizing, trying out a new recipe, experimenting with a new hairstyle, watching college sports, clearance shopping, experimenting with eye makeup, walking my dog, volunteering with the youth at my church, or just updating and improving something in my life.

I hope to share my spin on DIY projects, fashion and beauty, friends, faith, fun and everything in between. Within the LDS culture, a 'Molly Mormon' is a term that we use to poke fun at the laughable stereotype of a "perfect" Mormon female. Although I am far from perfect, everyday I am becoming a little better, and trying to find a balance between 'Molly Mormon' and 'just me'.
Who does that leave me? Mindy Mormon.