my kate goes to prom

things have been busy, busy, busy around the pennington home with mom working nights and the cobwebs have taken over here on my blog. more of a famine than a feast, lol, but i thought i would take a few minutes to post some pics of kate and ben before they left for his senior prom. this was such a fun experience for me as well as kate, since i never enjoyed going to a prom myself. ben came to pick her up and take her to where they were meeting about five or six other couples for the limo ride to dinner and then to prom. she did not have her corsage yet in our pics but it had pink roses and green ribbon. they rode to northern ky in a hummer limo to have dinner at the radison (the restaurant that rotates) then off to prom. they went to after prom also. they had a wonderful time!

Recipe: Light Chinese Cabbage Salad

i haven't posted anything new in a couple of weeks and don't feel inspired to write anything at the moment but tonight at byd, the topic of this salad came up. it's katie's fave and she would founder on it if she could. it's a much healthier lighter version of the original recipe and we just love it! hope you try and it and love it too!

Light Chinese Cabbage Salad
1/4 c. sliced toasted almonds
1/3 c. toasted sesame seeds (you can buy them already toasted in the oriental section of the grocery store)
1 lg. head of Napa cabbage (best to go by weight rather than size)
6 sliced green onions (more if you like onion)
1 pkg. of Ramen noodles crushed (just throw away the seasoning packet)

Dressing
2 tbls. salad oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)
1 tbls. soy sauce
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. seasoned white rice vinegar

Toast the almonds by placing them in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, until they are a light tan color to enhance the flavor (or you can put them on a cookie sheet in the oven too). Set aside to cool.
Combine the dressing ingredients and stir until dissolved. I make a double batch and put it in a quart sized mason jar and shake it until dissolved.
Chop cabbage and onions and keep in a large bowl until ready to serve. One hour before serving add almonds, sesame seeds, and ramen noodles to the dressing and shake occasionally. Add dressing to the cabbage and toss the salad. Makes approximately 10 servings, unless Katie and Nicole are there for dinner. :)

about the passing of our prophet...

i posted the following comment in regards to the passing of our beloved prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, on my friend eric's blog and decided i wanted to post it on my blog as well. i know it's old news to most but it's important to me to share my thoughts, however belated.

i cried tears of gratitude when i watched some of the dedication footage at his funeral services via the internet. i am so grateful that although i never met the man personally, i felt i knew him. i love him and adore him. he was a spiritual giant and such an amazing man and example and what a blessing he has been to us all. i'll never forget the first time i heard him speak at a women's broadcast when i was investigating the church. he changed my opinion of men forever.

it is a comfort to know that he has been reunited with the love of his life, Marjorie and that hopefully i will see him again some day.

God bless our Gordon B. Hinckley!

lost and found...

there have been 97 posts created by my blogging friends since i was last on here. my, you have all been so busy!

i've been a bit busy too. busy being sick (yuck, i've never had a cold hold on for that long in years!). and i also applied for a job and got it so I had to go through the interview process and begin training while dealing with said awful cold. but i survived and i'm busy as ever and lovin it.

i'm working at bob evans as a server. yes, a waitress. i had a lot of experience doing that from my younger years and when i decided i wanted to go to work again part-time i just felt like it was what i wanted to do. i didn't want to start a career. i just wanted a part-time job that i could go and do and go home at the end of the day. i wanted to make more money than i had at my previous part-time jobs and most importantly, i wanted to be active. i dislike sedentary jobs. so going back to serving just seemed like the thing to do.

i applied at a couple of my favorite local restaurants, outback and red lobster, but for one reason or another they were not interested in employing me. then a dear friend of mine gave me a gift card to bob evans knowing that i love to eat there as well and when we went to the cash register at the end of the meal, there lay a stack of applications on the counter. i asked what positions they were hiring and the cashier said, "servers." hmmm, i thought. then i asked if they were looking for day or evening servers and she replied, "evening." what a coinky-dink. that's just what i was looking for too. so i applied and the rest is history. i'm working at the cincy mills store and i really like it. they had no problems with me asking for weekends off either which i'm thrilled about. it's the easiest restaurant i've ever worked in because of they way it is organized. i've really been impressed with their operation. works for me anyway!

new year recommend and my resolution

i just gotta share something i've tried that i'm hoping will help me achieve my weight loss goal for the new year. i've tried the turbo jam workout and it is sooo fun you don't even realize your working out. it's tough though, and challenging and i can see that if i use it along with other forms of exercise that i enjoy, i will have a chance of obtaining that seemingly ever allusive goal of both health and a healthy looking body. if your looking for something fun, this is it! you just gotta give yourself time to work into it, learn the moves and routines, and understand that if you could do it perfectly and easily in the beginning, it wouldn't be worth the money you paid for it. oh, and a BIG thank you to erin kingrey for letting me borrow her dvd's to see if i'd like it. i LOVE it!!!

the only thing i've not been successful doing is dieting. i love food, and not just the healthy stuff either (as if that wasn't obvious enough!). i've tried a few diets and diet plans and i've come to the conclusion that it really just boils down to the fact that you cannot take in more calories than you burn, period. it doesn't matter whether they're fat calories, protein calories, or carb calories, the bottom line is don't eat too much. and the older you get, the less you need. it is also important to get a good balance of carbs/proteins/fats. all of these are important, and it is especially important to get good fat into your diet. and of course, i believe it is necessary to supplement in order to make up what my body needs as far as vitamins, minerals, and nutrients so that i can stay strong and healthy.

well, that's my plan and i'm sticking to it!

I believe...

I believe - That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I believe - That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe - That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe - That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I believe - That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I believe - That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe - That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe - That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I believe - That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe - That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe - That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe - That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe - That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I believe - That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe - That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I believe - That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe - That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe - That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe - That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe - That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I believe - Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe - That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I believe - That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

I believe - That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe - That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

a new beginning

i know most of you heard my testimony in church the day i was released and you know that i really loved serving the families in our ward as the rs president. louann, elaine, and patty all gave me tons of love and support and anything that was accomplished was because of them. they were simply the best. i had the greatest sisters serving in the organization and i appreciate the effort that is made as all the sisters in rs work together to lift and support each other. you definately see things in a different perspective when you serve in a leadership position. i hope that someday...far far away (lol) that i'll have another chance to serve as a leader again (doesn't have to be the president, though, lol)

i am very excited about my new calling as a sunday school teacher for the 14-15 year olds in our ward. this past sunday was our first class and it couldn't have been better. i will be losing a few of the kids at the first of the year and that saddens me cause i'd hold on to them all if i could but there will be some new ones coming in too. i love to be with our youth and am grateful for the opportunity the Lord has given me to learn along with them. this is going to be a wonderful experience...i know it.