Tracie's World

When people ask where I grew up, I always say "it's complicated". We lived in several places over the years, one of which was Iowa. When people really press me, I usually say that I'm from Iowa and Oregon. Even though we only lived in Iowa a few years, we have a lot of family there, and I've been back a number of times. Anyhoo - being as we were from Iowa, our family was always Iowa Hawkeyes fans. There were two college teams we always rooted for, BYU (it's a Mormon thing), and Iowa. To this day, I still root for Iowa. Despite this pedigree, I decided to go to Penn State to pursue my Grad program. And even though I've never set foot in Happy Valley, I've developed a certain fondness for it. So yesterday, when my Nittany Lions traveled to Iowa City to take on my beloved Hawkeyes, I was faced with a dilemma. Who to root for? This is how I solved it: I put on my gear, and rooted for both. It may seem that I was hedging my bets, and you ...

Last night was our semi-annual General Women's meeting, and I was extremely fortunate to be able to attend in the Conference Center with my friend Rebekah, and her friend Colleen. The talks from our Sister leaders and from President Uchtdorf were magnificent. It was such a wonderful evening. I can't wait for the rest of General Conference next weekend.

It's been a few weeks maybe since I last posted some Toby pictures. So here, for your viewing pleasure, I present some recent pictures. Apparently these are the only pictures I take anymore. This seems like it would be an uncomfortable position Taking a one-eyed nap Waving goodbye in the morning Giving the dreamy bedroom eyes look Don't bother me, I'm napping Hey, what you doing down there?

Temps this morning were in the 40's, and it felt like a perfect morning to cook up some Huevos Rancheros. I made mine similar to how I make shakshouka, only in this case, I used a can of black beans, some diced greed chilies, corn, and a few tomatoes, in a mole sauce. I sort of fudged on the mole sauce - I used mild enchilada sauce, and added a little bit of cocoa, cinnamon, chili powder, and cumin. Cooked that all up, then cracked in a couple of eggs. I served it all on a flour tortilla (I am all out of corn tortillas) that I had heated up in a frying pan. It was delicious! Hearty, and definitely took the chill away. Gonna have to make this more often.

Pulled out of my garage the other morning, after a stormy night, to see the most amazing rainbow. It was such a great way to start the day that I had to get a picture. Apparently it was on display for miles around, as I had multiple friends, some as far as Davis County, who all got pictures of it. 

Recently, two sisters in my ward, grown women like myself, were awarded their Young Womanhood Recognition medallions in Sacrament Meeting. This medallion is (normally) given to young women who pursue a program of setting and achieving goals, known as Personal Progress. For those of use who are LDS, it's generally considered a coming of age accomplishment, sort of like getting your Eagle Scout Award. Now, in the spirit of true confessions, I never got my Young Womanhood award. I had an awful lot going on during my Junior High and High School years, and just never got around to it. When I first went to Ricks College, and then BYU, I did feel a little out of place for not having it, but after awhile, it didn't really matter anymore, or so I thought. But as I saw these ladies get their medallions, it sort of started to matter again. Well this week I found out there is good news. Any woman can indeed get it, as long as they pursue the program as outlined for the Young Women. So ...

The old lady across the hall fell and broke her hip a couple of months ago, and word came the other day that her children are moving out her things and will try to put her place on the market very soon. With that little tidbit of information, I decided it was high time for a total redo of our shared entry. I've been aching to do it for quite a long time now. I immediately tore out the old white table that was glued and nailed to the wall (with a little help from Cyndee), then went out and bought some decorations. I also ordered a new table from Amazon. I spent Labor Day putting the table together, and repairing the wall. I still need to install the new light fixture, and although the table's a bit large for the space, and the walls could use a coat of paint, I love how it's all come together so far. Hopefully this will warm up the entry, and make it more inviting for potential buyers.

A few weeks ago, Toby went to see the vet, to get all his shots updated. I wanted to make sure he was weighed, and I was really excited to see what progress we'd made with getting his weight under control the last few months. However, to our shock and dismay, he had gained two pounds, and was heavier than when I got him. The vet gave us a little proverbial slap on the hand, told us to get his weight under control, and off we went. We got home, and trying my best to be a responsible pet owner, I immediately went to work on cutting back his food. We tried 1/4 cup three times a day, but boy, he did not like that, and he let me know it. After a consult with awesome sister-in-law #1, I've settled in at 1/3 cup in the morning and before bedtime, and 1/4 for a later afternoon snack. He's done a little better on that regimen, but boy, has he been one unhappy kitty ever since. He stands at his empty bowl whining, and has even been known to whine at my door loud enough to wake me d...

I've been reflecting this morning on this past summer, and what I have to show for it. Maybe it's that September is upon us, and that means summer is waning. Typically, there are a lot of fun outdoor activities to report on, but they have felt few and far between. In fact, for the most part, it's been a downright difficult few months, and I haven't paid much attention to anything else. One of my sisters and her family live in the Houston area, and we all know what Houston has been put through this past week. Devastating floods and other difficulties resulting from Hurricane Harvey have severely impacted her LDS ward, with many families losing homes and possessions. But at the same time, she has felt immensely blessed, and there's been a huge outpouring of support for their area. This has been so true for me as well during this last few months. Throughout all the difficulties, I've had the support of ward members, and friends, and family, and even stranger...