Women and the Priesthood

After many many months, I've finally finished "Women and the Priesthood" by Sheri Dew.

Some of the insights (either quotes from her or others) I liked from the book were:

• Although women are not ordained to the priesthood, they "have countless opportunities in the Church to lead, pray, teach, preach, and expound doctrine, including as full-time, proselyting missionaries...many privileges that require ordination in other churches."
• Considering the circumstances under which the Relief Society Organization was formed, "it was in stark contrast to the conventions of the day for the leader of an organization--any organization, not to mention the leader of a religion--to give women significant time and attention."
• "For every woman, the challenge is one of discerning the Lord's will for her and then following the promptings of the Spirit. None of our divine errands are exactly the same."
• "Jesus honored womanhood when he came to this earth as a little child through the sacred and glorious agency of motherhood."
• "Mothers go missing in movies because leaving them in the lives of characters in crisis makes sustaining conflict difficult. Mothers listen and understand, solve problems and resolve conflicts. They are selfless and love without conditions. You want to stir up a heap of trouble and make it believable? Better keep Mom out of it."

This book gave me a lot to ponder about, and I appreciated many more quotes than the ones I listed above.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

The Final Countdown

Notice the paper chain getting smaller?

We are so ready for this baby to come! In fact, I've been getting so stir-crazy that I've started relating random music lyrics to labor. For example, A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton: "You know I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you tonight" sounds like the desperate attempt by a pregnant woman to get that baby out ASAP so she can see it in person.

Rhetorically,

Rebekah

Mary's Christmas

Since I'm great with child this holiday season, I've done a lot of reflecting on what Mary's Christmas must have been like. Since it was her first pregnancy and all, I wonder how it went for her. Did she have all the normal pregnancy symptoms? Was she already having contractions when they were wandering the streets of Bethlehem? Did she even know she was in labor? Was she as sick of being pregnant as I am and just couldn't wait to see her baby in person? How much practice did she have with swaddling clothes, anyway?

I pondered all of this as Matt and I were able to be Joseph and Mary in our family's annual Christmas pageant.  

It was also fun to think about Mary's relationship with her cousin Elizabeth as they were both pregnant. My cute sister-in-law played Elizabeth for the pageant (see us out of costume below) and the scriptures took on new meaning as I thought about my relationship with her and how we've gotten closer through our pregnancies. 

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

If you're looking for a good children's book to read for the holidays, I highly recommend this one. I took us just a few weeks to read (reading two-three chapters a week). 

The Best Christmas Pageant is about a family of rowdy, bully-ish kids who decide to participate in the annual Christmas pageant by taking all the main roles. Having never heard the Christmas Story before, they bring new light to the story that is well-known to so many of us. 

Some of my favorite lines from the book are:

• "Hey! Unto you a child is born!" Gladys hollered, as if it was, for sure, the best news in the world. And all the shepherds trembled, sore afraid--of Gladys, mainly, but it looked good anyway.
• As far as I'm concerned, Mary is always going to look a lot like Imogene Herdman--sort of nervous and bewildered, but ready to clobber anyone who laid a hand on her baby.
• When Imogene had asked me what the pageant was about, I told her it was about Jesus, but that was just part of it. It was about a new baby, and his mother and father who were in a lot of trouble--no money, no place to go, no doctor, nobody they knew. 

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Small Notes

Dear Finals,
I hated you. But I only have to take one of you next semester and then I GRADUATE. Take that.
-Burnt Out

Dear Baby,
Congratulations~ you've reached full-term! Fell free to come out anytime...
-Not Sleeping Anyway

Dear Amazon.com,
You've really been there for me with Christmas shopping and the Baby Registry. Thanks.
-The Lazy Shopper

Dear Christmas Break,
I'm glad I caught up to you. I waited 5 hours for you.  So, good news - I saw a dog today. Have you seen a dog? You probably have.
-Buddy the Elf


Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Hot chocolate

Hot Chocolate is one of my favorite things in the winter. Over the past several weeks, I've experimented with different add-ins to the classic milk chocolate mix. My favorites so far are: vanilla ice cream, cookies and cream ice cream, eggnog ice cream, the these truffles. And no, I do not recommend adding everything I listed at the same time. 

In addition to making our own hot chocolate, we recently went to Juice n' Java and tried out their gourmet white hot chocolate and snickerdoodle hot chocolate. (I preferred the snickerdoodle). 

What's your favorite hot chocolate flavor/ add-in?

Rhetorically,

Rebekah

Life of Pi

After almost four months, we've finally finished reading Life of Pi! We also watched the movie for the first time last night. So, here's my movie/book review:

I thought they did a really good job with the movie. Obviously they couldn't put everything in there, so I think they made the best decisions on what to include and what to leave out. After having read the book and knowing all of the details, I felt like the movie packed in as much information as it could and it seemed like it was over before I knew it!

Another thing I appreciated about the movie is that it was only rated PG. It could have easily been a higher rating had they chosen to include all the gory details from the book. But they didn't, and I'm glad. They still got the message across without having to be graphic.

Moving on to the actual book, I definitely did not see the end coming. Perhaps I should have expected a surprise, as the author already set a precedent by waiting until the second part to reveal that Richard Parker is actually a Tiger. After finishing the book I was initially dissatisfied, but after talking over the themes and symbolism with Matt and watching the movie, I concede that it was a good writing tactic. A good book leaves you wanting to re-read it. One way of accomplishing this is by changing your perspective in the last few pages.

Anyway, the biggest theme we noticed was "opposition in all things." Pi talks about how in times of rain, he wanted sunlight; and in times of heat, he wanted rain. While he realized the benefits that each brought, he also noticed the drawbacks. As far as the symbolism of the island is concerned, I think it is a representation of Pi's lifestyle on the boat and a personification of his realization that he needed to get back to civilization and shouldn't acquiesce to a life at sea.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Monday Night Projects

The nursery is finally getting organized

welcome to our christmas decorations

can you identify everything?

Rhetorically,

Rebekah

Maleficent

Yes, it's taken us that long to finally see the movie Maleficent. Overall, I really enjoyed the creativity of the writers in explaining a plausible back story while still weaving in elements of the original disney movie. I especially enjoyed the portrayal of the three fairies as inept, and the twist where Maleficent ends up taking care of Aurora and raising her from afar. While I did predict several of the "plot twists" I enjoyed the movie overall.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Maternity Photo Shoot

I'm officially at 35 weeks!

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Big Hero 6

This year's Thanksgiving Movie was Big Hero 6. Besides the message about forgiveness and healing, I also loved all of the quotable lines, like the one from this scene.

Also, a few other quotes I liked-

• Fred: If I could have any superpower right now, it would be to be able to go through that phone and give you a big hug.
• Baymax: This may undermine my non-threatening, huggable design.
• GoGo: There's no red lights in a car chase!

I also appreciate that they have started doing shorts before all disney movies, instead of just pixar movies.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

2014 Top Thanksgiving Memories

1. Watching Big Hero 6
2. Winning at Pinocle
3. Uncle John trying to tell a Thanksgiving memory and his family interrupting every other sentence
4. Cranberry Jello Salad
5. Kristi's pregnancy joke: "When's the basketball due?"

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Favorite Family Games

Here's a "picture list" of games we've played recently:

Welcome to the Holidays!

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Law Class Descriptions for the Non-Law Student: Part 3

They've officially started doing student ratings during class, which supposedly means I've learned enough to reflect and evaluate a class effectively. While I'm not going to post my ratings here, I would like to give a brief overview of what I've been learning about this semester.

I took a full load of 5 classes:

• Political Asylum (for more info on this class, click here) 
• Civil Rights- when I first signed up for this class, I expected it to be more about the civil rights movement. Instead, we've focused on how the Civil Rights Act created governmental accountability in various sectors: prison officials/ police officers, foster parents, school teachers, etc. 

• Employment Law- what are the laws governing job interviews, employment offers and pay, and firing procedures? I've learned a lot about them in this class, and it all boils down to laws on discrimination.

• Criminal Procedure: Adjudication- This class covers the sentencing process once someone has been arrested. For example, what is the role of the prosecutor and defense counsel? When is a judge used instead of a jury? What sentencing guidelines are there to determine the punishment? Should the death penalty remain in place?

• Plenary Power- This is the unwritten but assumed power the federal government has over areas such as immigration, native americans, international war power, and treaty making. This class was one of my favorites, as each week we were able to listen to a scholar present a work in progress in one of the areas of plenary power. 

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

*This is part of a post series. For the last post, click here. 

Daily Disney Dose

Brought to you by Disney Blogs and Pocket Princesses.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Nesting

There are two kinds of nesting: gathering essentials for the nest and the general instinct to get random things done. Up to this point, I'd say I've been nesting in the former category (if at all). Mostly I've just been researching online like crazy to make sure I get good quality essentials for the nursery. 

However, on Friday I fell prey to the second nesting category: I organized our receipts. We've been shoving them into a file or a grocery bag for the past six months, and it was getting out of hand. So I went through and organized the receipts by month, putting each stack in an envelope and filing them away. As I went through them, it was fun to remember everything that's happened over the past six months. Like how I ate out for the month of May, because I had morning sickness and usually didn't want anything we had at home when I was actually up to eating. Or how we went out to Brick Oven on our birthdays. I saw the receipts from our trip to Oregon and all the places we went there. I found receipts for wedding gifts, frozen yogurt runs, and random shopping trips. It was almost like flipping through a journal, in a way. 

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Baby at 34 Weeks

Your baby's the size of a butternut squash!

At less than two months to go, he weighs in at about 4.2 pounds to 5.8 pounds and measures about 17.2 to 18.7 inches.

your baby at 34 weeks

• He's recognizing and reacting to simple songs, if you're singing them. 
• He's also urinating about a pint a day.

     *Information from The Bump



Rhetorically,
Rebekah

ill

It's no fun to be ill and pregnant. You're limited in what medicines you can take, plus you're tired and have congestion anyway.

I've had a cold for the past few days, and it finally kicked into high gear. I'm hoping I can recover in time for Thanksgiving break- it's also no fun to be sick over the holidays.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Stump the Professor

I wrote about advertising for Stump the Professor last year, so this year I wanted to write about what happens at the actual event. So, here were some of the best questions from the event today:

What Supreme Court Justice is known for installing an ice cream machine in the cafeteria? Justice Kagan

Who had the most influence in writing the preamble to the constitution? Gouverneur Morris

What was the cause of death of Pademe (from Star Wars)? Lost the will to live

What are the middle names of Pres. Worthen and Pres. Gordon? J and Douglas

What is the basis for measuring a meter? 1 ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the north pole

Name two of the following: Utah's state rock, state mineral, or state gem? Coal, copper, topaz

What does the acronym FOMO stand for? Fear of missing out

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Political Asylum

Today I had my final presentation for my political asylum class, where I gave an 8 minute oral argument arguing in favor of an alien receiving political asylum.

This has been one of my favorite classes this semester, mostly because we have a professor who is a former immigration judge and who gives us practical advice and practice. Even though I have had experience with asylum through my various internships, I have learned so much by being able to study the topic in depth this semester. I now feel confident that I can analyze an asylum claim to determine whether or not it has a chance in court, and then advise a client accordingly. I can't wait to be an attorney when I can do this for real!

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Everyday Heroes

Mitt Romney spoke in a forum today on BYU campus. While I didn't attend in person, I did watch most of his speech online. He talked about everyday heroes that he encountered during his campaign.
For example,

"At one of my first speeches in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the applause from the audience was instigated by someone with a loud, piercing shout. "Isn't he wonderful?" she would yell. Or, "we love you, Mitt!" "You're the best!" I can assure you, I was as pleased as I was startled.

After my remarks, a delightful middle aged woman named Joni Scotter made her way to the small stage and threw her arms around me. This was the first time I met Joni, but it was far from the last. Over the campaign years, I have seen Joni dozens of times. She drives to wherever I may be in eastern Iowa. And at every speech, her enthusiastic squeals of support energize both me and the audience. She is my hero." 

For the full text of his speech, click here.

What did I learn from these remarks? To be grateful for the everyday heroes in my life, particularly those who read my blog. You are my heroes. Thank you for your support and interest in my life.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Cloth Diapers

Had you asked me several years ago if I would ever consider cloth diapering, my answer would have been "no." But as they often do, opinions change over time. After considerable research, we are taking a leap of faith and committing to cloth diapering. Mentally. I have yet to buy and use the actual diapers.

Here are my reasons for using cloth diapers:

1. Saves money (the initial downpayment is higher, but it saves in the long run. also, we may live in an apartment where we pay a flat rate so I don't have to worry about utilities going up)
2. Health benefits to baby (supposedly, less diaper rash and fewer blowouts)
3. Eco-friendly (less energy to wash diapers than to take out bags of trash)

And that's about it. If I were to change the font size of the three reasons to emphasize importance, number one would be in 100 pt font, number two would be in 30 pt font, and number three would be in 10 point font. We'll see how it goes!

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Restaurant Review: El Tropical

There's a Dominican Restaurant that just opened up in Provo! "El Tropical" is at 40 W 400 N, Provo, UT. Matt and I decided to try it out yesterday. We ordered mostly fried food, since that was the most common for missionaries to have (and the food I most enjoyed on my mission).

I give them an A+ on empanadas. They were so good we ate them before I remembered to take a picture. The drinks were also great, although I'll have to go back when they have chinola juice (they were out at the time). The quipe was a lot bigger than I expected, so if you're planning on sampling it, one will probably suffice.  We ordered one platter of pica pollo con tostones, which was more than enough for the two of us. So for main dishes, expect big portion sizes. Overall, it was a good dining experience. They offer San Cocho on Wednesdays and Fridays, so we'll be going back sometime to try that out as well.

The best part was using my Spanish to order food! Our waitress was Dominican, and she was very attentive. I'm so glad I still understood the accent and slang words after being back for over 2 years.

For all you RMs from the Dominican, I'd recommend you try this place out. Then you can tell me what dishes you really enjoyed.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Baby Shower

The day finally came!!! I've been looking forward to my baby shower for MONTHS, ever since my amazing cousin offered to be in charge back in August. It seemed so far away at the time. I was thrilled to see family and friends, and especially grateful for their support. And now, I will barrage you with pictures:

Jen really outdid herself with the decorations

And the desserts- oreo truffles, cupcakes, and cookies

We had an awesome turnout-
Lots of family members and even some of my high school friends came! 

Not to mention old ward buddies

My mom brought an awesome blue punch that had rubber ducks floating on top-
(see my cousin serving herself some?)

Presents!! We got SO MANY clothes--
Possibly enough to not have to purchase any more for the next 6 months. :) 

I also felt the love and support of those who couldn't make it. Thank you all.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Winter. This was my view as I headed out to the parking lot:

While the weather may look depressing, it's a sign that the end is near.
For most of the year, I've been associating snow and winter with birth. I'd think about how I'll have to haul baby to school in the snow or how I'll have to bundle baby up so he won't be too cold.  I'd think about how I might be giving birth over the holidays. And now, there's just 7 weeks left to go! So I welcome the snow as a sign of the times.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Blog Improvement

Since I started customizing certain aspects of my blog yesterday, I found I couldn't stop! So, in case you didn't notice the most recent changes, here's what I did:

• Removed the pages tab underneath my header and transferred the links to various parts of my blog
• I added an "about me" photo with a brief blurb, thanks to tips from this post: http://designyourownblog.com/blog-design/blog-sidebar-profile-photos-bios/
• Bonus: My shortened bio is also linked to my Mormon.org profile!
• I added a definition of rhetorical, in the hopes of explaining more what the title of my blog means
• I added social media links, thanks to this post: http://www.carrieloves.com/2012/03/free-social-media-icons-for-bloggers/
• I expanded my blog list

I've been wanting to make a lot of these changes for a while, but never had the time to research how. While they may seem trivial to you, they mean a lot to me.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

New Favicon

Today I changed the favicon for my blog! For those who don't know, a favicon is the little icon next to a webpage name in your browser's tabs section. For example:

See? I used to have the blogger symbol next to "Rhetorical Rebekah."
Now, it's a little thought bubble.

I went through several icons before settling on the thought bubble- the main problem being that pictures look a lot different when they've been shrunk to a minuscule size. Basically, only symbols or letters are recognizable, so if you want to create your own favicon, know that you probably shouldn't pick an actual photo.

This took a LONG time to figure out, but I was able to do it thanks to the following websites:

• http://designyourownblog.com/blog-design/tutorial-how-to-create-blog-favicon/
• http://www.picmonkey.com/
• http://tools.dynamicdrive.com/favicon/

If you don't see my new favicon when you pull up my blog, you may have to clear your browser's image cache.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Pepero Day

Need another excuse to eat candy now that Halloween has passed? Introducing Pepero Day!

Peperos are long thin cookies that are usually dipped in chocolate (or may have chocolate inside). However, they can be coated in other flavors, like strawberry or peanut.

According to Wikipedia: Pepero Day is an observance in South Korea similar to Valentine's Day, but held on November 11. The original purpose of the Pepero Day was to exchange peperos with each other in hopes of becoming taller and thinner. The current purpose is to exchange peperos to show affection for friends and loved-ones.

Naturally, Matt and I will be celebrating. You can find Pepero at any Asian market and you can find the Japanese version, Pocky, at various grocery stores (don't ask me which ones- I just know I've seen them). 

Rhetorically, 

Rebekah

Veteran's Day

So this is technically tomorrow, but I thought I'd write about it today. When I was a child, I remember having to do a report on Veteran's day by interviewing a veteran. At the time, the only one that I knew was my great-grandpa Jim. He was in the navy for 31 years, and was stationed on various submarines during WW2. Although I don't have a copy of the interview I did with him when I was in elementary school (which is probably a good thing) I do have a story from a more recent interview I conducted when I visited their home in 2012.

Grandpa Jim said that his scariest experience in the navy happened before the U.S. had taken Guam. He was on war patrol in a submarine, attempting a pilot rescue. They were within 500 yards from land and shore batteries had spotted them and opened fire. The pilot had been shot down and when the submarine went to rescue him, the pilot wouldn't throw the loop of his line over the periscope. The submarine was in a dangerous position, and they had to swing in and out several times to avoid getting shot by the border patrol. It took three tries to save the pilot. The captain of the submarine was furious at the pilot for not cooperating with the rescue. As it turned out, the pilot had a cut hand and a broken wrist.

Serving in the military requires great sacrifice. I'm especially grateful for my family members who have served/ are serving in the military, including a great grandfather, two uncles, and a brother-in-law.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Ferdinand Columbus

Someday I will write a book about Ferdinand Columbus. I have started it many times, but I keep on hitting the same roadblock: voice. I know I should just buck up and write the first draft, and fine tune the voice later, but I hate thinking of writing something only to completely rewrite it. I also struggle wanting to make the story historically accurate without having to do years of research.

Luckily, some of the work has already been done for me: Ferdinand wrote a biography about his father, Christopher Columbus, and much of the information I need comes from there.

The trick is how to portray Ferdinand's story in a way that children can relate to. Should I do a picture book? Or a young chapter book? I definitely don't want it to turn into a series, which kind of rules out explaining things through a modern kid's eyes through time travel. Which leaves me with a more historically accurate option, but nonetheless difficult. Should I write in the way they spoke back then, or try to put things in more modern terms? How many characters should I make up and how many should I use that actually existed? Do I completely gloss over the fact that Indians were treated horribly? So many choices...

Rhetorically,
Rebekah