bitter sweet

I'm feeling very bitter sweet today.   I was released from my calling as activity days leader.   Part of me is very sad because I was just getting the hang of my calling and I really love my girls though they were all going to be turning 9 shortly anyway and leaving my class so I guess that's ok.  I was called as the Primary Chorister.  Knees are definitely shaking a little bit here.  This has got to be the most scary calling for me that I have had yet to date.   Primary Secretary, substitute primary pianist, ctr5 teacher, ward music chair, ward choir pianist, ward activities chair, visiting teaching supervisor, young women's miamaid advisor, sunday school teacher...etc, etc, etc,... all of these pale in comparison to me because they don't require that I come up with ideas how to teach 20+ kids all at once how to sing commanding their attention and entertaining them for 15-20 mins 2 times once a week.  On the up side.  I get to see my activities days girls more often cause now they're in primary with me every week instead of at my home just 2 times a month.  I know that I'm plenty qualified for this calling and have watched as people with much less musical ability than me have tackled it and succeeded with flying colors,..I even know that I will do a great job and this will be a good calling for me.  However, I have never felt as intimidated of a calling as I do right now.  I'm sure this is going to be small potatoes to me sometime down the road but at this moment I've never had a calling that was responsible for so many children at once or demanded that the bowels of creativity be shaken quite so frequently as weekly.  I also have big shoes to fill as Sister L. in my ward has done an amazing job in the past and I love and have loved being in singing time with her in primary weekly.  I'm also certain that Sister B. who I have not had the opportunity to see teach was equally effective at commanding the kids' attention.  I'm a little afraid that my quiet ways will come across as timid or afraid but I'm equally sure that my inner animation will take over and we'll just be one big happy group of kids singing and learning songs together and I'll soon forget my trepidation.  At any rate.  Wish me luck!

Now for the sweet.  I just finished enjoying some fruits of my labor.  Did I ever mention how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE cooking?  I don't think I have.  I particularly have a passion for good food and for being able to cook something from scratch with my own two hands and some meager ingredients.  I purchased a whole cut chicken this weekend and proceeded to make slow cooker chicken soup.   I love the Nourished Kitchen blog and was intrigued when I saw this recipe for chicken soup and I suddenly really wanted some.  I finished eating some of it for lunch and it was so heavenly.  I love eating wholesome old school recipes like this even if I have to occasionally eat a piece of bone that I missed that disintegrated in my mouth before I had a chance to realize I'd eaten it because I missed it when I picked all the bones out of the chicken and broth before making my soup.   I feel sooo good.  I can't really think of a better way to describe how this kind of food makes me feel.   empowered,...skilled,.. nunchuck skills, computer-hacking skills,..bow hunting skills,.. ok ok.  let's not get carried away.   I also had a piece of my fudgy brownies that I made from scratch out of the better homes cook book.  Didn't leave home without it.  They were soooo nummy.  I know I'm making you all jealous.  And speaking of Scratch.  If any of you are food connoisseurs you should check out my friend Lillian's blog called scratch-eats.  She is an amazing cook and I'm expecting awesome things from her new cooking blog.   Something else from the nourished kitchen that I can't wait to try are these potato chips.  Anyone who knows me knows I love potato chips and I think these sound so good except I can't stomach the thought of lard.  I have an aversion to it which is why I think the country has turned away from it's use in the first place.  anyway I digress.   I love food.