The McLachlan Chronicles

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

"Are you ready for this?"

So I am up late last night checking my facebook page. And I see that Martin had posted something as BallroomUtah with a youtube link. I click it wondering what in the world it could be. Then I see the title is Martin and Mandy @SLSC Competition 2009. WHAT? Could this be the salsa congress competition we entered last year for the heck of it to see if we made it to the world salsa competition? Yes. It was. It was the first time I had seen the footage of it ever. It was our second performance since I started dancing again. It has good moments and bad. You can tell we are still getting used to each other's dancing styles and trying to make it work. You can see it here if you like. Be sure to watch in HD. Looks much better.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

De plane! De plane!

We took Thomas the other day to the Hill Aerospace Museum. He loved all the big planes outside, but had a problem listening and following directions inside the museum. Frustrating.

Hard to believe that these huge hunks of metal can fly in the air.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

New recipe!

So I've had this recipe in my little collection for a while now, but have never made it because I had another chicken tortilla soup recipe that was my go to. But I tell you, once I made it- I'm not sure I'll ever go back to the original!

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 cans Rotel
2 cans Chicken Broth
1 can corn drained
1 can refried beans
2 cans chicken (can be fresh if you want)
1 tsp cumin

Dump it all in a pot and warm it up all together.
Top with tortilla chips, cheese , sour cream and lime juice.

DELISH!!!

I love the fact that it can be a completely food storage meal! Well- except the cheese and sour cream which to me are what makes this dish to die for!

If you make it, I'd love to hear your reactions to it!

Vienna Ball 2010

DISCLAIMER: This post is not meant as a judgement in any way and I hope that no one takes offense. This is simply a record of my experiences.

This past Valentines Day, I went with the studio to the annual Salt Lake Symphony Fundraiser- the Vienna Ball.

And I got more than just an evening of dancing with my studio.

My testimony was strengthened.

I wasn't expecting much to be honest out of the evening. As a matter of fact, I wasn't looking forward to it this year. We'd been getting our clients ready for the ball and had been teaching them all Viennese Waltz for 2 months. To say I was V. Waltzed out was an understatement. Not to mention that two months of V.W. had done a number on my already strained neck. Slowly, as I started getting ready for the evening- and having my hair done, I began to get excited. It was like prom all over again. Only better and with less drama and nerves.

When I came downstairs, Kevin made the comment that my black shrug didn't quite go with the dress and looked kind of off. I told him since the dress was a spaghetti strap- it was either wear the shrug or take off my garments which wasn't an option. His response: You look great!

Now for the back story. There had been a debate for one of our students as to whether or not to wear a dress that was "garment friendly". She was getting a lot of flack and pursuasion from several people that her dress didn't need to be garment friendly. We tried to explain to her new convert boyfriend that we are instructed to only take off our garments for appropriate activities. Which I interpret to mean sporting events or where the garment would be disrespected by becoming severely dirty.

For those of you who aren't LDS and don't know what I'm talking about- garments are symbolic pieces of clothing that members of my church wear after they have gone to our temple. We promise to wear them day and night as a reminder and promise to keep the covenants we make in the temple. Much like a nun or priest wear their religious clothing- we wear the garments under our clothing. If you have more questions I'd be happy to talk to you or you can check out www.lds.org .

Now back to the Ball. I greeted the students as they came in. One by one I saw the women who I knew had been through the temple and should be wearing their garments come in wearing dresses that were not garment friendly. As time went on, and we sat down for dinner, I became more and more self conscious. Hearing Kevin's first words in my head, "The black and the purple dont' go together. It looks a little off." I expressed my discomfort to a friend and she encouraged me that I looked beautiful.

I kept feeling down and somewhat embarrassed. Satan was really doing a number on my brain trying to make me feel uncomfortable. I thought, I'm the only one who didn't take off my garments and had to Jerry Rig my outfit.

And immediately as soon as I thought that, I heard a whispering voice, I kid you not, that said,

"And you're the only one who kept your covenants."

I immediately got over myself and my little pity party and recognized that because of my diligence in keeping my covenants, I will be blessed for it.

For the remainder of the evening- I had a blast. My neck only faltered once, and that wasn't until the end of the evening. I was proud of my students and the hard work they had put in for the previous 2 months to learn this difficult dance.

And I am most grateful for the opportunity to strengthen my testimony and receive confirmation that if you follow the commandments we have been given, we will be blessed for it.