Surrounded by amazing women

Yesterday I re-read ~J's post about LDS girls and education. I also re-read the comments. Since then I've been wondering, was my college experience abnormal, or the norm?

I had ten roommates in college (at the BYU). Amongst us, we covered the following majors:

Spanish Teaching

Social Science Teaching

Mechanical Engineering

Linguistics

Audiology, Speech & Language Pathology

Microbiology

Finance

Psychology

Music Performance, brass emphasis

One of my roommates didn't return to school after her mission. Of the remaining nine only two of us did not earn masters degrees. One, I know for sure, has a PhD.

None of us were majoring in early childhood education or home sciences. None of us chose our majors because we thought they would make us good wives and mothers--we chose them because they were areas that we loved and were passionate about. I'm the only one who married before I got my degree, and most of these women married after receiving a masters degree.

My experience (be it anecdotal) tells me that we are an educated group of women. I like to think it wasn't uncommon, but rather the way of things for today's LDS woman.

100 Places

A big thank you to everyone who sent Goosey postcards for her 100 days project. She had so much fun receiving each one, examining it, and learning where in the world it came from. Her favorite was from the Forbidden City in China (although she still wants to know how someone could take a picture of it if it's forbidden).

Craig drove Goosey and her project to school this morning. Upon returning home he reported that it was quite a hit-- a group of kids gathered around , and on his way out he overheard, "Did you see Goosey's? It has 100 postcards!"

Truly, thank you for making her vision happen.

My house smells amazing right now

One-pot Chicken and Brown Rice

Everyday Food Magazine, Jan/Feb 2010, p.112

Serves 4

Prep Time: 15 min

Total Time: 65 min

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 bone-in chicken thighs (6-8 oz each)

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 large yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges

2 celery stalks, cut into 1.5 inch pieces

2 medium carrots, cut into 1.5 inch pieces

1 bay leaf

1.75 cups water

1 cup brown rice

1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper and place, skin side down, in pot. Cook until golden brown on both sides, 10 to 12 minutes total. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp fat from pot; add onion and celery. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 20 minutes.

2. Add carrots, bay leaf, and 1.75 cups water; stir in rice and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until rice absorbs almost all the liquid, 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes before serving.

100 Days Project

Today Goosey brought home the "100 Days Project" assignment. The children are asked to bring 100 of something to celebrate the 100th day of school. Goosey is hoping to do postcards from 100 different places. We have searched around the house and came up with the following:

Stowell, England

Salt Creek Falls, Oregon

The Island of Crete

San Francisco

Greece

Berlin, Germany

Paris France

Yellowstone National Park

Spokane, Washington

Maine

Baltimore

Vermont

Boston

New Hampshire

Thorncrown Chapel, Arkansas

Columbia River Gorge, Oregon

Cape Cod

Oregon Coast

Oklahoma

Bremen, Germany

London, England

Seattle

Berlin, Germany

If you live somewhere that we haven't covered, or have a left-over postcard from a trip (or one that someone sent out, but you're willing to part with) she'd love it if you could send it to her before next Monday. If you need our address email me (see the sidebar) and I'll send it to you.

Thanks for your help.