Today I got up at the crack of dawn (aka 5:20) to attend a press conference for work and help the youth group I have been working with at the Capitol. We attended a press conference and presented a chain link petition that had over 8,000 links. It was a really fun day and I am excited about the things we are advocated for. There are two bills in the legislature right now dealing with tobacco. The first is raising the legal purchasing age from 19-21. The second is regulation of e-cigarette manufacturers and licensing of vapor shops.
Here is a link to a Deseret News report on the press conference (ps I'm famously in 4 of the pictures, 2 are of the back of my head)
I think the passage of these bills would immensely benefit the youth of Utah. 95% of smokers started before the age of 21 and a majority of underage youth received their tobacco access from someone between the age of 19 and 21. The e-cigarette use rate has doubled in the last 2 years. Listening would allow for checks to make sure retailers are not selling to underage youth. Soapbox. Anyways, it was a great day helping the youth realize the power they have to make a change.
We also got the chance to meet with a Representative from Utah county (Kennedy). It was an interesting meeting because Kennedy normally votes against public health issues. He also was the one who called the meeting with us. He wanted to know why we (about 20 of us) were there and why we were so passionate. I talked a lot in the meeting and felt like he genuinely considered our perspective, we even seemed to surprise him with some ideas he hadn't thought of.
We got some great news today! Travis found out last week that he wasn't on track to graduate despite his strict adherence to the department chart. Turns out, the chart was wrong :/ we were not happy. He finally got a meeting with an academic adviser and she hadn't been made aware of the problem, he was also granted an exception so he still gets to graduate on time. This time difference would have put him back a year. Needless to say we feel very blessed.
Travis made a DELICIOUS dinner tonight. Pork chops,with a seasoning he invented (up to this point this was me), like a professional chef (he made me type that). We also had a delicious smoothie, that once again looked disgusting (I guess that is what happens when you put 10+ things in it that are all different colors. We had mashed potatoes, green beans, and spinach salad. We are doing pretty good with this eat more vegetable thing.
Does anyone have any good recipe blog info? I basically have one cookbook and one blog I follow where I get everything and would love recommendations!
I also made a yummy treat! Cinnamon slow cooker almonds. The original recipe is here. I changed the recipe which made it better to me. Go with whatever
Directions:
In a bowl, whisk egg white and vanilla until it begins to get a little frothy. Stir in your almonds until the are all coated in the egg white and vanilla mixture. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add Almonds to cinnamon mixture and toss until completely coated. Spray your slow cooker with non stick cooking spray. Cook the almonds on high for two hours stirring every 20 minutes. After 2 hours pour water over the almonds and mix very well to make sure there are no clumps! Reduce heat to low and cook for a half hour, stir after 15 mins. Cool them on a cookie sheet, tasty warm or cold!
Enjoy!
We also got the chance to meet with a Representative from Utah county (Kennedy). It was an interesting meeting because Kennedy normally votes against public health issues. He also was the one who called the meeting with us. He wanted to know why we (about 20 of us) were there and why we were so passionate. I talked a lot in the meeting and felt like he genuinely considered our perspective, we even seemed to surprise him with some ideas he hadn't thought of.
We got some great news today! Travis found out last week that he wasn't on track to graduate despite his strict adherence to the department chart. Turns out, the chart was wrong :/ we were not happy. He finally got a meeting with an academic adviser and she hadn't been made aware of the problem, he was also granted an exception so he still gets to graduate on time. This time difference would have put him back a year. Needless to say we feel very blessed.
Travis made a DELICIOUS dinner tonight. Pork chops,with a seasoning he invented (up to this point this was me), like a professional chef (he made me type that). We also had a delicious smoothie, that once again looked disgusting (I guess that is what happens when you put 10+ things in it that are all different colors. We had mashed potatoes, green beans, and spinach salad. We are doing pretty good with this eat more vegetable thing.
Does anyone have any good recipe blog info? I basically have one cookbook and one blog I follow where I get everything and would love recommendations!
I also made a yummy treat! Cinnamon slow cooker almonds. The original recipe is here. I changed the recipe which made it better to me. Go with whatever
3/4 cup of Sugar
3/4 cup of Brown Sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon of Salt
1 egg White
2 teaspoons of Vanilla
3 cups of Almonds
1/8 cup of water
Directions:
In a bowl, whisk egg white and vanilla until it begins to get a little frothy. Stir in your almonds until the are all coated in the egg white and vanilla mixture. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add Almonds to cinnamon mixture and toss until completely coated. Spray your slow cooker with non stick cooking spray. Cook the almonds on high for two hours stirring every 20 minutes. After 2 hours pour water over the almonds and mix very well to make sure there are no clumps! Reduce heat to low and cook for a half hour, stir after 15 mins. Cool them on a cookie sheet, tasty warm or cold!
Enjoy!
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