Creation

Lately, I've really been finding my creative side, and I am having fun with it! I love to decorate, cook, write, sing, and play the piano. It is really fulfilling work to do.

CINNAMON AND ORANGE PEELS

Ok, so I was using paint remover the other day in my house, and let me just tell you that it is toxic! It smells so terrible. So I was thinking of ways to make my house smell inviting instead of repelling, and this is what I can up with. Get a couple sticks of cinnamon, fill a pot with water, stick it on the stove and boil it for however long you want to. Today I ate and orange, stuck the peel into the mixture and boiled it again. My whole house smells delicious! And it doesn't use aerosol, it is completely natural, it helps your house not to be so dry, it last longer, it's so cheap, and you can use it more than once! (*Just remember to keep filling the pot with water, or it will be empty soon and the contents will burn.)

TORTILLA ROLLUPS

This is what I made myself for lunch. I thought it looked pretty beautiful, so I had to share it because it tastes great too! All you need is some cream cheese, some type of tortillas, lettuce, and any kind of lunch meat. Get a cutting board, a knife and a plate and you are set. Spread some cream cheese, put on the meat then the lettuce, roll it up and cut the roll into pieces. A fun lunch or appetizer that even kids will love!

The Work of Creation
The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.
Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.
Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.
You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”
If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.
But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy.4 Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.
If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next.
You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us.5 The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.
What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.
If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.
Nearly a century and a half ago, President Brigham Young spoke to the Saints of his day. “There is a great work for the Saints to do,” he said. “Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.”6
The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.

"Happiness, Your Heritage," by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, General Conference, Relief Society Session, October 2008

Read the talk in Text format. Listen to talk in Audio format.

I listened to it and read along, and I can tell you it is really worth your while to take some time out of your day to do this. You will feel better about yourself, you will feel more motivated and talented. It really helped me to be excited about the opportunities I have to create, and also to serve others with compassion.

Food seems better to eat when it looks fun! Especially healthy food. We had my neice and nephew over on Saturday. The 8 year old, Hadley said she didn't like cucumbers or tomato soup, so Hyrum, the 4 year old said it too (she has soooo much influence on him. If she says Eww, he won't even try it.) Anyways, we had this great dip to go with it and said they each had to eat one before they got their grilled cheese. They tried it with the dip and loved it, they even ate more. Then I cut the grilled cheese sandwiches into triangles and placed them in a pattern around their soup bowls. It looked cool and we called it dipping sauce. They both ate it and liked it. That taught me a parenting lesson to file away for when the time comes. Always require your kids to at least try some veggies and fruits before they can have the rest of their meal, and find fun ways to design their plates with the food and make up fun names for it.