In preparing for my shooting with Latter-day Profiles on BYU-TV. I gathered the following information. I just thought I would post it for fun.
1. I have a degree in Family Science from BYU. After finishing, I prayed about whether I should work or stay home with our baby. I got my answer and even had to turn down my dream job of leading one of BYU's
student teaching programs in
Mexico. I started teaching cooking classes for Macey's grocery stores when my colicky baby was 4 months old. My husband encouraged me to find something I could do
one night a week without costing money. I started attending the free cooking classes and started teaching people how to use cake mixes a couple months after that.
2. I put the first version of the 101 Things To Do With A Cake Mix book together as a class project at BYU for a
teaching math class. I tried to justify that it was a way to teach kids measurement. I got a B+ because the teacher felt it wasn't relevant to teaching math. After teaching the cake mix class, my husband mentioned that if I finished the book that we could use it as
Christmas presents. He's the youngest of 9 and I'm the oldest of 8. We had ink in the printer and paper. My true motivation for finishing the book was the money we would save on gifts that year!
3. We self published the book in our 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment at BYU. We printed the book in our bedroom and assembled them in the living room. When we got huge orders, we sometimes got help from a copy center south of campus. We made 7,000 copies before the book went nationwide. 101 Things To Do With A Cake Mix hit the
New York Times Best Sellers list a few weeks after it was released with no real publicity. It was truly a miracle. I remember when my editor called to tell me the news. I had the distinct impression that the Lord had a reason for it. My name is listed in the Self Publishing Hall of Fame. Our neighbors in BYU Married Student Housing loved to tell people that their neighbor was a NY Times Best Selling Author.
4. Shortly there after, my husband and I were able to return to my mission in
Santiago, Chile. Going back to my mission had been a huge dream! I was interviewed on local and national radio while I was there. They loved the fact that they had a
New York Times best Selling author who had served as a Mormon missionary in their country. The majority of the interviews were focused on my mission, the church and what it did for women, and my feelings about
Chile. I prayed hard before each interview and miraculously my spanish would return as soon as the on air light turned on and it left as soon as the light went off. I was also able to speak at a multi-stake Relief Society fireside that packed an entire stake center. I felt like Heavenly Father had given me another glorious opportunity to proclaim the gospel in Chile! I felt the good we did on that trip was part of the reason that my book had hit the list.
5. I just celebrated my
12th wedding anniversary. Ivan and I met as temple workers in the Provo temple after our missions. I remember telling roommates that I wouldn't marry a farm boy especially one from
Idaho. I ate those words! My husband is amazing. He has always encouraged and supported me in everything I do from books to church callings. He received the National Science Foundation Fellowship which helped pay for his PhD in Electrical Engineering at BYU. I married my rocket scientist and best friend. He is a wonderful father and provider. With the fellowship and help of the books, we made it through graduate school with no debt or student loans and 3 kids! A huge miracle. We were so blessed.
6. My favorite scripture is
Doctrine and Covenants 82:10. " I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." Whenever we have tried to live a gospel principle, we have been blessed. I have a huge testimony of the blessings that come from paying our tithing and fast offerings from those days as poor college students. I remember attending an
education week class at BYU and hearing a quote by Marion G. Romney, "“If we will /double/ our fast offerings we shall increase our prosperity, both spiritually and temporally.” I went home and told my husband what I had heard and that I felt like we needed to double our fast offerings. We were barely keeping our heads above the water financially. We doubled our fast offerings within 2 months my book hit the
New York Times Best Sellers list. I knew the Lord was blessing us for obedience to this simple principle.
7. In the last 11 years, I have had 4 children (each a miracle of their own) and written 14 cookbooks. During that time, I have served as Young Women's President, Primary President, counselor in
Relief Society, teacher, camp director, ward activities chair, nursery leader, and ward missionary. My hardest calling- 3 1/4 years as Primary President (65 children regularly attending nursery) and 130 kids in my primary. My favorite calling- Ward
Missionary. Nothing beats seeing people's lives change and the joy that comes from entering the waters of baptism. We've probably attended at least 100 baptisms (8 year olds and convert baptisms) in the 4 years that we've lived in
Tucson. It has been the best part of living in Tucson! I cried the most when my husband baptized our
good friends and neighbors, the Mousos, last October. Nothing compares with seeing the gospel bless the lives of people you love. I can't wait to go to the temple with them in November!
8. My full-time job is that of being a mother. I think it is the hardest yet most rewarding job there is. My cookbooks are just a hobby gone out of control. It's been nice to have something that stretches me mentally. Years ago I remember feeling so inadequate. I felt that I must have forgotten to get in line when talents were handed out in heaven. I would look at the women around me. They could sew. They could play the piano. They grew beautiful gardens. I could make cinnamon rolls from a cake mix. It just didn't seem to compare. Then, one day it hit me! Why was I comparing what I couldn't do with what they could do? I realized that Heavenly Father gave each of us different gifts to bless and help grow the kingdom. My ability to make cookies from a cake mix has blessed the lives of thousands of mothers trying to save time in the kitchen! My gift was the ability to simplify.
9. What I am doing now- I'm starting my 15th cookbook. I discovered blogging over the last year and love it. I started a blog called Savvy Savings Tucson where I list online deals, deals around town, and grocery deals using coupons each week. I've gone from shooting cooking segments to sharing how people can save money on the news. People are often surprised by how frugal we are. After
pinching pennies for so many years while my husband was in school, I can't handle paying full price for anything. I still scour the grocery ads each week for items to stock up on for food storage and plan our menus around fresh produce that is on sale. We are racing our oldest son. We want to have the house paid off before he leaves on his mission!
I am also an alternate for the town of Marana's Police Citizens Advisory Commission. After getting involved after a poorly worded ordinance was passed, I helped initiate getting the media involved and the community involved in getting it changed. I was able to help the mayor reword the ordinance to do what it was intended to do. The mayor and other town council members encouraged me to apply for the volunteer position.
10. I am the daughter of converts. Missionaries found my parents shortly after they were married in California tracting in their apartment complex. My dad had always felt that the Savior's church had to be on the earth. He was searching and received an immediate answer that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the answer he had been searching for. My mom thought he was crazy. She started reading the
Book of Mormon and got to the end of 2
Nephi and knew it was true. I think she read the Book of Mormon all the way through in just a couple of weeks. They were baptized. When I was 3 weeks old, I was able to be sealed to my parents in the Oakland temple. I have seen the gospel bless my life and the life of my parents. That's probably why I feel so anxious to share it.
Spencer the day he was born
Spencer on one of his many escapades
Spencer at 3 months
Spencer at 9 Months
Self Sufficient Spencer at 17 months helping himself to cereal from the 2nd shelf!
Halloween 2008
Disney World October 2008
