Tender Mercies

My mind was heavy with emotions as I walked through the parking lot towards the front door. It was a pleasantly warm July afternoon, with temps hovering around 90 F. As I walked into the studio, calm and peace pushed away the weight that was in my mind within a minute of arriving. I knew this was the right direction for me to be going.  A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the dilemma I had over whether or not I should pick up coaching ice skating again. I received so many wonderful pieces of advice, but one that stood out to me was from a dear friend from California. She said, " Honestly Jenessa, my gut is saying not to do it. You're so young and so driven and so talented, I am really curious what you will put your mind to when skating is no longer part of the equation...start expanding your horizons...Good luck." That note really caught me off guard because I thought I had been thinking about all of my options. But then I opened my heart up and dug deep. I realiz...

Everyone has hopes and dreams. Some may be super extravagant, while others are very down-to-Earth and practical. I've had this bucket list in my mind for quite some time now that I figure it only proper that it gets written down.  They say you are more likely to accomplish your goals if you write them down, do they not? Always look UP towards your dreams!  Nothing is too far if you dream big enough and put in enough effort. (Photo: Alaska Pipeline, June 2013) Okay, so here it goes, in no particular order: (accomplished dates are noted) Get pregnant   April 2015 (m/c May 2015) Have a healthy baby Compete in a cooking contest   July 2016 Naturally Nutritious Contest  Go to Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympics: Family reunion! Paddle board Live in Europe . Okay, I know this one is pretty out there, so I'd settle for just visiting. Hike Mt. Fuji This was when I was little and lived in Japan... hopefully someday I'll have a picture with me on top ...

I stood there looking at my grocery list and back in the produce shelf to decide what vegetable I was going to substitute for the not-on-sale-vegetable I had on my list.  As I made my decision and picked up some crisp cabbage, an employee passed by while pushing a cart full of peaches and asked, "Have you tried these peaches? They're delicious!" "Yes I have, in fact I canned some just last night," was my response. Without saying much besides a smile, she slipped into the back and I continued on with my shopping. A few moments later she reappeared and came directly towards me.  Reaching out for my hand she said, "How old are you?" "25." I replied. She continued to shake my hand. "Congratulations. There aren't many 25-year-olds who know how to can these days."  I can tell you that I was pretty blown away by her kindness and her effort to go out of her way and show me that I did something awesome. Later, when I ...

You ever hear that saying, "If life gets too hard to stand, kneel" ??  Well, life had gotten hard for me. Everything around me was great--I had my bills paid for and a comfortable life and a family to love--but it was the stuff inside my head and heart that were hurting. Nothing I did seemed to help for more than a few hours. I am at a crossroads in my life right now where I am trying to choose between many good options for where to steer my life. I seemed to be at a roadblock and didn't know what to do. Finally, after weeks of searching and praying and talking to trusted friends, a light emerged in my life. However, it was only after I decided to go to a place where I knew I would not be distracted from the demands of life, where I would truly be able to look within myself and seek an answer, that I was able to find what I was searching for. This place for me was the Kansas City Temple.  It is inside the temple, a place I believe to be the House of the Lord, tha...

Nauvoo Temple at night, after the pageant Marshall and I were sitting down in the audience at the Sunset on the Mississippi variety show this past Friday in Historic Nauvoo , enjoying the jazz band and skits and the sweltering heat of the midwest. Halfway through the show, the emcee announced that the band was going to play In the Mood  and that audience members were invited to come up and dance...Oh how I wanted to go up with Marshall! I turned to him and asked him if he wanted to. "Only if you drag me up." A few moments went by and I knew that if I passed this chance, I would regret it for the rest of the evening. So I told him we were going and we got up and ran to the stage.  The last time we swung danced like this was a year and a half ago, and it was long due that we did it again. With the adrenaline pumping through me like a racehorse, I followed Marshall's lead as he led me through some fun swing moves, trying to hold on so that our sweaty hands w...

It has been six months since I have stepped inside an ice rink. This was the longest break away from the rink since 1998, the year I began my ice skating journey. Crazy. When July 1st was around the corner this year, I knew I needed to renew my US Figure Skating memberships and coaching certifications, etc., so that I would stay compliant. Not knowing what club I wanted to renew with or join, I did my research and decided to join the Silver Blades Figure Skating Club in Shawnee, KS. I had a great experience as I emailed the lady over the membership for the club, and she invited me to check out the rink and talk to me about their club. I knew I would take her up on that offer eventually, but I didn't know when. Today, a little over two and a half weeks after the initial email, I drove the 30 miles to the Kansas City Ice Center. It took me about 33 minutes. For my entire skating career, I have not been any further from the rink than a 15 minute drive, and for the past seven y...

This morning I went running. First time in over a year.  Last night I called my mom because I needed someone to listen to me dump all of my emotions on. I've really been at a pretty low place recently and I was at the end of my rope. After feeling like I had no one to really talk to for a few days, I was so grateful that my mom was there to listen to me in a non-judgmental and loving manner.  During our discussion I told her how I didn't feel like myself nor was I comfortable in my own skin. I was craving to go running again, especially with Marshall. Right after I explained these feelings to her, she replied by telling me that she had been feeling for a month that I should start running again. I was shocked to here these words come from my own mother, but peace swept over my body.  I stopped running a year ago so that I could get my cycle back. That endeavor was successful, and I attribute a lot of the success to my not running. However, ever since the m...

Marshall asked me to be his personal trainer so that he has the motivation to get into shape for ROTC this fall. With his second shift work schedule, including overtime many nights and working as an occasional handyman, he doesn't have lots of time/energy to do much else than provide.  I was pretty excited when he asked me to help him out. So after we spent about an hour at our apartment's gym the other day, we returned home and I started to prep lunch. When I peeked into the living room, this is what I saw. Enough said.  I think I wore him out. Can't wait for next session!

This past weekend the majority of America celebrated Independence Day.  Here in the Adams household we attempted to do the same. The morning began with leftover sprouted pancakes topped with fresh blueberries and strawberries. In keeping with the Whipple family tradition of red-white-and-blue waffles, I planned to whip up the little bit of cream we had left over to top our pancakes. As I was slicing berries, the husband walks in and asks what he could do to help, so I give him the task of hand whipping the cream (there was hardly any left so it wouldn't have done any good to use the KitchenAid). He is such a great whipper that he made butter...but there isn't anything wrong with spreading butter on pancakes so that's what we did. The "white" was just melted in. They were delicious. I loved that we ate leftover pancakes because there was no prep work and no clean-up, which meant we were able to do our weekly trip to the farmer's market before 8 AM. Do...

Summertime in Kansas equals one thing: HOT and Humid. Wait that was two. See, I can't even count when it is so hot!  I thought that spending four years in Missouri during college was good enough preparation for returning to the Midwest, but I was wrong. Maybe it was the two and a half years I spent in Alaska that did it for me. Either way, I don't seem as acclimatized to it as I used to be. Well, since I can't control the weather, I realized I can control what I make for lunch and I just so happens that I found a nearly perfect summertime meal for when it is insurmountably hot.   Enter gazpacho and sourdough focaccia. This cold, no-cook soup is chock full of fresh farmer's market produce and yummy flavors. I know it doesn't look like much, but it is a lovely meal for a hot day. Today we ate our bowls of soup on the balcony because well, it was cool today and only reached about 75 degrees F.  Gazpacho 4 large tomatoes, diced 1 shallot, diced 2 ...