Blog This, Baby!

I've been trying to find an excuse for WEEKS to show you a picture of my friend, Amy. Here it is, only I'm not going to tell you about Amy this time.

This time I'm going to tell you about Tahnee. (Her picture is below). Tahnee is a beautiful, talented, confident, funny, and very thoughtful friend I have at work. She is a great secretary (VERY mediocre!). But the thing I love best about Tahnee is how teachable she is. She will joke her way through everything, but in the end she is so willing to learn and to try to improve in every way, including secretarials skills, gospel learning, and personal growth.

Today Tahnee sent me and Amy each flowers. The card says "For everything you've done, and for being a great friend!" I don't even know what I've done, but I'm sure glad I did it!

Some things were just meant to be blogged. :)

Thanks, Tahnee!

Spotlight On...

This is a picture of me and our Primary presidency. One thing that has really amazed me and surprised me is how much I am concerned with these sisters. I want to fix things for them and make sure they are OK. I am so grateful for their wonderful service to our children, our teachers and leaders, and to me and my family. They have become women I cherish.

On the left is Marianne, my secretary. She and Phillip have three little girls. Marianne is the epitome of a mother: she is fiercely protective of her children, she finds joy in her family, and she just wants to be better because of them. She also adores her husband. Phil and Marianne's 2nd child has spina bifida. This is something that would devastate many people or leave them frozen with fear. While their daughter's health is an ongoing concern for them, Phil and Marianne bask in the beauty of their children, celebrate every accomplishment, and just live a happy life together. I want to be like Marianne.

Between Marianne and me is Lara, my second counselor. She is the mother to four adorable daughters and the wife of one really large boy. Her hubby is the YM president in our ward, and Lara has just kind of adopted all of the young men as her own. She is extremely funny--she pulls the best faces in the world! But she is awesome at rolling up her sleeves, digging in, and getting it done. She is wonderful with our Primary children, and she is very level-headed and helps me stay on track. I love Lara!

On my other side is Mary Ann Winn, my 1st counselor. Mary Ann is the mother of 10 children of her own, and countless other neighborhood children. She is generous to a fault. She is guaranteed to be on someone's doorstep in a heartbeat if there is anything she can give tothem. She is a MEAN cook! She loves to stay ahead of the game, so she probably already has Sharing Time ready for December! I rely on her for a lot. I would love to have the compassion Mary Ann possesses.

We love our Primary children, and we love each other!

Be There

As I mentioned in my pity-party-post, this was one heck of a busy weekend. Catholicism was looking pretty inviting this weekend. (So many fewer time demands!) And yet, every single thing I did turned out to be a time of happiness, learning, or both.

There were fewer than 50 people total in our chapel for the YW general meeting, and the adults outnumbered the YW. I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt--maybe some other chapels were packed full of visiting nieces or granddaughters; maybe lots of girls got tickets and went downtown; I'm sure some were sick; and many have to choose between good and good--and good wins! But for those who just opted out because of laziness or boredom or whatever: LOSERS!

I'm not calling you names. You just really missed out on something wonderful. You lost.

Bummer.

One of life's most fundamental truths is this: If you don't show up for dinner, you won't get fed. I'm always amazed at how many just don't show up. Hence, my new slogan:

Be There!

I Wish I Were...

...less talkative. I need to talk things out. I wish I didn't.

...thinner. This is one I could do something about, so I shouldn't whine.

...not a whiner. See above.

...better able to see people's needs. This is one I'm working on.

...SuperMom. With invisibility power.

...in a beautiful travel destination. With my family. For free.

...independently wealthy. I think someone ought to give me a chance to prove how great I would be at that!

...not a clutz. I'll leave it at that for now.

...asleep, and not rambling. :)

Good night!

Thanks to Bishop Bateman

Last night and this morning I was pitching a quiet, personal fit. I was informed that I was expected to be at an employment class at the church from 9:00 to 1:00. I was scheduled to go to Mosida (again) with the youth conference committee at 12:00. There was a funeral in the ward that I was missing. And YW conference was at 6:00. That's just today. Tomorrow includes Sharing Time, Family Home Evening (I'm actually really looking forward to this one), and the youth conference kick-off fireside.

I'm thinking I will be glad to go back to work on Monday, just for the rest. And that is really saying something in the week before General Conference (not a restful week in my employment).

Bishop Bateman heard me whine for a minute and said, "Did the Bishop ask you to speak?"

Oh, boy! That put things back into their proper place! Thank heaven for small favors, like NOT having to speak in church!

Caught in the Act

Yup. THAT act.

Poor Taylor. This is the same boy who walked into our room just as I was walking out of the bathroom after my shower.

You'd think he'd learn!

He informed us that we really need a DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door. Briana was laughing like crazy and said, "They call it a door!"

Austen-mania

My favorite sport is reading. There is very little I would rather do. My doctor says this isn't necessarily a good thing, so I took up scuba diving, but that is a story for another day. :)

I am a huge fan of Jane Austen, and my favorite is--of course--Pride and Prejudice. Let me recommend to any of you ladies (because let's be honest--the men won't care) who may have missed it thus far the 6-hour miniseries of Pride and Prejudice produced by A & E. It stars Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, which might be reason enough to watch this film. He is an excellent, smouldering Mr. Darcy. Jennifer Ehle is also beautiful as Elizabeth Bennet.

I love the character of Elizabeth. I love that she is strong and fearless, despite knowing what limitations that may place on her in her male-dominated Victorian society.

A year or so ago I was in Deseret Book and I found a wonderful trilogy that I have been re-reading, just for the fun of it. The first book is "An Assembly Such As This;" the second is "Duty and Desire;" and the third is "These Three Remain." The author is Pamela Aidan. This is basically "Pride and Prejudice," only it's written from Darcy's viewpoint. Existing characters are there, of course, though many are more detailed than in Austen's original work. New characters are introduced. Darcy's activities are outlined, as well as how his feelings for Elizabeth developed. It is a lot of fun to read. Ms. Aiden has often used Austen's original dialog, and she has drawn extensively on the A&E series for her settings (in fairness, A&E is VERY true to Austen's work). Additionally, Ms. Aiden's use of vocabulary is wonderful, and she's very Austenian in her writing.

I've read several other Austen spin-offs, and none of them has captured my interest the way this trilogy has. Check it out and have some fun. (But read Pride and Prejudice first!)

Satan Is Abroad in the Land

Remember those magnolias that were starting to bud? The hyacinths and crocuses (croci?) that were blooming? The daffodils and the tulips that were promising to join us? Satan has defeated them for today. This is what our house/yard looks like today:
I hold out faith and hope, however, that while Satan has won today's weather battle, Mother Nature will eventually win the war. Spring is coming. Slowly.

Every time we think we're going to get ahead a little bit, something breaks down. This time it was the dishwasher. Luckily, Satan cannot defeat us this easily. We got an escrow refund check in the mail, and we found this 3-year-old dishwasher on ksl.com:

Satan, you can rear your ugly head, but you will not triumph!

People Who Make A Difference

When we attended our ward for the first time, Mindy Pitcher asked if I would like to sit by her in Relief Society. I will love her forever for that. Now that I know her better, there are other reasons, too; but that is enough.

Sister Brakke taught a Sharing Time when I was serving in the Primary. She spoke of losing her son (she'd buried him three days previous); having prayers answered; and of Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness for us. I have drawn on that experience a number of times as we have raised our family, and as I have served in the Primary. I couldn't pick Sister Brakke out of a lineup, and she probably doesn't even remember me, but she made a difference in my life.

Mary Lou Spencer sat by me at a Women's Conference. She put her arm around me and offered me a tissue. Later we became friends, and she shared her wisdom with me. But I will love her forever for that small moment in time that she doesn't even remember.

Rex Taylor is a manager where I work. He was particularly kind to me when I began my job, and he treated me like I was someone important and valuable right from the first day. He is also a kind and caring man. But he has my love for his kindness at the beginning of our friendship.

Last week, Rex's daughter died. I took the opportunity to attend her viewing last Friday. I was there for 10 or 15 minutes, and I hugged Rex and his wife. This morning he came to my desk to tell me that he thought I was very special and that it really meant a lot to him that I had come. I guess you just never know when you might be that person who makes a difference.

My Happy Selective Memory

A couple of days ago I read a blog about someone who had read a blog... The writer had invited the readers to share their darkest secrets, and it turned into something very dark. I'm something of an ostrich, burying my face in the sand. Frankly, I just don't want to hear your darkest confessions. One comment that grabbed me, though, was how many women compare their lives to snapshots of other's lives.

Here's what Kristy said:

A note to that commenter: facebook is like an online scrapbook. We only put up the stuff we want other people to see. The day I spanked my son after he busted out a hole in his door because he was mad that I sent him to his room? That was not a good day. I didn’t take pictures and wrap them in raffia and stick them next to a plaque that says “Live Laugh Love” or talk about it on facebook.

Kristy is SO right on the money. My family--who sits quietly church--isn't perfect. That haircut that Landon is currently sporting? He's seriously ticked off about it. We're talking fighting mad here. But I'm not going to post the details of that on this blog!

All of that said, I was thinking this morning about how selective memory is. For example, I know that Taylor cried for four stinkin' months straight. I remember the rides in the car, just for some quiet. I remember turning on the dryer, setting the timer for my own time outs, and my tears and frustration. But when I look at the pictures of my baby boy, what I remember is what a love he was (after 4 months old), how much Briana loved him, what he looked like in his striped outfit that I loved, and how he would wear little hats for a minute. I remember him sleeping at my feet in the kitchen and finding him sacked out straddling the rocking chair and the ottoman. I remember him "helping" his dad mow the lawn, running through the sprinklers, and playing video games.

My friend and neighbor, Mona, once told me about a song called "My Heart Took a Picture." Yesterday I watched Bri and Ash and Lando jumping on the tramp, laughing together, and my heart took a picture. And my pictures are good ones, even though I also remember that just 45 minutes earlier they'd been arguing in the back seat of the van.

I guess my belief is that our selective memory gets to be our selection, after all. So what kinds of selections are you going to make?