A Spiritual Weekend

Twice a year the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has something called General Conference.  It is held on a weekend in April and October.  Instead of going to our church meetinghouses we have the opportunity to listen to our modern-day prophet, Thomas S. Monson, his counselors, apostles, and other church leaders.  It is a chance for us to feel connected to the Church and leaders on a world-wide level, to receive counsel, and to hear about some of the the things the Church has been doing around the globe, like building new temples and missionary and humanitarian work.

This past weekend was General Conference weekend.  And on Saturday, April 6th, it was also the 27th anniversary of my baptism.  Sometimes, though, I feel like I've only been a member for 17 years, because I wasted 10 of those years being inactive.  One this weekend's talks was on the light of Christ in our lives, and while I never really let the light of Christ extinguish completely, I will admit that I spent many years letting it stay dim and not basking in its full glow.

Happily, those days are behind me.  I don't want to let that happen again, which takes work, humility and, did I mention work?  For many years on Conference weekend I saw it more as a vacation weekend.  I would watch it sporadically or not at all, sometimes reading random talks when they were published in The Ensign (the Church magazine for adults) the following month.

Last October I made the commitment to dedicate all of Conference weekend to watching Conference.  That's 2 two-hour sessions on Saturday and Sunday.  And you know what? I appreciated it in an entirely new way.  It wasn't boring.  I listened intently to every talk and took copious notes, which forced me to be an even more active listener.

OK, I will admit that by the end of the last session on Sunday I was tired.  But it was a happy, uplifted, tired.  I learned a lot and was able to recall those things in the coming months, both in my own life and when they were brought up in our local church meetings.

This weekend I did the same thing, getting up by 8am or earlier so I could be showered and dressed, armed with the iPad to take notes, and having the TV all set up on time for the first session at 9am PST.  It was a good decision.  A decision I want to make again and again. 

I plan to write about the talks in more detail on my other blog Improvise the Harmony, but I will say that the running theme this weekend seemed to be obedience to the commandments.  I know our church leaders look at the world sometimes with dismay at the lack of morality, greed and materialism.  It is hard not to.  I do it too.  But the wonderful thing about the way their talks are presented is that, even though the messages are powerful and thought-provoking, they are always presented with love and a feeling that there is always hope--hope for the world and hope for us as individuals.

As I said, I will post more about the talks at a later time, maybe tomorrow, on my other blog, but I will leave you with 2 things:  A link to listen to the talks yourself and a video of one of my favorites from the weekend.

If you are not LDS, let me assure you that these talks are for everyone of every faith.  The messages are universal because we are all imperfect, we are all trying our best, and we are all children of a Heavenly Father who loves us.

This is my challenge to you.  Watch just one and see if you are uplifted in some way.  I want to share with you a little of what I got to see and feel this weekend.  And if you are uplifted and want to see more, click on the link that takes you to the index of talks from the conference.  I was particularly impressed with the one on the light of Christ by Pres. Uchtdorf, which I will post below.  The one on chastity by Elder Bednar was fantastic, Elder Clayton did a wonderful talk on marriage, Elder Holland spoke on faith and how to gain and nurture it.  These are just a few.

As I said in one of my Facebook posts, my spiritual cup is full, very full, and it is a great feeling.

You can view any of the talks HERE.

And now one of my personal favorites. (Pres. Uchtdorf is so eloquent, I find myself gravitating to his talks all the time, and I know I'm not the only one!)

An Easter Message

Today is Easter.  It was created to celebrate the Savior's resurrection and the final step after his crucifixion and death in order to pay for our sins.

The Atonement is Heavenly Father's and Jesus Christ's greatest gift to us.  While it was Jesus who died for our sins, it was Heavenly Father who sent His Beloved Son to earth in order to make this sacrifice.  He did it for us--for you and for me.  Whether you believe in Him or not, He died for you. Whether you have faith or not, He waits to embrace you with loving arms.  He loves you, He knows you, and He gave everything for you.  Let's not forget that, and let's live our lives the best we can in order to be worthy of all He did.

A blessed Easter to all.

Adventures in California...

It isn't often that I spend only a week in California while visiting my family, but I did this time.  "Tuesday to Tuesday," was what I named this trip.  And a busy one it was, too!

Having my plane delayed nearly 2 hours on my departure day wasn't the best way to begin, but things smoothed out later.  On my first full day there I gave my mom her perm (I've been doing that since I was 12,) and we went out to dinner at one of our favorite places in Pasadena, Kathleen's.  Everything they make is so fresh!  Cobb salad with creme brulee for dessert...yum!

On Thursday we went to go and get my mom a new printer.  After 9 years, her previous one was finally beyond help, refusing to print for months and mocking us with this little light that kept blinking and refused to stop.  She got a wireless one, similar to the one Eric and I have, and it only took me 2 hours to install it instead of 3 like ours.  I call that progress!

Thursday nights is when my niece and nephew come to spend the night at my mom's house.  Both my brother and sis-in-law start work very early on Fridays, and it makes it easier for everyone.  We had dinner together, chicken and homemade mac 'n cheese, and veggies.  After dinner and bathtime was storytime, a staple in that house all through my growing-up years.

(All pictures can be viewed full size by clicking on them...)

"Abuelita" reading to the grandkids before bedtime...There's No Such Thing As A Dragon--a family favorite!

I caught this cute picture the next morning as the kids were waking up with their bed heads and sleepy eyes:

Good morning, sleepyheads!

And now...ready for school!

After we picked them up it was time to go to the nursery and buy some flowers for the pots in my mom's yard.  Little did we know that my niece was coming down with a cold.  Sick child equals cranky child, and she was asleep by the time we got back to the house.  A 3 hour nap helped.  Later that night my mom and I just collapsed after they got picked up.  They are fun, but a lot of work like most little ones!

Spring was just bursting with color at the local nursery!

I just love orchids. So beautiful and fascinating to behold.

Cute nephew in front of the little fountain

Self pic with my favorite boy!

On Saturday was the Steve Tyrell concert, the reason I was down there in the first place.  Eric and I had bought these amazing tickets for my mom's birthday back in October.  A dinner buffet was even included.  Our seats were in the 6th row and the show was incredibly enjoyable--one of the best concerts I think I've ever attended.  Steve had a great rapport with the audience, his songs were mostly old standards, and he has a cool easy-going way about him that just makes you relax and enjoy the music.

Sunday was church and relaxing.  Monday we went to the Norton Simon Art Museum for about 2 hours.  We have been going there for years and people who have been there will agree with me when I say that, for the size, it has probably the highest quality collection available.  All of the famous artists are there:  Rembrandt, Rafael, Boticelli, Degas, Pollock, Picasso, Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Gaugin, Fragonard, Van Gogh, Van Dyck, Klee...seriously, the list goes on and on.  I never get tired of going there and I always find something new that I never noticed before.

Iceland poppies outside the entrance of the Norton Simon.  I planted some in our front yard today!

Rodin's Burghers of Calais

Degas' Little Ballerina--I have a relief of this in my living room--with a Degas painting in the back on the left and a Monet on the right.  I love this museum!

Van Gogh's fiery tree.  Doesn't it look like it is moving? 

Renoir has always been my favorite.  I love his feathery brush strokes and the serenity of the faces.

Girl Writing a Love Letter--another favorite.  A canvas print of this painting hangs in my living room, and I love visiting the original.

The museum grounds, with sculptures by Henry Moore and Paul Klee.  Such a glorious, glorious place.

Monday night was my mom's Family Home Evening with some of the "empty nesters" from the ward, most of them close friends that I have known for nearly 30 years.  It was potluck night, so we noshed on lasagna, chili, salad, homemade bread, fruit, homemade candy....oh yum, everything was so good!

Tuesday morning was all about preparing to leave.  I cut it a little bit close with my bus to the airport, forgetting to make allowance for unforeseen Los Angeles traffic, but I made it in time, checked in and go through airport security relatively quickly.  The flight was uneventful, just the way it should be.

Eric was given extra work days, so my friend, Erin picked me up from the airport (I'm so grateful!)  I arrived home around 9pm back with my sweet husband, who was waiting up for me and ended up going to work the next day on about 5 hours of sleep.

The following morning I awoke early and rested, went to pick Bailey up at the kennel and went into "tornado mode" at the house getting everything into "Kristie's version" of "ship shape."

I'm glad I got to visit and I'm glad to be home.

It is days like this that really make me grateful to be back home.  This is the view half a block away from our house.  Is that gorgeous, or what?  I took this picture today while walking Bailey.  Home sweet home.

Some More Time Out...

You know how it is when you hear a really great talk that applies to your life and then--poof!--it's over and gone?  The talks at last November's Time Out for Women conference were so good that I bought the DVD so I could listen to them again and again.  Yes, they were that good.

Happily, some friends were interested in listening to them too.  So last night we had a mini Time Out for Women conference in our family room.  We watched the 3 talks that I consider to be the best of the weekend, pausing after each one to discuss its applications to our lives.  Rarely have I heard talks that resonated so strongly with me, with the way women think and feel and act, and with such spiritual connections.

The first, by Virginia Hinckley Pierce, was on Forgiveness.  She addresses the topic with logic that I have never heard before--the idea that forgiveness is between you and the Lord, not necessarily you and the person who hurt you.  That person has already been forgiven.  She talks about what a gift forgiveness is...to you and to the other person.  It allows you to move on and it allows the other person to spiritually progress.  Does it mean saying "it's OK?"  or putting yourself in Harm's way again?  Certainly not.  But it is about healing and letting go of your own pride that may be an obstacle in your current "forgiveness project."

The second was by Sheri Dew, an absolute force of nature of a woman who is also the CEO of Deseret Book.  Never married, she addressed the role of women in the LDS church.  Mainly, she addressed the "poor oppressed Mormon woman" as many who are not familiar with the church think exists.  She reminded us that everything that the Lord promises men he also promises women.  That significant events in the Bible and Book of Mormon happened to women and because of women.  Hers was the last talk of Friday evening for those of us who attended in person, and we left feeling very empowered...or should I say...reminded that we are already empowered.

The last talk was by Laurel Christensen, a VP at Deseret Book.  She's a year younger than me, one of the main organizers of the Time Out for Women event, and was single at the time that she gave her talk (she has since become engaged.)  She spoke on the idea of waiting, and living "As If" what you are waiting for and praying for is right around the corner.  She reminded us of the Lord's timeline, and that we are exactly where He knew we would be in our lives.  And that the Lord waits too, waiting to answer our prayers if we would just pray and ask.  Waiting to give us His richest blessings if we would just get our lives in order, or maybe do things in the right order.  The most poignant quote from her talk?  "The Lord values our [free] agency more than our happiness."  How powerful is that?

So that was my Saturday night--sitting in the presence of 5 wonderful women who came over to partake of all that wisdom.  We munched on many goodies strewn across the bar in our huge downstairs family room, we listened intently, and we internalized the amazing messages that these 3 women shared with us.

A really good night.

Birthday Blog...the big 4-2

Another year passed.  Call me childish and immature, but even at this age I still like having a fuss made over me on my birthday. 

Today was a lovely one. 

Thanks to a dog with potty issues half the night, I was awake bright and early as Eric left for work.  A beautiful card with loving sentiment inside awaited me. 

The next few hours were spent fruitlessly trying to go back to sleep.  It wasn't to be. 

After prepping some pepper steak for Eric's dinner tonight I got ready for my birthday lunch, attended by 4 lovely ladies from church.  Even the snarky waitress couldn't spoil the fun.  I had a chicken chef salad...dark meat!  It's almost as if they knew.  I received a beautiful yellow tulip, a gift certificate, and some Wild Orange essential oil.  Mmmm. Plus some gorgeous cards with loving words from friends inside.

After lunch I scrambled to run errands and walk the dog before leaving to help with the set-up at our Relief Society Anniversary dinner.  The time flew, I helped with the meal, and still had time to eat nd enjoy the program.  After being involved in the planning, it was thrilling to see the night go off without a hitch and to see everyone have a good time.  Another good friend presented me with a sweet basket filled with lavender-scented items and a lovely card.

I was able to spend a short time in the evening with my hubby upon arriving home.  He makes me so very grateful for the life we lead together. 

As another birthday comes to a close I thank the many who made today special.  Cards and phone calls from friends and family, a fun lunch, countless Facebook birthday greetings...(If you want to feel loved on your birthday, go to Facebook.)  As an extra treat, the sun was shining brightly and the day was gorgeous.

I am truly content, not wanting to take any of these things for granted.  Thank you, Heavenly Father for another year, my husband, family, friends, and this life I enjoy.

Pink Polka Dot Creations...The Creativity Never Ends!

This week I was visited by new Visiting Teachers and I learned about a new website.

Sidebar for those who do not know what Visiting Teaching is: in the LDS (Mormon) church the ladies are paired up and assigned to visit a small number of other ladies once a month (about 3-4.)  The Church provides a message for us to share when we go visiting and we are encouraged to think of the ladies we visit as a stewardship, but to get to know them and love them.  We should know their needs, if they're sick or having problems, and they should know that they can call on their Visiting Teachers at any time.  Each man is assigned a group of families to visit, and his responsibilities to them are the same.  That is called Home Teaching.  These are amazing programs because it means that if you ever need something, you know you can call on your Visiting or Home Teachers.  No one is forgotten.  Isn't that wonderful?

Well, when my new Visiting Teachers arrived this week I was given a mini loaf of homemade bread and a cute little card with the month's spiritual thought.  Anything cute and creative on the computer immediately catches my eye (since I have no plans to make homemade bread.) After a lovely visit with my company, I went to the website where the card came from and was so impressed.  Pink Polka Dot Creations. (The name is the link.)



Aside from the monthly printables for Visiting Teachers to use, there are recipes, crafts, ideas for making your own household items, and many other unique and very doable ideas.  I am just amazed at the level and variety of creativity exhibited by Rita, the lady who runs the site.  Whenever she posts a new printable or craft she is already talking about the next one.  And the best part?  She shares all of her incredible ideas with the rest of us who are a little slower on the uptake.  Yes, one day I'll jump onto the digital scrapbooking bandwagon..or not.

Here's an example of her gorgeous Visiting Teaching handouts.  All credits to Rita at pinkpolkadotcreations.com:

Aren't those beautiful?  For $2.99 I bought a 25 pack of cardstock, plus some scalloped crafting scissors and, voila, my VT companion and I are all set for our March visits.  (You are welcome to use the March message I have posted here, but I will not be doing this on a monthly basis. But rest assured, her site is very user-friendly.)

Yay!  I love discovering new sites, new ideas, and new ways to be creative!

Movie Review: Hitchcock

Last night, after a productive day, I decided to order a film I've been wanting to see for quite some time:  Hitchcock, with Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren.  As someone who never had much use for cable TV and the On Demand feature when I lived in California, it has been nice--since moving to Washington-- to have the option of immediate rentals of films that didn't play in our area.

With a star studded cast and an intriguing subject, I had high hopes for this film. But even though the two leads are personal favorites, the film fell flat, and I think it was because of the way Hitchcock ("Hitch") was portrayed and a script that couldn't keep its focus.  Anthony Hopkins, who was virtually unrecognizable behind brown contacts and a fat suit, could not act his way through the layers of makeup.  And Helen Mirren was miscast as his dowdy, silently suffering wife.  (There is nothing dowdy about Helen Mirren.)  You don't know how much it pains me to say that, but they could not save this film.

The supporting characters in the story, which was a fictionalized telling of Hitchcock's making of Psycho, were good, but underused.  Scarlett Johansson was a gorgeous Janet Leigh, although not quite as demure as the original; Jessica Biel was a mature and understated Vera Miles, the actress who was supposed to play the lead until pregnancy had her relegated to a supporting role; and Toni Collette was great as Hitch's assistant.

The one who impressed me most, though, was James D'Arcy (Russell Crowe's first mate in Master and Commander, one of my all time favorite movies) as Anthony Perkins, Psycho's star who was forever typecast after taking this role.  He did what Anthony Hopkins could not do this time, which is inhabit the character.  His resemblance to Perkins is astonishing, and his portrayal was creepy in its subtlety, both as the actor Perkins and as Norman Bates.  

Peripheral references to Hitchcock's marriage problems felt whiny and out of place, as if they should've been the subject of a completely different movie.  Or not.

In all, a disappointment.

More Crock Pottin' and Secretary-en

This is your basic catch-up post because I don't want much more time to pass before updating...

So, what have I been doing?

A lot of Crock Pot experimenting.  Nothing difficult, but just some basic recipes that I knew I could do and that I thought my hubby and I would both enjoy.  The best ones, in my opinion, have been the Mexican chicken and the salisbury steak...Yum!  I loved the way the Mexican chicken barely clung to the bone at serving time--it reminded me of my grandmother's cooking, although I never saw her use a Crock Pot...ever.  She just had magically perfect timing when it came to cooking.  Everything she made turned out amazing.  The salisbury steak was also a hit.  I was shocked at the size of the recipe when it was done, but it was so good and we were so hungry...I'm ashamed to say we ate up every morsel.  I'm making it for Valentine's Day this Thursday.

Other experiments have been pepper steak, chicken/noodle casserole, chicken fajitas, and pork chops with apples and cinnamon.  Everything has turned out fine except for the pork chops, which were more like pork-meat-apple-cinnamon-mush.  We agreed that we prefer our simple way of cooking pork chops.

And yes, see those bold typed meals up there?  Those are links to take you to the recipes.  The only modification I made was that I used 6 chicken thighs with the Mexican chicken (salsa chicken on the site.)

And because I've been so brave about trying new recipes lately, I also made my grandmother's albondigas (meatballs) the other day--not the soup, but meatballs in sauce.  I cooked them in the pot I inherited from her and the smells in the kitchen were just like her kitchen when she made them.  That is why I call her pot the "magic pot."  I feel like I'm channeling some of her cooking energy and talents every time I use it, which is at least once a week.

To segue...

The other endeavor that has been using my time has been my new calling as Relief Society secretary.  For those who do not know, that is the name of the ladies' organization in the LDS church.  I love Relief Society and I love the ladies in our ward, so it is a pleasure to get to know some of them better and serve them in this way.  I will admit, that it is a demanding calling, but I'm learning new things every week.  I also like that it requires computer skills, some which I have, and some which I am sharpening, but all that are very useful.  But, since those who know me well also know that I have a deep and personal relationship with my computer, I love the challenge of trying new things on it.

And now, time to end this post.  My tired eyes are doing the"blinky blink," a sign that it is time to step away from the computer and call it a day. But before I do, I wish all who read this a good week and very Happy Valentines Day!  I hope you get to spend it with someone you love.

Stew, Cookies, and Ventriloquism

What a weird, yet productive day!

The weather has been gloomy, rainy and overcast, so I certainly did not get my motivation from sunny skies.  And I feel bad that my doggie has gone  2 days without a walk, but I cannot bring myself to be one of those people who walks their dog in the pouring rain.  I would love to follow one of those people home.  Does the wet dog just shake all over their house, spraying muddy water everywhere?  It's a mystery to me, and until I find a nice, clean, non-smelly answer to rainy dog-walking, I'm out.

Since I've established this "no housework on Sundays" rule for myself, there was plenty of laundry awaiting my attention.  I know, fascinating stuff.  This was also the morning I had set aside to try out my Crock Pot for the first time--a Christmas present from my brother and sister-in-law.  It has been sitting on the counter, out of its box, for a week, luring me to use it.

I decided to make beef stew.  Hubby loves beef, and I rarely (ha) cook it.  At 8:30 this morning I was chopping garlic, onions, carrots, potatoes, coating the meat, etc and tossing it all into the pot.  Everyone on Facebook is always raving about their Crock Pot--and I have felt in a bit of a rut with cooking lately--so I decided to ask for one.  Because of these magical testimonials, I felt compelled to stand over it for the first several minutes after putting all of the ingredients in and turning the dial...I'm not sure what I was expecting.  Surely no recipe that needs to cook for 6 hours is going to make any major transformations in just a few minutes.

Happily, though, transformations and Crock Pot magic did start to occur.  The old adage is wrong--a watched pot does boil--you just have to wait an hour or two.  Soon the house began filling with wonderful smells (I knew it was more than the remnants of garlic on my fingers,) and, after 5 hours, presto.

Keep in mind that stew is not meant to be beautiful, which was, obviously, accomplished today.

 I did learn one thing, best to let the stuff sit for a little bit to cool it down and congeal.  We discovered this after a few "oos!" and "aahs!" as we bit right into it.  I will say, honestly, that I think it smelled a lot better than it tasted, but it smelled fantastic, which means it tasted pretty good.  I'm excited to try other recipes.  We ate it with rolls and a fruit salad on the side.  Not bad for a beginning attempt, I think.

My foray into Crock Pottery made me want to try something else.  I had the time, so why not?  This Friday I'm going to a chocolate-themed party and I wanted to do a trial run with the recipe I'm bringing.  Last year, in my attempt to be exotic, I took a chocolate fondue with wafers and fruit for dipping.  I'll be the first to say, it wasn't that good.  I definitely jumped into the deep end of the pool with that one.

After researching recipes, I had narrowed it down to 3--chocolate-dipped macaroons, chocolate-filled crescents, or chocolate bread pudding.  The macaroon recipe seemed tailored to my abilities, so I tried it.  I love easy recipes that do what they say they are going to do, and look like much more work went into them than actually did. 

Yes, I actually made these.  Recipe on realsimple.com

I have to include what Hubby was doing while I was making the macaroons.  He's on his final night of the graveyard shift tonight, so he'd been sleeping that fitful graveyard sleep for a few hours.  As I was spooning the coconutty mixture onto the parchment paper, he was looking up some of his favorite songs on the iPad and turning up the speakers we have in the kitchen.  So I was preparing these with Marty Robbins, Ronnie Milsap, and, of course, Hubby, serenading me.  That was the best part.. and it made for a pretty good afternoon.

So where does ventriloquism come in?

After Hubby left for work I was browsing on Netflix at my computer.  I love coming across quirky documentaries, and today I found a great one.  It is called Nina Conti:  Her Master's Voice.  I had heard of Nina Conti because she is an incredible ventriloquist whose videos are all over YouTube.  Her acts are funny and really clever.  The reviews were favorable, the doc was only an hour, so I hit play and just sat watching on the iMac.

I highly recommend watching her act on YouTube before watching the film.  There's a great one HERE.

It was really interesting!  It's basically her about her pilgrimage from the UK to Kentucky.  She was there for 2 reasons: to attend a ventriloquism convention, and to donate one of her mentor's puppets (he had recently passed away) to a museum.  You see how this otherwise shy person exerts her personality and humor through these alter egos.  Most of her talking is done through the puppets (who are very witty, by the way.)  She is so good at separating herself from the puppet that you almost forget that she is the one making it come to life.  Her interactions and interviews with other ventriloquists at the convention are equally fascinating.  It turns out that people who choose this vocation--and it really is a vocation--have a lot in common.

So that was my day, from smelly garlic hands, to macaroon success, to watching wooden heads come to life.  Not your typical day, but a good one.

Since I've Been Home...

I love this photo.  It reminds me of that connection we feel to home, and that, no matter where we are, we carry that connection with us.

We will call this a "catch up" post...

I'm not sure why, but my recovery time since arriving home from California has been especially long.  For nearly 2 weeks upon my return I was completely unmotivated to do anything productive.  I forced myself to put away the Christmas decorations, which took 3 days, a little here and a little there.  The irony is that I was very amped when I put them up, and did it all in 1 day!  If anyone has an explanation for that, I would love to hear it.

Part of it, I think, is going from 3 weeks in a situation where I was not in my own house and didn't have to think about laundry, groceries, cooking, cleaning, and pets, to suddenly having to get back into the mindset of taking care of a home.  But rest assured, the CA trip was busy and taxing in other ways.  It has been a little strange, though, because I have had to almost reteach myself my systems for doing certain things.  ("This is your system for laundry," "This is your system for timing dinner just right," "This is the way you normally schedule your day.")  I'm big into systems.  I try to be flexible within them, but I like having a certain way of doing things.

And, I was given a new calling at church.  Relief Society (ladies' organization) secretary.  I was happy to accept the position, but sad to give up my previous calling, which was giving a monthly lesson in Relief Society.  I loved that calling.  Being secretary has a host of responsibilities, all of which require a lot of attention to detail and plenty of time on the computer (very much my thing,) but there is a learning curve, definitely.

Then, suddenly, a few curve-balls came into the mix.  None of them happened directly to us, but there has been a lot of tragedy in the lives of people we are close to.  In the last month and a half, five families we know have lost someone, plus a high school friend died after a battle with cancer.  I can't say I knew all of the people who passed away, but knowing people who have been affected has been draining.  No one likes to be reminded of our mortality, but it seems like we have been forced to think about it again and again recently. (And constantly trying to counter-balance that by being thankful for our blessings and our marriage.)

One of these losses prompted my husband to get on a plane and go out of town for a few days.  I completely supported the decision, but it gave me a chance to see things from his end when I'm visiting my family in CA.  It was kind of weird being in the house alone (with the pets) for 5 days.  I made chef salads each night for dinner and basically lived in 4 rooms of an 11-room house.  Let's just say that I was very glad when he came home.

Despite the oddity of being the one left behind, there were things to keep me busy each day.  Book Club, helping a friend use her iPad and computer, making dinner for a couple in our ward who needed some extra help for a few days, and catching up on some of my British murder mystery shows.  And Downton Abbey, of course.

And now I'm looking ahead to the end of January and the beginning of February.  The first week of next month already has 4 events, which is usually the way things happen. A party, a church meeting, a church activity, and a piano recital.  Something tells me that week is going to fly by.

So, even though there have been some bumps, and it has taken a while to settle back into my routine, things feel back to normal now. That's OK.  We like normal.  Normal is good!

19 Days in California...

Happy New Year, everyone. To anyone reading this, I hope you had a lovely holiday season.

On Monday I returned from 19 days in California and it is wonderful to be back in my own house with my husband once again.

As always, going to California for me is more like a "working vacation," with tons of events and obligations crammed into just a few days. 

It was a very busy 19 days...

I arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday, December 21st.  I traveled alone because my hubby had to work on Christmas and on New Year's.  It was an experiment, spending the holidays apart like this, but I don't know if I would do that again.

Two little cuties!

Thursdays is when my brother's 2 cute kids, X and A, stay overnight at my mom's.  It was great to see them, but I was exhausted from getting up so early.  And I slept horribly the first night there and spent Friday trying to recover.  I'm afraid I couldn't enjoy the kids a lot because I was so tired, but we saw them plenty of times throughout my trip.

On Friday night my mom and I had tickets to see A Christmas Carol at the Glendale Centre Theatre.  We love that theater and have been going there for years, but I had never seen their annual production of A Christmas Carol.  It was delightful.

The next day we started getting ready for Christmas Eve and also looked at furniture.  My mom just finished a huge remodel on half of her house.  Some items are going to be replaced and some are going to be reupholstered.  A lot of decisions yet to be made!

Christmas Eve rolled around a couple of days later and it was a huge success, despite the noticeable absences of a few military cousins and my hubby.  My family has been readjusting for 5 Christmases since my grandparents died in 2008, and I think this was the best Christmas Eve yet since their passing.  It has been a slow process.  Strangely, I attribute a lot of this year's success to the fact that my mom's new family room looks a lot like my grandparents' did, and she is using their furniture in it.  We were back in our comfort zone, and we needed it.

 Christmas Day was a lot quieter.  It was just my mom and me.  A little too quiet for my taste.  We drove to the mall to see Les Miserables, which was sold out, so we bought tickets for a later show and went back in the evening.  I wish I could say that I enjoyed the film, but it did not live up to my expectations.  I love the stage production and the music is unparalleled, but I thought the film was really lacking.  Apologies to those who disagree!

Divine's Furniture in Monterey Park, CA.  An absolute treasure trove.

The next few days were spent cleaning up from Christmas Eve, looking at fabric and going to furniture stores.  The crowning achievement came when we found a store in Monterey Park that my grandmother used to buy from.  As soon as my mom and I walked in we knew we had hit the mother-load.  All of the furniture was old, antique, refurbished pieces in marvelous condition.  It is exactly the kind of furniture I love and have in my house (most of mine were inherited pieces from grandparents and an elderly neighbor.)  We looked no further than this place and spent hours in there over the course of several more days.

On New Year's Eve we returned again to the Glendale Centre Theatre and watched their New Year's play, called Heaven Can Wait.  It was cute, and there were goody bags with tiaras and noisemakers for everyone, plus "free" refreshments. 

On New Year's Day my mom went to the Rose Parade, as she does every single year.  Rain or shine, alone or in a group, she goes.  I opted out this year.  It was just too cold.  I stayed and did laundry instead.  Tedious, but productive.  She came home around noon and we ended up going to see Lincoln, then out to dinner at a diner in Alhambra.  Lincoln asks a lot of the viewer, and it was my second time to see it, but it was still better than Les Miz.

Eric calls this picture "Panorama Grandma"

I did a lot of visiting while I was there.  The day after New Year's was spent with my grandma, the day after that with a longtime friend who I hadn't seen in a year, and the final Saturday with one of my cousins.

Me and my friend, Cathy.  Friends since kindergarten. If you're counting, that's 37 years. I love that whenever we see each, we just pick up where we left off.

Saturday morning was a time of excitement because there was a very special delivery at my mom's house.  Her piano, an 1892 upright that she has had since she was 8 years old, was returned to the house in its newly restored state.  The man who worked on it did a phenomenal job.  It has been in disrepair throughout my entire life, despite the fact that it is the piano that I learned on as a child. I had just come to accept its chipped keys, keys that sank down and never came up, keys that didn't work at all, and the piano's overall mournful sound.  But no longer.  Everything looks and sounds like new, and I had the chance to play it for 2 whole days before I left.

Gorgeous!  Welcome home you beauty!

Saturday evening was spent at a lovely, but chilly, outdoor wedding reception for a friend I hardly ever get to see.  It was such a highly-anticipated wedding that I even changed my original flight plans in order to attend.  I had to support the newly married couple, and wish them every happiness.

Hooray for Mark and Necia!!!

Sunday was my third week in my mom's ward, and the day ended saying goodbye to friends there, finishing laundry and packing.  That evening I went to my brother's house to say goodbye to my niece and nephew.  The kids were eating and my heart was touched when my nephew stopped what he was doing to get up and give me a big hug.  I love those little ones!

Downton Abbey--the best show there is!

That night came the much awaited Downton Abbey season 3 premiere.  My mom and I watched the story unfold with baited breath.

I arrived home the next afternoon after a tiring morning and a bumpy flight.  The tired traveler, seeing my hubby after nearly 3 weeks, was a wonderful thing.  I find that the longer we are married, the harder it is to be apart.  We went for dinner and then drove the 40 miles home.  The pets were happy to see me, especially by very devoted dog, and it was and is extremely nice to be home.

Did I mention how nice it is to be home?

This is my hunk of adorableness that was waiting for me. 

Christmas Wishes to You

As this will be my last post for 2012, I would just like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and

a Happy New Year.  Thank you to those who continue to visit this blog, leave comments and feedback (often in person,) and motivate me to keep writing.  My next post will be in about 3 weeks.

In the meantime, may you love and be loved.  May you hold close those dearest to you, whether in your arms or in your hearts.  And may we all remember the birth of our Savior throughout this Christmas season.

Best holiday wishes and a fun, safe New Year to you all.

Prayers for Newtown...

I have already commented on Friday's tragedy several times on my other blog, but my heart remains heavy as pictures of the little victims have started to be released.

As predicted, the issue of gun control has already arisen.  I heard another person say they think that the school should be demolished and a memorial put in its place.  (I do not agree with that idea at all.)  Others have talked about turning off Christmas lights and putting away decorations in the wake of what happened because celebrating seems so inappropriate.

To me, most of these ideas give power to the gunman and to Fear, which is not what we want to do.  Focus on the identities of the victims and their families, yes.  Don't watch too much news footage or give status (however negative) to the the gunman's name, also yes.

We continue to attempt to make sense of the senseless. We look for reasons why these things occur and why innocent lives were taken too soon.  We don't like accepting that horrible random things just happen to those who don't deserve it.  

I am trying to keep it simple.  No more news, a healing heart, and moving forward.  Thank goodness that I have that luxury. 

Remembering the Grandparents...

Today my mom sent me the picture above, of my niece and nephew on either side of my grandparents' grave.  The email subject was "remembering the Titos," because we called them Tito and Tita.  They both passed away in 2008.  My grandpa in March at age 97 and my grandma in July at age 90.  They had been married 66 years.

In another blog post on my other site I wrote an entry called The Blessings of Family.  And it is true, family is such a blessing.  At least mine is. 

I love that my mom takes my niece and nephew to visit their great-grandparents at the cemetery, that she talks of them often and makes them come alive in their world. My nephew only met my grandpa the day before he passed away, and my niece never had a chance to meet them.  But knowing the sensitivity of children and the huge presence that my grandparents were in our lives, visiting their grave site isn't creepy or morbid for us. It is just the best we can do for now until we are all together again. 

The Road Signs of Life...

There is something I heard the other day that was so profound, I cannot stop thinking about it.  What is even more amazing is that this concept was created and explained by a young child.
It was at church on Sunday, where we were having our monthly testimony meeting.  It is a chance for anyone to go up to the podium and share a spiritual experience and their feelings about the Lord's role in their life.  As the time was coming to a close, the son of some friends (age 8 or 9) took a turn.  And this is what he said:

I think of us as cars on a road.  There are all of these signs pointing us in the right direction and telling us what we need to do.  That is the Gospel.  And there are all of these ditches and cracks in the road trying to throw us off.  That is the Adversary.  And if we just follow the signs and directions and watch out for the ditches and cracks, we'll find our way back to our Heavenly Father.

Is that not one of the best explanations for living a good life you've ever heard?  I was awestruck at this child's wisdom.  His mother was sitting right in front of me and I asked her where he had heard this.  She didn't know.  His sincerity and earnestness seemed to indicate that it was something he had thought of himself.

I have been thinking about it for the last two days in relation to decisions I have made in my life.  I can, happily, say that I have not made any really bad life-altering choices.  But there are times in my life where I have been stubborn or prideful and there have been consequences.  There were signs pointing in the right direction which I chose not to follow and this particular car hit a few ditches instead.

Looking back, I cannot really see myself doing anything differently.  The person I am today is a culmination of all my experiences.  But I can think of times in my life when I could have been happier, more productive, and more selfless.  If I have any regrets, it is knowing that those moments are gone and cannot be undone.

Fortunately, the road is far from over.  I would like to think that age and experience is bringing clarity as those situations may present themselves again.  Next time I will pay better attention to the signs along the way.