Are You Amazing?

Why is it that a five-year old will answer this question with "Yes!" No hesitation, complete confidence. Just "Yes!" That five-year old knows she is amazing.

But ten years later, if you ask the same girl "Are you amazing?" she will have all kinds of doubt. She will have to ask herself "Am I amazing?" and she will ultimately, tragically, and incorrectly come up with the answer "Not really."

Why?

I don't have the answer. I have theories but they aren't as important as the question.

So, I ask you, the reader:

Are you amazing?

The answer is: Yes. You are amazing.

I have no doubt of that. Neither should you.

You are unique, you are wonderful, you are you.

AMAZING!!

Viva La Love Story

This video combines two songs that just make me melt: Love Story by Taylor Swift and Viva La Vida by Coldplay. It's gorgeous and romantic and full of hope. I hope you enjoy it.

Spain! Italy! France!

Come explore Spain, the French Riviera and Italy with other LDS Singles on the Voyager of the Seas!

Um, how could I not want in on this trip? As soon as Emily B sent me the Facebook invitation, I knew I must go! It's taken some coordinating, but Emily B, Stephanie J and I are going and we're going to room together. I called the travel agent this morning to put down the down payment.

I AM SO EXCITED!! Italy was next on my list of places to see, I've never been to southern France or anywhere in Spain, I adore cruises, and I adore the two women I'm going with!

Cruise Itinerary
Day 1 Barcelona, Spain 7 PM
Day 2 Fun Day At Sea
Day 3 Naples, Capri, Italy 7 AM to 7 PM
Day 4 Civitavecchia (ROME), Italy 7 AM to 7 PM
Day 5 Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy 7 AM to 7 PM
Day 6 Villefranche (Nice), France 7 AM to 7 PM
Day 7 Provence (Marseilles), France 7 AM to 5 PM
Day 8 Barcelona, Spain 6 AM

We're planning to go a couple of days early to spend some time in Barcelona before the ship shoves off. Two weeks in Europe! 'Twil be an amazing trip.

Hey -- if I have to be single, I might as well take off and play with other single folks in amazing, gorgeous, historic Europe! Woo-hoo!!

First Snow of the Season

I always like to note the first snowfall of the season. Today's looked like a goose-down pillow burst and the snow didn't stick, but it was still snow! Sweater and wool scarf season is here!

Hooray!

My guess is that it will snow on and off for the next 2 days, and then we won't have any more until after Thanksgiving...

Lessons Learned 10/26

Today I learned:

1. I do NOT like portabella mushrooms.

2. Watch where I put my hands. (Pretty much, just be aware of my surroundings.)

3. I WANT the "hard" notes. (Tell me what to fix so that I can grow as an actress and not stink up the show!)

4. To hum before I speak so that my voice is more lyrical and melodious.

5. If I tell the shop girl at the dance store that I need ballet slippers for a play, she will recommend the cheap ones. (Yay! Inexpensive shoes are still new shoes!)

6. The exact moment when I think I might catch up on work is when two more projects will drop in my lap.

7. My skin will break out before, after, and during any stressful event in at least seven places on my face.

8. I am capable of talking to cute boys without devolving into a goon.

9. More people are unashamed Star Trek fans than I would have ever suspected.

10. If I'm going to sit down really hard, make sure I'm not going to ram my tailbone on the corner of a wooden box.

and

11. The woman who taught me most of what I know about theatre etiquette and character work thinks I am a tremendous actress!

Been a busy day -- I think I'll go watch Dancing with the Stars, sit on an ice pack, and relax before bedtime!

Working Theory

I admit, I think about those kinds of things all the time...

Kiss Me Earnest

I auditioned for two plays today.

The first was The Importance of Being Earnest at Hale Centre Theatre West Valley City. Miss Cecily Cardew is one of my absolute dream roles! I have been preparing for this audition for weeks. I haven't auditioned for a straight play in awhile, and I really, really wanted to give myself the best chance possible. I even solicited help from two trusted friends, Kate and Stephanie J, who gave me wonderful advice and encouragement. (This is the audition I was referring to in the Audition post. I had to scrap the original monologue, but I think my audition was the better for that week of work.)

Even after rehearsing for a solid week and really working on the reading the director requested, I was nervous this morning. But I went in and gave it all I had. I feel great about it. I couldn't have done any more than I did. I know I was good and I had fun! I was actually surprised that I wasn't called back. I am probably more disappointed than I will admit to myself. I've heard some rumors since this morning about what they were looking for with Cecily, and there's nothing I could have done about the "wishes" that I don't meet. It's just the way it is so I won't worry at it. I have absolutely no regrets about the audition. I am glad that I gave it a shot and that I did so well!

I just hope I have another opportunity soon to audition for Earnest again. I really do want to play Cecily someday!

To take some of the pressure of the Earnest audition off, I decided to audition for Kiss Me Kate at Rodgers Memorial Theatre today, too. I figured, if I wasn't called back for Earnest then I'd still get to go sing and dance and have some fun, and if I was called back for Earnest it would be something to do with the excited energy.

I was thrilled when I pulled into the parking lot and saw my friend Austin walking past. He had just auditioned too! He came with me and waited for me to sing so that we could grab some lunch together before the dance audition (I think it's a great idea to dance as part of the initial audition to give people a second chance at a call back). I literally selected a song at midnight last night and then rehearsed it the entire hour in between the Earnest and Kate auditions this morning. I sang "42nd Street" which I know well, and I think I did fine if not good. I just love to sing!

Austin and I ate burgers at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries and still had plenty of time to hang out before the dance audition. We had the option to do an easy dance and/or a difficult one, since not all of the parts require a lot of dancing. I chose to do both, but I really wasn't feeling the easy dance. After I finished, I thought "This is lame. What am I even doing here?"

I enjoyed the difficult dance more. It was freakishly fast and hard, but I was able to do it and I had fun. I felt a little intimidated by some of the other women there. Looking around and watching the other girls I realized what an un-Fosse-esque body I have. I danced fine, but I don't think I looked quite right. Crazy. I could do the steps and was proud of myself at the end. I don't have much training, but I do like to dance!

I didn't get called back for Kiss Me Kate, either. It's probably just as well. I should probably finish Sleeping Beauty before I get too deep into another show!

The funniest part of today? After I finished my Earnest audition, while I waited to find out of I'd been called back, I pulled out the book I'm reading -- Persuasion by Jane Austen. The second paragraph I read said:

"It is over! it is over!" she repeated to herself again, and again, in nervous gratitude. "The worst is over!"

Ain't that the truth? Classic!

Tired

I am tired.

I always forget how much energy rehearsing a play takes out of me.

But then, it's not just the play. It's work, and the play, and preparing for the next play, and eating, and finding time to be with friends, and taking showers, and finding time to be with family, and church, and working at night after rehearsal, and my calling, and necessary "down" time before I crawl into bed, and grocery shopping, and scripture study.

It's a lot of stuff. A lot of stuff I don't want to give up.

So, even though I am so exhausted I almost started crying at work yesterday for no reason other than I seriously need a nap

I am happy!

I am doing exactly what I want to do. I chose all of this. Nobody is making me do it. Even going to work isn't something I'm forced to do. I get to go to work every day and be useful and have something to show for my day. I get to be in a play where I love the cast and play a fairy who breaks into song all the time. My friends and family want to spend time with me, and I with them. I get to wash my hair and smell like rosemary mint (the scent of my shampoo and conditioner). I get to eat pretty much whenever I need to. I get to read the scriptures and renew my spiritual bond with my Heavenly Father every day. I could give up any of these activities and have more time to sleep but I don't want to! I choose to be active. I choose to do all of these activities because they encourage my personal growth and happiness.

The amazing thing is in spite of being so busy I don't have stressful drama at the present.

I am blessed.

Life is good.

Tiring, but good.

Question of the Day

This week, we have two co-workers from China visiting and working at my office in Sandy.

Here's my question for today:

If you were in charge of taking two native Chinese men to dinner in downtown Salt Lake, where would you take them?

Let me qualify this by saying that I am not in charge of taking these men to dinner. Some other co-workers are. My suggestions were Settebello (Italian) or Sawadee (Thai). The food at both places is excellent, plus they aren't as chain-y as places like Olive Garden and Chili's -- at least, not in the Utah valley. I like the Olive Garden and Chili's a lot, but I could go to them pretty much anywhere in the States. Then again, maybe they've never been, so maybe they would like them.

I was asked why I didn't suggest a Chinese restaurant. Well, I'm not really a fan of Chinese so I don't know where the good places are. Plus, isn't the point of going out of town to try something a little different? I hardly know these men, and neither does the friend taking them out, so I have no idea what their preferences are. All I know is they are Engineers in town from China.

So, where would you suggest?

A Tale of Two Computers, part 1

Once upon a time, a woman named Miss Megan bought a laptop computer. It was her first big purchase and she was oh so proud of it! She put her photos and stories on that little laptop, wrote e-mails, shopped online, and started a blog. She was part of the digital age and it felt good.

Six years later, the laptop had served her very well, but it was no longer doing all she needed it to. It ran more and more slowly with each passing month. Suddenly, it stopped recognizing any external devices such as the printer, the external hard drive, and the small USB storage device she had been using since she bought the computer. She spent some time on the phone and online tech support, but finally had to face the facts: it was time to buy a new computer.

So, she asked for a lot of advice from technology-minded friends, did quite a bit of online research, and visited several stores. Megan considered getting a desktop computer, but since she liked playing on the computer while sitting on the couch rather than at her desk, a netbook or laptop seemed the better way to go. She finally decided on a netbook, liking the idea of being able to carry it with her in her purse.

She and her mother went to Costco and bought one on a Wednesday in September (her mother had to come because Megan didn't have a Costco card), and by that night Megan had linked it with her external hard drive so that she could access the photos and other files she'd managed to retrieve from the previous computer before it failed to recognize said hard drive anymore.

The netbook worked much, MUCH faster than the old laptop and the battery worked for a lovely six hours rather than one. The new netbook had a video camera on it, and Megan and her family got a big kick out of talking with her brother Peter in Philadelphia on Skype. And, as she had suspected, Megan absolutely loved carrying the netbook around in her purse as though it were another book she was reading.

However, Megan soon realized that the small screen came with a price: she had to do a lot of scrolling, many pop-ups didn't fit in the screen, and the resolution was too small to accommodate her printer/scanner. She asked for more advice and considered buying another monitor she could connect with the netbook at home for those fancier functions.

Most unfortunately another monitor wouldn't solve the biggest problem: Internet connections were iffy on this netbook. Megan hadn't set up WiFi in her condo, most of the other nearby connections were password-protected and they all had low connectivity in her neck of the woods anyway, so the wireless option was rather useless. Worse, for some reason the netbook didn't play well with Megan's Internet connection when she physically plugged in the cord. Gah! A computer without Internet is a fairly frustrating thing, especially when Megan had just determined to write in her blog every day and often needed to work from home.

So, Megan decided she would have to return the netbook to Costco. Thank goodness they had a 90 day return policy on electronics! She resumed working on her old laptop again for awhile longer while she did more research on the kind of laptop she wanted, because even if she couldn't connect her iPod or upload photos from the camera her parents gave her for her birthday, at least the Internet on the old laptop still worked... though it took a good 45 minutes to boot up the computer and get the Internet running.

Then, on the evening of Saturday, October 17, Megan discovered that the Internet connection on her old laptop had failed. It failed again on Sunday and yet again on Monday. It seemed the poor machine was on its last legs and gasping for breath. Not having a functioning computer was not an option. It was time to go back to Costco for a new laptop. She would have to make it a priority sometime that week in between work, rehearsals, and social engagements.

To be continued after Miss Megan buys a new laptop...

Updated: Continued in A Tale of Two Computers, part 2

What a piece of work is man!

What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason!
how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how
express and admirable! in action how like an angel!
in apprehension how like a god!
- William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act II scene ii

Facebook Updates

Any of my Facebook friends will tell you that I don't get onto Facebook very often. This is because I spend all day at work on the computer, and the last thing I want to do when I get home is spend a whole lot more time on the computer. I sometimes get on during work, but Facebook is so addictive I purposely stay away. I could literally spend all day, every day on Facebook seeing what all my friends are up to and sending messages to so many people I like and never get to talk to. It's a dilemma.

Truth to be told, I'd much rather blog than spend time on Facebook. Guess I like the introspective-ness of blogging.

Oddly, however, I have begun to think in terms of updating my Facebook status. Following are some statuses I've wanted to post in the last week, but never got around to:

"Yo, matey. You just stabbed me with your pen[cil]."

"There are few things in life better than a nephew and two nieces."

"I didn't break my keyboard over my computer monitor today. I'd call that a success."

"It was nice to see Ty Murray again on Dancing with the Stars."

"Finished off two jars of pumpkin seeds in 8 days. Anyone carving a jack o lantern anytime soon? If so, may I have the seeds?"

"If it looks like a duck, and talks like a duck..."

"Is greatful for her own problems, because I couldn't handle what some of my friends are going through."

"Likes her job today."

Monsters are Just Like Us

Time to Read!

Gill by Norm Feuti

I love to read. It's one of my favorite activities and the main reason why I chose to be an English major, despite my strong aversion to teaching large groups and the fact that "English" doesn't specifically translate into other obvious jobs like, say, Accounting or Teaching. I often have at least 2 books in my purse -- so I make sure to buy purses that can comfortably fit multiple books inside.

There is just something wonderful about losing myself to another world. I love to imagine myself in different situations, I love to get to know the characters, and I love to apply the lessons I learn to my own life. I read books over and over again, because those characters become family, and I am always surprised and delighted to find something different in them each time, because even if the book doesn't change I am different and I find new insights and meanings in even the silliest of stories.

At college, my apartment was just a few blocks from campus, and I got really good at reading while walking. Peripheral vision is important during such an activity. I made sure to look both ways when crossing the street, and managed never to fall off the sidewalk or be hit by a car. I'm quite proud of that feat.

Currently, I'm in the middle of three books... not counting two biographies that are excellent but somehow not tempting, and my religious study. I have just a few pages of Audition left, and when I finish, you can bet I'll jump right back into the other two. I promised Kate I wouldn't read anything else until I finish, which turned out to be a good idea. I love this book!

Sadly, I don't have as much time for recreational reading as I'd like. I usually end up crawling into bed about midnight and reading until 1am. I know it's not healthy, but it's the only "reading time" I can count on!

I've taken to reading any odd chance I get. I look forward to -- even hope for -- red traffic lights so I can stop, pull out my book and read a few paragraphs until the light turns green, replace the bookmark in the book, set the book on my lap, and drive until I hit another red light or my destination. I don't read while actually driving. No book is quite good enough to risk an accident, however sorely I am tempted.

Winter is coming, and besides Christmas and Christmas carols, I am most looking forward to snowy days when I can wrap myself in a blanket, curl up on the couch, and read something awesome while I drink hot chocolate. It's totally cliche, but it's cliche because it's awesome.

The point of this post is: find something you are interested in reading, be it biography, historical novel, fantasy fiction, self-help, childrens', instructional, fashion magazine, comic book, cereal box or whatever. There is something for everyone! I admit to reading a lot fiction -- mostly fantasy or historical. One of my brothers loathed to read while we were growing up, found his niche, and last year loaned me his favorite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Seriously, something for everyone. You never know what you're going to love.

Remodel Frustration

As we all know, I'm a little lackadaisical when it comes to my remodeling projects. I've been in my condo over a year, and yesterday I finally sent an email to my HOA board asking about blueprints to facilitate getting washer/dryer hookups. Today, the president of the board sent a reply.

Bad news: I do not have permission to get washer/dryer hookups. At least, not without detailed plans drawn up by a licensed contractor. Of course, they don't have any blueprints for any of the buildings in the complex, and they don't have any information on how any of the other condos have handled washer/dryer hookups. So... where does that leave me? A little discouraged and depressed about the whole thing. For my own sanity and so I don't have to deal with crummy winter conditions for the project I'm going to officially postpone the hookups until the spring. Then, I will start up research again by talking to my neighbors how theirs are set up... hopefully they'll know. Then my contractor and I can come up with a plan to install a gas line, water drainage system, and venting. Did I mention I'm not allowed to pipe the vent out of the roof? Big huge booooo! How in the world did the woman who sold my condo to me plan to install washer/dryer hookups, had I chosen to pay the extra $3000 for the place? Did she have permission? Did she have plans? I don't know. At least I have the electrical outlet done, and my dad did an awesome job building out the closet so there will be room for the appliances once the hookups are done. And this gives me more time to save up for the actual washer and dryer. So, it's a bummer, but thankfully my parents don't mind me dragging my laundry over to their house every three weeks until the exciting day when my hookups are in and the washer and dryer plugged in!

Good news: I DO have permission to install new windows! Hooray! Have to put in sliders instead of the hoped-for double-hung model (no dirty jokes please), but I don't care. Double-paned is good enough for me. I had four salesmen come by and give me estimates, and tomorrow I'm going to call them all with my decision. We'll get the ball rolling, and in 4 weeks I should have new windows! Just a little late since the cold weather is already here, but still in time for the energy and tax rebates and the hopefully before the snow falls. Hooray for saving energy and money! Truly something to celebrate!

Singing at Home

I tend to forget that since I live alone people probably can't hear me when I sing.

For some reason, I get really self-concious singing in front of people. It's not as bad if I'm in a group of people who are all singing, too. But whether it's a solo in church, auditioning for a play, singing at my parents' house, practicing one-on-one with my voice teacher, or singing at rehearsal in front of the rest of the cast before I know my part -- I don't like people hearing me before I feel like I'm any good. I do it anyway, 'cause if I don't I'll never get over the fear, but it freaks me out. It's the same with people watching me learn a dance, or rehearsing a monologue. I just don't like it!

The other night, I was lying awake in bed and suddenly wanted to sing. I resisted, and then I thought, "Who cares? It's not like I'll wake anyone else up!" So, I sang the song... at 3am... without getting out of bed. And I hoped that no one could hear me next door or in the condo below mine. I would have been mortified if someone had come to complain.

(Then again, the neighborhood music has started up again, so maybe I'd be glad if someone complained so I'd know I'm not crazy.)

What can I say? There are definite advantages to living alone! No one complains if I leave dirty dishes in the sink, no one fights me for the remote control, and no one is bothered if I want to sing in the middle of the night!

"Glee"-ful Tunes

This morning as I drove to rehearsal, I listened to the Top 30 Countdown on Radio Disney. This is not an unusual occurance as I am a huge fan of Radio Disney and the songs they play. What was unusual was that #23 was this song:

I love this version of this song! I smiled so wide my eyes got all squinty and I had to be even more careful driving on the freeway.

Have you been watching the t.v. show Glee? It's about a bunch of kids and teachers involved in a high school Glee Club. It's a sort of quasi-musical where the soundtrack is acapella, with musical numbers the Club practices mixed in. Apparently, being involved in this kind of club is not as cool most places as it was at my high school. (I am perfectly willing to allow that I may not have been exactly cool, but at least I wasn't persecuted like the kids in Glee are.) Much as I love it though, it's not a show I would recommend Radio Disney's target audience -- kids ages 8 to 14 -- to watch.

But, if you're older than 14, and a fan of musical theatre, or just a fan of hilarious characters and good writing, maybe you should watch.

Here are some of my favorite clips:

Congratulations Sister!

My darling friend Elisha married her man, Bryant, yesterday, and I am thrilled for them both. Elisha played my sister Meg when I did Little Women last year. I have adored her ever since and am always glad to see her at our various haunts. I am so glad I could swing past her reception on my way to rehearsal. It was totally worth wearing torturous heels all day so I could go straight to the reception from work. Elisha and Bryant looked gorgeous and happy -- what more could I ask for on behalf of my friend?

BTW, I loved your colors, and that slushy drink was AWESOME... I may ask for the recipe sometime.

Congratulations, sister! Have a great honeymoon -- all 50+ years of it!

above: Elisha and Bryant chat with a friend (sadly, this was the best photo I took)
below: Elisha, Craig (who played Laurie), and I during Little Women rehearsal February 2008

A Good Idea

Stanley: Anyone have anything they wanna trade for a toaster?

Kevin: Does it have slots for hot dogs?

Stanley: No.

Kevin: Who would want it?

I think Kevin's on to something.

The Next Audition

Last night, I went to the first Sleeping Beauty rehearsal. I am so excited! The cast is going to be fun, and the script is darling, if just a little cheesy.

We read through the script and got our schedules for the next five weeks or so. Turns out, tonight was my only weeknight off -- except Fridays -- for the next three weeks.

So, what did I do with my one night off?

Why, started rehearsing my piece for my next audition, of course!

Apparently, I'm a glutton for punishment. Or I just want to be prepared to audition for another part I would love to play. One of the two.

In an effort to be really ready, I asked my friend Kate to coach me. Since we both ended up free tonight, she came to my house for awhile, let me perform a rough version of my monologue, and we talked about my character and her similarities with the character I'm auditioning for.

Kate gave me quite a bit to think about. She also loaned me an incredible book called Audition that teaches acting technique. I am going to dig into as soon as I finish this post. From what she read and what we discussed tonight, I am very intrigued.

I just want to audition well. It's another non-musical, and I want to come out of the audition having had fun, loving the experience, and having made a good impression on the Pro team, whether or not they cast me or even call me back. I already feel a bit better prepared... even though I haven't yet fully memorized my piece...

(Please forgive me for being deliberately vague about the play I'm auditioning for. And for not revealing my audition piece, yet.)

Thank you, Kate, for your time, the book, your expertise, and especially your friendship. I appreciate your help more than I can say!

Pumpkin Seeds!

The Family Home Evening went really well. It helped that the morning of, one of the co-chairs called and said, "What would you think about adding pumpkin carving to the activity?" Then she volunteered to make pumpkin bars. Like I would say no to that! I sent an e-mail to the communications committee so they could tell everyone what was going on and to bring carving knives and patterns. The FHE committee was to provide the pumpkins.

I arrived about a half hour early to help set up tables and chairs, and hang out with the FHE co-chairs and other early comers, who are all awesome people. I decided I wasn't nervous about leading a discussion, even though I hadn't prepared anything. I had watched most of the talks, took notes, and prayed during the Conference, so if I couldn't at least keep up informed commentary or talk about the lessons I liked then it would be more than a little pathetic.

We set up a huge circle of chairs that ended up being too small (there were at least 60 people there by the end), but I walked around the outside and didn't say much. I told everyone that I didn't prepare any kind of lesson, because we'd listened to Conference talks for two days, and I didn't think we needed another one. I opened it up to the group to talk about the lessons they like, and when the silence between raised hands got uncomfortable, I'd say helpful things like, "Hey, there are a lot of us here, and half of us don't know each other, so if you say something goofy it's no big deal." (I really hope that to be true, because I have said some embarrassing things in Sunday School that I hope people don't remember.) The discussion went on about half and hour. I thought we reached a good stopping point when two people shared their testimonies, so I added my own and thanked everyone for coming and for their thoughts. I think it went well, and a couple of people even came up to me later to tell me they thought it had, too.

Then we dug into the pumpkins. Well, I didn't, but a lot of people did. It didn't take me long to realize that with at least 10 pumpkins being carved there would be a lot of seeds possibly going to waste. I asked four people if I could have their seeds and they said, "Have at it." So, I grabbed some large paper cups, stuck my hand in the goo, and "harvested" two 12 oz. cups full! Pretty much spent most of the evening doing that. I'd feel guilty or silly, but it's still easy to chat while doing it, so I still met and caught up with a lot of people.

About 9pm, I had been at the church 2 and-a-half hours and was ready to go home. Two people were still carving pumpkins and more were standing around and talking, so I couldn't clean up fully. I tried not to be annoyed. Fortunately, another member of the committee offered to stay to clean up so I could go home. I thought it was awfully nice of him.

When I arrived home, I pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees, washed off the seeds in the first cup, spread them on a cookie sheet, daubed some oil and salt on them, and stuck them in the oven. I checked them every ten minutes for an hour, but they didn't seem to be cooking. Well... turns out I accidently turned off the oven at some point when I turned off the timer. I would be embarassed, but I don't use my oven often, and on my mom's oven the heat and the timer are turned off with the same button. My oven doesn't work the same way. Now I know. I turned the heat back on -- it had cooled to 169 -- and within 15 minutes the seeds were ready! The second pan of seeds took far less time :)

The best part? When I went to bed that night, my house still smelled like warm, roasted pumpkin seeds.

I took a jar to work today. Golly, they are tastey! They are one of my favorite Fall treats.

Autumn is officially here as far as I'm concerned, and I couldn't be more happy about it!

Predecessor to Facebook

Does anyone else prefer the shoe method of networking?

Another Happy Conference Weekend

Conference Weekend is pretty much the only LDS-only holiday there is, though, technically it isn't a holiday. And it isn't exclusive -- non-LDS people are encouraged to watch. Instead, it's an opportunity to hear the leaders of our church give us advice and counsel, and remind us of what we're already supposed to be doing. I love it! I'm one of those people who will sit in front of the t.v. for all four two-hour sessions on Saturday and Sunday. I'm not saying I stay awake the whole time, but I love to listen and take notes.

Yesterday I slept until noon, so I'm grateful for DVR. As of now, I still have a half-hour of the morning session to watch. Today, I watched both sessions at my parents' house while we ate french toast, quiche lorraine, chocolate-covered strawberries and other fruit, assorted juices, sausage, and bacon. Adam's family all came over, as well as Lindsey's parents, Bob and Sandy. It's nice to be together all day long. G-unit helped me color during President Monson's talk in the morning session. We only color in my Cinderella book during Conference, so we've been working on it for years. G is really nice about not coloring in it until I give him permission.

In between sessions, my parents taught us a card game they learned earlier in the week called "Boonda", which is a lot like "Scum." I like when we play games together and laugh and are silly. The best memories are made that way, don't you think?

As for Conference itself, the messages were great! The have all of the talks available online at lds.org (text copies will be available on Thursday), but I'm glad that I took notes when concepts and quotes jumped out at me. My favorite talk might have been Neil A. Anderson's "Come unto Him and be wrapped in His arms." He talked about how the Savior is eager and able to forgive our sings and that even if we continually mess up, as long we we're trying to overcome our sins and weakness we are repenting.
And repentance not only changes us, but blesses our family and those we love. My other favorite quote of his is, "We each need to feel the Savior's arms of mercy though the forgiveness of our sins."

I also appreciated Elder Russell T. Osguthorpe's talk, where he reminded us that we can accomplish more than we think we can, so we should "Aim high!" He told a story about how his first talk in Primary went badly, so when his teacher asked him to speak again he didn't want to. However, the teacher persisted. "She expressed so much confidence in me that her invitation was hard to refuse." How great is that? Just a reminder to be supportive of others, and help them to be the best they can be. I love it!

Tomorrow, I'm in charge of FHE in my Singles Ward. Since we didn't have church this week, we thought it would be a good idea to do something low-key just at the Ward building because everyone will probably drift that way tomorrow anyway. We decided to just get everyone together and talk about what we liked at Conference. I agreed to lead the discussion, but I don't really have any sort of direction for the discussion at the moment. I probably won't worry about it until 5pm tomorrow, at which case I'll really stress out... and yet, I'm sure it'll all work out in the end.

Whether you spent it watching Conference, or not, I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I know I did!

Hope

When dark clouds of trouble hang o'er us
And threaten our peace to destroy,
There is hope smiling brightly before us,
And we know that deliv'rance is nigh.
We doubt not the Lord nor his goodness.
We've proved him in days that are past.
The wicked who fight against Zion
Will surely be smitten at last.

- "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet"
Hymn #19, Hymns of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Wolf Cooking Grandma

Today I'm trying to recover from some odd virus/bug that has been making me dizzy for the last four days, and my head's a little fuzzy. The nice thing about being sick was that I got to go to the InstaCare yesterday. "How in the world is that the nice thing?" you ask? Because the tall, blonde, tan, male nurse, and perfect-nose doctor were both attractive, young guys, so if nothing else I was rewarded for going to the doctor with some men to make me smile. And give me meds...legal meds...

Speaking of attractive men, watch this clip from the 10th Kingdom. If you haven't seen this miniseries, rent it from NetFlix, 'cause it's awesome. Two cynical New Yorkers get caught up in a world where characters from the Grimm brothers's fairy tales come to life. The miniseries is about 8 hours total. It's funny, it's thought-provoking, it's very bizarre. Try it. You might be surprised. (Also, you might be in love with Wolf by the end. I know I am.)

Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather

I had a great time at the audition and callback for Sleeping Beauty. A lot of darling young men read for the prince, but when I realized how young they all were, I started to steel myself for the possibility I may be cast in a different role. Jana pulled me aside after the callback and asked if I'd be willing to accept another role. I absolutely said "Yes" and she cast me as one of the good fairies! I'm excited! The cast is going to be awesome, the script is adorable, and I love my part and the ladies playing the other fairies. And the girl who was cast as Princess Rose was fantastic! If they couldn't cast me, I'm glad they cast her. She'll be darling. The first rehearsal is next Tuesday and I can't wait. This is going to be a lot of fun!

So, plan on coming to Sleeping Beauty in November. I know the holidays are busy, but if you put it on your schedule now, it won't be so inconvenient then, will it? It will mean a lot to see you all there :^D

Yay! I'm in a play! I cannot even begin to tell you all how happy I am!