Merry Christmas!

I truly hope that everyone who might stumble upon my blog will find warmth and comfort in Christ.

Today is Christmas Day. I've loved Christmas since I was a little girl. I love the lights and the baking and the time spent with family and the giving and the receiving. I love the laughter and the joy. I love to decorate for Christmas and look forward to the day after Thanksgiving each year when the Christmas season officially begins (in my mind).

Today, I awoke to several more inches of fallen snow.Wet, heavy, thick snow. It's beautiful, but it makes holiday travel difficult.

Jeff and I spent the morning opening our gifts together, eating a late breakfast, drinking hot cocoa. It was a beautiful way to spend Christmas together.

Because of the aforementioned snow, we are unable to drive anywhere. If we were able to get out of our garage, our car still wouldn't make it through the alley, and, of course, the alley has been plowed shut.

While biding my time until someone could come and pick us up, so we can enjoy Christmas with my family, I stumbled upon a Christmas video.



This really touched me and brought tears to my eyes.

I spent the next few minutes watching a few other Mormon Messages videos before I decided that it wouldn't be good to arrive at my parent's home with eyes bloodshot from crying.

Merry Christmas to all!!

Flashback Friday: Christmas 1991

Ok. I couldn't decide on just one photo today, so here's a few from the Christmas of 1991.

What's so funny, you may ask?

Well, my mom made a bunch of these cute little boxes that year. On the inside lid, she wrote "Merry Christmas," but she messed up on this one. Instead of Christmas, she wrote Christopherson, so she fixed it to read, "Merry Christopherson's Christmas." It think it was particularly funny, because I didn't even notice right away - she had to point on her mistake. This was probably funnier if you were there.

These next three pictures must have been from a ward Christmas party.

Jen

Corey

Mom

Flashback Friday: Christmas 1980

This week just flew by! I've hardly had time to update my blog, so I was excited when I realized that today was Friday, and an easy blog post was just minutes away.

This is me in 1980. Age 3.

Aren't I just the cutest?!

Flashback Friday: Christmas 1979

A couple of my friends (K and Lara) have done, from time to time, a feature on their blogs called Flashback Fridays. I've often considered doing this on my blog as well.

So...here's my first attempt. I thought it would be fun to flashback on Fridays throughout December to various Christmas pictures.

This picture is from 1979. I'm the adorable one in the red dress. Oh wait! We're all adorable girls in red dresses!!

(L to R: Katie, Tara, Treva, Clarinda)

Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls...

But I just can't help it!

It's no secret that both Jeff and I LOVE waterfalls, as described here and here.

For me, it's almost even stronger than love. Is that possible? Is anything stronger than love? It is what binds us, after all.

For me, it's almost like a drug. If I'm out for a walk or in a park, and I hear the sound of rushing water, I can't help but go. chase. that. waterfall!! I keep listening and walking...and listening and walking...until I finally find it!

This past summer, I even convinced Jeff to make a pitstop on our road trip to check out the waterfalls in Sioux Falls, SD. You can read about that here.

A few weeks back, I took Sallie for a walk. I heard the unmistakably, wonderful sound of a waterfall, but I couldn't find it. anywhere.

Today, we went out again but this time hiked even closer to the river.

There it was again. An ever-so-slight, but deliciously exhilarating, sound of rushing water. It didn't take me too long to gasp at the beauty as I turned my head.

There it was!! Complete with icicles. Wow.

Now I didn't happen to have my camera with me - just my phone.

If you look real close, in the back center, you can see two streams of water going over the small cliff.

The camera on my phone doesn't have a zoom, so I knew that I needed to get closer.

Down we hiked. Sallie and I.

Closer. But still not good enough to satisfy my need.

Down. Down. Down.

Finally I could get a shot from the front.

This shot was difficult to get because Sallie, does not get my fascination with waterfalls. She was trying her darnedest to get back up the hill. Guess it reminds her too much of getting a bath. Something she does. not. enjoy.

Back at the top of the hill, I tried to capture one last shot of some icicles. Gorgeous!

I realize they are a little difficult to discern (darn no-zooming-camera-phone), but trust me. They are there. Kind of dead center, hanging from the blob of greenery.

Imported posts

I've imported my pictures from my photography blog. I'll probably delete that blog soon, as I couldn't devote the time to it that I wanted. It was more of a burden than fun, so I'll just share all of photos on this blog going forward.

If you want to see all the posts I just imported in, simply click on PHOTOGRAPHY in the menu bar at the top.

We ♥ Tooshies

This is my 1st ever time entering an I ♥ Faces photography challenge. I've seen some friends enter on their blogs in the past but never attempted one myself.

This week's themes, We ♥ Tooshies, was really intriguing to me. I, immediately, thought of this great picture I have of me walking with one of my cousin's daughters. It's SO cute. However, it was taken before digital photography became so prevalent, so it's an actual photo, and not easily uploaded into blogger (as I'd need to find it and then upload it).

Instead, I sifted through my folders upon folders of digital photographs, and found this one.

This is my 13-year-old niece’s first soccer game. ever.

She was awesome, of course.

I love how this photo captures the motion of her run.

Pop on over to I ♥ Faces to find some other fun tooshies.

Ball Drop!

With all the Thanksgiving Day preparations, and then festivities, I totally neglected posting my 5 gratitudes on Wednesday  and Thursday. So...I'll post them both now in the same post.

Wednesday's 5

• Finishing all my Geog lessons before my midterm and getting my midterm requested. Now, I just need to study and prepare for the midterm so I'll be ready when it arrives at the testing center.
• For my sister who helped me (via phone) with my cherry pie.
• Frozen pizza for dinner. Yeah!
• Friendly, cooperative customer service agent at Comcast. I woke up to find my Internet had been canceled. I'd made the last two payments to an old account. Oops!
• My cute little two-tone, leaf cookies.

Thanksgiving's 5:

• Family, food, fun!
• My husband. He is absolutely my rock. I love him SO much!
• Taking a brief (it got so cold) Gratitude Walk with my guy and my girl. We talked about all the things we're grateful for.
• The knowledge of Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness and my part in it.
• That this gratitude challenge is over! :-)

Another day...

Another productive day. Yeah!!

Today I'm thankful for...

• My electronic piano. My skills are very rusty, but I'm enjoying playing again. Yes, even forcing myself to practice.
• Hulu. I can watch almost anything I want, whenever I want, without having to remember to set something to record.
• All the fun blogs I've found. Here's one in particular that I recently found. I can't wait to try this hairstyle, designed for a 5-year old, on Thursday.
• Aldi. Such good value for just about everything I need.
• The opportunity to be in school right now. I finished another Geog lesson today. One more to go before the midterm. :-)

Sweet Jeanette: The new GIVE-AWAY in celebration of 100 followers!

Sweet Jeanette: The new GIVE-AWAY in celebration of 100 followers!

I recently became a follower of Sweet Jeanette, helping her reach 100 followers. Someday I'd love to have that many myself, but I've got a ways to go with my 3.


In honor of reaching 100 followers, she is hosting an awesome giveway.

Visit her blog for more pictures of this gorgeous quilt and tote. Who doesn't love a great tote...especially when it's FREE?!?

There are lots of ways to enter this give-away...so get on over to Sweet Jeanette...before 10pm (not sure which time zone) on Black Friday.

2 More Days Until Thanksgiving

Here's my grateful list from Monday...

• For being both motivated and productive today.
• For finishing my part of my research class and next lesson for my Geography class.
• To have finally finished organizing my closet

BEFORE

AFTER

(I guess this after picture doesn't really do it justice, but believe, it's much improved. I can see the floor!)
• We finally send out our invitations for our holiday party on Dec 12th.
• TO BE ALIVE!!

Sunday Smiles...

Today, I am thankful for...

1. All the Sacrament talks on service - especially Sister Puga's.
2. The opportunity to live in the last days, and particular in this century.
3. Indoor plumbing.
4. My family.
5. The reminder to use my time more wisely.

SATURDAY!!

My goodness the day goes fast when you've stayed up til 4:30am the night before and still got out of bed by 9:30am.

Still...

Saturday brought with it some things for which I am grateful.

1. After working on it for over 4 months, I finally submitted my Geog paper!
2. I get to work with my husband. How great is that!
3. We sold our old Samsung Instinct phones. Whoo hoo! We'd been hanging on to them for 8 months or so since we stopped using them earlier this year.
4. Receiving an email from my sister with Thanksgiving assignments - mine are fruit salad and cherry pie.
5. Shopping at Kohl's with my husband. He so rarely goes shopping with me. It was fun!

Five from Friday!

1. A lovingly, patient husband who stayed up until 3am helping me proofread my Geography paper I began back in July.
2. Yummy chocolate truffles that I helped make at a Relief Society meeting.
3. The relative ease in exchanging my Motorola Cliq with a MyTouch 3G at Best Buy.
4. Pizza from Scooters for dinner.
5. My sister, who is so good about making sure Thanksgiving gets planned.

What a great day!

Thursday's blessings!

• I am SO grateful for the gospel and Jesus Christ.
• I LOVE visiting teaching and am grateful I was able to go visiting with some awesome Relief Society sisters tonight.
• I'm grateful Sallie is learning to shake. So cute!
• I'm grateful to have had a productive day - 4 loads of laundry, washed dishes twice, baked cookies, vacuumed the rugs, practiced the piano (no homework. blah.)
• I'm grateful for my physical safety and relative good health.

Today's Goals (if I write them here, perhaps I'll accomplish them)

Today is going to be a busy day!


I need to...

• Get some work done for my Educational Research class. 
• Finish my Human Geography paper and submit it. 
• Do laundry. 
• Clean the house. (Home teachers are coming over tonight.) 
• Bake cookies. 
• Go visiting teaching.

No time for napping today!

  

It's only 8AM. I can choose to be productive today.

Wednesday's 5...

Today was actually a pretty good day, so I think my 5 will come quite easily.

1. I actually got some homework done this afternoon.
2. All three of our active YW came to mutual tonight for our annual Thanksgiving Dinner for those over 50 in our ward.
3. I finished another book on my Kindle (book review to come shortly)
4. For my cozy, comfortable, reliable car...whose squeak has finally been fixed!
5. I might just get to bed tonight at a reasonable hour!

Tuesday's 5

Oops! Didn't get a chance to reflect on Tuesday's blessing last night, so here goes...

1. Blue skies and warm sunshine. It was so beautiful yesterday.
2. To walk with Jeff to class and then take the long way home with Sallie, walking along the river.
3. Actually making dinner in the crock pot before leaving for class.
4. Our group proposal is coming along nicely. We're almost finished. Yeah!
5. To help Jeff with his homework by reading Macbeth out loud to him. An easy modern day English version. :-)

Monday's 5

Today's list is a tough one. It was not a good day today.

Didn't sleep well. Overslept. Rushed the car to the dealer for maintenance. Read for pleasure (not school). Napped. Watched TV.

Needless to say it was a very unproductive and unfulfilling day. TOMORROW needs to be better, as I have to prepare for class.

Despite the dumps of the day...there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for.

1. The shuttle from the car dealership back home, so I didn't have to wait the whole day at the shop.
2. The Crain sisters, Lara and K. I have such great memories of them from girls' camp and youth conferences. Now that we are all grown up, they are still so kind and thoughtful. They inspire me to be a better woman and blogger. :-)
3. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Yum!
4. The opportunity I have to be in school right now.
5. My relative good health.

Sunday's 5...

Because it's not Monday until after I've gone to bed for the night and awoken the next morning, here's my 5 from Sunday.

Things I'm grateful for...

1. 1:00 church
2. The opportunity to partake of the Sacrament
3. The knowledge that I am a daughter of God
4. Sunday dinners at my parents house - even when it's only my parents, my husband, me and the three dogs
5. Long conversations with my very logical husband.

Today's 5...

1. The courage of two Relief Society sisters who knocked on my door six and half year ago, inviting me to return to church. It was the helping hand I needed. One of these sisters became one of my greatest friends. I will cherish our friendship and her courage forever.
2. Naps
3. My small apartments - makes sprucing up for guests so much easier!
4. My calling as YW President
5. Warm clothes for cold weather!

Today I am grateful for...

1. Old friends. I love hearing from them. Definitely brightens my day.
2. Food in my cupboards - even copious amounts of ramen.
3. Homemade cookies.
4. An evening alone to catch up on blogging, Facebook, and my TV shows.
5. Comments on my blog. Thanks, K!

Yesterday, I forgot to extend the challenge to all of you! So...what are you thankful for??

Book Review: By Reason of Insanity by Randy Singer

It's been a long time since I've written a book review on my blog.

I finished reading By Reason of Insanity by Randy Singer a few days ago and thoroughly enjoyed it! The book I had read previous to this one had a rather extensive sex scene described to where I needed to flip through several screens to skip over it. It was annoying and distasteful. Perhaps some people enjoy these gratuitous scenes, but I do not!

Anyway, I was expecting one to appear in this book as well. I kept my eyes out for it and was very pleasantly surprised to get to the end without having to endure through one of these scenes.

The language in this book was also kept very clean--even during the climax of the book when tempers were flaring and plots were thickening. Still, the characters did not lose their cool and begin using language that is offensive to my ears (yes, even while reading). I don't recall any bad language. If there was any, I didn't notice.

Some reading this review may feel that the book may have been boring. Let me assure you, it was not! The premise of the book is about a string of kidnappings and murders. Catherine O'Rouke is a reporter who claims to have had visions containing information that only the police or the person committing the crimes would have access to. This lands her as the number one suspect. She has no recollection of committing these crimes, and because of the visions, her sanity is brought into question. The book follows her experiences in jail and the proceedings of her trial.

Because of the horrible nature of the alleged crimes, there are some graphically violent scene descriptions. I felt that Singer did a very good job with these scenes. Some of the images described are horrid and tough to read, but they, I felt, did not go overboard. It did not seem at all gratuitous to me.

Needless to say, I really felt that the choice of scenes combined with the clean language made this a very enjoyable book, but that is not all. That is what would make me recommend this book to friends at church. That's a bonus but probably not enough to make me give this book 5 Stars. I also thoroughly enjoyed the plot twists and turns. It was a great ride trying to figure out all the different facets of the book. I was surprised by who the killer turned out to be. Singer had a great way of  planting doubt and keeping the reader guessing. The plot and character development definitely made this book! If you're looking for a legal thriller, I don't think you'll be disappointed in this title.

This is the first book I've ever read by Randy Singer, and I am eagerly awaiting another opportunity to read one of his books.

Grateful Challenge

My friend, K, issued a challenge yesterday to record five things that you are grateful for every day from now until Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to this challenge.

Here goes for today.

1. My little sister, Jen.
2. Technology (and facebook and blogs) that allow me to keep in touch with my family and friends - even if they don't know.
3. To live in MN, where I get to experience all four seasons!
4. My husband, of course. He should probably be number 1...
5. My little girl, Sallie. She is so fun to play with. It was especially funny to watch her chasing a blowing leaf today. Wish I'd had my camera...

New blog: Tale of Two Sisters and Their Kitchens

Yep, that's right...

I've started yet another new blog! This one is inspired by my friend's blog RecipeShoebox. I wanted to have a blog devoted to my successes (and probably some failures) in the kitchen. My little sister thought it would be fun, too, so together we've created a blog to swap recipes and share kitchen stories.

I'm so excited!

Please check out Tale of Two Sisters and Their Kitchens. If you like what you see (remember, it's just getting started), go ahead and leave us a comment. We love comments. Almost as much as we love followers. Why not do both?

Nurture the Rising Generation

I wanted to share some thoughts that I had about this month's visiting teaching message.

As my companion and I were visiting with one of our sisters, we had a great discussion about nurturing the rising generation. Neither my companion nor I nor the sister we were visiting have any children, so in the beginning this was kind of a tough lesson for me to share.

We began by talking about how serving in our callings can be very instrumental in nurturing Primary children and the youth. Right now, I am the only one of the three of us who have such a calling, so we discussed how we didn't need a calling to befriend a child or a teenager. We can still have an impact. We may never know what kind of an influence we might have, so it's important for us to continue to be friendly and kind.

Then our conversation went to defining the rising generation. This is where the true inspiration came for our lesson. I remembered being told I was a part of this rising generation when I was a youth. We speculated that the rising generation probably began with the restoration of the church...and had continued with each generation.

What does this mean? Well, we came to the conclusion that every sister in Relief Society is also a part of this select generation. Every sister in Relief Society was chosen to come forth in these last days! As a sisterhood, we ARE the rising generation, too!

As childless sisters who do not hold callings in Primary or Young Women, it became much clearer for us on how we can nurture the rising generation. We can nurture each other! We can take an active role in caring for each other. We can make a concerted effort to make each sister who enters the church building feel welcomed and wanted and appreciated! By being kind and sincere to our sisters, we ARE nurturing the rising generation. Even the simplest actions can bless their lives and the lives of their families.

A New Start

One of the things that I've really enjoyed about being a student again was the flexibility that I have with my sleep. I don't have to set an alarm! I can get up whenever I wake up! I can stay up late and sleep in late!

This past weekend, I came to an epiphany that maybe this isn't the best thing in the world.

I have way too much studying and other things to do in a day that I rarely accomplish all of my goals. This does not lead to positive feelings of self-worth.

So...

This week, I decide to try out something new. My dog, Sallie, generally wakes me up several times throughout the night. I can't give in to her all the time, so I choose to ignore her until after 6am - breakfast time. I used to barely open my eyes, turn on as few lights as possible, quickly put her food in her dish, and crawl back into bed. This week, I decided I'd try staying up after I feed her. Today's my first day; I stayed up WAY too late Sunday night in order to start this new habit Monday morning. :-)

Right now, my eyes are feeling quite heavy, but I'm hopeful of my day. After doing a little blogging, I plan to get my exercising out of the way before Jeff wakes up. That should wake me up and give me the boost to do what I need to do today, right?!

Dr. Oscar Kashala

Ok, so obviously, this is not a picture that I took, but I did attend this very fascinating lecture tonight. Lots of people were snapping pictures, but I didn't bring my camera because I didn't think taking pictures during a speech would be allowed.

To read more about my experience at the lecture, visit my other blog.

Settling In...

We've moved into our new apartment, and it's slowly becoming our new home. I'll probably post more pictures later as our decorating progresses, but this one showcases my favorite new toy! I've wanted a piano for a very long time. Regular pianos are such a pain to move (and we move a lot), but I've really been enjoying this keyboard. It has weighted keys like a regular piano, plus I can plug in headphones, so my practicing doesn't bother anyone else in our building.

This isn't a very artistic photo, but it does provide a little glimpse into our new home...music and books. :-)

Let's begin this journey again...

My last attempt at keeping a photo journal didn't last very long, BUT I'm in a new apartment now, so I thought I'd start it up again. Hopefully it will last much longer and my photographs will get better.

Today's photo features my cutie-pie, Sallie Sue, sporting her new fall coat. We mostly bought it to help her keep dry when it's raining or snowing outside.

This morning it was snowing! It's actually the 2nd snow of the season already; we woke up to snow this past Saturday as well.

Most will say that it's too early for snow, but I think it's beautiful!!

Walking Log

Today I had the pleasure of going for a walk with a good friend (same friend as Aug 6th).

It was great to chat and walk. :-)

Today's Stats:
Run Time: 28:21
Run Distance: 1.59mi
Avg Pace: 17:51/mi
Calories: 166

Walking Log

I don't have any stats for this post, but I certainly did A LOT of walking yesterday.

It was my dad's birthday, and we decided to take our annual pilgrimage to the Great MN Get Together. We are all day fair-goers. We arrived at the fair around 7am and left around 10pm.

It was non-stop walking all. day. long.

There were a few pauses here and there as we ate, decided what to do/where to go next, and there was quite a bit of standing.

What there wasn't much of was sitting.

It was still great fun! I LOVE the fair!!

Walking Log

Ok. So, I haven't been very good about updating my walking log.

Truth be told, I haven't been very going about walking either.

The week after my last walking log entry, my family took a trip to a lake up near Ely, MN. It was great fun! I went canoeing, and hiking, and swimming! There were also quite a few moments of relaxation enjoing the beauty of the outdoors.

Here's a few stats:

August 10th (my 32nd birthday)
I was hoping to go for a hike on my birthday, but the sky looked a little ominous. Jeff and I took out a canoe instead. The battery in my Garmin died a little less than half way, but here is what the canoe trip was like before that.

Canoe Time: 1:10:30
Canoe Distance: 3.06mi
Avg Pace: 23:01/mi
Calories: 416

Well, actually Jeff did most of the work; I'm not the greatest canoeist.

August 11
This was the first hike of the trip. I was accompanied by my sister and 3 nieces. We hiked the Bass Lake trail to the Dry Falls. It was very hilly! A great workout! It was quite a busy trail, and when we got to the end, there were quite a few people playing in the falls and swimming in the lake. Not quite what I was hoping for at the end of our hike. It was still great fun to spend time outside with the girls.

Run Time: 1:27:12
Run Distance: 3.01mi
Avg Pace: 43.26/mi
Calories: 139

August 13
This was the second hike of our trip. It was the same people with the addition of my dad. This time we hiked the trip to Big Moose Lake. It was so much fun! The trail was riddled with wild blueberry plants. There was no one else on the trail, and the lake at the end was absolutely gorgeous! So clear and still. We paused for a while at the lake--eating some snacks and dipping our feet in the lake. It was wonderful.

Run Time: 2:23:15
Run Distance: 4.40mi
Avg Pace: 32:32/mi
Calories: 628

Join me!

Dear Friends: I've started the Drop a Jeans Size challenge on FitnessMagazine.com. Please join me so we can be workout buddies and cheer each other on.

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/app/ycdi/?esrc=emycdifriend

P.S. Once you join the Drop a Jeans Size challenge, don't forget to add me as a buddy so we can keep track of each other's progress!

Walking Log: Day 11

With preparing for Girls Camp, and attending Girls Camp, and recovering from Girls Camp, I kind of lost my walking rhythm.

Then, I was having a pretty terrible day on Monday, so I emailed a friend to see if she would be free for a walk today. She works about a mile from where I live, but this is the first time that we've actually got together for a walk.

She had to get back to work, so it was neither a very long or vigorous walk, but it was fun to chat as we walked.

Today's Stats:
Run Time: 37:03
Run Distance: 1.88mi
Avg Pace: 19:42/mi
Calories: 214

Walking Log: Day 10

Last week was Girls Camp. I'll try to post an entry about that later.

I was a leader with the 4th year girls, so I went on their hike with them.

Here are our stats:
Run Time: 1:39:20
Run Distance: 3.1mi
Avg Pace: 32:01/mi
Calories: 401

Did you see that pace? Definitely wasn't a vigorous hike! BUT the girls did pick up 136.5 lbs of trash along their hike, so that counts for something, right?!

Walking Log: Day 9

Oops! Day 9 was back on July 23. I can't remember that long ago, so I can't tell you anything about my walk.

However, I can share my stats. Thank goodness my Garmin has good history record-keeping abilities.

Today's Stats (from 7/23):
Run Time: 35:45
Run Distance: 2.11mi
Avg Pace: 16:55/mi
Calories: 202

Walking Log: Day 8

Today's walk was really great. This time, I walked down to I-35E and walked along the bike path. I only wanted to do 3 miles today, so I turned around about halfway across the river.

I wanted to try to prevent any major shin pain, so I stopped to stretch at each mile.

Today's Stats:
Run Time: 50:15
Run Distance: 3.06mi
Avg Pace: 16:26/mi
Calories: 322

I also did some Wii Fit Yoga and Strength training today.

Walking Log: Day 7

I decided to supplement my walking regiment with some Wii Fit today. I warmed up with some yoga exercises that targeted my lower body. When I returned from my walk, I did a few lower body strength exercises.

Today, I decided to really push myself with my pace and not go as far of a distance. Normally I have the pace alert set on my Garmin at the walk setting, which is 20:00/mi, but today I set it at the speed walk setting, which is 16:00/mi. I could really feel the difference.

I decided I would only go for 2 miles today. It was tough! After the 1st mile, I had terrible shin pain (this is what keeps me from running), PLUS I was so hot and sweaty (and it's not even that hot this morning). I decided to stop and stretch a little before heading back home. This worked immensely. The shin pain was barely noticeable by the time I returned. I did have a little ankle pain, but no big deal!

Today's Stats
Run Time: 29:21
Run Distance: 1.95mi
Avg Pace: 15:01/mi
Calories: 200

Walking Log: Day 6

I tried to keep it a little slow today, to ease myself into the new week. I'm still working on exploring Crosby Farm Park. I believe I read somewhere that there is almost 7 miles of paved trails within this park, so it may take me awhile to fully explore. If I ever feel brave enough, I may explore the unpaved trails as well. There seem to be quite a few.

Today's Stats:
Run Time: 52:15
Run Distance: 3.05mi
Avg Pace: 17:08/mi
Calories: 291

Walking Log: Day 5

I'm still feeling the burn a little from Wednesday's walk, but I really wanted to see what walking through the park would really be like from one end to the other. I had to take yesterday off because I got a temp assignment for the day. Starting work at 8am just doesn't allow me enough time to go for a walk in the morning. Turns out, it was only 1 mile less than when I did the loop. I did it at a much slower pace today, though. Hopefully my rest tomorrow will rejuvenate my body to begin another week of good walking next week.

Today's Stats:
Run Time: 1:08:14
Run Distance: 3.85mi
Avg Pace: 17:45/mi
Best Pace: 11:35/mi
Calories: 391

Week's Stats:
Run Time: 4:45:37
Run Distance: 16.3
Calories: 1304

Walking Log: Day 4

I am so achy and sore from my LONG power walk yesterday. I could have easily justified taking a day off, but I know that would make it twice as difficult to motivate myself to go out tomorrow. Instead, I decided to try to slow down my pace a bit and only go for two miles.

It was still a tough workout for me! I know the benefits will be great in the long run--if I can stick to it. :-)

Today's Stats
Run Time: 34:42
Run Dist: 2.02mi
Avg Pace: 17:10/mi
Best Pace: 10:37/mi
Calories: 197

Walking Log: Day 3

WOW! My walk today did not turn out to be what I'd intended.

I wanted to walk somewhere different than yesterday. We live close to Lake Crosby, and Jeff and I walked to the lake and around the park a little back in April. That walk had ended with us scaling a wall. This time I wanted to walk from one end of the park to the other.

Here is a map of the park. I entered at the end opposite of where the marker is, and I wanted to come out where the A was.

View Larger Map

It seemed to be taking a LONG time, and I was getting a little frustrated. I hadn't intended on walking nearly 5 miles today! BUT, if you're lost in a park, you have no option but to keep on trekking.

When I finally got to what I thought was the end, I asked someone if I was at Shepherd Rd. He confirmed it, but as we talked, I was informed, that I was back at the point where I'd entered the park.

Somehow going straight (or what I'd supposed was straight) had brought me full circle!

I have now found a map online that shows the trails in this park. I'll need to study it before I attempt tackling this park again!

Today's Stats:
Run Time: 1:15:09
Run Dist: 4.88mi
Avg Pace: 15:24/mi
Best Pace: 8:51/mi
Calories: 428

I was surprised at how many wild rhubarb plants I saw in the park. It's out of season now, but do you think they'd mind if I helped myself next year? :-)

Part of the trail was in a marsh, so it wasn't paved but a boardwalk had been constructed. There were snakes everywhere! I tried to find out what kind they were, but it was too creepy for me to look through photos online to find one that looked that the ones in the park. Also, whenever I caught a glimpse of one, I usually averted my eyes as quickly as possible. I never really knew how icky I thought snakes were. At least I was relatively calm and didn't shriek or anything!

Walking Log: Day 2

Perhaps one day this will become a running log.

Yesterday morning, I decided I really needed to become more active. There are some pounds I'd definitely like to shed. Since I can't run (stupid shins!), I decided that I would begin taking Sallie for a nice long walk every morning.

Day 1 was yesterday. I didn't have any batteries for my Garmin, so I don't have any stats for yesterday's walk. I do know that my walk was nearly exactly 60 min.

Today, Day 2, my Garmin was all set. I went the exact same route, so I'd know how far I went yesterday.

Today's Stats:
Run Time: 47:32
Run Distance: 2.75mi
Avg Pace: 17:15/mi
Best Pace: 12:19/mi
Calories: 288

Creative outlet

Several weeks ago, I was wandering around Michael's while Jeff was picking up paint supplies.

I thought, "Hey! I want to do something creative, too."

Jewelry making? No.

Painting? Uhn-Uhn.

Floral Arranging? Nope.

Hmm... what's a girl to do?

I was wandering around aimlessly trying to think of something that would appeal to me--that I could have some fun with.

And then...it hit me...CAKES!

I'd researched fondant cakes before, and now I decided that it would be a fun creative outlet for me. I bought a few new cake pans, a cake leveler, and a fondant cutter (none of these are technical names). I was excited to give it a shot!

I made my own marshmallow fondant last week. I had intended on making some fancy cakes or cupcakes for our YW Garage/Bake Sale but couldn't ever find the energy. Instead my first attempt at a fondant cake was for my niece's birthdays. We were celebrating both Selena's 13th birthday and Susie's 7th birthdays. The cake turned out to be more for Selena, as it was decorated in her favorite colors--orange and pink!

There were definitely some flaws, but I thought it turned out really well for my first attempt. Everyone else thought so, too.

Selena wanted her picture taken with the cake. When she was posing, she said, "I want you to make my wedding cake." I was honored! I figure I have at least 6 years to perfect my cake decorating!

Journal Topic: Describe your cooking skills and your favorite thing to cook

I’d say I’m a moderately good cook, but I generally consider myself more of a baker. When my family gathers on Sundays, I’m usually the one to bring dessert.

I do cook dinner for me and my husband. I love to try new recipes. They don’t always turn out, but it’s fun to give it a try.

My husband’s favorite thing for me to make is grilled chicken (on our Griddler®). It’s so easy and simple; it’s probably our most frequent dinner. I usually serve it with potatoes and corn or green beans. So easy, so simple, so delicious!

Click here for a link to all the recipes that I've tried (and blogged about).

Recipe: Krusczyki

For Mother's Day, my step-mom put in a special request for an angel food cake. I was happy to oblige. Unfortunately, it left me with a lot of left-over egg yolks.

I scoured the Internet for a delicious way to use up the egg yolks. Most of the recipes I found were for sponge cake or something that would be baked in the same type of pan as the angel food cake. Now, that wouldn't work for me because, well, I had an angel food cake in that pan!

I was delighted for find this recipe for Krusczyki on Allrecipes.com (posted by SHARONA669). I'd never heard of it before, and there was no picture to go along with the recipe, but I thought I'd take a gamble.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
14 egg yolks
1 pint sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
8 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups shortening
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix together all ingredients except shortening and confectioners' sugar. Stir into a ball, then turn dough out onto a floured surface . Knead dough for 1/2 hour. If you have a mixer with a dough hook attachment, mix for about 15 minutes.
2. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

3. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into strips that are 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. In the center of each strip, cut a 1 inch slit, lengthwise.

   

   Pull one end of the strip through the slit to form a bow.

   

   (This is my interpretation of making a "bow". They kind of look like little bow ties, right?)

4. In a frying pan or an electric skillet, melt shortening and heat to about 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). in a frying pan this would be on medium high heat.

5. Place cookies in hot oil. Cook on both sides until lightly browned then remove to a paper towel.

6. Dust finished cookies with confectioners sugar.

I brought these over for Mother's Day brunch. Everyone loved them!! They are not a real sweet cookie but are more like a little doughnut. I was surprised at how well they were received.

Journal Topic: Describe a favorite childhood friend and some things you did with him or her.

Tara Wildman
She was probably my best friend in 7th grade. We had so much fun together. I remember when we got going, we would just laugh and laugh and laugh.

We were on the softball team together in junior high.

One time, we went on a field trip in 7th grade to the cities to see a concert and go to the Science Museum. We were on the same bus on the way home, and we were just silly.

A month or so after that, she spent the night one Friday night at my house. I remember how much fun we had together.

I also vaguely remember camping in her backyard.

There was singing, I definitely remember that. We would get a song in our head and just belt it out. Two songs that we would frequently sing were “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips and “It Must Have Been Love” by Roxette.

Journal Topic: Did you have a favorite subject in school? One you dreaded?

When I was in 7th grade, my favorite subject in school was Choir; however, my favorite teacher was Mr. Schmidt who taught Social Studies. I know this to be true because it was written in my journal. (Upon writing this post, I checked to see if he was still teaching in Alexandria; he is. I remember his wife had a baby the year he was my teacher; the baby came really early, I want to say 2 1/2 months?)

For the most part, I remember really enjoying school although I didn’t particularly have a favorite subject. Now that I really think back on it, I think I usually enjoy Math and Social Studies over other subject. I really did not like English class—especially if literature was involved. This might seem odd, since I loved to read (and still do!) growing up. I disliked having to be told what to read and when to read it. When I remember this, it seems almost laughable that I first thought I wanted to be an English teacher.

Seeing that one of my favorite teachers was my Social Studies makes me very pleased with my decision to switch over to a Social Studies licensure. I actually really do love learning about history and the world we live in (geography).

Since I mostly really enjoyed school, it was usually specific teachers that I disliked—not the subject. Recently, I’ve read over a few of my journals/papers I’d written in junior and senior high. It would seem like I enjoyed teachers who were more structured and tough; I didn’t like teachers who were too lenient.

Journla Topic: Did you have a favorite T.V. show as a child or youth? Or radio show?

Probably too many.

Here are a few that were can't miss shows for me. There were many more shows that I watched!

Journal Topic: Are there any family heirlooms in your possession? Tell about them and how you came to acquire them.

I wasn’t exactly sure what qualified as an heirloom, so I looked up the definition in the dictionary online.

heir⋅loom (air-loom)
–noun
1. a family possession handed down from generation to generation.

I have a cameo necklace/brooch from my Great-grandmother. I am her namesake, so I believe that is how I got it. She died when I was very little, so I don’t remember her at all. I don’t exactly remember how this necklace came into my possession. I know my mom gave it to me, but I can’t remember the occasion, how old I was, or how she came to have it. I doubt it’s standing as an heirloom because I don’t believe it was handed from my great-grandma to my grandma to my mom and then to me. I’m pretty sure it skipped some of those generations.

Perhaps I am being too literal…

When I went to take a picture of this necklace/brooch, I found a fan that I had also received from my great-grandma at the same time I received the cameo.

Building Zion, Home by Home

This is a talk I gave during Ward Conference on May 17, 2009.

Good afternoon.

For those who may not know, I am the YW president in our ward. I was asked to speak today on Building Zion, Home by Home.

So, what is Zion?

Elder Bruce R McConkie wrote that “Zion is people; Zion is the Saints of God; Zion is those who have been baptized; Zion is those who received the Holy Ghost; Zion is those who keep the commandments; Zion is the righteous.” [1]

We are Zion.

Again quoting Bruce R Mc Conkie, “The Lord has called us out of darkness into the marvelous light of Christ. He has commanded us to build up Zion anew. He has commanded us to overcome the world. He has commanded us to forsake every evil thing. He has made us his agents and representatives.” [2]

Each one of us here today has chosen to follow this commandment, to be a part of Zion, to build Zion.

So, how do we do that? How do we build Zion? The first thing we need to do is come to Zion, individually, in our own hearts.

In the Doctrine & Covenants 97:21, we read that Zion is the pure in heart. In the words of Bruce R McConkie, “Each one of us can build up Zion in our own lives by being pure in heart.” [3]

Elder D Todd Christofferson declared “we are to hunger and thirst after righteousness. To come to Zion, it is not enough for you or me to be somewhat less wicked than others. We are to become not only good but holy men and women.” [4]

In Moses 7:18, we read that the Lord calls his people Zion when they are of one heart and one mind and dwell in righteousness. Continuing from Elder D Todd Christofferson’s remarks, “We will become of one heart and one mind as we individually place the Savior at the center of our lives and follow those He has commissioned to lead us.” [5]

This means putting Christ first in all that we do. This reminds me of one of my favorite scripture verses.

2 Nephi 25:26
And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

As we strive to make Christ a part of every aspect of our lives, our testimonies will overflow.

The theme of our conference today is Building Zion, home by home.

This is where it all starts…at home.

Joseph Smith taught, “Anyplace where the saints gather is Zion.” [6]

We gather as a worldwide church twice a year. We gather in our stakes at least twice a year. We gather in our ward buildings at least once a week. But we gather in our homes every single day. No matter what our home situation is like, we wake up in the morning and lie down at night in our homes. This is why it is essential to build Zion in our homes.

Wherever the saints gather, there is Zion. Our homes are our most frequent gathering place. We need to strengthen them from the inside. Our homes should be a refuge against the storms of life. Our homes should be filled, not with contention and strife, but with love.

When we enter our homes, we should feel of the spirit; we should feel safe and loved. If you do not think that this describes your home, change it. In Doctrine & Covenants 115:5-6, the Lord tells us, “verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations; And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth.”

It is our responsibility to arise and shine forth. The mutual theme this year reminds the youth to be “an example of the believers.” In every action we take, in every word we speak, we can be examples of the believers.

Primary children, remind your families about family prayer and family home evening. Parents, listen to your child’s simple prayers and testimonies. Children and teenagers, obey your parents. We are all in this together, and life is so much more enjoyable when we work and serve together, when we make Christ a priority, when we love one another.

Building Zion is the most important thing we can do. We can build Zion by striving to become pure in heart by coming to know our Savior and following his example. We can build Zion in our homes by being an example to our families and helping the Spirit to dwell there.

If we build Zion, home by home, we must start by building Zion in our own hearts, and then making our homes a refuge. Zion will grow as we then invite friends and families into our homes to feel of the spirit, to share in the safety that the gospel affords.

I know that we can build Zion. I know that as we keep the commandments, Zion will become a very real part of our lives. I know the spirit will abide in our homes. I know my Savior lives and He loves me and He loves each of you.

In his sacred name, Jesus Christ. Amen.

_____________________________________

[1] Bruce R. McConkie, “Building Zion,” Tambuli, Sep 1977, 12
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] D. Todd Christofferson, “Come to Zion,” Ensign, Nov 2008
[5] Ibid.
[6] Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, Ch 15

Journal Topic: Describe walking down the main street of your hometown.

Alexandria, MN 56308

Broadway was the main street. There were lots of fun shops on this street. It wasn’t that often that I would walk along the street, unless I was specifically shopping for something. Here are a couple of memories from a couple of the stores. I have no idea if any of these shops are even still around.

From the Heart—this was a cute little gift shop. They sold all kinds of little trinkets. One year for my birthday, I received a little pail of fudge from my brother Corey that he had purchased there. It was signed, “With fudge, Corey.” I thought that was pretty neat! This store was fun to walk around and just look at all the little gift items.

Braun’s Bakery—I could be wrong about the name of this bakery, but it was on the corner of 5th & Broadway (I’m pretty sure). I loved when we could stop in for doughnuts! My favorite was a custard-filled Bismarck. One funny story:

Clarinda (about to eat Long John doughnut): I wonder if this doughnut has feeling.
Mom: I think you mean filling. I doubt your doughnut has feelings.
Clarinda(biting into said doughnut): Ouch! See it does have feeling.

Old Broadway—this was one of the fanciest restaurants in town (or at least on Broadway). When I was in high school, my friends and I would sometimes go out to eat here. I remember we would order fun drinks, like virgin strawberry daiquiris. It made us feel special to have dinner at such a fancy place.

Taco John’s—nothing too special about this fast food chain, but it was one of my favorites. I remember many a stop by Taco John’s. I think it’s far superior to Taco Bell! I know for sure that this Taco John’s is not in the same location as I remember. It’s about twice the size as before and moved several blocks down the street.

That’s about it for specific places I remember. An overall description would be a fairly typical, small town main street with storefronts lining both sides of the street.

Oh, I almost forgot about Ben Franklin, a little 5&Dime store. Behind it (not on Broadway) was the library, and kitty corner to that was the junior high. I remember many, many a stop by Ben Franklin after school for some Now & Laters or Laffy Taffy or Jolly Ranchers or any number of other little candies that we could buy by the piece. There were also lots of craft supplies. It was a great store to get lost in.

Of course, I can’t leave out Big Ole! He stands at one end of Broadway.

Journal Topic: Did you and your mother share an interest in any special activity?

Let’s see…I’d have to say lots. I have such fond memories of my mom. I’ll just share a couple of examples.

We both loved the church! I remember when I was 10 (almost 11), I went visiting teaching with my mom. She was the Relief Society President at the time (I think), and I was her special helper. I took this very seriously and wouldn’t even go play with the other kids, because I was a visiting teacher that day! I think that we both had testimonies of the gospel and took our callings very seriously. Although I was quite young then, I believe that experience has helped shape me throughout my adult life and with the various callings I’ve held. It helps that it was recorded in my journal—keeps those memories fresh.

We both loved to make others feel special. My mom would often go out of her way to show her appreciation for others. I remember “chocolating” a sister’s home. Her husband would let us in when no one else was around, and we would leave little chocolate bars and candy all over her house. Several different years, we would do the 12 Days of Christmas to someone in the ward. We would drop off a little gift each day that represented that particular verse of the song. The trick, of course, would be to do this and not. get. caught. We had so much fun!

My mom was very good at sewing and doing other crafts. I enjoyed doing these things with her, too. She taught me some basics of sewing. She also attempted to teach me to crotchet, but I never really mastered that or develop a great interest in it.

We both also really enjoyed reading. We would often read the same books, usually mysteries. One of our favorite authors back then was Mary Higgins Clark. Not necessarily together, but I know that we had each been guilty of staying up all night (or to the wee hours of the morning) finishing a book that was just too good to put down!

Although definitely lacking in musical abilities, we both loved to sing! We especially enjoyed singing silly songs when we would go on road trips to visit family in Nauvoo or Missouri.

My mom really was a lot of fun, and I miss her dearly!

Journal Topic: Describe a childhood birthday.

I don’t remember any of my birthdays from my childhood clearly, so I took a brief dive into some old journals and picture albums to try and jog my memory.

I have a couple of pictures from my 2nd birthday. I do not remember this party at all, but it looks like I had a Big Bird cake and was surrounded by family. I have one picture with Grampy (my great-grandpa); another with my sister, Treva, and my cousins, Tara and Katie; and another picture with my cousins, Katie and Ryan.

The next birthday I have any record of was in 1986—my 9th birthday. I do remember this birthday vaguely. It was my first birthday in Alexandria. My cousin, Katie, came up from the Cities for my birthday party. I was so excited for her to come and visit. She probably stayed for at least a few days. We had been best friends for my entire life, but everything changed after this birthday. I don’t remember what happened exactly, but things were never the same between us after that. Two of the girls in the picture were neighbors of mine. We were marginal friends. I remember being very excited about the third friend in the picture to come to my party. Her name was Dawn Calloway, and she was a friend I’d met at school. Having a summer birthday always made it difficult to have friends come to a party, so I remember being so very excited to have a friend from school come celebrate.

In 1991, my dad took me to Valleyfair for my birthday. From what is written in my journal, it sounds like it was just him and me. Apparently, it was very busy that day, and we only got to go on 3 rides. All the same, from what I wrote, it seemed that I had great fun spending time with my dad. We had a little party later that evening with pizza from Godfather’s and I got some clothes for my gifts. I also got to go to a church dance later that night. I was probably pretty excited to go, but I wrote that it was pretty lame—I only danced with one boy, Adam Smith, who apparently was very nice.

I also found some pictures that are dated 1992, but I have a feeling that they are actually from 1991 when I celebrated my birthday in Alexandria with my mom. I was big into collecting porcelain dolls back then—especially if they had August somewhere on them. I still have some of the dolls I received that year. I think the year might be wrong because in my journal for 1992, I only mention going shopping with my mom for my birthday. It seems odd that I wouldn’t have mentioned the gifts, but I did mention a party, so perhaps the date is correct.
From reading through my journal and looking at old photos, I gather that I loved receiving clothes for my birthday—especially if I got to go shopping to pick them out, and that we usually celebrated with pizza. Today, I still love getting new clothes, but my tastes have gotten more expenseive, usually we go out for steak for dinner.

Journal Topic: Describe your mother's wedding dress. What do you know about her wedding?

My mom was married twice. I cannot describe her first wedding dress, and I don’t know much about her wedding. I know that it was a backyard wedding in Arizona. I believe her wedding colors might have been yellow and white. I’m pretty sure I remember seeing pictures of bridesmaids in yellow dresses anyway. The few pictures I’ve see are very 1970s (which is good, I suppose, since she was married in 1971).

The second time my mom got married was in 1986; I was 8 years old. Her dress was very lacey. I had contemplated wearing it for my wedding, but it was a little too much lace for me. I believe it had lace sleeves and a high lace collar. I haven’t seen it in over 4 years now, so my recollection of it is quite fuzzy.

This wedding was on March 8, 1986 and was held at the Anoka Stake center in MN, back when the stake center was still in Anoka. It was a very large wedding party—all of us kids were in the wedding. There were 10 kids in total. For some reason, I think that my aunt Judy was my mom’s matron of honor. I want to say the colors were purple; I’m pretty sure I remember wearing a purple dress. I think I also remember all of us girls wearing big hats, too. The wedding was in the chapel, and then there was a reception in the cultural hall. I must have been a little opposed to the wedding, because in all of the wedding pictures, I don’t think that I smiled even once. It is something that we would joke about years after the wedding, but I know that it broke my mom’s heart a little that none of the pictures reflected my smiling face.

Journal Topic: Describe a typical day during your high school years.

Was there a typical day during high school? Get up. Eat breakfast. Catch school bus. Attend school. Come home. Do homework. Some days after school, I went to my after school job—first Hardees, then Holiday Foods. Pretty boring, I guess.

I did have fun at school, though. That’s where my friends were. I actually really enjoyed high school and have some great memories. I certainly wasn’t popular in high school or a social butterfly, but I did have a great group of friends that I loved socializing with. I remember walking to class with my friends and talking a mile-a-minute. I guess when you have short (3 min) passing periods, you feel like you must get as much conversation in as possible!

Journal Topic: Describe your yard as a child - did you help with the yard work? What are your memories?

There are two backyards that I remember from my childhood—one in Brooklyn Park (until I was 9) and one in Alexandria (from age 9-17).

The one in Brooklyn Park was on a farm. It was very expansive. The yard butted right up against the fields—corn, soybean, strawberry. There were lots of trees. I don’t ever remember helping with yard work here. Perhaps I was too little...? My cousins lived just down the street; they were our closest neighbors. In fact, we had a little dirt road, running through the cornfield, which connected our two houses. Anyway, my favorite memory of this backyard was when we would play baseball. We never had enough people to play, so when we would get a hit and run to a base, which were the trees, we would have to leave an imaginary runner on, say 2nd base (if that’s how far we’d gotten), and go back and hit again. Sometimes, it would just be my cousin and I playing; sometimes my brothers and another cousin would join us.

The backyard in Alexandria was also quite expansive and also on a farm. This farm only had cows—no crops. While there were other neighbors around, this backyard did have a small trail, from constant walking, connecting our house to grandma’s house. The yard wasn’t exactly flat, and yard work was definitely a chore. I do remember having family yard work days when the whole family would spend the day outside, picking up sticks, mowing, gardening, etc. I think that I generally saw yard work as boy’s work, so I tended to try to stay inside—not that I was necessarily doing housework while inside!

Virtue: For Such a Time as This (Esther 4:14)

I first saw this video at the General YW broadcast in March. I remember how much it touched me then, and I was so glad to see it posted to the MormonMessages channel on YouTube.

I know that as we choose virtue, we will be blessed enormously!

Journal Topic #5: Did you and your father share any interests together - what and why?

I’m sure there are more, but one thing I remember quite fondly was going grocery shopping with my dad Saturday mornings. He was a very organized shopper. He would make his list and organize it by aisle in the store. It was our time together when we could enjoy each other’s company. I can’t remember any specifics about the things we would talk about; I just remember having fun hanging out with my dad.

From this memory, I’d say we both share an interest in grocery shopping. Even today, I enjoy grocery shopping. On occasion, Jeff and I have discussed shopping for groceries online and having them delivered. We’ve always decided against it, and after going to the grocery store, I remember why. I don’t know what it is about walking up and down aisles of food, but it is the one type of shopping that I actually do enjoy.

Another interest I’d say we have is organization. We both like to make lists (especially in the case of grocery shopping) and we like to have order in our homes. There is a place for everything, and everything should be in its place.

Journal Topic #4: Did you ever stick up for someone?

After discussing with my husband, my first thought was how I often stick up for Sallie. Now, she may just be a dog, but she often needs defending against my family. Each Sunday, most of my immediate family gathers at my parent’s home. They have two big dogs (compared to Sallie) that love to play with Sallie, and Sallie loves to play with them. At times the playing gets a little rough, so we need to separate them. Sallie is always accused of instigating all the rough play, so Jeff and I are always defending her.

I guess Sallie isn’t really a someone, so when I was writing about her, I realized that I have stuck up for my sister-in-law on occasion. I recall one instance I even convinced my whole family to pitch in to send her some flowers to help brighten her day. I don’t recall the exact circumstances, but I believe something had happened on the previous Sunday that had upset her. It may have simply been a comment that was made. My family, unfortunately, is not always the most supportive and accepting. Anyway, I know that she had left that night feeling very upset and unloved, so I stuck up for her by having the family send her flowers.