What Makes You Beautiful

In just over a week, I'm heading off to Young Women camp.  I went three years as a young women and this will be my 12th (and possible final year) as an adult.  

Young Women camp is a wonderful experience!  Testimonies are developed and strengthened, friendships are deepened, and you can't help feel the love of our Heavenly Father as you enjoy the beautiful world He has created for us.

However, many young women (and their leaders) feel very self-conscious about the lack of blow dryers, curling irons, flat irons, and make-up while they are at camp.  It can be liberating not to have to dress up and impress others, but there is also a feeling of vulnerability as you show the world--this is what I REALLY look like.

I love the following video.  It was created by the Young Men in the Citrus Heights Stake to help the Young Women remember that it isn't the eye liner, the mascara, and the shiny carefully coiffed hair that makes them beautiful.

If only we received more messages like this in our life.

...and then our eyes locked....

A few days ago I was talking to a friend.  I asked how things were going and she giggled a little and announced that she is getting married on July 21st.  

"Wow!" I said. "That's coming up quick!  Where is he from?" 

'Oh," she replied, "He's not from around here.  He travels a lot."

I'm thinking that maybe he's a truck driver.  Or a pilot.  Or a salesman.


She blushed a little as she replied, "He's an acrobat in the circus."

I hope I didn't look too startled.  I did not see that coming.  At all. 

"Really," I gushed!  "I know a woman who used to be a trapeze artist when she was young!"

(I was trying very hard to find some common ground, and this is the first thing that popped into my head.  Pretty lame, huh, although very true.  I do know someone who was a trapeze artist when she was younger.)

We talked about my amazing friend who used to be a trapeze artist when she was younger for a few minutes and then I asked the next question:

"So, where did you meet?"

I'm thinking perhaps they were introduced by a mutual friend.  Or they met at a party.  Or online.

"We met at the circus."

I hope I didn't look too startled.  I mean, it makes sense, but I did not see that coming.  At all.

"I took my two daughters to the circus and we were sitting on the first row.  As he performed our eyes locked.  There was that instant attraction to each other, you know what I mean?"

I nodded my head.  I felt that way toward Ron when I first saw him.

"After the circus was over, I was in the parking lot walking back to my car.  He quickly changed out of his performing clothes and 'accidentally'  bumped into us in the parking lot.  We've been together ever since." 

I think that's the most original "how we met" story I've ever heard!

I hope my friend and her fiance will be very, very happy. 

First Jobs

When I was 18 years old, Tom, a man in my ward told me about a job opening at the supermarket he worked at.  He was a school teacher by day and supplemented his income by working as a cashier at night. 

I don't know how he did it.

"Loralee, the bakery department has an opening.  Go and apply."

Dressing carefully, I drove to the grocery store and asked to speak to the bakery manager.  When I told her that I heard their was an opening and I would like to apply, she replied, "There is no opening.  You heard wrong."

A few days later, Tom asked me how it went.  I told him that there wasn't an opening.

"Oh, there's an opening.  Go again.  Tell the manager I sent you."

Reluctantly, I followed his orders.  I didn't want to be told "no" twice.

To my surprise, there was an opening this time.  After a short interview, I was hired!  I had my first non-babysitting job and I was thrilled.  Skeeter, my boss (her real name was Juanita but everyone called her Skeeter) was demanding, but I think she eventually realized that I was a hard worker and tried to do my best.  When I left that job a year later to attend college out-of-state, she presented to me a pendant necklace which I still have.

Emily is now 18 years old and she's had her share of babysitting, house-sitting, and pet sitting gigs, but it's time to make a little more money.  She began applying for jobs--in person and online.  Some of the application questions amazed her.  She wasn't sure what they meant.  She asked my opinion.  I wasn't sure what they meant either!

After applying at many business establishments, she had a group interview at a small clothing and accessory store.  She came home discouraged.  Nearly everyone else had more experience than she did. 

"I did not get this job!" she exclaimed.

A few days later, the phone rang.  It was the hiring manager.  She offered her a summer position.

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed at least a couple of times. 

Good for you, Emily!  You did it without any friend or family connections.  Good luck on your new part-time job. 

Announcing....

I enjoy making announcements--especially if they are of the happy variety.

A few weeks ago, I sent a text to my married darling daughters with the following announcement:

BREAKING NEWS!  I purchased my first watermelon of the summer!

Now, that might not be breaking news for MOST people, but for me with my passion for sweet and juicy watermelon, it was a big deal.  I LOVE watermelon!  It's my favorite fruit and when I purchased my first one sometime the middle of May, it was big news for me. 

Of course, my darling daughters responded with cheers.  They know how much watermelon means to me.  I can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and sometimes afternoon and before bedtime snacks.  Do you get a little sense of WHY buying my first watermelon was such big news? 


About eight years ago, I got up in the front of Relief Society to share some other good news.

I announced that after four daughters and 23 years of marriage I was finally expecting a son!

Of course, there was much exclamations from the women in the room.  Emily was 10 at the time.  That's a pretty big gap between a fourth and fifth child.  However, it was my way of announcing Christie's engagement and that we were finally getting a son-in-law.

So, yesterday I did it again.

I made a big announcement in Young Women because that is where I currently serve. 

I walked to the front of the room and twirled.  (That is what the young women do in this ward--they twirl when they want to share good news.)

With a catch in my voice and a few tears in my eyes, I pulled out an apron that was given to me by darling daughter Heather and her husband Dustin on Mother's Day. 

This is a smile of pure joy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I am going to be a grandmother sometime the end of November or beginning of December. 

I LOVE making happy announcements!

The Parable of the Baking Soda

There are some things are I am not too good at:

1. Team Sports. (I still have horrible memories of being picked last every single time during P.E.)
2. Not getting stressed. (Although I am working on it.)
3. Being outgoing in a large group of people. (And when I mean a large group of people, I mean anything over six. Yes, I know. I'm pathetic.)

There are some things I am OK at:

1. Cooking a meal for company. (See number 2 above. I'm ALWAYS worried that they won't like what I made, or it won't turn out, or that it won't be done in time.)
2. Fixing my hair so it looks OK. (Emily touches it up for special occasions. I wish EVERY day was a special occasion.)
3. Playing the organ. (I've been taking lessons for a few months now and slowly I'm hoping to get better than OK.)

There are some things I am very good at:

1. Keeping a clean and orderly home. (It's never perfect, but I'm never embarrassed to have someone drop by unexpectedly.)
2. Setting and accomplishing goals. (Ask my long time friends--they will vouch for me on that one.)
3. Baking some pretty awesome chocolate chip cookies.

I was very good at baking cookies, until I moved to cute little town. The recipe stayed the same. The pans were still the magical ones. But, my cookies just didn't turn out.
At first I thought it was the oven.
My old oven was perfect. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 9 minutes and you had perfection. Every. single. time.
I raised the temperature of the oven. That helped.
I let them cook just a minute longer. That helped.
But, there was still something not quite right about those cookies.
They were flat.
As I recently pondered this perplexing turn of events, I kept getting a prompting: "Check your baking soda."
I ignored it.
A day later, I remembered that prompting. "Check your baking soda."
I wasn't anywhere near the kitchen at the time, so the thought was fleeting.
The third time I was prompted to check the baking soda, I did. We had two open boxes of baking soda. (I don't know HOW that happened.) Imagine my shock when both of them had expired in 2010--right about the time Heather got married and we moved.
No wonder my cookies were flat.
As I write this, I am baking a fresh batch of cookies with fresh baking soda. They are golden brown and slightly puffy. I'm still trying to figure out this oven, but maybe, I'll become a very good baker again.
As I thought about this, I think many times we let our "baking soda" go flat. We lose that zest for living. Perhaps it's because we aren't taking care of ourselves physically. We aren't eating right. We aren't getting enough exercise. We aren't getting enough sleep.
Perhaps we aren't taking care of ourselves emotionally. We aren't reaching out to friends. We aren't building our family relationships. We are neglecting an important part of our inner core.
Perhaps we aren't taking care of ourselves spiritually. We have neglected our scripture study. Our prayers have become trite. We aren't engaged in meaningful worship.
I'm grateful for re-learning how important baking soda is in baking. I will never assume that my opened box can last forever. As soon as I see the tell-tale sign of flat cookies (or a flat life) I'll wonder if it (or my life) has lost it's zest for living. Then, I'll do something about it.

Valentine Nicknames

Last Sunday, I was reading the comics. Snoopy was given many Valentine's greetings but the one that he was hoping for never came.

No one called him "Sugar Lips."

And so, in honor of Snoopy's wish, I decided to bestow the mushy nickname of "Sugar Lips" on Ron this week.

I'm sure he's thrilled.

Of course, Emily could not be left out. As we were brainstorming possible Valentine nicknames for her, she came up with "Muffin" or "Pumpkin." They are very lovely but just not quite special enough.

Ron thought a combination would be better. "How about Pumpfin?" he asked.

I burst in with my suggestion a second later, "How about Muffkin?"

And so, Emily is now Muffkin for the week.

I'm sure she's thrilled.

Of course, I could not be without a Valentine nickname. They didn't EVEN ask me what I wanted to be called.

My nickname? Honey Bucket.

And yes, I'm thrilled. :)