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Showing posts from December, 2015

Shout Out to My New Ward

I would be very remiss if I didn't give a shout out to my new ward, for their remembrances of me this week. My visiting teachers left me some goodies and a card, my Home Teacher and his wife came by with some yummy banana bread from Great Harvest, and the Relief Society President dropped off some lotion and a nice note. It was all very thoughtful. Let's face it - as many, many people can attest, "Single" in a "Family" church can often be pretty awkward. Who do you sit with in Sacrament meeting? How do you relate to young Moms and Dads when you feel like you don't have anything in common? Who do you socialize with, etc.? Which is why I stayed in Singles wards for a very long time - I didn't want to face those awkward questions. But the last birthday kind of forced the issue for me, and so here I am. And God bless them, this ward has made an effort, and I'm very grateful.  I perhaps don't show it like I should - I tend to be pretty closed o

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning dawned cold and greeted the Wasatch Front with a major snowstorm. To the accompaniment of some old Christmas movies on TCM, I opened my gifts. My family was very kind and overly generous with me this year. My youngest brother and awesome Sister-in-law #2 gave me a fitbit, which I love, and have been dutifully wearing ever since (I even got in my 10,000 steps yesterday). One of my sisters and her girls gave me a new pair of snow boots, which came in pretty handy the last couple of days. Hooray for cute boots and perfect timing! My youngest sister sent me a Racko game and a pretty puzzle. I had a pleasant day yesterday working on the puzzle. And the game was a very welcome addition to my small collection. Now I just need to have family and friends over so we can play it.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, as has become my tradition, I attended the Christmas Eve Carol Service at the Cathedral of the Madeline. It is a highlight of the Christmas Season for me, and it allows me an opportunity to meditate and feel the Spirit, and participate in the music. And I always seem to meet the nicest people. This year my friend Cindy, who is from Taiwan, joined me. And we ended up sitting next to a very nice man, who visited with us, and even invited us back for Christmas Mass, and for Easter Services next year. After the service, I thanked him for letting us join him and wished him a Merry Christmas, to which he gave me a big hug. After the service, I hurried home to pick up my contributions to our Christmas Eve feast, and headed over to my Brother's family's house - Awesome Sister-in-law #1 had prepared a fabulous meal. After dinner, the niece and nephew treated us to a wonderful program. My nephew played some Christmas hymns on the keyboard, and my niece told

First Day at the Temple

Yesterday, I began my service as an ordinance worker at the Salt Lake Temple. I was terribly nervous beforehand, and part of me wanted to call and say I wouldn't be coming after all. But I knew I needed to be there, and dutifully got myself down to the temple.  And I needn't have worried. I got there in time to get my name tag, change my clothes, and get to the chapel in time for a Preparation Meeting/Christmas Devotional from the Temple President and Matron. Then it was on my way. I was whisked downstairs to the training room, given a few instructions, and posted to several different spots to stand and direct people, and encourage reverence. Since it was my first day, they only had me work for a few hours. But come January 2nd, I'll be working my regular Saturday shift. As a bonus, several other friends and acquaintances also serve there at the same time, so I was able to catch up and have some mini-reunions. It was a nice day, and despite an aching lower back, and sor

MoTab Christmas 2015

Friday night, Mac's Angels got together for our annual trek to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert at the Conference Center. The guest artists were Broadway Star Laura Osnes, British Actor Martin Jarvis, and soloists from the Metropolitan Opera Company. The performances were beautiful and inspiring, and the special tribute to Handel's Messiah was a special highlight for me. It was a beautiful evening, with wonderful music, perfect weather, and good friends to share it with.

Sharing Goodness

It isn't often, but today I feel like I did a little good in the world. This is in no way meant to blow my own horn, but I use it as an example of how small things can make you feel really good. The other day, there was a report in the news that a local pastry shop, owned by Middle Easterners, had been vandalized in a manner suggesting a "hate" crime. I find things like this to be quite disturbing. I have friends and acquaintances who are Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and non-believers. They are all good people. I try to honor and respect their beliefs, and would hope they would do the same for me. So when I heard about this, I was very saddened, and it weighed heavy on my mind. Overnight I came to the conclusion that I needed to go into that shop today, and make a purchase, to show my support, and to sort of fight back against the hate. So this morning, after I finished my other errands, I made my way down to the said pastry shop, went inside, and place

Happy Baby Nephew

Awesome Sister-in-law #2 sent me a picture of little H2 playing with the stuffed doggie I got him when he was born. Isn't he adorable? He's such a happy baby, and that smile just makes me want to drop everything and jump on a plane and go cuddle with him.

Shepherd Boy

Little J was asked to portray a shepherd boy in his ward's "Night in Bethlehem" party. Is he not just the cutest thing ever? If this doesn't get you in the Christmas spirit, I don't know what will.  

Holiday Music

I'm not much for listening to the radio anymore. I can't stand the commercials, and how my favorite stations constantly change formats. And I haven't even broken out my old and tired Christmas CD's this year. But after waking up in a funk the last couple of Saturdays, I felt it was important to try and get in the Christmas spirit.  Which leads me to give a shout out to my new Roku streaming stick, where I was able to stream the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (#MoTab) Channel  on YouTube, and re-watch the last several Christmas concerts (which, on a side note, makes me super excited for this year's concert which I'll be attending on Friday).   I also listened to the 24/7 Christmas music stream on #MormonChannel. Now normally, I avoid this, because I'm just not much of a fan of the sappy LDS pop music that's out there. So it was with some trepidation that I even turned it on. But come to find out, it was more than just LDS artists - they even had a little Nat

One Last Job

After the ward party, we came back to my house, and while the kids watched a movie, Awesome Sister-in-law #1 helped me with one last job, that of putting up the new bathroom mirror. I think it looks great!

Christmas Festivities

What a crazy and busy week it has been. A lot of fun stuff, but a bit stressful, and definitely exhausting. Tuesday was the Relief Society Christmas Social, and since I was singing with the choir, there was several hours of rehearsal over several weeks, and by the time the performance arrived, our voices we were pretty spent. But it was a successful evening, and fun to visit with the ladies in my ward. Wednesday was the Easton Community Open House, which I hosted. I've done this for a couple of years now, to continue the tradition set by one of the residents who passed away, who had done this for many years. Several of the neighbors attended, and it was a pleasant time, and a good way to build friendships and good feelings. Thursday was the SelectHealth company party at the Utah Olympic Oval. I don't normally attend company parties - as a single person, it's just awkward. But after a lot of razzing from my team, I managed to get to this one. It ended up being nice - a

More Renovations

Last week saw the last of the home renovations for this year. The window company came and replaced the last of the windows, as well as the downstairs shower door, and removed the old bathroom mirror. Unfortunately, removing the old windows did a number on the window casings, which was not unexpected. So there will need to be some work done there. But at least all the windows are done, and the downstairs bathroom is halfway there.

Wyoming Thanksgiving

I was fortunate to spend Thanksgiving with my Sister's family in Wyoming this year. They live in a tiny town, and although it was bitterly cold outside, it was nice to spend the holiday in the wide open spaces, with the big beautiful sky, and have some quality bonding time with my nephew. I loved it! Playing pool at my brother-in-law's brother's house. And yes, I made the shot. More pool action Little J riding a horsey Little J with his Aunt and his cousin. His cousin is 19 or 20 now, but has cerebral palsy, and is unable to communicate. But they love each other and Little J adores him. Putting up the live Christmas tree One of the ladies in Little J's ward gave him an old electric Christmas train set, that we put up around the tree. He absolutely loved it. We also went to visit the Heart Mountain Relocation Center museum, did a little Christmas shopping, went to a family movie, and played a lot of games.  We sure had a lo