A little of this and a little of that.

Since I don't have anything specific to talk about, I'll just mention some of the highlights of our last few weeks:

We sold our spec house! (Phew!) A retired couple from Cali will be moving in on July 11th. So cool. Almost as cool was the fact that the lady asked Brian how much I wanted for the decor stuff that was in the house. I have been so eager to go get it out of there because my own house has seemed so bare, but now it looks like it may never come home. If not, I will have money to replace it all and a good excuse to go shopping. Anyway....now we will be able to get on with our lives and I will be able to get the Toyota Sienna I've been dreaming of. (Did I already mention in previous posts the battle Brian and I had for a year over what kind of vehicle to buy? Well, Brian finally agreed to let me get a minivan, but he reminds me that he will drive his truck to church until he feels ready and willing to drive the minivan. He doesn't think a minivan is consistent with the image he is trying to build. Oh, you think I'm joking?...) So I think we will probably try and buy the minivan at the auction in Vegas when we are down there in August. I can't wait. If there is anything that has brought me close to swearing on a consistent basis, it is trying to load and buckle three car seats that are jammed into the back seat of a camry.

We found a turtle on our street on the way home from church.

















I went to Melissa's sealing. I flew to Vegas and then drove up to Utah with my mom. She was married in the Bountiful temple, and it was fabulous. She seemed very happy and she looked beautiful. I had been anxious to see what her dress and hair would look like , seeing as she is no typical girl, and I was not disappointed. Her dress and hair were perfect for her. Man, I love that girl. She has been such an angel for me over the years. I was so excited to be reunited with three of my five roommates from my sophomore year in college. Monique and Kate--if you are out there--we would LOVE to find you guys!


My little sister, Laura, got engaged. She is marrying John Hendricks of Idaho. Although I have not met him, I have heard enough about him to feel like I have, and he seems almost as cool as Laura. He treats her like gold, promises to provide for her and let her take naps, AND he is a rapper and gifted percussionist. Could it get any cooler than that? They are going to put on a concert for all of us at their reception in August. I can't wait!

I got to hang out with Rachel and Sonya. Rachel is married to Brian's best friend, Justin, and I love her. I feel like I have known her forever. She introduced me to her sister, Sonya, who know lives in Coos Bay (which is in our stake) and I already feel like I have known her forever, too. Don't you love people who make you feel like that?

AND...I finished my fern project. What do you think?

Thank you.

So I did my thing at Enrichment. I think a lot of the ladies enjoyed it, but I know of at least one who hated it. She said that she was new to our church, so a bunch of questions about mormons was a little overwhelming. Great. So now I've scared away a new member. Oh well. What can you do, right? You can't please everyone. Thank you so much to all of you who emailed me or posted a comment with your answers. With the women in my ward who turned in answers and you guys that helped, I was able to say that I surveyed 50 women, and that was good enough. Thanks again.

Family Feud

So I was wondering if you guys could all help me out with something. I'm in charge of this Thursday's Enrichment Meeting and we're playing family feud. I am trying to get a hundred LDS women to answer the following questions so that I will have the results by Thursday. If you could cut and paste the following questions (and your answers) into a comment or email them to me (lac1107@aol.com) by Thursday morning, I will be your best friend. Well, maybe I'll just be your really good friend. Actually, maybe I'll just be really really grateful and you will be on my A list.

1. Other than a dress, name something women wear to church.
2. Name the length of time a high councilman's talk usually lasts
3. Name something "mormons" are known for.
4. Other than 1 Nephi, name a book in the BofM.
5. Name a dish that is likely to be served at a Relief Society function.
6. Name a reason a person might call the bishop.
7. Name the average # of kids in a Mormon family.
8. Name the hymn that is most frequently sung at church.
9. Name something a missionary misht ask for in a package while on his mission.
10. Name the subject most often talked about at General Conference.
11. Name something (other than scriptures) that women are likely to bring with them to church.
12. Name a reason a sister might give for not having completed her visiting teaching.
13. name the most common Sunday activity for members of our church.
14. Name the #1 thing people in our ward would say they love about living in Florence. (This won't apply to most of you)
15. Name something you might do to become freinds with someone.
16. Name a quality that women in our ward most desire to develop
17. What would women say is the most important utensill in the kitchen?
18. What would women say is their least favorite responsibility?
19. What would women say is their favorite thing about being a woman?
20.What would women say is their favorite part of the relief society organization?

I Need Help

I have an emotional relationship with food. This is kinda what it's like: (Me) "Ooooh, I love you food!" (Food) "Oooohhh, I love you, too, Ann! Eat me! Eat me!" Basically, I equate food with happiness. The way I look at it, anything is fun if there is food present. I think this is because I love to talk and eating is always accompanied by really good conversation. True, right? But anyway, I hate that I do not have more self control with the things I eat. Today my friend Kaori left a plate of big homemade cream puffs on my doorstep and I ended up eating all six of them! I actually tried to have Camp and Jane both eat one, but they were unfamiliar with them and so they wouldn't. I was seriously out of control. And this doesn't just happen with goodies. I just eat too much in general. I feel like I eat three lunches every day--my own, and then the left-overs of Camp and Jane. I feel like I almost have a responsibility to eat that PB and J sandwich crust and the last spoonfuls of macaroni, because after all, there are people starving in this world, and they would love to have these little remnants. Now don't get all crazy--all you health nuts out there. You don't need to shake your heads in disgust. I'm not totally pathetic. I almost never eat fried foods and I do love fruits and vegetables, and I only buy wheat bread. I just wish I didn't love food so much. Is this something a shrink could help me with? I don't know, but I remember trying to analyze my condition with my exercise-physiologist uncle a few years back and he asked me a bunch of questions about my childhood food experiences. He thought that maybe there hadn't been enough food available to me growing up, and that this may have influenced my need to eat more (way more) than a reasonable girl needs to eat. I assured him that that surely was not the issue. I grew up having lots of food and there was always more than enough. So I don't know what the heck my problem is...

Other than that (well, and the fact that a handfull of the people in my neighborhood wish that we did not live here because we have kids) my life is really good right now. Danin discovered the toilet, Jane got into some oil-based automotive paint but didn't get one drop on the carpet, Camp taught himself to ride his bike without training wheels (although he will only do it with his smaller bike), Brian is super busy but has refrained from going back to energy drinks, we put in a lawn, I have not lost my cool in almost two weeks, and I will be going to Melissa's wedding next weekend. So cool. Oh, yeah. And I finally conducted a taste test between the generic Safeway brand oreos and the real ones. Although the real ones won, my experimental units all agreed that the generic ones put up a darn good fight. Besides, the results would definitely be deemed statistically insignificant because my samply size (3) was way too small, there was no randomization, and the real oreos were double stuffed. P.S. Most generic brands are not as good as Safeway's (Vons).