Triumphs!

Well, I've been trying all this year to lose weight.

I've added in daily exercise (though some weeks I'm better at it than others).

I've tried to eat better.

And I can finally say it--I'm almost to my goal weight for Thanksgiving. I'm three pounds away from that goal.

Why Thanksgiving?

Because, a majority of my family will be gathering in San Diego to bless this little guy:

And I'm sure a myriad of family photos will be taken. So I wanted to look at least somewhat skinnier so I don't stand out in the crowd.

I just hope that I can get those 3 pounds gone before then. And I really hope that someone notices.

When did that happen?

So, I never realized that I had gotten "hot" until a couple of weeks ago.

I'll be honest--boys don't give me a second look. Sometimes not even a first look. I get maybe a glance. It's okay. I accept it.

When I was at the library a couple of weeks ago, I was straightening shelves and a guy walks up to me and asks about getting onto the computers. As I'm not very knowledgeable regarding internet policies or getting onto a computer, I offered to find him a librarian because I was only a volunteer. I found the librarian on duty and gladly passed him along.

He made it a point to ask my name. Told me his name was Marco.

I laughed after he left. As I explained before---these things don't happen to me.

Marco came back though. And tried to chat with me. While I straightened shelves.

I wondered what I would do if he asked my number. Did I know anyone's number off the top of my head? Only my mother's, but she would just pass my real number along. Maybe I could tell him it's a new phone and I don't remember the number and pass him along to one of my friends.

He never asked my number. He just said, "Well, I'll be on the first floor. At a computer down there." *wink wink*

I left 10 minutes later to go home. Didn't see Marco again.

There may be something to this whole librarian business.

Then again, it hasn't happened since.

Free Shutterfly Book

Have you ever wanted a 20 page 8x8 book from Shutterfly? Well, you can get it now (you just have to pay shipping and handling!). Here's how:

Snag a FREE 8x8 20 page photo book from Shutterfly! You will have to pay a shipping fee, but this is still a sweet deal! All you need to do is go here and login to your Facebook account. After logging in, scroll down to the bottom of the page and you should see a banner advertising this FREE Photo Book offer. Click on the ad and you'll receive a special promotional code to use, then just sign into your Shutterfly account and save your code.

Thanks to Hip2Save!

Now I've got to figure out which pictures to use! Twenty pages is definitely not enough!

Nashville Tribute Band

If you haven't heard of the Nashville Tribute Band, you're totally missing out. Let me use this post to educate you a bit.

Before 2005, Jason Deere had an idea to write some songs about Joseph Smith and make it a little bit country. He got together with Dan Truman of Diamond Rio and the group Due West and so many others and they created:

Since 2005, they've toured around giving this AMAZING presentation about Joseph Smith. Then, they recorded another CD: "Trek: A Nashville Tribute to the Pioneers". Next year, they will add "A Nashville Tribute to Missionaries".

Last night I had the opportunity to go and see the Nashville Tribute Band perform. They were amazing. Truly amazing. It was a great feeling to be in the Tabernacle and to hear them sing and praise Heavenly Father and His Son for a prophet on the earth today. I laughed, I may have shed a couple of tears, and I walked away with a great understanding of my own faith and testimony.

I just wanted to share a couple of songs that I loved, so you can get a flavor for this music.

First is the song: The Rising. This tells of Joseph and what he went through as he tried to figure out which church he should join and then the persecution he experienced after he had his vision.

Second is my personal favorite: He Walked a Mile in My Shoes. It expresses the emotions that Joseph went through while in Liberty Jail. But on a personal level, it expresses how each of us often feeling after having a difficult day. We want to know that someone "gets us".

Please, go buy their cds and be uplifted. Enjoy pure testimony as the Lord speaks to you through music. And if you discover that they're coming to somewhere near you--DON'T MISS THE SHOW! It'll be the best two hours of your life, ever.

Congratulations J & H!

I just got the e-mail from J (brother #5) that they're expecting a little girl!

You have to understand, the ratio of boys to girls amongst my siblings is 3 to 1. Last night, my niece and I did some math and realized that for the next generation--my niece and her cousins it's 4 to 1. We need more girls!

So, in honor of the announcement of Baby Girl being born on March 9, 2010, this is a video that I want to dedicate to them! Congrats! I can't wait to meet her!!!




Congrats! I can't wait to give you her gift!