I love books

I think I've mentioned that I love to read. The bad part about it is that I just buy the books instead of borrow them from a library. But now I've got a great selection of books for anyone else to borrow!!

I stayed up way too late last night to finish a book called Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors. It is historical fiction (which I just love!) and it is about the story of the Taj Mahal. I don't know much of the history behind the Taj Mahal, but this book was not letting me sleep last night! I loved loved it. I wouldn't let a teenager read it. It was a bit graphic (not just the sex stuff, but also wars).

I thought I would give you a list of books that I have read and loved, and maybe you'll find one in there that you'll enjoy too.

Marie Antoinette The Journey by Antonia Fraser
Flags of our Fathers by John Bradley
The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio by Terry Ryan and Suze Orman
French by Heart by Rebecca Ramsey
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
The Last Wife of Henry VIII by Carolly Erickson
Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky
Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock
The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff
The Courtesan by Diane Haeger

These are not all of the books that I have read recently. I still have one that I haven't started. I would like to read more of one of my favorite authors Fannie Flagg who wrote awesome books like Fried Green Tomatoes and Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man. I am a big fan of Jane Austen. I really like historical fiction. I learn about the time period and read a cool story, even if it isn't a real story. The book Suite Française is an amazing book. The author died in a concentration camp. Her daughters had this manuscript for 60 years before being able to open it and find out what their mother wrote. I am waiting for the other one to come out this fall. If you haven't figured it out yet, I will read almost anything about France or if it has an Eiffel Tower on the cover, I will usually pick it up, if not actually buy it. Marie Antoinette was a slow read because there is so much detail, but I really enjoyed it. I'm sure I'll be reading more as Matt continues in this PA program.

I also love self-help books. I have recently bought, but haven't read, a book called Raising Cain. It's about boys, and how to help them with the emotional part of life. I've only read a few pages. My favorite self-help book by far is How to hug a Porcupine. LOVE it. I need to find it and reread some things. I need to end this because I wanted to get in a little cross stitching tonight. Yeah, I'm weird, I read and I cross stitch. But I love it!! And coincidentally, I'm cross stitching a picture of the Eiffel Tower. Yeah, I have France on the brain.

Read this

I stole this from Jamie over at I love flipflops. But it is a great article on chastity, and I thought some of you out there would enjoy it.

We got to hang out

Yesterday at church some friends invited us over for dinner. It was just us bringing whatever we had to share. It was a pretty good dinner! Anyway, the exciting thing for me was that Matt went, and hung out with everyone too! Since he's been in the Physicians Assistant Program, we have been able to do very little with others. He is usually gone before 7am and then comes home around 4 or 5 and then studies until he goes to bed. And weekends, he spends the whole day studying. He takes breaks, and he exercises, but other than eating dinner together, we don't see much of him. Some of you may think, wow, this seems a little excessive on the studying. It is a very competetive course. Each trimester is about 30 unit hours or more. The hard part about it, is that if your average goes below 75%, you could be dropped out of the program. Very high stress. Anyway, so it was very exciting for me to be a "couple" instead of "single" when I went to someones house. And the kids had a great time playing too. I won't get many of these nights. The only reason is that he had Friday off, and of course today. I wish we had more long weekends like this.

Andrew

Yesterday someone from church came over to work on stuff that we are getting ready for the girls camp at church. We have gone shopping together a few times, and the kids know her and like her. After a while, she asked to use the bathroom. I told her to make sure she shut the door good because my kids like to follow people to the bathroom. Sure enough, both of them were at her door. Then I hear this: "Sister Johnson, are you pooping??" from my dear son. Just what you want to be asked when you are doing your business in someone else's house. She laughed and said that she hadn't been asked that in a long time. Totally funny, but I have got to get a filter on this boy. The things he has said in public can be really bad. So, now you've all been warned. Don't expect your private business to be so private anymore. At least until I can get a filter on him......

Woman to Woman

"Celebrating Me"

I would like to focus on one thing that I think I do best. Recognizing progress.
There are so many things that I struggle with, that I haven't been able to completely turn around. By trying not to overwhelm myself with lofty goals, I make small ones, things that I know that I can do with just a little more effort.
There are few things that I honestly believe that I excel at. Well, maybe talking on the phone, (I'm really good at that) and listening on the phone too. I'm good at remembering people's names, and small details. Like the phone numbers of my childhood friends. Still remember them. I believe that I'm an average mom, wife. Nothing that I do is out of the norm.

So, with this progress theme, I look at my life, and then look at what it was a year ago, and I can see progress. I made a goal to plan my dinners better, and I have gotten really good at thinking about my dinner before noon. And most of the time having a plan. Even if it is leftovers or that we're going to Burger King. I have gotten better at not losing my control with my kids. I have realized that I can change, no matter what anyone thinks of me. I can see progress in several areas of my life. I feel like that if I can keep going in this general direction (and I say general, because I'm sure that at some points I will be going the wrong way) I will get where I want to be. And oh well if I'm 80 when I get there. At least I got there.

Now, I'm not always this positive in my "vie quotidienne". (everyday life. that phrase in french just fit better in my head) Days like today when I wanted to just lay on the couch and watch all the movies that I haven't watched yet. Days when I feel like all my efforts to talk to and teach my son how to listen and the right words to use and how to treat me and others goes right out the window. But the fewer times that this happens, I know I'm going in the right direction.

I know that when I pray about my struggles, whatever they may be, (mostly patience with my son) that I can feel that I'm getting the help that I need. Of course I do all I can to breathe, relax, and talk it out rather than start screaming like a crazy lady. But there is something there that is helping me to stay there.

Whatever my strengths are, I know that I didn't get there by myself. There is no possible way, because I wouldn't have been able to do it. For example, when I found out that I had to have another emergency c-section. I remember sitting on that table covering my eyes and just sobbing. Terrified of what was going to happen next, and hoping that I would be able to recover well, and that there wouldn't be anything go wrong. Obviously I made it through. But at that moment, I never think that I will. In those moments when I think that I will never be organized enough to have a house that looks clean (because we all know there is not a house on this earth that is clean all the time) or when I think that I will never succeed at teaching my children the things that they need to know for life, or even something as small as being on top of getting the dishes done, I know that if I take it small steps, and with Heavenly Fathers help (and shells', and my sisters') I will get through it, and I will survive.
I guess that is my strength: I can and I will survive.
(pretend you can hear gloria gaynor singing in the background..... hehe)

For more on this subject please go to My Many Colored Days.

This is killing me

I am really really wanting to go back to Germany. It is just killing me that we have to live in Texas. I know people love Texas, and that there are many things that are great about living here. Its just not France or Germany. And the likely hood of my finding someone here that spoke french or found a place that had anything close to the atmosphere of living in Europe is close to zero. I think I need to start saving up for buying my house in France. I've actually looked at properties online. See, that is how crazy I am. I'll just have to pray that we get sent to Landstuhl Army Hospital, or to a unit in Germany. But then he might be deployed. Sigh..... Can't have everything I guess....

Social Butterfly

Lucy has a shirt that has a butterfly on it and the words "social butterfly". I have always been a sort of social butterfly. I take after my dad in that. He knows lots of people, always can find something to say in an awkward moment. Once he was talking so long after church that the little goldfish I had gotten in Primary died from the heat in our car. (I'm from So Cal, so it was really hot in our car). My parents broke down and got call waiting sometime after I was 15 because they complained that I was on the phone so much, they needed to make sure that they could get through if they needed to. In fact, I had an emergency break through once. Ever had one of those? A little scary.

Since we've been married, it has been difficult to be social. He was going to school and working, I was working and teaching piano. Then I was only teaching piano, so that gave me more time to be social. Then my husband joined the Army, and I was living at my parents house, gave birth to our son (w/o my husband), and lived there until Andrew was 8 months old. I had so much freedom to go and do whatever I wanted. It was amazing.

We finally got to Germany, and it took a few months, but once I had friends, it was the best thing ever. I had a great friend that lived right above me, and our husbands got along too. In fact they would spend the morning golfing or drive 3 hours to an indoor soccer tournament. She would come over and we would watch movies or cross stitch or just talk. I had friends where we would just show up at each others door. We lived so closely that we could walk to the others house in 2 minutes. My friends in Germany have become so close that we were family. I've been to Poland with these friends. I've also been to France several times with these friends. My friend that lived upstairs took care of Andrew while I had Lucy. She came over in the middle of the night and slept on our couch. Another took over for her, made homemade pizza, and cleaned my kitchen while I was gone. That same friend left food for us after we got back from being 3 weeks at Walter Reed, knowing that we would be exhausted and knew that we wouldn't want to go to the commissary.

Being here is a little rough for me. Because of Matt's schedule, we can't do much as a couple. I can't really have people over because he is usually in the next room studying, and then goes to bed before 10 every night. This ward is not friendly at all. The people that are, are the military families that are only in the ward for a short time themselves. We live in houses here, not apartments, so we aren't forced to see people as often. There is so far, only one person on post that I can count as a "friend". And I have a few more, but I have to drive at least 10 minutes to get to their houses. And honestly, since we're leaving in December, I find it hard to make any more effort to make any more friends. Instead I am calling all over the country, from Utah, to Montana, Virginia occasionally, North Carolina, California, Arizona.... I live on my phone.

My social butterfly is a bit shriveled right now. It misses the days that I could call Holly and say I need to go for a walk, and she would say, meet you outside in five minutes. And then we would walk around post airing our frustrations, laughing, having deep conversations.....I miss that incredibly. I think that is why I cannot tear myself away from this blog world. I miss the days that Matt and I could stay up late together, or run upstairs to my friend and say that I already made dinner and had a ton, so why don't they just come down and eat. And those were the best times. I love them and miss them so much sometimes, that I wish things could always be like that. Having this blog is being able to read what others are feeling, knowing that I'm not the only one that has felt this way, or being able to empathize with others when they are having a hard time.

Our next area is going to be a short stay too. Only a year. And then he will go to Officer Candidate School, and then finally we will have our PCS (permanent change of station) for hopefully 3 years. I am so excited for that. I'm looking forward to who my new friends will be, and the new adventures we will have as a family, and being able to be that social butterfly again.

Real Quick

This isn't going to be long, but I wanted to mention that over at My Many Colored Days, there has been a change in the Woman to Woman schedule. And even though I have only participated one time, (maybe two, I can't remember) I am going to be doing it this Tuesday. It is called "Celebrating Me!" Instead of focusing on our weaknesses, she hopes that we can focus on our strengths. Anyway, I enjoy participating in these sort of things. I've never been a very good writer, and I'm hoping with all this blog stuff that my skills will get a little better. OK, time to unglue my rear from the computer chair......sometimes its almost like there really is glue there.....

5 things meme

I still have yet to figure out what Meme really means, but I'm sure it has to do with those question things that you fill out. Anyway, Jamie over at I Love Flip Flops unofficially tagged me.

Since I haven't really done one of these things, I thought I would give it a try.

What were you doing 10 years ago?
In 1997 I had just sent of my first missionary, and was working at a restaurant with the name of Calamity Jane. I was also in my first semester of community college. And still living at home. And no, I did not marry that missionary. (thank goodness!!)

What were you doing 1 year ago?
Sigh.... I was still in Heidelberg Germany. My grandpa and his wife had just left after visiting us for three weeks. I drove them all over the place. It was fun some of the time. I was teaching piano lessons everyday. I had also recently gotten back from a weekend trip to Poland to buy my favorite thing, pottery. Matt was actually gone at this exact time last year. I remember because I was by myself on Mothers Day, and ended up having to get someone to watch Andrew while I took Lucy to the ER. It was nothing, but I distinctly remember that day. I can't remember where Matt was at the time. I think it might have been Switzerland. See?? It is so much cooler to live over there than in the place I'm living now.....sigh....

5 snacks you enjoy
(only 5!)
spice drops
lays stacks
cadbury crunchie bars
quality chocolate
Gouda crackers from France

5 songs that you know all the lyrics to
Smashmouths All Star (thanks to never ending watching of Shrek)
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Stand beside me (can't remember who sings this one)
American Soldier
I'm a believer (another thanks to shrek)

5 things you would do if you were a millionaire
pay off my debt
pay off my families debts (and shells)
buy a house in France so that I can go whenever I want
put some away for my kids college
give some away anonymously to people who don't expect it

5 bad habits
too much time on the computer
eat too much candy
talk way too much on the phone
don't do enough of the things that I should (like housework.....)
don't drink enough water

5 things I like doing
reading
being on the computer
cross stitching
talking on the phone to friends
shopping

5 things I would never wear again
jeans that were too short for me
two pairs of socks at the same time
bangs
anything with pleats at the waist
green eyeshadow

5 favorite toys
awesome photo printer
camera
Andrew and Lucy when they aren't grumpy
flat iron
doors that shut and my kids can't open them

I will unofficially tag anyone that wants to do this. Sometimes they are fun when you don't do them very often. And if anyone can tell me what Meme stands for I would love it. And how do you say it?? Me-me or is it Mem. Hmmmmmm........

I found this

This is what my son was wearing when I got out of the shower this morning. His reason was that he wanted to "pretend to be a mommy". What is also funny is that I cannot remember the last time I wore nylons. I hate the darn things and only will wear them when it is really really cold. Anyway, I hope this makes you laugh......I had a hard time not laughing when I got out of the shower.....

More Give-Aways

Design Mom is having some cool giveaways this week. I'm all for free stuff!!

Also, if you haven't checked out Down East Basics lately, they have some awesome new shirts, dresses, and exercise clothes. And they don't break the bank either. (I'm poor and even I could afford one of their awesome dresses....) Sorry, no giveaways on this website, but their stuff is still cool.

Cool stuff

Over at Hostess with the Mostess is having some awesome stationary giveaways this week. You should totally check them out.

This is what I want to do

I am realizing that I have lots of things that have nothing to do with housework that I want to do everyday, but I'm lucky if I get to do them in a weeks time or even a months time. Here is the list:

-practice the piano half an hour
-review french for half an hour
-read one of my books that I haven't read yet
-cross stitch for an hour and watch a show that I like at the same time
-get caught up on my scrapbooking
-read and write blogs
-printing and organizing all the pictures on the computer
-study/read my scriptures for half an hour
-exercise for forty five minutes
-spend time alone with each of my kids
-read to my kids
-just play with my kids

Obviously all of that is impossible. And not everything is on that list. I do play with my kids most days. And I have been exercising for the last two weeks, pretty much every day. I do cross stitch, but not every day. I haven't done any french homework for weeks. There is just no way that I could do that every day or even every week. Somehow the dishes, making dinner, vacuuming, laundry and all the little stuff in between gets in the way. I try to bring my book or my cross stitch to the park so that I can do that while they play. But that is about as good as it gets. I'm hoping that by adding one thing at a time, that eventually I will have a schedule on when and for how long I can do each thing. Right now I'm just working on getting up early enough to ride the bike and do my crunches and get in the shower before they get up.

Maybe next month I can add in practicing the piano regularly. Maybe even make it into a lesson time for the kids. Next month I'll let you know what I add in.....and if it works....

My brain is gone

Monday, Matt put his suits on the front door to remind me that they needed to be taken to the dry cleaners. I didn't get them there until Thursday morning. Luckily she said that they would be done Saturday. Phew, I thought. Just in time for church. I could only pick them up between 2 and 4:30. I remembered that morning, I remembered when I took the kids to the park before 1. I didn't remember when we got back from the park, or at any other point until it was almost 9pm, and there was not chance of picking them up. So, Matt looked around in his closet and didn't find anything that he could wear to church. It ended up that he stayed home with the kids and I got to go to church by myself. Kind of a nice thing to have every once in a while. But when I've gone without kids, I find myself bored out of my mind. Not all the time, but sometimes I wish I could bring my cross stitch to church just to keep my hands busy. I can listen better sometimes when my hands are busy. It ended up that a friend had brought someone else's boys to church and they sat with me, and I had a little guy on my lap most of the time. I am so retarded. Maybe someday I can remember things like this.....

Surprise!!

As we all know, tomorrow is Mother's Day. My husband has never really been into doing much on these type of days. And it doesn't bother me. As a family, we usually go and do something Friday nights. Sometimes its just out to eat at Sonic (which doesn't even compare to In-n-out) or sometimes we have gotten a babysitter. Yesterday I wanted to go to this certain Mexican restaurant because they have amazing fish taco's and they also have the biggest play place thing that I have ever seen inside a restaurant. Matt said that he wanted to go to El Pollo Loco. OK, fine. I like that place too. He also asked me to pick up the living room. He only does that when someone is going to come over. (and he asked me that when he came home for lunch, which isn't normal for him) I was planning on vacuuming anyway, so it didn't bother me too much. I was also wearing some capri's that I got from the Jr's section last year, that are comfy, but I have stopped wearing in public. I feel like a teenager, and they have a hole in one leg at the knee that is supposed to be there. Anyway, he made a comment that I shouldn't wear it, so I changed. We get in the car and go, and we're driving around. I see a place called La Madelaine. And of course it is french and I say something about it. We pass it, and then he says that he thinks he missed a turn. We go back and pull into the parking lot of La Madelaine, and then he makes a call and says "we're here". And I am totally confused. We go into the restaurant, and we're waiting, and then my friend Jessica and her friend Victoria show up with Jessica's husband and son. (the little guy with Lucy on yesterday's post) Our husbands had planned this, then they took the kids and let us eat dinner at this restaurant and then we went to Victoria's house and watched The Queen, which was very very good, and we were at her house until 2am!!!!! I haven't stayed up late with girls for so long. It was really fun. And at the restaurant they had patisseries. Not as good as the real ones in France, but I'll take what I can get!! So, I bought lots of treats for myself for the rest of the weekend. I'll post a picture later of what I bought.

I was so surprised!!! Matt hasn't done things like that in the past. I'm not expecting it again anytime soon. His schedule and the amount of studying he has does not always allow for these kinds of things to happen. So, even though I don't like Mother's Day, it looks like I will be having a good one.....

Yesterday

Yesterday I got out our pool and invited a few friends over to swim.

Lucy wasn't too interested in getting in the water, so she just ran around most of the time.

This is Lucy with one of her little friends.

I was out with them for the 3 hours that we were outside, wearing shorts! I was hoping for a little color and what I got was some bright red on my thighs and the top of my feet. How it can miss my calfs completely, I have no idea. But my arms are a nicer color than they were before. The kids had a great time with this. There wasn't really a place to have a pool in Germany, nor was the weather always warm enough to have a pool. They loved it. Kind of feel like a good mom after days like this. And they both went to bed very very well. That is the best part of the whole day.

Back in Time

This was me right before I turned 21. I love these pictures of myself. These were taken a few months before I left on my mission. This one is Matt's favorite. He doesn't like the other ones because he says I look sad. He likes me smiling.

I think I look great. I scanned these pictures into the computer, so they probably don't look as good as they could. I love my hair in these pictures. It was so much thicker then, and of course longer. Matt loves my hair long, but he's not the one that has to wash, dry and then make it look nice everyday.

Another reason why I love these pictures is that for the first time in my life I felt really beautiful. Jr. High and H. S. were not times of my life where I looked fabulous at any point. Especially in Jr. High. I started sixth grade five foot two. I left 8th grade five foot ten. By the time I graduated from H.S. I was the height that I am now. Just under six foot.

These pictures help me to remember that first time when I felt beautiful inside and out. I felt like I had finally gotten to that point where I knew what I wanted, I felt independent, and I felt very adult. Just what every teenager waits for right??
I just thought I would share a few pictures of myself. Usually all the pictures I post are of my kids or an inanimate object. I would like to do this for my daughter when she gets about this age. Help her to remember how she looked, but also how she felt, and that it only gets better from that point....
Cause it has....

Thoughts on Mothers Day

I don't like Mothers Day. I grew up with expectations of what we had to do and how to treat my mom on that day. I hated those expectations.

I could be one of the only people to say this, but I wish that we didn't have a Mothers Day, or Valentines Day. The expectations that come with these days are so rarely accomplished, that the day usually ends up a disappointment. I do not have expectations for these days. I don't think that I should make my husband feel guilty for not buying me flowers on Valentines Day. Mine just isn't a flower buying type of guy. It would be nice if we didn't have those pressures (whether from ourselves, others or society) of what we should be doing on those days.

I'm uncomfortable with Mothers Day as a mother. Its not that I don't think that we should celebrate being mother. But what about all those that cannot be mothers? Or those that aren't mothers? Or those mothers that are not mothers at all in the real sense of the word? Why can't we have a Woman's Day, where we celebrate all that is being a woman. Be you a mother, an aunt, single with no children, lawyer, doctor, receptionist, truck driver..... I would celebrate that day. Or a Woman's Week where each day we focus on a few aspects of being a woman.

For now I just have to suck it up, that we have a Mothers Day. That if I don't at least try to call my mom that day, I'll probably be in trouble.

I don't feel like this about Fathers Day. Probably because my dad never really cared (or at least showed that he cared) much about what we did that day. He was just grateful for whatever it happened to be. Which is how it should be.....

So many thoughts

I have so many thoughts in my head about so many things, I just don't know where to start. There is the subject of the radio station in Utah and a military wife. There is another blog that I read that was talking about how she would rather be a wife/mom than do what she's doing at the moment. There is the fact that I finished Angela's Ashes two days ago and I haven't said anything about it yet. Also, with regards to the Utah/military wife situation, the question of "entitlement" came up. I have SO many things to say about that one. I guess I'll start with the first one and when I get tired, I'll have to go to bed and finish later.

I was upset about this almost before I finished reading the whole story. Still am upset/frustrated with it. My biggest problem was that NO ONE should have been treated as she was. There were so many other better options for the DJ's than to do what they did. I worked in a restaurant from the time I was 17 until I was 21. I learned the meaning of customer service. Especially as a hostess dealing with people that are hungry and not in their best moods. Also as a server, and as the cashier. There are those that will never be happy. That will complain about things that don't exist. We do need to listen to our customers, or we would be out of business. My manager got very good at dealing with customers that were upset. I learned a lot. Someone had made a comment about how this woman had felt that she was entitled. The only thing that she was entitled too was to be treated with respect. She wasn't even entitled to the tickets. I do believe that there are people that live in the US that think that they are entitled to all kinds of stuff, that think that they can do whatever they want, and say whatever they want. To some degree, I think we are, but that doesn't mean that we can go around treating others like crap and throwing litter all over the place. Or parking in a handicapped spot when they aren't handicapped. Or so many other things that I can't think of because its almost 1am.....

Next: the blog about being housewives. I can honestly say there are days when I would rather be a trash collector than be a mom/wife. But as I have never been a trash collector, I can't really say that. Being a mom/wife, is the HARDEST thing I have EVER done. EVER. Serving a mission for my church was hard, but there are days when I would much rather do that than have to get poop out of the bathtub again, and deal with two drippy kids and have to clean the bathtub and get them back in the tub to finish getting them clean. I would rather be soaking wet riding my bike up a hill (and I'm not exaggerating. I really did that.) wearing a skirt in the middle of winter in France than do some of the things I've had to do since being a mom/wife.
But just as I knew that serving a mission was the right thing for me to do, being a mom and a wife I know is the right thing for me to do. I'm not as good as some, and I'm better than others, and I'm trying to improve myself so that I can be a better mom. Most things in this life have an end while we are still in this life. I will always be a mom. Always. Forever. There is nothing else like that in the world.

OK, now to Angela's Ashes. I really was fascinated by this book. I am not very educated in a lot of ways, but I would have to say that it was probably very indicative of what life was like for a lot of people. And that just breaks my heart. The choices they felt they had to make, and the lack of education of what sex is. I am really wanting to read the next one, and as soon as I've finished reading the 4 or 5 other books that I already have and haven't read, I will buy it. I may not be very educated, but I sure love to read. Almost anything. And if it has "France" in the title or a picture of La Tour Eiffel, you can be sure that I will be picking it up to see whats in it, and most likely buying it. Its just a sickness I have.....there's no getting over it.

There are some other things that I've been wanting to post about, but they will have to wait. It is now 1am, and I have GOT to get to bed so that I can keep up my exercising. Night.....

This radio station needs to learn some manners

Please go over to My Many Colored Days to read about a situation in Utah with a Military wife and a radio station. No one should be treated in this manner, no matter if you are a military wife or not. But I think they picked the wrong woman. This is the link to the friend of hers and her story. Please read it, even if you're not from Utah.

My latest book and some other stuff

I am reading a fantastic book right now. Its Angela's Ashes. It came out while I was on my mission, and I remember seeing it in all the magazine stores in the train stations in France. But since I didn't know what it was about, and it was in French, I never read it. I was at Borders last week, and I saw a copy for $4, so of course I bought it. I can hardly put it down. I love this book. I have not finished it, but I will for sure be posting about it when I have.

I watched the last segment of "The Mormons" last night. I thought it was better than the night before. I was surprised to see Jim Dalrymple. We know him from church. I remember when his wife died. It was a big shock, and I remember my brother and I talking about it.

I do wish that they had had more interviews of us average, normal, non-intellectual, non-poet, non-artist, non-author members of the LDS church. Or more people that were actually members and not excommunicated members. I do believe that it is important to hear both sides of the argument. If any of you out there in blog-land do have questions, please ask them. To me or any of your friends that are LDS. Because there were some things in the program that were not true, or things that were glossed over, things that they spent way too much time on, not to mention things that they didn't even touch. If you have cancer, you don't ask your hairstylist what you should do. If you have questions about the Catholic church, you go to a Catholic. That's what I did. Same goes for us.

It is late for me, and I promised my husband that I would do some searching online tonite while the kids were sleeping. So I better get on it before I'm sleeping.

"The Mormons"

Regarding last nights showing of the PBS Frontline show on "The Mormons" there are two links in my sidebar that have discussions going on. I would like to post something about it, but I would also like to watch it tonight and then maybe have something to say about the entire thing. The two links are to Times and Seasons and to Feminist Mormon Housewives. And I believe both of them also have links to other websites that are also having discussions. I haven't been able to get to any of them other than the two I already said. If you are interested, I highly recommend going there are doing some reading. I usually really enjoy it, and I've learned a lot, and have had lots to think about.