Live Long and Prosper

Okay, okay--I am a total geek, but I had to do this for my inlaws. We have all been vulcanized...

click on the image to see it larger.

Growing Ward Family

I'm not ashamed to admit that my life revolves primarily around my ward. Believe it or not, I have been heckled about this by the very members of said ward. Some of them(left anonymous to protect the innocent) think I need to go out and get a life and do more exciting things that are available in this place where I live. Granted, I do live a very mundane lifestyle, but excitement really isn't a priority for me. I enjoy the occasional daytrip or diversion, however, I prefer getting to know my ward family and really spending my time where it may matter most.

Saturday, we finally were able to witness the baptism of two great friends we have made since we moved here. Marveli and Tyler have been investigating and studying with the missionaries since before we moved here in May 2008. I was able to teach Tyler in primary and were were able to help the Elders out with some of the discussions. Marveli grew up catholic, but was introduced to the church as a youth when she had the opportunity to go to girls camp with some of her friends. She said she never forgot the feelings that she felt there.

These two bring our 2009 ward baptism total to 6 and we have also had 4 babies born with 4 more on the way. The Lord is blessing us greatly.

Enjoying More for Less

So I looked up some statistics online: Marin county(where I live) is one of the most expensive places to live in the United States...believe me, I'm not bragging. Your average 3 bedroom/2 bath home is a steal at $900,000. I say steal, because I haven't seen any under a million in this seaside paradise. Even in this so-called "bad" economy, life in Marin county goes on-- multi-million dollar business as usual. All of this makes for very interesting planning when it comes to Enrichment activities.

This time we decided to help the sisters "Enjoy More for Less" and give them ideas about how to live in Marin county, enjoy yourself, and not break the bank. We prepared an activity with rotating classes.

We started out with a group discussion and demonstration about growing vegetables in containers, because no one has room for gardens out here.

Sister Batt, a long-time resident, led a discussion on all the recreational activities for minimal to no cost available in the area.

Sister Neff, was very involved in her calling to go shopping! She researched how to shop consignment/discount stores in order to save money on high-quality items.
Sister Amaro is the resident event planner and gave everyone great ideas for fun and creative ways to throw parties without much expense.We ended the night with everyone sharing and tasting their favorite recipe under $15. It was a success and everyone seemed to have a great time. Up next.... super craft activity. I plan to be in labor.

Luau

We went to a stake youth dance last Saturday to chaperon. The theme was a tropical luau and I think they invited me so I could stand in for the potbellied pig on a spit. There I am in all my pregnant glory and I still have a good 10 weeks to go! Adam on the other hand just went and had a physical and they told him what excellent health he is in...not counting the facial expressions(his mother told him his face would stick that way!)
Anyway, we loved the youth dance. I haven't seen Adam act like his crazy self in a long time. He found a heavy-set kid that was hanging out by himself in the corner and after 5 minutes with Adam you would've thought they were best friends. They were both hula-hooping with their necks and all of us adults laughed ourselves to tears.
There were kids there from 3 stakes: Napa, San Rafael & West San Francisco. By the end of the night we had a good group of about 100. I admire those kids who come from far and wide just to be with each other and kids with their same values. They are few and far between, but they are strong.

Onion News

I saw this Onion News review of the new Star Trek movie the other day and I couldn't stop laughing. Now I'm not ashamed to admit that I am a Star Trek fan. Mostly Next Generation, but I've come to like the Bones/Spock dynamic in the original series as well. That being said, I find it hilarious to mock the counterculture.



My favorite quote is: "If I wanted to watch young, attractive people doing cool, exciting things...ya know, I'd go watch sports."

The Obama bit was also priceless.