Now Let Us Rejoice!

Last night, I had the wonderful opportunity of attending the General Relief Society meeting with my mom. We missed Amy & Kari who had previous commitments.

President Beck was enjoyable as were both of her counselors, Sister Allred and Sister Thompson. But the ultimate treat was hearing President Uchtdorf speak. What a wonderful, "real" man that we have to guide us and uplift our Spirits.

While the congregation stood to sing the hymn, "Now Let Us Rejoice", I was overcome by the Spirit. Knowing that the thousands of women in the Conference Center and those scattered all across the world were all part of this wonderful organization, for some reason, moved me. I've never been a huge fan of Relief Society but last night, I was appreciative and proud to be involved.

It was also confirmed to me that I am a daughter of our Heavenly Father. He loves me, knows me, is there for me and wants me to return to Him.

Growing up, I had a hard time believing that. It was constantly told to us in Primary and Young Women but I felt as if they had to tell us that. I had an experience when I was 12 that affected the way I viewed myself and how I thought others viewed me. Several years later (like within the last 5 years, I'd say), my sister and I were talking about something when that experience came up. She asked why I was still letting it bother me. I didn't have an answer but I could see where she was going with it and she was right. I had the choice to either dwell on it forever or learn from it and use it to better myself.

Within the last year and a half, I've really come to know its truth. Working with the young women in our ward has strengthened my testimony of the love our Heavenly Father has for us. And hearing the words last night from a true Messenger of God bore witness to me that His plan is real. He's real. Jesus Christ suffered for us so that we may return to Heavenly Father when our time on earth is over. How grateful I am for that knowledge.

Walk & Stroll

Today Will and I got to join Amy at her Heart Walk around Lake Merritt. Her company, as well as many other health care providers, participated in the 3.25 mile walk.

We enjoyed catching up about things while Will chatted to himself in the stroller. It was a lovely day and the scenery was beautiful. It was also my first time at Lake Merritt. Amazing how many things you don't see after 24 years in the Bay Area.

It's always a neat experience to walk for a good cause. And to spend time with your sister.

Short hair is WAY more economical

I did it! I finally chopped it all off and it feels great! A big thank you to Shauna for making me look like Lisa Garza :o)

My showers are shorter, the drying time is shorter, I'm saving money and helping mother nature all at the same time.

This post will have to be a teaser until I can take a cute picture of myself and trim my bangs.

***Not cute pictures but whatever...

Nasty long hair

Cute short hair

LaVor brings good luck and I'm a liar

So Saturday wasn't our last A's game.

After watching the amazing win of last nights game, we agreed that we needed one more fix. We bought tickets to today's game, thinking it was tonight @ 7:05. LaVor called me at about 9:30 this morning, notifying me that the game was actually at 12:35. Thankfully I watch my niece and nephew on Thursdays so I have a little flexibility but an A's game wasn't in my plans for this afternoon. I called StubHub to see if we could sell them back but it was too late. So I got Will dressed in his A's shirt and we headed to the stadium.


We had great seats and were lucky enough to sit behind the cutest elderly couple (married 62 years). We had only been sitting for about 1 minute before the woman turned around and raved about how darling Will was. The man soon asked if we wanted him to get a ball for us. Within about 10 minutes, Will had a ball from 1st base coach, Tye Waller. The group behind us played with Will and admired his Thomas & Percy trains. I was a bit worried that since the game was during his nap time, he might have been a little cranky but he was PERFECT! And I mean, perfect. He clapped when we clapped, he cheered when we cheered, he ran up and down the row of seats, telling everyone the numbers on the seats. Such a sport.


Unfortunately we had to make a break for it at the bottom of the 5th. We didn't miss much since the A's lost 6-4. Apparently I'm not bringing the A's much luck, it's LaVor.

We're the A's good luck charm

They've been doing horrible. It's harsh but the truth. Except today, they totally kicked the Rangers butts and I'm convinced it's because we were there. They've won every game we've attended.

It was Breast Cancer Awareness day so we decided to make it our last game of the season. I wore my "I love my little tata's" shirt with pride and loved being amongst all the others in pink. They had a specific section set aside for breast cancer survivors. Very nice. LaVor tried to get one of the pink armbands all the players wore but no such luck.

Unfortunately, when I pulled out the camera to take a picture, I remembered that our battery was dead and I forgot to re-charge it. Shucks! So please try to imagine 21,000 people sitting in McAfee stadium, probably about 1/4 of them wearing pink, eating hot dogs and drinking lemonade and cheering because the A's won. Oh yeah, and Milton Bradley (a former Athletic, now a Ranger) being kicked out of the game for flipping the ump off. Too funny.

I woke up at 5 am, showered, got dressed and was at Seminary by 6 am. Sister Ericson taught the lesson, I'm sure Deborah and I chit chatted the whole time and at 6:50, I got into the Mustang where Kenny was waiting for me. The second I sat down, he said 2 planes had crashed into the World Trade Centers. We listened to the radio the whole way home and once we got inside the house, we saw the note my mom left for us that said, "Turn on the tv. You won't believe it." I sat in front of the tv watching the various news stations until it was time to leave for school. Logan had roughly 4,500 students and was normally bustling with noise but this morning, there was an eerie silence. My first class was Economics with Ms. Critz, a New York native. She had the news on for us to watch while she tried to get a hold of her family in NYC. Each class that day covered some planned material but for the most part, everyone was glued to some sort of communication source, be it tv, computer or telephone. My aunt was boarding a bus to attend a meeting at the Pentagon when the plane crashed into the building. I had an orthodontist appointment that day. I wore navy blue corduroys and a white t-shirt.

My parents grew up during the Kennedy assassination. On several occassions, my mom has told me the story of where she was when she heard the news. I never quite understood the emotions she felt that day, until now.

This made me cry like a baby. Notice what the song is in the background. Click here.

Motown Philly Back Again

I'm sure we can all finish the following line of this song.

I heard Boyz II Men on the way home from work tonight and it reminded me of 2nd grade.

My best friend, Katie May, and I had performed a dance to Motown Philly in front of the whole school, at an assembly. I'm not sure how we got involved with it but I remember a classmate, Shampaign (pronounced Champaign), being the one "in charge". Most likely, we saw her group practicing at recess one day and we wanted to join. We were the only white girls. I don't remember much of the dance (actually, none of it) but I do remember our "costumes". Black stir-up pants and a white turtleneck. Obviously 1992. I couldn't help but laugh as I heard the song tonight and remembered how cool I thought I was. More like a dork, Kimberly.


For months now, I've been eating lean pockets at lunch. I finally got sick of them and started making peanut butter and raspberry jelly sandwiches. Delicious! As I was making my sandwich yesterday, I saw the honey in the cupboard and was once again reminded of elementary school. I ate a pb & honey sandwich everyday. One day, my mom mixed my sandwich up with my sisters. I was so excited to bite into my yummy sandwich when I tasted...mayonaise! My dad and sister enjoy peanut butter and mayonaise but I on the other hand hate it. I immediately spit the bite out and obviously didn't finish the rest. I could hardly wait for the next day to get my sandwich back. Anyway, I've enjoyed my sandwiches this week just as much as I enjoyed them 16 years ago. They really do make me look forward to the 1:00 hour everyday.