Speaking in Church

In the little-over year and a half that Arek and I have been married, I think we have been asked to speak in Church five times. I do not mind so much, as long as we are given specific topics and as long as I write my whole talk out on the computer first... I do not do well speaking in front of people if I don't know EXACTLY what I am going to say. Well, two weeks ago we were asked to speak again, but this time the assignment was different than I've ever had before. We were asked to speak, not in our ward (where we have just spoken three or four months ago) but in an assisted living center a few blocks from where we live. And we were given no topics. So, after hem-ing and haw-ing for a week trying to figure out what to speak on, I finally decided a topic and got it all written. Arek jotted down his scriptures and basic outline for his talk on a piece of paper, and Sunday morning we drove to the assisted living center to participate in their sacrament meeting. It ended up being so much fun! The people were so cute! As we were entering the room one of the little ladies looked at my scarf (it is fluffy and white) and asked me how many cats I skinned to make it! It made Arek and me laugh pretty good. Anyway, our talks went well (mine was about Temples, Arek's was about Happiness) and we just had a lovely Sabbath morning.

So I don't really know that I have a point to writing this entry, just to say how much it suprised me that I enjoyed speaking in a church setting. The congregation was just really cute and so nice. We then finished the great Sunday by going to our own ward's meetings and teaching our little sunbeams about Day and Night. They got really into talking about the sun and moon and stars! All in all, it just reminded me how blessed I am. Life is wonderful! Hope all of your Sabbath day's were so good!

It is a truth universally acknowledged...

I posted a while ago that I tackling Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park". Well, I finished it last night. Verdict: LOVE it :) The second half was lovely, particularly because Aunt Norris hardly said a word! Seriously, though, it was definitely one of my favorites of the Austen collection. I can see why, however, they have had a difficult time making a good, faithful adaptation of it. Fanny Price is lovely, I think, but she is probably one of the most introverted of all the heroines. She hardly ever says a word... everything is just thoughts! Still, I am going to rent the three versions of the book that my library has (an 80's??? one, the 1999 one, and the new 2007 one) and compare notes. Yeah for movie adaptations!

Also, I have very much indugled in Jane Austen the past few days. There is a mini-series my mom introduced to me called "Lost in Austen" that I absolutely LOVE. I watched all 3/3.5 hours last night and was very happy (much to Arek's chagrin).

Then today, to really celebrate my finishing "Mansfield Park" I sad myself down on the couch and read on eo f my favorite books "Austenland" by Shannon Hale. I can read that book just about once every other month and still be exquisitely happy from start to end. The best part, from start to finish it is only about a 3/3.5 hour read so I don't feel too guilty putting off my household chores :) All in all, Austen in amazing and I can be content to read/watch her stories all the time!

Valentines

I work at an elementary school, primarily with a second grade class, and today was their Valentine Party. So, naturally, I spent about 1.5 hours last night making 26 Valentine cards for every kid in the class. I am not the most creative person, but I was happy with the result. Just a note, they are all the same, just some are front side up and the others are upside down. Today ended up being so much fun... I had forgotten how much fun Valentine's Day is in elementary school. They even had a Valentine's "tea party" (aka water and heart-shaped cookies) and dressed up all fancy. It was one of my favorite days so far from this school year.

Productive Day

So yesterday I was feeling very on top of things and productive. Not only did I hand wash the dishes that were piling up on the counter (I hate handwashing dishes) but I also swept and mopped the kitchen/dining room floors AND both our bathroom floors. Hurray for clean floors! In addition to this cleaning, I was feeling particularly zealous and decided to make fajitas for dinner. Arek LOVES fajitas but until yesterday I had never made them before. So I went to the store and bought peppers and onions and seasonings and made fajitas. Now, they may not look so amazing but they tasted REALLY good! Both of our tummies were happy and VERY full!

Mansfield Park

I have always been a very great fan of Jane Austen's work. However, I have never made my way through the entire collection of her works. BUT thanks to my two great friends, who gave me a giant Austen Collection book for Christmas, I have decided to reform my ways and to read the three novels which I have never completed. They are: Mansfield Park, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility. I chose to start with Mansfield Park, mostly because I have never even attempted to read it, and knew the least about it's story.

So, I am now fully captivated by it's story and am about one-fourth the way through. Here are my thoughts so far:

1 - Mrs. Norris is the devil. I cannot stand her! Every time she begins another of her awful speeches, I catch my breath and try not to yell at her through the pages of the book.

2 - Edmund. He is definitely not my favorite heroes yet. Although I am sure he will grow on me as the book progresses (since he DOES end up with Fanny, I know) but right now I think he is almost as bad as all the other thoughtless characters. He is kind and generous to Fanny, but then Miss Crawford looks prettily at him and he lost and Fanny disappears. And he chews everyone else out for neglecting Fanny! Ugh. I think I may have judged him too harshly... I hope so, because I want to be happy about him getting with Fanny by the end of the story.

3 - Fanny Price. What to say? She is so different from any other Austen heroine, I think. I was not expecting her to be "delicate"... tiring so easily from exercise. Am I just enterpreting her character wrong? Maybe. But I do like Fanny a lot. She is a character that you empathize with and can relate to, the feeling of being ignored and overlooked at times, except for, with Fanny, it is almost all the time.

Ok, I am sure I have droned on long enough. I will probably post something else about how I like it when I am all finished with it. We'll see...

Family

We were lucky enough to go down south and see Arek's sister-in-law Lindsey and her little boy Liam last Saturday. Boy had he grown! We hadn't seen them since last summer when they moved down to New Mexico, when Liam was only 12 months old, and now he is 18 months! It was so much fun to see them and play with Liam. That sure is a fun age... reminded me of the kids I worked with at the day care before we moved up here. Sometimes I really miss being able to play with kids all day long! :) Anyway, we had a great day. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring our camera, so there are no pictures... hopefully I can get some from Mom Higgs and post them later... there were some really good ones taken on Liam. All in all, though, it was great! We are so grateful for fantastic families. Can't wait to have more nieces and nephews to play with!