Your Happily Ever After

Tonight, I had the privilege of attending our ward's Young Women's In Excellence program. The theme was Your Happily Ever After, after the talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf.  What an incredible talk. I hope you take the time to listen to an excerpt of it. 


Young Women In Excellence is a yearly activity when the Young Women have a nice evening of sharing what they have been working on in their Personal Progress. They invite friends and family members and talk a little about the program. 


Because the theme was based Your Happily Ever After, Disney characters were used. There was a lot of work that went into the night, and it looked very nice. Since I was able to attend, you know me, I had to bring my camera. I'd like to share some of the evening through pictures.

The new Young Women's president made this incredible cake.  She also did all the value posters with the Disney characters. Everything looked so nice. I did hate to eat that cake though. Gotta say, it taste as good as it looks!

Fall In The South

I am so lucky to live in the south! This morning when I got up it was 70! Right now at 4:35 pm, it is 84, and it's mid November. I just love it!  One thing I do not like, though, is the time change.  Benjamin Franklin was a very bright man, but his idea of daylight savings time was, well, not a good one.  We lived in Indiana for just over 5 years. While I hated the cold winters, I loved not having to change our clocks.  Everyone got along just fine with leaving the time alone.  The year we moved away, though, they had to be like everyone else, and voted to observe daylight savings time.   With the  time change now, it starts getting dark at 4:30 yuck!  I like the sun too much to see it get dark so early.

I think we are in for some cooling down, as we are suppose to get some storms tonight. I think it is suppose to get down to 67, and then bring in some cooler weather. By Thursday night, we are looking at 37 for a low.  Did I mention I hate cold weather?  Well, I don't think it is suppose too last long. I am happy to say that this weekend we are looking at 70's and 80's once more. Now, that makes me happy :D

Personal Progress

I served in the Young Women's program at our church for the past four years, and loved every minute of it.  In our ward, we have some of the best girls. During these past years, we have worked hard on our Personal Progress, which is a goal setting program that helps the girls to grow into happy, strong and productive ladies. You can read about it in my blog dated 4 Feb 2011 titled Goals. I tried to instill the importance of the program by not only the girls participating in the program, but my counselors and I working on it too. If it is important that they work on it, it is just as important that we all work on these goals, and strengthen our knowledge and testimony of the Gospel. I also got some of the ladies at church to help out, and introduced the program in a Relief Society lesson one Sunday.

Personal Progress starts when a young lady turns 12. She works in different areas until she reaches 18, including reading and studying the Book of Mormon.  It is a very involved program and one must work hard to finish. Many compare it to the Eagle Scout in Boy Scouts. Our girls worked so hard, that many finished before they turned 16. If this happens, the girls can continue to work on it again, by mentoring a young woman and reading the Book of Mormon again. They then receive their Honor Bee.

Last November, I finished my Personal Progress and received my medallion. I love wearing it, as it reminds me of who I am, and what I represent. I had a goal to earn my Honor Bee before I was released from my calling in Young Women. This past August, I was released, and sadly, I did not finish. I was so close, as I had everything but just a few books in the Book of Mormon to finish.  Well, yesterday, I finally finished reading, and I'll have to say again, my testimony has strengthened.

Each time I read the Book of Mormon, I am amazed. For those of you who do not know what this book is, it is another Testament of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is the story of the people who lived on the American Continent and talks about Christ's visit to them after His death and Resurrection. Christ talks of His other sheep in the New Testament, well some of those other sheep are those who lived in the Americas.

I would like to close, by saying how grateful I am to have been involved with the Young Women. They helped to strengthen me, and it is my prayer, that they continue on the path they are now on, and grow to be strong, happy individuals in the Gospel.

Young Women's Torch

"Stand for Truth and Righteousness" 

.

Jeeping Around Grand Island, Bahamas

I told you that I would blog a little about our cruise, so here is a little about our one and only excursion we took. 

First off, I'd like to mention, that we left Port Canaveral on the Carnival Sensation on Sunday, 23 Oct. I had never taken a cruise that late in the season, and I was a bit nervous about the weather.  I'll have to say, we had perfect weather.  When we left the port, it was sunny and probably in the low 80's. Our first port of call was Freeport, Bahamas.  This is where we decided to go on an excursion, since there really isn't much to do there.  

I had been to Freeport a couple of years ago, and we got off the boat and did a little shopping at the nearby shops, then just got back on the boat and enjoyed the slides and such. 

But anyway, back to the excursion. We signed up for the jeep excursion which was suppose to take us all over the island.  It was to include several informative stops, potty breaks, lunch, and the beach. 

My sister had always wanted to drive a jeep, so we let her drive. My mom was co-pilot and I was the photographer in the back seat. Mom and I really didn't care to drive especially since they drive on the wrong side of the road, and the steering wheel is on the American side.  That was REALLY weird. 

We stopped at a jetty that divided the north and south part of the island. Our guide, Tony, told us that the north end is hit by hurricanes more than the south end; and you could really tell.

After our visit at the jetty, we took off for our drive on the beach.  This picture I took without even looking. I thought it came out pretty good.  I just turned my camera around and held it up and pushed the button.  I actually did that on several of my photos and they all came out.  lol

After we got off the beach, we headed into some forests.

We stopped and Tony talked a little more about the island. 

Here you see a lot of dead trees. In 2004, there were several hurricanes that came through, flooding this area with salt water, and killing the trees.  Sad, yet interesting to see how nature can damage such an area, and yet just a few years later, much growth is coming back. 

So, what is this?  Do you stop or yield? Notice how short the signs are.  I am guessing it is because of the hurricanes. The high winds probably knock a lot of signs down.

One of our stops was Garden of the Groves.  This is where we had lunch and had the opportunity to do a little shopping.  I just walked around the area.  It is actually a very beautiful garden area.  We also were visited by some strange ducks while we ate our lunch.  They wagged their tails just like dogs, and even panted like a dog.  I thought is was really funny.

After lunch and all our stops, we headed for Taino Beach.  The water was a bit cool for my taste, so I just sat in one of the chairs for awhile, then walked around and down the pier and took pictures and enjoyed the nice sunny weather.

This excursion was pretty fun. As with all excursions, I do believe it was a bit overpriced.  As far as the weather, it was perfect.  While in the jeeps, it was a little cloudy, but as soon as we hit the beach, the sun came out, PERFECT!!

Here we are....having a great time!

Hang loose &

Bye-Bye...

Moving Things Around

So, this is where the pool table use to rest. After a couple of days moving furniture around, this is what I have come up with.

 The dining room is where our living room use to be. Now I have the house staged as people think it should be...a dining room as a dining room, and a living room as a living room.

I called one of our local furniture stores looking for a table that would go in our kitchen with the chairs we already have. James told me that they had one in stock, so I headed to the store to pick it up. When I got there, I was informed that they could not find it.  They did not tell me this, but I have a feeling someone who works there has sticky fingers, as the table is in the system, but no where to be found in the store. So, I will have to wait until Friday to get it. Not that I have anything else to do that day (and I do).

Hopefully this will all be for a good sale...wish me luck!!!

Pool Table Blues

Have had a very busy day trying to stage our house. When we moved into this house, we had a real nice pool table that our family enjoyed. It is really hard to find a house that will allow a pool table. After much contemplating, we decided to put the pool table into the living room and use the dining room as the living room. It worked for our family.

Apparently, these days with HGTV and all, no on seems to have any vision. You have to spell it out for them. Not only that, people want everything beyond perfect.  Spa bathrooms with lush matching towels, gourmet kitchen, again with plush towels and a set table with high end dishes; bedrooms with expensive furniture, trillion count bedding, etc. Seems like people do not live in their homes anymore, they just showcase them.

My husband took a job in Kentucky and started 19 September, leaving me and the kids here to sell the house. My first thought was to move the pool table out of here. Before my husband left for KY, we rented a storage unit and decluttered. I kept saying that we should move the pool table out, but no one would listen to me, not even the realtor.

Several weeks and several showings later, the realtor asks about the pool table. People could not get beyond the pool table.  Even though there was a TV outlet in the living room, they could not figure out where the TV should go, etc. Our realtor wondered if we could just move the pool table into the dining room.  Well, first off you don't just move a 1000+ pound pool table, and second off, you think people thought it strange in the living room?  I can guarantee it will look hideous in the dining area.  The table is HUGE!!!!

I really can't understand why realtors cannot help people to get a vision.  Even if I were to put the furniture in the proper rooms who's to say I even have the same type furniture as any of the potential buyers?  I have a couch and love seat. Maybe they have a sectional, or a couch and two chairs. Do I need to have different type furniture for each person who comes to look at my house...No.   Part of the job of a realtor is to help people get a vision.  Give them ideas as to where THEIR things would go. I can understand that we should depersonalized things, but I also believe people need to have some sort of creativity.

Well, now my pool table is in a pile in the garage--where our ping pong table use to sit, and our living room furniture is in the living room complete with TV. When I had it all moved, I sat down to enjoy my show (Dancing With the Stars) to find that our TV does not work. With all the work and all, it didn't even dawn on me that the Dishnetwork would not work. UGGGGG!!!!! So I called Dish to find that we have to pay $150 to get everything hooked up to the right outlet.  No thank you!  So now, we sit with no TV, no pool and no ping pong.  Needless to say, my name is mud.

Hopefully, it won't be long before we are out of here, and all together in our new home in Kentucky.

My Favorite Place

Where is your favorite place to be? For me, besides being with my family, it is the beach.  I was born in California, but was four when we moved to Texas. I really don't remember much about living in California, but I do remember living briefly in Texas, then Alabama.  Both were short times. When I was eight, my dad got an opportunity of a lifetime...move to Central Florida and work for NASA on the Apollo program. It was suppose to be a temporary job, but after 44 years, my family is still in Central Florida.  Needless to say, that is what I claim as home.

As a youngster, I can remember visiting the beach often. Especially as I became a teenager. I love the salt air and the warm sunshine on my skin. You have heard of comfort food?  Well, this is my comfort "place."

I love to watch the birds.

Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach are the places I use to go.  Cocoa Beach is a wonderful place to raise your kids, and a great place to learn to surf.  It is known as the "Small Wave Capital of the World." 

For the past couple of weeks, I have been in Florida visiting with my family.  My mom, one of my sisters, and I, went on a cruise (I'll have to blog about that later). The day before I left to come back home, Mom and I took a trip to the beach.  It was 1 Nov 2011.  Most places are getting cold. It was a bit on the breezy side, but it was nice enough you really didn't need a jacket. Of course, I had to bring my camera and take some pictures.  There were lots of birds, a few people, and a couple of wind surfers.

When we were done walking around on the beach, my mom and I decided we were hungry. We headed to one of our favorite places to eat; Grills. After we ate, I took a few more pictures.

It's fun to eat at Grills because there is a lot of maritime traffic at the port. My mom and dad especially like to go out when the cruise ships are leaving.

Well, it was a nice morning. I am grateful for the nice weather, and can't wait 'til I can visit my favorite place again.