The PedEgg & Heeltastic

I decided to review these products together because, as some of you probably know, I have this weird obsession with how my feet look. I had someone say something nasty about my feet when I was a teenager and I've been really diligent in pedicuring them ever since. And now that I'm pregnant, it seems like the nasty feet fairy has visited me and I needed some serious help because I can't keep paying Asian ladies $25 every week to keep my feet soft and callus free.

I tried the Heeltastic first with little results. It promises softer, smoother heels & feet in just days. I guess that would depend on how dry, cracked and callused your feet are to begin with. I used it for a week and didn't get any results except for greasy stains on my sheets near the foot of the bed. And the greasy stuff didn't wash all the way out of the sheets. So, Heeltastic's claim that the product is easily absorbed is not totally accurate. It felt really greasy, and there was even a warning that walking on flat surfaces after applying Heeltastic could be dangerous. It did have a nice odor, kind of herby and fresh, and I liked that it came in a stick applicator like deoderant. I hate having to wash my hands after touching my feet, and with this product I didn't have to worry about that. https://www.buyheeltastic.tv/flare/next?tag=osaf&sisearchengine=55&siproduct=affiliate&clearppc=1

Next I tried the PedEgg. I think this is a great product. It's just as effective as paying Asian ladies to shave the calluses with their crazy blades or cheese graters, but not nearly as uncomfortable or expensive. It really did a good job of getting rid of the rough stuff and smoothing out the calluses. It was easy to use, but it promises that it keeps the dead skin in the little receptacle until you're ready to throw it out. Not so. There was a light dusting of dead skin on the carpet after I'd finished. I had to vacuum. And if you tip it the wrong way, all of the stuff comes pouring out of the holes. Not cool. But other than the mess, it worked great. I would suggest using it outside or in the bathtub. http://www.pedeggtv.com/index9.html

Next I tried using the Heeltastic after I'd used the PedEgg and then putting socks on to keep the greasy stuff on my feet and off of my sheets. I think using the two together is a good combo. The Heeltastic seems to be a little better than lotion at keeping the feet from getting callused again.

So if I were to tell you where to spend your money, I'd say to get the PedEgg instead of the Heeltastic. You can buy replacement blades and other accessories. And I just saw a commercial the other day from Dr. Scholl's and it looks like they've come out with the same thing. I don't know how it compares in price.

PedEgg: A-

$10 at most drug stores

Heeltastic: C+

$10 at most drug stores

As Seen on TV

I'm going to start a blogging series of reviews of "As Seen on TV" products. All of this started last week when my Spanish teacher showed us a Spanish version of the ShamWow! commercial. Hil-ar-ious! Since then, I've been having dreams about ShamWow! and Billy Mays (may he rest in peace). I've decided to turn my dreams into a reality and try these products out. Walgreens and Wal-Mart both have a substantial section of "As Seen on TV" products, so I'll have these at the ready for review. My list so far includes: Wonder Hangers, ShamWow!, HeelTastic, PedEgg, and maybe the Tospy Turvey Tomato Grower. Have you wanted to try some products but aren't sure if they're worth it? Let me know what your ideas are so I can add them to my review series.

Folklore

I'm taking a class right now called American Folklore and for my final project I needed to chose an aspect of what could be considered modern folklore and explore it. I thought it would be a long stretch, but I chose blogging as the aspect I would like to explore and my professor thought it was brilliant. I guess traditional folklorists would only consider stories told face-to-face as actually being folklore, but I think that since technology has come into play, we need to accept that.

So, my project is going to be about blogging and how, as a form of folklore, it represents American values. I need to interview 8-10 bloggers about their blogging experiences, and these experiences will be used in my paper. I only need to do a few of these interviews in person, but the rest can be through e-mail or over the phone. So don't worry if you're not local. I promise it won't take much of your time. If you want to participate, let me know by leaving a comment and I will contact you within the next few weeks for an interview.

Baby Stuff is Tricky

I'm having an incredible urge to buy baby things. I've already picked out a crib and changing table/dresser from IKEA. My sister bought the same one from IKEA and it served Tyler well until just a few years ago. And I don't mean that he was in a crib until he was 5. The crib turns into a toddler bed, so that's a plus. But if we get our way we'll have more than 1 child, so who knows what the plans will be for how long the crib will stay a crib. But as far as other stuff goes, I just don't know what to get. I know absolutely nothing about strollers, car seats, high chairs, baby baths, etc. For the large purchases, I'm not stuck on getting a boy or girl color scheme because I do want things that can be used for either sex. This stuff is pricey, so I'm looking for longevity here. I've already decided that I like primary colors for baby rooms, anyway, and will advertise our baby's gender with its clothes and hair accessories or lack thereof. Hair accessories, that is. Not clothes.

So, I'm sort of stuck. Anyone have any good ideas for where to register for baby things or which brands are more reliable than others? And when should I start getting this stuff?

Too Damn Bad

I realize that this post's title will most likely offend 2/3 of my readers, but I'm in a mood today. Let me tell ya. Most people probably don't know the extent of things, but my pregnancy is considered to be "high risk" because of my blood pressure being high. I've been really blessed that it has stayed low enough for over a month, but there is a likelihood that it will get higher. I guess I have genetics to thank for that. In addition to the "high risk" factor, I start to cramp and bleed whenever I'm on my feet for "too long." The "too long" is arbitrary, because I can't put a specific amount of time on it, I just know when it is happening. So far, the cause of this happening has not been determined. Anyway, one of the triggers seems to be walking the 40 miles from the parking lot at BYU to my classes, carrying 90 lbs of books on my back. Rob's mom suggested that I borrow one of her handicap parking permits so that I can park closer, but somehow I feel guilty about doing that because I'm not a disabled person. I figured that I would follow the rules and request of the parking department that I be able to park in one of the closer lots.

I sent in my request yesterday and received a response this afternoon. It was, by far, the rudest response I have ever received in my life. All BYU had to say was, "sorry, your request has been denied," but instead they sent this long explanation about there being 700 pregnant women on campus at any given time and how I should have thought about the repercussions of getting pregnant while being a student, before I got pregnant. The response also recommended that I maybe not go to school while I'm pregnant if I need special priveleges. I don't know if this is BYU's typical response, or if some parking official just thought this up off the top of his head, but they ought to know better than to send an e-mail like that to a pregnant lady. What bothers me is not the fact that the request was denied. I can work around this, make my own accomodations for not having to walk so far, but the response just added insult to injury.

And everything seems to be adding insult to injury these days. I don't remember getting so upset about the stupidest things before I was pregnant. And I certainly never cared about the cat that I don't like or saving the children. I know it's just the hormones causing me to feel this way but, even in knowing that, I still can't control it.

I just have to keep looking forward to when I will finally have a baby and will also be finished with school. I have 4 classes between me and that diploma, and I will finish it this time... unless I'm put on bedrest, in which case I'll do what I can independent study and go back after the baby is born to take that last dumb Spanish class. And yes, I will take that handicapped permit, thank you.

The Cat's Gotta Go

Anyone in the market for a 4 year old black cat?

That's right, we're going to get rid of Kaydee. I've been hearing all sorts of stories about cats smothering babies in cribs, peeing on baby stuff, and getting downright mean to the baby and the parents when baby comes home. I don't want anything like that to happen to our baby, so we decided we should find a new home for Kaydee. The problem is, every single time I think about just putting her up on KSL or Craig's List, I feel all sorts of trepidation about giving her to a stranger. I'd rather give her to a home that I know will take good care of her and will be aware of all her cat quirkiness. Nobody seems to want a cat, though. I know we still have time, but the longer she is still with us the more I feel bad about giving her away.

A few weeks ago, Kaydee went outside while Rob was loading some stuff into the car. Neither Rob nor I noticed that she went outside, so the door was closed and we both went to bed. I thought I heard some cats fighting that night, but since Kaydee isn't an outside cat, I didn't think it was her. It wasn't until noon the next day that I started to notice that she wasn't around bothering me like usual. I asked Rob if he'd seen her, and he hadn't. Then I heard some meowing and I saw Kaydee come out from under the BBQ. I think she'd been hiding there all night. I opened the door for her and she scurried into the house and hid in the closet for most of the day. And then later that night, we were watching TV and we heard a sound that was almost like a person falling down the stairs. We looked outside and saw Morris, the neighborhood tom cat, right outside the sliding glass door. He was taunting Kaydee and she wanted a serious piece of him. It ocurred to me then and there that I've seen Morris molesting neighborhood cats on previous ocassions, so he probably had molested our cat the night before. No cat should have to go through that.

And now I feel even more guilty about getting rid of Kaydee. Rob keeps telling me that she's only a cat and she'll get over it and so will I, so I just need to make the commitment to give her away. I still want to give her to someone I know will take good care of her, so if you know of anyone who would like a cat please let me know.

Guilty Feeling

Today while I was shopping, I was asked at every single store I went to whether or not I wanted to donate $1 to cure cancer/save the children/cure diabetes. Who doesn't want to cure cancer and diabetes and save the children? But who wants to donate $1 every single time they go shopping? I wish that they would ask the question a different way because when I say no, I always feel guilty and I feel like the cashier probably thinks that I don't want to save the children. I do want to save the children, but I prefer to help in other ways. But then I feel silly giving a long explanation about why I'm not going to donate $1. It's a catch 22, I guess.

Exciting News

This probably isn't news to a lot of you who read my blog, but I bet it's going to be a shocker to some. Robert and I are expecting a baby on October 23! I wanted to wait as long as possible before making a general announcement because of what happened with my last pregnancy, and also because I've had some problems with this pregnancy, too, that I wasn't sure would resolve. Very early on (around 4 weeks) I was having stabbing pains in my side and I feared that I'd had another ectopic pregnancy. I went to the doctor and after a physical exam, he said that it was unlikely that I was having another ectopic, but he sent me to the hospital for an ultrasound just to verify his thoughts. It was amazing to see a yolk sac exactly where it needed to be. It was such a relief. It turns out that I had a massive cyst on one of my ovaries, and the pregnancy hormones were kicking it into high gear. My sister also had this problem during her pregnancy, so it appears to be hereditary. The other good news is that my current doctor doesn't believe that I'd had an ectopic pregnancy last year. He said that the symptoms just didn't fit and that I should have had a second opinion. Hind sight is 20/20, right.

I've also had a lot of cramping and bleeding and some other scares, but all of them turned out to not be such big problems. I have to drink a lot of water, otherwise I get contractions. The cause of the bleeding has never been determined, but my doctor isn't terribly concerned. I also have to realize that I have limitations, which is hard. I keep telling myself that I can do anything I want to, but in reality, it isn't so. I've struggled with it from time to time, but I know that growing this baby is the most important thing I can do, and I'm grateful for the opportunity.

Rob and I just feel so blessed. I won't go into details, but this whole pregnancy has been the closest thing to a miracle that I've ever experienced in my life. One thing that I will tell you about is my high blood pressure. At about 8 weeks, I went to the doctor because I'd gotten either food poisoning or the stomach flu and could not keep anything in me. I noticed that for the 4th time in a row, my blood pressure seemed to be high. No one ever said anything about it, so I asked the doctor and he looked at my records and said that he was not comfortable with how high my blood pressure was, but that it was most likely not related to my pregnancy. I do have a family history of high blood pressure, so he thinks it is related to that. He sent me to a peri-natologist who told me that I'd be on medication for it within a month, and that my risk for pre-eclampsia or toxemia were higher than someone who'd had normal blood pressure, and that I'd most likely be on bed rest for most of the pregnancy. I was really scared about the whole thing and prayed like I'd never done that things would turn out OK. And guess what? So far, my blood pressure has been normal for the last month. Nothing short of a miracle.

We'll find out in 4-5 weeks whether we're having a girl or a boy, but my inner feelings say it is a boy. I guess only time will tell.

Funny Stuff From Costco

The other day, Rob and I ventured off to Costco between conference sessions. I love Costco for so many reasons. I just wish I had a camera or my phone with me on this particular day, because I saw and heard some pretty funny things.

There was a group of people there, all women, who were wearing shirts that said "Team Jacob... Because Edward Bites."

Can I start a "Team Charlie... Because He's a Real Man" club? Let me know if you want to be a part of this club, and I'll get some shirts made and we can all go to Costco at the same time.

Costco was also giving samples of their new (but really are old and they just haven't sold them in years) cinnamon rolls, and the lady handing out the samples says to me and Rob, "Have a cinnamon roll. They're not to die for, they're to live for!"

The funny part about the whole thing is that she didn't sound very enthusiastic. She actually sounded like the people who work at the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. You know what I'm talking about, right?

There was other stuff I found funny, but would probably end up offending someone in my retelling of the story, so I'll leave them out.

What's some of the funny stuff you've seen at Costco lately?

Why We Never Have to Turn on the Heat

There are 22 lightbulbs in one room... some of them halogen.

The TV helps create some heat, too... When all of the lights and TV are on, the temperature in the room raises by about 8 degrees.

Expats

I'm not so sure how I feel about all of these Olympians renouncing citizenship in their country and seeking citizenship in another just so they can compete in the Olympics. Especially when one of them is a 15 year old girl who renounces her US Citizenship to be an ice dancer for the country of Georgia. Weigh in.

Happy Valentine's Day!

When Robert was in the hospital, I went to Target and bought some Dove chocolate hearts because they were on sale... and I wanted them. I guess Dove had some sort of flash of something and decided to get Martha Stewart to put the sayings on the inside of the wrapper. The sayings are things such as:

"Use pink bed linens for that romantic night."

"Use heart shaped floral foam to make a heart shaped floral arrangement."

"Use ribbon to embelish a box of chocolates."

"Store Valentine chocolate in a cool, dry place."

For reals, Martha?

I'm just wondering whose idea it was to do that.

Anyway, my Valentine's Day has been great. Robert and I went to the temple last night and then out to dinner. Today, we slept in and then came home from church and Robert grilled salmon and asparagus and I made a chocolate crock pot cake. Except that my cake burned to a crisp during the time we were at church and filled the whole house with smoke. I think my crock pot settings should be re-labeled as Atomic and Sub-Atomic because the directions said to cook it for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 on high. I put it on low right before we went to church and we were only gone for 3 hours. I'll have to figure out an adjustment on that recipe.

And now we're watching figure skating. Can life get any better?

What's an Appendix for Anyway?

As some of you probably already know, Robert had to have an emergency apendectomy last week.

As long as I have known Robert, he has always had an aversion to certain smells, usually strong perfume, cologne or lotion, and told me that it causes a violent reaction in him where he has terrible pains in his stomach and has to throw up or gets bad gas or a myriad of other nasty problems. We've had to get up and move during church a few times because of this.

Before Christmas, Robert had one of these attacks but as he predicted, the pain went away after a few days and he was fine. And then 2 Sundays ago, he came home from a Stake Priesthood meeting and said that he'd been sitting by a guy who was wearing some stinky cologne and he wasn't feeling very well. He went to bed and got up at the crack of dawn to go to school, so I didn't really get to see how he was doing that morning. I went about doing my stuff and around 2 pm I got a call from him saying he was in severe pain and he was coming home from work. When he got home, he looked bad. He went straight to bed but then started throwing up blood so I made him go to the doctor.

The doctor examined him and said he wasn't sure what was going on because Robert had the signs of appendicitis all except for the pain caused by "the release test." That's where the doctor pushes down where the appendix is and then lets up really fast and it's supposed to hurt like heck. When the doctor did it to Robert, he was like "yeah, that kinda hurts." So, the doctor scheduled Robert for a CT scan the next morning to find out what was happening. He also prescribed Robert something called "GoLytely" in case his pain was caused by constipation. I went to our favorite Walgreen's to pick it up and our favorite pharmacist Jared says, "Um, you're gonna need to come into the store to get this one because it's too big to fit in the drawer," as he is holding up a huge container of what looks like something you'd find in the garden center at Walmart. Robert didn't want to take it, and I don't blame him, so we returned it.

The next morning at the CT scan, we were told to stick around for a little bit so that someone could read the scan. Within a few minutes, a nurse came out and said "you have appendicitis. You need to go to the hospital for surgery right now. We have your doctor on the line." And that was it. He was in surgery within 2 hours.

I've never been so scared in my whole life. I can handle myself needing surgery, but I was really worried about Robert. Thankfully, he, and his appendix came out OK. The surgeon said that it is very rare, but there are people who do have chronic appendicitis. He said that Robert's appendix was just 1 or 2 days away from being gangrenous.

Robert has been recovering pretty well from the surgery. He doesn't really need to take the pain meds anymore, but now he seems to have some nasty sort of infection in his legs and feet. We're not sure if it's from the surgery or secondary to it. He's being treated with antibiotics now and we're really hoping that it's nothing serious.

We also hope that we can stay away from hospitals for a while, unless we're visiting someone who just had a baby or having one ourselves. For as much as we've been at Utah Valley lately, you'd think they'd give us some kind of VIP Parking or at least free drink refills in the cafeteria.

This One's for You, Mal!

The cat has a really bad habit of needing to do her business right as Robert and I are saying our prayers or getting in to bed. Every single night! And since the litter box is in the bathroom attached to our bedroom, sometimes it gets really smelly. One night last week, just as I knelt down to pray, I heard the cat go into the bathroom and I could hear her scratching and moving the litter around. I finished my prayer and shut the bathroom door in a way that if she really needed to get back in there, she just needed to push it open. Robert and I both go to sleep and after a while, I started hearing meows right and left. I thought the cat wanted to play because she likes to do that after she finishes her business and we're already in bed for the night. I ignored it and went to sleep. During the night, I kept hearing meowing and things crashing, but I thought that the neighbors were up to something and I just get to the point where I don't listen to the meows. I was also having really strange dreams, and somehow all of the noises played into my dreams.

At about 3 am, I woke up because I was hot and needed to take my socks off and heard the meowing again. I realized that Kaydee was not meowing from the other room, the neighbors weren't making noises, and that my dreams had nothing to do with either, but that I had shut Kaydee into the bathroom! I shut the door in a way that she could get in if she needed to, but she couldn't get out. I opened the door and saw her curled up in the sink meowing her little heart out.

She's been ignoring me for about a week now.

My Run-in With the Feds

I got a phone call yesterday from a man who said he worked for the FBI and that he needed to ask me some questions about someone I know. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't get these kinds of phone calls every day. OK, I don't get these kinds of phone calls ever! So, as you can imagine I was more than cooperative in clearing my schedule to talk to this guy.

And then I started getting a little scared, because after talking to a few people, they said that maybe this guy wasn't legit because the FBI doesn't make appointments, they just find you and come to your house. I was shaking like a leaf when I finally met this guy. He turned out to be completely legit, with a badge and his credentials with the title 'Special Agent" on it. I was a little disappointed because he looked more like Mack Wilberg than Agent Mulder. We sit down and he tells me that the reason for his visit is because the individual in question was applying for a job within the FBI and in order to get Top Secret security clearance, he had to have an exhaustive background check done. He told me that he's talking to pretty much everyone this individual has ever known in his entire life.

He began the interview by telling me that if I lied about anything he asked me that I could be prosecuted. Scary! He then asked me if this person had any addictions or perversions that I knew of, whether he had money problems, family problems, terrorist connections, or had ever been out of the country. He also asked me if this person had ever lied to me. I wish I had some exciting answers for him, but I only worked with the guy for a few years, and as far as I could tell, the only questionable thing about him was that he really liked to play McDonald's Monopoly so he ate lunch there every day.

My exciting story ended up not being exciting at all. But at least now I can say that I've been interrogated by the FBI if I ever play that 2 truths and a lie game.

Resolution Re-Cap

Remember when I said that one of my only resolutions for this new year was to be nicer? Yeah, me too. I remember this because even though I'm trying, it's not going very well. My mouth has gotten me into more trouble this week than I can even count on both hands. I might as well write a copy of "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People." I'm not joking. And the thing is, I don't even try to be mean. Do I come by it naturally? Perhaps.

I'm taking a class right now called Modern American Usage. Mostly we do nerdy stuff like read dictionaries and discuss whether one can/may use further when farther is actually what is called for. Very nerdy. People argue in class. Even nerdier. Or should I use more nerdy? I don't know, let me consult my dictionaries. Anyway, the other day we talked about dialects and how they evolve. One of the specific dialects we discussed was Yiddish. Although Yiddish is mostly dead as a dialect - only a handful of people still speak it- it has now evolved into what is called American Jewish. Anyway, even though the dialect has died many words still stick around. I bet you didn't know it, but tush is yiddish for bottom. Yiddish is also a very sarcastic and sardonic dialect, and the sacrasm has lived on in people, who although may not speak Yiddish, still speak in the same manner in which Yiddish is spoken. I could write a paper about it, but I won't. I guess the point is that this sarcasm is learned... it's a trait passed down through generations where ancestors spoke Yiddish. This led me to think that perhaps I am the way that I am because of my ancestors. I'm not aware of any Jewish heritage in my line, but then again, until the day my grandmother went to her grave, she swore up and down that she was 100% Irish Catholic. She's not only rolling over in her grave right now, but I'm sure she's having one heck of a time fraternizing with her 100% German ancestors in Spirit Prison. I need to research this line, because if there's German there may be Jewish in there, too.

Still, I shouldn't be following the traditions of my fathers. Right? I need to teach my mouth and my brain to work differently. And since I only know of 2, maybe 3 people in this world who actually like me for my frankness and sarcasm, perhaps now is a good time to change. A good friend always quotes someone's dead grandma by saying "There are three doors: Truth, kindness, and necessity. Everything you say must go through at least two of the three doors. Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?" This needs to be my motto from now on. This will be my motto from now on.

To any I've offended with my words this week, please forgive me and know that I'm trying to do better. I really am. I started yesterday, but then today my mouth got me into trouble again. I used a bad Yiddish word in class, ecxept I didn't know it was that bad. Baby steps, right?

Hard Times

The last several days have been hard ones. My birthday was on Friday, and sometimes if I think about it too hard I feel a little depressed that I'm as old as I am and haven't accomplished the things I would like to have accomplished, or I think someone my age should have accomplished. But then I got over it because I had a birthday party and some good friends and family came to celebrate with me.

And then I looked at the calendar and noted that if I had not lost my pregnancy, I'd be coming home from the hospital with a brand new baby in my arms right now. I was doing OK until I went to church yesterday and saw all of the pregnant ladies and little babies there. It was extremely hard, and it hit me unexpectedly. I really thought I had gained closure and peace about the loss, but all of the feelings I had felt when it first happened came flooding back. A lot of tears were shed and the despair I've been feeling at not being able to get pregnant the last several months that we've been able to start trying again all came to a head. I am thankful for a loving, kind husband who offers a shoulder to cry on, loving words and encouragement. I'm also thankful for Robert's mom and her willingness to listen, her wisdom and for her hopeful outlook on life. I am most grateful for the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ because through that I am able to be healed. I do receive comfort when I need it.

Our washer broke last week and the laundry has been piling up... two weeks worth because it broke last week while I was trying to do laundry. We decided that we would wait a little bit to buy a new one so that we could do some research (thanks for the CR reviews, Julie!) and also so that we could shop some sales. In the meantime, we figured we would just go to Robert's parent's house or to the laundromat. Since we had so much laundry to do, I went to Robert's parent's and did 6 loads today. Needless to say, it took quite a while. I also had a doctor's appointment to get my hurting ears checked during the middle of all of it. Since Robert was at class and I was still doing laundry, Robert's mom invited me to stay for dinner and Family Home Evening. During dinner, his mom put on the CD of a talk given by S. Michael Wilcox called "The Fourth Watch." I am familiar with what the fourth watch is (in Hebrew time-keeping, it is from 3a.m. to 6 a.m.) but had never thought much about what it meant to me or how it could apply to my life. Just so you know what I'm talking about, here it is from the Bible.

The talk is basically about how oftentimes when we have trials, we assume that God doesn't hear our prayers, that He does not care or that we aren't worthy to receive His help. Most likely, we haven't received help yet because it isn't the fourth watch. We want and expect help to come in the third watch (from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.). So, as we're toiling along like the disciples on the water, it is important to remember that our ships are "tight like unto a dish" (Ether 2:17) and that God has given us enough to be sustained until He comes during the fourth watch. There is too much from the talk to explain here, but I guess the important part is that listening to it gave me hope and comfort when I needed it most. I don't know if Robert's mom planned it that way or if it's just how it worked out, but that's what I needed.

I also was able to get some reassurance from my doctor about our situation. He shared with me the experiences that he and his wife had (their situation is very similar to ours) and then started talking about something he'd heard on NPR about moose and mice (not moose and mice mating together) and their mating habits and how that relates to human reproduction. He lost me at "moose." Anyway, talking to him gave me some new insight and renewed hope that Robert and I are probably not doomed to infertility forever.

I guess we're just not in the fourth watch yet. It is good to know and see the tender mercies that God gives us along the way until the right time comes.

One of those tender mercies, along with the ones I've already mentioned, is that someone that Robert works with gave us a washer today. It is less than a year old and he just gave it to us. It's not a top of the line model, but at least we have more time to look for something we really want and get it for a good deal. I'm hoping for a front-loader.

It's Cookie Time

Dear Girl Scouts,

Do you remember when my husband and I bought 89 boxes of cookies from you last year? Yeah, me too. We still have a box of Chalet Creams in the cupboard, so I think about that a lot. I don't want to repeat that situation this year, so please stay away from my door. Wait, what's this I hear about you peddling your goods online this year? That's so not fair. You make things too easy... er, hard for me.

Respectfully,

Jenny from the Block

Whose Idea Was This?

On New Year's Day, Robert and I got sucked into watching "Cats 101," a show on Animal Planet, for 4 hours straight. Basically, the show is all about cats: the different breeds, how to care for each breed, etc. Maybe we were hoping that watching this show would somehow give us some inisight into our crazy cat's psyche.

One cat expert said that cats need to be able to forage for their food, and one of the reasons cats do bad things and get into mischief is because we just give them their food and they don't have to forage for it. She suggested putting the cats food in containers such as bottles, putting holes into the container big enough for food to get out, and then placing these containers around your house. The only way the cat can get the food out is by playing with, and rolling the containers around enough so that the food falls out. Robert tried this with a prescription bottle and the cat wouldn't play with it. He took the lid off, and she still won't eat the food from it. This is further evidence that our cat is not normal.

We've been tinkering with the idea of giving her away, but I just felt like I couldn't, in good conscience, give her away without letting the new owner know how weird she is. And then I saw an ad on Craigslist that went something like this:

"Free to a good home: ornery as hell cat, 12 years old. She hates people, except for children. She is not litter trained, she throws up all over the place, and she scratches all the furniture. She hisses at men and has attacked the dog several times. But like I said, she doesn't hate children. Often, I find her curled up in the crib next to my baby. She usually throws up in the crib, too. But she's a pretty gray/white Tabby mix."

This ad makes our cat look like a saint. And we don't have mice. Maybe we'll let her stay.

Kindness goes a long way

A few weeks ago, I was watching a news program and there was a story about these two guys who have started a foundation to promote a return to civility. While they were interviewing these men, a montage of clips of some of the most rude behavior of the last decade flashed on the screen. All stuff we remember: that guy throwing his shoes at Pres. Bush, a bunch of rednecks fighting on the Maury show, various people screaming at each other during town meetings, etc. The men who started this foundation weren't so concerned with what caused an increase in such rude behavior as much as how to bring people back to being nice. I have my own theories about why people have become increasingly rude, but I'll save that for another time. I reflected a lot on this news piece and, although I wouldn't really consider myself a rude person, I could stand to be a little nicer. I don't have many resolutions this year, but being nicer is one of them. I'm going to not try to make sarcastic comments and roll my eyes when people say things I think are stupid. I'm going to try to not lose it if I get charged $200 to vaccinate a cat I don't even like. And I'm going to try to be friendly to everyone, especially those who are hard to be friendly to.

Recently, Robert and I were given the calling of Single Adult Activities Chairs. I was very reluctant to take this calling for a lot of reasons, but mainly because I felt like I had been single for so long and since I'd moved on to being married, I didn't want to look back. It took some serious convincing on my bishop's part and a lot of prayer and faith on my part before I accepted. And even after being sustained and set apart, I still felt really inadequate and a little reluctant to do this calling. I mean, what kinds of activities would we plan? Speed dating with a munch and mingle? You couldn't have paid me $500 to go to something like that when I was single, so I wouldn't expect several never been married/divorced/widowed people in their 40s and 50s to be down with it either. I was just at a loss.

Robert and I decided that before we planned any activities we ought to meet the group we'd be working with and take their pulse. What were they like? What would they be interested in doing? What were their needs? After making roughly 89 loaves of Amish Friendship Bread, Robert and I set out to meet everyone. We were received warmly and openly by some people, and rather coldly and awkwardly by others. Naturally, I was more drawn to liking and wanting to be friends with those that were friendly back. Not so much with the guy that opened the door a crack, said "what do you want?" and then grabbed the bread and slammed the door shut. After that experience, I was even more at a loss as to what we needed to do in this calling. One of the things our bishop counseled us with is that the main reason for every calling in the church is to bring people unto Christ. How were we to do that?

The problem was that I was thinking in terms of what activities were like during my single days. And that was it. I think that so often in the Church, we try to plan activities for singles that focus solely on linking them up and getting them married off. Not that it isn't a righteous goal, but are we bringing people unto Christ or pushing them away from the Church?

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I mulled this over a lot. Robert and I prayed for guidance and we prayed to know how we could bring the single adults in our ward closer to Christ.

The day after Christmas, I got a call from a good friend of mine. He was calling to let me know that his friend Becky had passed away. She was not an old woman, she didn't have a terminal illness that I knew of, so her death came as quite a surprise. Although I was not close to Becky, I'd had several interactions with her and felt the loss. One of the first thoughts that came to mind after hearing of her passing was that I wasn't the nicest I could have been to her the last time I spoke with her. She was a quirky person, and not one who was particularly easy to get along with, so I had felt justified in not being as kind as I would have been to someone else.

In talking with another friend about Becky, she made the comment that she seemed like she had just been a very lonely person. For me, going to her funeral was a way for me to somehow make amends for that last conversation and also to be there in lieu of my friend who could not go. The funeral service confirmed my friend's comment that this woman had been lonely. There were not many people at the service, and her family seemed to not be sad or shaken by her death, but almost relieved. As I left that funeral, I felt guilty. Not for her death, but that I didn't reach out to her more during her life. No one should have to die lonely.

I came home and shared my feelings with Robert and also with my mom. My mom said, "you don't have any control over whether people die or not, but everyone has control over whether someone is lonely or not."

When my mom said that, I felt very strongly that one of the things that Robert and I are to do in our calling is to befriend people and make sure that they're not lonely. No matter how difficult of a personality they may be. What is most important is not to plan speed dating munch and mingles, or grab a cookie take a lookies for the single adults. What is most important is to befriend them.

So, even though I felt strongly about what I was supposed to do, I wasn't so sure how to go about it. I prayed for opportunities to see who specifically needed help and what kind of help they needed. The next week in church, a sister who is going through a divorce came up and started talking to me and telling me some things that were way TMI, if you know what I mean. I felt uncomfortable and my thought was "why on earth is she telling me this stuff?" I'm glad that Heavenly Father gives us wise mothers and mothers-in-law, because after telling Robert's mom about this experience, she said "you've been praying for opportunities, and being a listening ear is one of those opportunities." I'm constantly amazed at how Heavenly Father always gives us the tools we need to go about His work. Why am I so hard-headed?

We still need to plan 3 activities this year for the single adults, and so far I haven't had any divine inspiration as to what those activities should be. If you are single or were at one point single and have some good ideas, please pass them on to me.

I can't go back and change that final conversation I had with Becky. What I can do is make sure that it never happens again with someone else.