3 things

I have decided to tell three things about my life recently. I am still deciding what they are. By the end of the post, there will be three!

1. I went to Hawaii for Thanksgiving!!!! It was so much fun!

We got to go to the temple, which was rededicated the day we arrived. I think we did as much as humanly possible in one week in Hawaii. Maybe not, but we did a lot!

2. I learned that on power cables that have fuses in the pug, the plug will have the type of fuse needed written right there where it's easy to see. I learned this after I went to Radioshack 3 times to get a fuse that worked. But now our Christmas tree shines brightly and without fear of overheating or blowing a fuse!

3. I saw Harry Potter 7a, or whatever they're calling it these days, and I really liked it. This surprised me. I've been ambivalent about most of the previous movies.

FHE 2.0

So this week we split into our FHE groups, finally. It was a bit messy. There are four large groups for the whole ward, and four leaders for each group, in an attempt for them not to get too burned out planning activities every week. Each group was supposed to get to know/entertain people from about 7:15 till 8:00, when we would all share dessert together. I expected two groups to succeed with flying colors, and two to have varying levels of fail. This happened, but it was not the groups I expected. My star-studded cast of four totally awesome group leaders didn't last more than 20 minutes! They were supposed to set the example for everyone else. Sadly, the one I expected to have the most problems did have the most problems.

My quiet but steadfast lonely group leader was stellar, going above and beyond what I expected of him, and keeping the largest contained group of young single adults entertained so long that I had to come looking for them to tell them dessert was served. Finally, the group I was in. It's amazing how you can influence things to keep rolling when you're there acting slightly too enthusiastic and strong-willed to be denied. This group succeeded because I added a little certainty to the very uncertain group leaders. So there you have it. I am not sure how my group leaders will fare in coming days, but so far things are going ok!

FHE, my reward for complaining

I learned on Sunday that my new calling was a curse muttered at me the last time I voiced my opinion about activities. My good friend, the former FHE co-chair, placed said curse upon me. Now I am at a loss. What do I do? How do I help these people to like FHE when I barely like it. Here are my thoughts (based on my previous complaints):

1. Start on time
2. Don't go over an hour
3. Always have food
4. Spiritual thoughts should be no more than 2 minutes, gospel lessons no more than 20

Ok. This is what I've got so far. Now, what ideas do I have to actually keep the masses entertained and coming back for more? So far...pumpkin carving?

Concerts in the Park!

Tonight I went to a concert in Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City. She & Him! But first we had to find a good spot and wait. We played my new (from a thrift store) travel Scrabble and I lost spectacularly. Maybe my sister Glarcy will play with me now that she realizes that she can cream me. We also had a little picnic while we played. I made Jello. I love how it jiggles.

Finally, the opening band came on, the Dum Dum Girls. They weren't exactly my thing, so I read some Jeeves while I waited for the main attraction. When the Dum Dum Girls stopped singing, the guy in charge stood up and listed every business in the greater Salt Lake area and several of their employees as a thanks. Finally, She and Him! It was really fun, although we almost got trampled! Oh well. Zooey Deschanel was fun to see. I liked watching her bounce around with her tambourine. Once she got tired, one of her backup singers did the jumping and tambourine banging. Eventually, the smell of peoples' alcohol was and the jostling became unbearable. She sang some of my favorite songs, especially "Black Hole."

Twelve-step programs

They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. Maybe that's my difficulty. I can see that I have a condition, a situation. Most of me thinks it's not really a big problem, though. Yesterday I bought 5 books from Savers. I am excited to read them. I already started The World is Flat. I weeded out 3 or 4 other interesting looking books just on principle. Mostly because my mom was with me and asked where I was going to keep all these books. Luckily my cousin was there and asked for one I was going to buy but had already read. I decided to share the joy.

So. Do I start attending Book Buyers Anonymous? I just don't ever see how more books can be a bad thing. Even in Texas, when I realized that I would have to cart all those heavy things back to Utah, I considered the difficulties and bought books anyway.