The Reason for the Season

I also want to take a moment to say how grateful I am that a little over 2 millennia ago a baby was born that would bless the lives of all mankind. I am grateful for the sacrifices of his earthly parents in watching over him and protecting him so that he could grow to fulfill his purpose here on earth. Lastly I am thankful for a loving father in heaven who would allow his only begotten son to endure the sins for all mankind and lay down his life so that we can receive forgiveness for our sins and return to live with God again one day.

So Thank You Jesus and Happy Birthday!

I would like to wish a very Merry Christmas to all of my friends and family that read this. I love you and hope that you are all happy and healthy and I hope the new year will bring you all that you desire.

Love ya,
Tracy

Merry Birthday!?

So My 27th birthday was Saturday (Sorry if that makes anyone feel old). Sara and I decided to go to the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers that was playing in Seattle at the 5th Avenue theater. Since we are in the middle of a severe snow storm the likes of which has not been seen around these parts for several decades we decided it would not be a good idea to drive over. Shawn dropped us off at the ferry and we walked from the ferry terminal to a hotel (we decided to stay the night rather than making Shawn pick us up with the kids at 2 am). We went to diner at a restaurant right across from the theater and our table overlooked the marquee and trees covered in Christmas lights lining the street. The best part was we they gave me a birthday desert without having to sing to me first and the desert was delicious.

The show was delicious too. Sometime in my childhood our older sister barrowed a copy of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers from a friend. I am pretty sure she did not return it for at least six months. During which time Sara and I watched the movie so many times we could sing the songs and quote many of the lines.

The stage production was very well done it stayed true to the original and even had a couple of new songs thrown in. I would say it's only downside was the fact that I know the characters lines almost as well as the actors so I noticed any deviations from the original production.

Here are some pictures of the adventure...

Fist up Sara getting ready in the hotel before we head out to diner.



The view from our table at the restaurant...



My birthday "cake"...trust me it wasn't cake and it was Delicious!




The show was at the historic 5th avenue theater...



Sara and I with the stage at our backs waiting for the show to start...



I had a wonderful time. With a birthday this close to Christmas it can sometimes get lost in the holiday hustle and bustle. Thank you to Sara for a birthday that I will never forget. Also a BIG thank you to Shawn who taxied us to and from the ferry in the snow both ways and who watched the kiddos while snow bound in the house. Love you guys tons!!

So there you are...I missed you!

Hey there everybody. I know it has been awhile. But I have been a little busy..for real...and for good reason...well, not really but it was fun! You see unless you have been living under a rock for awhile you might have heard about this book/movie...about vampires...set in Forks, WA...thats right I have been lost in the Twilight series, and you know what I am not going to apologize...because I liked it...You see, for me movies/books primary function is to escape the never dull but most the time ordinary pathways of life. Twilight delivers on this in spades.

I know the book is much derided as being cheesy, immoral, stupid, badly written, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera as Yul Brynner would say. I will say I agree that I would probably not let a child of mine read the books till they were about 15 or 16 but by then I figure they should know enough about right and wrong to not be swayed by a fictional examples. Plus the books do give good examples and teach that sometimes it is better to control our natural urges by living with some moral fiber. Anyway if you don't take yourself or it too seriously you will love these books just as I did.

I also had the opportunity to visit Forks, WA a couple of weeks ago for work. Here are the picks I came back with:



First off the Welcome to Forks sign you can not see it because it was a beautiful clear crisp fall day and the sun was out. Kind of ironic considering almost everyday in the books its raining.



Next, one of the new gift shops and the only one I went into. I bought the sound track (it was that or the radio on the way home) and some earrings with red Delicious apples on them. They were super cute and having grown up working at Grandmas fruit stand I thought them appropriate. The books have been a great help to the local economy since Forks actually has tourism dollars now.



Lastly the Forks High where Bella and Edward attend school. I have to say before I read them I heard there was controversy over the love triangle that develops in the books but when I was reading them I never could figure it out. I never had any doubt who Bella would end up with. I guess I have read to much Jane Austen. I will admit that throughout the books I was a member of team Edward, as they say, and actually ended up detesting Jacob (and Bella to a point) at the end of the third book. (He becomes likable again toward the end of the 4th book).

As for the movie it is cheestasic like the book but, and this is the best part it was filmed in the most beautiful place on earth: the Columbia Gorge and I would highly recommend it for that reason alone. Anyway happy reading!

And if you suffered through all of that here are some of the pictures I took on the way back from Forks as I was driving through the Olympic National Forest:






This is Lake Crescent, isn't it beautiful? You have to drive right along the shoreline of the lake for a good half hour. It is so windy you have to keep it at about 35 mph most of the way. (for those who have read Twilight it would be impossible to go 80+ mph on this stretch of the road with out ending up in the lake or in a fiery car crash no matter how super human you senses, it's called physics and getting form Port Angeles to Forks in 20 minutes? Yeah right! but when you go through at Human speed the view just takes your breath away).

Happy Birthday!

So I am sure all of my siblings are going to think I am a total brown noser for saying this but I am going to anyway.

Well last Saturday we (my sister Sara her family and I) went to Seattle to celebrate my step-mothers (Sandi's) 50th birthday. The activity she had decided to do for her Birthday was to go to the LDS temple in Bellevue, WA. This is always a treat and not something we get to do very often because of distance and children. During the first part of our visit to the temple Sandi volunteered to stay outside with Sara's three small children while the rest of us got to go inside. Then she later took the kids and her daughter back home so that she could come into the temple with us to complete the work we had to do. Again latter that evening she volunteered to hang back so that I could participate in some of the work we were completing (which I seldom get to do). When we were done we went back to Dad and Sandi's house to collect the kiddos before heading home. My point of this post is this: While we went over to Bellevue to celebrate Sandi and her milestone birthday all of us were instead blessed by the service she rendered for us! Myself not the least of these to benefit from her kindness on her special day I would like to thank you Sandi for taking such good care of our father and for looking out for all of us "behind the scenes." I hope you realize you are appreciated and cared for.

This Sandie helping out at the school fall carnival taking her turn in the dunk tank. From what she said one kid even apologized after she hit the target and dunked Sandie.

So I got this in the mail the other day.





I think they are trying to tell me something...stay tuned to see what I decide.

And now the one the only...

Celine Dion!



Freyja a good freind of mine text me this week and said she had tickets to the Celine Dion concert this last Saturday and asked if I would like to come with her. Well far me it from me to pass up an oportuity like that so I accepted. I tried to keep from gushing I am not sure if I was sucessful. So last Saturday we left aroud 6:30pm to complete the 45 minute drive to the Tacoma Dome (my first visit to the venue by the way) Well about 90 minutes into it we realized our folley when we were still stuck in trafic and the concert was starting. The trouble all started when we hit I-5 and it took us 45 minutes to go 2 miles (trust me the irony was not lost on us that we could have walked there faster at that point). The worst part was I had downed the whole of my Wendy's lemonade on the way there and was becoming increasingly uncomforable as time passed. But we finally did arive and were pleasantly supprised to find out that we had only missed the opening band so Celine was just taking the stage when we got to our seats. As far as how the concert went all I can say is Celine knows how to put on one heck of a dog and pony show. Between the band, four back up singers, eight dancers, six costume changes (Freyja and I skeched them out after wards while waiting in trafic I will see if I can scan it in) two stage leanght conveyer belts, lighting and visual effects it was all amazing! I took some pictures with my cell phone some turned out some didn't but here they are.

First off I did not get a picture of this but it will forever be apart of my concert experience:



The trafic jam. Celine quite literally stops traffic.

Opening song: I Drove All Night.



She Sang All By Myself. I love Bridget Jones (sigh).



Freyja and me after the concert with the stage in the background.



The SIX COSTUME CHANGES as recalled by Freyja and myself while waiting for the parking garage to empty enough to we could pull out.



Anyway it as you have probably gathered it was more fun than a barrel of monkeys and I would totally recomend it. However for the male of the species be warned that they take your man card at the door.

Oh and by the way:



Did I mention I love Bridget Jones? Raise your hand if All By Myself will be suck in your head for the rest of the day.

Home Sweet Home.

Well as some of you might have noticed I have not been around for awhile. I would like to say I have been absurdly busy feeding starving children in Africa, but sadly the truth is not that altruistic. Since I last left you I moved into my new place it is wonderful and I love it. I moved about two miles down the road from where I was living. with a brief (two month) stop at Sara's house while my land lady got the apartment ready. My current residence is a down stairs one bedroom mother-in-law. The house has beautiful views of the sound and Bainbridge Island. The best feature this one has that my last one did not is beach access which I as of now I have not made use of, however it is on my to do list. The move went great with only one cake plate being sacrificed to the moving Gods. It also went very fast which I would like to thank everyone that helped me out. It is great to have friends that are there when you need them. Also a special thanks to Sara's husband Shawn who since I have no significant other right now has graciously helped me out several times since the move. I know he already has an extensive Honey do list at home and I appreciate all of his help on mine.

But I digress, I know you all are dieing to see it so without further adieu the Grand Tour:

First the view from the front door...



The living room...



The fire place...



The dining room...



yes that is me in waving at the mirror.

The kitchen...



If you say anything about the dirty dishes in the sink you are off the Christmas card list.

The bathroom...



The laundry room...



And last but certainly not least The Queens Chamber..I mean the bedroom...





It got dark by the time I got around to taking the picture so this is to be continued....

Me gusta mucho

We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet, Part two

Movies that will lossen your corset...

So My sister sent me the following link the other day:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25803150/from/ET/

I have to say the following is my favorite quote:

"If it was shot on location at some grand manor that fell out of the hands of the original family and is now a tourist destination, if it stars Emma Thompson, if British people wear impeccable period costumes while finding themselves — oh, dear — ever so repressed and bucking against the constraints of polite society, if corsets are loosened, if corsets even attempt to get themselves loosened, if forbidden passions are squashed by the class system or Dame Judi Dench, I’m in."

ME TOO! I am not sure who the author of this piece is but I want to go watch Brideshead Revisited with him. The popcorn's on me...

But in the mean time my list of movies that will loosen your corset:

Pride and Prejudice-The Girl movie personified. The five hour movie is like a finely choreographed dance to the finalle when Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy get together.
Sense and Sensibility-I much prefer the older version with Emma Thompson. The ups and downs of the Dashwood sisters make a roller coaster ride seem smooth.
North and South (the BBC version)-Margret has to overcome her idyllic upbringing to realize the world is not perfect and neither is the man she loves.
Cranford-The ins and out of a town. Where you laugh and cry along with the residents as they face love and loss, life and death.
Persuasion-Ann Elliot must face her ex. A formerly penniless sailor who has now returned as the most eligible bachelor in the area. In the end they each are persuaded to give love another chance.
Under the Greenwood tree-Fanny a beautiful young women comes to town to teach school and care for her father and immediately becomes the object of interest to several of the town bachelors.

TOPS its TOPS!

I joined TOPS (Taking off Pounds Sensibly) last in may. So far I have lost about 14 lbs and gained most of that back but I had a record breaking weigh-in last night and lost a whopping 5 pounds. In case you were wondering you are not looking at a before and after photo above although I hope to be that weight again someday soon. Sara and myself are pictured above modeling our homemade TOPS t-shirts. I know you are all jealous. We remembered Sunday night that we did not have t-shirts to wear to the TOPS open house the next day (our chapter gets extra points for each member in a TOPS t-shirt for the open house). So since it was Sunday and we could not go shopping we both ponied up a shirt and Sara got out her puff paints. They turned out pretty well if I do say so myself, Mom would be so proud (not only did we make it ourselves but we are dressed alike again, which has not happened since we were 10 and 7 1/2 respectively ( I won't tell you which of us is older out of respect for my elders)).

We thank thee, O God, for a Prophet...

I love ward conference. There are many reasons to love ward conference but for me one biggest is that I get the opportunity to raise my hand and sustain a man who has been called of God as the Prophet. It means a lot to me to have a Prophet on the earth and to know that his calling was not the result of a popularity contest. He did not have to make speeches or organize a campaign.

I also love that when a prophet dies and a new one is sustained there is a sense of peace that the decision rested in the influence of our Heavenly Father not in a court of the land or an electoral college. In contrast to the current political turmoil that has taken over our airwaves. The passing of the most recent prophet was marked by quick and peaceful passing of the prophetic mantel to his successor.

So today when I raised my hand and sustained Thomas S. Monson as a prophet I felt happy to be able to say that I support the prophet, I will listen to him, I will follow his guidance and I KNOW that he was called of God for the responsibilities he has undertaken. And that is why I love ward conference…

Viewer discretion is advised...

So I went and say Mama Mia for the first time Saturday and I loved it!! (Don't you just love how Christine Baranski is wearing the petticoat like it is a dress? I used to do that all of the time when I was little with the petticoats Mom made for the dance festival) Then I got home and read some of the mixed reviews it got from critics. I guess there are people out there who do not like musicals (Gasp) I know!! And there are other people out there who do not like ABBA's music (Double gasp) Shocking. But when I read through the reviews I came to certain conclusions. One some critics take themselves and movies to seriously and two, some people realize that when you are attending a musical the actors periodically dance about and burst into song (name that quote) and they get over it! Watching a musical is about letting go and just having fun don't question reality. That being said. Watch the following video and enjoy!



And by the way I went and saw it a second time last night and it still wonderful, possibly even better. Well I had better go now so I can start my paper chain count down till it is release on DVD. Oh, and here is one for the road:

Ustacould

So I am busily packing and getting things organized for the big move this Saturday. I am still incredibly nervous to be making this move without a speck of a new home on the horizon. So far I am surviving on vague apparitions of possible roofs for my head. But I am exercising faith that the Lord has a placed picked out for me that is even better than the one I have now. Although this one is hard to beat I know he is up to the task.

The point of my post though. Tuesday evening I packed my closets (If you noted I did use the plural as in two. Count them, two. I am still not sure why I am moving). Anyway Tuesday evening I found myself pulling each article out of my closet one by one and weighing it in the balance of if I will want to wear it again in the near future (i.e. it should go to Sara's house) or not (i.e. to storage). Well I thought this might be a difficult task to determine which pieces should go and which should stay. However it turned out surprisingly easy and I will tell you why.

So I do not know how familiar you are with Jeff Foxworthy's routine but he does this part about the word ustacould and how rednecks think it is a real word. Well anyway guess which word kept playing over and over in my mind each time I pulled a new garment from the closet. That is right: ustacould (as in ustacould fit into that). I have to say it became a rather depressing event as the storage pile grew. But towards the end I did take hope when I remembered the second half of his joke: I ustacould. Give me a minute and I mightcould again.

It's my new motto.

Let see if I can do this....

Well I am giving this a try anyway. We will see if it works. I will try to keep all of you informed about what is going on with me. Life is ever so busy. It was a glorious Sunday though. Started early and ran late. But I feel like I got a mountain of things done today. I guess that is what counts. I got the following from a member of the bishopric. I thought it was really cool:

For many years the Mesa Arizona Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had exhibits on the temple grounds during the Easter season. This year, there was also a 'Reflections of Christ' photography exhibit in the Visitor's Center. The photographer was given permission to photograph Pageant cast members for the exhibit. They traveled to various locations in Arizona that the photographer felt looked like the places in Israel where the events took place and recreated the scenes. The photographer worked with a few other individuals to put together a 5 minute slide show which includes every image from the exhibit set to the hymn 'Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.'Remember when you're watching the video that the photographs are real, they aren't paintings. Maximize the video so you can see it full screen. You can expand the screen to fit your entire computer screen for a better view by clicking on the lower right hand square icon (next to the volume).

http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/2008/03/reflections-sli.html

It is perfect for a Sunday night or any night. I love the hymn "Come thou fount of every blessing" it reminds me of my mission. The gospel doctrine lesson I taught today also was on missionary work so I kind of lost it when I watched the video because of all of the memories it brought back. It is truly beautiful.