Baby boy

I kept my grandson last night for several hours. How wonderful to have a baby in the house. He's so sweet and he just chuckles and coos and talks. It's really fun.

Weekend again

Wow, the week really flew by. I meant to post last Sunday. I woke up Sunday morning and realized I was supposed to give a talk that day. So I said a little prayer and the Spirit whispered a topic and the talk went together beautifully. I found great examples from past talks at General Conference. After the talk I learned the exact same topic was discussed at ward council earlier that morning. It strengthens my testimony of listening as the holy spirit whispers.

The weather turned a bit cooler this week. It's been very nice. And more importantly we dodged any tropical bullets, which is great.

I received my certificate from the Grantham Prize and it's beautiful. As egotistical as it may seem to some, I think I'll frame it and hang it in the hallway. The presentation is now permanently linked here:


Tina Fey is at it again on Saturday Night Live, with her Sarah Palin routine. It's really quite funny, if perhaps a bit unfair.
Saturday Night Live

It's the weekend

Yeah! I hope to clean the house today but I'm slow getting started. My big goal for the weekend is to eat right all weekend long! I was on call today in case Sarah Palin did a surprise appearance in Orlando today but it appears that won't happen.

The weather has been perfect yesterday and today. Simply beautiful and near perfect temperatures.

Driving, driving

I started out Wednesday morning in DeBary, driving my daughter to her early morning Seminary class. From there I headed to Jacksonville, to be recognized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for my work. It was very nice. The executive director, Ken Haddad, called me a rare exception -- an accurate reporter. It's sad to me that statement is considered unusual for reporters. It should be just the opposite. He also made it a point to say they weren't recognizing me because I always write positive stories about the commission because I didn't! It was funny.

They recognized one of their biologists for diving into the Gulf of Mexico to rescue a bear that was drowning after being hit by a tranquilizer dart.

Then I drove to Gainesville for a second meeting and spent the night at a Hilton. I LOVE nice hotels and this one was fairly nice. The housekeeping, however, left a lot to be desired. Even after I had them come back upstairs and clean the tub they still missed someone else's nasty shampoo bottle sticker that was sitting on top of the tub. Yuk. Plus there was something all over the bathroom door.

Got home tonight by 9 p.m.

Thank goodness my friend gave me the Mama Mia CD. I've REALLY been enjoying it.  I started buying Christmas presents this week.

Monday, September 15

So today I tried to write a story I've been putting off for months. Sometimes it's so hard to get started. The day started off with me actually walking five laps around the parking lot at church while Rosie was in seminary. It was lovely. I walked with Jonna Green and we had a nice chat. The moon was late in setting and was absolutely gorgeous.

I also got to talk about my faith today with an acquaintance in DeLand. That always strengthens me a little more and certainly warms my heart.

Washington DC

So I went to Washington on sunday Sept 7. It was awesome. I stayed at the Hotel Monaco, where the bed was like sinking into a cloud of cotton. Outstanding! I slept 9 hours both night. The hotel is a historic landmark and the ceilings were so tall. My favorite amenity in nice hotels besides the bed and bed linens? Glass glasses in the bathroom.

Monday was spent with the Grantham Prize awards ceremonies, where all the special merit recipients and the winners made presentations. That was really fun. We had a lovely cocktail reception, dinner and then engaging global warming discussion with some of the leading experts in their fields, including the CEO of Duke Energy, who was fascinating. I got to spend an hour in the Newseum, where they have a traveling exhibit on Gmen and the media. They have the actual Unabomber's cabin, which I found completely fascinating.





I spent a couple of hours one day in the National Portrait Gallery and loved it. Then on Tuesday morning I was fortunate to have enough time to walk down to the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum and see several traveling exhibits, including one on ocean photography and one on the Father of Ethnobotany, Robert Schultes, who spent 12 years in the Amazon in the 1940s and 50s. You can read more about him in a book called "Lost in the Amazon."

I had a meltdown the night before I left, it's overwhelming to me sometimes how much Heavenly Father has blessed this little girl who grew up on a farm in Chiefland. How thankful I am.