Sharing your testimony is a gift

I have this amazing friend. She can do everything well. She is talented and funny and kind and generous. She has no clue how awesome she is. How is this possible?? Today she gave the lesson in Relief Society. A fabulous lesson...the kind that the entire class has comments to make and the Spirit is there testifying to your heart...the kind of lesson that makes you leave wanting to do better and be better. She bore her testimony of the Book of Mormon, saying,  "....I cannot separate myself from it." It was powerful. It was just the way I wish I could-would-should bear my testimony of the Book of Mormon. Thank you my dear friend.

He Calms

Sorry about that. Not thinking. The MRI is to get to the bottom of headaches and migraines I've had for years, but are coming with more frequency lately. Really, not a big deal. Just seein' if a picture of the ol' noggin' will tell them anything. Thanks guys!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 



"I'm Ready for My Close-Up Mr. DeMille"...

...My really, really, close-up!
Today I had my first ever MRI...and hopefully, my last. It was a consecutive, repetitive, symphony of a Jack Hammer...if your upstairs neighbor was jack hammering his floor, a doorbell that didn't ding...only donged, a sewing machine ...no, a sweat shop full of sewing machines, and a cruise ship horn...if you were standing 2 feet from it. Oh, and "easy listening" >yeah, right< tunes playing in the background. That wasn't the bad part though. The really bad part is, I'm kinda claustrophobic. Oh I had flashbacks of playing hide-n-seek at Kristie Nebeker's house, and hiding under her bed, then having Kerrie Nebeker slide in after me... pinning me between her and the wall...I remember freaking out! Telling her to "get out get out get out!!" Not pretty.
So, here I am today, going into this little opening of a tube, with a giant head set and a cage over my face, and I'm told I can't move for twenty minutes, then they'll pull me out, shoot me with dye, and put me back in to finish my concert series for another ten minutes. I closed my eyes and said to myself  "puppies, waterfalls, green grassy meadows..." All the while trying not to hyperventilate...or sneeze...or cough...  or something else ... Actually, when I started going into the "tube" and I felt like I was going to lose it, I asked Heavenly Father for help. You know, that's the wonderfulness of our Father in Heaven...He hears your prayer (or inwardly, freaked out cry for help), He knows you're in need, and He answers. In all honesty, I was calm throughout the entire process. I love our Father in Heaven.

                                                                        The Tube

...yer diggin' the polka dot gown, aren't ya?

"...puppies, rainbows, waterfalls..."



L.O.V.E. Letters

I received a love letter today. It began:

Dear Mrs. Williams,
We are pleased to inform you that the results of your mammogram performed October 7, 2011, are normal.

.....doesn't get much lovelier than that! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. If you are over 40, and I know most of my thousands (insert sarcasm here) of readers are, get a mammogram. If you are my daughter, daughter-in-law, step-daughter, step-daughter-in-law, a girl friend, or a stranger that I've never met...do your monthly breast self-exam. Know what they (your breasts) feel like so if something feels different you'll be able to tell.  How many times did I use the word breast (and not once did I use the term boobs) in this post? Here's to hoping all your letters are love letters. ~K.

fall

It was kind of a blustery day out today. The kind of weather that makes you want to stay inside curled up in a comfy chair with a cup of cocoa and the newest issue of any design magazine. But I was out doing errands and as I drove home from Trader Joe's, a gust of wind picked up the leaves and swirled them across the road. It was really pretty. I think I love fall not only for it's present beauty, but for fond memories from the past, like:

• school starting
• butterflies in my tummy for the first day of school (I still had those for my kids first day)
• the smell of the furnace kicking on for the first time
• leaves changing in the mountains
• finding the prettiest leaves to take to school
• shopping for new school clothes
• the waxy smell of a new box of crayons
• football games
• shopping for a Homecoming dress
• my first kiss
• bon fires
• trick or treating
• sorting out Halloween candy in piles from best (Milky Way bars) to ickiest (root beer barrels)
• getting a new tray of Prang watercolors at school
• my mom making oatmeal in the morning
• the smell of chocolate drop cookies baking when I came home from school
• the sound and smell of school buses passing
• the "regular-ness" of knowing the seasons will fall into place
• the crispness of the air
• watching the World Series on TV
• not knowing who's in the World Series, but being with your friends so it didn't matter
• wearing sweaters
• ...and boots
• the cool mornings when you wear a sweater and the warm afternoons that you wish you hadn't
• the crunchy sound of leaves under your feet
• making caramel apples
• The ward fall bazaar
• That last really warm day that you can be outside having a picnic

What are some of your fall memories?

An Ounce of Prevention ...or My Mammogram, a Smashing Success!

I just got home from the Carol Milgard Breast Center. I had my not so yearly mammogram done. It was quick. It was painless. And they gave me a free drinking cup!

I had lunch with a friend and then we went together and had it done. It's just one of those things that I kept putting off, and she kept putting off. So together, we motivated each other to get it done! How about you? Have you had a mammogram lately?

Couldn't we all be a little more...?