Halloween and Hogwarts fun!

For Halloween this year, Travis and I decided to go as Hagrid and Hermione from the Harry Potter books. Trav has worn this costume on several occasions before and he says that every time he does, people who he's never talked to before are immediately friendly to him. Hagrid and Travis both are such lovable characters!

As it turns out, the members of our ward loved it so much, that they awarded us first prize in the constume contest. I was totally suprised! And honestly, we all know it was Trav's costume that did it. :) And here's the perk: it came with a gift certificate to Cold Stone. Yum!

As a side note (though this is my favorite part), this is the way Travis was dressed when I very first met him. So, that night I was also celebrating 2 years of knowing my dear Trav. I love you, honey!

Mommy, wow! I'm a big kid now!

Do you remember that old jingle? Well, that is how I felt on Wednesday after we sent off our taxes. See, my dad had always sailed those perilous waters for me in years past. He just brought me a piece of paper and said, "Sign here, please."

Dad, you are SO great! I never understood what a TASK it is to do taxes. I now understand how other people can make a living doing other people's taxes.

But I tell you what--sending them in, I felt like a little kid who just tied her shoes for the first time!

"Look what I can do, lookie lookie!"

Here's to growing up!

A Beautiful Reminder About Temples

As always, when something about the church is in danger of being misunderstood, they bring something beautiful to light about it. Here is this week's message on the church's YouTube channel, MormonMessages:

Why Mormons Build Temples

:)

Hollow Words: HBO's 'Apology'

I'll be glad to lay this topic to rest, but I didn't think it would be complete without also including HBO's statement. (Thanks for sending it to me, Bryce!) It's an apology that basically says, 'To those who may be offended, we offer our sincere apology,' though their plans to run the episode are unchanged.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11881370

Anyway, the best part of this article was the church's decline to comment, as though they were saying, 'This isn't really worth our time, but thanks anyway.' Their words actually were "Such things say much more about the insensitivities of writers, producers and TV executives than they say about Latter-day Saints."

Here, here!

The Church's level headed statement about Big Love

This provides more of a long-term perspective, which I greatly appreciated. (Thanks for sending it to me, Brett)

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma

A Prudent Insight to Big Love's Big Move

As an addendum to the previous post, this is what my cousin insightfully said about it:

I just filed the online complaint with the FCC, but I doubt that it will make it through the bureaucracy in time for this coming Sunday. The complaint that people ought to make is under the bias, unfair broadcast topic. I wrote saying that HBO originally claimed to be following the disaffected polygamists and not the LDS church but now was confusing the issue as the TV Guide interview seems to indicate that the these are the actual LDS Church Temple rites, which is factually impossible if the plot is really not about the LDS church. Thus the broadcast will be an inaccurate factual portrayal of the LDS Temple ceremony unfair bias.

Sadly, I think that there is likely nothing we can do. Even if it was found to be unfair and biased, the likely result will either be making HBO display a disclaimer on before the airing of the show or pay a fine. Either way, it is likely going to air. This is the bittersweet double-edged sword of the Freedom of Speech, a right that each of us cherish enough that we allow anyone else to say pretty much whatever they'd like.

Maybe it might be best to watch the scene so we can explain to friends, family, colleagues and coworkers any inaccuracies portrayed of the ceremony. Possibly the attitude to take here is "any publicity is good publicity." While HBO might portray moments of the ceremony, there is no way that the series is going to be able to capture the depth or meaning of the ceremony, which may allow us to explain the "whys" behind what people see. Because the "whys" are what make this ceremony so precious and sacred to us, not the "whats."

To each their own. :) I understand that we probably won't be able to 'make' anyone change what is already set in motion, but I feel responsible to make my voice heard about it, to do what is possible to be done. I will take my cousin's advice in the last paragraph to heart. Thank you!

"Big Love"s Biggest Offense

Oh boy, do I feel sick.

Next Sunday, March 15th, HBO's Big Love is planning to air an episode "re-create[ing] even the tiniest details" about the temple ceremony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is not a joke. You can read the article in this week's TV Guide Magazine (page 46 of the magazine, page 48 of the PDF). I'll quote it here for your convenience:

GOIN’ TO THE CHAPEL
It’s one thing for Bill and Barb Henrickson’s inner
circle to know they have two other wives at
home…but letting the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints in on the secret? That’s a whole
other story. “It’s almost a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’
policy,” says executive producer Mark Olsen. Their
under-the-radar status will change this week when
Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) faces the consequences
of breaking the rules and is called to an excommunication
hearing. “We researched it out the
wazoo,” says Olsen, who along with executive producer
Will Scheffer hired an ex-Mormon consultant
to help the set and wardrobe designers re-create
even the tiniest details. “We go into the endowment
room and the celestial room [areas of the
temple], and we present what happens in those
ceremonies. That’s never been shown on television
before,” says Olsen. Adds Scheffer, “But it’s
not for shock value. It’s really a very important
part of the story.” The decision won’t be without
controversy: According to a church insider, “If they
are in fact trying to emulate those rooms in any
way, that would be extremely offensive. The general
public is not allowed in our temples yet. Not
even all Mormons are. We consider them very, very
sacred.” Heaven help us. —Rochell D. Thomas

I don't know how much power we have in the matter, but I want to do everything we can! Here are the links to HBO and the FCC where you can file complaints or protests. Please, don't wait. Paper trails can take a while, and I think we only have one shot. I have written letters to both places and dearly wish that we could do more. Does anyone have any other ideas?

Here is another blog that talks a little more about it:
http://estherperry.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-to-offend-13-million-people-by-hbo_07.html

Boy, do I feel sick!

Beware the Berry

You may have seen adds on the internet, or things on TV that sound like this:

"I lost 25 pounds in 4 weeks following this one simple rule..."

And then there are some links to free trials of two supplements that helped them achieve this seemingly miraculous feat. Since one of them was a berry, and I have always been fascinated by the things that the Lord has put in nature, I thought, "Hey, if it's free-ish, I'd like to try it!" There were other good affects boasted as well, but I was mostly curious to see if it would do what it claimed.

So, I ordered the Acai Berry and the Colon Cleanse product for their free trials. (The scam of 'free' trials could be a whole other topic...). When they finally arrived, I began taking them as suggested.

Those next days seemed really hard--you know, things piling up at work or stress from moving, or whatever, until by the 4th day, I was a weepy mess. Small things felt overwhelming and out-of-proportion. It was constant. I don't know what it's like to be depressed, but if I've ever been close, I would guess that this was what it felt like. Tense and dreary all the time...

Once it dawned on me that all this uber emotionality coinsided with when I began taking these suppliments, I thought, "I'll try not taking them tomorrow and see how I feel."

It was like night and day.

I couldn't believe how different I felt after not taking them. I was easily happy again. Things felt back in their proper proportions, and poor patient Travis I think felt relieved that his wife was back to her normal self. Incidentally, I did not see one bit of the affects that were advertised: no weight loss, no improved energy or focus, no 'light' feeling.

I know that some products are higher quality than others, and I don't know if it was the berry or the cleanse product, or both. (And lest anyone think I was scammed too bad, the whole experience only snatched about $10 from our wallet.) It might just be me, and I'm not discouraging anyone from trying it. I'm just saying: beware the berry.

The Most Awesome Book Club

Mom (Lynda) has invited me to be part of her book club. I have always loved to read and recently have wanted to read some more meaty literature. Well--I got my wish! This month, we read:
750 pages of raw meat! While truthfully, I didn't finish the book (moving has a way of hogging all your time), I love meeting together with these intelligent, thoughtful, beautiful women and discussing literature and characters, our reactions to them, their lessons for life...It's something I look forward to every month. Thanks for inviting me, Mom!

Homeless!

...but only temporarily. See, the landlord of our new apartment said they would need a few extra days to fix some things, so instead of moving in on Saturday like we'd planned, we will have to wait until Wednesday.

In the meantime, our current landlord had already signed contracts with the couple that will be living in our apartment promising them a certain move-in day, which really can't be moved. So, we still have to move out on Saturday and from Saturday to Wednesday, we will technically be--

homeless.

There is a blessing in it though. :) We decided to rent a U-HAUL and keep our stuff in the truck for the four days (so we don't have to pack and unpack twice!) and the kind man at the U-HAUL store gave us all kinds of discounts.

Chip and Beth Lynn have taken us into their home. (Thanks a million!) The Dishman hotel rides again! It is so great. We have a comfy bed to sleep in, a cat to play with, and so I am happy to say that we are no longer homeless. Thank you, thank you, thank you both!

Thanks, everyone! We love you! We'll write to you from our new address soon!

Who needs 'The Video Professor' when you've got a Travis?

Travis taught me yesterday about how to sell things on Ebay. Even though he had a ton of school work to focus on, he was a kind and attentive teacher. Who needs 'the video professor' when you're husband's a tech whiz! As we are preparing to move, it is time to share our past treasures with others! We hope they'll find a happy new home.

A bombshell of blessings

Recently, Travis and I made a decision to give a little more in one measly area of our lives. As we have followed through with it this month, we have felt a veritable flood of blessings. I said to Travis this morning, "I feel like the Lord has dropped a bombshell of blessings on us, and the shrapnel is stuck everywhere in our lives!" Really, the notion that the Lord is 'fair' has gone out the window, because we know that the Lord keeps the table ridiculously slanted to our favor!

A New Job!

I started a new job yesterday working with Brett REIC (a real estate company) (and I'm still at the MTC too). I'm a researcher who basically helps find houses that they would be interested in. After Brett showed me the basics of what I would be doing, I said with a sparkle, "It's like a puzzle game!" You find all the pieces of information and see if they fit! Growing up, I was a formidable foe in Tetris. I think I'm really going to like this.

The current state of things

For those who haven't heard from us in a while, let me just bring you up to speed on where we are:

1. The big news right now is that *we're moving!* We found a place with a little more elbow room and storage space. Not to mention that the price is also cheaper, so it's a win/win. Also, Tiffany and Daniel live there, and we look forward to being close to them. We will move in the first week of February. Eeek! So much to do!

2. Travis is in school full swing, spending 10-12 hours a day on campus. He works so diligently, but we must say, it is certainly not his favorite past time.

3. Carma is *still* working on her thesis. The book that she is evaluating has gotten hung up at the printers, so while an August graduation might still happen...it might be more like December.

4. We love life! We've been married for almost 8 months now, and every month seems to get better and better.

5. We're both still working at the MTC and really loving it. We know we'll have to leave there one day, but it has been such a good job for both of us!

Well, now you know where we stand. We'll see what exciting adventures come up next!

Here it is

Well, we've given in to the (good) pressure of our family and friends. I don't know how often we'll blog, but we'll TRY to keep you updated!

Happy blogging!

Carma and Travis