It could always be worse...

When you find yourself wanting to repeatedly whack your head against a wall because all this holiday family time is driving you batty, just think of the example of Abraham, and know that however ridiculous your relatives seem at times, at least they're not trying to sacrifice you on an altar to idols.

Well... at least I don't think your family's trying that. If they are, run for the hills!

Skipping Christmas

Have you ever had a year when you just wanted Christmas to be done already?

Normally I looooove Christmas. Can't wait for it to come around. Have to really hold back from listening to my Christmas playlist before Thanksgiving. 

This year, however, I'm just not feeling it.

I've gone through the motions of my usual Christmas traditions - thrown the cookie party, sang in the choir and in a quartet, attended a few Christmas parties - but even so, here I sit on Christmas Eve, and the "gee, it's Christmas!" sensation has yet to kick in.

Maybe that has something to do with the fact that I worked up until 1 p.m. today, and my life has been a non-stop whirlwind since September. When you're already running at 120 mph, the speeding up that accompanies Christmas feels like just more work to do than the delightful quickening that it usually is.

Maybe it's the fact that, despite being an adult, my Christmas schedule is at the beck and call of my parents. Everyone's schedules have been weird this year, but it frustrates me to no end that I'm told to rush to their house at 4 p.m., only to basically waste two and a half hours as they ran errands. Time I could have used to run the errands I needed to do before hitting the road before dawn on Friday. I abhor wasting time to begin with, and when it's wasting time on no account of my own for no real reason when I have a mile-long to-do list, well, it hardly puts me in the Christmas spirit.

Basically, I'm thinking my roommates' plot to escape to Hawaii next year is the way to go.

So, that's my Grinchy rant for the evening. I'm hoping that I'll be bubbling over with Christmas cheer by tomorrow, 'cause I don't want to miss two Christmases in a row. Last year I bailed on our family trip to Idaho and spent Christmas alone in my apartment, watching movies. Truth be told, it was actually kind of delightful - but I did feel like I'd missed Christmas. Let's hope the joy of Christmas gets flowing soon.

I'm going to go watch White Christmas and see if that does the trick. If you have any de-Grinching advice, I'm all ears!

Lost - and Found

As I clack away at my keyboard, Alfredo, my beloved '99 Altima, is getting spruced up in the mechanic's shop in preparation for Friday's roadtrip to Utah.

Is it bad that I'm more excited to hit the road than I am for Christmas?

I love, love, love Christmas - don't get me wrong. But oh, am I ever excited for this trip!!! Utah I've seen and done countless times - heck, I lived there for 1/5th of my life.

What makes this trip special is the roster of friends I'm going to see - including some of my closest friends and favorite roommates who I haven't seen in 4-5 years. Thanks to the marvels of Facebook and blogging, I've reconnected with so many of my college favorites, and I just can't wait to reunite face to face, not to mention seeing the other dear friends and family I catch whenever I'm in town. Driving a day or two in the snow will totally be worth it to see these amazing people!

This trip feels like a bookend of sorts for me. It'll be a week or so shy of four years since I packed my earthly possessions into Al (two Altimas ago) and moved back to California post-BYU. That time around, I was stranded overnight in Beaver, Utah, thanks to storms - not particularly fun at the time, but it makes for a good story and for some fond memories. It was a nice rite of passage.

As I've prepped for this week's trip, I've been doing a lot of pondering about how life has changed since that fateful roadtrip four years ago. I've been back to Utah plenty of times in those four years, but somehow, this time, I feel like a chapter of my life is closing.

The last four years, minus the last few months, could be a chapter labeled "Lost." BYU was where I thrived, where I blossomed, away from childhood, and became the woman I wanted to be. I was surrounded by brilliant, interesting people who shared a love of learning and a common faith-based foundation. Not everyone was cookie-cutter alike, either - there were so many fascinating friends I made there, kindred spirits to the core. I'd never felt like I belonged somewhere more in my entire life - not even with my family.

But I never thought beyond graduation, truth be told, and for the last four years I've felt a little like I've been floundering, not quite clicking with my life in one regard or another. Nothing ever fit just right, and it's been so frustrating, trying to understand why I couldn't make this new reality work.

Until lately.

The last three months of my life have been absolutely amazing. Amazing, amazing, amazing - not that anything has happened, per se, but it feels as though all the pieces have fallen into place. I know that I am where I belong, and oh, do I ever love it. And I'm starting to understand how some of those seemingly incongruous pieces of my life really do fit together, how some of those darker threads in my life's tapestry have been necessary for the gleaming golds and silvers to truly shine.

Basically, I'm loving life - with the joy and the peace that permeate my life these days, I feel like I can brave any obstacle that lands in my path, and I'm so thrilled to turn the page in 2009 and see what adventures will fill the next chapter.

I think I'll title it "Found."

The ghosts of Christmas parties past

While getting ready for last night's office Christmas party, I couldn't help but to think back on all of my work parties of years past.

For the last seven years of my working life, I've attended a range of different Christmas parties, from potlucks at coworkers' homes to catered affairs at nice hotels to daytime shopping trips at Toys 'R' Us for underprivileged children (by far the most heartwarming way to party!). Last night's soiree - a dinner cruise around Newport Harbor during the 100th annual Christmas boat parade - was by far the coolest in terms of activity.

But the parties that I look back on the most fondly are actually the three Christmas parties I attended while an American Heritage TA in college. They certainly weren't fancy affairs. Each year a different staff/faculty member hosted a casual potluck in their homes - in fact, I think my last year there we got pizzas! - but it was so much fun to gather everyone together for the evening and just chat, aside from grading and quizzes and students.

Of course, I've also been really nostalgic for my American Heritage glory days since attending Dr. Fox's retirement dinner this summer, so maybe that's clouding my perspective somewhat. I'm still a little in awe of the amazingness of some of my coworkers at that job! I guess we all had more in common than you end up getting with a larger group of people in an office who are of various ages and backgrounds, and several of the friendships forged at that college job continue to be among my closest to this day.

Anyways, that's my reminiscent thought for the day. I'll post some pictures of the boat parade this weekend. It was seriously so fun! And my date was delightful - even if I had to return him to his lady love at the end of the night, haha. I was so glad he came with. Yay for good friends!

What's your favorite work party ever? I want stories, people!

A word to the wise

When selecting a date to the reservations-only work Christmas party two months in advance, take caution.

The problem may not be that you begin dating someone - but that your date begins dating someone, and you find yourself taking a very-not-single friend (who happens to now be another friend's boyfriend) to the aforementioned soiree.

Of course, should you find yourself in that sticky situation, hopefully both halves of the couple will be delightfully cool about the whole thing.

In that regard, I think I hit the jackpot... well, as much of one as can be had when your date is a friend's boyfriend.

Really, it's just weird. No getting around that.

"Cold" is a relative term

Being a native Southern Californian - and a second/third-generation one at that! - my point of reference for what constitutes cold weather must be pretty laughable to my friends who live in places that are actually cold.

You know, places where you need to own shoes other than heels and flipflops, where snow falls (and sticks), where you can't get away with running out the door sans a coat (let alone gloves, scarf, hat, etc.).

I know. I'm spoiled.

This morning I checked the weather and just about flipped when it said it was 46 degrees in Laguna Beach. 46 degrees?! Are you kidding me?! That's freeeeeeezing!!!! Unbearable! It's been pretty chilly for the last week or two, and yesterday, we even got rain. Lots and lots of rain.

This is crazy winter weather, kids.

But reality sets in when I see my friends' weather comments on their Facebook statuses and blogs. Snow and ice in Seattle. -30 degrees with the wind chill in Minnesota. Three inches of snow in Provo.

I guess I shouldn't complain, right?

I honestly don't even know how I survived spending 5+ years of my life in Utah! I mean, I know I did it and all, and I acclimated to it well, too.

Maybe this below-50 degrees stuff isn't soooo awful. I mean, it was too cold to have the sunroof open this morning, and the park's probably too soggy and chilly to have my daily lunchtime picnic, but other than that, the blue skies and snowless ground look pretty inviting.

C is for Christmas - and cookies!

Back in college I began a little Christmas tradition of annually hosting a Christmas cookie party - a chance for me to bake up a storm and gather some of my favorite people together to celebrate the joy of the Christmas season. It's my way to say thanks for being so awesome. I'm always amazed by the caliber of friends I'm blessed to have in my life!

Cookie party 2008 was last night, and it was a delight! Thanks to all who came! Here's a collection of shots from the evening:

Oh, and in case you wondered what delectible cookies were on the menu, I made red velvet sandwich cookies, lemon bars (I try a different recipe every year, but I think this one's a keeper), ginger cookies, brownies, sugar cookies and chocolate brittle surprise (so easy and sooooo good!!!). Added to that mix was an amazing holiday cheeseball (cream cheese with crushed-up candy canes, chocolate chips, nuts and other good stuff - thanks, Laura!), jam-shortbread cookies (thanks, Christina!) and chocolate-covered Nutter Butters (thanks, Paula!). Oh, and I made mulled cider (thanks, Rebecca, for the recipe - I make it every year!).

Speaking of... I think I'm going to go eat some more leftover cookies. Seriously, you don't even want to know how many lemon bars I've scarfed today!

P.S.: Not to get all introspective, but - does anyone else slip into "hostess mode"? I love, love, love to entertain, but it seems like once all the prep work is done and the party actually arrives, it's like I don't know what to do with myself! I'm so happy to create this platform in which people can relax, talk, have fun, etc., but it's hard for me to take the next step and actually engage myself. I'm more at ease snapping photos and making sure everyone's getting enough to eat or drink. Is that just me? Do other people do that?

Don't wear flipflops in a deluge

It is POURING rain today!!!

I'm home sick today - ewww, cold-and-flu season, no bueno - and for the last hour I've been laying in bed, listening to the rain. And by rain, I mean a forceful deluge, with the water pounding against my roof, the sidewalk, etc. It's such an amazing sound! We don't get that too often out here. The most it seems to do is drizzle, and you can't really hear that.

Anyways, out of the blue, I had this panicked thought: did I close my sunroof all the way? I tend to leave it cracked open to vent during the day but always close it at night... but I was a little distracted yesterday... and how awful would that be?!

So in running to the car, I threw on my flipflops, since that's what I always stick on my feet when running to the car. Didn't give it a second thought... until this:

Yep, the only inlet/outlet to my staircase is FLOODED. This picture doesn't even do it justice - it's calmed down a little, but I went out during a cloudburst, and the all of the concrete you see there was under water, and it was at least three inches at the deepest!

What's a girl to do?!

Well, after hesitating for a minute, I just ran quickly through... to see that my car was, in fact, closed and good to go. Phew... but, ewwwww, rain water!!!

Needless to say, my Rainbows are soaked - they're normally tan! Eh, they'll dry out. And Now I'm dry, too, and once more snug in my bed, ready for some breakfast (and by breakfast, I mean leftover cookies) and some more sleep. And hopefully some blog catching-up today, too, since I've got some fun stories!

The Twilight before Christmas

For all you Twilight fans out there - such a winner!

Foo for thought

I am a lifelong music addict.

From the time I received my beloved clock-radio at the age of 6, I've been one to have music playing nonstop, 24/7. My iPod is basically on from the time I get ready in the morning until I go to bed at night (in which case I put on one of my sleep-inducing playlists).

Through high school and college I learned that I really can't study in silence. It drives me nuts. I work best with some form of music in the background (which is where my "Mozart for the Mind" CD came in really useful). If I'm on a tight deadline or working on something stressful, classical always does the trick - otherwise I'll listen to whatever strikes my fancy.

Last night I forgot to charge the good ol' iPod, so instead of just running through the remaining battery charge, I opted instead to listen to music via YouTube. I love how you can find basically any song you're in the mood for on there.

Well, lately I've been craving the alternative / rock that I listened to in middle school and high school (think KROQ circa 1997). So I started out with the Foo Fighters this morning - after all, it's been a while since I listened to "Everlong" - and, well, can I just say that I totally forgot how awesome they are?! (Pardon the poor video quality - you can't embed the real music videos.)

It's funny how I get in musical ruts. Sometimes I get so used to listening to what's on my iPod that I forget how many great bands there are out there whose CDs I don't have (but really, really should). Queen's been a similar scenario for me lately. I'd forgotten how much I loooooove them.

What are some bands that you've rediscovered? Who are your go-to artists that are in regular rotation on your iPod?

Emerging New Artist: Courtney Jones

I just discovered an amazing emerging artist today: Courtney Jones.

Okay, I didn't discover her on my own - she's actually the sister-in-law of Annalise, one of my college roommates, and I've actually had one of Courtney's CDs in my collection since Lisey gave it to me, like, five years ago.

But Courtney's amazingness slipped through the cracks of my musical memory 'til Annalise posted something about it on Facebook, and I clicked over to the Courtney Jones YouTube channel to do a little listening while working.

I was blown away!!!

Courtney's voice is fantastic, and her style is so in line with what I love listening to these days. If you're into the whole female singer/songwriter thing like I am, then you HAVE to go check Courtney out. Her latest album is available on iTunes - I will definitely be downloading it tonight!

Picking your brain: how we engage online

Hi, friends!

Thanks for letting me pick your brains. I'm in the process of pulling together a blog post for our digital media blog at work, and I wanted to reach out through the very digital media channels about which I'm writing to get feedback/ideas on how we interact with companies and each other through the computer.

I know. I'm a geek. But you love me. Admit it, you know you do. ;)

Anyways, the working premise I'm scratching at is that while the means of interaction - whether that be communicating with friends, shopping, banking, etc. - has moved online, at the root of it is a human being. Not a bottom line, not jumping on some trendy digital media bandwagon.

So, in order to succeed in the digital space, companies need to answer consumers' needs and connect with them at a personal level, since, after all, nowadays we can opt out of traditional venues like the mainstream media to get information in favor of outlets that cater to our niche interests.

We're an interesting generation, because for the most part, we all can remember the first time we went online - we can remember the way things "used to be" before the Internet, and we're also the demographic most likely to jump in and use online offerings and Web 2.0 technologies (our parents generally aren't tech-savvy enough to be all about it, and the "rising generation" isn't old enough to be interested in companies' Web sites, I think. Gross generalizations, I know, but run with it).

Now, where I need your input:

How have you transitioned to doing something online instead of the traditional way (i.e. the TIME article about ditching cookbooks in favor of laptops and the Web for recipes)?And, more importantly, can you think of a company that has somehow implemented an online solution that has really made you a loyal customer? I know that's awfully vague... but I don't want to limit your responses.

Like, for instance, NBC used to pull any "SNL" sketches that made their way to YouTube. They still do - but now they also offer and promote selected sketches on Hulu, plus they have a hearty offering online, complete with embed codes. I generally forget to watch SNL, but I've spent at least a few hours in the last month watching old and new sketches!

Or Gap has really fun holiday ads - and now they're making those available to watch and embed online, and seeing those ads makes me more likely to drop by the Gap and shop. Except their color palette was awful this season... but that's another story.

Those of you into sports: how have your teams gotten into the online forum in a way that makes you engage with them?

Thanks again for your input!!! I hate that feeling of knowing that I'm sort of dancing around what I want to get at without quite nailing it, but I look forward to your input and really appreciate it!!!

"Sein"-tology

I really seem to like these YouTube clips, huh?

Sorry for the paucity of real posts these days - I've been too busy living my life to blog about it, I guess. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up someday - but it won't be any time this week, that's for sure!

Anyways, for now, I wanted to share this Seinfeld montage. The funny story with it is that back in the days before YouTube, during my freshman year of college, I compiled a "La Crescenta Mix," a CD of songs selected by Rebecca and myself that tied to relevant memories for our little group from high school. (It's still one of my favorite mixes to this day!)

Well, the audio of this was among the songs we chose, since Seinfeld was a favorite show among us - in fact, we snuck aside and watched the Seinfeld finale at the church building in lieu of our regularly-scheduled church activity, if I remember correctly (Rebecca? Tabitha? Am I making this up?).

Today, while reading through my digital media RSS feeds, someone had linked to a YouTube clip that linked to this one (which claims to include 100 Seinfeld quotes). It's amazing how many of these phrases have found their way into our daily slang.

Finding this familiar track in a Web 2.0 incarnation was pretty fun. Hope you enjoy it, too!



What's your favorite Seinfeld quote of all time?

A Different Kind of Marriage Protest

Heather posted this hilarious, award-winning marriage-protest spoof, and I just had to share it. Does the protestor look familiar?



(Yep, the "protestor" is the brilliant Ryan Simmons - we were at BYU at the same time, and while I didn't know him, I knew of him through friends and thoroughly enjoyed his antics at the Playmill Theatre. Kid's got SERIOUS talent!!!)

I guess this won the New York, NY Stake Film Festival (only in NYC or LA could you actually have a stake film festival!) - and I definitely see why. This is the first Prop. 8 satire that's gotten me laughing!

Happy Heels: or, Blessed with Boots

Remember my dilemma with The Boots?

Well, today it had a happy ending!

I finally got around to taking my purple heels and The Boots to a shoe repair place this morning (it's been on my to-do list for weeks now). However, The Boots needed more than just new heel tips - which would mean spending about as much as a new pair would be.

Needless to say, I opted for some new shoes.

While driving to Target to pick up a new version of The Boots, I had the thought - can you get inspiration when it comes to shopping? 'Cause it honestly felt like that type of an idea - of checking out the shoe department at Loehmann's (it's an upscale TJ Maxx or Ross type of store).

Now, I'm not a Loehmann's shopper - their stuff is AMAZING and at great discounts, but somehow it's just not on my usual shopping radar. I seem to stick to the same three or four stores and forget there are other places out there!

Well, I'm in love. It may or may not be a good discovery, but their shoe department is AMAZING!!!

Lo and behold, I found a pair of boots (pictured above) that are basically the same look as The Boots - only much better quality and fit. It's an absolute miracle - I managed to be there during an additional 20 percent off early-bird special, too, so I got a $70 pair of boots for $40, which is only a few dollars more than it would have cost to fix The Boots. Plus I got an adorable pair of $85 red kitten heels for only $19!!!

Admittedly, I feel like a bit of a nerd for blogging about this, but wow!!! This might sound stupid, but it reminds me of that story of the little girl who clung so tightly to her little strand of plastic pearls, but when she gave them up, her father gave her the real deal. I'm trying so hard to not spend money, and I've been fairly disciplined about it for the last few months. All of a sudden in the last week I've found amazing deals for things I needed to replace (like the cuuuuutest red peacoat from Gap that a friend bought and decided she didn't want, so I got it for $40!).

It's amazing to recognize the little blessings we get every day - the "tender mercies," so to speak. These aren't monumental, life-shattering events, but I feel so blessed that my Heavenly Father loves me enough to be interested in the details, like getting a great deal on boots. I'm overwhelmed sometimes by the beauty of those little blessings, like when I'm running late and just happen to get a great parking spot, or finally finding the Christmas present my dad asked for - with a $25 coupon, to boot!

Not to sound like TAMN of "Seriously So Blessed," but seriously, I feel so blessed. And I know I'm no exception to the rule. Isn't life wonderful?!

What are some of your "tender mercies" stories?

Why didn't they tell me?

Guess what?

I have a career.

And you know what?

It's fun. Lots and lots of fun.

I am absolutely loving life right now - and a major part of that great life is devoted to my career as a "digital media strategist" (which, I've been told, sounds "sexy" - ooooh la la!).

Funny how I think back on all of those years where marriage and motherhood were my primary ambitions in life. I'll own it - yes, yes, I was, in fact, one of "those girls" at BYU. Which isn't to say that I wasn't ambitious in college - anyone who knew me then knows that I had a million balls up in the air as a TA, club president, editor at a journal and at the school paper, etc., while doing a double major.

Thing is, my plan was to live up my college experience to the greatest of my ability so that I'd be happy to trade the hat of the single life for the apron of homemaker, knowing that I'd had my time and would find fulfillment caring for my future family.

And then - *gasp!* - I graduated single!

The shock! The horror! The dismay!

What was a girl to do? I mean, I couldn't very well twiddle my thumbs and sit on my hope chest, awaiting my Prince Charming, right?

So I got a job.

A real job, too, working as a reporter for The Orange County Register. Not a bad starter job, in terms of prestige and fun (but pay? Boy, that's a whole other story!).

Well, it's been nearly four years now that I've been in the "real world" of the workforce - and, admittedly, a solid three of those were spent lamenting my lot in life, envying my girlfriends who were procreating while I was pounding away at a keyboard in a little cubicle/newsroom/office.

Then something clicked about a year ago - probably largely due to the close friendships I forged with a couple of my newsroom cronies who were my age but weren't looking to settle down anytime soon. Somehow, spending time with them and talking about how much we loved our careers (despite all of our griping about the insanity of the newspaper business), my eyes opened to this whole panorama of possibilities before me as a single working gal.

And it didn't hurt that I also babysat a couple of munchkins on a weekly basis. The cutest little munchkins you'll ever meet, mind you - but it was a realistic glimpse into that maternal realm, and I realized that I wasn't ready to hang up the reporter's fedora yet.

The apron would have to wait.

Well, the Three Musketeers of the South County bureau have split for various paths (although we did have a delightful breakfast reunion on Saturday!), and here I am, continuing my career by shifting my journalistic skills into public relations and digital media.

It's such an amazing, fulfilling experience to come up with plans, put them into action and see results. I mean, my scope on that is pretty limited, seeing as I'm only just hitting my six-month mark, but a client won an award that I submitted them for, or one media tour put my client in front of the top publications in the nation - and I was the one who arranged those meetings. It's a little more tangible of a result for me than just writing an article, sending it through cyberspace and seeing if people read it. Being able to tell a client what we've accomplished for them is a heady thing.

In the last two days I've been able to go along for meetings with heads of some household-name companies, and it's just a little awe-inspiring for me still. Lil' old me, meeting with CEOs of major businesses? Moi?

I'm loving it!

And then I think, why didn't anybody tell me that a career is fun? What would I have done differently in the last five, 10 years if I'd had that perspective that a career isn't a consolation prize but rather a great opportunity to challenge yourself and accomplish great things in the business world?

Oh well. I guess that in life, you really have to come to knowledge through experience. Even if someone had told me that I'd be loving things down the road, I don't know that it would have made the difference.

I'm going through the same thing with my kid sister. Bless her heart - she's hit that horribly akward phase of adolescence, and she's having a rough go of it. I sooooo was there at her age, and I tell her that, and how I survived - but she didn't see me at her age, so she doesn't know the depths of how much I get where she's coming from.

And I'm sure that is the same for anyone going through anything. You have to live it to really "get" it - and the knowledge that comes that way is more valuable anyways, because it's earned with blood, sweat and tears.

Meanwhile, I'll keep chipping away at changing my little corner of the world. It's a pretty fun way to spend my days. My apron days will come soon enough, I'm sure. It still warms my heart to chat with my friends' toddlers on the phone or to babysit some supercute tots, but it's great to know that things will work themselves out, and in the meantime, I can accomplish great things that will help me to be even better in my future career of wife and mother.

Not that that's the sole focus of my existence.

Okay, well, maybe it still is... I can't get away from the eternal fact that that is my main goal in this life. But it's someday, far off. Not for now, at least.

LDS leaders discuss the coming of Christ's return

Heather posted this video on her blog, and it brought me to tears. Not just misty-eyed tears - no, no, I was so touched, I sobbed silently and briefly in my little cubicle, watching this.

Which isn't really that rare, nowadays. I didn't used to be a cryer with spiritual things, but oh boy, am I ever now! I feel like a leaky faucet. Oh well.

What an honor, a privilege and a daunting responsibility it is to be among those prepared to be here, now, when and where the Lord needs us. How grateful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for the light it brings into my life and for the wise leaders we have who can help us navigate through an ever-darkening world.

We will miss you, Elder Wirthlin!

Joseph B. Wirthlin, an apostle of Jesus Christ and one of the top leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away in his sleep last night at the age of 91.

Elder Wirthlin was such an amazing man, and he will be greatly missed.

His last public appearance was in October at the semi-annual General Conference (a weekend-long meeting that's broadcast around the globe, providing Latter-day Saints with the invaluable opportunity of receiving guidance from our leaders. Conference talks give amazing insight into gospel doctrines and contemporary applications!).

Elder Wirthlin's talk was such a fitting swan song - one that really stood out to me at the time (and to many others - it's been much discussed since it was given), and now it has even more special meaning. Called "Come What May, and Love It," the talk focuses on the way that we react to adversity and how that can be a major factor in our happiness and success in life. The four points Elder Wirthlin made were to:

• Learn to laugh


• Seek for the eternal


• Understand the Principle of Compensation


• Trust in the Father and the Son.

If you haven't read this talk, I recommend that you do so, or - even better - listen to it via audio or video, so you can catch the fulness of his address. He tells some stories in there that are hilarious!!! I'll share the funniest with you:

I remember when one of our daughters went on a blind date. She was all dressed up and waiting for her date to arrive when the doorbell rang. In walked a man who seemed a little old, but she tried to be polite. She introduced him to me and my wife and the other children; then she put on her coat and went out the door. We watched as she got into the car, but the car didn’t move. Eventually our daughter got out of the car and, red faced, ran back into the house. The man that she thought was her blind date had actually come to pick up another of our daughters who had agreed to be a babysitter for him and his wife.

We all had a good laugh over that. In fact, we couldn’t stop laughing. Later, when our
daughter’s real blind date showed up, I couldn’t come out to meet him because I was still in the kitchen laughing. Now I realize that our daughter could have felt humiliated and embarrassed. But she laughed with us, and as a result, we still laugh about it today.

The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable.

What a great lesson to learn - and what a great example Elder Wirthlin was.

Losing dear leaders like Elder Wirthlin is always so bittersweet. The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles remained the same 15 men that it had been when I joined the Church in 1995 up until the summer of 2004, when Elder Neal A. Maxwell passed away, followed less than two weeks later by Elder David B. Haight. Then, in the last year, we saw the passing of Pres. James E. Faust and Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley.

Although we mourn their passing, it must be so sweet for them to be reunited with dear loved ones who passed on before, and for them to be restored to health and vibrancy, doing the Lord's work on the other side of the veil. How sweet that Elder Wirthlin can be reunited with his dear wife, Elisa, who passed away a couple of years ago.

God be with you 'til we meet again!

Elder Wirthlin's bio: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/elder-joseph-b-wirthlin-a-life-full-of-adventure-and-joy-that-surpasses-understanding

DesNews coverage:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705267532,00.html