Chocolate and Missionary Work

by Bonnie Harris

I've usually had ideas for this posts a few days after the last one, but this time I didn't think of anything until two days ago. My mom shared this experience with me and I immediately thought of a similar situation she told me about earlier. I kept coming back to this and took that as meaning I needed to write about it.

My dad had the privilege of serving on a jury recently. The jurors were told it should take a week or so to get through the trial. (Side note: How wonderful is it that we have a system set up like this? I know I complain about jury duty and how inconvenient it is and all the other excuses, but when I really sit down and think about it, what a blessing it is to be tried by peers. If I was even in a situation when I needed that, I would sure be glad to have it. Prayerfully that will never happen. Kudos to those who enjoy the law enough to represent the "common man.") Halfway through the trial someone suggested everyone needed chocolate. Dad mentioned this to Mom and she said, "Well, go get some."

One of my favorite kind of chocolates--besides Swiss--is the Utah truffles that are sold at Desert Book and Seagull. If you've never had a bar, it's well worth the money to savor it. (It is also a great snack when writing.) Desert Book happened to be on the way to court, so being the wonderful guy he is, Dad stopped and got a box to share with the other jurors. No big deal, right.

Well, the trial adjourned for the weekend and the Monday following several of the jurors were still raving about the chocolate. At least two of them had gone online to find out where to get it. Funny thing about that is, Desert Book and Seagull are the only places in Arizona to get some. :)

Mom also got some of the same chocolate for co-workers as a Christmas present. Several of them have gone into Desert Book to get more. In may not seem like much, but who knows how many of those people would have ever stepped foot in a Desert Book Store. Who knows if something else will catch their attention. Who knows if they'll purchase something that will change their lives . . . other than chocolate that is. Who knows . . .

Chocolate and Missionary Work. You just never know what will come from it. :)

Book Reviews, Kudos and Stuff . . . part 2

So I finished some books this week and realized there was one from awhile ago I haven't reviewed. I'll get to it this time!

Janette Rallison's My Fair Godmother is a wonderful story all ages. It is definitely in the high school era, but what fun. I loved how the different fairy tales were wound into it, the mishaps the Fair Godmother made and the lessons learned by everyone involved. I think we would all be a little more careful what we wished for if we had a Fair Godmother would interpreted things just a little bit differently than we expected. :) I really enjoyed this book. Take a look and let me know what you think!

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale I thought was a delightful book about friendship, however I can see how some people would not enjoy it as much as I did. There is a fine line for friendship when one is married and this book explores that line as well as life itself. All of the characters grew in many different ways. I truly believe people come into our lives for a reason, and Becky gets to discover why Felix has walked into her life and how to have him fit with her family. I loved the humor, the love, the life lessons and the challenges the characters are faced with and would recommend it for those who love a good story with twists.

Those of you who have read The Christmas Jars, this one's for you. The Christmas Jars Reunion by Jason Wright is absolutely delightful. It is a continuation of The Christmas Jars and what everyone is up to many years later. It's easy to forget the meaning of something that began for one reason or another. This book reminds us of how we can get distracted and how we need to remember the real meaning of what we do. It's wonderful for those of all ages.

Book Reviews, Kudos and Stuff

It looks like this is going to be a two part post because I only have about ten minutes right now. The first thing I wanted to make note of it, never put off telling someone you appreciate their example, spirit, and/or love of life. Reason being, we had a wonderful missionary in our ward for at least six months. I loved hearing him bear (is this the right bear? I never remember) his testimony and his quiet, simple manner brought peace to the hectic world. I kept meaning to tell him I appreciate his example because he's reminded me of things I need to be working on, but I never got around to doing it. Well, he went home this week and I never took the chance to tell him. Moral of the story: Don't wait. You never know what will happen and that person may be gone before you can tell them what you wanted to say.

Second part. It was the finale to So You Think You Can Dance this week. I watched all the dances and missed most of the last episode but boy were the dances fantastic. I was excited for everyone in the final three. It was fun to see the relationships that developed, how the dancers grew as people as well as in their art. The winner surprised me but at the same time I'm thrilled. Congratulations to Lauren! There are routines I would love to put links to from the finale show, but for the life of me I can't get them to play. So take a look at the website and enjoy!

To Be Continued . . .

Final Three

As you may know, or maybe you don't, I've been watching So You Think You Can Dance this season. I just have to send out kudos to the final four. AdeChike was eliminated, but I have to say I've enjoyed him throughout the season. Here's one of my favorite dances he performed mostly because of how much he put into it. At the end he's in tears. It so fun to see an artist get emotional at the end because it has obviously touched them. They've put their heart and soul into it, gotten lost and the performance has become them. I hope you enjoy and AdeChike will be missed, but I'm excited for the Finale next week! :)

This Week

Wow. I just realized I didn't finish a book this week. I think that's a first in a long time. However I got some great revising done on my sequel to Encoded Secrets. I'm really excited about that. I have been reading Posterity by Dorie McCullough Lawson which is fascinating, it's just taking me longer than expected. I'll let you know when I'm done.

Yesterday I watched the World Cup while doing house work. Paraguay and Spain played. After about 84 minutes, Spain finally scored. It was an incredible game. It's games like that, that make it hard to have a loser. Both teams played hard, Paraguay had incredible defense and it could have gone either way. Congrats to the Paraguay team for a game well played and I'm excited to see Spain faceoff Germany next.

So You Think You Can Dance Kudos

OMGOSH! I just watched one of the most incredible things tonight. On the show So You Think You Can Dance, Alex Wong-who's specific genre is ballet-perform and incredible Hip Hop routine with one of the best Hip Hop dancers around. It was an incredible routine and to see someone come so far out of their genre and do such a great job is amazing! Kudos to the hard work put into the performance. I've already watched it again, several times, and am amazed each time. Take a look here and let me know what you think!

Kudos and Book Reviews

First off, a big congrats to the US Soccer Team. I haven't been an avid watcher of the World Cup, more of an off and on watcher, but I happened to watch the game on Saturday. It was well played and they fought hard. Congrats!



Here are two books that were quick easy reads that I didn't plan on reading. The first is Stephenie Meyer's The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. I found it free on-line and took a look. It will be up until July 5th so if you don't want to wait in line at the library it's a good way to read it. Anyway, I enjoyed it. A lot of it was repeative information that we, as readers, already knew but Bree did not. I liked the new characters introduced and it gave us an insight into the Volutri. I happened to watch part of the Jimmy Kimmel Eclipse special the other day and they showed a brief clip that immediately reminded me of the book. I think once we see the entire movie, we'll understand more why Bree's life was important to have.



The second is a surprise addition to the Peter and the Starcatchers series, Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. This fun series is about how Peter Pan became Peter Pan and the adventures he had before there was Wendy. This particular book introduces Peter and Wendy. It's a great story involving some of legends dating back to Charlemene. I really enjoyed this quick, easy read and would recommend it to everyone.

Girl's Camp

I just spent the last three and a half days as an assistant cook for girl's camp. Kudos to the eight other women with me. We all worked well and have all vowed never to cook again (at least not for a week!). After three seventeen hour days with little down time, serving 300 people three times a day, we are/I am beat. I have to say it went well, it was well planned out, we had way too much food, I can't believe how much they ate, but it was good. There are always the few complainers that make life difficult but for the most part it's all good.

And the best part is . . . I get to sleep in my own bed tonight! Hopefully not with the scorpion that stung my husband while I was gone! :)

Kudos & Events

I just have to send a shout out to all those players in the Chandler Gilbert Community Orchestra, including the ringers that volunteered to help us out. What a great concert we had. Everyone worked well together and the performance was wonderful. I hope to see everyone back next semester and many more! Thanks for a great year. :)

Also, I heard about what sounds like a really fun event. Take a look:

Thursday, May 13th at 7:00 pm.

Changing Hands Book Store
6428 S McClintock Drive
Tempe, AZ 85283
(480) 730-0205

Find out what it takes to be a starlet at our red carpet release party for Janette Rallison and her latest, My Double Life. All her life, Alexia Garcia has been told she looks just like pop star Kari Kingsley, and one day when Alexia's photo filters through the Internet, she’s offered a job to be Kari's double. Soon, Alexia makes a startling discovery. Rallison’s superstar fans will experience the paparazzi on the red carpet, pose for pictures taken in front a backdrop of her new book, enter raffles to have your name immortalized in a future book, win a school visit, and more!

Janette Rallison

"Fame, Glory, and Other Things on My To Do List" IRA Young Adults' Choices List 2007
"It's a Mall World After All" IRA Young Adults' Choices List 2008
"How to Take the Ex out of Ex Boyfriend" IRA Young Adults' Choices List 2009
JanetteRallison.com
janette-rallison.blogspot.com

So dress on up and head over for what sounds like a really fun night!

Kudos

I've been trying to think of the best way to run this blog. Since I'm into writing right now I definitely want to share what I learn as I go, but I also realized that I have a extensive knowledge in child development in regards to writing. It would be a good thing to share that information as well. So here's what I'm going to do. Both. It should make for a good time.

Tonight though I want to send kudos out to a few people. I had a concert with a small group I perform with and it went well despite some of the set backs that happened before we walked on stage. A couple of players weren't there. I don't know all the circumstances for those players but as a performers it's frustrating when you work so hard only to not have all the elements needed. The show must go on though and for those players who's section were short players they really stepped up to the plate and pulled it off. Kudos for picking up the slack at the last minutes.

One must recognize the right decision even though it may not be easy though. A player that wasn't there when we walked on stage joined us late. It couldn't have been easy to walk on late and kudos goes out to making the right decision even though it may be the hardest. :)