Looking both ways Part II: The pedestrian yields

Here’s another installment from Geo of On Bright Street. Thanks Geo!
Late one evening my husband and I went for a ramble downtown. At each corner light we waited for a signal to tell us to cross. To sync our steps, one or both of us frequently did silly double-quicks till our feet matched and our [...]

The Only One

My husband is an only child, the product of many years of fasting and praying, the child carried almost-full-term after several miscarriages. According to Neylan McBaine, in her Spring 2008 essay “Just Mom, Dad, and me,” there’s a lot to envy about the only-child lifestyle: besides material advantages, she always had the awareness that [...]

Creation and Compassion

President Uchtdorf just delivered my all-time favorite Relief Society General Meeting talk, ever. It spoke to me so directly; I cried through nearly the entire thing, and had to blow my nose loudly at the end (it was okay; I sat by my sister and she blew her nose loudly too, in solidarity). [...]

Tethered

I am tethered. Every day, 11:50 a.m. slices into my life. I keep time by hours before 11:50, and hours after. I calculate minutes, distances, items in my shopping cart, all by how likely it is I will make it to 11:50.

Prayers that work

When Margaret was just over two and Cole was still small enough to fit in the baby bjorn (which was a short period of time, since he was born 8 lbs. 10 oz. and got heavy fast) we went on a family outing to Marshall’s. I can’t remember exactly what we were looking for, but [...]

Shake my hand, thought you had a friend

I’ll be signing copies of The Mother in Me at Seagull Book tomorrow as part of their “Celebrating Sisterhood” event. Would love to meet you and give you big smooches!
Okay, maybe just a handshake.
Saturday, September 27
10:00-11:30
316 N Marketplace Dr, Centerville
12:30-2:00
1720 S Redwood Rd., SLC

Every Girl’s Crazy ‘Bout A Sharp-Dressed Man

Of all the churchy things I think about, the one that causes me the most head-scratching, the most furrowed brows is not polygamy, or mothers being told to stay home and raise their kids, it’s the white shirt. As in white shirt, tie and suit.
Not being a man, the white shirt thing has not always [...]

Ninja footwear

I bought my 6 year old some green sweats from Walmart–$5 bucks a pop. He tried them on, and said, “I’m a green ninja!” and ran outside to show off his ninja moves. (Have I mentioned how much I love 6 year olds? I mean, how much longer will a pair of sweats [...]

Take it Like a Lady

“Oh, it’s nothing, it took no time whatsoever,” you tell the Relief Society president, when really it took hours.
“No, I really hate the way it makes me look,” you said to your husband.
“Ugh, I need to get it cut, it’s so scraggly,” you griped to your friend when she said how cute your hair looks.

Ladies! [...]

Looking both ways Part I: Pedal pusher

Geo has spent more years in more schools than you have, but has yet to finish an actual degree. Her insightful husband is sure she has ADD, and she is sure she needs a key lime tart from Kneaders. A devoted lover of said adorable husband, public libraries, film, thrift shopping, walking, bike riding, photography, [...]

Let’s dish

Today’s two-part discussion for Ask Nine Women comes from another anonymous reader (or two). But it could have come from anyone. Isn’t that the beauty of it?
My mother would probably be horrified, but when I think back on the family dinners I knew as a child, I remember one pound of ground beef magnified to [...]

Information

I am a smarty-pants.
Self-proclaimed, anyway…
Oh, alright. I’m just a geeky sort of oddball.

Please Pray For . . .

The first month of my mission I taught only three discussions, tagged along in two different trios, and witnessed a scandal unfold among our missionaries. All that, combined with the sudden exposure to unfamiliar poverty, the strange food, and the Christmas season, made it the worst month of my entire life. Looking back [...]

Another One (Bites My Bust?)

My man and I are in the throes of deciding whether we should have another child. At three kids we’re hardly even considered a brood, but my husband is adamant that we’ve reached our emotional and physical capacity in the area of parenting.
And I’m just baby hungry.

On scriptures and prayer

Want to bring something to the table to discuss? Please suggest topics via e-mail to askninewomenATgmailDOTcom. Submissions are chosen at random. Today’s question comes from an anonymous reader who writes:
I’ve been married 15 years and throughout those years we’ve had family scripture reading and family prayer at dinner, attended church faithfully and served in demanding [...]

Mawage is what bwings us togevah, today

Christie loves to run, shop, take photos and write about her crazy kids and darling husband. She’s a movie buff extraordinaire but tries really hard not to bring up Braveheart references during Relief Society. She blogs at These are a Few of My Favorite Things. Welcome Christie!
I was reading one of my favorite blogs [...]

Book Review of ‘The Mother in Me’

This review comes from Michelle L., our newest blog staffer and Segullah Board member. Welcome Michelle!
A few years ago when I was in the throes of raising five little boys, a well-meaning neighbor dropped a book about depression and various medications in my mailbox.
I didn’t know what to think.
Was I exhausted? Yes.
Overwhelmed? Absolutely.
Depressed? Maybe. But [...]

Lunacy

I love being a mother.
I love playing tag in the back yard.
I love reading together in bed.
I love making cheerio necklaces.
I love hearing the kids roar into the house after school.
I love singing showtunes and dancing in the family room.
I love sitting on the bed having a ‘heart-to-heart’ with one of the kids.
I love [...]

Why I Don’t Like Ike

I live in Central Texas and in case you live under a rock and hadn’t heard, there’s a storm a-brewin’. Hurricane Ike isn’t expected to have a huge impact on this part of Texas since we’re a four hour drive from the coast. Mostly a bunch of wind and rain. Maybe a tornado. The hurricane [...]

A Lot of Questions This Fine Thursday Morn

Over lunch last week with some of my really smart friends, a question came up… Although I can’t quite articulate the question without a rapid-fire series of questions in these:

The Bishop or The Senator?

Last week the presidential campaign of McCain/Palin announced that they refused to grant interviews for Sarah Palin until she was treated with “deference.” This struck me as kind of amusing.

Have you born your testimony on YouTube yet?

Jane writes at What About Mom because three kids, one husband, and SAHM angst can drive you crazy faster than even Bill Murray.
A couple months ago, a friend and I realized that a blogger we’ve been admiring for months was cutting corners with some shady blogging practices. It’s hard to even describe blogging high [...]

Book Review of Eugene Woodbury’s ‘Angel Falling Softly’

Eugene Woodbury
Angel Falling Softly
Zarahemla Books, 2008
Softcover, 224 pages
ISBN:978-0-9787971-6-4
$15.95
It has vampires, love scenes, and is written by a Mormon author. But it’s definitely not part of the Twilight series. It is, however, a good read. I would even venture to say that it’s a great read.

I Hate Being Out of the Loop

Mom and 5 year old ~S at Costco…
Mom: “Alrighty, I think we’re about done here. Anything else you think we might need, kiddo?”
~S: “Well, just a map, I guess.”
Mom: “A map of what? Why do we need a map?”
~S: “Aren’t we leaving soon? Don’t we need a map?”
Mom: “Umm, where are we going?”
~S: “I thought [...]

Finding my inner backbone

In the house where I grew up, when Mom wasn’t happy, people knew about it. I’d shrink down in my chair when she’d tell restaurant servers that they were too slow. When we had problems at school, she always had our backs. I had a neighbor who lived across the street who got her jollies [...]

Obsession…I Mean, Intense Focus

Like millions of others around the globe, I was entranced with the Olympics this year. Each night, I sat down to several hours of TiVo’d events, marveling at the athletic spectacle. Almost as much as I enjoyed seeing athletes compete, I enjoyed watching the athletes themselves – their toned, muscular bodies competing at the [...]

Sarah Palin. Yeah, I’m going there.

Technically, this is supposed to be a post about Mormon Lit. I even had a post ready to go on whether or not writing can be taught. (Well, almost ready to go. And yes, writing can be taught. Kind of.) But over the last few days I’ve been thinking and thinking about Sarah Palin and [...]

Dear 14

Today’s guest post is brought to us by Jenny Eckton. Jenny is the mother of six children: five alive, and one in heaven. She grew up in New York but now calls Utah home. Her likes include laundry, going to dinner with friends, being organized, making her husband laugh, and the fact that her kids [...]

Can I Sit On Your Lap?

Yesterday was a crazy day. In fact, by the end of most days lately I feel frazzled and think, “Aaah, I had a crazy day.” My new baby is now almost seven months old, my three-year-old son keeps telling me he’s a big little kid, and tomorrow my oldest daughter starts kindergarten.