The Twilight Years

Twilight Years from Tom on Vimeo.

For all you Twi-hard YSA's that are reaching that "cut off point" soon...or who have been that age for a while. 18 and 33...can their worlds collide?

"You don't have roommates. You propose impossibly fast. You got your mission call from Howard W. Hunter. I know what you are."

"Say it. Out loud. Say it."

"You're in the family ward. How old are you?"

"Eighteen"

"How long have you been eighteen?"

"Fifteen years. Are you afraid?"

"No."

"My friends and I, we're not like your kind. I moved out of the singles' ward years ago."

"I'd rather die than not be with you in your ward. I want to be with you forever."

"You don't know how long I've waited for you. I've loved you ever since you left the Laurels."

CTR 6 Class...take 3!

About a month ago, I was called to teach the CTR-6 class in our new ward. I laughed pretty hard...I taught the CTR-6's in the La Verne 2nd and Balmoral Wards...and those callings were the ones I left the wards with. I was getting the RS teacher vibe...so I was surprised to get called to this one again. My callings seem to come three times, activities committee chair x 3, nursery leader x 3, and CTR-6 x 3. I've only taught gospel doctrine once, so will I have that calling two more times?

I decided to go all out for my new kids...spiffy name tags, lots of visual aids, and my favorite thing from my primary years....salt dough! Sharing time hour went well...the six 5-6 year old kids were about as squirmy as you'd expect. They sang the songs and peeked over at me to see if I was singing too. But during the classtime hour, they were so wound up to have a new teacher that I could barely control them. I told them about me, asked questions to get-to-know them, and made up the nametags. The lesson was "Jesus Christ was one a little child," and they loved the game I started out the lesson with. But as I went along the lesson manual...they were getting more an more anxious to know what the squishy lump in the Tupperware was.

The kids voices and squeals crescendoed over the next 15 minutes, till I finally dropped the lesson and went into my "Let's make clay pots like Jesus used" activity. I had Taylor make the dough from the recipe in the primary manual. Unfortunately, it was overly sticky and messier than normal. The kids were slathering it up their arms, poking each other's faces with goo, and were the total opposite of "reverent." I let them play until about 5 minutes till the block was over, and we shipped off to the restroom to get cleaned up. The little girls squeals were so amplified by the restroom acoustics that the primary president ran into the restroom to scold me within about 30 seconds. What a way to make an impression for my first week teaching!

Needless to say, beware the salt dough recipe....

Farewell to my stylin' Friend

Yesterday, the beauty item of my affection passed away on my bathroom counter. This flat iron is the most wonderful one I've ever owned, the Ping Magic Ionic Digital Iron. I bought it from Ulta last year for an amazing price...normally $180, on clearance for $35!!! Add in the 20% off coupon I brought with me, and it was only $28. I've been amazed with how beautiful my hair has become as a result of Ping...it's like my Johnny Lingo for my Mahanna hair. A little TLC has tamed the wild, coarse and curly soul out of my long, brunette locks, and made it so beautiful that everyone on the island (i.e. America) comments on it. It makes me feel like a Ten-cow wife.

I've emailed the company to see if I can do a free exchange for a replacement iron. The cheapest I've found it was $80 on eBay, and the retail for it elsewhere online has been $120 pretty consistently. So as I make my funeral arrangements for Ping, does anyone have any suggestions for stellar flat irons less than $80? I've toyed with the idea of a Chi, Coriolis, Wigo, and one of those really great ones that they sell at county fairs and mall kiosks. It must meet this criteria:

- Must have a width of less than 1.25 inches
- Must be a shape that allows straightening, flipping, and curling
- Must heat to at least 300 degrees
- Preferably full ceramic with tourmaline
- Preferably sold in a store that I can use a coupon