Jamming with ABBA

I was very excited about a month ago to learn that the official ABBA cover band, called Arrival, was going to be playing a concert at the Sandy Amphitheater last week. I LOVE ABBA and really wanted to go. I called up one of my dear friends, and she and her little girl agreed to go with me. She was laughing about the whole thing and kept telling me her older sister and mother would be jealous, but I'm pretty sure she had a great time. And her little girl was so adorable, dancing to the music and making friends with the lady sitting next to us.

I was happy that entire evening and ran around with what I'm sure was the biggest, stupidest grin in my face. But who doesn't love ABBA? Their music is a classic. Did you know they were offered a billion dollars to do a worldwide reunion tour, and they turned it down?! That's crazy!

Of course the band played all the favorites from "Mama Mia" to "Knowing Me, Knowing You" to the great "Take a Chance on Me." I was overjoyed when they started singing "Fernando" which happens to be one of my favorites. I was slightly distressed when it looked like they were going to end without doing their most famous, "Dancing Queen," but it turned out to be their closing number. Wa-hoo! Here are a few pictures of the adventure.

Here's A jamming out to the music. She was so excited that her tongue got in on the action too. :)

The three of us

Here's the band jamming on stage in their 70s costumes and everything.

A and me being excited for the concert

Tender Mercies

This entry is probably going to be brief but it is rather late, and I took a little something to help me sleep tonight so I'm almost falling asleep as I type. However, I found out some neat things this week that have touched my heart so I wanted to share them.

I just want to tell you that I know our Father in Heaven watches out for us. He knows what we're going through and never gives us more than we can handle. He does give us things that test us to our very core, but he also opens a way for us to make it through whatever we are called to pass through.

My family has been a wonderful support to me through everything I've been through in the last six months. It's comforting to know that we are all dealing with the same trial even though we deal with it in different ways. But, my family can't be there for me every day, so I have a network of wonderful friends who have also reached out to me and offered support, even when I'm sure it's difficult.

I'm not going to give specifics, but I found out this week that two of my dear friends have been blessed with experiences that helped them gain an appreciation for what I'm going through and helped them know I am being taken care of. It was funny to me that I heard about them within only a couple days of each other, but it has helped me know for sure that I'm not alone. I already knew this of course, but this confirmed it. I also recognized it for what is is: a tender mercy from the Lord. He knew this latest trial was going to be one of the most difficult for me to date, but He is also providing me the support I need to make it through this, including a high level of understanding and assurance from friends helping me through it.

I know this entry is cheesy, but bear with me and just know that it comes from the heart. I don't think I'm doing a good enough job of conveying what I want to say, but just know that my heart has been touched once again.

God bless us every one!

Tonight Smirk, Betty, another friend and I had the lovely experience of going to see "A Christmas Carol" at Hale Center Theatre. Smirk's and my work was offering discount tickets for this week's shows, and we decided to take them up on the offer. What a great idea it was!

Hale Center Theatre did a fabulous job, and I loved every minute of the production. From the period costumes and hairstyles, to the perfect portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge, to the great set design, the production was nothing less than picture perfect. And, just as it always does, it delivered a special message of sharing Christmas spirit and cheer with those around us.

I wish I had a picture I could post here, but of course photography isn't allowed during the show. That's all right. I guess that means you can use your imagination to picture how it might have been.

The most important thing about the production is not only that I was able to enjoy it with close friends, but it also helped increase my own Christmas spirit and reminded me of the importance of thinking about other people especially during this season. I hope that I don't ever get to the point that I need three Christmas spirits to remind me of this. :)

But knowing myself as I do, I'm pretty sure I will be just fine.

Merry Christmas everyone! Enjoy the spirit of the season!

The Sisterhood Expands--Again

Once upon a time when I was just about to graduate from college, I had four best friends. We connected because we all worked for the student-run newspaper on campus. (Well, that's how our connections started but it continued because we understood each other and all shared a great love of books.) At the conclusion of the semester, all four of us would be going separate directions: I was heading to Salt Lake City for an internship, the Bibliophile was going to Washington, D.C. for an internship, another friend was heading home to South Dakota to prepare for a mission and the fourth friend was staying in Rexburg for the summer. It seemed our friendship would soon be at an end. But such was not the case.

That semester the three of them had all taken a Young Adult lit class together and had read "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" for it. I had finished my semester a week early because the building where four of my classes were held was going to be renovated, so we had to be done a week early. Yes, I know I'm so spoiled to be done a whole week early my last semester, but it also stressful at the same time. During the week between when I finished most of my classes and graduation, I also read the first Sisterhood book.

For anyone unfamiliar with the book, it's about a set of four girls who have been best friends for their entire lives. They are about to spend their first summer apart and right before they part ways, they find a pair of jeans in a thrift shop that magically fits all four of them, even though they are very different sizes. It's a way of keeping them together even when they're apart.

The night before we were to make our parting, I decided to make a special gift to commemorate our friendship. I purchased a notebook and a pair of Barbie pants to put in it and we formed our own Sisterhood. (If you'd like to hear about the ritual where we inaugurated our Notebook, I'd be happy to tell you sometime. It's a good story, but this entry is long enough.) The Notebook is supposed to be passed between all four of us equally, but, unfortunately, it tends to get stuck with some members of the Sisterhood longer than others. Oh well! We have maintained our friendship and that's what's important anyway.

This weekend the Bibliophile and I had the opportunity to return to our alma mater to see the second member of our Sisterhood get married. (One of our members got married that first summer after we graduated and now has two adorable children.) This is the first time in four years that all four of us have been together, and it was a special experience. Here are a few pictures.

This is the four of us.

The four of us with the new addition. He looked slightly taken aback when the Bibliophile welcomed him to the Sisterhood. She just smiled and told him she was sure he'd probably never thought he would hear such words. I think he's okay with it thought because he's just a little bit attached to his wife. :)

What a lovely surprise

I meant to write this entry on Friday, but it's been a pretty busy weekend so I haven't gotten around to it until now. In fact, after this I'm going to write a Happy Birthday post, which will be exciting. However, I had to share the experience I had when I walked into work on Friday. This is the site that greeted me:

Can I just tell you how delighted and surprised I was?! I was not expecting anything like this, which only made it all the better! My dear friend from work snuck in and decorated my cube on Friday morning (with a little help from some other "work elves" as she referred to them), as you can see from the pictures.

Here's me sitting in my decorated cube. Yes, I look happy, but wouldn't you if your ordinarly bland cube was decorated pink? In fact, there was even a pink glow on the ceiling from the balloons and streamers, which made me happy. This also gave me the idea for a future blog post: Pink is a state of mind not just a color. Stay tuned for my exciting views on that subject. . .

Here's me with the culprit herself. I hope she doesn't mind that I'm posting this, but it's such a cute picture that I felt like I really should. Just as an FYI, the fact that my ensemble matches my cube is purely coincidental.

Let's hear it for great friends! And for cute decorated cubes!