Butterfly

A couple of people in the other singles ward have started teaching Free Friday Dance Lessons. I have been going with my roommate the last few times. This week, we learned the waltz and danced all around the room in a circle. I loved it! I decided that I want to put dancing in a ball room dance competition on my bucket list. Dancing is especially great with men that know how to lead. My sons will definitely learn how to dance.
This weekend was a regional conference: AWE (All Winter Extravaganza). Friday night, after the ballroom class, I went for game night and played a little Rock Band and a little volleyball. Saturday, we first heard from Sister Jane Clayson Johnson. I love hearing her talk about the different experiences she had in her career. One thing she said that I liked was that the gospel of Jesus Christ is not insurance against pain. It is our resource in the midst of pain. We also went to several different workshops that morning. A few nuggets I gleaned... Put yourself in places to feel the Spirit. Pain is inevitable, misery is optional. If I obey the commandments and work hard, sooner or later, everything will work out. Constantly access the atonement, ask myself, "in what way am I different today than yesterday?" The conference ended with a dance that night. Yep, more dancing... lots of fun.
Sunday, Katie and I made a red velvet birthday cake with cream cheese frosting for our friend Cassie. She is going to make a good cook out of me yet. We accidentally forgot the candles, so we used some of Kristie's crazy straws. It was really cute.
Monday, after work I went to FHE. Joseph gave a great lesson about how we should evaluate and ask ourselves if we are rationalizing certain behaviors. It inspired me to try harder to avoid things that are not uplifting. We played a game called Smurfing, where one person leaves the room, then tries to guess what an action is... referred to as Smurfing until they guess. Afterwards, our amazing, talented Julia (whom my dad taught math to in junior high) asked if she could practice her violin audition for us. Absolutely. I could listen to her play all day. It was interesting to hear her talk about the whole auditioning process. Once again, a packed, but really fun weekend.