President's Day Weekend

We had originally planned on being in NYC for the entire weekend, but a few weeks before, I was reminded that I was supposed to sing in Relief Society for the musical moment. I was going to reschedule this, but then was asked to speak in Sacrament meeting that same day. I decided that for some reason I was supposed to be in church that day, so I should probably make it back... even though we were all really tired from coming home at 2 a.m.

My friend Christina and I sang "Ya Znayu Zhiv Iskupityel Moi" ("I Know That My Redeemer Lives" in Russian). Christina served in the cold, cold Russian mission, while I got the warm one. :) It is one of my favorite hymns, and really fun to sing the slightly different Russian translation. The last verse is such a strong testimony to go and tell everyone that you know He lives.

My talk went well, with just one little embarassing moment. I was wearing my grey birthday dress that has a few buttons down the front. Somehow when I was turning the pages in my talk, I brushed my arm too close and one of the buttons popped open! While continuing to talk, I had a quick debate in my head... should I leave it alone and hope that no one notices? But if I button it, will it just draw more attention to it? I decided to button it, thinking that my chest gaping open was probably a worse option. While continuing to talk, I deliberately leaned right, putting my right hand out in front of the podium, as if to emphasize my point, and buttoned the button with my left hand. Phew! Luckily, only one of the people I asked said that they even noticed anything. I am sly.

On Monday, it was very nice to have a day off to get all caught up with life. I met some friends for lunch in the North End, where all the Italian restaurants are. It was some yummy food and good to get to know some new people.

Afterwards, we enjoyed cannoli from Modern Pastry. Katie and I then decided to wander over to see the seals at the aquarium. We stumbled upon an ice sculpture contest called Chisels & Chainsaws. I thought this was cute... they let kids make little paper boats to sail in the water. This one was clever... if you can't tell, it is a person asleep on the bench. We considered shopping a little at Quincy Market, but the cold, bitter winds changed our minds. We had worn light jackets because it was so warm when we left. Instead, we went home and watched the movie, Amazing Grace. If anyone hasn't seen it, I highly recommend it. It is about the slave emancipation in England. The story was very inspiring to me.