Jessica Simpson and Mom Jeans

by Rebecca Talley

Have you seen all the criticism of Jessica Simpson since she's gained some weight? It's ridiculous. Our society is so obsessed with weight and physical looks. Jessica Simpson is a beautiful woman, yet all the media can do is focus on her weight gain. It's especially ridiculous because even with her weight gain, she's still thinner than the majority of women in the US. What message does that send? Are those of us who wear more than a size 6 not worthy to live in our society?

Where's the emphasis on healthy eating or a healthy lifestyle? Why does thin equal healthy? The message the media sends to our teenage girls is that if they aren't skinny they're basically worthless (yes, I have teenage daughters and this does affect them even though I try really hard to counteract it). That couldn't be further from the truth.

All of us have gifts and talents to share no matter what size we are. We are all children of Heavenly Father and he loves each of us. Why can't we focus on what's inside of us instead of what's outside? Let's concentrate on developing compassion, unconditional love, faith, obedience, and those things that will lead us back to Heavenly Father. I really don't think he'll pull out a scale and ask us to stand on it on judgment day.

Yes, it's important to exercise and eat healthy just like we've been counseled. It's important to maintain a healthy weight--not an unrealistic weight--and to take care of our bodies. But, it's something completely different when we're consumed with our weight and/or physical appearance. We should do our best to get and stay in shape and eat good foods, but then we need to find joy in who we are and love ourselves no matter what the scale says.

And the mom jeans? Yep, I wear mom jeans and proud of it. Here's a little heads up on the whole mom jeans vs. hip huggers. Hip huggers don't look good on women and, in fact, look good on very few girls. Hip huggers create love handles and encourage belly fat to hang over the top of the pants. Not very attractive in my opinion. Give me mom jeans any day and let me keep my extra flesh inside my jeans instead of rolling over the top of them. I am more than my weight and more than my mom jeans. I am a daughter of God.

Jessica Simpson--you go, girl. You sing and perform and find joy in who you are. You look great. Don't let the media tell you any different.

Kid + Marker = Mess

by Rebecca Talley





At least he found my missing markers for me!

My Current Work-in-Progress

by Rebecca Talley

I'm working on my next novel--I do realize the characters are not real people and do not age :).

I've decided to try a new method for organizing what I want to include in the novel. A friend of mine suggested using a long strip of craft paper and laying out all the details on that paper. I took my butcher paper, cut off a long piece, and started placing post-it notes all over the paper in a somewhat linear fashion. I've already replaced several post-it notes and changed them around, which is what's so nice about this method. I need to see the whole story from beginning to end.

I know the ending and I know what I want to happen within the story. But, I haven't been sure how to begin it or how to move from one event to another. The story in my head is beautiful. It's emotionally moving and has such an important overall theme. Yet, I'm not sure I can translate the beauty of the story to the page. This particular story is very close to my heart and very important to me and I want to write it in such a way that it touches people.

I'm hoping that this new method will allow me to see the story in a different way and know how to get from point A to point B. Once I start writing it, I want to write the first draft all the way through without a long pause to figure things out.

My first book was a work-in-progress for years. My second book, due out later this year, is a fun, and hopefully funny, romance and I knew the story in my head so well it was easy to write. I thought I'd try this new method to see how it works for my current WIP and see if once I know the linear events, my mind will feel free enough to truly tell this story in the best way that I know how.

The Power of Hope

By Sidne O'Reilly

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

It has been a long time since I have put fingers to keyboard. Forgive my long absence. My book was published a year and a month ago. It seems like a lifetime ago now. So much can happen in one year. So many blessings and with them some challenges. It is almost as if the world has shifted in that year, and not just for me.

How grateful I am that we have prophets to lead us and bless our lives with hope, direction and encouragement. President Uchtdorf’s talk on “The Infinite Power of Hope” in the last conference is lifeline. He instructs us on how to engender hope by reading the scriptures and praying daily. He also talks about keeping the Word of Wisdom, paying a full tithe and obeying the commandments. I have a personal testimony of the importance of daily scripture study and prayer. How we need this anchor in our lives to keep us afloat, particularly in these uncertain times.

Let’s make a promise to ourselves and keep it. Let's challenge each other to pray and read the scriptures daily.

Know that I am cheering for you!

Sidne

Am I Nuts?

I'm working on my new LDS novel. I outlined it some time ago and recently went back to reread my notes. I'd listed the ages of all the characters and as I looked at their ages I thought, "Oh, but they're older now." I then tried to figure out how old they are now that some time has passed. I had to stop and remind myself that characters don't age like real people do because they aren't actually real people. For a moment, I forgot they weren't real and thought they'd aged just like I have. Either I'm a writer, or I'm nuts. Hopefully, it's the former and not the latter.

I love the process of writing and delving into the minds and hearts of my characters. I love seeing the story take shape, even if it veers away from my outline. It's exciting to write a story and get to know my characters so well. I guess now I just have to keep reminding myself that they are characters, not real people (at least not to anyone else but me).

LDStorymakers Writers Conference Announced

LDStorymakers Writers Conference
http://www.ldstorymakers.com/conference.html

April 24-25, 2009
Provo Marriott, Provo, Utah
One day registration: $75
Two day registration: $150

Keynote speaker: Dean Lorey
National agent: Amy Jameson of A+B Literary
National Editor: Stacy Whitman (Tor)

Editors from publishers: Deseret Book, Covenant, CFI, etc.

Add-ons:
Schedule your one-on-one appointment with agent or editor
Enter the writing conference
Sign up for writers boot camp

Early bird discount available through Jan. 31

Up close and personal with my reconstructed foot . . .

And now I start physical therapy. I'll get a lot of reading done there - - and when the assistants come in to set the machines, etc. they always ask me what I do, and I tell them about my book and give them a business card. Many say, "oh, that sounds like a book my mother would like to read." Whatever!

So.........here's to making the newly remodeled foot functional!

Janet

Advertising opportunity!

By Brittany MangusFrom February 1-14th I will be doing a Valentine's Day giveaway on my blog and am looking for interested participants. I would like to give away signed copies of LDS books that contain a love story, however other books will do.

On Feb. 1st I will run a blog entry announcing the giveaway. It will have a jpg of your book, a link to your blog (or to your book's Amazon or Deseret Book page) and if there is room, a short summary.

After the drawing, I will email you the winner's address and you would then mail them an autographed copy of your book.

If you are interested in donating a book, please email me at mrsmangus@yahoo.com.

The Curse of Having Older Sisters

by Rebecca Talley

This is what happens when your older sisters get a comb and have too much time on their hands.

It's about Love

By Brittany Mangus

My husband and I were recently approved to be an adoptive couple through LDS Family Services! LDSFS is currently getting ready to bring up a new (and improved!) website which will have our profile on it. That will come up in a few weeks.


Currently the average waiting time for adoptive couples is almost 4 years (if we are chosen by a birth mother at all). If you would like to help us get the word out, please add this button to your blog and link it to our adoption blog. Here is how:

1. Right click the above button and choose "Save Image As" and save it to your computer.
2. In Blogger, choose "add a gadget" and then "picture".
3. Download the button, click "shrink to fit".
4. In the link box, put "http://queandbrittanysblog.blogspot.com/"

Thank you for your support!

Listed in Carolyn's Top Ten

Carolyn Howard Johnson has listed Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys as one of her Top Ten Reads at MyShelf. Read about it here:

http://janetkayjensen2.blogspot.com/2009/01/mormon-boys-listed-in-carolyns-top-ten.html

I heartily recommend any of Carolyn's books. She is an editor/promotor/writer extraordinaire, and a very classy lady.

Janet J

Whitney Award Nominations

by Rebecca Talley

Don't forget to nominate your favorite books by LDS authors for Whitney Awards. Nominations will end at midnight December 31, 2008.

If you've read a great work of fiction by an LDS author, please nominate it for a Whitney Award.

The Whitney Awards were first instituted for books published in 2007 in an effort to recognize excellence by LDS authors. Finalists will be announced in mid-January and winners will be announced at the Whitney Awards Gala following the LDStorymaker Conference April 24-25, 2009.

You can view the list of books eligible for a Whitney Award at LDSPublisher or at Write Bravely. You can also view eligible books by members of LDStorymakers here.

So, go now, and nominate a book or two!

Wa-Hoo! I'm Finished- Sort of

By Christine Thackeray

The writing process is an interesting one. It begins with an idea. Sometimes it's an experience from my childhood or a great piece of gossip. Sometimes it's a strange character that makes me laugh or something I've read the I don't agree with and want to change. With any luck that idea then expands into a story arc.

Once the concept of the story is solidified, I begin writing. The dishes pile up, the laundry barely gets done and I write. Necessities are still taken care of, children are hugged and fed but everything else must wait while the story emerges.

When the last word is written, there is a huge feeling of success. That happened this morning for me. I finished my manuscript "An Angel In the Family." I did my happy dance and emailed out the draft to six of my closest friends and now, I've just begun.

The truth is, I have finished very little. I've only begun the editting process. Then I have to try to sell it to a publisher, and it goes through another edit, and then I try to breath life into the market by begging for reviews, blogging about it and telling everyone that will listen what a great book it is.

But for today, I will pretend I've actually finished something. After all I wrote the words "The End"- Wa-Hoo!

What the Savior's Birth Means to Me

by Rebecca Talley

On December 19, 1968 I awoke early and told my father goodbye as he left for work. I even rushed to my bedroom window to watch his car leave our cul-de-sac and drive along the road out of our subdivision. I didn't usually wake up early to see my father off, but I did that day.

My mother took my baby sister and me Christmas shopping. We ended up at my grandmother's house later that day to spend the night. Long after we'd gone to bed, I was awakened by the ringing of the telephone. Though I was quite young, I realized that the late-night phone call meant my life would never be the same. My father's mortal existence had ended in a mangled heap of a car on a dark, unlit road. He was such a young man filled with so much life and vitality. He'd hardly had a chance to live. He had a promising career, a beautiful wife, and two young daughters. His funeral was on Christmas Eve.

Every year I think about my father and his short life. I think of what could have been and, of course, I wish this story had a different ending. But, I also find great hope and comfort as I celebrate the birth of the Savior. Because Jesus was born into mortality, willingly chose to lay down his life, and was then resurrected, so too will my father (and my mother, my grandparents, my father-in-law, other family members, and my friends) be resurrected. The birth and life of the Savior means that I will someday be reunited with my father and all of those I've loved and lost.

The Savior's birth makes it possible for me to someday have the family I didn't have in mortality. Yes, it's been hard not having my parents. Yes, it makes me sad that they both died before they could see and know my children in mortality. Yes, I've often wished to build a time machine to go back and know my parents. But, in the eternal scheme of things, time is only relative. The significance of the birth of Jesus transcends time and heals the aching heart.

His birth means that I can have an eternal family and that brings me incredible peace and joy.

A Christmas Story

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I just wanted to share the story I wrote for a Christmas Story Contest on LDS Publisher. Merry Christmas!!!
A Real Baby in the Manger
By Christine Thackeray

“They’re at it again.” Brother Fortner adjusted his royal robes and rolled his eyes.

I huffed, putting down my clipboard. “Those darn shepherds, what is it this time?”

The entire cast of almost one hundred people was shivering under their sewn up sheets at the dress rehearsal of our live nativity. This event had become a wonderful tradition for over twenty years running, and the entire town looked forward to coming on the Saturday before Christmas to watch the Mormon pageant. It was a great missionary tool, using the talents and resources from all three wards in our building. The angels sang in perfect harmony and the three kings wore lavish costumes with gifts of real myrrh and frankincense. We even had a real donkey that behaved beautifully-- if only I could say the same thing about the shepherds.

In the past it had always been an ‘adults only’ experience, but for some reason this year the Bishop had gotten the idea to use the sixteen-year-old priests as shepherds. It was a huge mistake. Everyone else took their parts seriously, but the shepherds had spent most of their time joking around or pulling pranks. They had sort of devolved into their own shepherd gang with my son as the ringleader.

As I quickly rounded the corner where the boys were supposed to be waiting for their cue, I nearly fell on my face. Josh had been holding his crook out to intentionally trip me. I barely caught myself and turned to face him, “What are you thinking? This isn’t funny.”

The three other boys held in their snickers while Josh shook his head, “It wasn’t supposed to be for you. Ty had asked Bro. Fortner to come over…”

“Listen, you guys, I am serious. This play is important and I want to see you change your attitudes.”

“Mom, we don’t even want to be here. You can fire us and we won’t mind.” The other boys nodded their heads in agreement.

I looked at them and took a deep breath. “The pageant is tomorrow. Please, I beg of you, just behave for one more day.”

Ty shook his head, “This is stupid.”

“It is so sad you can’t see what we are doing here.” I said to him and then turned to all the boys. “If you try to feel the spirit of this event and remember what we are celebrating, you might get something out of this.”

I walked away feeling hopeless. When the shepherds started poking the ugly doll in the manger, I let them go home early and we finished the dress rehearsal without them.

The next day the weather was not cooperating. It rained all day. The cold gray added to the dread that filled my heart every time I thought about the manger scene and those darn shepherds. As we started loading everyone in the car to head over for the performance, I cornered Josh in the garage.

“Honey, please, can you…”

“Mom, stop,” Josh shook his head. “I’m going to this stupid thing for you but the truth is I don’t even want to be part of it. All the guys feel that way.”

“But, Josh, we are celebrating Christ’s birth. This is important.”

“Is it?” My son clamped his mouth shut.

I looked at him seriously. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Josh ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just not feeling it this year. Don’t you ever wonder if all this crap really happened or if it ‘s like some myth.”

“What are you saying?”

He shook his head, “Oh forget it. I’m doing it, aren’t I?”

My son’s words struck me with fear. He always attended church and seminary and had never mentioned doubting before. I looked at my watch and was already later than I should have been. I would have to deal with this later. Maybe this was the reason the Bishop had felt so impressed to include the boys, so I could face my son’s feelings. As I drove I said a silent prayer that somehow I could help to touch my son’s heart.

We pulled into the church parking lot as the sun was going down. With many willing hands, the costumes and makeup were complete and everyone was in place at the right time. My stomach was doing flip-flops and I wasn’t sure if it was more from the anticipation of the pageant or from my son’s words. I could see him laughing with his friends in the dim light and didn’t know what to do or say to him.

At that moment a young mother walked up to me. She held her infant in her arms. “Sister Adams? I don’t know why, but I want to ask if you would like to use my baby for the baby Jesus.”

“Usually we don’t use a real baby because of the cold and fear that they might cry.”

“I know.” The young mother bowed her head. “But are you sure? Sammy is a good baby and the night is so warm.”

She was right. I hadn’t noticed that the weather had turned. The sky was clear and I guessed it was probably almost sixty degrees, warmer than it had been all day. Suddenly I doubted my original reaction and took the small bundle. “Thank you.”

I gave the baby to the sister portraying Mary just moments before the performance began and stood on the sidelines watching the story unfold, while the shepherds seemed oblivious to what was happening under the floodlights on the lawn before hundreds of people watching on blankets and lawn chairs.
Mary rode on the donkey with a caring Joseph. The couple were turned away over and over again until one kind innkeeper led them to the stable. There amid the animals, Mary held her new baby and laid him in a manger.

The lights cut out and suddenly a spotlight danced across the shepherds who were swaggering around at the back of the lawn. When the light shone on the angel, they pantomimed extreme shock with a comical attitude that brought chuckles from the audience. Once the full choir appeared, they stole the show by one of them full out fainting. I shook my head in frustration.

The angels finished their musical number which was beautiful and Josh stood and said, “Let us go and see where the child lay.” He said it with a flat meaningless tone that made me cringe. The boys walked in unison across the lawn as though they were in a music video, moving their shoulders and hips from side to side. I covered my face and didn’t want to look but peeked through two of my fingers.

As they came to the stable, they each looked and then did a double take. Josh fell to his knees, followed by his friends. They bowed their heads in rapt silence and the angels began to sing. I lowered my hands and felt the Spirit fill my heart. The sudden change seemed to affect the entire audience and the power of that scene made the reality of Christ’s birth and life once again shine in my heart.

The pageant ended and people flocked forward to congratulate everyone in the cast. Many said it was the best one we had done and more than one person mentioned the shepherds and how they had been so touched by their performance.

Late that night I finally got in the car where Josh was waiting for me. Before I turned the key in the ignition, he reached out and touched my arm. “Mom?”

“Yes.” I turned to him and couldn’t read the look on his face.

“That was awesome.”

“You did an incredible job, by the way. When you knelt before the manger, people said they felt like they were there. I never knew what an incredible actor you were.”

“I wasn’t acting.” Josh swallowed. “No one told me it was a real baby. I was expecting that dumb doll. When I walked up and saw the real baby- it totally caught me off guard and I fell to the ground. I realized that was how I was looking at the church. I was thinking it was something plastic and fake, not real. As I looked at the baby, I knew there was a real baby in Bethlehem all those years ago. There was a real Christ who died for me. It is real, you know?”

I looked at my teenage son with the light of conviction shining in his eyes. The sight of him doubting in the garage flickered in my mind and the difference was nothing short of a miracle. It hit me that this miracle happened because a living Christ reached out through an inspired bishop, a sensitive young mother and a simple manger bed to touch my son’s heart and change his life forever. I closed my eyes so grateful that Christ lives and loves us even now. Patting my son’s arm I blinked back the tears of joy from the corners of my eyes.

“I know, Josh. I know.”

An Early Christmas Treat and C. S. Lewis: Latter-Day Truths in Narnia

By Christine Thackeray

This spring my sister and I worked feverishly together getting out our non-fiction book about C.S. Lewis before she left to go on her mission with her husband and children in Brazil. We had some nice reviews when it first hit the stores but just this week I got an early Christmas treat. T. Lynn Adams reviewed it on Bella Online and I wanted to share what she had to say.

Review of C.S. Lewis, Latter-day Truths in Narnia

I read the Chronicles of Narnia as a child and still recall wondering as a child what it must feel like to ride a flying lion. Later, during various conference talks, I fell in love with the quotes of a wonderful thinker named C.S. Lewis. How excited I was to learn that the man who wrote fantasy for children also penned philosophy. I remember wondering if he was LDS. Between flying lions and soaring thoughts, C.S. Lewis has held a special place in my literary world.

I’m not the only one who feels this way. At a recent Stake Conference I was listening to a speaker quote C.S. Lewis when I noticed a man toward the front nodding enthusiastically. Afterwards I approached the brother and said, “You’re a C.S. Lewis fan, aren’t you.” He was surprised by my observation. “How did you know?” he asked. I told him his enjoyment of the C.S. Lewis quotes, nodding in agreement as the speaker read them, gave him away.

It’s fun to find another true Lewis fan.

That is why I loved book C.S. Lewis: Latter-day Truths in Narnia, by Marianna Richardson and Christine Thackeray. This book compiles into one place so many things LDS readers have quietly nodded over in agreement.

The book, published by Cedar Fort, is divided into three sections and three appendices. The first section contains his life history, (no, he is not LDS) his conversion story (he was once an atheist), and a brief look at his entry into writing.

The section reviews some of his fictional writings, pointing out Latter-day truths and gospel principles woven into the stories.

The third section, my favorite, “examines some of the most notable references to C.S. Lewis by modern apostles and prophets.” Did you know that C.S. Lewis was quoted by Neal A. Maxwell in the very first issue of the New Era? Or that the Prophet Ezra Taft Benson quoted C.S. Lewis in his masterpiece address, Beware of Pride, “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. … It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.” (Mere Christianity, New York: Macmillan, 1952, pp. 109–10; quoted in Ensign, May, 1989)

The appendices show LDS references to some C.S. Lewis quotes organized by topic, by speaker and finally by lesson material.

From pride to the role of women and the importance of family through to the eternities, the authors of this book note that C.S. Lewis had a way to pen words that “are easy to understand, almost simplistic. Yet there is a deeper meaning that causes one to pause and think more profoundly.”

“His voice,” they write “has an ‘every man’ quality, as though he is struggling beside us, which enables people of all kinds to relate to his message. But along with his personal weaknesses and trials, C.S. Lewis openly witnesses time and again of his personal faith in Christ as both a partner in helping us overcome our challenges in this life and as our Savior in giving us the opportunity to share in His glory in the next. It is this powerful testimony of the Savior that rings true to members of the Church.”

Another reason I enjoyed the book was not just the collection of C.S. Lewis gems but they also incorporated comments by General Authorities. It's like a compilation of your favorite authors. Furthermore, Richardson and Thackeray, write powerfully as well and I found myself underlining just as many of their comments, words and impressions as the masters they were discussing. Hurray for them! My book is filled with personal markings, underlining, margin notes and even my own hand-written index in the front of the book to help me reference favorite quotes in the future.

This would be a great book to give to yourself or others. When you give it though, make sure you include a marking pen. I quarantee this book will be marked, underlined, written on and dog-earred by every avid C.S. Lewis fan who gets it.

If you want to have more fun with it, wrap it up with a copy of the Chronicles of Narnia, a copy of Mere Christianity or The Screwtape Letters, or even the new Prince Caspian DVD.

Just don’t forget that marking pen!

A Legend in My Own Time

by Shirley Bahlmann
I didn't know I was a legend until last Tuesday when I sat in front of Snow College Professor Bruce Peterson at my son's school Christmas program. Between songs, Peterson leaned forward and tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up from my book (which I read between songs) to see him smiling down at me. "Do you know what I remember about you?" he asked.
Now that was a loaded question if I ever heard one! So many possibilities ran through my brain that I was dizzy when I answered, "No. What?" I wondered if there were any other seats I could move to in the jam-packed gymnasium once he revealed some terrible deed of my past.
"You were reading a paperback book in a college class. When the teacher called on you to answer a question, you looked up, answered it, and went right back to reading."
"Oh," I said, not specifically remembering the incident.
"The teacher stood there with his mouth open," Peterson laughed. "I was amazed. The whole class was. I didn't even know the answer, and I'd been listening. So now, every year I tell my students about you, and say that they can do whatever they want as long as they're getting the information. If they can answer the questions, then they can read or draw or listen to music or whatever. But if they can't, then they have to do it my way."
"You tell all your classes about me?" I asked, my eyebrows disappearing into my hairline.
"Yeah. I just thought that was so great when you did that. You taught me that everyone learns differently."
"Cool," I said. "Thanks for telling me." Then I turned around, my eyes falling on the sweet adventure of the written word.
It's really kind of exciting that you never know when you'll do something that impacts someone else. I just happened to find out because I was just being my weird self, reading books in my spare time everywhere I go.
Sometimes I'll sing a bit of song in the grocery store. Sometimes I do high kicks when I'm walking down the street. I don't know why. But if you ever see an urban setting and people on the street break out into a series of random high kicks, then you'll know that Shirley has achieved legend status once again.

Jack Frost Snow Day

by Rebecca Talley

Yesterday we had a snow day because the storm dumped about 8 inches at our house and even more in town. Snow days are rare in our school district so we decided to make the most of the day off.

We bundled up, found our sleds, and went sledding on the hill behind our house. The kids all had a great time playing in the snow. My youngest didn't enjoy the snow so much but he endured it. My four-year-old grabbed a sled and went down the hill by herself. She screamed all the way down and laughed when she crashed into a pile of powder. We had snowball fights and chased each other in the snow.

When we were all plenty soggy we trudged into the house to warm up by the fire. I made chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate with whipped cream. We then watched Christmas movies for the rest of the day, including Jack Frost with Michael Keaton and Kelly Preston.

I love Jack Frost even though it makes me cry every single time I watch it. If you haven't seen it, you should. I love, love, love the ending. It was a perfect movie to end a perfect day.

I don't understand why my kids all moaned and groaned when they had to go to school today :).

Vote for your favorite Christmas story

by Lee Ann Setzer

Want some good Christmas writing and a chance to let your voice be heard? Hurry over to

ldspublisher.blogspot.com

to read—and vote on—Christmas stories by published and unpublished authors. Stories are posted anonymously, so you're voting strictly on quality, not on the author's popularity.

If you're not familiar with LDSP, she is an anonymous commentator on general and LDS-specific publishing, and well worth reading.

Contrary to what I said earlier...

Every now and then, eating your words just isn’t that painful.

I mock the weather often in hopes that it’ll prove me wrong and do something totally unexpected—like dump a whole 1/16 inch of snow on our lovely city of St. George. Yesterday it snowed here from 9 am to 8 pm. I hear that the surrounding communities—those at a slightly higher elevation, got inches of snow—even up to eighteen inches in Silver Reef. That should keep our one snow plow busy for a week!

All this brings back memories of my childhood here in southern Utah. Snow was rare, and when it did accumulate enough to cover the grass, that was really something special. As children, we had building snowmen down to a science. You had to have at least 1 inch of snow to build a small snowman, and at least 3 inches to build a big one. The most important rule was that you must never, ever mess up the snow in the front yard (any more than you had to, anyway). We’d only use snow from the back yard to build the snowman. First you’d scrape off the top layer of snow and set that aside. Then with the bottom layer, you’d build your snowman—which always ended up with dirt clods and dead leaves and grass stuck to him. You’d carefully roll the pieces around to the front yard, where you’d carry them to the middle of the lawn and place them one on top of the other to build the snowman. Then you’d get your clean snow (set aside earlier, remember?) and pat it over the dirty snow. Last of all, you’d make a flying leap from the snowman to the front porch to keep from stepping on any more snow.

Then the hard part would begin as you’d defend your yard from all the neighborhood kids who wanted to steal your snow to make snowmen of their own—but that’s another story.

(You think I’m exaggerating? I’m not.)

So even though I moved to sunny southern Utah to get out of the snow, I was excited to see it yesterday. For one thing, it’s still a novelty to me. And for another, I know that it won’t stick around long enough to create that slushy, brown, slippery mess that hangs around for months in colder parts of the country. So snow is good. :)