I Love to Read!

Ever since I learned how to read, I have loved to read! I'm sure my mom was a very big influence on me because she has always been a very avid reader. Even back in elementary school I remember reading a lot after school and on weekends. I absolutely loved summers because I could do a lot of wonderful reading then. I don't remember much about what I read back then other than the book Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. I don't know why I only remember that one, but I found a copy of it at Deseret Book in the discount section a couple of months ago and thought it would be fun to read again.

In Jr. High, my friend Susan and I read lots and lots of Nancy Drew mysteries and traded them back and forth. Since then I have read many mysteries and all kinds of books. I think I have read most of Agatha Christie's books. I have read many series such as The Work and the Glory, Prelude to Glory, Harry Potter, and Twilight. I have read many Church books, romance books, historical fiction, art books, and I love Dan Brown's books, including

The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons. He has a new one FINALLY coming out in September that I can't wait to read.

My motto has always been "So many books, so little time"!

One of my favorite books that I read last year was The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews. It is an excellent book that I would recommend to anyone. It is about a man who has everything go terribly wrong in his life and he thinks about ending it. He ends up in a car accident and when he wakes up he goes back in time and talks to many different famous people who give him great advice for his life. He talks to Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Columbus, Anne Frank, and a few others. It is great to "go back in time" with him as these famous people "come to life". The advice they give is wonderful for all of us whether we are struggling or not. Great book!

The Improvement Era

The other day I ran across an old Improvement Era magazine that my mom gave me many years ago. It is dated March 1955, which is my birth month. This is the magazine that the Church published before the current Ensign. It has been neat to read through it. There are articles by David O. McKay, Joseph Fielding Smith, and the incredible Hugh Nibley. There are Richard L. Evans' The Spoken Word messages from his weekly broadcasts with the Tabernacle Choir. This magazine has poems, recipes, and most incredibly- advertisements! Our current Church magazines have no advertisements at all. It is like a blast from the past to see these old ads!

Oh, Postum! How sad it is that they don't make it anymore! We drank this a lot when I was growing up and I still have been drinking it over the years. I have a little bit in the bottom of a jar which I have't wanted to use yet! Lucky Julie has a whole jar of it at her house! Apparently they still sell it in Canada, but I won't be going there any time soon!

Cars have come a long way since 1955!

Can't you just picture your mom wrapping your sandwich up in waxed paper? What would we do without good old ziplock sandwich bags these days?!

It's fun to look at the titles of those old TV shows.

I Fly Video

Thanks to Julie's expertise, here's part of the video when we went to the I Fly wind tunnel. You get two 1-minute sessions with the instructor. This video is my second time where he takes us up high flying around. The first minute is just learning how to position yourself to fly.

You can read more about this down on my February 12 blog post. This was really fun!

Blue Hawaii

Speaking of Hawaii... one of my very favorite movies is Blue Hawaii starring Elvis Presley. The scenery in the movie is absolutely beautiful, it has a great story, the music is wonderful, and Elvis is... well, what can I say- I am a HUGE Elvis fan and he is great in this. The wedding scene at the very end of the movie when they are floating on a raft down the canal behind the Coco Palms Hotel is SO romantic and beautiful.

Well, one of the biggest thrills for me when we were in Hawaii in December 2007 was taking a Hollywood in Hawaii tour on the island of Kauai. We got to see many places where they filmed movies and TV shows like Gilligan's Island, South Pacific, Fantasy Island, Jurassic Park, as well as many others. But what I loved the very most was going to the old Coco Palms Hotel where they filmed Blue Hawaii. The hotel is now closed down and abandoned, but the lobby is still wide open- there are no doors at the entrance. And behind the hotel, the canal and guest cottages are still there. It is still lush and green and beautiful. The tour guide pointed out the cottage that Elvis loved to stay in when he visited quite often. It was so neat to be there- I didn't want to leave. I'll never forget that experience! Are there any other Blue Hawaii fans out there?

This is Elvis in front of the Coco Palms Hotel. No, I didn't take the picture- I wish!

The King's Singers

Last night Robert and I went to see the King's Singers with the Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall. I have been a big fan of theirs for many years. I love their great harmony and the variety of songs that they sing. It was a very fun night.

This whole week has been very busy and fun with something going on every night! Monday night we went to Highland to see my niece Macy star in her high school play The Curious Savage. The play was great and she was really great! Tuesday night I went to a Grocery Smart party at my daughter Amy's house. Wow, did I learn a lot- it's a great program to save lots of money. Wednesday night we went flying in the I Fly wind tunnel in Ogden which was really really fun! Thursday night we went to my sister-in-law Pat's house to set up her computer that Danny was able to fix for her and save all her photos and family history. Then last night we went to the King's Singer concert which was terrific!

What an eventful week full of exciting happenings!

I Believe I Can Fly!

Last night I went flying! No, not in my dreams, which I have done many times. But I went flying at the I Fly wind tunnel in Ogden. My son Jacob and his wife Mary took Robert and me- it was their Christmas gift to us along with dinner before. At first, just the thought of doing it was very scary! But I saw the video from when they went before, saw the video and read about it on the I Fly website, and then it didn't seem TOO scary anymore- it actually looked like fun. So we went with them last night and it was REALLY fun! All night I had the song in my head:

"I believe I can fly,

I believe I can touch the sky.

I think about it every night and day,

Spread my wings and fly away..."

What a fun experience. I think that's about the bravest physical thing I have ever done- I'm not much of a daredevil to say the least. I think I would actually go again sometime!