Snow! And California.

It snowed for about 15 minutes this morning.

Ironically, they happened to be the very 15 minutes we spent outside a Sinclair gas station waiting in line for free blue-dyed pancakes at BYU's Homecoming Parade Breakfast.

On any other Saturday, we would have slept right through it- the flurries were gone and the sun was shining by 8:45. But because we were lucky enough (or crazy enough- college kids will do anything for free food!) to experience the first snow of the season, I figured I better post some pictures of our summer in beautiful, sunny California. Before it gets too cold to look at them without feeling sad. :)

Museum of Art- Downtown San Jose

Winchester Mystery House- Downtown San Jose

Pier 39- San Francisco

AT&T Park (Giants Stadium)- San Francisco

California State Railroad Museum- Sacramento

LDS Temple- Sacramento
Monterey Bay Aquarium- Monterey"The Mystery Spot-" Santa Cruz Mountains

The Beach Boardwalk- Santa Cruz

(These are just highlights- to view the whole photo album click here.)

Alex Boye Concert

alexboye.com

Last night we went to see Alex Boye (someone neither of us had heard of before yesterday) in concert, because a friend of ours was one of the opening performers. While we waited for the show to start, we read Mr. Boye's biography in the program:

Alex Boye' was born and raised in London, England. Alex became the lead singer in the European Boy band "Awesome", selling over half a million Cd's and performing alongside such groups as N'SYNC, The Backstreet Boys, Missy Elliott, Bryan Adams, Mary. J.Blige, The Smashing Pumpkins, and George Michael.

Despite the fame, glory and fortune, Alex felt emptiness in his life that none of these worldly accolades could sufficiently fill. In 2000, Alex felt compelled to move to Utah, to pursue a career in gospel music, and is signed to Deseret Books' Shadow Mountain Label.

Alex simply refers to himself as the "Token Black Guy in Utah". He loves to laugh, and says some of the highlights in his life have been giving a Book of Mormon to Prince Charles, recently joining the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and marrying his wonderful wife in the Salt Lake Temple.

We found out during the concert that he had been kicked out of his house and was homeless at age 16 as a result of his decision to join the LDS Church. He later served a mission, and it was his Mission President who encouraged him to pursue music as a career. Now he has devoted his time and talents to spreading his love for the Lord and the joy of the Gospel.

It was one of the most fun and uplifting performances I've seen (besides Vocal Point- but I'm a little biased!). Sandwiched between goofy imitations of Ray Charles and Louie Armstrong were powerful Christian ballads, soulful gospel tunes and even a rap about the Utah Valley Priesthood Basketball phenomenon ("We love Churchball, we love Churchball- tonight there's gonna be a brawl in the Cultural Hall..."). Even our little one got excited- I've never felt her kick so hard! She is very, very responsive to music- must be a daddy's girl. :)

It's so exciting to me to see people dedicate their talents to uplifting others and promoting the Spirit (one of the reasons I love watching Micah perform)- especially when they could so easily be caught up in the fame and glory of the world. I was truly impressed and inspired, and have been thinking a lot about what I can do with my own little talents to better serve others. Does anyone need their closet organized? ;)

Greasy Eggs and Burned Toast

Perfectionist (n): somebody who demands or seeks to achieve nothing less than perfection (something that reaches the highest attainable standard). Synonyms: stickler, purist, pedant, obsessive, quibbler, hairsplitter, fusspot. Encarta World English Dictionary

I've been told I'm a perfectionist. Based on the following observations, I guess that's probably true...

1. The clothes in our closet are organized by color and sleeve length, and all hung on identical matching hangers.
2. I recently purchased a set of tupperware based entirely on the fact that its red lids match our cereal bowls. Which match our knife set. Which match our measuring cups, spoons, and spatulas. Which coordinate with the dish towels, plates, hot chocolate mugs, KitchenAid, and toaster oven. Which all coincidentally coordinate with the pillows on the couches.
3. The CD case in our car is organized alphabetically by genre; meaning every time I have ever acquired a new CD, I have moved every single one of the 100+ old CDs from one little tiny plastic sleeve to the next, in order to make room for the addition. The fact that we use iPods and these CD's are practically obsolete doesn't seem to affect my need for them to be in order.
   
4. Whiteout just doesn't cut it. If I mess up, I need a new sheet of paper. Even for grocery shopping lists.
   
5. This post has been sitting in my drafts folder for over a week, because I wanted it to be just right before I published it.
   

I could go on, really.

So it's official! I'm an obsessive, hairsplitting, perfectionist fusspot. As a result, I often get discouraged and feel inadequate. Which is why I appreciated so much President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's message to the women of the LDS Church during our annual worldwide meeting last Saturday:

"When [my wife] prepares a meal, it’s a masterpiece...But sure enough, no matter how perfect everything is, looks, and tastes, Harriet will apologize for something she thinks is imperfect. “I’m afraid I used a touch too much ginger,” she will say, or, “Next time, I think it would be better if I used a little more curry and one additional bay leaf.”

"Let me contrast that with the way I cook. For the purpose of this talk, I asked Harriet to tell me what I cook best. Her answer: fried eggs. Sunny-side up. ...Between fried eggs, even when they are greasy, and [toast], even when they are burned, when I cook, I feel pretty heroic.

"To me it appears that our splendid sisters sometimes undervalue their abilities—they focus on what is lacking or imperfect rather than what has been accomplished and who they really are.

"If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God?"
Read the transcript of the whole talk here.

It's uncanny how well President Uchtdorf seems to understand women. :) How grateful I am for the reminder that I'm not expected to be perfect, only to do my best. In fact, letting myself get caught up in unnecessary details and projects can distract me from reaching out to others and focusing on what matters most.

So I'm going to try to not expect so much of myself, and laugh instead of cry when I burn the toast. Every single morning... (I really do burn it every day- ask Micah!)