Halloween Beethoven Groaner

A tourist in Vienna was going through a graveyard, when all of a sudden he heard some music. No one was around, so he started searching for the source. He finally located the origin, discovering it was coming from a grave with a headstone that read: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827.

As he continued to listen he realized that the music playing was Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” and it was being played backward! Puzzled, he left the graveyard and proceeded to persuade a friend to return with him.

By the time they arrived back at the graveyard the music had changed again. This time it was Beethoven’s “Seventh Symphony,” and like the previous piece, it was being played backward.

Curious, the men agreed to consult a music scholar. When they returned with the expert, Beethoven’s “Fifth Symphony” was playing, again backward. The expert noticed that the symphonies were being played in the reverse order in which they were composed—the 9th, the 7th, and then the 5th.

By the next day word had spread and a throng had gathered around the grave. They were all listening to Beethoven’s “Second Symphony,” once again being played backward. Just then the graveyard's caretaker ambled up to the group. Someone in the crowd asked him if he had an explanation for the music.

“Don't you get it?” the caretaker said incredulously, “He's decomposing!”

(Stan Kegel's Groaner's List; “Profusions of Puns, Gaggles of Groaner”)

Have a Happy Halloween!

Penny Candy Penguin

Penny Candy Judy 

(October 17, 1945 – September 10, 1986)

Today is my sister, Judy’s birthday. Had she lived, she would have been 65 years old. She passed away 24 years ago on September 10, 1986. I still miss her and think about her often. Judy was a great older sister and role model. She made me laugh—a lot! She used to do a hilarious pantomime—about a little girl biting the end off her ice cream cone, that always brought fits of laughter. She was one of those rare individuals who could light up the room just by entering it.

Through a series of coincidences this year, I heard from two of Judy’s BYU theater friends and cast mates. They generously shared some cute stories about Judy that I’d never heard before. Apparently she made a lot of people laugh! Her friends, Carol Brown and Janet Swenson, were both in the 1968 BYU theater production of “Bye, Bye, Birdie” with Judy. Judy was cast as the lead character, dreamy-eyed teenaged “Kim McAfee,” played by actress Ann-Margret in the 1963 movie. Janet played the hilarious, overbearing mother, played by actress Maureen Stapleton. Carol played one of the teenage girlfriends. It was a great cast and a wonderful production that toured all over Europe that summer. For Judy, it was the trip of a lifetime for a young college student! It was also the summer before 23-year-old Judy married her “Neal.” They spent 18 years together and had five children before she had to leave this life much to soon. Leukemia was just as scary of a word in 1986 as it continues to be today. However, in the short (almost 41 years) that she was with us, she lived life to the fullest!

Carol said Judy was just a “doll” (literally a short 4’ 8” doll of a girl who always wanted to be 5 feet).  “She was always so giggly and cute and happy and positive,” Carol told me.  They called her their “Penny Candy Penguin,” as she always had a stash of penny candy.  Judy LOVED penny candy! And being so short had advantages to an established lover of candy. She’d dress up and go “trick-or-treating” even as a BYU college student!

That summer in 1968, on tour in Germany, Judy discovered “Gummy Bears,” long before they were popular in the United States.  She introduced them to the entire Bye, Bye, Birdie cast and soon they all fell in love with them too.  Janet said Judy’s nickname became “Penny Candy Penguin” because she’d always goof around by waddling like a penguin and telling everyone she was on a diet. She’d say, “I’m on a diet. My diet is eating penny candy until I became so sick of sugar that I won’t be able to eat it for weeks!!”  To top that off, in a hilarious coincidence, Judy married a “candy man,” who became the president of Maxfield’s Chocolates! Her cast mates got a huge kick out of that.

True to her penny candy reputation, at their ten-year Bye, Bye, Birdie reunion in 1978—held in Salt Lake City at the old De la Fontana Restaurant, Judy showed up with a never-before-opened bag of European gummy bears she had been saving since Germany!!!  Everyone about died laughing and couldn’t believe it.  To their delight, Judy shared them. 

Humorous as well, Carol said that prior to their departure for Europe Judy put her on to “thigh high nylons,” then sold only at the old Millcreek Pharmacy which was on the North East corner of 2300 East 3300 South in Salt Lake, where Judy grew up.  Carol would actually drive up from Provo just to buy them!

That was so Judy! She was always finding the latest craze and telling everybody about them—so they could get them too. After my sisters and I were married with children, Judy turned us on to everything from “Pound Puppies” to “Strawberry Shortcake Dolls” to “Cabbage Patch Kids.” I stood in many early morning lines trying to help her get a favorite Madam Alexandra Doll, when there was only one per customer. I laugh just thinking about it now, knowing she would have been obsessed with collecting Beanie Babies too! However, Penny Candy was her true memorable trademark obsession. Whenever we’d stay up late playing games at our Bear Lake summer family cabin, she'd bring out boxes of penny candy—gummy bears, gummy red raspberries, and gummy Swedish fish. She had licorice in all colors, shapes, and sizes. It was penny candy heaven!

So today in remembrance, I am sharing these happy memories—along with the new memories given to me—all rolled into one.  I have a big smile on my face, thinking about her as I write this. I am so full of gratitude for the stories her friends have shared with me, bringing a little of her delicious personality back to me, as if it were yesterday. Interestingly, when I contacted Janet she said she’d been thinking about “Birdie” a lot in recent months. Coincidently she’d even had a note from the Dean’s secretary at BYU asking her if she’d been in the show, wanting her to identify the actors in the production photo. It’s amazing how Heavenly Father puts things together for us, isn’t it!

“Bye, Bye, Birdie,” 1968 Production Photo; BYU European Tour

(Judy is the third person from the left.)

The Psychology of 10/10/10

Today is October 10, 2010—the tenth day, of the tenth month, in the tenth year of the new century! Many people consider the rare occurrence of same number dates during the calendar year to be lucky. At the very least, it is indeed a unique phenomenon!

To begin with, the number ten in general seems to give people a warm, fuzzy feeling. It is regarded as the most perfect of numbers, symbolic of the beginning and the end. We have ten fingers and ten toes. Counting on fingers probably led to our decimal number system, with its symbols 0-9. Biblically there were ten virgins, five foolish and five wise; There were ten leprous healed by Jesus, and God sent ten plagues of Egypt through the prophet Moses. Finally, Moses received the “Ten Commandments” of God!

Last, but not least, there are the ever ubiquitous Top Ten lists—Top Ten Reasons, Top Ten Websites, Top Ten Songs, Top Ten Movies, Top Ten Headlines, Top Ten Jokes, Top Ten Mistakes, Late Night Show Top Ten, Top Ten Reviews, and the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives … the list goes on and on!

Mathematically, the number 101010 is also rooted in uniqueness. It is evenly divisible by the number of days in a week (7, also considered lucky). An equal oddity is the fact that it is also evenly divisible by the number 6 (generally designated as being unlucky). Both a Ying and Yang situation seem to be incorporated into this date!

Globally, today is the biggest-ever day of positive action around the world. From sumo wrestlers cycling to their training in Japan, to 10,000 schools planting trees in Croatia and Russia, from a carbon-cutting telethon on national TV in the Netherlands, to hundreds of people in the UK sitting down to low-carbon Sunday lunches, this is going to be a really inspirational day!

What are you doing for 10:10:10?

Tuesday dōTERRA Tip!

Question 

Anyone know the six most frightening words in the world?

Answer 

“The Dentist will see you now!”

Dentistry is a branch of medicine considered necessary for complete overall health. Usually a male profession by nature, the dentist is probably one of the only men in the world that can tell a woman when to open and when to shut her mouth, and get away with it! Dentists can be frustrating though. You wait a month-and-a-half for an appointment, and they say, “I wish you'd come to me sooner.” And it is practically a proven fact that toothaches always start on Friday night right before the weekend when the dental office will be closed.

Are you one of those people, like me, who gets tense and nervous the second you walk into your dentist’s office? Does the sound of the drill and the sight of needles just send you into a fit of nervousness? I understand. I’m the same way. The fear of pain makes the entire process most unpleasant. But it doesn’t have to be this way! This relaxation tip is just for you!

Dentist Relaxation Tip 

Take deep breaths of dōTERRA’s “CITRUS” and “LAVENDER” essential oil (or apply 2-3 drops to the back of your neck) to relax and calm you—BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER a visit to the dentist’s office!

When University of Vienna researchers diffused the scents of “Orange” and “Lavender” into dentists’ offices, anxious patients reported they felt calmer. Both scents contain the chemical Linalool (a naturally occurring terpene alcohol chemical found in many flowers and spice plants), which seems to alter the blood chemistry to lower stress. Click here to learn more about these wonderful oils.

Sign Hanging in a Dental Office

“ … Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.” ~ Psalms 81:10

What is Kangen Water®?

Did you know?


1. Residue of food additives and chemicals significantly contaminate your bodily fluids.

2. 80% of newborns have allergies, caused by their mother’s tainted body fluids.

3. Quality high PH water is the key to cleaning up tainted body fluids.

4. There is water that eliminates active oxygen. 



The Japanese word “Kangen” means “return to origin.” We live in a contaminated world full of preservatives, chemicals, and contaminants. It has been said that the current generation is not expected to live as long as their parents did. Health conscious people are returning to their origin by drinking delicious, healthy Kangen Water®, created from Enagic's innovative water technology. 

Not only do these amazing devices filter harmful chemicals out of your tap water, they also produce Kangen and acidic waters through the process of ionization. In other words, the Kangen water ionizers return water to it’s purest form! The various water types that can be made with a Kangen water machine can be used for hydrating your body with plenty of healthy, high PH water, cooking with clean uncontaminated fresh water, beautifying your skin, cleaning your fruits and vegetables, and sanitizing everything in your home.

Kangen Water machines work by applying an electrical charge to your tap water, and then sending that charged water through an ion exchange membrane. Positive and negative ions then mix within the water, breaking molecular bonds on dirt. This is what makes Kangen Water® perfect as both beauty water and as a cleaning agent.

For Beauty 

Kangen Water® can break the molecular bonds on dirt and oil on your face, keeping it clean, smooth, and moist. Rather than using harsh astringents that dry out your skin, and dealing with tap water that leaves a soapy film after you cleanse, Kangen Water® can help clean your face better than regular tap water.

For Household Cleaning 

Kangen Water® can also help you clean your home by loosening the molecular bonds between dirt and the surfaces you’re washing by attracting that dirt like a magnet. In this way, Kangen Water® can actually lift grime and dirt off surfaces, which makes it easy to wipe away. No need for dangerous, toxic cleaners, or abrasive sponges and frantic scrubbing!

For Health

Kangen Water® is also better for personal health and overall well-being. While drinking tap water is better than buying soft drinks, it’s still not the safest solution. Recent investigations reveal that tap water in 42 states have been contaminated with more than 140 unregulated chemicals. Local governments do their best to make the water safe, but as a result, the water tastes heavily chlorinated and unpleasant to drink. Even well water isn’t always safe, especially in homes that are close to farms and animal production facilities with chemical and animal waste runoff.

A Kangen Water® system, with appropriate filters, can clean up contaminated and polluted water, removing the chemicals, bacteria, and other microscopic contaminants that can lead to poor health.

Unfortunately, even bottled water isn’t always a viable solution. It is more expensive, produces environmental damage through creating and disposing of plastic bottles, and is not always free of contaminants. Studies have shown that one-third of bottled water contains levels of contamination that exceed allowable limits. If you buy bottled water from the store, you can pay as much as $1–2 per bottle, just for a false sense of safety. Rather than buying bottled water at a premium price, you can use a Kangen Water System for pennies a day, and create all the safe water you want, right from your tap!

For years we used another common water filtration system called “Reverse Osmosis” water. Reverse Osmosis water is effective in rural and suburban areas that do not have municipally treated water. However, reverse osmosis can’t remove pesticides, herbicides, and chlorine, which are molecularly smaller than water, and can pass through the reverse osmosis filter. Another problem is that reverse osmosis will also remove “healthy water minerals,” which provide a health benefit to our bodies. Stripping these minerals from the water, can actually make it more unhealthy for us!

When we tested the PH level in our own reverse osmosis filtered water, it tested as acidic as soda pop!

Learn how to return your water to to its origin with crisp, clean, delicious tasting, Kangen Water®. Click here for more research. Email lymesgirl@gmail.com for a free DVD.

Strengthened With Courage By Faith!

On Sunday, September 12, 2010 we had a Regional Conference for the LDS Utah Valley region, involving 147 Stakes—17 Stakes in the BYU Marriot Center where the broadcast originated, and 130 Stakes viewed by satellite in the surrounding area church meeting houses and Stake centers. Sister Julie B. Beck, General Relief Society President, told us that only our "faith" strengthens us in our trials. She said, “We must remember that we fought a war in heaven for the privilege of coming here and having difficult experiences!”  Sister Beck reminded us that miracles can happen when we exercise our faith and that we MUST have faith in order to move into the future!

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, reminded us to have “faith in our Heavenly Father's plan” and “conform our will to His.”  “He” will make us equal to our tasks! Elder Holland reiterated the council from Elder Steven E. Snow that "remembering the past strengthens our faith and courage."  He told the inspirational story of Sister Arabella Jane Coombs and her husband Joseph Stanford Smith recalling the memorable “Hole in the Rock Pioneer Expedition" in Southern Utah. He said as people, “We SHOULD BE "Simple and Deep," NOT "Complex and Superficial."
   


Hole-in-the-Rock Expedition


1879-1880



The quarterly conference of the Parowan Stake in December 1879 witnessed the call of forty-nine men and their families to a new mission. The call came from President John Taylor and the Twelve through Elder Erastus Snow. Later, others from nearby settlements joined the final company. What followed became the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition, an epic in LDS Church history. Two hundred fifty people, with eighty wagons and hundreds of loose cattle and horses, cut their way through the rough, unknown country of southeastern Utah. The area traversed remains one of the least-known regions of the world today. Their objective was the San Juan country. In addition to desert cliffs and canyons, the forbidding Colorado River gorge stood in their way. No highway bridge crossed that gorge until 1934. No commercial airline flew from Utah to Arizona, near their route, until 1959.



Seeking the shortest route, Mormon explorers found a narrow slit in Glen Canyon. The river ran two thousand feet below the red cliffs. This “Hole in the Rock” seemed to offer the shortest route.



Only a slit in the sheer cliffs, the hole was too narrow for teams, or in some places even for a man. Sheer drops of as much as seventy-five feet made it impossible even for a mountain sheep, let alone loaded wagons. In December 1879, after having left the Parowan and Cedar valleys the previous April, the Saints began to cut a precipitous, primitive road with blasting powder and tools. Elder Platte D. Lyman, leading the party, found that if a road could be built, it would drop eight feet every sixteen and one-half, the first third of the way to the river. Thereafter came several sheer precipices. But the party was prepared. With faith, they were equipped not only for blasting cliffs and carving passages, but for building a raft-boat capable of carrying teams and wagons across the river.



A road was built and a boat made by January 25, 1880. Now came the effort to get families and the first forty wagons, camped at the rim, down the “Hole.” The others, back at Fifty-Mile Spring, would follow later.



Kumen Jones has left a description of the method of descent. Twenty men and boys would hold long ropes back of each wagon. The wheels were brake-locked with chains. Otherwise, rolling wheels would pitch, unchecked, into the struggling team. On January 26, 1880, a month later, Platte D. Lyman recorded in his journal: “Today we worked all the wagons in this camp down the Hole and ferried 26 of them across the river. The boat is worked by 1 pair of oars and does very well.”



The family of Joseph Stanford Smith and his wife, Arabella, was the last wagon to descend that day. Stanford Smith had helped the preceding wagons down that long day. His outfit had evidently been forgotten. Deeply disturbed, he climbed the two-thousand-foot incline. He found Arabella sitting on a quilt, holding the baby, patiently waiting. His outfit and their two other children in the wagon were hidden behind a huge, mountainous rock.



Stanford Smith moved his load to the edge. A third horse was hitched to the rear axle. Stanford and Arabella looked down the “Hole.” He said, “I am afraid we can’t make it.”



Bella replied, “We must make it.”



Stanford said, “If we only had a few men to hold the wagon back we might make it, Belle.”



With incredible faith Bella replied, “I’ll do the holding back.”



A quilt was laid on the ground. There she placed the baby between the legs of three-year-old Roy. “Hold little brother til papa comes for you,” she said. Ada, the older girl, was placed in front of them. Behind the wagon Belle Smith grasped the reins of the horse hitched to the rear. Stanford started the team down the “Hole.” The wagon lurched downward. The rear horse and Belle were thrown from their feet. Recovering, she hung back, pulling on the lines with all her strength and courage. A jagged rock cut a cruel gash in her leg from heel to hip. The horse behind the wagon fell to his haunches. The half-dead animal was dragged down most of the way. The gallant woman, clothes torn, with a grievous wound, later said, “I crow-hopped right along!”



On reaching the bottom, Stanford and Arabella heard a faint call from the children. Joseph Stanford Smith climbed to the top to get them. They were safely in place. Carrying the baby, the other children clinging to him and to each other, he led them down the rocky crack. As they approached the river’s edge, they saw five men carrying chains and ropes in the distance. The Smiths had been missed. The men were coming to help. Stanford called out, “Forget it, fellows. … Bella here is all the help a fellow needs!” 



~ Excerpts taken from G. Homer Durham, “The Future History of the Church,” Ensign, May 1982, 67. Also see David E. Miller, Hole-in-the-Rock: An Epic in the Colonization of the Great American West, Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1959, pp. 101–18.



Amazingly Bella Smith performed the work that had previously taken 20 men to do for all the other wagons! Her undying faith gave her the strength and courage to perform a task that seemed impossible. I KNOW she was not alone on the arduous slope of jagged rock. I believe she had an army of angels helping her bear her heavy load! 



We live in perilous, troubled times, in a way much more difficult than those of our pioneer ancestors. They had a heavy physical burden of survival, while we are faced with the subtle temptations of Satan and his angels who want us to fail the test we have been given. Our trials and challenges may not always be on the outside, but may instead be battles within. The slippery slopes of trial we often bear are none more jagged and treacherous than that of Stanford and Bella Smith. ALL of us can do the impossible through our faith in Jesus Christ and His redemption. Sometimes we are required to take life by the reigns and do difficult things, but with faith in God we can be “equal to our tasks!” I bear testimony that we can have the strength to do the impossible if we have faith, trusting in His plan.



As President Boyd K. Packer, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said in his concluding remarks, "The Lord's voting for you, and Satan's voting against you … But your vote is the only one that counts!

"

“For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.” ~ Alma 34:32

“And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” ~ Alma 32:21

The Secret Life of Bees

“The whole fabric of honey bee society depends on communication—on an innate ability to send and receive messages, to encode and decode information.” ~ The Honey Bee by James L. Gould and Carol Grant Gould

According to Sue Monk Kidd, author of the New York Times #1 best selling novel, The Secret Life of Bees, “Bees [are] considered a symbol of the soul—of death and rebirth.” The complex society of Bees depends solely on “communication” within the hive in order to achieve the ultimate goal of honey making. Their lives are a remarkable lesson on the importance of effective communication. If only we, as humans, could do as well as Bees!

Rarely does a fictional story touch me as much as this particular one did. The symbolism of the bees are woven intricately throughout the book, creating a magical narrative of a mother’s love—lost and found, and finding forgiveness. The book boldly explores life’s wounds as a young girl forges her journey toward healing, ultimately revealing the deeper meaning of home and the redemptive simplicity of “choosing what matters.” It is a story about searching for truth and healing the past.

The novel is set in South Carolina in 1964, when intensifying racial unrest and the Civil Rights Act dominated our nation’s history. Lily Owens is a 14-year-old girl being raised by her verbally and often physically abusive, neglectful father. The only mother figure in Lily’s life is her loving, yet strong-minded black housekeeper, Rosaleen. Isolated on their South Carolina peach farm, Lily spends hours imagining a blissful infancy when she was loved and nurtured by her mother, Deborah, whom she barely remembers. Lily’s memories are haunted by images of a four year old Lily holding the gun that ended her mother’s life.

The Secret Life of Bees is a powerful coming-of-age story, the often unacknowledged longing for the universal feminine divine, and the ability of unconditional love to transform our lives. While addressing the deep wounds of loss, betrayal, and lack of love, this book demonstrates the power of women coming together to heal those wounds.

“When women bond together in a community in such a way that ‘sisterhood’ is created, it gives them an accepting and intimate forum to tell their stories and have them heard and validated by others. The community not only helps to heal their circumstance, but encourages them to grow into their larger destiny.” ~ Sue Monk Kidd

Critic Luanne Rice said, “The Secret Life of Bees proves that a family can be found where you least expect it—maybe not under your own roof, but in that magical place where you find love. The Secret Life of Bees is a gift, filled with hope!”

I highly recommend it! It's truly a magical worthwhile book! Here are a few of my favorite book quotes:

“The world [is] really one big bee yard, and the same rules work fine in both places: Don’t be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, don’t be an idiot; wear long sleeves and long pants . . . [Remember] every little thing wants to be loved!” ~ Sue Monk Kidd, “The Secret Life of Bees”

“Some things don’t matter that much . . . But lifting a person’s heart—now, that matters . . . The problem is [people] know what matters, but they don’t choose it.” ~ Sue Monk Kidd, “The Secret Life of Bees”

“It’s something everybody wants—for someone to see the hurt done to them and set it down like it matters.” ~ Sue Monk Kidd, “The Secret Life of Bees”

“I couldn’t make heads or tails of my heart. One minute I hated my mother, the next I felt sorry for her . . . I’d traded in a pack of lies for a pack of truth, and I didn’t know which one was heavier. Which one took the most strength to carry around? It was a ridiculous question, though, because once you know the truth, you can’t ever go back and pick up your suitcase of lies. Heavier or not, the truth is yours now.” ~ Sue Monk Kidd, “The Secret Life of Bees”

“Every person on the face of the earth makes mistakes . . . Every last one. We’re all so human . . . There is nothing perfect . . . There is only life.” ~ Sue Monk Kidd, “The Secret Life of Bees”

“People, in general, would rather die than forgive. It’s that hard. If God said in plain language, ‘I’m giving you a choice, forgive or die,’ a lot of people would go ahead and order their coffin.” ~ Sue Monk Kidd, “The Secret Life of Bees”