Conjunctively speaking

So I know the rule is that a sentence cannot start with a conjunction. And I have noticed that my writing is full of them. But I just can't help it. And I don't really want to change it. Because this is how I talk in real life. And it sounds more like me. So I'm sorry if it sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard for anyone. But it's not going to change anytime soon.

Ribs

Mine, not the food. They hurt. My chiropractor brother said it might be due to sleeping on my side on a pillow that is too flat. I thought about my pillow. It is pretty flat. It's even ugly flat. So I decided to get myself a new one. I looked at the $7 ones and then thought better of it. I decided to splurge and get the $11 one. $4 makes a difference doesn't it? My brother laughed quite heartily about this since according to him a "good" pillow costs around $50. He might be right since, at first, this new $11 pillow was a little too high and fluffy and it's already starting to flatten. Right now it's about how I like it but it makes me wonder how flat it is going to end up.

But I'm not sure if I can spend $50 on a pillow. Do they go bad as fast as the cheap ones? Maybe not. Maybe that's why they cost so much. Would you be able to spend that much on a pillow?

Lucky Sunday

You know when people speak in church and there are no announcements and the songs are super short and the speakers end up having 45 minutes to fill? And you just think, oh man, I am glad I'm not them. Well yesterday it was the complete opposite when it was our turn to speak.

A counselor gave some ward business, then the bishop gave some ward business, then the stake presidency counselor released a bishopric counselor and called a new one. Then the old and new counselor gave their testimonies. Then there was a youth speaker. Then it was my turn. I didn't have to worry about shortening or longening it. (I know that's not a word but I don't care.) My talk was a little shorter than it should have been to begin with but it didn't matter by then. Then there was a family musical number. Then it was finally Brian's turn. There was only 5 minutes left! It was seriously the luckiest day to speak ever. All the people in the congregation with short attention spans were just riveted to all the movement and change going on.

The only unlucky part was that, being 5 months pregnant, I had to go to the bathroom soooo bad and there was no holding it, so I had to leave the stand during the youth speaker and speed-walk down the hall and back and I barely made it back in time for my turn and so I was out of breath right when I got up to speak. A little embarrassing. But, again, more entertainment for the people watching. (Note to self: do not drink water before church when you are going to speak.)

It was hard for Brian to have to cut his talk down to 5 minutes but his worst fear, in giving a talk, is having 15 minutes left over after finishing his talk so he was in heaven. (Church building heaven. That's not the real heaven. Just the heaven that you are in when you're at church.)

An unreal memory

Me and my dad - 1978

My dad died in 1979 when I was just 19 months old. My sister Sinika was 2 days old. I have no memories of him. But a year or two ago I had a dream that I got to talk to him. I was an adult but I saw my older sisters running around as little girls. I think my dad knew then that he had cancer and that he was going to die. I could see the worry in his eyes as he watched his kids. I don't remember anything that was said in the dream but it felt so real that it seems almost like a memory. I've always wondered what it would be like to look at his face and talk to him. How tall he would be, what his voice would sound like, the exact color of his eyes, all of that. So although it was just a silly dream I hope that I remember it forever.

Is it similar to a bolt of lightning?

Yesterday I got what is called a "church sliver" or maybe it's called a "pew sliver". I have heard of the common occurrence of the "pew sliver" but I had never experienced one up until now. Let me tell you - they are not fun to get. Especially one minute before church services start. You have to sit there and not get it out. I had to let the tip of my pointer finger throb all through the hour and fifteen minutes and tried to find an end to pull out but found nothing. If only I had brought my tweezers to church. If only. And maybe a sterilized needle. What I would have given for that! (A few dollars.) I finally got to go home after the final prayer and remove the lumber. It was almost a half kilometer long! Okay, so I am exaggerating. It was almost a half millimeter long.

The proof. Don't worry, no blood was involved with the entrance or the exit of this sliver.

It may sound like the church that I attend is around 100 years old with wooden slivers hanging off the pews. But it's actually only about 3 years old with wooden slivers hanging off the pews.

Just take it from me: Don't slide your hand along the bench in front of you no matter how smooth or new it looks and feels. It's just too risky.