Monday

Our Stake holds a series of firesides (evening meetings at the church that are NOT around a fire) called "Why I Believe." They have prominent members of the church share their testimonies. A couple of months ago they had one of the news anchors tell his story. Last night was the second in the series and it was a man named Jamil Srour. He is a Palestinian who was raised Muslim and converted to Christianity. He investigated several Christian churches and then joined the LDS church about 8 years ago. It was SO cool to hear his conversion story. He began to question the Muslim faith when he was 10 years old. He was beaten in school for asking questions about God. Yet, he continued to pursue his quest for knowledge. He had a very vibrant spirit about him. His talk has stuck with me throughout the day. I admire people like him who have made big sacrifices for their faith. It makes me realize how easy I have it.

I was a good girl and got to bed on time last night, so I got to go running this morning. It was really humid when I left, but that's not unusual for this time of year. I was enjoying my jog when it started sprinkling every so lightly, about fifteen minutes into it. It actually felt good, so I kept running. Then it started raining harder. I usually don't put in my contacts that early in the morning and my glasses were really hard to see out of! I needed little windshield wipers for them. I also use Andrew's palm pilot as my mp3 player when I run and was worried I was going to ruin it. So, I decided I better run home. I thought, "I must look hilarious running in the rain with soaked glasses, carrying this palm pilot under my shirt with one arm, so it doesn't get soaked!" Thankfully, it was a short little shower. It has stopped before I even made it back to the house. So, I thought I might as well run around the block for the next eight minutes and get my thirty minutes in. Too funny.

The kids went to a friend's house for a babysitting swap this morning. Usually I go shopping or play tennis with a friend while they're gone, but today it was time for business: I have to get my bedroom and bathroom looking decent before Tony and Cindy come to stay with us on Wed night!! So, I scrubbed the bathroom floor, washed baseboards, vacuumed little corners that haven't been touched in months...it was very refreshing. It is almost visitor-ready. I listened to my CD player while I cleaned. I discovered the BEST song to clean to: Jennifer Lopez' "Let's Get Loud." I should've just put that song on repeat the whole time and I think I could've got even more done. It is so catchy and fun.