I'm Finished!!!

Caution: In comparison to my last several posts...SERIOUS subject ahead:

Jacob and I had to talk in church last month, and for part of his topic research, Jacob had James E. Talmage's book "Jesus The Christ," out. I have always known that I'd get around to reading that book someday, but didn't know when. I'd always figured it was a little too "grown-up" for me, and that I'd wait a while to read it. But, after we spoke in church, and the book was left out on the arm of the couch, I just really wanted to read it right then! So, I started at the end of last month. And I FINISHED it Monday morning!!! So, I was able to read the almost 800 page book in just under a month. I couldn't put it down! I initially intended to just read a couple of pages a night, and have it be a summer-long endeavor to read it. But, I'd find myself reading during the day whenever I could. While Alexia was napping. While I was feeding her. While I was eating lunch. And any other time I could catch a snipit or two. I was SO asorbed in it. (Hopefully I didn't ignore Alexia too much while reading...) But I must say, I'm pretty proud of myself for a) reading the book in the first place, b) being able to get through it as fast as I did, and c) enjoying it as much as I did.

It was SUCH an amazing book! And I learned a TON from it! I now know why my Jacob can make very intelligent comments in Sunday School. Many of his insights and knowledge expoundings come from that book! He read it while he was on his mission, but somehow he still remembers a lot of the little details from it. So, while I was reading it, I'd stop in the middle of a concept or story, and Jacob and I would have some great conversations about things I had read.

You know when President Hinckley challenged us to read the Book of Mormon in the fall a few years ago? Jacob and I took the challenge back then, and am forever grateful we did. Reading the Book of Mormon faster than I was used to, did a WORLD of good for my understanding of the stories, the sequence of events, what group faught who, and went where, and who taught who, etc. It brought a whole lot more meaning to the rest of the scriptures that we read over and over - the scripture mastery scriptures, the ones we always share for spiritual thoughts in meetings, etc. You know which ones I mean. I've always appreciated those nuggets of wisdom. But, having more background around them, and knowing the stories behind them better, and understanding the book as a whole, made me appreciate them so much more!

Reading "Jesus The Christ" this past month has done the same thing for me and Christ's life! But not only did I get a really good overview of His life, but I know a lot more details about what miracles He performed when, which lessons He taught when, which lessons were parables, and which ones were from His experiences. (Always confusing for me to remember what was a parable and what wasn't). I learned a whole lot of background insights into Jewish history, (bringing up more questions that I want to talk about with my sister, Emily, since she knows more Jewish history than anyone else I know). I learned more about the Apostles, and their personalities. The book had great clarification on a LOT of doctrine. It helped me to see Christ's life in a different light, and I learned so many wonderful things about our Savior!!!

There's an AMAZING spirit in that book, and I highly recommend the book to anyone who needs a good read. Although, after that wonderful brain STRETCH, I'm gonna need a "light and fluffy" book to read next!!!

Oh, how wrong I was...

I am SO STINKIN' EXCITED that Kris Allen won American Idol tonight! He so deserved it. My whole theory about how the show was contrived was just a tad off....but it was still fun to speculate. (wait...maybe I WAS right, and the show got wind of my email, and Adam was really gonna be the winner, and they changed it, so it wouldn't look like I'd caught on...)

Nah. I don't have that much power. And thank goodness. If I had that much power, I don't know what I'd do with it! And I'm seriously SO happy for Kris, and his cute wife. I can't wait for his first album!!!

Conspiracy Theory

Disclaimer #1: Long post ahead...

Disclaimer #2: Take no offense from the following blog. I'm just writing my "wouldn't-this-be-funny-if-it-were-true" thoughts. I don't even believe what I'm writing...

Several weeks ago, someone sent me an email that talked about a theory going around that the American Idol top 4 had already been "fixed" for this season. They'd already fixed Adam, Danny, Alison and Lil' to be the top 4. As much as I don't like to believe that my precious reality shows are in any way manipulated or contrived, I seriously think they COULD BE. You might look at me funny and say, "Becca. Look at who was in the top four! Lil' didn't make it! So, it wasn't fixed." And you're right. In Lil's place, Kris made the top four.

However, here's a theory: Someone gets wind of the show fabricating the results, and they send out an email that gets forwarded, and forwarded, and gossiped about, and blogged about. (The e-mail I mentioned.) Then, the show decides that they can't lose credibility, and they can't lose viewers. So, they decide to manipulate the top four so that the results that were widely emailed about, aren't EXACTLY the same four. Just close. That way, they figure they're in the clear! They didn't plan on me figuring their sordid plan out!!! (Insert evil laugh here...)

So, they start picking on Lil'. We all know she has an AMAZING voice. We've all heard the judges say in seasons past, and even a time or two in this current season "You can sing the phone book.... I don't care what you sing, as long as you sing your face off..." that kind of thing. But, did you notice that with Lil', they kept telling her that she was picking the wrong song. Over and over and over. They'd tell her that she's not being original. So, she'd come back and do something different. Then they wouldn't like it. They kept telling her that she needed to do a certain kind of singer, etc, etc, etc. The fans ended up listening to the judges, and ultimately, she got voted off.

Kris got some good treatment. And don't get me wrong. I LOVE Kris. I think he's adorable. He's a cutie patootie, and I'm so glad he's in the top three. But, the judges totally gave him amazing treatment. Praising everything he did with the guitar. Even when he did the same type of thing two or three weeks in a row, he could do no wrong! I totally think the judges replaced Lil' with him, just so they wouldn't look like they'd fixed the results.

Also, all year long, my mom and I have noticed how Paula seems to be very composed, and intelligent sounding. My mom gave me the idea that she might be getting her lines fed to her. Makes sense. We all remember last year, and in years past when Paula will make some off-the-wall comment. Or when she forgets who just sang. Or when she forgets what's going on. Drunk, drunk, drunk. So, maybe this season, to make Paula look more credible, they are feeding her lines. They had her predict who the final two will be SEVERAL weeks ago. They want her to look credible. And if after tonight's results show, we see Adam and Danny in the finale, then you'll all know that I WAS RIGHT.

If I'm not right, and Kris makes the final two tonight...how do I explain myself? Well, I'd say that someone from the network found this blog...and they hurried and changed the results to contradict my prediction.

Either way, I end up looking like a GENIUS!!!

Gone With The Wind

I finally watched it! I've always known I needed to. It's a classic, after all! But, I never had an opportunity to see it. I noticed it was on TV a few weeks ago, so I recorded it. And Friday, I was feeling yucky with a headache, sore throat, achy muscles - the works. So, rather than be productive, I watched Gone With The Wind! The movie is already 4 hours long, but it took me the entire day to see it - various stops for Alexia, eating lunch, playing, going on a walk, etc.

But, I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I'm told that Gone With The Wind was to my Grandma, what The Sound Of Music was to my mom. (The Sound of Music came out when my mom was a young adult. She went and saw it in the movie theaters SEVERAL times, and she has had a love affair with the movie ever since.) In 1939, when Gone With the Wind came out, my Grandma was a single adult, and she identified with Scarlet O'Hara's character. (makes sense if you know her). She got every date to take her to see the movie (including my Grandpa). She ended up watching it probably a hundred times over the years. She'd quote lines from the movie all the time. She even named my mom after Bonnie, from the movie! I had no idea!

All through my watching of the movie, when I'd be stopped for a lunch break, or a Lexi break, I'd call my mom and report to her where I was, and we'd chat about the scenes, lines from the movie, and all about Grandma. Wished I could have seen the movie when she was still alive, so we could have talked about it. I know she absolutely loved the movie, and wondered why none of her grand-daughters had seen it. Well, I've seen it Grandma. And I loved it.

This counts as family history work, right?