Thursday, July 14, 2011

A Day in May . . . or 4 or 5 days

Ah, the best laid plans… I always MEAN to get right back to my blog, but then this thing called LIFE gets in the way. So, a little catching up to follow: for May – one of the biggest events was that I went to LDStorymakers Writers Conference for the first time ever!! (I’ve been going to writers’ workshops and conferences for over 20 years but never to this one before).

It was the first weekend in May and my dear friend, Theresa Sneed, and I drove up together (well, I drove and she rode). We left on Wed afternoon (later than we meant to) and spent the night in Henderson, NV. The next morning we got ready and drove on up to SLC where Theresa was signed up for Writers Boot Camp so I dropped her off and then I had a great lunch with my cousin, Kathy Goold Gunther, whom I haven’t seen in years!

Our hostess for our stay was Kari Pike, a fellow ANWA member who moved from AZ to UT a year or so ago (maybe more – my brain doesn’t keep track of time very well - DUH). We had lots of fun with Kari. Thanks, Kari - you're the BEST!

That night (Thurs) Theresa and I drove up to Ogden, UT so we could watch this precious men’s’ chorus during their rehearsal as I was writing an article on them. The Men of Song (More info at their blog) – AND you can read the article I wrote for Deseret News about them here: Men of Song musical repertoire resonates with audiences ~ these men were so precious with their mellow voices. The group members range in age from 43 to 86 years old. :)

But I digress. It would be impossible at this late date to try to recap the conference – suffice it to say we had the best time, met lots of fellow LDS writers, took great classes, and even topped off the week by attending the Whitney Awards Banquet. Think I better start saving now so I can go again next year, LDStorymakers was AWESOME!

So, on Sunday, Theresa needed to get back home in order to teach school on Monday and she drove home with Betsy Love and her husband. I, on the other hand, took my sweet time; first, attending Sacrament Mtg with Kari and her family – it was Mother’s Day – and then I drove down to my sister’s house in St. George. Camille was so cute – she made us a nice lunch. We had a visit that was much too short and then I was on my way to Mandy and Jason’s house in Henderson, NV. I got there in time for Mother’s Day Dinner and had a wonderful visit with the grandchildren.

My plans were to go home on Monday, but, again, the best laid plans . . . NOT! I must have eaten something over the weekend that didn’t agree with my hypersensitive tummy (which is light years beyond just needing to be gluten-free) and I was in bed, sleeping most of the day. I drove home on Tuesday and pulled in just moments before I had to leave to go tutor in Gilbert.

And so, there you have it, one MARVELOUS extended weekend in May – wish I could have told more but this is LONG enough! Cheers!