Minnesota Nice...

Last spring when I was flying to New York on my way to London, I sat next to an older gentlemen and had an amazing conversation. He was a retired physician, and was on his way to Ireland with his wife. He did not start out in his career as a Doctor. He was originally a Physicist- and had worked on The Manhattan Project. I spent the majority of the flight listening to the adventures he had while in Santa Fe during that time. It was really fascinating to me. (I didn't tell him my Father was a downwinder, I am not a resentful person, and I was genuinely interested in his life story. I could have pulled an Inigo Montoya . But I decided against it.)
What was even more fascinating is what he taught me about mid-westerners. We got around to talking about the schools in Minnesota. I expressed how pleased I was at the education my children were receiving. He stated with a smile, that the schools were "good enough." I thought they were more than that. When I stated this, he was quick to point out that it was clear I was not from Minnesota. What was it that made it obvious? My big hair? My lack of mentioning cheese? What??? I HAD to know.
He explained that the state slogan was "The Land of 10,000 Lakes." This was a fact, verifiable through various sources. In fact, a gross underestimation of how many lakes there actually are in Minnesota. "We don't like to toot our own horn too loudly."
 I grew up in Utah, where the state slogan was "The Greatest Snow on Earth." I did grow up with extremes of everything is the best, or the absolute worst. The first year my high school took state in basketball is still talked about. It is still awesome!
In getting to know native mid-westerners, the same pattern holds true. They are genuinely the nicest people I have ever met. I have had people go out of their way to remarkable lengths to help me out in situations where I thought I was doomed. Whether is was shoveling my driveway, giving me advice about a choice I was facing, even at the University level- getting me connected to the people I needed to be. "Minnesota Nice" is a real thing.
At the same time, there is a wall of privacy that is there. I was super confused by it at first. Social skills like this are acquired intellectually, and this one took me awhile to catch on to. I wear my emotions on my sleeve - to my detriment at times. In the mid-west there is a line of "this is good", and communication remains on that level. After the confusion left, and I saw that this was there, I have embraced it. Its different than what I am used to, but it is easy and, in my opinion -smart. There is less drama and more genuine "how can I help you?" I find I am not emotionally exhausted at the end of a social interaction. I think these guys are on to something here...
I did not understand how even communication styles differ depending on where we are from. Californian's are loud, Utahans are very emotional, New Yorkers can be very determined and straight-forward...and Minnesotans are nice...and I like it. Let me take that to an extreme- I like it ALOT!

Here is where my nerd comes out....

I dont plan on posting everyday, but I did want to talk a little bit about a book I have been reading. Here it is: The Mother of the Lord by Margret Barker. 

THIS is what I love. 1st Temple (600 BC and before) is what I truly drool over, and cant get enough info about. There seems to be bottomless pit that never feels satisfied in my brain for this kind of info. 

Dont get me wrong I truly truly love Church History, and early American history. 

But THIS- is what I soak up, and only have a very few friends who even understand what I am talking about, or can tolerate me talking about this topic. 

The Book of Job- in earlier texts- the God he refers to is named Eloah- a feminine part of the plural Elohim. Scribes from the time of Lehi- LEHI - were changing the text under the direction of King Josiah, and this name was obscured. Except in the book of Job- because its a story that originates from Arabia. 

Information like this makes my giddy. 

There are many Temple priests who left Jerusalem during the reign of King Josiah, because he was mucking with the Temple. There was a pattern of them fleeing, building boats, and leaving. Scholars know this. Yet the Book of Mormon that follows this ancient pattern continues to be mocked. 

The information is out there. There is just so few scholars that make it palatable to the general public to be read, and understood. Margaret Barker may be a tough read for some, and you kind of have to have a background of the different periods of biblical translation- but even without that you can still get bits of info that will completely spin your brain. 

I wanted to introduce her because I will be talking about her work from time to time. 

That is all. 

My Grandmother used to bogart the milk...

I am amazed at the miracle of the human body. It is perfectly designed to heal itself.

 Last year at this time I was very ill. I remember on Christmas morning I had so much malaise, I just wanted to curl up and sleep. While being treated for migraines, my neurologist found an anti-body in my blood. This anti-body was good- it was healing me a a much more serious illness, unfortunately at the same time it made me very sick. The medications I was put on, were causing potentially disastrous side-effects.

I have gradually healed. It has been a long hard road, but I finally feel like the myself I was before the illness started. 

Elder Russell M. Nelson Link told me once that the beating heart was a gift from God. Only he could start it, and only he could stop it. 

The reality is, we have very little control. Over almost everything. But it seems to be something I continue to struggle for, and seems to be the biggest source of my unhappiness. Even though I know this, the thought of letting go scares the crap out of me. The distance between what I know and what I do, equals the measure of discontent with my world. 

On a completely unrelated note - I have a list of five foods I cannot live without. In case- you know - you know how much I like presents. Just sayin....

1. grapefruit. Salted. I eat it everyday. 

2. anything with buffalo sauce on it. Don't judge me. 

3. chocolate covered marshmallows in any form. 

4. bagels with cream cheese. 

5. cereal. with lots of milk. When I was a kid my grandmother would only give me like a tablespoon of milk in my cereal. Not even enough to get everything wet, THEN she would give me a cup of milk. I was not allowed to pour the cup of milk into my cereal. TORTURE. I remember sitting at her table and making a promise to myself and to God, that my children would never experience this kind of pain. 

We buy a lot of milk. 

I finally have a blog!!!

Yes folks, I have threatened for months- and now I have finally done it. I have a blog. Again. Back in the day (2008-10 or so...) I had a blog of the same name, but I stopped blogging when I began to care too much about the feedback I was getting. 

I have to be honest when I say that I am not sure where this blog will take me, or what will be its purpose. I do a lot. So we'll see what ends up here. But a record of some kind needs to be kept. 

I will start with this. I am pregnant with my sixth child. This is a new pregnancy, and the details of freaking finding out, and all that jazz are very personal and I am not quite sure how much I want to share. Somethings I will tell you are this: This pregnancy is unlike ever I have ever had. This baby doesn't fight or growl or get angry. Its not picky about what it eats, and is quietly walking with me. I am also so much more willing to be uncomfortable and am keenly aware that my Mothering began weeks ago. 

I read an article that talked about new research that show's a baby's cells can enter into a Mother's body and heal organs, blood diseases and even cancer. It was fascinating. 

Anyhoo- I will be working on the aesthetics of the blog, and the different bells and whistles I want to accompany it. I just wanted to breathe some life around here- turn on a light and see what's up. I haven't written anything but research findings and Facebook posts in a long time.