Sand Paper or Grindstone??

My sister Tara always told me this story (or stories rather) about how when she was in High School, she and her group of friends, which included my now sister-in-law Staci, would always compare their feet and hands and vote on who had the best and worst looking/feeling of all. I think Tara either got last place on both, or close to last place. And I think Staci always got first place on both, or close to first. We Henry girls can't help it though, we just have rough hands and feet. Dallin has often commented on how my feet are comparable to sand paper or a grindstone. Awesome. Don't hold back, honey! Tell me how you really feel!

Anyhow. My sister-in-law, Andrea recommended that I use a pumice stone every time I am in the shower, so I headed down to my local Sally's Beauty Supply and came home with this...


The whole shebang cost less than $5 bucks and my feet are amazing now. I wish I had taken a before and after picture, but really? Who wants to see my feet? No one. The trick is that little container on the right. You put that stuff on your feet, slip on a pair of socks and let it do the magic. You will have sandal-ready feet in no time, my friends. Dallin has commented on how he misses being able to rub his legs on my heels in bed so he can get rid of his itches... but other than that, no complaints! (I think he would rather me not have "grindstone" heels than be able to scratch his legs, but then again, what do I know!) Either way, hurry down to your local Sally's and spend the best $3-$4 you will ever spend. You can thank me later.

Pumi Bar By Mr. Pumice PURPLE (Coarse)
Heel to Toe Spa Pedicure Collection "Feels Like New" Foot Softener

Lights! Camera! Action!

I've had my windows open since 9 am and my house still faintly smells of popcorn. That could be because I popped about 30 (give or take) quarts of popcorn yesterday. It was pretty sweet. Literally. I made Kettle Corn and Caramel Corn. Both were hits. I made all this popcorn for my Relief Society activity last night. I was in charge of decorations and popcorn fit in perfectly. This is the invitation I made for the night-


Isn't it cute?? I got the idea from some invitation website and recreated it in Photoshop Elements (good heavens I love that program!)

I had a general idea of what I wanted the centerpieces to look like, but I just wasn't sure how I was going to pull it off. Luckily, 2nd ward had an activity with almost the same theme a few weeks ago and I was able to borrow a lot of decorations from them. Angie Eller, you are the best!!

So, here was how it turned out. I have never gotten so many compliments in my life. It felt so good. All the hard work was so worth it.

The food table centerpiece

Full view of the food table (that food was so delicious too. Kendell Prestwich, you are an amazing cook!)

Table centerpieces

I made those little film reels. I was so proud of myself! :) They looked really cute on the tables too, so I think the hours of cutting and spray painting were worth it :)

Full room view

The Stage. We had a talent show after dinner and all the performers were wonderful.

Thank you to all the ladies who helped me to decorate and donated their time, resources and talents! It was such a fun night!

Tender Mercies

All last week I was preparing a lesson for the Young Women in our ward here in Salem. The lesson was on Individual Worth. Can I just tell you how crazy/wonderful/awful/amazing/stressful it was??

On Sunday, as I was getting ready for church, I was literally being attacked by thoughts of self doubt. My outfit wasn't cute and trendy enough. I was fat. I wasn't going to be cool enough. My lesson was gonna totally stink. The girls were going to think my handout was dumb. And on and on and on. I sat in the bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror when suddenly, I realized what was happening. The adversary was working overtime on me. He wanted me to doubt every good quality/attribute that I possess. He knew if he got to me, my lesson would most likely fail and those girls would not get to hear the important message I had for them. My individual worth was being ripped to shreds as I stood there in my bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror.

I decided I had had enough. No more stupid thoughts of self doubt! So I squared my shoulders, took a deep breath, said a silent prayer pleading for help to overcome my feelings of inadequacy and finished getting ready. As we left for church, I felt this overwhelming peace settle in on me, and I felt beautiful. I knew who I was and how wonderful my life was. I knew that, yes, I have a few pounds to lose. And yes, I don't have the trendiest clothes or the most unique and special style that others possess. But, I am a daughter of God and He loves me unconditionally. And that is ALL that matters.

I gave my lesson and felt like it went.... ok. I wasn't totally happy with how it all turned out, but I thought the girls felt the spirit and that was my goal. I talked to my friend Shawna yesterday (she is one of the leaders in Young Women's right now) and she said my lesson was a major hit. The girls couldn't stop talking about it and they loved the hair things I had made for each one of them. My spirit soared. I felt so good. I had wanted those girls to know that they were beautiful, talented, special princesses of a Heavenly King, and they felt it. I was on cloud 9. I had done it! It was such a major success for me and I couldn't thank my Heavenly Father enough. He is so good to me.

On another note- I am in charge of the decorations for our Relief Society quarterly activity that's coming up on Tuesday. I am super excited for it. Our theme is "Lights, Camera, Action!" and so I have been scouring the city for all things movie related. My sister in law, Staci, let me borrow some awesome popcorn buckets she has when I was up in Washington last, but she only had three, so I was looking everywhere trying to find three more. Unfortunately, I had been unsuccessful in that endeavor until last night. I had made some gourmet cupcakes for a Young Women/Scout auction that was going on last night and I needed some cheap platters to put them on. Enter: Dollar Tree. I LOVE that place. It is fantabulous. Yes. You read that right, FANTABULOUS! As I was searching, searching, searching for some cute platters, in the section I thought they would be in, I couldn't find anything. So I went to the next aisle over, and lo and behold, there were the platters. But wait... what was two shelves up, directly above the platters? THE POPCORN BUCKETS!! THREE popcorn buckets to be exact. The same as the ones Staci had lent me. Tender mercy?? I think so. I seriously almost started to cry/jump up and down in the store aisle. But I didn't. It was one of those moments where you think, "Heavenly Father seriously knows me and is 100% aware of me, isn't He?" It was an awesome moment. Needless to say, the decorations are going to be awesome and I will be sure to post pictures when it's all set up.

I am continually reminded (usually on a daily basis) of how blessed I am and I am so grateful for those blessings. Oh it is wonderful, wonderful to me.