Publishing a Blog?

Hey all, I heard there is a way to publish blog posts into a book. Does anyone know what website does this? I would love to do so. Thanks! Audra

Our "Novel"

Tuesday, February 17th--This week marks a very special time for Nate and I. We met this week, 10 years ago. WOW! I can't believe how time flies and how life changes so fast. So here's the scoop:

My sister, Amanda, had moved down to Ogden to be with her fiance, Ben, 6 months earlier. She had met a few people on various chat lines on AOL. She met Nate on an LDS chat line, they became quick friends through laughing at joking about many of the ridiculous conversations going on. She and I would always send each other "forwards" and emails to keep in touch. Many of the "forwards" I recognized the other friends/family she sent them to as well but after a few months of living in Utah, she was meeting new people and sending these forwards to them too. Well, with AOL you can set up a profile that allows fellow AOL users to "check you out". So, of course, being the nosey sister, I wanted to see who these new friends were Amanda was chatting with. I came across Nate's profile and absolutely loved what I read. So I asked Amanda about him. Her first response, "Trust me, he's NOT your type!" And truth be told, he wasn't, at first, but then I realized my "type" was the wrong type for me and he WAS the right type! I asked Amanda if Nate would be interested in chatting with me and so she asked him and he said, "Sure." **note: I was NEVER the one to make a first move so it was weird to me I felt comfortable asking.** We chatted for 2 hours! The list of things we had in common were incredible! We met in person 3 weeks later at Amanda and Ben's wedding, in Salt Lake. We went on two dates while I was visiting and by the time I was on the road back home to Silverdale, WA, I realized I was hooked. I checked email when I got home and he had sent the sweetest email. He was hooked too! YES! So, this binder, this incredibly THICK binder, is most of the emails we wrote to each other over the next 6 months, before I moved to Salt Lake to be with Nate for good. We also talked on the phone all the time and I was able to fly down to Salt Lake twice to spend weekends with him and, the second time, meet his family. It's amazing to read them and see how our relationship evolved from an initial interest to a passionate love that is eternal. We knew we wanted to marry each other quite quickly into the relationship but decided to get to know each other and be absolutely sure. Once I was moved to Salt Lake we got engaged and married six months later on March, 10, 2000, in the Salt Lake Temple, 13 months after we met.

I'm so thankful Nate felt the need to save all of the emails and print them up to put in this binder. He did it without me knowing so it was a very sweet surprise when he presented it to me shortly after I moved to Salt Lake. I've enjoyed re-reading all the emails the past couple of weeks. It's brought back so many wonderful memories and insights we shared with each other. For two very shy people, we were open books to one another, something that never ceased to amaze me.

It's been a great and challenging 10 years. I don't think I could have made a better choice in my eternal companion. He's everything to me. We've been through hard times and always seem to come out stronger and more in love with each other. Our relationship still continues to evolve and I'm thankful for that but also thankful to reflect and find that the reasons I first fell in love with Nate are still the same reasons. We are truly blessed! So much has happened in 10 years, SO MUCH, and here's to many more years of happiness, passion, friendship, and true love. In my Valentine's card from Nate, he commented that I am his hero. I feel the same for him, he is my hero and so much more. I love you, Nate, always and forever!

**P.S.---this novel is not available to the public! ; )

Happy Valentine's Day!

Saturday, February 14th--Happy Valentine's Day! Since we went to the dance last night, our Valentine's day was quiet. We spent most of the day just relaxing, which was fine with me! I've had a froggy throat and just developed a stuffy nose shortly after we returned from the dance so I wasn't able to sleep well last night. I got Brady and Elise a few little gifts and they spent the day enjoying them. I found cute travel pillows shaped like dogs that wrap around their necks when we're on road trips or the up-coming flight to Disneyworld/Orlando---Brady's is brown, Elise's is pink. I got Nate a sentimental card with a gift card to Game Stop (not very romantic but it works!). Nate left in the morning to go get my card and gift. I jokingly made a comment as he was heading out, I said, "Waiting to the last minute to get a gift for me, eh?" Elise looked at me and said, "Mommy, daddy already gave you your Valentine's gift. He gave you love. Valentine's day is love." Talk about a major feeling of guilt! So we had a nice chat about love and Valentine's day. However, Nate did come home with a sweet card and a very generous present. He bought a new digital camera. He decided to purchase one that is great quality and will last for a long time. I got one last year and it's already broke so I'm very happy with this new one!

In the evening, we invited ourselves over to Nate's parents house. We brought Granny B's cookies to frost and decorate and ordered Pizza Hut. It was all very yummy! We played games, chatted and just had a good time. Dan and Rosemary had done their Valentine's date the night before so I'm thankful they were willing to let us come over. Nate had a good time figuring out the new camera and taking pics.

Sadie Hawkins Dance

Friday, February 13th--Tonight was our Stake Sadie Hawkins dance. I've spent weeks in preparation for this fun event. First of all, I had to find a date and then ask him. Well, after much thought, considering all the eligible hot males around, I decided to choose the hottest one, my husband, Nate! I got a few little items and made some signs to formally ask him to the dance. And wouldn't ya know? He went into our bedroom and saw the little presentation on our bed, came out, and said, "Yes! Of course!" Phew!
So then it was onto the idea for our matching shirts. I debated this one for a while but got a fabulous idea from my favorite meteorologist, Lindsay. At church, a few weeks ago, I was discussing this very idea with a few friends, Kerri, Julee, and Lindsay and Lindsay said she would not be able to attend but had an idea she wished someone would use. She mentioned she was gonna have her husband's shirt say, "I'm with my hot date" and hers would say, "Hot Date". Well I LOVED this idea and so did my friend, Kerri. So she and I ventured out to Wal-Mart to seek out the ideal matching shirts. We found them in the form of baseball shirts. We also found iron-on vinyl letters. So Nate's shirt says, "I'm with my hot wife" and mine says, "Hot wife". Kind of corny, I know, but they were a big hit at the dance, along with Kerri and her husbands shirts! My other friend, Heather, bought the same matching shirts for her husband and herself but decided not to put anything on them (party pooper! ha ha).

We got to the dance and there was a wonderful spread of food, cute decorations, and plenty of familiar faces. Kerri had a camera so we were able to take some fun and hilarious pictures. It was a great night! I love dances! I miss going to them every week like I did when I was in a singles ward. I miss dancing, slow and fast, so this was a treat! We look forward to next years dance!

A GREAT Day for a Bike Ride!

Saturday, February 7th--Today was a nice enough day that we decided it would be great to take the kids out and let them ride their bikes. Brady got his fancy new bike and headgear for Christmas but the weather hasn't been good so this was the first time he tried it out. It took him a while to figure out how to peddle and keep up momentum but he's got it down now. He seems to love his new bike, helmet and pads. Elise peddles like a mad woman! She can do this well.......with the training wheels. We've been trying to get her use to two wheels but she's not ready so we're hoping, with more sunny days coming up, we can take the training wheels off and work on her getting used to two wheels. We may even teach Brady too! There's a few 4-year-olds in our neighborhood already cruisin' on two wheels so I'm optimistic.
This just reminds me, yet again, my babies are growing up! Too fast!

"Escape"

Monday, February 9th--I am recommending another book! I recently finished "Escape" by Carolyn Jessop. Carolyn Jessop was the 4th wife of Merrill Jessop, a polygamist in high standing within the FLDS community. Her story of abuse, heartache, and struggle during her 17 year marriage to Merrill, producing 8 children as well, is astonishing. I can't even imagine the life she lived! Similar to the book I recommended a few months ago, "Stolen Innocence" by Elissa Wall, this book takes the reader deep into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) with Warren Jeffs as its current leader (he is currently serving time in prison for various reasons). Being LDS, I find many similarities to the FLDS faith but it seems that much of the foundation their religion, which branched from the LDS faith in the late 1800's, has been twisted and changed to accommodate beliefs and opinions of those in high authority. Both of these books educate the reader about the religion in its innocence but shows how corrupt leaders, over many years, have turned the religion into a chaotic mess of beliefs.

Okay, so why am I interested in these books, pertaining to the FLDS community and polygamy? I am fascinated with the lifestyle and how they have altered the LDS religious foundation and customized it to meet their needs and religious desires. Those of you that live near me may already know this, we have several FLDS communities and compounds nearby, most practice polygamy. They pretty much keep to themselves and many of the women choose not to wear the standard dresses and hairstyle so they are able to blend in when there is a need to venture out into the public.

Shortly after authorities stormed the FLDS ranch in Texas, last year, I was shopping in our local Wal-Mart and a FLDS mother and 5 or 6 of her daughters were also shopping there. She was dressed in the plain pastel dress, long sleeves with the dress going down to the ankles, her hair was french braided with the stiff "swoop" bangs that are common among the women in their faith. Her daughters also were wearing dresses similar to their mother and had similar hair styles. I felt so bad for this mother and her family as they walked down aisles and several people had their camera-phones out taking pictures of them. I could tell she was disturbed by it all.

In reading these books, I realize they are one-sided and I pray that the women within the FLDS community are being treated FAR MORE better than the women in these books. If you end up reading "Escape" or "Stolen Innocence", and would like to discuss either of them, please let me know.

De-Cluttering IS Therapeutic!

Thursday, February 5th--I'm am SOO serious about this! I have spent the last couple of weeks, and will be spending plenty more, de-cluttering my house. I pick a room and go through every little nook and cranny. With every item I ask myself: "Do I/we really need this?", "When was the last time I/we used this?" I've been paying attention to some of the professional organizers on TV for the last few years. Their advice: If you haven't used something in a year, get rid of it. For videos/games, if you haven't watched/played it in 2-3 years, get rid of it. If you haven't wore an item of clothing in 2 years, get rid of it. If you buy a new item of clothing, take an old item out.
I have been applying these tips and, WOW, it has been amazing. The change in my attitude and mood has been incredible! I still have good days and bad---or bad months (January, bleh!) but I feel "lighter". I love to be in my kitchen and open cupboards. I don't mind going into my closet. I understand how clutter can effect your mood now! I had the kids help me de-clutter their toys and we're getting rid of all the ones they don't play with anymore. There are LOTS. Next, the storage room needs to be conquered. I've started it and there's much more to do with a big pile of stuff to give away already. But it'll happen and I will love my storage room again!
With all the de-cluttering, I'm finding there's more space in our home---space to just breathe, not fill! And the cool thing about all of this, I have no desire to go out and purchase new things to fill the empty spaces. So when I say this has been therapeutic, I truly mean it! And that's a wonderful thing because this year I'm hoping to devote to improving myself and my familys well-being. Wish me luck, I'm on my way and feeling optimistic (knock on wood!)