Movies, Updates and Bonnie Brae

Here is a movie I highly reccomend NOT renting. The movie is called Fragments (aka Winged Creatures). And it starred an amazing cast too, which makes it that much worse. Dakota Fanning, Forrest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsdale, Josh Hutcherson, Jennifer Hudson and Guy Pearce. Amazing ensemble right? And they are touting this as a suspense movie...and I am now thinking, HOW so?! This people were all in a diner together, when a man with a gun shows up and murders a few of them before turning the gun on himself. Dakota's dad was one of the victims. Well, *SPOLIER*, Dakota becomes obsessed with God, her best friend played by Josh, he stops talking and withdraws from the world. Kate Beckinsdale has a baby, but she starts leaving him in the car while she goes off and has meaningless sex with anybody she can. Forrest, who is dying from cancer, goes to Vegas to gamble his life savings. And Guy Pearce, who wasn't even IN the diner, he treated them after, he starts experimenting on his wife, to try and cure her migraines....without her knowledge! Well Kate ends up having her child taken away and has to go to a place to get help. Guy Pearce almost kills his own wife with his experiments. Forrest loses almost everything and is beaten almost to death but brings a check for 100K home to his daughter Jennifer Hudson. And Josh Hutcherson, the mute boy, goes back to the diner with a gun, so Dakota goes with her Mom, and finally admits her Dad wasn't the Christ-like hero she'd been calling him. As she and Josh hid under the table, she was holding her father's hand. Then he was confronted by the gun man and begged for his life and wet himself. Dakota shook her hand free and then her Dad was shot. So she blamed herself for being ashamed and for not saving her father. And after the gun man left them she told Josh to NEVER speak about this, as she poured soda on her father, so no one would know he wet his pants. So that was why he ended up being mute. And that is the end...what the crap?!! How was that suspense? And yes, I get that people spiral after being involved in such tragic events, but besides showing that, what did it show? They never showed them healing, this was such a miserable movie!

I also watched Obsessed with Beyonce and Ali Larter, and it was good. I give the biggest kudos to Ali because it is harder to be the villain. Yeah, apparently it is more fun, but Ali really had to show her acting chomps, by turning into someone that crazy and that delusional! Beyonce had an easy role, I am sorry but it is true. First she gets mad when she finds out all this crap has been going on and her husband didn't tell her. Then she forgives him. Then she has to fight with Ali Larter. Ooooh. Not really much of a challenge. This concept HAS been done before. So I hope this wasn't supposed to show us that Beyonce is a REAL actress, because it is Ali that did all the work. She goes from a sweet temp, to someone so convinced she is in a relationship, that she sends flowers to herself, but thinks they are from him! Wow. Psycho. So this was a good flick. LOL.

My poor Mom, still recovering from kidney stones, now has bronchitis, which makes the stones worse, as coughing makes her need to pee every 5 minutes!! And she sounds just dreadful. I am going to check in on her around 5 and call in sick for her if she can't make it into work. She can speak without hacking, poor Mom. And my Dad's knee surgery is in exactly one week.

Plus people who were supposed to be cook staff at Hartford Stake's Girls Camp (which my Auntie is the head cook for again) are pulling out. I emailed her again, telling her I am more than willing to go up and help. Hartford Stake will always be MY stake, I don't care that they placed us in a different one, I grew up in Hartford's and love all the people from that stake! So I actually hope she accepts my offer, I love Bonnie Brae! It is so beautiful! I am still jealous that the camp was SO not like this when I was a camper!! Here are some pics I took a couple of years ago. Pay attention to the small print too!

* This is the NEW boathouse, where the cooks sleep. It has a kitchen and showers, everything! I still won't sleep over!

*This is the dining hall that's attached to the kitchen.

*This is the new porch they put on the dining hall. See the left part. That was where we crammed together when I was a camper to sing. I think it made us closer in spirit too!

*These are the "tree house" cabins! I KNOW! They even have back porches overlooking the lake!

*These are the cabins (!!) Level One used!

*Check out the awesome bunks they have inside, we had ratty cots with broken springs! I SWEAR!

*And look at the walkways they built to get around the campsites easier! It is like that in most of the sites now!

*Look at the fireplace! Doesn't it make you sick, it is so pretty and easy looking! We sat on logs! So jealous!

*These are what I call the Beehive's. They have a ceiling window and everything. Level 2 stayed here this year.

*And inside the hives...which have electricity just like the cabins! Rrrrr!

Even Level 4, which still has the tents we used as campers, has it sweeter! They have the same walkways and fire pits and this:

*They are set up as neighboring tents ON platforms. So three tents are like a communal area! Cool! Easier to get together in tents to talk all night!

*And this is the beautiful lakefront!! So peaceful at dusk!

*The Arts & Crafts building is an original building. But they redid the inside and it has showers, etc. No pics sorry! And they put great rockers on the porch!

The things that drive me most batty though? There are bathrooms (not latrines really) everywhere now!! If I wanted to use a real bathroom when I was staying at the farthest campsite, it was a 20 minute walk one way. And you had to take a buddy. But now, they have them between every site, if not AT the site! Aggh! And with showers! There was only the showers at that main bathroom, about 6 of them and so showers were rare! Not anymore! And then there is the newest building, where most of the other staff choose to stay at. I call it the Swiss Chalet! I lost the outside pic, it is 2 stories and BRAND new, 3 years ago.

*They have these single bed bunks all around the open top floor. They have privacy screens you can use for when you dress or read at night. And each has a wall jack so yeah that IS a fan right there! Double GRRRR!

Anyone not a cook or a level leader stays here!! Even Arts & Crafts! They let the youth camp leaders stay in Arts & Crafts. Why would you stay anywhere else? It has a full kitchen, TV (supposedly they don't use it), this amazing fireplace:

And the living room!

Can you believe these girls AND women get to camp like THIS?!! Seriously though, while it may have gotten fancied ( I am laughing because it is SO much more than fancied up!) up over the last 10 years, Bonnie Brae just has this special quality to it. At least while our church is there. I just feel at peace there, even as I am slaving over meals for the campers who don't even fully appreciate how much work it takes to feed them all. (Even while some girls are so rude that they go through line again and the cooks haven't eaten yet and that could mean they are left with nothing. Yes, we have had that happen. Even when they are told, no seconds, until the cooks say so, some girls just haven't learned anything from their parents obviously.)

Anyway, the tents in this one campsite that has been left untouched are what I had as a camper. They were in every campsite and there were no walkways to the other tents or fire. You stumbled over the roots like everyone else! Here is what Bonnie Brae camping was for me:

And this was the creepy boathouse we used. It is gone now. They built a big deck overlooking where the girls swim, it is kind of like a sundeck, but I managed to get this picture taken before they took the Old boathouse down. It was scary to go in, no lights or anything!

At least they haven't touched the Gong, which they ring at meal times and special events. You can hear it ALL the way through the entire camp!! Man I so want to get to go back! I hope Auntie needs some extra help. No, I don't get to enjoy the new gorgeous digs, but I hate camping, bugs are so nasty...and scary. It may be an hour drive each way, but I love taking a hot shower and getting into my comfy bed after! The spirit, you can feel it there while we are there. And it is just...special. Bonnie Brae is in my heart and runs through my veins.

Excercise Buddy and Hair Cuts

Agh it has been a day with good and bad qualities to it. I will go with the bad first so that I can get past it and get to the better things. Sandy announced tonight that she no longer wants to wait for me to do excercises with, which has seriously devestated me. What she doesn't seem to be getting, even though I have tried to get it through to her, is that I need her. I can't do this without her. I was really proud when we hit one month of working out last month, but I knew the only reason I had made it that far was my sister. Sandy's nickname is Sarge. She is very bossy and opinionated, but in this case it has proved invaluable to me. She doesn't let me give up even when I am sure I can't walk another step or dance another shuffle. She encourages me to keep on going, that I can do it, and for some reason when she says it, I keep on trying. I hate excercise, it is something I detest and even though I know it is good for me, it is something I avoid at all costs. And I know without her, and it will not be intentional, but without her, by the time a month goes by, I wil either be doing it rarely or have stopped altogether. She is my motivator. Yes I want to lose weight, but without her by my side, keeping me going, I am going to fail. Sometimes you need someone, especially in times where you are doing badly, which I am right now, you need a person you look to, to keep going, and in this regard, at this time, it is my sister Sam. My Mom offered to excercise with me, and I would love for her to excercise with me too, but my Mom is like me when it comes to excercise..."I'm tired...wanna stop?", "Okay!". Yeah it was supposed to be me and my mother before many times, but her job makes her so tired and her back aches, so that she won't end up being able to do it, or like only once a week, which won't do anything to help me. I need my sister right now and don't know if she is going to pull through for me, which I really need her to. I know I can keep going if I have my Sarge spurning me on. I've been in tears over this because I know me. I have started off before on my own and it just doesn't work. I get bored, restless, and I quit. But if Sam stayed by excercise partner, she wouldn't let me. I need that, and I need her. I can only pray she sees how much I need her and changes her mind. I know she'd like to excercise early to get it over with, but we were doing so well together, and I started the evening really feeling better about myself. (Sam...please. I could try for earlier on Wednesdays and Fridays...I need you kid.)

Ahhhh let us stop the tears from falling again and talk about other things. Some of us went to the YM/YW fundraiser at church tonight. You buy 5 raffle tickets and you get a scoop of pasta, some salad, a roll, a cup of soda and some ice cream. All for 2.50. Sure if you want more scoops, you must buy more tickets. But I had two left over tickets and left them on the table. They were also going to have a dessert auction at the end but we didn't stay for that. The Poor Man's Lasagna was good, I knew it would be, Sister H., the Bishop's wife made them ALL and is a very good chef. Then we went and picked up my Mom's RX from CVS, she came home early because she wasn't feeling well and the Doc prescribed her some medicine. My Mom felt well enough to fix my hair though, so yay. She cut it, I think it was supposed to be less short than it is, because she kept going hmm, and asked my sister is this straight and it was a negative so another set of hands was cutting at my hair, but it is cute I hope. Some cuts don't look good on everyone, I only hope it does suit me. And then she re-colored my hair and it is perfect, and I love the color. I just wish myhair would HOLD the color the way it did before the surgery. I used to color it and it would stay flaming red for 6 months! Now, by two weeks in, it is not the color I loved. That suckkkkkksssssss. So here are a few pics of the new 'do. What do you think? Be honest, maybe I can use clips if it looks odd on me. Or head bands.

I am sorry, I am still so upset about this Sam thing. I just need her. Do I sound needy? Maybe I am. But I was feeling like I was doing something, really getting something accomplished, and like that, it is gone. I admit, I am not strong, especially right now, I am struggling to take it day by day. And I got used to Sandy keeping me in line and being my excercise rock. I just don't know what I will do now, and need to get the feelings out. And if she reads this, maybe she can understand why it is so important to me. Why I need her Sarge to keep going.

Can't wait to see Weezie at her Pampered Chef party tommorrow, she is pregnant for the first time, and she calls HER baby, all 2 months old, Tadpole!! I wanna see if she is getting a belly yet!! It should be fun.

Belly Relief

So as I mentioned, on Friday night Katie taught a bellydance class at church for the Relief Society. She was nervous, so Mom, Sam and I all went. I appointed myself photographer, as no, I will NOT bellydance! Sam tried it basically the whole time, and my Mom even participated some of the time, AND she laughed. They ALL laughed and seemed to have a great time.

Katie brought in as many of her hip scarves (the ones that don't cost hundreds of dollars) as she could and there were enough for everyone there, only about 10-12 showed up. The Bishop's wife was a No-Show, which was SO disappointing! I was REALLY looking forward to getting pics of Jahoodie (my way of saying her name...with LOVE!!) sashaying across the floor, shaking what God gave her!! Alas, NO Jahoodie!

Anyway, they really enjoyed it. And Katie was NICE. Not that she isn't nice, but according to Gina, Katie is a real task master as a teacher. And Kate was trying to fit SO much into an hour class. A few of the women were like "Man, I am sweating from shaking my belly", and stuff like that, which made me laugh. I see Kate of Gina after they perform for 10 minutes and they are one huge layer of sweat, and Kate has been doing this almost 10 years, so it never gets easier per say, it really works you out. Katie drinks down 2 bottles of water in like 10 minutes, and that is after shorter gigs. I have seen these two women dance for an HOUR, and man...do not hug them or get too close, thay are hot, sweaty and smelly. Naturally, but still, sopping wet. So seeing these women realize how much work it actually is, was really cool. I know because of the amount of time I have helped Kate and Gina. Bellydancers are really underappreciated, they don't get the thanks, etc they so deserve. It is really difficult, the costumes are $800 a piece at least, and people will bash them as they dance. I say out of jealousy, why else would you say, "no she is fat" when you see one dancing, and know she can hear. Jealousy. Gina has stopped, when she dances at the dreaded hookah bar and gets in their face, she will only take so much, which is cool to see, I have to tell you.

Anyway, Sam and Mom were all achy Saturday, and I saw on Facebook, a few of the sisters are considering taking one of Katie's real classes that she offers!! Yeah go Kate!

And here is Kate's PRO website, nolast names so it is fine, and there are a lot of shots I took of her at gigs on one of the pages, she is just amazing, teaching wise and performing! Click HERE.

NOOOO It is Back!

They ARE bringing it back. The Church Nativity Walk. Why is it called walk, when all you do is have People's Nativity's all over the gym on tables...I dunno...uh you walk over to them maybe...but it is SO boring and this has REPLACED our Ward Christmas party!! All you do is for the three nights it is open is you go and LOOK at Nativity's. No food, no fun anything. Just bring non-Mormon friends and LOOK. and then leave.

So I got roped in last year to do a Mural. I did NOT volunteer, I was emailed and ASKED...and did I say NO, like I wanted to? No. I made sketches up and let Beth pick the one she felt most went along with her ideas, as the Ward...uhhh....crap...Activity Director!! Knew I'd remember! So she picked the one and told me, it would be QUITE large, I'd get paint and it was on sheet rock that someone was building to be standing. And I told her my requirements, I wanted them on plastic, so I wouldn't ruin church property, and I wanted them at the church by THIS date so I had time to paint this HUGE thing. She assured me she had paint,etc.

So I get to the church with a couple of family members, and first, I find it on the stage, the carpeted stage. I said ON the gym floor, as it is wood and easier for me to work on. And was it ON plastic? Nope, had to do that ourselves. Was it free standing? Nope, they NEVER did that, it was all leaning against the walls. And my paint...was housepaint, which wouldn't have been so bad, if not for the fact that it was ancient paint, most were rusted closed, and couldn't be used, they would have HARMED me and any family member I had helping me on a particular day. So we had to go through 75 cans of paint to find out WHAT colors they were, and if we could USE them, and how much was in each bucket. Sam helped me with this it took hours. AND was it nice smooth flat sheet rock, as PROMISED? Of course NOT! Why be correct about even ONE thing. No I was very upset and dismayed to see it was particle board. VERY textured, so very hard to paint on, and get in ALL the grooves and crannies. And as I knew I was going to be using my hands for blending...was going to be very scary painting-wise. SO we left for the night.

I returned a few days later with Sam and Mom, and sketched it out onto the particle board with charcoal, I needed to know where the lines were. And that took forever, Boy was I really sorry I had gotten hoodwinked into this. I was ready to lose it. And so I got OCD, and knew I wanted it done ASAP. Mom and Sandy helped me one night, the basic layers and basic colors for the sand and rocks and trees. One day I went over and Katie showed up a few hours later and helped me do the buildings which was just in black except for the windopws but took hours and hours. Then I went over again, and my Dad was like don't, go another day, RELAX. But I was miserable!! I HATED this, I was SO unhappy, the painting, even the basic stuff was taking multiple coats because of all the nooks and crannies needing to be filled. And this was going to LOOK GOOD. I was not going to have people say Wendy did that at church and it look crappy, so every NOOK had to be FILLED!

So I went over by myself, time to work on the sky and make sure it all looked right. I had used my hand only a little for blending so far, so I had not really experienced how my hands would be treated. I started to mix the paints, I needed about 6 shades of blue from light blue to a very dark blue to achieve what my goal was. Over the city the lights of the sky would be a light blue, from all the city lights but as you went further out, into the dessert I wanted the sky to look normal, so DARK. So I was finishing up making all these colors/hues with this crappy house paints I had been given, when I hear a knock on the glass doors down the hallway. I left the stage and went out into the hall and saw....my Dad! Not an artistic bone in his body but he was there ready to be the next paint slave!! So I drew lines of where he should paint a blue and then when he was done I drew another line, and while he was on to the next shade of blue, I started using my hands to blend the colors so it would look like a gradual transition from light to dark.

OW!!! I was worried and I was right to worry, As I swirled and squished the paint, the particle board stabbed me over and over again. As I blended it BIT me. And I LOVE using my hands. My Dad could put up the initial paint, but I had all the buckets and pans available so I could get the paint to really blend. That means bare hands into buckets, coating them in paint so I could really work the colors in...and really working them in was ripping my hands! Owwww!! Even when it didn't puncture it still scratched and felt like little stabs.

So after that I had some touch ups and I was done...and happy...with IT, not the experience. Then we had to clean up, which took forever. My Dad went down the street and brought us back McD's. And we gathered all my supplies together and finally LEFT, DONE. I contacted Beth and reminded her, that as she had said this was to be used year AFTER year, she had to have it sprayed with a product to lock the paint in. And I told her to do it OUTSIDE as it is powerful stuff. She SAID she would have the missionairies do it...did she? EVER? No, so I have NO idea what shape my mural is in now. Which will be a shame (I am downplaying my anger) because everyone said they loved it, which made me feel nice. But here is one thing...if they asked me AGAIN? NEVER. NEVER EVER EVER again, will I make them a Christmas mural. That might make me a bad girl but I don't care! They LIED to me about everything. And this was SO stressful, even with the help of my family as paint slaves, they so did NOT enjoy putting the base colors on...especially when they dripped (old BAD paint people!) and they KNEW I would make them fix it. So here is my "labour of love"....never again.

Flashback Video and Thoughts On....

HOW DID this ever get so popular?!! It was though, it was always being played, and everyone just adored Gerardo...now all I think is...WHY? LOL.


Talking about Mormon-isms, which most are NOT me, so no clue if I am a "proper" Mormon, I don't mind being a rebel Mormon though. Anyway, it made me think about my Seminary days...and how much I HATED THEM. The year I started, Sister Hoeger was replaced by the current Bishop's wife. Now I had really wanted Sister Hoeger (all the kids said how FUN seminary was, so I was really bummed) but I thought it might still be fun. Even though it was at 6 am...My first year it was at the church. On the hard metal chairs around tables...it was SO boring. My brother was graduating that year and was allowed to sleep on the floor in the back of the room...I think it was because he was dating the seminary teacher's daughter!! Grrr. Anyway, it was really boring, and I do NOT learn well that way.

Second year, same teacher, now at her house and no more big brother, so my Dad and Jeff's Dad took turns picking us up and dropping us off, since we now lived like 2 minutes from the other. It was in her finished basement and we sat on couches or bean bags, but the lessons were as dry and boring as ever. And again her daughter and son flaunted in when they felt like it, in their P.J.'s. Everyone else was dressed, because when I was dropped off at home, I had like 5 minutes before I had to leave to walk to school. Again I do not learn well this way.

Third Year, new teacher and at her house...all the way in Berlin, so an even longer drive. I was picked up at 5:30 so I had to be up by 5 am. So we could be there for the 6am class and leave by 6:45 at the latest. And get home just in time to grab my books and lunch...and walk to school. She had us seated on her hard dining room chairs around her dining room table...I do not learn well this way, it was just as boring.

Final Year, they move it to the High School, so luckily it was a 8 minute walk for me and Katie, who was starting that year. So we were the freaky students in a homeroom that when kids started showing up and notices us IN a class, they would stare in at us. Yeah that was just great. And the new teacher...the most boring yet, but partial to her son and his buddies. Yeah. So again, I don't learn well like this. Basically I remember nada from Seminary, which is why I want them to make a Dummy's Guide to the Book of Mormon. Reading it also doesn't register with me.

I am a hands on learner. I KNOW I would have retained lots of knowledge from Sister Hoeger. She used bribery (candy!!) if you got answers right....please that is always an incentive with teenagers, and she did things like this: After all my sisters finished with Seminary she was called again. I know, that sucks. One thing she did was bring the class to the Meriden Mall's parking lot and they measured out Noah's Ark...in cubits and everything!! They were even in the paper. Now that is engaging your students, making learning fun. I NEVER had that. So while I did indeed graduate from Seminary, I hated it. It was worse than any Sunday meeting I have ever been to. And also, Institute, same way as Seminary so no I stopped going, felt NO compulsion to attend, it does not teach me anything! They need to get people to learn in a way where even people who are very visual LIKE me, will understand and get it. At Girl's Camp, I understood what was being taught and loved it! When we did Super Saturdays, LOVED them. Then they stopped and Wendy no learn anymore. How can you learn when you just want to sleep because it is so boring AND you are SO tired. And everything is being done STRAIGHT from the book or manual?!!

You guys who had it as a CREDIT in school are so lucky. A.M. Seminary is SO hard, on top of a regular school days with 8 more periods to go.

From Cool to...ZZZ...why?!

I am dreading the news of what my Ward is doing for Halloween this year. The Ward Halloween parties used to be SO cool and so much fun, and for everyone, not just one age group. But the last maybe 8 years, the concepts are so lame, and stupid. I'm sorry, it's just my opinion, so no one bash me if you go to my Ward and read this. But seriously. The last 8 years are "parties" (they SO belong in paretheses) that, first of all, are only for the enjoyment of the little kids, and second, you don't even get to socialize with anyone, if you are an adult. And the teenagers don't bother to go anymore, and they used to be REALLY involved. It was one of the things I used to look forward to when I was in YW. Nowadays? Well there was the few years, where they asked certain families to decorate a door of a classroom, and the kids "Trick-or-Treated" at your door. Well, besides the fact that you are sitting in a dark room (don't wanna ruin the mood) either by yourself or with some of your family ALL night, you didn't get to be of any festivities happening in the gym. You also didn't get to interact with anyone from church, and the teens didn't participate...really why would they? And then there have been the last year or so, "Trunk-or-Treating". I don't know about you all out there in Mormon Land, but sitting out in the freezing New England weather, with a decorated car trunk, waiting for the primary kids to go to your car and trick or treat (and it's NOT Halloween) sucks. It's only fun for the little ones, again no YW/YM show up, and there is no getting to talk with any church members, there isn't even food in the church or anything. It's freeze your butt outside with a lame car trunk you try to make festive...so NOT cool.

When I was younger (and it was already a LONG standing tradition) and all through my YW years and through my sisters YW years, the Halloween party was the same. In the gym, was where the majority of the party took place. That's where the games were, where you "won" candy. It's where the apple-bobbing was, where they painted faces, where they had the cider donut contest, where they hung from string under the stage ledge and you had to lie on the floor and, whoever ate their whole donut first, with NO hands, won! It's where all the Halloween desserts were brought in and placed on the long tables, with the root beer with dry ice in it, in a cauldron sat. This was Brother Hoeger's specialty. He made sure none of the kids took any dry ice...since apparently drinking dry ice is BAD...I remember being shocked when I was little and was told that. I was like...but, it's just ice!! Anyway, even if you were one of the families doing a game, all the kids going in your line and little ones being escorted by their parents, you were never alone or bored. And everyone else ate snacks and drank root beer or cider.

And then there was the other part. Spook Alley. The YM and YW were in charge of this. They were given a section of the church ( a hallways and then a bunch of school rooms connected by folding doors) and worked for weeks on decorating and planning,etc. This used to scare the crap out of me when I was little. Walking in the dark, maybe some bluelights to make scary white things show up as you were led by a Hostess through the Alley. People jumping out and freaking you out, from some hidden place they made, or from the offices along the hallway. And then you went through "the rooms", each with a different theme or whatever. There was a few years, where the last room had a guy with a chainsaw some out of a upright coffin and chase you, and there was a strobe light, so it all looked like it was in slow motion....so scary but cool too. And a room with a dining couple and then the lid was taken off their meal and there was a human head, and it was talking and moving!! Creepy! When I was part of the Spook Alley, my favorite year I was in the autopsy room. I was a nurse with blood splattered ALL over me (the fake stuff) and I had a drill. And my friend Ben was on the table with innards all over his stomach (pig ones Sister Mayo had picked up!!) and Naomi was the other nurse and Ryan was the mad doctor and had a saw and was sawing through this HUGE bone ( Sister Mayo got a cow bone, LOL!), and Naomi and I got to go and chase the kids out of our room or just yell freaky things until they went into the next room. Si much fun and an excellent way to have the YM and YW involved, and WANTING to be there!! I miss these traditions. Hey, I want to dress up and go talk to people from church. For some reason, when it's such a relaxed setting, I am so much more comfortable at church, even with all the people...probably because half I have known my entire life, but still!

I have more complaints on traditions they have stopped. When I was young, there was a pot luck dinner every month, at least. Just time for ward members to hang out in a relaxed setting...I miss that...and NO, linger-longers (geez I hate that phrase) are NOT the same. Lame!! Maybe I should wait for December to complain about the Ward Christmas parties...what do you think?