Getting rid of all my troubles

 Some of my blog readers know that I love the 1960s/70s band the Free Design, who sang songs about happy things like kites, butterflies, and leaves.

One of their songs, "Bubbles," talks about blowing bubbles and chewing bubble gum to deal with hard things. At one point the song lists various hard things: 

"Ma 'n' Pa are arguin' again
Today I lost my best friend
The kitty has a little cold
'N ' Grammama is getting old
My tummy has a little pain
When does Jesus come again?"

This week, some of these lyrics really hit home. So I'm going to describe this week in terms of those lyrics, even though some of them are a stretch.

Ma 'n' Pa are arguin' again

This one isn't actually relevant this week. But I am going on a family vacation later this month to the East Coast, and sometimes they argue on vacation because my dad doesn't like to stop to eat.

Today I lost my best friend

I have casual friends, but I don't actually have a BFF. But I'm trying to get better about reaching out, as I discussed previously. I just don't want to annoy people.

The kitty has a little cold

Well, not actually a cold, but gastrointestinal issues. Which is very gross, especially since he likes to sleep on my bed.

'N ' Grandmama is getting old

Recently, my grandparents decided to move in with my sister and my niece. As part of this arrangement, they have paid for renovations to my sister's house. So there has been a lot going on over there, with both renovations and actual moving. My retired parents have spent a great deal of time helping out, but I haven't helped as much, since I'm working two jobs and I know little to nothing about home renovations, electrical issues, etc. But I have helped put together some furniture and move some things.

My dad used a drill to put this screw in the wall, and the head of the screw just fell off!

My tummy has a little pain

Actually, my tummy hasn't had any pain, which is a surprise, because sometimes I think about all the sugar I eat. I just feel an obsessive need to try all the seasonal things and to support the economy by buying them. But I haven't been waking up for two hours in the middle of the night as much, which is usually a sign I've eaten too much sugar. And though I do eat a lot of sugar (depending on the time of year), I think there's plenty of people who eat just as poorly as I do, but I exercise more than the average person. 

Here are some carrot cookies I made. (I have also been eating carrot soup that I made, which offsets the unhealthy things I eat.)

When does Jesus come again?

Here's a few thoughts about general conference:

• President Nelson's talk about contention was the highlight for me. I really appreciate it when leaders, such as him and Elder Uchtdorf, keep it real and acknowledge that things aren't as picture-perfect as our culture sometimes expects.
• I really appreciate the new emphasis and awareness of Palm Sunday and Easter. I have often felt holy envy for the liturgical calendar, and I was really annoyed in 2017 when I had to attend a session of stake conference the night before Easter. However, I find it anachronistic when people talk about the Palm Sunday/Easter events at the Kirtland Temple. Those early Saints didn't pay attention to Easter. When I have digged through the historical records of early Latter-day Saint history, the only references I find to Easter are when they're talking about it in Europe. It didn't really catch on until later in the nineteenth century.
• I really cringed at the story about crushing water bottles. In that example, you shouldn't follow the prophet, because you really shouldn't be drinking bottled water. I hate single-use plastic, and plastic water bottles are especially egregiously wasteful.

It's too bad the Free Design didn't include a lyric about your favorite pants ripping beyond repair. (I'm glad they ripped when I got in my car, so I could go inside and change, and not when I was already at work.)