Department stores love to lie, especially to women

Department stores are liars. No, I don't mean sales people are liars, or that the company is dishonest, but that the store in itself is a pro at the art of deception. What do I mean? Well, I am glad you asked. 

Some women LOVE shopping and others HATE shopping. Why? 

Women who love shopping: They love shopping because there is something that feels good about spending money, especially when it is on something for yourself. The woman who loves shopping can enter a store, try on a new piece of clothing and say "Dang I look good." 

The deceitful shoes. I was fooled by JC PENNEY. 

I find they are not comfortable,
but painful. 

Women who hate shopping: Either the woman HATES spending money and is a cheapskate, or every time she tries something on, she feels like she looks bad or fat. Then they feel they can't possibly compare to the women they see everywhere else, such as on TV, in the magazines, at the gym or their more attractive family members. 

I have been both. But, let me tell you, I have also felt the department store lies to me, no matter which group I fit in.

I think there is this deception to a department store. It is in the atmosphere. I went shopping for shoes, I thought they fit perfect and after making it home, I realized they fit like crap. 

Other times, I felt I looked terrible in something, but bought it anyway, hoping to look good in it later. It didn't take that much time to look good in it. All it took was a trip home and away from the store. 

This is the conundrum that is shopping at department stores. 

The sounds, smells and scares of teenage girls

I remember a lot about church girls camp. I did not remember how ridiculous the camp songs were. 

They sing about sharks, potatoes, bananas, being a Mormon girl and all sorts of silly things. It's funny though, because when you are a teenager those things don't seem lame or ridiculous.

It makes me wonder how many things that are important to me now, will turn out to be unimportant or cool in the future. 

Plus, I never noticed the smell of camp. It's awful. It smells like sweaty girls and the great outdoors. Right now I am laying on a cot, next to 2-3 stinky pairs of shoes. 

The scares include bugs. I would say cockroaches, Mosquitos and spiders have been the main topic of conversation at night. It's kind of gross. This is why I never liked camping. 

Reflections on church girls camp

In my youth I participated in Girls' Camp with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. All in all, I would say it was a positive experience. However, this year is my turn to be a leader in charge. Whether it is a positive experience from the other end is still to be seen.

Tonight I will be camping out with probably 10-12 girls from my ward (otherwise known as a congregation).  To be directly honest, I HATE CAMPING, SO MUCH. Here is a brief synopsis of my camp experiences from the ages 12-17.

12 year old- My camp leader and I did not get along because I was too loud and didn't keep the campsite clean in her opinion. I was all about having fun. About the second night I was tired of it being hot outside, and my camp leader not being fair (in the mind of a 12-year-old girl), and overall I was just tired. I saw a dead spider hanging in a web above my face when I was in my bunk bed and I started crying. My friend who was not a member of the church and who was in an atheist family came with me. Even though she wasn't super excited about prayers and scripture study, she still had a good time. Over all, I would say it was a positive experience.

13 year old- I still enjoyed camp, but whoever was in charge was so focused on giving us a "spiritual experience" that no one had any fun. Needless to say, my friend who came with me the first year also came this year. She never returned to camp with me after that. Some older girls pretended to be ghosts and scare us. I was mad about that too.

14 year old- I found out in advance that we would not be at the same camp we had gone to the previous years before which had cabins. We would be sleeping on the ground. I decided right then and there I would not be going to camp. Thank goodness too, because it rained and everyone made mud pies etc. For a person who is not much of a girly girl, I hate mud and gross outdoor things.

15 year old- I went to camp and had a good time again. I can't remember much from this year, but I do know I made some really good friends and actually felt like I was getting church reacted lessons out of it. We had some really meaningful moments where I felt like Heavenly Father loved me. I do remember being slightly peeved off at a couple girls from my ward because they were hanging out with each other instead of me. But, at least I made friends from some girls from Osage Beach, Waynesville and so on.

I couldn't find any photos from camp, but this is about as close
as I could get photo-wise. This is another church youth camp I went
to called EFY. We were making blankets for a service project. 

16 year old- I was finally on top of the camp chain in my mind. I was a Junior Camp Counselor. We had our own cabin, which wasn't even a cabin. It was a building which had its own bathrooms. Thank goodness we didn't have to share with the little kids anymore!! Man, this was the first time I had a REALLY good time at camp. This was the year I made my best memories.

We stayed up late and broke a lot of rules. I remember one night three of us were out past lights out to go scare some of the younger campers. We made ghost noises. Unfortunately for us, a leader heard us instead of the girls. I heard the leader saying "GO TO BED." Then when we ran for it. We hung out on the swing set and talked for hours, until we saw a leader coming. I though "oh crap!" and warned the other two. We quickly ran back to our cabin, but as she was yelling and chasing after us with flashlights it was clear we weren't going to make it. We attempted to hide under and behind cars in the parking lot. She still found us. We got told off, but the reason the leader was so upset was because one of the girls in our group was an athlete and ran like and athlete. The other
two of us were overweight and ran like little girls. What she thought she saw was two girls running off with a boy in the middle of the night.

17 year old- This was the year I was on the top top of the chain of command behind the leaders. I remember enjoying it, helping to plan activities and the like. This was the last year my friend Katie and I rapped Mother goose rhymes for the talent show. It was a highly popular act at our talent shows and this year we just kind of did it out of obligation. We banged on trash cans with drumsticks and dressed up like gangsters, it was quite a sight to be seen. My name was "Goose Diddy," sadly right now I can't remember what Katie's alter ego rapper name was. Maybe someday I will remember.

After three nights of sleeping out with these girls, I will definitely have to elaborate the differences. To my leaders then: I am sorry I put you through so much pain and suffering. Thanks for the good memories and reinforcing my dislike for sleeping outside and doing lame crafts.

Collaboration makes all the difference in the world

Whether at work, at home or working on a project with a group of friends, good collaboration makes all the difference in the world.

There is an individual that I have been especially grateful to for all that he has helped me out with. I try to give back as well, so it doesn't feel one sided. That is the worst, when you contribute to a cause that helps out someone else and they take advantage of your willingness to help. I have been in that situation too.

Collaboration, teamwork and friendship is the best thing in life, regardless of whether it is a co-worker helping you out with work that needs to get done, a husband watching the kiddo so you can get some work done or a friend listening to the woes you have in life to help take a load off your shoulders.

All those things have happened to me lately to help my life easier, so thanks people!

The other important thing is being a good people person and collaborator. Of course, not all of us can be outgoing, but if you are hateful when you have to work with someone, nothing will get done as efficiently as it could have.

Obsession blocks out reality

It's funny, I think sometimes our obsession over something can block out reality. It goes along with the concept that love can make us blind.

If you love someone, it is easy to ignore their faults, or not even notice they have them entirely. I think it is the same way to a certain extent with books and movies. If you love a story a lot, it is hard to notice how bad it can truly be. Example: Twilight. Of course, there are other awful stories and movies out there and everyone is entitled to their opinion.

In my case, I LOVE sentimental movies. If it makes me cry and get emotional at the end, to me the film is pure gold. Even, if it is an awful piece of work.

I will admit, I own all the Twilight movies, all the Harry Potter movies and Lord of the Rings movies. Why? Because I read all the books. I felt almost obligated to see and own all the movies. It's just like when I watch a t.v. series. If I liked the beginning of the series, I have to finish out the rest or die trying.

At a point in my life I was either obsessed or devoted time to those books or television shows, so I have to deem them worthwhile, even if they really aren't. Otherwise, I was just wasting my time.

I still get mad at Reagan when he tells me I don't sing as well as "Xtina" or Celine Dion. I may not, in his opinion and the opinion of most Americans, but I have devoted a lot of my life to working on my singing voice. I sang a lot at home, at church and my first audition was when I was 8 or so. Until I was 19 I had the dream of being a musical theatre performer. I still sing my son to sleep, sing at church on Sundays and have the sickening dream of being on some singing reality show.

I guess I want him to be 100 percent in my corner, which is why I get upset when he says I don't sing as well as a singing superstar. (When I know of course, that I don't.)

When you devote part of your life to something or you obsess over something for a chunk of your life, it is too difficult to admit that it might have been a waste of time. It also might be hard to admit that you are not as good at something as you hoped you would be.

In other words, obsession blocks your reality.

A g-rated list of guilty pleasures

If there is one thing I can point out that I have learned about people, it's that everyone has different opinions on everything. Whether it is something as complicated as politics or religion or something as simple as if you like olives or not. 

We all have what we might refer to as our "guilty pleasures." Things that we love and might be a little ashamed of. Here is my list below. I know it might seem lame or sad, but I like these things so GET OVER IT and go back to eating a whole package of Oreos, or whatever you fancy that I think is disgusting and lame. 

1) Laura Croft: Tomb Raider- Yes, I admit this is very sad. For someone who has seen a combined total of 1300 movies and tv shows (via my Netflix profile ratings and yes I rate everything. We will get to that later.) it is really sad to indulge is such utter crap. However, when I am feeling upset somehow seeing a woman kick butt who is considered to be hot by many guys is somehow inspiring (yes, laugh all you want world). This does not mean I aspire to be like, especially when her character is so badly underdeveloped. It just makes me feel motivated to get up and be awesome, for some weird reason which I can't comprehend. It must be some sort of woman empowering thing. Also- Daniel Craig and Gerard Butler (the love interests in movies I and II) are both very appealing. 

2) Anything covered with lots of cheese- Ewww. I know. It's the worst way in the world to eat. However, when I am over emotional, there is something about a pizza, burrito, taco, cubes of cheese or anything with the dairy product. It seems to fill an emotional void. I don't know why. Some women may devour ice cream, I devour cheese. Don't worry, I am working on it. I don't want to die of heart disease when I am 35. 

3) Singing in my car very loudly- For those of you who grew up with me or have had the privilege of making me feel 100 percent comfortable with you, you probably knew this about me. (Yes, I do hold things back from people. Shocking I know.) It just feels good to pour out my heart and soul while driving. So, if you see me driving to and from work in Missouri (which I do a lot, because I commute a lot), be prepared to see me making weird faces while singing. 

4) Watching lame made for tv chick flicks- I love doing this on occasion, especially when I am feeling sentimental or particularly sad. It helps me cry. Something just feels good about a good cry over something as meaningless as a lame made for tv movie.