The Society of Relief

Our Stake received tickets to the General Relief Society Conference this year. So Marta and I headed to Salt Lake City after a morning of volunteering at the Utah Community Food Co-Op down at Centro Hispano in Provo.
There was no better way to celebrate this event than going out to a Russian restaurant before the Conference. Our first try was "Little Russian Restaurant" in Midvale, Utah. Apparently Russian cuisine wasn't too popular in that part of town for they were replaced by a Sushi grill. So next restaurant on the list was "Arbat." (I called ahead to ensure that they were still operating.) We get there and ordered from the menu: pelimeni and blinchiki with strawberry-banana flavored kefir. Yum!
We were the only people there. We had to wait about ten minutes while the nice Armenian ladies cooked our food...and we got to see Armenian music videos. The food was delicious when it came. I don't understand why we don't make our food taste like that. It's so incredibly delicious.
We arrived to our destination and quickly changed into our skirts. Herding towards the Conference Center was a bit of a hassle...but well worth the effort! We were seated on Balcony 3 at Entry J. Fun times! The first time I ever went to the Conference Center was for a Musical on Temple Square with Renee Flemings(?) singing. Lane invited me. I believe it was December 2005g.?
Sisters Julie B. Beck, Silvia H. Allred, and Barbara Thompson of the General Relief Society Presidency spoke as well as President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency. Here are a few of my inspired notes:

• There is MORE to be done! Fulfill your purpose like NEVER before!
• The Holy Ghost will show me ALL things whatsoever I should do.
• Increase my offering!
• "When the opportunity presents itself, you will be prepared and ready!"
• Help is needed most often in our own homes and neighborhoods.
• The [Relief] Society is not to relieve the poor but to save lives.
• The glory of God is intelligence!
• We need to step up now more than ever! Live up to your privileges.
• Heavenly Father is a God of creativity and compassion. We should emulate these qualities.
• What you create doesn't have to be perfect! Don't let fear stop you!
• You will improve not only the world around you--but also and especially the world within you.
• Service and Sacrifice opens the windows of Heaven and Christ smiles down upon you. They add substance to your soul.
• Those that bring sunshine to others cannot keep it from themselves.
  
• Be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to answer another's prayers.
• HAPPINESS IS MY HERITAGE!

After the Conference concluded we made our way back to the car and struggled with our navigation skills to locate the Cheesecake Factory! We finally found the restaurant. I was privileged to meet Marta's best (guy) friend, Vance. Funny character! The kid is a hoot! Melody came also! She's so precious! And Vance's co-worker, Nicole! We had a blast. Our waitress had been workin' since 9 a.m. Poor thing!
We finish eatin' our cheesecake (a food of the gods...) and we debated on going Disco Skating with Lane in Sandy. So I called him up to get directions. Melody insisted that we were going. 10 p.m. at night...??? Really? Awww...ok. But then Marta layed down the law and said she needed to get some readin' done! Woo-hoo! I was dead tired anyway. Yeah to sleep!