My first post...

I want to start my first post by thanking Daryll Jonnson for the opportunity I have been given to be a part of the LDSWA community. I am thrilled to be blogging here and pray that I can entertain, touch, and enlighten those who read my posts. A big thank you also to my mother-in-law, Holly Bateman, for introducing me to LDSWA and this opportunity.

First of, I would like to tell you all a little about myself, then I will discuss what my plans for this blog are.

Growing up, I always thought my name, Rachel, was quite boring. I had severe second-child syndrome and felt my parents had wasted all their creativity on my older sister, Rani (Rain-ie). Over the years, I began to first appreciate, then finally love my name.

I was raised in a loving household, though one lacking the gospel. I first met with the missionaries during my last semester of High School, much to the dismay of my father. The spirit touched me powerfully a short time after and I was baptized. Now, nearly seven years later, my parents have both accepted my beliefs and my religion and have seen the Church's influence in my life.

After moving around the country for just over three years after graduation, I finally settled (for the time being) in Bozeman, Montana, where I met my wonderful husband.

We have roughly a year and a half left here before we will move on to our next adventure in life.

A former massage therapist (one big shoulder surgery is enough for that profession to be ended), I am now employed as a film buyer (we are the people who negotiate with film companies to get movies in the theatres). While I love my job dearly and will be sad to eventually leave it, it is not my biggest passion in life. I write. I write whatever and where ever I can. When I am not busy working on my novel or many short stories, I spend my time writing blogs or reading. When my husband and I move on from Montana, it will be for me to go back to college to pursue a masters degree in Russian Translation. I hope to be able to use my writing and translating skills later in life as these skills are highly conducive of a career that would allow me to stay home with our children in the future.

Okay, enough about me. What do I intend to do with this blog? Well, after much thought, I have decided, so here we go:

MONDAYS: Mondays are by far my busiest day at work. We are catching up from the weekend (the busiest part of the movie week) and trying to solidify bookings for the upcoming Friday. Because of this, I have very limited time to blog on Mondays. Unless I have something newsworthy to post, Mondays will be reserved for simply updating our spiritual thought of the week.

TUESDAYS: On Tuesdays, I will post articles about womanhood. Some will be spiritual and gospel based, some will not. I will strive to find articles that are in harmony with the teachings of the church and are empowering to women.

WEDNESDAYS: We all know the soul consists of both the body and the spirit. On Wednesdays, I will be posting tips and articles about well being-physical, spiritual, and mental.

THURSDAYS: Inspired by my Stake President, I have decided to make Thursdays "Seven Simple Steps" day. I will be covering a multitude of different topics; if you have any suggestions for what you would like to see broken down into "Seven Simple Steps", feel free to comment and I will do my best to post it!

FRIDAYS: Since weekends are, for the most part, when people are looking for entertainment, Fridays will be devoted to just that. I will research and review books, music, and movies (both in theatres and out). In todays world, it is very difficult to come by good, wholesome entertainment; I hope to be able to help our LDSWA women find entertainment that lives up our standards.

SATURDAYS: I feel it is important for us to get to know other LDS women, so Saturdays will be devoted to interviews. I will be interviewing women in our LDSWA community, women around the world, and women of special note in the LDS community. If you have any requests or referrals for interviews, comment me and I will do all I can to contact the woman for an interview. I will notify readers of any high profile interviews as soon as they are scheduled so you can all contribute questions!

The blog will be dark on Sundays, as I will be observing the Sabbath.

I thank you all for reading. Enjoy!

* *Rae* *