Fakey McFakerson

Mormons don't, and shouldn't, rap. Nor should they be 'Hot Muffins' or 'Men on a Mission'. Let's be who we are. We are not rappers, playgirl models or scantily clad chesty women spouting off double entendre's.

I have a pet peeve. I'm trying not to have any (as an aquataince just taught me, better to say 'It just doesn't resonate with my frequency'), but this one I've tried to let go of and it slapped me in the face again today.

Fake Sales.

You know 'em. You hate 'em. It's where the store advertises a 'going out of business' sale or a black friday sale, and you get there only to realize that there's really no sale at all. Only jacked up prices with price stickers on them made to look like a sale.

Last year when Mervyn's and Linens-n-Things went under, I got sucked into this one. When I tried to point out to the lovey sales lady that the original price printed on the price tag was actually lower than the price on the sticker covering it, she just gave me a blank stare. Was I the only one? Really, not everyone can buy into this insulting attempt at trying to cheat the customer, can they?

It happened again today at Macy's. I saw an ad on TV that if I went online I could print some coupons and take off even more than what they were offering at the Black Friday and Saturday Sales. I was a little skeptical, but jumped in nonetheless.

Shoes 'marked down' to $63.99? Little girls shirt 'clearanced' at $24.99? No, no, no, no. Do most people look that dumb? I don't know. I didn't stick around long enough to make my own assessments.

The point is, I hate fake things - unless it's like fake bugs or vomit, used to play a joke on someone. Then that's totally up my alley. But clearly these sales are meant to decieve the shopper into thinking they are getting some sort of deal when in fact, they are not.

Macy's, Mervyn's, Linens-n-Things....LIARS! You wasted my time, shame on you.

But this leads us to an interesting discussion. Aren't we all fake on some level? Aren't we all trying to decieve others (or ourselves) somehow?

I realized last month that I had been deceiving myself into thinking I have been thinner the past 4 years than I actually have been. Not an intentional deception, but one nonetheless.

A while ago I noticed all the icons on people's blogs that they read Nie Nie. Now, I had no clue who this person was, but my friend Jonelle told me a little bit to her back story. Then, the board for the Holistic LDS Living Conference (see our facebook icon on the right???) decided to see if she would be our keynote speaker. She had conflicts, but after we asked her, I began to see her appearances all over the place. Oprah, the news, the Today Show.

Seems like a lovely family who have been through a lot, but what has really impressed me is her lack of hesitation to get out there, even though she is severely burned on her face.

You know, our society hems and haws about all sorts of things and wanting to "fake it" in front of others. And not that I'm judging others to whatever degree they fake things. Whether it's fake boobs (or a heavily padded bra), fake happiness, fake looks (ie makeup and coloring hair)...we all put on airs and 'enhancements' to some degree - I'm as guilty of it as others.

I'm just wondering if we all might be better off just being more real and honest, who we are. After all, if Nie Nie can happily show her face all over this country and be at peace and inspire others in the process, don't you think we all can accept what we might consider slightly undesirable in ourselves?

No need to put a jacked up crazy price tag on the original. You might find that people love you just the way you are and you don't need to pretend at all. In fact, you might find that YOU love you just the way you are and are happier.