Fantastic New Feature of yourLDSneighborhood

Hi! My name is Candace E. Salima and I'm excited to be a new member of the yourLDSneighborhood team. I have been hired to manage a new feature of the Neighborhood. Bloggers! We'll have 13 different people blogging on a variety of subjects. You'll love dropping by to visit.

Let me tell you a little about myself first. I was born into a military family, descended of a long line of authors, musicians, artists, ranchers, farmers, doctors and more. With this very rich heritage I decided early in life that I could not waste this time I was given to develop my talents and make my ancestors proud. The author of Forged in the Refiner's Fire, 13 and 0: Reflections of Champions, Out of the Shadows . . . Into the Light, as well as two health booklets, I have long loved to read and write.

The daughter of a father who survived the invasion of Hitler's war machine in his homeland and a mother who is an often controversial conservative columnist, I spent my childhood on the back of a horse or trudging through the mountains and valleys of the American west. Born in California, I lived in Nebraska, Montana, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico . . . all before I was 12-years-old. As an adult I lived in Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, and another short stint in California before making my home in Utah.

I met my sweetheart at Brigham Young University in 1983. Ten years later I appeared on the Phil Donahue Show in defense of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which aired in 52 countries and precipitated a reunion with my sweetheart. In 1995, Alvin and I were married in the Bountiful Temple and settled in Utah Valley. Unable to have children, we shower our love and attention on our nieces and nephews.

In the course of my life, I have been a reporter, a writer of health booklets, a screenwriter, and a teacher. My philosophy in life is simple . . . everything can be turned into a good story. Hence my nine day rafting trip down the Colorado River, hiking the Colorado Rockies, or horseback riding in the northern Wyoming Grand Teton mountains. A love of BYU football, basketball, swimming, movies, plays, concerts and socializing with family and friends round out my life. All this, and I still prefers to be curled up on my couch with a good book, a cup of hot chocolate and a blustery Winnie-the-Pooh day brewing outside.

That's me in a nutshell. Now on to the fun stuff!

Over the course of the next few days I will be introducing you to our bloggers. I will interview each one and post those interviews here. You will be able to access their articles via the newsstands on each block of yourLDSneighborhood. As you click on each block, you will notice the newsstand toward the bottom of the screen. This is where you will be able to read up on what's going on in the Neighborhood on a variety of subjects, such as:

• Art
• Books
• Clothing
• Home & Family
• Jewelry
• LDS Department Store
• Missionary
• Movies
• Music
• Scrapbooking
• Services
• Travel
• Wedding
  

The topics covered will mirror the blocks, so you will be enlightened, entertained and informed on a variety of subjects and the happenings around the Neighborhood. It's a great place for shopping, browsing, networking and learning.

I invite you to drop back by often. I also encourage you to subscribe to the yourLDSneighborhood newsletter. Four times a week you will receive a wonderful newsletter, filled with information, articles and introductions to all things of good report and praiseworthy, in your inbox.

So come on home to the Neighborhood! We've been waiting.