Mish Mash

I sat faithfully doing my weights this morning, making a mental list of all the things I can blog about today...

Then I got on the treadmill, and found myself in endorphin heaven and promptly forgot the entire list... so, how bout a few headings:

More new babies!!

One of my dearest friends delivered a new tiny baby on Dec. 27th. SuperBaby is her blog.. but pictures can be found at Aunt Tabitha's blog. Time for a new time ticker-- I'll be flying out to Atlanta to see the new addition in February! Hurray!!

Redecorating: An update on the Water Damage:

The carpet in my second bedroom started turning ORANGE!!! I pulled it up, dreading the appearance of mold, but the only conclusion I can come to is that the file cabinet that I THOUGHT was out of the way of the water, started to rust. The insurance check finally came and I went and bought laminate to put down in the room. What an adventure! It will look so good!! Wish me luck with the installation! Once I find the cord to download my pictures, I'll post some! :P

My dining room is now the storage room for everything that is supposed to be in the craft room. What chaos! I'm going to try to get another utility closet to put in the room so that all of that chaos can be hidden!

Holidays:

They came and went awfully fast... work is insane right now, so I barely had time to get ready for them. We have been implementing a new learning management system (lms) for the last year, and wouldn't you know it... there are faculty members coming out of the woodwork demanding they knew nothing of it, or that they had no time to devote to their courses until the week of the holidays. :) so, while I've technically been off work for a week now, there's been the email, and phone calls and checking up on courses that come with waiting for the deadline. Granted, not all of it is the facultys' fault... I've done my fair share of procrastinating.... but it sure will be nice when we are done.

But this was supposed to be about the holidays, not work... My sister was supposed to come from Logan with her family... they were struck by the flu bug, and were unable to make it for Christmas. I'm anticipating their visit for the New Year.

We had a really nice program for Christmas Eve though, taking a cue from Michael McLean's Forgotten Carols. Each family was assigned a different carol from the presentation, and did an activity or told a story to go with it. It's official, my family is a bunch of blubbering crybabies.. but it's rare we take the time to share our deep feelings for one another.

Otherwise, I've been spending my time off sleeping in, spending time with my dearest friends, and organizing my chaos into sense. :) In some areas I've been overthinking my chaos into MORE chaos... so for those things it will be nice to get back to work and have some structure that keeps me from over thinking. But even those circumstances will all work out for my good, eventually.

Here's to a happy new year full of bright, encouraging resolutions and blessings for all of those I love!

This is what it's all about...

Good Day things:

1. Just go look... :P the new baby has arrived! Grab a tissue! I definitely needed one!
2. New contact lenses (i made my last ones last about 3 months.. :P)
3. Fresh From the Dryer Jeans-- just snug enough.
4. Sissel and the MoTabs
5. hitting "snooze" four times.
6. snow in the mountains
7. invitations to play games!!
8. Christmas music-- Forgotten Carols; Bryce Neubert; Cabbage Patch Christmas;Donny Osmond
9. Eragon Released!!

NOW! Back to work!!!

Flooding condos:

Good: I can feel like I'm vacationing someplace humid and exotic south of the border.
Bad: cold wet feet when I scramble out of bed at 1 am because the smoke detector goes off from water damage.

Good: Getting to know my neighbors who I never get to see because we are all so crazy busy.
Bad: Hearing the cringe in their voice, because the only time I call or talk is when there's a problem.

Good: My carpets needed cleaning anyway.
Bad: Outrageous quotes on the clean up costs!!! ($3100 for clean up alone!-- 3 units)

Good: Neighbors who rent rug doctors to start the clean up.
Bad: Moving all the stuff to use the rug doctor...

Good: Motivation to get Homeowners insurance
Bad: No homeowners insurance (Yes, I know.. no more lectures PLEASE!)

Good: Ambiguous Condo By-laws that can be construed any way I want them to be.
Bad: Ambiguous Condo By-Laws that can be construed any way I want them to be.

Good: All night parties to clean ???
Bad: No sleep-- I know it can't even compare, but I feel for all you pregnant ladies who have gone without sleep for weeks on end.

New Tools

I'm trying a new tool.
You may remember my post last summer about my new discovery of the power of goals in my life. At that point it was a physical goal that helped me realized my ability to achieve whatever I put my mind to. I'd like to see that flow into other areas of my life.

In the right margin you'll see "Rebecca's Badge" and a link to a spot called "Joe's Goals". It looks like a pretty simple tool. If you'll remind me, :D I'll try to give a report on what I think of it's functionality in about a month-- When i've achieved my goal to be able to run/walk 5 miles on a treadmill.

Ha ha.. I also learned something else: My prolific blogging has brought me more visitors. Please leave a comment to let me know you dropped by to visit. That's a great motivator!! I may even set a goal to blog a bit more on the regular goings on in my life.

Anticipation...

It will either make the day go speedy, or DRAG!

I'm an avid symphony fan... I just don't go often. Tonight is a treat. A friend is coming to town and we are going to hear Tchaikovski, Dvorak and Smetena!

I'm just giddy about it-- and had to record it somewhere so perhaps I could settle down and do some work.

Life is really good right now. I can't explain exactly why, it just seems that everything is going my way. (as strains of "Oklahoma!!" go whizzing through my head) I know it sounds cheesy, but I'm really content and happy to just live life as it's presented to me. What a wonderful blessing for this time of year.

xoxoxoxoxo to you all!!

Running with the Geese

so, yes, i'm a prolific blogger this week.

late work and evening appointments kept me from my regular date with the gym immediately following work last night. so, i decided to go for a jog around my neighborhood. it had been snowstorming intermitantly through the day, but i had enough post-work adrenalin that i didn't really care how cold or smushy the ground was, i was running. i bundled up with my scarf, ear warmer and gloves and hit the road.

i was overjoyed at how much stamina i had! in the past, when beginning the road running routine, i could barely make it a block without having to walk it out a bit. this time i ran half the distance with out a break, and that was only because my knee told me to, not my lungs. VERY HAPPY DAY!

near my house, there is a nature preserve where the geese come to hang out in the summer time. usually they are gone south by this time of year, but for some reason, they are still around, and the snow brought COOOOOLD weather with it. as i ran along the road that borders the lake, the air was suddenly filled with the honking of geese. there were probably 50-75 geese circling the air, all of them calling to one another or to ME that it was dang cold and how could mother nature play a trick like that on them. no, kidding-- this honking went on for a good 10 minutes.. the whole time i was jogging on that road. i turned the corner and they had all landed safely on the lake, or island in the middle of the lake and silence ensued. that was the most blissful 10 minutes of running i've experienced in a long time.

the snow gods heard my plea yesterday, and instead of mocking, they left me with a lovely layer of 3-6 inches of the white fluffy stuff this morning. the traffic reports on the radio were whiney about the traffic and the messy roads. i, for one, was so happy to have a reason to slow down and drive slow and appreciate the beautiful stuff. i even went so far as to walk to all of my morning appointments ( 3 meetings in 3 different buildings), crunching in the snow like a five year old and snuffling my cold nose between each building.

Life is good.

snow

Calvin says it all:

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/11/25/

the skiff i woke up to this morning was not what i intended. :P

What is love, anyway?
Does anybody love anybody anyway?

Can anybody love someone so much that they will never fear,
Never worry, never be sad?
The answer is they cannot love that much,
nobody can.
This is why I don't mind you doubting.

I love you whether or not you love me,
I love you even if you think that I don't
Sometimes I find you doubt my love for you but I don't mind,
Why should I mind, why should I mind?

Maybe love is letting people be just what they want to be,
The door always must be left unlocked.
To love when circumstance would lead someone away from you.
And not just spend the time just doubting....

Aaaaaahh.. all is well in the world when Howard Jones reminds me what the adventure is all about.

How 'bout this one:

Will you wake me from this dream
Life on anesthetic
Let me feel the joy and feel the pain
Let me really live it.
No time, no choice
Save my heart from the bland
Oh feed me, colour me
Push me through to the place I can make my stand

Rock the boat
And shake the tree
You've got to stir it up sometimes
Turn this anger into your passion
Don't just tow the line.

One more, and then I'm done. just want to share the beauty of his lyrics for a moment.

I could be someone you need,
Wrap you in blankets on dark winter nights
Be your best confidante, be the right compliment
I could be someone you need.

I could be someone you need
Keep you from burning in the hot summer sun
Roll you in clover, a coat for your shoulder,
I could be someone you need.

You need someone there when the world isn't fair
It's all just too good to be true.
Someone to care for you, issue a dare to you.
When the moment comes
You need to fly, fly!

What lessons have you learned from your Mentors?

For many a year now, a friend and I have batted around ideas about mentorship and how one becomes a mentor, and how one establishes a mentoring relationship. We've made up all sorts of words-- mentee, which still makes me think about a manatee, the large awkward endangered species, rather than a young protoge seeking guidance from a more wise and experienced guru.

Apparently we aren't the only ones fascinated with this relationship phenomenon.
Mark Eaton, former center for the Utah Jazz, came to do a presentation on "The Power of Mentorship." While he didn't talk about exactly the things I've been thinking about, he did present some really fantastic ideas. So, rather than trying to restructure my thoughts about what he said, I'm just going to copy my notes here. I'd love feedback on what you think about Mentorship and the ideas he presented.

Here goes:

• Playing and Being Big are learned behaviors (if you've ever seen Mark Eaton-- he's HUGE, but said he never felt big inside-- just needed mentors to teach him how.)
• Lessons may take years to learn, and years to realize that they came from a "mentor" (possibly mentoring in hindsight?)
• Everybody has something to contribute.
• Mentors inspire and empower to create a cohesive team who can play big.
• Goals help us fee happy, confident and big.
• Find a mentor who know what to do with you. :) Vs. A mentor who can't figure you out!!
• Mentors travel in packs (and they said that was just a female trait!!) They tend hang out with other mentors.
• Never underestimate the power of a security measure against risk. (a box of tools to fall back on if the NBA doesn't want you)

Commentary on the business world:

• Hire for skills, but they don't define your job. (sound familiar???)
• Solution: Become proactive-- "What do I need to do to get where I want to go?"
• Businesses in general hires and fires until the right person is found. They expect performance without practice.
• Solution: Practice counts more than the game.

Final thought: Playing Big is about recognizing and being open to mentors in our lives. They come in all shapes, sized and packages. (even mean, nasty people who make you sit on the bench can be mentors.)

Your Mission.... should you choose to accept it

Several years ago I attended a week long workshop on the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. One of the first exercises they have you do is to write a personal mission statement. I LOVED the idea of a personal mission statement.. but everything I came up with at the time just seemed like bad goat cheese. Nothing really struck a chord with me until just recently-- a culmination of a bunch of books I've been reading and ideas from people I love and religious doctrines that are true beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Rebecca's Mission Statement

~Life is Relationships.~

~Relationships grow out of Agency.~

~Love is a choice.~

And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.

Alma 32: 42-43

new houses!

Several posts ago, I mentioned that I have been living with my folks for about 6 months while trying to sell my condo. About 3 weeks ago, I realized it was time to get out on my own again, and instead of agonizing over the miserable offers that were coming in under my asking price, I would move back in for a year and see what the market is like then.

I moved OUT so fast that everything was just thrown into boxes and then into storage. I threw some paint on one wall to have it ready for buyers to look at it, and left it at that. I really wasn't very excited about the prospects of the work it would require to move back in that quickly. So I've decided to take it slow moving back IN, and really make this a fun project so that I would ENJOY living there again.

One of my colleagues took a feng shui class when she was moving into her condo, so I've borrowed her books to read through and learn more about that decorating philosophy. I'm pleasantly surprised at how many of those philosophies match the things I've been planning to do this time.

Before: Dark red wall in the dining room. GREAT for dramatic effect-- high on Energy. At the time I needed that high energy color in the front room. Now I'm ready for something more calm. I also had a large dining room table that practically filled the space.

After: Dolphin Fin Gray wall and small pub type table and chairs that will be more calming and provide more space for things like bike storage (gotta get a screen or something to hide that)

Before: Stark white walls in the living room-- the cheap paint the builders put on the wall. Dull khaki couch with poofie pillows, computer desk with a hutch-- revealing all sorts of clutter. Heavy (physically and color) entertainment center that, again, took up a lot of space in the room.

After: Sold the couch (its EXTREMELY comfy) to my sister, entertainment center to a neighbor. painted the walls "journal white". Bought a modern looking chaise lounge in Ivory. Will find a new home for the hutch. T.V. will go on the coffee table rather than on a new entertainment cupboard.

I'm contemplating what to do with the bedroom-- perhaps some beadboard painted a pale lavendar, or light shade of blue. I'm going to slip cover the head and baseboards of my bed and leave the mirror off of my dresser.

Hurray! it will be a completely new house. Which helps me understand a little bit more about why it was important for me to be home for a while. I needed some time and space to make these ideas gel in my brain. It's hard to do that when you are living in the middle of the other things you love that tell who you were at one point in your life. I also needed to be home to get my knee taken care of. S

It's sweet to see the way things work in life and how everything works for your good when you live the way you know you should. :)

Why do you count the days?

From my youngest memories, we counted the days 'til school started, the days until we went on vacation, the days we were traveling on vacation, the days 'til Christmas, and the days 'til the grass would grow green again.

I guess that's why it's such a strong motivator. I counted the days to my first bike ride following my knee surgery-- an boy, did that pay off! It not only gave me a reward for staying on track with my physical therapy, but it got me back on track with daily visits to the gym. I've found a little more vim and vigor in my life as a result of those days.

The bike ride was splendid. My friend Nate came with me, a great treat, as other relationships have taken up much of his time of late. I loaded a couple of bikes on the back of my little red jetta and we went to the Jordan River Parkway-- a charming little running/walking/biking path that follows the length of the Jordan River, nearly connecting the Great Salt Lake with Utah Lake in the neighboring county.

The weather was beautiful, not too hot, not too cool. We started at the parking lot at 9800 south and rode to a part at approximately 11400 south-- i'm guessing a distance of about 2 miles one way. There's a spectacular new fitness center in this park area so, wise friend that he is, Nate suggested that I should rest my knee and we took a brief tour of the new facilities. The cute membership rep was pretty peppy until she learned that we were just curious and wanted to see the biggest fitness center in the state of Utah. Then her energy level dropped to almost non existent. :)

I had no pain or discomfort the whole day. It was wonderful to be physical again and enjoy it. :) I'm looking forward to many more days of bike riding after work or on the weekends. If anyone is interested, you are more than welcome to join me!

mud football anyone?

A good game of mud football can resolve all sorts of problems.-- I've been missing out for SOOO long! pbthththt!

To the astonishment of my date, I requested to see the movie "Invincible" tonight. We were missing the BYU season opener, so this was a good trade off, right?

I was actually quite interested in this one. I don't know if it is a masterpiece of the silverscreen, but it was the sports feel good movie of the summer.

Summary: Vince Papale started down the road to play football for the Phillidelphia Giants. He makes the team, but it's tougher than he thought it would be. To regain his focus, he plays a game of raw mud football with his neighborhood friends, and remembers why he wanted to play for the Giants in the first place.

Analysis: As humans, we only use a percentage of our potential. When we are stuck, we need to remember what it feels like to experience our greater potential so that we can apply it in other areas in our lives.

I visited with some friends from my previous job last night. Fantastic people. So intelligent and talented. Things are really frustrating for them right now. I know they are growing and will excell in whatever life presents to them. That's the continuation of the magic we all found together. It wasn't the place, it was the mix of personalities, and envirionment for growth that made it magic.

Work hard, Rest well, Play again soon!

When I decided to have knee surgery, I knew that it would take some focus time to recover and get things back on track. But a whole MONTH?? I guess I should count myself lucky. Story swapping tells me that most people took 6-8 weeks to recover fully from their knee scope, and mine was a little more extensive than just a scope.

I think I can sincerely say that I have never had the experience of focussing so purely on the physical part of my development. After two weeks of physical therapy, my therapist told me basically that he was disappointed in my progress and if I didn't start making some better progress, I was going to be in "trouble." I never had him elaborate on what "trouble" meant. But I felt ashamed enough that I decided that I never wanted someone to be disappointed in me like that again. I worked so hard!!

I have to do an exercise called heel slides-- probably the most painful part of the therapy. I consists of lying on the floor with my bum 6-8 inches from the wall and my legs resting against the wall. I then slide my heel down until my knee won't bend anymore. After the "disappointment" visit, I increased the rotation in my knee by 20%-- more than double what I had done in all of my previous visits combined. I'm now at a 131% rotation in comparison with 145% on my un-injured knee. My next appointment is on Thursday this week-- wish me luck in gaining full rotation!

I'm still having quite a bit of pain, but it's the dull constant pain rather than the who-took-a-saw-to-my-knee? kind of pain. I think I need to focus on resting more than I have been-- work hard, rest well, right? If I can do that, I'll be able to play hard again soon. (playing is MUCH more fun than resting;))

My current goal is to be on my bike on September 9th.. riding on the Jordan River Parkway. Bring it on!!


On another note, classes began for Fall Sememster at the college this week. I have to find a way to differentiate between the school I work for and the school I attended. When I was studying, I found that I wrapped them all into a single event, and confused people in the process. They never knew whether I was referring to work or my studies.

That should resolve itself pretty well now, since I'm not taking classes for myself. I felt a little bit off last week, and couldn't put my finger on it until I remembered that this is the first Fall Sememster in two years where I haven't been in a bustle to get my school supplies ready to attend class. There's a little bit of melancholy with that fact, and a little bit of relief. :) but life has a way of keeping us from dwelling on the subject too long.

The Silence

I keep telling people I'm learning to listen to the silence... and well... Here it is. Mom and Dad have left for the holiday weekend.

I've been living with my folks for about 4 months now. I was living in a condo all by myself and was very used to time alone-- enjoying it for a while, but eager for company on occasion. Moving home was kind of a last minute "have to do" because I thought I'd sold my condo. (Long story about that one-- one that I'd really just like to forget, so i won't document it here.) That was in the thick of graduate school too, so I kind of forgot what silence sounded like. Home is bustling all the time. If I'm not at work, Mom and Dad are here to share a meal with. My sister and her family pop over for a visit. The neighbor comes over to say hello... very rarely is it just quiet. I'm not complaining about this at all. It's been good for me, as I almost tended to have a hermit-like existence when I was living alone. Balance is a good thing.

It's been my mission for a little while now to find the silence again, now that I can appreciate it and it isn't stifled by nagging thoughts about what I should be studying, or what relationship I'd been neglecting. So, I've been looking forward to a weekend alone to see if I can still handle the alone time.

I think I've rediscovered some of it. I thought I could easily find the person I was before I went back to school. I was pretty happy and content with life. BUT!! that person no longer exists. I've grown so much and learned new things about myself and the world around me. So I'm finding the new person who appreciates the silence much more, and from a different perspective.

• I've had a few visits with my grandparents and a good friend in Idaho that were positively cleansing and renewing. I can't tell you how much I look forward to sitting and talking with the people I love and discovering new and fascinating stories about their lives and who they are. They are part of who I am, and help me discover more about who I am through them.
• I've also had some health issues that require some doctor office time. It used to be that I took school books to the office so I could catch up on a reading assignment, or I sat in the waiting room impatiently tapping my foot waiting for my name to be called, so i could tap my foot impatiently in the examination room waiting for the doctor to come tell me the next step in my health goals. Very deliberatly I decided to just sit and breath until the dr. came. No books, no tapping of feet: just looking at the white wall and breathing and thinking of nothing. Wow.. that sure was a great slow down effect.
• I've also decided to leave the questions in my life unanswered for the time being and just let the answer come. "where are you going to live?" " will you get a new job now that you are done with school?"" what is the next step in this relationship?" ALL LEFT TO TIME and ANSWERS when they come. That is refreshing as well.
• Took a hike with a good friend the other day. We talked non stop for about 3 hours about this process. She's discovering herself again too, and people are befuddled by her. I kinda like befuddling people. It means I'm growing and being my own person.

Well.. deep thoughts for a new post. Maybe this silence stuff will help me make more frequent posts... with some light hearted stuff too. :D

Thanks for stopping by!

Maryanne's Haiku

we were prepping our plants in the office for a 3 day weekend, and i found a brown leaf. It prompted a moment of creativity for Miss Maryanne, and she produced the following dramatic haiku:

I found a brown leaf

It was a very dead leaf

I threw it away

Counting down....

The end of the line...

As far as we go, please exit the train.

I took off early from work on Friday. Rode the local Lightrail, Traxx, downtown to have a fancy late lunch at the Little America Hotel and see a movie with a good friend from work.

We caught the train at the souther most station-- Sandy, and rode all the way to the top of the line-- the Gateway Plaza. Cheesy voice recordings just BEG to be mimicked, and so I found myself playing mockingbird as I stood to exit the train.

The wonderful part was, I was exiting ANOTHER train as well. Two years ago I started on a couple of crazy adventures, one of them being an M.Ed. (Masters of Education) program at Utah State University, the land grant college for the state of Utah.

I was going to study Instructional Technology and become a rich and famous instructional designer for the California College for Health Sciences.

The adventure at the college ended before the adventure at USU, but it's all culminated to give me an experience that was a struggle and a confidence builder and a frustration and an exhileration all at the same time.

I exited the train of the next step of my education. I completed my final project early on Friday morning, and recieved notification late Saturday night that my work was acceptable, and that no revision would be necessary.

Take a look here to see what I've done! :) I'm still open to suggestions about improvements to make, but give me a week or so to decompress. It's time to realize my freedom from a couple of trains. :)

Online Orientation for Distance Education

My Portfolio

I wonder what train I'll get on next??

Going to the polls!

Time to vote on the preferred hairdo. :) I got my hair done Tuesday afternoon, and had it styled straight, which was kind of fun for a minute. I usually do my hair curly, so I thought I'd take a vote.

Enjoy!

Oh! a quick P.S... I updated my settings so you don't have to have a blogger account to leave a comment. So if you are visiting from MSN Spaces, you don't have to jump hoops anymore. (Sorry Alison!! I just found out about that feature a few days ago!) I'll see how that goes and if it causes any problems. :D


A. 
B.  

Looming deadlines....

And I'm playing on my blog! :)

You Are Mint Green

Balanced and calm, you have mastered the philosophy of living well. Your friends seek you out for support, and you are able to bring stability to chaotic situations. You're very open and cheerful - and you feel like you have a lot of freedom in life. Your future may hold any number of exciting things, and you're ready for all of them!

What Color Green Are You?

the thief!

Testing to see if my thievery will work!!

Party games

I went to a fun potluck dinner party tonight at my friend Candy's house. It was SO refreshing! We've been trying to get together for several days now, and it just hasn't worked out, so when I missed her birthday dinner on Tuesday, she told me that there were no outs from the dinner party tonight.

She made this fabulous taco soup, (which I need to get the recipe for) and the rest of us filled in the empty spots. There were about 20 people there, and we had.... about 20 desserts! She had to beg us to take the uneaten sweets home with us too. Funny how those things work out.

So we played a fun game. Not a game really, but a good conversation starter. Her roommate Maria has a book of 4000 questions. So we tried a few.

Do you prefer long or short hair on the opposite sex?
What bitterness are you hiding in your heart?
Are you more likely to exaggerate, tell the straight facts, or understate a story when you relate it to others?

Or how about this humdinger: What five people would you take to a deserted island with you and why?

This is the question that has stuck with me. I'm facing a change in my social habits as a friend prepares to start dating someone seriously. :) It shouldn't throw me for a loop too bad as we've been through this before, but it has. So, while some would contemplate famous people from history or famous people from contenporary times, I've been contemplating the people in my life that are vital to my happiness and who I can't imagine my life without their influence. :) or put otherwise.. the people who leave the biggest holes when I don't get to have a daily association with them.


Austin: My best friend and confidant, thank goodness for long distance cell phone plans!! I can share anything with her and she understands, sympathizes and encourages all at the same time!

Wade: A soul mate and ego booster. He's always duely impressed with my forays into the world of geeks and more than willing to share an intelligent conversation over books, educational methods or new business ideas. The best ones happen during Harry Potter, or any movie for that matter.

Nate: Soul mate #2 who always has a new and uplifting philosophy on life and how to interface with other human beings on the planet.

Victoria: Bonding at the Beach... need I say more???

Lynnet: One of the wisest women I know, with a deep and strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to be just like her when I grow up!

There's the required five.. I could go on and on and on for a long time. I sure appreciate the people who touch my life and make me feel loved and appreciated. My life is richer for my associations with you.

xoxoxo

My World View...

I found this at Gelati Farms... a blog I found through my sister and best friend. She's adorable, and so much fun to read about her adventures.

I found the results of the quiz fascinating, as I consider myself quite religious.

You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational. Cultural Creative 81% Idealist 75% Fundamentalist 63% Romanticist 56% Existentialist 50% Materialist 31% Postmodernist 31% Modernist 13% What is Your World View? (updated) created with QuizFarm.com

Tagged?? Where's the spray paint?

I haven't played tag in AGES!! and i'm rethinking my game playing philosophy.

I used to be happy to play a game with someone so they could feel good about winning. No more! I've found some of my competitive nature, but i don't have the patience to hone my game playing skills so that i'll feel some of the exhileration of winning once in a while.

So, tag means I have to write 5 crazy things about myself... and like many other's that I've read, this is not an easy task. :D I think we secretly KNOW the crazy things, we are just hesitant to divulge them for the world to read.

Think, think, think...

1) I just packed up my whole house and moved in with my parents in TWO days! okay, maybe it took me longer than that, but I'll tell you what, it FELT like two days.

2)Some of my best, and most fulfiling friendships are with ex boyfriends. I was never one to be friends with boys growing up.. how much I missed!

3) I once hopped a plane for Australia on a whim.. told my friend I was coming to visit AFTER I bought the ticket.

4) huge confession-- when I was teaching school, I gave in to the pleas of two of my favorite students and shared some tempura paint so they could give a fond farewell to a student teacher they had a crush on.. they were SUPPOSED to use it only on the windows of her car, but they got carried away. Guess who went to the principles office??

Five is the hardest one!!!
hmmmmm....
5) I have boxes and boxes of art supplies that I NEVER use! I like to buy them at the store, but they promptly get put away for a rainy day. Inevitably, when the rainy day comes, I'm back at the craft store buying more supplies.

So, 5 crazy things about me... and i'll store up tag for the next time we all need a little spice in our blogs. :D

Moving Day, and the living is....

I don't quite know how to explain the day.. stressful, relieving, neverending... monotonous, adventurous...

I'm about half way finished, and after all the men come tomorrow to move the heavy furniture, it can only get better, right?? Please tell me I'm right!

I was highly relieved though, when I went to the bank to finalize the financing on the (boo hoo) loss on my condo. I'm having to find a loan to pay off the remainder on my mortgage. The gentleman at the bank said he was going through exactly the same thing. They sold their house quicker than they thought they would and had to get a loan for the loss. BUT!! he said it would wrap up in the mortgage of the new home he was building.

This is exactly what I was needing to hear. :) it's nice when a realtor tells you it can be done, but entirely another when you can't find someone who's actually had the experience.

Things are on their way.. Decisions were made 7 months ago, with no idea what the results or consequences might be, and now I'm working through those. I'm thankful for a wise father who reminds me of that, and of the comfort of making a decision early that helps with follow up decisions.

:) so, the phone rang at the :D:D unearthly hour of 7 am this morning... one of my best friends was calling to see how life is.. We had a WONDERFUL 45 minute chat, and then I let her go so i could catch 15 more minutes of shut eye. I was given strict instructions to blog about those 15 minutes of bliss.. and TA DA! here it is. They were wonderful minutes of sleep. Now i'm ready for more.. it's been a non stop day of packing boxes and making trips to storage units, and calling banks.

There's yet more to pack and dinner to be found.. so I will end with that.

Reverence

Four times a year a get this nifty little magazine in the mail from Brigham Young University--it's one of the "perks" for being an alumni, along with the regular requests for fund donations, that make me wonder why i'm not making enough money to feel like I can EVER make a donation that means anything. :)

Luckily, I don't feel overly guilty if I make a token $10 donation every couple of years. One day when I'm RICH I will call THEM to take my money.

But that wasn't the subject of this blog... it was the magazine article.

I don't usually read this magazine. It sits in a pile with the mail I feel like I SHOULD read, but never get to, and then ends up in the garbage when I have a huge cleaning adventure. This time, however, I was intrigued by the opening article titled Renewing Reverence by Paul Woodruff. It is adapted from a forum address he gave at BYU in January. I'll post some of the most interesting quotes here.

I was hoping I could link to the full article on the web, but all they have available is the audio of the address, so if you'd like to listen you can click here.

"...justice is not enough to provide us with the stable communities we need to survive. Justice by itself can be harsh, unfeeling, divisive. The losers in a court of law, even though they may deserve to lose, may be alienated and angry and bitter. There is a reason why courts of law are hedged around with reverent ceremony. The reason is that reverence pulls us together. And we need to be pulled together around acts of justice, and justice alone is not enough to do that. Justice by itself can divide us, but reverence pulls us together."

"Reverence is an ethical virtue that is most important and valuable in human life when people have great power over others. Reverence is remembering not to carry on as if you were a diety of some kind. Reverence is this memory of being human, with all that that means, that is fostered by a well-devleoped capacity for feeling awe at that which is awe inspiring, because feelings of awe remind us of our humanity. Reverence is the basis for respect, and the language of reverence is ceremonial. Its effect on us is restraint in the use of power."

"A reverent classroom is where learning is most likely to take place. In a reverent classroom neither the students nor the teacher interrupts. In a reverent classroom there is a ceremonial observance of respect... You may suppose that ceremony of raising your hands and waiting to be called upon is an empty ritual. In america these days we tend to associate the words empty and useless with ceremony and ritual, but surely the ceremonies of a reverent classroom are not empty and they are not useless. There is a kind of reverence in the classroom-- reverence for what is to be learned, for the truth, which is awe inspiring, somewhat mysterious because no on in the room knows all of it, and not under anyone's control."

"...reverence is also the difference between a home and a shelter where people sleep and eat. All cultures need to keep the family circle healthy because the family circle is foundational for a healthy society. "

"there's a huge cost to letting your rituals and ceremonies become empy. Reverence is what keeps your ceremonies from being empty.

Good stuff, huh??

Men's Figure Skating

speaking of reverence...

did you see the Men's Free Skate at the Olympics tonight?

They are mere boys to me now.. which is amazing.. seems like at the 2002 games I could still fancy that the skaters were somewhere near my age and I could justify having a crush or two. But now, goodness!! they are too young to even think about!

Yesterday they were doing the long programs that had so many requirements and they all chose harsh, abstract music to skate to. As a result they definitly showed their strenght and skill with the jumps and acrobatics.

Tonight though, they are skating to revered classics such as Sceharezad and the Pirates of Penzance and they are more commanding on the ice than I ever remember seeing in previous years.. granted time can make those memories dim. But I'm very impressed. It's been a year of suprises, and i'm really enjoying watching them... If you can call it watching...

I'm trying to multi task and do homework and pack and pay attention to the events at the same time.. so my back is actually turned to the television.. Everytime Scott Hamilton gets an excited pitch to his voice I have to turn around and see what he's exclaiming about!!

whew!! feels good to blog again.. but back to my homework!

Duncan Sheik

I'm on a high, I'm on a high
there's nothing more to it.
We are the sea and the sky
and the blue that runs through it, yeah.

and there are some who say there are so many things I need
so I run or I fight and I crawl or I scream and I bleed, I bleed, I bleed

well, it's a lie it's a lie - don't you believe it.
if you're fine then you're fine - it's all how you see it.
oh, there never will be no conspiracy of happiness.


Words to my current favorite song. :)

Good friends got tickets to Duncan's performance in Park City, Utah. He sang at a club called Suede. It's not exactly the atmosphere you would usually find me or my ski friend in, but we were well taken care of with a sprite in one hand and GREAT ventilation above our heads to suck up the smoke. Duncan didn't take the stage until nearly 10 pm and then played for a couple hours.

My fascination was in the comparison of his performance with the two acts previous to him. The first was a solo accoustic act who was actually pretty good. He was a bit edgy and had great stage presence, but less experienced with performing for a crowd. The second act was a band that was great at imitating the stuff you hear on the radio, but they weren't very original, nor could you understand their lyrics very well.

Enter Duncan-- Dark, handsome, (despite the thick beard) and armed with six guitars. He opened his mouth and beautiful, clear words emerged using every vocal technique I've seen. Added to the beauty of his form is the beauty of the meaning behind the words. It was stunning and I was riveted.

Here's some links to the lyrics of some of Duncan's other songs I've come to appreciate. Enjoy!

Genius
Someone you need (with Howard Jones)
Barely Breathing
For You
Home

Solace On the Ski Slopes

I have discovered solace.

When I was a child, Dad took the free ski lessons offered through local newspaper. They taught the basics of snowplowing, simple turns, safety, etc...

He brought all this information home and taught all of us kids. My uncles come from California to ski every couple of years, so they would put their two cents worth in, but never had enough time to really teach us how to ski.

Now that I think about it, I'm not sure any of us had the patience or perseverence to learn at that stage in our lives. We were pretty wimpy about the cold and how comfortable our boots and skis were. On a limited budget, we were pretty dependent on our winter coats and long johns to keep us warm. No fancy winter weather gear for us.

So, Dad discovered a fantastic deal at Alta Ski Resort. As part of their ski school, they offer a free skiing after 3 pm, EVERY DAY!!! (at least on one lift)Dad is also a great bargain hunter at the Deseret Industries, the LDS version of the Salvation Army. He has found fantastic deals on second hand skis.

I decided this year was it. I was going to find my deal on skis and take advantage of this free lift to make or break my ski skills. Dad helped me find some parabolic skis for $15 and boots for $5. :D I'm proud to report that I'm addicted. I love skiing!! Thanks to ad hoc lessons from a good friend who loves the slopes more than anyone I know, I'm learning to parallel ski and actually feel some control on the slopes. Because of that control, I can take my focus off of my fear of breaking my leg and put some of it on appreciating the beauty of the canyon, and the snow and the softness it brings to the otherwise rocky crevices.

So, now I've got a companion for my Beach Bug-- the Ski Bug!! This one is a little bit easier to appease, due to the perks available to locals.

Over one, Under one

I must have made my mother crazy when I was a child. I remember spending hours with her fabric scraps, carefully pulling each yarn out of each piece to discover how it was made, or simply to feel the hand of the fabric and wile away the time. The end result was, as you can imagine, a pile of threads that could only be effectivly cleaned up with a vacuum cleaner.

To this day I walk up to people wearing clothing made of interesting fabric and ask if I can feel it. --NO, I leave the yarns safely woven on their bodies, I promise!!
A brief volunteer job at a This is the Place Heritage Park helped me discover a penchant for spinning wool. Alas, a lonely spinning wheel sits in my dining room waiting for me to give it some attention.

I've taken two or three weaving classes and attended textile workshops in Logan on several occasions. While I love going to the classes, none of it has stuck. Perhaps because it take so much time to settle into --and complete-- a project.

Who knows, but this week I found it. :D

This beautiful little loom showed up in my latest issue of Martha Stewart Living, and I'm just drooling over it. It is small enough that I could weave a square here and there as I watch a television show or need a break from my studies.

hee hee hee.. i guess this spoils Christmas! xoxoxo

Pick a color, any color!!

Crayon Box Color Picker
Flicker color Picker

This is amazing.. click on the color in the color wheel and it brings you a selection of pictures.

I chose pink and it showed me a beautiful shot of a daisy. Shame though, you can't save them..

I think flickr is worth a second look for my photos. :)

enjoy!

What's the Big Idea?

When you're worried and you can't sleep
Count your blessings instead of sheep.

When your focus is on every day, menial tasks, it is easy to get overwhelmed and restless. Taking the time to refocus on your personal mission, vision and goals will recenter your thoughts and efforts and make the menial tasks meaningful again.

Yesterday I got stuck in the menial. I was working feverishly to build a course for an instructor, very much involved on an application level to create documents and upload files and construct an attractive look and feel. On occasion, this is refreshing, yesterday it was exhausting.

I only felt refreshed when my boss began discussing the mission, vision and goals of our department, and creating a big picture of my purpose in the organization again. :D He didn't know he was doing this. He was just working on some of his own work projects, but by including me in his thought processes and asking my feedback, it expanded my view from the everyday menial tasks to that of the bigger picture.

A good friend helped me learn this concept. We used to work together, and one or the other of us would get restless, and we'd go for a walk. Just spending a few minutes looking at the mountains or a large building-- anything with space, would help to bring the focus back to my work so that I could get those things done that were imperitive to the success of my work.

Funny how I have to get "stuck" to remember the concept and put it into practice.

Driving in Cars... All by myself

My brake lights burned out.

I learned this as I was driving down the canyon from a BEAUTIFUL afternoon of skiing. The car behind me signaled for me to pull over, at which point a cute little ski bunny poked her head out the window and said in a slightly annoyed manner "Your brake lights don't work!"

I had my brother in law check them out for me shortly there after, and sure enough: gone, all except the small light in the rear window.

I recognize FULLY that brake lights in the canyon are pretty important for everyone's safety... but I'm a bit boggled about how I'm supposed to proactivly know that those lights are going to go out. Even if I did a daily car safety check, I can't be sitting in the car pushing on the brakes and looking at the brake lights at the same time.

So, I added that item to my list of things to do, with the gracious offer of help from my brother in law and father.

Before that item got to the "done" list, a highway patrolman decided that he needed to let me know that my brake lights were out. At this point it was starting to cause me quite a bit of stress. I had too much to do, and figuring out how to change those light bulbs out, and the anxiety of a deeper maintenance issue was making me crazy.

I turned the task over completely to my dad, who was having a busy day as well. He found the replacement lights, and I was going to meet him late last night to figure out how to put them in.

Talk about feeling foolish: when I started poking around in the trunk, the access to the lights was a VELCRO DOOR and simply pulling the old bulb out and putting the new one in. The current must have been blocked by the burned out bulb, which caused all of the tail lights to stop working. Once the new bulbs were in, everything worked beautifully!

I was so caught up in the small "have to get this done" issue of the lights, that it overwhelmed me.

The Space Between

I love the reactions I get when I tell people that I've attended a relationship seminar. The spectrum goes from groans of disgust, to polite disinterestedness, to polite nosiness, to sincere curiosity.

My church has been sponsoring these seminars on a monthly basis for any singles in the area who would like to attend. The presenter is Matt Townsend who owns a marriage coaching business here in Salt Lake. It's called Marriage Matters.Go check out the website, it's pretty slick! While he usually coaches married couples who are struggling in their relationships, he has consented to present his ideas to single people so that they might find a good partner to begin with.

The basic premise of his coaching is that relationships suffer because the are STARVED or lacking one of the following elements:

Safety
Trust
Appreciation
Respect
Validation
Encouragment
Dedication

Tonight he discussed the concept of space in a relationship. The ideal relationship works on the concept of syngergism or the concept of 1+1=3. He taught us about an Islamic concept that explains how this equation can be true. The element of the equation that makes the sum larger than the it's two parts is the relationship that exists between the two parts or the "+" sign. This can be interpreted many ways. In my religion-- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we believe that God plays a significant role in the success of a marriage relationship. Other ideas included the mere energy created when two people "draft" or pull and push one another along, similar to the way race cars work on the track.

I loved this concept because I've been fascinated of late about the power I have as an individual to interact with others and ease their burdens, or encourage them to behave a certain way, without blatantly stating what I want. I learn to interact with them through the language I use or the energy I percieve from them to meet their needs or draw out of them the responses I desire.

Tonight I gained clarity on the "space" that I'm cultivating to grow the relationships and happiness and peace I desire in my life.

Graduation

I'm on the homestretch for graduation from my Masters program at Utah State University. The last sememster went into full swing last Wednesday. I have one class and a project to complete.




It's been interesting to see my reactions to this particular class. The whole program is done using distance mediums. The program originates out of Logan, Utah, which is a 2 hour drive for me. Only 5-6 students even live in close proximity to Logan, so the courses are taught using EDNET or on the Internet. Most of our EDNET courses had the instructor in Logan, and I was at a recieve site, which meant if I had a question or comment, I had to make my instructor aware of my presence and comment using a microphone. This semester I have the pleasure of being at the "live" site and being able to respond to my instructor without the use of a microphone. I only have to use it if I want the rest of my classmates to hear what I'm saying.

Through the whole program, I've been strong and stubborn to say that i'm learning as well and am equally engaged in my coursework without the direct influence of a teacher. While this might be true, I can say that my motivation is increased when I have a live body who is concerned for my progress and understanding.

My next question, that needs to be answered rather quickly, is what to do for my final project. My boss suggested that Distance Education at Salt Lake Community College are in dire need of a student orientation piece of some sort. We might produce a CD or DVD. We might create it as a course in WebCT. We might do a live orientation that we take on the road. There are many options. It's kind of a big project though, so my dilemma is whether I want to do something that large. Time will make the decision for me if I don't make my own decision soon.

Goodness, blogging is a huge relief.. I can think of a million other topics I'd like to write about, but I will save it for another day...

The Beach Bug

Does everyone have one of these? It seems when life gets even the slightest bit monotonous and the weather outside just a little bit cold, that little bug comes to invite me to the beach.

Now, this would seem normal for someone who had lived by the beach and was well acquainted with it's allure. I've heard of this phenomoenon for those who have grown up in our beautiful Salt Lake Valley and moved away. They have the mountain bug.

Alas, I have never lived in close proximity to the beach. I have memories of visiting Santa Cruz, just long enough to get our feet wet and then covered with sand. That was the point that we were beckoned back to the van so that our feet could be lashed with a towel to remove the sticky sand so it wouldn't deposit itself in the vehicle.

It was only in the last few years that I've discovered how easy it is to appease the beach bug. A mere 10 hour drive will find me on Laguna Beach, listening to the rush of the surf on the sand and taking pictures of my toes in the water as evidence of the persistence of the Beach Bug, reguardless of the weather. February isn't exactly the time people expect to see a few bathing beauties frolicking in the waves.

A short 3 hour flight will find me on Coronado Beach, hunting for seashells, or in Oceanside jogging on the wide expanse of the promenade. All in response to the beach bug who knew that work was going kill me if I didn't escape soon for some rest and relaxation.

The most aggressive Beach Bug of all took me all the way to the other side of the world to wade at Bondi Beach in the moonlight-- in the middle of June. Unthinkable to most who reside near those shores.

I suppose I'll have to appease my most current bug with pictures and memories until the stars align to make a mad dash to the shore.