Trips

This was cool. Stone Mountain, Georgia. They carved this monument in the side of a giant rock in the middle of town. The three men are Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis. It was a beautiful park, with EXPANSIVE grassy areas for watching the fireworks show. Unfortunately, we were too early in the season to see the fireworks, and the children with us would not have made it that long. It was a fun way to get out of the house and see something of Atlanta.

My visit has been cathartic.. in more ways than one. Tomorrow I head for home, hopefully to warmer weather and no snow. :D

Three Things...

1. The inversion is so nasty... the smog/pollution index thingamijigger says that we are currently 3-4 times WORSE than LA. I walked out of Target tonight and I could actually TASTE the air. Gag!



2. I watched the COOLEST thing while I was checking out at Target. The store security had been running around the store the whole 30 minutes I was there.. playing with their walkie talkies and hiding behind displays and fixtures. I knew something was going down. I had walked in to the building with two snotty girls.. who were acting kind of weird, but I didn't really think anything of it. I happened to be walking to the register and one of the girls was walking out at the same time-- not to the checkout, but to the doors. Just as she crossed the threshold, the cute security guy made a mad dash to the door. He confronted her and it appeared, asked her politely to return to the store. She resisted and was "helped" back into the store. She continued to resist and two cops came and handcuffed her!!!! Is that so cool?? It was really hard not to stare and watch the whole drama scene play out. My cashier was just as distracted. It was pretty amazing. You Go Security! anything you can do to keep the cost of my wonderful Target merchandise to a minimum is okay by me!



3. I'm refinancing my house! I started the process today and did some pretty fancy negotiating. They are going to drop my interest rate from 7.124% to 5.347% or something or other... and the only cost was for the appraisal. They told me it would be $410 for the appraisal!! My jaw dropped... until I asked around about a reasonable rate for an appraisal and found that $300 is about the average. Well, I told the guy that the appraisal cost was a roadblock. He asked me what I was willing to pay, and just grabbed $100 out of the air. He talked to his manager, and they approved it! I was shocked and grateful. With any luck, the paperwork will be all done and I'll have a much lower mortgage payment with in a week and a half!

* picture is from the walkway at Buchart Gardens in Victoria, BC. Awesome trip!

A Poem that Touched me today

I found this poem eons ago in a book I read as a teenager. Web searches for it in the past have been futile, but today, it magically appeared. :) I must have been in sore need of it today.

He Wishes for Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths,
Of night and light and half-light;
I would spread the cloths under your feet;
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

W.B. Yeats

The new room!

I tried to take pictures of the whole room, but alas, it isn't big enough to get more than corners.
And I actually got halfway moved back in before I snagged the camera. Here's one corner.. where the gray meets the white and brown/purple wall.

This is the opposite corner from the first picture. Notice, the doors have not been re-installed. I need to buy one new one.

Here's another one trying to highlight the new flooring.
It feels SOOOOO Good! :D

Feeling a bit artsy with this one. This was on Hug Beach on the Oregon Coast. I took it on my trip back there the beginning of October.

I'm pretty disppointed though. I have seen so many people have success with Picassa for uploading a whole slew of pictures to blog about. My previous post worked with Picassa, but my last few attempts have failed miserably. Austin thought perhaps it was a glitch with the updated Blogger. I'll have to take a look at the blogger notes to see if anyone has found a fix for that problem.

oh baby! does that have "geek" written all over it or what?? Gotta love it.

This is a very Austinish entry, isn't it? I just feel like rambling for a while. Work today was interesting. We have "office days" twice a month. There are seven designers in my office, and we are spread hither and yon through out the work week-- either working from home or meeting with faculty at other campuses or just making ourselves available for general questions. These "office days" are an attempt to build some cohesion and help us stay focussed on some higher level activities, rather than course support on a day to day basis.

I've been conducting these since November, and I've always tried to make sure that the things I plan are of value to the other folks in the group. We decided to read a book and have discussions on it. Once the "business" portion of the agenda was over, we really didn't have much time for the book discussion. What we did have was really good though-- at least I thought so.

We've been migrating to a new content management system, and the general feeling in the office has been like The-Little-Engine-That-Could trying with all her heart to make it to the other side of the mountain. Now that we are there, we can all use a little down time to enjoy the Vista-- oh dear BAD!! joke (the new system is called Vista). That's so bad i'm almost tempted to erase it, but I'll leave it for writing therapy sake!

So, now, i'm home.. after spending an hour at the gym, and cancelling my gym membership (effective on Feb. 15th). I need to make a plan to really initiate an At-Home program. First I'll get my Spare Oom finished so i have someplace to store my exercise ball and weights and all that fun stuff. The only things left in there are to paint the lower half of the walls, and purchase storage shelves so stuff can be moved back in.

You wanted pictures. :) Here we go!
This is the most adorable picture of my Grandparents. I took it at Thanksgiving.
They are wonderful, inspirational people to me.

Love you Grandma and Grandpa!!

Gold Nuggets

Found this one while browsing a friend's library this weekend-- thanks Wade!!!


From the chapter titled "Swords and Scabbards" in the book "The Power of Truth" by William George Jordan:

"The man who does not dare follow his own convictions, but who lives in terror of what society will say, falling prostrate before the golden calf of public opinion, is living an empty life of mere show. He is sacrificing his individuality, his divine right to live his life in harmony of his own high ideals, to a cowardly, toadying fear of the world. He is not a voice, with the strong note of individual purpose; he is but the thin echo of the voice of thousands. He is not brightening, sharpening and using the sword of his life in true warfare; he is lazily ornamenting a useless scabbard with the hieroglyphics of his folly.

Life is not a competition with others. In it's truest sense it is rivarly with ourselves. we should each day seek to break the record of our yesterday. We should seek each day to live stronger, better, truer lives; each day to master some weakness of yesterday; each day to repair past follies; each day to surpass ourselves. "

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.