How I Would Like to Live My Life

Quick recap for the gratitude blog:

Friday - Day one of getting up to work out was a success. I've taken a break the last two months and am now ready to get back in the groove. Grateful that the program I built for our email automation worked. Boss was impressed too. Yay me! Someone gave the marketing team donuts at work. These are my achilles heel. I will not allow myself to buy them, but I can eat them if someone else does. Good thing I worked out this morning. :)

Saturday - Grateful for the day off. Nothing pressing. Nothing expected. Just time to relax, read, and enjoy life. I was able to sell my parents' old couches/hide-a-beds on KSL. With my dad retired and having time to help my mom around the house, they have begun reorganizing things at home. Tonight I was able to watch the BYU game and with friends. Glad to see the team improving over the season. Wished we had another shot at Utah.

Sunday - Grateful for my ward. It has been such a breath of fresh air from the singles wards and I've made such great friends. My home teachers are fabulous and even volunteered to help me pack up the trailer for the impending move. I love catching up with dear friends. I hadn't seen one for almost a month and she rushed up to me when she saw me and we caught up on all our doings. It touched me that she remembered my resolve to slow down and asked how that was going. Gratefully, I was able to give her a positive report. I love the new tradition some friends and I have created. We started Disney Sing-a-long Sunday Movie Night. It started out as just movie night, but the first one we picked was Beauty and the Beast. We felt that was Sunday appropriate. As the movie progressed, everyone was singing along and it became mandated that you sing-a-long. Last night was the most successful of them all. Our numbers have tripled. We have watched Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, Hercules, and The Little Mermaid. I told my friends that me moving would not stop Sunday Movie Night and I would continue coming down for it. Always good to have friends willing to do silly things, like singing along to movies, with you.

Today I am grateful for the women I work with. With 130+ employees, only 15 of us are female and some of those work remotely. I love being able to talk shopping with them and get their opinions on things I buy. Girl talk with them is very much appreciated.

I am grateful that my two months of planning how to slow down are finally working. I've really enjoyed having a slower pace the past week. I've been able to relax and really enjoy being with people. And sleep. I've missed sleeping.

When I started my job, we had no social media presence and I was in charge of developing it. I read as much as I could. Analyzed what others were doing. Then started. Our online presence has dramatically increased even though we don't have much to talk about. Today I received some more positive feedback from our VP of PR and my boss. So nice to hear that I'm doing good things.

PS - I'm also grateful that six months ago when I talked with my financial advisor, he suggested I hold on to my ready cash, even though it was making almost nothing on a low interest, instead of investing it. The crash and burn of the stock market makes me glad I listened.

Gratitude Day 28

1- Relaxing. Yesterday was busy with all the traveling between the wedding and reception so it was nice to relax today. Regroup. Unwind. Rest. Very much needed.

2- Coming home to a clean apartment. I arrived home around midnight last night. Knowing my apartment was clean when I came home was a nice feeling. Yes I know I spent the "blizzard" day cleaning and already knew that everything was in order, but I was still grateful to come home to an organized, vacuumed, and scrubbed down apartment.

3- Afternoon church. Usually I don't like afternoon church; however, as I said above, I needed a relaxing day. So, today I am grateful I was able to sleep in without worrying about any meetings or rushing off to church, especially with the few inches of snow on the ground.

Gratitude Day 24

1- Artwork. Today I enjoyed the works of a great painter with my family. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit and hope to go back. Though I'm not the most knowledgeable about art history, I am grateful my parents taught me to appreciate and enjoy the talents of painters and other artists.

2- Pampering. Few things in this world relax me like a foot massage. Today I indulged and got a pedicure at my favorite place. Some may scoff asking, "Why would you pay money to have someone paint your toenails?" For those of you who have had a pedicure, you know it has nothing to do with the toe paint. It is all about the massage. Very, very nice!

3- Shopping with a friend. A friend of mine invited me to go shoe shopping with her today. Though I'm not a big shopper, I enjoyed my time being out of the house and talking with a friend. I did make a purchase: jewelry for my sister's wedding. As a previous post attests, I already found a pair of shoes. :)

Gratitude Day 23

1- O Holy Night. Whenever I hear this song, my mind recalls sitting by the Christmas tree wrapped in a blanket, watching the twinkling Christmas lights, and listening to this song. For me that was Christmas. The peace and stillness that seemed lost at other times of the year. Many versions of this song exist but I discovered my favorite two years ago. A good friend of mine introduced me to this version as we were decorating the Christmas tree. The spirit that accompanied the song as it filled the room was unmatched and I fell in love with it all over again. Hauntingly beautiful rendition. The King's Singers have forever solidified this as my favorite Christmas song.



2- Clean apartment. My morning appointment was canceled so I spent the time deep cleaning my bathroom and bedroom.

3- Freshly washed sheets. Not only did I get my apartment cleaned but I also finished my laundry. Another great feeling. I had to do something today. My afternoon plans were foiled by this weak "blizzard" that everyone got hyped up about.

Gratitude Day 14

1- Christmas music. Though you may scoff, it really brings peace to the soul. I love wrapping myself in a blanket, drinking hot chocolate, and listening to the sounds of Christmas.

2- Silent Night. I've always enjoyed this song. However, when I went to the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert with Lucy and Scott a few years ago, I gained a new appreciation. It speaks to me in a way that only "O Holy Night" by the King Singers can rival. But that song will be for another day. Enjoy!


3- I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. I never really was a fan of this song. Once again, the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert changed all of that. Ed Herrman's monologue about Henry Wordsworth Longfellow captures the spirit of the song and most importantly, the spirit of Christmas. How I love Christmas!

Merry Old Month of May

I could list a whole lot of reasons why I haven't blogged recently, but truthfully it really is sheer laziness. To those few readers who like to know what is going on in my life here is my May recap:

• Traveled to California. Visited family. Slept. Relaxed. Vented frustrations.
• Signed up for a half marathon. Started running. Wanted to quit running. Still running.
• Helped a friend who got sick. Raging ear infection. Ears swollen. No hearing. High fever. Not fun.
• Still job searching. No luck yet. Still frustrated on that front.
• Cleaning life. Organizing boxes. De-junking. Very therapeutic.
• Sister is engaged. Excited for her. November wedding. Beautiful dress.
• Planning life. Still figuring it out. Hoping for the best.

AOG - Day 29

1- I am grateful for hot tubs. I love sitting and relaxing in hot tubs. This weekend I was at the Waldorf-Astoria resort at The Canyons. Being in a ritzy hotel, in the mountains, with a hot tub? Priceless.

2- I am grateful for peanut butter cookies. I got the recipe from a girl who collected different PB cookie recipes and she gave me her favorite.

3- I am grateful that the semester ends in 2 1/2 weeks. It is going to be a crazy busy time but I am excited for the Christmas break.

AOG - Day 22

1- I am grateful for nine hours of sleep! Can you tell school has taken a toll on me? Getting sleep this weekend has helped me actually considering going to class this week.

2- I am grateful for good friends who talk with me through ideas and situations. Being in the RS Presidency has helped me more aware of the sisters in the ward; however those sisters seem to serve me more than I am able to serve them.

3- I am grateful for relaxing on the couch, listening to Christmas music, but really do nothing.

AOG - Day 20

1- I am grateful for the service of others. One of my MBA friends sat and talked with me when I needed insights and perspective. This person was not someone I would have thought to seek advice from but he was just what I needed.

2- I am grateful my former students won their state champion football game! I am even more grateful that it was broadcast on TV so I could watch it. I still miss the interactions I have with my students.

3- I am grateful for relaxing nights after very long weeks. I was able to talk with my sister on the phone, watch my brother play football, talk briefly with my parents, then watch a couple of movies. It was so nice to just relax.

AOG - Day 18

1- I am grateful my presentation went well.

2- I am grateful for my sisters who help me out in life. The listen to me, invite me on vacation with them, and one let me borrow all her kids pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals to help me with my presentation.

3- I am grateful for moments when I can forget about school and just relax.

AOG - Day 14

1- I am grateful for the beauty snow creates. Just add Christmas lights and its a bit of heaven on earth.

2- I am grateful for lazy days. It is nice to just have a day to relax and read a book.

3- I am grateful for pedicures and how nice and relaxing it makes me. Plus my feet look pretty now.

Gratitude - Day 24

1. I am grateful I enjoy driving. I have been and will be traveling back and forth between home and Salt Lake many times this week. As long as traffic isn't bad, I find driving cathartic. Some of my favorite memories are the road trips I have taken: Vegas with Annette a couple of times - food was the sole purpose for one of those, Arizona with Annette - Fiesta Bowl, driving to Sacramento - blip.blip.blip.blip.blip.etc, and others. Good times!

2. I am grateful that I am still in bed at 9am on a weekday. Don't think I'm too lazy. I woke up at 7:30am. I have just been playing old school Nintendo on my computer, catching up on emails, and not doing homework.

3. I am grateful for lunch plans with friends. With my life being so busy, it is nice to take a break, eat good food, and talk with people I care about. Yesterday, my friend Chloe and I had lunch. She sits behind me in all my classes but we rarely have time to just be us. I have lunch plans with another friend today and am looking forward to more good food and conversation.

Gratitude - Day 21

1. I am grateful for being forced to slow down.

2. I am grateful for those who help me.

3. I am grateful for blankets. I love wrapping myself in a blanket and putting on a good movie or reading a good book.