work waiting

There are some days where my job is ridiculously busy. Days where I am constantly running from floor to floor to the downtown store to the Choir's office back to mine. Days when I feel the pressure and truly understand the meaning of a "fast-paced environment." These are the same days where I feel ultra productive. It's crazy, but I accomplish so much.

I work best under pressure.

That might not be true.

I work well under pressure,
but I also enjoy
being able to take my time
and perfect everything
just how I think it should be.
So let me try this again:

I work well.

But then there are other days when I've finished my end of a project, or gotten to the approval point of something, and I am forced to simply wait. A significant percentage of my job consists of following-up, so every-so-often there is a day where all I can do is wait. I sit and wait for forms to be signed, for permission to progress on a project, for decisions to be made. And I sit.

Today is one of those days.

Now, I don't want to sound like I'm lazy, because I honestly don't think that I am. I work really hard. Growing up, my parents drove a hard work ethic deep into my soul. And forever will it remain. And I'm grateful for that work ethic. Because, let's just be honest here, lazy people just frustrate and annoy. Particularly when their lackadaisical manner puts more on my shoulders. But enough of that.

Today is one of those days that is mostly spent waiting.

I've opened the mail, checked my messages (don't worry, there weren't any), responded to the few emails that were waiting in my inbox this morning, though I'm arriving at the slow season of email requests. Emails have only been trickling in... Nothing compared to a few months ago when I arrived daily to 30+ emails every morning. Today, I had 5. And 3 of them were the same email with little notes in the subject line saying "Just wanted to make sure you got this"(8:23pm Saturday) or "I would appreciate and immediate answer" (10:53am Sunday). Apparently, some people just want to make sure I get their email and get a little bit freaked out when I don't immediately reply. But let me share with you a secret: I don't check my email on Saturday evening when I'm spending quality time with my husband. Nor do I check my email during church on Sunday morning. Just a heads up - If you are sending a company email on the weekend, at least have the courtesy to wait until noon on Monday to freak out when you haven't received a reply. I understand you want a quick response, and I'm happy to oblige, but good grief, calm down!

For the record, I had responded to all of my emails within 10 minutes of getting to work this morning. So Mr. Impatient, now I am waiting on you. I hope your own medicine tastes alright.

I digress.

So, I am waiting. I cleaned my desk. I organized our storage room. I even offered my services to our neighboring film department. But alas, here I sit as time slowly passes.

Seriously ... slowly passes.

I'm still waiting.

earth day

last night, brans walked in from outside and announced to me that it was summer.

"what?"
"it's summer."
"actually, it's spring. middle of april. spring."
"nope. it was so warm today and
just now when i walked outside, it smelled like summer."
"you've got to be kidding me."
"nope. its summer."

here's the problem:

it's not summer.

it snowed 3 inches at our house last week.summer?
no.
it's barely spring.

but according to weather.com, only a few more days of warm...

and then rain.

lots of rain....the rains came down and the floods came up...

haven't we had enough precipitation?
last i heard utah was over 100% on precip levels.
i hope there aren't any flo-ods.

i just want time to enjoy this:beautiful cherry blossoms.
there are lots by our house.

and i'm dreaming of the day when my yard contains several of them. my, how i love cherry blossoms. they are just lovely. they shout spring, don't you think? and we need a little spring around here.

rebirth.
regrowth.

but how am i supposed to do my spring cleaning if there is no spring?

happy earth day.

enjoy whatever season you are presently experiencing.

birthday

today is branson's mom's birthday.

and i hope she is spending the whole day having so much fun!

i wish we were in san diego so i could make her a beautiful cake
and put an undisclosed amount of candles on it.

but since she was in town last week,
kendyll and i held an early birthday bash for her.

so my made-from-scratch vanilla-with-vanilla-bean-icing cupcakes
will have to do.

but she is one person whom i am super grateful for.


i would attempt to list all of her talents, but i'm afraid i would overload blogspot and the internet would crash. or some thing like that.

but just to list a few things i love about her:

she is funny.
maybe we just have the same sense of humor,
but really, she cracks me up.

she is always giving.
to everyone.
seriously.
always.

she is such a great example.
she diligently lives the gospel.
the light of christ shines brightly through her.


i could not dream / wish / ask for a better mother-in-law. from the very first moment i met her, she welcomed me into her home and into her family. she went out of her way to make me feel special and important to her. and has continued to do so ever since.

so,
happy birthday!
i love you
and miss you
and can't wait to see you again in 3 weeks.

viva la love story

why i love the piano...

for more on jon schmidt, click here.

serendipity

yesterday, we returned home
from yet another trip down to las vegas
this time, for granny's funeral.

it was a nice service.
though i didn't know granny very long,
i'm told it was just how she would have wanted it.

and it was fun to spend time with branson's family.

i met all of the cousins and shared lots of laughs.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

but on the flip side,
my brilliant plan to go to serendipity 3
was a
c o l o s s a l
f a i l u r e.

it had just just opened in vegas two weeks ago
and kendyll and i thought it would be perfect to go
and bathe in frozen hot chocolate,
dark double devil mousse and lemon ice box pie...
(ok. i never intended to bathe in it. i just wanted to submerse myself in the
serendipatiousness and pretend that i was momentarily
in a romantic comedy where all my dreams were coming true.)
but vegas had different plans for our evening.

oh, we still had frozen hot chocolate.
and it was better than i was hoping for.

however, there was a long line when we got there...
mildly expected.
the wait was over an hour.
and we were told that they could not/would not
accommodate our large party.
(they said could, but all i heard was would)

luckily, there was a order/pick up window -
vegas style foot-traffic "walk thru"
as opposed to drive thru
so we got a couple menus and decided on our delectable,
well-deserved desserts
with a few orders of yummy appetizers for variety.

but when the order-ers of our party got up to the window
they were informed that there were only a handful of things
available through the window,
forcing everyone to change their orders.
we were not happy.
it had been a long day.
we were all tired -
not to mention hungry for something yummy in our tummies.

so we grumpily changed our orders and settled on
frozen hot chocolate and spudnicks (waffle fries)
to share.

oh and don't worry.
our frozen hot chocolate came in plastic cups.
not the cute ones in the movie or inside the restaurant.
yup. cheap, plastic,
might-as-well-be-mcdonald's cups.

but, the fries were i n c r e d i b l e.
i'd go back just for them.
and the frozen hot chocolate put everyone in a better mood.
no wonder it's their signature.
i just wish i had gotten an actual cup.

but all in all,
our/my plan failed.

but now i know what to expect and will plan ahead.
and i won't invite 11 other people to with me.
oh, i'd still invite everyone i did in the first place...
but i will split them up into smaller groups-
thus, giving myself the opportunity to partake of
serendipity
several more times.

yes, that will be much better, i'm sure.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

but i'm glad we had the opportunity to go down.

it was nice to pay tribute to branson's granny
and hear everyone reminisce
about the wonderful times they spent with her.

she was a great woman.
very independent and lovable.
and she will be missed.
but at least we know we'll see her again.
and we're all comforted by that.

but for now,

i'm tired.
and there's tons of laundry to do.
and bags to unpack.
and lots of things to catch up on.

april{ish}

we've been so busy the past week{ish}.

.general conference was fantastic.
.we visited granny after conference on sunday
and shared a few precious moments with family.
.granny passed away last wednesday...
i'm sure there was a great reunion in heaven
and throngs of people waiting to greet her.
.shared time in the temple with family
for a sacred, special occasion.
.we went down to las vegas for a family reunion.
.stayed in a beautiful, clean hotel.
.went shopping.
.realized my husband has great taste
in clothes/accessories, among other things.
.saw baseball great pete rose.
.celebrated my birthday.
.spent time with extended family.
.was embarrassed by a rousing chorus
of 'happy birthday' at dinner.
.won the jelly bean guessing contest...
i was only 3 off...
my guess: 412
actual amount: 415
awesome.
.got gelato.
.watched the bellagio fountain show.
.saw phantom of the opera...
a m a z i n g.
.had a lovely birthday.
.met my soon-to-be sister-in-law jenee.
.made it back home just in time
for a lovely easter sacrament program.
.cried my eyes out as a 6 year old boy sang 'he died for me'.
.had easter dinner and {belated}birthday cake with family.
.was spoiled rotten with birthday presents.
.checked off
'get some smokin' hot red shoes'
on my resolutions list.
(thank you)
.added another cutco knife to my collection.
.celebrated 11 months of marriage.
.stayed up way too late every night.
.woke up way to early every morning.
.had such a great time.

and now i'm exhausted.

and next weekend, we'll venture back down to vegas
for granny's funeral...
a little more bitter-sweet of a trip.

and in light of our exhaustion,
we couldn't be happier.
what great lives we have.

april fools

Ah, April Fools Day.

A fool's excuse to think he's funny.

I woke up to several inches of snow outside my windows. It looks like Nature's played the first trick on me today. Is it not really April? Are we in a perpetual January? Sure seems like it today. Slick roads. Heavy winter coats, accompanied by mittens and scarves. I find it thoroughly depressing.

The next joke I encountered this morning was as I ran to catch the train this morning. I could hear someone yelling as I stepped up from the platform onto the train. I wasn't really paying much attention, so I didn't realize I was the person this woman was talking/yelling to.

"There's something on your coat!!!"

I casually glanced down, fairly positive there wasn't anything on my red corduroy jacket. Seeing nothing, I continued to press my way into the middle of the train; all the seats were taken. Standing room only is what seems to greet me on the train as of late.

"Ha ha! I got you! April Fools! I made you look. April Fools!"

I smiled, partly amused at the innocent joke, partly irritated that someone would yell so loudly around me on the train so early in the morning. Because, you see, I am not a big fan of the train in the first place. Sure, it saves us money and eases the headache that comes while trying to park anywhere downtown. But, on the train, people cough on you. And you usually have to share a seat with a stranger. And when its crowded, people and bags sway into you and creepy men touch your hair. But I digress...

I found a little corner to stand in, away from the doors, away from as many people as possible. And I heard it again. "You have something on your coat!" I looked up, and saw another victim of this small woman's amusement. I smiled again, thinking to myself of the harmless joke, and how it could be worse. At least there was no silly string or anything that would make a mess and really irritate me.

But after the 12th time of hearing "You have something on your coat! April Fools! Made you look!" I have to admit, I started to wonder which stop this woman would get off at. I found myself wishing it was the next stop as the train accelerated from the previous one with this woman still laughing and yelling "April Fools!".

After the 26th time she repeated the joke, no I'm not exaggerating - 26 times counting mine as the first... I can only imagine how long she was on the train before I got on - she got off the train. There was a look of relief on the faces of several businessmen and university students who stood around me.

And although I was relieved as well to enjoy the rest of my ride in peace, I was grateful for the innocence of this woman. I'm sure she has a good heart and she is probably very compassionate.

And I'm glad she didn't spray silly string on me. Not that she had silly string. I don't even know.

I'm hoping that's the extent of the April Fools jokes forced upon me today. And that tomorrow will be spring and that this snow really is just a joke. Melt snow, MELT!

- - -

Thank you, April, for arriving not a moment too soon.
Now could you please just bring spring our way?