In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

Remember that post I wrote about being prepared and having the backup hair dryer?  This one?  Well I'm telling you, I'm extremely grateful I had the impression to take control of my life and purchase back up hair appliances.  Major tender mercy.

I was having what I would probably term the worst week of my life.  I think I always exaggerate when things don't go smoothly but this was a very bad week.  I was trying to get everything ready for my big trip to Europe (I still can't believe I actually went!) and everything that could go wrong, did.  Okay, maybe not, but at work things were just out of control.  We were going to close on a big deal while I was away and I wanted everything finalized before I left so there wouldn't be any huge problems while I was out of communication.  I was having to deal with a lot of uncommon problems and it was extremely frustrating.  The night before I was supposed to leave I had a melt down of sorts and had to come to terms with the fact that I wouldn't be able to get everything done that I wanted to.  I got home late and started packing (ya, I'm a procrastinator) and stayed up even later so I wasn't rushing in the morning with all of the last minute items.  

Fast forward to 4 am.  

I wake up, shower, get dressed, put on my makeup, pull out my hair dryer, and.......nothing.  It was dead.  As a doornail.  Nothing would get that thing going. 

Now, after the week I had, this could have been viewed as a really horrible experience, one that would perhaps be the kick start of a dream vacation going terribly wrong.  Instead, I laughed to myself, pulled out my new (5 year old) hair dryer, and calmly dried my hair like this was the start of a dream vacation where everything would turn out all right.

And it really was.

Some might view this as a coincidence or just good luck but honestly, it was a great feeling to know that in a small moment of personal crisis, I was well equipped to handle the situation. 

I'll blog about my trip soon but just wanted to share my little story of the personal peace that accompanies preparation, however shallow it may seem.

(and just in case you're wondering, I have yet to update my outdated 72 hour kit in the closet..........there's still plenty of time for that, right?) 

Farewells

Life has been pretty crazy the last few months and my dedication to update the blog more frequently has been lackluster to say the least.  But things seem to be slowing down just enough.  Hopefully it will last!

Today was a day I totally appreciated all my mother did to send me off on a mission!  It is a lot of work! Even split up among 4+ people!  I'm exhausted.

Today was our parents' mission farewell.  My mom was crazy stressed and worried about it but I don't know why, we told her all she had to do was show up at her own house and we would do everything else.  But I guess speaking in church can be a terrifying experience for some, she was on pins and needles all week.  Of course, she and my dad did a fabulous job.  One funny thing that happened was the church clock was broken but nobody knew it, so my dad, being the last speaker, was trying to fill up some extra time.  The bishopric slipped him a note to let him know (and check his watch) so he wouldn't keep trying to fill empty minutes that didn't exist!  But it was a great meeting.  JaKayla played the piano, a solo of "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" and did AMAZING!  It's nice to have someone else take over on the ivories!  She is getting really good!

So many friends and family showed up to support my parents, our family has been very blessed with great influences throughout the years!  It was so fun to see everyone and catch up!  Facebook just can't replace human interaction, you know?  After the church meeting, we invited everyone over for lunch (Cade took a bunch of pictures, so check out his blog for more info).  We thought we had a ton of food, which we did, but surprisingly ran out of sandwiches (one of my responsibilities, unfortunately.....sorry Mom!).

Even though the farewell was today, my mom and dad won't actually leave until June 3rd.  And even then, they will just be at the Provo MTC for 2 more weeks.  The exact departure date for Seattle is June 14th, so still almost a month away.  But I realized today that it will be kind of strange to be an orphan for 18 months.  No more Sunday dinners up in SLC, no one to watch the corny Hallmark movies with, and no one to remind me all the time how awesome I am (even though I know they're biased).  It got me kind of sad to think of it!  Even though we are going to try to have monthly family get togethers, this will be the first time that I will be completely on my own, living the single life 24/7.  I guess I realized how much I really do still rely on my parents!

I'm sure the next 19 months will fly by and then we'll all be reminiscent of that one time my parents lived in Washington for 18 months and wasn't that so cool.  Life is funny that way!

What Would You Do With $100?

On Christmas day I returned home to find some mail at my doorstep.  It was fun to open up all of the late delivered Christmas cards and continue to feel the Spirit of the Season.  One card was from a client, which was thoughtful in and of itself, and held a $100 gift card.  

Wowsa!!  

That's not junk change!  I felt extremely grateful and my mind immediately started reeling with what I could purchase.  Maybe an apple tv?  A nice bag?  Some new running shoes?  The sky was the limit.  And that's pretty much been my biggest problem.

If anyone knows me at all they know I'm horrible at making decisions, especially when limitless options are involved.  I mull things over and over and over again until everyone I know is sick of talking to me because all I do is talk about my BIG decision.  

I'm a muller.  

And I create mountains out of molehills.

This experience is no exception.  I thought I knew what I wanted but just can't seem to close the deal because, well, what if later I discover something I really NEED and kick myself for spending so frivolously?  AND.......I've found that there are some really cool things I could buy that cost more than $100 but......now's just not the time.

So there it sits, burning a hole in my wallet.  

What would you do with $100?