TINY TEMPTATIONS

Yesterday one of my co-employees brought in a bag of watermelon taffy and put it in the candy dish in my office (usually reserved for mints and candies with less long-term effects). Darn those tiny taffys! They've sucked me in!! But at the same time, many thanks to Debbie for always being so good to me.....

GOT THIS SICK DOG

This isn't a picture of Jack, but it might as well have been last night. Poor little Jack the Dog was super sick and there wasn't much I could do to help him. From the way he was acting and whimpering, I could tell that his stomach was hurting him, and every time he took a step or was picked up he would breathe heavy and give a little groan. Luckily my Administrator at work raises show dogs, so her prior recommendations of water, pepto bismol, chicken, and rice did the trick. Today he's still sluggish and not moving very fast, but he's back to staring you down when you're eating, hoping that you'll give him something. I seriously love that dog!

MY BIG FAT GYPSY WEDDING

As fascinating as it is to see their culture come out in the show, here's why I'm really grateful I'm not a gypsy:

1. Their average age to marry is 17 years old. 17!!!!!
2. The traveling gypsys live in trailers. I'm a big fan of them when I'm camping, but not so much to live in.
3. Their wedding dresses are usually twice their weight....which causes them scarring on their hips from it pulling at their skin. The bigger the scar, the better.
4. Girls are expected to clean and have kids. That's pretty much all they are allowed to do. They even have to have permission from their husbands to go out and see family and friends.
5. If a woman divorces an abusive husband she's not allowed to remarry. He can marry as many times as he wants, but she's 'used goods.'
6. There's not an emphasis on education. In fact, it's discouraged when you're a girl because you should be cleaning. Seriously?!?! Even the boys are discouraged once they get older (older meaning 15 and 16) because their focus should be finding a wife.
7. Disputes and disagreements are settled by fist fights that last until one or the other person gives up. You never talk out your problems.
8. They marry their cousins. Enough said.

CHALLENGE

Last week our Bishop issued the challenge to our ward to all read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year. We could do it as families, or as individuals, whichever way we decided we wanted to do it. It's only been a week, but I've already had multiple conversations with people who have been experiencing the effects of it. I love that no matter how many times you read the Book of Mormon, you can always experience the peace and power that comes from it. The excitement of knowing it was written by prophets who saw our day. In February I was in Guatemala and saw numerous sites that Church Historians have indicated were sites from the Book of Mormon. The City of Nephi, the Waters of Mormon, even just the wilderness that they walked through. I'm imagining it as I read and it's making it become more real to me. It's making me appreciate even more the sacrifices that were made to keep the plates, and to travel with them, and to preserve them for us. For me. Tomorrow the Young Women are coming over to my house to read. We're going to read for an hour, have lunch, and then spread out and read for another hour. What a great way to spend a Saturday morning, and what a great blessing to be able to bring the Spirit of the Book of Mormon into my home. If only weight loss challenges were this enjoyable......

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES

It's been a while since I posted anything. Partly because I've been incredibly busy with some aspects of my life, and partly because I haven't felt like there was much to 'talk' about in my life. It's been almost 3 months so I'll do a quick recap of some changes in a nutshell:

1. New job: I'm still working at the same company as before, but my title now is 'Director of Human Resources.' I'm putting Social Work aside for a while (yippee) and focusing on something different. I started it a couple of months ago and so far I LOVE it!!! I enjoy being able to interact with all of the staff, I like that everything still feels familiar, regardless of how different it is, and I like having a window and private office again. I don't have much time to look out my window, but I like that it's there :)
2. New kind of house: Not a literal new house, but for the first time EVER I am living alone. I know it makes me sound sort of ridiculous saying that, but I like being around people and not having a roommate right now is a HUGE step for me. On the upside, I now have guest bedrooms and a whole slew of new appliances, so if you're ever this way, come by and stay for a bit. Seriously. I'm starting to talk to Jack like he's an actual person.
3. New attitude: Hahaha! Just kidding! But I like to think that I'm trying to stay positive about the little things that life throws my way. I feel like I went through a bit of a slump a couple of months ago and was feeling pretty frustrated with life in general. It didn't take long for me to realize that me feeling down wasn't changing the reality of the situation, so I implemented some goals for myself. It's been awesome and I feel like I'm on the upswing. I'm a big fan of re-evaluation, and it was a good time to do that.
4. New favorite show: NCIS. I'm a bit obsessed with this show right now, and thanks to Netflix I'm going to spend my summer watching all of the episodes from the beginning. Kudos to my old roommate, Melissa, for putting up with hours and hours of episodes when I first discovered it in March. It's fantastic!
5. New favorite food: Vegetable meatloaf!!! Don't wrinkle your nose at this because I found a recipe for meatloaf you make out of ground turkey and oodles of vegetables. It freezes easy, and is delicious!! I literally have been eating it four and five times a week for over a month now and still look forward to it. Yummy!
6. New computer: This was inevitable because my other one shorted out. I still haven't had a chance to touch base with the 'Geek Squad' to see if my information can be salvaged, but I sure am hoping I can save even some of my information. Note to self: Always do a backup!!!

So that's my life right now! Nothing hugely significant, but lots of little things going on. I feel like my life is similar to the picture I posted with this. Lots of awesome scenery and things to be appreciative of, and a road that I find myself on with bends and turns, and the inability to see around the corner. But it's a BEAUTIFUL road and I'm excited to see what lies beyond the tree. Life is good!

SAFETY

Feeling safe has always been a big thing for me. Even if I KNOW I'm safe, I want to make sure I feel like I'm safe. So I was thrilled when they came over the weekend and installed a security system in my home. Any entry into my house is safeguarded, and the thought of being alone at night is less daunting. It's been a good thing.
So the following Monday I came to work with the assurance that there would be less to worry about when I'm not home. It was a short-lived victory. Two hours later I went into my desk and found my wallet missing from my purse. All of my money, checkbook, IDs, Credit and Debit cards, gift cards, contact information....everything was gone. Right out of my office, which would require that the individual go behind my desk, open my drawers, lift if out of the place where it's hidden, and take it out of my purse. Really?! It's like one step forward and two steps back ;) Sigh.......

A FEW LITTLE NEW THINGS

I love the Spring!! It makes me so excited when the weather starts to warm up and I find myself looking for any excuse to be outside. Plus, you get to air out your house, the days start to get longer, and all of a sudden you have motivation for projects like these:

Project #1: Garage makeover. My parents are in town for a week, so my dad spent the last couple of days re-installing cabinets and building shelves in my garage. He is a lifesaver!! I wish I had gotten a 'before' picture, but basically the things in that pile were lining both sides of my garage. Grrrr. I hate clutter.

Thankfully my little CRV doubled as a pickup truck so we could go get supplies! Another reason that I have never had buyers remorse over this handy little vehicle.

So here is the finished product!! It makes such a huge difference when things are organized and it makes me want to do things in my garage again. Thanks, Dad!!!!!

Project #2: Landsaping. Doing something with my yard has been placed on the backburner since moving in to my house. My funds are limited, so I knew it was going to need to be simple. The picture above was how it looked before, and that's AFTER I filled 7 industrial sized bags full of thick weeds that were starting to look like trees. It was hideous.
And here's how it looks now! It's perfect for my lifestyle. Low maintenance with minimal work required. I love it. It's not completely done though. The landscaper, is going to bring some more rock to fill in some areas, and then next week there's a tree being planted in the back corner. I can't wait for the flowers to come out on the bushes. Plus, on two of the plants when the leaves turn white you can eat them and they taste like honey. Just a random tidbit of information.
Jack the Dog is also a big fan. When I can't find him now, he is usually here. Laying in the grass, soaking in the sun.

So special thanks go to: 1. Uncle Sam for helping me fund these little projects 2. Dad for being willing to do TONS of things around the house that I've tried myself but failed at miserably 3. Ed, the landscaper, for giving me such a great deal 4. Mom for helping me clean and organize 5. The man who invented low maintenance, artificial grass 6. And finally...special things go out to the 70 and 80 degree weather that we've been experiencing this last week. Seriously. Thank you!