Validation

You should check this out.  It takes 16 minutes, but your cheeks will hurt when you're through, which is a good thing, right?

http://youtu.be/Cbk980jV7Ao

I Turned It Down

I was offered a job today.  It would have been more money.  I think I would have liked the job.

But all this past week, the Lord kept reminding me about all of the things that I have started but haven't yet finished.  And He reminded me of my first and most important jobs as wife and mother, which still require a lot of my attention.

So I told the person making the offer that I had spent considerable time thinking and praying about this decision, and I felt that I needed to turn it down.  I told him that I was honored that they would offer me the job, and I hoped that this current decision would not preclude my opportunity to work there sometime in the future when the timing was better.  He assured me that it would not and that they understood how decisions are made.  I wished him a nice day  and returned that to me, and the call was over.  Just like that.

I'm a little bit sad, and a little bit relieved.  But I made the right decision for right now.

The One Where My Dad is Famous

Because so many of you asked, I thought I would tell you about the job interview I had on Wednesday.
I was totally shocked that they wanted to see me again, because seriously?  That personality "interview" was a real morale booster.  Not!  I got finished and thought, "I don't even like me after that.  Why would anyone else want to get to know more about me?"  And also, "TMI, Aundrea.  TMI."

But I got an email from the secretary to Elder S. asking if I could meet with him that morning.  So about an hour later I was in his office.  We had a nice visit, and he said my tests were very impressive and I was the kind of person they liked to have in that building. 

We talked about my education being in Northern California, and he mentioned that he was going to Sacramento for a fireside or devotional in the temple in a couple of weeks.  As I was walking out of his office I said, "Well, if you happen to see my dad in the temple, tell him hello."  Elder Snow replied that he would and asked, "Who is your dad?"  I said, "His name is Jon Fish."  He literally stopped in his tracks, said, "Get out of here!  You are Jon B.'s daughter?  Get back in here!"  And he had me come back into his office, where he told me that he is married to one of my dad's childhood friends from St.George, and he was just at a reunion with my aunt and two uncles, and everyone was so disappointed that my dad could not be there.  We laughed and laughed before he escorted me out of his office for a second time.

Later that same day one of my co-workers stopped at my desk and said, "I understand I get to meet your father in a couple of weeks."

Daddy, I'm really sorry if I'm putting a cramp in your style or setting you up for failure or something.

And thank you for setting me up for success and love everywhere I go.  I love you!

Hallelujah!

I finished my stupid, hateful, poorly-organized, momentum-killing eBusiness class.  I got the stupid, hateful, 26-page task turned in this morning.

I expect there will be a re-write.  Hopefully it won't be 26 stupid, hateful, momentum-killing pages of re-write.

P.S.  I HATE marketing.  Now I know at least one thing I DON'T wanna be when I grow up.

Adventures with Goblins

My youngest brother, his beautiful wife, and their family were in town this weekend.  So my SIL organized an outing for all of us in Goblin Valley.  It was a gorgeous day in Central Utah!  Taylor and Briana could not come, and my sister and her family were still in Cali, but here are some fun pix of the rest of us.

Isn't it amazing how you can tell a group of young people to sit or stand in certain places, and they just show you their personalities!?  I love this picture of the cousins!

Lo had taken one of the kids back to the restroom, but except for them, this is everyone who got to go on this little expedition.

We left our house right at 8:00 a.m., and our family got home at 11:30-ish p.m.  We were exhausted, but we had a fabulous time!

What Don't You Love?

Remember that job I applied for in a fit of boredom?  Well, I got a call (while we were in Disneyland) to interview for that job.  Yesterday was my first day back at work.  I came back to 200 emails and an interview in an hour and a half, please.  I interviewed with two people, and I think it went OK.  One nice thing is that I was very calm.

I have some skills tests I have to take.  I'm a pretty decent beginning-to-intermediate user of the software, but some of the harder stuff stumped me.  Don't they know that the real users just keep playing or using the Help button until they figure it out?  And it takes more than two tries, for heaven's sake!

Today I had the marvelous opportunity (yes, I am being facetious here) of taking a talent survey/interview.  It was hard.  It took an hour.  It made me feel very self-conscious about myself, and not in a good way.  It made me feel like I will never have a chance of going anywhere.

Good thing I like it here...

It Was a Trip, Not a Vacation

Spencer and I got to go to Anaheim with the WJHS choirs as chaperones.  This is Ashtyn and her BFF, Kaitlyn, outside of the Disneyland gates.  The kids were so excited.  OK, I admit it--I love Disneyland.  So I was really excited, too!

Here's a quick rundown on the trip:  Leave work Thursday at noon.  Pack really fast.  Be at WJHS at 3:30.  Listen to each of the choir groups sing to us.  Load our bodies onto the bus.  Drive to Beaver (Beaver, Utah, is about as exciting as it sounds).  Take a break.  Drive to St. George.  Take another break.  Drive to Las Vegas and change bus drivers.

Arrive in Anaheim at 6:30 a.m.  Eat breakfast at IHOP (we skipped McDonald's) and change clothes.  Go to Disneyland/California Adventure (gates opened at 8:00).  Stay there (Space Mountain, Soarin' Over California, California Screamin', Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, Thunder Mountain Railroad) till you drop.  Check on kids. Then stay there some more (watch the band and the people and the barbershop quartet).  Finally go to the Embassy Suites hotel.  Check in.  Make sure kids are in their rooms.  Drop in bed and die. 

Get up way too early and have a really good breakfast.  Make sure kids are on the bus by 8:00, in full concert uniform.  Go to Heritage Festivals choir competition for 5 hours at Fullerton College.  Eat pizza on the grass.  Go to hotel for one hour during which you can change, shower, swim, play, or--in our case--die.  Make sure kids are on the bus.  Go back to Disneyland.  Ride a few rides and walk around through huge crowds.  Check on kids.  Go to Heritage Festivals awards ceremony and watch our choirs rock the freakin' world with all their awards.  Go to buses and drive back to hotel.  Check on kids.  Go to room and die.

Sleep in. Sleep some more while Spencer gets breakfast.  Make sure kids get on buses.  Drive to Hollywood.  Walk the Walk of Fame.  Check out the hand/footprints at Grommin's Chinese Theatre.  Shop.  Shop.  Shop.  Load buses and drive to Crystal Cathedral.  Enjoy the beautiful grounds.  Listen to kids sing in the acoustically amazing cathedral.  Change clothes on bus.  Drive to dinner cruise (see the Queen Elizabeth, a Disney cruise liner, sea lions, and a small lighthouse).  Watch kids eat, dance, and play for two hours (or if you are Spencer, teach one of the boys how to give a proper massage and make the night for 3 or 4 lucky recipients).  Load the buses.  Drive to hotel.  Check on kids, tell them to be good, watch TV for a while, die. 

Sleep in.  Have breakfast.  Make sure kids are completely checked out of their rooms; gather leftover items from room.  Load buses.  Drive to Las Vegas.  Change clothes.  Take group pictures.  Try to find food without entering casino with kids in tow.  See Phantom of the Opera in the Venetian.  Change clothes.  Load buses.  Count (and step on) heads.  Twice. Stop in Beaver. Arrive home.  Grab bags.  Go home.  Die.



Grossing out the kids!

 I would not call this a vacation, but it was dang fun!  Anyone who does not enjoy teenagers is missing out BIG TIME.  They are exciting, funny, good, and a lot of fun to be with!

A, This Is For You In April 2012

Today is Tuesday, April 12, 2011.  This is a picture of me and where I live on the 11th floor of the COB.  Don'tcha wish you were here?

There are some things I love about my job.  The main thing I love about my job is DJ.  I think he trusts me, so I learn a lot of cool stuff from him.  We also have gospel discussions that touch and bless me.  I try to do what I can to make his crazy work life easier, but I'm not sure how good I am at it.  When I interviewed for this job he said, "Your goal will be to take care of those piles of papers."  Those piles are higher than ever, with more to spare.  *sigh*  Today I made him promise to come in by 7:30 a.m. so I could have the first half hour.  That half hour determines what I do for the entire day; and the past 10 or so work days have been very, very slow.

So slow, in fact, that I've watched the job postings pretty closely.  At a time when I was feeling calm (a week and a half ago), I let my dream job (copy editor, Friend magazine) go by without even applying.  However, yesterday I applied for a Senior Executive Assistant position, because you told me that it was better to apply and then decide (if necessary).  I doubt anything will come of this, and part of me doesn't want anything to come of it, because--

Another thing I really love about D is his flexibility with my time.  If I take a long lunch or a late lunch, if I am helping with a bridal or baby shower, if I come in early or late, if I leave early or late, if I go to Hawaii or Disneyland or whatever, he doesn't care.  He'd pay me for it if I would allow my integrity to fly out the window (which I won't).  That's a good reason to stay, don't you think?

Shall I tell you who is working where?  SC is BR and GM's admin; SG is GB's; PM is working with the O&M group; I am with DJ and JC.  HR and Finance are part of both TSP and MFD; everyone else is MFD (at least on this floor).  Our HR department consists of GM, RO', EF (but we already know she'll be gone, because she's gonna have a baby in 4 weeks!), KB, and DM.  And you, of course, work at the reception desk.

You are leaving me in just a few days to start work at Beehive Clothing.  I am very, very excited for you.  I sincerely hope this is going to be the greatest. thing. ever.  But since I kinda sit here all alone, I will miss you terribly.

On a personal level, our oldest daughter moved out 2 weeks ago.  By April 2012 I hope our son will be on a mission.  And our next daughter will be a senior--what is that going to mean?  Will she be healthy enough to have had a real school year?

I came home from Hawaii a few weeks ago.  I wish I was back there for another week or two.  :)  In two days I'm going to Disneyland with the WJHS choirs, and I'm looking forward to that.  In June I'm running the Ragnar Wasatch Back.  In December we plan to spend our last Christmas together (before T's mission) with my family in Sacramento.  I would love it if I had a cruise in the works by April 2012, but I doubt that will be the case.  :)

I am in my horrible, awful Marketing class (which I hate) in the first section of my MBA.  I had hoped to move a lot faster than I have in obtaining this degree.  So in a year, will I be nearing completion?  I just don't know.  But I really hope so!  Even if I do, what is that going to mean?  I don't know that, either.  If I know by April 2012, that will mean a HUGE step for me.  If not...meh, so what else is new?

Tonight I will try to come up with an Honest Plan-It for you.  For now, good luck in your new job, and I'll see you for lunch in a year!

Aundrea

There Are Two Types of People In This World

The first person who ever said this to me was a biology teacher.  The two people-types?  Sneezers and non-sneezers.  I am a non-sneezer.  Spencer is a sneezer--the sun gets up his nose.

But I digress...

My mother-in-law told me last week that she sometimes looks up my blog and reads it.  But not all of it because I "write a lot!"  My mother-in-law is clearly a non-blogger. 

I--on the other hand--am a blogger.  I only have 18 followers of this blog, so I'm not going to change the world or anything.  Most of you probably disagree with 80% of what I say anyway. 

But if I log on and someone on my blog list hasn't posted SOMETHING on their blog, I feel very let down; therefore I feel a little bit of responsibility to do my part and blog something every once in a while, too. 

I have made friends through blogging, and I genuinely care about these people I have never met.  They are part of my life and my heart.

In the end, this blog is all mine.  It gives me a chance to write and read and think and express.  If it's too much, I apologize oh well!

What Is Wrong With This Picture?

NOTHING!  It is gloriously beautiful.  This is the kind of soft, welcoming snow storm that makes you want to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and a favorite book, which you won't actually read because you'll be gazing out the window watching the fat flakes coming to rest on a tree limb, where they are going to stick and turn your whole world into marshmallows.

There is nothing wrong with this picture.  It's a lovely picture.

The error is with the date.  It is April 9th.

One of these things just doesn't belong here.

I'm Bored. Join Me!

Things at work continue to be very slow, very quiet, and very boring.  My boss is now back from Hawaii (without me--RUDE!!), but he's so busy catching up that there's no time for me.  The only thing that has picked up is the ringing of the phone.

So I'm texting my children (sorry, teachers!), emailing friends, catching up on Facebook, and considering what I could possibly blog.

Scott once told me that he listened to his Playlist while he was at work.  Such a great idea, and one I have shared with others.  The only problem with that is that sometimes I don't wanna leave my desk to do the things I need to do, because this really great song is on.  :)  Ridiculous!

See how deeply I'm thinking?  Frightening, isn't it?

I Got the Munchies Today

This is what I had for lunch.  He is delicious! 

How can you not munch on a face like that?

Laie Overlook (my weak attempt at a play on words)

When the days are slow and long, do you ever find yourself asking, "Why am I not in Hawaii?"?

Me too.

A Flood

The time is long overdue for a massive flooding of the earth with the Book of Mormon. 

Ezra Taft Benson

In case you didn't know, this past weekend was General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I am a member of this church.

At our Church's General Conference this weekend, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said:

The Lord expects the members of His church to open their mouths at all times, declaring his gospel with the sound of rejoicing…We have a glad message to share; we have a message of joy… When [people] asked us how our weekend was, we tried to skip the usual topics like sports events, movies, or the weather, and tried to share some religious experiences we had as a family over the weekend; for instance, what a youth speaker had said about the standards from For the Strength of Youth or how we were touched by the words of a young man who was leaving on his mission or how the gospel and the church helped us as a family to overcome a specific challenge we had…This often would lead to more indepth discussions…

Monday morning I had my weekly scheduled phone call with my school mentor.  The conversation started as it always does, "How was your weekend?"  Because I tried (with a desperate prayer for courage!) to follow the counsel of President Uchtdorf, I had the best conversation I've had with my mentor since I met him several months ago.

I have also had several sweet conversations with friends at work over the past couple of days.  We all work for the Church; we all share the same values as members of the Church.  But we strengthen each other as we share our experiences, our beliefs, and the things that we know. 

Dear friends, there are many gospel-centered things that I know.  The most important thing that I know is that Jesus Christ is our living Savior and Redeemer.  He can heal you and me of our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual ailments as we walk by faith in Him.  Let us flood the earth with His love and His goodness.